Quick Hits: Varitek, D’Backs, Trumbo, Suppan, Braves
Here's a look at some items from around the league on this Friday evening..
- Catcher Jason Varitek hopes to remain with the Red Sox in some capacity, but it may take him some time to determine an appropriate role, writes Jerry Spar of WEEI.com.
- When Kevin Towers was asked specifically about extensions for Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson, the Diamondbacks GM didn’t nix the idea, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Towers hasn’t talked to the agents for either player yet but suggested that he might feel them out to see if there is interest in a long-term deal.
- The Angels' Mark Trumbo has been the subject of trade rumors for the bulk of the offseason, but the slugger appears to be settling in at third base nicely, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. A January poll showed that MLBTR readers think that the Halos should look to deal Kendrys Morales before Trumbo.
- Jeff Suppan wants to pitch for as long as he can, but isn't yet sure if that will extend beyond 2012, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The veteran inked a minor league deal with the Padres this winter.
- Craig Kimbrel’s salary is the highest ever for a Braves player with less than two years of service time but the pitcher is well worth it, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Winning the National League Rookie of the Year and receiving votes for Cy Young and Rolaids Relief Man awards took Kimbrel’s salary from $419K in 2011 to $590K in 2012.
Padres, Cameron Maybin “Very Close” To Extension
10:43am: It's a five-year contract worth $23-25MM with a $7-8MM option for a sixth year, reports Hayes (Twitter links). The deal buys out Maybin's final pre-arbitration season, all three seasons of arbitration-eligibility, and one free agent year with an option for second.
9:54am: The Padres and Cameron Maybin are "very close" to a contract extension, reports Dan Hayes of The North County Times. Maybin is a Brian Goldberg client. Terms are unknown, but the deal is likely to be announced later today.
Maybin, 24, enjoyed a breakout season in San Diego last summer after being acquired from the Marlins for Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica. He hit .264/.323/.393 with nine homers and 40 steals overall, but like most players he was much more productive away from Petco Park: .294/.349/.457 with seven homers. Maybin is also considered a strong defensive center fielder, ranking third at the position with a +9.5 UZR in 2011.
The two sides have been talking about a long-term extension most of the offseason. Ben Nicholson-Smith suggested that the five-year contract worth $21-22MM could work for both parties back in January. Maybin will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season and can not become a free agent until after 2015.
As our Extension Tracker shows, the Padres have not signed a player to an extension longer than three years since Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young in April 2007. Jake Peavy signed a three-year, $52MM extension in December 2007 and Jason Bartlett signed a two-year, $11MM deal last January.
This post was originally published on March 3rd.
NL West Notes: Diamondbacks, Padres, Fielder
We’ve checked in on the NL East and the NL Central this evening. Let’s complete the tour of the National League with this set of links…
- GM Kevin Towers says he’s on the lookout for catching depth, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). The Diamondbacks and Miguel Montero tabled extension talks for now and Arizona doesn’t have a frontline catcher in its system.
- Padres pitching prospects Robbie Erlin, Joe Wieland and Andrew Cashner have impressed assistant GM A.J. Hinch early on in Spring Training, Corey Brock of MLB.com reports.
- It sounds like the Dodgers were the runner up in the Prince Fielder bidding, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Orioles appear to have come in third behind Los Angeles and Detroit. Heyman reported in January that the Dodgers offered Fielder a seven-year deal worth over $160MM.
Padres To Receive Low-Level Prospect For Hoyer
The Theo Epstein compensation case drew most of the attention this offseason, but the Padres and Cubs still have to work something out for Jed Hoyer. Scott Miller of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that San Diego will received a low-level minor leaguer from Chicago for their former GM, probably late in Spring Training but before Opening Day.
The clubs have agreed to select the PTBNL from a pre-determined list of 12 or so players, according to Miller (on Twitter). The Red Sox received 26-year-old righty reliever Chris Carpenter and a player to be named later from the Cubs as compensation for Epstein and a player to be named two days ago. There's not much precedent for compensation involving front office employees, but the cases of Epstein and Andy MacPhail provide the Cubs and Padres with two such examples.
Padres, Maybin Continue Talking Extension
The Padres continue discussing a long-term extension with center fielder Cameron Maybin, Dan Hayes of the North County Times reports. The sides are optimistic about reaching a deal and have an unofficial March 1st deadline in place.
Talks about a five year extension started earlier in the offseason, but stopped around the time Maybin switched agents. The 24-year-old Brian Goldberg client says he's focused on preparing for the season, not the possibility of a new contract.
Maybin posted a .264/.323/.393 line in 2011 and plays better-than-average defense in center field, according to UZR/150. He's not yet arbitration eligible and will remain under team control through 2015. I explained last month that I believe a five-year deal in the $21-22MM range could work for Maybin and the Padres.
Red Sox Receive Chris Carpenter, PTBNL From Cubs For Epstein, PTBNL
The Red Sox received 26-year-old righty reliever Chris Carpenter and a player to be named later from the Cubs as compensation for Theo Epstein and a player to be named later, announced the teams today. The Cubs hired Epstein as their president of baseball operations in October, despite one year remaining on his contract as Boston's GM. Nearly four months after that announcement, Epstein and new Cubs GM Jed Hoyer reached a compensation agreement with former colleague and new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington. Epstein said in a statement:
"I am relieved that this process is over and particularly pleased that the teams were able to reach agreement on their own without intervention from MLB. I truly hope and believe that this resolution will benefit both clubs, as well as Chris, who is an extremely talented reliever joining a great organization at a time when there's some opportunity in the major league bullpen. More than anything, I'm excited that we can all move forward and focus exclusively on getting ready for the season. I wish Chris and the Red Sox nothing but the best in 2012 and beyond."
Carpenter, who made his big league debut with the Cubs last year, was recently ranked 13th on their prospect list by Baseball America. The Cubs converted Carpenter to relief late in 2010, and he averaged 96.5 miles per hour on his fastball in the Majors last year. His command and control are works in progress, but Baseball America thinks he could develop into a setup man. The Red Sox placed Bobby Jenks on the 60-day DL to create a 40-man roster spot for Carpenter.
The inclusion of two players to be named later means this saga has not quite reached its conclusion, but an April 15th deadline is already in place and Cherington expects resolution by the end of spring training. The Cubs also owe compensation to the Padres for Hoyer, which Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune notes will get done very soon and will not involve anyone on the team's 40-man roster.
WEEI's Alex Speier first reported the Red Sox would receive a pitcher from the Cubs' 40-man roster.
NL West Notes: Ethier, Giants, Suppan, Saito
Jim Tracy's indefinite contract extension with the Rockies is the big headline out of the NL West today, but let's see what else is happening around the division.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he would like to sign Andre Ethier to an extension and said he's had a few conversation with the outfielder about the topic, including a visit to Ethier's home over the offseason. Colletti's remarks came during an interview with FOX Sports West during a Los Angeles Kings hockey game (video embedded by Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times).
- With Ryan Vogelsong battling a back injury, Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com speculates that the Giants could be "scanning the free-agent ranks to find a last-minute arm or two." In the meantime, Eric Surkamp and new acquisitions Brian Burres and Ramon Ortiz are being stretched out.
- Jeff Suppan talks to MLB.com's Corey Brock about why the 37-year-old veteran is still trying to get back to the Major Leagues as a Padres non-roster invitee.
- The Diamondbacks didn't have Takashi Saito take a physical before signing the reliever since the team thought he would fail it, GM Kevin Towers told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). "Mark Weidemaier, our advanced scout, was with him in L.A. and I think that they said four or five years ago that one pitch and his arm could go," Towers said. “We thought that the skill-set and what he could bring to the club far outweighed the risk.” Manager Kirk Gibson said Saito is being on a separate Spring Training schedule in order to help keep him healthy.
- Gibson said he hasn't spoken to Gerardo Parra about the Diamondbacks' signing of Jason Kubel earlier this winter as the team's new everyday left fielder. Piecoro thinks Parra "has a right to be unhappy" about losing his starting job despite winning a Gold Glove and a solid year at the plate in 2011, but as I wrote last month, Parra is still a key part of Arizona's future plans.
Quick Hits: Kazmir, McCann, Padres, Athletics
Here are some notes from around the majors as we head into Friday evening…
- ESPN's Jayson Stark looks back at the offseason, surveying 20 baseball personnel people about which teams made the best and worst moves of the winter. A sample: the Phillies' deal with Jonathan Papelbon was judged to be the offseason's worst free agent signing.
- About 10 scouts attended Scott Kazmir's workout session today, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter links). The southpaw threw between 86-89 mph, with his top pitch reportedly hitting 91 mph by one scout's measurements.
- The Mets aren't interested in Kazmir "at this time," a source tells Newsday's David Lennon. According to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, the Mets didn't send a scout to see Kazmir throw, though on Wednesday a "high ranking person" with the Mets said they would have someone in attendance (both Twitter links).
- The Braves haven't begun extension talks with catcher Brian McCann, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2012 is McCann's last season under contract, though Atlanta holds a $12MM option on him for 2013 that looks like a strong bet to be exercised. O'Brien thinks the Braves could wait until next winter to begin negotiations.
- Padres owner Jeff Moorad and GM Josh Byrnes are both very pleased with the club's offseason, reports Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- The Athletics seem focused on acquiring young talent this offseason, but Casey Tefertiller of Baseball America notes that some of these prospects are being blocked by Oakland's veteran signings.
NL West Notes: Byrnes, Moorad, Ethier
Every NL West team enters Spring Training with three or more out of options players, as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes showed earlier today. Here are the latest links from the division…
- Padres CEO Jeff Moorad told Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres that Josh Byrnes' deal as GM is for five years plus an option. Moorad said he and Byrnes tore up the eight-year deal they signed when they were with the Diamondbacks. Byrnes obtained a raise and an extra year of guaranteed salary under his new deal, Krasovic writes.
- The Padres are on the verge of signing a 20-year, $1 billion TV deal with FOX, according to Barry Bloom of MLB.com. The club would earn $30MM in 2012 and $70MM by the time the contract expires unless something changes before it's finalized, Bloom explains.
- Bloom also reports that the ownership transfer from John Moores to Moorad isn’t about to go through and could take a couple of years to become official.
- Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times says the Dodgers should sign Andre Ethier to a three-year contract in the upper-$30MM range if possible. Ethier will earn $10.95MM in 2012 before hitting free agency, and I doubt he'd agree to the terms Dilbeck suggests.
West Notes: Cruz, Cespedes, Dodgers, Padres
Passing along a few stray items out of the West divisions …
- Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz's two-year, $16MM contract is backloaded, according to the Associated Press (h/t Boston Herald). Cruz will earn $5MM in 2012, along with a $500K signing bonus, and will earn $10.5MM in 2013. The right-handed hitter can also earn up to an additional $500K based on plate appearances.
- Yoenis Cespedes did not secure a no-trade clause in his contract with the Athletics, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, so the A's will have the option of trading off the outfielder if he becomes too expensive as he nears free agency after 2015.
- The remaining bidders for the Dodgers will meet with MLB's ownership committee early next month, according to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press.
- The Padres will receive a rights fee of $30MM in 2012 for their new TV deal with FOXSports, a source tells Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The source adds that the Friars could earn as much as $40MM this year depending on a signing bonus and other factors.