Padres Notes: TV Deal, Cashner, Byrnes
It was on this day in 1982 that the Padres made a trade with the Cardinals that brought shortstop Garry Templeton to town. Though Templeton spent the next 10 seasons in San Diego, it's still a trade that Padres fans shake their heads over. The centerpiece of the package that went to the Cards was another shortstop — future Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith.
Here are some notes from the modern-day Padres….
- The Padres will have about a 20% ownership stake in the new FOX regional TV network that will air their games, reports Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres. The ownership stake is part of the pending 20-year broadcasting contract between the club and the new cable outlet. The Padres would get $30MM in the first year and that total would gradually increase to $65-70MM by the final year of the contract.
- Based on these ownership shares, Krasovic reports the Padres could receive around $1.5 billion from the contract, close to the $75MM annual payout that USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Thursday. Krasovic notes the $1.5 billion figure is "a best-case scenario" for the team, which may explain why club president Tom Garfinkel said yesterday that Nightengale's reported terms were too high.
- Andrew Cashner tells MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter) that the Padres have promised him a chance to start again after this season. Cashner made his first Major League start in 2011 but pitched in just seven games due to a strained right rotator cuff.
- Josh Byrnes seems to have more room to operate than did former GM Jed Hoyer, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune as part of his weekly fan chat. Byrnes has already convinced owner Jeff Moorad to spend an extra $7MM on payroll this winter and Center doesn't "think Hoyer would have had the freedom to pull the trigger on the Carlos Quentin trade."
NL West Notes: Rockies, Padres, Ayala
Matt Kemp's $160MM extension stands out as the largest financial commitment made by any NL West team so far this offseason and Michael Cuddyer's three-year, $31.5MM contract with the Rockies checks in as the biggest free agent deal signed by one of the NL West teams. Here are the latest links from the division…
- Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he expects his club to improve in 2012, but doesn’t expect any one player to radically alter the team’s chances of winning. “Overall, we don't think anyone we signed or traded for is going to sprinkle pixie dust on our issues or make them go away,” O’Dowd said. “That has to happen internally with us doing things the right way consistently."
- Padres president Tom Garfinkel said on XX1090 in San Diego that the reported terms of the team’s upcoming TV deal are too high, MLB.com’s Corey Brock tweets. USA Today reported yesterday that the Padres are poised to sign a 20-year deal worth $75MM annually.
- Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com adds the Giants and Rangers to the list of teams that had interest in Luis Ayala before the right-hander agreed to terms with the Orioles (Twitter link).
West Links: Cruz, Mota, Padres, Abreu, Angels
We've already rounded up notes from the east and central divisions, now let's head out west…
- The Rangers and Nelson Cruz avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year, $16MM deal earlier today, and the outfielder told Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthWest.com that a long-term deal is still possible (Twitter link).
- The AP (via ESPN) reports that the Giants and Guillermo Mota have finalized their one-year, $1MM agreement. The two sides agreed to the contract in December. San Francisco's 40-man roster is now full.
- The Padres are poised to sign a new television contract with FOX Sports that will guarantee them $75MM annually for the next 20 years, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The deal is pending MLB's approval.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark listed five players that could get traded in Spring Training, including Bobby Abreu of the Angels. One executive told Stark: "There's no team in baseball more likely to make a deal this spring than the Angels."
Quick Hits: Dodgers, Padres, Cespedes, Ramirez
The Dodgers signed 26-year-old right-hander Hideo Nomo on this date 17 years ago. Armed with an exceptionally deceptive delivery, Nomo struck out 236 batters and was named NL Rookie of the Year in 1995. Here are tonight's links, starting in L.A…
- Michael Heisley, a billionaire who owns the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA, is bidding on the Dodgers, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports. The 75-year-old led one of the 11 bids that made it through the first round of cuts, Shaikin writes.
- The Padres have the top farm system in baseball even though they don’t have a top-25 prospect, ESPN.com’s Keith Law writes. The Rays and Blue Jays round out Law’s top three and the White Sox rank 30th.
- Jonathan Papelbon, Prince Fielder and Heath Bell make appearances on Dave Cameron’s list of the ten worst offseason moves at FanGraphs.
- Free agent left-hander Horacio Ramirez will throw in front of scouts in Arizona tomorrow, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. The 32-year-old appeared in 12 games for the Angels last year, spending most of the season with their Triple-A affiliate.
- Marlins officials met with Yoenis Cespedes in Miami today, showing him around the city and providing him with a tour of their new park, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes. Cespedes is currently blocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, though MLB has declared him a free agent.
Padres To Sign Jeff Suppan
3:05pm: Suppan will earn $950K if he makes the Major League roster, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. He obtained an invitation to Spring Training.
12:07pm: The Padres will sign righty Jeff Suppan to a minor league deal today, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock. Suppan is represented by Lapa/Leventhal.
Suppan, 37, posted a 4.78 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.25 HR/9, and 10.1 H/9 in 165 2/3 innings for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate last year. The 16-year MLB veteran has 138 wins and a 4.69 ERA in his career.
Padres Links: Maybin, Quentin, Owings
Here's the latest out of San Diego…
- Cameron Maybin has switched agents and is now once again represented by Brian Goldberg, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link). Maybin was previously represented by Robert Baratta. Goldberg was Maybin's original agent when he first entered the Major Leagues.
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune thinks the Padres will revisit extension talks with Maybin during Spring Training. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith examined Maybin as an extension candidate last month. Center also thinks the Padres will wait to see how Carlos Quentin performs before exploring a multiyear deal with him.
- Also as part of Center's weekly chat with fans, he discusses Micah Owings' role with the team and why owner Jeffrey Moorad "forbids" incentive-laden contracts.
- Owings' contract with the Padres is a split deal that will pay the right-hander a minor league salary if he's optioned down, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times. The contract doesn't include an opt-out clause if Owings is not on the Major League roster by a certain date.
Padres To Sign Micah Owings
4:29pm: The agreement is for a one-year, $1MM, Major League deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.
2:41pm: The Padres have agreed to sign Micah Owings to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training, Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets. Legacy Sports Group represents the 29-year-old right-hander.
Owings spent the 2011 season with the Diamondbacks, posting a 3.57 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 38% ground ball rate in 63 innings. A former starter with the Diamondbacks and Reds, Owings has pitched mostly out of the bullpen since 2010. At the plate, he has nine homers and an impressive .286/.313/.507 batting line in 217 career plate appearances. Kirk Gibson let Owings bat for himself regularly last year and asked him to pinch hit on one other occasion.
Padres, Dustin Moseley Avoid Arbitration
8:12pm: Moseley will earn $2.0125MM, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. The righty asked for $2.55MM, while the club originally offered $1.5MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows.
6:09pm: The Padres and right-hander Dustin Moseley have avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a one-year contract, the team announced.
Moseley, 30, spent time with the Angels and Yankees before joining the Friars in 2011. The swing man was used exclusively as a starter last season, posting a career-best 3.30 ERA over 120 innings before being lost to season-ending surgery on his non-throwing shoulder in August.
The Yankees non-tendered Moseley after the 2010 campaign, facilitating his move to San Diego, and it was rumored he may get the same treatment from the Padres, but he'll once again call PETCO Park his home ballpark in 2012.
All of the Padres' arbitration eligible players are now under contract for 2012.
Stark On Tigers, Blanton, Bartlett, Kazmir
As ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark points out, the NL Central will look considerably different in 2012, now that Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa have moved on. Ryan Braun could miss 50 games with a suspension that would make the division even less recognizable. Here are Stark’s latest notes and rumors:
- Scouts and executives doubt Miguel Cabrera will be able to play third base with much skill in 2012.
- One AL executive suggests the Tigers would have to eat a lot of money to trade Victor Martinez next offseason. Insurance will likely cover approximately half of the switch hitter’s 2012 salary of $13MM, Stark writes.
- Stark hears that the Phillies have sent signals that they might make Joe Blanton available this spring.
- Jason Bartlett has been available this winter and the Red Sox could pursue him, Stark writes. However, the shortstop will earn $5.5MM in 2012 and the Red Sox aim to stay below the luxury tax threshold.
- Scott Kazmir intends to pitch in 2012, but his fastball velocity is in the 84-85 mph range. The 28-year-old appeared in one game for the Angels last year and they released him after a rough stretch at Triple-A.
- There’s every indication that the commissioner’s office will discipline Juan Carlos Oviedo/Leo Nunez and Roberto (Heredia) Hernandez/Fausto Carmona for using false identities.
- Though many have told Bud Selig that adding a second Wild Card team to each league this year will create scheduling issues, the commissioner seems intent on expanding the playoffs in 2012, and Stark expects him to get his wish.
Cardinals Shopping McClellan, Talking With Oswalt
5:14pm: The Orioles are pursuing Koji Uehara of the Rangers as well as McClellan, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Their pursuit of a reunion with Uehara could complicate the Cards' plan to clear money to sign Oswalt.
3:47pm: The Cards appear to be interested in salary relief more than obtaining a high-end prospect for McClellan, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The club could also move Kyle Lohse or Jake Westbrook to the bullpen.
Morosi adds that the club has discussed deals with Oswalt in the range of $7.5MM while the pitcher seeks $10MM. Moving McClellan, who makes $2.5MM, would give the Cards enough room to sign the veteran (Twitter link).
3:16pm: Even though they have interest, the Cardinals' asking price is too high for the Orioles right now, a team source tells Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter)
2:35pm: The Cardinals are actively shopping versatile righthander Kyle McClellan, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Moving McClellan would allow the club to alleviate a logjam in their bullpen and give them the payroll flexibility to a sign a free agent starting pitcher.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are looking to clear money in order to sign Roy Oswalt, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. It was rumored this week that St. Louis was near a deal with the veteran but Morosi stresses that there's no deal in place just yet.
General Manager John Mozeliak recently conceded that the club could possibly deal McClellan but believes it more likely that the he will be with the Cardinals when pitchers and catchers report on February 18th. The Cardinals have attempted to engage a number of clubs in talks for McClellan and the Orioles have emerged as one of the most promising trade partners for him, according to Strauss' industry sources.
The Padres and Diamondbacks are also among the teams that have expressed interest in McClellan.