NL West Notes: Saunders, Dodgers, Giants
The Rockies have grabbed the headlines tonight, trading Chris Iannetta to the Angels for Tyler Chatwood and agreeing to terms with Ramon Hernandez on a two-year deal. However, there’s lots more going on in the NL West. Here are the details:
- There’s a “very good” chance Joe Saunders signs a two-year deal with the Diamondbacks, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). Saunders, a non-tender candidate, has a projected 2012 salary of $8.7MM.
- The Dodgers are looking for starting pitching and remain in on Hiroki Kuroda, Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (on Twitter). However, Kuroda may be too pricey for the Dodgers, who also like Jeff Francis.
- The Dodgers will have a new owner before long, so Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times asks baseball people what qualities a good owner has. I recommend DiGiovanna’s piece, which suggests passion and money top the list of traits fans might want in an owner.
- Incoming Giants CEO Larry Baer confirmed that the team will operate with a $130MM payroll in 2012, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The team followed up its 2010 World Championship season with a $118MM payroll in 2011.
- For more news on the Rockies, click here.
Minor Moves: Waldis Joaquin
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- Right-hander Waldis Joaquin is now a free agent after clearing waivers, MLBTR has learned. The Giants designated the hard-throwing 24-year-old for assignment in November. Joaquin has made 19 relief appearances for the Giants from 2009-11, including five this past season. He spent most of 2011 at Triple-A Fresno, where he posted a 3.44 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings. Joaquin will now pitch a few games in the Dominican Republic to get some work in.
Giants Trying To Trade Affeldt Or Ramon Ramirez
The Giants have a ton of money tied up in the bullpen right now, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, so they're trying to move Jeremy Affeldt or Ramon Ramirez. Many teams seek bullpen help, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers, Twins, Angels, Mariners, Mets, Brewers, Cardinals, and Reds.
Affeldt, a 32-year-old lefty, had his $5MM club option exercised by the Giants in October. Ramirez, a 30-year-old righty, projects to earn $2.3MM in his last year before free agency.
Including Affeldt, Ramirez, Brian Wilson ($8.5MM), Javier Lopez ($4.25MM), Santiago Casilla ($1.9MM estimated), and Sergio Romo ($1.3MM estimated), the Giants project to have a $23.25MM bullpen in 2012. That doesn't seem too bad against a $130MM payroll, though it increases to over 23% of the team's spending once you remove the dead weight of Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand.
Giants Links: Beltran, Ross, Lincecum, Cain
The Giants extended the contracts of GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy through 2013 earlier today. Here's the latest from San Fran…
- Sabean told John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle that he will speak to Carlos Beltran's camp today (Twitter link). "It's a fluid situation as well as other conversations we're in," said the GM.
- "There won't be any big splashes," said Sabean to Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News (on Twitter). He added that there would be no "sticker shock" acquisitions.
- Sabean is "not sure" if the team will be able to re-sign Cody Ross, according to Baggarly (on Twitter).
- Bobby Evans, the Giants vice president of baseball operations, said the team has exchanged "broad numbers and ideas" with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain about contract extensions, reports Baggarly (on Twitter). Lincecum is reportedly seeking a one or two-year deal.
Giants Extend Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy
The Giants announced that they extended the contracts of GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy through 2013. The deals for Sabean and Bochy include team options for 2014.
"They have effectively built and fostered a winning tradition at all levels of our organization," incoming CEO Larry Baer stated. "I have no doubt that they will achieve continued success for the Giants in the coming years and beyond.”
Every MLB team has changed GMs at least once since the Giants promoted Sabean in 1996. The 55-year-old is in the midst of the longest run by a GM in Giants history. He has led the team to five postseason appearances, two NL pennants and a World Championship in 15 seasons.
Bochy, the winningest manager in Padres history, ranks third among active big league managers in wins and is 27th on the all-time list. He has led the Giants to a 409-401 record in five seasons in San Francisco. The Giants had exercised the 2012 options on Sabean and Bochy before the 2011 season.
National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers
10 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make today, and we'll update them in this post in advance of the 11pm central time deadline. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here.
Updated team decisions:
- The Giants won't offer arbitration to Pat Burrell (B) or Cody Ross (B) according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Carlos Beltran (A) contractually cannot be offered arbitration.
- The Dodgers declined to offer Hiroki Kuroda (B) arbitration, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter). Rod Barajas (B) already signed with the Pirates.
- The Pirates offered arbitration to Derrek Lee (B) while declining to offer Ryan Ludwick (B) and Chris Snyder (B) arbitration. Ryan Doumit (B) already signed with the Twins.
- The Phillies did not offer Roy Oswalt (A) or Brad Lidge (B) arbitration, according to the AP (via ESPN). The team announced that it offered arbitration to Raul Ibanez (B), Ryan Madson (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick), and Jimmy Rollins (A), according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (via Twitter).
- The Cubs offered arbitration to Carlos Pena (B) and Aramis Ramirez (B) but not to Kerry Wood (B), according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).
- The Cardinals offered Edwin Jackson (B) and Albert Pujols (A) arbitration, but declined to make offers to Rafael Furcal (B) and Arthur Rhodes (B), according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). That leaves Octavio Dotel (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary).
- The Mets offered Jose Reyes (A) arbitration, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter).
- The Padres will offer arbitration to Heath Bell (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) and Aaron Harang (B), tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.
- The Brewers offered Prince Fielder (A) and Francisco Rodriguez (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) arbitration. They declined to offer Yuniesky Betancourt (B) arbitration. Takashi Saito (A), contractually cannot be offered arbitration.
- The Braves did not offer arbitration to Alex Gonzalez (B), according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Teams with automatic decisions only:
- Reds: Francisco Cordero (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary), Ramon Hernandez (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary)
- Astros: Clint Barmes (B, already signed with Pirates)
- Rockies: Mark Ellis (B, already signed with Dodgers)
Dodgers, Giants, Brewers Interested In Jerry Hairston
The free agent market has been very kind to infielders so far, and now it sounds like Jerry Hairston Jr. is poised to cash in. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Dodgers, Giants, and Brewers all have interest in the utility man, and Milwaukee has already offered him a one-year deal.
Hairston, 35, hit .270/.344/.383 in 376 plate appearances for the Nationals and Brewers last season, and he was Milwaukee's regular third baseman in the playoffs. He has significant experience at every position on the field other than pitcher, catcher, and first base, and has shown enough offensive ability to play everyday for periods of time. The Giants and Brewers need middle infield help, and the Dodgers could use him all over the field.
Mark Ellis ($8.75MM), Clint Barmes ($10.5MM), Aaron Hill ($11MM), Willie Bloomquist ($3.8MM), and Jamey Carroll ($6.75MM) have all signed two-year deals this offseason, essentially setting for the market for Hairston. He's coming off three straight one-year deals worth $2MM+.
Selig To Meet With Giants About A’s Relocation
The Athletics have been stuck in a bit of a holding pattern this offseason due to their stadium situation, but they may be drawing closer to a resolution. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Bud Selig plans to meet with Giants executives within two weeks in an effort to accelerate a decision about whether the A's will be allowed to relocate to San Jose.
The Giants draw a significant portion of their fan base and corporate sponsorships from counties south of San Francisco, and they are adamantly opposed to relinquishing their territorial rights to the South Bay. A source tells Rosenthal that the Giants must draw at least 3.2MM fans to break even on their $130MM payroll next season after drawing 3.4MM fans this season. They can't afford much of a slip.
If the Giants refuse to yield their territorial rights, Rosenthal says one solution would be for MLB to purchase the Athletics, secure a stadium deal in Oakland, then resell the club. It would be similar to what they did with the Expos in 2002. The A's have agreed to expand the seating capacity (32K) of the proposed Cisco Field design as one condition of the move. Essentially, Selig has to balance the best interest of the Giants with the best interests of the game.
Pirates Close To Deal With Clint Barmes
8:03pm: Heyman tweets that it will be a two-year contract worth $10.5MM. The two sides are just putting the finishing touches on the deal.
2:36pm: The deal is expected to be worth roughly $11MM over two years once completed, Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets.
1:02pm: The Pirates and Barmes are close to a deal according to Heyman (on Twitter).
12:35pm: The Pirates appear to be in the lead for Clint Barmes, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Giants and Brewers have also been involved, and the free agent shortstop is likely to get a two-year contract.
Barmes, 33 in March, hit just .244/.312/.386 with a dozen homers for the Astros last season, but his primary value comes from his defensive skills. The various advanced metrics have rated his glovework at short as well above-average in recent years. The Pirates are in the market for a new shortstop after declining Ronny Cedeno's $3MM option for next season.
Tim Dierkes looked at Barmes' free agent stock last month, saying that Omar Infante's two-year, $8MM extension with the Marlins could serve as a decent comparable. Jamey Carroll's two-year, $6.75MM deal with the Twins reinforces the comparison.
Giants Notes: Lincecum, Beltran, Ford, Joaquin
The latest from San Francisco….
- The Giants haven't engaged in any discussions about a multiyear deal or even a one-year contract to avoid arbitration with Tim Lincecum, the hurler's agent Rick Thurman tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Thurman is not too concerned about the lack of talks so far, as teams deal with long-term contracts later in an offseason. We've heard the Giants want to lock up both Lincecum and Matt Cain to multiyear deals, though Thurman reiterated to Schulman that Lincecum prefers short-term contracts.
- The Giants' priority is more outfield help, with Carlos Beltran topping their wish list, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link). San Francisco has already acquired one outfielder this winter, picking up Melky Cabrera two weeks ago.
- The club designated outfielder Darren Ford and right-hander Waldis Joaquin for assignment, according to Schulman (Twitter link). Both players were DFA'd off the 40-man roster to clear room for players the Giants wanted to protect from Rule 5 draft. Ford has 16 career plate appearances in The Show and has stolen 306 bases (out of 384 attempts) in the minors. The White Sox picked up Joaquin off waivers last November but was granted free agency and re-signed with the Giants less than two weeks later. The righty has a 5.40 ERA in 21 2/3 Major League innings.
- Angel Villalona has been taken off Major League Baseball's restricted list, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Villalona was charged with murder in the Dominican Republic two years ago but the charges were dropped. Giants VP Bobby Evans tells Baggarly that he doesn't expect any issues with Villalona attempting to get a new U.S. work visa. The Giants played Villalona on their 40-man roster earlier today to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.