Giants, Lopez Avoid Arbitration
The Giants avoided arbitration with Javier Lopez, agreeing to terms on a deal for 2011, according to the team (on Twitter). The left-hander had filed for $2.88MM and the team offered $2MM, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows. The sides agreed to a $2.375MM deal, according to the AP (via ESPN). That puts Lopez's 2011 salary slightly below the midpoint of the two submissions.
Lopez posted a 1.42 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 0.9 BB/9 in 27 relief appearances after the Giants acquired him from the Pirates midway through the 2010 season. He pitched tremendously for the eventual world champions, improving on the solid numbers he had posted in Pittsburgh. Overall, Lopez had a 61.8% ground ball rate last year, up from his career mark of 56.1%. The 33-year-old has struggled with walks in his career (4.0 BB/9) and right-handed hitters have a .296/.377/.432 line against him.
Andres Torres is now the Giants' lone unsigned arbitration eligible player.
Arbitration Figures: Tuesday
Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. Let's keep track of those figures here, with the latest updates on top. You can track all of the players that avoided arbitration today here.
- MLB.com's Jane Lee tweets that Craig Breslow filed for $1.55MM, but the Athletics countered with $1.15MM.
- Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle has some figures for the Astros. Wandy Rodriguez filed for $10.25MM, Hunter Pence for $6.9MM. The team countered with $8MM and $5.15MM, respectively.
- Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star tweets that Billy Butler filed for $4.3MM while the Royals countered with $3.4MM.
- Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Javier Lopez filed for $2.875MM and Andres Torres for $2.6MM (Twitter link). The Giants countered with $2MM and $1.8MM, respectively.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. The sides will then settle on a salary between the team's proposed number and the player's proposed number or go to an arbitration hearing. Arbitration eligible players are under team control, so the clubs don't risk losing them – it's a question of how much the players will earn.
Yesterday, 11 players avoided arbitration. We could see just as many agreements trickle in today and we'll keep you posted on them right here and with our Arb Tracker. The latest updates will be at the top of the post:
- The Angels have agreed to terms with Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick, tweets Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register tweets that Kendrick will earn $3.3MM, Willits $775K (on Twitter).
- The Giants agreed to terms with Santiago Casilla on a one-year deal worth $1.3MM with incentives, according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas (on Twitter). The team also announced that they avoided arb with Jonathan Sanchez and Ramon Ramirez (on Twitter). Sanchez will earn $4.8MM with incentives tweets Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle while Ramirez will earn $1.65MM according to Janie McCauley of The Canadian Press.
- The Braves agreed to terms with Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Moylan gets $2MM, O'Flaherty gets $895K according to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Mariners agreed to terms with Brandon League, David Aardsma and Jason Vargas, the team announced. Aardsma will earn $4.5MM with plenty of incentives, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (plus Twitter link).
- The Rangers agreed to terms with C.J. Wilson and Nelson Cruz, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (Twitter links). Cruz gets $3.65MM, and Wilson gets $7.05MM with a chance to earn another $100K according to his agent Bob Garber, via email.
Minor Transactions: Giants, Angels
Here are some notable players headed to big league Spring Training camps…
- The Giants announced the names of 22 non-roster invitees to their Spring Training camp, some of whom are former Major Leaguers new to the organization. This group includes infielder Brad Eldred, catcher Chris Stewart, outfielder Terry Evans and right-handers Casey Daigle, Shane Loux and Ryan Vogelsong. Also on the list is Guillermo Mota (who re-signed with San Francisco last month) and Waldis Joaquin, who was claimed on waivers by the White Sox in November but rejected the claim to sign a minor league deal with the Giants. MLB.com's Chris Haft has the full list of invitees here.
- The Angels have signed Kevin Melillo, Kevin Richardson and Gil Velazquez to minor league contracts with Spring Training invites, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Velazquez, a 13-year veteran, leads the trio in career Major League plate appearances (11) and joins the Angels after three years in Boston's organization. Richardson, a catcher, has spent his entire nine-year pro career in the Texas organization while utilityman Melillo played for Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate last season.
NL West Notes: Padres, Belt, Sandoval, Rockies
Some news about the defending World Series champs and their division rivals…
- The Padres "remain open" to the idea of signing another Major League starter, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. This is just pure speculation, but of the five hurlers on Luke Adams' list of pitchers that could benefit from the NL, three (Jeremy Bonderman, Bruce Chen and Kevin Millwood) are still available and would likely be open to the idea of pitcher-friendly Petco Park.
- Brandon Belt "has a legitimate chance" to win an everyday job playing first base or left field in San Francisco, writes MLB.com's Chris Haft. Belt, who turns 23 in April, has just one minor league season to his name, but he hit .352/.455/.620 in 595 plate appearances for the Giants' Class A, Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.
- Pablo Sandoval has lost 17 pounds training with former Olympic decathlete Dan O'Brien and plans to lose more weight before the start of Spring Training, Rich Aurilia tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Sandoval was threatened with a demotion to the minors by GM Brian Sabean unless the "Kung Fu Panda" improved his conditioning this offseason.
- The Rockies' big extensions with Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki put more pressure on the team's minor league system to produce low-cost, quality players, writes Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post.
Six Clubs Offer Jose Veras Minor League Deals
The Giants, Rockies, Twins, Marlins, Rays and Pirates have all offered Jose Veras minor league deals and invited him to Spring Training, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (on Twitter). The 30-year-old right-hander will likely decide on a team soon.
Veras posted a 3.85 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 48 innings for the Marlins last year, before they non-tendered him. Veras has been tough to hit throughout his five-year MLB career, but he has always allowed plenty of walks (5.0 BB/9 in his career). His mid-90s fastball (94.4 mph last year) has helped him strike out 8.7 batters per nine in his career.
Quick Hits: Pettitte, Figgins, Giants, Hoffman
On this date in 2002, the Diamondbacks signed Carlos Gonzalez as an amateur free agent. Two blockbuster trades and one breakout season later, CarGo has agreed to a seven-year extension with the Rockies. Here are today's links…
- Andy Pettitte told Brian Costello of the New York Post at his home in Texas that he's just "chilling out, hanging" and still hasn't decided whether he'll play in 2011.
- The Mariners have officially asked Chone Figgins to move back to third base, reports Kirby Arnold of the Daily Herald. Figgins has played more games at third than at any other position, but he played second base last year.
- The Giants will likely rely on players already in the organization for infield depth now that Edgar Renteria has agreed to sign with the Reds, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Trevor Hoffman is leaning toward retirement, according to Heyman (on Twitter). The reliever has drawn some interest this offseason, but he had hoped for the chance to close in 2011.
- Michael Girsch will replace John Abbamondi as the Cardinals' assistant GM, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Heyman On Yankees, Greinke, Young, Giants
Just as MLBTR did last week, Jon Heyman of SI.com runs through the items remaining on each team's offseason shopping list. Along the way, he presents some rumors; here they are:
- The Yankees appear to have at least “a modicum” of interest in Freddy Garcia and Kevin Millwood.
- Heyman reports that the Nationals were prepared to offer Zack Greinke an extension worth about $18MM per season for five seasons or so if he accepted a trade to Washington.
- Word is that Chris Young’s medicals don’t look great and he’s willing to accept a deal that guarantees him less than $2MM. The Mets deny that they have made the right-hander an offer, but they appear interested in his services. ESPN.com's Buster Olney recently reported that the Mets had offered a deal that's likely worth over $1MM.
- The Giants are saying that they only need a backup infielder at this point in the offseason. They have resumed talks with World Series MVP Edgar Renteria.
Giants, Renteria Talking Again
The Giants and Edgar Renteria are once again discussing a potential deal, according to Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter). However, the team is not optimistic about re-signing the infielder, since Renteria has drawn interest from other clubs. The Giants offered a deal in the $1MM range earlier in the offseason, but Renteria didn't like the proposal and suggested it showed a "lack of respect."
The Reds offered Renteria a deal weeks ago, according to ESPN Deportes. Renteria, 34, says he intends to play for two more seasons. He batted .276/.332/.374 in 267 plate appearances last year, missing time with elbow, groin, hamstring and shoulder injuries before returning to form and winning the World Series MVP.
Odds & Ends: Morse, Pettitte, Miller, Durbin
Links for Wednesday, four years after the Giants signed Barry Zito to a seven-year, $126MM deal…
- Michael Morse, who broke out with 15 homers in limited playing time last year, could be pushed into a platoon role if the Nationals sign a first baseman, as Ben Goessling of MASNSports explains.
- Yankees president Randy Levine said to Peter Botte of the New York Daily News what lots of Yankee fans are thinking: the club needs Andy Pettitte in 2011. Meanwhile, Mark Teixeira says the left-hander is leaning toward retirement.
- In the same piece, Levine acknowledges that the Yankees discussed Manny Ramirez, but downplayed the team's interest.
- Mark Rodgers, the agent for Andrew Miller, told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that the lefty received big league offers from at least three teams, including the Rangers and Giants, before signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox.
- The Phillies could fill Chad Durbin's role internally with someone younger, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.