Olney On Huff, Uribe, Upton, Buck, Downs
One talent evaluator told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that Aubrey Huff posted impressive numbers in 2010 because he “got better as a player." Huff has set himself up for a nice payday and he isn’t the only Giants free agent who stands to cash in this offseason, as Olney explains:
- One GM says players like Juan Uribe, who can hit 20 homers and play in the middle infield, are becoming harder to find. “Five years ago, you could find a lot of guys who could do what he does,” the GM said. “But not now.”
- Olney surveyed scouts and executives about the A’s-Royals trade and everyone said it was a good deal for both clubs.
- Rival teams believe the Rays are willing to trade B.J. Upton. What’s more, Tampa Bay wouldn’t have to be overwhelmed to agree to a deal.
- The Yankees are interested in John Buck, but the catcher could likely command a two-year deal (possibly from the Red Sox) and it seems unlikely that the Yankees would offer more than a one-year contract.
- In a series of tweets, Olney explains that the Blue Jays may only obtain a second or third round pick for losing Type A free agent Scott Downs (they will also get a compensation pick if they offer arbitration). There's a chance that Downs' new team will sign another free agent with a higher ranking, which would prevent Toronto from getting a first rounder.
Japan Rumors: Nishioka, Kobayashi
The Chiba Lotte Marines will not decide whether to post shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka until after Saturday's championship game, tweets Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times. Nishioka would prefer to play for the Dodgers if he's posted, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Otherwise, he hopes to land with the Giants, Padres, or Diamondbacks. Of course, Nishioka can't control which team wins the bidding for the right to negotiate with him. The 26-year-old switch-hitter batted .346/.423/.482 this year, and was described as a Chone Figgins/Ryan Theriot type by Patrick Newman of FanGraphs. Hernandez says he'll be represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council if posted.
One Marines player is definitely heading to MLB, tweets Coskrey: free agent reliever Hiroyuki Kobayashi. The 32-year-old righty reliever posted a 2.21 ERA, 7.82 K/9, 2.07 BB/9, and 0.30 HR/9 in 61 innings this year. Kobayashi moved to the bullpen in 2010, reported Newman, so he brings versatility. He will be represented by Octagon, MLBTR has learned.
Odds & Ends: Renteria, Huff, Takahashi
Four years ago today, the Padres traded Josh Barfield to the Indians for Andrew Brown and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Only Kouzmanoff panned out to any extent; he was sent to the A's with Eric Sogard in January for Aaron Cunningham and Scott Hairston. With Kouzmanoff and Hairston non-tender candidates, Sogard and Cunningham could be the remaining threads of the deal. Links for Monday…
- Do you have experience in online ad sales, ideally for sports websites? MLBTR is looking to bring someone aboard to sell ad inventory on commission. Email mlbtradrep@gmail.com and explain your qualifications if you're interested.
- Edgar Renteria would prefer to return to the Giants, he told Claudia Aguilar Ramirez of El Tiempo. Thanks to Nick Collias for the translation.
- Aubrey Huff hired Ed Hayes as his agent, reported Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports last night.
- The Tigers re-signed catcher Max St. Pierre to a minor league deal, reports Morosi.
- Sanspo has the Angels in the mix for Hisanori Takahashi, tweets Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. It seems likely that the Halos will add a left-handed reliever this winter; I went with Pedro Feliciano in my Top 50 list.
- Carlos Torres, released by the White Sox last month to pursue a job in Japan, has landed with the Yomiuri Giants according to this Newman tweet.
- Kevin Goldstein's top 11 Pirates prospect list is free to all over at Baseball Prospectus. BP is definitely worth subscribing to for Goldstein's work and much more. We also recommend ESPN Insider, which you'll need to read Keith Law's new starting pitcher buyer's guide.
- Speaking of the Pirates, SI's Jon Heyman says they seem active in early free agent calls and "are believed to be showing interest in some surprising free agent prizes such as [Adrian] Beltre."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs believes the Padres should trade Adrian Gonzalez now rather than in July.
Amateur Signing Bonuses: Giants
Next up in our amateur signing bonus series, the World Champion San Francisco Giants…
- Buster Posey, $6.2MM (2008)
- Zach Wheeler, $3.3MM (2009)
- Rafael Rodriguez, $2.55MM (2008)
- Angel Villalona, $2.1MM (2006)
- Tim Lincecum, $2.025MM (2006)
As we saw during their title run, the Giants have done a great job of drafting and developing the core of their team. Hot shot rookie catcher Buster Posey was at the center of attention, and San Francisco paid the price to bring him into their organization as the fifth overall pick: $6.2MM, at the time a record for a minor league contract. Posey tore through the minors in less than two years (.333/.427/.542) and established himself as the Giants' everyday catcher this summer. He hit .305/.357/.505 with 18 homers in 443 big league plate appearances this season, then topped it off with a strong postseason.
Wheeler was the sixth overall pick in last year's draft, and in his first pro season he pitched to a 3.99 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 in 58.2 innings. He missed some time with a fingernail injury this summer. The Giants signed Rodriguez out of the Dominican Republic on his 16th birthday, and so far he's hit .280/.343/.355 in his young minor league career.
Villalona was arguably the top talent available out of Latin America back in 2006, and the Giants landed him for what was then the largest bonus in franchise history. He climbed the minor league ladder steadily until the 2009-2010 offseason, when it was announced by police that Villalona was a suspect in the murder of a 25-year-old man back in the DR. He eventually reached a settlement with the victim's family, however the prosecutor still intends to prosecute. Villalona has been free on bond since the settlement, but his United States visa has been revoked and his playing career with the Giants is essentially over. He has not played since the end of the 2009 season, and there have not been any updates on the status of the criminal case since April.
It's hard to believe that Lincecum lasted until the tenth overall pick in 2006, but that's exactly what happened. The Giants signed him and less than a year later he wasn't just in the big leagues, he was dominating. Lincecum won the Cy Young Award in each of his first two full major league seasons, and he made five starts (and one relief appearance, 2.43 ERA overall) this postseason, including winning the World Series clincher in Game Five over the Rangers. Overall, his big league career consists of a 3.04 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 811 innings. He's led the league in strikeouts and strikeout rate in each of the last three seasons.
Since I'm sure everyone is curious, I might as well mention that Matt Cain signed for $1.375MM as the 25th overall pick in 2002, Madison Bumgarner for $2MM as the tenth pick in 2007, and Jonathan Sanchez for just $2,500 as the 820th overall pick (27th round) in 2004. That's textbook development of a championship caliber rotation right there.
Edgar Renteria Will Play In 2011
The last couple months have been rather eventful for Edgar Renteria. In September, the 34-year-old was battling injuries and admitted that he was considering retiring at the end of the season. Just over a month later, he was helping lead the Giants to a World Series victory, earning MVP honors in the process. Earlier this week, the Giants declined Renteria's $10.5MM option for 2011, but the two-time Gold Glover tells Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes that he'll continue to play next year after all.
"I'm staying, I feel that I still have a lot of baseball in my body," Renteria said. "[On] Monday I have a very important meeting with my agents to talk about my future, but I have already decided I will keep playing. That's all I can say until I meet with them."
Although Renteria was moderately productive when he was on the field for the Giants this year, hitting .276/.332/.374 in 267 plate appearances, he isn't the offensive threat he once was. Since posting a .332/.390/.470 slash line for the Braves in 2007, the veteran has an OPS of just .676 in three seasons with Detroit and San Francisco. Still, the free agent market for shortstops is thin, so Renteria's postseason heroics should help garner some interest this winter.
Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Red Sox, Simmons, Bush
We're now less than 12 hours away from the start of free agency. Here are some links to help you pass the time…
- The Diamondbacks have outrighted pitchers Leo Rosales and Clay Zavada off the 40-man roster according to the team's official Twitter feed.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe places odds on each of the Red Sox's four free agents returning the team.
- Larry Larue of The Tacoma Tribune reports that the Mariners have hired Ted Simmons as a senior advisor to GM Jack Zduriencik. Simmons was in the mix for various managerial jobs.
- The Rays have added Matt Bush, the first overall pick in 2004, to their 40-man roster according to The Tampa Tribune (Twitter link). Bush would have been eligible for minor league free agency otherwise.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post hears from a source that Terry Collins is anywhere from "a strong candidate to the front-runner" for the Mets managerial job. Collins will interview with new GM Sandy Alderson this weekend, and has a backer in Fred Wilpon. He's also a favorite of Paul DePodesta, who Alderson is trying to lure to New York.
- Don Wakamatsu has plenty of job opportunities these days. FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that he has an offer to become the Blue Jays bench coach, an interview for the Mets manager's job forthcoming, and is also in the mix to be Baltimore's bench coach.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik unsurprisingly declined to comment about Hisashi Iwakuma two days ago, according to Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. Last night we heard that the Mariners appear to be the favorites to land the righty.
- Robert MacLeod of The Globe And Mail passes along a quote from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos in which he indicates a willingness to bringing Kevin Gregg back. He just wasn't comfortable with the price of the reliever's options, which is why they were declined.
- Scott Boras told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the Phillies "have the ability to do what they need to do to retain their players," referring to Jayson Werth. He compared Philadelphia's financial situation to that of the Yankees
- Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News offers some good and bad news about the Rangers' catching situation.
- Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle speculates that the Giants will keep an eye on Derek Jeter's negotiations with the Yankees. GM Brian Sabean ran New York's farm system when Jeter was drafted, so there's a connection there in the unlikely event that he can't work out a deal with the Yanks.
Giants Notes: Sandoval, Huff, Uribe, Burrell, Crawford
It's been less than a week since the Giants were crowned World Champions, but GM Brian Sabean has already started to act on his offseason agenda. Here's the latest from San Francisco, courtesy of Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News…
- Sabean was very explicit in saying that Pablo Sandoval will be sent to the minors next year if he doesn't improve his conditioning. Kung Fu Panda will spend the winter with fitness and nutrition experts in San Diego before reporting to Spring Training a month early. He will have benchmarks to meet this offseason.
- Sabean has reached out to the agents for Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe, and although he acknowledged that both players are priorities, he couldn't commit to bringing them back. The market could play out very favorably for those two.
- The team is currently discussing Pat Burrell internally, who would be brought back in a reserve role if anything. Remember that the Giants will have Mark DeRosa and his righty bat back from injury next season.
- Sabean's priority is to get more left-handed, and when asked about Carl Crawford, he responded "We'll see. That's the best answer I can give you."
- Sabean also said that he's still upset about being portrayed as a suitor for CC Sabathia two offseasons ago, claiming he never met with the player or his representatives. "[W]e do not want to be somebody’s fallback or stalking horse to be used as leverage," said the game's longest-tenured GM.
- Baggarly doesn't think the Giants will be serious players for Jayson Werth, and their desire to get more athletic could take them out of Adam Dunn sweepstakes.
- The team's payroll is expected to eclipse the $100MM mark for the first time, and Sabean wouldn't commit to offering arbitration to all eight of his eligible players. He is interested in bringing them all back, however.
- It almost goes without saying, but Sabean is hopeful that the World Series victory will make San Francisco a more desirable landing spot for free agents.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Gonzalez, Pirates, Elias
On this date way back in 1976, the Mariners and Blue Jays each selected 30 players in the expansion draft. Seattle drafted outfielder Ruppert Jones from the Royals with the first pick, then Toronto grabbed the versatile Bob Bailor from the Orioles with the second pick. The full results of the expansion draft can be found here.
We had to do some expanding of our own this week – get ready for what I'm certain is the largest BBWI in MLBTR history…
- Baseball Time In Arlington thinks the Rangers need to wave goodbye to Vladimir Guerrero after declining his option.
- Royals Review asks what Kansas City should do, and will do with their arbitration eligible players.
- The Friarhood breaks down the trade market for Adrian Gonzalez.
- Pirates Propects examines what the impact would be if Andrew McCutchen qualified as a Super Two next year.
- Capitol Avenue Club looks at some options to address the Braves' need for a fourth outfielder.
- Amazin Avenue explains why they don't want the Mets to hire Wally Backman to serve as manager.
- Pittsburgh Lumber Co. wonders if the Pirates should start spending on free agents this winter.
- Meanwhile, Wahoo Blues believes the Indians are poised to make a free agent splash.
- Crashburn Alley says the Phillies need to give Domonic Brown 600 plate appearances in 2011.
- Disciples of Uecker explains why Justin James was an interesting waiver claim.
- Prospect Insider thinks that the Elias free agent ranking system needs to go.
- The Process Report tries to find a fit for Matt Garza with the Mets.
- Randall on Baseball reviews Jack Zduriencik's moves as the Mariners GM.
- SD Sports Net thinks the Padres should go out and acquire Dan Uggla.
- The Love Of The Game likes what the Yankees have in 2010 rookie Ivan Nova.
- Fan Speak tries to figure out what the Nationals should do with Josh Willingham (part one, part two).
- Cubs Billy Goat Blog (formerly Cubs Pack) asks what the Cubbies can learn from more successful teams.
- 1 Blue Jays Way re-lives Toronto's 2010 season, top ten style.
- River Ave. Blues comes up with a list of the players the Yankees shouldn't even think about acquiring this winter.
- MLB Depth Charts is putting together early looks at each team's 2011 roster.
- Baseball Prospectus' Analyze This reviews how the World Champion San Francisco Giants were built in a two part series (part one, part two). No subscription is required.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Giants, Gregg, Pujols, Webb
Links for tonight as we remember Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, who passed away today at the age of 76. MLB.com's Marty Noble penned a great article today looking back at the life and career of the universally beloved skipper.
- The Mets announced that GM Sandy Alderson will interview in-house candidates Wally Backman, Terry Collins, and Chip Hale in California this weekend, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Earlier today the Mets sat down with Bob Melvin and Dave Jauss in New York.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean says that the club will soon make an offer to Aubrey Huff and will "certainly be in discussions" with Juan Uribe, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News.
- Expect the Rockies to call Kevin Gregg's agent, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
- Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols said that he hopes to work out an extension with the club before Opening Day, according to the Associated Press.
- Jonathan Maurer, the agent for Brandon Webb, says that several teams have already contacted him with interest in his client, according to the Associated Press. We learned yesterday that Webb would like to return to Arizona but that seems unlikely.
- After turning down his end of a mutual option today, Scott Podsednik is still in talks with the Dodgers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Denver Post's Troy Renck says that Jorge de la Rosa hasn't been presented with an offer from the Rockies since last winter when he instead opted to take a one-year deal in arbitration.
- The Mets dropped five players from the 40-man roster today including Jesus Feliciano and Omir Santos, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
Giants Decline Renteria’s 2011 Option
As expected, the Giants have officially declined their $10.5MM option on shortstop Edgar Renteria, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. The 2010 World Series MVP will receive a buyout of $500K.
The 34-year-old is still mulling retirement, says Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).