Jose Guillen Tied To HGH Investigation
Jose Guillen has been linked to a federal investigation involving shipments of human growth hormone sent to Guillen's wife, reports Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times. Guillen's involvement was brought to the attention of Major League Baseball before the playoffs began, and after the commissioner's office conducted an investigation of its own into the matter, it was suggested to the Giants that Guillen be left off of San Francisco's postseason roster. His absence obviously hasn't hurt the club thus far; in fact, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle points out in a tweet, Guillen "might've played over [Cody] Ross."
The Giants acquired Guillen from the Royals in August. In 139 plate appearances, the outfielder contributed a .266/.317/.375 line to San Francisco's push to the NL West crown. Guillen wasn't likely to draw much interest on the free agent market this winter given his declining production, increasingly terrible defense and history of attitude problems, but the spectre of this investgation might drop his chances of a 2011 contract from slim to none.
Giants Notes: Payroll, Lincecum, Rowand
The Giants have every reason to be focused on tonight's World Series opener with the Rangers, but first pitch is hours away, so there's still time for some updates on how the Giants got here and what they can expect next year:
- The Giants expected to lose money this year, but their playoff run has them primed for a $7-10MM profit, according to Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle. We heard earlier in the week that the club won't likely raise its payroll substantially in 2011.
- Bengie Molina texted Tim Lincecum to offer advice, even after the Giants traded the catcher to Texas, according to Henry Schulman of the Chronicle.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that he has been able to “balance the team and balance the books” despite questionable contracts like Aaron Rowand’s and Barry Zito’s.
- Brian Wilson told MLB.com's Chris Haft that he approves of his GM's in-season moves. "Sabean nailed it. He really did. He went out and got the guys that we needed."
Giants Won’t Increase Payroll Substantially
Even though the Giants' postseason run could increase revenues next season, the club will not make a major increase to their payroll, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
"We're always going to want to be somewhat creative," team president and chief operating officer Larry Baer said. "We're not going to have a doubling effect, or a double-digit massive increase. That's not who we are. The good news is, who we are is not going down in payroll either."
While the organization won't spend tons of money this winter, Baer says that ownership will do what it can to keep the team in tact. Roughly $20MM will be coming off of the books this offseason but much of that will go to raises for Tim Lincecum, Mark DeRosa, Matt Cain, and Brian Wilson. Meanwhile, Cody Ross, Jonathan Sanchez, and Andres Torres will all be arbitration-eligible.
The Giants won't be backing up a Brinks truck for a major free agent in the coming months but they have been able to find success on the cheap, as our own Steve Adams pointed out over the weekend.
Arbitration Eligibles: San Francisco Giants
Giants fans aren't thinking about the offseason right now, but let's finish off our arbitration eligibles series.
- First time: Andres Torres
- Second time: Jonathan Sanchez, Ramon Ramirez, Mike Fontenot, Santiago Casilla
- Third time: Cody Ross, Chris Ray
- Fourth time: Javier Lopez
Torres hasn't done much in the postseason, but the 31-year-old's impressive regular season work will get him a contract. His salary will remain low, as he hasn't piled up big career numbers.
Had Ross remained with the Marlins, he probably would have been non-tendered this winter. He's already earning $4.45MM and his power slipped in 487 Marlins plate appearances this year. The Giants snagged Ross as a waiver claim in late August. His performance picked up with his new team, and he even won NLCS MVP. About a week ago, Giants GM Brian Sabean implied that he will tender a contract to Ross.
Ramirez, another midseason pickup, allowed only two earned runs in 27 innings for the Giants despite unimpressive peripherals. He'll likely be retained. Lopez, who came over from the Pirates, actually does have the peripheral stats to support his strong Giants ERA. He's been a postseason force and should be tendered. Ray is a borderline case – he'll remain affordable, but his performance this year was only passable. Yet another acquisition, Fontenot, has been a useful backup infielder even if his '08 slugging percentage appears to have been a fluke. He'll probably stick around.
Casilla represents one of the year's better minor league deals, as he compiled a 1.95 ERA and 9.1 K/9 in 55.3 innings. He's staying. Sanchez is a lock to be tendered, and is in line for a multimillion dollar raise following a 13 win, 205 strikeout breakout campaign. He doesn't have the career numbers to get the $6MM salary other second-time arbitration eligible starters such as Jered Weaver, Matt Garza, John Danks, and Chad Billingsley will make.
It's possible the Giants will tender contracts to all eight of their arbitration eligible players, though contracts for Ray and Fontenot are less certain.
A Look At The Giants’ Roster
Giants' general manager Brian Sabean has taken some flak over the past few years, and some of it has been well deserved. The seven-year, $126MM contract he gave to Barry Zito and the five-year, $60MM contract for Aaron Rowand have been colossal disappointments. He traded Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan, and Boof Bonser to the Twins for A.J. Pierzynski. Edgar Renteria should not be making $9MM per season.
Yet in spite of those moves, a look at the current roster shows some shrewd low-budget options that have landed the Giants in the World Series opposite the Rangers, with one of the more interesting rosters in baseball. Let's take a look:
The Outfield
While Rowand's deal looms over the others, it should be noted that the Giants will be paying their primary outfielders under $2MM this World Series. Cody Ross is due roughly $1.1MM from the Giants after their August waiver claim, and already has an NLCS MVP trophy to his name. Pat Burrell was signed following his release from Tampa Bay, and the Giants are only on the hook for about $300K. He supplied 18 home runs and an .872 OPS. Andres Torres arrived in San Fran with little fanfare, but he's been a key to their success generating a whopping 6.0 WAR at just $426K this season.
The Infield
Remember when experts said that the Aubrey Huff signing was one of the worst of this past offseason? Huff totaled a .290/.385/.506 line and led the club with 26 homers while earning just $3MM. Juan Uribe returned on his second one-year deal with the club for just $3.25MM and tallied 24 home runs of his own. While the two-year, $18.5MM Renteria deal was awful, the Giants managed to fill the void on the cheap and get a .754 OPS from the position during Uribe's 103 games there. Freddy Sanchez missed the begining of the season after signing a two-year, $12MM deal, but totaled 2.7 WAR in 111 games, easily justifying his $6MM salary. Pablo Sandoval, of course, manned the hot corner for next to nothing.
Catcher
It may have been a bit late, but the Giants made absolutely certain Buster Posey was Major League ready, and did he ever silence any doubters who may have questioned his power after a slow start in Triple-A. Posey's .305/.357/.505 line has Giants fans swooning, and voters fretting over whether he or Jason Heyward deserves NL Rookie of the Year honors.
The Rotation
Sometimes the best trades are ones you never make. Over the past several seasons, we've heard about possible Tim Lincecum–Alex Rios and Matt Cain–Prince Fielder trades, as well as several others involving both Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner. Through it all, the Giants stuck with that quartet, who totaled under $15MM in 2010 salary, and were rewarded tremendously.
The Bullpen
There were 722 players drafted before Brian Wilson in 2003. There were zero in 2010 with more saves and only eight relievers who posted a mark higher than Wilson's 11.21 K/9. In 2005, 851 players were drafted ahead of Sergio Romo — he of a 2.18 ERA and 10.2 K/9 in 2010. Ramon Ramirez and Javier Lopez, acquired at the trade deadline, combined for 46 innings of 0.98 ERA ball. Jeremy Affeldt's two-year, $9.5MM deal may not have been a huge bargain, but it was hardly a disaster. He totaled a 2.80 ERA over 112.1 innings as a Giant, though he struggled more in 2010. They received quality innings out of the likes of Guillermo Mota ($750K) and Chris Ray (acquired from Texas for Bengie Molina).
Wrapping Up
It's possible — assuming a starting nine of Lincecum, Posey, Huff, Sanchez, Uribe, Sandoval, Burrell, Torres, and Ross — that the nine players who take the field on Wednesday night wearing orange and white will be earning a total of just under $23MM. That's less than the trio of Zito, Rowand, and Renteria alone earned this year ($39.5MM). And let's not forget they're paying Mark DeRosa approximately $6MM for just 26 games as a result of his injuries.
That total alone is greater than the entire payroll of teams like the Pirates and Padres, and yet the Giants find themselves four wins away from baseball's highest peak. The 2010 Giants serve as a rare example of a team that managed to overcome some of the game's worst contracts through low-risk, high-reward signings, and seeing talent where others thought there was nothing left or it simply wasn't worth the investment.
Sosnick On Bruce, Willingham, Nolasco, Dunn
Agent Matt Sosnick appeared on the Diamond Hoggers' Baseball Show today, and spoke at length about how he became involved in baseball, his experiences in the sport, and a few of his clients. Here are the highlights from the discussion, which you can listen to here:
- Jay Bruce is open to signing a long-term contract with the Reds. "If the Reds felt the same way," Sosnick said. "We'd be open to doing something that was five or six years."
- Sosnick acknowledged that locking up Joey Votto would likely be a higher priority for the club, but cited deals signed by Justin Upton and Troy Tulowitzki as potential starting points for a Bruce extension.
- As we heard earlier today, Josh Willingham is interested in signing an extension with the Nationals. Sosnick feels that if Willingham were hitting the open market this winter, the 31-year-old could land a multi-year deal worth $10MM annually.
- According to Sosnick, when the Giants made a push for Willingham, the Nats asked for either Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner in return.
- Regarding a possible Ricky Nolasco extension, Sosnick says he and the Marlins agreed on the years, but were off by "about 20%" on salary. The two sides will resume extension talks in November or December, working on a one-year deal in the meantime.
- Adam Dunn is not a Sosnick client, but the agent predicts that Dunn will receive about $40MM for three years this offseason.
Tankersley, Others Hit Free Agency
Taylor Tankersley and a number of others with big league experience recently hit free agency, as Baseball America's Matt Eddy reports. Joining the left-hander on the open market are Bobby Scales (Cubs), Justin Lehr (Reds), Paul Phillips (Rockies), Juan Rincon (Rockies), Hector Luna (Marlins), Anderson Hernandez (Astros), Adam Stern (Brewers), Denny Bautista (Giants), Brandon Medders (Giants), Willie Eyre (Rangers) and Sean Henn (Blue Jays).
Tankersley, the Marlins' first round pick in the 2004 draft, succeeded early in his career, but has since struggled. Still just 27, Tankersley brings a career 8.8 K/9 to the free agent market and could become a lefty specialist. He missed all of 2009 with a stress fracture in his elbow, but it wouldn't be surprising to see a team like the Diamondbacks take a flier on the former prospect.
Bautista, who turns 28 this weekend, is another interesting arm. He posted a 3.74 ERA with the Giants this year and struck out (11.8 K/9) and walked (7.2 BB/9) tons of batters in 33.2 innings. The right-hander has always walked lots of hitters, but his mid-90s fastball and ability to induce strikeouts may tempt teams looking to buy low on live arms.
Minor Deal, Major Impact: Unheralded Moves Pay Off
The Yankees probably wouldn't be in the ALCS if they hadn't spent big on Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia. The Giants probably wouldn't be in the NLCS if they hadn't drafted Buster Posey and Tim Lincecum. But less celebrated moves also contributed to the success of the four teams in the LCS. Here's a closer look at four acquisitions that have shaped this year's pennant race:
- As I wrote in September, the Giants' decision to sign Pat Burrell to a minor league deal changed the NL West from that point on. Not only did the Giants get 18 home runs and a .266/.364/.509 line from the slugger, they kept him away from the Padres and kept their division rivals out of the playoffs. This is about as impactful as a minor league deal gets.
- When the Yankees signed Marcus Thames to a minor league deal, they probably weren't expecting him to hit .288/.350/.491, but that's exactly what he did. Brian Cashman deserves credit for adding Thames to Joe Girardi's bench.
- Wilson Valdez, who signed a minor league deal with the Phillies last fall, didn't hit like Burrell or Thames, but he played second when Chase Utley was injured and short when Jimmy Rollins got hurt. He didn't hit badly, either, posting a .258/.306/.360 line.
- None of the Rangers minor league deals (Alex Cora, Endy Chavez, Mark Prior and others) made a difference at the major league level this year, but a look back at GM Jon Daniels' first Rule 5 draft reveals a decision that's looking smart now: the Rangers plucked Alexi Ogando from the A's in the 2005 Rule 5 draft. The right-hander has yet to allow a run in two postseason appearances, after posting a 1.30 ERA in the regular season.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Reds, Nationals, Cardinals
Links for Monday, as impending free agent lefties Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte prepare to duel in New York…
- Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter) doesn't think that Dana Brown, an "[Omar] Minaya disciple", has a good chance of landing the Mets GM job. Brown will reportedly meet with the club on Wednesday.
- RotoAuthority attempts to find the next Carlos Gonzalez for fantasy players.
- Cody Ross is expected to be tendered a contract this winter by the Giants, and he told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, "I'd like to stay for my career." Ross also revealed that he's been pushing former teammate Dan Uggla to sign with the Giants after next season.
- Forget about the Reds signing Carl Crawford, suggests MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Sheldon sees the Reds attempting to find a more affordable leadoff hitter.
- Patrick Newman of FanGraphs looks at the repertoire of starter Hisashi Iwakuma, who will be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles. The righty, 30 in April, excels at limiting home runs. Newman estimates a posting fee in the $10MM range plus a contract of four years and $20MM.
- Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider examines Washington's 2011 payroll commitments and finds that they will have less than $50MM committed. He doesn't know if they'll bump payroll to the $80MM range, but if so they could be big offseason spenders. For MLBTR's look at the Nationals' twelve arbitration eligible players, click here.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach spoke to Jake Westbrook about the future, shortly before the season ended.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch outlines the battle for Cardinals 40-man roster spots.
- The Yankees' Jesus Montero is the best hitting prospect left in the minors, writes Baseball America's Jim Callis.
Bengie Molina Still Thinking Retirement
With a World Series ring and two Gold Gloves, Bengie Molina doesn't have much left to prove where hardware is concerned. Yet it still surprised many, including Molina's then-manager Bruce Bochy, when the 36-year-old announced in May that he would likely retire at the end of the season. At the time, Bochy dismissed the prediction as "posturing" in the midst of the veteran's uprooting by Buster Posey, but Molina has held firm through the end of the season.
"I'd like to say [I'm coming back], but the way this year is going, I think it's going to be my last year," Molina told the Spanish Baseball Network's Rolando Nichols (link and video in Spanish) in late September. Pressed for details, Molina added a few disclaimers and plenty of shrugs, saying, "I'm not sure. If someone needs me and they want me to play, for the right price, why not? I can play. I'm still in good shape." It bears mentioning that Molina was trolling for a two-year deal last winter, though he didn't like what he found and ended up accepting a one-year, $4.5MM deal with the Giants. After putting up a .249/.297/.326 combined line with the Giants and Rangers this season, with his fewest innings in five years and fewer home runs and RBIs than in any season since the millenium, Molina could have trouble finding that kind of payday again.