Odds & Ends: Gaudin, Mets, Cain, Parra
Links for Sunday evening..
- A's assistant GM David Forst told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that the team did not sign Chad Gaudin as a result of Michael Wuertz's injury. Forst says that the team has been looking to add bullpen depth all spring, which was their reason for acquiring Edwar Ramirez and Jason Jennings.
- The Mets will likely wait until the last possible moment to outright pitcher Pat Misch with the hope of stowing him in Triple-A, writes Marty Noble of MLB.com.
- Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes that it will be interesting to see where the Giants' rotation stands in 2012. San Francisco will have roughly $35MM committed to Matt Cain and Barry ZIto for that season with Tim Lincecum once again eligible for arbitration.
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner (via Twitter) wants Seattle to land Manny Parra, though he can't imagine the Brewers parting with him. This morning, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported that Parra could be an available option for the M's.
- Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos released Joey Gathright because he didn't think it was fair to send him to the minors, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- The Indians are expected to make their remaining roster decisions by Thursday, tweets Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. The Tribe is looking to nail down their final starter, two bullpen spots, and utility players.
Giants, Cain Agree To Three-Year Extension
The Giants and Matt Cain have agreed to a three-year contract extension, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. The deal, which will cover Cain through the 2012 season, buys out one year of the hurler's free agency. On Friday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle speculated (via Twitter) that the Giants could be close to an extension with the 25-year-old.
Baggarly tweets that Cain will still make $4.5MM in 2010, $8MM in 2011, and $15MM in 2012. The new agreement voids Cain's old contract, in which he would have earned $4.25MM in 2010 with a $6.25MM club option for the following year. The old contract also included escalators based on innings pitched and games started that could have tacked another $1.9MM onto the 2011 option.
The extensions for Jeremy Affeldt and Brian Wilson have also been made official. Affeldt agreed to a two-year, $9.5MM pact while Wilson will earn $15MM over the next two seasons.
What Would A Matt Cain Extension Cost?
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle speculated today, via Twitter, that an extension for Matt Cain might be in the works. Considering that the Giants have yet to officially announce extensions for Jeremy Affeldt and Brian Wilson, Schulman wonders (Twitter link) if a deal for Cain could come "sooner rather than later."
While we wait to see if there's any merit to this speculation, let's examine a pair of comparable contract extensions: Felix Hernandez's $78MM deal with Seattle and Justin Verlander's $80MM pact with the Tigers. Both pitchers, like Cain, were poised to hit free agency after the 2011 season, before their teams locked them up.
Cain's career resume to date is impressive, matching up reasonably well with the Mariners' and Tigers' aces. He has been durable, making at least 31 starts in each of the last four seasons, and his career 1.25 WHIP bests both Felix's (1.27) and Verlander's (1.28). Still, Cain has yet to post a truly elite season like the 2009 campaigns that earned Hernandez and Verlander Cy Young and MVP votes.
The Tigers will pay Verlander $20MM annually in what would have been his first three free agent years, while the Mariners will pay Hernandez $19.3MM per year over the same period. If the Giants were to sign Cain long-term, you'd have to think it could cost them up to $15MM annually for those free agency seasons.
The 25-year-old Cain has a $6.25MM club option for 2011 (his final arbitration season) that should vest if he stays healthy. If the Giants were to extend the right-hander today, they would likely re-do that year, perhaps guaranteeing him $7MM or so. All told, San Francisco could be looking at a price tag in excess of $50MM to retain their #2 starter from 2011 through 2014.
Odds & Ends: Giants, Harper, Heyward, Padres
Some links as the weekend draws closer…
- In his organizational rankings, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says it's a good time to be a Brewers fan and explains why 2010 is a critical year for the Angels.
- Don't expect the Giants to sign an outfielder. GM Brian Sabean told Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that the club's right fielder will come from within the organization (Twitter link).
- The Giants have yet to announce the extensions for Jeremy Affeldt and Brian Wilson, so Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders (via Twitter) if Matt Cain will get an extension of his own soon.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo offers an extensive scouting report for Bryce Harper, the 17-year-old slugger whose power is "off the charts" according to one scout.
- Jason Heyward made the Braves, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They're going for it in Bobby Cox's last season in Atlanta.
- Chipper Jones would not be surprised to see the Braves lock Heyward up after the season, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (via Twitter).
- The Cardinals released ten minor leaguers, including knuckleballer Charlie Zink, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Bill James tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he thinks players peak defensively around the age of 25.
- Jeff Moorad assured Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune that his partnership will be able to complete its purchase of the Padres without trouble.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson reminds us that Cristian Guzman has ten and five rights.
Red Sox Acquire Kevin Frandsen
The Red Sox acquired Kevin Frandsen from the Giants for a player to be named later or cash, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (via Twitter). The 27-year-old infielder has a .240/.304/.341 line in 453 major league plate appearances, all of which have come in a Giants uniform. Frandsen, who has an option remaining, hit .295/.352/.438 in Triple A last year.
He played second and short for the Giants in 2009 and has major league experience at third and at both corner outfield positions. He has played all four infield positions in the minors, so he's clearly versatile. Other than that it's hard to draw conclusions about his defense because of his limited time in the majors.
Earlier in the week, when it became apparent that Frandsen was available, Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner thought he would be a great fit for the Mariners. The acquisition of Frandsen presumably means Boston's search for backup infield help is now less urgent.
Brian Wilson Agrees To Extension With Giants
The San Francisco Giants agreed to sign closer Brian Wilson to a $15MM deal that buys out two arbitration years. Wilson will earn $6.5MM in 2011 and $8.5MM in 2012 under his new extension. The deal does not affect the one-year $4.4MM Wilson and the Giants agreed to for 2010.
CSNBayArea.com first reported the agreement and Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News added the contract details.
Wilson goes to arbitration four times as a Super Two player, so he'll be under team control for one season after the extension expires and projects to hit free agency after 2013. The deal gives the Giants cost-certainty, but they're not saving themselves money; no free agent reliever obtained a guarantee of more than $15MM this offseason.
NL West Notes: Bowker, Giants, D’Backs
Here's some news items from what might be baseball's most competitive division next season….
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says that despite John Bowker's big spring, he's not likely to get regular playing time in the majors unless there's an injury in San Francisco or unless "the Giants trade him to an American League team looking for a cheap DH."
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Giants infielder Emmanuel Burriss will be out until June due to foot surgery, leaving the team in need of a utility infielder. This tracks with the information reported yesterday about the Giants looking for such a player in exchange for Fred Lewis. If a deal isn't out there, San Fran might be best served to just hang onto Kevin Frandsen. He's no whiz with the glove (Fangraphs lists him with a career UZR/150 of -13.5 at shortstop, albeit over just 198 innings), but this might not be a problem in the short-term if the Giants just need him as a reserve SS until Freddy Sanchez is healthy and Juan Uribe can move into the reserve middle-infield role.
- Speaking of middle infielders, the Diamondbacks have a surplus of them and Augie Ojeda looks to be at the top of the trade list. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports that while the Snakes would like to make a move for pitching, their plans are complicated since they don't know how much time Brandon Webb will need to get healthy.
- Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com says that Ivan DeJesus has gone from being seen as a potential future starting shortstop to "perhaps trade bait" for the Dodgers.
- Ronald Belisario still hasn't arrived to spring training due to visa issues, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The fact that Belisario is out of options further complicates matters,
- Padres RHP Tim Stauffer is also out of options, but MLB.com's Corey Brock predicts that San Diego will be able to deal him to "a pitching-starved team" rather than putting him on waivers.
Odds & Ends: Kim, Dukes, Adrian
Links for Thursday…
- The Giants' Byung-Hyun Kim experiment is over, as the pitcher asked the Giants for his release according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy.
- Multiple teams are interested in free agent outfielder Elijah Dukes, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Murray Chass chatted with agent Ron Shapiro about the Joe Mauer deal. Speaking of Mauer, 620 WTMJ's Dan O'Donnell spoke to MLBTR's Mike Axisa about how the catcher's deal might impact Prince Fielder.
- The Marlins' interest in Mike Lowell is "barely above zero," learned MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Lowell told Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald today that he's not sure if a move back to the NL would work.
- The Diamondbacks don't expect to sign Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune spoke to Padres CEO Jeff Moorad, who wouldn't be surprised to see Adrian Gonzalez play two more seasons for his team.
- In reference to Mets rookie Jenrry Mejia, ESPN's Keith Law notes that "promoting prospects who aren't ready is a hallmark of GMs in fear for their jobs."
- Tracy Ringolsby is now on Twitter, give him a follow.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post examines the Mets' reconfiguration of Hisanori Takahashi's contract.
- I'll be participating in an NFBC fantasy league Sunday evening. They've got all kinds of events and prizes, check it out.
Giants Agree To Extension With Jeremy Affeldt
Bob Nightengale of USA Today is reporting that the Giants and reliever Jeremy Affeldt have agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $9.5MM. Nightengale tweets that the deal should be announced tomorrow.
Affeldt was due to earn $4MM from San Francisco this season, which would have been the final year of the two-year, $8MM pact he signed after the 2008 season. Under the new contract, Affeldt will make a guaranteed $4.5MM in both 2010 and 2011. For the 2011 season, the Giants can either pick up an option on Affeldt that would pay the left-hander $5MM for the year, or the club can buy him out for $500K.
The 30-year-old enjoyed the best season of his eight-year career in 2009. He posted a career-low 1.73 ERA in 74 appearances with San Francisco, and tied Minnesota's Matt Guerrier for the major league lead in holds with 33.
Giants Shopping Frandsen, Lewis
WEDNESDAY, 3:09pm: Schulman tweets that the Giants are "not trying to dump Lewis, but hope to deal him for an experienced backup middle infielder who can play shortstop and second base." The D'Backs have one such available player in Augie Ojeda, but there's no indication they're looking to add an outfielder.
TUESDAY, 3:22pm: The Giants are shopping infielder Kevin Frandsen, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Frandsen has a minor league option remaining, but he's slipped on the Giants' depth chart.
Frandsen, 28 in May, hit .295/.352/.438 at Triple A last year while playing all four infield positions. Three years ago, Baseball America viewed Frandsen as a "solid No. 2 hitter" and potential starting second baseman. However, he was derailed by a ruptured Achilles tendon in March of '08. Earlier this month, Schulman wrote about Frandsen's frustrations and his new attitude adopted while playing winter ball.
San Francisco has been unable to drum up interest in Frandsen as well as outfielder Fred Lewis, tweets Schulman. The 29-year-old Lewis hit .258/.348/.390 with 4 HRs in 336 plate appearances last season. Recently CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban speculated that Lewis was likely to be released towards the end of camp as he is out of options.