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Odds & Ends: Alfaro, Brewers, Byrnes, Giambi

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Monday links, as we await a flurry of players avoiding arbitration…

  • The Rangers signed 16-year-old Colombian catcher Jorge Alfaro for $1.3MM, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.  Click here to watch video, courtesy of Kiley McDaniel.
  • The Mariners agreed to sign 17-year-old righty Kevin Quintanilla out of El Salvador.
  • Here's a link to Jon Heyman's latest at SI.com, where he ranks which teams have had the best offseasons so far.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Yankees did not make an offer to Jerry Hairston Jr., nor have they had recent contact with Johnny Damon.
  • Olney also says the Rockies "are staying in contact with Jason Giambi, but they are considering other options first."
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel names the Brewers' arb-eligible seven, while also noting that GM Doug Melvin "remains in touch with the agents for free-agent lefties Doug Davis and Jarrod Washburn."
  • Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star writes about the Blue Jays' six arb-eligibles, noting that GM Alex Anthopoulos will not negotiate beyond Tuesday's deadline.
  • Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner believes Eric Byrnes is a fit for the Ms, though he acknowledges that the team already has several injury-prone players.  Cameron would be willing to pay about $1MM for Byrnes.  Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic looks back at the positive side of Byrnes' Arizona tenure.
  • In a FanGraphs article, Cameron says the WAR stat does value relievers correctly, and teams are just overpaying for closers.
  • WEEI's Rob Bradford wonders if Jonathan Papelbon's 2010 salary will lead to Theo Epstein's first arbitration hearing.
  • White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he wants to stay with the team beyond 2010, the last year of his current contract.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan examines the Athletics, who he feels are set up to contend in 2011.
  • At the Cubs Convention over the weekend, GM Jim Hendry said fans can "expect to have two new faces" before Spring Training.  The Cubs seek a reliever and a bench bat. 

GM Trade Histories: AL West

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Brendan Bianowicz has one more big update to our GM Trade History Series.  Check out the AL West spreadsheets below for GM information on trades, free agent signings, and more.

Ben Sheets To Throw For Teams Tuesday

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SATURDAY, 8:31pm: The Mets will be in attendance when Sheets throws on Tuesday, according to Ed Price of Fanhouse.com (via Twitter).

Earlier today, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak confirmed to fans and reporters that the club will be in Monroe, Louisiana to watch Sheets as well.

FRIDAY, 4:36pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Brewers will watch Sheets next week. Haudricourt suggests the Brewers are just being dilligent.

1:33pm: The Dodgers will watch Sheets pitch, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (via Twitter).

11:42am: The Angels could use Sheets, but will they watch him throw? "Not at this time," GM Tony Reagins tells Bill Shaikin of the LA Times.

8:40am: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat that the Cards will "likely" watch Sheets throw.

MLB.com's Jordan Bastian adds the Blue Jays to the list of interested teams.

THURSDAY, 1:52pm: The Rangers will be in attendance on Tuesday, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Sheets and Rich Harden would be a high-upside, high-injury risk pair of rotation additions.

Read more

Odds & Ends: Hairston, Brewers, Reds, Salazar

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Some links for Friday…

Discussion: Next Young Pitcher To Be Extended

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One of the game's best young pitchers signed a contract extension yesterday that will take him to his 30th birthday, as the Marlins finally locked up Josh Johnson to a four-year deal worth $39MM. The extension mirrors the deal Kansas City gave Zack Greinke before last season, and is just the latest example of a club willing to assume the risk of a breakdown in exchange for cost certainty.

Paul Maholm, Scott Baker, Ubaldo Jimenez, Adam Wainwright, Matt Cain, Jon Lester, and James Shields are other young arms who have sacrificed the superior earning power of the arbitration process for financial security in recent years. Who do the readers of MLBTR think the next young pitcher to agree to an extension could be?

Leaving aside the big names like Tim Lincecum, Justin Verlander, and Felix Hernandez, here's a few pitchers who already have, or will soon enter into their arbitration years…

  • Yovani Gallardo – the Brewers' young ace struck out 204 batters and allowed just 150 hits in 185.2 innings last season, and will be arb eligible following the 2010 season.
  • Matt Garza – one of Tampa's many young power arms, Garza has struck out 7.3 batters per nine innings in his career, and has made 62 starts over the last two years. He's arb eligible as a Super Two this offseason.
  • Jair Jurrjens – perhaps the best pitcher no one talks about, Jurrjens led the NL in starts last year and owns a 3.21 career ERA. He'll be up for arbitration after the 2010 season.
  • Wandy Rodriguez – his breakthrough season last year included a 3.06 K/BB ratio and 193 strikeouts in 205.2 innings. Wandy is arb eligible for the second time this offseason after earning $2.6MM in 2009.

M’s, Felix Make “A Bit” Of Progress On Deal

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The Mariners and Felix Hernandez made "a bit" of progress on a five or six-year deal, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. The two sides will work towards a one-year deal first before resuming talks on a deal that would buy out some of Felix's free agent years.

Hernandez, 24 in April, will likely become a free agent after the 2011 season. A five-year deal would buy three free agent years out and a six-year deal would buy four of them out. Josh Johnson just agreed to a deal that will pay him $13.75MM for each of his first two free agent years, but Hernandez would presumably be looking for more, since he has more major league success to his name at a younger age.

Mariners Claim Tommy Everidge From A’s

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The Mariners have claimed Tommy Everidge off waivers from the A's, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea. The A's designated the 26-year-old for assignment last week to make room for Jack Cust. Everidge had a .667 OPS in 97 major league plate appearances last year, but posted a .958 OPS in the upper minors. Everidge has played some third base, but has spent most of his time at first.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rolen, Sweeney, Twins

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On this date in 1990, the Tigers signed free agent Cecil Fielder after he hit 38 homers as a member of the Hanshin Tigers the year before. Fielder went on to lead the league with 130 HR and 389 RBI over the next three years, landing a five-year, $36MM contract that made him the then-second-highest paid player in baseball history behind Barry Bonds. Believe it or not, Prince is already more than halfway to his father's career total of 319 homers despite having fewer than half as many plate appearances.

Let's see what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…

  • The Phrontiersman goes back in time to see how things would have played out for the Phillies if Scott Rolen signed a contract extension and was never traded away.
  • DRays Bay wonders if Matt Sweeney could take over first base for the Rays if Carlos Pena leaves as a free agent after 2010. Sweeney was acquired in the Scott Kazmir trade.
  • Fack Youk compares Vladimir Guerrero to Hideki Matsui to Nick Johnson, the three biggest DH signings of the offseason.
  • Lookout Landing says the Mariners did just fine to acquire Casey Kotchman, even though Adam LaRoche agreed to a relatively cheap deal yesterday.
  • Meanwhile, Jorge Says No! thinks the Mets may have made a mistake by not signing LaRoche.
  • Nick's Twins Blog wonders if Michael Cuddyer or Joe Nathan could be expendable as Minnesota's estimated payroll will approach nine-figures in 2011.
  • AdamAdkins.net thinks the Tigers will regret signing Jose Valverde.
  • Pinstripes Published takes a look at the market for Johnny Damon, or lack thereof.
  • TurnTwo looks at all the movement going on with the Giants' defensive alignment.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Russell Branyan Moving On From Seattle

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Russell Branyan is reluctantly moving on from the Mariners, reports MLB.com's Jim Street.  After hearing the Ms acquired Casey Kotchman, Branyan called GM Jack Zduriencik to thank him for the opportunity.  Street says Branyan has no hard feelings, though the slugger indicated talks with the Mariners ended rather abruptly after the Winter Meetings.

Branyan says he has a couple of interested teams, and he expects a Major League deal.  He came into the offseason aiming for two years, but the Mariners would only offer one year and a club option.  Branyan says he feels great despite back woes marring the second half of his season.  He still managed 31 home runs, second only to Jason Bay among free agents this offseason.

Assuming Branyan is open to a DH job, the White Sox, Tigers, or Royals could be a fit.  The Orioles, A's, or Mets could consider him at first base.  Branyan, 34, earned $1.75MM in '09.

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