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Odds & Ends: Bradley, Miles, Harwell, Zito

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Links for Wednesday, as Ty Wigginton continues his assault on the American League…

  • Milton Bradley left the Mariners in the middle of last night's game, reports ESPN's Mike Salk.  The distractions become difficult to tolerate when he's hitting .214/.313/.371. GM Jack Zduriencik says Bradley asked the organization for help following last night's incident and will sit out for a few days while he works out personal "issues," according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
  • Bradley, for his part, texted Peter Gammons (Twitter link) to say: "Any reports I said I'm packing up and leaving are 100% fabricated."
  • The Cardinals aren't sure yet whether Aaron Miles will work his way up to the bigs, writes Andy Jasner at MLB.com. The team is evaluating Miles' progress after signing him to a minor league deal last week.
  • Baseball fans are mourning the loss of Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell, who was 92. A public viewing will take place Thursday night at Comerica Park.
  • Barry Zito's 2014 option for $18MM vests if he starts racking up 200 inning seasons, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Even if it remains a club option, the Giants face a hefty $7MM buyout.
  • Baseball America's Jim Callis says Texas high school righty Jameson Taillon is the consensus #2 in the June draft.  Will the Pirates spring for him?  Will the Orioles have a shot at #3?

2011 Vesting Options Update

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We entered the season with nine 2011 vesting option situations to watch.  With one month in the books, several have already been pretty much decided.  Let's take a look.

  • Brian Fuentes, Angels.  A back strain put Fuentes on the DL for a little while, making it unlikely he reaches 55 games finished.  He'd need 51 in the team's remaining 136 games to cause his $9MM option to vest.
  • Billy Wagner, Braves.  Wagner's $6.5MM option vests with 50 games finished.  He's finished eight games so far, and would have a shot at 50.  However, the 38-year-old lefty recently told Braves manager Bobby Cox he'll retire after the season.
  • Trever Miller, Cardinals.  His $2MM option vests with 45 games, and he's appeared in seven so far.  That's behind Miller's typical pace; he's averaged 71 the last three years.  It's probably random, and Miller should still reach 45 games. 
  • Matt Cain, Giants.  The $6.25MM option probably would've vested, but the Giants decided to guarantee Cain's 2011 salary at $7MM as part of an extension.
  • Kerry Wood, Indians.  His $11MM option vests with 55 games finished, but a back injury has Wood just now approaching his 2010 big league debut.
  • Alex Cora, Mets.  His $2MM option vests with 80 starts.  He's started ten games so far.  With Luis Castillo and Jose Reyes in the Mets' middle infield, we can't rule this one out yet.
  • Darren Oliver, Rangers.  His $3.25MM option vests with 59 appearances.  He's already made a dozen, so this is looking likely.
  • Ramon Hernandez, Reds.  His $3.25MM option vests with 120 games played.  Hernandez is at 16 so far, with the red-hot Ryan Hanigan getting more playing time recently.
  • Magglio Ordonez, Tigers.  His $15MM option vests with 135 starts or 540 plate appearances.  He's at 25 games started and 113 plate appearances, so he'll get there barring injury.
  • We're down to five vesting options to monitor: Miller, Cora, Oliver, Hernandez, and Ordonez.  Also keep an eye on Francisco Rodriguez, whose scary $17.5MM option for 2012 vests with 100 games finished in 2010-11, 55 games finished in '11, and a successful physical after the '11 season.  K-Rod has finished nine games on the young season.

Cardinals To Receive Cash For Lugo

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The Cardinals will likely choose to receive cash to complete the Julio Lugo trade with Baltimore, GM John Mozeliak told Brian Feldman of ESPN Radio in St. Louis.  The Cardinals have a choice between receiving a player to be named later or cash considerations for the veteran infielder.

Feldman opines that this demonstrates the lack of value Lugo really had as spring went along.  It's hard to argue with that reasoning.  Lugo became expendable when Felipe Lopez fell into their laps at a bargain rate.

The 34-year-old hasn't exactly been mashing for the O's so far this season, as evidenced by his .107/.167/.107 slash line.  Something tells me we might see Julio again when we run the "Traded Players' Slow Starts" post later this evening.

Agent: Pujols “On An Island By Himself”

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Albert Pujols' representation hinted on Friday what their expectations might be for a long-term contract, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Asked about how Ryan Howard's extension would impact Pujols' negotiations, agent Dan Lozano of Beverly Hills Sports Council indicated that Howard's deal wouldn't necessarily be used as a baseline:

"We have to pay attention to any significant multi-year deal, especially one signed by a big first baseman. But the reality is that there are no comparables for Albert. He is on an island by himself."

The 30-year-old slugger said over the winter that he might be willing to give the Cardinals a discount if it helped the team improve, but the Howard deal calls into question what would qualify as a "discount." According to Strauss, rival executives believe the annual value of Pujols' next contract will top Alex Rodriguez's $27.5MM average yearly salary and could approach or exceed $30MM.

Although the Cardinals say they've budgeted a hypothetical Pujols extension into their payroll projections for the next five years, it's unclear exactly what figures they're using. If Pujols receives close to $30MM annually, St. Louis would be paying over $45MM per season to their two stars, Pujols and Matt Holliday. For an organization whose opening day payroll has never exceeded $100MM, that would represent an enormous commitment.

Heyman On Fielder, Pujols, Adrian

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Some tidbits from Jon Heyman on the early edition of MLB Tonight on the MLB Network,..

  • Heyman doesn't envision the Brewers getting a deal done with Prince Fielder.  While he was complimentary towards club owner Mark Attanasio, he doesn't see Milwaukee ponying up the $25MM a year that it will likely take to hang on to him.  This means that they'll have to trade him at the end of next year or let walk as a free agent.
  • Meanwhile, he believes that Albert Pujols is now in line to receive a contract worth $30MM per season, perhaps up to eight years.  The two sides tabled negotiations in March but will resume after the season.
  • Even though the Padres are currently in first place in the NL West, Heyman believes that the club will deal Adrian Gonzalez.  Heyman says it's unlikely that San Diego will allow their payroll to balloon in great excess of $50MM and therefore a re-up of Gonzalez won't fit in the budget.

Heyman On Howard, Pujols, Adrian, Werth

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The latest hot stove thoughts from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • The people Heyman talked to feel that with Ryan Howard averaging $25MM a year starting in 2012, a contract discussion for Albert Pujols has to start at $30MM a year.
  • Heyman says that "the belief among skeptics of the deal that [the Howard extension] was an obvious overpay isn't reflected one bit among baseball people."  Of course, there are hundreds of baseball people, and the ones I've spoken to agree with the skeptics.
  • Adrian Gonzalez's agent John Boggs said, "We're just kind of innocent bystanders," noting that the Padres have not made contact about an extension.
  • Jayson Werth's agent Jeff Borris believes his client will be "the premier free agent outfielder" if he doesn't sign an extension.  Looking at the list, only Carl Crawford would have an argument.  Heyman says there's a "belief around baseball" that Werth will be seeking $100MM.  Previously we've heard suggestions of the four-year, $66MM Jason Bay range.
  • Heyman says Stephen Strasburg has a contract clause that "permits 100 innings at the major-league level this year."  I haven't heard of any clauses of that nature before, but Strasburg and Scott Boras is a powerful pairing.

Cardinals Sign Aaron Miles

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The Cardinals have signed Aaron Miles to a minor league deal, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Miles will report to extended spring training.

Miles, 33, was released by the Reds two weeks ago, and had garnered interest from the Rangers before signing with St. Louis. The switch-hitter was owed $2.7MM this season by Cincinnati, who will likely now pay $2.3MM of that figure, with the Cardinals picking up the remaining $400K.

Miles struggled through an injury-plagued 2009 season with the Cubs, hitting .185/.224/.242 in 170 plate appearances, but has enjoyed some success in St. Louis in the past. From 2006 to 2008, Miles posted a .289/.335/.363 slash line in 1328 plate appearances as a utility player for the Cardinals.

Largest Contracts In Team History

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We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time and position, so let's now dig up the largest contracts ever given out by each of the 30 teams. These are in terms of guaranteed money only, but some could end up being even larger because of incentives and option years.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Stark On Bell, Nathan, Oswalt, Dunn

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Let's check in on the Rumblings and Grumblings of ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • One exec Stark spoke to implied the Padres may not be motivated to trade closer Heath Bell because he's under team control through 2011 and signed at $4MM for 2010.  Bell's salary could double in '11, though, and I'm not convinced the Padres will want to pay it.
  • Stark talked to a GM who thinks Bell makes sense for the Twins as a backup plan in case Joe Nathan needs a 16-month Tommy John recovery period to get back to normal.  Stark learned that a significant part of Nathan's salary this year is insured, so that frees up some money this year.  But again, will the Twins want to pay nearly $20MM to two relievers in 2011?
  • Should Houston's troubles continue, Stark wonders if Roy Oswalt would consider waiving his no-trade clause.  He says a friend of Oswalt believes the pitcher's preferred destinations are Atlanta, St. Louis, and Texas.  It's hard to see those clubs making a play for Oswalt, especially with his large salaries for '10 and '11.
  • Stark guesses the Nationals are more likely to trade Adam Dunn before the deadline than sign him to an extension.  Last we heard, ESPN's Buster Olney said there were no ongoing extension talks.
  • Twins catching prospect Wilson Ramos has been labeled as one of the game's best trade chips, but assistant GM Rob Antony says that "right now, we'd lean toward keeping him."
  • If he can't find a big league job, Kevin Millar could sign with the St. Paul Saints, where his pro career began.  Millar was released by the Cubs on March 30th. 

Rosenthal On Bullpens, Marcum, Crawford

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a few hot stove offerings…

  • Rosenthal names the Cubs, Cardinals, Rays, Phillies, and Marlins as teams with bullpen question marks.  I'm thinking the Blue Jays might be able to extract something useful for their veteran relievers in a few months.
  • Rosenthal speculates that Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum would be attractive on the trade market.  Marcum is under team control through 2012.  It's not known whether the Jays would entertain trading Marcum for even younger and cheaper players.
  • Carl Crawford should command at least $12-14MM per year and at least a seven-year contract as free agent, opines Rosenthal.
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