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Minor Moves: Lin, Del Rosario, Thompson, Cubs

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Here are some of the minor transactions from around the league…

Arbitration Eligibles: Tampa Bay Rays

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The Rays are next in our 2013 Arbitration Eligibles series.  Matt Swartz's salary projections are below.

His first time through arbitration, Price matched but was unable to top the first-time starting pitcher arbitration record of $4.35MM held by Dontrelle Willis (or $4.365MM by Jered Weaver, if you count award bonuses).  His second time through, Weaver aimed for $8.8MM, but received $7.37MM after losing a hearing.  With a 20-win platform season and a possible Cy Young award, we project Price to fly well beyond $9MM and set a new second-time record.  The Rays control their ace through 2015, but other teams are presumably salivating in hopes of prying him loose before then. 

Niemann broke his right fibula in May, and upon returning in September quickly went down again with a shoulder issue.  The 29-year-old won't get much of a raise and should certainly be tendered a contract.  The Rays have the depth to trade Niemann, but it'd make sense to let him rebuild some value first.

The Rays acquired Roberts in July after the Diamondbacks designated him for assignment.  The versatile 32-year-old had a rough year, and with his salary potentially approaching $3MM the Rays may cut him loose.  Rodriguez is another non-tender candidate, though it's possible the Rays can find a taker via trade before the end of November.  The 27-year-old began the year the favorite at shortstop for the Rays, but was optioned to Triple-A by late August.  The Rays were Francisco's third stop in 2012, and he's another non-tender candidate.

Matt Swartz tells me Fuld is a unique case, in that players with such abbreviated platform seasons and light career work rarely make to arbitration and are tendered contracts.  Fuld's issue this year was wrist surgery.  It appears that Fuld would barely be above the league minimum salary if tendered a contract, so the fact that he's subject to the arbitration process doesn't mean much.

Joyce spent time at both corner outfield positions and continued to struggle against left-handed pitching.  He was fairly productive otherwise and should be retained.  Badenhop will stick around as well, as his low-walk, high-groundball mix was effective in 2012.   

If only Price, Niemann, Joyce, and Badenhop are retained, the Rays are looking at an estimated $16.8MM for four arbitration eligible players.

Matt Swartz's arbitration projections are available exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors.  To read more about his projection model, check out this series of posts.

Super Two Cutoff To Be 2.139

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Players with at least two years and 139 days of service time will be eligible for the potentially lucrative arbitration process this offseason, according to the Associated Press (via FOXNews.com). The top 22% of players with between two and three years of MLB service qualify for arbitration under baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement.

Nationals reliever Drew Storen, Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera, Mets catcher Josh Thole, Rays outfielder Sam Fuld, Rockies outfielder Tyler Colvin and Diamondbacks third baseman Chris Johnson are all eligible. 

Mariners outfielder Michael Saunders missed the cutoff by one day. Others, including Justin Smoak, Danny Valencia, Michael Brantley, Jordan Schafer, Giancarlo Stanton, Stephen Strasburg, Daniel Hudson, Dan Runzler, Andrew Cashner, Alex Burnett, Esmil Rogers and Alexi Ogando, came close to super two status without reaching the threshold.

Jonathan Lucroy, whose contract includes escalators related to super two status, will fall three days short of arbitration eligibility. The difference will cost him $2MM, as I explained last month.

Super two status entitles certain players to four years of arbitration eligibility, rather than the usual three. As a result, players who earn the super two designation generally earn more than their peers. The cutoff would have been two years and 144 days under baseball’s previous collective bargaining agreement, according to the AP. In previous years the top 17% of players with between two and three years of MLB service qualified. The players and owners agreed to a new system last fall.

Cafardo On Mets, Davis, Lincecum, Peavy

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The Yankees are obviously frustrated with how their 2012 campaign turned out, but an American League General Manager told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that they won't have to blow things up the way that the Red Sox did in order to improve.  “[I] don’t think they necessarily have to hit rock bottom like Boston to get better," said the GM.  "We always said you can’t do that in Boston, but it happened. We always say that can’t happen with the Yankees, so I guess we’ll see.  But I just see Brian Cashman trying to get this team younger while still competing. That’s what I think will happen.”  Here's more from today's column..

  • We've heard that the Mets will be open to trading Ike Davis, but special assistant J.P. Ricciardi would be shocked to see any movement on the first baseman.  Davis has often been linked to the Red Sox and the Rays would also be a fit.  Tampa Bay could certainly afford to part ways with a pitcher in order to improve their offense.
  • Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum will be available in trade and it will be interesting to see what kind of market develops for him.  The Giants say his problems were strictly mechanical, but other teams wonder why his fastball dipped from around 96 mph to 92 mph for most of the season.  The 28-year-old is due $22MM in the final year of his deal.
  • The White Sox will decline Jake Peavy's $22MM option for 2013 and one National League GM sees him fetching a three-year deal worth $36-40MM on the open market.  Understandably, the GM cautioned that team doctors would have to do a thorough check on him despite the fact that he stayed healthy this past season.
  • Ricciardi's deal with the Mets is up but he expects to return.  So far, no one has inquired on him as a GM candidate or something close, though he says he would like to return to the front office.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Thompson, Rodriguez

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Tonight's outright assignments..

  • The Rays have outrighted right-hander Wilking Rodriguez and outfielder Rich Thompson to Triple-A, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  Rodriguez stepped up to Class-A Advanced ball this year, posting a 5.56 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in seven starts.  Thompson saw time in 23 games for the Rays this season, his only big league action since a six game stint with the Royals in 2004.

AL East Notes: Ausmus, A-Rod, Orioles, Red Sox

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Brad Ausmus has a supporter in former teammate Andy Pettitte, who tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that Ausmus would be a "great" choice to manage the Red Sox.  Ausmus is one of four candidates (along with Tim Wallach, DeMarlo Hale and Tony Pena) who have interviewed for the job, though the Sox are also negotiating with the Blue Jays about manager John Farrell.  Here's the latest from around the AL East…

  • Sources familiar with the Dodgers' and Marlins' plans tell Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that neither team has an interest in Alex Rodriguez.  The Miami source said that rumors about talks between the Yankees and Marlins about Rodriguez are "BS. [It's] not happening."
  • The Angels may not be interested in an A-Rod-for-Vernon Wells deal due to the salary differences and the fact that the Angels see prospect Kaleb Cowart as a potential starting third baseman by 2014, opines MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (Twitter links).
  • Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun grades each member of the Orioles' roster.
  • As the Red Sox and Blue Jays continue to negotiate about Farrell, an anonymous AL East GM tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he isn't a fan of manager trades.  "I don't think it's a great practice to deal for managers. I'm surprised the league allows it," says the general manager.  "If the guy doesn't want to be there you just let him go. What's the big deal? You get someone else who does want to be there and who you feel will do a good job."
  • Gerry Hunsicker and Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman talk to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times about Hunsicker's decision to leave the Rays for the Dodgers.
  • From earlier today on MLBTR, I compiled some news about the Blue Jays.

Dodgers Hire Gerry Hunsicker

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The Dodgers have announced the hiring of Gerry Hunsicker as a senior advisor of baseball operations.  “Gerry brings a wealth of senior level experience and knowledge that will assist baseball operations at all levels,” said GM Ned Colletti.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale describes the hire as a "terrific" one for the Dodgers.  Hunsicker has been working as the Rays' senior VP of baseball operations since 2005, and given how the Dodgers' media release makes special note of Hunsicker's role in expanding Tampa Bay's international scouting presence, it stands to reason he'll perform similar duties in Los Angeles.  The Dodgers have looked to increase their international presence since Guggenheim Media bought the club, as shown as the signings of such notable players as Yasel Puig.

Hunsicker, 62, was general manager of the Astros from 1995 to 2004.  The Astros made five playoff appearances in that stretch, getting as far as the seventh game of the 2004 NLCS.

AL East Notes: Beeston, Martinez, Scutaro, Orioles

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Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston will continue in his current role after the end of October, when his contract had been set to expire, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. Beeston and the Blue Jays are believed to be working toward a two-year extension. The 67-year-old acknowledged to Davidi that the sides are "in discussion" and that he's "committed to seeing this thing through." Here are more notes from the AL East…

  • Rays bench coach Dave Martinez hasn't heard from the Red Sox or Rockies about possible manager interviews, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Martinez was one of the top candidates to manage the Astros before they hired Bo Porter last month.
  • The Red Sox shouldn't have any regrets about dealing Marco Scutaro last winter, writes WEEI.com's Alex Speier, despite Scutaro's strong performance down the stretch with the Giants.
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun lists the five biggest questions facing the Orioles this winter.
  • It doesn’t appear that Red Sox bench coach Tim Bogar will be interviewed for the team’s managerial opening, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter).
  • Jon Lester just completed a disappointing season, but as Rob Bradford points out at WEEI.com it could be a good time for the Red Sox to approach the left-hander about another contract extension. Lester, who's under team control through 2014, has said he's "always open" to extension talks. So far the sides haven't discussed a new deal, Bradford reports.
  • Outfielder Nate McLouth would like to re-sign with Baltimore when he hits free agency this offseason, but the Orioles could decide to stick with internal options and try to find another McLouth-like performer next year, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. In case you missed it, Mike Axisa examined McLouth’s free agent stock over the weekend.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Quick Hits: Trout, Indians, Giambi, Mets

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Mike Trout's outstanding rookie season earned him Baseball America's Rookie of the Year award, but that's not all he won. The publication named Trout the 2012 Player of the Year ahead of Buster Posey, Miguel Cabrera and others. Check out Jerry Crasnick's piece for a more complete look at Trout and continue reading for more of today’s links…

AL East Notes: Ortiz, Peralta, Jackson

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Some links from around the AL East for your Monday reading pleasure…

  • David Ortiz is still looking for two years and $25-30MM, according to the Boston Herald's John Tomase. Ortiz told Tomase that he expects the Red Sox to reach out to his representatives at SFX next week.
  • Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com cautions Orioles fans not to buy into any rumblings that Ortiz could end up in Baltimore if he doesn't re-sign with the Red Sox. Dubroff notes that manager Buck Showalter felt handicapped by Vladimir Guerrero's inability to play in the field the last time the team had a strict DH in 2011.
  • In his latest mailbag, MLB.com's Bill Chastain tells one reader that Joel Peralta is so intent on returning to the Rays that he will likely deal with them exclusively before talking to other teams. Chastain does opine that a multi-year deal from an outside team could sway Peralta's thinking.
  • Chastain also says he believes that the Rays will open the season with Ben Zobrist as the shortstop, as Hak-Ju Lee may not be ready from an offensive standpoint yet.
  • Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweets that the Blue Jays had nine different scouts in attendance for Edwin Jackson's final three regular season starts. Jackson will be a free agent this offseason, and while he'd like to return to the Nationals, he could end up elsewhere. The Jays are planning to shop aggressively this offseason.
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