MLBTR’s Agency Database
MLBTR's agency database is constantly updated with the latest representation changes. For example, the database reflects our early morning tweet that Rays righty Jeff Niemann is now with Hendricks Sports as he awaits his first arbitration year, rather than CAA. Casey Close's move to Excel Sports Management is in the database as well. If you're ever wondering about a player's agent, MLBTR's database is the best resource on the web.
While we're on the topic, we're attempting to determine who represents Jonathan Herrera, Alexi Ogando, Jay Gibbons, and Tom Wilhelmsen, so please email mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com if you know the answer.
Olney On The Bullpen Market
Teams like the Yankees and White Sox are already encountering bullpen problems and it won’t be long before other clubs are looking for relief help as well. The Yankees aren’t optimistic about the current relief market, while Chicago’s search for an effective closer has manager Ozzie Guillen dreaming of Bobby Thigpen. As one GM points out to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, lots of teams will be looking for bullpen help this summer and lots of effective pitchers should eventually become available.
Unless Heath Bell takes a massive discount to stay in San Diego, Olney suggests the Padres will deal him. The White Sox should be considered the early favorites to land Bell, Olney says.
Jonathan Broxton, Francisco Rodriguez and the Blue Jays and Rays relievers could also become available this summer. Jose Valverde will probably stay in Detroit unless the Tigers fall far out of the race, but Michael Wuertz (now on the disabled list) could be on the block even if Oakland contends.
Olney On Yankees, Rays, Manny
Zach Britton certainly hasn't been surrounded by as much hype as Stephen Strasburg was last year, but, like the Nationals' youngster, Britton is "must-see TV," according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). In today's Insider-only blog, Olney says the Orioles lefty looks like the best of 2011's rookie class so far this year. Here are some other items of interest from the piece:
- The Yankees are trying to get 20 to 35 starts from their fourth and fifth spots in the rotation, before the trade market really takes shape. At that point, the team could try to pursue an arm like Brett Myers or James Shields, if they're available.
- Olney is hearing from clubs that they will now "warily approach" making any trades with the Rays, who are considered a "savvy organization." While it's too early for the Cubs to worry about offseason acquisition Matt Garza, particularly given his impressive strikeout rate, the right-hander isn't happy with his first two starts.
- Olney agrees with Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, who says that the Rays and their fans are the ones who Manny Ramirez's retirement hits the hardest. Not only will the Tampa fans miss out on watching Manny, but continued struggles by the team could result in key players being placed on the trade block.
Quick Hits: Pedro, Martin, Archer, Davis, D’Backs
Links for Saturday, after Matt Harrison threw his second gem in as many starts…
- A team official told Joel Sherman of The New York Post that the Yankees have no interest in Pedro Martinez even though he's looking to return (Twitter links). The Yankees changed their mind about Carlos Silva after the right-hander agreed to get in shape and pitch in the minors.
- Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com spoke to Russell Martin, who said the Red Sox expressed interest in signing him this offseason but were concerned about his injured hip.
- Rays prospect Chris Archer holds no ill-will towards the Cubs for dealing him, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. The right-hander was a part of the deal that brought Matt Garza to Chicago.
- The Yankees did not send a scout to watch Doug Davis' workout yesterday, reports George A. King III of The New York Post.
- In his Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to some executives that said Manny Ramirez's reported PED use may have altered the future of former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes and manager Bob Melvin. Arizona led the NL West for most of the 2008 season, but were knocked out of postseason race when the Dodgers made a late charge after acquiring Manny at the deadline.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick profiled Brett Wallace of the Astros, who was traded three times in the span of 371 days. "The way I choose to look at it, the teams that traded for me all had a plan for me and believed in me," said the first baseman. "But it definitely makes you step back and see the business side of baseball. When you get traded one year out of the draft, it's an eye opener. It doesn't matter how much a team likes you or doesn't like you. Things can change. Things are going to happen, and anyone is touchable."
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Rays, Twins, Ackley
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…
- Rival executives are already speculating that the Rays could be sellers at the trade deadline in the wake of Evan Longoria's injury and Manny Ramirez's retirement. James Shields and B.J. Upton are most likely to go.
- The Twins nearly traded for David Eckstein in 2009, but they're not going to sign him or anyone else to fill in for the injured Tsuyoshi Nishioka. The team is currently over-budget, so they'll fill the hole from within.
- The Mariners are having second base trouble for the second straight season, but Rosenthal spoke to some scouts who said the position figures to be a question for the foreseeable future. Top prospect Dustin Ackley will hit, but they say his defense is sketchy.
Manny Ramirez Retires: Reaction And Fallout
Manny Ramirez was "being Manny" one more time, with even his retirement announcement coming under unusual circumstances. The slugger's abrupt departure from the game has already generated a great deal of controversy, and here's a sampling of some of the reaction…
- The overwhelming feeling from media members is that Ramirez's latest brush with a drug suspension probably ends his chances of being voted into the Hall of Fame. One anonymous Cooperstown voter tells CBSSports.com's C. Trent Rosecrans that he "would have had a hard time voting for [Ramirez] before today. The fact that it happened again, I wouldn't vote for him now." ESPN's Amy K. Nelson wonders if Ramirez will even stay on the HOF ballot past his first year of eligibility. (Twitter link)
- As Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com puts it, "if [Ramirez] had two positive tests after MLB began issuing steroid suspensions in 2005, how can we give him the benefit of the doubt that his numbers from the 1990s weren’t juiced, too?"
- Adding to Ramirez's ignomy is this fact tweeted by ESPN's Buster Olney: Ramirez would've been the first player to face a 100-game suspension under Major League Baseball's drug policy. Technically, Ramirez would've just been the first Major League player to face such a long suspension — Ramon A. Castro and Prentice Redman received suspensions for 105 and 100 games, respectively, while on minor league rosters.
- Bobby Jenks tells WEEI.com's Kirk Minihane that his former White Sox teammate is "a really good guy" but didn't mince words about Ramirez's situation. "You do it, you get caught, you’re an idiot. If you do it again you’re a dumbass,” said Jenks. “I mean, it’s sad to see. One of the greatest hitters, or one of them, to make the same mistake twice, same bad choice."
- Ozzie Guillen, Ramirez's manager last year in Chicago, praised Ramirez as a quality player and good teammate, but also praised the strength of MLB's drug-testing policy. “It shows people that Major League Baseball is after [drug users]," Guillen said. "They’re not playing around. They’re letting the players know how tough they’re going to be.”
- The retirement is "a miserable way to go," writes Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times. Ramirez's career "ends in shame, the story of a phenomenal hitter who tried to hang on too long and by any means. There’s no final Manny quip, no dramatic last at-bat, no last chapter to make it right.
- Jonah Keri of Fangraphs thinks Ramirez's retirement, Evan Longoria's injury and an 0-6 start may inspire the Rays to already throw in the towel on the 2011 season. Keri thinks Jeff Niemann, James Shields, Johnny Damon and Dan Johnson could become trade bait, though Keri also notes that Tampa Bay could just as easily keep some veterans around so as to keep young stars like Desmond Jennings from accumulating service time.
- Cork Gaines of the Rays Index predicts the team will stay mostly silent about the circumstances surrounding Ramirez's departure: "They will defer everything to Manny and Scott Boras and try to push as much of the stink in their direction."
- Rays manager Joe Maddon tweets that Ramirez's retirement "is a galvanizing moment for us."
Manny Ramirez Retires
Manny Ramirez has retired, Major League Baseball announced. MLB says it notified Ramirez of "an issue" under its drug program and that the longtime slugger decided to retire instead of continuing with the process.
Ramirez would have faced a 100-game suspension if he hadn't retired, because he tested positive for a banned substance, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (on Twitter). The positive test occurred in Spring Training, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). It would have been Ramirez's second major drug-related suspension; he was suspended for 50 games after a positive drug test in 2009.
Five games into his one-year, $2MM contract with the Rays, Ramirez's brief tenure in Tampa is over. He went 1/17 with a single and an RBI, getting booed by his own fans in the process. The Rays did not anticipate this development.
"We are obviously surprised and disappointed by this news," the club said in a statement. "We will have no further comment on this matter."
Ramirez ends his 19-year big league career with 2574 hits, 1831 RBI, a .312 batting average, a .411 on-base percentage and a .585 slugging percentage. The 12-time All-Star ranks 14th all-time with 555 homers and 9th all-time with a .996 OPS. Ramirez played for the Indians, Red Sox, Dodgers, Rays and White Sox, winning nine Silver Sluggers, two Hank Aaron Awards and the 2004 World Series MVP. He earned over $200MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference, but won't earn the bulk of his agreed upon 2011 salary.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Ekstrom, Wagner, Ishikawa
The Pacific Coast League's transactions page gives us the update on three recently-designated players.
- Rays reliever Mike Ekstrom has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A according to the transactions page on the team's official site. Ekstrom was designated for assignment three days ago.
- Red Sox catcher Mark Wagner cleared waivers and was assigned to extended Spring Training, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox designated him for assignment on March 29th.
- Travis Ishikawa cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, the Giants announced (on Twitter).
- The Dodgers outrighted pitchers Jon Link and John Lindsey to the Albuquerque Isotopes. They'd been designated for assignment in late March.
- Catcher Lucas May, designated for assignment by the Royals on March 30th, cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Omaha Storm Chasers.
Revisiting The Jason Hammel Trade
The Rays roster is dotted with the spoils of trades involving excess starting pitchers. Matt Joyce arrived in the Edwin Jackson deal; the Rays obtained Sean Rodriguez when they sent Scott Kazmir to Anaheim and Chris Archer and others could soon join Sam Fuld on the roster and make Matt Garza’s departure easier to bear. But no matter how hard you look, you won’t see anyone from the trade that sent Jason Hammel to the Rockies exactly two years ago.
The Rays acquired Aneury Rodriguez for Hammel on this date in 2009 and the right-handed prospect spent two years in the Rays’ system, making it to Triple-A, where he spent most of last season. He pitched well in 2010, posting a 3.71 ERA in 123 2/3 innings with 7.3 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. The 23-year-old became a reliable starter with four pitches that peak at average and are often fringy, according to Baseball America.
It wasn’t enough for the Rays to protect him in the Rule 5 draft, but it was enough for the Astros to select him. Now a member of Houston’s bullpen, Rodriguez currently ranks 11th among top Astros prospects, according to Baseball America. Houston will have to offer Rodriguez back to the Rays if they determine that he isn’t worthy of a roster spot all season, so the Rays could still profit from the Hammel deal. As it stands now, however, the return they obtained has had zero impact on their MLB team.
It’s easy to see why the Rays didn’t get much for Hammel. He was out of options at the time and had just lost a springtime battle with Jeff Niemann for a spot in the rotation. Hammel had a career ERA of 5.90 at the time and had started just 28 MLB games, so he was far from the established starter he has since become. Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman made Hammel available, eventually trading him to obtain something of value instead of exposing him to waivers and losing him for nothing.
In the two years that have passed since the deal, Hammel has a 4.57 ERA in 354 1/3 innings with 7.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. That was good for 7.5 wins above replacement in 2009-10, more than any starter on the Rays or Rockies other than Ubaldo Jimenez.
The deal, which attracted little fanfare at the time, has turned into a steal for the Rockies. It may not be a franchise-altering trade like the one that saw the Rockies acquire Carlos Gonzalez and Huston Street, but Colorado obtained an inexpensive and effective starter for an unproven prospect who has yet to materialize at the Major League level – a definite coup for GM Dan O’Dowd.
Extension Candidate: David Price
Last year 25-year-old lefty David Price established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball, finishing second in the American League Cy Young voting. The Rays have shown a willingness to guarantee money to a young player seeking long-term security, but Price's situation is not similar to that of James Shields, Evan Longoria, Wade Davis, or Ben Zobrist. Let's take a look.
Price represents one of the game's rare commodities, an ace starting pitcher. He's better than Shields or Davis. Stardom was expected for Price when the Rays drafted him first overall in 2007. Stardom was expected for Longoria as well, but the Rays managed to lock up their third baseman a few weeks into his big league career. I wouldn't be surprised if the Rays tried that with Price too.
At this stage Price is only one season away from arbitration eligibility, and anything resembling his 2010 campaign will result in a big 2012 salary. Regarding an extension, Price told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, "If it's realistic, absolutely, that is something I would definitely do," going on to praise his team.
As Topkin notes, Tim Lincecum and Cole Hamels are a couple of good comparables. All three are Super Two players, meaning they are arbitration eligible four times. Here's how they stack up heading into arbitration, adding in Price's ZiPS projection for 2011.
- Lincecum: 40 wins, 2.90 ERA, 598 2/3 innings, 676 strikeouts (10.2 K/9), two Cy Young awards, two All-Star appearances, no postseason experience
- Hamels: 38 wins, 3.43 ERA, 543 innings, 518 strikeouts (8.6 K/9), a sixth-place Cy Young finish, one All-Star appearance, 2.18 ERA and four wins in six postseason starts, NLCS and World Series MVP awards
- Price: 45 wins, 3.37 ERA, 552 2/3 innings, 482 strikeouts (7.8 K/9), a second place Cy Young finish, one All-Star appearance, 3.93 ERA and one win in 18 1/3 postseason innings
If Price does what ZiPS predicts for 2011 - a 3.48 ERA in 201 2/3 innings – he could make another All-Star team and get Cy Young votes again. And of course he could add to his postseason numbers.
Even without the postseason experience at the time, Lincecum is the best of the group. Had he settled at the midpoint with the Giants instead of signing a two-year deal, he would have been paid $10.5MM in his first arbitration year, which would have been a record for any player. Hamels didn't get to the point of exchanging figures, but his three-year deal paid a discounted salary of $4.35MM in the first year. Though not Super Twos, Felix Hernandez and Justin Verlander are other good points of reference, with first-year arbitration salaries of $3.8MM and $3.675MM respectively.
Though he's a closer, Jonathan Papelbon's first-year arbitration award of $6.25MM – the current record for a pitcher - is something Price's agent Bo McKinnis could attempt to surpass. That'd essentially be half of the money guaranteed to Wade Davis, so you can see how the two Rays pitchers are not in the same boat. Price has the advantage of operating from what is technically regarded as a $2MM salary for 2011, factoring in his signing bonus. He could potentially earn $40MM+ for his four arbitration years, if he's willing to forgo long-term security.
Unlike the Giants and Phillies, the Rays may be unwilling to do a multiyear deal with Price that does not buy out all arbitration years and some free agent seasons. They could use Felix and Verlander's contracts as models, adjusting for the fact that Price is a Super Two. A fair price might be $35MM for the four arbitration years and $20MM a year for three free agent seasons, coming to a total of $95MM over seven years. Such a contract would be unprecedented, however, and not in the way that the Rays have embraced previously. Plus it's difficult to picture a $20MM pitcher on the Rays, even if their payroll is higher by 2016.
Would Price allow for a club option or three? Would he accept $30MM for his four arbitration years, allowing the Rays savings in the near future and letting them worry about the big free agent salaries later? Such concessions might be necessary to find common ground. Or, perhaps the best route would be a Lincecum or Hamels-style extension, where Price takes security for two or three years while maintaining flexibility for his last one or two arbitration years, and the Rays save several million bucks but don't claim any free agent seasons.