Rays Close To Two-Year Deal With Willy Aybar
MONDAY, 10:39am: MLB.com’s Bill Chastain says Aybar is pleased about his new deal with the Rays and it will be announced soon.
TUESDAY, 5:44pm: The Tampa Tribune’s Marc Lancaster confirms Topkin’s report and has gathered a quote from VP of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman:
“It’s premature to comment on it, but I think it’s safe to say that we’re very close.”
3:10pm: According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays are closing in on a two-year deal with an option for infielder Willy Aybar. Aybar is a Super Two player (he has four arbitration years). He’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season.
Arb Hearings Postponed For Aybar, Santana
According to the AP, arbitration hearings for Willy Aybar and Ervin Santana were postponed until next week. 11 other players also have pending hearings.
Rays Sign Brian Shouse, DFA Juan Salas
According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays’ one-year deal with left-handed reliever Brian Shouse is official.
Shouse will make $1.35MM in ’09 and has a team option for 2010 worth $1.9MM. The club designated reliever Juan Salas for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
Rays-Shouse Deal Close To Official
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times writes that the Rays’ signing of left-handed reliever Brian Shouse is "pretty official."
Shouse has agreed to a one-year deal with an option for 2010. The exact financial terms and a corresponding 40-man roster move will be announced Wednesday. There was some confusion as to the exact length of the deal back when the signing was initally reported. It appears Topkin had it right all along.
Dioner Navarro Loses Arbitration Case
TUESDAY: ESPN reports that Navarro lost his case and will earn $2.1MM in ’09. No hard feelings, says his agent.
MONDAY: According to the Associated Press, via ESPN.com, the Rays and catcher Dioner Navarro went to a salary arbitration hearing on Monday.
Navarro asked for $2.5MM and the club offered $2.1MM back when figures were due. Three arbitrators will decide which number he recieves on Tuesday. Navarro is the second MLB player to have a hearing this year, following Nationals pitcher Shawn Hill, who won his hearing over the weekend.
Rays To Sign Morgan Ensberg
5:42pm: Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune spoke with Rays VP of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, on Monday about the Ensberg signing. The club has talked to their new acquisition about possibly filling in at a corner outfield spot this season. Ensberg told ESPN.com earlier today that he’d be willing to play second base or left field.
12:36pm: According to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, the Rays have agreed to a minor league contract with Morgan Ensberg. He can earn $650K if he makes the team out of Spring Training.
Ensberg’s production has declined since 2005, when he hit 36 home runs, but he’d be a backup for the Rays, who already have Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena on the corners.
As Crasnick points out, DRaysBay was on this signing Friday.
Ken Griffey Jr. Rumors: Monday
C. Trent Rosecrans of 1530 Homer spoke to Ken Griffey Jr.‘s agent Brian Goldberg today. Goldberg expects Griffey to have a deal this time next week. He added that two teams are more serious than the others.
The Rays contacted Goldberg early in the offseason, but were upfront that they preferred to sign a younger player. The Pat Burrell signing took them out of the running.
Chass On Griffey, Burrell, Orlando Cabrera
The latest from Murray Chass, who seems to be doing just fine without being employed by a newspaper…
- MLB "negotiated a new line of credit for $125MM, from which clubs can borrow." I’d like to learn more about the topic – which teams are borrowing, if any?
- Ken Griffey Jr.‘s agent Brian Goldberg does not think the economy is a factor in his client remaining unsigned. Goldberg said, "Junior’s salary expectations have been modest from the beginning. He’s realistic." Perhaps Griffey is not seeking $5-6MM after all? Goldberg says he continues to talk to the same four teams about Griffey.
- Scott Boras says Pat Burrell "took a bad deal" when he signed for two years and $16MM on January 5th. Boras says Burrell’s contract froze the market for corner outfielders.
- One additional possible explanation for Orlando Cabrera remaining unsigned: a baseball person described him as a "very caustic guy in the locker room." Cabrera’s Type A status is probably the larger issue.
Odds and Ends: Hudson, Twins, Sisco, Dunn
Links for Friday…
- Tim Hudson wants the Braves to pick up his 2010 option for $12MM, though he has the right to void it if they do.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro has no regrets about signing Kerry Wood for $20.5MM in early December.
- Twins CEO Jim Pohlad says the team is not done, in talking to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He believes signing Joe Crede makes sense, but his baseball people have the final decision.
- Michael Fleming of Variety says Brad Pitt continues to "circle" the Moneyball movie, in which he could play Billy Beane.
- Athletics Nation takes a good look at free agent lefty Andy Sisco.
- Austin Kearns commented on his friend Adam Dunn, in talking with Chico Harlan of the Washington Post.
- An amusing "25 facts about 25 random Yankees" from Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- The Rays signed pitcher Winston Abreu to a minor league deal; he spent last year in Japan.
- RotoAuthority ranks the shortstops for fantasy baseball.
- Deals for Jason Varitek, Brad Wilkerson, and Ken Takahashi were finalized today. Jeff Bailey was shuffled to Triple A to make room for Varitek, says Dan Barbarisi.
Rays Reach Impasse With Dioner Navarro
2:22pm: A quote from Navarro’s agent Kendall Almerico, via Topkin:
"It appears that we have reached an impasse and that we will be going to arbitration on Monday. After that, I hope to resume negotiations on a long-term deal so Navi can play in Tampa for the rest of his career. But that may depend on how the Rays present their case and whether the Rays treat Navi respectfully at the hearing as Navi has instructed us to treat the Rays throughout this entire process."
11:04am: According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays are still in talks with their two remaining arbitration-eligible players, Dioner Navarro and Willy Aybar.
The Rays are only $150K apart with Aybar, and the sides are discussing a possible two-year deal. Aybar, a Super Two player, is under team control through 2012.
Navarro faces a $400K gap with the Rays, and they’re also discussing multiyear possibilities. He’s under team control through 2011.