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Quick Hits: Braves, Tanaka, Rangers

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The Braves, who have lost Brian McCann and Tim Hudson and done little to replace them, but it's not too late for them to recover this offseason, Mike Petriello of ESPN.com writes (Insider-only). They can start by signing young players like Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman to extensions, Petriello suggests. Another fix might be acquiring a new second baseman to supplant Dan Uggla, and one possibility might be dealing for Howie Kendrick of the Angels, who need young pitching. Here's more from around the Majors.

  • A "perfect storm" of factors will allow Masahiro Tanaka to land a huge contract, MLB.com's Tracy Ringolsby writes. Those factors include the revamped posting system, which limits the amount of money a player's old team receive, along with a huge bump in national television revenue and limits on spending in the draft and on Latin American amateurs.
  • Tanaka's workload is a serious concern, writes Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated. Before even beginning his age-25 season, Tanaka has thrown 1,315 innings, a workload completely unlike those of most young big-league pitchers, at least in the last few decades. "Everyone is acting like it's a no-brainer all-in just because he's 25," said an executive for an MLB team. "He's still a pitcher and he's still got serious miles on him. [Tanaka is a] very attractive player nonetheless but a real risk … as with basically all pitchers."
  • Signing Shin-Soo Choo and acquiring Prince Fielder will only be decisive for the Rangers if they have a core of very productive players who are much cheaper, argues Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. "We’re a larger market team, and we’ve operated from a higher payroll for the last couple of years," says Rangers GM Jon Daniels. "But everybody has limits. … When you talk about making an investment of this nature, you don’t make it without confidence in your people and your system. We have a lot of confidence in that." The Rangers' rotation offers a template, Grant says — Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Martin Perez and Alexi Ogando all at least began as cheap players, but the Rangers added to that group by making a big investment in Yu Darvish.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Tanaka, Davis, Orioles

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Rangers owner Bob Simpson is happy to leave the baseball decisions to his staff, Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas writes. Simpson doesn't want to be a general manager like Cowboys counterpart Jerry Jones. "I don't and for the reasons everyone else wishes he wasn't," says Simpson. "I like Jerry, but we've got great people, so leave it to them." Simpson also notes that, with the signing of Shin-Soo Choo, the Rangers' projected payroll is between $130MM and $135MM for 2014. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • Simpson says signing Masahiro Tanaka would be "a tough thing," MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports. "We aggressively went after Yu [Darvish], who we are fortunate to have. I guess I should never say never, but at the moment, we're more interested in just rounding out our team than marquee players," Simpson says. The Rangers have already added Choo and Prince Fielder this offseason. 
  • Earlier today, a report indicated that the Mets were trying to get the Orioles to trade lefty pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez for first baseman Ike Davis, but that, so far, the Orioles had refused to do so. Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun now tweets that the O's would have to be "blown away" to deal Rodriguez. MLB.com ranks Rodriguez the Orioles' third-best prospect.

Rangers Sign Shin-Soo Choo

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4:05pm: ESPN Dallas' Richard Durrett reports that Choo will earn $14MM in 2014 and 2015, $20MM annually from 2016-18 and $21MM in 2019 and 2020 (Twitter link).

3:15pm: With an outstanding rotation locked up for the foreseeable future, the Rangers have focused on re-shaping their offense this winter, and Shin-Soo Choo is the next piece of the puzzle. The Rangers have officially announced the signing of Choo to a seven-year contract that is reportedly worth $130MM. Reportedly, $5MM of the first year's salary will be shifted to 2016-17, creating more flexibility in 2014. The 31-year-old Scott Boras client does not have an opt-out in his contract but did receive a limited no-trade clause.

Choo

As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes wrote in his profile of Choo, who ranked third on Dierkes's list of the top fifty free agents, the South Korean on-base machine hit the open market at an optimal time. Having never seen his OBP drop below a .373 mark, Choo reached another level last year with a .285/.423/.462 line (over 712 plate appearances) in his first and only season with the Reds. (Of course, as Dierkes explained, Choo's biggest weakness — his struggles against left-handed pitching — could force him into a platoon role in the later years of his deal.) Choo also knocked twenty home runs in 2013 for the third time in his career. Batting atop the lineup in Cincinnati, Choo also swiped over twenty bags for the fourth time, though he was also tagged out eleven times in the process.

Though Choo played in center last year for the Reds, the expectation is that he will man a corner position in Texas. If the Rangers indeed intend to go with Leonys Martin up the middle, it would seem likely that the club would be out of the mix for Nelson Cruz. (Alex Rios is already penciled into one corner spot.) Though it certainly doesn't preclude anything, Choo will wear No. 17 in Texas (as he did in Cincinnati) — the same number that Cruz donned while with the Rangers. The Rangers said at today's press conference today that the current plan is for Choo to serve as their new leadoff hitter.

Texas GM Jon Daniels has not been shy in adding lengthy and substantial contracts to his club's books of late. He added dollars and years through trades for Rios and Prince Fielder (offset only in part by the departure of Ian Kinsler in that deal). And Daniels has done the same via extension, with Martin Perez (four years, $12.5MM), Elvis Andrus (eight years, $120MM), and Matt Harrison (five years, $55MM) all getting new deals in the last year. Add it all up, and the Rangers have added nearly $400MM in future obligations in the 2013 calendar year. That would seem likely to take the club out of the mix for Masahiro Tanaka (in the event that he is posted). 

At seven years and $130MM, Choo will receive an average annual value of just over $18.5MM. His deal slots in $23MM shy of that inked by Jacoby Ellsbury with the Yankees over the same length of time, but comes with a $40MM larger guarantee than that achieved by Hunter Pence in the five-year deal he reached with the Giants just before hitting the open market.

The Rangers were willing to go to seven years and a big sum of money, says Passan, in part due to the weak set of hitters available via free agency next year. Of course, new candidates could emerge; one year ago, it would have seemed quite unlikely that Choo would command this kind of payday. The Yankees may have been willing to reach the $140MM level in a seven-year pact with Choo, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. But the lack of state income tax in Texas boosted the value of the Rangers' offer, and Choo apparently also preferred to join Texas.

Since Choo turned down a qualifying offer from the Reds, his former club will receive a compensatory pick. Texas, meanwhile, stands to lose its first-round draft choice, though it could regain a choice in the sandwich round if Cruz signs elsewhere.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that an agreement had been reached (via Twitter). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News first reported (via Twitter) that the deal was expected to be worth $130MM. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that $5MM of Choo's 2014 salary was shifted to 2016-17 (via Twitter), and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweeted that Choo's contract does not contain an opt-out but has a limited no-trade clause.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rangers Expect Nelson Cruz To Sign Elsewhere

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At today's press conference to introduce Shin-Soo Choo, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told reporters, including Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com, that he expects Nelson Cruz to sign elsewhere (Twitter link). Daniels said that he called Cruz personally to express his thanks.

Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest does note that Daniels didn't completely shut the door on a return (Twitter link). In theory, the Rangers could still fit Cruz into their lineup as a DH and part-time corner outfielder if they were to move Mitch Moreland in a trade, but Daniels' comments make that situation sound unlikely. The outfield appears to be set, with Alex Rios locked up through 2014 with a 2015 club option and Leonys Martin slotting in as the everyday center fielder.

If the Choo signing does spell the end of Cruz's time as a Ranger, his Texas career will come to a close with a .268/.327/.495 batting line and 157 home runs in 3175 plate appearances (barring a reunion down the road, of course). Cruz has also been linked to teams such as the Mariners and Orioles, both of whom could use additional thump in their lineups. Each is said to have financial constraints at this point, however, so agent Adam Katz of the Wasserman Media Group may need to drum up interest from a team to which Cruz has not been heavily linked. Earlier in this month, reports indicated that Cruz was seeking an annual salary in the range of $16MM.

Rangers Designate Chris McGuiness For Assignment

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The Rangers announced that they have designated first baseman Chris McGuiness for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Shin-Soo Choo, whose seven-year deal is now official.

McGuiness, 25, made his big league debut in 2013, batting .176/.176/.206 in 34 plate appearances. Originally acquired from the Red Sox in the trade that sent Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Red Sox, McGuiness batted .246/.369/.423 with 11 homers in 436 plate appearances at Triple-A Round Rock last season.

Masahiro Tanaka Links: Thursday

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After the Rakuten Golden Eagles made the long-awaited decision to post ace Masahiro Tanaka, the posting period opened this morning. Any team that is willing to pay his former club a posting fee of $20MM will have the right to negotiate with Tanaka over the next 30 days (a full refresher on the new rules can be found here). Tanaka's posting period comes to a close on Jan. 24 at 4pm CT, meaning that there could be as many as 700 more hours of drama, rumors and speculation regarding his ultimate destination. Here are today's Tanaka-centric links…

  • MLB.com's Richard Justice writes that teams see Tanaka not as a seven-year deal but rather as an investment to make an immediate impact that could yield a spot in the 2014 playoff picture. The Yankees would like to make an offer to close the bidding process before it truly begins, writes Justice, but several other teams likely feel the same.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that while Tanaka's new agent, Casey Close, does not have Scott Boras' public reputation of bargaining hard, he does have that reputation within the industry. Close is no stranger to large deals, as he represents Derek Jeter and Zack Greinke among others.
  • Sherman also runs down a list of eight teams that he feels to be the Yankees' most serious competition for Tanaka: the Dodgers, Angels, Red Sox, Phillies, Rangers, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Mariners.
  • In a piece for FOX Sports, Gabe Kapler writes that he spoke to one Major League GM who thought Tanaka would sign for something in the six-year, $105MM neighborhood (not including the posting fee). Kapler feels that Tanaka's age and the potential bidding war will up the price to something in the range of seven years and $125MM (plus the $20MM posting fee). He also cautions that Tanaka is far from a sure thing and will need to display impeccable command of his fastball or add some movement to it in order to flourish in the Majors.
  • Troy Renck of the Denver Post can't imagine Tanaka signing for anything less than $100MM (Sulia link).
  • The next 30 days will tell us if the Dodgers are hitting their spending limit — self-imposed or otherwise — or if their lack of big spending thus far in the offseason has merely been as a result of waiting for Tanaka, writes Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Hernandez notes that the team already has five players under control through 2017 and would like that number to rise to seven with extensions to Clayton Kershaw and Hanley Ramirez.

AL West Notes: Rangers, Tanaka, Mariners, Choo

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A look at today's links out of the AL West..

  • Evan Grant of the Dallas News looks at how the Rangers could potentially make a play for Masahiro Tanaka.  While Texas is considered a longshot to land Tanaka thanks to their already hefty payroll, they can’t be totaly counted out.  Grant says, in theory, they could move Alex Rios' $12.5MM salary, sign Tanaka, and move one of their other starters to fill the newly-created hole in the outfield.  A theoretical Derek Holland-for-Brett Gardner swap, for example, might save about another $1.5MM pending the outcome of Gardner’s arbitration situation.  There's also another way to create some breathing room: selling the naming rights to their ballpark.
  • Signing Tanaka without making other moves wouldn't help to fix the Mariners' roster inbalance, tweets Bob Dutton of The News Tribune.  It doesn't seem likely that the M's will get in on Tanaka anyway considering that they are pretty much at capacity in terms of payroll.
  • Rob Neyer of SB Nation spoke with Mike Curto, voice of the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, about his reaction to the 2006 trade that sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Indians for platoon DH Ben Broussard.

East Notes: A-Rod, Red Sox, Orioles, Marlins

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Earlier today, we learned that a return to the Phillies is possible for Ryan Madson as there is mutual interest from both sides of the table.  Madson inked a one-year deal with the Reds before the 2012 season but underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire campaign.  He then signed a one-year, $3.5MM contract with the Angels last winter, but he never made it to the mound for the Halos and was ultimately released.  Madson has never pitched for anyone at the major league level other than Philly and he could keep that up in the New Year.  Here's more out of the AL and NL East..

  • Sometimes, the best trades are the ones that you don't make and that's especially true when considering the non-deal that would have sent Alex Rodriguez to the Red Sox with Manny Ramirez and Jon Lester going to the Rangers, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.  A-Rod wanted to play in Boston and agreed to shave down his monster contract to help facilitate the trade, but the Players Association rejected the compromise.  That ultimately put the kibosh on the swap and while Boston fans were peeved at the time, the BoSox were probably better off with Manny and Lester.
  • Tommy Hunter wants to start for the Orioles, but he also wouldn't mind taking over the role of closer if they're unable to land someone in free agency, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.  The O's are said to have their eye on Fernando Rodney in the wake of the Grant Balfour agreement falling through, but his price tag could be too rich for their blood.
  • The Marlins may not have landed a prototypical middle of the order slugger, but their offseason moves have certainly given the lineup some needed balance, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.  Free agents Garrett Jones and Jarrod Saltalamacchia should offer left-handed hitting pop to a team that finished last in the majors in homers last year.
  • David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter) hears that there was never any interest between the Braves and Bronson Arroyo.  Earlier today, Arroyo told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that, contrary to rumors, he never got a one-year offer from the Reds and denied ever coming close to an agreement with the Twins.

Rangers Claim Alex Castellanos

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The Rangers announced, via press release, that they have claimed outfielder Alex Castellanos off waivers from the Red Sox.

The 27-year-old Castellanos is a former 10th round pick that will be joining his fourth organization following this move. Originally selected by the Cardinals in the 2008 draft, he was traded to the Dodgers in exchange for Rafael Furcal in July 2011 before being flipped to the Red Sox earlier this year in exchange for fellow outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker. Boston designated Castellanos for assignment upon re-signing Mike Napoli.

Castellanos has batted just .171/.186/.390 in 43 big league plate appearances (all with the Dodgers), but he has been a force in the minor leagues. The Florida native is a career .291/.382/.525 hitter with 36 homers and 35 stolen bases in 848 Triple-A plate appearances.

The Rangers' 40-man roster previously had just 39 players, so the claim of Castellanos brings them to a full 40 players.

Choo Deal Addresses Last Of Rangers’ Major Needs

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Now that the Rangers have agreed to terms with Shin-Soo Choo, most of their offseason maneuvering is complete, as Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com notes. Or, at least, it could be complete. Whether or not the Rangers are actually done remains to be seen. At this point, though, the Rangers appear to have addressed all their major needs.

Heading into the offseason, we noted that the Rangers would likely look to try to upgrade the first base and designated hitter positions, and that a trade of Ian Kinsler might make sense, given their infield logjam. The Rangers addressed both issues with one deal, sending Kinsler to the Tigers for Prince Fielder and $30MM. Despite receiving cash from the Tigers, the deal added to the Rangers' payroll burden, but it also gave them a star-caliber first baseman (Steamer projects Fielder will be worth 3.6 WAR in 2014), allowing them to bump Mitch Moreland to DH and open second base for top prospect Jurickson Profar, who will join Fielder, Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre in the Rangers' infield.

2013 Rangers catchers A.J. Pierzynski and Geovany Soto were both eligible for free agency after the season, leaving the Rangers in need of two big-league catchers. Rather than signing Brian McCann or making another big-ticket move, the Rangers went cheap at catcher, re-signing Soto with the idea that he would be their primary backstop in 2014. Soto served as Pierzynski's backup in 2013, but at age 31 and coming off a .245/.328/.466 season, he could be a bargain at one year and $3.05MM. With Soto in the fold, the Rangers signed J.P. Arencibia to be his backup. Arencibia hit just .194/.227/.365 in 2013, but his above-average power could play well in Texas.

At the beginning of December, the Rangers sent sabermetric favorite Craig Gentry (who produced a whopping 3.4 WAR in a part-time role in 2013, thanks largely to his defense) and pitcher Josh Lindblom to Oakland for outfielder Michael Choice and infield prospect Chris Bostick. Texas exchanged one excellent role player for an outfielder in Choice with more long-term upside and years of control. The deal also allowed Leonys Martin to move into a full-time role in center field, with Engel Beltre, who is out of options, becoming his backup.

And then came another blockbuster, as the Rangers agreed to terms with Choo on a seven-year, $130MM deal. With Nelson Cruz departing via free agency, the Rangers had a spot open in their outfield (more on Choice's role in a second), and a need for a big bat.

Choo isn't an archetypal slugger, but he's posted on-base percentages north of .390 in four of the last six seasons. As some analysts, such as ESPN's Keith Law (Insider-only), noted, the Rangers are taking a big long-term risk with a contract of this size. Choo is already 31 and is a poor hitter against lefties, meaning there's a good chance he'll need to be shoehorned into a part-time role well before the contract ends. Choo's high HBP totals — he had a career-high 26 in 2013 — make him an injury concern going forward. And as ESPN's Dan Szymborski notes (via Twitter), high-OBP corner outfielders who don't have great power tend to decline quickly. Choo also will cost the Rangers their first-round draft pick next year. In the short term, though, Choo is a huge upgrade at the Rangers' last remaining key position of need.

The Rangers will likely head into 2014 with Alex Rios and Choo as their main options at the corner outfield positions. With Martin in center, that means the only starting offensive position that's even a little bit unsettled is designated hitter. While it still isn't impossible that the Rangers could re-sign Cruz, they now have enough decent options at the position that they could just go into 2014 with what they have. Moreland, a lefty, would likely take most of the at bats against righties, and Choice might be an option at the position as well. What the Rangers plan to do with Choice is unclear. The Rangers could option him to Triple-A to play every day. But as a righty, he would also have value as a bench outfielder and occasional DH, filling in for Moreland or Choo when lefties take the mound.

The Rangers have no obvious needs in their rotation, with Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, Martin Perez and Alexi Ogando occupying four spots, Matt Harrison returning from injury to take the fifth one, and Nick Tepesch available as depth. With a variety of options at the closer position, including Neftali Feliz, Tanner Scheppers and Joakim Soria, they don't have to worry about replacing the departing Joe Nathan, either.

The Rangers might not be done making news. If they were to re-sign Cruz, for example, they might then trade Moreland to a team like the Pirates or Brewers. But they don't need to make any more big moves. They've acquired two catchers, cleared the way for Profar and added two big bats in Fielder and Choo. They already appear to be mostly set for 2014.

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