International Links: Nishioka, Twins, Blanco
Patrick Newman from NPB Tracker and MLBTR's Nick Collias relay some information from foreign sources:
- According to Newman, the Chiba Lotte Marines made a conditional agreement last offseason to allow Tsuyoshi Nishioka to move to MLB. This explains the otherwise puzzling move to post Nishioka coming off his strongest season, with three years left before he's eligible for free agency. Newman says the decision to post Nishioka will be resolved by the 17th.
- According to this article (translated by Collias), the Twins signed right-handed reliever Yorman Bazardo to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. The 26-year-old has previously been with the Marlins, Tigers, Mariners, and Astros organizations. He's seen 60 1/3 innings in the big leagues, but hasn't duplicated his minor league success (3.89 ERA, 2.6 BB/9, 5.4 K/9 in 1091 innings).
- In a second article translated by Collias, we hear that the Rangers have told Andres Blanco that they view him as either an outfielder or catcher, but no longer as an infielder. The 26-year-old will work out at both positions in the Venezuelan winter leagues to try to earn another spot with the Rangers. In 68 games (185 PAs) this season, Blanco hit .277/.330/.349 while backing up Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus.
Amateur Signing Bonuses: Rangers
Time to take our amateur signing bonus series to Texas, the home of the defending AL champs…
- Mark Teixeira, $4.5MM (2001)
- Justin Smoak, $3.5MM (2008)
- John Danks, $2.1MM (2003)
- Vince Sinisi, $2.07MM (2003)
- Thomas Diamond, $2.025MM (2004)
The Rangers just finished the single greatest season in franchise history, but just one of the above players directly contributed to that cause. That would be Justin Smoak, who reached the big leagues just two years after being drafted 11th overall. He hit just .209/.316/.353 in 275 plate appearances for Texas before headlining the four prospect package that went to Seattle for Cliff Lee in early July.
Teixeira, the fifth overall pick back in 2001, contributed to the team's success this year, though in an indirect way. His bonus was part of a four-year, $9.5MM major league contract, the largest ever given to an amateur position player at the time (the record stood until Bryce Harper showed up this year). Tex was massively productive for the Rangers, hitting .283/.368/.533 with 153 homers in four-plus seasons before being traded the Atlanta. That haul netted the Rangers their current starting shortstop (Elvis Andrus) and closer (Neftali Feliz), not to mention another useful arm in Matt Harrison and their Opening Day catcher (Jarrod Saltalamacchia). That return is the gold standard when it comes to moving superstars.
Texas took Danks with the ninth overall pick in 2003, and he pitched to a 4.20 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 426.1 minor league innings for the team before they traded him and two others to the White Sox for Brandon McCarthy and a minor league in December 2006. Now one of the best starters in the game, Danks never pitched in a game for the team that drafted him.
Sinisi was the 46th overall pick in the same 2003 draft that netted the team Danks, but his career wasn't nearly as productive. He hit .293/.354/.423 in 909 plate appearances with Texas' various minor league affiliates before being traded to the Padres in a May 2006 deal that barely registered on the radar. It brought Freddy Guzman to the Rangers, and Sinisi hasn't played since becoming a minor league free agent after 2009. He never reached the big leagues, and spent three uneventful years in Triple-A.
Diamond was part of the team's highly touted DVD trio of pitching prospects along with Edinson Volquez and Danks. He was the tenth overall pick in the '04 draft and dominated in the minors (3.62 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 4.4 BB/9) before missing the entire 2007 season due to Tommy John surgery. Despite the procedure's high success rate, Diamond never fully regained his stuff nor his already shaky control. The Rangers designated him for assignment last September, after which the Cubs claimed him. Diamond did finally make it to the big leagues this year, making three starts with a 6.83 ERA for the Cubbies.
Odds & Ends: Royals, Pena, Alderson, De La Rosa
Happy 133rd birthday to Archie "Moonlight" Graham. Arguably baseball's most famous one-game player (Eddie Gaedel also has a great case for this distinction), Moonlight Graham's only taste of the majors was one half-inning as a defensive replacement for the 1905 New York Giants. That half-inning grew into immortality thanks to his characterization in W.P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe and its film adaptation Field Of Dreams. Graham, who passed away in 1965, went on to become a doctor in Chisholm, Minnesota following his brief playing career.
Onto some news items…
- Dayton Moore tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that the David DeJesus trade won't deepen the Royals' interest in the free agent market. “It’s not cost effective at this time for us to be real aggressive with major-league free agents,” Moore said.
- Even if Aubrey Huff re-signs with the Giants, CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban thinks the team should look into signing Carlos Pena.
- Fanhouse's Tom Krasovic looks at the pros and cons of Sandy Alderson's tenure as CEO of the Padres and what Mets fans might expect from their new general manager.
- Add the Brewers, Pirates and Rangers to the list of teams believed to be interested in Jorge de la Rosa, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. We know that list already includes the Nationals, Rockies and Yankees.
- If San Francisco really has soured on Pablo Sandoval due to the Panda's conditioning issues, Fangraphs' Matt Klassen thinks other teams should be contacting the Giants about a buy-low trade.
- During the season, an American League executive told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com that Adam Dunn will stay in the NL since he genuinely wants to keep playing in the field. However, this executive predicted "Dunn will consider AL teams at least long enough to try to use them as leverage."
- The Mets will interview Jose Oquendo about the manager's job on Monday, tweets ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin.
- Chad Durbin is receiving interest from teams as both a bullpen and rotation option, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Durbin has made 75 starts in his career, but none since 2007.
- Most of the free agent catching crop will wait until "the lead domino" (Victor Martinez) signs before they look at joining new teams, says Newsday's Ken Davidoff. (Twitter link)
- Chris Coghlan will move to third base next year, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. You can tentatively cross the Marlins off the list of teams exploring the free agent market for help at the hot corner, though it's possible Coghlan could be needed to play second if Florida trades Dan Uggla.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cox, Crawford, DeJesus
Two years ago today the Athletics acquired Matt Holliday from the Rockies in exchange for Carlos Gonzalez, Huston Street, and Greg Smith. Holliday hit .286/.378/.454 in exactly 400 plate appearances with Oakland before being dealt to the Cardinals for a package led by Brett Wallace at the 2009 trade deadline.
Street has battled injuries but has been solid when on the mound for Colorado, pitching to a 3.30 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 109 innings. Smith has appeared in just eight games for the Rox (all starts), putting up a 6.23 ERA. The real get was CarGo, who will certainly be in the MVP mix after a .336/.376/.598 season with 34 doubles, 34 homers, 26 stolen bases, and a batting title.
The hot stove league will certainly bring us more blockbuster trades, but for now you'll have to settle for this long collection of links, the best the blogosphere had to offer this week…
- SPANdemonium interviews Twins prospect Niko Goodrum.
- M.C. Antil reflects on Bobby Cox's time as a GM and manager (part one, part two).
- We Should Be GMs lists the longest tenured player on all 30 teams.
- Sabernomics dispels some hot stove myths.
- U.S.S. Mariner lays out their plan for Seattle's offseason.
- FanSpeak does the same, just for the Baltimore Orioles.
- Meanwhile, Prospect Insider comes up with some trade ideas for the Mariners.
- Baseball Time In Arlington examines the idea of the Rangers signing Carl Crawford.
- Meet The Mess looks at some potential free agent targets for the Mets.
- Royals Review wonders who the "real get" in the David DeJesus trade is.
- At Home Plate thinks the DeJesus deal shows that Kansas City wants to win.
- Drunk Jays Fans chimes in on Zack Greinke and the Blue Jays as only they can.
- The Process Report explains why trading B.J. Upton now makes sense for the Rays.
- Ivy Report believes the Cubs need to strike fast and trade for Adrian Gonzalez.
- SD Sports Net lists some outfielders that could help the Padres next year.
- Athletics Nation provides a scouting report on Hisashi Iwakuma with some help from PitchFX.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness looks at Tsuyoshi Nishioka as a second base option for the Dodgers.
- Red Sox Beacon muses about Boston picking up David Ortiz's option.
- Wahoo Blues looks at some backup plans for the Indians in case Carlos Santana has a setback from his knee injury.
- Examiner wonders if a Prince Fielder for Edwin Jackson trade makes sense.
- Analyze This looks at Jorge de la Rosa as a dark horse free agent.
- Yankeeist examines some designated hitter options for the Yankees.
- Baseball Analytics breaks down Ryan Howard's fall from grace.
- Redleg Nation wants to discuss how valuable Jay Bruce is.
- True Grich rants about the Angels and their offseason.
- Crashburn Alley reflects on Jamie Moyer's playing career.
- Mets Gazette provided part one of their top 50 free agents list with predictions. Here's Tim Dierkes' list for comparison.
- Fantasy Rundown compiles links for all of the various prospect lists out there.
- Last, but certainly not least, Pine Tar And Pocket Protectors provides your 2011 Montreal Expos roster.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Rangers Pursuing Lee, V-Mart; Can Spend Big
The Rangers have enough spending power to add Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Texas is pursuing both free agents and has approval from ownership to boost payroll above $90MM.
The Rangers opened the 2010 season with a $55MM payroll, but new ownership, a new TV deal, better attendance and a World Series appearance have put the team in a position to spend. The former Indians teammates are among the most highly coveted free agents available; seven to eight teams have shown interest in Lee and Martinez has drawn interest from at least six teams, including the Red Sox and Tigers.
Minor League Transactions: Clevlen, Moss, Cash
The latest minor league transactions include a number of familiar names. Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the details:
- The Braves re-signed Brent Clevlen and signed independent leaguer Beau Torbert, who posted tremendous numbers in the American Association this year. Earlier in the week, Torbert told David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he's excited to be joining the Braves.
- The Astros signed right-hander Casey Fien. Fien has appeared in 11 games for the Tigers, but the 27-year-old has not proven himself against big league hitters.
- Former Yankees lefty Royce Ring elected free agency.
- The Pirates released Chris Jakubauskas and saw Brandon Moss elect free agency. Moss arrived in Pittsburgh in the Jason Bay trade, but he hit just .228/.295/.373 in parts of three seasons for the Pirates.
- Former Mariners catcher Guillermo Quiroz became a free agent.
- The Rangers signed Kevin Cash. The 32-year-old backstop posted a .483 OPS for the Astros and Red Sox last year and threw out an uncharacteristically low percentage of would be base stealers.
Jeff Francoeur Becomes A Free Agent
Jeff Francoeur has hit free agency after clearing waivers and declining an outright assignment to the minors, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The 26-year-old split the 2010 season between the Mets and Rangers, batting .249/.300/.383 in 503 plate appearances.
Francoeur earned $5MM last year and would have been eligible for arbitration again, so the Rangers were expected to non-tender him. This move is essentially an early non-tender, as it allows Francoeur to explore the free agent market a month early. He has said he'd like to play every day, but a part-time role may be more likely given his struggles against righties (.699 career OPS) and success against lefties (.824 career OPS).
Seven To Eight Teams Show Interest In Cliff Lee
1:55pm: The Astros may make a run at Lee, in the opinion of SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter link). He names the Cubs, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, and Phillies as other surprising suitors.
11:40am: Seven to eight teams have already shown interest in free agent lefty Cliff Lee, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says the Yankees and Rangers are still the favorites, but the Phillies, Dodgers, and others have checked in.
As Rosenthal notes, it's questionable as to whether the Phillies or Dodgers could come up with the money for Lee. He's expected to sign for significantly more than $100MM. I imagine the Nationals checked in as well; they do have the money and are known to be interested. While the Red Sox and Angels appear poised to spend their money on position players, we won't count them out until they say so. At any rate, I'm excited to use the Mystery Team category here at MLBTR for the first time this offseason.
Odds & Ends: Francoeur, Theriot, Braves, Hacker
Links for Tuesday, as the American League Gold Glove winners are announced…
- Rangers outfielder Jeff Francoeur is expected to clear waivers and become a free agent by week's end, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Francoeur would have been non-tendered on December 2nd, otherwise.
- Speaking of non-tender candidates, Dodgers second baseman Ryan Theriot told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick he hopes to return next year.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan provides his top 164 free agents.
- ESPN's Keith Law says Arthur Rhodes is a player to avoid, in his relievers buyer's guide (Insider required).
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution speculates on outfield options for the Braves.
- Minor league free agent Eric Hacker signed a big league deal with the Twins, agent Matt Sosnick told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). Hacker, 28 in March, posted a 4.57 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and 1.1 HR/9 in 165 2/3 Triple-A innings for the Giants' affiliate this year.
Odds & Ends: Hale, Pirates, O’s, Free Agents
With the free agency period officially upon us, many of today's links focus on either the top players available or which of those players particular teams will pursue. Let's round 'em up….
- DeMarlo Hale will interview for the Mets managerial opening, reports Maureen Mullen of Comcast SportsNet. Hale was a finalist for the Blue Jays' job before Toronto hired John Farrell.
- Jon Heyman hears that the Pirates are going after players aggressively in the early stages of free agency (Twitter link).
- The Orioles have hired Mark Connor as their pitching coach, according to the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly. A former Twins' minor leaguer, Connor was Buck Showalter's pitching coach with the Yankees, D'Backs, and Rangers as well.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe breaks down the top free agents by position and lists some possible destinations.
- In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Keith Law breaks down his top 50 free agents, with Cliff Lee topping the list. Meanwhile, there's no Insider account required for Newsday's Ken Davidoff's top 30 free agents and accompanying predictions.
- The baseball writers at FOX Sports predict the landing spots for some of the best available players, in slideshow form.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan names ten free agents he thinks the Rangers will consider signing.
- Mark Simon of ESPNNewYork proposes some realistic free agent targets for the Mets.
- In his Insider-only ESPN.com blog, Buster Olney identifies a few players who may be hurt by their Type A status this winter.
- There are a few "hot stove myths" to keep in mind as you follow rumors and signings this offseason, writes J.C. Bradbury at Sabernomics.
- Jorge de la Rosa's agent, Bobby Barad, tells Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post that he has already received multiple calls from teams expressing a "sincere interest" in his client.
- The Padres are rebuilding once again, writes Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune.