Rangers Claim Hernan Iribarren Off Waivers
12:13pm: The Rangers have claimed Iribarren, tweets Haudricourt. Texas was on the lookout for a utility player after voiding Khalil Greene's contract.
12:03pm: The Brewers have placed infielder Hernan Iribarren on waivers according to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel, and they expire today. Iribarren is out of options, and needs to clear waivers to go to the minors.
The 25-year-old is a .185/.241/.296 hitter in 29 big league plate appearances, though he's a .314/.371/.418 hitter in the minor leagues. Iribarren has spent the majority of his time at second base, though he's also seen a little time at third and in the outfield.
Ramon Vazquez Could Be Traded Or Released
Infielder Ramon Vazquez is fighting to make the Pirates, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Vazquez said he's been told he's not on the team right now, despite being guaranteed $2MM in 2010. GM Neal Huntington admitted he has to consider a trade of some sort, having six players for four bench spots.
A release is the least-desirable approach for the Pirates, since they'd still owe Vazquez's $2MM salary (less $400K if he joins another big league club). A trade makes more sense, with Kovacevic naming the Rangers and Orioles as possible matches. Vazquez, 33, hit .230/.335/.279 in 239 plate appearances last year while playing second base, shortstop, and third base. His poor performance may have been related to a knee injury.
Huntington's plan when signing Vazquez in December of '08 may have been to find a credible back-up middle infielder in case the team traded Freddy Sanchez and/or Jack Wilson. But you have to question his $4MM commitment to Vazquez, a journeyman platoon player who still didn't hit lefties in his career year '08 season.
Ruiz, Ex-Agent Clash Over Split
Jose Julio Ruiz's recent change in agents, from Jorge Luis Toca to Legacy Sports, appears to have been far from amicable. Both Ruiz and Toca lobbed barbs yesterday through the Nuevo Herald's Luis Rangel (link in Spanish).
Among the claims: Toca says the Red Sox offered $2.5MM for Ruiz, but adds the team later withdrew their offer after seeing Ruiz "out of shape and overweight" last Monday. He also says Ruiz showed up for tryouts without a glove, leading some on the Boston side to conclude the Cuban prospect had "a bad character."
According to the agent, the Rangers offered $2MM to Ruiz and the Blue Jays offered $1.5MM, even though Ruiz's tryouts in front of scouts were disastrous, with the first baseman only managing 10 or 12 hits in over 100 ABs. Toca says he was negotiating with Tampa Bay last Thursday when Ruiz called him and announced the split because "he could not stand it anymore." He says he is planning legal action against the player for expenses, claiming Ruiz used his agency to get information about teams and money to give to other agents.
Ruiz replies that far from being out of shape, he was "better than ever" in recent workouts for Texas and Toronto. In regards to the Red Sox, he says he "could not do anything" during the workout because of a hangnail on his ring finger. He claims not to know where Toca's "10 or 12 hits" figure comes from, as he never staged any official tryouts. Ruiz insists his value fell on the market because of Toca's agency communicating poorly and "not doing their job," saying, "I believe if I had been with other people, I would have signed long before."
Rangers Links: Daniels, Harden, Trades
We've got all kinds of Rangers links to dish out…
- ESPN's Richard Durrett has a fantastic article focusing on Rangers GM Jon Daniels. The piece chronicles Daniels' rise, his early mistakes (especially the Josh Beckett non-trade), and the May '07 decision to stockpile young talent.
- Daniels admitted to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez that the Rangers don't have a lot of catching depth right now, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Toby Hall battling ailing shoulders.
- ESPN's Keith Law says his "early look [at Rich Harden] was very discouraging." The Rangers guaranteed $7.5MM to Harden in the December signing.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wonders if the Rangers and Twins can match up on a trade, with Texas sending bullpen arms to Minnesota for an infielder and/or catcher.
- Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram polled "several baseball people" on whether Chris Davis or Justin Smoak will be the team's starting first baseman in 2012. Surprisingly, Mitch Moreland's name came up multiple times. The Galloway blurb led Jamey Newberg to ponder whether Davis or Smoak could be traded this summer.
- The Rangers' sale to Chuck Greenberg is on track to be finalized on April 1st, tweets Sanchez.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan sees out of options Rangers pitcher Luis Mendoza as a trade candidate if he doesn't make the team.
- For even more on the Rangers, check out our Offseason In Review from March 4th.
2011 Vesting Options
Vesting options are always fun for hot stove junkies to follow during the season. Last year we had Kevin Millwood's $12 Million Out and the Tigers allowing Magglio Ordonez's pricey option to vest. 2011 vesting options to watch this year:
- Brian Fuentes, Angels: $9MM option vests with 55 games finished. Fuentes has finished 55+ three times in his career, last year included. Fernando Rodney will be lurking.
- Billy Wagner, Braves: $6.5MM option vests with 50 games finished.
- Trever Miller, Cardinals: $2MM option vests with 45 games, but reverts to a club option with a left arm or shoulder injury.
- Matt Cain, Giants: $6.25MM option vests with 182.3 innings or 27 starts. The Giants will exercise this even if it doesn't vest, as the alternative will be going to arbitration with Cain and potentially paying him more.
- Kerry Wood, Indians: $11MM option vests with 55 games finished. A trade into a non-closing job could affect Wood's bank account. That's three closers whose GF totals we'll be monitoring.
- Alex Cora, Mets: $2MM option vests with 80 starts.
- Darren Oliver, Rangers: $3.25MM option vests with 59 appearances.
- Ramon Hernandez, Reds: $3.25MM option vests with 120 games played.
- Magglio Ordonez, Tigers: $15MM option vests with 135 starts or 540 plate appearances.
- Note that a game finished is given to the last non-starting pitcher of record. Also, thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Rangers Acquire Edwar Ramirez
The Rangers acquired reliever Edwar Ramirez from the Yankees for cash considerations, tweets Jack Curry. Ramirez had been designated for assignment on February 28th to clear a spot for Chan Ho Park.
Ramirez, 29 this month, whiffed 10.6 per nine in his 98.3 career big league innings with the Yankees. Walks and home runs were a problem, though not nearly as much in recent Triple A stints.
Cafardo On Hamilton, Beckett, Jackson, Green
Roy Halladay hopes and expects to pitch in the postseason with the Philadelphia Phillies, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo also notes that the Red Sox made a fair trade proposal for the ex-Jay, but that Toronto needed to be blown away to deal their ace within the division. Here are some of Cafardo's other hot stove notes:
- One National League scout had this to say about the possibility of the Rangers trading Josh Hamilton: "Everybody in Texas denies it, and I don’t know what to base it on, but there’s a feeling the Rangers may do something, and teams want to be ready." A handful of scouts are keeping an eye on the slugger, just in case.
- The Red Sox' extension talks with Josh Beckett have at least been "amicable, if not productive." Like they did with the J.D. Drew and John Lackey contracts, the Sox could attempt to include medical language in their offer to Beckett.
- After being traded out of New York this winter, Austin Jackson feels more comfortable with Detroit, no longer weighed down by comparisons to legendary Yankee outfielders of the past.
- The Red Sox offered Nick Green a minor league contract before he signed with the Dodgers, and now he represents the type of player they need: a backup shortstop. The team is hoping that Bill Hall proves capable of handling the role so that Jed Lowrie can play every day in Triple-A.
Offseason In Review: Texas Rangers
Next in our Offseason In Review series, the Rangers.
Major League Signings
- Rich Harden, SP: one year, $7.5MM. Includes $11MM mutual option for 2011 with a $1MM buyout.
- Vladimir Guerrero, DH: one year, $6.5MM. Includes $9MM mutual option for 2011 with a $1MM buyout
- Colby Lewis, SP: two years, $5MM. Includes $3.25MM club option for 2012 with a $250K buyout.
- Darren Oliver, RP: one year, $3.5MM. Includes $3.25MM club/vesting option for 2011 with a $500K buyout.
- Total spend: $22.5MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RP Clay Rapada from Tigers for a player to be named later or cash considerations
- Acquired RP Chris Ray and Rule 5 pick RP Ben Snyder from Orioles for SP Kevin Millwood and $3MM
- Acquired 1B Mitch Hilligoss from Yankees for OF Greg Golson
Notable Losses
- Marlon Byrd, Kevin Millwood, Hank Blalock, Andruw Jones, Omar Vizquel, Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Jennings, Eddie Guardado, Kris Benson, Joe Inglett, Greg Golson
Summary
Rangers GM Jon Daniels chose to gamble on upside this winter with the signings of Harden, Lewis, and Guerrero. Harden could provide 150 innings of sub-3.00 ball, but he could also succumb to injuries or continue his homer-prone ways of '09. Lewis could prove his massive success in Japan the last two years was no fluke, or his skills could be lost in translation. Vlad could return to his 600 plate appearance/.900 OPS glory days, or he could have another injury-plagued year.
I like the strategy. Daniels did not play it safe with the money he had available, yet his moves will not hurt the franchise long-term. Don't forget that the Rangers have the best farm system in baseball. Given the club option, Lewis could even be helping the Rangers affordably in 2012.
If Vlad and Josh Hamilton are able to stay healthy, the Rangers should have a slightly above-average offense (based on CHONE projections). Their attack looks powerful – only Elvis Andrus projects to slug under .400. The rotation seems unpredictable. We already discussed Harden and Lewis, while projections suggest Scott Feldman and Tommy Hunter will regress. Options run deep, with studs like Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz in the mix, Martin Perez drawing raves, and Brandon McCarthy and Matt Harrison battling for innings.
The Rangers deserve credit for a strong offseason. If they're in contention midseason and need another piece, no team is better-positioned to trade for a star player.
Heyman On Adrian, Jeter, Hamilton
SI's Jon Heyman leads his latest column with a discussion about Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who he feels is likely to be shopped hard at this year's trade deadline. I've noted before that Gonzalez's market should not be limited to big-spending clubs, as he's set to earn just $10.25MM for 2010-11. It's fitting that Heyman believes as many as 10 to 12 teams already inquired, including the Red Sox, Mets, Mariners, and Dodgers. On to Heyman's other rumors…
- Heyman spoke to "two executives from competing teams" who believe Derek Jeter "could ask for a six-year deal." The idea is that a six-year extension would take Jeter to age 42, as Alex Rodriguez's contract does.
- Heyman notes that Josh Hamilton turned down a four-year, $24MM offer from the Rangers last year. The security might've made sense for Hamilton given his injury problems.
- One executive Heyman spoke to believes the availability of decent free agents, perhaps continuing into the season, could reduce trading.
Minor League Signings: Van Benschoten, Bourgeois
Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the latest minor league transactions. A few highlights:
- The Yankees signed pitcher John Van Benschoten, former eighth overall pick by the Pirates in '01. JvB posted a 6.35 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, and tons of hits allowed in 78 innings for the White Sox Triple A club last year.
- The Astros signed 28-year-old outfielder Jason Bourgeois, who they claimed off waivers from the Brewers in October but designated for assignment later to make room for Brett Myers. Bourgeois hit .316/.354/.401 in Triple A last year while playing all three outfield positions.
- The Rockies added a few familiar names in first baseman Brad Eldred and third baseman Travis Metcalf. Eldred, 29, has made five stops at Triple A, last year with the Nationals' affiliate. Metcalf, 27, has 242 big league plate appearances with the Rangers under his belt but has yet to master Triple A.
- The Dodgers signed Robin Yount's son Dustin, formerly of the Tucson Toros.
- The Rangers signed corner infielder Wes Bankston. The 26-year-old hasn't done much in his four Triple A stints.