Odds and Ends: Lester, Arbitration, Beimel
Links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority hosts a roundtable discussion of the worst fantasy picks of the first three rounds.
- Nationals president Stan Kasten expects "heavy trade talk," given the team’s surplus of first basemen/outfielders. Nick Johnson is the most likely candidate.
- Mark Sweeney may be forced into retirement, according to Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News.
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal wonders if Jon Lester could be the next Red Sox player to get a long-term extension.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball analyzes the salary arbitration class of 2009.
- Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle has Astros GM Ed Wade explain split contracts.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes the Yankees outfielders and Scott Boras clients Xavier Nady and Johnny Damon have been affected by the Stanford financial scandal.
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says Joe Beimel turned down a minor league offer from the Rangers about a month ago. Tough time to be a lefty reliever.
Rangers To Watch Chad Cordero
Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News talked to Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who said the team will be represented at Chad Cordero‘s audition this week.
Other teams rumored to have interest at various points: the Royals, Brewers, Marlins, Dodgers, Twins, Angels, Mets, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Nationals, and Tigers. We know the Mets will probably pass.
D’Backs Working On Sign-And-Trade Deal?
According to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com, the Diamondbacks could be hammering out a sign-and-trade deal with reliever Juan Cruz.
"I can’t say too much," Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes said Monday. "But of late, they’ve talked to the union, we have talked to the Commissioner’s Office to see if there is a way where they could sign through us and then we would receive in trade what we would deem as enough value."
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic also has a column on the topic. Ken Rosenthal and La Velle E. Neal III have done a nice job of explaining this complicated situation. As Neal notes, the Twins may be interested in Cruz if they aren’t forced to surrender a high draft pick for his services. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan says the Brewers and Rangers also have interest in Cruz.
Rangers Consider Josh Hamilton Extension
MONDAY: A minor update from Sullivan:
The Rangers have expressed an interest to Hamilton’s agent Michael Moye and got a positive response in return. No offers have been exchanged on either side.
THURSDAY: MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers may attempt to sign Josh Hamilton to a long-term deal this spring. He notes that the Rangers have a history of doing spring deals with pre-arbitration players, with Ian Kinsler, Hank Blalock, and Michael Young serving as examples.
I wonder if Dustin Pedroia‘s recent six-year, $40.5MM extension could be a model, as both players have two years of service time. Nick Markakis has three years service time already. But if you look at his third through his eighth seasons, he’ll earn about $47MM.
Rangers Sign Andruw Jones
TUESDAY, 10:16pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Rangers finalized their deal with Jones. He has contract details, including a March 20th opt-out.
SUNDAY, 8:31pm: Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that the Dodgers will receive half of the money Jones gets from the Rangers in ’09.
8:01pm: Manager Ron Washington seems to think Jones will find success with the Rangers. This quote comes via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
"[Hitting coach] Rudy [Jaramillo] liked what he saw in his swing and thinks he can help him be consistent," said Washington. "He could be an impact. He was an impact for 12 years in Atlanta… I’m excited to have him. I think it’s a big challenge for him. We’re looking forward to seeing what he may still have and how he can help us."
1:23pm: Jeff Wilson has confirmation of the deal from Rangers GM Jon Daniels. Jones can opt out of his contract on March 20.
10:45am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports the Rangers will sign Andruw Jones to a minor league contract in the next few days.
The deal is for $500,000 if he makes the big league club and includes $1MM in bonuses; however, Sherman notes, he would have to be a full-time player to earn the full one million. The Rangers already have five outfielders that Jones will need to compete with for a starting role, most notably David Murphy or Nelson Cruz – so his chances are slim. Even as a backup he’s competing with Frank Catalanotto and Marlon Byrd.
Minor League Transactions From BA
Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the minor league transactions for January 31st through February 6th. A few I hadn’t seen yet: the Tigers signed Ruddy Lugo and the Rangers inked Bryan Corey.
Rangers Have Crowded Outfield
Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that the Rangers have six candidates for the outfield: Josh Hamilton, Andruw Jones, Nelson Cruz, David Murphy, Frank Catalanotto, and Marlon Byrd. Is a trade in order?
Hamilton is a lock for one spot, and last I read the Rangers were intent on giving the out of options Cruz regular work (perhaps even in center field). We may be looking at Jones, Murphy, Catalanotto, and Byrd battling for two spots.
The commitment to Catalanotto is ugly: $4MM in ’09 plus another $2MM for his ’10 buyout. The contract plus his ability to play first base may keep him in Texas unless he can be swapped for another contract.
Jones could be cut if he doesn’t impress in Spring Training, or he could opt out on March 20th if he doesn’t like the way his role is shaping up. Rangers president Nolan Ryan seems quite fond of Murphy.
Byrd seems the likeliest trade candidate, especially if Jones makes the team. Sherman likes Byrd as a center field stopgap for the Yankees; he’s earning $3.06MM in his last year before free agency. The Cubs were after him a year ago, but seem filled up now. The White Sox could make sense but have not been connected to Byrd in rumors.
Rangers Considering Andruw Jones
8:58pm: Jeff Wilson writes in the Dallas Morning News that Andruw Jones worked out at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Jan. 26. Rangers GM Jon Daniels confirmed that Jones worked out with Rudy Jaramillo, the Rangers hitting coach.
Wilson writes that Jones would probably be offered a minor-league contract with an invite to Spring Training.
3:32pm: T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com chimes in on the Andruw Jones rumor.
The article suggests we downgrade from "close to agreement" status, as we reported earlier, to "strongly considering," to quote Sullivan.
1:57pm: Andruw Jones is close to signing a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers, Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown reports.
Brown also states that Jones had earlier declined a non-roster invitation to Spring Training from the New York Yankees.
The signing could potentially help the team move Josh Hamilton to right field, which would likely keep him healthier over the course of an entire season. Of course, Jones’ most recent major league showings have indicated a need for drastic improvement before he can contribute at a big league level.
Rangers Sign Brendan Donnelly
8:33pm: T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com confirmed the signing, saying that Donnelly will compete for a roster spot in Spring Training.
7:14pm: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rangers have signed RP Brendan Donnelly to a one-year, $950,000 minor league deal. The contract stipulates that if Donnelly is not on the major league roster between March 27 and April 27, he can ask for his release.
Donnelly underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2007. He came back with the Indians last year, posting an underwhelming 8.56 ERA in 13.2 innings. He has a 3.12 ERA in 319 big league games.
Rangers Sign Jason Jennings
10:54pm: Renck says Jennings can make $1.45MM in incentives for innings pitched, on top of his $800K base salary.
9:07am: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rangers signed pitcher Jason Jennings to a minor league deal.
Jennings was a bust after the Astros acquired him for the ’07 season; he had surgery for a torn flexor tendon in his elbow in August of that year. Sound familiar? It’s the same injury Ben Sheets has. Jennings was still able to get $4MM guaranteed from the Rangers before the ’08 season, reminding us how drastically the market has changed in one year. Jennings had another flexor tendon surgery in May of ’08 (the first surgery "didn’t take.") MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan notes that the Rangers had interest in Odalis Perez before he re-signed with the Nationals. In a blog post, Sullivan looks at some other flexor tendon cases, with Andy Pettitte being the best one.