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Blue Jays Hire John Gibbons

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7:37am: The Blue Jays confirmed that they have hired Gibbons to manage the team.

12:06am: The Blue Jays will announce John Gibbons as their new manager at some point on Tuesday morning, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.

Gibbons served as the Blue Jays manager from 2004-08, leading the team to an even 305 wins and 305 losses, including a second-place finish in the AL East back in 2006. He was replaced by Cito Gaston in 2008, and has since been a bench coach for the Royals and managed for the Padres' Double-A affiliate.

Gibbons came under heavy scrutiny during his first tenure as the Blue Jays manager, following confrontations with Dave Bush, Shea Hillenbrand and Ted Lilly. However, as Elliott notes, he has a long history with Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

Other candidates for the Blue Jays' managerial opening had included Don Wakamatsu, Manny Acta and Jim Tracy. According to Elliott, the team also approached future Hall of Famer Bobby Cox, but Cox elected to remain retired.

Minor Moves: Evans, Pie, Carson, Hunter

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We'll keep track of the latest minor moves here… 

  • Nick Evans has signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. A broken hand limited the soon-to-be 27-year-old to just 21 games in the Pirates' minor league system last season. Evans has a career .256/.305/.407 batting line in 159 games with the Mets.
  • The Pirates signed Felix Pie to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (on Twitter). Pie, 27, spent the 2012 season with the Braves' top affiliate and hit .285/.338/.459 in 365 plate appearances.
  • The Indians announced that they signed outfielders Matt Carson and Cedric Hunter to minor league contracts that include invitations to MLB Spring Training. Carson, 31, appeared in 26 games with the Twins this past season, posting a .227/.246/.242 batting line in 69 plate appearances and playing both corner outfield positions. Hunter, 24, spent the 2012 season with the Cardinals' top affiliate, posting a .268/.355/.375 batting line in 412 plate appearances at Triple-A.
  • The Blue Jays signed right-hander Bobby Korecky to a minor league contract, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. The 33-year-old pitched in one game for the Blue Jays in 2012, then lost his 40-man roster spot early in October. Korecky spent most of this past season pitching in relief for Toronto's Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.44 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 86 1/3 innings with Las Vegas.

Quick Hits: Blue Jays, Cubs, Nishioka, Mariners

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Four years ago today, the Cubs officially announced that they had signed Ryan Dempster to a four-year, $52MM contract. Dempster was worth 12.9 wins above replacement over the life of that contract, according to FanGraphs, who valued his production in those four years at $56.3MM. Now a free agent, Dempster will seek what could be the last major contract of his big league career, and interested suitors are hoping he can once again exceed his contract's value.

Here are tonight's links from around the league…

  • Jose Bautista tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca that prior to signing his five-year, $65MM extension, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos promised him that when the time was right, he'd add the pieces to make a big run. Bautista tells Davidi that he always believed in Anthopoulos, and now his faith has been rewarded: "We had a great club before this, but now we have an elite club."
  • Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago tweets that the Cubs are not currently in talks to trade away any of their young players.
  • Former Twins infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka has signed a two-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers, according to a Sponichi report. Nishioka's deal is worth 600 million yen. That translates to about $7.4MM, meaning he'll earn more money than he forfeited in asking for his release from Minnesota.
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times looks at several Mariners issues in his latest blog post. Baker opines that Josh Hamilton has never been a realistic target for GM Jack Zduriencik and also explains why he feels Billy Butler is a realistic trade target despite the presence of Jesus Montero and John Jaso on the roster. Both Montero and Jaso saw significant time at DH in 2012.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio examines five potential trading partners the Diamondbacks could talk to about Justin Upton (ESPN Insider required). Bowden looks at players that would interest Arizona GM Kevin Towers on the Rangers, Rays, Tigers, Indians and Braves.

Blue Jays Sign Melky Cabrera

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The Blue Jays have officially announced the signing of Melky Cabrera to a two-year, $16MM contract. Cabrera is represented by the ACES agency.

Melky Cabrera - Giants (PW)

Cabrera served a season-ending 50 game suspension under the Joint Drug Program this past season. The 28-year-old was suspended for having elevated levels of testosterone, a performance-enhancing substance.

“My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used," Cabrera said at the time. "I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down.”

Before his suspension, Cabrera was enjoying the best season of his career. He posted a .346/.390/.516 batting line with 11 home runs, 25 doubles and 10 triples in 501 plate appearances with the Giants. Cabrera played both corner outfield positions in 2012, generating approximately 4.6 wins above replacement according to the versions of the metric available at FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.

Toronto's agreement with Cabrera pushes Anthony Gose, Moises Sierra and Rajai Davis down on the team's depth chart. The deal would be the most lucrative free agent contract since Alex Anthopoulos became the club's GM, surpassing the recent three-year, $10MM agreement with Maicer Izturis. Of course, the Blue Jays added significant payroll with a blockbuster trade earlier in the week, adding Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle.

Cabrera ranked 18th on MLBTR's list of the offseason's top free agents. His deal resembles the contracts signed by free agent outfielders Jason Kubel ($15MM for two years) and Coco Crisp ($14MM for two years) last offseason.

Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com was the first to report the agreement and the terms of the contract.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

 

Rangers Interested In Arencibia, Buck

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The Rangers are known to be seeking catching help this offseason, and Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com tweets that both J.P. Arencibia and John Buck appear to be on their list of targets.

The Blue Jays have three serviceable catchers on their Major League roster following this past week's blockbuster trade, including top prospect Travis d'Arnaud. With nearly every position on the field accounted for following the Melky Cabrera signing, it's safe to speculate that the Blue Jays would seek more pitching in return for one of their backstops.

Texas' primary catcher for the past two seasons has been Mike Napoli, but it appears there's a good chance that he'll sign elsewhere via free agency. General manager Jon Daniels acquired Geovany Soto from the Cubs over the summer, but the former Rookie of the Year's projected $4.6MM salary and dwindling production make him a non-tender candidate.

Arencibia, who will turn 27 in January, has averaged 29 homers per 162 games to date in his young Major League career, but also has an underwhelming .275 career on-base percentage. He won't be arbitration eligible until after the 2013 season.

Buck, 32, cashed in on his career year in 2010 (.281/.314/.481 with 20 homers) to the tune of a three-year, $18MM contract with the Marlins that offseason. He has one year and $6MM remaining on his contract, but has slumped since signing his deal. In two full seasons with the Marlins, he batted just .213/.308/.358 with a more than half of his walks coming from the eighth spot in the order, ahead of the pitcher.

The Rangers have also been connected to Russell Martin so far this offseason.

Blue Jays Designate Joel Carreno For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced that they designated right-hander Joel Carreno for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for the players acquired in the club’s recently approved 12-player deal with Miami.

Carreno, 25, appeared in 11 games for Toronto this past season. He posted a 6.14 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9 in 22 innings at the MLB level. In seven seasons as a minor leaguer, Carreno has a 3.48 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Blue Jays, Marlins Complete Blockbuster Trade

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Commissioner Bud Selig has approved the blockbuster trade that the Blue Jays and Marlins agreed to last week.  The Blue Jays announced the 12-player trade, which sends Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, John Buck, Emilio Bonifacio and cash considerations to Toronto for Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Henderson Alvarez, Jeff Mathis, Justin Nicolino, Anthony Desclafani and Jake Marisnick.

The deal, which calls for the Marlins to send the Blue Jays $4MM, required the approval of the commissioner's office.  The Blue Jays are taking on tens of millions in future payroll obligations, while the Marlins are moving the contracts of Reyes and Buehrle less than one full year after signing them as free agents.

Ultimately the deal "represents the exercise of plausible baseball judgment on the part of both clubs," Selig said in a statement approving the trade.

Reyes, 29, hit .287/.347/.433 with eleven home runs in 716 plate appearances last season.  The batting line wasn't quite as impressive as the .337/.384/.493 he put up in his contract year with New York, but it was promising to see the shortstop appear in 160 games after missing 191 games across the previous three seasons.  Despite the club's disappointing performance last season, Reyes said over the summer that he didn't have any regrets about signing with Miami.  

Buehrle's deal, like Reyes', is heavily backloaded with the hurler set to earn $11MM in 2013, $18MM in 2014, and $19MM in 2015 after making just $6MM in 2012.  The contract also includes a $4MM signing bonus that's deferred without interest.  While considering a number of offers, Buehrle was said to be prioritizing a no-trade clause, something he didn't end up receiving from the Marlins.  The veteran had a 3.74 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 31 starts for Miami last season.  

Bonifacio played just 64 games in an injury-riddled 2011 campaign.  The 27-year-old can fill a number of different roles, having experience at all three outfield positions, second base, shortstop, and third base.  Buck, 32, earned his first All-Star selection in 2010 as a member of the Blue Jays.  His offensive production regressed in the two years since, posting a .213/.308/.358 batting line for the Marlins.

While the Marlins gave up a substantial amount of talent in the trade, they won't be coming away empty handed.  Hechavarria was a highly-regarded prospect in the Blue Jays' organization and his play reportedly had Toronto executives ready to part with Escobar in the right trade.  Of course, this megadeal sends both shortstops out of town.

Escobar struggled at the plate last season, hitting .253/.300/.344 with nine homers in 608 plate appearances.  The infielder does come with a team-friendly contract, however, as he'll earn $5MM in 2013 with team options for the same amount in '14 and '15.  For his career, the 30-year-old has a .282/.353/.390 batting line in six seasons with the Braves and Blue Jays.  Mathis, 29, came to the Blue Jays last season in a trade for Brad Mills that helped ease the Angels' catching glut.  The veteran will earn $3MM across the next two seasons with a club option for 2015 worth $1.5MM.

The Marlins also picked up a quartet of quality youngsters in the trade.  Alvarez, 22, made 31 starts for the Blue Jays last season with a 4.85 ERA and 3.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.  Nicolino, taken in the second-round of the 2010 draft, has received high praise for his aggressive pitching and willingness to pound the strike zone.  The Florida native cruised through Single-A ball last year, posting a 2.46 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9.

Marisnick, 21, was rated as the No. 67 prospect in the country and the No. 3 prospect in the Blue Jays' organization after the 2011 season by Baseball America.  The publication also considered the former third-round pick to have the best defensive skillset and arm of any outfielder in the Toronto farm system.  DeSclafani, taken in the sixth-round of the 2011 draft, posted a 3.37 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in his debut season for Single-A Lansing.

MLBTR's Zach Links contributed to this post.

Blue Jays Notes: Manager, Blockbuster

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The Blue Jays have made more moves than any other team to this point in the offseason, completing six waiver claims, a managerial deal, two multiyear free agent contracts and a blockbuster trade. Here’s the latest from Toronto…

  • The Blue Jays are focusing on veteran managers, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports. They’ve told some people they’d prefer to hire an established manager “with an edge,” according to Knobler. The Blue Jays have spoken to Hargrove, but they haven’t spoken to Jim Fregosi, Jim Riggleman or Bobby Valentine and don’t appear to have contacted Lou Piniella.
  • The Blue Jays have asked former Mariners executives about former Seattle manager Mike Hargrove, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports (on Twitter). Hargrove, 63, has experience managing the Indians, Orioles and Mariners. The Indians made it to the World Series in 1995 and 1997 under Hargrove, who played at the MLB level for 12 seasons.
  • The Blue Jays-Marlins blockbuster is still on the path to approval, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (all Twitter links). The delay in announcing the deal indicates that commissioner Bud Selig isn’t pleased with the Marlins. Though Selig can take his time evaluating the trade, the teams could get approval as soon as today and it’d be a shock if it doesn’t go through.

Blue Jays Close To Naming New Manager

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SUNDAY: Former Indians manager Manny Acta has been strongly reviewed by the Blue Jays, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.

SATURDAY, 10:42am: The Blue Jays have not contacted Riggleman according to his agent Burton Rocks, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Riggleman would be interested in the job, however.

10:20am: The Blue Jays have been a busy team all week, first agreeing to a blockbuster trade then signing Melky Cabrera. ESPN's Buster Olney hears that the club is now close to naming a new manager as well, with two of the finalists being Jim Tracy and Jim Riggleman.

Tracy, 56, led the Rockies to a 294-308 record during his 3+ years at the helm. He resigned from the job last month. Riggleman, 60, last managed in the big leagues with the Nationals, leading them to a record in 140-172 record in 2+ years. He resigned from the team in June of 2011. Olney speculates (on Twitter) that the Blue Jays could hire a manager really in-tune with the running game given the presence of Jose Reyes, Rajai Davis, Emilio Bonifacio, and others.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Silverman’s Latest: Greinke, Royals, Rays, Blue Jays

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Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald that he was unsure if he'd be able to acquire Miguel Cabrera (and Dontrelle Willis) in 2007. “A lot of clubs were involved and I didn’t think it was going to work for us for where we were financially,” said Dombrowski. “Once we sat down with the Marlins, it took us just a day to work out that deal. It happened very fast.”

Here are Silverman's rumors…

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