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Regular MLBTR Features

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If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, our Week In Review posts and Mike Axisa's Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:

  • MLBTR Chats - Come by every Wednesday at 2pm CDT to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the Major Leagues.
  • Baseball Blogs Weigh In - Every Friday morning, Mike Axisa directs you to some of the best writing on baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to send Mike a post of yours, reach him at: mike@riveraveblues.com.
  • Week In Review - It's remarkable how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, we summarize the week's biggest stories in our Week In Review posts.
  • MLBTR Originals - We gather all our original analysis and reporting in one place every Sunday night.

Commenting Policy

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MLBTR is increasing efforts to enforce our commenting policy.  The goal is to raise the level of discourse in the comments, part of which involves eliminating inappropriate language and insults.

Comments of this nature are not allowed:

  • Attacks or insults towards other commenters, the post author, journalists, teams, players, or agents
  • Inappropriate language, including swearing and related censor bypass attempts, lewdness, insults, and crude terms for body parts, bodily functions, and physical acts.  Overall, we don’t want any language that a parent would not want their kid to see.
  • Juvenile comments or extensive use of text message-type spelling
  • Writing comments in all or mostly caps
  • Spam-type links or self-promotion.  Please submit to our weekly Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature if you have a website or blog.  Currently, permissible links in the comments are limited to MLB.com, Cot’s Baseball Contracts, FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, and MLB Trade Rumors.  Comments linking to other sites will be deleted.
  • Comments about how you're sick of this topic or it's not newsworthy
  • No inappropriate avatars or images are allowed
  • Anything else we deem bad for business

If you see comments that fit the above criteria, please flag them and/or contact us.  Bans may be handed out liberally by our moderators, without second chances.  Remaining civil is not that difficult, though, and most commenters have no problems doing so as well as helping rein each other in.  We at MLBTR are grateful for long-time commenters and readers, though this policy applies equally regardless of tenure.  This policy is always available at the bottom of the site, and will be re-posted monthly.

No International Draft For 2013

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SUNDAY: Clubs will actually be allowed to spend up to $3.2MM, not the announced $2.9MM, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.  According to the CBA, six bonuses up to $50K will not count against the international pool.  If teams push the rule to the limit, they'll get $2.9MM, plus $300K.

SATURDAY, 12:26pm: There will be no international draft for 2013, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Certain conditions were not met by yesterday's deadline, so the goal is to have a draft in place for 2014.

The new collective bargaining agreement implemented a spending pool for both the draft and international free agent markets. Clubs will be allotted $2.9MM for international players starting July 2nd of this year before shifting to a sliding scale based on winning percentage in the future, though a draft has always seemed to be the long-term goal.

Back in December, union head Michael Weiner said the owners are in favor of international draft "right now."

The Best Extensions From Two Offseasons Ago

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Back in January, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes looked at the extensions from the 2009-10 offseason that are already looking like (or have proven to be) mistakes.  While some teams rue those deals, other teams have benefited.  While the jury is still out on a few of the longer-term contracts (i.e. Roy Halladay, Denard Span, Justin Upton), a few extensions signed between October 1, 2009 and April 5, 2010 are already clear wins for teams.

  • Matt Cain.  Before Cain signed his six-year, $127.5MM extension with the Giants last April, there was talk that the MLBPA was watching the negotiations with interest due to the perception that Cain had already signed two team-friendly extensions in his career.  It's hard to argue that San Francisco got a deal on Cain's three-year, $27.25MM extension from March 2010.  Cain was already owed $4.25MM for 2010 and (on a team option) $6.25MM for 2011, and his new deal gave those numbers a minor bump up to a guaranteed $11.25MM for 2010-11, plus $15MM for what would have been Cain's first free agent year in 2012.  Based on Cain's latest extension, the Giants saved themselves at least $5-6MM by keeping Cain off the market in 2012.  Cain, of course, has greatly outperformed his extension on the field.
  • Todd Helton.  The Rockies' star signed a two-year, $9.9MM extension for the 2012-13 seasons while also saving his team some money in the short term.  Helton was originally set to make $19.1MM in 2011 and faced a $23.6MM club option in 2012 that surely wold've been bought out for $4.6MM.  Instead, he earned $10.6MM in 2011 salary, with $13.1MM converted to deferred payments.  While Helton hasn't played well in 2012 at age 38, I still call this a minor win for the Rockies since they got some short-term salary relief and also made sure their franchise icon would retire in purple.
  • Tim Lincecum.  "The Freak" was coming into his first arbitration-eligible year with unprecedented leverage, having won the NL Cy Young Award in both 2008 and 2009.  Lincecum asked for a record $13MM in 2010, with the Giants countering with an $8MM offer.  Both figures ended up coming into play, as Lincecum signed a two-year extension that paid him $8MM in 2010 and $13MM in 2011, plus a $2MM signing bonus.  It would've been a fascinating "what if?" to see if the arbitrator would've sided with Lincecum, and if he had, Lincecum probably would've been on pace to earn around $30MM in arbitration over those two seasons.  The Giants saved themselves anywhere between $3MM to $7MM on the Lincecum extension.
  • Justin Verlander.  The ace righty isn't even halfway through his five-year, $80MM extension and yet it's already a deal the Tigers would happily do again.  Were it not for the extension, Verlander would've been a free agent last winter in the wake of his MVP-and-Cy Young-winning season.  He could've easily commanded a deal with an average annual value of at least $24MM per season, but Detroit has him locked up at $20MM per season from 2012-14.
  • Carlos Ruiz.  The catcher signed a three-year, $8.85MM extension with the Phillies that covered all three of his arbitration-eligible seasons.  "Chooch" has been a great bargain for the Phillies, hitting .304/.390/.445 over the last three seasons and is currently enjoying his best year in the majors at age 33 — Ruiz has a whopping 1.038 OPS through 161 plate appearances.  The savings will continue for the Phillies since they hold a $5MM team option on Ruiz for 2013 that looks like a no-brainer pickup.
  • Felix Hernandez.  Like Verlander's contract, Hernandez's extension covered his last two arb years and his first three free agent years, though the Mariners locked up their ace for $78MM, slightly less than what it cost the Tigers to extend Verlander.  Hernandez will earn $58MM from 2012-14, and had he reached free agency, he would've gotten at least $24MM per year on the open market and a return to Seattle would've been next to impossible.  Hernandez's deal is reasonable for a pitcher in his prime and he would net a huge trade return if the Mariners ever decided to deal him. 
  • Shane Victorino.  The Phillies signed Victorino to a three-year, $22MM extension that covered his final two arb years and his first free agent year.  Victorino had a career-best performance in 2011 and would've earned at least $3.5MM more on the free agent market than the $9.5MM Philadelphia is paying him this season.
  • Matt Kemp.  The Dodgers covered Kemp's first two arb-eligible seasons with a two-year, $10.95MM contract that guaranteed him $4MM in 2010 and $6.95MM in 2011.  Obviously it was a bargain performance-wise given Kemp's monster 2011 campaign, but Kemp's disappointing 2010 season would've brought down his 2011 arb number, so the Dodgers probably ended up saving maybe $1MM at most.  Then again, giving Kemp that early security was a sign that the Dodgers were committed to their center fielder, which may have been a factor in Kemp signing his eight-year, $160MM extension last winter despite the fact that the Dodgers hadn't yet solved their ownership problems.
  • Tim Hudson.  Rather than pick up Hudson's $12MM club option for 2012, the Braves instead extended the veteran on a three-year, $28MM contract that includes a $9MM option ($1MM buyout) for 2013.  The Braves took a risk by extending a pitcher who was entering his age-34 season, but Hudson posted a 3.02 ERA and threw 443 2/3 innings in 2010-11.  His numbers are down a bit in 2012, but the Braves have already gotten a very good return on their investment.

Longest Current Contracts By Team

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As the number of long-term contracts and contract extensions increases, teams lock themselves into payroll obligations well into the future. With some help from Cot's Baseball Contracts, let's take a look at the longest current contracts for all 30 teams…

Signed Through 2023

Signed Through 2021

Signed Through 2020

Signed Through 2019

Signed Through 2018

Signed Through 2017

Signed Through 2016

Signed Through 2015

Signed Through 2013

Baseball Trade Rumors App Now iPad-Friendly

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Our Baseball Trade Rumors app has undergone another major upgrade: it's now iPad-friendly!  The app fills the entire iPad screen for greater readability, and can be viewed horizontally on the device.  Of course, the app remains iPhone-friendly.  Those who have already purchased the app can download the update for free.

The newly released version 2.2 of our Baseball Trade Rumors app also features integration with our commenting system, Disqus.  You can now log into Disqus in the app to leave comments.

With the Baseball Trade Rumors iPad/iPhone app, you can also enjoy longstanding features such as push notifications tailored to the teams and players you select and the ability to filter the main news page by team or transactions.  The app keeps getting better, and still costs just $2.99 one time.  Check it out today!

@Closernews Is Seeking Help

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Two years ago, we started a Twitter account called @closernews, which provides instant updates on MLB closer situations for fantasy baseball players. The account how has nearly 12,000 followers and has helped many win the saves category.

We're seeking a few writers to cover the late-night closer situations once or twice per week, starting at 11pm central time and going until the last game ends. This is an unpaid position, but it's good experience for anyone looking to pad their resume with work in baseball, fantasy and/or social media. The preference is for fantasy baseball junkies who already follow @closernews and are familiar with how it works.

If this project sounds like an enjoyable resume-builder for you, please email closernewshelp@gmail.com and let us know why you should join the @closernews team.

Quick Hits: Lidge, Hamels, Worley, Ortiz

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On this date in 2003, the Tigers signed Jair Jurrjens as a 17-year-old amateur free agent out of Curacao. He made his big league debut with Detroit in 2007 before being traded to the Braves as part of a package for Edgar Renteria. Here's the latest from around the league…

  • "They're going to have to ante up … he hasn't been willing to take discount so far," said former Phillies reliever Brad Lidge to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com when asked about Cole Hamels' impending free agency (Twitter links). Lidge also speculated about a fit between his former teammate and the Dodgers.
  • A second opinion confirmed that Phillies right-hander Vance Worley does not need Tommy John surgery but will have to pitch with bone chips in his elbow for the rest of the season, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki (on Twitter).
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington told reporters (including WEEI.com's Alex Speier) that he feels David Ortiz has taken his leadership to a new level this season (Twitter link). He said he feels good about the relationship between the team and the DH, who is due to become a free agent after the season.

Check Out HoopsRumors.com

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NBA fan? HoopsRumors.com has you covered this offseason, as teams look to upgrade their rosters through the draft, trades, and free agency. With the draft just over five weeks away and the free agent period to follow shortly thereafter, rumors have already begun to fly. In what figures to be an eventful summer, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin, and others will hit the free agent market, while Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol are among the big names on the trade block. You can follow the latest NBA news, rumors, and transactions at Hoops Rumors!

Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

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If you prefer your MLBTR fix limited to only your favorite team, we've got you covered.  Below are links to our team Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds.

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Transactions only: Twitter / RSS

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