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NL East Notes: Mets, Harris, Coffey

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The Mets officially signed Scott Hairston to a Major League deal today, but it could be a while before the team signs someone else to a big league contract. Here's the latest on the NL East, starting in New York…

  • The Mets appear to have finished adding players to their 40-man roster, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. They may add a player or two on a minor league deal before Spring Training, but no major moves seem likely.
  • The Nationals are looking for bench help and Willie Harris could re-join the team, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson tweets. We heard the Nationals were interested back in December and it has since become apparent that the Mets aren’t likely to bring the 33-year-old back. Harris spent the 2011 campaign with the Mets after a three-year stint in Washington. He can play all three outfield positions plus second and third and owns a .330 on-base percentage in 11 seasons.
  • There’s less than a 50% chance that right-hander Todd Coffey will re-sign with the Nationals, Ladson tweets. The Brewers, Angels and Mets have also been linked to Coffey, who averaged 72 appearances and a 3.68 ERA from 2009-11.

Olney On Free Agents, Yankees, Nationals

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The latest from ESPN's Buster Olney…

Extension Candidate: Michael Morse

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Michael Morse's emergence for the Nationals began in 2010, when he hit 15 home runs in a half-season.  Given the chance to play every day in 2011, Morse's production more than held up.  The first baseman/left fielder hit .303/.360/.550 with 31 home runs in 575 plate appearances, snagging a couple of down-ballot MVP votes.

Morse

Morse turns 30 in March and has four years and 114 days of Major League service time.  Matt Swartz's projections for MLBTR call for approximately a $3.9MM salary for 2012, Morse's second time through arbitration.  The Nationals control him for the 2013 season as well.

Morse is represented by ACES, an agency that has shown an openness to extensions in the past.  Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has a few on his ledger as well, for Ryan Zimmerman and Sean Burnett.  As a player who will be 30 when the season begins with one full strong season on his resume, I imagine Morse will be more open than most to signing an extension two years away from free agency.

Comparables will be hard to come by.  Two players who signed three-year deals with between four and five years of service might be factors: Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Pena.  Cuddyer and Pena signed three-year extensions for about $24MM in January of 2008, guaranteeing two arbitration years and one free agent season.  Cuddyer's contract had a club option for a second free agent season.

Cuddyer and Pena actually weren't directly comparable.  Cuddyer was not coming off his best season, and had accumulated his service in a normal way.  Pena was coming off a monster 46 home run, 121 RBI campaign after spending most of 2006 in the minors.  Morse's platform year sits between that of Cuddyer and Pena, and his career AVG/OBP/SLG tops Pena if batting average is considered.  However, Morse gets crushed in career counting stats, having only one full season to his credit.  Morse has 383 career games and 1260 plate appearances, compared to 600+ games and 2300+ plate appearances each for Cuddyer and Pena.  Plus, Cuddyer and Pena signed four years ago.

Morse, ACES, and the Nationals might have to forge somewhat new territory.  I propose $3.5MM for 2012, $6MM for 2013, and $9MM for 2014, for a total of $18.5MM over three years.  The Nationals will probably want a club option for a fourth year, perhaps at $10MM.  If the $18.5MM range seems low, remember that Morse earned only $1.35MM in 2011 and his 2012-13 salaries will stem from that amount.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

NL East Links: Lannan, Fielder, Martinez, Mets

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On this date in 2003, the Mets signed Cliff Floyd as a free agent. He went on to hit .268/.354/.478 with 81 homers during his four years in Flushing. Here's the latest from the NL East…

  • Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post makes a case for the Nationals to sign John Lannan to a modest multiyear contract extension. He speculates that a three-year deal worth approximately $20MM could work for both sides. Lannan is projected to make $4.8MM his second time through arbitration this winter.
  • In a separate piece, Kilgore presents three theories about why it's taking Prince Fielder so long to sign. He says the Jayson Werth contract could be making the Nationals hesitant about Fielder, another Scott Boras slient.
  • The Mets waived Fernando Martinez earlier today, and Adam Rubin of ESPN New York says (on Twitter) one reason he is likely to get claimed is because he has a minor league option remaining. Martinez will take up a spot on the 40-man roster, but any team can send him to the minors without a problem in 2012.
  • Rubin also notes (on Twitter) that last summer's Francisco Rodriguez trade is similar to the Billy Wagner–Chris Carter trade in that it was a salary dump meant to look like something more. The Mets also waived Danny Herrera today, who they acquired from the Brewers for K-Rod.

Minor Moves: James Skelton, Chris Seddon

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Here's where we'll keep track of today's minor moves…

  • The Nationals agreed to sign catcher James Skelton to a minor league deal, MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets. The 26-year-old spent the 2011 season with Cincinnati's top affiliates, posting a .221/.360/.346 line in 174 plate appearances.
  • The Indians announced that they signed left-hander Chris Seddon to a minor league contract that inlcudes an invitation to Spring Training. The 28-year-old has MLB experience with the 2007 Marlins and the 2010 Mariners, but spent the 2011 season at the Triple-A level, where he posted a 6.27 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 149 1/3 innings of work. He'll enter Spring Training as a starter and at the moment it looks as though he'll provide depth at Triple-A, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.

Gammons On Fielder, Madson, Cook

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The relative inactivity of the Yankees and Red Sox on the market for expensive free agents has rendered this offseason a strange one, writes Peter Gammons of MLB.com. Both clubs are concerned about the luxury tax in both the short and long terms, one GM tells Gammons. Here are some other tidbits of note …

  • Gammons wonders whether there’s a fit for free agent Prince Fielder other than the Nationals: “Where is there a team with local media rights that Fielder could impact? And local media rights is what's driving the cars these days, as Albert Pujols knows.”
  • However, if the Rangers get a deal done with Yu Darvish, the "Fielder watch will come into focus," especially if the Nationals back off and Prince doesn’t want to play for the Mariners.
  • As for Ryan Madson, the race between the Angels and Rangers for supremacy in the AL West could re-shape the market for the free agent closer. Halos GM Jerry Dipoto, in particular, is keeping an eye on the right-hander to see if his price comes down.
  • The Red Sox are looking at lefty Paul Maholm, and they might be interested in Aaron Cook if the righty is amenable to signing a minor league deal with incentives. Cook has a history with new Boston pitching coach Bob McClure.
  • The Red Sox inked right-hander Carlos Silva in hopes of making him 2012’s Freddy Garcia, who was a nice value signing for the Yankees on a one-year, $1.5MM deal last season.

Quick Hits: Mariners, Indians, Strasburg

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Some afternoon links for a slow-moving Sunday…

  • The Mariners currently project as a 75-win team, writes Dave Cameron of the U.S.S. Mariner and Fangraphs. Cameron writes that assuming the team still has $15MM to spend, they could push themselves into the .500 range for the 2012 season. He looks at remaining free agents and presents three speculative offseason scenarios — one of which involves Prince Fielder.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer answers questions from Indians fans surrounding Matt LaPorta's trade value, potential free agent signings, Shelley Duncan's roster status, the health of Grady Sizemore, and more in this mailbag piece.
  • Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com writes that Nationals fans should get used to the conservative approach for Stephen Strasburg, speculating an innings limit of 170 (based on how the team handled Jordan Zimmermann last year). He goes on to say that while GM Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Johnson may get creative to allow him to pitch into early September, they're both "big picture guys" who would probably shut Strasburg down before late September even things broke right and Washington reached the playoffs.

Nationals Notes: Ankiel, Rodriguez, Hernandez, Coffey

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Most of the current chatter surrounding the Nationals focuses on a certain free agent first baseman, but as Amanda Comak of the Washington Times explains, the team also seeks bench and bullpen help. Here are the details:

  • The Nationals haven’t ruled out bringing Rick Ankiel back, partly because they like his defense and influence in the clubhouse.
  • We shouldn’t expect the Nationals to re-sign Ivan Rodriguez or Livan Hernandez, Comak writes. The door has been ‘closed’ on Hernandez, as the team no longer has room on its roster or openings in its rotation.
  • There's a 50-50 chance free agent reliever Todd Coffey returns to the Nationals, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Ladson says the Brewers still have interest in Coffey, who has also drawn interest from the Angels and Mets.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Friday

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Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said yesterday that first base is “settled” in Washington, but acknowledged that Prince Fielder will make a major impact on his next team. The Nationals continue to be linked to Fielder, though they say they're content with Adam LaRoche at first base. Here's the latest on Fielder, with the most recent rumors up top:

  • The Rangers have “one eye” on Fielder, but locking up Yu Darvish remains their number one goal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. If they sign Darvish, as expected, the chances of a deal with Fielder will drop.
  • In some corners of the Nationals organization, there’s “great skepticism” about a very long-term deal for Fielder, tweets ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Owner Ted Lerner figures to have the final say in the matter.

Nationals, Rays, Padres Interested In Eric Chavez

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The Yankees aren’t the only team interested in free agent infielder Eric Chavez. The Nationals, Rays and Padres are among the other clubs interested in the Scott Leventhal client, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

Chavez, 34, posted a .263/.320/.356 line in a reserve role for the Yankees last year, backing up at third and even appearing at first base. The Yankees, who failed to reach an agreement with Japanese infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima, have interest in re-signing the six-time Gold Glove winner. This is the first time the Nationals, Rays and Padres have been linked to Chavez this offseason.

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