Ryan Howard Fallout
Ryan Howard winning a $10MM salary yesterday was kind of a big deal. Let’s examine this first-year arbitration record.
- A source of Jayson Stark’s thinks the Phillies would’ve won had they submitted above Miguel Cabrera’s $7.4MM. Seems that even slightly above would’ve done it, because then Howard losing would’ve still set a record.
- Tom Haudricourt talks about how Prince Fielder is now in line for the same $10MM for his ’09 salary. And he doesn’t see Scott Boras relenting and doing a multiyear deal. Stark adds Ryan Braun, Ryan Zimmerman, and Hanley Ramirez as other young stars who will be affected. Zimmerman, arbitration-eligible after ’08, will be renewed for ’07.
- It doesn’t sound like the Phillies will sign Howard long-term, in part because there is no precedent. There is talk of $200MM, something no one expects of the Phils. On the plus side, Howard is theirs for the 2008-11 seasons. They may have to keep giving him record-breaking salaries though. A trade is a strong option before he hits free agency, but that’s a ways off.
- Jim Salisbury thinks Howard’s win might result in another monster year. He expects the Phils to eventually at least talk about a multiyear deal with Howard (maybe once the sting wears off).
Odalis Perez Signs With Nationals
12:45pm: It’s official; the Nats have signed Perez to a minor league deal. He certainly picked the right team to attempt to bounce back to relevancy. He gets $850K if he makes the team.
12:23pm:Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe says it appears likely Perez will sign with the Nats. I imagine both offers were of the minor league variety.
TUESDAY, 9:02am:The Nats have an offer on the table for Perez, as do the Red Sox. You’d think he’d prefer the opportunity in Washington.
MONDAY, 7:49pm: In January, the Mets met with Odalis Perez. They scouted him in the Dominican Republic. The Mets later signed Tony Armas Jr. In February, Perez worked out for the Phillies, whose interest was characterized as "lukewarm." The Phils later signed Kris Benson. A third NL East team has entered the picture – MLB.com’s Bill Ladson says the Nationals have serious interest in the southpaw.
Perez might have to settle for a minor league deal, maybe with incentives to reach $2-3MM. The 30 year-old pitched 137 innings of 5.57 ball for the Royals last year.
Nationals Sign Bret Boone
I don’t have enough for an odds and ends post at the moment, so it’s Bret Boone‘s lucky day. The Nationals have signed the 38 year-old second baseman to a minor league deal. The organization is already home to Bob and Aaron Boone.
Bret comes out of retirement in an attempt to crack Washington’s roster as a utility guy. They’ve already got Ron Belliard and Felipe Lopez competing for time at second base. The Nationals hope Boone can reprise his 2001 line: .331 average, 37 home runs, 141 RBIs. Man I wish he was on my fantasy team that year.
Johnny Estrada Signs With Nationals
According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals signed catcher Johnny Estrada to a one-year, $1.25MM deal. Estrada had been close to a deal with the Pirates.
Ladson’s source says the signing is not a reaction to Paul Lo Duca‘s knee injury (torn meniscus). Lo Duca isn’t expected to miss too much of the regular season anyway.
Jim Bowden seems to have created a veteran surplus on his club at multiple positions.
Odds and Ends: Dotel, Valverde, Wilkerson
Some Saturday odds and ends to mull over…
- The Yankees considered bringing Octavio Dotel back, but wouldn’t go two years on him.
- Richard Justice thinks Astros GM Ed Wade is making a mistake by setting a deadline and going to arbitration hearings with Jose Valverde and Mark Loretta. I doubt the Astros wanted Loretta to accept their offer of arbitration in the first place, but they took the $4-5MM gamble hoping to get a draft pick. But they actively sought out Valverde, and this might not bode well for him staying past 2009.
- Can’t promise anything, but my source is saying Brad Wilkerson is likely to become a Mariner on a one-year deal. Put this in the unconfirmed category for now.
- Did the Rangers DFA Armando Galarraga in anticipation of including him in a trade?
- Troy Tulowitzki explanation: he can opt out of his $15MM club option for 2014 if he’s traded. Tracy Ringolsby also reports that Garrett Atkins had unfruitful extension talks with the Rox last year and would still like to stay.
- "No substantive negotiations" on a multiyear deal for Ryan Zimmerman.
- Casey Blake‘s agent put in a counteroffer but hasn’t heard back from the Indians yet; the two sides are $1.5MM apart on his ’08 salary.
Odds and Ends: Zimmerman, Tulo, Hawpe, Wang
Some bits and pieces from today…
- Damian Miller is leaning toward retirement, leaving Johnny Estrada as the one halfway viable catching option out there.
- Talks continue with Ryan Zimmerman on a long-term deal. The Nationals and Zimmerman reportedly discussed this a year ago.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers is upfront about his inquiries on Matt Murton and Xavier Nady. The Cubs aren’t done, by the way.
- Troy Tulowitzki is able to void his contract if he’d traded.
- The Rockies have had preliminary talks with Brad Hawpe about a multiyear deal. Tracy Ringoslby says they might aim for a four-year deal, buying out one year of free agency. The 28 year-old hit .291/.387/.539 in ’07. He was a lot better at Coors and against righties.
- Anthony McCarron says a long-term deal with Chien-Ming Wang looks unlikely, and the Yankees may have to go to a hearing with him regarding his ’08 salary.
Nick Johnson Readying For Spring Training
There’s quite a feature in yesterday’s Washington Post regarding Nick Johnson‘s return to action. It’s one of those feel-good pieces that documents his hardships and the tenacity with which he faced them. But apparently he has no remaining physical limitations, so he’ll get his shot in Spring Training.
How is this a trade rumor? Well, he’ll be competing with Dmitri Young for the starting first base gig. Both are signed through 2009, with roughly the same salaries. But there isn’t room for both of them on the Nats roster. Each has his pitfalls, making a trade difficult.
So what do you do if you’re Jim Bowden? Johnson is the team’s second highest-paid player, and Young is just a tick behind. Do you really let one of your top five highest paid players languish on the bench? A platoon doesn’t seem the answer. Young hit righties a ton last year, to the tune of a .903 OPS, while managing a .784 mark against lefties. This trend follows through his career. Johnson tends to destroy lefties and righties equally.
It’s hard not to give Johnson every shot to win the gig. He’s younger and has incredible plate discipline. We’re talking about one of the few guys in the league who can walk more than he strikes out. He was also a monster in his latest season, 2006, hitting .290/.428/.520 in 628 plate appearances. He walked 110 times that year, which is just an insane number.
But then where does that leave Young? This will definitely be a story to follow through Spring Training.
-Joe
The Mark Prior Derby
Let’s do a recap on the Mark Prior Derby, which is getting more confusing each day. Jerry Crasnick has added some good info this afternoon. Prior wants a one-year deal and hopes to be on a big league mound before the end of May.
- Yankees – They’ll probably pass, per Hank Steinbrenner.
- Red Sox – Named only by Jayson Stark.
- White Sox – Named only by Stark.
- Mariners – Named by Stark, denied by Jim Street.
- Mets – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Ken Rosenthal, Ed Price
- Cardinals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Rosenthal, Matthew Leach
- Padres – Named by many, made an offer according to Crasnick. Prior went to USC but would have to take less money to play in San Diego
- Astros – Named by many, made an offer according to Alyson Footer
- Giants – Named only by Stark
- Reds – Named by Stark, Crasnick. Prior previously played under Dusty Baker
- Nationals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Bill Ladson
- Rangers – Named by Crasnick but not Stark, aggressively pursuing according to Rosenthal
- Marlins – Named only by Crasnick
- Indians – Named only by Crasnick
One more and we’re at half of all baseball teams linked at some point. The Phillies and Pirates are not interested, and it’s probably safe to count the Cubs out.
Stark’s Latest: Prior, Lofton, Otsuka
ESPN’s Jayson Stark dishes some good rumorage in his latest column.
- Stark dug around to find all the Mark Prior suitors and came up with this list: Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Mets, Cardinals, Padres, Astros, Giants, Reds, Nationals (11 teams). Let’s compare notes. MLBTR readers have seen the Yankees, Mets, Cards, Padres, Astros, Reds, and Nats linked to Prior already. So Stark has added the Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, and Giants. The idea of the Mariners runs contrary to this MLB.com article. Stark did not name the Rangers, who are said to be aggressively pursuing Prior. Prior is dead set on a one-year deal and would take a big league mound in May in the best case.
- The Phils are focused on Geoff Jenkins and Mike Cameron, offering two year deals to each. They might just take the first one to accept. Stark says Kenny Lofton could be an option if both decline. Lofton batted a career-best .335 for the Phils in ’05.
- Stark rattles off a laundry list of pitchers the Phillies are interested in: Akinori Otsuka, Byung-Hyun Kim, Roberto Hernandez, Kris Benson, John Parrish, Sidney Ponson, Chad Durbin, Kyle Lohse, and Jeremy Affeldt. Given Stark’s 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I imagine he has a connection or two. Most of those are new names besides Benson, Lohse, Ponson, and Affeldt.
- A source of Stark picks the Yankees as the favorite for Johan, but it should be noted that they’re having internal debates about pulling Phil Hughes off the table.
- For all the crazy Cubs fans we’ve got here: Stark says they’ve talked to the Orioles about both Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard, but couldn’t pull off a deal for both. They favor Roberts even though they need Bedard much more.
About Nine Teams Watch Benson
UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 11:07am: The Braves were in attendance, according to a source of mine.
UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 8:42am: The Giants were in attendance, so we know eight of the nine teams that watched Benson. Is it normal for each team to send three scouts, by the way? It’s been said that 25 of them watched.
UPDATE, 12-18-07 at 1:39pm: The Yankees, Mets, Astros, and Phillies definitely attended. I also received an email about a radio report indicating the Cards were there. That’s seven of the nine.
FROM 12-18-07 at 10:40am:
According to Todd Zolecki, about nine teams watched free agent Kris Benson throw 60 pitches yesterday. The Phillies and Nationals were definitely present.
Feel free to guess at the other seven teams. The Astros were probably there, and some of the Yankees, Cardinals, Royals, Marlins, Rockies, and Dodgers were probably on hand as well.
Benson had surgery in March to repair a partially torn rotator cuff. Before that he’d usually been good for 180 nearly league average innings.