With Tanaka Signed, Time For the Other Chips to Fall Into Place

Of course he's smiling, he's got a guaranteed contract.

The front offices of Major League Baseball teams around the country waited and waited. They waited until Japanese-born pitcher Masahiro Tanaka chose the team and the contract he would play for in his quest for success in the United States. With that done and pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training in a couple of weeks, it's time for the remaining free agent pitchers to find a new home or return to their existing ones.

Matt Garza didn't take long at all to decide on which team it would be (the Milwaukee Brewers), but it did take some time to get the contract finalized. With some concerns over lingering arm issues, the Brewers gave Garza a guaranteed four years and $50MM, incentives that could tack on another $4MM, and an option for 2018 that will give Garza the opportunity to earn $67MM when everything is said and the contract is done.

A.J. Burnett had trouble deciding if he wanted to play any more, but once he did the Baltimore Orioles decided to go (MLB Network's Peter Gammons tweeted) "all in" on the lanky right-hander. After the success Burnett had in the National League the last two seasons with Pittsburgh, you would think he would stay in the NL, but those offers may not be forthcoming.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported the Toronto Blue Jays have looked extensively at the medical records of Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana. The Blue Jays are hoping to make an official offer to at least one of them. ¹ Both have been hoping for long term, big money deals.

Bronson Arroyo has had his name brought up by many teams, but told ESPN"s Jayson Stark that he has yet to receive an official offer. He's baffled by the lack of action.

"I get [Clayton] Kershaw," Arroyo told ESPN.com. "I get why he got all that money. But then you've got guys like Dice-K [Matsuzaka], who came over here and was good for the first couple years but then didn't pan out. And when he doesn't pan out, they all just forget and go on to the next guy who's not proven, and pay him. 

"Meanwhile, they forget about guys like me, who have done the job for the last eight or 10 years, and treat them like they've never done anything in this game. That's hard, man." ²

Scott Baker was an emerging star for the Minnesota Twins over the stretch of 2009-2011, but Tommy John surgery wiped out 2012 and most of 2013. The 32-year old signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners and was given an invitation to spring training in his comeback attempt.

Journeymen Paul Maholm, Jason Hammel, and one time stud Tommy Hanson are all still available. Back end of the rotation starters Jerome Williams, Jason Marquis, and Roberto Hernandez (the former Fausto Carmona) are all still on the market as well. Either they are holding out for guaranteed money or teams are still waiting to sign them to minor league deals.

15 more days until the sound of ball thudding into catcher's mitt. I can't wait.


1 - foxsports.com
2 - espn.com

Yankees May Have to go to Plan B Due to Posting System Disagreement

All reports had the Yankees going hot and heavy this winter for Nippon Professional Baseball star Masahiro Tanaka, but because of changes to the posting system Tanaka may be staying in Japan in 2014.

Up until now Major League teams put in blind bids on the rights to negotiate with a NPB player. The team that had the highest bid than had a month to negotiate a deal with the player. If no deal was struck, the amount of the bid was not sent to the Far East.

The complete details have not been announced, but the MLB players union has agreed to the new deal. There's a possibility that the two or three highest bidders would get the chance to negotiate with the player rather than just one team. CBS Sports' Matt Snyder reported that the NPB did not like the proposed idea and would like to receive a fee even if the player doesn't end up signing with an MLB team.

A bigger snag, reported by the NY Times' David Waldstein is coming from MLB, specifically the small market owners. They would like the bid amount to count towards the $189MM luxury tax. In a word, absurd.

The MLB players union will not go along with small market interference and in order to make that kind of a change, the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) would have to be re-opened. I don't believe anyone wants that.

One possibility would be for NPB officials to allow a player to negotiate with MLB teams, with a fee to be determined. In the meantime though, the Yankees are going to have to start looking harder at alternatives to the 25-year old Japanese star. Unfortunately, the crop of current free agent pitchers are not in high demand.

MLB Starting Pitcher Free Agents (alphabetical order):

Bronson Arroyo: The 36-year old is a solid National League pitcher, having spent the last 8 years in Cincinnati. Puts up a decent ERA and WHIP, but is a fly ball pitcher. That didn't bode well at the Great American Ballpark and it won't in Yankee Stadium either. Just ask Phil Hughes.

A.J. Burnett: Not Funny!

Bartolo Colon: 40-years old, busted for PED use in 2012. Time to get younger, not fatter.

Matt Garza: About to hit the big 3-0 mark. Never been a big fan of his, think he is overrated. Has been banged up the last two seasons. No thanks.

Roy Halladay: Only if this was five years ago.

Tim Hudson: Remember that part where I said the Yankees need to get younger? Screw that. Hudson knows how to pitch and knows how to win. He'll be 39 in mid-July and I don't care. He's coming off a catastrophic injury (fractured ankle) that occurred when the Mets Eric Young Jr. accidentally stepped on his ankle on a play at first base, and I don't care. Hudson made $9MM the last four years, so give him a two-year, $24MM deal. Hell, throw in a third year.

Ubaldo Jimenez: This is a big risk, with either a big or little reward. Jimenez was bright lights, big city back in 2010 when he won 19 games, had a sub-3.00 ERA and topped 200 in innings and strikeouts. He's had some arm issue since then with the Rockies and Indians, but had a resurgence in the second half (ERA under 2.00) last season.

He'll be looking to get paid after he earned $5.75MM in 2013 and turned down Cleveland's $14.1MM qualifying offer. Despite the fact that he won't turn 30 until January, I don't see the Yankees committing the amount of money Jimenez and his reps will want.

Ricky Nolasco: I can't take another pitcher who spent the bulk of his career with the Marlins. He's likely to stay in the NL anyway.

Ervin Santana: Which Ervin Santana are you going to get? The guy who had an ERA of 3.24 last year or the one who had an ERA of 5.16 the year before. Santana isn't as up and down as it always seems to be, but his performance is inconsistent.  A bigger issue may be money. He made $13MM this past season and had one of his better years. Though he'll still be only 31 when the '14 season starts, I'm not willing to give him multiple years at many millions.

Jason Vargas: Became a free agent when the Angels did not extend a qualifying offer to him. I wouldn't mind this guy as a #4 starter in the rotation. Granted, his best days came in a pitcher's ballpark in Seattle, but he's a decent innings eater. He made $8.5MM last year, so a two-year, $18MM offer with an optional third year might do the trick. I wouldn't guarantee three years though. There's a good chance he'll re-sign with the Angels.

No matter how you slice it, not a lot to choose from. The Yankees will also want to reserve some money for Tanaka if they have to wait until 2015 to try to get him.