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

New Year, New MLB Rumors

Nelson Cruz is among those still wondering where his next contract is.

Happy New Year to one and all. We are just 43 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to camp. A truly great Valentine's Day gift. There are quite a number of free agents still not signed, but I would expect some trades, mostly minor, to occur prior to spring training.

The biggest news right now is, of course, the chase for Masahiro Tanaka. With the posting fee reduced to $20MM there are plenty of teams that will try to persuade the Japanese star to sign with them. Only a handful will be able to afford the $100MM he's expected (or expecting) to sign for.

ESPN's Jayson Stark reported that, according to some Major League execs, the Seattle Mariners could be big time players in the negotation battle. The Yankees have to be concerned after the ridiculous contract that Mariners gave Robinson Cano. Apparently, they still have quite a bit of cash to play with.

You can onlyhope that Ichiro Suzuki refuses to discuss playing in Seattle with Tanaka and only will talk about playing in New York..and only discuss the positives.

There are other big name pitchers on the market, though the names don't necessarily merit the contracts they are looking for. Matt Garza, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez are tops among them. The Twins, who already signed Phil Hughes and re-signed Mike Pelfrey, are willing to give big money, but not years to a pitcher like Garza. Then again the report was from ESPNradio 1500's Darren Wolfson who also reported last week that the Twins had an interest in Tanaka. I hadn't laughed that hard in a while. Everyone has an interest, but the Twins NEVER spend that kind of money...well, outside of Joe Mauer and that hasn't worked out so well.

The Cleveland Plains Dealer's Paul Hoynes reported that Jimenez is looking for $17MM-$20MM annually. Apparently he needs that much to get counseling for his delusions. Jimenez was phenomenal in the first half of 2010 and has been downright awful in every season since, except for the second half of last year (1.82 ERA). But you don't give a guy that much money based on 13 starts.

Santana is another pitcher who is clearly pricing himself out of the market. The right-hander has been too inconsistent in his career to command an upper dollar contract. The Arizona Diamondbacks are interested in Tanaka, but are more likely to be able to sign Santana, whom they have major interest in.

Bronson Arroyo is still out there, but he appears to be everyone's plan 'B'. Perhaps he's asking for too much money after hearing WFAN's Mike Francesa talk about him like he's Walter Johnson.

No rumor here; good luck to Mark Mulder who is attempting a comeback with the Los Angeles Angels. The left-hander hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2008 due to shoulder problems. He's been working as a commentator since then, but decided to give it another try. The 36-yr old signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training and reportedly threw in the low 90's during December auditions.

It's not just the big names pitchers still waiting for offers. Outfielder Nelson Cruz, who was one of the players suspended 50 games in 2013 for the Biogenesis scandal, has yet to find a new team. He won't be returning to his old one, the Texas Rangers, after they signed Shin-Soo Choo to a seven-year, $130MM contract. Jeff Wilson (Ft. Worth Star Telegram) reported that there are four (unnamed) teams interested in the unsigned 33-year old.

First baseman/DH Kendrys Morales is still looking for a new home as well after one season with the Mariners. Morales may never be the same player he was before he broke his leg in 2010, but he's become a productive hitter again. One that would benefit from a hitters park rather than pitcher friendly Safeco Field. Most of the rumors are writers saying "this team" should sign Morales.

Despite rumors, probably started by his agent Scott Boras, Stephen Drew will not be signed by the Yankees. Brian Cashman stated Monday that the team has no plan to sign Drew.

Two major closers remain unemployed, though one thought he had a job. Grant Balfour agreed to terms with the Baltimore Orioles on a multiple year deal, but some warning bells on an MRI of his right shoulder caused the deal to fall through.

Fernando Rodney was dominant when he closed for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012 and had a pretty good year with them in 2013. Teams have to be wary, however, of Rodney inconsistent past. For most of his career, he was not a pitcher you could trust in a big situation.

Time to check some email. I wonder if I got anything from Alex Rodriguez or Randy Levine.

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.

Pen Beats a Tribe Called Less

I will not untuck before it's time.

Fans of the Cleveland Indians had their hopes up when the team burst out of the gate with a 27-21 record and led the AL Central from May 2 to May 28. But after splitting the first 100 games, the Tribe entered Sunday's action with the Yankees having lost 21 of their last 26 games and plummeted to 14.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

The teams split the first two games of the series with Swisher & Soriano saving Sabathia's start (I've been waiting days to say that....if Dan Rather said it, he'd whistle your ear right off) for the win on Friday and then the Yankees hitters let down Hiroki Kuroda, who was excellent again after a shaky first inning, in Saturday's defeat.

Sunday afternoon's rubber game of the series was all about the Yankees' bullpen after Sweaty Freddy Garcia couldn't make it out of the 5th inning for the second straight start. The Yankees built a 3-0 lead against starter Ubaldo Jimenez  on RBI singles by Nick Swisher and Ichiro Suzuki, sandwiched around a Derek Jeter run producing ground out in the 2nd inning,

But after seeing leads slip away in a three game series sweep at the hands of the Chicago White Sox, manager Joe Girardi was not going to let the finale of the six game road trip get away when Garcia ran aground in the 5th.

Garcia had worked out of a pair of jams leading up to his final inning, but the Indians stranded five men on base, three of them in scoring position.  Garcia retired the first two hitters in the 5th, but gave up a double to Jason Kipnis, hit Asdrubel Cabrera,  and walked Shin-Soo Choo to load the bases.

Catcher Carlos Santana had flied out to right in the same situation back in the 3rd inning, but this time singled to center to for a pair of runs and sent Garcia to the showers. Lefty Boone Logan got left-handed hitter Michael Brantley to ground out to end the threat.

Curtis Granderson gave the Yankees an insurance run in the 6th, when he belted his 200th career home run off of lefty reliever Tony Sipp. It was the Grandy man's 33rd home run of the season and RBI number 74.

Logan retired the side in order in the 7th before he exited when Kipnis reached on a out-single in the 8th. David Robertson picked up the final two outs of the inning and left in the 8th after he retired two batters and allowed a single to Brantley.

Closer Rafael Soriano induced an inning ending fly out from Matt LaPorta, before he worked the 9th inning for his 33 save. The victory didn't come without a scary moment, however, when Kipnis hit a comebacker that got a piece of Soriano's glove and bare hand (he wasn't sure after the game which it hit first).  Soriano was able to recover to throw Kipnis out at first and said after the game that he felt fine. Hopefully that will still be the case on Monday.

Notes

Ironically, a day after the passing of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the Indians honored former astronaut and US Senator John Glenn for the 50th anniversary of Glenn's orbit of earth. The 91-year old threw out the first pitch (underhanded) for a strike.

Nick Swisher continued his torrid August with three hits and an RBI. He's now hitting .336 for the month with five HR, 19 RBI, and seven doubles. He narrowly missed a home run when he hit the base of the right field wall and settled for a double.