This busy week included several signings, a couple of trades and some courtroom news. Here are a few of the smaller but tastier bits of baseball news and activity over the past week:
Labor Agreement News:
The MLB owners unanimously approved and officially ratified the new 5 year collective bargaining agreement. This was hardly a surprise, but it still warms the baseball nerd’s heart to know we have 5 more years of labor peace to look forward to. The Player’s Union had already done the same a couple of weeks ago.
Kangaroo Court:
After a process which seems like it’s taking forever (some 8 years so far), Barry Bonds was finally found guilty of obstruction charges. His sentence was a whopping 30 days to be served at home, along with 2 years probation, 250 hours of community service and finally, a $4 thousand dollar fine (ouch, that hurts!). Bonds, of course, is appealing this very lenient verdict and who knows when, if ever at this rate, he will actually serve any time.
Arbitration News:
Dallas Braden and the Oakland A’s agreed to a one year deal avoiding arbitration. The base salary was announced as $3.35 million with plenty of performance bonuses. The infamous lefty is known for his perfect game and his flare up with AROD (AROD crossed the pitching rubber when he was on his way to the dugout). The 28 year old Dallas only pitched in 3 games last year and is coming off shoulder surgery in his pitching shoulder.
Japanese Player Postings:
Yu Darvish decided to ask his Japanese team to post him so he can play in the majors. The secret bids were all handed in by Wednesday’s deadline. The rumors are that several teams put in huge bids of upwards to $60 million! Just for the privilege of negotiating with Darvish, to try and sign him to a contract. All we really know is that at least one bid was definitely submitted. The Japanese team that controls Darvish (The Hokkaido Nippon Fighters for those keeping track at home) has until Tuesday to decide if they will accept the bid. If they do accept it, the major league team with the winning bid will have a 30 day window to negotiate a contract with Darvish. If a contract cannot be worked out, the Japanese team will return the winning bid. Yu Darvish is considered the best pitcher in Japan. Last year he went 18-6, with 276 K’s and a 1.44 ERA. At just 25 years old and standing a solid 6 foot 5, Darvish looks ready to succeed in the USA!
The Milwaukee Brewers have won the rights to negotiate with Norichika Aoki, a speedy centerfielder who plays for the Japanese team the Yakult Swallows. The Brewers winning bid was reported to be $2.5 million dollars. The Brewers now have a 30 day window to come to a contract agreement with 29 year old Aoki. It does seem weird, with the Brewers already having two centerfielders on their roster, that they would want to sign a third one. They already have Carlos Gomez and Nyjer Morgan. But with the possibility of Ryan Braun losing 50 games to a suspension, perhaps Aoki will help fill that void? Aoki is the prototype gold glove caliber centerfielder who leads off, is a slap hitter, and a speedster. He has led his league in batting average 3 times and is a 6 time gold glover in his 7 full seasons while in Japan.
Free Agent Signings:
Aramis Ramirez signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers for 3 years and a guaranteed $36 million total. There is also an option year for an additional $10 mil. Aramis is a great signing, as he is a significant upgrade over the Brewers 3rdbase output from last year. Everyone understands you can’t easily replace a Prince Fielder easily, but you can upgrade at multiple positions to try and reduce the lose. So far the Brewers have done a solid job by signing Alex Gonzalez at shortstop and Aramis Ramirez at 3rd base. Both are entering their 34th year of age but bring stability and solid power. Aramis in particular is a solid run producer, and has been for some time now. Aramis has batted .300 6 times, has hit 25 plus homers 9 times and driven in 90 plus RBI’s eight times. His range at third has withered but his hands and arm are still very capable. He can also play firstbase, which helps the Brewers if they decide to bring up their young 3rdbase prospect Taylor Green.
Dontrelle Willis signed a one year, $1 million dollar deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. There are also several performance bonuses in the contract. The well traveled, soon to be 30 year old lefty, has never been able to recapture his early success. Willis’ first 3 years were excellent and many people felt he would be one of the most dominant starters in the game (his 2005 season is one for the ages). But his career took a quick downward spiral and he has never been able to regain any of his early glory. Obviously the Phillies are not expecting anything great, as Willis hasn’t had a wining season nor an ERA below 5.00 in his past 5 seasons. The Phillies will be his 5th team in 6 years.
Kelly Shoppach agreed to terms with the Boston Red Sox for a 1 year, $1.35 million dollar contract. The 31 year old Shoppach will be the backup catcher for Boston, behind Jarrod Saltalamacchia. His signing just about guarantees that Jason Varitek’s career in Boston is over. Shoppach is known for his defense and is definitely is a weak offensive player. He batted an awful .176 last year for Tampa Bay and has not hit above .214 the past 3 years. Weirdly, he led the American League in being hit by pitches in 2009 with 18.
Josh Willingham has agreed to a 3 year contract with Minnesota Twins for $21 million in total. Josh is a 32 year old slugging OF who has played for 3 previous teams over his 8 year career. He is a career .262 hitter with a solid .361 OBP and .475 SLG. Last year he hit .246 with 29 HR and 98 RBI for the Oakland Athletics. Willingham’s signing almost certainly means the Twins will not bring back either Michael Cuddyer or Jason Kubel. Both have only played in the majors with the Twins.
Michael Cuddyer has come to terms with the Colorado Rockies to a 3 year deal worth a reported $31.5 million total. As soon as the Twins signed Josh Willingham you had a feeling Cuddyer would follow suit very quickly (and Jason Kubel should also find a home shortly). The 32 year old Cuddyer has been a mainstay for the Twins, having played there the past 11 seasons. He is coming off of a solid season with a .284 Avg, 20 HR and 70 RBI and will be a great 3rd OF. Cuddyer also brings some position flexibility for the Rockies since he can also play 1st, 2nd and 3rd base. The Rockies are hoping his veteran presence will have a positive impact in their clubhouse, after a very disappointing 2011 season for the team.
Trade Talks:
The Milwaukee Brewers shipped 3rd baseman Casey McGehee to the Pittsburgh Pirates for reliever Jose Veras. As soon as the Brewers signed Aramis Ramirez, McGehee could have started packing his bags. McGehee has had a couple of solid years in 2009 and 2010, but last year everything fell apart for him. He was dreadful on defense and had the second lowest OPS for all qualifying batters in the Majors! I am not sure why the small market Pirates would want him since the 29 year old McGehee will probably get $5 mil in salary. The 31 year old Veras pitched solidly in 79 games last year, going 2-4 with 27 holds (good enough for 5th in the NL). He also had 79 K’s in 71 innings, a 1.24 WHIP and a 3.80 ERA.
The Boston Red Sox acquired a possible closer by shipping two players to the Houston Astros for Mark Melancon. The players the Red Sox gave up are infielder Jed Lowrie and pitcher Kyle Weiland. Melancon is a 26 year old who saved 20 games for the Astros last year. The Red Sox were searching for a replacement closer since Jonathan Papelbon bailed via free agency. And, since the new labor agreement outlined the new Luxury Tax levels through 2015, there was speculation that they would seek cheaper options via trade versus spending big money on a free agent. After all, there was plenty of time for them to sign a Ryan Madson type. 2011 was Melancon’s first full season and he pitched very well; 74.1 IP, 66 K, 8-4 record, 20 saves, 3 holds, 1.22 WHIP and 2.78 ERA. The 27 year old Jed Lowrie has shown a few flashes, but mostly has been the Red Sox’ utility infielder. He is a solid defender, with a chance to be a line drive hitter that produces in Houston. The 25 year old Kyke Weiland has barely played in the majors (7 games for the Sox last year), but he looks like he can be a productive number 3 starter based on his minor league/college stats. There is a chance this could turn out to be a great trade for the Astros!
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