With the holiday season rolling along with Christmas yesterday, I figured I would post this article while I had a chance! Like most people spending the holidays with their family, it's hard to get a free moment. If you celebrate Kwanzaa, Chanukkah, Christmas, or even Festivus… please be safe and enjoy!
Here are a few of the smaller but tastier bits of baseball news and activity over the past week:
Luxury Tax News:
The Luxury Tax bill for 2011 was assessed and only two teams were hit for it. The New York Yankees, for the 9th straight year, and the Boston Red Sox for the second straight year. The Yankees owe $13.9 million and the Red Sox owe $3.4 million. They have until January 31st to make payment. The Yankees have been charged every year since the tax began, for a total of $206.1 million dollars. So far, only 4 teams have ever paid any luxury tax, the Yankees, Red Sox, the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Angels.
Arbitration News:
Joel Peralta and the Tampa Bay Rays agreed to a one year deal avoiding arbitration. The 35 year old Peralta is a relief pitcher that had a solid season helping anchor the Rays’ bullpen. The Rays’ bullpen was a huge factor in their September run to make the playoffs. In 71 appearances Peralta had 3 wins, 6 saves, 19 holds, a 0.92 WHIP and a 2.93 ERA. Peralta also admirably filled in briefly as closer for the injured Kyle Farnsworth.
John Danks and the Chicago White Sox surprisingly avoided arbitration with a 5 year deal worth a total of $65 Million. The 26 year old Danks will earn $8 mil this coming season and $14.25 the 4 years after. The signing was a surprise since the White Sox have made noises about trying to cut payroll and have recently shopped Danks as trade bait. Danks has been a mainstay for the rotation over the past 5 years, though his 2011 season wasn’t anything to write home about. Amazing how much money a player can get after going a mediocre 8-12, with a 1.34 WHIP and a 4.33 ERA.
Japanese Player Postings:
The Texas Rangers submitted the highest bid on Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish. The amount of their winning bid was for a whopping $51.7 million dollars (yikes!), which the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters can keep if Darvish signs a contract with the Rangers. You have to wonder if this is a knee-jerk reaction to the division rival LA Angels signing of CJ Wilson? The Rangers now have 30 days to negotiate and reach a deal with the 25 year old Darvish. I bet the Nippon ownership is collectively holding their breath!
Free Agent Signings:
Jason Kubel signed a two year deal worth a total of $15 mil with the Arizona Diamondbacks. There is a mutual option for a third year. Adding the lefty power hitter Kubel creates a crowded outfield for the Diamondbacks, since they already have Gerardo Parra (Gold Glove winner) in left, Chris Young in center and Justin Upton in right. The 29 year old has battled injuries the past couple of years, but when he has played he has produced. Kubel’s best season was 2009, when he batted .300 with 28 HR and 102 RBI. Last year in 99 games, he hit .249 with 12 HR and 58 RBI.
Yuniesky Betancourt signed a contract with the Kansas City Royals for 1 year. Bentancourt was kicked to the curb by the Milwaukee Brewers who declined his optional year. He had previously been traded by the Royals to the Brewers after the 2010 season. Betancourt had a decent year offensively for a fulltime shortstop, but his defense was simply atrocious, leading to the Brewers to look elsewhere. Betancourt batted .252 with 13 homers and 68 RBI in 2011.
Jason Marquis signed a one year deal with the Minnesota Twins for 1 year, $3 million. The Twins are filling out the back end of their rotation on the cheap, though it’s sad that $3 million is now considered “on the cheap”. The 33 year old Marquis is a career groundball pitcher who has a history of being brittle. Last year he started 23 games splitting time between the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks: 8-6 record, 132 IP, 154 H, 43 BB, 76 K, 1.49 WHIP, 4.43 ERA.
Trade Talks:
The Cincinnati Reds acquired left-handed setup man Sean Marshall from the Chicago Cubs for 3 players. The players the Reds sent were lefty starting pitcher Travis Wood, outfielder Dave Sappelt and infielder Ronald Torreyes. The Reds had coveted the 29 year old Marshall for some time now and worked hard to get him. He had a tremendous season as a set up man for the Cubs last year; 75.2 IP, 17 BB, 79 K, 6-6 record, 5 saves, 34 holds (good for third in the NL), 1.10 ERA, 2.26 ERA, .234 Avg against and a .566 OPS against. The Reds, once they acquired Mat Latos, had a surplus of starting pitching but needed to bolster their bullpen. So trading Travis Wood, who is only 24 years old, to accomplish this makes sense. Wood started a mediocre 18 games for the Reds last year but looked to be the odd man out of their rotation in 2012. Wood projects to be a number 3 starter in the majors at his best. Dave Seppelt, on the other hand, looks like he might become a legitimate major league hitter. Last year he hit .313 in AAA, and he won the Southern League MVP in 2010 (AA level). The final player sent is 19 year old Ronald Torreyes who mostly played 2nd base while hitting a robust .356 at A level last season.
Have a great week… see you guys for next week’s New Years edition of ROUNDING THE BASES!
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