AROUND THE MLB Thread

fwiw...

Brewers Eyeing Michael Young​

By Zach Links [December 18 at 6:18pm CST]​

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The Brewers are interested in Michael Young as a first baseman, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Dodgers and Rockies are also in the mix for Young. The Nationals are involved too, but they're also exploring other options at present.​

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Young could pair with Juan Francisco at first base in Milwaukee. It certainly helps that, as Rosenthal notes (link), Brewers GM Doug Melvin and coaches Jerry and Johnny Narron know Young from his days with the Rangers.​

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The Brewers have been combing the first base market and lost a potential option when they're own free agent, Corey Hart, hooked on with the Mariners. ​

Recently, our own Charlie Wilmoth looked at some of the other remaining options at the first base position, including the Cardinals' Matt Adams, the Mets' Ike Davis ( whom they've been heavily connected to), and Kendrys Morales. Adams would be a tremendous addition, but prying him away from divisional rivals could be tough.​

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Rakuten Golden Eagles To Sign Kevin Youkilis
By Steve Adams [December 20 at 1:13pm CST]

The Rakuten Golden Eagles will sign Kevin Youkilis, according to a report from Nikkan Sports (passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter). MLBTR has confirmed the report with Youkilis' agent Joe Bick of Pro Star Management, Inc.

Youkilis will sign a one-year deal with the Golden Eagles. Though previous reports indicated that he wanted to play close to his California home, Bick explained to MLBTR that his client's West Coast preference was in order to be near to his family. Youkilis' wife and children will be going with him to Japan, however, which was a key factor in his decision. Youkilis considered the opportunity to play in Japan a "life experience that was too good to pass up," said Bick.

Youkilis, who turns 35 in March, inked a one-year, $12MM contract with the Yankees last offseason but saw his 2013 campaign cut short by a pair of back injuries. He would appear in just 28 games for the Yankees, batting .219/.305/.343 with a pair of homers before undergoing season-ending back surgery in June. A three-time All-Star that finished third in the AL MVP voting back in 2008, Youkilis was one of the American League's best hitters from 2007-11 when he batted .294/.395/.517.

Youkilis could appear at either corner position for the Golden Eagles, who now have a vacancy at third base following Casey McGehee's decision to return to Major League Baseball on a one-year deal with the Marlins. That situation was not necessarily linked to Rakuten's interest in Youkilis, however, as the two sides have been in discussions for roughly three weeks. Youkilis received interest from eight or nine Major League clubs, but ultimately elected to be with his family for a new experience in Japan.

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drama...

Grant Balfour Could File Grievance Against Orioles​

By Steve Adams [December 20 at 5:02pm CST]​

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5:02pm: Balfour will discuss a grievance with the players' union, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). In a full column, Rosenthal reports that he spoke with two doctors who know Balfour well, both of whom say he is 100 percent fine. Rays team physician Koco Eaton was surprised that the deal wasn't completed. Eaton examined Balfour today and said it should have been "a no-brainer" for the Orioles to complete the contract, adding that Balfour's shoulder MRI today looked identical to the one he saw three years ago.​

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Rosenthal also spoke with Reds physician Timothy Kremcheck, who performed elbow and shoulder surgery on Balfour in the past. Said Kremcheck: "For a guy in his 30s who has pitched six or seven years since his rotator-cuff repair, his MRI on his shoulder looks remarkably good."​

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Balfour's agent, Seth Levinson, released a statement on the issue, stating plainly that "The only reasonable conclusion is that Grant is healthy and the Orioles at the last moment changed their minds." Levinson's full statement can be seen on Twitter, via ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.​

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4:13pm: Balfour spoke with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and told her that he is baffled that the Orioles backed off because he is "100 percent fine." He went on to tell Slusser that his MRIs -- including the MRI taken of his right shoulder -- look exactly the same as they did three years ago. Slusser quotes Balfour:​

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"I'm the All-Star pitcher I was last season. My shoulder is fine, everything is fine. I'm ready to come out there in the ninth inning, do what I do."​

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Balfour told Slusser that he isn't looking to bad-mouth anyone and made no negative comments about the Orioles. Slusser notes that a team stepping away from Balfour due to medical concerns could cost him millions of dollars (All links to Slusser's Twitter).​

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2:08pm: The Orioles will not sign Grant Balfour, executive vice president Dan Duquette told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly quotes Duquette (via Twitter) as saying: "We would never say never or close the door, but we're going to turn our attention elsewhere." Duquette said the Orioles could look to sign another free agent, trade for a closer or stay in-house for the closer, but they're not done adding pitching or other pieces (also via Connolly).​

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The Orioles agreed to terms with Balfour on a two-year, $15MM contract earlier this week, but problems with the physical placed the contract in jeopardy. With him out of the picture, the Orioles have reportedly begun to focus on Fernando Rodney, with whom they should be plenty familiar following two excellent season with the division rival Rays.​

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Rangers To Sign Shin-Soo Choo
By Jeff Todd [December 21 at 12:26pm CST]

1:26pm: Choo's deal includes awards bonuses, tweets Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.

11:13am: Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has reached agreement with the Rangers on a seven-year deal for $130MM, pending a physical, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The first year of the deal will have a lower salary than the remaining years, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Choo's deal includes no opt-outs or options, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, but does contain a limited no-trade clause. Choo, 31, is a client of the Boras Corporation.

As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes wrote in his profile of Choo, who ranked third on Dierkes's list of the top fifty free agents, the South Korean on-base machine hit the open market at an optimal time. Having never seen his OBP drop below a .373 mark, Choo reached another level last year with a .285/.423/.462 line (over 712 plate appearances) in his first and only season with the Reds. (Of course, as Dierkes explained, Choo's biggest weakness -- his struggles against left-handed pitching -- could force him into a platoon role in the later years of his deal.) Choo also knocked twenty home runs in 2013 for the third time in his career. Batting atop the lineup in Cincinnati, Choo also swiped over twenty bags for the fourth time, though he was also tagged out eleven times in the process.

Though Choo played in center last year for the Reds, the expectation is that he will man a corner position in Texas. If the Rangers indeed intend to go with Leonys Martin up the middle, it would seem likely that the club would be out of the mix for Nelson Cruz. (Alex Rios is already penciled into one corner spot.)

Texas GM Jon Daniels has not been shy in adding lengthy and substantial contracts to his club's books of late. He added dollars and years through trades for Rios and Prince Fielder (offset only in part by the departure of Ian Kinsler in that deal). And Daniels has done the same via extension, with Martin Perez (four years, $12.5MM), Elvis Andrus (eight years, $120MM), and Matt Harrison (five years, $55MM) all getting new deals in the last year. Add it all up, and the Rangers have added nearly $400MM in future obligations in the 2013 calendar year. That would seem likely to take the club out of the mix for Masahiro Tanaka (in the event that he is posted).

At seven years and $130MM, Choo will receive an average annual value of just over $18.5MM. His deal slots in $23MM shy of that inked by Jacoby Ellsbury with the Yankees over the same length of time, but comes with a $40MM larger guarantee than that achieved by Hunter Pence in the five-year deal he reached with the Giants just before hitting the open market.

The Rangers were willing to go to seven years and a big sum of money, says Passan, in part due to the weak set of hitters available via free agency next year. Of course, new candidates could emerge; one year ago, it would have seemed quite unlikely that Choo would command this kind of payday. The Yankees may have been willing to reach the $140MM level in a seven-year pact with Choo, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. But the lack of state income tax in Texas boosted the value of the Rangers' offer, and Choo apparently also preferred to join Texas.

Since Choo turned down a qualifying offer from the Reds, his former club will receive a compensatory pick. Texas, meanwhile, stands to lose its first-round draft choice, though it could regain a choice in the sandwich round if Cruz signs elsewhere.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News first reported (via Twitter) that the deal was expected to be worth $130MM.

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well, that and the strip clubs

 

Rangers Claim Alex Castellanos
By Steve Adams [December 23, 2013 at 12:52pm CST]

The Rangers announced, via press release, that they have claimed outfielder Alex Castellanos off waivers from the Red Sox.

The 27-year-old Castellanos is a former 10th round pick that will be joining his fourth organization following this move. Originally selected by the Cardinals in the 2008 draft, he was traded to the Dodgers in exchange for Rafael Furcal in July 2011 before being flipped to the Red Sox earlier this year in exchange for fellow outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker. Boston designated Castellanos for assignment upon re-signing Mike Napoli.

Castellanos has batted just .171/.186/.390 in 43 big league plate appearances (all with the Dodgers), but he has been a force in the minor leagues. The Florida native is a career .291/.382/.525 hitter with 36 homers and 35 stolen bases in 848 Triple-A plate appearances.

The Rangers' 40-man roster previously had just 39 players, so the claim of Castellanos brings them to a full 40 players.

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as fuck

Rays Claim Jerry Sands​

By Steve Adams [December 23, 2013 at 1:58pm CST]​

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The Rays have claimed first baseman Jerry Sands off waivers from the Pirates, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter). Sands was designated for assignment 10 days ago, along with right-hander Ryan Reid, in order to clear room on the Bucs' 40-man roster for Clint Barmes and Edinson Volquez. Reid was claimed by the Mets earlier this afternoon.​

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Sands, who turned 26 at the end of the season, batted just .207/.311/.329 with seven home runs in 106 games (397 PAs) at the Triple-A level this season. Formerly with the Dodgers, Sands was one of the players in the Adrian Gonzalez/Carl Crawford/Josh Beckett blockbuster of August 2012. The Red Sox included him in another notable trade last offseason, as he was one of the pieces acquired by Pittsburgh in the ill-fated (for Boston) trade that sent Mark Melancon to Pittsburgh and Joel Hanrahan to Boston.​

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In his minor league career, Sands is a .276/.366/.526 hitter with 128 homers in 2433 plate appearances. He'll provide the Rays with some depth at first base, though GM Andrew Friedman hopes to have that position solidified for the next three seasons now that he's inked James Loney to a $21MM pact.​

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Sands is gonna be MVP

 

i doubt they'll combine for that many over the remainder of their careers

 

i knew that