Rumors for February, 2011
Rangers add Yhency Brazoban to Major League camp roster
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The Texas Rangers have added today right handed pitcher Yhency Brazoban to their Major League roster according to the Rangers VP of Communications, John Blake.
Brazoban was signed to a Minor League deal by the Rangers in December. The right hander last pitched in the Majors in 2008 with the Dodgers. He is a lifetime 10-12 with a 4.70 ERA in 116 games and 115 innings throughout five Major League seasons, all of them with the Dodgers.
Mets legal issues will not affect players contracts
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New York Mets’ players such as David Wright and Carlos Beltran can sleep soundly tonight knowing that their recent house or car that they may have purchased won’t be repossessed. MLB union chief, Michael Weiner, visited the Mets on Tuesday and said that players’ guaranteed contracts will not be affected by the Wilpons’ legal issues, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports.
“We want to make sure that all contractual obligations to the players are honored and we’ve been assured through the commissioner’s office that’s the case. So there’s no concerns there,” Wiener said.
“As far as broader questions, look, it’s in the interests of everybody associated with baseball that the National League franchise in New York be a strong franchise. And the Wilpons have always attempted to field a competitive team. They’ve had success at doing that during their tenure. And we certainly hope they’re in a position to continue to do that. But the real key is less what the payroll of the Mets is — [it] is that a team like the New York Mets, the National League entrant from New York, should be in a position to be a strong franchise.”
Wiener also expects the Mets to honor the basic agreement with Francisco Rodriguez. Rodriguez’s option vests at $17.5 million for 2012 if he finishes 55 games in 2011. Otherwise, he’ll receive a $3.5 million buyout in addition to his $11.5 million 2011 salary and will become a free agent next winter.
Joakim Soria wants a new nickname
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Apparently being called the “Mexicutioner” in these troubled times is not a good thing. Right-handed relief pitcher, Joakim Soria, made a public plea on Twitter to change his nickname.
“how about if we change my nickname to something positive? in support to mexico to stop all the violence !!!”
In case you’ve been on Mars over the past few years, several drug/gang-related executions have made the news from Mexico, including a recent discovery of five men that were killed execution-style in the northern state of Zacatecas (via the Associated Press).
While no nickname sticks out, I like how Pablo Sandoval (and his fans) turned to the latest cartoon movieto get a name: Kung Fu Panda. So with that, I suggest “Megamind”. Alright… alright… “Metroman”… boo! What’s your suggestion?
Derek Jeter shrugs off Steinbrenner’s ‘mansion’ rant
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New York Yankees co-chairman, Hank Steinbrenner, was not too thrilled with the final results of 2010 and indicated that his team may have still been on the honeymoon of their 2009 World Series championship.
“I think maybe they celebrated a little bit too much last year,” Steinbrenner said, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “Some of the players are too busy building mansions and other things and not concentrating on winning.
Captain Derek Jeter just shrugged off the comments and called it “funny”.
“We can have a difference of opinion, but I didn’t sense that at all,” Jeter later told Hoch. “I thought guys were ready to play. We just lost to a team that was better than us. That’s my point of view.”
Jeter was not bothered by Steinbrenner’s comments, and he doesn’t have any issues with ownership.
“Owners can say what they want to say. They can have their opinion,” Jeter said. “That’s one of the things that you respected about the Boss when he was around. He had his opinion.”
“Everyone didn’t always agree with the opinion, but you respected his opinion because he’s the boss. The same thing with Hank and Hal. They’re entitled to their opinions, they can say what they want to say; they’re the owners.”
Many thought that Steinbrenner was referring to Jeter because he recently completed a $7.7 million mansion in the Tampa area, but Jeter shrugged it off as well.
“My name wasn’t brought up,” Jeter said. “He didn’t say my name. I know there’s the assumption, but I look at the positive side of it. My name didn’t come out of his mouth.”
Charlie Sheen invites Brian Wilson and others to private party
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It’s apparently a slow day for baseball news… so far. Never the less, here’s a funny TMZ bit about San Francisco Giants’ closer Brian Wilson and Charlie Sheen.
Apparently Sheen invited several players to his Los Angeles home last Friday. Those on the guest list included Wilson, Kenny Lofton, Todd Zeile, Eddie Murray, Lenny Dykstra and others. Pete Rose was supposedly invited, but he could not attend.
The activities included watching Sheen’s movie, Major League, meeting the movie’s director and writer, David S. Ward and getting a chance to try on Babe Ruth’s 1927 World Series ring.
Something tells me that these weren’t the only activities available.
Thieves steal truck of Royals rookie
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Sometimes it’s tough being a rookie. You get the high jersey number, you get the poorly located locker, you are subject to hazing by the veterans and you’re always in fear of being sent back to the Minors. You can add one more to the list – getting your truck stolen.
According to The Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton, left-handed rookie pitcher, Everett Teaford, was having dinner with several teammates. When he was about to leave ,he could not find his 2004 Ford F-250 diesel truck in the parking lot.
“I walked out,” he said, “and I looked at the spot where I was left it. I was so tired. I had to go home (over the weekend to Georgia) for a wedding, and I was exhausted. I get done eating, and here I am looking around in the parking lot.”
“I thought, `Man, I parked in this spot. If I didn’t park in that one, I parked in this one. And there’s nothing there either.’”
Luckily for the 26-year-old, this is only a minor setback and his agent will surely take care of the issue. Teaford is on the team’s 40-man roster, and he closed the 2010 season with a 8-0 record and 1.98 ERA in 12 games while in the Minors and was selected to the United States 24-player squad at the Pan Am Games Qualifying Tournament.
“I guess if you see an F-250 with Georgia plates,” he said, “get the oil changed and bring it back. Or really…just keep it. At this point, I don’t even want to see it anymore.”
Union open to players owning stake in team
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In Silicon Valley it’s common for your compensation package to include a stake in the company in the form of stock options. That’s how many road the coattails of Google and Apple to become very rich through initial public offerings on the stock market. Now the baseball player’s union may be open to allowing players to receive equity in their teams as a form of compensation.
With that said Albert Pujols could be awarded an equity stake from his next team. Apparently, during the initial negotiations, there was an enormous difference in the per-year salary but not on years. So in reality, the Cards could provide a stake in the team for Pujols as part of the first baseman’s compensation package.
Today, MLBPA chief Michael Weiner said they would be open to that possibility as long as the player doesn’t have an opinion on the team’s matters according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Since teams are privately held, there’s no open market to liquify the assets should someone like Pujols want to bail out of his ownership. Nor is it clear if there will be profit sharing as part of being an owner.
The Cardinals first baseman has said that if they can’t work a deal he will go to free agency. The team will likely have to settle for a small exclusive negotiating window after the World Series, and if he leaves, they’ll get two draft picks as a (Type-A free agent compensation) for a player who could easily end up being one of the greatest hitters of all time.
Aggressiveness helped Tigers land Joaquin Benoit
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Right-handed pitcher Joaquin Benoit signed a three-year, $16.5 million deal with the Detroit Tigers just 16 days after the last game of the 2010 World Series. Some players tend to wait in order to create leverage on the bargaining table, but Benoit didn’t want to waste any time.
“They made an offer that made sense to me,” said Benoit (via Dick Scanlon of the Detroit Free Press). “Last year at the beginning of Spring Training, I didn’t have a job, and I didn’t want to make a mistake of being too greedy and trying to wait and wait, get myself in a hole and wait to the last minute.”
The 33-year old reliever didn’t pitch in 2009, but had an outstanding season in 2010 with the Rays. “I think I surprised myself and everybody,” said Benoit, who didn’t pitch in 2009. “It was the type of situation where you knew you were doing good, but you didn’t want to know until the season was over.”
Benoit was 1-2 with a 1.34 ERA in 60.1 innings throughout 63 games in 2010 with the Rays.
Kenny Williams open to having level playing field with payroll
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If GM Kenny Williams of the Chicago White Sox was given $30 million right now, he tells Chuck Garfien of CSNChicago.com that he would not spend it on one guy, such as free-agent-to-be Albert Pujols.
“But I tell you what,” Williams said. “I’m going to take that $30 million and I’m going to distribute it around. My team is going to be better as a whole than it is with one player who might get hurt. Then you’re done. Sorry, that’s just me. And that’s no disrespect to a future Hall of Famer, first ballot, one of the greatest players in history.”
Although he’s guilty of being one of the highest spending teams, Williams says he wants to have an even playing field with everybody else in terms of money spent.
“For the game’s health as a whole, when we’re talking about 30 million dollar players, I think it’s asinine,” Williams added. “We have gotten to the point of no return. Something has to happen. And if it means the game being shut down for the sake of bringing sanity to it, to franchises that aren’t going to stop the insanity, I’m all for it.”
Williams feels the pain for the average family who may not be able to afford to go to a game, and it may require labor disruption in order for it to happen.
“Listen I love the game, I love the game for the players and the fans, but in order for the game to continue to be affordable for families, for guys who are hard-working guys busting their [butts] everyday to take their kids to a ballgame…well, hell yeah. Yes. I’m okay with it being shut down.”
Astros sign Alberto Arias to a one-year deal
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The Houston Astros have signed right handed pitcher Alberto Arias to a one-year, $439,000 deal according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
Arias last appeared in the Majors in 2009 with the Astros. He was 2-1 with a 3.35 ERA and 39 SO in 45.2 innings throughout 42 games.
