Rumors for Detroit Tigers
Brad Penny signs one-year deal with Japan’s Softbank Hawks
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Brad Penny has signed a one-year deal with Japan’s Softbank Hawks, according to the San Diego Tribune. The deal is for $4mm and includes $3.5mm in performance bonuses and a $4.5mm mutual option for 2013 (contract info provided by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports).
Last season, Penny went 11-11 last season for the Detroit Tigers with a 5.30 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 31 games while earning $3mm.
Penny’s career year came in 2007 with the Dodgers when he went 16-4 with a 3.03 era, while striking out 135 in 208 innings. That year he earned $7.5mm as he was in the second year of a three-year deal he singed in 2006.
Penny has a 119-99 career record and a 4.23 ERA over a 12-year major league career.
Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.
PRO Rumors financial efficiency report- Detroit Tigers
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The next financial efficiency report will feature the AL Central Champions, Detroit Tigers. A team that quickly forgot about their losing ways in the beginning of the 21st century.
They have an outstanding offense, now even more improved with the addition of Prince Fielder, and the most dominant starting pitcher in the Majors in 2011, Justin Verlander.
In 2011, the Tigers won 96 games during the regular season. This means that they won 47 games above the 49 games won line. Their payroll for 2011 was $105,700,231 (ranked tenth in the Majors), breaking down their expenses to $2,006,451.72 for every win they got above 49.
Their top five paid players were:
– Miguel Cabrera ($20,000,000): A worthy MVP candidate in 2011, Cabrera hit .344/.448/.586 with 30 HR’s, 105 RBI’s, 111 runs and a 1.0333 OPS in a career high 161 games. The slugger earned $666,666.67 for every home run he hit, $190,476.19 for every run he batted in, $180,180.18 for every run he scored or $61,162.08 for every time he got on base.
– Carlos Guillen ($12,922,232): Guillen hit .232/.265/.368 with 3 HR’s, 13 RBI’s, 8 runs and a .633 OPS in only 28 games. He earned $4,307,410.67 for every home run hit, $994,017.85 for every run batted in, $1,615,279 for every run scored or $478,601.19 for every time he got on base.
– Justin Verlander ($12,850,000): The most dominant pitcher in the Majors in 2011 went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts in 251 innings pitched. Verlander earned $535,416.67 for every game he won, $51,400 for every hitter he struck out or $176,027.40 for every run the opposition scored against him.
– Victor Martinez ($12,000,000): The switch hitting catcher hit .330/.380/.470 with 12 HR’s, 103 RBI’s, 76 runs and a .850 OPS. Martinez earned $1,000,000 for every home run he hit, $116,504.85 for every run he batted in, $157,894.74 for every run he scored or $52,173.91 for every time he got on base.
– Magglio Ordonez ($10,000,000): Ordonez hit .255/.303/.331 with 5 HR’s, 32 RBI’s, 33 runs and a .634 OPS. He earned $2,000,000 for every home run he hit, $312,500 for every run he batted in, $303,030.30 for every run he scored or $97,457.94 for every time he got on base.
Out of their top five paid players, only three lived up their expectations, actually two of them were outstanding, and probably among the best three players in the league, in my opinion (Cabrera and Verlander). Guillen was limited by injuries to only 28 games, making him incredibly pricey for the productivity they got from him.
Ordonez saw his playing time limited with injuries too, although he end up playing in 92 games. His power seemed to have vanished, slugging only .331 for the season, basically he slugged like a short stop while playing as a right fielder or a designated hitter.
Martinez proved to be valuable as a hitter for the Tigers, who saw time behind the plate with Alex Avila and but majority of his time was as the designated hitter. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they won’t have Martinez in 2012 because he suffered a torn ACL and a knee micro-fracture, but they are hoping that Fielder fills the void left for him next season.
The Tigers were a competitive team, with bright stars such as Cabrera, Verlander and Martinez, combining them with young talent such as Austin Jackson, Rick Porcello, Avila, Max Scherzer and Doug Fister. Their collective OBP was .344 (third in the AL), their SLG was .434 (fourth in the AL) and their OPS was .773 (also fourth in the AL). They also scored a total of 787 runs, fourth in the AL. Breaking down their expenses, each run they scored cost them $134,307.79.
Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.
Mariners sign Carlos Guillen
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The Seattle Mariners have signed Carlos Guillen to a minor league deal, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports.
Guillen will earn a base salary of $1mm and has incentives tied to plate appearances included in the deal.
Last season with the Tigers, Guillen was limited to only 95 at-bats and hit .232.
Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.
Curt Flood and the history of free agency
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With huge free agency contracts being awarded to players, such as the landmark off season agreement between Albert Pujols and the Angels, do you ever wonder how free agency came about in baseball?
Curt Flood was a successful MLB player who earned seven Gold Glove Awards, played in three All-Star Games, and won two World Series. In 1970, after being traded to the Phillies against his wishes, Flood challenged baseball’s reserve clause, fighting it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Although Flood lost the court case, his step of suing MLB ultimately paved the way for reforms like the 1975 Seitz Decision, which granted baseball with free agency, a great benefit to everyone affiliated with the game.
Flood is considered by many to be the pioneer of free agency, but he paid a significant price for his contributions by sacrificing a flourishing MLB career for what he believed was right not only for him, but for all who played.
One of our readers, Blayke Tatman, a 7th grader from Orange County, California, conducted a research project on Curt Flood for his National History Day Project. To learn more about Flood and the history of free agency in baseball, stop by his website. You can also stop by his website and see what current players such as Gerald Laird and past players think about Flood, and what his decision to stand up against Baseball did for the game.
Cardinals the favorite for Roy Oswalt?
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Sources close to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reported yesterday that Roy Oswalt had elected to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals. Today, there are some conflicting reports that say the right hander has not agreed to a deal with St. Louis (via Matthew Leach of MLB.com).
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports notes that the Rangers have not made an offer to Oswalt, and that the Astros, Oswalt’s old team could also be a possibility.
Oswalt had received heavy interest from the Red Sox and Tigers, with the Tigers supposedly offering the right hander a one-year $10mm deal yesterday that he turned down.
In 2011, Oswalt went 9-10 while posting a 3.69 era in 139 innings with the Phillies. He did average a career low with 6.0 strike outs per 9 innings and is coming off a series of injuries. Oswalt earned $16mm last season and made $1,777,777.78 for every win or $172,043,01 for every strikeout.
Image taken by Matthew Straubmuller and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.
Prince Fielder agrees to 9-year deal with Detroit Tigers
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The Detroit Tigers and Prince Fielder have agreed to a nine-year, $214 million deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports.
Fielderwho hit .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs last season will join Miguel Cabrera who led the majors with a .344 average and 48 doubles, 30 homers and drove in 105 runs as one of the most feared 3-4 hitters in all of the game.
Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, first reported that the sides were nearing a nine-year deal earlier today.
Image by Ben+Sam under the Creative Commons License.
Orioles sign Wilson Betemit
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The Baltimore Orioles have signed Wilson Betemit to a two-year deal with a vesting opion for a third year (option vests based on an unknown number of plate appearances), Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports.
Betemit hit .285 while splitting time between Kansas City before he was traded to the Tigers. He also posted a .343 OBP and a career high in strike outs with 105. Betemit made $1mm last season.
Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.
Tigers Interested in Johnny Damon
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According to a tweet by Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, The Detroit Tigers are showing interest in free agent outfielder, Johnny Damon. Damon would provide a veteran left handed bat to fill in for Victor Martinez this season. Martinez is likely out for the season with an ACL tear leaving a massive hole behind Miguel Cabrera in the Tigers lineup. Some other potential candidates for the Tigers include Derrek Lee, Bobby Abreu,Raul Ibanez, Kosuke Fukudome and Hideki Matsui.
Damon, 38, is a career .286/.353/.435 hitter with 231 career home runs and 2,723 career hits. In his 17 year career thus far, he has played for the Royals, Athletics, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, and Rays.
Image Taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Commons License Agreement.
Tigers Victor Martinez likely out for season
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The Detroit Tigers were dealt a serious blow today when they learned Victor Martinez had a torn ACL which will likely require season ending surgery. Luckily for Tiger fans, general manager Dave Dombrowski isn’t rushing his next step on who he will potentially target to help fill the offensive void that was created with the injury to Martinez.“After you feel sorry for yourself for a day you move on, you look at all your alternatives” Dombrowski said on a conference call with reporters today.
The Tigers have plenty of options open to them to help them fill the .330 avg, 178 hit, 103 RBI’s and a .380 OBP void that the was created with Martinez sidelined. Martinez was also the primary protection in the lineup behind slugger Miguel Cabrera.
Dombrowski could go with a free agent like Manny Ramirez (though he would miss the first 50 games), Johnny Damon or Vladimir Guerrero. Or he could go the trade route and acquire another bat or promote from within the organization.
But another option which is intriguing is to try and sign Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and move Delmon Young who they signed to a one-year $6.75mm deal today (avoiding arbitration) into the full time DH role.
Martinez was entering the second year of his four-year $50mm deal he signed last offseason.
Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.
Minnesota Twins sign Joel Zumaya
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The Minnesota Twins have signed flame thrower bullpen arm Joel Zumaya, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports. The deal will have a base salary of $800k and could be worth as much as $1.7mm based on all the incentives he could earn.
Zumaya who is known for his 100MPH fastballs hasn’t pitched 32 games or 40 innings in a season since his impressive rookie season of 2006 due to injuries.
Zumaya hasn’t pitched since 2010 where he posted a 2.58 era in 38 1/3 innings.
Image taken by Dave Hogg and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.
