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.

Theriot who played second and shortstop for the Cardinals last season, was acquired from the Dodgers in December 2010.

Last season he hit .271 in 442 at-bats and earned $3.3mm. That means Theriot earned $27.5k for every hit or $25k for every game he appeared in.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

Eckstein has played ten Major League seasons with the Angels, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Padres. He is a lifetime .280/.345/.355 hitter with 35 HR’s and 392 RBI’s. He also has two World Series rings, one with the Angels in 2002 and one with the Cardinals in 2006.

Image Taken By SD Dirk and used under the Creative Commons License Agreement.

We are proud to announce that our PRO Rumors Android app version 1.0 is available on the Android Market.  We spent a lot of time on the app’s design and functionality, and we are sure that you’ll love it.  To download the app for an introductory price of $2.99 you can click here.

Here are a few features:

– Push Notifications to get the latest news and rumors for your favorite MLB team

– Pulse-like view of articles – it’s beautiful

– Real-time scoreboard

– Real-time box scores of in-game action

We’re working hard to add more features, so if you have any questions or feature requests, please send an email to support@prorumors.com.  We promise to write you back.

Allan

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

The deal was first reported by sources close to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Image by Shannon Lamond under the Creative Commons License.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

Yesterday Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the team and Schumaker were close to an agreement.  The deal includes one of Schumaker’s aribtration years and one of his free agent years.

Schumaker, 32 by Opening Day 2012, has hit .290/.346/.378 over a seven year career with the Cardinals.

Image by Barbara moore under the Creative Commons License.

This is the Cardinals first post Pujols move. The signing also takes away a possible Jimmy Rollins suitor making the market for him even smaller than it was.

The 33-year old Furcal hit .255/.316/.418 with 7 HR’s and 16 RBI’s in 196 AB’s for the Cardinals in 2011. The Cardinals acquired him from the Dodgers during the trade deadline on July 31.

Image taken by SD Dirk and used under the Creative Commons License Agreement.

Zuckerman says that there’s a lesson in all this. And the lesson is that “no matter how much we want to believe iconic players will forever be attached to one franchise, this remains a business first.”

Pujols left his longtime Cardinals for a 10-year, $254 million deal in Anaheim, even though the Cardinals offer was close to the Angels’. According to Zuckerman, Zimmerman’s interest in staying in Washington is real, as well as the Nationals interest in keeping him and that should motivate the sides to start working on an extension before things get messy.

This does not necessarily means both sides will reach an agreement during next season or during the next winter, but the sooner they start to work things out the less chance they have for everything to fall apart and Zimmerman ends up elsewhere.

Zimmerman, who missed more than two months due to an abdominal injury, hit .289/.355/.443 with 12 HR’s and 49 RBI’s in 395 AB’s for the Nationals in 2011.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports adds that Pujols’ deal could reach $254 million and Danny Knobler of CBSSports adds that Pujols has a full no-trade clause in his contract.

Pujols total contract value puts him just ahead of A-Rod (2001- 10yrs $252mm) and behind A-Rod (2008- 10yrs $275mm, re-negotiated part of 2001 contract) for the 2nd biggest contract in MLB history.

In 2003, Arte Moreno purchased the Angels for $182.5mm. Pujols alone make at least $70mm more than what Moreno paid for the franchise.

Pujols ($14,508,395 in 2011) hit .299/.366/.541 with 37 HR’s, 99 RBI’s, 105 runs and a .906 OPS. Pujols earned $392,118.78 for every home run he hit or $146,549.44 for each RBI he had or $60.959.64 for every time he got on base.

With the signing of Pujols, the Angels now have to decide what they will do with their other first basemans, Trumbo and Morales.

Image by Herkie under the Creative Commons License.

Dotel will pitch in a set-up role helping get the ball to closer Jose Valverde.

In 2011, he posted a 3.50 ERA in 54 innings.

Yesterday, we learned that the Tigers were closing in on Dotel. He had narrowed his choices down to the Cardinals and Tigers after having an impressive postseason helping the Cardinals win the World Series after he was traded from the Blue Jays.

Image by sillygwailo under the Creative Commons License.

– A source close to  Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports that Albert Pujols will sign with the Los Angeles Angels for ten-years worth between $250 million and $260 million.  The deal includes a full no-trade clause.

– The Los Angeles Angels offered at least $210 million to Pujols according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports. The belief is, according to Heyman, that the Angels might have to be closer to $250 million to “win the day.”

Image by Barbara Moore under the Creative Commons License.

Sources close to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports add that only the length of the deal is what has yet to be determined.  Rosenthal speculates that a one-year deal with a vesting option is the most likely outcome.

Dotel had narrowed his choices down to the Cardinals and Tigers after having an impressive postseason helping the Cardinals win the World Series. Knobler adds that Dotel wanted a chance to win another World Series with another team.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Commons License agreement.

– Sources close to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports say that the Cardinals, Angels and an unidentified third team are in on Pujols.

– Bob Nightengale of USA Today confirms (as originally reported by Jerry Crasnick of ESPN) that the Marlins are out on the Pujols bidding.  However, three offers of $200+ million are on the table.

– Multiple sources close to Jim Bowden of ESPNxm say that the Marlins are chasing Mark Buehrle, Prince Fielder and C.J. Wilson, a sign that they could be moving on from Pujols.

– The St. Louis Cardinals improved their offer for Pujols according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. The new offer is believed to be close to the $220 million over ten years. He also points out that this is not necessarily the team’s last offer.

– A source close to Jim Bowden of ESPNxm says that Pujols is down to two teams, the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Image by Barbara Moore under the Creative Commons License.

–According to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com, Pujols is down to choosing between the Cardinals and Marlins. The Angels, Cubs and all other mystery teams appear to be out.

– The Phillies are no longer shopping Placido Polanco and they’re “backing off” Aramis Ramirez, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports.

– A deal for Albert Pujols may be done tonight with the Marlins.  A 10-year, $220 million deal is believed to be on the table and the Cardinals are asked to match it.  (Andy Martino, New York Daily News)

– According to Buster Olney of ESPN and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Cardinals are making Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook available for a trade.

– The New York Mets are closing on a late-inning reliever, Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports.

– The Cleveland Indians are willing to trade a reliever in order to get a right handed bat at first base or in the outfield according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.

– The Colorado Rockies continue to shop Huston Street according to Jayson Stark of ESPN. He says that the Rockies are willing to eat the reminder of his contract in exchange of prospects. He also adds that the Padres could be a possibility.

– The San Francisco Giants are attempting to move Jeff Keppinger, Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports. He adds that the team is planning to keep left handed pitcher Jeremy Affeldt

– According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Kansas City Royals are interested in A’s starters Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill, but Olney says that the A’s will ask for Mike Moustakas, Will Myers or Eric Hosmer in any deal.

– The Cincinnati Reds are looking for a number two starter, and according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports, they are “very interested” in Braves’ Jair Jurrjens.

– The St. Louis Cardinals are apparently shopping right handed pitcher Kyle Lohse in order to make room for left handed pitcher Mark Buehrle according to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune

– The Mets talked to Jason Isringhausen about a possible return according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports. He adds that the Mets will offer “less than the stars and the moon.”

– The Miami Marlins have offered a ten-year deal to free agent Albert Pujols. (Jon Heyman, CBSSports)

Image by Barbara Moore under the Creative Commons License.

– Five teams (including the Texas Rangers) are in the hunt for C.J. Wilson and one of them has made a six-year offer.  (Jeff Wilson, Star-Telegram)

– The Twins, Nationals, Marlins and Rangers are in on Mark Buehrle. (Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports)

– The Royals, Marlins, Twins, Athletics and Mariners are interested in Carlos Guillen. (Enrique Rojas, ESPNDeportesLosAngeles)

– According to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post, the Miami Marlins (formerly Florida Marlins), plan to tender Juan Carlos Oviedo (formerly Leo Nunez).

– The Tigers, Blue Jays and Padres have inquired about Daniel Murphy from the Mets. (Joel Sherman, The New York Post)

– The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking for a starter, and according to Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports, they’re targeting right handed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

– Josh Willingham have been contacted by nine teams according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. That list includes the Twins, Red Sox, Indians and Reds adds Crasnick.

– Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post says that the Philadelphia Phillies are “strong players”for third baseman Aramis Ramirez.

– The Los Angeles Angels have been inquiring about Andrew Bailey according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.

– The St. Louis Cardinals have been talking to Octavio Dotel according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.

– The Pittsburgh Pirates “may add another outfielder” according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports. And according to sources close to him, they are interested in former Pirate Nate McLouth.

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– The Minnesota Twins are interested in Jeff Francis according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports. A source close to him says the team already had initial talks with Francis’ agent, and the sides will probably have further discussions at the winter meetings in Dallas next week. The team is also interested in right handed pitcher Edwin Jackson according to Morosi.

– The Nationals, Rangers, Indians and Pirates have all spoke to free agent infielder Mark DeRosa. (Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports)

– According to Tom Haudricourt of the Journal-sentinel, the Milwaukee Brewers and third baseman Aramis Ramirez have mutual interest. “He has expressed interest in us, too,” GM, Doug Melvin said. “That’s something I always like to hear.”

– Short stop Alex Gonzalez has been drawing interest from the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers according to Jon Heyman of Sprots Illustrated (via Francisco Zambrano of LiderEnDeportes)

– Jorge Posada, who owns a house in Miami, says he still wants to play if he finds the right job reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. He adds that Posada would like to join the Marlins if they consider him.

– The Houston Astros are apparently shopping not only Wandy Rodriguez, but Brett Myers and Carlos Lee too says Heyman.

– The Rockies, who are willing to trade Ian Stewart, say that they are interested in Cubs’ infielder Blake DeWitt according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.

– The Minnesota Twins are interested in left handed pitcher Chris Capuano according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

– Infielder Eric Chavez wants to play in 2012 and according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, there are several teams interested in signing him. She adds that the Yankees might be one of them.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

The Cardinals won 90 regular season games, or 41 above the 49 games won line. They paid $105,433,572 in total salaries. That means the Cardinals paid $2,293,574.93 for every win they earned above 49.

Their top five paid players were:

– Matt Holliday ($16,317,774): Holliday hit .296/.388/.525 with 22 HR’s, 75 RBI’s, 83 runs and a .912 OPS. For every home run Holliday hit, he earned $741,717. For every RBI he earned $217,570.32. For every time he got on base he earned $81,588.87.

– Albert Pujols ($14,508,395): Pujols hit .299/.366/.541 with 37 HR’s, 99 RBI’s, 105 runs and a .906 OPS. Pujols earned $392,118.78 for every home run he hit or $146,549.44 for each RBI he had or $60.959.64 for every time he got on base.

– Chris Carpenter ($14,259,403): Carpenter was 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA in 237.1 innings. Carpenter earned $1,296,309 for each win or $74,656 for each of his strikeouts (191). On a side note, Carpenter also earned $1,296,309 for each hit he got.

– Kyle Lohse ($12,187,500): Lohse was 14-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 188.1 innings. Lohse earned $870,535 for each victory or $109,797 for each strikeout.

– Lance Berkman ($8,000,000): Berkman hit .301/.412/.547 with 31 HR’s, 94 RBI’s, 90 runs and a .959 OPS. Berkman earned $258,064 for every home run he hit or $33,057.85 for every time he got on base.

The team had a collective OBP of .341, a SLG of .425 and an OPS of .766. They also scored a total of 762 runs which breaks down to the Cardinals spending $138,364.27 for each run.

If we take a look at their top five paid players, we could see that Berkman was the most productive among the three position players (and financially the cheapest). His OBP and SLG were higher than Pujols’ and Hollidays’. Berkman, who was picked up by the Cardinals during the off season, got on base a little more than four times every 10 times he stepped to the plate.

The Cardinals advanced to the postseason via the NL wild-card spot, and eventually ended up winning the World Series against the Texas Rangers in seven games.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

In the book’s preface, the author quotes work done by a Manhattan lawyer named Doug Pappas. Pappas, says that a team with only minimum wage players, both on the Major League roster and the rest of the 40-man, would still probably win 49 out of the 162 games played.

In 2011, the minimum wage for a player on the 25-man roster was $414,500. The minimum wage for a player on the 40-man roster, with at least one day of MLB service time or had been on the 40-man roster for a year was $67,300.

The minimum that a team could spend on their 40-man roster in 2011 was: $11,397,000. That’s $10,387,500 for their 25-man roster and $1,009,500 for the rest of their 40-man roster. If a team could get approximately 49 wins with a $11,397,000 payroll, that means that if you divide the total wins a team got above their 49th win by the total dollars they paid over the minimum, you get the “price” each team paid for each win they got.

After this brief introduction of the “marginal win” formula, I’m going to say what this report is all about. I’m going to analyze the “price” for each win a team got in 2011 so we can determine which teams were the most cost effective. Besides that, I’m going to list the top 5 paid players on each team and give you their performance line, to see how much they actually contributed to their team.

I’ll also list each team’s OBP, runs and SLG totals so we can see for ourselves how related these stats are at the moment of scoring runs and winning games. So get ready to experience a thoughtful analysis of every 2011 Major league team.

The team’s payroll was taken from USA Today and the individuals salaries from About.com.

Image by dherrera_96 Under the Creative Commons License.

Morosi adds that although Dotel is more of a seventh-inning guy at “this stage of his career,” he could handle the eight or ninth inning when needed.

In 2011, Dotel was 5-4 with a 3.50 ERA in 54.0 innings with the Toronto Blue Jays and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Image by sillygwailo under the Creative Commons License.

1. What are the chances Manny Ramirez plays baseball next season?

As time goes on, the chances of Manny returning to any field decreases. He recently had a tryout with a Japanese team in Miami, that did not go well. With Manny, teams have to look and see if his productivity is worth the headaches that also come with Manny. Manny also still has a 100 game suspension that he has to serve prior to being eligible to play. In the end, I think Manny will take his talents to his neighborhood softball league.

2. Who are the oldest active MLB players and are they still producing?

The oldest player that set foot on a diamond this year was Tim Wakefield, at 45 years old. Though he won the award this year, Jamie Moyer is looking to return after sitting out 2011 due to injuries and would have won the award this year as he is 48 years old (49 on Nov 18th). Wakefield who is known for his knuckle ball, posted a 7-8 record with a 5.12 era while earning $3.5mm in the second year of his two-year deal $7mm deal.

The oldest player to ever play in a game goes to Satchel Paige who was 59. In 1965, he signed a one-day contract with the Kansas City Athletics. On September 25, he took the mound against the Boston Red Sox allowing only one hit in three innings (info obtained from wikipedia).

3. Where will Albert Pujols sign?

Because of the limited market as far as only a handful of teams being able to afford a $200mm contract, I think Pujols will end up returning to St. Louis. Stay up to date with all signings with our Free Agent Tracker.

4. What was the worst free agent signing last offseason?

Purely on the past season statistics, Jayson Werth and Adam Dunn immediately pop into mind. If you are looking at only performances, Dunn wins the award. Dunn posted a .159 avg,while hitting 11 home runs while striking out 177 times. Sure some critics will say it was in part because he switched leagues but he just flat out sunk. In 2010 with the Nationals, he hit .260 with 38 home runs. This past season while putting up dismal numbers, he went on to make $12mm, or about $1.1mm per home run he hit as the full time DH for the White Sox.

But if you take into consideration total years and money I would say Jayson Werth at seven years $126mm was the worst signing (Dunn was four-years, $56mm). Werth had a career year in 2009 when he hit .268 with 36 home runs and 99 rbi’s. But that was on a different team where he was not the big stick on the team. He had plenty of protection infront of him and behind him. This past season as the main threat for the Nationals, he hit .232 with only 20 home runs.

By the end of the 2012 season, the jocking for the worst contract during the 2010-2011 offseason  should be over and we will be able to crown Dunn or Werth the winner.

Laird signed a one-year, $1 million deal last winter with the St. Louis Cardinals.  In 37 games in 2011 he hit .232/.302/.358.  He’ll be returning to the club that he spent the 2009-2010 seasons with.