MLB Daily Dish

Tigers Rumors: Cespedes, Defense, Another Starter, 2nd Worst Signing of the Year

2012-02-10T03:56:38Z

The Detroit Tigers would still like to add another starter, GM Dave Dombrowski doesn't deny involvement in pursuing Yoenis Cespedes and suggests that a defensive alignment is still possible even after adding Prince Fielder and moving Miguel Cabrera, and Dave Cameron of FanGraphs succinctly sums up what every TigersFan fears the most: acquiring Fielder might help now, but it could cripple the franchise (and owner Mike Illitch won't even be around to see the wreckage):

Tigers tight-lipped on Yoenis Cespedes, but confirm he didn't visit Detroit - The Detroit News
"Cespedes arrived in Miami to much fanfare Wednesday, and later that day met with the Marlins and toured the new ballpark. It's unclear if the Tigers' brass met with Cespedes in South Florida after the Marlins made their pitch, though GM Dave Dombrowski did confirm Thursday that Cespedes did not visit Detroit."

Dombrowski: Strong defensive lineup is an option | Detroit Free Press
But what about the defense? "It's not our strength," general manager Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday at the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association's Tiger Day. "So you give and you take."

The Tigers recently gave up a little defense to acquire a lot of offense -- signing Prince Fielder to play first base and moving Miguel Cabrera from first base to third base. But, as Dombrowski said, over the course of a season, manager Jim Leyland can get some of that defense back on a night-to-night basis.

The 10 Worst Transactions Of The Winter | FanGraphs Baseball
Prince Fielder is a good player, but this is three years and about $70 million too much for what he brings to the table. Yes, the Tigers are in win-now mode, and yes, Fielder makes them better in the short term, but the reality is that if the Tigers had this kind of payroll flexibility, they should have simply been far more active earlier in the off-season, as they could have improved their roster significantly more by spreading the cash around to bring in multiple players and fill a number of holes.

Instead, the team overreacted to the Victor Martinez injury and compromised the long term health of the organization for a short term gain in the standings. The fact that Mike Illitch might not be around to see the end of the contract doesn’t make the deal any less damaging to the Tigers franchise – it just means that the current owner is borrowing from the next owner’s pockets in order to achieve his own personal goal.

Of all the moves made this winter, this is the one that has the potential to really cripple a franchise – they need it to pay off in 2012, because the long term costs of this deal are going to be extremely harmful to the organization.

Tigers will take young starters for test drive before handing out the keys | The Detroit News
In an extremely long extended metaphor about cars and colts and stallions that ends in calling Prince Fiedler "a guy," Lynn Henning of The Detroit News squeezes in a suggestion that GM Dombrowski is looking for another starter.
Winter Ball Wrap-Up: Dominican Republic - Bless You Boys
Nice lil' wrap-up of the Tigers that played in the DR this winter.

MLB Complete Organizational Charts: NL East

2012-02-10T03:40:00Z

Rosters, Salaries, and Prospects for the National League East

They're a top-down listing of everything you might want to know about your club: leadership and executive structure, rosters all the way down to single A, salary information, team/player/mutual/vesting options, and arbitration details as well.

Contracts + Depth Charts + Prospects = MLB COMPLETE ORGANIZATIONAL CHARTS!

These are live charts -- meaning if you check back tomorrow you'll see updates as we get them. These are also a work in progress, so if you're an insider (or a really amazing fan!), don't hesitate to send us feedback and corrections. Together we can make and maintain this kick-ass resource and have something every fan can look to as fantasy season (and rosterbation season) begins.

Find the links to each NL East Complete Organizational Charts after the jump:

NL EAST:

Atlanta Braves

Miami Marlins

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

Washington Nationals

Roy Oswalt Notes: Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox

2012-02-10T02:12:08Z

There are eleven days until Spring Training, and free agent pitcher Roy Oswalt has still not signed on with a team. We know that he wants to play for the St. Louis Cardinals or the Texas Rangers, but it seems like he will not be getting the pay day he wants there.

Jayson Stark from ESPN reported earlier that the Philadelphia Phillies may have been shopping right hander Joe Blanton in order to re sign Oswalt. Previously, they have not been mentioned in the running for Oswalt, so them emerging could be interesting to watch.

Oswalt has already said no to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and it seems like he is doing everything he can to not sign with the Boston Red Sox. That makes sense, as he will get a one year deal, and if you are looking to get a good deal in a year, the AL East is not the place where you want to pitch.

Twins Claim Darin Mastroianni, DFA Esmerling Vasquez

2012-02-10T00:40:13Z

The Minnesota Twins claimed outfielder Darin Mastroianni off waivers today. Mastroianni has spent his first five professional seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. The 26-year-old hit .268/.353/.377 with 34 stolen bases in 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A this past year.

In order to make room for Mastroianni on their 40-man roster, the Twins designated right-handed reliever Esmerling Vasquez for assignment. Vasquez, 28, was selected off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks back in late September. Over the past three seasons, he's made nearly 150 appearances with Arizona, posting a 92 ERA+ over 137 total innings.

Twins claim Mastroianni off waivers " Bollinger Beat
"MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins claimed outfielder Darin Mastroianni off waivers from the Blue Jays, the club announced today."
Twins cut Vasquez to make room for Mastroianni | StarTribune.com
"The Twins claimed Blue Jays outfielder Darin Mastroianni off waivers today and designated righthanded reliever Esmerling Vasquez for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster."

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Yankees Want Garrett Jones

2012-02-10T00:29:56Z

According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Yankees want 1B/RF Garrett Jones in any trade involving RHP A.J. Burnett. The Pirates, however, are reportedly not interested in parting with Jones. Jones, 30, hit .243/.321/.433 (107 OPS+) across 477 plate appearances in 2011.

The Yankees know that they would have to eat most of the money owed to Burnett ($35M in total) in order to move him, tweets Olney.

Twitter / @Buster_ESPN: Garrett Jones is, in fact, ...
"Garrett Jones is, in fact, the guy NYY want in any Burnett deal with the Pirates,but PIT not interested in moving Jones. No traction so far."
Twitter / @Buster_ESPN: Yankees know they will hav ...
"Yankees know they will have to eat a huge portion of $35 million owed to Burnett in any deal -- maybe in $25m to $27m range."
Twitter / @Buster_ESPN: IMO: If the Pirates negoti ...
"IMO: If the Pirates negotiate NYY down to where they pay $8mish total to Burnett over next two years, they could get really good return."

Kansas City Royals, Alex Gordon Agree to 1-Year, $4.8M Deal

2012-02-09T23:36:06Z

The Kansas City Royals have signed left fielder Alex Gordon to a 1-year, $4.8 million deal, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The deal had been rumored for a couple days now, and does not necessarily preclude the team from signing Gordon to a longer deal (though I think RoyalsFan has a right to be getting nervous about that actually happening):

Twitter / @Royals_Report - "#Royals sign LF Alex Gordon for one year at $4.775 million."
Royals, Gordon agree to one-year deal - KansasCity.com
Last season, Gordon batted .303 with 23 home runs, 87 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He also set a Royals record with 20 outfield assists and won a Gold Glove.

Royals, Alex Gordon Close to 1-Year Deal - MLB Daily Dish
Gordon, 27, has played 5 seasons with the Royals and maintains a career line of 262 / .343 / .434. 2009-2010 were both hard years for Gordon, playing barely 125 games combined while hitting .232 and .215. 2011 was his first 150+ game non-rookie season, and he hit .303 / .376 / .502 while picking up nearly 6 wins above replacement (that's top tier elite status, if you're counting at home).
Kansas City Royals Complete Organizational Chart - MLB Daily Dish
Leadership, Rosters, Salaries, Prospects, Arbitration details, and Options for the entire Royals org.

Orioles, Nick Johnson to Sign Minor League Deal

2012-02-09T22:12:56Z

The Baltimore Orioles have reached an agreement with Nick Johnson, according to Rock Kubatko. The deal includes an invite to spring training, though Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider notes his injury history might prevent Johnson from landing on the big league roster.

Johnson, 33, is a better-than-serviceable hitter with a career line of .270 / .401 / .443. The real problem, as Zuckerman noted, is that he's not entirely reliable -- he missed all of 2011, only played in 24 games in 2010, missed all of 2007, only played in 38 games in 2008...etc. Sad, because all these missed games came at would have been the peak of his career. And wooo, that walk rate.

Twitter / @masnRoch - "orioles reach agreement with Nick Johnson on minor league deal with spring invite."
Nick Johnson signs with Orioles - Mark Zuckerman | Nats Insider
"Johnson hasn't played in the big leagues since 2010, and he's still yet to make it through an entire season without spending time on the disabled list. But he'll get a chance to make it back this spring after agreeing to a minor-league contract with the Orioles today, according to multiple reports."

2012 Roster Projection: Baltimore Orioles - MLB Daily Dish
Over at MLBDD, we're going through a series that projects the 2012 25-man roster for each team based on players already under contract. We're going in the reverse order of win-loss record, and today we're getting to the Baltimore Orioles.
Baltimore Orioles Complete Organizational Chart - MLB Daily Dish
Orioles Rosters, Salaries, Leadership, Prospects, Arbitration Details, and Options for the entire org.

Texas Rangers, Nelson Cruz Agree to 2-Year, $16M Deal

2012-02-09T19:13:00Z

2:11 PM EST: Ken Rosenthal is saying the deal is worth $16 million - and Cruz has already passed his physical.

1:24 AM EST: The Texas Ranges and Nelson Cruz are coming close to signing a two-year deal, according to Evan Grand of the Dallas Morning News. The deal will allow both to avoid arbitration both this year and next. Grant notes that Cruz sought $7.5 million via arbitration while the Rangers offered just $5.5 million. ~~Extrapolating the difference over two years (math!) suggests the deal could land around $13 million.~~

Cruz, 31, is entering his 8th season, all of which have been with the Rangers. He's a career .270 / .330 / .504 hitter and has hit 20+ home runs over the past three seasons. Cruz has already generated almost 8 wins above replacement, mostly on the back of great 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Source: Rangers, Cruz close on two-year deal - Evan Grant | Dallas Morning News
"The 2-year deal with Cruz, who is seeking $7.5 million via arbitration, would allow the Rangers to avoid an arbitration hearing with him again next winter. The Rangers offered Cruz $5.5 million this year, making the midpoint between the two offers $6.5 million."

This is the disclaimer where I tell you to ignore that terrible play that cost the Rangers the World Series and instead focus on that career 500+ SLG.