MLB Capsules: Cespedes agrees to $36M, four-year deal with A's
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — After a winter of rebuilding, the Oakland Athletics were the surprise winner for Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes.
Cespedes and the A's have agreed to a $36 million, four-year contract — quite a splash for the low-budget franchise that traded away several key faces this offseason.
Agent Adam Katz confirmed Monday the slugging outfielder had reached agreement on a deal, with details still to be finalized. This is a significant move for Oakland, which wanted to add a steady hitter.
Cespedes will earn $6.5 million this year, $8.5 million in 2013 and $10.5 million in each of the final two seasons. He can become a free agent at the end of the contract, which is the highest for a Cuban defector. Cespedes' deal tops Jose Contreras' $32 million, four-year contract with the Yankees before the 2003 season.
The A's expect Cespedes to secure his P1 visa in the next couple of weeks, travel to the team's Arizona spring training site to take his physical and be ready to start training shortly thereafter.
The team also still has interest in slugger Manny Ramirez. The A's, hoping to be given clearance from Major League Baseball to relocate to San Jose and construct a new ballpark, have been in rebuilding mode this offseason. Oakland traded starting pitchers Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill and also All-Star closer Andrew Bailey.
Cespedes toured the Miami Marlins' new downtown ballpark last Wednesday, and appeared to have other suitors, as well. In a surprising move, it was the A's who made a splash and outbid some big-spending clubs.
"You don't land everybody you want to land. But I think we've been aggressive," Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said. "We're really happy with the way the club looks. You always have a sense of disappointment when you're trying to either trade for or sign a player. It's not the first time and won't be the last. We would certainly wish him well."
Cespedes played for Cuba in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and is projected to be ready for the majors. Cespedes said six teams were interested in signing him: the Marlins, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland and the Chicago Cubs and White Sox.
Major League Baseball said Monday it has been told by Cespedes' agent that he has obtained an unblocking license from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control — another key step to him signing.
In January, Cespedes' representatives announced he had established legal residency in the Dominican Republic, the final hurdle to him becoming a free agent. MLB then had to receive proof of residency before clubs were notified of his status as a free agent.
Yahoo! Sports first reported the agreement.
Jeter says moves have made AL stronger
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees captain Derek Jeter says offseason moves have made the American League stronger and new Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine will make Boston even more exciting.
The Los Angeles Angels added free-agent slugger Albert Pujols and pitcher C.J. Wilson, while Detroit signed power-hitting Prince Fielder, the son of former Tigers' star Cecil Fielder.
"It's scary for the whole American League, especially for the West and Central," Jeter said on Monday. "Our league has always been tough, but I'm pretty sure they're excited over in Anaheim to have Albert, C.J. I think it's kind of cool that Prince is in Detroit because everyone remembers him with his dad, following his dad around. It made two great teams even better."
The Red Sox replaced Terry Francona with Valentine, a one-time New York Mets manager, after an epic late-season slide last year kept Boston out of the playoffs.
"He's going to bring some excitement," Jeter said. "He brought some excitement when he was with the Mets. But there's always excitement in Boston. I guess he'll add to it."
Jeter took batting practice on the field for the first time Monday at the Yankees' minor league complex, where he has been working out since mid-January.
"You still have to enjoy playing," said Jeter, who will turn 38 on June 26. "If I wasn't excited about it, I wouldn't play. I think that's the only way you can play well, and I think it's only way you can play especially in New York, with all the other things that are going on."
This year marks the 20th spring training in the Yankees' organization for Jeter, who was taken sixth overall in the 1992 amateur draft.
"Does it feel like it? No, it's gone pretty quickly," Jeter said. "In my mind, I'm still, I wouldn't say 18, somewhere in-between those 20 years."
And what does the shortstop recall about the early days of his pro career?
"I was scared to death," Jeter said. "I was completely overmatched in terms of ability and playing out here. It was an uncomfortable beginning. I grew up in a small town, so the competition was OK, but it wasn't like the level of competition of a lot of guys."
Notes: A fit-looking Phil Hughes, competing for a starting role, threw off the mound for the third time in Florida. The right-hander worked out extensively in California during the winter. "Last year was kind of a roller-coaster with shoulder stuff going on, then the lower back at the end of the year," Hughes said. "It was a difficult year for me, and I just wanted to make sure this year there's no excuses. I have to prove I deserve a spot."
Ortiz, Red Sox avoid hearing, agree at $14,575,000
BOSTON (AP) — David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox avoided salary arbitration by agreeing Monday to a one-year contract worth $14,575,000.
The deal for the slugging designated hitter was midway between the $16.5 million he asked for last month and the $12.65 million submitted by the Red Sox, which matched his 2011 earnings. Ortiz became a free agent after the season then passed up a chance to go elsewhere when he accepted Boston's arbitration offer on Dec. 7.
"I feel happy since I avoided going to arbitration," he said on Monday, hours before the hearing had been scheduled to start in St. Petersburg, Fla. "People are used to see me with the Red Sox uniform and when you have so much time in one organization, and you're identified with it, the best thing is to stay, even if it is for 1 or 2 million less."
The Red Sox have not gone to an arbitration hearing in 10 years and have no unsigned players eligible for arbitration.
Ortiz hit .309 with 29 homers and 96 RBIs last year. Signed as a free agent from the Minnesota Twins in 2003, the 36-year-old is entering his 10th season with the Red Sox.
"I figure I was gonna reach this deal, and that's what we're celebrating right now," he said.
He played last season in the option year of a contract that paid him $65,225,000 over five seasons. Ortiz remains in the middle of a Red Sox lineup that has undergone several changes since the team went 7-20 last September and missed the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.
Left fielder Carl Crawford is expected to miss the start of the season after surgery on his left wrist; shortstop Marco Scutaro was traded to Colorado; and catcher Jason Varitek and right fielder J.D. Drew were not re-signed.
But the first five batters in the lineup return led by center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who finished second in the AL MVP voting. Also back are second baseman Dustin Pedroia, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and third baseman Kevin Youkilis.
Ortiz had an outstanding season after getting off to poor starts the previous two years.
He finished fourth in the AL in slugging and on-base percentage and sixth in batting average. His average, homers, RBIs, 162 hits, 70 extra-base hits, 40 doubles, .398 on-base percentage and .554 slugging percentage were all his highest totals in four years.
Ortiz is fifth in team history with 320 homers, 59 behind Dwight Evans for fourth place, and sixth with 1,028 RBIs, 219 behind Bobby Doerr for fifth place.
The 36-year-old accepted Boston's offer of arbitration under the last year of the old collective bargaining agreement. Starting this fall, instead of arbitration teams may give their players qualifying offers equal to the average salary of the top 125 players ranked by salary.
Boston also has agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander John Maine, who has not been asked to attend big league camp.
He last pitched in the majors in 2010, starting nine games for the New York Mets before elbow surgery. Last year, he was 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA in 46 innings with Colorado's Triple-A team at Colorado Springs. In five years with the Mets, Maine was 41-36 with a 4.35 ERA. His best season was 2007 when he went 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA.
-- Howard Ulman
Indians, Garland agree to contract
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jon Garland may give the Cleveland Indians yet another option for their uncertain rotation.
The right-hander, who has won 132 games in the majors for five teams, agreed Monday to a minor league contract with the Indians, who have four starting spots filled but want to add depth and experience. Garland's deal is contingent on him passing a physical in the next week at the Indians' training complex in Goodyear, Ariz.
Garland's 2011 season was cut short by a shoulder injury. He went 1-5 with a 4.33 ERA in just nine starts for the Dodgers before shoulder surgery in July.
As long as he passes his physical, the 32-year-old Garland would get a shot to start for the Indians, who still don't know whether they will have the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona in 2012. Carmona, whose real name according to officials in the Dominican Republic is Roberto Heredia Hernandez, is facing charges of using a false identity in his native country so he could play in the U.S. He was arrested last month and placed on baseball's restricted list.
The Indians have no idea if or when Carmona will be cleared. Also, he could be facing additional penalties if he is permitted to return to the U.S.
The decision to bring in Garland is a low-risk, high-reward move for the Indians, who have four pitchers — Ubaldo Jimenez, Justin Masterson, Derek Lowe and Josh Tomlin — projected as starters. The club acquired Kevin Slowey in a trade from Colorado in the days after learning of Carmona's legal troubles, but Garland could be in the mix for the fifth spot with Slowey, David Huff, Zach McAllister and Jeanmar Gomez.
Garland's impressive resume includes two 18-win seasons (2005, 2006) for the Chicago White Sox. He has won at least 12 games seven times and pitched at least 200 innings in six seasons. Garland won 14 games for the San Diego Padres in 2010. He has also pitched one season for Arizona.
Los Angeles signed Garland to a $5 million, one-year contract before last season. The team declined an $ 8 million option in October.
Garland has a 132-119 record with a 4.32 ERA in 330 starts.
-- Tom Withers
Noesi figures prominently in Mariners' plans
PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Hector Noesi was used mainly out of the bullpen during his time with the Yankees but figures prominently in the Seattle Mariners' plans for its starting rotation.
Noesi, who was acquired by the Mariners with catcher Jesus Montero in the trade that sent starter Michael Pineda to the Yankees, will be given the opportunity during spring training to catch on as the third or fourth starter for Seattle.
"It wasn't hard coming here (to the Mariners). The things that have happened are already written," Noesi said Monday, when he threw his first bullpen session of the spring. "What happened, happened and now thank God I am glad for where I am."
Noesi made his major league debut last May in Baltimore, pitching four shutout innings and earning the win. He received the lineup card from manager Joe Girardi in commemoration of his first big league win.
Used mainly out of the bullpen as a long reliever with the Yankees, but armed with a starter's experience from the minor leagues, Noesi said he prefers to be a starter.
"They're preparing me to be a starter, and I'm hoping that is the case," he said. "It depends on what I do with my opportunity, how I work, what I show, and if it's for me, it's for me."
Noesi only started two games in 2011, giving up a total of five runs on nine hits in his outings. Still, Mariners manager Eric Wedge was pleased after watching Noesi throw Monday.
"We did a lot of studying on him over the course of the offseason and leading up to the trade, and we're really happy to have him in camp," Wedge said. "He's a good young arm. As a starting pitcher you like the way he stays fluid in his delivery, consistent with his line to home plate and his release point. The ball comes out of his hand nice."
To live up to the rookie standard Pineda set last year as an AL All-Star is a major challenge, but Noesi is finding his comfort zone with the Mariners. And he's solicited big league advice from Mariners star pitcher Felix Hernandez.
"I feel comfortable because it's a good time with my teammates," Noesi said. "I don't speak for the rest, but for me, he (Hernandez) is someone all Latin Americans can be proud of, with what he's done."
Janssen and Blue Jays avoid arbitration
TORONTO (AP) — Right-hander Casey Janssen and the Toronto Blue Jays have avoided salary arbitration, agreeing on a $5.9 million, two-year contract. Janssen gets $2 million this year and $2.9 million in 2013. Monday's agreement includes a $4 million team option for 2014.
Janssen was 6-0 with a 2.26 ERA and two saves in 55 relief appearances last year, when he made $1,095,000. The 30-year-old is 21-19 with nine saves and a 3.81 ERA in 199 relief appearances and 22 starts over five seasons.
A hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla. He had asked for $2.2 million in arbitration and had been offered $1.8 million.
Other NL News
Manager Guillen likes look of Marlins' makeover
MIAMI (AP) — Ozzie Guillen says Hanley Ramirez is reluctant, Carlos Zambrano is rejuvenated and the Miami Marlins' much-maligned uniforms are redeemable.
"They look bad," Guillen said Monday. "But if we win, those are going to be the best uniforms in the game."
With spring training a week away, Guillen spoke at the Marlins' media day about the team's offseason makeover, which included new colors, a name change and a spending spree as the franchise moves into a new ballpark. Among the acquisitions were manager Guillen and former All-Star pitcher Zambrano, two ex-Chicagoans in the market for a fresh start, along with All-Star free agents Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell.
When asked if Ramirez has embraced his move to third base so Reyes can play shortstop, Guillen said no.
"I don't think he's 100-percent on board," Guillen said. "Not yet. I don't expect him to be."
Guillen said he has talked with Ramirez only once since the signing of Reyes. But he expects Ramirez to accept the position switch once he realizes it gives the Marlins their best chance to win.
"This is Hanley's team," Guillen said. "Those guys they brought from outside are to help him to win the championship. When you lose it's not fun to come to the ballpark. That happened to Hanley a lot."
The Marlins finished last in the NL East in 2011 and haven't reached the playoffs since 2003. But this year they're expected to contend for a postseason berth — and make lots of headlines.
The transformation of the Marlins' profile is such that they'll be the focus of Showtime's series "The Franchise" this year, Major League Baseball said Monday. Thanks in part to Ramirez, the talkative Guillen and the combative Zambrano, the program could become a soap opera.
Zambrano wore out his welcome with the Cubs feuding with teammates, management and umpires. The Marlins believe they can revive his career by pairing him and fellow Venezuelan Guillen.
"I have people in Venezuela betting to see when's the first time me and Carlos are going to fight," Guillen said. "He did a lot of bad things in Chicago. He was out of hand. He was kind of like phony. But Carlos is a great guy. He's healthy. He's hungry. He's going to show people who Carlos Zambrano is."
The historically thrifty Marlins acquired Zambrano in a trade and spent $191 million to sign Reyes, Buehrle and Bell. They were spurned in courtships with Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes, who signed Monday with the Oakland Athletics, and with top free-agent prize Albert Pujols.
"You don't land everybody you want to land," president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said. "But I think we've been aggressive. We're really happy with the way the club looks."
Beinfest said the team should be fully healthy heading into spring training. That includes ace Josh Johnson, who has been throwing off a mound after making only nine starts in 2011 because of right shoulder inflammation.
"I feel great," Johnson said. "No problems. I haven't really been sore yet, and I've been letting it go."
If Johnson's healthy and Zambrano takes advantage of his fresh start, the rotation is set. The bullpen and defense should be much-improved, and the top of the order looks potent with the speedy Reyes and Emilio Bonifacio, followed by 2009 batting champion Ramirez and precocious slugger Mike Stanton.
The start of spring training is always a time for rosy predictions, but this year the Marlins' optimism seems justified.
"We made a big push to get really good," first baseman Gaby Sanchez said. "We should not only compete, but be able to win the division. I feel like every other team knows that, too."
Guillen said he expects to win the NL East, despite formidable competition from the Phillies, Braves and even the improved Nationals. At the very least, his team should be colorful — and not just because of those orange, blue, black and yellow uniforms.
-- Steven Wine
Marlins to be focus of Showtime series
MIAMI (AP) — With their profile on the rise, the Miami Marlins are getting a TV show.
This season the Marlins will be the focus of Showtime's documentary series, "The Franchise." That means unprecedented exposure for a team that has finished last in the NL in attendance each of the past seven seasons.
Showtime and Major League Baseball Productions announced the decision Monday and said the Marlins were an appealing choice as a team in transition. They hired Ozzie Guillen as manager and spent $191 million to sign All-Stars Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell, and they anticipate sellout crowds nightly this year as they move into a new ballpark.
"The Franchise" made its debut last season by focusing on the San Francisco Giants.
Veras and Brewers argue in salary arbitration
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Milwaukee reliever Jose Veras has become just the second Brewers player to go to arbitration in 14 years.
Veras asked a three-person panel Monday for a raise from $1.35 million to $2,375,000. Milwaukee argued he should be paid $2 million. A decision by arbitrators Dan Brent, Marlene Gold and John Sands is expected Tuesday.
Two years ago, outfielder Corey Hart beat the Brewers in Milwaukee's first case since Jose Mercedes won in 1998. Sands was on the panel for Hart's case.
Veras was 2-4 with a 3.80 ERA in a career-high 79 appearances last season for Pittsburgh. The right-hander, who also has played for the Yankees, Cleveland and Florida, was obtained on Dec. 12 for third baseman Casey McGehee.
Trades
Yankees, Pirates progressing toward Burnett deal
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees and Pirates have made progress toward a trade that would send much-maligned pitcher A.J. Burnett to Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh would pay at least $10 million of the $33 million Burnett is owed in the final two seasons of his $82.5 million, five-year contract, a person familiar with the discussions said Monday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing.
The exact amount of money involved in the trade depends on the quality of the prospects the Yankees would receive, the person said.
Burnett, a 35-year-old right-hander, has struggled to a 34-35 record and 4.79 ERA during three seasons with New York and went 11-11 with a 5.15 ERA last year. His average of 3.98 walks per nine innings is second in the AL and fifth in the majors during that span among pitchers with 400 or more innings, according to STATS LLC.
New York appears to have an excess of starting pitchers after acquiring Michael Pineda from Seattle in a trade and agreeing to a one-year deal with free agent Hiroki Kuroda. They join holdovers CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia.
In addition, the Yankees think highly of four starting prospects, right-handers Adam Warren, Dellin Betances and David Phelps, and left-hander Manny Banuelos. All are likely to start the season at Triple-A.
Burnett would join a rotation that includes newly signed Erik Bedard and returnees James McDonald, Kevin Correia and Jeff Karstens. Charlie Morton is recovering from hip surgery in October. When Morton is available, Karstens could return to the bullpen and spot starts.
-- Ronald Blum
League News
Red Sox, Cubs give Selig arguments on Epstein
NEW YORK (AP) — Boston and the Cubs have submitted written arguments to baseball Commissioner Bud Selig on what compensation the Red Sox should receive for allowing Theo Epstein to leave for Chicago.
Epstein quit as Boston's general manager in October to become the Cubs' president of baseball operations, and the teams were unable to reach an agreement by themselves on compensation. Selig has not given any timetable for a decision.
The submission of arguments was first reported Monday by CBS. Cubs spokesman Peter Chase and Red Sox spokeswoman Pam Ganley said their teams had no comment.
Elsewhere
Schilling's company launches first video game
NEW YORK (AP) — A teenage Curt Schilling got a paper route so he could afford an Apple II just like the one his Little League coach owned.
Three decades later with cash to spare from his baseball career, the retired pitcher has invested nearly $35 million into a business producing the sort of fantasy video game that first made him yearn for a personal computer.
In New York on Monday to promote the first offering from his 38 Studios entertainment company, Schilling stopped in at a video game store and asked how "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning" was selling. The answer was encouraging, though the conversation went a bit downhill when the clerk realized who Schilling was and turned out to be a Yankees fan.
Schilling had long been a hard-core gamer when he led the Red Sox past New York with his bloody sock. In the early 1980s, his best friend's father — who was also Schilling's youth baseball coach — brought home an Apple II from his job as an engineer. Young Curt was soon hooked on "Wizardry," an early role-playing video game. The graphics felt cutting-edge at the time; Schilling was stunned the other day when he looked up some old screen shots and realized how primitive they look now.
Always a fan of books like "The Lord of the Rings" series, Schilling kept inhabiting the world of role-playing video games throughout a 20-year major league career in which he won three World Series championships. Fascinated by technology, he owned a laptop in the early 1990s "before they were truly portable."
"I wasn't really a big car or jewelry guy," Schilling said. "I always had the best laptop you can have."
By the late 1990s, he was toying with the idea of launching a production company.
Schilling got serious about it several years later. He recalled feeling disappointed by "EverQuest II," the sequel released in late 2004 to the popular multiplayer online game. Irked by certain elements, he'd wonder: "What were they thinking?"
While playing online with several developers from Sony, which produced the game, Schilling would muse about hatching his own startup.
"You do that, I'll definitely join your company," they'd tell him.
They didn't quite believe him when he later actually offered them jobs. In October 2006, the business launched with 11 employees. Today, 38 Studios — as in his uniform number — has nearly 400.
The cost of producing an intricate video game was just one of many surprises in store for Schilling. He knows he has the luxury of deep pockets instead of having to search for venture capital. Other investments have come from "high net-worth individuals" and the state of Rhode Island, where the company is headquartered. Schilling, 45, is partnered with comic book and toy creator Todd McFarlane and fantasy author R. A. Salvatore.
"Reckoning," a role-playing game, was released last Tuesday.
Up next is a product code-named "Copernicus," a multiplayer online game. Schilling said he never realized how difficult it was to ensure the program would work with players using different gaming systems.
"The only thing I've seen that could be harder is missile defense systems," he said.
Never lacking for confidence, Schilling plans for 38 Studios to create all sorts of products and someday become a "multibillion dollar entertainment company."
-- Rachel Cohen
