The MLB offseason has cooled down a bit since the hot time around the winter meetings and after deals, contracts and trades involving Robinson Cano, Prince Fielder, Ian Kinsler, Grant Balfour and Brian Roberts went down, names like Shin-Soo Choo, Ervin Santana, Masahiro Tanaka, Nelson Cruz and Matt Garza remain the top free agents on the market.
Choo comes in as the top outfielder with Cruz and reports say that he is looking for a contract north of $100 million and that could make him too expensive for some teams. Reports have the Angels, Rangers and Orioles as well as the Tigers possible options for him and he is coming off a season in which he played in over 150 games and hit .285 with 21 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Choo is 31-years-old and while he will be costly he is one of the best free agents on the market this season and could be a game changer for certain teams.
Tanaka is technically not in the mix yet, but as you can read below, the new posting system has been agreed to and there is a chance that he could end up on the market this offseason. The NY Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and the Diamondbacks all will be on the market for the star, who won nearly all his games last season and finished with an undefeated record while posting a 1.27 ERA and while it was in the Japanese leagues, he is still considered a top option.
Santana wants a $100 million deal as well and while he is a solid pitcher, he should not command that kind of money and he is coming off of a season with 210 inning pitcher and a 3.24 ERA and while all that is solid, that is a ton of cash. Garza was traded last season from the Cubs and the Rangers and being 30 years old, he is a solid option for teams and he could be the next player to cash in. Nelson Cruz was suspended, but the slugger has been a great power hitter and is coming off of a season in which he hit 27 home runs in just 109 games while batting .266 and teams like the Rangers, Orioles and Seattle Mariners are interested.
After losing Robinson Cano, the Yankees decided to sit tight and sign Kelly Johnson as well as Brian Roberts to take over and he comes as a free agent from the Baltimore Orioles. More form Reuters.com: Free-agent second baseman Brian Roberts agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Yankees, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old Roberts, who spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles, is a two-time All-Star who has been hampered by injuries in recent seasons.
In agreeing to a deal worth a reported $2 million plus incentives, Roberts would join a mix of players competing for second base time following the departure of free agent Robinson Cano, who signed a 10-year, $240 million deal with Seattle.
The switch-hitting Roberts, who has not appeared in more than 77 games in each of the last four seasons, hit eight home runs and drove in 39 runs in 265 at-bats last season. (Reuters)
In other news from Reuters.com, the MLB announced new rules for the posting of Japanese players and that could have a great effect, as smaller market teams now can get in on the bidding easier. Baseball announced major changes to the way its clubs can sign talent from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), capping the "posting" fee at $20 million for any incoming Japanese players.
Previously, NPB teams had taken blind bids from MLB teams on players made available before deciding whether to accept a bid that would allow that MLB team a 30-day window to negotiate a contract with the player.
The new accord will bring more major league teams into competition for incoming Japanese league players and could shift some of the rewards from the NPB clubs to players themselves.
The Texas Rangers offered a record posting fee of over $51 million in 2011 for Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher Yu Darvish, who joined the AL West team after signing a six-year, $60 million deal.
The posting fee for Darvish was slightly higher than one paid by the Red Sox five years earlier for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who signed a six-year deal with Boston for $52 million.
"We are pleased to have amicably reached an agreement that addresses various issues raised by all parties," MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred said in a statement.
"Major League Baseball values its longstanding professional relationship with Nippon Professional Baseball, and we look forward to continuing the growth of the great game we share in the years to come."
Highly prized pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, 25, of the Rakuten Golden Eagles may be the first major player affected.
Tanaka, who went 24-0 with Rakuten last season, may hit a bigger-than-expected jackpot due to the new protocols or not be posted this year because of the imposed ceiling.
Under the agreement, an NPB club making one of its players available would notify MLB and set a "release fee" that a major league club would have to pay for a player's release.
The NPB club may not set the release fee higher than $20 million and the fee cannot be changed once it has been set by the NPB club, under the new agreement.
MLB would notify all its teams of an NPB player's availability and the release fee set by the NPB club.
All postings of NPB players would have to made between November 1 and February 1, with MLB teams having 30 days to reach a contract agreement with the player.
An MLB team signing the player would pay the Japanese club the designated release fee in a series of installments.
Any posted NPB player who fails to reach an agreement with a major league team would remain under reserve to his NPB club and no release fee would be owed.
The new posting agreement will be in place for a period of three years, continuing year to year afterwards until either MLB or NPB decides to terminate the agreement. (Reuters)