Griffin: Winter Meetings roundup for Wednesday

DALLAS-The Blue Jays by midnight Wednesday had apparently found their second baseman...err, left fielder. There is a club option and whatever it turns out to be, in any case it will cost them around $7.5 million should they go to arbitration, for just one year of Kelly Johnson. More important is the loss of two draft choices in June because Johnson didn't go somewhere else. But Johnson was the least of baseball's Wednesday moves for the Jays. Just after 1 a.m., we're not sure what time it is in Japan, righthanded starter Yu Darvish was posted by his team the Nippon-Ham Fighters. That is big news because this guy is a legitimate mid-to-high rotation starter in 2012. He does not need seasoning.

On Wednesday, Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos claimed he may have overreacted the day before by giving the perception the Jays were committed to going on the cheap. If the team is going to prove that is not the case, they must sincerely go all in on Darvish with a competitive posting fee and if they get outbid so be it. Being competitive on Darvish is the key to them winning over their fan base, or at least convincing a loyal but skeptical Blue Jays Nation that the organization is intent on winning. However if someone outbids them, which is possible, they at least need to come clean and declare what their sealed envelope bid was in dollar value. But given their secretive history they won't which is a mistake.

The process involves sending a sealed bid to the Nippon-Ham Fighters within four days, including Thursday. Then there will be one winning bid from among the 30 major-league teams. That team will have 30 days to reach a contract agreement with the Fighters or else the player returns to play in Japan. The team at that point gets their posting fee back, which in this case will be around $50 million. There is a "good faith" clause with regard to making an offer to the player, but how do you prove it?

*Huston Street was traded to the Padres from the Rockies for a player to be named later and cash. Street's contract is $8 million which allowed the Rockies flexibility.

*The Jays are said to be in on Mets' lefthander Jonathan Niese. But included in the trade discussions are the Red Sox and the Rockies.

*Lefthander Mark Buehrle, who had been on the Jays' radar, signed a four-year, $58 million deal with the Marlins signalling their withdrawal from Albert Pujols. 

 Albert Pujols has come down to the Angels or the Marlins. Both bids are said to be over $200 million for 10 years. A Dan Lozano decision will be made after the meetings are over.

Uber-agent Scott Boras cruised the Anatole lobby early in the evening and laid out his Prince Fielder strategy. His 40-minute schpiel was amusing and informative, but later in the night after Boras allowed Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez to accept arbitration from the Brewers to merely be the setup man, the Brewers were eliminated from Prince because of money tied up.

The A's are dangling lefthander Gio Gonzalez in trade. Unfortunately they are expecting a Dan Haren type haul in return, but Gonzales is not Haren. The Rangers, Diamondbacks, Tigers and Reds are all involved in the discussion.

*SS Jimmy Rollins is expected to re-sign with the Phillies. LHP  Eric Bedard has agreed to terms with the Pirates. The biggest North American free agent now is C.J. Wilson, of interest to the Marlins, Angels and Rangers.

 

 

 

 

 

Griffin: Jays acquire Sergio Santos from White Sox

DALLAS-The Blue Jays on Tuesday made their first significant player move of the winter meetings, alarmingly reverting to the same frugal, cost-efficient thought processes that got them to this point, acquiring 28-year-old reliever Sergio Santos from the White Sox for highly touted starting pitcher prospect, Nestor Molina.

According to the Jays, the closer's role for 2012 is now settled, maybe even for Santos's next six controllable years.  

"Right now, we're in a good place, but we do have parameters to work with," Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos said.

"We're trying to build a competitive team that will be good for a long period of time with the parameters that we do have, when you look at the salaries over six years. It's not a bottomless pit. If it was it would be different."   

Santos, a former minor-league shortstop, had some impressive numbers with the White Sox in 2011, but he faded in the second half with the increased workload and marathon nature of the season. The native of Bellflower, Calif., was 4-5, with a 3.55 ERA and 30 saves in 63 games. He had 92 strikeouts in just 63-1/3 innings, allowing 41 hits. His strikeout rate of 13.07 per nine innings ranked top five in the AL. 

Santos has just two seasons as a pitcher in the majors leagues and in an ideal situation, building to the apex of his strong-armed career, would be best served starting off in 2012 as the eighth-inning option to an established major-league closer. Anthopoulos disagrees that he could have had more established lights-out closing from elsewhere.

"I think Santos would give us the same, with the potential for more," Anthopoulos stated with confidence. "I think there's a greater ceiling there. There's still some guys out there that are very good and obviously there's uncertainty in the relief market, but just his stuff and the dominance of knowing that we have him. The age, relative to the others. The years of control, the three options, it just makes a lot of sense for us. It allows us to re-allocate funds in some other areas."

Hey, what happened to the $110-120 million that Paul Beeston insisted was a reality if they needed it to compete in 2012? That number was not out of thin air. It was a quote from the club president as late as mid-October. He was asked if that upper-edge total included bonuses for June draft picks and international signings. He said: "No. That's strictly for major-league payroll this year." But now Anthopoulos scoffs at those that reported it meaning that they are back to trying to emulate the Rays model again. The CBA has clearly bitten them in the butt and changed the way they plan to compete.

"It's not impacting us in 2012," Anthopoulos said. "But I think in '13 and beyond it's going to impact us. Certainly we're going to be receiving less. Again, I don't get involved in those conversations, or accounting, but there's no question that's going to be phased out and we're going to lose dollars there. And I'm sure that has some type of bearing, impact." 

Santos is signed for the next three seasons guaranteed at $7.50 million, plus a $0.75 million buyout for each of three option years from 2015-17 for $6, $8 and $8.75 million. The maximum value of the deal is $30.25 million, while the minimum is $9.75 million.

Molina, 22, came on strong in 2011, splitting his time between A-Dunedin and AA-New Hampshire, elbowing his way into the conversation as a potential member of the pitching staff at some point during the 2012 season, either as a starter or in relief.

Molina at the two minor-league stops combined for a 12-3 record and a 2.21 ERA in 26 games -- 23 starts. Molina was signed by the Jays as a position player out of Venezuela, before converting to the mound in 2008.

In every conversation with the Jays this off-season, Molina's name was mentioned along with Henderson Alvarez, Drew Hutchison and Deck McGuire as starters in waiting. The Jays as far as young starting pitchers are dealing from a position of strength. 

Griffin: Bob Elliott first Canadian writer to win Spink Award

Good news for Canadian Baseball. Kingston, Ontario native Bob Elliott, currently the 62-year-old baseball columnist for the Toronto Sun, on Tuesday became the first Canadian journalist to enter the Hall-of-Fame at Cooperstown as the 2012 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for excellence in baseball writing. 

Elliott received 205 votes out of the 455 cast by eligible members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News finished second with 169. Russ Schneider of Cleveland was third. 

In the room wanting to be present for the announcement at the BBWAA's annual winter meetings session on Tuesday morning was Hall-of-Fame executive Pat Gillick who sparred with Elliott over insider info, reliable club sources and broken news as the Jays' GM for 10 mutually respectful years, including two World Series. They have remained good friends.  

To me, that is always the key to Elliott's success through the years as the top authority on all things Canadian in the game of baseball. He does his job, reports what he knows then afterwards, when the gloves are off, personally cares about the people that he works with, whichever side of the equation they are on. It's a rare attribute and Hall-of-Fame worthy if not in Cooperstown, if not in the Canadian Hall at St. Marys, then in life. Bob has all three.

I remember Bob from the first moment he stepped through the doors of the Expos press box, into the clubhouse and at Florida spring training in the late '70s and early '80s, where I served as the club's media relations director. Even back then, he had the same unique, low-key persona as a sports writer that he still shows. He obviously loved the game he covered and in the early days of writing about the Expos for the Ottawa Citizen, driving to Montreal and staying in hotels for the length of a homestand, he was a clubhouse favourite, among players, coaches, front office people and fellow media members for his knowledge of baseball history and always a late night companion to share a libation with and talk about the game, past and present. And laugh.

His early willingness to learn the ropes of covering the major-league game, his willingness to help others, both print and electronic and a dry wit that has only improved with age were his hallmarks. Everyone Elliott has crossed paths with, whether they moved on to become coaches, scouts, executives or just returned into their communities as family men and baseball fans, they have remained his friends and lifelong contacts.

I remember one night in the mid-'80s sitting in the front row of the Expos press box at Olympic Stadium after a game doing whatever post-game stuff it is that PR guys do. All of a sudden I felt a presence to my right and looked up. It was Bob Elliott, but instead of his normal inquisitive, smiling demeanour, he looked worried. Something was bothering him.

"Richard, I've been offered a job in Toronto with the Sun," he began, carefully. "It's a great opportunity. It's something I've always wanted, but I'm not sure I can do it. Ken Fidlin is a great writer. What do you think?"

I said, "Bob, that's great. You have to take it. You're a good baseball writer. You have the knowledge. It's a chance for a bigger audience and that's what you wanted. You can make that adjustment. If you don't go, you'll never know how good you can be."

After Tuesday's announcement of the Spink Award we now all know how good Bob Elliott can be. Congratulations Bob and cherish your entry to Cooperstown. You have earned it.    

 

 

 

 

Griffin: Winter Meetings baseball roundup

DALLAS - The winter meetings finished Day 1 on Monday with the biggest names, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder still no closer to signing contracts. On the opening day, the spotlight was on Pujols agent Dan Lozano, who arrived at the Anatole and reportedly met with the Marlins, the Cubs and the Cardinals. The Marlins are major players for Pujols, even after signing former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes for a reported six years, $106 million. The Cardinals are said not to be interested in another Lozano client, shortstop Jimmy Rollins even though they need middle infield help. Fielder's agent Scott Boras is expected to take centre stage before the meetings are much further along.

*Boras is expected to explore interest for Fielder from the Mariners and the Orioles. New O's GM Dan Duquette suggested to Baltimore media that the Fielder bid may have stemmed from owner Peter Angelos, not the first time he has stepped in. The Brewers have  taken heart by the fact that the market for Fielder seems to be shrinking. As such they coyly said they have no interest. If they re-enter it will be under new terms.

*The Marlins officially announced that free agent shortstop Jose Reyes had signed a six-year, $106 million contract. That move see the Marlins former shortstop Hanley Ramirez move to third base. His first reaction on the MLB Network was to insist he was still a shortstop, but owner Jeffrey Loria said there is no intention to trade Ramirez and that they will find a way to make everyone happy.

*The Marlins also took centre stage to announce that closer Heath Bell has signed a three-year, $27 million deal with an option for a fourth at $9 million.The loss of Bell by the Padres means they are now interested in the A's young closer Andrew Bailey. Other teams, including the Reds and the Jays are also interested in Bailey, who has two years left before his free agency, but may have priced himself out of Oakland.

*The Twins have agreed to terms with their own free agent righthander Matt Capps to a one-year contract for $4.5 million, plus an option of $6 million, including a buyout of $250,000. Capps had done the job for the Twins in 2010 in the absence of Joe Nathan, but struggled late in the 2011 season and was not regarded as a closer.

*The Twins were expected to non-tender lefthander Kevin Slowey, but instead are now shopping him in trade. The Jays were interested in Slowey at spring training. If they acquired him, he could compete for a 4-5 spot in the rotation or work in long relief.

*The C.J. Wilson derby has heated up with the Angels, Nats, Cubs, Marlins and Rangers all reportedly showing interest. The Red Sox have denied that they are one of the teams bidding on the Rangers lefthander.

*It seems that the Reds' negotiations for an extension with second baseman Brandon Phillips could all come down to the number of guaranteed years. If the extension talks fall through the Jays are high on Phillips.

*Shortstop Jimmy Rollins has become the top middle infielder on the market now that Reyes has signed. Rollins, another Boras client, is expected to return to the Phillies, although the Brewers are rumoured to be interested.

*Following the visit by new manager Bobby Valentine to the Dominican during his charity golf tournament just before the meetings, David Ortiz is expected to accord the Red Sox front-runner status in re-acquiring his services.     

*The market for Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes will become more focussed now that his agent has declared that he wants at least twice as much money as was given to fellow Cuban Aroldis Chapman. That means he will be looking for at least $52 million.

*The rumour surrounding free agent lefthander Mark Buehrle is that the most important factors are a four-year guaranteed deal and a no-trade clause. The Twins, Nationals, Marlins and Rangers are said to be the front-runners. The Jays may have been interested, but on Monday Anthopoulos emphasized his preference for no no-trade clauses.

*In addition to the Jays, Red Sox and the Reds, the Padres are now interested in A's closer Andrew Bailey after losing Heath Bell to the Fish.

*The Dodgers signed free agent infielder Jerry Hairston, Jr. to a one-year deal. The Brewers and Reds are interested in former Jays righthander Octavio Dotel.

Sources for this Day 1 wrap-up include Fox Sports, ESPN.com, CBS Sportsline, SI.com, MLB.com, MLB Network and others. The meetings continue through Thursday and the Rule 5 draft.

Griffin: Ron Santo finally enters Hall-ofFame

As a player with the Chicago Cubs, Ron Santo was the greatest defensive National League third baseman I ever saw. The expansion Montreal Expos came onto the scene in 1969 and for the next five years, Santo owned them, especially at Wrigley Field. In 42 career games vs. the Expos on Chicago's North Side, the Seattle native had 54 hits, with eight homers 39 RBIs and a .367 average. That's the Santo I remember, coming up with clutch hits late in games and making amazing Hall-of-Fame defensive plays on balls in front and to his left. 

 Almost a year to the day after the 70-year-old Cubs' radio broadcaster passed away in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Golden Era Committee of the Baseball-Hall-of-Fame voted him in for induction next summer at Cooperstown. 

"I thought he was just as good as anybody who's ever played over there," fellow Hall-of-Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson said after the announcement was made. "That's the reason he's in the Hall-of-Fame now.

"I guess there's guys on the outside that should be in and guys on the inside that might not should be in. I mean, everyone's got a difference of opinion. We had a wonderful discussion yesterday and just laid it our for everyone...the contributions to the game."

The format for the veterans has changed over the years and this one seems to be working. For many years, the Veterans' Committee would pitch a shutout because it was too hard to compare players from different eras. But now their is a three-year rotation of baseball's eras, with players on the ballot from the same time frame, making it easier to compare.

The process begins with 11 members of the historical overview committee for MLB, designed to create a 10-man list of nominees each year. That committee includes veteran members of the Baseball Writers Association, who then hand the final ballot over to be voted upon. 

The 16-person voting panel is comprised mostly of Hall-of-Fame members, with a mix of baseball executives including Jays' president Paul Beeston and three members of the media. The discussion of the candidates, followed by the vote takes place on the Sunday of the Winter Meetings and the announcement is made on Monday.

Just as in the writers' voting for the Hall, being named on 75-percent of the ballots cast gains one entry to the Hall-of-Fame. Santo was named on 15 ballots, followed by Jim Kaat on 10, Gil Hodges and Minnie Minoso on nine, with Tony Oliva receiving eight votes. The other five candidates -- Ken Boyer, Allie Reynolds, Luis Tiant, Buzzie Bavasi and Charlie Finley -- each earned fewer than three votes. Some feel Santo should have been in much sooner, even in the 15-years he was eligible for the writers' vote.

"He's in the Hall-of-Fame now," said former teammate and fellow Hall-of-Famer Billy Williams, who was on the voting panel. "The only bad part of it is that he's not here to enjoy it. But he's in and his family will enjoy it. It's going to be a great time in Chicago."

Santo played 2,243 games from 1960-74 with the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, batting .277 with a .826 career OPS. He slammed 343 career home runs, with 1,108 walks and 1,343 strikeouts. He remained in Chicago as the legendary voice of the Cubs on radio. 

Santo, a lifelong diabetic, dies at his home in Scottsdale late on December 2, 2010 of complications from bladder cancer. The announcement on the writers voting of who will join Santo next summer will be made on January 9, 2012.

 

 

 

 

Griffin: Fielder link to Jays unlikely

It's that time of year again in major-league baseball where player agents' thoughts turn to one week of seriously negotiating free-agent contracts, gaining countless bucketsful of money from MLB teams that never knew they were willing to spend that much. But right now it's time for the full-court press from agents to teams and their fans.

It's the annual baseball winter meetings get-together and it's always the tradition that heading into the proceedings, agents throw out borderline believable rumours that their clients are close and that the offers are out there and, hey, yeah you, the GM not making us an offer, you'd better get your assets in gear and join the frenzy or you'll be left out.

Thus it is with Prince Fielder. With less than 24 hours before GMs and agents gather at the Anatole in Dallas, from a sports FM station in Cleveland, the rumour came out on Sunday that the Jays are among three remaining teams leading in the race for slugging first baseman whose father played in Toronto but with whom he has not spoken for years. Fielder is expected to challenge the mark of $252 million 10 years set by Alex Rodriguez with the Rangers at the same hotel in Texas some 11 years ago. But the offers are not coming as quickly as they thought. http://cleveland.cbslocal.com/2011/12/04/free-agent-powerhouse-prince-fielder-reportedly-has-narrowed-his-choices-of-teams-to-three/

According to this report, the Jays are said to be in the lead, with the Brewers and the Rangers still in the hunt. I guarantee that would be news to the three respective GMs Alex Anthopoulos, Doug Melvin and Jon Daniels, with Toronto, Milwaukee and Texas. Melvin insists that nothing has changed since Fielder received a heartfelt "see-ya-later" ovation from the fans at Miller Park in his last home game.

Melvin can honestly say that he has not bumped his offer to Fielder since then because, as he told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, he has never made an actual money offer in order to be able to increase it. The Brewers have all but given up on seeing Fielder in the Milwaukee uniform again. As for Anthopoulos, it was just last Thursday in Toronto that he sat at lunch with Paul Beeston by his side and talked about the folly of tying up so much money in one player, like Fielder and Albert Pujols. 

Is it any coincidence that now heading to Dallas, with Scott Boras as his agent, the rumour is out there that Fielder's choice is down to three. Or in similar fashion, in the the case of lefthander Mark Buehrle that three teams are strong with him as well, including two in the NL and one in the AL with another "mystery" team standing by. Of course, the old mystery team. This is the time of year. Some GMs need a gentle push.

Boras has a passel of clients still looking for work. He will make his grand entrance to the lobby of the Anatole and be swarmed by media. He will present the larger-than-life Fielder as the greatest free agent ever to be available. The negotiations with more teams will begin in earnest. Life goes on and the Jays will make moves, but elsewhere.  

Griffin: Jays acquire Jeff Mathis as backup catcher

Just as they did last winter, the Jays got things going early before the formal sessions started in terms of the trade department. Whereas last season it was a blockbuster with the Brewers, sending staff ace Shaun Marcum to the Brewers for infielder Brett Lawrie, this time on Saturday, GM Alex Anthopoulos reached out to acquire backup catcher Jeff Mathis from the Angels for lefthanded starter Brad Mills. Mathis will have the first chance at replacing Jose Molina as second receiver to starting catcher J.P. Arencibia. Molina signed as a free agent with the Rays, leaving a supplemental draft pick next June.

Coincidentally, Mathis, 28, had stepped in for Molina as the No. 2 receiver for the Angels in '07 and is doing it again with the Jays. Arbitration eligible this year and a free agent after 2013, Mathis is not an offensive threat, but is respected for his game calling. The righthanded hitter batted .174 with the Angels in 93 games in 2011, with a paltry .484 OPS. His career batting average is .194, while throwing out 27-percent of baserunners attempting to steal for his career. Strangely, Mathis in 10 post-season games with the Angels batted .450 with a 1.150 OPS.

The Jays have the 25-year-old J.P. Arencibia as the starting catcher, who was named the team's rookie-of-the-year. His 23 homers in 2011 tied for fourth all-time among rookie catchers. Super-prospect Travis D'Arnaud, 23, was named Eastern League MVP in 2011, but is expected to start the season at Triple-A Las Vegas. 

Mathis earned $1.7 million in arbitration in 2011 and is eligible again, although his statistics will keep him in the $2.0 million range. Molina earned $1.0 million as the backup in 2011. The Jays will have to make a roster move before adding Mathis to the 40-man, likely waiving the current backup catcher, Brian Jeroloman.

 

Griffiin: Blue Jays individual awards handed out

There were not many surprises when the Toronto Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America announced the Blue Jays list of player awards for 2011.

The Jays' Player-of-the-Year was right fielder Jose Bautista, 31, who led the major leagues in home runs with 43 and in many important offensive categories like walks, slugging percentage and OPS which combines on-base plus slugging. It was his second consecutive season as the Jays' best player, finishing third in AL MVP voting.

The Pitcher-of-the-Year was Ricky Romero, 27, who was 15-11, with a 2.92 ERA, pitching 225 innings as the opening day starter and the ace of the staff. Romero, a native of East L.A., was 8-3 after the all-star break with an opponent batting average of .193.

The Jays' Rookie-of-the-year was catcher J.P. Arencibia, 25, who took over as the No. 1 receiver from John Buck and improved in all aspects as the season progressed. The 24-year-old Miami native was third among AL catcher in home runs with 23 and fourth in RBIs with 78, while playing his first full season with 129 games. Arencibia ranks tied for third in major-league history with the Cubs' Giovanni Soto for homers by a rookie catcher.

The Most-Improved-Player was judged to be righthanded reliever Casey Janssen, who by the end of the year had inserted himself into the conversation for Jays' bullpen closer in 2012. The 30-year-old California native was 6-0, with a 2.26 ERA in 55 games. Janssen was the first Jays' pitcher since '85 to win at least six games without a loss.

The John Cerutti Award, given to the member of the Jays' organization that best exemplifies the goodwill, cooperation and character of the late John Cerutti, was awarded to righthander Dustin McGowan who persevered through two shoulder surgeries and three full calendar years away from the major-league game to make his return in September. He remained always optimistic and available to discuss his tribulations until his arrival back in the major leagues. It's a rare comeback story conducted with grace and dignity.