2015 Opening Day Player Tracker - Free Agent Signings, Trades, Imports, etc

Not a bad deal for the Mets.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/11854223/new-yok-mets-sign-michael-cuddyer-two-year-deal

The New York Mets uncharacteristically moved aggressively in free agency, signing veteran Michael Cuddyer to a two-year deal as the general managers' meetings opened Monday at the Arizona Biltmore hotel.

Cuddyer, 35, will earn $21 million in the deal -- $8.5 million in 2015 and $12.5 million in 2016 -- according to a source. Cuddyer faced a Monday deadline to accept a $15.3 million qualifying offer from the Colorado Rockies.

"Michael is a tremendous addition to the middle of our lineup," Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said in a statement. "He is a proven offensive threat who also brings versatility in the field with the ability to play multiple positions."

The Mets have been wary of forfeiting draft picks in recent years, but will surrender the 15th overall pick for landing Cuddyer.

Cuddyer hit .332 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs for the Rockies in 2014. He was limited to 49 games, with three trips to the disabled list because of hamstring and shoulder injuries.

Cuddyer should join Curtis Granderson and Gold Glove center fielder Juan Lagares as the primary outfielders. Because Cuddyer has manned right field during his career, it appears likely Granderson will shift to left field in 2015. Granderson said last week he would be willing to shift if the Mets asked.

"I am flexible," Granderson said. "Even with Detroit, I remember when Cameron Maybin came up and made his debut at Yankee Stadium, I said, 'Hey, I've played left field. He hasn't. If you need me to move, I will. That's always been something that's been a part of my career. I've got the ability to move around. Just let me know.' "

The right-handed-hitting Cuddyer also has logged significant time at first base. The Mets hope Lucas Duda, who slugged 30 homers this past season, can emerge as a full-time player at that position. However, if Duda continues to struggle against left-handed pitching, it is conceivable Cuddyer could see action at first base as well. Duda hit .180 with two homers in 111 at-bats against southpaws in 2014.

Cuddyer is a childhood friend of Mets captain David Wright. Both grew up in Norfolk, Virginia.

With the starting outfield seemingly addressed, the Mets likely will focus their attention on the middle infield. Sources have told ESPNNewYork.com that incumbent second baseman Daniel Murphy, who is eligible for free agency after the 2015 season, is available via trade. Moving him would allow the Mets to use Wilmer Flores at second base.

The Mets also are in the market for an upgrade at shortstop. Trade options reportedly include Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies and Alexei Ramirez of the Chicago White Sox.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Welcome to New York <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuddy3">@mcuddy3</a>! We've signed outfielder Michael Cuddyer to a two-year contract. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mets?src=hash">#Mets</a> <a href="http://t.co/1pwpJzESmB">pic.twitter.com/1pwpJzESmB</a></p>&mdash; New York Mets (@Mets) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mets/status/531908778804137985">November 10, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Seems like a pretty good move by both sides to me

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11866138/victor-martinez-detroit-tigers-agree-four-year-deal

The Detroit Tigers and veteran Victor Martinez have agreed to a four-year deal, a team source told ESPN's Jim Bowden.

The deal will be worth around $70 million, sources told ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas, and will carry an annual average salary of $17 million, a league source told Bowden.
Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski had said Tuesday that re-signing Martinez was the team's top priority this offseason.

Martinez, who will turn 36 on Dec. 23, had an MVP-caliber season in 2014, hitting .335 with 32 home runs, 103 RBIs and an American League-leading .409 on-base percentage.

He was paid $12 million in 2014 in the last season of a four-year, $50 million contract he signed with the Tigers before the 2011 season.

In three seasons with Detroit (he missed the 2012 season with a knee injury) he has hit .321 with 58 homers and 298 RBIs, getting the majority of his at-bats as a designated hitter.
In 12 seasons with the Indians, Red Sox and Tigers, he has a .306 batting average, 189 homers and 927 RBIs. He's been just as successful in the postseason, where he has hit .315 with 6 homers and 22 RBIs in 39 games.

The Tigers made a one-year qualifying offer of $15.3 million to Martinez for 2015, which he rejected, ensuring them draft-pick compensation if he had signed with another team.
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Yankees trade Cervelli for Pirates reliever Justin Wilson

By Joel Sherman

November 12, 2014 | 9:22pm

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Francisco CervelliPhoto: Paul J. Bereswill

PHOENIX – The Yankees traded Francisco Cervelli to the Pirates for lefty reliever Justin Wilson.
This means the Yankees have faith that John Ryan Murphy is ready to be Brian McCann’s backup.
Wilson, 27, was exceptional in 2013, going 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA while holding lefties to a .501 OPS. In 2014, Wilson was 3-4 with a 4.20 ERA and held lefties to a good, but not elite, .681 OPS.
The Yankees believe their top pick from last June, Jacob Lindgren, is close to being ready to help as a lefty in the pen. But Wilson’s presence could allow the Yankees to provide further seasoning for Lindgren in the minors or protect him in the majors with a more experienced reliever.
Wilson took to Twitter, thanking Pittsburgh and the Pirates organization, then expressing his excitement about heading to The Bronx.




In Cervelli, the Pirates receive a catcher who many in the game think can be a starter if he could ever stay healthy. He is viewed as a strong defender with potential in his bat. He hit .301 last year in 49 games. However, he was just about to enter the second year of arbitration and the Yankees potentially did not want to pay $1.5 million or more for a backup, particularly because they love Murphy’s defensive game, too, and think his offense has room to grow.
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Reliever Justin Wilson is headed to the Yankees, in a trade that sent catcher Francisco Cervelli to Pittsburgh.Photo: Getty Images

On Wednesday afternoon, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told The Post his team did need to think about finding an outside catcher just in case Russell Martin left in free agency. When asked specifically about Cervelli or Murphy, Huntington said he had a priority list of about five-to-seven trade candidates, but would not say if Cervelli or Murphy was a priority.
It is possible Martin could still return to the Pirates. But the Cubs and Dodgers are very interested in Martin, and it is now believed it will take no less than a four-year contract and perhaps even five years to secure Martin. If that is the case, it would seem highly dubious that he could return to the financially conservative Pirates.
 
<iframe style="width: 1px; height: 0px; border: medium none; position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" allowfullscreen="" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" id="twitter-widget-0" frameborder="0"></iframe><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pirates?src=hash">#Pirates</a> have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with RHP A.J. Burnett (<a href="https://twitter.com/wudeydo34">@wudeydo34</a>) for 2015. <a href="http://t.co/qS623MDvzQ">pic.twitter.com/qS623MDvzQ</a></p>&mdash; Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pirates/status/533356276773040128">November 14, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>So looks like deal is Hellickson to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DBacks?src=hash">#DBacks</a> for prospects Justin Williams, Andrew Velazquez. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rays?src=hash">#Rays</a></p>&mdash; Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/533455077747744769">November 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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[TABLE="width: 638"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]BREAKING NEWS[/TD]
[TD]The Braves acquire RHP Shelby Miller and RHP Tyrell Jenkins from the Cardinals in exchange for OF Jason Heyward and RHP Jordan Walden.[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
From CBSSPORTS
 
Report: Blue Jays sign free agent catcher Martin to five-year, $82M deal

from tsn.ca
 
cogenman said:
[TABLE="width: 638"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]BREAKING NEWS[/TD]
[TD]The Braves acquire RHP Shelby Miller and RHP Tyrell Jenkins from the Cardinals in exchange for OF Jason Heyward and RHP Jordan Walden.[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
From CBSSPORTS
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That's crazy from the Braves perspective imo.
 
Cardinals just do what the Cardinals do. They have to replace Tavares and they had the extra SP to do so. Should mean that Carlos Martinez is in the rotation now (I hope).
 
These pitching for hitting trades just blow my mind. No reason a Wil Myers or Jason Heyward should ever be traded for pitching.
 
Now that Giancarlo Stanton is locked up for 13 years at 325 million, how long until he's traded to the Yankees for a potential #2 or #3 pitcher?
 
I guess you could argue that hes not hitting and they were not going to resign him after 2015 so they got what they could.
 
Fondybadger said:
That's crazy from the Braves perspective imo.
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Not positive, but I think the BJ Upton deal kind of tied their hands with regards to Heyward. Might be able to take a chance on someone like Colby Rasmus at a cheaper price and comparable production though.
 
hugh613 said:
Not positive, but I think the BJ Upton deal kind of tied their hands with regards to Heyward. Might be able to take a chance on someone like Colby Rasmus at a cheaper price and comparable production though.
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I can see Rasmus going there: from GA, Seitzer is there now whom he loved when they were both in Toronto last year.
 
twinkie13 said:
good for Stanton, but what a horrible horrible deal
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it's bad but is it "THAT" bad?

13 years ago, the top salary in MLB was $22M. That was ARod. #2 was 15M for Kevin Brown. top earners were in the 10-13M range.

avg. value of the stanton deal is 25M/year, which puts him near the top of the list in 2014. In 2020 or 2025, one would imagine that avg salary of a player will certainly increase. top guys could be making 35-45M / year.

guessing current deal includes pay increases per year, which makes him probably paid less than he's worth on the front end and still probably less on the back end, but just saying it might not be as bad of a deal as it seems given the increase in MLB player pay rate per year.
 
orangemonk said:
it's bad but is it "THAT" bad?

13 years ago, the top salary in MLB was $22M. That was ARod. #2 was 15M for Kevin Brown. top earners were in the 10-13M range.

avg. value of the stanton deal is 25M/year, which puts him near the top of the list in 2014. In 2020 or 2025, one would imagine that avg salary of a player will certainly increase. top guys could be making 35-45M / year.

guessing current deal includes pay increases per year, which makes him probably paid less than he's worth on the front end and still probably less on the back end, but just saying it might not be as bad of a deal as it seems given the increase in MLB player pay rate per year.
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AROD
Pujols
Mike Hampton
Giambi
Barry Zito
Johan Santana
Carl Crawford
Jose Reyes
Teixera
Joe Mauer


Yes....it's that bad. These insane contracts NEVER work out in the long run and this one will be no different when we look back at it some day. Another reason why it's that bad? The guy had 2 years remaining to become a FA. Why give him this deal now? I am certain they could have given him the same deal next year at this time if they desired.

And I disagree, I think for the most part, we will not see the enormous baseball deals like we used to, primarily because of a)the rate of failure on these lengthy, expensive deals and b)draft compensation tied to big time FA's.
 
they should have offered him a Mike Trout type deal, something around 5 or 6 years. I find it hard to believe he wouldn't have taken that and hold out to free agency risking injury, etc
 
TheHbomb said:
AROD
Pujols
Mike Hampton
Giambi
Barry Zito
Johan Santana
Carl Crawford
Jose Reyes
Teixera
Joe Mauer


Yes....it's that bad. These insane contracts NEVER work out in the long run and this one will be no different when we look back at it some day. Another reason why it's that bad? The guy had 2 years remaining to become a FA. Why give him this deal now? I am certain they could have given him the same deal next year at this time if they desired.

And I disagree, I think for the most part, we will not see the enormous baseball deals like we used to, primarily because of a)the rate of failure on these lengthy, expensive deals and b)draft compensation tied to big time FA's.
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All tjose guys guys got deals at like age 30. I'm not saying its a good deal, just mentioning that the structure isn't as bad as on the surface maybe.
 
The Boston Red Sox, not content to wait for third baseman Pablo Sandoval's decision as to whether he will sign with the club, reportedly have come to terms with Hanley Ramirez on what is expected to be in the range of a five-year, $90 million agreement, FoxSports.com reported Sunday
 
just some stuff from around the league this weekend, I guess Hanley has come full circle as he was drafted by the BoSox
 
Unless they aren't giving up on Xander and going to have Hanley DH more

OF is loaded with players: betts, cesepedes, Victorino, Bradley JR, Castillo,
 
I heard Hanley to LF, Napoli at 1B , craig prob not in starting lineup -- but yeah, have to think another move or two is pending
 
orangemonk said:
I heard Hanley to LF, Napoli at 1B , craig prob not in starting lineup -- but yeah, have to think another move or two is pending
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Forgot Napoli was there, thought he signed a 1 year deal but it was a 2 year deal...so depth charts would probably have craig and bradley off the bench...man Cespedes FA next year too I think.
 
Cespedas will be traded..who knows if Victorino will be healthy again... Bradley still can't hit - woul dbe a nice late inning defensive replacement/ bench guy
 
TheCashMan said:
Cespedas will be traded..who knows if Victorino will be healthy again... Bradley still can't hit - woul dbe a nice late inning defensive replacement/ bench guy
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should be interesting what cespedes gets back.
 
Ya , I have no idea.. My guess is he goes to marlins for prospects...
They have locked up Stanton .. Cespedas would be a draw for the locals ( no idea how much, but anything would be more)
 
Jays still have probably 15-20m in Salary they can add too at least per what they said, could bring Melky back and a few relievers too
 
I read somewhere, might have been BA, they didnt think Barreto could stick at SS long term

Lawrie was plus defensively at 2nd and 3rd last year, so it probably just depends where As need him
 
Nelson Cruz signs with Mariners 4/$57...

the dominoes should fall now...
 
A source told ESPNdeportes.com's Enrique Rojas the two sides agreed on a four-year, $57 million deal that also includes a $1 million signing bonus.



perfect, melky was looking for 16-17 a year now that the market is somewhat set on the OF/DH price let the games really begin!
 
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