Cleveland Sports Forum

Several factors keep Ubaldo Jimenez twisting in the free-agent wind
Paul Hoynes
on December 23, 2013 at 3:44 PM, updated December 24, 2013 at 7:33 AM


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If there’s been a quieter stay on the free agent market this winter than Ubaldo Jimenez’s, it would be hard to imagine.

Jimenez entered the open market as one of the hottest pitchers in baseball after leading the Indians into the postseason for the first time since 2007. So far the sound of crickets has accompanied his search for a new home.

Several factors have shaped Jimenez’s position on the open market this winter. Here are four of them.

-No. 1. Jimenez is reportedly looking for a four-year deal worth between $17 million and $20 million a year. While cash for free agents certainly hasn’t been in short supply this winter, Jimenez’s career inconsistencies could be a concern to interested teams.

-No. 2 Jimenez has draft pick compensation tied to him. In November, the Indians made him a one-year $14.1 million qualifying offer that he rejected. It means any team that signs Jimenez must forfeit its first or second round pick in the June draft. Teams with the 10 worst records from last season cannot lose their first round pick.

-No.3 Teams that normally would be interested in Jimenez and other free agent pitchers such as Ervin Santana and Matt Garza have been slow to react because they’re waiting to see if the Rakuten Golden Eagles will post Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka.

Santana, like Jimenez, received a qualifying offer from Kansas City. Garza has no draft pick compensation attached to him because of his midseason trade from the Cubs to Texas.

Teams that have shown some interest in Jimenez include the Yankees, Baltimore, Toronto and the Seattle.

-No.4 The availability of Tampa Bay left-hander David Price and Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija through trade has further clogged the pitching market.

Jimenez went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA in 32 starts last season. In the previous two years, he went 19-30 with a 5.03 ERA in 63 starts. It stands to reason that a team might wonder what version of Jimenez it was signing – the 2013 version or the model from 2011 and 2012?

The Indians have been talking to Jimenez since he became a free agent, but there is no way they will pay him $17 million to $20 million a year. If he is still unsigned in February or March, perhaps the two sides can work something out, but that seems like a stretch.

GM Chris Antonetti made a similar move with center fielder Michael Bourn last February. Bourn was out for suitors and his price was still steep -- $48 million for four years – but not as big as when he initially turned free agent. Like Jimenez, Bourn received a qualifying offer from his old team, Atlanta, but he did not cost the Indians their No.1 pick, which was protected based on their 2012 record.

The Indians lost a third round pick for signing Bourn. They lost their second round pick for signing Nick Swisher.

The Indians, meanwhile, are considering making a bid on Tanaka if he’s posted. Under the new rules just agreed upon between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball, each big league team can make up to a $20 million bid on a Japanese player when’s he’s posted. Teams that tie for the top bid have 30 days to negotiate a contract with the player and his team.

If Rakuten does post Tanaka, all bids for him are expected to be at the maximum $20 million. Tanaka, 25, went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last season.

The odds of the Indians signing Tanaka would be slim. Teams such as the Yankees, Arizona and Toronto need starting pitching and have made Tanaka a priority because of his talent and the fact that he would not cost them a high draft pick. The Yankees, especially, could easily out-bid the Indians in negotiating a contract. If that was the case, the Indians would get their $20 million posting fee back, but the fact that they did it would create good will in their future scouting endeavors in the Pacific Rim.

Scouts who have seen Tanaka say he’s the real thing, but some worry about his durability because of the strain his deliver puts on his right elbow.

The odds of the Indians signing Tanaka would be slim.

How about adding and none to that quote

Would be funny to see Jiminez come crawling back to the Tribe saying does that offer still stand?


Nope!

If I am not mistaken, he can't come back to the Indians until May.

I think Jimenez can re-sign any time because the Tribe made him a qualifying offer.

Perez was not tendered so he would have to wait til May.

Dispatch from the GM who traded Shin-Soo Choo


By Rob Neyer  @robneyer on Dec 26 2013, 6:29p 12


In the wake of Shin-Soo Choo's big new deal with the Rangers, I wanted to write something about the Mariners trading Choo for a platoon Designated Hitter. I wasn't interested in writing some sort of hatchet job. I was just curious. I wondered what people thought about Choo and Ben Broussard (the platoon Designated Hitter) at the time, and about the trade itself.

In the pursuit of my curiosity, I found whatever contemporary material I could find, but I also reached out to Mike Curto, the Tacoma Rainer's radio broadcaster then (and now), and also to Bill Bavasi, the Mariners' general manager at the time.

I didn't hear back quickly from either of them, so I went with what I had (however incomplete, it didn't lack for length). Then I heard back from Curto, and published this addendum (which is also a testament to minor-league broadcasters and their utterly unique perspective).

A few days passed, and still no word from Bavasi. Which neither surprised nor bothered me. He's long been regarded as a stand-up sort of fellow, willing to confront his critics without rancor. But that summer of 2006 can't be a particularly fond memory, and I couldn't fault him for ignoring my query, or simply demurring.

Thursday, Bavasi e-mailed me:

More than anything else, the trades that year were just good old-fashioned disasters.

There was no specific pressure from above to make any specific move at that time. But I was not operating on the same platform they are now. Without going into great detail ... When I got there it was made REAL clear they didn't want any five-year plans … and that I'd get a mulligan in 2004 but, from then on they'd expect consistent improvement toward a postseason. When I say "improvement" I mean relative to our record. So even though we operated under some pressure to tangibly improve on a regular basis, the Choo and Cabrera trades were a product of my own stupidity and good work by the Indians.

By the way, I'm not complaining about the "no five-year plans" attitude. Again, without going into detail ... I knew the score going in.

We had good things to say about Choo at the time. We certainly didn't know what we know now -- what a star he'd be -- but our people liked him, knew he had skills, great make-up and a high sense of responsibility. We had good, smart people. I just blew it.
I've written a few times that Bill's father Buzzie belongs in the Hall of Fame, and I believe he'll be there someday. Bill's probably not going to wind up with his dad in Cooperstown. But when somebody builds a Hall of Grace, he's got my vote.

Frank Lane hasn't made the Hall of Fame either.

Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that both Justin Masterson and the Indians are receptive to the idea of a multi-year contract extension.
Hoynes believes however that Randy Rowley, Masterson's agent, would prefer to let the free agent market for starting pitchers unfold before really entering any negotiations. The 28-year-old Indians ace is coming off a very strong 2013 campaign where he compiled a 14-10 record, 3.45 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 195/76 K/BB ratio in 193 innings. After losing both Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir to free agency this winter, it would be very wise to lock up Masterson as soon as possible.


Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer Dec 28 - 1:14 PM

Like I said before, Masterson will extend before the end of ST or he will be traded.

No way the Indians let him jerk them around in his walk year.

After losing both Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir to free agency this winter, it would be very wise to lock up Masterson as soon as possible.

Did I miss something? Kazmir signed with the A's, and Ulbaldo turned down the Indians' qualifying offer, but he hasn't signed with anyone yet. So we haven't necessarily "lost" him.

I think it would be totally shocking (read that, maybe a 5% chance) that Ubaldo comes back. After seeing what his agent was looking for....

The only reason he hasn't signed yet is the whole Tanaka thing has slowed down the market. When that is resolved, those top guys (Santana, Ubaldo etc) will slot in and sign.

Summary - it would be far more realistic to consider Ubaldo gone, then to think he may return. So for the Tribe, they need to move on based on that premise.

Just picked up this tidbit:

Cafardo recently spoke with a few GMs who feel the Yankees may wind up with Ubaldo Jimenez, even if they land Tanaka. “He had an excellent second half, has great stuff, and he has the type of personality that would fit New York,” one GM said.

“He doesn’t let things get to him. He’s good at shrugging off things and turning the page.” If the Yankees ink both pitchers, it's pretty difficult to see them staying under the $189MM mark.

By the way, I am still trying to get over the shock of learning that the LA Dodgers income from TV TOTALLY dwarfs the Yankees YES network.

Even the Angels were higher.

The Yankees are still big spenders, but not the BIG sheriff in town anymore. That's the Dodgers now.

I agree sea we won't let Masterson walk but I think we get an extension done and if we do Masterson and Salazar at the top of the rotation for years to come gives us hope! Remember it's all about starting pitching in baseball and IF Bauer can find himself we would have a very nice top 3 and Kluber believe it or not has turned into a very nice back of the rotation guy.

That said my hope is that Tomlin gets a legit shot at the 5th spot. The kid can pitch my friends!

GO TRIBE!!!