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First Day of the Off-Season
Task 2: Make decision to exercise or decline team options
There were no team options to exercise.
Task 3: Offer arbitration (or not) to potential free agents
The first order of business is to offer contracts to two free agents that I want to retain.
• SP Wallace Trauttmann (28/R/2*) 204 IP, 12-13, 4.32 ERA
• SP Juan Rodriguez (29/L/2*) 150 IP, 8-10, 4.01 ERA
I was able to convince Trauttmann to accept a 3-year deal of $4M in 2015, $5M in 2016, and a team option with zero buyout at $6M for 2017. His demand was 3 years at $6M per year. By the way, his 2014 salary was $15M so he definitely took a pay cut.
Juan Rodriguez accepted a 1-year contract for $2M. That’s a bargain for a left-hander with a career 4.02 ERA. This still leaves two spots in my rotation unsettled, so I almost had to make these two deals.
The following potential free agents are not compensation eligible, and will not be offered arbitration:
• SP Bill Robertson (37/R/4*) 170 IP, 10-9, 2.86 ERA
• SP Connor Legh (32/R/2*) 26 IP due to shoulder injury
• CL David Hanna (35/R/5*) 71 IP, 6-7, 2.02 ERA, 40 SV
• MR Ken Cushley (36/R/4*) 47 IP, 3-2, 2.85 ERA
• MR Gang Jiao (32/R/2*) 76 IP, 3-0, 3.17 ERA
• MR Jesus Pena (31/L/2*) 55 IP, 0-3, 5.10 ERA
I have to see how much budget I have remaining, if any, before I offer contracts to relievers over age 30. Some of the pitchers above or equivalent can typically be signed in the spring to 1-year contracts at $1 million or less. Robertson and Hanna would be the exceptions, but they want 6-year contracts worth more than $100 million. That’s not in the cards here, fellas.
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