Cornerstones with K.C. get $17.4M offers
Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas and outfielder Lorenzo Cain were among nine free agents who received $17.4 million qualifying offers from their teams Monday.
Chicago Cubs pitchers Jake Arrieta and Wade Davis also received the offers, as did Tampa Bay pitcher Alex Cobb, Colorado closer Greg Holland, St. Louis pitcher Lance Lynn and Cleveland first baseman Carlos Santana.
Players have until Nov. 16 to accept. If they sign with new teams, their old clubs would get an extra draft pick as compensation — possibly a much lower selection than in the past under the rules in baseball’s new labor contract.
A club signing one of the players who didn’t accept would lose a draft selection — no longer a first-round pick — and possibly part of its international bonus pool allocation for 2018-19.
The 166 free agents could start negotiating contracts with all teams starting Monday evening.
Qualifying offers began after the 2012 season, and none of 34 players given the offers accepted in the first three years.
The figure is determined by the average of the highest 125 contracts by average annual value, and three players accepted from among the 20 given $15.8 million offers in 2015: Houston outfielder Colby Rasmus, Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brett Anderson.
Two players accepted from among the 10 who received $17.2 million offers last year: New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker and Philadelphia pitcher Jeremy Hellickson.
The players’ association was concerned some less sought-after free agents had trouble finding deals because of compensation. Outfielders Mark Trumbo and Jose Bautista didn’t reach agreement until late January last winter.
Under the previous labor contract, a team signing a free agent who didn’t accept a qualifying offer would lose its first-round draft pick, unless it was among the first 10 selections. A team losing a qualified free agent received an extra pick after the first round.
A tiered system was put in place under the labor deal reached last Nov. 30.
■ General manager Brian Cashman decided it “was time for a new voice and a fresh voice” in New York’s clubhouse, concluding Joe Girardi was not the right manager for a team that has reoriented toward youth.
New York announced Oct. 26 that Girardi was not being offered a new contract, closing out a 10-year run that ended when the Yankees lost Game 7 of the American League Championship Series to Houston.
“The issue and the concerns were,” Cashman explained, “ability to fully engage, communicate, connect with the playing personnel. And in saying that there might be a tough hurdle for someone that’s been in that particular position as a manager for 10 years.”
The GM said he doesn’t have a timetable for a decision on a replacement and plans to interview candidates from inside and outside the organization.
■ Rick Stelmaszek, who served as bullpen coach under four managers from 1981 to 2012, died Monday of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 69.
Stelmaszek, a former major league catcher, was the longest tenured coach in Minnesota history and third-longest with one team in major league history.
He helped the Twins win two World Series titles and reach the postseason eight times.
Also, Minnesota hired Derek Shelton as bench coach. The 47-year-old enters his 14th season as a coach in some capacity at the major league level, including six seasons as Tampa Bay’s hitting coach and four as Cleveland’s hitting coach.
■ First-base coach Rich Dauer is recovering after surgery on a blood clot in his brain.
Dauer, 65, was rushed to a hospital Friday immediately after Houston’s parade to celebrate its first World Series title. The emergency surgery was performed at Houston Methodist hospital, where he is recovering.
Dauer played for the Baltimore Orioles from 1976 to 1985. The Astros hired him after the 2014 season.
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