The Orioles announce that they have extended 14 invitations to non-roster players for the upcoming spring training, including veteran Ps Armando Galarraga, Pat Neshek and Willie Eyre and C Ronny Paulino.
Escogido wins the Dominican League championship, taking Game 9 of a tightly-fought finals by a score of 6 – 5 over Aguilas Cibaeñas. Andy Dirks drives in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 9th to give Escogido the 14th title in team history.
Ron Washington is honored with the C.I. Taylor Award as the American League’s top manager by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, part of the organization’s Legacy Awards. The Rangers’ skipper led the team to a franchise-best 96 victories and their second consecutive AL pennant last season.
With the start of spring training just around the corner, some of the remaining unsigned players find homes for the season. The Rays sign IF Jeff Keppinger; IF Ryan Theriot goes to the Giants; P John Maine goes to the Red Sox; OF Juan Pierre signs with the Phillies; IF Matt Tuiasosopo signs with the Mets; and the Astros add P Zach Duke.
Prince Fielder and the Tigers agree to a nine-year, $214 million contract, a move necessitated with the AL Central champion’s loss of Victor Martinez, who could miss the entire season after tearing his left ACL while conditioning in the off-season. As a child, Prince hit fence-clearing drives when taking batting practice with his dad, Cecil, who hit 51 home runs playing with Detroit in 1990.
The Mets announce that John Franco, the club’s all-time leader in saves and games pitched, will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame. The All-Star closer, who has the second longest tenure in franchise history behind Ed Kranepool, compiled 276 saves of his career 424 saves, the most by any left-handed reliever in baseball history, with New York.
2012 – The Red Sox sign OF Cody Ross to a one-year contract and designate P Scott Atchison for assignment, while the Nationals sign former Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge, also for one year.
Rocked by the loss of DH Victor Martinez to an off-season injury last week, the Tigers react by signing the most prominent free agent remaining on the market, 1B Prince Fielder. It takes a nine-year, $214 million contract to land the big slugger. The move is doubly surprising because Detroit was not rumored to be among the teams bidding for Prince, and because they already have one the game’s premium first basemen, Miguel Cabrera, signed to a long-term deal.
More than 20 bids are received for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are being sold as a result of owner Frank McCourt’s costly divorce settlement with his wife Jamie. It’s a far cry from when McCourt was the sole bidder for the team in 2004 and underpaid through a highly-leveraged transaction: this time, the new owners will have a chance to auction the team’s broadcast rights for a huge payout. Prominent among the bidders are Mark Walter, CEO of a financial firm, who is allied with former NBA great Magic Johnson; multi-millionaire Steve Cohen, allied with former deputy Commissioner Steve Greenberg; real estate developer Rick Caruso, allied with former Dodgers manager Joe Torre; talk show host Larry King; Peter O’Malley, the team’s former owner; Allen Casden, another real estate tycoon, whose plan is to move the team to a downtown location while redeveloping the land around Dodger Stadium for housing; NBA owner Mark Cuban; and NHL owner Ron Burkle, a close friend of former President Bill Clinton.
In other signings today, the Giants agree to a two-year contract with star P Tim Lincecum for $40.5 million, avoiding a potential record payout via arbitration, and the Blue Jays add yet another veteran reliever, signing former Reds closer Francisco Cordero for one year.
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