The Kansas City Royals and first baseman Billy Butler agreed to a $30 million, four-year contract Saturday, avoiding arbitration.
Butler was the Royals' player of the year the past two seasons and was the team's only remaining arbitration-eligible player. The agreement includes a club option for the 2015 season.
"There aren't a lot of high-quality right-handed bats out there and when you have one you want to hold on to him," general manager Dayton Moore told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "The fact that he's only 24 is something else that's very exciting for us. We feel that Billy's got a lot of good baseball in him."
Butler gets a $2 million signing bonus, a $3 million salary this year and $8 million in each of the following three seasons. Kansas City has a $12.5 million option for 2015 with a $1 million buyout, and escalators could increase the 2015 option price to $14.5 million.
Butler set career highs with a .318 average, 189 hits, 69 walks and a .388 on-base percentage last year. In four major league seasons, he has a .299 average with 55 homers and 278 RBIs.
Butler told MLB.com he was pleased he wouldn't have to worry about an arbitration hearing.
"It worked out for both sides," Butler said. "I've always been happy to be a Royal. We have a lot of young guys coming up, and we plan on doing great things. It just means I'm a big part of it."
Butler also had 15 homers and 78 RBIs in 2010.
Showing posts with label Agree. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Agree. Show all posts
Monday, January 24, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tigers Agree with Brad Penny
The Detroit Tigers appear ready to part ways with Armando Galarraga, the right-hander who missed a perfect game last season when an umpire's wrong call cost him what would have been the final out.
In an odd procedural move, the Tigers designated Galarraga for assignment Tuesday, almost immediately after agreeing to a $2.3 million, one-year contract with him. Detroit also finalized its one-year deal with Brad Penny, bumping Galarraga from the starting rotation.
Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said the Tigers will now try to trade Galarraga.
"There are clubs looking for starters right now," Dombrowski said. "If we can find him a home in a rotation somewhere, that's what we'll be trying to do."
Detroit has 10 days to make a move with Galarraga. If he isn't traded, he could be sent to the minors.
Galarraga went 4-9 with a 4.49 ERA last year. By agreeing to a deal with the 29-year-old pitcher, the Tigers avoided salary arbitration.
Galarraga's bid for a perfect game last June was one of the signature moments of the season. With two outs in the ninth inning, umpire Jim Joyce ruled that Cleveland's Jason Donald was safe at first base. Joyce later admitted the call was wrong, and both he and Galarraga earned plaudits for handling the situation with class.
But Dombrowski figures the Detroit rotation is set with Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Phil Coke and now Penny.
Dombrowski sounds confident he'll be able to trade Galarraga.
"It's not like I have a for-sure deal," he said. "But I do have enough clubs that have asked me about him."
Dombrowski admitted it was unusual to announce a contract agreement in the morning, then designate the same player for assignment later in the day.
"I've never had it happen," he said. "It's not an ideal scenario."
He said he talked with Galarraga on Tuesday and believes the pitcher would be fine with a move to a team he could start for on a regular basis.
Penny agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with the Tigers last week, with $3 million in performance bonuses.
The 32-year-old Penny is coming off an abbreviated season with the St. Louis Cardinals. He went on the disabled list in late May with a strain in his upper back, and although it was believed at the time to be a minor injury, he didn't pitch again. Penny went 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA in nine starts.
"We gave him some very thorough physicals," Dombrowski said. "He passed all of them."
The previous season, Penny started 30 games for Boston and San Francisco.
In an odd procedural move, the Tigers designated Galarraga for assignment Tuesday, almost immediately after agreeing to a $2.3 million, one-year contract with him. Detroit also finalized its one-year deal with Brad Penny, bumping Galarraga from the starting rotation.
Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said the Tigers will now try to trade Galarraga.
"There are clubs looking for starters right now," Dombrowski said. "If we can find him a home in a rotation somewhere, that's what we'll be trying to do."
Detroit has 10 days to make a move with Galarraga. If he isn't traded, he could be sent to the minors.
Galarraga went 4-9 with a 4.49 ERA last year. By agreeing to a deal with the 29-year-old pitcher, the Tigers avoided salary arbitration.
Galarraga's bid for a perfect game last June was one of the signature moments of the season. With two outs in the ninth inning, umpire Jim Joyce ruled that Cleveland's Jason Donald was safe at first base. Joyce later admitted the call was wrong, and both he and Galarraga earned plaudits for handling the situation with class.
But Dombrowski figures the Detroit rotation is set with Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Phil Coke and now Penny.
Dombrowski sounds confident he'll be able to trade Galarraga.
"It's not like I have a for-sure deal," he said. "But I do have enough clubs that have asked me about him."
Dombrowski admitted it was unusual to announce a contract agreement in the morning, then designate the same player for assignment later in the day.
"I've never had it happen," he said. "It's not an ideal scenario."
He said he talked with Galarraga on Tuesday and believes the pitcher would be fine with a move to a team he could start for on a regular basis.
Penny agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with the Tigers last week, with $3 million in performance bonuses.
The 32-year-old Penny is coming off an abbreviated season with the St. Louis Cardinals. He went on the disabled list in late May with a strain in his upper back, and although it was believed at the time to be a minor injury, he didn't pitch again. Penny went 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA in nine starts.
"We gave him some very thorough physicals," Dombrowski said. "He passed all of them."
The previous season, Penny started 30 games for Boston and San Francisco.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Will Johnny Depp Agree to a Role in Jonah Hill's New '21 Jump Street' Remake?
'Get Him the Greek' star Jonah Hill wants Johnny Depp to get back to his roots.
Depp rocketed to fame in the late-'80s on '21 Jump Street,' one of the original series to air on Fox during the years when the network was just starting out. Now that Hill has written a new take on the hit show about cops working undercover in a high school, he's been issuing a 'Depp Wanted' casting call to bring the A-list star on board.
Not that Depp, 47, will recognize much about the new film version -- according to 27-year-old Hill, "It's an entirely new imagination of what '21 Jump Street' is." He added, when describing his script to MTV News recently, "We're not doing a spoof whatsoever."
When asked for an update at Friday's Critics' Choice Awards, Hill confirmed that filming will begin April 11 in the Big Easy. "I'm excited. I've never been to New Orleans before." But has Depp's participation been locked up?
Hill said late last year, "Hopefully, he does it...It would be awesome if he did," and in a separate interview, Depp soon followed up by saying, "It could be very funny...I'm in, I'm in."
But on Friday, Hill wasn't saying whether Depp's enthusiasm about a cameo had actually led to a deal.
Channing Tatum is confirmed to co-star, yet Hill was coy about naming any other names: "It was really important to get the main two characters together, and then now we gotta fill out the rest of the cast," he told MTV.
Back in 2009, Hill took a crack at describing his remake, expected to be a rated-R comedy, saying, "What happens is, they get caught up in the high school-ness as opposed to the police work....And whenever they get too caught up in the high school drama, police work comes in. And whenever they get too caught up in the police work, high school drama comes in."
Depp rocketed to fame in the late-'80s on '21 Jump Street,' one of the original series to air on Fox during the years when the network was just starting out. Now that Hill has written a new take on the hit show about cops working undercover in a high school, he's been issuing a 'Depp Wanted' casting call to bring the A-list star on board.
Not that Depp, 47, will recognize much about the new film version -- according to 27-year-old Hill, "It's an entirely new imagination of what '21 Jump Street' is." He added, when describing his script to MTV News recently, "We're not doing a spoof whatsoever."
When asked for an update at Friday's Critics' Choice Awards, Hill confirmed that filming will begin April 11 in the Big Easy. "I'm excited. I've never been to New Orleans before." But has Depp's participation been locked up?
Hill said late last year, "Hopefully, he does it...It would be awesome if he did," and in a separate interview, Depp soon followed up by saying, "It could be very funny...I'm in, I'm in."
But on Friday, Hill wasn't saying whether Depp's enthusiasm about a cameo had actually led to a deal.
Channing Tatum is confirmed to co-star, yet Hill was coy about naming any other names: "It was really important to get the main two characters together, and then now we gotta fill out the rest of the cast," he told MTV.
Back in 2009, Hill took a crack at describing his remake, expected to be a rated-R comedy, saying, "What happens is, they get caught up in the high school-ness as opposed to the police work....And whenever they get too caught up in the high school drama, police work comes in. And whenever they get too caught up in the police work, high school drama comes in."
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