MLB free agency is picking up steam, or snowballing (depending where you are).
Yesterday the Oakland A’s signed Kansas City DH Billy Butler to a 3-year $30 million dollar contract sources told ESPN’s Buster Olney. The Royals decided to buy out his contract for a million, rather than pay him his $12.5 million player option. Butler went his way and leaves a gaping hole in the Kansas City lineup. Judging by how the Royals are currently constructed, they will look for someone who won’t clog up the bases from the DH position. Butler’s limitations on the base paths were glaring during the magical KC run in the playoffs.
Butler’s 2014 splits were unimpressive at .271/.323/.379. He posted an underwhelming .702 OPS. Apparently, it’s worth $10 million to the A’s.
* James Shields is making news on his free agent tour. Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Marlins are making a play for Big Game James. That would be an interesting twist considering the gargantuan contract signed by Giancarlo Stanton. Jayson Stark is reporting that the Marlins are aggressively pursuing the Nationals’ Adam LaRoche. So, as usual, who knows about the Marlins?
Rosenthal is also reporting that the Diamondbacks are kicking the tires on Shields. Only money could explain why Shields would want to spend the remainder of his prime years wallowing away with the Marlins or the Diamondbacks. It’s more likely that he wants to drive up his price with real contenders. Scherzer and Lester will set the pace. Shields might have to take the leftovers.
* In “older” news, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick is reporting that Pablo Sandoval is seeking 5 years for about $80-90 million from the Giants or Red Sox. That’s a significant decrease from rumors that placed him in the 6-year $100 million plus range. Dave Cameron of Fan Graphs makes a real interesting case for such a scenario in his article “Why Six Years for Pablo Sandoval Isn’t Crazy.”
* In another weird twist in the elongated Roger Clemens’ saga this headline posted overnight from the Associated Press, “Judge threatens Roger Clemens with contempt.” Apparently his lawyers won’t turn over documents in Brian McNamee’s civil defamation lawsuit against the 7-time Cy Young Award winner. It took a federal judge to make Clemens’ legal team cough up the goods. Stay tuned, and remember that good-guy defense attorney Rusty Hardin is defending Clemens. Hardin is also defending child abuser Adrian Peterson.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @Scott_Habiger. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
