11/7/10: MLB News and Notes: Free Agency Starts Today

1. Adam Dunn looking at four years: According to multiple reports, the Washington Nationals had a three-year deal in place that would allow Adam Dunn to remain a National and their power hitting lefty. Instead, he wants a four-year deal and will be testing the free agent market. The Nationals had this three-year deal out there for Adam Dunn to sign for the last three months of the season. That fourth year that Dunn is looking for will likely not be added onto the deal the Nationals have had in place and according to a source “that knows Dunn’s thinking” says that there is a less than 50/50 that Dunn will be a National come 2011. The Nationals are interested in Carlos Pena, who seems to be the most likely choice at this moment. Other first basemen the Nationals are interested in are Aubrey Huff and Adam LaRoche.

2. Tigers and Peralta reach agreement: The Detroit Tigers and Johnny Peralta have agreed on a two-year, $11.25 million deal today making it the first deal agreed upon in the 2010-2011 MLB Free Agency period. Peralta was acquired from Detroit, in a deal in which I covered here. Peralta hit .253 with eight home runs in 57 games. Peralta had a .314 on-base-percentage with 38 runs batted in along with a 92 OPS+ rating. Overall, in 2010, Peralta batted .249 with an .311 on-base-percentage and had an OPS+ rating of 94. He hit 15 home runs while driving in 81 runs.  He played third base while in Cleveland last year, but made the switch to shortstop while in Detroit. I think that this is a good move by Detroit because they’re able to retain an average player while getting him at a much cheaper price than if they would’ve accepted his $7.25 million option for this year. In October, the Tigers signed Brandon Inge to a two-year, $11.5 million deal so they have two players on the left side of the infield making identical figures for the next two years.

3. Offseason schedule: Just to alert everyone that is wondering special dates for the free agency period, I have them here. Today, November 7th 2010, begins the free agency period in which teams can pick and choose who they talk to and who they do not talk to. November 16th and 17th are the GM meetings in Orlando, Florida. The General Managers discuss trades, free agent signings, etc at these meetings and when a lot of trades happen. November 23rd is the deadline for all teams to offer arbitration to arbitration-eligible free agents. November 30th is the deadline for all players who are arbitration eligible to accept or decline their arbitration offers from their teams. December 2nd is the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players. December 6th through the 9th are the winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida where most trades of the offseason occur. January 18th, 2011 is when the players and teams exchange arbitration figures.

4. Cliff Lee Notes: With the biggest free agent in this free agency period, Cliff Lee is listening to the Nationals’ pitch. The Nationals are a darkhorse candidate to land Cliff Lee this offseason. Before the season, there were reports stating that the Nationals were going to go hard after Cliff Lee and weren’t going to give up until they got Cliff Lee. Since Lee doesn’t know much the Nationals, he is listening to them and trying to learn a little more about them. Mike Rizzo said this back in September, “We need a front-of-the-rotation guy to put everybody in their proper place in the rotation. That’s the number one priority going into the offseason. We definitely have depth – prospect wise – to pull off a deal for a pitcher.” In other Cliff Lee notes, the Yankees have started talking to Lee and said that the next time the two sides talk, there will be a contract placed in front of Lee.