SB Nation - Mike Gonzalez

Braves Re-Acquire Jeff Francoeur... in the form of Melky Cabrera

gondeee — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:32:36 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

For better or worse, Melky Cabrera is now a member of the Atlanta Braves.

This is going to be a trade that's talked about for some time, along with the moves the Braves have made over the past year. If there is one constant in the moves the Braves have made in the past year, it is all about trimming money from the payroll.

In today's deal the Braves sent Javier Vazquez and his one-year $11.5 million salary to the Yankees along with Boone Logan and his $1.5 million likely arbitration figure. In return they get a rookie left-handed pitcher in Mike Dunn, an A-ball prospect in Arodys Vizcaino (two no-cost players), and outfielder Melky Cabrera, who will likely make around $3 million in arbitration. Ryan Church was scheduled to make around $4 million in arbitration, but by most accounts he's a better player than Cabrera. He's certainly not as highly thought of, but when healthy he hits for much more power than Cabrera likely ever will.

This begs the question, "did we trade away Jeff Francoeur (.743 career OPS) last year to acquire the better Ryan Church (.787 career OPS), only to release Church, and trade for Melky Cabrera (.716 career OPS), who is likely not as good as Francoeur?" Seems to me that the Braves end up on the short end of that outcome. Of course Cabrera is probably still "projectable" as a major leaguer, but how long did we say that about Francoeur?

There are two ways in which this trade will look good. First is in the money we will save and have available to potentially get a free agent bat that we've been needing. A rough total of the Braves salaries for next season currently comes to around $80 million (we only have one arbitration eligible player left, that's Peter Moylan). That would leave us with around $15 million to spend on a big bat... a nice sum, which should get us a good bat. The second way this trade will look good is if Arodys Vizcaino pulls his own version of Neftali Feliz in two or three years. We could also use him to acquire that big bat via trade, that would be an alternate way in which the trade would look good.

As it stands now, the Braves pattern the past year has been to strip salary. Kelly Johnson and Ryan Church were non-tendered, instead of being paid around $4 million a piece. Boone Logan was swapped for the cheaper Mike Dunn. Tim Hudson was re-signed at a more affordable salary than the now-traded Javier Vazquez. Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito will make less than Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez.

All of this salary conservation has led up to this final purge from the books, and now the team must make a move that brings a big bat here, and they should have the salary room to do so. Perhaps with $15 million to spend, they can aim higher than Johnny Damon or Xavier Nady, and zero in on Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. For some fans, that's the only way the team will win them back after another tumultuous off-season of questionable moves.

On the Gonzalez signing: What is the real value of a 2nd round draft pick?

Stacey — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:59:30 -0000

When the Orioles signed Type-A free agent Mike Gonzalez to a two-year, $12M contract on Wednesday, one of the major concerns of many was the loss of the Orioles 2nd round draft pick in 2010. My first inclination was to agree, but after thinking about it for awhile I realized I had no idea the actual value of a second round draft pick. What is the likelihood of a 2nd round draft pick not only reaching the majors but having a significant impact? How does a team leverage that against the value they can get from the free agent, in this case "just" a relief pitcher (albeit one with a very good track record)?

To find some answers, I did what I usually do: I went to Baseball Reference. Using their draft section, I looked at every 2nd round draft pick from 1985 to 2001. I'd planned on using 20 years of data but frankly, once I got to 17 it seemed that I had enough (read: I was tired of looking at it).

From 1985 to 2001 there were 506 second round draft picks. Of those, 262 (51.78%) never saw a day in the MLB. Of the remaining 244, 14 didn't sign but were re-drafted in the future and eventually made it to the MLB. That leaves 230 (45.45%) of the draftees who signed and eventually had an appearance in the MLB.

45% is a decent chance, but that includes players who possibly spent just 1 day on a big league team. When all players who played less than 100 games are removed, the total drops to just 22.92%, 49 pitchers and 67 position players. The list includes a few great players (Randy Johnson) and a number of solid players (Carlos Beltran), but also plenty of the Freddie Bynum variety.

So at what point is the trade-off worth it? Is it ever worth it for a relief pitcher? And if the Orioles aren't intended to compete in 2010, does it even matter? The argument could be made that a 2nd round draft pick with even just a 23% chance of making 100 major league appearances is more beneficial to the future of this team than a reliever who might be gone after 2011.

I'm not sure I buy that, though. If 2011 is indeed the year that the Orioles are supposed to make their big move into the pennant race, winning in 2010 is important as well. It's important for the young players who are developing, it's important when trying to land free agents, it's important to show the players that 2010 isn't another year to roll over. Opponents of this thought process will counter with the fact that adding Gonzalez might get the Orioles a few wins, but that's it. And what good will that do?

I think it all comes down to philosophy. The Gonzalez signing and the Millwood trade are, to me, a sign of a different Andy MacPhail. With phase one over, this is how he is tackling phase two. He decided that the benefits of Mike Gonzalez outweigh the potential of next year's 2nd round draft pick. And given the numbers, I can see his point.

Players drafted in the 2nd round, 1985-2001, with at least 100 games played

Player	Years Played	Total Games	Career OPS+	Player	Years Played	Total Games	Career ERA+
Tim Jones (INF)	1988-1993	252	68	Bruce Ruffin	1986-1997	469	98
Kirt Manwaring (C)	1987-1999	1008	69	Mike Schooler	1988-1992	260	136
Milt Cuyler (OF)	1990-1996, 1998	490	71	Randy Johnson	1988-2009	618	136
Dave Hansen (SS)	1990-2005	1230	99	Dave Otto	1987-1994	109	80
Todd Zeile (C/3B)	1989-2004	2158	103	Kevin Wickander	1989-1996	150	108
Todd Hundley (C)	1990-2003	1225	102	Roger Pavlik	1992-1998	131	103
Terry Shumpert (2B)	1990-2003	854	80	Erik Hanson	1988-1998	245	105
Albert Belle (OF)	1989-2000	1539	143	Kevin Tapani	1989-2001	139	99
Derek Bell (OF)	1991-2001	1210	99	Jeff Tabaka	1994-1998, 2001	130	96
Jeff Branson (SS)	1992-1998, 2000-2001	694	77	Dave Burba	1990-2004	511	99
Bob Hamelin (1B)	1993-1998	497	109	Richie Lewis	1992-1998	217	93
Dave Silvestri (SS)	1992-1999	181	65	Jeremy Hernandez	1991-1995	133	114
Scott Livingstone (3B)	1991-1998	673	86	Eric Grunderson	1990-92, 94-00	254	93
Brian Hunter (OF)	1994-2003	1000	72	Pete Schourek	1991-2001	288	91
Clay Belllinger (SS)	1999-2002	183	57	Arthur Rhodes	1991-2009	780	107
Andy Fox (3B)	1996-2004	776	73	Joe Slusarski	1991-93, 95, 99-01	118	81
Darrell Whitmore (OF)	1993-1995	112	44	Chris Nabholz	1990-1995	141	97
Jayhawk Owens (C)	1993-1996	130	73	Joe Grahe	1990-1995, 1999	187	100
Aaron Ledesma (SS)	1995, 1997-2000	283	81	Frank Rodriguez	1995-2001	184	88
Tim Hyers (1B)	1994-1996, 2000	133	55	Bob Wickman	1992-2007	835	125
Kevin Stocker (SS)	1994-1996, 1999-2004	846	79	Chris Haney	1991-2002	196	108
Herb Perry (3B)	1994-1996, 1999-2004	529	96	Bill Pulsipher	1995, 98-01, 05	106	63
Terrell Lowery (OF)	1997-2000	123	99	Mike Matthews	2000-2005	230	92
Bobby Hughes (C)	1998-1999	133	75	Jon Lieber	1994-2008	401	103
Jason Giambi (1B)	1995-2009	1952	143	Tim Crabtree	1995-2001	342	116
Brian Banks (C)	1996-1998, 2002-2003	273	83	Jeff Suppan	1995-2009	412	98
Scott Rolen (3B)	1996-2009	1748	124	Jay Witasick	1996-2007	405	97
Chris Singelton (OF)	1999-2003, 2005	704	87	Scott Sullivan	1995-2004	558	113
Greg Norton (3B)	1996-2009	1107	93	Bryan Rekar	1995-2002	131	87
Brad Fullmer (3B)	1997-2004	807	111	Jarrod Washburn	1998-2009	312	109
Mike Darr (OF)	1999-2001	188	93	Brett Tomko	1997-2009	389	92
George Lombard (OF)	1998-00, 2002-03, 06	144	68	Buddy Carlyle	1999-00, 05, 07-09	104	76
Mark Bellhorn (SS)	1997-2007	731	92	Randy Wolf	1999-2009	279	103
Ben Petrick (C)	1999-2003	240	88	Scott Linebrink	2000-2009	491	122
Marlon Anderson (2B)	1998-2009	1151	83	Tyler Walker	2002, 2004-09	262	101
Craig Wilson (C)	2001-2007	698	113	Chad Harville	1999, 01, 03-06	175	85
Carlos Beltran (OF)	1998-2009	1562	119	Aaron Cook	2002-2009	197	111
Sean Casey (1B)	1997-2008	1405	109	Matt Belisle	2003, 2005-2009	156	89
Henry Mateo (SS)	2001-2006	190	50	Gary Majewski	2004-2008	229	93
Jacque Jones (OF)	1999-2008	1302	98	John Lackey	2002-2009	234	117
Milton Bradley (OF)	2000-2009	941	115	Jack Taschner	2005-2009	202	88
Mike Caruso (SS)	1998-1999, 2002	281	66	Brian Tallet	2002-03, 2005-09	189	102
Brent Abernathy (SS)	2001-2003, 2005	232	67	Joel Hanrahan	2007-2009	148	89
Jimmy Rollins (SS)	2000-2009	1406	97	Manny Delcarmen	2005-2009	241	125
Josh Paul (OF)	1999-2007	321	68	Chad Qualls	2004-2009	241	125
Michael Restovich (OF)	2002-2007	152	79	Andrew Sisco	2005-2007	151	88
Rick Ankiel (OF)	1999-01, 2002, 07-09	342	98	Brandon League	2004-2009	168	108
Jason Grabowski (C)	2002-2005	190	62	Neal Cotts	2003-2009	284	100
Gerald Laird (C)	2003-2009	509	75	Danny Haren	2003-2009	196	123
Adam Dunn (OF)	2001-2009	1290	132
Brandon Inge (C)	2001-2009	1153	84
Jody Gerut (OF)	2003-2005, 2008-2009	542	105
Chris Magruder (OF)	2001-2005	270	66
Carl Crawford (OF)	2002-2009	1081	103
Rob Bowen (C)	2003-2004, 2006-2008	216	71
Brandon Phillips (2B)	2002-2009	736	90
Ryan Doumit (C)	2005-2009	410	104
Ryan Ludwick (OF)	2002-2009	515	117
Ben Broussard (1B)	2002-2008	705	105
Bobby Hill (2B)	2002-2005	249	83
Xavier Nady (OF)	2000, 2003-2009	679	108
Freddie Bynum (SS)	2005-2008	188	68
Lance Niekro (3B)	2003, 2005-2007	194	81
Kelly Shoppach (C)	2005-2009	571	95
J.J. Hardy (SS)	2005-2009	571	95
Dallas McPherson (3B)	2004-2006, 2008	128	102

Braves Draft Pick Situation Not That Bad

gondeee — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:52:32 -0000

There were some groans from Atlanta Braves fans when the Baltimore Orioles signed Mike Gonzalez earlier this week. Groans because that was our last chance to get a first round draft pick in 2010. The Orioles first-round pick is protected, which means we get their second-round pick (along with a supplemental first round pick). This may not be such a bad thing, though.

As it stands now, the Braves will have three of the top-75 picks in next June's draft. We will get the 35th pick (compensation in the supplemental first round for Gonzalez), the 56th pick (the Orioles 2nd round pick as compensation for Gonzalez), and the 72nd pick (our standard 2nd round pick). All of this is assuming we don't sign any more type-A free agents, in which case we would also forfeit our second-round pick (73 overall).

We had similar picks in 2008 when we took a trio of strong young pitchers -- Brett DeVall, Tyler Stovall, and Zeke Spruill -- two of whom are considered by many to be two of our top-10 prospects. While first round picks are coveted, the Braves have done well with their second round picks. Players such as Freddie Freeman, Jeff Locke, Yunel Escobar, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Brian McCann were all second round picks by the Braves in the last decade. The Braves have actually done a better job of holding onto their second round picks of the last decade than their first round picks.

The point is that there is a lot of talent in the second round of the draft and the Braves will be able to take full advantage of that. By not having a first rounder, they also free up draft money to possibly take some chances and pay some above slot bonuses to guys in the lower rounds who were projected to go higher but didn't. The Braves have generally had good luck with these types of players in the past.

It would have been nice to have two more picks had Rafael Soriano not accepted arbitration, but we're still in good shape for next year's draft.

Did The Orioles Reach On Garrett Atkins?

Tommy Rancel — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:00:16 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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In addition to Mike Gonzalez, the Orioles have reportedly inked corner infielder, Garrett Atkins, to a one-year deal believed to be in the neighborhood of $4 million dollars. Andy MacPhail is easily one of my favorite GM's after Andrew Freidman, but in a market that has multiple cheaper alternatives, I question the signing of Atkins at $4 million dollars.

It's no secret that Atkins's numbers have declined in each of the last four seasons. It's also not a secret The Rockies have been trying to ship him out of Colorado for quite some time before finally non-tendering him last weekend. After posting a career high wOBA of .410 in 2006, Atkins bottomed out last season and finished with a .291 wOBA. Accompanying that wOBA dip, is a dip in ISO. Once again, after a career high in 2006 of .228, Atkins' ISO was a dismal .116 in 2009. It's true, his HR/FB rate was down around three percent from his normal 10%, but for a player that just recently turned 30, a rapidly declining ISO is not a good sign.

His 2009 BABIP shows there is some regression due for Atkins, but that wouldn't explain all of the power outage. It might produce some more doubles, but hard to see it justifying the major collapse. The good news is Atkins does show a decent batting eye. He will collect a walk nearly 10% of the time while keeping the strikeouts around 15%. Defensively, he is on a rare upward UZR swing for a player headed into his thirties, but a sample size warning; he has played less than 1,000 innings in the field each of the last two seasons.

Much like the Gonzalez deal, the Orioles aren't taking a big risk here; however, is this move really necessary? We know Joshua Bell isn't ready, but I don't see the reason to pay Atkins $4 million dollars to be the stop gap; especially in this market. The going rate on a win in this early market seems to be around $3-3.5 million. Nick Johnson, a likely 2-win player, is about to sign a one-year deal worth around $6 million. For five or six potential wins, the Orioles have spent at least $19 million dollars on Atkins, Gonzalez and Kevin Millwood. That is not much over the market's current rate, still given their likely standing in the division, I don't see the need to pay sticker price in what is shaping up as a buyer's market.

If the Orioles really wanted a corner infielder who could impact them winning the pennant in 2010, this guy is a free agent and can be had for less than $4 million.

Attempting To Understand The Orioles Signing of Mike Gonzalez

Tommy Rancel — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:14:33 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

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Being a fan of the Rays, I'm used to Yankees and Red Sox being the top competitors in the division. Yet, the Baltimore Orioles are quietly becoming a team that is starting to scare me. Maybe not in the 2010 season, but come 2011 there could be a serious battle from first to fifth in the AL East.

The Orioles have a deal in place to acquire the services of Mike Gonzalez to become their closer. The deal is reportedly for two years and $12 million dollars with incentives that could push it to $16 million. Despite his type-A status, the Orioles first round pick is protected meaning they'll lose a second-round pick for him. While I'm some what confused by the signing, I don't think it is a bad deal.

I do like Mike Gonzalez, although the price tag still might be a bit high. Despite owning some above average seasons, Gonzalez has never crossed the $6 million WAR dollar value. His career high of 1.7 WAR occurred in 2004, and that was many pitches (and DL stints) ago. As is the case with a lot of pitchers, especially ones with injury histories, health is the key.

Between the years 2007-2008, Gonzalez pitched a combined 50.2 innings. He came back strong in 2009 to throw in a career-high 80 games, and racked up a career-high 74.1 innings (way to ease back those relievers Bobby!). His velocity was back to normal, and he struck out nearly 11 batters per nine innings. There isn't much fluke in his 2009 3.51 FIP; the mark falls just marginally lower than his 3.74 tRA and 3.70 xFIP. Talent isn't the question, but how will he respond to such a heavy work load the following year? Personally, I watched Grant Balfour and J.P. Howell seemingly run out of gas at the end of 2009 because of heavier than usual loads in 2008.

I don't follow the O's close enough to know exactly what the plan looks like. From the outside looking in, it seems they are trying hard to field a decent team in 2010, and an even better one in 2011. A few days ago, Dave Cameron talked about the marginal value of a win. For a team on the cusp of a playoff birth, slightly overpaying a Mike Gonzalez type is worth the risk if the potential reward is the difference between win number 93 and number 94. I think we can agree that Baltimore is not at that level. This is why I'm not sure the Orioles necessarily needed to make this kind of move right now.

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:09:33 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

LaTroy Hawkins and Glenn Robinson faced each other in high school. This is the kind of thing that passes for news in December.

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Some things to read while trying not to dance.

LaTroy Hawkins was in Milwaukee yesterday for his physical, making his deal official (FanShot). As mentioned previously, he's due $3.5 million in 2010 and $4 million in 2011, plus $550k available if he maximizes his incentives. One thing I didn't know until reading it afterwards: Hawkins grew up in Gary, Indiana and played basketball against former Buck Glenn Robinson.

I've mentioned previously that the bullpen situation is starting to fill up, but realized yesterday that I've been leaving Carlos Villanueva out of all of my projections. As Adam McCalvy noted in his story on Hawkins, the bullpen now has Trevor Hoffman, Hawkins, Todd Coffey, Mitch Stetter, Claudio Vargas, Carlos Villanueva and David Riske, and barring a trade or injury, it looks like Chris Smith, Chris Narveson, Chuck Lofgren and Zack Braddock, among others, are on the outside looking in.

While there may not be much competition for a spot in the bullpen, there will be an interesting race to see who opens the season as the backup catcher. View From Bernie's Chalet handicaps the candidates, and is hoping for George Kottoras to open the season in the majors, with Jonathan Lucroy in AAA and Angel Salome on the trading block. Two quick thoughts on that:

Kottoras is out of options, so unless one of the prospects blows him out of the water this spring, he'll likely make the team.
You can never have too many catchers, so don't be surprised if the Brewers hang onto both Lucroy and Salome and try to work out some kind of rotation in Nashville.

Speaking of competitions involving backup catchers, we need your vote to help select a backup catcher for the BCB All Decade Team. As of this writing, Mike Rivera leads Jason Kendall by 15 votes.

At Mike Cameron's press conference in Boston yesterday, we heard some insight for the first time into Ken Macha's feeling toward the running game last season. 2009 was the first time in Cameron's career he's had single-digit stolen bases, and he said he "ran into a little situation where I had to abide by the rules of the manager, even though I’ve been pretty successful, I mean, 80 percent of the time that I’ve ran." Macha has admitted he'll have to open up the running game a little more this season, but this is the first time I can recall hearing a player talk about restraints last season.

Every now and then the Mug provides me an "Ask and you shall receive" moment. Yesterday I asked about differences in attendance at Miller Park based on the starting pitcher, and Wisconsin Sports Tap did the research, discovering no correlation. Many, if not most, Brewer tickets are probably purchased too far in advance to predict starting pitching assignments, so that's likely what I should have expected.

In the minors: FanGraphs unveiled their Top Ten Brewer Prospects yesterday. Alcides Escobar sits atop the list, as he likely will in just about every set of rankings coming out this winter, but Brett Lawrie climbed in front of Mat Gamel for the #2 spot. We'll be doing our Community Prospect Rankings in January, and I'm curious to see where Lawrie will rank there.

Around baseball:

D-Backs: Signed pitcher Rodrigo Lopez to a minor league deal.
Dodgers: Signed infielder Jamey Carroll to a two year deal worth $3.85 million and signed reliever Luis Ayala to a minor league deal.
Orioles: Signed reliever Mike Gonzalez to a two year deal worth $12 million, and third baseman Garrett Atkins to a one year deal.
Rangers: Signed pitcher Geoff Geary and infielder Ray Olmedo to minor league deals.
Tigers: Re-signed infielder Ramon Santiago to a two year deal.

The Blue Jays, Phillies, Mariners and A's also finalized their four way deal involving Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. It's been a time for change in Toronto over the last few months: Jordan Bastian noted that the Rogers Centre features three-story images of Alex Rios, Scott Rolen, B.J. Ryan and Roy Halladay. All four will now need to be removed.

In the interest of keeping conversation going and providing fresh content on the site each day, I occasionally post things that wouldn't be front page-worthy during the season, but keep things lively in December. Occasionally when I do that, someone stops by the comments to make sure I know I'm wasting their time, or ask why we're voting for bench players on the All Decade Team. Yes, I know those posts aren't hard-hitting news, but they beat spending a day ranking and discussing your favorite Pixar movies, like Keith Law and Rob Neyer did yesterday.

Earlier this week he celebrated a birthday, and today former Brewer Matt Kinney is the subject of Lookout Landing's Faces series.

Happy birthday today to 1986 and 1989 Brewer Bryan Clutterbuck, who turns 50.

Drink up.

The Quest For Relief Stays Pricey

Ian Casselberry — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:01:25 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Mike Gonzalez got $12 million on the free agent market. How much can Fernando Rodney expect to find now?

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If the Detroit Tigers weren't already thinking that they should make an inside hire for next year's closer job, Mike Gonzalez and the Baltimore Orioles gave them another reason to strongly consider it.

Gonzalez agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the O's on Wednesday. The $6 million annual salary exceeds the $5 million Brandon Lyon will receive as part of his $15 million contract with the Astros. Incentives could push the contract's value up to $16 million, according to Yahoo! Sports' Tim Brown.

After fighting injuries the past two seasons, Gonzalez pitched in 80 games for the Atlanta Braves this year. He struck out 90 batters and walked 33 in 74.1 innings, also notching 10 saves and a 2.42 ERA.

Meanwhille, Fernando Rodney is still out there, waiting for a team to meet his price. Three years, $30 million? Even the Orioles, who reportedly had Rodney at the top of their closer shopping list, thought that was too much.

And what's the market for closers now? The number of teams in need of one is getting smaller. The Tigers are obviously on that list, though may be priced into looking at an in-house option. The Diamondbacks say they want to sign one. The Cubs, perhaps, if they don't think Carlos Marmol can cut it. The Nationals? The Pirates (who brilliantly non-tendered Matt Capps)?

Rodney and Jose Valverde are looking to cash in. And Capps might be the most attractive choice for teams hoping to avoid the big-money, multi-year deals those top free agent closers are seeking. Will prices begin to drop as openings continue to shrink? Or will teams eventually get a bit desperate and meet those demands?

Meanwhile, does Joel Zumaya or Ryan Perry look more attractive as the Tigers' closer next year, in light of the contracts free agent closers have been signing this winter?

Orioles to sign Mike Gonzalez?

Eli Greenspan — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:59:53 -0000

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

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The Orioles are closing in on a two year agreement with lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez. The Orioles were considered a dark horse for the reliever, but it is possible the Orioles guaranteed that he would be the teams closer, which he was not in Atlanta.

Update: Gonzalez signed for two years, $12M with another $4M in incentives, so he can earn up to $16M in this deal. Also, Baltimore assured Gonzalez that he will be their closer, so that presumably weighed in Gonzalez's decision to go to Baltimore.

The Orioles will lose their second round pick for signing Gonzalez, who posted a 2.42 ERA last season. The Orioles are also expected to add a corner infielder, and could target Russell Branyan if talks with the Mariners head south.

Carlos Delgado is also available.

Mike Gonzalez Signs With The Orioles

gondeee — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:11:08 -0000

According to Yahoo's Tim Brown, former Atlanta Braves closer/setup man Mike Gonzalez has signed with the Baltimore Orioles:

Mike Gonzalez has agreed to a two-year, $12-million contract with O's. Incentives could bring worth to $16 million over two years.

Not a bad deal at all, and he should get a chance to close in Baltimore. Of course, this guarantees that the Braves will not have any first round picks in 2010's June draft. Thanks to Rafael Soriano accepting arbitration, the Braves lost the potential for a first round pick, and they surrendered their first round pick to the Boston Red Sox when they signed Billy Wagner.

The Braves will receive a supplemental first round pick as well as the Orioles second round pick as compensation for Gonzalez.

Report: O's sign LHP Mike Gonzalez and 3B Garrett Atkins

Stacey — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:48:29 -0000

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

2 months ago: Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Mike Gonzalez delivers against the Washington Nationals in the ninth inning of a baseball game in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009. Atlanta won 6-3. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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From The Baltimore Sun:

Looking to solidify the back end of their bullpen, the Orioles are nearing an agreement on a two-year deal with free agent left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez, according to industry sources.

Terms of the contract are not known at this point, but Gonzalez -- who spent last season with the Atlanta Braves -- will have to pass a physical before the deal is complete. He's scheduled to take a physical in Baltimore within the next couple of days. The signing of Gonzalez, who is a Type A free agent, will cost the Orioles their second-round pick in the 2010 Draft.

Mike Gonzalez has been are reliable reliever for pretty much his entire career, though he's spent it completely in the National League East. He'll be 32 years old in 2010 and I'm guessing will serve as the O's closer. I like him in the Orioles bullpen although I'm not crazy about giving up a second round draft pick for a reliever.

More details will be posted as they arrive. In the meantime, welcome to Birdland, Mike Gonzalez! Check out his career stats below the jump.

Update; 9:12 p.m.: Tim Brown from Yahoo! is reporting that the deal is for 2 years, $12M with incentives that could make it as high as $16M. Um, wow. Overpayment alert.

Update, 10:49 p.m.: Andy MacPhail doesn't waste any time! Now the Sun is reporting that the O's have also signed 3B Garrett Atkins to a 1 year deal (terms still unknown)

The Orioles are pursuing several third baseman but it appears that Garrett Atkins, who was recently non-tendered by the Colorado Rockies, has become one of their top targets. Atkins, 30, hit just .226 with nine homers and 48 RBIs for the Rockies last season, but he averaged 25 homers and 110 RBIs the previous three seasons.

The good news is Atkins won't cost a draft pick and he'll be easy to push aside if and when Josh Bell is ready. He'll be 30 years old in 2010 and has spent his entire career with the Rockies. Since he is from Colorado, let's go ahead and check his home and away splits. Not really very confidence inspiring. Full stats below the jump.

Welcome to Birdland, Garrett Atkins!

                                                                                                          
Year   Age  Tm Lg  W  L  ERA   G  GF SV    IP   H  R ER HR  BB IBB  SO ERA+  WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2003    25 PIT NL  0  1 7.56  16   2  0   8.1   7  7  7  4   6   0   6   58 1.560 7.6  4.3  6.5  6.5  1.00
2004    26 PIT NL  3  1 1.25  47  12  1  43.1  32  7  6  2   6   0  55  346 0.877 6.6  0.4  1.2 11.4  9.17
2005    27 PIT NL  1  3 2.70  51  15  3  50.0  35 15 15  2  31   2  58  157 1.320 6.3  0.4  5.6 10.4  1.87
2006    28 PIT NL  3  4 2.17  54  47 24  54.0  42 13 13  1  31   2  64  205 1.352 7.0  0.2  5.2 10.7  2.06
2007    29 ATL NL  2  0 1.59  18   5  2  17.0  15  3  3  0   8   0  13  274 1.353 7.9  0.0  4.2  6.9  1.63
2008    30 ATL NL  0  3 4.28  36  29 14  33.2  26 21 16  6  14   3  44   98 1.188 7.0  1.6  3.7 11.8  3.14
2009    31 ATL NL  5  4 2.42  80  29 10  74.1  56 28 20  7  33   8  90  170 1.197 6.8  0.8  4.0 10.9  2.73
7 Seasons         14 16 2.57 302 139 54 280.2 213 94 80 22 129  15 330  166 1.219 6.8  0.7  4.1 10.6  2.56

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/16/2009.

                                                                                      
Year   Age  Tm   G   PA   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+   TB
2003    23 COL  25   73   69   6  11   2  0  0   4   3  14 .159 .205 .188 .394   -2   13
2004    24 COL  15   33   28   3  10   2  0  1   8   4   3 .357 .424 .536 .960  135   15
2005    25 COL 138  573  519  62 149  31  1 13  89  45  72 .287 .347 .426 .773   93  221
2006    26 COL 157  695  602 117 198  48  1 29 120  79  76 .329 .409 .556 .965  136  335
2007    27 COL 157  684  605  83 182  35  1 25 111  67  96 .301 .367 .486 .853  113  294
2008    28 COL 155  664  611  86 175  32  3 21  99  40 100 .286 .328 .452 .780   96  276
2009    29 COL 126  399  354  37  80  12  1  9  48  41  58 .226 .308 .342 .650   66  121
7 Seasons      773 3121 2788 394 805 162  7 98 479 279 419 .289 .354 .457 .811  102 1275

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/16/2009.