The Cincinnati Post’s Marc Lancaster reports that Reds P Ryan Freel — already with one DUI on his record in the past year — was arrested and charged with disorderly intoxication early this morning in Tampa, FL.
Most of the pictures Google turns up of Ryan are rather dull, so let’s be grateful for this jpg of “Brookside”‘s Anna Friel, instead.
The Reds have signed Rich Aurilla to a one year, $1.3 million contract with a $2 million mutual option for 2007.
C Bengie Molina, said to be negotiating with the Mets for a lucrative deal several weeks ago (before the Lo Duca and Estrada trades), might still have a chance to catch on with the Blue Jays. But not for nearly as much as he might’ve commanded last November.
The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rogers on Javier Vazquez’ contract.
When the White Sox make a deal, you better study the fine print. It is almost always stacked in their favor, as we saw with the incredibly complicated contracts given Frank Thomas and Albert Belle back in the 1990s. The latest example is the shrewd pickup of Javier Vazquez.
Vazquez, who is signed through 2007, had demanded a trade under his rights as a player traded (from the Yankees to Arizona) in the middle of a long-term contract. In exchange for that demand being fulfilled, he loses his right to free agency for three years. That means the Sox have him under their control through 2008, not just ’07, with ’08 being treated as an arbitration year.
While the Sox may not want to risk an ultra-expensive arbitration if Vazquez pitches well the next two years, especially not if prospects like Brandon McCarthy, Lance Broadway, Ray Liotta and Tyler Lumsden continue to develop, they could trade him to an ambitious team after 2007.
