Oakland Athletics Wiretap

Ellis Gets Two-Year Deal After Strong Comeback

The Oakland Athletics signed Mark Ellis to a two-year, $6 million contract Saturday, rewarding their second baseman for his strong comeback season last year from a major shoulder injury.

The A's avoided salary arbitration by reaching a deal with Ellis, who bounced back from a year off to bat a career-high .316 with a career-best 13 home runs and 52 RBIs. General manager Billy Beane had been leaning toward a one-year contract for Ellis, but the sides began talking about a multiyear deal on Friday and quickly reached an agreement.

"I was almost positive it would be a one-year deal, so I was a little surprised yesterday," Ellis said Saturday while attending the team's Fan Fast festivities at the Coliseum. "I'm happy."

Via AP

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Ellis Close To Multi-Year Deal

At this time last year, no one knew if Mark Ellis would play baseball again on the major-league level. Doctors had cautioned him that no player ever had come back from the kind of catastrophic shoulder injury he'd incurred in a collision with shortstop Bobby Crosby the previous spring.

Ellis not only played second for the A's all year, but he also led the team in hitting with a .316 average, making for one of the most heartwarming stories in baseball in 2005.

And now, after enduring so much uncertainty over his future, Ellis, 28, will have a big new contract and plenty of job security and financial stability: The A's are expected to announce as soon as today that they have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with Ellis worth roughly $11 million, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The contract will take Ellis all the way through his arbitration years.

Via SF Chronicle

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Minaya Likes Contreras

The rotation name who will be most associated with the Mets, and any contender eyeing elite rotation help, is Oakland's Barry Zito. But Minaya likes Jose Contreras, as well, and don't discount the possibility of Minaya working to pry Contreras from the White Sox.

For now, Oakland GM Billy Beane is telling suitors he is not interested in dealing Zito. But Zito is a free agent after the season, the A's are unlikely to be able to retain him, and Beane has shown a willingness to unload key players during the season even while his team is in contention.

Like Zito, Contreras is entering his walk year and plays for a GM, Kenny Williams, with as much of a wheeler-dealer gene as Beane or Minaya. The White Sox recently traded for Javier Vazquez (whom Minaya tried to obtain, as well) and re-signed potential free agent Jon Garland long-term. Mark Buehrle and Freddy Garcia also are locked up through next year. The quartet of Garland, Vazquez, Buehrle and Garcia are due $40 million in 2007, so the White Sox may not be budgeted to add at least another $10 million for Contreras, especially because they have a ready-now piece, well-regarded prospect Brandon McCarthy.

Via NY Post

New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics

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