May 2007

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Shea Hillenbrand Expendable

It's an understatement to say that Angels' DH Shea Hillenbrand is an expendable player. He's hitting .236/.250/.311 in 148 ABs, the third-worst hitting performance in baseball according to VORP. Only Jason Kendall and Chone Figgins have done more damage to their teams. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that the return of Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero's need to DH could spell the end of the Shea Hillenbrand Era in L.A. It was a lousy signing to begin with; $6.5MM wasted. At least it was just money. Brian Sabean gave away Jeremy Accardo to acquire Hillenbrand last year...   Continue Reading

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White Sox Snag Craig Wilson

According to Ken Rosenthal, the White Sox have signed 30 year-old 1B/LF Craig Wilson to a minor league contract. It was a good move before the Pablo Ozuna injury, but now the need is even stronger. Wilson, at the least, can probably help the Sox as a lefty-masher. He's at .290/.389/.527 against them in his career. The White Sox aren't known for their skills against southpaws; in fact, their .583 team OPS against them is the worst in the AL. Compare that to the Blue Jays, who have an .851 OPS vs. lefties. Oddly, the only member of the team..   Continue Reading

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Olney On The Center Fielder Market

The upcoming offseason will feature roughly nine viable free agent center fielder options (2008 age in parentheses): Ichiro Suzuki (34) Andruw Jones (31) Torii Hunter (32) Eric Byrnes (32) Corey Patterson (28) Milton Bradley (30) Aaron Rowand (30) Mike Cameron (35) Kenny Lofton (41) There's the Big Three, then second tier options with various flaws (not that the Big Three are without flaws). Of the second tier, Rowand and Byrnes have seen their stock rise this season. Interestingly, Buster Olney believes that Cameron will draw heavy bidding. Olney sees Cameron landing in Atlanta; Ken Rosenthal reached the same conclusion back..   Continue Reading

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The Percival Chase

My apologies to the loyal readers hoping for more posts this weekend - my wife and I are painting the condo. Good times. For those keeping score at home, here's a summary of Troy Percival's suitors. He won't be returning to the Angels, but plenty of other clubs want in. Though interest hasn't been confirmed, Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon thinks highly of Percival. The Indians are another club where only speculation exists. Let's add the Cubs to that list; Phil Rogers notes the team's interest in the 2004-05 offseason. Back then, the Cubs wisely decided to open the season..   Continue Reading

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Heyman On Teixeira

With the trading deadline a mere two months away, we have to drum up some big names on which to speculate. The advent of no-trade clauses and the valuation of young pitching seems to have resulted in fewer blockbusters. Mark Teixeira seems to be this summer's big name. We last speculated about Teixeira two weeks ago. The Orioles and Nick Markakis were discussed, as well as the fit for the Angels. The Nationals were seen as a long shot. Jon Heyman has talked to some baseball execs on this topic, and he's got more ideas. Heyman adds the Red Sox,..   Continue Reading

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Wily Mo Pena And The Padres?

Buster Olney had an intriguing thought in his blog yesterday. The Padres' bullpen is a source of strength, but they've got a lefty-heavy lineup and are tenth in the league in slugging. How about Wily Mo Pena to the Padres for a top shelf reliever, maybe Scott Linebrink? I know what you're thinking - the Red Sox have the best relief ERA in the league. OK, maybe you weren't thinking that. I had to look it up. But Boston's relief success has been reliant on two players - Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima. Are the Sox confident that this pair..   Continue Reading

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Hunter A Fit With Rangers

The Rangers need a long-term center fielder, and they play 45 minutes from Torii Hunter's hometown. Seems like a perfect fit, right? Maybe. But according to Hunter yesterday, his heart still lies in Minnesota. It seems that if the Twins can muster even a fairly competitive long-term offer for him, he'll stay. Hunter's next deal will cover his age 32-35 seasons, at the least. $13MM annually might be considered a discount. Will the Twins at least offer Hunter a Johnny Damon contract? Even if they did, he would have to turn a blind eye to more lucrative offers. I think..   Continue Reading

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Yankees Looking At Helton, Fuentes

Plenty of Todd Helton to the Yankees rumors surfacing lately, the first of which came via Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball. Healey also mentioned the Yanks' interest in Brian Fuentes last Friday. Today, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post confirms those rumors on the Rockies side of things. While the interest in confirmed, Renck says "nothing is brewing." Guess we'll have to wait a month or so, to see if desperation sets in. There had been a lot of talk of the "New Yankees," who are building from within and not taking on ridiculous contracts. But with players like..   Continue Reading

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Percival Possibilities

The Angels aren't interested in reliever Troy Percival, but several other clubs will be in attendance when he works out for teams in a week or two. The Tigers are publicly showing interest, as Percival left the club on good terms despite barely pitching for them. He was voted a playoff share last year and used the money to buy a suite for the players' wives. With Joel Zumaya out for quite a while, the Tigers could use another arm at the back of the bullpen. Contrary to previous reports of 97 mph (subtract five mph from anything an agent..   Continue Reading

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Bedard To Join Jays In 2010?

Blue Jays play-by-play guy Jamie Campbell has a blog, and he's got an interesting rumor up today. Campbell speaks of a "prominent member of the Orioles organization" telling him to expect Erik Bedard in a Blue Jays uniform for the 2010 season. Campbell points out Bedard's Canadian roots and the Orioles' inability to sign him long-term as factors. He sees a possible rotation of Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Bedard, and two youngsters in 2010. Campbell notes that Burnett can opt out of his contract after the 2008 season. He'd be walking away from three years and $36MM. If he stays..   Continue Reading

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