The Orioles agreed to sign Kevin Gregg today, but that's far from the only news to emerge from what's arguably baseball's toughest division. Here's the latest:
- Brian Cashman told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that he's "monitoring what the necessary requests are, financially or player wise. If some drop, then maybe we'll get a little more serious [about making a move]." Earlier tonight we heard that the Yankees were interested in Jeremy Bonderman.
- The Orioles would still like to add a left-handed reliever, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (all Twitter links). Will Ohman is an option, but not the leading option or the only one, according to Ghiroli.
- The Orioles would like to add a veteran starter and the feeling in the front office is that a trade is more likely than a free agent signing. Kenshin Kawakami and Joe Blanton come to mind as possible trade targets, but that's just my speculation.
- Dirk Hayhurst will not be back in the Blue Jays organization next year, the pitcher (and best-selling author) announced on his blog.
- The Yankees will consider Andruw Jones, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). He bats right-handed and can play all three outfield positions, so he could provide the Yankees with some pop as a fourth outfielder and spell Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner.
- Heyman suggests the Yankees will go for a lockdown bullpen with Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera if Andy Pettitte retires (Twitter link). Click here for more Yankees rumors.
- Carl Crawford's trainer explained the left fielder's offseason workout program to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
No! Andruw needs to return to Atlanta in that role…..
Eventually, somebody’s gonna be willing to pay something for Kawakami. May as well be the Orioles…
Perfect situation: Orioles acquire Kawakami in exchange for $3-$5 million in salary relief. Braves use that money to sign Andruw Jones as a fourth outfielder and Edgar Renteria as a utility infielder.
I’d be pretty thrilled with that.
Blanton makes a ton of sense for Baltimore. Sure, he’s probably just a younger version of Kevin Millwood, but they need a sure thing in that rotation, even if it’s a 4.75+ ERA sure thing. I’d rather see them take a shot with Blanton than watch Chris Tillman struggle again or throw Zach Britton in to the fire too early.
And if the O’s are dealing with Philly, they should see what it would take to get Jonathan Singleton in the deal as well.
Jonathan Singleton for Adam Jones…yeah, that’s what it would take.
It’d take something extraordinary to get Singleton. They’re already grooming him to be Ibanez’ replacement, and probably Howard’s when that time comes.
Probably the only 1B prospect the Phils would be willing to part with is Rizzotti…but he’s still pretty brutal defensively from what I have read. Dude crushes the ball though
Ibanez is a FA next year and Singleton is 18 yo and in low A. Don’t you think he’s at least 2 or 3 years away?
I worded that poorly. I don’t expect him to be up for at least 2yrs, but the Phils moved what has been an excellent defensive 1B to LF for a reason.
yess andruw please come back to atlanta!!!!
Is it indicative that when the title popped up on facebook i immediately assumed the Jones headline had to do with the Yanks?
Soriano proved last season that he’s one of the top closers in the game. Why would he sign to be a setup man again?
But then again, things change when you’re offered a lot of money and it seems as though the Yankees are the only ones who’ll be willing to give him that money.
And are the Braves going to trade Kawakami or what? I thought they were “close” to trading him a couple of months ago.
Apparently the Braves were close to sending him to Baltimore, but reports surfaced saying the Braves actually wanted a warm body in return and not just salary relief. I don’t buy that whatsoever, but I’m confident he’ll be moved by ST. If an MLB team won’t take him on, he’s probably headed back to Japan.
I could see Kawakami heading over the the island of misfit Braves, AKA the Kansas City Royals. They are always looking for pitching depth.
Anaheim and Oakland could still be fits.
The Angels could go either way. Maybe they still want to salvage their disastrous off season. Maybe they want to hang onto the money since they didn’t get Crawford or Beltre.
Oakland has the money, for sure, but they generally don’t give big deals to relievers.
Andruw Jones back to Chicago please! One of my fav. players, and I have his White Sox jersey!
Hopefully Heyman isnt talking out of his butt and Soriano to NY is a legit possiblity…
I dont know about Andruw though. Who knows, mabey he wants a ring badly and will play his heart out when given the opportunity.
Arguably the best division?? Lol
No, it says arguably “toughest” division.
Point still stands. There is no argument to the contrary.
I agree have Soriano would be great however knowing the Yankees if Andy decides to return they will still Sign Soriano and AJones(OF/DH)!!! i think the Yankees are going to sign BFuentes as well their bullpen will be the best in the majors by far.Then add a veteran like FGarcia then this team will be ready to roll.
Hopefully what Heyman says about NY and Soriano is legit…
And Andruw seems like a pretty good fit, especially if he can accept that role as a platoon OF.
Hey! Andruw Jones bats right handed and can play LF?!?!?!?!
A perfect option for the Dodgers!!!!
Again, sarcasm
Probably best and toughest divison
Probably best and toughest divison
NL Central is going to be pretty close too
Ya, Al east would be tougher, but the rays lost a lot of guys, Jays traded Shawn Marcum, and Yankees missed out on Lee
Close as in 2nd best, sure!
It’ll be close between the top three, but Pittsburgh, Houston and Chicago aren’t going to do anything.
Yankees don’t need Jones! How about Francis or even Blanton in a Trade.
Maybe to Francis. And a big hell no to Blanton.
Come on why not Blanton in the AL East? What could possibly go wrong?
The orioles need to go after Edwin Jackson or wandy Rodriguez.
The orioles need to go after Edwin Jackson or wandy Rodriguez.
The Yankees need to add a wandy Rodriguez or Edwin Jackson or possibly Chris carpenter.
Wandy Rodriguez would be interesting in the Bronx. When he’s on, he’s on.
Wandy has awful numbers against AL teams, but you never know.
But yeah, I ‘d take him over Mitre in half a heart beat,
Wandy would be a good choice. Chris Carpenter maybe available if the Cardinals have to make room for Pulojs’ salary.
Edison Volquez, Jeff Saunders or Dallas Braden maybe also be available after the arbitration rulings.
I’d take any of these over Mitre
Saunders is terrible if you look at his peripherals and I have my doubts about Wandy. Carpenter or Braden would both stand up just fine and I see Carpenter on the way out of St. Louis personally.
I don’t think the A’s are giving up Braden seeing as how they got rid of Mazzaro and their upper system is thin in terms of near mlb ready pitchers. I also think he’s a bit of a d*ck and he might clash a little with Arod.
it would be hilarious to see A-Rod and Braden on the same team !
Wandy would be a good choice. Chris Carpenter maybe available if the Cardinals have to make room for Pulojs’ salary.
Edison Volquez, Jeff Saunders or Dallas Braden maybe also be available after the arbitration rulings.
I’d take any of these over Mitre
How about the Orioles acquire Joe Blanton and Bastardo. The Orioles could use a starter and the need a lefty for their bullpen. Sound like a perfect fit. The orioles would not have to give up alot either because this would be a huge salary dump for the phillies.
The O’s have said they are not interested in Blanton, but that could be a negotiating tactic to try to talk the Phillies into taking on more of his salary. Blanton is not my flavor of choice, but he is definitely a back of the rotation inning eater, which is what the Orioles are supposedly looking for…
Why would the Phillies give up Bastardo? We need a lefty out of the pen, even with Romero signed, and he is very cheap and was a top prospect in the system…
Blanton yes, Bastardo no. The Phils only have two viable lefties (Bastardo and Romero). Highly doubtful Amaro hamstrings the bullpen just to dump Blanton’s salary, especially when several GM’s have said the Phils will have no problem finding a home for Blanton with his full contract.
It would be hilarious if in 2 years…Lee turns down the Yankees for more money…Pettitte retires…and CC opts out of his contract and signs a 4 year 90 mil deal with Anaheim.
Huh? What? Lee is already signed. CC can opt out at the end of this year…..and it looks like Pettitte is going to retire this year and certainly next year if he does come back.
yes,
2010 – lee signs with Philly…Pet retires
2011 – CC opts out of his contract, signs with West Coast team for 4 years 90 mil
Nevermind I just reread Volquez’s stats and I will pass on that.
You’ll pass on Edinson Volquez? He’s a lot better than his stats indicate. If he could be had w/o giving up an elite prospect (no Montero, 3 B’s, Stoneburner, Noesi or Warren) then I would do it. Warren and Noesi are not elite but just my sleeper picks.
It would probably take one of those guy.
I’d have to agree… Volquez has killer stuff, just needs to bounce back from TJ and work on his control… But no way cincy gives him up cheap…
I’m guessing you looked at his win-loss totals and career ERA. Look at his peripherals. The guy has nasty stuff and is a strikeout machine. He would easily be the #2 in the Yanks’ rotation, barring injury.
GARFOOSELINGS UNITE
I hope Hayhurst gets picked up by someone, I really like his blog.
Soriano is not going to sign to be a set-up man.
I still don’t see Jones being a better option than Milledge. Defensively he’s better but as far as his hitting ability vs lefties, I don’t see it.
AJ-.247/.340/.477 career
2009- .199/.322/.360 w/ 7 hrs in 172 AB
2010- .243/.361/.533 w/ 9 hrs in 103 AB
LM- .293/.361/.458
2009- .254/.313/.322 w/ 1 hr in 59 AB
2010- .324/.404/..493 w/4 hrs in 142 AB
Also, LM has better #’s vs righties as well and is a lot younger and still has some upside.
for a second I thought you were talkinga bout Adam Jones. I looked up his career splits and for some reason…
vs. LHP: .256/.307/.369
vs. RHP: .281/.324/.451
now the weird part is… Adam Jones is right-handed!
We’ve had enough of the Blanton and Kawakami’s, okay Andy Mac?
haven’t you also had enough of Matt Albers and Mark Hendrickson throwing a combined 150 innings, because our 4/5 of our starters can’t go 6 innings?
I really hope someone gives Hayhurst a shot. He’s an exceptional person – and his book is one of the best baseball books written in the last 20 years.
If I were the Yanks, I would trade Joba to the Mets for K-Rod.
K-Rod can join a winning ball-club again…rebuild his value…
Yanks get a lockdown reliever for 1 year…since his option wont vest
Mets get a potential starter or closer in Joba..plus some salary relief ( 12 mil )
Joba can improve in a pitchers park, a good pitching coach, a weaker hitting league.
I don’t think the Yanks want to pay $15m (11.5 +3.5 buyout) for one yr of a setup guy.
I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think even the Yanks would spend that kind of cash.
so the mets throw some cash in ( 3.5 mil )
either way, they save money and improve the rotation.
I like Rodriquez and Jackson as starters for the Yanks, Rauch or Fuentes in relief.
“Brian Cashman told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch that he’s ‘monitoring what the necessary requests are, financially or player wise. If some drop, then maybe we’ll get a little more serious [about making a move].'”
Since when are the Yankees about finding the best bargain buy out there? They have the financial flexibility no other team has. Just go and get the best guy available, not the best bargain available.
Ben,
There was an earlier report in late December that indicated that internal Orioles sources are not high on Blanton whatsoever, citing flyball tendencies to the wrong fields and bad AL EAST splits.
I would hope Andy is keeping in shape… If he comes back he is going to be way too behind on hs preseason workout program…
I’m not a Yankee hater, but it really would be a shame to see Soriano as a set-up man, considering what he’s done over the past two years as a closer.
I really like Nova, and I cant wait to see what that kid Betances can do.
The only one in the Yankees rotation that is great is CC, Hughes would be a 3 or 4 on most teams. Hughes needs another good year. No one, not even Japan teams would want AJ and his huge contract, After CC and Huge, the yankees have no one that is consitent. Personally I do not think the have the pitching to compete. I see them competeing for the wild card. Even though I’m a Red Sox fan, i also think fans of other teams would think that it will be tough for the Yankees to get the divison over the Red Sox.
I will certainly have to disagree with CC-AJ as a Nasty 1-2 punch. AJ has a career ERA near 4 and would be fortunate if he can even post in the 3’s anymore. That is an average at best 1-2 punch. Now if Phil Hughes can pitch very good (not saying it’s definite to happen, but it’s definitely possible), the combo of CC-Hughes would be a very good 1-2 punch.
‘I want to see this team go younger and it starts in the rotation.’
I only see Nova in the 5th spot. The last time they went with more than one rookie in the starting rotation was in 2008. They won only 89 games and did not make the playoffs.
‘I want to see this team go younger and it starts in the rotation.’
I only see Nova in the 5th spot. The last time they went with more than one rookie in the starting rotation was in 2008. They won only 89 games and did not make the playoffs.
I’d rather see Pettitte come out for 1 final year and use Nova in the 5th slot. Next year, graduate another kid to the rotation.
CC and AJ are a “nasty” 1-2 punch in the sense it is a horrible 1-2 punch if thats what your referring to. Halladay-Lee, Lincecum-Cain, Wainwright-Carpenter, Lester-Buccholz, those are “nasty” 1-2 punches.
I don’t see them taking out the Red Sox either, unless they get the injury bug again. I certainly don’t see the Rays winning more than about 85 games. Yankees should get at about the 90 mark even with a medicore rotation. Heck I’d take Nova over Vazquez without a doubt, although of course I’d also take Pettitte over Mitre.
Hughes is a great pitcher first off and he is ONLY 24. He has the potential to be a #2 pitcher on ANY team. He’s already proven he can be dominant and has ace potential.
I live in Boston and hear people all day rave about how Buchholz is an Ace, yet he is 2 years older than Hughes and only accumulated .2 more WAR. Both pitcher have high upside but IMO Hughes seems to have more potential upside and being 2 years younger still has plenty of room to grow.
I do disagree above about calling CC and AJ and “nasty” 1 – 2 punch. AJ can be flat out nasty BUT he is a head case. They have the potential to be a nasty 1 – 2 punch, but they haven’t hit that stride. At this point, one would have to consider Hughes the #2 in the Yanks rotation unless Pettitte comes back then the rotation would be considerably better:
CC
Pettitte
Hughes
AJ
Nova?
People forget that the Yanks arleady have a very good bullpen. They don’t need much help there. Soriano would be a waste to pick up due to the loss of draft pick. The yanks need to find an inning eating starter for the back end of the rotation and a Utility player/right handed bat. If they can do that, they can be very competitive. Remember the Red Sox did lose Beltre and V-Mart, so the gain in Crawford and Gonzalez is not as not as big a leap forward as some people like to think. It should be a more competitive East this year and I expect it to be close all season.
I agree, trouble is with the upgraded teams in both the central and the west I don’t know if 90 wins is good enough for the wild card next season. However, anyone who discounts the Yankees is a fool. I highly doubt they go into next season with a rotation of CC, Hughes, AJ, Nova and Mitre; if Pettitte retires I’m almost certain they go out and get another starter somewhere before the season starts and if not certainly by the deadline.
That’s because they had a ton of injuries (just like the Red Sox this year but of course not as badly). Remember, they lost their ace (at the time he was their ace) Chien-Ming Wang for the year in late June.
I can’t see Mitre being the 5th starter in any imaginable way. If he is, he’s back out by mid May and replaced by whoever gets off to the best start in AAA.
Beckett has a career ERA of 4.
what a massive over exaggeration of talent .
The gain in Crawford and Gonzalez is quite large actually. Gonzalez should be able to hit 40HR blindfolded with Boston if he can do it while playing with the Padres and Crawford is a true “5-tool player” so he is an upgrade as well. Plus (injury bug willing) the Red Sox will get full healthy years from Youk, Pedrioa, Ellsbury, Varitek, Drew(fingers crossed), Becket and Dice-K. The Red Sox were leading the majors in Runs for the first half when the injury bug hit and still ended up 2nd not too far from the Yankees. The competition in the AL East will really be for Wild Card not the division title. **
**this is of course as of right now without injuries
Where is the exaggeration? I’d love for you to point that out…
ERA is a bad choice as Beckett is obviously the superior pitcher and AJ is mediocre. How about this?
Beckett: WHIP 1.244, 2.8BB/9, 8.5K/9, 2.58K/B, 112ERA+
Burnett: WHIP 1.321, 3.8bb/9, 8.2K/9, 2.18K/bb, 107ERA+
No offense… But you sound pretty ignorant. Gonzalez COULD hit 40 hr’s but we won’t know until the season. Also, the injury bug could hit ANY team at ANY time, to guarantee like you just did that pretty much the full team would stay injury free is just flat out silly. To say the Sox will run away with the division is flat out dumb as the Yanks and Tampa both still have very competitive teams. Plus the Sox rotation is full of question marks. The only true ace right now is Lester, who is flat out nasty. Beckett and Lackey are both on the wrong side of 30 and coming off terrible seasons. Matsuzaka can be great, but also can be awful, his inconsistency is just as bad as Burnetts.
Last year the Yanks were effected by injuries as well. A-rod was out for a substantial part of the year. Gardner’s whole second half was plagued by injuries which is why he had wrist surgery after the season. CC was also pitching with a minor injury, which is why he had surgery. Teix had a down year. Granderson finally learned how to hit lefties after working with Long in August and mashed them for the rest of the year.
1 – 9, the yanks lineup is every bit as good as the red sox lineup. Both teams have pitching questions, and I will give you that the yanks have a few more questionmarks at the tail end of their staff.
No one here has a crystal ball, and if they gave out world series rings for the offseason the red sox would probably take them. But they dont, and I think you are underestimating the Yankees along with Tampa big time.
To be fair CC is a nasty 1 punch.
If you looked at the ** part of my post I said right now without injuries. And of course I don’t have a crystal ball but when I look at the Red Sox question marks in pitching “will Beckett and Lackey be the 3rd and 4th ace pitchers they can be or just mediocre?” or “will Dice-K ever pitch like he did in Japan?” they are a lot more clear than the Yankees question marks of “will a 38-year-old pitcher coming off of an injury-shortened season not retire?” “will AJ be a decent #3 pitcher or implode entirely?” “who the hell will be our #4 and #5 pitcher?” I think the Red Sox are in a way better postition. Also, you totally forgot to include Buchholz who went 17-7 and had an ERA + of 187 which lead the AL.
As for Gonzalez he has averaged 32HR in San Diego so it is not much of a leap to say he could easily hit 40 with Boston especially since he did that back in 2009 in the NL’s larger parks.
And the Yankees injuries were not very sevre. They had full seasons from pretty much all of their regulars except for Pettitte and Granderson. At least when you compare it to the Red Sox with their 1b, 2b, Ca, back up Ca, LF, CF, all missing AT LEAST a month through injuries.
And I didn’t say that the Yankees offence was bad. It is very good, especially if they get closer to normal years from A-Rod, Jeter, and Teix. It was the pitching I though that was bad.
I still say the Sox will win the AL East and quite handily. If you think that is ignorant then I can’t change your mind.
I think you are over-valuing Buchholz quite a bit. Yes, his ERA & ERA+ were great last year. But his strikeout rate has been drastically dropping, last year at a miniscule 6.22 k/9 while his walks were at 3.47 bb/9. he also had a lot of help since his BABIP was well below league average sitting at .265. You can look for his ERA to regulate to somewhere back to reality next year, probably somewhere around 4. Buchholz is a good pitcher, but I didn’t leave him out of my post because he’s “great,” he’s a middle of the pack kinda guy, he had a solid season for you. He is NOT the red sox # 2, however, beckett is. Buchholz will be their #4 this year.
And in your post about AGon all of a sudden hitting 40 hrs with a blindfold on you then decide to write in this post that he “could” which is what I am saying. Funny how your story changed from one post to another. Is it possible of course it is, but its possible for a lot of players to hit 40 hrs that don’t every year.
And that 38 yr old pitcher that may or may not come back was having a stellar year prior to injuries. Pettitte isnt a power pitcher and they tend to age well.
You can say what you like about the Red Sox running away with it, but I heard the same thing last year from you guys and last I checked that didn’t exactly pan out.
I think you are over-valuing Buchholz quite a bit. Yes, his ERA & ERA+ were great last year. But his strikeout rate has been drastically dropping, last year at a miniscule 6.22 k/9 while his walks were at 3.47 bb/9. he also had a lot of help since his BABIP was well below league average sitting at .265. You can look for his ERA to regulate to somewhere back to reality next year, probably somewhere around 4. Buchholz is a good pitcher, but I didn’t leave him out of my post because he’s “great,” he’s a middle of the pack kinda guy, he had a solid season for you. He is NOT the red sox # 2, however, beckett is. Buchholz will be their #4 this year.
And in your post about AGon all of a sudden hitting 40 hrs with a blindfold on you then decide to write in this post that he “could” which is what I am saying. Funny how your story changed from one post to another. Is it possible of course it is, but its possible for a lot of players to hit 40 hrs that don’t every year.
And that 38 yr old pitcher that may or may not come back was having a stellar year prior to injuries. Pettitte isnt a power pitcher and they tend to age well.
You can say what you like about the Red Sox running away with it, but I heard the same thing last year from you guys and last I checked that didn’t exactly pan out.
Those numbers are remarkably similar, Becketts may be SLIGHTLY better, but that is it. Tough to call him the “superior pitcher” might wanna go with, slightly better pitcher.
I also believe he was lucky but an ERA of around 4 is probably not going to happen. Buchholz would be the Yankees #2 pitcher right now so if he is the Red Sox #3 or #4 then I guess they are doing ok.
And I am not changing my tune about Gonzalez at all. I said he could easily hit 40hr both times, how is that a change?? One time I was being silly about it the other time I show how it is possible. Don’t be a tit. I am talking about one guy who is a perrenial 30 and above home run hitter in a large ball park going to a league with smaller parks hitting over 40, who as I mentioned has done it before!! I am not changing my tune and I am not saying something like Crawford will be all of the sudden hitting 40.
And sure Pettitte was pitching really well before the injury, but he didn’t pitch all that well after the injury. And he is a year older. And doesn’t seem all that motivated. So good luck with him.
The Red Sox question marks are way less than the Yankees question marks.