A.J. Burnett Rumors
Odds & Ends: Zambrano, Cabrera, Molina
Links for Monday...
- Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs gave his thoughts on the Orioles' "enviable outfield logjam." In his Offseason Outlook for the club, Tim suggested that Luke Scott could make sense as a trade candidate.
- A week ago, we heard conflicting reports about whether or not the Yankees had talked to the Cubs about acquiring Carlos Zambrano. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports, via Twitter, that the Yankees "definitely" inquired, and speculates that Zambrano is "eminently available."
- In a piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, David O'Brien suggested in passing that the Braves could potentially use Melky Cabrera as a trade chip. Heyman tweets that the Cubs would be very interested, if the Braves were to make Cabrera available.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says Bengie Molina "might be willing to consider" a two-year deal. So far the Mets are at one year with an option.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik must retain at least one of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez long-term.
- Derek Zumsteg of U.S.S. Mariner gives us a Milton Bradley chronology.
- CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban tweets that he's heard a whisper connecting the Giants to free agent reliever Kiko Calero.
- WEEI's Alex Speier examines the differences between the contracts of John Lackey and A.J. Burnett. In case you missed it, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe revealed on Wednesday that Lackey must play for the league minimum in 2015 "if an old elbow injury forced him to miss significant time with surgery any time during the deal."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says statheads and scouts are mostly in agreement these days, and Moneyball would be a very different book if Michael Lewis wrote it today.
Yankees, Braves Agree To Vazquez Deal
9:50am: Buster Olney of ESPN.com hears that the Yankees will send $500K to the Braves as part of the deal. Olney does not mention Vizcaino in the report, but O'Brien tweets that he is in the deal.
9:43am: Sherman tweets that the deal is done.
9:08am: Not surprisingly, the Yankees will pay Vazquez's entire salary, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).
8:56am: Sherman tweets that the Braves are acquiring righty Arodys Vizcaino, Melky and Dunn for Logan and Vazquez.
Continue reading "Yankees, Braves Agree To Vazquez Deal " »
Odds & Ends: Jacobs, Bradley, Lackey, Lyon
Some links to start the weekend...
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says that Mike Jacobs isn't a fit to return to the Marlins. The team's second best prospect is first baseman Logan Morrison, who is on the cusp of the big leagues after spending most of 2009 in Double-A.
- Milton Bradley continues to hamstring the Cubs this offseason, writes Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune.
- Tommy Bennett at Beyond The Box Score compared John Lackey to A.J. Burnett, and doesn't think he deserves a bigger contract than the Yanks' hurler.
- The Astros will make the Brandon Lyon signing official today, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- Curious about what the 2010 draft order looks like following the recent signings? Check it out.
Odds & Ends: Kuo, DeRosa, Dye, Blue Jays
With all the arbitration decisions flying around today, we haven't had time for an Odds & Ends until now.
- Diamond Leung tweeted last night that the Yankees "signed Taiwanese 18-year-old infielder Fu-Lin Kuo to six-figure bonus." Taiwan Baseball says Kuo received about $150K.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the Cardinals, Phillies, Mets, and Giants as suitors for Mark DeRosa. ESPN's Buster Olney heard that a few teams are concerned with DeRosa's range at third base.
- Fungoes shows us "when the hot stove is the hottest," graphically. Looks about right to me...peaks in December, stays hot in January.
- A.J. Burnett talked to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News about Roy Halladay potentially being traded.
- Juan Castro will take his physical Thursday according to Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer; if he passes, his one-year deal with the Phillies will be official.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote about potential fits for Jermaine Dye, noting that the Yankees have discussed him internally. Crasnick says geography will not be a major factor for Dye.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweeted comments from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos regarding their search for a catcher. Anthopoulos is eyeing some potential non-tenders. Dioner Navarro and John Buck come to mind, with Kelly Shoppach going to the Rays.
- The market for Miguel Tejada should be decent now that he certainly will not cost a draft pick. SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Cardinals, Phillies, Giants, Rangers, and Astros are interested. Rangers?
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers officially announced their minor league deal with John Halama today.
- Nick Green's agent Tom O'Connell tells Ken Davidoff of Newsday his client is drawing "significant interest" on Major League contracts.
Chamberlain Still Unsure Of 2010 Role
We've heard a lot about the "Joba Rules" ever since Joba Chamberlain was first called up to the Yankees in 2007. Going into next season, however, the "Rules" are up in the air since nobody seems to even know what the game will be for the young right-hander in 2010. Chamberlain told MLB.com's Anthony DiComo that the Yankees have yet to inform him if he will be a starter or a reliever next season.
Chamberlain doesn't seem bothered by the lack of information, saying "it helps me just to know that I've been put in a lot of situations and it's going to help me in the long run." In fact, Chamberlain also said that he hopes Andy Pettitte (a man he regards as a good friend and mentor) comes back for another season in New York, even though Pettitte's return might squeeze Chamberlain out of a rotation spot.
DiComo notes that should Pettitte re-sign with the Yankees, he would be the No. 3 starter behind C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. This leaves the final two spots in the New York rotation open, to be contested between the likes of Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre, Alfredo Aceves and possibly Chien-Ming Wang (as reported last week by the New York Post's Joel Sherman). This competition could end up being for just one rotation spot should the Yankees sign a free agent pitcher like John Lackey.
Chamberlain posted a 4.75 ERA in 31 starts for New York last season, but was hit hard in the second half of the season --- the Nebraskan had a 7.67 ERA in August and September. He was moved to the bullpen for the Yankees' playoff run and recorded a 2.84 ERA in 10 relief appearances, plus a win in Game 4 of the World Series.
Interestingly, DiComo said that Hughes is "more of a lock to start than Chamberlain" in spite of the fact that Hughes flourished coming out of the bullpen in 2009. Hughes had a 5.45 ERA in seven starts last season, but a 1.40 ERA in 44 relief appearances as he gradually became Mariano Rivera's primary set-up man.
What do you think, Yankees fans? Who would you be more comfortable with as a starter in 2010 if you could pick only one: Chamberlain or Hughes? For what role do you think each pitcher is ideally suited?
Odds & Ends: Heyward, Yankees, Astros
Some more afternoon links...
- Jason Heyward - probably the game's best prospect - looks great so far in the Arizona Fall League, according to Jason Grey of ESPN.com.
- MLB.com's Mike Bauman says so far the Yankees' decision to commit hundreds of millions to C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett looks good.
- As Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports, Ned Yost stressed his experience during his interview for the Astros' managerial opening.
- James Schmehl of MLive.com suggests the Tigers should at least consider replacing hitting coach Lloyd McClendon with Rudy Jaramillo or another top batting instructor.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Rangers promoted four members of their front office.
Odds & Ends: Henry, Kikuchi, Accardo
Links for Friday...
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tells us via Twitter that the Astros released pitchers Chad Paronto and Billy Sadler.
- The Nationals interviewed longtime Braves scouting director Roy Clark, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Blue Jays fired J.P. Ricciardi advisor Dick Scott, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.
- Interesting note from WEEI's Alex Speier. Back in 2002, upon purchasing the Red Sox and selling the Marlins, John Henry attempted to have Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett transferred to the Sox.
- NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman says NPB is lobbying Japan's High School Baseball Federation to have Yusei Kikuchi appear in person for meetings with NPB teams but not MLB clubs. Newman still likes the Rangers as Kikuchi's top suitor, based on reports.
- Newman also tells us that pitcher Koji Mitsui, who was posted twice last winter but received no bids, has been released and will attempt to sign with an MLB team.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times has a plan for the Cubs that includes signing Chone Figgins and avoiding long-term free agent deals.
- Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains the team's recent roster moves.
- Via Twitter, ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. passes along info from Miguel Angel Sano's agent Rob Plummer.
- In an MLB.com chat, Blue Jays reliever Jeremy Accardo says that his first choice is to stay with Toronto for his entire career, but his second choice is to pitch on the West Coast.
Odds & Ends: Buchholz, Burnett, Yanks, Cards
Some links as the weekend draws closer...
- Thought the Red Sox were going to deal Clay Buchholz this summer? You're not alone. Buchholz tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford he expected to be traded because of all the rumors.
- Peter Abraham of the Journal News points out that one of the Yankees' biggest acquisitions of the year, A.J. Burnett, has pitched poorly over the course of his last nine starts. Now Burnett must prove to his teammates that he's ready for the Division Series.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com says the Yankees' plan to add power pitchers to the rotation worked (even if Burnett has struggled lately). It's hard to argue with 94 wins in mid-September, but there's more to the Yanks than their rotation.
- Verducci notes that some of the best free agent signings happened late last offseason and some of the worst ones were finalized early. Could we see GMs play the waiting game this winter?
- Joel Pineiro, Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa will have to wait until the season's over to sign their next contracts. Cards GM John Mozeliak told Bernie Miklasz that the team doesn't expect to negotiate deals with prospective free agents before the season ends.
Discussion: New York Yankees' 2010 Rotation
So let's say you're the New York Yankees. You've got to be feeling pretty good right now. The Yankees have the best record in baseball, a 6.5 game lead over the Boston Red Sox, and all but have a ticket punched to the postseason.
But what to make of the 2010 outlook in the starting rotation? There's a lot of uncertainty there.
The top is set in stone, of course, with C.C. Sabathia signed for another six years of his seven-year, $161MM deal. And, like it or not, the mercurial A.J. Burnett has another four seasons left on his five-year, $82MM deal.
Who's next? Well, assuming he returns to longer outings without any problem, Joba Chamberlain should be good to pitch a full season, finally, in 2010. No Joba rules, no pitch counts, just full-out Joba.
That's only three of five pitchers, however.
So what's to be done for slots four and five? Andy Pettitte has been solid this season, with a typical Pettitte season, 178 1/3 innings of a 4.14 ERA. He'll be a free agent in a winter with very little frontline starting pitching. Will the Yankees want to give Pettitte a multi-year deal if necessary? He'll be 38 next June.
For the fifth spot, Sergio Mitre is the answer, but only if the question is, "How do we improve the American League batting average next season?"
Phil Hughes is the most talented option, but he's thrown only 79 1/3 innings this season (98 2/3 including the minor leagues), and no more than 146 in a season (and that was in 2006).
So how should they fill out the rotation in The Bronx?
Odds & Ends: Uggla, Royals, New Blood
Here's some links to start off a gorgeous Sunday (at least around these parts)...
- After calling out teammate Hanley Ramirez, Bill Shaikin of The LA Times wonders if Dan Uggla might get a ticket out of Florida. If so, he says Uggla could be a fit for the Dodgers, who he says "are not expected to engage in a bidding war to retain second baseman Orlando Hudson."
- Sam Mellinger of The KC Star presents a few ways to improve the Royals for 2010. In addition to not handing out albatross contracts to players like Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Guillen, Mellinger suggests the team trade Alberto Callaspo, nontender Mike Jacobs, and resign Coco Crisp.
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post rates which teams "succeeded and failed in bringing new blood to their organizations" over the last year. The Yankees take home top honors thanks to additions of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira, and Nick Swisher. The Mets ... well they come in last.
- Make sure you follow MLBTR on Twitter for the fastest rumor updates around.
