David Murphy Rumors
West Notes: Murphy, D'Backs
The surging Diamondbacks are a hot topic these days. Here's more on the Snakes and an item of note about another ballclub residing in a west division.
- Rangers outfielder David Murphy could be a hot trade commodity, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. This season has been an historically weak one with respect to production out of left fielders, writes Sullivan, and Murphy, Texas' fourth outfielder, is a solid hitter and pretty cheap. I could see this, but Murphy struggles against lefties (.257/.299/.363 career line), and it couldn't hurt for the Rangers to keep him around as insurance for the often-injured Josh Hamilton.
- The D'Backs' success in 2011 can be chalked up to organizational stability, hard work, and a few shrewd offseason moves, writes Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com. After its bullpen posted a 5.74 ERA and 24 blown saves in 2010, Arizona added J.J. Putz via free agency, David Hernandez via trade and Joe Paterson through the Rule 5 Draft, and the D'Backs are now 13-7 in one-run decisions, notes Ringolsby. Twelve players currently on the 25-man roster were brought on by GM Kevin Towers, who Ringolsby says isn't trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel.
Rangers, Murphy Avoid Arbitration
The Rangers signed outfielder David Murphy to a one-year contract worth $2.4MM, avoiding arbitration, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Murphy appeared in 138 games with Texas in 2010, primarily in left and right fields. The left-handed hitter posted a solid offensive season (.291/.358/.449 in 467 plate appearances) and was especially tough on right-handed pitchers (.298/.368/.479).
Scanning MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker, the Rangers now have four arbitration-eligible players remaining: Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, C.J. Wilson and Darren O'Day. Reliever Mark Lowe, acquired midseason from the Mariners in the Cliff Lee swap, avoided arbitration in November. As well, free-agent reliever Frank Francisco accepted the Rangers' offer of arbitration.
Odds & Ends: Cordero, Murphy, Red Sox, Griffey
Links for Thursday, as Armando Galarraga receives a new Corvette (but no perfect game)...
- Reliever Chad Cordero has been called up to the Mariners roster, according to a team news release. Cordero hasn't pitched in the majors since undergoing labrum surgery in July 2008. He signed a minor league deal with Seattle last winter and has a 4.12 ERA and 5.50 K-BB ratio in 17 appearances for Triple-A Tacoma this season. In six seasons with the Expos/Nationals organization, Cordero posted a 2.78 ERA and racked up 128 saves, including a league-best 47 in 2005.
- 2009 first rounder Jared Mitchell told reporters that he is recovering well from his ankle injury. The White Sox prospect, who will represent the team at this year's draft, does underwater drills and is progressing towards baseball activities.
- Daniel Murphy will miss four to six months with an MCL tear, so the Mets have reduced infield depth, according to Newsday's David Lennon (via Twitter). Murphy, who has not played in the majors this year, has missed significant time because of his right knee.
- MLB.com's Ian Browne wonders if the Red Sox will have to trade Boof Bonser.
- The A's claimed Triple A infielder Adam Heether off of waivers from the Brewers, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). Heether, 28, was hitting .245/.343/.440 in Nashville.
- J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that agent Scott Boras does not pressure them to return from injuries any earlier or later than they want to. Boras says he does not draw medical conclusions for any of his clients, including Jacoby Ellsbury.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Ken Griffey Jr. felt pressure from Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu to retire. Wakamatsu says it was "Ken's decision."
- Stephen Strasburg, who debuts against the Pirates next week, pitched five shutout innings at Triple A and even got a hit, writes MASN.com's Ben Goessling.
- Strasburg's a star now, but college coach Tony Gwynn says the phenom was "sweating like a hostage" before his San Diego State debut, according to Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse. The entire piece is worth reading.
Top Trade Chips: AL West
We've completed the National League, so now it's time to jump over to the so-called junior circuit...
- Angels: They moved three pretty good young players to get Scott Kazmir last season, so they might prefer to hold onto the rest of their top prospects. Their best chip is someone you may not have heard of, out of options catcher Bobby Wilson. He's on the 25-man roster but has barely played as the third stringer, yet how many teams would love to have a 27-year old catcher with a very good defensive rep, a .290/.345/.425 batting line in 820 Triple-A plate appearances, and six years of team control left? Pretty much all of them. He'll never clear waivers if the Halos try to send him back to the minors.
- Athletics: Oakland has plenty of young pitching, but Billy Beane likes to hang on to those kind of guys, and for good reason. With ten infielders on the 40-man roster, someone like Jake Fox or Eric Patterson could be moved, as could outfielders Travis Buck or Gabe Gross since Michael Taylor is coming fast. Plus there's always Ben Sheets.
- Mariners: Jack Zduriencik surrendered a good amount of prospect depth this offseason by acquiring Cliff Lee, but no one will argue with that move. Dustin Ackley, the second overall pick in 2009, will make Jose Lopez expendable in short order, and they could choose to make one of two minor league outfielders - Michael Saunders or Greg Halman - available. Seattle's best trade chip might be their potential ability to absorb some money.
- Rangers: Texas is absolutely loaded with young players, so they have plenty of pieces to offer. They can move Chris Davis because Justin Smoak is knocking on the door, or they could move Derek Holland because Martin Perez isn't too far away. They dangled Max Ramirez this winter, and outfielder David Murphy is about to get expensive through arbitration, so he could find himself on the block. Bottom line: the Rangers have the pieces to go out and get anything they need or want.
Odds & Ends: Ortiz, Brewers, Salcedo, Miller
Links for Saturday...
- David Ortiz said he isn't letting his contract situation get to him, writes ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes. Big Papi will earn $12.5MM this year, and the Red Sox hold an option at the same salary for 2011 with no buyout. Tough to see them picking that one up.
- An interesting point raised by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy: The Brewers essentially traded Hernan Iribarren to the Rangers for Joe Inglett. Milwaukee picked up Inglett in January after he was waived by Texas. Mat Gamel and Inglett are now in the mix for the Brewers' final bench spot.
- Edward Salcedo was officially introduced to Braves reporters this morning, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The 18-year-old Dominican shortstop said that Atlanta was the only organization to show significant interest in him over the past two years.
- Jim Edmonds may be playing his way into a role with the Brewers, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Both the Diamondbacks and Mariners had interest in Dana Eveland before he was acquired by the Blue Jays, tweets MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com spoke to a scout who wouldn't be surprised if the Marlins traded lefty Andrew Miller (link goes to Twitter).
- David Murphy is just biding his time on Texas' bench, writes Anthony Andro of The Star-Telegram. Murphy is a .278/.336/.465 career hitter, but he might get too expensive for a bench job as he enters his first arbitration year after 2010.
- Ben Shpigel of The New York Times reports that Yankees' hitting coach Kevin Long was analyzing videotape of Curtis Granderson to help him improve against lefthanders way back in November, a month before the team traded for him.
Rangers Have Crowded Outfield
Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that the Rangers have six candidates for the outfield: Josh Hamilton, Andruw Jones, Nelson Cruz, David Murphy, Frank Catalanotto, and Marlon Byrd. Is a trade in order?
Hamilton is a lock for one spot, and last I read the Rangers were intent on giving the out of options Cruz regular work (perhaps even in center field). We may be looking at Jones, Murphy, Catalanotto, and Byrd battling for two spots.
The commitment to Catalanotto is ugly: $4MM in '09 plus another $2MM for his '10 buyout. The contract plus his ability to play first base may keep him in Texas unless he can be swapped for another contract.
Jones could be cut if he doesn't impress in Spring Training, or he could opt out on March 20th if he doesn't like the way his role is shaping up. Rangers president Nolan Ryan seems quite fond of Murphy.
Byrd seems the likeliest trade candidate, especially if Jones makes the team. Sherman likes Byrd as a center field stopgap for the Yankees; he's earning $3.06MM in his last year before free agency. The Cubs were after him a year ago, but seem filled up now. The White Sox could make sense but have not been connected to Byrd in rumors.
Cubs' Talks For Byrd Reach Impasse
The Cubs have been interested in Rangers' center fielder Marlon Byrd for some time now, apparently offering Matt Murton. However, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers' insistence on good young pitching in the deal has caused a stalemate. The Cubs like Byrd, but not at that price.
Evan Grant wrote recently that one of Jason Botts, Nelson Cruz, or David Murphy is likely to be dealt before Opening Day. A Byrd trade might allow the Rangers to keep all three.
Stark's Latest: Teixeira, Dotel
Jayson Stark has updated his big ol' rumor post over at ESPN.com. Some highlights:
- Stark believes Mark Teixeira to the Braves or Angels is "almost certainly going to happen." The Angels' willingness to offer Joe Saunders instead of Ervin Santana is seen as a big plus. Meanwhile the Braves want the Rangers to tack C.J. Wilson onto their trade but Texas is resisting. Stark's update counteracts Will Carroll's latest; Will recently wrote: "It's looking more and more like Mark Teixeira is going to stay a Ranger." You decide.
- Toss a few more scenarios into the Octavio Dotel mix: to the Red Sox for David Murphy, or to the Mariners for Wladimir Balentien. Big difference there.
- Stark calls Mark Loretta a "very big name to watch." Hmmm, maybe this trade deadline is lamer than I realized.
- OK, the market is now open on Houston's relievers.
- The Marlins would be happy to trade Armando Benitez or Byung-Hyun Kim. Both would need to shake off major control problems to be of any use.
- Stark says to forget about trades of Daniel Cabrera, Joe Blanton, Richie Sexson, Livan Hernandez, Dontrelle Willis, Todd Helton, Aaron Rowand, and Noah Lowry. C'mon now, that's no fun. Something tells me the rumors on some of this group won't disappear, so it's all good.
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Marlins Trade Rumors
The Fish might do some minor dealing in the coming days. Let's see what they have cooking.
For one, Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thinks they should bring Armando Benitez back, now that he's healthy. He says it would probably only cost the Marlins a million bucks in addition to the player(s) they trade. Benitez says he hasn't been in shape like he is now since he played for the Orioles.
The Marlins may have their eye on a couple of Red Sox: center fielder David Murphy and pitcher Kyle Snyder. The Nationals also have interest in Snyder. Snyder, 29, hails from Florida for what that's worth. He can probably post an ERA below 5 in the NL, so he belongs on someone's roster. Murphy still has a chance to become a credible CF, especially if his new build adds a little power. Houston also likes Murphy.
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post has another tidbit: though the Marlins scouted Jorge Julio, they're not close to proposing a deal.
Finally, the Marlins have no interest in Javy Lopez but are drawing interest for outfielder Cody Ross.
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David Murphy Drawing Interest
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe had an interesting tidbit at the bottom of his column today. He says the Red Sox and Marlins haven't discussed center fielder David Murphy in a while, but Murphy is drawing interest from various clubs and talks could be renewed with Florida. Cafardo notes that the Fish might part with lower-ceiling guys like Ricky Nolasco or Yusmeiro Petit but want to keep Taylor Tankersley.
The Red Sox passed on Conor Jackson to take Murphy in the 2003 draft. Baseball America doesn't place him among Boston's top ten prospects, but considers his center field defense respectable. Murphy improved his production upon a promotion to Triple A in 2006. Translating his work at Pawtucket to a Major League Equivalent nets a .238/.311/.376 result. PECOTA sees something similar for '07. Remarkably, that'd be an improvement upon Marlins center fielders last season. By '08 Murphy could develop a little more power and become a solid regular.
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