Eric Stults Rumors

Odds & Ends: Rauch, Rays, Jenks, Rockies, Rangers

By [December 18, 2010 at 10:04pm CST]

On this date in 1997, the Red Sox traded Tony Armas Jr. and Carl Pavano to the Expos for reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez. A case can be made that Pedro's 1999 and 2000 seasons were the two best pitching seasons in baseball history, in which he held batters to a .186/.231/.274 batting line with 597 strikeouts in 430.1 innings.

It's highly unlikely that we'll see a pitcher of Pedro's caliber traded anytime soon, but that Zack Greinke kid is pretty good in his own right. Here are today's links…

  • Two days ago we heard that the Rockies had interest in David Aardsma, Grant Balfour, and Todd Coffey, and now Troy Renck of The Denver post throws Jon Rauch's name into the mix.
  • Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times has some quotes from Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg, who called the size of free agent contracts being handed out this winter "discouraging." He also commented (briefly) on the team's 2011 payroll.
  • Bobby Jenks will take his physical on Monday, tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. It was originally scheduled for today but was pushed back, and it's necessary to finalize his contract with the Red Sox.
  • Renck also has the goods (Twitter links) on two recent Rockies signings.  Ty Wigginton took less money to sign in Colorado, earning $3.5MM in 2011, $4MM in '12, and a club option for $4MM in '13 ($500k buyout).  Meanwhile, pitcher Eric Stults has an out in his $435k minor league deal that will allow him to sign with the Hiroshima Carp if he does not make the big league roster.
  • Richard Durrett of ESPN.com applauds the Rangers' efforts to bolster their starting depth.
  • Dan Wheeler is happy to be a member of Boston's improved bullpen, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Seth McClung's deal with the Rangers will pay him $700K if he makes the team. There are another $700K available in bonuses tied to the number of starts he makes.
  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report (via Twitter) indicating that Hideki Matsui's contract with the A's has a limited no-trade clause preventing trades to the Mariners, Orioles, Twins, Blue Jays, Indians, and Royals.
  • Mariano Rivera told Erik Boland of Newsday that he plans to give long-time teammate Andy Pettitte a call to try to convince the lefty to come back for another season.
  • Finding a left-handed bat off the bench is one of the last remaining items on the Marlins offseason agenda, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says they might already have that guy on their roster. Catcher John Baker, who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, said he would be up for the job until he's cleared to catch again.
  • Former Mets GM Omar Minaya told Ian Begley of ESPN New York that he plans to sit down with new GM Sandy Alderson after the holidays to discuss a potential new role with the team. Minaya said he has several offers on the table, including interest from the Diamondbacks.
  • Hey iPhone users, do you have the MLBTR app yet? Jason Bartlett does, and that's how he found out his trade to the Padres was in the works.
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Full Story | Comments | Categories: Andy Pettitte | Arizona Diamondbacks | Bobby Jenks | Boston Red Sox | Colorado Rockies | Dan Wheeler | Eric Stults | Hideki Matsui | Jon Rauch | Mariano Rivera | New York Mets | New York Yankees | Oakland Athletics | Omar Minaya | Seth McClung | Tampa Bay Rays | Texas Rangers | Ty Wigginton

Rockies Rumors: Stults, Floyd, Delcarmen

By [November 29, 2010 at 10:41pm CST]

This will probably go down as the busiest hot stove day of the year for the Rockies. Not only are they nearing a nine-figure extension with their franchise shortstop, they're close to locking up their number two starter. That's not it, either…

  • The Rockies added left-hander Eric Stults and catcher Matt Pagnozzi today, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Stults, 30, spent the 2010 season in Japan, but started 24 games for the Dodgers from 2006-09. He has a 4.84 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 145 big league innings. 
  • Last year the 28-year-old Pagnozzi appeared in 15 games for the Cardinals, the same team his uncle Tom spent over a decade on.
  • Before it became apparent that the Rockies would be bringing Jorge de la Rosa back, Renck suggested that the Rockies had the resources to sign Carl Pavano.
  • Pavano and De La Rosa aren't cheap, but neither are the Rockies' potential trade targets. The White Sox would want Dexter Fowler and Ian Stewart for Gavin Floyd, according to Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies (on Twitter).
  • The Rockies are now looking to add a reliever and a right-handed bat, according to Renck (on Twitter).
  • The Rockies are expected to non-tender Manny Delcarmen, according to Renck (on Twitter). The 28-year-old pitched to a 6.48 ERA in 8 1/3 innings after the Rockies acquired him from Boston. Like former Rockie and current Red Sox Taylor Buchholz, Delcarmen was a valuable big league reliever in 2008, but has struggled since.
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Full Story | Comments | Categories: Carl Pavano | Colorado Rockies | Dexter Fowler | Eric Stults | Gavin Floyd | Ian Stewart | Manny Delcarmen | Transactions

Dodgers Sell Stults To Hiroshima Carp

By [March 31, 2010 at 6:42pm CST]

WEDNESDAY, 6:42pm: Stults' deal with Hiroshima is worth roughly $700K plus bonuses, tweets NPB Tracker.

TUESDAY, 5:26pm: Los Angeles is expected to receive between $300K and $400K for Stults, tweets Hernandez.

TUESDAY, 11:36am: The Dodgers sold pitcher Eric Stults to the Hiroshima Carp, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  The 30-year-old southpaw was known to be available, as the Dodgers prefer other pitchers for the fifth starter job.  The Hanshin Tigers and Chiba Lotte Marines also had an eye on Stults.

Stults posted a 4.86 ERA, 5.9 K/9, and 4.7 BB/9 in ten starts for the Dodgers last year.  He made another 13 starts in the minors, putting up similar numbers.

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Full Story | Comments | Categories: Eric Stults | Los Angeles Dodgers | Transactions

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Giants, Lo Duca, Stults

By [March 30, 2010 at 10:39pm CST]

Tuesday night linkage..

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Full Story | Comments | Categories: Chicago White Sox | Colorado Rockies | Detroit Tigers | Dontrelle Willis | Eric Stults | Los Angeles Dodgers | Miami Marlins | Nate Robertson | Paul Lo Duca | San Francisco Giants | Sergio Santos | St. Louis Cardinals | Todd Wellemeyer

Dodgers Shopping Stults, Repko, Hu

By [March 24, 2010 at 10:01pm CST]

WEDNESDAY, 10:01pm: MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports that the Dodgers aren't trying to deal Hu, since they need him in case something happens to Rafael Furcal.  Gurnick also notes that L.A. is shopping Jason Repko, who has nowhere to play in the crowded Dodger outfield.

TUESDAY, 5:25pm: The Dodgers are looking to move pitcher Eric Stults and shortstop Chin-lung Hu, baseball officials from the NL and AL tell Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).

Los Angeles may feel that Stults is now expendable as they have multiple candidates for the final spot in their rotation.  Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse tweets that Ramon Ortiz is the top candidate, even though some within the organization feel that Josh Lindblom should be the fifth starter.  Yesterday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com wrote that the aforementioned Ramon Ortiz, Rule 5 selection Carlos Monasterios, Charlie Haeger, Russ Ortiz, and Josh Towers were all in the mix for the job.  Mike Axisa recently summed up this proverbial game of musical chairs in one handy post.

Meanwhile, if the Dodgers are unable to find a taker in the majors for Stults, they could find a suitor overseas.  The 30-year-old hurler has previously been linked to the Chiba Lotta Marines and earlier this week, he was named as a possible target of the Hanshin Tigers.

Hu, who recently turned 26, made a few appearances for Los Angeles in 2009 as a September call-up.  For the team's Triple-A affiliate, he turned in .294/.332/.393 with 6 HRs in 544 plate appearances.

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Full Story | Comments | Categories: Charlie Haeger | Chin-Lung Hu | Eric Stults | Jason Repko | Los Angeles Dodgers

Odds & Ends: Royals, Dodgers, Mauer, Reyes

By [March 21, 2010 at 10:36pm CST]

Sunday night linkage..

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Full Story | Comments | Categories: Adrian Gonzalez | Atlanta Braves | Bobby Jenks | Chicago White Sox | Eric Stults | Jo-Jo Reyes | Joe Mauer | Kansas City Royals | Los Angeles Dodgers | Miami Marlins | Minnesota Twins | San Diego Padres | Seth McClung

The Dodgers’ Fifth Rotation Spot

By [March 20, 2010 at 5:33pm CST]

The front of the Dodgers' rotation is pretty well set, with Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, and Vicente Padilla set to occupy the first four spots. There's no shortage of candidates for that fifth spot, but as Steve Dilbeck of The Los Angeles Times notes, most of the contenders have unfavorable contract situations. 

Eric Stults and Charlie Haeger are both out of options, Carlos Monasterios is a Rule 5 pick, and both Ramon and Russ Ortiz are believed to have out clauses in their contracts. The one rotation candidate that doesn't have any strings attached is James McDonald, but it doesn't help that he has a 20.25 ERA and a 3.56 WHIP in just over five innings this spring. Regardless of who LA picks for that last spot, there's a chance they'll lose some depth as the other guys succumb to roster limitations.

Let's open this one up for discussion. Who do you think the Dodgers should put in their last rotation spot, and what should they do with the other players? Essentially your choices are a) put them in the bullpen, or b) risk losing them to waivers/out clause/Rule 5 rules. Here are the Spring Training stats, not that they mean anything. 

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Full Story | Comments | Categories: Carlos Monasterios | Chad Billingsley | Charlie Haeger | Clayton Kershaw | Discussion | Eric Stults | Hiroki Kuroda | James McDonald | Los Angeles Dodgers | Ramon Ortiz | Russ Ortiz | Vicente Padilla

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Beltre, Carroll

By [December 25, 2009 at 9:22pm CST]

Merry Christmas everyone!  It's time to see what news has been left for us under the tree.  I hope there's a vortex football in there for me as well…

  • Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports took a look at the offseason thus far in the National League.  For his portion on the Cubs, Ringolsby writes that they got the better end of the Milton Bradley-for-Carlos Silva swap.
  • Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball counted up the money spent by every team in baseball from 1999-2009, using the end of year salary totals.  Over this stretch, the Yankees have spent 44% more than the number two top spender, the Red Sox.
  • Sam Borden of the LoHud Yankees Blog takes a look at the remaining free agents who could fill the Yankees' vacancy in left field.  Three names that jump out to him: Jonny Gomes, Xavier Nady, and Reed Johnson.  Although Gomes had a strong '09 offensively (.879 OPS), his career defensive metrics leave much to be desired.  Nady, of course, is only an attractive option if healthy.
  • The A's are talking with free agent Adrian Beltre, according to the headline of a post by Mychael Urban of Comcast SportsNet.  We first heard that Oakland was interested a week ago, but "only in an Oakland economy size financial package."  Urban's piece says that Beltre is reportedly seeking $10-15MM per season.
  • Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that Jamey Carroll's contract with the Dodgers does not include the "Ramirez Provision", which is a clause that mandates a donation to the team's charity.  While owner Frank McCourt said that the clause would be standard for all contracts after Manny Ramirez signed his new deal, a grievance filed by the player's union may have caused the Dodgers to ease up on the requirement.
  • The Chiba Lotte Mariners will be sending a representative to California to negotiate with/for Dodgers pitcher Eric Stults, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker who passes along the report from Spinochi.  The Japanese club has been interested in Stults for a couple of months and have already been rebuffed by the Dodgers once already.
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Full Story | Comments | Categories: Adrian Beltre | Boston Red Sox | Eric Stults | Jamey Carroll | Jonny Gomes | Los Angeles Dodgers | Manny Ramirez | New York Yankees | Oakland Athletics | Reed Johnson | Xavier Nady