Jon Garland Rumors
By Zach Links [November 21, 2009 at 10:40pm CST]
The Orioles are positioned to be buyers in free agency, according to Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. GM Andy MacPhail says that the club is looking to spend this offseason, but there remains some skepticism in Baltimore as to whether owner Peter Angelos will be willing to open up his checkbook. If the O's decide to dole out dollars this winter, here are some of the players they will and won't be targeting: Barring a change in organizational plans, you can cross the Orioles off the list of suitors for outfielders Matt Holliday and Jason Bay....
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By Mark Polishuk [November 17, 2009 at 8:15pm CST]
MLB.com's Lyle Spencer answered a pile of fans' questions about the Angels' free agents, possible new signings and trade options. Here are some of the highlights... Spencer "has his doubts" that Los Angeles will re-sign any of its big three free agents (Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero and John Lackey). He thinks the other three AL West teams would be smart to sign Guerrero given that the outfielder is "a prideful man who would have something to prove to his former employer." If the Angels do dip into the free-agent market, it would be for a starting pitcher. Spencer lists Randy...
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By Zach Links [November 8, 2009 at 10:35pm CST]
Earlier this week, the Dodgers, as expected, declined to pick up their side of a $10MM mutual option for Jon Garland. However, one has to think that Ned Colletti & Co. would like to hang on to the 6'6 righty after surrendering Tony Abreu for him. In 2009, Garland turned in an ERA of 4.01 in 200+ IP. The 30-year-old shined in his limited time in Dodger Blue, recording a 2.72 ERA with a 2.89 SO/BB ratio in six regular season games. While he would be a fairly attractive option in any free agent class, this winter's weak crop of...
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By Mike Axisa [November 5, 2009 at 11:20am CST]
According to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times, the Dodgers have declined Jon Garland's mutual $10MM option for 2010. The Diamondbacks will pay Garland his $2.5MM buyout, as per the terms of August's trade for Tony Abreu. Garland made 32+ starts for the eighth straight year, putting up a 4.01 ERA, his lowest since 2005. FanGraphs valued his 2009 performance at $10.6MM, but it's hard to see Garland getting eight figures annually on the open market.
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By Tim Dierkes [October 9, 2009 at 3:15pm CST]
The Diamondbacks received infielder Tony Abreu from the Dodgers to complete the Jon Garland trade, according to the team's Twitter feed. Abreu had been rumored as the likely return since the August 31st trade, but presumably the teams waited until now because he did not clear waivers. Another factor: a dispute over Abreu's service time. MLB.com's Ken Gurnick says this grievance was settled, with Abreu receiving an additional 30 days service time. Abreu, 25 in November, hit .353/.385/.615 in 236 Triple A plate appearances this year. He spent most of his time at second base, and is expected to compete...
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By Mike Axisa [September 19, 2009 at 5:54pm CST]
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive right on in... Southpaws Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw are likely to start the first two games of the playoffs for the Dodgers, but Kershaw must recover from his dislocated non-throwing shoulder first. The back-to-back lefties would be a big advantage if LA played the lefthanded hitter heavy Phillies. Rosenthal also mentions that the Cardinals, despite being so righty heavy, have the second lowest team OPS (.675) against lefthanded pitchers in the National League. Hiroki Kuroda would likely start game three for the Dodgers, followed by...
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By Cork Gaines [September 18, 2009 at 12:23pm CST]
Jon Heyman takes a look at three teams that underachieved this season and how each might approach the off-season... New York Mets Heyman thinks the payroll will be about the same next season, noting that any attempt to lower the payroll would be a tough sell to the fans. Needs include left fielder, first baseman, catcher, starting pitcher and overall depth. Mets are looking at Matt Holliday and Jason Bay and could target Adrian Gonzalez and Bengie Molina. Starting pitchers the Mets may pursue include Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Jason Marquis as well as Roy Halladay if he's available....
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By Mike Axisa [September 11, 2009 at 1:41pm CST]
"I don't think there's one pitcher in this entire group I'd invest a lot of money in. Not one," said one general manager to ESPN's Jayson Stark. This year's collection of free agent pitchers doesn't have the star power that last year's CC Sabathia highlighted crop had, or that next year's group led by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee will have, but there will still be plenty of money thrown around. As Stark explains, club officials seem to be down on available starters this year, describing them as "risky," "weak," "terrible," and "mediocre" among other things. One AL executive said...
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By Mike Axisa [September 5, 2009 at 6:56pm CST]
In his latest blog post at ESPN, Peter Gammons writes that the NL West has quietly become very competitive thanks to three California pitcher's parks that make it such a pitching dominated division. Through the help of scouts and team executives, he points out all the great young talent in the division, highlighted by the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Pablo Sandoval, Troy Tulowitzki, and Mark Reynolds. Here's a roundup of Gammons' rumors... Gammons jokes that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti "could be arrested for shoplifting," because in the last two seasons...
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By Mike Axisa [September 5, 2009 at 5:14pm CST]
Let's see what FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has for us in his latest Full Count video... Chone Figgins could be one of the most popular free agents this winter. The White Sox have long had interest in him, and his skills as a leadoff hitter will make him attractive to many teams, perhaps even the Yankees. Figgins will come cheaper than Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, and the Yanks could easily withstand his lack of power if they put him in left field. Four years younger than Johnny Damon, Figgins and Derek Jeter would make a dynamic 1-2 punch atop the...
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