Justin Duchscherer Rumors

A's Unlikely To Pursue Free Agents

Billy Beane indicated that the A's will not pursue free agents with whatever money they have available, and instead will look to the trade market to fill any openings, according to MLB.com's Mychael Urban. "We're going to look at young players to fill spots, first and foremost," Beane said. "If those players we'd like to acquire aren't obtainable, we'll consider bringing in guys who can hold the positions down. We're going to stay disciplined and try to do everything we can to fill those spots with young players. "So the next step is to continue to bring guys like Andrew...   Continue Reading

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A's Talk: Third Base, Duchscherer

Athletics general manager Billy Beane is looking at possible third base acquisitions, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A's face uncertainty with hot corner options Eric Chavez, Adam Kennedy, and Brett Wallace. Slusser says the A's are emphasizing youth and "unlikely to spend much money on free agents." So you have to question my earlier guesses that the A's will sign Miguel Tejada and Jim Thome. Slusser wonders, "from a sheer speculation standpoint," if Alex Gordon, Josh Fields, or Brandon Wood could be trade possibilities. Click here to read our post about third base trade candidates....   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Duchscherer, Dodgers, Phillies

A few more links to peruse as MLB officials sift through rainy forecasts in NYC... According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland GM Billy Beane has touched base with free agent right-hander Justin Duchscherer. It's not yet clear, however, whether the A's will try to retain him. MLBTR profiled the "Duke of Hurl" about a month ago. Diamond Leung passes along a nice anecdote involving Dodgers assistant GM Kim Ng and Justin Orenduff, the club's 2004 first-round pick. Orenduff was designated for assignment last year to clear roster space for Manny Ramirez and then retired in March...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Johjima, Rockies, Kikuchi

Links for Tuesday... Chat today, 2pm CST. The Hanshin Tigers are interested in Kenji Johjima, according to Kyodo News. The Rockies are expected to re-sign GM Dan O'Dowd and manager Jim Tracy this week, according to Patrick Saunders and Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times says the Dodgers "are mindful that [signing Yusei Kikuchi] could harm the club's long-standing ties in Japan." Kikuchi told Kyodo News that interviewing with 12 NPB and eight MLB clubs made his decision even more difficult. NPB Tracker has more. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says Brad...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Bucs, Duchscherer, Astros

A fresh batch of links for Saturday afternoon... Perry Hill left his post as Pirates first base coach Saturday and, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, expressed unhappiness with the team's aggressive trading on his way out. The Pirates got rid of three-fourths of their infield (Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche) during the year. According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's have not touched base with soon-to-be free agent Justin Duchscherer since the end of the season. GM Billy Beane plans to engage in some kind of discussions with the right-hander and his agent "soon."...   Continue Reading

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Red Sox Like Buy-Low, High-Upside Starters

John Smoltz and Brad Penny didn't work out for the Red Sox, but the pair of righthanders cost the club a relatively small amount, so they'll consider similar pitchers this offseason. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein tells Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald that he will remain open-minded as he looks for a starter to complement Tim Wakefield. "We’re probably not going to end up with a front-line free agent starting pitcher with the way we look at the market and the nature of the market these days," Epstein said. "Could we end up with another buy-low, high-upside, low-risk starting...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: White Sox, Phillies, A's

Only a handful of games on the schedule tonight, but here are some links to make up for it.... White Sox GM Ken Williams is let down by his team's performance this season, according to Chris De Luca of The Chicago Sun-Times. Players like Jake Peavy and Alex Rios were acquired with more than just 2009 in mind, but the Sox still hoped to earn a playoff spot in a weak division this year. Dave Cameron at FanGraphs and Rob Neyer at ESPN.com point out that the White Sox didn't underachieve, but rather performed almost exactly as expected. Whether Williams'...   Continue Reading

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Discussion: Justin Duchscherer

We've already delved into the pool of 2010 free agent starters a few times here on MLBTR, but let's dig deeper and discuss just one of those soon-to-be-available arms: Oakland's Justin Duchscherer. Duchscherer, a longtime reliever, burst onto the MLB scene in 2008 with a 2.54 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over 22 starts. He doesn't throw hard, and never really has, but his slider and curveball are excellent out pitches and tend to keep batters guessing. Of course, it's not all roses with the 31-year-old righty. He didn't throw a pitch this season due to complications with his hip, his...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Duchscherer, Clark, Wagner

Friday Night Lights Links... Justin Duchscherer will miss the rest of the season with clinical depression according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. He's been on the disabled list just about all season with an elbow issue, but this is just sad, sad news. CSN California first had the scoop earlier tonight. Duke is scheduled to become a free agent after the season. MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports that Tony Clark has had discussions with the Diamondbacks about possibly joining the team in a baseball operations role. The club released Clark last month. Joel Sherman of The NY Post spoke to an AL...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Astros, Mets, Phillies, Wagner

Links for the afternoon... Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle presents a dream Astros lineup for 2010 that includes John Lackey and Justin Duchscherer. Tyler Hissey ranks Lackey, Duchscherer and other impending free agents to start determining their value. Jay Schreiber of the New York Times says the Mets' failure to agree to terms with either Damien Magnifico or David Buchanan by Monday's deadline to sign picks adds to a frustrating season. Newsday's Ken Davidoff was surprised to hear someone claimed Billy Wagner. Scott Lauber of the News Journal hears that Wagner would not have approved a trade to his...   Continue Reading

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