Mark Mulder Rumors

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Red Sox, Meek, Giants

On this date eight years ago, Major League Baseball's 73rd All Star Game ended after 11 innings in a 7-7 tie when both sides ran out of pitchers. Shortly thereafter, commissioner Bud Selig ruled that the All Star Game will determine home field advantage in the World Series, a still unpopular decision. The American League has won every Midsummer Classic since then, and 12 of the last 13 overall (the tie being the one exception).

This year's All Star Game is still four days away, so here are some links to keep you occupied until then...

• Mets Paradise examines some trade scenarios for the Mets involving Ted Lilly and Octavio Dotel.
• The Bottom Line finds some relievers on the trade market that could entice the Red Sox.
• MLB Depth Charts lists (almost) every club's nearly big league-ready trade chips.
• Pittsburgh Lumber Co. looks at the possibility of the Pirates turning Evan Meek, an All Star, into a starting pitcher.
• The Dugout Report wonders if the Bengie Molina trade means the Giants are going for it, or packing it in.
• Meanwhile, More Hardball catches up with the three Molina brothers.
• River Ave. Blues lays out the case for the Yankees to acquire Kerry Wood.
• Examiner looks at the consequences of Jake Peavy's injury for the White Sox.
• The Baseball Opinion reviews the Mark Mulder trade following the lefty's retirement.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

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Mark Mulder Retires

Mark Mulder has only appeared in six games since 2006, but it wasn't until yesterday that the left-hander officially announced his retirement. Mulder, 32, told Jeff Fletcher of AOL FanHouse that he has retired from baseball and is instead devoting himself to becoming a better golfer.

A few months ago, it seemed that Mulder could return to pitch this season, since he was not ready to retire. The Brewers then seemed like a possible destination, but Mulder hasn't touched a baseball since February, so his baseball career is over.

"I guess I have retired," Mulder said.

The two-time All Star was one third of Oakland's "Big Three," along with Barry Zito and Tim Hudson. Mulder retires with a 103-60 record, a 4.18 ERA in 1314 innings, 834 strikeouts and, according to Baseball-Reference, about $33MM in career earnings.

The A's got more than memories from Mulder. They obtained Dan Haren for him in 2004, and later flipped Haren for Brett Anderson and others, so there are traces of Mulder on the current A's team.

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Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Brewers, Willis, Guardado

Links for Sunday....

• The Cardinals are considering Adam Ottavino, their 2006 first-round pick, as an option for the bullpen, writes Derrick Goold. The 24-year-old has improved his delivery and hurled 8.1 innings so far this spring, allowing just one run with five strikeouts, though he also has five walks to go along with them.
• The Brewers will have some decisions to make this week on players such as Jim Edmonds, Matt Treanor, and Scott Schoeneweis, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Each signed a minor league deal with an out clause. McCalvy opines that "it would be a surprise" if Edmonds didn't factor into the Crew's 2010 Major League plans.
• Lynn Henning of the Detroit News thinks that the Tigers will release Dontrelle Willis in the near future.
• Eddie Guardado hasn't officially announced his retirement, but he tells Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas "I think I'm done." Durrett reports that, even if Guardado doesn't pitch again, the lefty would like to stay in baseball in some capacity.
• The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo has a few interesting notes in his latest column. He names Jake Westbrook as an intriguing trade-deadline pitching option, and says that Mark Mulder could still work toward a comeback this season.
• The Rangers may try to trade for a utility infielder, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn't think it's a foregone conclusion that Adrian Gonzalez will be playing in Fenway Park by August.
• Heath Bell, another Padre who has been the subject of trade rumors, is staying in San Diego for the time being, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times. The Bell-to-Minnesota rumors have been swirling lately, following the news of Joe Nathan's season-ending injury.
• For the latest updates on Bell, and the rest of the closing situations around baseball, be sure to follow our @closernews account on Twitter.

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Mark Mulder Not Ready To Retire

8:58pm: Mulder told Slusser that even though he is going to "shut [his arm] down from throwing," he is not calling it quits just yet.

1:14pm: Mulder's agent Gregg Clifton told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that reports of his client retiring are not accurate, as Mulder hasn't made a decision.  However, Mulder's former teammate Eric Chavez told MLB.com's Jane Lee the pitcher is "done."

8:45am: Lefty Mark Mulder is retiring, according to television reports from Today's TMJ4 of Milwaukee.  The 32-year-old has been unable to contribute in the big leagues after having rotator cuff surgery in September of '06.

Mulder would finish with a 4.18 ERA and 103 wins in nine seasons for the Athletics and Cardinals spanning 1,314 innings.  88 of those wins came from 2001-05.  He won three postseason games, with a 2.34 ERA in 42.3 innings.  Mulder finished second in the Cy Young voting in his sophomore season, and made two All-Star teams.  According to Baseball-Reference, Mulder banked about $33MM in his career.

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Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wang, Brewers, Cabrera

Some links for your Sunday...

• Bryce Harper is not among the top ten on the Pirates' draft rankings currently, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  Jason Marquis, Ryan Zimmerman, Nyjer Morgan, and Ivan Rodriguez have all voiced their desire for the Nats to sign Orlando Hudson, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
• The Phillies have talked about Chien-Ming Wang, but don't believe he's a fit, according to Scott Lauber of the News Journal.
• Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson says it's up to Mark Mulder to decide if he wants to pitch for the Brewers, according to this tweet from Haudricourt.
• The Brewers have pulled their latest offer to Corey Hart and are preparing for an arbitration hearing with him, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• Orlando Cabrera wasn't willing to move from shortstop, so he picked the Reds over the Rockies, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. 
• Chien-Ming Wang will end up on one of the coasts, according to this tweet from Jon Heyman of SI.com. 
• Melvin Mora is talking extensively with the Rockies and another club, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post. 
• The Dodgers are in the midst of talks with Garret Anderson, writes Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. 
• Tony Jackson of ESPN.com adds Reed Johnson, Gabe Gross and Brian Giles to the list of backup outfielders the team is considering.
• The Indians are talking about bringing Russell Branyan back, according to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A reunion seems unlikely unless Branyan doesn't see appealing offers elsewhere.
• The Brewers engaged Jason Marquis but backed off since they were convinced he would sign with the Mets, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday. 

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Odds & Ends: Arbitration Filings, Brewers, Blue Jays

Got some more links for you on a hectic Tuesday...

• Ed Price of AOL FanHouse has a list of salary figures exchanged by players and their teams at today's arbitration filing deadline.
• MLB.com's Adam McCalvy breaks down the exchanged figures and the situations of the Brewers' remaining arbitration-eligible players.
• Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says the Blue Jays' payroll "will probably be in the $60-63MM range" next season, down from a previously reported figure of $80MM.  Toronto's payroll, however, is "really a fluid number" according to Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos.
• Colorado may sign veteran catcher Paul Lo Duca to a minor-league deal, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
• In a text message to Tyler Kepner of The New York Times (via Twitter), Johnny Damon said he's "sure things will work out somewhere." Damon added that he hasn't ruled out a return the Yankees either.
• The Phillies are discussing a multi-year deal with arbitration eligible center fielder Shane Victorino, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.
• With Bengie Molina returning to San Francisco, the Mets primary catching target is now Yorvit Torrealba, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
• Morosi tweets that Joe Blanton filed for $10.25MM in arbitration today, but the Phillies countered with $7.5MM.
• Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter) spoke to a scout who saw Ben Sheets' throwing session today. "He threw very well. He threw easy," said the scout, who guessed that Mets, Cubs, and Rangers were the leaders for his services.
• Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald tweets that the Marlins and Cody Ross are going to an arbitration hearing over a $250K difference.
• MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tweets that the Astros and Wandy Rodriguez are $2MM apart in their arbitration case.
• The Rays and B.J. Upton did not reach a deal today, and his agent indicated that the two sides will head to an arbitration hearing according to Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter). He later tweets that they may be just $300K apart.
• Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com reports that the Cubs, Cardinals, and Dodgers are monitoring free agent lefty Mark Mulder. Late last week we learned that the Brewers were going to wait before deciding whether or not to offer Mulder a deal.
• The Blue Jays have signed outfielder Jeremy Reed and righty Steven Register to minor league deals with invitations to Spring Training according to a team press release.
• MLB.com's Ken Gurnick tweets that the Dodgers have signed catcher J.D. Closser to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. The former top Rockies' prospect last appeared in the big leagues back in 2006.
• ESPN's Jerry Crasnick penned a must-read on how Jack Zduriencik has transformed the Mariners in his short time at the helm.
• SI.com's Tom Verducci took a look at the most efficient teams of the last decade. The Marlins, Athletics, and Rays highlight the best, while the Mets were among the least efficient.

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Odds & Ends: Hairston, Brewers, Reds, Salazar

Some links for Friday...

• In an interview with 619 Sports out of San Diego, Scott Hairston said he found out he got traded back to the Padres by reading MLBTR. Cool!
• The Brewers will wait until next month before they consider making an offer to Mark Mulder, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. 
• John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer runs down the Reds' arbitration history.
• The Orioles have signed outfielder Jeff Salazar to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
• The Brewers are still in touch with Mark Mulder and Doug Davis, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• The Yankees offered Jesus Montero straight up for Roy Halladay, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (Hat Tip: River Ave. Blues).
• The Rockies watched Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
• The Nationals are still in the mix to sign Orlando Hudson, who hopes to sign soon (MLB.com's Bill Ladson reporting).
• Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com hears of some mutual interest between the Yankees and Rocco Baldelli.
• The Rangers avoided arbitration with Brandon McCarthy, agreeing to a $1.32MM deal for 2010, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• Rangers GM Jon Daniels tells Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas that he'd like to add a catcher, but he's not about to rush. "We have some time," the GM said.
• Ryan Theriot tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that he'd like the Cubs to sign Ben Sheets.
• The Mets signed Jolbert Cabrera to a minor league deal, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter).
• Writing for FanGraphs, Patrick Newman explains what the Rangers can expect from new signing Colby Lewis.
• Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted last night that the Mets contacted Jerry Hairston Jr..
• ESPN.com's Buster Olney says some people within the Mets organization believe Omar Minaya will be fired the first time his club slumps badly.
• Olney also notes that Adam LaRoche will be up against a crop of free agent first basemen that could include Carlos Pena, Lance Berkman and Derrek Lee after the season.
• Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Giants, Padres, Rangers and Mariners have all called about Yorvit Torrealba.
• The Pirates aren't close to agreeing to terms with Zach Duke on his 2010 salary, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Duke made $2.2MM last year in his first season as an arbitration-eligible player.
• The Cardinals will watch Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
• The Cards signed knuckleballer Charlie Zink to a minor league deal, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. After eight years in the Red Sox organization, the 30-year-old will try to break camp with St. Louis.
• Bill James tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he's curious to see how much better the Red Sox are on defense this season.

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Odds & Ends: Marlins, Chapman, Royals, Padres

Links for Tuesday...

• Talking to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Rays manager Joe Maddon indicated he'd like to bring in additional players to compete at second base and in the bullpen.
• Derek Lowe told David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the Braves' failed attempt to trade him is now an "absolute non-issue."
• According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, MLB and the players' union expressed concern that the Marlins "have not been spending proceeds from revenue sharing on payroll as required in the Basic Agreement."  Look for a slight payroll increase in 2010, and a much bigger one in 2012 when the new ballpark opens.
• John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer passes along Aroldis Chapman contract details from the AP.  There are scenarios where Chapman can choose to go to arbitration if he's eligible after the 2012 or 2013 seasons.  Meanwhile, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon chronicles the Reds' involvement on Chapman dating back to March. 
• Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Mariners have thought about Jonny Gomes this winter, though he's no longer a great fit.
• MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets/passes along an XX 1090 appearance by Padres GM Jed Hoyer.  Hoyer said he has offers out to three free agents.
• MLB.com's Adam McCalvy says Mark Mulder's sit-down with the Brewers is scheduled for Thursday.  A minor league agreement is possible.
• Jack Moore of FanGraphs says Aubrey Huff is not an upgrade for the Giants.

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Odds & Ends: Padres, Greene, Dye, Giants

Here are some links to close out the week...

• The Padres are one of several teams to request Noah Lowry's medical records, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock. In a tweet, Brock notes that the team isn't likely to bring Khalil Greene back, and instead will likely wait for an out-of-options player in Spring Training.
• Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News tweets that Rangers are "still pushing" on Jermaine Dye, and team officials met with him last week.
• Grant at McCovey Chronicles ranks the ten biggest "future free agent mistakes" for Giants' fans.
• Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel mentions that Brewers' GM Doug Melvin and his staff are traveling to Phoenix next week to meet with Mark Mulder and decide if it makes sense to offer him a minor league deal with incentives. Haudricourt previously said we should "expect a signing," and earlier this week we learned that Milwaukee may not have enough payroll room left to add another starter.
• MLB.com's Brian McTaggart looks at the Astros' rotation now that Brett Myers is on board. 
• Meanwhile, Alyson Footer of MLB.com tweets that Houston officially announced their deal with Josh Banks, and has renewed the contracts of pre-arbitration eligible players J.R. Towles and Chris Johnson.
• Steve Gilbert of MLB.com has some more details on Bobby Howry's contract with Arizona. Howry can void the $3MM club option for 2011 if he's traded during the upcoming season.
• Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski said his team "did not really pursue" Scott Podsednik, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck. Scotty Pods had been connected to Detroit earlier this offseason.

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Mulder Signing Likely For Brewers?

Mark Mulder will meet with Brewers GM Doug Melvin next week, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Haudricourt says to "expect a signing."  Mulder hasn't tossed a significant number of big league innings in a season since he logged 93.3 for the '06 Cardinals.  He had rotator cuff surgery in September of '06 - more than three years ago.

Mulder would be a depth signing, similar to Brewers offseason additions Chris Capuano, John Halama, and Kameron Loe.  The Brewers' big move was a three-year deal for Randy Wolf; Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says they'll "almost certainly" sign one of Jon Garland, Doug Davis, or Jarrod Washburn as well.

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