Mike Hampton Rumors

Odds & Ends: Granderson, Magglio, Hampton

Another round of links... Lynn Henning of the Detroit News wonders if the Tigers will consider offers for Curtis Granderson after the season. Though he has 27 homers and 20 steals, Granderson has struggled at the plate this year, particularly against lefties. He has a batting average on balls in play below .300 for the first time in his career, and it has factored in to a .248/.331/.457 line that's solid, but below Granderson's standard. (He's hitting more fly balls than usual, which could explain the BABIP dip and rise in homers.) After months of anticipation, it looks like Magglio...   Continue Reading

---

Astros Unlikely To Be Significant Players in Free Agency

Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle writes that the Astros are "unlikely to be significant players in free agency this winter." The team is trying to lower payroll and get younger, something signing free agents generally won't accomplish. Justice does say that the club would like to retain relievers LaTroy Hawkins and Jose Valverde, both of whom will be free agents after this year. Houston started the season with close to a $103MM payroll according to Cot's, but they could shed $17.75MM by letting Miguel Tejada, Mike Hampton, and Darin Erstad walk as free agents. However, a significant chunk of...   Continue Reading

---

Odds And Ends: Yankees, Wagner, Byrd

Some links to start the week off... Joel Sherman of the New York Post argues that the Yankees were smart to spend on elite free agents last offseason. Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia have contributed to the Yankees' dominance this year. Johnny Damon repeated to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News that he wants to return to the Yankees next season. The Toronto Sun notes that Mike Hampton won't pitch again this year. Billy Wagner didn't expect his Red Sox debut to go as smoothly as it did, according to Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe. As Alex...   Continue Reading

---

Odds And Ends: Rolen, Butler, Braves, Yanks

More links for the morning... Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that Reds will pay Scott Rolen $11MM next year without help from the Blue Jays. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wonders if the Royals should lock Billy Butler up long-term. The 23-year-old has hit well this year, but he doesn't figure to be a free agent until after 2013, so the team has time to deliberate. Bill Rankin of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Braves reached an agreement with an insurance company for an undisclosed settlement. The Braves sought compensation after paying an injured Mike...   Continue Reading

---

Odds And Ends: Hinske, Pirates, Astros

Links for Tuesday... Joel Sherman of the New York Post heard that Eric Hinske cleared waivers two weeks ago.This means the Mets, Yankees or any other team could have had him for the $800k remaining on his salary. Sherman believes the Pirates won the other trade they made today, acquiring Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan from the Nats. Tom Verducci of SI.com names his All-Star team and it's heavy on youth. Astros first rounder Jiovanni Mier told MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo that the pace of the game is noticeably faster in the pros. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says Mike...   Continue Reading

---

Discussion: Replacing Mike Hampton

Richard Justice at the Houston Chronicle thinks Ed Wade's one-year gamble on Mike Hampton might come to an end soon. Hampton was "the guy they could afford, not the guy they really wanted," Justice says. The guy they wanted was Randy Wolf, who's sporting a nifty 3.02 ERA and 50/19 K/BB ratio for the Dodgers. After an ugly start today Hampton sits at a 5.62 ERA for the season and 7.04 in his last six. Should a shakeup be in order, the 'Stros have their eye on Triple-A farmhand Bud Norris, who's pitching well for Round Rock. But as we...   Continue Reading

---

Astros' Rotation Spots Open; Mets Sign Trio

A few notes popping up: - The Houston Astros will have tryouts for the starting rotation at Spring Training. Felipe Paulino and Fernando Nieve are both young arms that will be considered, Alyson Footer of MLB.com reports. The Astros are tentatively counting on Roy Oswalt, Mike Hampton, Brandon Backe, Wandy Rodriguez and Brian Moehler to fill out their rotation. - The New York Mets have finalized deals with utilityman Rob Mackowiak, right-handed pitcher Kyle Snyder and left-hander Jon Switzer to minor-league deals. The three will be competing for 25-man roster spots at Spring Training, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.   Continue Reading

---

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Tigers, Braves, Red Sox, Pirates

Today is free agent Orlando Hudson's 31st birthday and the 29th birthday of Garrett Atkins, the subject of many recent trade rumors. Also, on this date 10 years ago, Kevin Brown became the first player to sign a contract worth at least $100MM, when he signed a seven-year/$105MM contract with the Dodgers. The deal came when Brown was 34, one season after going 18-7 with a 2.38 ERA. Brown's first two seasons with the Dodgers (18-9, 3.00 and 13-6, 2.58) were solid, but he would only make 29 starts in years three and four combined. Since then, two pitchers have...   Continue Reading

---

Odds and Ends: Griffey, Springer, Hoffman

Links for Wednesday... Common misconception Joe and I keep running into: signing one of the 15 Type A free agents who were offered arbitration will only cost the signing team one draft pick. The player's old team also gets a second pick, but it doesn't come from the new team. It's just squeezed into the supplemental round. Check out a deeper explanation here. Nuggets from a Frank Coonelly chat: he expects the Pirates to make room on the 40-man roster for a potential Rule 5 addition, and they'd still like to re-sign Doug Mientkiewicz. Pirates pitcher Jason Davis looks like...   Continue Reading

---

Astros Sign Mike Hampton

WEDNESDAY: The Astros are having a press conference for Hampton in about 25 minutes, implying that he passed his physical. TUESDAY: Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Hampton turned down a slightly higher offer from the Braves to be closer to his children, who are in Arizona. MONDAY, 3:31pm: Ken Rosenthal says it's a one-year, $2MM deal with another $2MM in appearance-based incentives. Hard to find fault in that. 2:44pm: According to FOX 26 Sports in Houston, the Astros signed pitcher Mike Hampton today. He needs to complete a physical to make it official. Hampton pitched for the Astros...   Continue Reading

---

Top Stories

Search MLBTR

Lijit Search

MLBTR Features

Recent Posts

MLBTR Mailing List

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Rumors By Team

Monthly Archives

Live Chats

Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST