Mike Hampton Rumors

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Odds and Ends: Thorman, Sabathia, Pettitte

Links for Tuesday... Big League Stew names Scott Boras' ten most notorious deals. Darren Dreifort also probably belongs on the list. Any others? Roch Kubatko of MASN Online debunks a rumor about the Orioles offering Brian Roberts a three-year contract with a soft deadline. ESPN's Keith Law likes the Astros' signing of Mike Hampton. The Brewers signed first baseman Scott Thorman to a minor league deal. He hit .251/.283/.465 at Triple A this year. Also, Salomon Torres officially retired. C.C. Sabathia attended a Golden State Warriors game last night, for what it's worth. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti paid lip service...   Continue Reading

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Braves Rumors: Hampton, Lowe, Burnett

Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the latest on the Braves in a new blog post. The Braves never intended Mike Hampton to be one of the two front-rotation starters they acquire this winter, so his rejection of their offer doesn't affect their plans much. O'Brien notes that he's heard no indications that the Braves are actively pursuing Derek Lowe. A.J. Burnett seems to be their top target, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Jake Peavy talks revived at the Winter Meetings. The Braves made trade inquiries on Roy Oswalt and Matt Cain and "haven't received favorable...   Continue Reading

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Hampton Seeks One-Year Deal

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick spoke to Mike Hampton's agent Mark Rodgers, who said, "We're looking for a straight one-year deal - no option, no nothing." Hampton obviously just wants to re-establish himself as a healthy, useful starting pitcher after so many lost seasons. It's unclear whether Rodgers' statement means Hampton will avoid incentive-based offers. Crasnick says Hampton wants to pitch near his Arizona home, but the Braves, Astros, Padres, Giants, and Cardinals could be fits. Astros GM Ed Wade said recently he's had dialogue with Rodgers and Hampton is open to returning to Houston. The Braves have also had dialogue. Hampton,...   Continue Reading

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Braves Rumors: Hampton, Ludwick, Burnett

Braves GM Frank Wren chatted with fans on MLB.com today and David O'Brien has some new Braves rumors as well. Wren told O'Brien that the Braves have had "a number of conversations" with Mike Hampton about keeping him in Atlanta. In his MLB.com chat, Wren said he thinks Hampton is still a "very good pitcher." O'Brien says that talks with the Cardinals about Ryan Ludwick "aren't dead." Wren doesn't comment when asked about Ludwick in the chat, but that is in itself something of a statement. O'Brien says that if Atlanta can't trade for Ludwick, Raul Ibanez would be an...   Continue Reading

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