Tom Glavine Rumors
The Market for Glavine
He may be busy filing a grievance against the Braves with the players union, but could Tom Glavine still feasibly help a few teams? Glavine claims a couple teams have called offering work of some kind. Here's what we've learned over the past week.
- MLB Trade Rumors got a hold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold, who says the Cardinals brass have expressed little interest in the veteran.
- The Marlins are supposedly at budget, and thus have no interest in Glavine, according to Juan C. Rodriguez at the Sun-Sentinel.
- Todd Zolecki at MLB.com says the Phillies don't seem to view Glavine as an option.
- Michael Hunt at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel doesn't think the Brewers should pursue him.
- Kevin Baxter at the L.A. Times claims the Dodgers aren't likely to pursue Glavine. Peter Gammons wonders if they'd reconsider.
- David Lennon at Newsday says the Mets aren't interested in re-signing him.
- Bill Ladson at MLB.com thinks the Nationals would want him more for a coaching gig, not as a player.
Does Glavine make sense for any teams, or was the Braves' assessment the nail in the coffin for his playing career?
Odds And Ends: Mariners, Rangers, Smoltz
Here are a few links to kick the week off...
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners would risk losing fan interest if they deal players like Erik Bedard before the Mariners fall far out of the playoff race.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Rangers GM Jon Daniels is looking to the trade market for a bullpen upgrade.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that John Smoltz is open to pitching out of the bullpen and may be asked to skip occasional starts. This could be one way of managing the starting pitching surplus in Boston.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders whether Kevin Frandsen, now in Triple A, would be open to starting fresh with a different club.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star believes the Royals are better off than they were a few years ago, but says they'll have trouble realizing their goal of contending in 2010.
- Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Tom Glavine isn't good enough to help the Brewers and Jake Peavy isn't cheap enough.
Glavine May File Grievance
A report coming from the Associated Press says that Tom Glavine may file a grievance against the Atlanta Braves for releasing him on Wednesday.
There are a number of factors here, of course. The combination of money saved by releasing Glavine matches up well with the salary owed newly-acquired Nate McLouth.
Also, the Braves wanted room for Tommy Hanson, their top pitching prospect, in the rotation.
But left unsaid is what effect this may have on Glavine's ability to sign with another team. To the extent that baseball protects its own, will owners want to give Glavine a job?
Glavine Considering Grievance
Odds & Ends: Schuerholz, Fukumori, Perez
Some Saturday morning links to hold you over while the cartoons are on commercial break...
- Braves' team president John Schuerholz issued a public apology for how Tom Glavine's release was handled, as MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports. "I'm not regretting the decision making. I'm regretting the manner in which it was portrayed and explained to Tommy. I feel like I could have done a better job with that."
- Patrick at NPB Tracker passes along a report that the Rangers are trying to transfer Kazuo Fukumori's rights to a Japanese club. Fukumori had a 20.25 ERA in four ineffective outings for Texas last year, but he hasn't pitched this year and is training in Arizona.
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. reports that Cuban outfielder Felix Perez has been suspended one year for falsifying age documents. Perez, who claimed he was 20 years old, was close to signing a $3MM contract with the Yankees when it was discovered that he is actually 24 or 25.
- UmpBump.com's Nick Kapur lists one player each NL team should cut from their roster. While just about everyone listed has been downright terrible this year, most of the players would have no trouble finding a new job if they were actually released.
Marlins Have No Interest In Glavine
According to Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel, the Marlins are at budget, and therefore have no interest in adding Tom Glavine to the rotation mix.
Instead, Florida will look to solve its rotation issues from within, starting with a promotion to the majors for Ricky Nolasco.
Money aside, can you blame Florida? Nolasco is 26, and pitched 212 1/3 innings of 3.52 ERA baseball last season. Tom Glavine is 43, and pitched 63 1/3 innings with a 5.54 ERA last season.
Sure seems like Nolasco is the better bet, regardless of money.
A Penny For Phillies' Staff?
MLB.com's Todd Zolecki is reporting that the Phillies have been following Boston's Brad Penny, and have been told the price for Penny is Jason Donald. Buster Olney had reported this as well.
Donald has struggled early, but it is hard to believe the Phillies would make such a deal. If they see the guy who pitched 208 innings of 3.03 ERA baseball for the Dodgers in 2007, maybe. But Penny is at 6.04 ERA in 149 innings ever since, and it is hard to see Penny as enough of an upgrade to warrant dealing one of your best middle infield prospects.
Zolecki also reports that the Phils don't seem to view Tom Glavine or Vicente Padilla as options. Hard to believe the Phils would take on another Jamie Moyer-like pitcher in Glavine, or deal for a pitcher, Padilla, they dealt away for very little a few years ago.
Realistically, none of these pitchers is likely to pitch better than Antonio Bastardo, who was dominant at Double-A Reading.
Heyman On Braves, Tejada, Helton
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Braves gave off the impression that Tom Glavine was merely a "famous, low-priced insurance policy" when they released him two days ago. He has more on the Braves and the rest of the majors; let's take a look:
- John Smoltz told Heyman that he once turned down $53MM from the Yankees to sign with the Braves for $30MM.
- The Braves are now unable to add payroll.
- That could make it tough for them to reacquire Mark DeRosa, who's on the block and would be a nice piece for Atlanta.
- One executive said Justin Upton has "a lot of Ken Griffey Jr. in him." Check out Tim's Q&A with Upton to see how the former number one pick handles the hype.
- Miguel Tejada's name has surfaced in trade talks, but most contenders see him as a third baseman and some don't like his bat anymore.
- The Rockies are willing to discuss dealing "nearly every player" they have. Heyman says "they'd probably love to find someone" to take on Todd Helton's contract. He's owed about $50MM still, so I'd think the chances are slim.
Glavine: "A Couple" Teams Have Called
The AP (via CBS Sports) reports that Tom Glavine says he's received calls from "a couple" clubs that are interested in bringing him on as a pitcher, while others have called him to discuss different jobs. Glavine didn't name the clubs that called and said it would take "a lot" for him to come back and pitch.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Glavine, Yankees, Phillies
On this date nine years ago, the Marlins selected Adrian Gonzalez with the first pick of the amateur draft. The 16-year-old would sign a deal later that day that included a $3MM signing bonus. Two trades later, Gonzalez leads the National League with 22 home runs. The 2009 draft is in four days, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere...
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse propose a three-way deal in which the Cubs would send Carlos Zambrano to the White Sox and the Padres would send Jake Peavy to the Cubs.
- River Ave. Blues takes a look at what the Yankees may need before the trade deadline and who they may be able to deal with.
- Phlavio's Corner has a list of 20 players that could be moved and where each might end up.
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham analyzes the early returns on some of the trades from this past offseason.
- Jorge Says No! argues that the Mariners might be better off moving Russell Branyan sooner rather than later.
- MLB Notebook comes up with a list of five clubs that could land Tom Glavine.
- Dodgers Rumors feels that Glavine is a perfect fit for the Dodgers.
- We Should Be GM's says the Phillies need to add a starting pitcher now and generates a list of players to target.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
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