By Tim Dierkes | at
Sammy! Sammy Sosa worked out at Ameriquest today in hopes of securing a gig with Texas, where it all began. Sosa had some awesome teammates back when he was on the ’89 Rangers as a 20 year old. Here’s a partial list of his mentors:
Ruben Sierra
Rafael Palmeiro
Julio Franco
Pete Incaviglia
Buddy Bell
Juan Gonzalez
Thad Bosley
Dean Palmer
Wilson Alvarez
Kevin Brown
Charlie Hough
Jamie Moyer
Kenny Rogers
Nolan Ryan
Click here to see what Sammy looked like as a Ranger.
By Tim Dierkes | at
John Delcos of the Journal News mentions in his blog that the Mets are still talking to Oakland about Joe Blanton. Would it require Lastings Milledge? Ray Ratto seemed to think so back at the end of December.
Blanton would probably fare well in the NL, though not significantly better than John Maine. The Mets are still lacking a front-rotation type pitcher.
By Tim Dierkes | at
In his latest blog post at ESPN, Peter Gammons mentions that the White Sox might pursue Angels shortstop Erick Aybar if Juan Uribe’s future remains unclear. Joe Crede could be the trade candidate.
Aybar, who turned 23 yesterday, hit .283/.327/.413 in Triple A last year (equivalent to .234/.269/.328 in the Majors). Baseball America ranks Aybar as the Angels’ third best prospect, behind Brandon Wood and Nick Adenhart. Aybar has come up in many trade rumors already in his career. According to BA, Aybar handles the bat well and his glove, arm, and speed are plus tools. They see him as more of a bottom-of-the-order, defensive-minded SS.
My feeling is that swapping out Uribe and Crede for Aybar and Fields would make the Sox significantly worse in 2007…but it is just a trade rumor right now.
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Cubs have certainly been looking to trade right fielder Jacque Jones all offseason. It’s not a matter of performance or salary – Jones played a respectable right field last year for a mere $3MM. He’s due $9MM for 2007-08.
But as Chris De Luca reports, Jones hasn’t been comfortable in Chicago since the beginning of last season. His source indicated that both parties feel a trade would be best. However, De Luca makes a good point in that the Cubs need Jones right now. Why trade him and then sign Steve Finley or someone to bridge the gap until Felix Pie is ready? The Cubs should just keep Jones and use him in center. He hasn’t played more than 10 games in CF since 2000, but it’s worth a shot.
De Luca also says the Cubs are reluctant to sign Cliff Floyd until Jones is dealt. The Cubs have been aggressively trying to swing a Jones to anywhere trade all offseason.
Meanwhile at the Tribune, which owns the Cubs, Paul Sullivan mentions that "Floyd has told friends he intends to be a Cub, while Jones isn’t expected at the weekend fan convention, indicating he’s likely on his way out of town."
By Tim Dierkes | at
UPDATE: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says negotiations have "intensified" between Weaver and the Cards. Walt Jocketty indicated that Weaver is the only possible addition to the rotation at this point. His limit for Weaver is two years.
With Carpenter, Wells, Reyes, Wainwright, Thompson, Mulder, and Franklin, I think the Cardinals can cobble together a respectable rotation in the NL Central this year. However, Walt Jocketty said today that he’s still in conversations with Jeff Weaver’s people.
On one hand, the Boras group drives a hard bargain. On the other, St. Louis may be the best place for Weaver to get his career back on track. My guess? Jocketty probably wants him for something like two years and $16 million.
By Tim Dierkes | at
In case there was any doubt, the Boston Herald’s Jeff Horrigan was able to confirm that the Red Sox will go after Roger Clemens once again if he decides to pitch. Horrigan had an email exchange with team owner John W. Henry.
The Rocket is playing it coy once again, first holding off on deciding whether he’ll even play. To most, it would be a surprise if he didn’t. The media seems to believe that the Yankees are the favorite, but New York does have a lot of newspapers. While the Clemens thing is getting old, that doesn’t mean the Astros don’t need him.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Here’s what’s been going on around baseball recently.
According to his agent, Antonio Alfonseca signed with the Phils for one year and up to $1.1MM. Elbow woes derailed his 2006 with Texas, but he’s lost some weight and is ready to go. He still dominates the league in one category. Philly is a good place to slip into some save opps.
The Pirates have upped their offer to Brian Lawrence. It’s apparently a Major League deal. Dejan Kovacevic still thinks the Rockies are the favorite. Colorado is quietly stockpiling useful pitchers.
The Devil Rays could bring back Victor Zambrano, an amusing idea. Zambrano, 31, hopes to be ready in April following TJ and a flexor muscle tear.
I think I reported the near signing but not the signing – the Mets now have Jorge Sosa. He’ll turn 29 next spring and at least made some progress with his control in ’06.
By Tim Dierkes | at
After months of work, my 2007 RotoAuthority Fantasy Baseball Guide is now on sale for just $9.99. Click here to read all about it and buy one.
This is the ideal tool for anyone looking for a fantasy baseball advantage. In my opinion it blows the $8 magazines out of the water. You get weekly updates, draft tools, blurbs and 2007 projections for every relevant player, and tons of sorting ability to create cheatsheets. Aside from the projected 2007 stats, you can sort by age and filter by risk, league, team, and sleeper status.
If you’re on the fence about making the purchase, at least download the sample version of the Guide. The sample has the Guide’s full functionality but only features projections for the Cubs, White Sox, and Cardinals.
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Blue Jays extended first baseman Lyle Overbay for four years and $24 million, a reasonable price for the 30 year-old. It’s nice to buy out a few years of free agency at a reasonable rate.
Overbay slugged a career-high .508 in 2006, though he may have been aided by his home park. He hit .325/.383/.583 at home and .297/.361/.430 on the road. He’s known for a good glove but limited range.
It should be noted that the bar is set pretty high for an AL first baseman – .280/.352/.467 was average last season.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Check out my top 30 projected earners for starting pitchers over at RotoAuthority. My fantasy guide will be on sale hopefully tomorrow, Monday at the latest. It’s going to be awesome!
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