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Archives for April 2007

Ron Villone Draws Interest

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Several teams, including the Phillies, have contacted Ron Villone and his agent Scott Boras about joining their bullpens.  The Rockies are also among those that have inquired.  Villone is available after being released by the Yankees last week.

At 37, Villone has a lot of mileage and struggles against right-handed batters, but he is still quite effective against left handed batters.  In 2006, he held left-handed batters to a .179/.279/.330 AVG/OBP/SLG line.

For teams that are in need of a LOOGY, it might be worth it to kick Villone’s tires.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere".

Last Minute Trade Talks Left Some Rosters Short

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At least two teams entered yesterday’s Opening Day with only twenty-four players on their roster, one short of the maximum allowed.  Both the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds were hoping that a last-minute trade would bring quality relievers to fill the final spots, but when nothing materialized, both elected to add players already in the fold.

The Phillies added Joe Bisenius to their final spot, a hard-throwing right-hander who has never pitched above AA Reading, where he had 33 strike outs in 23 and a third innings and many in the Phillies organization see him as the closer of the future.  If the 24-year old pitches well on 2007, he could become the long-sought after set-up man the team needs.

The Reds turned to Victor Santos, a 31-year old journeyman who can pitch out of long relief or the rotation.  Santos has a weakness for the long-ball, so manager Jerry Narron may want to reduce his appearances at home.

Expect both teams to continue looking for late-inning relief either through trades or the waiver wire.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere".

Zambrano Talks on Hold

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You may want to wait just a little longer on that Carlos Zambrano Cubs jersey you were thinking of buying.

Just a few days ago it seemed as if Zambrano and the Cubs were on the verge of finalizing a 5-year $80 million dollar contract extentions.  But those talks are apparently on hold now that the Cubs owner, The Tribune Co., has been sold to Sam Zell, a real estate tycoon, who plans to sell the Cubs in the offseason.

Most felt that 5 yrs/$80 million was a pretty darn good deal for the Cubs.  If it really is, then the new owner may want to let the deal go through as having Zambrano around for the long-term could make the Cubs more attractive to potential buyers.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere".

Jose Capellan Requests Trade

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Add Jose Capellan to the list of players who were sent to AAA that would now like to be traded:

Capellan’s agent, Bill Rego, contacted [Brewers] general manager Doug Melvin and requested that his client be traded to another organization.

Capellan had a very poor spring, pitching to an ERA over five and allowed opposing batters to hit .391 against him.  But last season, his first full year in the majors, the twenty-six year old, who was part of the Danny Kolb trade with Atlanta, pitched to a 4.40 ERA, held opposing batters to a decent average, though he walked a few too many batters.

There are a lot of teams looking for bullpen help, Capellan could be an answer for some teams.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere".

Eckstein Contract Talks Tabled

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The Cardinals and David Eckstein would like to continue their relationship, but it sounds like Walt Jocketty will wait until after the season to hammer things out.

If Eckstein has a poor season and Jocketty lets him walk, the team’s options will be limited.  There’s never a surplus at shortstop.  If 25 year-old shortstop Brendan Ryan can stay healthy and have a big year at Triple A, he could inherit the job.  Otherwise Jocketty will have anywhere from zero to three free agent options.

The Cubs and Sox have similar situations, as both have club options for around $5MM on their slick-fielding shortstops.  Juan Uribe’s option will probably be picked up but Cesar Izturis is a question mark. Omar Vizquel could be available, but the Giants have already met with his agent about an extension. 

Most likely Jocketty will retain Eckstein, but the backup plan may have to be the trade market.  Cristian Guzman, Miguel Tejada, Orlando Cabrera, Erick Aybar, Edgar Renteria, Ben Zobrist, and Clint Barmes could be options there.   

Cantu Off To Durham

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According to Buster Olney in his blog today:

"Heard last night, by the way, that Jorge Cantu will swallow his frustration with being sent to Triple-A and head to Durham, rather than walk away, something he had initially talked about doing. He really doesn’t have a choice."

Cantu is just going to have to put his head down and put up some big numbers in Triple A to earn a trade back into a full-time job.  Last time he was in Triple A, he hit .302/.335/.576 with 22 HR in 368 ABs.  The 25 year-old might be able to help out in Oakland, Atlanta, Cincinnati, or Washington.  I know some people want him on the Mets, and I suppose that could happen.  But I’d rather have Jose Valentin right now.

Also an interesting D-Rays read – looks like Scott Boras’s camp never informed Seth McClung that he an option left.  Oops.

White Sox Won’t Talk Contract With Future Free Agents

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The White Sox decided Sunday afternoon that there will be no more contract talks.  The declaration surely applies to impending free agents Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye, and Tadahito Iguchi.

Assuming Carlos Zambrano signs, Buehrle will hit the free agent market as the youngest starting pitcher.  He’s got a better track record than the somewhat comparable Jason Jennings, but that comes with more mileage.  Buehrle has averaged 221 innings over the past six seasons, while Jennings has averaged 180 over the past five.

Dye may vie for attention among free agent hitters like Adam Dunn, Alex Rodriguez, Andruw Jones, and Bobby Abreu.  Dunn and Abreu have fairly reasonable team options, so there may only be A-Rod and Jones in Dye’s realm.  Since Dye will be 34 heading into the 2008 season, he may sign a three-year deal.  That’d make him the top option for teams looking to keep it under $60MM but add an impact hitter.

Iguchi will be up against Marcus Giles and Luis Castillo, most likely.  He’s the steadiest performer of the three and second base isn’t as deep as last year, so he should have no problems getting around $15MM over three seasons.

The 2008 Sox could use Ryan Sweeney and Josh Fields at the outfield corners.  They’ve stocked up on arms to fill Buehrle’s spot.  I could see the White Sox bringing Iguchi back, but maybe they’d give second base to Pablo Ozuna failing that.

A Little Help: Mets

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More rumors, news, and analysis is always a good thing.  Today I’m looking for someone to represent the New York Mets.

What am I looking for in this person?

  • Solid writing skills and a style that fits with MLBTradeRumors.  Basically, I’ll know it when I see it.  I’m looking for the same type of analysis you see here every day.
  • Someone who can post up-to-the-minute Mets rumors as they surface.  I want a person who follows the team religiously and will have every source (traditional newspapers, high quality blogs, radio) covered.  It would make sense to have all the pertinent websites on an RSS reader.  You should be near a computer most times and able to hop on and write a post if something happens.
  • While this person is probably an Mets fan, objective analysis is preferred.  Additionally it would be nice to provide the local vibe/sentiment that people might otherwise not know about.  That might sound contradictory but I don’t think it is.
  • The benefit to you: a decent-sized audience and a chance to do a little sportswriting.  It could be a nice resume-builder and I would be happy to serve as a reference for you.  And I will give you some insight on how I do what I do, for what that’s worth.
  • Build your audience: within reason, you can link to your own blog or website and gain some new readers.
  • Email me at mlbtraderumors@gmail.com if this interests you and explain why you’re the best candidate.  I’ll choose one person and unfortunately won’t be able to reply to all.  A sample post of a rumor/signing (whether fake or true) might help make your case.  Note: long-winded posts are not my style! Brevity is a plus – I like 3-4 paragraph posts.

First One In The Books

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Ah, that was fun.  Chris Carpenter was surprisingly off tonight, and the Mets won easily. Carlos Beltran made an awesome throw to nail David Eckstein at the plate.  It was a perfect throw.  I’ve got the day off tomorrow, so I should be able to crank out plenty of rumors in the morning before settling in for the Cubs game.

Some reading for you tonight:

Travis Buck is the starting right fielder for the A’s.  Read all you need to know about him over at RotoAuthority.

Gotham Baseball’s 2007 Mets preview.

Check out The 700 Level, a Phillies blog that is all dressed up for Opening Day.

MVN’s new minor league baseball site.

I know a few of you still have late fantasy drafts…the 2007 RotoAuthority Fantasy Guide was just updated last night and will be updated weekly throughout the season.

Zambrano Close To Deal With Cubs

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According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano are putting the finishing touches on a five-year, $80MM deal.  Zambrano’s 2007 contract would be erased by it, making him a Cub through 2011.

It’s not quite the San Diego discount, but the Cubs have been signing some below-market deals lately.  I guess there’s something about Wrigley Field and Cubs fans.

Surprisingly, PECOTA would only give Zambrano about $52MM over the next five seasons.  I wondered if the trends in Zambrano’s peripherals didn’t sit well with our favorite personified projection system, but it’s actually a workload concern.  BP’s system sees 2007 as the last 200 inning season of his career, noticing shades of Mark Gubicza. 

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