Yukinaga Maeda To Throw For MLB Teams
Yukinaga Maeda is a 37 year-old southpaw reliever who was recently released by the Yomiuri Giants. He hasn’t been any good in Japan lately; Aaron and Jackson of East Windup Chronicle told us:
His ’07 season was marked by a series of call-ups and send-downs, and going on 38 years old, it’s hard to see this guy making a huge contribution.
Nonetheless, Maeda hopes to try his hand at Major League Baseball. This article (link in Japanese) says he’ll be throwing for multiple MLB teams in the coming days, the Rangers included. Loyal reader Patrick, who sent this along and translated, told me, "I go back and forth between thinking this guy has a slim chance of making it to an MLB team, and no chance." What can I say, it’s a slow rumor day for some reason.
Introducing Mike Glab
We’ve got another new addition to the MLBTR team: Mike Glab. Or, Big Mike as he likes to be called. Here’s a short bio:
Big Mike Glab is a freelance writer who has covered politics, education, real estate development, and a host of other topics. His real love is baseball and he’s working on a book about the coming of age of a fan, framed by a day by day account of the the 2007 season. His literary idol is one James Alan Bouton of the Seattle Pilots – "Hey Shakespeare, put that in your @$%^&*!# book!"
Mike can be reached at bigmikeglab@hotmail.com. Contributions from he and Karl should begin appearing within a week or two.
Wittenmyer On Byrd, Roberts, Bedard
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times gives his take on the odds of various rumored Cubs acquisitions:
For now, the Marlon Byrd move looks possible, if not probable, while snagging Brian Roberts — a speedy switch-hitter whose presence could mean a three- or four-level ripple effect of improvement through the lineup — looks at least doubtful. And forget about that would-be deal that would include Orioles ace Erik Bedard. Those discussions didn’t reach the level first believed, and the Cubs don’t have the players to land both.
This is pretty much what we figured. Byrd – sure, Hendry could figure out a way to get him. Roberts would take a lot and doesn’t seem likely, while Bedard is a huge long shot. Seems the 7-for-2 rumor from Saturday is officially dead, now that both GMs have dismissed it.
Roberts to me is a 1-2 win gain for the 2008 Cubs, with an accompanying loss of most of the team’s young MLB-ready pitching (plus a decent outfielder). The Cubs might be better off keeping the pitching depth.
Needs and Luxuries: Tampa Bay Rays
Up next in our Needs and Luxuries series, the Rays. Here’s how they’re set up.
C – Dioner Navarro
1B – Carlos Pena
2B – Akinori Iwamura
SS – Jason Bartlett
3B – Evan Longoria
LF – Carl Crawford
CF – B.J. Upton
RF – Cliff Floyd/Rocco Baldelli/Jonny Gomes
DH – Cliff Floyd/Rocco Baldelli/Jonny Gomes
SP – Scott Kazmir
SP – Jamie Shields
SP – Matt Garza
SP – Andy Sonnanstine/Edwin Jackson/Jeff Niemann/Jason Hammel/J.P. Howell
SP – Andy Sonnanstine/Edwin Jackson/Jeff Niemann/Jason Hammel/J.P. Howell
Setup: Al Reyes
Closer: Troy Percival
Needs:
The ’07 Rays ranked 8th in the league in OBP and 4th in SLG. How can they find the needed OBP improvement? Delmon Young‘s sub-par OBP is gone, replaced with the Gomes/Floyd/Baldelli rotation. Let’s consider any Baldelli contribution as gravy and just look at what Gomes and Floyd will provide. Gomes had a .322 OBP last year and owns a career mark of .335. He draws plenty of walks, between 9-13% of his plate appearances. To become an above average Major Leaguer he is going to have to make better contact and get his batting average up. Floyd had a fine .373 OBP in ’07 and has a .359 career mark. I think the planned three-man RF/DH rotation is a fine idea for a team not quite ready to contend. It would be very interesting to see the Rays bring Bobby Abreu back next winter though.
Navarro was insanely bad before the break in ’07 but had a solid .815 OPS after. He’s just 24 in February. Another improvement should come with Iwamura spending all year at second base. More of him plus Longoria’s projected .350 OBP instead of Ty Wigginton push this team’s OBP even higher. No more Josh Wilson, more games for Upton, and the addition of Willy Aybar are other sources of OBP. The ’08 Rays are primed to reach base more often.
While the metric isn’t perfect, the Rays’ 5.20 starter ERA tells you something. However, hope is on the way. The rotation is already fronted by sub-4 ERA beasts Kazmir and Shields. New addition Garza should remain above average. Then the goal is to find the best of Hammel, Jackson, Sonnanstine, Howell, and Niemann. While these aren’t household names there’s a lot of talent in that group. The pitching pipeline is stacked with five-star prospects David Price and Wade Davis plus a four-star Jacob McGee. The "need" for ’08 is to let young pitchers get their big league reps in. The Rays don’t need a veteran free agent stealing valuable innings – instead save the money and bring in a difference-maker for ’09.
The Rays’ bullpen was league-worst in ’07, but they’ve already taken steps to address it. The last piece of the puzzle may be to find a lefty like Trever Miller. But this ‘pen will be much improved with Percival, Eduardo Morlan (acquired in the Delmon Young trade), a full year of Dan Wheeler, and the starting pitching runoff (Niemann could be interesting). Maybe the big move for a Lidge/Nathan/K-Rod makes sense next winter.
Luxuries:
Let’s see here. The best farm system in baseball (aided by all the losing) has the Rays overflowing with young talent. Pitching, hitting, you name it. Oh, and they have the #1 pick again this summer (read about some options for that here). You can never have enough pitching, so the Rays should probably just keep all the arms. A healthy Baldelli would be an interesting trade chip. Bartlett or Iwamura could become expendable if Reid Brignac makes strides.
The other luxury for Tampa Bay is payroll flexibility. They have no bad contracts. They could make a couple of big-time signings in the winter of 2008-09 and still have one of the lowest payrolls in the game. ’08 is where the Rays finally crack .500. ’09 is where they start showing the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays that they’re not messing around, and reach the playoffs for the first time. This bandwagon is picking up steam.
Royals Sign Tomko
According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Royals have signed Brett Tomko to a one-year, $3MM deal. He can earn another $1.5MM in incentives. Tomko seems likely to get an initial shot at starting. The odds are stacked against 30 league average starts, but Tomko is regarded as one of those enigma guys who has decent stuff. So he has slightly more upside than some of the other free agent starters.
It could make sense to look at Tomko for the closer job and switch Joakim Soria to the rotation. Tomko’s flexibility might come in handy. Fun subplot: Tomko will see a whole lot of A.J. Pierzynski now, his former Giant teammate who he called a "cancer" several years ago. As far as I can tell Tomko has never pitched to him.
Crasnick names the Athletics, Astros, Rockies, Nationals, and Reds as other interested parties in Tomko. As an MLBTR commenter mentioned, the Royals are probably out of the hunt for Bartolo Colon now. The Reds are probably done after the Affeldt signing. But the Astros and Nats might still be looking for a starter.
Odds and Ends: Hinske, Doumit, Colon, Greene
It’s up to an impressive 5.7 degrees where I am, but I still don’t think I’ll be going outside much today. Hence, some odds and ends.
- Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald believes Eric Hinske might sign with the Diamondbacks this week. The 30 year-old former ROY has a career line of .255/.336/.434, with much better work against righties.
- John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus says the Red Sox are interested in the Pirates’ Ryan Doumit. However Perrotto says the Bucs are reluctant to trade the versatile Doumit, who turns 27 in April. Only past Doumit rumor I can find was from Will Carroll in May of ’06, saying he and Oliver Perez were being dangled to the Phillies.
- Perrotto believes the Royals could sign Bartolo Colon if he’ll take a one-year deal; that may be true for several clubs. Paul Hoynes reports that the Indians watched Colon pitch, but weren’t impressed with his sub-90 velocity. Hoynes says Kris Benson will have another throwing session and the Tribe will be in attendance.
- According to Marc Topkin, the Rays are talking with lefty reliever Trever Miller. The two sides haven’t agreed on the term yet.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers commented about the team’s rejected long-term overtures toward shortstop Khalil Greene. Towers brought a three or four year proposal to Greene but does not expect anything to get done. He stated Greene’s possible desire to be on the East Coast as a factor.
- Vince Gennaro does an economic analysis of the Johan Santana rumors, indicating that the acquisition makes the most sense for the Mets.
Angelos Killed 7-For-2 Bedard/Roberts Deal With Cubs?
UPDATE, 1-20-08 at 9:25am: Jim Hendry called the 7-for-2 report "not accurate." So three sources have weighed in on this Angelos-killed deal and two indicate that it is not to be believed. Meanwhile Roch Kubatko says that "it now appears the Cubs would be willing to part with Rich Hill" if they could get Roberts and Bedard. But the Orioles still don’t want to package the two.
FROM 1-19-08 at 11:42am:
Eye-opening rumor from Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times today. His Cubs source says Orioles owner Peter Angelos nixed a 7-for-2 blockbuster that would’ve netted the Cubs Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard (presumably for the Cubs’ entire farm system). However, Wittenmyer also talked to an Orioles source who said there was no such deal on the table.
Seems a Roberts acquisition for the Cubs is becoming less likely. The focus may have shifted to Marlon Byrd. I wonder if the best thing for Felix Pie’s development would be to just let him play every day and bat eighth, without bringing in veteran competition.
Wittenmyer says the Orioles plan to shop Roberts and Bedard through month’s end and would prefer not to package them together.
Red Sox Interested In Brad Wilkerson
Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald was able to confirm our rumor from yesterday, that the Red Sox have some interest in Brad Wilkerson. Bradford says Wilkerson, a Boras client, is looking for three years and $21MM. I don’t think the Sox would go anywhere near that price.
The same source told me on Friday that the Yankees, A’s, and Mariners have expressed interest in Wilkerson as well. Wilkerson, 30, hit .234/.319/.467 for the Rangers last year in 119 games (doing most of his damage at home). In his career he has played all three outfield positions plus first base.
Reds Sign Affeldt
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Reds signed southpaw Jeremy Affeldt to a one-year, $3MM deal plus performance bonuses. First and foremost the Reds view him as a cheap rotation option, but they’ll move him to the pen if it doesn’t work out.
I’m very surprised that he signed for just one year. Originally reports were saying four or even five years for the 28 year-old. Perhaps he’s thinking that if he can make 30 starts and keep his ERA around 4.50 he’ll get a huge deal next winter. The biggest hurdle for Affeldt will probably be his control.
I like this move for the Reds; their rotation now has Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Affeldt, and some mix of Matt Belisle, Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez, and Johnny Cueto. Seems like if two of the last five work out they’ll have a decent rotation and a shot at contending.
Odds and Ends: Colon, Byrd, Sosa, Wilkerson
Some random links and whatnot for Saturday…
- Joe Cowley says the White Sox have backed off on Bartolo Colon because he wants a two-year deal. He believes the Royals are the frontrunner.
- Rangers guru Jamey Newberg doesn’t think Marlon Byrd would be enough to get Matt Murton from the Cubs.
- The Rangers might’ve entertained Sammy Sosa in a limited role, but he’s looking for 400-500 plate appearances. Good luck with that!
- Heard an unconfirmed whisper that the Red Sox may have some interest in Brad Wilkerson.
- RotoAuthority takes a fantasy baseball look at Yovani Gallardo and Tim Lincecum.