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Archives for February 2008

Ryan Howard Wins Case

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THURSDAY, 9:07am: Victory for the players!  Howard gets his $10MM.   It’s a first-year arbitration record salary.  As Keith Law has pointed out – "the effect of this loss is cumulative" for the Phillies.  Another effect will be on Prince Fielder’s 2009 salary.

WEDNESDAY, 9:31am:MLB.com’s Ken Mandel says Phillies’ assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. met with Ryan Howard’s agent Casey Close minutes before the player’s arbitration hearing.  They looked into a last-minute agreement but it could not be done.  The hearing began at 8:30am CST; $3MM hangs in the balance.  We should know within a day.

Players are 0-5 in hearings so far.  But as we discussed, that’s not terribly unexpected.  Jim Salisbury has a cool inside look at arbitration hearings (hat tip to ShysterBall).  Tom Gordon talks about his experience here.  Also, Jon Heyman takes a look at Chien Ming Wang’s team’s losing argument.

Tomo Ohka Signs With White Sox

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According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the White Sox have signed pitcher Tomo Ohka, who turns 32 in March.  Ohka made ten big league starts in ’07 for the Jays, and the results were not pretty.  He also pitched at Triple A for the Mariners and Cardinals, ineffectively.

Ohka is an interesting character.  I wrote this profile of him over a year ago, but it’s still a decent look at his history.  You might say he’s had a few attitude problems.  Regardless, it doesn’t hurt for the Sox to have him in Triple A as insurance.

Fogg Signs With Reds

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THURSDAY, 2:20pm: It’s official – Fogg has signed with the Reds.  He’s no lock for the rotation though.

WEDNESDAY, 10:43pm:Ken Rosenthal says the Reds are just one of three teams pursuing Fogg.  The other two are unknown, but Boston is not one of them.  I wonder if these mystery teams are coming from Fogg’s agent.

7:04pm:Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News reports that the Reds are on the verge of a one-year deal with Josh Fogg, with a base salary of just $1MM.  Ringolsby was not able to get confirmation from Wayne Krivsky quite yet, but Krivsky isn’t one to show his hand.  Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News is also reporting the expected signing.

I had Fogg pegged for a $20MM deal at the beginning of the offseason.  Many have suggested that GMs are simply being smarter about free agent valuations.  I don’t think there’s collusion going on here.

The Reds now set up with Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Matt Belisle, and Fogg in the first four spots.  They could use Jeremy Affeldt as a starter, or go with one of Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez, or Johnny Cueto.  As one MLBTR commenter pointed out, this might signal and end to the Reds’ pursuit of Joe Blanton.

Fogg Signs With Reds

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THURSDAY, 2:20pm: It’s official – Fogg has signed with the Reds.  He’s no lock for the rotation though.

WEDNESDAY, 10:43pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Reds are just one of three teams pursuing Fogg.  The other two are unknown, but Boston is not one of them.  I wonder if these mystery teams are coming from Fogg’s agent.

7:04pm: Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News reports that the Reds are on the verge of a one-year deal with Josh Fogg, with a base salary of just $1MM.  Ringolsby was not able to get confirmation from Wayne Krivsky quite yet, but Krivsky isn’t one to show his hand.  Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News is also reporting the expected signing.

I had Fogg pegged for a $20MM deal at the beginning of the offseason.  Many have suggested that GMs are simply being smarter about free agent valuations.  I don’t think there’s collusion going on here.

The Reds now set up with Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Matt Belisle, and Fogg in the first four spots.  They could use Jeremy Affeldt as a starter, or go with one of Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez, or Johnny Cueto.  As one MLBTR commenter pointed out, this might signal and end to the Reds’ pursuit of Joe Blanton.

Odds and Ends: Roberts, Garcia, Crede

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Today’s assortment of links.

Cards Eyeing Weaver, Colon

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With the price of free agent starting pitching dropping by the day and Matt Clement looking questionable, it’s only natural that the Cardinals would explore the market.  Indeed, John Mozeliak is looking at Jeff Weaver and Bartolo Colon.  Seems that Impacto Deportivo may have been misinformed on the whole Colon-to-Chicago thing.

Weaver seems the smarter option for a team looking for healthy innings.  If nothing else, Weaver can provide that.  Something tells me he’s not getting $8MM this time around.  His most recent success was in St. Louis, so maybe Dave Duncan can guide him to a league average season.

Colon is a wild card.  Even if his stuff isn’t there, if he can take the ball he has value.  He’ll obviously find the NL more to his liking.

Another possibility for the Cards is David Wells, according to Peter Gammons.  Gammons says Boomer "would like to come back for 20-something starts."

D’Backs Extend Josh Byrnes Through 2015

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Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes doesn’t have to worry about making moves with his job hanging in the balance.  Arizona extended Byrnes and President Derrick Hall through 2015 today.

My Trade Profile of Byrnes was created in April of ’07.  At that point I considered him an excellent trade-maker.  Since then he’s traded away Scott Hairston, Carlos Quentin, Emiliano Fruto, Alberto Callaspo, Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, Carlos Gonzalez, and Jose Valverde.  Coming into the organization: Leo Rosales, a couple of Chris Carters (one used in the Haren deal), Billy Buckner, Dan Haren, Connor Robertson, Juan Gutierrez, Chris Burke, and Chad Qualls.  It’s been a fine offseason – I loved the Buckner and Haren deals for Arizona.   

D’Backs Extend Josh Byrnes Through 2015

By | at

Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes doesn’t have to worry about making moves with his job hanging in the balance.  Arizona extended Byrnes and President Derrick Hall through 2015 today.

My Trade Profile of Byrnes was created in April of ’07.  At that point I considered him an excellent trade-maker.  Since then he’s traded away Scott Hairston, Carlos Quentin, Emiliano Fruto, Alberto Callaspo, Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, Carlos Gonzalez, and Jose Valverde.  Coming into the organization: Leo Rosales, a couple of Chris Carters (one used in the Haren deal), Billy Buckner, Dan Haren, Connor Robertson, Juan Gutierrez, Chris Burke, and Chad Qualls.  It’s been a fine offseason – I loved the Buckner and Haren deals for Arizona. 

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