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Archives for March 2008

Rosenthal’s Latest: Roberts, Horacio, Willits

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Rumor guru and baseball insider Ken Rosenthal has a new column at FOX Sports.  Let’s discuss.

  • Rosenthal does not see the Cubs taking on the salaries of both Brian Roberts and Coco Crisp, even if they shed their Jason Marquis commitment.  Roberts remains the focus.
  • Horacio Ramirez’s agent says seven clubs have already expressed interest in his client.  Perhaps he meant to say 0.7.
  • Rosenthal runs through many Rocco Baldelli replacement options for the Rays: Reggie Willits, Kenny Lofton, Gabe Gross, and Reed Johnson.  Only Willits seems the perfect fit, and the Angels aren’t making him available. Willits and his .393 career OBP could be headed to Triple A.
  • The Phillies are looking for middle relief help; Rosenthal suggests a possible match with Arizona.  Or, how ’bout signing Bob Wickman?  Is he officially retired?

Recently At RotoAuthority

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The next two weeks are huge for fantasy baseball, as everyone’s having their drafts.  Here are some recent articles at my other site, RotoAuthority.

  • I examined last year’s Spring Training slugging percentage leaders to see if it carried over into the regular season.
  • The fiercely competitive ’08 RotoAuthority Fantasy League drafted last night – check out the rosters and vote for the strongest.

Nats To Pass On Weaver

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Scott Boras found a deal for Kyle Lohse; will he now focus on getting Jeff Weaver a job?  On Monday, Jeff’s brother Jered said the Nationals and Cardinals had expressed interest.  The Cards are surely out of the mix now, and MLB.com’s Bill Ladson says Weaver has seemingly "priced himself out of the Nats’ pay range."  I’ll guess the Nats were thinking $2MM or so.

So if the Nats and Cards are both out, what’s the elder Weaver to do?  Baltimore seems to be his best option.  Toronto could work.  Perhaps the Astros as a long shot.

In a note at the bottom of his article, Ladson also quashes a short-lived Felipe Lopez to the Cubs rumor.  He adds that the Dodgers have legitimate interest in Willie Harris.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Barry Bonds

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The biggest name remaining in the free agent market is one Barry Lamar Bonds. The most recent rumored destinations for the all-time home run champ have been the Rays, Mets and even Japan. The Rays say there was never any serious consideration and the Mets say they are not interested.

The biggest question mark concerning Bonds is whether his production at age 43 is worth the circus that follows, both in the clubhouse and in the media. Yesterday at my home base, Rays Index, I contacted Chone Smith of Anaheim Angels All The Way, and creator of the CHONE projection system.  Smith had used his projection system to predict that the final regular season standings. The Rays are projected to win 89 games and finish third in the AL East, based on a considerable improvement in pitching and defense. The Mets are projected to win 92 games.

In an effort to estimate Bonds’ on-field impact, we asked Smith to substitute Bonds into the Rays and Mets lineups and rerun his projections. With Bonds in the lineup, both the Mets and the Rays improved by 3 games in the standings and approximately 30 net runs (As an Angels fan, Smith kindly refused to run the same projection for the Mariners or the A’s, lest those teams start thinking Bonds is a good idea).

If the Rays are indeed an 87-89 win team (PECOTA projects 88 wins), then Bonds might be a difference-maker. While signing Bonds may indeed be a headache, the difference between 89 wins and 92 wins for the Rays could be the difference between the 2007 Brewers (just missed) and the 2007 Rockies (World Series). And the difference between 92 wins and 95 wins for the Mets could be the difference between the 2007 Mets (one game short) and the 2007 Phillies (one game not short).

To quote one commenter from Rays Index, "Media scrutiny is only hard if you suck.  If you’re good, it’s fun."

Let’s take a look at what else is being said about Bonds in the Blogosphere…

If there is a topic you would like to see covered in "Baseball Blogs Weigh In" please let me know HERE.

  • Squawking Baseball thinks the Angels could be a solid fit for Bonds.
  • Baseball Musings will miss Bonds if he doesn’t play this year, and lists several teams that should consider signing him.
  • Amazin’ Avenue explores "The Bonds Market" and express their desire for the Mets to sign the aging slugger, calling the apparent blackballing "disgraceful".
  • Mike’s Mets doesn’t see Bonds as a clubhouse cancer and thinks he would be good for the Mets, but does not think he will fit from a financial perspective.
  • Bugs & Cranks feels that the Dodgers would have a much better shot at winning the NL West if they signed Bonds.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

White Sox Not Happy With Crede Offers

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We knew that Joe Crede’s name would be an oft-mentioned this spring. Further, we knew that he’d be connected with the Giants, who have infield needs. It appears the two teams have been discussing possible swaps, but the Sox are less than impressed with what’s been offered thus far.

According to Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune, the Giants have been offering up the likes of recently-cut Scott Williamson, recently-optioned Randy Messenger, and outfielder Dave Roberts, though not all in the same package. On the other end, GM Ken Williams is looking for "one of the Giants’ top prospects and a serviceable young reliever."

The Sox don’t have to trade Crede, since Josh Fields still has options. However, Crede hasn’t looked so hot this spring — or at least that’s the story his batting average tells, as he’s hitting .081. Of course, numbers mean little at this time of year. The White Sox asked about left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, but given the injury to Noah Lowry, that appears less than likely.

The Dodgers are another team mentioned in connection with Crede, as they sent a scout to watch him earlier this week. However, they do have Nomar Garciaparra at the hot corner, with recently-injured Andy LaRoche scheduled to return sometime in May or June.

Posted by Joe, who you can email here, or visit his Yanks blog

Odds and Ends: Mirabelli, Lohse, Spring Stats

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Here are some links I’ve cobbled together.

A’s Talking Extension With Street

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According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A’s are discussing a long-term extension with closer Huston Street.  Slusser says a deal would likely cover Street’s last two arb years and possibly his first of free agency.

I have no idea if Street wants to break the bank.  But if he compares himself to K-Rod, he could ask for something close to $17MM for 2009-10.  The low end for Street’s last two arb years would have to be around $12MM.  The A’s could point to J.J. Putz’s deal signed a year ago; he exchanged quite a bit of money for security.  Ditto Manny Corpas, who was kind enough to give his team two club options.

Crisp Must Establish Health Before Trade

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It’s fair to say that most teams like to acquire healthy players rather than injured ones.  That’s definitely the case with Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp, who is trying to come back from groin problems.  Nick Cafardo reiterates the Cubs’ interest, but the Cubs need to see him play first.  Crisp also dealt with a root canal this spring.  On a related note I am having some wisdom teeth removed tomorrow morning, so forgive me if I’m a bit off.

Crisp has only played in two games this spring, and it’s possible he’s left off the Japan trip to start Boston’s season.  While it’s nice to have things shored up before Opening Day, there’s no reason not to extend this thing into April.  For what it’s worth, Tony Massarotti talked to a scout who suggested the Reds, White Sox, Pirates, and Rangers might be looking for a center fielder.

Giants Scouting Crede, Inge

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This morning we have reports that the Giants have recently scouted Joe Crede and Brandon Inge.  Even without a decent third baseman in the house, I don’t really see the point of acquiring either guy.

On Sunday, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo noted that the Giants could be less likely to acquire Crede given the Noah Lowry injury.  Then on Monday, Kenny Williams mentioned that the two teams he’d discussed Crede with hadn’t impressed with their offers. Williams suggested Crede could be his Opening Day third baseman, despite Josh Fields’ worthiness.

Inge is the other veteran third base option for teams like the Giants and Dodgers.  But Inge bears almost four times the salary commitment, so the Tigers would have to eat some of it.  Or, as one MLBTR reader suggested to me, perhaps the Tigers would take on one of the Giants’ many bad contracts in return.

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