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Archives for March 2008

Astros To Pass On Lohse

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This morning, Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle suggested the Astros’ rotation picture looked like this:

1. Roy Oswalt
2. Brandon Backe
3. Wandy Rodriguez
4. Woody Williams
5. Shawn Chacon as the frontrunner, with Chris Sampson, Felipe Paulino, Runelvys Hernandez, Jack Cassel, Mark McLemore, and Brian Moehler in the mix

Now Paulino is out a month with a pinched nerve.  Williams has been destroyed this spring.  So now it’s looking like Oswalt/Backe/Rodriguez/Chacon/Sampson. 

Not exactly playoff quality nor likely to stay healthy all year.  However, Ed Wade said today he doesn’t see Kyle Lohse as a fit for around $4MM.  Scott Boras called him up last week to pitch his client.  Wade has been quite open in the press about his free agent discussions.

Given the uncertainty around everyone besides Oswalt and Rodriguez, Wade might do well to reconsider Lohse if he has room in the budget.  Otherwise, Jeff Blair says the Cardinals, Rangers, and Giants have Lohse on the radar (but not the Jays).

Mariners Release Horacio Ramirez

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The Mariners released pitcher Horacio Ramirez, closing the door on the Bill Bavasi blunder.  RotoWorld makes a good point – the Mariners wasted $458K by not non-tendering Ramirez back in December.  Nice.  Meanwhile, Rafael Soriano will close for the Braves for the next couple seasons.

Ramirez, a 28 year-old southpaw, brings nothing to the table at this point aside from his groundball rate.

Bogus Crisp To Mets Rumor

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2:34pm: Theo Epstein says he hasn’t been talking to the Mets.  Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe labels this rumor a fabrication.

2:10pm: Newsday’s David Lennon confirms the Mets haven’t traded for Crisp, implying that they wouldn’t be interested.

1:13pm: WFAN’s Ed Coleman reports rumblings of a possible Coco Crisp to the Mets deal, which would involve Angel Pagan.  It’s not confirmed or official, but it’s out there.  When I get more I’ll update the post.

Crisp’s contract: $4.75MM in ’08, $5.75MM in ’09, and an $8MM club option for ’10 with a $0.5MM buyout.  Crisp has posted an OPS around .700 for Boston while playing stellar center field defense.  I imagine he’d spend time at all three outfield positions for the Mets if acquired.

Pagan, 26, started in the Mets’ organization.  The outfielder plays all three positions and has a career line of .255/.306/.415.  In January of ’06, the Cubs purchased his contract from the Mets.  He made the Cubs’ Opening Day roster, but a torn hamstring knocked him out until July.  The following year he got the call in May to replace Felix Pie.  Then he had an unfortunate bout with colitis.  In January of this year, the Mets reacquired Pagan from the Cubs for Corey Coles and Ryan Meyers.

Odds and Ends: Baldelli, Salcedo, Piazza, Rivera

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Time for today’s linkage.

Janssen Injury Could Result In Trade

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News comes today that Blue Jays pitcher Casey Janssen will miss the season with a torn labrum.  He was a bullpen ace last year, and was expected to move back to the rotation this year.

Robert MacLeod’s above-linked article quotes Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi saying he might explore the trade market in the wake of the injury.  If we take J.P. at his word this time, which starters could be possibilities?

The Brewers have the most obvious surplus with Chris Capuano, Dave Bush, and Claudio Vargas.  Bush came up a Blue Jay before being traded to Milwaukee with Gabe Gross for Lyle Overbay.  The Cubs could spare Jason Marquis, for what it’s worth.  How about free agents?  Kyle Lohse called the AL "arena baseball," leaving Jeff Weaver as the uninspiring option.  And I suppose a third stint with David Wells is possible.

Cardinals Interested In Lohse

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Joel Pineiro’s second bout of shoulder tightness this spring has the Cardinals scrambling for pitching help.  Fortunately there are still a few names left on the market who are probably as good as Pineiro.  One such pitcher is Kyle Lohse; the Cardinals put in an inquiry with Scott Boras recently.

GM John Mozeliak was upfront in saying that Pineiro’s uncertainty changes the landscape for his team.  If Lohse truly goes in the $4-5MM range we’ve been hearing about, that’s a fine signing.  Hell, Pineiro got two years and $13MM and was more questionable than Lohse at the time of the signing.  Jeff Weaver and David Wells are the other two names we’ve heard linked to St. Louis this winter.  A few people have asked me about Eric Milton.  He had Tommy John surgery on June 15th, so he’d be of no help to the Cards right now. 

Rockin’ The Red gives five reasons why they think the Cards should sign Lohse, if you’re interested.

Red Sox Not Interested In Chris Capuano

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Tom Haudricourt and Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel asked Brewers’ GM Doug Melvin about an Internet rumor: possible interest from Boston in Chris Capuano.  Melvin shot it down, saying he hadn’t talked to the Red Sox.  I think I’m slipping – I’ve been chronicling rumors all week and hadn’t heard a whisper of this one.  And I’m on the Internet!

Anyway, Melvin admitted that he might trade some of his pitching surplus before the season begins.  I agree with MLBTR readers that Capuano is the most likely to go.  Just seems like he needs a change of scenery.  Salary comparison: Capuano makes $3.75MM, Claudio Vargas makes $3.6MM, and Dave Bush makes $2.55MM.  Bush has a year less service time than the other two.  The Cardinals would be a great match for any of these guys if they weren’t in the Brewers’ division.  One fit could be the Rangers, who have an ailing rotation right now.

Blocked Prospects: Steve Pearce

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During 2007 Pirates prospect Steve Pearce hit a combined .333 with 31 home runs, 40 doubles, 113 RBI, and a .622 slugging percentage. The soon-to-be 25 year-old was named both Offensive Player of the Year by MiLB.com and the Topps Minor League Player of the Year. He ranks #43 on Kevin Goldstein’s Top 100 Prospects list for 2008 and received a callup last September. Yet, as of Monday he was reportedly sweating it when the team announced several cuts.

Pearce had played first base since he was drafted, but with the Pirates looking to locking up Adam LaRoche long term the team rerouted him to the outfield. The Pirates flirted with the transition late last year, giving Pearce 10 games in right prior to his call-up. Once in Pittsburgh he started 17 games in right field and only two at first. He hit .294/.342/.397 over 68 plate appearances; his bat appears nearly Major League ready.

Jason Bay and Xavier Nady await, each simmering on the hot stove. It’s a poorly guarded secret the Pirates would love to ditch Nady, but a recent chat with the Mets didn’t go anywhere. Bay was also the subject of several trade talks during the offseason and would likely come closer to fetching the young pitching prospects GM Neal Huntington craves (his short list is unlikely to include Scott Schoeneweis).

This all puts Huntington in a fairly comfortable position. He can afford to send Pearce back to Indy to get a few more reps at the new position while he waits for the right deal. But with Pearce’s bat looking to be big league ready, how long are Pirates fans willing to wait?

Aaron Shinsano writes for East Windup Chronicle and can be contacted at eastwindupchronicle@gmail.com

Laird Likely To Stay Put

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According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers don’t plan on trading catcher Gerald Laird despite some interested parties.  In fact, Laird could catch 100+ games this year despite last year’s Jarrod Saltalamacchia acquisition.  Salty could take a smaller role with the big club or get some Triple A seasoning.  It’s easy to forget that he skipped that level. 

The Rangers prefer Laird’s strong defense and spotty offense to Salty’s subpar defense and offensive potential.  And it’s not fair to write Laird off offensively quite yet; he hit well in a half-season in ’06.  ’07 was his first year catching full-time. 

The Rangers have a third future MLB-quality backstop in Taylor Teagarden.  They’ve also got Cristian Santana and Max Ramirez in the organization, two guys who are less certain to become starting catchers in the bigs.  Interesting prospects nonetheless.  Jon Daniels has an uncommon surplus on his hands.

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