Odds and Ends: Harden, Bonds, Ramon Hernandez
Time to round up today’s linkage.
- Susan Slusser believes Rich Harden and Joe Blanton will both be traded this season. She sees the Yankees and Mets as suitors for Harden, though he’s already having a start pushed back.
- Jim Caple recently made his case for the Mariners to sign Barry Bonds; his logic is sound.
- Our Brian Bannister Q&A got a mention in the KC Star. Nice!
- RotoAuthority has the fantasy take on K-Rod’s ailing ankles.
- Pure speculation, but Ken Rosenthal thinks Ramon Hernandez would be a good fit for the Reds. Not sure if the Reds were looking at Michael Barrett, but that option’s off the table now.
- Who said you can’t go home again? Craig Wilson is back with the Bucs.
- We’ll be doing our third MLBTR chat here at 2pm CST; don’t miss it!
D’Backs Acquire Jon Coutlangus
The Diamondbacks and Reds made a deal yesterday. The D’Backs received 27 year-old southpaw Jon Coutlangus in exchange for 23 year-old outfielder Daniel Perales.
Coutlangus has control issues, but the Reds used him for 41 innings last year. Lefties batted .231/.388/.277 off him. Baseball America liked Coutlangus in ’07, suggesting that the converted outfielder’s deception and cutter might be enough for him to shake off the lefty specialist tag. The D’Backs were lacking in left-handed relievers; the Reds had designated Coutlangus for assignment on Opening Day. They had more than enough lefties.
Perales isn’t much of a prospect, though FutureBacks.com draws a Reed Johnson comparison and had him in Arizona’s top 50 back in December.
Red Sox Acquire Eric Hull
The Red Sox and Dodgers made a deal last night. The Sox acquired 28 year-old righty pitcher Eric Hull for 23 year-old shortstop Christian Lara.
Lara was once Boston’s top shortstop prospect, but he’s been passed by Jed Lowrie and several others. A couple years ago Baseball America wrote that Lara had "a chance to be a plus defender." They weren’t impressed with his bat. The Sox challenged him by putting him at Double A in 2005-06, but he was demoted to High A for ’07.
Hull seems like an organizational arm, though he did intrigue last year with an 11.1 K/9 in Triple A as a reliever. Doesn’t help that he’s just 5’11" though. The Dodgers needed roster space and designated him for assignment on March 31st.
What’s The Deal With Crede?
The rumors of Joe Crede‘s demise were greatly exaggerated. With many people writing him off after a poor spring, the White Sox third baseman jumped out to a .393/.419/.679 start in 28 ABs. That marks less than five percent of the season, but it’s a start. South Side Sox is both supporting and doubting the early returns.
Understandably, Crede is leaving the trade and contract details in the hands of his agent, Scott Boras. He’s earning $5.1MM this year, his last before free agency. The hot corner free agent market is looking bleak next winter, and Crede might be the best available. No one’s expecting the Sox to extend Crede, but Kenny Williams has surprised us many times before.
The usual suspects remain the most likely suitors – the Dodgers and Giants. There’s been nothing cooking on the Crede trade front recently with those clubs, though.
Marlins Acquire Wes Helms
TUESDAY: The Fish are only taking on Helms’ $750K buyout; the Phillies will cover the other $2.15MM.
SATURDAY: According to an FSN broadcast via RotoWorld, the Marlins acquired Wes Helms from the Phils for cash. So I guess that means the Fish were willing to take on the $2.9MM owed to him? If so, quite a commitment for them.
Helms, 32 in May, had his best year with the Marlins in ’06. He posted a .965 OPS in 240 ABs, facing lefties almost half the time.
D’Backs Sign Chris Young To Extension
TUESDAY: Young gets about $28MM over five years (2009-13). 2013 would’ve been his first year of free agent eligibility. There’s also a club option for 2014.
MONDAY, 2:22pm: Steve Gilbert says the six-year agreement has been reached and will be announced tomorrow. ESPN says it’s a five-year deal.
8:17am: According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks "appear to be closing in on a long-term contract" with 24 year-old center fielder Chris Young. It may be similar to but less than Troy Tulowitzki’s six-year, $30MM deal. Young has five seasons left under team control, including this one. Certainly Kenny Williams wishes he’d sent Brian Anderson to Arizona for Javier Vazquez instead, but the deal has still benefitted both clubs.
The only knock on Young in his near 30/30 rookie season was his .295 OBP. It seems that he will improve on that this year, perhaps drawing 70 walks and hopefully raising his batting average.
Boras Demands For Alvarez, Hosmer Leaked?
Kiley McDaniel reports rumors of Scott Boras’ asking price for ’08 draftees Pedro Alvarez and Eric Hosmer. He’s hearing a $9.5MM big league deal for Alvarez and a $7MM bonus for Hosmer – steep demands.
Hosmer, a high school first baseman, has been compared to Casey Kotchman by Baseball America. He’s a top ten pick. Alvarez, one of the top talents in the draft, plays third base for Vanderbilt but may end up at first. He figures to go within the first four picks (Rays, Pirates, Royals, Orioles) for sure.
By the way, the Reds have the seventh pick, and BA’s Jim Callis thinks they’ll go for a pitcher. He names Shooter Hunt, Tanner Scheppers, and Tim Melville as the main candidates.
Uehara Aiming For MLB In ’09
33 year-old Japanese starter Koji Uehara missed free agent eligibility by just eight days; he ultimately re-signed for ’08 with the Yomiuri Giants for about $3.6MM. Uehara missed April of ’07 with a hamstring injury, and the Giants used him as their closer after he came back. So he’s capable of starting or relieving.
Yesterday, Uehara announced his intention to head over to MLB for the ’09 season. Mike Plugh has a scouting report on him over at Uehara Watch. Plugh suggested to me once that Uehara might be compared to Brad Radke. Japanese starters have been a mixed bag in Major League Baseball, but Hiroki Kuroda and Daisuke Matsuzaka seem primed for good years. Uehara could draw $10MM a year, though a three-year contract would be risky given his age.
Felix Hernandez’s Extension Talks
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times says the Mariners are "believed to be exploring" a long-term deal with young ace Felix Hernandez. I’m wondering whether these talks have stagnated. The Mariners made an initial offer to Felix over a month ago.
It’s crazy to see that the Mariners first spotted Hernandez when he was 14. They eventually beat out the Braves, Yankees, Astros, Dodgers, and Rockies to get him. Felix turns 22 tomorrow; he’s already got 480 big league innings under his belt. He’s begun the ’08 season with 15 scoreless innings, which is reminiscent of his start a year ago.
The Mariners have to be slightly concerned that Hernandez will have a breakout ’08 and change his mind about giving up his three arbitration years at a reasonable price of $14-15MM. After all, Ryan Howard got $10MM for his first arb year alone.
Available Relievers
The Tigers, Phillies, and Mariners are three contenders that may be on the lookout for bullpen help. I get the feeling the winless Tigers might act quickly. What does the relief market offer?
- Jon Rauch and Luis Ayala of the Nationals. As I’ve written, Rauch is the one to chase. John Perrotto says the Tigers have "strong interest" in him. But with Chad Cordero in questionable health, will Jim Bowden weaken his pen in the short term?
- Ron Mahay and Yasuhiko Yabuta of the Royals. Neither free agent signee will be traded anytime soon. But the Royals’ pen might have the depth to overcome the loss of one of them in July, and desperate teams always overpay for relievers near the deadline. Something to monitor later in the season.
- Kevin Gregg of the Marlins. Gregg had his ERA wrecked early by a bad appearance at the tail end of a blowout at the hands of the Mets. He’s affordable, decent, and even comes with the closer tag.
- Joaquin Benoit of the Rangers. He’s signed through ’09 and was quietly solid last year.
- Mike Wuertz of the Cubs. It’s been said that the Cubs would only include Wuertz in a major deal. Maybe so, but he’s pretty far down on the depth chart given his abilities.
- Brad Hennessey, Tyler Walker of the Giants. Hennessey is a pitch-to-contact type who’s given up an astounding 12 hits in three innings so far. He’s not exactly at peak value.
- Alan Embree, Huston Street of the A’s. Billy Beane is expected to extract a huge bounty for Street later this summer if he does trade him. Street’s allowed runs in his first three appearances though.
- Chad Bradford, Jamie Walker, George Sherrill of the Orioles. Right now the O’s are just enjoying first place. In a couple of months they might have the best trove of available relievers.
- Brian Fuentes of the Rockies. They can’t spare him.
- Damaso Marte, John Grabow of the Pirates. Marte’s last appearance was encouraging; he’ll have to continue building up value.
- Jose Valverde, Doug Brocail of the Astros. Richard Justice wonders whether Drayton McLane could order a roster teardown if things are looking bleak a few months from now. Valverde could fetch a couple of quality prospects.