Archives for August 2008

Odds and Ends: Manny, McDonald, Bradford, Bowden

By Tim Dierkes | August 8, 2008 at 9:31am CDT

Collection o’ links…

Craig Monroe has cleared waivers and become a free agent.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talks to Pirates GM Neal Huntington about his deadline deals.
Pirates players Chris Duffy and Franquelis Osoria cleared waivers and will head to Triple A.
Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi says manager Cito Gaston will be back next year.
Yesterday Dan Shaughnessy wrote a few sentences about the commissioner’s office investigating Manny Ramirez’s final hours with the Red Sox. It’s become a national story. More on the situation from the L.A. Times.
Sean McAdam wonders if the Red Sox could acquire Toronto shortstop John McDonald. He’d have to get past ten other AL teams first.
In regards to the Chad Bradford deal, Andy MacPhail said, "I can use the dough." MacPhail said the Orioles will receive a prospect, to be determined in the offseason.
Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News believes Rockies reliever Kip Wells is expendable.
Tracy Ringolsby heard speculation that Nationals VP of baseball operations Mike Rizzo could replace GM Jim Bowden.

Draft Roundup: Matusz, Alonso, Hosmer

By Tim Dierkes | August 8, 2008 at 9:12am CDT

Let’s round up some links concerning the unsigned ’08 draft picks.

The Orioles haven’t made much progress with Brian Matusz, but they haven’t gone backward either. His agent seems cautiously optimistic.
Reds top pick Yonder Alonso told the Miami Herald there’s a 50-50 chance he doesn’t sign and goes back to college. One of Alonso’s "advisors" said the Reds and Alonso were way off on figures.
Sam Mellinger says some think Royals top pick Eric Hosmer might be willing to try college. Hosmer is advised by Scott Boras. Mellinger considers fourth round pick/first round talent Tim Melville the Royals’ backup plan. Ideally, they’ll sign both high-ceiling talents.
How much of this is just posturing? We’ll know on August 16th.

Brian Giles Claimed By Red Sox

By Tim Dierkes | August 7, 2008 at 4:34pm CDT

4:34pm: Tom Krasovic has further musings on the Giles situation. He wonders if the Red Sox could rent Giles for the rest of the season and then let him go back to the Padres as a free agent.

THURSDAY, 11:06am: Interestingly, the Red Sox won the claim on Giles. Their intent was to block the Rays, according to Ken Rosenthal. Giles can veto a trade to Boston, and he might simply because his playing time could be reduced. Also, I have learned that Giles would still be able to veto a straight salary dump. The Padres can’t use this situation to sneak around Giles’ no-trade clause.

Boston winning the claim means all NL teams passed on Giles, as well as most AL teams.

WEDNESDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal, Padres right fielder Brian Giles was claimed on waivers by an unknown team. Giles has about $2.7MM left on his contract this year. He also has a $9MM option for ’09 with a $3MM buyout (which logically should be exercised). Giles gets another $2MM if traded. Rosenthal adds that Giles can block deals to the Orioles, Red Sox, Tigers, Rays, Marlins, Brewers, Pirates, and Nationals.

Rosenthal says the Padres will attempt to make a deal with the claiming team, though it won’t be a salary dump. Giles, 37, is hitting .318/.405/.438 away from PETCO this year. Not too many players are capable of a .400 OBP.

Abreu Hopes To Re-Sign With Yankees

By Tim Dierkes | August 7, 2008 at 3:24pm CDT

According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, right fielder Bobby Abreu hopes to play for the Yankees a few more years. A quote from Abreu:

"I’m a free agent at the end of the year, so you understand how that is. Here is where I want to be, but we still have this season to play. There’s still a long time before we talk about that."

Abreu, 34, is hitting .291/.364/.476 in 483 plate appearances this year. He did about the same in ’07. Last November the Yankees exercised Abreu’s $16MM option for ’08. It’s probably not going to make sense to pay Abreu much more than $12MM in ’09.

Nationals Hope To Re-Sign Willie Harris

By Tim Dierkes | August 7, 2008 at 2:57pm CDT

According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals would like to re-sign infielder/outfielder Willie Harris.

Harris, 30, is hitting .248/.344/.435 in 249 plate appearances this year while playing second base, shortstop, third base, left field, and center field for the Nats. He is under team control through ’09.

Phillies Acquire Scott Eyre

By Tim Dierkes | August 7, 2008 at 2:47pm CDT

According to Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies acquired lefty Scott Eyre for A ball pitcher Brian Schlitter.

Eyre, 36, posted a 7.15 ERA in 11.1 innings with the Cubs. He spent time on the DL with elbow and groin problems. Eyre had a nice run in the second half last year as well as May this year. He still has about $1.15MM left on his contract; the Phillies will pay all of it. The Red Sox had also been interested in Eyre.

Rays Acquire Chad Bradford

By Tim Dierkes | August 7, 2008 at 1:24pm CDT

According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports, the Rays won a waiver claim on reliever Chad Bradford. They’ll send a player to be named later to the Orioles for him. The Rays strengthened an already excellent bullpen.

Bradford, 34 next month, has a 2.45 ERA in 40.1 innings this year. His strikeout rate is dangerously low, but he’s not walking anyone or allowing home runs. He also has a very strong groundball rate.

Bradford has $1.05MM left on his contract this year plus $3.5MM in ’09. Aside from the Angels, all the other American League teams passed on the chance to claim Bradford.

Odds and Ends: McLouth, Doumit, Eyre, Bradley

By Tim Dierkes | August 7, 2008 at 11:01am CDT

Here’s today’s link roundup.

Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus rates the best remaining fits for Barry Bonds. The Angels come out on top.
The Mets seem pessimistic about Ryan Church returning this season.
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has the latest buzz on the unsigned draft picks.
The Astros dug up a pitcher in the independent leagues who is said to touch 100 mph. He’s a 21 year-old righty named Jack Tilghman.
The Pirates plan to offer long-term contracts to Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit.
Sean McAdam says the Red Sox still have some interest in Scott Eyre.
Dave Cameron can’t figure out what kind of contract Milton Bradley will get. Did you realize Bradley leads the American League in both OBP and SLG?
Patrick Newman ranks Hitoki Iwase, Kenshin Kawakami, and Koji Uehara as MLB prospects.

Furcal Prefers To Re-Sign With Dodgers

By Tim Dierkes | August 7, 2008 at 10:45am CDT

Rafael Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer, says the Dodgers are his client’s first choice and he hopes to re-sign before the free agent signing period begins.

Furcal was off to an incredible start this year until a back injury sidelined him in May. Before the injury, I was predicting $75MM over five years. Now we’re probably looking at $12MM per year for two or three years, maybe with incentives involved. It only takes one maverick team to defy expectations, though. Magglio Ordonez got five guaranteed years following experimental knee surgery, though the Tigers received an opt-out clause in case that injury re-occurred.

If Furcal re-signs, the free agent shortstop market will be bleak. Orlando Cabrera will be the top guy.

Reds Wanted Spilborghs For Fogg

By Tim Dierkes | August 7, 2008 at 10:37am CDT

According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News back on August 1st, the Rockies tried to acquire Cincinnati starter Josh Fogg but the Reds asked for outfielder Ryan Spilborghs in return. Troy E. Renck does not believe Fogg will clear waivers this month.

Fogg, 31, has a 7.57 ERA in 54.2 innings for the Reds this year. He’s been a bit better since returning from a long DL stint for back spasms. Fogg had to wait around until February to sign a one-year, $1MM deal with the Reds, which he probably regrets. Fogg apparently turned down a preliminary one-year offer from the Rockies soon after the World Series.

Spilborghs, 29 in September, is hitting .314/.420/.497 in 224 plate appearances this year. He crushes lefties. However, he has not played since July 8th due to an oblique strain. Spilborghs is under team control for quite a while. He’s worth much more than Fogg, even with teams getting desperate for starters.

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