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Archives for August 2008

Frank Thomas Wants To Return To A’s

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According to MLB.com’s Mychael Urban, A’s DH Frank Thomas would like to return to the team for the ’09 season.  Thomas likes the team’s direction and wants to play until he’s 41 or 42 (he’s turned 40 in May).  He won’t be looking for big money.  Thomas believes Mike Sweeney would also like to return in ’09.

Thomas had a huge month of May after the Blue Jays let him go, but then missed all of June and July with a quad injury.  He hasn’t hit at all this month.  I imagine the A’s would be willing to bring him back for a million bucks or so.

Dodgers Acquire Maddux

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11:51am: Tony Jackson says the Padres will pay about $1.3MM of Maddux’s remaining salary, with the Dodgers taking on $900K.

WEDNESDAY, 8:43am: Tom Krasovic has more.  The Phillies apparently offered a better package for Maddux earlier this year, but he would not approve a trade there.  So the Dodgers will pay a significant amount of Maddux’s remaining salary and the Padres will choose two low-level minor leaguers from a list by October 15th.  They wanted James McDonald or Scott Elbert but the Dodgers wouldn’t do it.

8:52pm: Paul DePodesta weighs in on the Maddux trade.  He mentions in the comments that the Padres want players as opposed to cash considerations.

4:28pm: The deal is done, for two minor league players to be named later or cash considerations.  Still not sure how Maddux’s remaining salary will be split.

TUESDAY, 8:42am: The L.A. Times says Maddux has been traded for two players to be named later.  The Dodgers will pay at least part of Maddux’s remaining Maddux’s remaining $2.35MM.  Keith Law says the deal makes sense for both sides.

MONDAY, 11:25pm: The AP is now saying an agreement has been reached and the trade will be announced Tuesday.  ESPN’s Rob Neyer wonders if one motive for the Dodgers is to save keep Clayton Kershaw’s innings down.

9:50pm: Through a team spokesman, GM Ned Colletti said a deal is not done.  The L.A. Times still says an agreement has been reached, while the L.A. Daily News says they’ve agreed in principle but the deal has not been finalized. 

8:31pm: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News says the Dodgers and Padres are actively engaged in talks for Maddux, but isn’t sure how far along the discussions are.

8:09pm: According to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Dodgers have acquired Greg Maddux from the Padres.  Further details are not yet known.  The Dodgers had been looking for starting pitching, since they’re not counting on much from Brad Penny.

’09 Free Agents: Injury Discounts

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Last winter we saw many free agents sign at a discount following injury-plagued seasons: Milton Bradley, Randy Wolf, Kerry Wood, Jason Jennings, Matt Clement, Bartolo Colon, and Mark Prior are examples.  Let’s take a look at members of the ’09 free agent class who might be signed at similar discounts.

  • Nomar Garciaparra, IF.  Nomar has been a respectable hitter in 114 plate appearances this year.  He’s dealt with a knee sprain, calf strain, and broken hand while earning $8.5MM.
  • Orlando Hudson, 2B.  Though Hudson will miss almost two months with a broken wrist, not much of a discount is expected.  He should get more than $10MM per year.
  • Rafael Furcal, SS.  Furcal is an interesting case – easily the best available shortstop, but he only managed one torrid month before hitting the DL with a back injury.  He prefers to re-sign with the Dodgers before other teams have a shot at convincing him otherwise.
  • Hank Blalock, 1B/3B.  Blalock will hit the market if the Rangers buy out his $6.2MM option.  He’s had shoulder, hand, wrist, back, and hamstring problems this year.  He had shoulder surgery back in October of ’06.
  • Joe Crede, 3B.  He was off to a decent start, but hasn’t played since July 21st due to back stiffness.  The Boras client had back surgery in June of last year.
  • Rocco Baldelli, OF.  Baldelli’s options were declined, so he’ll be a free agent after the season.  He’s dealing with a mitochondrial disorder.
  • Frank Thomas, DH.  Thomas missed all of June and July with a quad injury, and so far hasn’t rediscovered his May form.  No word on whether he’s mulling retirement.
  • There’s a group of starters who have pitched very little this year: Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Kris Benson, Matt Clement, Jason Jennings, Mark Mulder, Carl Pavano, and Mark Prior.  These eight pitchers were paid a total of $25MM for 62 big league innings.  They’ll all be signing cheaply for ’09.
  • The injured reliever pool includes Eric Gagne, Todd Jones, Joe Borowski, and Tom Gordon.

Astros Players Hope To Recruit Sheets

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According to Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt plans to make a recruiting pitch to Ben Sheets.  Sheets will be a free agent after the season.  Lance Berkman would love to see Sheets sign with the Astros as well.

Pairing Sheets with Oswalt would certainly change the look of the Astros, who could slot Wandy Rodriguez at #3 or #4 and sign an additional free agent starter.  As with most free agent signings, Sheets carries plenty of risk.  He’s already thrown 162 innings this year, his best since ’04.  Has he shaken off the injury bug?

Sheets should get at least three years, and four is feasible.  $16-17MM per year sounds about right.

Odds and Ends: Jeter, Al Reyes, Schilling, Dunn

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Let’s kick things off with a link roundup.

  • River Ave. Blues wonders about Derek Jeter’s future with the Yankees.  The Yanks don’t have to deal with it until after the 2010 season.
  • Reliever Al Reyes is now a free agent.  The 38 year-old still has a bit left in the tank.
  • Baseball America’s Jim Callis lists the draft’s best coups.
  • Curt Schilling is leaning toward retirement.  If he does come back, here is a reminder of the 12 teams he was willing to play for last year aside from the Red Sox: Indians, Tigers, Angels, Mets, Phillies, Braves, Dodgers, Padres, D’Backs, Cubs, Cardinals, and Brewers.
  • Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says the Rockies need to keep Todd Helton.
  • Ken Rosenthal says the Dodgers’ failure to block the D’Backs’ waiver claim on Adam Dunn was a mistake.
  • Sam Mellinger explains that Eric Hosmer was smart to hold out for $6MM.

Royals Sign Kip Wells

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9:53pm: The Rocky Mountain News is reporting Wells signed with the Royals and will initially work out of the bullpen.

4:02pm: According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Royals have interest in free agent pitcher Kip Wells.  The Horacio Ramirez reclamation project worked out well for KC, so Wells is worth a look.  Wells needs better control and a solid defense behind him; his strikeout and groundball rates are solid.

Odds and Ends: Pavano, Dunn, Brocail, Washburn

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Random links for the day…

  • Joel Sherman notes that Carl Pavano has a chance to help his own cause if he can be mildly useful in September.  Pavano will be a free agent after the season when the Yankees buy out his $13MM option.
  • The Reds will free up about $30MM in payroll, and Walt Jocketty plans to be active.
  • Ben Bolch notes that the Dodgers could’ve blocked the D’Backs’ waiver claim of Adam Dunn.  Bolch cites the risk that caused the Dodgers to pass – Dunn’s salary and their outfield logjam.  But as readers of this site have pointed out, why not claim Dunn and offer a player of no value?  Would Walt Jocketty have chosen salary relief over two draft picks?
  • Multiple teams put in claims on reliever Doug Brocail, but the Astros did not want to trade him.  The ’Stros are playing for a miracle, as they’re assigned less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs.
  • Geoff Baker supported the Mariners’ decision not to trade Jarrod Washburn in July, but now they’ve overplayed their hand. 

Heyman’s Latest: Pie, Cole, Snell

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Here’s the latest column from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.

  • Cubs prospect Felix Pie has seen his value slip this year.  He didn’t hit in 70 plate appearances with the big club.  His Triple A OPS slipped from .973 in ’07 to .780 this year.  You have to wonder if the Cubs will remove the untouchable tag this winter.
  • Heyman says there was never any negotiations between the Yankees and Scott Boras regarding Gerrit Cole.  The Yanks would’ve offered $4MM+, but Cole preferred college (at his father’s urging).
  • Heyman confirms Ian Snell was available before the trade deadline.  The Pirates wanted pitching prospect Franklin Morales and then some from the Rockies.  Snell is on an affordable long-term contract, so maybe talks will be revisited in December.

Dodgers In Market For Pitching

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10:36am: Jackson has an article up, and takes a more definitive stance in saying the Dodgers are looking for a starter and remain interested in Maddux.  Ned Colletti apparently has conversations going regarding players who would need to clear waivers.  23 year-old prospect James McDonald is a strong in-house candidate if the Dodgers want to go that way.

9:34am: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News talked to Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who does not expect much from Brad Penny for the rest of the season (he may return as a reliever, though).  Torre hinted that he would like a starting pitcher to be acquired if it’d improve upon the current fifth starter candidates, Eric Stults and Jason Johnson.

Jackson hasn’t heard anything new on the Greg Maddux front.  As you may recall, Maddux was said to have cleared waivers according to ESPN’s Peter Gammons.  The teams were not able to work out a trade earlier this month, because the Dodgers wanted the Padres to pay roughly 83% of Maddux’s remaining salary.  That amounted to $2.5MM for the Dodgers back then; now it’s about $1.95MM.

The Dodgers are in a dead heat for first place in the NL West, so every win is crucial.  Last year they were willing to take on $8MM for a massive question mark in Esteban Loaiza, but this year they’re trying to keep deals payroll-neutral.

Post-Draft Roundup: Hosmer, Smoak, Strasburg

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Below I’ve collected more interesting remaining links regarding the amateur draft.

  • The Royals bumped their offer from $5MM to $6MM and signed top pick Eric Hosmer. Rany Jazayerli was surprised to see Hosmer effectively get more than #1 pick Tim Beckham.  The Royals joined the Red Sox and Pirates as teams spending around $10MM on draft picks this year.
  • The Rangers resisted a Major League deal for Justin Smoak, and ultimately signed him to a $3.5MM minor league deal.  Owner Tom Hicks pined for a hard slot system.
  • The story of pitcher Chris Gruler, picked third overall by the Reds in ’02, reminds us to temper our enthusiasm for these kids.  Many will bust.
  • Tim Lincecum says Buster Posey can expect other minor leaguers to treat him differently because of the bonus he received.
  • The race is on for Stephen Strasburg, who is separating himself from the pack as the top talent in the ’09 draft.  The Mariners, Padres, and Nationals all have a shot at him, with the Nats in the "lead."  Would the Nats avoid Strasburg due to signability concerns?

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