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Archives for September 2008

Dunn: No Word From D-Backs About Contract For Next Year

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Dayton Daily News columnist Hal McCoy checks in from Phoenix, where he’s been following the Diamondbacks-Reds series. McCoy chatted with Adam Dunn before Friday’s game. He asked Dunn if he and the Diamondbacks had talked about a contract for next year and Dunn said, “No, nothing. And I’m not worried about it."

And then the talk turned to Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who recently  told writers the Reds traded Dunn because he was going to ask for between $120 million and $125 million for a new contract.

“Who is he, my agent?” said Dunn. “First and foremost, I would never say anything like that. And if I did the only guy I would have said it to would have been Ken Griffey Jr. But I didn’t say it.

Did you know that Dunn and Griffey were such good friends? I didn’t.

Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. He can be reached here.

Davidoff Less Sure Cashman Will Return To Yankees

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Newsday’s Ken Davidoff says he’s still betting that Brian Cashman will return to the Yankees next season, but he’s adjusting his odds.

Will Cashman come back? I’m downgrading my odds of his return from 65-35 to 55-45. I think his season has been very draining for Cashman. While he thought the team might miss the playoffs this year, he fingered the pitching, not the hitting. The fan and media criticism has been strong, and while Hank doesn’t actually do much, comments like the ones he made Thursday put Cashman in a position he knows all too well: Reacting to outrageous comments by people named Steinbrenner.

In other words, it might not be the advisory board, per se, that pushes Cashman out the door. But it might be the Hank chatter.

Davidoff believes the Steinbrenners will ask Cashman to return, and that they will again offer him full autonomy. But that might not be enough. Working for the Steinbrenners obviously requires patience, and Cashman’s patience may be running out.

Davidoff suggests Yankees Vice President of Scouting Damon Oppenheimer or Assistant GM Jean Afterman could replace Cashman. He also says the Yankees "would be foolish not to reach out to Pat Gillick, who worked with the Yankees in his pre-GM days and is retiring from the Phillies" and that "Gerry Hunsicker, currently with the Rays, would be another natural candidate, given his strong work with the Astros."

Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. You can reach him here.

Odds And Ends: Thomas, Garland, Cabrera

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Some links to get the thread going. I’ll add more if anything interesting hits the wires:

  • Frank Thomas’ quadriceps injury is not as severe as previously thought, and he plans to play in 2009. Thomas, 40, is tied with Willie McCovey and Ted Williams for 18th place in the all-time home run list, with 521.
  • Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com takes a look back at the Jon Garland for Orlando Cabrera deal and concludes that, what seemed like an unnecessary move for the Halos then, looks more like a "stroke of genius by general manager Tony Reagins."
  • Rays pitching phenom David Price will join the team’s bullpen today.

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Comments? Rumors? Ideas? alexo05 (at) umpbump (dot) com.

Hank Steinbrenner Forming Advisory Group

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SATURDAY: Cashman responds to the advisory group comments.  He wouldn’t say whether he wants to return.

THURSDAY: Peter Abraham relays comments Hank Steinbrenner made to the AP today.  Hank will review the entire organization and put together an advisory group for decision-making.  Brian Cashman would still be in charge, but it sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen.  Cashman probably will not want to stay if he loses autonomy.  Speculation is that Cashman could consider the vacancies in Philadelphia or Seattle.

One thing’s for sure – the Yankees are prepared to throw around some cash this winter.  Steinbrenner seemingly has regrets about not acquiring Johan Santana.  As far as the ’09 staff goes, Brian Cashman would have interest if Mike Mussina wants to come back.  Presumably the Yankees would add one or two more free agent starters after Mussina.

Wagner Not Expecting Mets Return

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5:38pm: Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis recently visited Wagner.  Schoeneweis says Wagner has already been told by the Mets that his 2010 option will not be exercised.  Seems an odd thing for the Mets to do at this point.

12:39pm: Mike Puma of the New York Post talked to closer Billy Wagner, who figures he’s played his last game as a Met.  The Mets will pay Wagner $10.5MM next year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.  There’s a small chance he could make it back in September ’09.

Wagner doesn’t see his $8MM option being exercised for 2010.  The Mets should give it some thought, though.  With a $1MM buyout, they’d be looking at essentially a one-year, $7MM deal for Wagner.  Even with the risk involved, that could compare favorably to other free agent relievers.  Some team would’ve paid that for B.J. Ryan last winter.

Joel Guzman Clears Waivers

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FRIDAY: No takers for Guzman; he cleared waivers.

TUESDAY: According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays designated Joel Guzman for assignment today.  Guzman was once very highly regarded – Baseball America ranked him as the 5th best prospect in the game in ’05 and 26th in ’06.

The Dodgers signed Guzman as a 16 year-old for $2.25MM in ’01.  He played shortstop and received the team’s minor league player of the year honor in ’04.  He was moved to left field to start ’06, and Ned Colletti traded him to Tampa Bay in July for Julio Lugo.  The Rays had him play first and third, and let him dabble at second.  Guzman, 23 now, posted a .248/.276/.438 line in Triple A.  He’s never shown an ability to draw walks, and his much-heralded power hasn’t shown up.

Guzman’s tale exemplifies the uncertainty of prospects; BA had him above Scott Kazmir, Hanley Ramirez, Matt Cain, Prince Fielder, Chad Billingsley, and Carlos Quentin in ’05.

Delgado Option Details

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark has the details on Carlos Delgado’s 2009 option.

Delgado needs to amass 30 "awards points" over 2005-08 for the option to change from $12MM to $16MM.  He has five points in the bank from ’05.  To get the other 25, Delgado will need to finish in the top six in MVP voting and win World Series MVP.  If Delgado reaches the 30 points, the $16MM is not an option – it vests.  Under those circumstances, the Mets probably would not mind.

Still, most likely the Mets will be faced with a $12MM option or a $4MM buyout, an easy call to exercise.

Offseason Outlook: Pittsburgh Pirates

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Click here to view previous offseason outlooks.  Today, a look at your 2009 Pirates.

C – Ryan Doumit – $412K+
C – Ronny Paulino – $424K
1B – Adam LaRoche – $5MM+
2B – Freddy Sanchez – $6.1MM
SS – Jack Wilson – $7.25MM
3B – Andy LaRoche – $400K
IF – Brian Bixler – $400K
IF – Luis Cruz – $400K
LF – Brandon Moss – $400K
CF – Nate McLouth – $425K+
RF – Steve Pearce – $400K
OF – Nyjer Morgan – $400K

SP – Paul Maholm – $425K+
SP – Ian Snell – $3MM
SP – Tom Gorzelanny – $419K
SP – Ross Ohlendorf – $400K
SP – Zach Duke – $400K+

RP – Matt Capps – $2.3MM
RP – John Grabow – $1.135MM+
RP – Tyler Yates – $800K+
RP – Craig Hansen – $700K
RP – T.J. Beam – $450K
RP – Denny Bautista – $400K+
RP – Phil Dumatrait – $400K

Other candidates: Jeff Karstens – $400K, Daniel McCutchen – $400K, Sean Burnett – $400K, Robinzon Diaz – $400K, Andrew McCutchen – $400K

Non-tender candidates: Jason Davis – $650K+, Raul Chavez – $550K+

Other commitments: Yoslan Herrera – $400K

The Bucs entered ’08 with a $48.7MM payroll.  The ’09 team has about $30.5MM committed before arbitration raises to Doumit, LaRoche, McLouth, Maholm, Duke, Grabow, Yates, and Bautista.  Even after those, they’ll still be comfortably under $40MM.  So there is no need to make payroll-motivated trades.

It is fair to suggest the Pirates moved in the right direction with this year’s trades.  This team won’t sniff contention in 2009, even with some breakout seasons.  Right now it’s simply a team short on star power without much in the way of hitting or pitching.  It will get worse before it gets better if the Bucs move LaRoche and/or Wilson this winter.  The focus should be a young shortstop and pitching.  The Pirates won’t be signing any significant free agents.

Doumit, McLouth, and Maholm were the bright spots in ’08.  Hopefully those players can sustain their success while players like Andy LaRoche, Moss, Snell, and Ohlendorf take a step forward.  Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata represent outfield promise for the future.  Signing Pedro Alvarez would add another future star to the farm system.  Neal Huntington did a nice job amassing young arms this year, and I’m sure he’ll continue to do so.  With some luck added, the Pirates could be competitive in 2010. 

Reds Officially Acquire Owings

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According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds officially received pitcher Micah Owings as part of the bounty for the Adam Dunn trade.  Owings dealt with shoulder stiffness shortly after the D’Backs sent him to the minors in late July.

Owings, 26 in a few weeks, posted a 5.93 ERA in 104.2 innings this year.  He lost a mile an hour on his fastball, but maintained a solid strikeout rate.  His control worsened, and home runs continued to be a problem.  Owings’ flyball tendencies won’t be a good fit for Great American Ballpark, but he can still be a solid #4 starter when healthy.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Hudson, Ordonez, Fielder, Howard

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Let’s swing through Ken Rosenthal’s latest column.

  • Rosenthal names the Mets, Yankees, Rangers, White Sox, Indians, Rockies, and Cardinals as speculative fits for free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson.  Obviously several of those scenarios would involve shuffling players to other positions or trades.  The Yankees’ infield defense could certainly use the boost.
  • Rosenthal considers Frank Wren’s midseason trip to Japan a sign that he might be active in that market.
  • The Tigers may shop Magglio Ordonez for pitching this winter.  Maggs will need fewer than 500 plate appearances next year to cause his 2010 and 2011 options to vest.  So he’s essentially owed $48MM over three years.
  • Don’t forget two other sluggers who may be available this winter: Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard.  It works well for the Brewers and Phillies, as the free agent market is weak at first base.

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