Odds & Ends: Johjima, Brewers, Pujols
As the champagne chills in the Philadelphia clubhouse, here are some late-night newsbits….
- Kirby Arnold of the Everett Herald reports that during a conference call with Japanese press members, Kenji Johjima said that a lack of playing time was the main reason he opted out of his contract with the Mariners. He and the team cited Johjima's desire to be closer to his family in Japan as the primary reason for his leaving Seattle two days ago.
- Milwaukee assistant general manger Gord Ash chatted with fans on Wednesday about the Brewers' minor league prospects. Perhaps the most notable item from the chat was Ash's admission that there will be a "gap" of time before the Brewers can get some pitching help from the farm since most of their best young hurlers are at least a year or two away.
- Albert Pujols' arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday was "a success" according to a team statement noted by MLB.com's Matthew Leach. The not-insignificant procedure shouldn't lead to any missed playing time for Pujols, who is expected to be fit and ready for spring training.
Odds & Ends: Torre, Braves, Blue Jays
In the midst of a tight Dodgers-Phillies game, here are some news tidbits from around the baseball world….
- Before Game Five, Joe Torre said he wants to (and believes he will) be the Dodgers' manager next season, reports Mike Jensen of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Frank Wren is in a bit of a Catch-22 when it comes to re-signing Tim Hudson and Adam LaRoche, and/or trading Kenshin Kawakami or Derek Lowe for hitting help.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that new Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has spent his first few weeks on the job talking to the team's coaches and players. After talking to pending free agents Marco Scutaro, Rod Barajas and John McDonald, Anthopoulos said he wants to speak to their respective agents in the coming weeks.
- As reported by Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Mark Cuban told a group of Pitt students that he won't be buying the Pirates.
- Speaking of Pittsburgh natives looking to be involved in MLB ownership, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan said that Pittsburgh lawyer Check Greenberg's investment team made with members of the Hicks Sports Group on Wednesday to discuss buying the Rangers.
- Tommy Rancel of the DRaysBay blog outlines why he thinks the Rays should look into signing Kelvim Escobar this off-season.
Mateo To San Francisco?
ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure reports (via Twitter) that the Giants may be on the verge of signing 16-year-old Dominican prospect Wagner Mateo. A deal could be finalized "within [the] next couple of weeks."
Mateo was originally signed by St. Louis in June to a contract with a $3.1MM signing bonus, but the deal was voided by the club in September after medical tests revealed that the young outfielder was suffering from vision problems. The entire situation is nicely detailed in this piece by Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, noting that Mateo's signing was an impressive victory for the Cardinals' rebuilt Latin American scouting operations.
In a tweet from last June, Arangure said that San Francisco came closest to signing Mateo away from St. Louis' grasp in the first place, but got "cold feet" offering a bonus of $3.5MM. The Cards and Giants were two of several teams interested in the highly-regarded young outfielder.
Trades Of The Decade: Runners Up
Remember when the Cardinals traded for Scott Rolen? Or when the Jays gave up Michael Young for Esteban Loaiza? You probably remember the deal that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers.
Those three deals are just a few of the decade's most significant moves. Hundreds of trades later, the 2000s are just months from completion. This means it's time to look back at some of the trades that defined, enabled and inhibited teams in the 2000s.
But before we examine the decade's biggest deals in more detail, here's a list of runners up:
- The Rangers acquired Michael Young from the Blue Jays in 2000.
- The D'Backs acquired Curt Schilling from the Phillies in 2000.
- The A's acquired Johnny Damon from the Royals in a 2001 three-team deal that also included Mark Ellis, Ben Grieve, Cory Lidle and Roberto Hernandez.
- The A's acquired Jermaine Dye from the Royals (via the Rockies) in 2001.
- The Cards acquired Scott Rolen from the Phillies in 2002.
- The Cubs acquired Aramis Ramirez from the Pirates in 2003.
- The Red Sox acquired Curt Schilling from the D'Backs in 2003.
- The Pirates acquired Jason Bay and Oliver Perez from the Padres for Brian Giles in 2003.
- The Cubs acquired Derrek Lee from the Marlins in 2003.
- The Astros acquired Carlos Beltran from the Royals in a 2004 three-team deal.
- The Cardinals acquired Larry Walker from the Rockies in 2004.
- The Cubs acquired Nomar Garciaparra from the Red Sox in a 2004 four-team deal.
- The Yankees acquired Randy Johnson from the D'Backs for a package including Javier Vazquez and Dioner Navarro in 2005.
- The Padres acquired Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young from the Rangers in 2005.
- The Rangers sent Edinson Volquez to Cincinnati for Josh Hamilton in 2007.
- The Tigers acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins in 2007.
- The Mets acquired Johan Santana from the Twins in 2008.
- The Brewers acquired C.C. Sabathia from the Indians in 2008.
- The A's acquired Matt Holliday from the Rockies in 2008.
- The Cardinals acquired Matt Holliday from the A's in 2009.
- The Phillies acquired Cliff Lee from the Indians in 2009.
- The Red Sox acquired Victor Martinez from the Indians in 2009.
- The White Sox acquired Jake Peavy from the Padres in 2009.
Not bad, for a group of runners up (and remember, we'll look at the decade's biggest deals in detail). Which trades on this list do you consider most important?
Odds & Ends: Mariners, Beltre, Ramirez
Happy birthday to Hall-of-Famer Whitey Ford and (future Hall-of-Famer?) Zack Greinke. MLBTR's gift to these two star pitchers is this batch of news items…
- John Hickey of the Seattle PostGlobe outlines some of the holes that the Mariners have to fill for 2010, and speculates that free agent and Los Angeles resident Adrian Beltre might be targeted by the Angels and Dodgers.
- Peter Gammons thinks that if it weren't for Manny Ramirez's player option, the Dodgers would part ways with the controversial left fielder, reports WEEI's Alex Speier.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert writes that if Conor Jackson can stay healthy in the Dominican Winter League, he can avoid being non-tendered by the Diamondbacks.
- Joe Mauer's big brother Jake has been named the new manager of the Twins' Class A-Advanced affiliate in Fort Myers, reports Benjamin Hill of MLB.com.
- Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner discussed Jim Riggleman's chances of being named manager, some recent front office hires and his club's overall plans for the future in a chat with Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Cameron, Valentine
A few news items to think about while we get ready for Game Five of the NLCS….
- MLB.com's Marty Noble agrees with a reader e-mail that a defensively-sound first baseman would do wonders for the Mets' infield defense and overall performance.
- From that same piece, Noble thinks that Mike Cameron would be a good fit with the Mets due to his ability to cover the vast expanses of Citi Field's outfield. Noble isn't as keen on Chone Figgins since he doesn't fit New York's needs.
- MLB.com's Noah Coslov tweets that the Indians will interview Bobby Valentine on Thursday.
- If Manny Acta isn't hired in Cleveland or Houston, The Globe & Mail's Jeff Blair thinks he could land in Toronto.
- Canadian Business Online looks at the best and worst free agent signings from last year and examines which teams got the most value from their rosters in 2009.
Nationals Notes: Storen, Dunn, Desmond
MLB.com's Bill Ladson answered a few questions from fans about the D.C. nine today and here are a few of the more relevant details….
- Ladson "could see" Drew Storen making the Nationals as the team's set-up man, in just the right-hander's second year of pro ball. Storen had a 1.95 ERA and an eye-popping 11.9 K/9 in 28 appearances for Washington's Single-A, Single-A advanced and Double-A teams last season after being taken 10th overall in the 2009 June Entry Draft.
- Whatever Washington's rebuilding plans entail, they won't involve dealing Adam Dunn.
- Ian Desmond and Justin Maxwell have yet to entirely prove themselves to Nationals management and "must have a great Spring Training" for either of them to even make the Opening Day roster, let alone get playing time.
- Ladson thinks the Nats might at least inquire about Pedro Martinez if the future Hall-of-Famer becomes available in the off-season, but the price tag will likely be too high for Washington's taste.
- Mark DeRosa's versatility is what would attract the Nationals most if they made a play for the veteran free agent.
Odds & Ends: Yankees, Cardinals, Astros
Here are some links to take you through the end of your workday, instead of, you know, working.
- The Yankees aren't satisfied to simply win the 2009 World Series. They are concurrently planning to take 2010 as well, with Jon Heyman reporting that they are atop Matt Holliday's preferred list of teams, and Lohud.com's Chad Jennings writing that the Yankees should be meeting with Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman soon, though GM Brian Cashman wouldn't confirm it.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Jason LaRue would be a good fit for the Cardinals in 2010, and breaks down the other catching candidates as well.
- Manny Acta had his second interview for the Astros' managing job, while Bobby Valentine and Bob Melvin are candidates to take Acta's former position as skipper for Washington.
- Tim Wakefield had successful back surgery for the Red Sox, who have a number of 2010 contract options to consider, include Wakefield's. Alex Speier of WEEI.com runs it down nicely.
- The Rays hired Derek Shelton as their new hitting coach. Shelton had been the hitting coach for Cleveland.
- Former Mets' first base coach Tom Nieto is the new manager for Rochester, Minnesota's Triple-A farm team, among other minor-league hires.
Rangers Cut Grilli, Richardson
3:46pm: MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports the Rangers have also taken catcher Kevin Richardson off the 40-man roster, and are trying to sign him to a minor-league contract.
2:39pm: Per Jason Grilli's Twitter page, the Texas Rangers have removed the 32-year-old pitcher from their roster.
Grilli wrote, "My day just got more interesting-as said earlier tweet-A leader can't lead until he knows where he is going-Texas took me off the roster".
Grilli is an interesting buy-low candidate for a number of teams. While his ERA jumped from 3.00 in 2008 to 5.32 in 2009, that is highly deceiving. He posted a Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) ERA of just 3.93 in 2009, and has been under 4 each of the past three seasons.
Grilli has also been roughly as effective against lefties and righties throughout his career, allowing a .271 batting average to righties, .265 to lefties.
If Grilli is to be believed, he'll be in terrific shape for someone in 2010. He wrote on a follow-up tweet, "Gonna be some Rocky Balboa training commence".
Marlins Notes: De Aza Claimed, St. Claire Could Return
Lots going on with the Marlins, who certainly aren't waiting for the end of the playoffs to start their retooling.
- Alejandro De Aza was claimed off of waivers by the Chicago White Sox, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The Marlins may miss De Aza, still only 25, and who posted an .876 OPS in Triple-A this season. Rodriguez reports that the move leaves Florida with 37 men on their 40-man roster.
- Randy St. Claire, who was fired by Washington in June, is in the mix to be Florida's next pitching coach.
- MLB.com's Marlins beat reporter Joe Frisaro answers a number of reader questions, from whether Jorge Cantu will be back in 2010 (Frisaro thinks so) to whether Dan Uggla will be traded (Frisaro also thinks so).