Archives for February 2009

Rockies Acquire Matt Murton

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 12:10pm CDT

According to a press release, the Rockies acquired outfielder Matt Murton from the A’s for infielder Corey Wimberly.

Murton, 27, has a career line of .288/.354/.438 in 1002 plate appearances. He’s been involved in two big trades – the Nomar Garciaparra deal in ’04 and the Rich Harden trade last year. Murton spent most of ’08 in the minors and did not show much power.

Wimberly, 25, ranked as the Rockies’ 26th-best prospect in the ’09 Baseball America Handbook. He went unclaimed in the Rule 5 draft in December after hitting .291/.370/.345 in Double A. The speedster is said to be in the Bip Roberts mold, according to BA.

Brewers Acquire Chase Wright, Ramiro Mendoza

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 11:35am CDT

According to a press release, the Brewers acquired pitcher Chase Wright from the Yankees for outfielder/catcher Eric Fryer.

Wright, who turns 26 in a few days, spent most of 2008 with the Yankees’ Double A and Triple A clubs. He posted strong ERAs and strong groundball rates, but low strikeout rates as well. In their 2007 Handbook, Baseball America said Wright had "solid stuff" and "profiles best at the back of a rotation." He was designated for assignment when Andy Pettitte was signed. Fryer, 23, hit .335/.407/.506 in 104 games at Low A.

According to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, the Brewers also added reliever Ramiro Mendoza on a minor league deal. Mendoza’s last useful big league stint was in ’04 with the Red Sox; he racked up a lot of innings for the Yankees in the late 90s/early 2000s.

Phillies, Giants Considering Rich Aurilia

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 11:24am CDT

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to Rich Aurilia’s agent Barry Axelrod, who said the Orioles’ Ty Wigginton signing might move things along for his client. The Giants and Phillies had been interested in Wiggy and maintain interest in Aurilia. Ken Davidoff of Newsday would like to see the Mets get in on him.

Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier today that the Phillies also continue to monitor Nomar Garciaparra, who is "trying to decide whether he is physically sound enough to play next season."

Odds and Ends: Crede, Jays, Howard

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 11:15am CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Here’s the transcript of WEEI’s interview with Theo Epstein. Epstein says "nothing is hot or active right now" for the Red Sox.
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote yesterday that "a Joe Crede signing remains a real possibility for the Twins."
Shi Davidi of the Canadian Press writes about the Blue Jays’ attempts to break into the Japanese market.
Will the players union organize a training camp for unsigned players? Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times discusses the slow-moving market.
Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News had two baseball officials and an agent explain how they’d approach Ryan Howard’s arbitration case.
RotoAuthority ranks the second baseman for fantasy baseball.

White Sox-Bobby Abreu Rumor

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 10:45am CDT

Yesterday ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick wrote that the White Sox "floated the possibility of a one-year $8MM contract" for Bobby Abreu this week, and that flotation caused talks to stall. One obstacle in the Sox signing Abreu is Jermaine Dye and the $11.5MM he has coming. It makes little sense for a team to give up prospects for Dye when they could just sign Abreu or Adam Dunn for a similar amount.

Today Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times confirmed that no official offer was made to Abreu, and heard from a Sox source who called the rumor "BS" and suggested Abreu’s agent Peter Greenberg "is trying to drum up interest for his player."

Griffey Wants $5-6MM?

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 10:08am CDT

According to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, free agent outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. is "believed to be looking for a one-year deal in the $5 million to $6 million base salary range, would pay for himself with the boost in attendance he would provide." I’m skeptical on both fronts – that Griffey expects that kind of base salary and that he’d drive that much extra revenue. UPDATE: Just realized that ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick had this same info in his January 27th article.

Griffey seems to be the Mariners’ backup plan, as they’re currently trying to move money to pay for Bobby Abreu or perhaps Garret Anderson (the Twins have "lost their appetite" for Jarrod Washburn trade, says Joe Christensen). Trading for an outfielder is another viable option for Seattle, and if it’s for an affordable player they might not have to unload salary. Griffey’s agent Brian Goldberg admitted that his client is the fallback option for several teams.

Griffey is open to playing anywhere, but his friend Harold Reynolds said, "I know he’d love to be back [in Seattle]." Reynolds added: "I think they need to do it. He’s such an icon to the game of baseball. He’s going to play one more year, maybe two at the most. He needs to retire as a Mariner. He’s still got something left. I think he’d be fantastic for that team."

Rays Interested In Morgan Ensberg

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 9:25am CDT

Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times on the Rays’ interest in Morgan Ensberg:

There have been talks about a minor-league deal with Ensberg, an eight-year major-league veteran.

Ensberg, 33, played a little bit for the Yankees as well as the Indians’ Triple A team in ’08 without success.

Rosenthal On Peavy, Ohman, Looper

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 9:10am CDT

Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Jeff Moorad’s acquistion of the Padres does not affect the likelihood of a Jake Peavy trade, according to Rosenthal’s source. There have been no recent conversations with the Cubs about Peavy.
The Phillies had been confident of signing Ty Wigginton before the Orioles offered two years. The Phils are still mulling Nomar Garciaparra and Rich Aurilia, with the Giants also in on Aurilia. The Phillies are out on Will Ohman.
Braden Looper is receiving interest from Baltimore, but he prefers the NL. The Brewers are not optimistic about signing Looper despite a recent conversation with one of his agents (Tom Haudricourt believes the Brewers are "laying in the weeds" for when the right pitcher comes along). Looper is Plan B behind Randy Wolf for the Dodgers, and not a candidate to return to the Cardinals (who are apparently out of money). One other team known to have interest in Looper is the Pirates.

Bay Yet To Talk Extension With Red Sox

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 9:01am CDT

According to Rob Bradford of WEEI, outfielder Jason Bay has yet to discuss a contract extension with the Red Sox. Bay put his chances of reaching free agency after the ’09 season at 50-50, while also professing his love for Boston. Click here to take a look at the rest of the 2010 free agent market – there are plenty of good hitters aside from Bay.

On January 12th, Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe wrote that the Red Sox plan to discuss an extension with Bay before the season begins but after the remaining big-name free agent outfielders sign. We’re still waiting on Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn, and Manny Ramirez however.

Mets Shopping Ramon Castro?

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2009 at 8:38am CDT

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

I hear the Mets keep trying to find a place to deal Ramon Castro. They have two reasons: 1) Mainly they want to get rid of his $2.5 million 2009 contract, allowing them a little more available cash to address a righty bat or lefty reliever they crave. 2) They believe that for near minimum wage Robinson Cancel can be just as good a backup to Brian Schneider as Castro. I heard the Brewers had some interest, but have mostly backed off of Castro now.

Castro, 33 in March, hit .245/.312/.441 last year in 157 plate appearances (he spent time on the DL for a strained quad and hamstring). He’s shown good power in limited duty. He had two issues in ’08: his pain tolerance was questioned by Jerry Manuel, and he arrived late to a June game. He’s set to earn $2.5MM in ’09 before he reaches free agency.

It seems unlikely the Marlins would reacquire Castro; his final year with them in ’04 was marked by rape charges that eventually led to a no-contest plea for misdemeanor assault. Castro’s salary would be the more obvious obstacle for them.

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