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Pedro Hopes For Return To Mets?

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According to Newsday's Jim Baumbach a friend of Pedro Martinez's says the righty still hopes to sign a deal with the Mets, though the Dodgers also appeal to him. This afternoon Jon Heyman reported that the Mets have offered Pedro a deal worth $1-2MM, so it appears Pedro can return if he's willing to lower his asking price.

Baumbach adds that Pedro isn't selling the house he owns on the New York-Connecticut border in case he can work out a return to the Mets. Last Tuesday, his return seemed unlikely, but a lot changes in a week. 

Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins

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ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.

  • The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
  • Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
  • Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
  • Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million.  He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers.  Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price.  Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
  • Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available.  The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.

Heyman On Pedro, Pudge, Andruw

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SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column.

  • Heyman believes the Mets offered Pedro Martinez a $1-2MM base salary, but he's still looking for $5MM.  Not happenin'.   ESPN's Jayson Stark suggests Pedro is asking for $6-8MM.
  • Heyman takes Astros GM Ed Wade to task for seemingly lying to MLB.com beat writer Alyson Footer about the team's pursuit of Ivan Rodriguez. The Pudge deal will be official once his physical is complete.
  • Andruw Jones must decide by Friday whether to stay with the Rangers (presumably he'd head to Triple A if he does not opt out).  In talking to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, Andruw said he doesn't know yet and needs to talk to Scott Boras.

Offseason In Review: Arizona Diamondbacks

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Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Diamondbacks.  Here's what we wrote about the team on October 2nd.  Changes for 2009:

Additions: Jon Garland, Felipe Lopez, Tom Gordon, Scott Schoeneweis, Bobby Korecky, Tony Clark (re-signed).  Midseason: Jon Rauch

Subtractions: Adam Dunn, Orlando Hudson, Brandon Lyon, Juan Cruz, Randy Johnson, Chris Burke, Jeff Salazar, Edgar Gonzalez.  Midseason: Micah Owings, Emilio Bonifacio

Offensively, Lopez replacing Hudson is the main change.  As GM Josh Byrnes told Nick Piecoro, "On a given day we should have one through eight, all good hitters."  The D'Backs don't have any hitter who projects at less than a .333 OBP or less than a .400 SLG (according to CHONE).  Their lineup projects at 4.71 runs per game, better than last year's 4.44.  4.71 would've ranked sixth in the NL last year.  Plus, Drew and Upton certainly have the potential to crush their projections.

With last year's strong run prevention, the D'Backs would be in line for 87 wins.  But can they match the 706 runs they allowed in '08?

Last year's rotation posted a 3.95 ERA in 978.6 innings.  They've subtracted a full season of fine work from Johnson and a half season of bad work from Owings.  Garland and Max Scherzer will be the main replacements.  CHONE has the pair combining for a 4.60 ERA in 270 innings, most of which comes from Garland at a 5.01 ERA.  Still, that beats the 4.74 mark from Johnson and Owings combined last year.  In a perfect world it would've been Johnson over Garland, but unfortunately at the time of the Johnson negotiations the D'Backs couldn't afford him.  It would've been nice to see them stretch the budget and offer $4-5MM to the Big Unit.

The Chris Snyder extension was a smart move, and it left catcher Miguel Montero as a valuable trade chip.  Swapping him for an MLB-ready starter would be big.

As far as the bullpen goes, I think a decent year from Rauch can make up for the loss of Cruz.  Defensively, the D'Backs ranked 11th in the NL last year according to The Fielding Bible II.  Lopez is a downgrade on Hudson even if Hudson had an off year in '08.  But maybe Drew can make up the difference at short.

Since run prevention looks like a wash, 87 wins seems like a reasonable projection for the '09 D'Backs.  Drew, Upton, and Scherzer are all capable of beating forecasts and carrying this team to a 90 win season.

Bottom line: The D'Backs lost many free agents this winter, and replacing Johnson with Garland was unfortunate.  Arizona should still battle for a division title if their 3-4-5 starters are decent.

Red Sox Still Looking For A Catcher

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According to ESPN's Peter Gammons:

The Red Sox say the backup/Tim Wakefield catching job has been won by George Kottaras, but they are still looking for another catcher. The Diamondbacks, who would like another starting pitcher, continue to insist on Michael Bowden for Miguel Montero, and Boston GM Theo Epstein still won't trade Bowden.

Montero, 25, hit .255/.330/.435 last year in 207 plate appearances as Chris Snyder's backup.  He threw out 18.2% of attempted base-stealers.  Meanwhile Bowden, 22, tossed 144.3 innings in the minors last year with a 2.62 ERA.  Baseball America called him "a safe bet with a good chance to become a No.3 starter."

Rays Take Eduardo Morlan Back

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According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Rays reclaimed pitcher Eduardo Morlan today.  Morlan had been a Rule 5 pick by the Brewers.  To keep a Rule 5 pick you have to keep him on the Major League roster all year, so it can be tough for a contender to pull off.  The Rays paid $25K to take Morlan back; a deal could not be reached to keep him with Milwaukee. 

Morlan, 23 in March, posted solid numbers in Double A last year for the Rays. 

Odds & Ends: Pudge, A-Rod, Wilson, Hill

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Links for Thursday…

Giants Seek Catcher, Reliever

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According to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News:

Scouts are buzzing that the Giants are actively looking to upgrade at backup catcher and long relief. One possibility is catcher Rob Bowen, whom the A's released Tuesday.

Baggarly suggests the Giants' trade chips include pitchers Luis Perdomo and Merkin Valdez, as well as outfielder Eugenio Velez.

A handful of catchers remain on the free agent market, including new member Josh Bard.  Tracy Ringolsby wonders if the Rockies will renew their interest in Bard.  The Marlins, however, don't appear interested according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.  The free agent market also features about a dozen relievers.

Cubs Can Add Payroll Midseason

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Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times talked to Cubs chairman Crane Kenney, who anticipates payroll room to make moves around the July trading deadline.  The team's revenue sources have remained strong for the most part.

It sounds like the Cubs' new ownership will be in place before the deadline.  In another article, Wittenmyer quotes Kenney as saying the Tribune and the Ricketts family are "very close to the terms of their deal," which could be wrapped up in May.

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