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Odds & Ends: Phillies, Manny, Japanese Players

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Here are a few more random notes from the MLBiverse…

  • Todd Zolecki says the Phillies would likely have to trade Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs if they want to add another right-handed bat to the bench, noting that it is not likely for either player to be released after the Phils already ate Adam Eaton’s contract. Zolecki does say that Stair’s $1MM salary would be easier to absorb.
  • Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal gives us some quotes from Terry Francona in response to being asked about Jonathan Papelbon calling Manny Ramirez a "cancer." Francona would not answer the questions directly but did say "The moves we make, I think that speaks volumes enough."
  • Keith Law scouted the Japanese squad at the World Baseball Classic and gives us the rundown on a few of their better players. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t believe that any of the players mentioned will be eligible to make the jump to MLB anytime soon.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Pedro, Wood, Pudge, Gonzalez

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Ken Rosenthal weighs in on a few of the recent hot topics…

  • Like we heard earlier, Rosenthal says the Dodgers would only be willing to add Pedro Martinez to the mix if he is willing to “pitch for pay” and accept an incentive-laden contract. Rosenthal adds that Martinez’ agents reached out to the Dodgers and that the Dodgers contacted Pedro’s personal trainer but deny that any serious conservations have occurred.
  • Rosenthal feels that the Dodgers have a better shot of landing a starter if they trade Delwyn Young who is out of minor league options.
  • Rosenthal says Brandon Wood has given up hope that the Angels will trade Chone Figgins to clear a spot for Wood on the roster. Wood does have a minor league option remaining. Rosenthal says the Angels would need to find another leadoff hitter if they let Figgins walk at the end of the season as a free agent.
  • Rosenthal adds that the Marlins are “warming to the idea” of signing Ivan Rodriguez, but that playing time remains an issue as Pudge wants to play five days a week.
  • According to Rosenthal, Luis Gonzalez is willing to resign with the D-Backs, but it may only happen if Eric Byrnes continues to have problems with his hamstring.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Rosenthal On Pedro, Wood, Pudge, Gonzalez

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Ken Rosenthal weighs in on a few of the recent hot topics…

  • Like we heard earlier, Rosenthal says the Dodgers would only be willing to add Pedro Martinez to the mix if he is willing to "pitch for pay" and accept an incentive-laden contract. Rosenthal adds that Martinez’ agents reached out to the Dodgers and that the Dodgers contacted Pedro’s personal trainer but deny that any serious conservations have occurred.
  • Rosenthal feels that the Dodgers have a better shot of landing a starter if they trade Delwyn Young who is out of minor league options.
  • Rosenthal says Brandon Wood has given up hope that the Angels will trade Chone Figgins to clear a spot for Wood on the roster. Wood does have a minor league option remaining. Rosenthal says the Angels would need to find another leadoff hitter if they let Figgins walk at the end of the season as a free agent.
  • Rosenthal adds that the Marlins are "warming to the idea" of signing Ivan Rodriguez, but that playing time remains an issue as Pudge wants to play five days a week.
  • According to Rosenthal, Luis Gonzalez is willing to resign with the D-Backs, but it may only happen if Eric Byrnes continues to have problems with his hamstring.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Offseason In Review: Detroit Tigers

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Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Tigers.  Here’s what I wrote about them on September 18th.

Additions: Edwin Jackson, Brandon Lyon, Gerald Laird, Matt Treanor, Adam Everett, Juan Rincon, Scott Williamson, Alexis Gomez, Timo Perez

Subtractions: Edgar Renteria, Matt Joyce, Kenny Rogers, Aquilino Lopez, Todd Jones, Casey Fossum, Gary Glover, Kyle Farnsworth.  Midseason: Ivan Rodriguez

In September we were talking about the Tigers slashing payroll drastically, but they’re in the $125MM range to start ’09.  The club remains saddled with multiple bad contracts.

While the Tigers’ offense last year didn’t quite meet expectations, the team did rank fourth in the AL with 5.07 runs per game.  The ’09 lineup has new regulars Laird and Everett and will be without Joyce at the outfield corners.  Using CHONE projections and Baseball Musings’ lineup analysis tool, it seems that this crew can match last year’s performance.

The question mark remains on the runs allowed side of things.  Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski took steps to improve the team’s defense (8th in the AL last year according to the Fielding Bible II) by bringing in Everett and Laird.  Using Inge at third base all year will help as well.

The Tigers had lousy pitching last year, in both the rotation and bullpen.  Jackson is an improvement over Kenny Rogers, while Justin Verlander and Nate Robertson should bounce back to some extent (though Armando Galarraga should regress).  30 healthy starts from Jeremy Bonderman would go a long way toward solidifying this group, but it almost has to be better than the ’08 rotation.

I feel similarly about the bullpen.  Lyon is better than Todd Jones, and Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney are hopefully healthy.  The pen should be better, we can say that much.  It’s hard to predict, but if the Tigers are able to get to around 775 runs allowed they should be on track for 85-86 wins.

Bottom line: Dombrowski trimmed payroll but still made improvements to the Tigers’ defense and pitching.  If a few of the many wild cards in the rotation come through they’ll be in contention.

Dodgers Curious About Pedro Martinez

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1:59pm: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News says there hasn’t been contract between the Dodgers and Pedro’s agent for months.  He says the Dodgers still are not considering signing him.  It’d only happen with a base salary near the league minimum.

Like Colletti, manager Joe Torre at least seemed open to the idea in his comments to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

8:58am: Bill Plaschke of the L.A. Times advocates the Dodgers signing Pedro Martinez, and GM Ned Colletti admitted, "He’s somebody we’re curious about."  The question is whether Pedro will drop his asking price enough to make a return to L.A. feasible.  Plaschke also talked to former Dodgers GM Fred Claire, who admitted "it was a bad trade" when he traded Martinez to the Expos for Delino DeShields in November of 1993.

The Pirates explored the idea of signing Pedro back in January, but found the price prohibitive at the time according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Odds & Ends: Manny, Papelbon, Pudge, Peavy

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Links for Thursday…

  • The Nationals remain interested in Duaner Sanchez, says Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan talked to Mark Prior.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post heard Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras consider the contract with the Dodgers a one-year deal with a safety net.  Sherman wonders if the Yankees and/or Mets could get involved depending on how Manny’s 2009 season plays out.
  • Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon commented about Manny to Chris Jones in the April issue of Esquire.  It’s a good article and there’s a lot more to it than the Manny comments.
  • Free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez is working out at first base, according to Will Gonzalez of MLB.com.
  • The Padres have the third pick in the June draft.  Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune asks whether they’ll finally take a player with big upside.
  • Jake Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod seems to be writing off the Padres, in comments to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune: "It’s tough with the Padres’ situation.  They are not very good and it looks like it is going to be another long year for them."
  • Marlins shortstop Robert Andino is out of options, so Mike Phillips of the Miami Herald says this is his audition.
  • ESPN’s Buster Olney says Mark Mulder’s audition is drawing closer and he’s throwing well.  Olney also says Luis Gonzalez is waiting by the phone.  For a look at the other remaining free agents, click here.

Tough Decisions For Tigers

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes about the tough decisions faced by the Tigers this spring.

First, they have to decide whether to let 20 year-old phenom Rick Porcello break camp with the team, even though he has yet to pitch above A ball.  GM Dave Dombrowski seems open to it.  He says the issue of delaying Porcello’s arbitration will not come into play.

The Tigers also have to decide what to do with veterans Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson, and Gary Sheffield.  Will their contracts lead to roster spots?  Robertson (4 ER in 4 IP) is owed $17MM through 2010.  Willis (4 ER in 3 IP) will make $22MM in that time.  And Sheffield (.167/.423/.500 in 18 ABs) earns $14MM in ’09.  Spring Training stats don’t mean much anyway, but these samples are especially small.  And Rosenthal says Willis and/or Robertson could be sent to the minors or bullpen if necessary.

Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Pedro, A’s, Padres

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Links for Wednesday…

Schumaker Second Base Experiment Failing

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According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Skip Schumaker second base experiment is not going well.  So far it’s been a learning experience for Schumaker defensively.  Tony La Russa’s internal options: Brendan Ryan, Brian Barden, Joe Thurston, Tyler Greene, and Jarrett Hoffpauir.

Strauss believes Cardinals GM John Mozeliak may explore a trade to fill the position rather than sign a free agent.  Aside from possibly Dan Uggla, though, the trade market doesn’t seem to offer anyone better than Ray Durham and Mark Grudzielanek.

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