According to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers released lefty reliever Jimmy Gobble today. They'll go with C.J. Wilson and Eddie Guardado as southpaws in the pen. The Rangers had signed Gobble on March 21st after the Royals let him go. Gobble can still get lefties out, and can be retained by his new team for 2010 as an arbitration-eligible player.
Archives for March 2009
Heyman On Strasburg, Lackey, Pedro
SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column up.
- In talking to club execs who have spoken with Scott Boras about Stephen Strasburg, Heyman believes Boras does have $50MM in mind. Boras allegedly likened Strasburg to fictional pitcher Sidd Finch, with the plan being to shatter previous draft pick bonuses by using Daisuke Matsuzaka's contract as a model. One Nationals person told Heyman, "We'll pay the $10 million, and we'll get him signed." This much is clear: we'll have something off the field to talk about in August. For more Strasburg Mania, check out this article by Steve Henson at Yahoo.
- Heyman learned from Nationals sources that Stan Kasten and team ownership, not Jim Bowden, cut off the Aaron Crow negotiations at $3.3MM. Kasten's had many applicants for Bowden's GM job, but Heyman's sources expect Mike Rizzo to retain the gig.
- A Heyman source estimated that the Angels offered John Lackey four years and around $50MM. Talks are on hold given Lackey's elbow injury. He didn't want to negotiate during the season anyway. The latest report on Lackey's injury is pretty good.
- Pedro Martinez still wants $5MM, and is "willing to wait well into the season." Heyman believes the Dodgers, Indians, Pirates, Astros, and Mets are possibilities now.
Cubs Release Paul Bako, Mike Stanton
According to a press release, the Cubs released catcher Paul Bako and reliever Mike Stanton today. So, it looks like Koyie Hill has the team's backup catcher job.
Bako, 36, hit .364/.400/.515 in 35 spring plate appearances. Stanton, 41, allowed six runs and 13 hits in 8.3 innings.
Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Cubs, Melky, Lima
Links for Monday…
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about the Giants' lack of interest in Adam Melhuse and considers other players who could help.
- Alex Speier of WEEI looks back at the Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz trade of 1987. According to former Tigers GM Bill Lajoie, the Braves would have taken Steve Searcy instead of Smoltz.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald says the Cubs "appear to be getting some trade feelers" on out of options relievers Chad Gaudin and Angel Guzman. Moving one could create space for Rule 5 pick David Patton.
- Tyler Hissey of Around The Majors looks back at the Delmon Young/Matt Garza swap. What did MLBTR commenters think when the deal went down on November 28th, 2007? Click here to find out. Garza will face the Twins for the first time today.
- Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts says the Tigers are apparently trying to recreate the bullpen of the 2007 Rays.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes Melky Cabrera would be best served as an NL bench player.
- T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times discusses the Dodgers' $47MM bust, Jason Schmidt.
- Aaron Shinsano of East Windup Chronicle has more Korean prospect news: the Royals signed catcher Shin Jin-ho, while the Mariners signed catcher Choi Ji-man.
- Jose Lima is back playing baseball in the U.S., according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.
- Will Sommer of Mets Fans Forever talked to GM Omar Minaya.
- Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post looks at the Marlins' decision to non-tender reliever Joe Nelson. It would've made a lot of sense to bring him back.
Gammons Notes: Angels, Delcarmen
A little hot stove info from ESPN's Peter Gammons:
Word is the Angels are worried enough about their starting pitching to look around, especially at the Reds. And several Arizona teams have expressed interest in Boston reliever Manny Delcarmen. Boston needs a catcher, and could use another infielder and even another outfielder.
The Angels have concerns at the front of their rotation with John Lackey and Ervin Santana. The reasonable Reds target for the Halos would have to be Aaron Harang (my own speculation). A week ago, Gammons wrote about the Reds possibly moving Harang during the season, but GM Walt Jocketty seemed to reject the idea.
As for the teams interested in Delcarmen, here's a reminder of the Arizona Spring Training clubs: the D'Backs, Cubs, White Sox, Indians, Rockies, Royals, Angels, Dodgers, Brewers, A's, Padres, Giants, Mariners, and Rangers.
Rays Release Morgan Ensberg
According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays released third baseman Morgan Ensberg today. Ensberg hit .227/.314/.273 in 50 plate appearances this spring. Ensberg has bounced around with the Yankees, Indians, and Padres in recent years.
Freddy Sanchez Wants To Stay In Pittsburgh
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked to Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez, who wants to stay with the team beyond this season. Under his current contract, Sanchez has three ways to remain a Pirate in 2010:
- Team chooses his $8MM club option over the $600K buyout
- Option vests with 635 plate appearances
- Option vests with 600 PAs and an All-Star game selection
Presumably the Bucs are not going to be terribly interested in exercising the club option. But 635 PAs is possible; Sanchez had 632 in '06 and 653 in '07. Sanchez mostly batted first and second in the lineup last year.
According to Kovacevic, Sanchez doesn't want the contract clause to become a factor. He just wants to have a strong, healthy season and "everything will take care of itself." It was Sanchez who urged Jack Wilson to approach the Pirates about an extension. Sanchez wants to be part of the next winning Pirates team.
Marcus Giles Released
According to Scott Lauber of The News Journal, the Phillies released infielder Marcus Giles this morning. Giles blamed himself for not performing well enough. He hit .167/.302/.250 in 41 spring plate appearances after sitting out the 2008 season.
Coupled with various demotions, Miguel Cairo is left as the only potential righthanded bench bat according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Zolecki says the Phils continue to look for help in that regard.
Dodgers Make Offer To Will Ohman
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has the latest on free agent lefty Will Ohman, who auditioned for the Dodgers yesterday. Hernandez says the Dodgers offered Ohman about $1MM, half of his reported asking price. They're waiting to hear back. Joe Beimel managed to snag $2MM from Washington on March 18th.
Hernandez says the Dodgers need Ohman as much as he needs them, as they're considering Erick Threets and Brian Mazone for the situational lefty role.
Astros Release David Newhan
According to MLB.com's Alyson Footer last night, the Astros released David Newhan. Newhan wasn't pleased that he had to read about his exclusion from the backup shortstop competition on MLB.com rather than hearing about it from manager Cecil Cooper.
The 35 year-old Newhan hit .182/.308/.182 in 38 plate appearances this spring.
