Moises Alou Likely To Retire
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talked to outfielder Moises Alou, who is likely to retire. Alou said:
"I’m going home after this. I haven’t decided 100 percent. But it looks like it. It looks like it. I’m tired of the nagging injuries — my calf, my quad, my hammy, everyday something different. It got to the point that I didn’t trust going out there. Everybody wants me to keep playing. I know the feelings inside — the pains and aches. Sometimes it is time to let it go. It’s not forever. This is my last rodeo, like you guys say. It’s a nice one."
Alou would finish with a career line of .303/.369/.516 for the Pirates, Expos, Marlins, Astros, Cubs, Giants, and Mets. He hit 332 home runs and banked almost $86MM.
Schuerholz Not Likely For Nationals Job
On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that Braves president John Schuerholz was a subject of speculation for the Nationals GM job. Rosenthal added:
Schuerholz, 68, is from Baltimore, about 45 miles north of Washington, but might only leave the Braves if the Nationals offered him a percentage of ownership. Even then, he probably would be reluctant to make a career change; he has worked for the Braves since Oct. 1990.
Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked Schuerholz about the possibility today; here’s what he said:
"Other than the fact that it had no element of fact to it, I don’t know where he came up with it. It was completely baseless as it relates to me. Obviously it was his judgment or guess that it might be so because I happen to have been born in Baltimore and I worked for Stan (Kasten). Those two things are true. Other than that, end of story."
Juan Pierre Will Pursue Trade
According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick:
The Dodgers have given Juan Pierre‘s agent permission to explore potential trade partners for the outfielder who again lost his starting job with the re-signing of left fielder Manny Ramirez.
Pierre says his agent will "talk to teams and try to find a situation that can work out for everybody."
The whole idea seems weird to me. Why would Pierre’s agent be making these calls instead of Ned Colletti? Perhaps the idea is for Pierre’s agent to identify a few teams that wouldn’t mind having the outfielder under certain circumstances, to get the ball rolling. Pierre’s owed a hefty $28.5MM over the next three seasons, but he is willing to defer payment.
Odds & Ends: Free Agents, Manny, Buchholz
Links for Thursday…
- A confident Sidney Ponson expects his agent to receive a few calls after he pitches in the WBC Saturday, according to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- ESPN’s Rob Neyer looks at the most interesting remaining free agents.
- Jorge Says No! names their 8 Worst Free Agent Contracts of the offseason.
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire weighs in on the Manny Ramirez contract, noting the player’s control over the team’s finances. Check out Manny’s comments made to the AP. Juan Pierre doesn’t have much to say about the signing.
- Baseball America’s Ben Badler talks about the reactions of Latin American scouts to the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal.
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark looks at the top players who are on Spring Training invites.
- Rockies reliever Taylor Buchholz will miss the rest of Spring Training with a sprained elbow.
- Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves made room for Tom Glavine on the 40-man roster by outrighting pitcher Anthony Lerew, who cleared waivers.
Ivan Rodriguez Rumors: Thursday
10:54am: WEEI’s Alex Speier spoke to Rodriguez, who said:
"My agent and I, the conversation we had is (regarding) Houston and Florida. There have been rumors about the Mets, also. But as of right now, there’s nothing firm. Nothing has happened. We’re still waiting."
Pudge spoke highly of the Mets and didn’t rule out the idea of being a backup on a one-year deal.
9:23am: In a column last night, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports weighed in on free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez.
Rosenthal says the Marlins and Mets remain interested in Rodriguez, but in either case he’d have to earn his playing time. Pudge wants to enter a situation where he’ll get to play five days a week. The Marlins and Mets aren’t ready to push aside John Baker or Brian Schneider to guarantee that. Also, the Mets would have to move backup Ramon Castro to be able to sign Rodriguez. Rodriguez seems more concerned with playing time than money. He’ll attempt to raise his stock in the WBC.
Rosenthal says the Astros will pass over "concern that Rodriguez would be a poor teammate."
Carlos Gonzalez, Ryan Spilborghs Switched To Boras
Two new names for our Scott Boras client list, courtesy of Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies. Ringolsby says Rockies outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Spilborghs switched to Boras during the offseason. Jeff Baker is the Rockies’ third pre-arbitration Boras client. None of the three agreed to terms to 2009 contracts, instead forcing the Rockies to renew them. Says Ringolsby:
The Rockies have a very stringent pay scale for pre-arbitration eligible players, and they are consistent with that approach. Boras does not agree with the philosophy and prefers to have his clients not agree to the contract as a matter of principle.
Miguel Tejada Still Fond Of Orioles
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun spoke to Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada, who said:
"I always enjoyed to be with the Orioles. I’m a free agent this year. You never know. I might come back."
The Orioles’ shortstop situation will depend on the performance of Cesar Izturis, who they signed at $2.4MM for ’09 and $2.6MM for ’10. But even if Izturis meets expectations, the Orioles will have a vacancy at third base since Melvin Mora‘s contract will be up.
Pedro A Closer Candidate For Cards?
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about the possibility of the Cardinals pursuing Pedro Martinez as a possible closer candidate:
[GM John] Mozeliak is scheduled to meet today with [manager Tony] La Russa and his coaches to discuss the camp’s progress. The discussion might include discussion of Martinez as an option at closer. La Russa suggested in November that the club should expand its consideration to include veteran starting pitchers. Martinez has a recent history of shoulder problems but said Tuesday he would be open to the possibility of closing.
The World Baseball Classic might be a decent test of whether Pedro can perform in a relief role. In yesterday’s exhibition game, Martinez was clocked as high as 91 mph according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. It appears that he has yet to be offered a Major League deal.
Cardinals Exploring Lefty Relief Options
THURSDAY: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talks about the Cardinals’ pursuit of a lefty reliever:
Internal support exists for pursuing Beimel, but [GM John] Mozeliak recently denied making contact with Beimel’s agent, Joe Sroba.
Speaking of Beimel, Pirates president Frank Coonelly commented on him during an MLB.com chat yesterday:
He is someone who we have considered this offseason and have had discussions with his representative. To date, Joe has not been receptive to the type of contract we have discussed.
WEDNESDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Cardinals are "exploring the remaining lefties on the free agent market." So far this offseason they’ve imported Trever Miller, Royce Ring, Charlie Manning, and Ian Ostlund. Perhaps they’re attracted to the possibility of a bargain, with three solid southpaws remaining on the market.
Rosenthal notes that Dennys Reyes‘ agent Casey Close is telling teams his client is close to a decision. Furthermore, he won’t be signing with Oakland. The A’s could move on to Joe Beimel. Rosenthal adds that the Cardinals are interested in Reyes as well as Will Ohman.
Pedro Martinez Rumors: Wednesday
Yesterday Pedro Martinez suggested he’d be happy to retire to his fishing boat if nobody offers him a contract he likes. Today, Joshua Robinson of the New York Times reports that Pedro doesn’t seem ready to leave baseball behind.
Robinson writes that Pedro "began to sound a little like an infomercial" after pitching against the Orioles for the Dominican Republic today. Apparently, Pedro described his health as "good" or "great" seven times in the first minute of the post-game interview. He allowed four baserunners in two innings, striking out two.