Yankees Outfield Options
Braves DFA Blaine Boyer
According to Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the Braves have designated Blaine Boyer for assignment. You can find O'Brien's update in the comments section of the article.
The righty had allowed six earned runs in an inning and a third of work so far in three relief appearances for the Braves.
White Sox Acquire Andy Phillips
According to MLB.com's Jen Langosch, the Pirates traded utility man Andy Phillips to the White Sox for minor league pitcher Michael Dubee. Phillips had signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh during the offseason. The 32 year-old spent most of his career in the Yankees organization, and also spent time with the Mets and Reds. Dubee joined with White Sox in July of '07, when they sent Tadahito Iguchi to Philadelphia.
Nationals Closing In On Extension With Zimmerman
3:10pm: Chico Harlan of the Washington Post says the Nationals are closing in on a five-year, $45MM extension with Zimmerman. The deal would begin with 2009, erasing his current contract. By comparison, Markakis will earn $47MM over the same service time slice of his career.
2:35pm: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Nationals are closing in on an extension with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. The talks are getting serious, with Zimmerman aiming for a deal similar to Nick Markakis' six-year, $66.1MM deal. Rosenthal says a Zimmerman extension "likely would cover his remaining arbitration years and at least two years of free agency." Markakis' deal bought out all three arbitration years and three free agent years with a mutual option for a fourth.
Looking at Zimmerman's accomplishments, is he worth a big-money extension? Or are the Nationals locking him up because he's their best young player?
Twins Claim Morillo; Designate Humber
According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins claimed reliever Juan Morillo off waivers from the Rockies and designated Philip Humber for assignment. They must feel that Morillo has more upside given the mid-90s heat. Both pitchers are out of options. Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies notes that the Twins were the 21st in line to make the Morillo claim.
Humber, 26, was chosen third overall by the Mets in '04. He was traded to the Twins as part of the Johan Santana deal in February of '08.
Odds & Ends: Bonifacio, Jimenez, Darvish
Links for Friday…
- Royals third baseman Alex Gordon is out 10-12 weeks due to hip surgery. Mark Teahen will slide over to take his place.
- Ken Rosenthal examines the Indians.
- I did a Q&A with But The Game Is On.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post gets into the Emilio Bonifacio trade.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. writes about how the Yankees' signing of D'Angelo Jimenez changed everything.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker has a Yu Darvish velocity chart.
- The Big Lead talked to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Paul DePodesta explains the Padres' decision to expose Travis Denker to waivers.
Discussion: Cy Young Predictions
This thread serves as the home for your official Cy Young predictions. These are basically preseason picks; I'm not asking you to base your decision on regular season stats. Some of the contenders:
American League: Jon Lester, Roy Halladay, Zack Greinke, John Danks, Matt Garza, Erik Bedard, C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Felix Hernandez, Gil Meche, Josh Beckett, Mark Buehrle, Jeremy Guthrie, Justin Verlander, Joe Saunders, Cliff Lee, Armando Galarraga, Kevin Millwood, Daisuke Matsuzaka
National League: Josh Johnson, Johan Santana, Yovani Gallardo, Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang, Clayton Kershaw, Dan Haren, Brandon Webb, Derek Lowe, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Chad Billingsley, Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Adam Wainwright, Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, Ricky Nolasco, Edinson Volquez, Roy Oswalt, Randy Johnson, Javier Vazquez, Brett Myers, Kyle Lohse, Paul Maholm
Feel free to pick someone not on the list!
Geoff Jenkins Wants To Play
According to ESPN's Buster Olney:
Geoff Jenkins remains unsigned and continues to work out in Arizona, preparing for his next opportunity, says Damon Lapa, his agent. "He definitely wants to play," said Lapa. "I just [think] he's being constructively selective." Jenkins, 34, was released by the Phillies near the end of spring training. He batted .246 last season, with nine homers, doing most of his damage against right-handed pitchers. With the Yankees having just lost Xavier Nady—possibly for the year—he might possibly be a fit for New York, although General Manager Brian Cashman might prefer a right-handed hitting outfielder to replace the right-handed hitting Nady; Jenkins bats left-handed.
Jenkins will probably cost around $400K to employ, with the Phillies on the hook for the rest of his $8MM salary this year. The Marlins and Reds were linked to him a few weeks ago, but it's been quiet lately. Jenkins hit .256/.313/.415 against right-handed pitching last year.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bay, Dodgers, Draft
On this date eight years ago, Barry Bonds hit his 500th career home run and on this date three years ago, Pedro Martinez won his 200th game. Both players are likely headed to Cooperstown, neither player has retired and yet both players are without a team. As we wrap up the second week of the '09 season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Surviving Grady fancies the Red Sox new Canadian import, Jason Bay, who is helping Bostonians forget all about…what was his name?
- UmpBump puts together an impressive roster of players Ned Colletti "gave up on."
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham shows that history does not favor pitchers taken with the top pick of the draft. In fact, they also show that of the best pitchers acquired via the draft in the last 20 years, only Dwight Gooden was drafted in the first five picks.
- Jorge Says No puts together a roster of the worst free agent contracts of the last five years.
- Feeling Dodger Blue looks at the Dodgers' most recent top picks, both pitchers, and both appear to finally be healthy.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here or on Twitter.
Odds & Ends: Young, Morillo, Soria
Links for Thursday…
- Delwyn Young talks about his trade to the Pirates, and GM Neal Huntington also commented to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies says hard-throwing reliever Juan Morillo is now on waivers.
- El Lefty Malo notes that the Giants aren't a lock to be competitive in 2010.
- Yahoo's David Brown spoke to Royals relief ace Joakim Soria.