Delwyn Young Designated
According to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, Dodgers outfielder Delwyn Young was designated for assignment today. They'll have ten days to trade, release, or waive him. Young is out of options.
Young, 26, hit .246/.321/.341 last year at Triple A but .337/.384/.571 in '07. He dealt with a strained oblique last year and began this season with an elbow issue. Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News suggested yesterday that the Indians, Pirates, and Phillies were eyeing Young.
Mark Fidrych Found Dead
According to the Patriot Ledger, former pitcher Mark Fidrych was found dead at his home today at age 54. The cause was an apparent accident working under his pickup truck.
Offseason In Review: Philadelphia Phillies
Time to close out the Offseason In Review serieswith a look at the Phillies. Here's what we wrote about them on November 6th.
Additions: Raul Ibanez, Chan Ho Park, Jack Taschner, Miguel Cairo, Scott Eyre (re-signed), Jamie Moyer (re-signed), John Mayberry, Rodrigo Lopez, Gustavo Chacin, Pablo Ozuna, Gary Majewski, Dave Borkowski. Midseason: Joe Blanton
Subtractions: Pat Burrell, Geoff Jenkins, Adam Eaton, So Taguchi, Rudy Seanez, Tom Gordon
Extensions: Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Ryan Madson, Greg Dobbs
I wrote in November that the Phillies "didn't win the World Series on a bunch of career years, so keeping this group intact is a reasonable strategy." That's pretty much what new GM Ruben Amaro Jr. did, locking up current players, jettisoning dead weight, and replacing Burrell with Ibanez. Let's take a closer look.
Last year the Phillies were third in the NL with 4.93 runs per game, though their .332 OBP ranked seventh. As a left-handed hitter and poor fielder, Ibanez seemed a questionable fit for the Phillies. They jumped on him in mid-December for full market price – $31.5MM. Burrell would later sign with the Rays for half the dollars. On the other hand, Ibanez is a solid bat and the Phillies project to score 4.98 runs per game according to CHONE projections and the Baseball Musings lineup analysis tool. Howard's OBP should bounce back, and Jenkins won't be eating up 322 plate appearances.
The Phillies' 2008 rotation ranked seventh in the NL with a 4.23 ERA in 966.2 innings. This time they'll have Blanton all year plus Chan Ho Park and possibly J.A. Happ filling the fifth starter role. Carlos Carrasco gives the Phillies additional depth. The front three of Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, and Moyer returns, with concerns already surfacing about Hamels' elbow. Obviously the Phils need another big year from Hamels, but otherwise I think they can weather regression from Moyer just by not trotting out Kyle Kendrick and Eaton for 49 starts again.
The vaunted Phillies bullpen posted a 3.22 ERA in 483 innings last year. The main change for '09: Eyre, Happ, and Taschner will soak up lefty innings in the first third of the year while J.C. Romero serves his suspension. Just with typical regression the '09 pen projects around 3.93, according to CHONE.
The Phillies had the best defense in baseball last year, according to The Fielding Bible II. The main differences in '09 – more Werth, no Jenkins, and the Burrell-Ibanez swap – shouldn't change much. The Phillies still have an awesome defensive infield and the fine work of Victorino in center.
In trying to match or exceed their 92 wins from last year, the Phillies deal with rotation uncertainty and regression in the bullpen. I have them around 90-91 wins, assuming 200+ innings from Hamels. You may recall I had the Braves at 90 and the Mets around 86. It should be a fierce battle for the NL East, and the Marlins can't be counted out.
Bottom line: The World Series champs didn't change much in the offseason. On paper the Phillies still look like the best team in the NL East, albeit with a very small margin for error.
Odds & Ends: Wells, Gaudin, Projections
Links for Monday…
- Ken Kadokura, briefly with the Cubs, is headed to Korea according to NPB Tracker.
- Jill Painter of the L.A. Daily News has Frank McCourt's unrevealing comments about Ned Colletti's future.
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the latest minor league transactions, including plenty of releases.
- The AP reports that David Wells has signed a multiyear deal as a TBS analyst.
- We snagged a mention in ESPN The Magazine, due to our sponsorship of Matt Holliday's Baseball-Reference page.
- Chad Gaudin told MLB.com's Sandy Burgin "as many as 11 teams" made inquiries before he signed with the Padres. He signed with San Diego for the opportunity to be a starting pitcher.
- Matt Swartz of Statistically Speaking finds the strengths and weaknesses of various projection systems.
- Admit it…you're starting to panic about certain members of your fantasy team.
Harry Kalas Passes Away
According to the Philadelphia Daily News, longtime Phillies broadcaster and Hall of Famer Harry Kalas has passed away at age 73. The organization was stunned to lose him.
Heyman On Bonifacio, Lincecum, Garcia
A look at Jon Heyman's new column at SI.com…
- Heyman writes in praise of the Marlins for acquiring Emilio Bonifacio as part of the Josh Willingham–Scott Olsen deal last November. Contrast that with Ken Rosenthal, who spoke to a scout a week ago who was not impressed with Bonifacio.
- Heyman hasn't found any evidence that the Giants are close to signing Tim Lincecum to an extension.
- Heyman says that Freddy Garcia's contract doesn't have an out clause, but "it's generally understood that if another big-league team is ready to give him a shot, the Mets would either try to find room for him or let him go." Garcia has apparently looked good in extended spring training.
Discussion: Midseason Trade Candidates
A popular question in our live chats: who will be on the trading block this summer? I will kick off this discussion by throwing out a bunch of names. Sound off in the comments about whether they'll be traded and possible destinations.
- Jake Peavy
- Roy Halladay
- Erik Bedard (looking great so far)
- Rick Ankiel
- Adam LaRoche
- Miguel Tejada
- Adrian Beltre
- Matt Holliday
- Jermaine Dye
- Brian Giles
- Aubrey Huff
- Kevin Millwood
- Magglio Ordonez
- Vernon Wells
- Dan Uggla
Manny Would Like A Second Indians Stint
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Manny Ramirez would like to play for the Indians one more time before the end of his career. He even talked to Jim Thome about reuniting in Cleveland. Of course, it takes two to tango and the Indians have Travis Hafner locked in at DH through 2012.
Back in the 2000-01 offseason, it seemed that Manny wanted to stay in Cleveland but his agent Jeff Moorad steered him toward the more lucrative Boston offer. The Indians topped out at $138MM over eight years, but Ramirez received $160MM from the Red Sox. Manny reportedly regretted his decision by the summer of '01, according to his authorized biography Becoming Manny.
Ken Gurnick and John Schlegel of MLB.com have follow-up comments from Manny and Scott Boras.
Week in Review: 4/5 – 4/11
The beginning of the season finally arrived, but unfortunately brought one of the more tragic occurrences in recent baseball history. Let's take a look:
- The top story of the week is unquestionably Nick Adenhart's tragic, untimely death. Adenhart, 22, was killed in a car accident just hours after tossing six scoreless innings against the A's. My strongest condolences to the familes and friends of Adenhart, Courtney Stewart, and Henry Pearson, as well as the Angels organization and Angels fans. R.I.P. Nick.
- Pedro Martinez doesn't have any thoughts of retiring or sitting the 2009 season out. He still fully plans on playing, and reportedly is not interested in lowering his $5MM asking price or taking an incentive-laden deal. Will a contender in need of a fifth starter eventually give in and pay the price, or will Pedro have to bring down his asking price if he wants to play in 2009? Where do you see him going, and for how much?
- The Giants took a shot at adding some much-needed pop to their lineup when they signed the recently-released Dallas McPherson. Will San Francisco finally be the place where McPherson reaches his potential, or will he retain his Quadruple-A label?
- Speaking of recently-released players, the Padres signed Chad Gaudin to a minor-league deal early this morning. As we always say, if there's any place for a pitcher to get his career back on track, Petco Park in San Diego is it. Nice signing by the Friars.
- Here's a signing I never thought I'd type: The Mariners signed Jeff Zimmerman to a minor-league deal this week. Yes, the same Zimmerman who saved 28 games for the Rangers in 2001 and hasn't pitched in the big leagues since. He's had two Tommy John surgeries since then, and will attempt to make a comeback in Seattle at the age of 36. Can't see it happening, but it'd make for a nice story, wouldn't it?
- Lots of extension talks this week: Ryan Zimmerman and the Nats put their talks on hold until after the season, but Zimmerman says they've come a long way; John Lackey backpedaled a bit on his Opening Day deadline for extension talks, now that he's dealing with an elbow injury; and Tim Lincecum is fine discussing an extension mid-season. There's no deadline on those talks.
- Offseason in Review updates: Rays, Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs, and Brewers.
Halos Searching Internally For Pitching
Kevin Baxter of the LA Times cites Mike Scioscia, telling fans that the Angels will not go outside the organization to find additional starting pitching:
"Our solutions here, short term and long term, are in-house," said Scioscia, who will need an extra starter next Saturday in Minnesota.
Baxter says that right-hander Anthony Ortega is an option for that start in Minnesota, and Scioscia has also named Darren Oliver as a possibility, though he hasn't made a start since 2004.
The Angels have had their starting pitching decimated by injuries to John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar, and the tragic death of Nick Adenhart.
Baxter has updates on the three injured starters, saying that Lackey is long-tossing without pain and Santana will throw off a mound in the next few days. Escobar, on the other hand, had his minor league rehab start scratched last week and did not throw a bullpen session this weekend.