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Archives for April 2009

Delwyn Young Drawing Interest

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Tony Jackson of the LA Times tells us that Dodgers' outfielder Delwyn Young is drawing interest from numerous teams. The Indians, Pirates, and Phillies have all had scouts present in the past week during a rehab assignment. Jackson expects a move to be made in the next few days.

Young, 26, is out of options. Jackson wrote in an earlier piece that he expected Young's rehab stint to go the maximum 20 days because there doesn't appear to be a place for him on the 25-man roster.

Young hasn't been overly impressive in the Majors over parts of three seasons, but he's a switch hitter and possesses a .303/.363/.515 minor league line.

Luis Gonzalez Still Wants To Play

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Free agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez told Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse Saturday that he still wants to play, but hasn't recieved a phone call since spring training began.

"I don't know if it's the economy," Gonzalez told FanHouse. "I wasn't out there trying to get a $4 million contract. I just love to play. I want to play."

The 41-year-old hit .261 with 26 doubles, eight home runs and 46 RBI in 337 at-bats for the Marlins last season, but he understands that there's a new mindset among MLB general managers.  "This isn't the '80s or the early '90s any more," Gonzalez said, "when a lot of GMs would like to go for guys like myself.  GMs used to want to have those veteran guys around."  The Braves and Pirates showed mild interest this winter, but never extended a contract.


Odds & Ends: Swisher, La Russa, Twins

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Happy Easter to those celebrating.  Here are your Sunday links…

  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addresses the ever-popular question, "What if the Pirates had drafted Matt Wieters" in 2007?
  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star did some number crunching and determined that forking over major cash for a free agent pitcher is often far too risky.  30 pitchers regressed after inking new deals, while only 13 improved.  
  • The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan believes the Brewers might make a run at Jake Peavy later this season.    
  • Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has abandoned the idea of hitting his pitcher eighth for the last three games, and his club is suddenly on a winning streak. "Hitting the guy ninth we've got a winning record," said La Russa.  "I don't want to mess around with it." (Quote courtesy of Rick Hummel with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). 
  • Tyler Kepner of the New York Times examines the "evolution" of the trade that brought Nick Swisher to the Yankees.  As Kepner notes, it "looks like a steal" at this point. 
  • The Twins are considering a uniform design change for the opening of Target Field in 2010.  Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wants your suggestions.  
  • You're obviously a baseball buff if you're checking MLBTR daily, so let me direct you to a brand new site chock-full of streaming baseball-related content.  It's NBCSports.com's newest darling, "Circling The Bases," featuring the writing styles of Aaron Gleeman, Matthew Pouliot and Craig Calcaterra.  

Phillies Satisfied With Current Bench

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According to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, the Phillies have no immediate plans to add another bench player.  

"We're always looking to improve, but nothing is imminent," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Saturday.  The Phils appear content with their current list of reserves, a group that consists of Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs, Eric Bruntlett, Chris Coste and Miguel Cairo. Amaro was thought to be on the hunt for a right-handed hitter, but he'll apparently stand pat for now.

The Phillies, as you'll probably remember, were one of the first teams to express serious interest in Gary Sheffield before he signed with the Mets.

Marlins Interested In Juan Morillo

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According to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Marlins are interested in right-hander Juan Morillo, who was recently designated for assignment by the Rockies.

Morillo, 25, made Colorado's Opening Day roster, but didn't appear in a game and was dumped Friday when the club decided to call up Matt Belisle.  Morillo may never turn into anything more than a decent middle reliever, but he boasts a fastball that can reach into the high 90s and he's had a decent amount of success in the minors.

Gaudin, Padres Agree To Minor League Deal

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Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres have signed right-hander Chad Gaudin to a minor league deal.  

He'll head to San Diego on Sunday for the official signing and a bullpen session.  The Padres are only required to pay $400K of the $2MM he's owed for 2009, with the Cubs picking up the rest of the tab.  Gaudin went 2-1 with a 10.26 ERA this spring, but he might just find a spot in the Friars' bullpen once he works through whatever was plaguing him during camp.

Giants Sign Dallas McPherson

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According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants signed third baseman Dallas McPherson to a minor league deal.  McPherson will head to extended spring training and then Triple A.  It's a nice opportunity for the 28 year-old, who slugged 42 home runs at Triple A in '08 but was released by the Marlins a few weeks ago.  If the signing is a success, the Giants can retain McPherson in future years as an arbitration-eligible player.

Mets DFA Marlon Anderson

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Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reports that the Mets have designated infielder-outfielder Marlon Anderson for assignment.  The move was neccessary in order to clear roster space for fifth starter Livan Hernandez, who will start Saturday night against the Marlins.

Anderson, 35, was hitless in four at-bats for the Mets this season.  He hit .208/.236/.245 during spring training.

Pedro Still Plans To Play In ’09

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According to Mike Puma of the New York Post a "longtime friend" of Pedro Martinez says the righthander "fully expects" to play in 2009. Pedro is apparently sticking to his $5MM asking price and incentive-based deals do not appeal to him. His agent says he's already attracted interest from a number of teams and he's expecting more calls when holes appear in rotations around the league. 

Puma spoke with one executive who thinks $5MM is a fair asking price and is surprised Pedro is still available. Puma's sources say the Mets "never got into serious talks" with the pitcher and are unlikely to become involved now.

Looking Back At April 2008

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April's not nearly as busy as December or July for rumors, but we should have plenty of player movement to keep us entertained before the end of the month if last year is any indication. A look through MLBTR's archives turns up some of the more noteworthy trades, signings and releases that happened between this time last year and the end of April '08.

  • The Rays signed Evan Longoria to a deal that could be worth up to $44MM over nine years.
  • The Mariners signed Kenji Johjima to an extension too, but at $24MM over three years it's far from the bargain Longoria's deal appears to be. Even at the time, Tim noted that the deal was a surprise and "no kind of discount" for the Mariners.  
  • The Blue Jays released Frank Thomas and he was picked up by the A's.  
  • The Pirates released Matt Morris, who retired.  
  • The Reds fired then-GM Wayne Krivsky despite his solid track record during a short tenure in that role.
  • The Barry Bonds watch was in full swing a year ago.
  • And there were other deals, too: Jeff Weaver to the Brewers, Jason Grilli to the Rockies and Gabe Gross to the Rays to name a few.

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