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Archives for April 2009

Odds & Ends: Minor Deals, Catalanotto, Gwynn Jr.

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Your Thursday links, with more to come…

Odds & Ends: McPherson, Izzy, Hammel

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Happy April Fools, or something.  Here are your Wednesday night links…

  • Mike Axisa over at River Ave. Blues believes the Yankees should take a long look at former top prospect Dallas McPherson.
  • Sam A. Miller of the Orange County Register presents some best-case scenario projections for the 2009 Angels.
  • Jason Isringhausen is going to stick it out with the Rays.  He'll be placed on the disabled list to start the season, but could be pitching for Tampa by mid-May.
  • Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus discusses some of the Rays' offseason moves with RaysProspects.com.  He also touches on Jason Hammel's trade value.
  • Pirates president Frank Coonelly hosted a chat with fans at MLB.com on Wednesday.
  • Mariners Rule 5 pick Jose Lugo, a reliever, has been returned to the Twins.
  • Another Rule 5 pick, catcher James Skelton, has been waived by the Diamondbacks.
  • If you missed it, take a look at Tim's Tuesday chat. 
  • Join the fun!  Add MLBTR to your Twitter following tonight.  And hey, while you're at it, why not check out your (attention craving) friend Drew Silva as well?

Three Teams Interested In Sheffield

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8:52pm: Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News has another quote from Jocketty:

"Sheffield and (manager) Dusty Baker have a history and they talked yesterday.  He has to clear waivers today, but we'll talk. We have interest because he would be a legitimate big right-handed bat to add to our lineup."

McCoy believes a meeting between Reds officials and Sheffield might take place Thursday.

7:14pm: Fay continues with the updates:  Reds GM Walt Jocketty has confirmed his club's interest in Sheffield. "He's still a threat in the lineup… If the price is right," said the Cincinnati GM.  The Reds will also look at Geoff Jenkins, who was released by the Phillies on Tuesday.

6:54pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Reds manager Dusty Baker is meeting with Sheffield.  It sounds like they're one of the "three interested teams" that Leyland alluded to this morning.

5:53pm: ESPN's Buster Olney has more from Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams.  Williams says Sheffield will be able to play this season and "a couple more seasons, at least."  Olney adds that "some in baseball are speculating whether Sheffield would be a good fit with the Braves, where he had a good experience in 2002-03 and was liked by manager Bobby Cox."

Talking to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. again confirmed his interest in Sheffield.

1:30pm: David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Tigers manager Jim Leyland told Detroit reporters today that three teams are interested in Gary Sheffield.  The Phillies are presumed to be one; some reports have suggested a slim chance despite Sheff's agent calling the talks "productive."

Luke Hudson Hangs It Up

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According to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel, Royals right-hander Luke Hudson has decided to retire from baseball.

Hudson, 31, missed the majority of 2007 and all of 2008 after undergoing shoulder surgery.  His rehab did not go as planned.  "It just feels like a sharp knife in there, and twisting when I throw," he said. "It's just physically impossible."

Hudson pitched in 58 total games for the Reds and Royals.  He'll finish with a 17-18 record and a 5.11 career ERA.

Pirates DFA Romulo Sanchez

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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates have designated reliever Romulo Sanchez for assignment.  The club has 10 days to waive, trade or release him.  Sanchez, 24, pitched in just two spring games before the Pirates demoted him to minor league camp.  He allowed one run.

The move was made to free up roster space for Craig Monroe, who has hit .281 with six home runs and 13 RBI this spring.

Andruw Jones Likely To Make Rangers

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Jim Reeves of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported this morning that the Reds have been eyeing Andruw Jones, and the Phillies were also showing signs of interest.  Those teams were probably banking on him being released or demoted to Triple-A, and sliding in with an offer of major league at-bats.  Well, so much for that.  As MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reported this evening, Jones is likely to make the Rangers' final roster.

Andruw appears to have found a home in Texas. "I feel good," he said Wednesday.  "I think in this situation it will be spread out how everybody gets in the game.  But the best thing is having [hitting coach] Rudy [Jamarillo] there.  He's going to keep you focused.  You just do all your work and when you get an opportunity to play, you let it happen."

The Rangers will now focus their attention on trying to move Frank Catalanotto.  He'd be a nice fit on a National League team.

Marlins Interested In Frank Catalanotto

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The Marlins acquired Hayden Penn and Ross Gload today, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says they might not be done.  Frisaro says the Fish also showed interest in Rangers' utility guy Frank Catalanotto.

I imagine the Marlins are probably not willing to assume much of the $6MM owed to Catalanotto.  In the case of Gload, the Royals are believed to be paying $1.5MM of the $1.9MM according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.

Marlins Acquire Hayden Penn For Robert Andino

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4:21pm: Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has Larry Beinfest's thoughts on the Marlins' acquisitions today.  Berardino also says Dallas McPherson "might wind up with the Yankees."

11:54am: Interesting swap today: the Marlins acquired pitcher Hayden Penn from the Orioles for shortstop Robert Andino.  Both players are out of options.

Penn, 24, wasn't able to crack the Orioles' weak rotation.  Perhaps he can recover the promise he had back in '05 and '06 with a fresh start.

Andino, 25 later this month, hit .287/.356/.497 in his second attempt at Triple A.  He was blocked by Hanley Ramirez in Florida, but he plays strong defense and may be able to chip away at Cesar Izturis' playing time in Baltimore.  Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says it looks like Chris Gomez will be released now.  Schmuck also has Andy MacPhail's explanation of the deal.

Angels Eyeing Aaron Harang?

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The Aaron Harang chatter started with ESPN's Peter Gammons on March 22nd.  Gammons wrote:

The Reds have let teams know that they will wait and see whether they need to move Aaron Harang during the season.

But then the next day Reds GM Walt Jocketty said, "I'm not going to comment on something when he doesn't know what he's talking about" and laughed off the rumor, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Harang's name came up again in yesterday's Ken Rosenthal column, in association with a one-sided call from the Angels to the Reds about taking Gary Matthews Jr. off their hands.

Today, ESPN's Buster Olney adds to the rumblings:

Joe Saunders is coping with a dead arm. No wonder the Angels have dispatched a scout to go see the Reds' Aaron Harang make his next spring start.

Saunders' arm is already alive again, but John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, and Ervin Santana are all dealing with injuries. 

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