Archives for May 2009

Taking Stock Of The Pirates

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 23, 2009 at 12:40pm CDT

John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus catalogues a decade and a half of poor decisions by the Pirates in his latest column, up at ESPN.com. Some of the team's more memorable gaffes:

Releasing Tim Wakefield.
Signing Pat Meares to a four year $15MM deal that surprised even Meares.
Commiting nearly $10MM to Derek Bell, then claiming the deal sent "shock waves through baseball" during the same offseason that Alex Rodriguez signed for $252MM.
Giving Bronson Arroyo up on waivers only to have him return to Pittsburgh as an All-Star for the Reds and call the Pirates the "most inept organization in baseball."

But the Pirates have shed some contracts in recent years and appear poised to get younger and better under current GM Neal Huntington. After next year they have commitments to Paul Maholm, Nate McLouth, Ian Snell, Ryan Doumit and Pedro Alvarez, but no one else. They reportedly have a good chance of signing 16-year-old shortstop prospect Miguel Angel Sano and are considering top talent with the fourth overall pick that they hold in this year's draft.

So what's the verdict on the Pirates? They don't appear likely to end their streak of 16 straight losing seasons this year, but are they on the right track? Or do they need new direction? What moves have to take place for the Pirates to join the best teams in the NL Central?

Jays Not Looking To Add Arms Or Deal Overbay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 23, 2009 at 11:32am CDT

Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail reported yesterday that the Blue Jays are not looking outside the organization for pitching help or trying to deal Lyle Overbay. The Jays are hanging on to first place in the AL East by a half game after losing four straight. Here are the details from Blair's blog entry:

The Jays plan to rely on pitchers within the organization such as Casey Janssen and Ricky Romero (both returning to the team).
The Jays aren't even scouting Mark Mulder.
The Jays would listen to offers for Lyle Overbay, who has an OPS of .867 and as many walks as strikeouts (17). However, they don't have the depth to deal Overbay because, as Blair points out, Kevin Millar "is not an option" as an everyday player.
Overbay makes $7MM this year and the same amount in 2010, but he plays good defense. Last year he was the seventh-best defensive first baseman in the majors according to the plus/minus system.
Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi says he hasn't been proactive on the trade front.
He says he's under no pressure to lower payroll.

What We Know About Peavy And The Padres

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 23, 2009 at 10:48am CDT

The trade that nearly sent Jake Peavy to the White Sox has provided lots of rumors to sift through and lots of opinions to mull over. Now that the frenzy's over let's lay out what we actually know:

Peavy will make $15MM next year, $16MM in 2011 and $17MM in 2012. There's a club option for $22MM in 2013, with a $4MM buyout.
The Padres want to move him because he's expensive, but he has a full no-trade clause this year.
Peavy says he's "not closing the door on anything" with the White Sox, according to Bernie Wilson of the AP.
Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune says the White Sox are leaving the deal on the table in case Peavy changes his mind.
Peavy sounds open to the possibility of being traded, hinting that he'd consider moving to another city.
Cities in "Middle America" are more appealing to Peavy, as SI.com's Jon Heyman reported yesterday. Also, he prefers the National League.
As ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports, the Cubs still have interest in Peavy.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune suggests that the Cubs could pursue Peavy if their ownership transition progresses before the end of July.
For what it's worth, Peavy praised Cubs fans and the organization.

Marlins DFA Dave Davidson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 23, 2009 at 10:17am CDT

According to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, the Marlins designated pitcher Dave Davidson for assignment. The 25-year-old Canadian pitched in just one inning this year, giving up four hits and four walks in an inning against the Rays last night. Davidson pitched for the Pirates back in 2007 and has since represented Canada at the Olympics and in the WBC. The Marlins made another change after last night's game, sending Ricky Nolasco to Triple A.

Odds & Ends: Giles, Vlad, Bay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 23, 2009 at 10:00am CDT

Links for your Memorial Day weekend…

Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Giants should concede the division to the Dodgers and build for the future.
Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle shows that Nolan Ryan's presence has strengthened the Rangers by making it easier for them to recruit the coaches and executives they need.
As Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, Brian Giles says he's "not even close" to being done. The right fielder's making $9MM this year and hitting .161 so far.
Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports that the Angels would like to have Vladimir Guerrero back next year, at the right price. One executive said Vlad could be looking at a contract worth $5-7MM per year, for no more than two years when he becomes a free agent after this season.
As Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald notes, Jason Bay is "driving up his value almost daily." McAdam says there are indications the Red Sox could re-start extension talks during the All-Star Break.
Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks back at the deal that would have sent Andy Pettitte to the Phillies a decade ago.
In an article for ESPN.com, John Perrotto argues that the Pirates have no one to blame but themselves for their futility.

Williams On Peavy Deal, Next Steps

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 23, 2009 at 9:24am CDT

MLB.com's Scott Merkin spoke with White Sox GM Kenny Williams about the team's plan in the aftermath of the Jake Peavy deal that never happened. Some highlights:

Williams said "a number of clubs" are trying to obtain White Sox starters, particularly their young ones. However, he said "it's not happening. We've got faith in John Danks and Gavin Floyd."
Williams said he wants to improve the White Sox, but he doesn't sound confident that he can find the necessary players and trading partners easily.
Sounds like the Sox have financial flexibility. At least taking on Peavy's salary was "not too much of a stretch."
Williams said he doesn't begrudge Peavy for not accepting deal.
There's no Plan B for the White Sox right now, but Williams said he's working on it.

What To Do With The Braves Outfield?

By Steve Adams | May 22, 2009 at 8:00pm CDT

In his blog over at MLB.com, Mark Bowman lays out the offensive woes of the Atlanta outfield, and in the comments section, Bowman even ponders the potential release of Jeff Francoeur:

"When I look at myself in the mirror, I'd have to say that my fault is that I've given Francoeur a break for far too long. There's no doubt that the leniency stems from the fact that he's a great guy. But at the end of the day we all have a job to do. My job is to relay information to the public and thus, I've written two entries this week preparing you for the possibility that Frenchy's days in Atlanta might be numbered. It will be very difficult for the Braves to trade him. As for a return to the Minors, I don't know if that would help anybody. Thus, you can't ignore the possibility that if things don't improve soon there's a definite possibility that they could release him."

Here's some of the unfortunate "highlights" of the Braves' struggles, if you can call them that:

In 12 games since being activated from the DL, Garret Anderson is hitting .283/.321/.326 with just one extra base hit – a double. All this comes along with limited range in the outfield.
In 66 May at-bats, Francoeur is hitting .197/.214/.273.
For his career, Francoeur has averaged 630 ABs per season. Over his last 631 ABs, dating back to May 6, 2009, Francoeur is hitting .235/.287/.341 with 11 HR. Over that time, among players with 500 ABs, only Michael Bourn, Chone Figgins, Bobby Crosby, Willy Taveras, and Jason Kendall have lower slugging percentages, and only Chris Young of Arizona has a lower OBP. Ouch.
Rookie Jordan Schafer's .660 OPS is the highest of any of the three Braves outfielders mentioned thus far.

So what's Frank Wren to do? He's clearly in need of immediate upgrades in the outfield, and Atlanta would seem to have the pitching to spare. Let's hear some suggestions from the MLBTR world: How can Wren save this situation?

Odds And Ends: Beltre, Rusch, Percival, Price

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 22, 2009 at 5:39pm CDT

Links for Friday evening…

As Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times explains, Adrian Beltre's trade value is diminishing because teams are no longer confident that he'll be a Type A free agent. This means the team that trades for Beltre can't expect two compensation picks for losing the third baseman to free agency.
MLB.com's Mark Bowman argues that the Braves need to make an immediate change to their outfield and says there's an "indication that we'll begin to see it in the near future." He says the Braves must consider dealing the powerless Jeff Francoeur, or at least finding a more productive outfielder.
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post Glendon Rusch is staying at home instead of reporting to Triple A Colorado Springs. The Rockies are expected to put him on the restricted list.
Via Twitter, Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune reports that Troy Percival, who was just placed on the DL, has gone home to ponder a future "which could be in doubt." Joe Maddon has said he "wouldn't be surprised" to see Percival hang it up, according to Marc Lancaster.
Another piece of Rays news from the same Lancaster report – With Scott Kazmir headed to the DL, it's likely that David Price will make his long-awaited season debut in Kazmir's place on Monday.
As MLB.com's Brian Hoch reports, Chien-Ming Wang is returning to the Yankees as a long reliever because of the team's depleted bullpen.

Dodgers Complete Delwyn Young Trade?

By Steve Adams | May 22, 2009 at 5:34pm CDT

The Dodgers have acquired minor leaguer Eric Krebs from the Pirates as one of the players to be named later for Delwyn Young, according to Diamond Leung.

Krebs, 24, is a right-hander with a 4.86 ERA to go along with a 2-4 mark. He's posted a very nice 8.9 K/9 rate and has allowed just nine HR over 195.1 innings in his five minor league seasons, but has also posted an ugly 5.0 BB/9 to go along with those otherwise impressive numbers. He was a 16th round pick out of high school by the Buccos in the 2005 draft.

Leung doesn't mention any other players yet.

Still No Talks Between Bay, Red Sox

By Steve Adams | May 22, 2009 at 5:12pm CDT

Rob Bradford reports that the Red Sox and free-agent-to-be Jason Bay still haven't had any contract discussions since late March. Bradford states that Boston's last offer was somewhere in the $10MM per season range, while Bay and his agent were looking for something in the $14MM range. Additionally, the Red Sox didn't offer the 3-4 years Bay would be seeking.

Perhaps Bay's absolutely monster start has made the Red Sox reconsider that offer – he's off to an incredible .301/.433/.657 start. He's also second in the American League to Carlos Pena with 13 HR, and second in all of baseball to Evan Longoria in RBI at 44.

Even if the Red Sox have reconsidered, will the Bay camp up their demands or possibly decide to test the market in light of his elite production so far in 2009?

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