Archives for May 2009

Yankees DFA Steven Jackson

By | May 8, 2009 at 7:05pm CDT

According to Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger, the Yankees have designated reliever Steven Jackson for assignment. The club needed roster space in order to make a flurry of moves on Friday, including the activation of slugger Alex Rodriguez.

Jackson, a 27-year-old right-hander, was recalled by the Yankees on April 19 of this year, but didn't make an appearance. He's 27-29 with a 4.28 ERA in six minor league seasons.

Ryan Freel Traded For Joey Gathright

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 8, 2009 at 6:14pm CDT

6:14pm: MASN's Roch Kubatko has more from Orioles president of basball operations Andy MacPhail. Apparently the trade took about four days to complete.

"We know the tool he has," MacPhail said of the newly acquired Gathright. "He's 28 years old and he's got great speed. A career .260 hitter without much power. I think people have a pretty good understanding. But he really creates more of an inventory for us at a position that is still somewhat up in the air."

4:44pm: According to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald the Orioles will pay the difference between the two players' salaries. Basically the teams are paying the same amount as they would have had they not made the deal.

4:22pm: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Orioles will continue to pay part of the $3.3MM Freel will make before the end of the season.

3:38pm: The Orioles have traded Freel to the Cubs for Gathright, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Gathright has already cleared waivers and will be assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

12:54pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Cubs are talking to the Orioles about a trade for Ryan Freel. As Rosenthal points out, the Cubs have more oufield depth than expected, thanks to Micah Hoffpauir and Kosuke Fukudome. Joey Gathright, who has batted only 14 times this year, is expendable. The Orioles are talking to other clubs about Freel, who has about $3.3MM remaining on this year's contract.

An Upside To The Manny Suspension?

By | May 8, 2009 at 5:25pm CDT

Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has an interesting thought:

"There could be an upside to the Manny Ramirez suspension in LA," he writes. "The Dodgers will save paying him more than $7 million while he sits out 50 games, which could provide the scratch to trade for another big-time pitcher before the July 31 deadline."

Assuming the Dodgers had a bit of money left in the budget entering the 2009 season, and, combined with the $7.7MM they won't have to pay Manny, it seems the club will be able to afford a marquee guy before the July 31 trade deadline. Baggarly assumes they'll be in the hunt for a pitcher.

Could Ben Sheets still be around? Will Roy Halladay be available, and do the Dodgers have enough to spin a trade? How about Erik Bedard? Check out MLBTR's list of 2010 free agents for more possible trade candidates.

Odds And Ends: Bay, Boras, Danks

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 8, 2009 at 4:56pm CDT

Links for Friday afternoon…

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports revisits last year's July 31st trade deadline and breaks down the decisions that sent Jason Bay to Boston instead of Tampa Bay.
Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News lists off a number of Scott Boras clients who have been linked to PEDs. To be fair, Boras has a lot of clients and baseball's had a lot of users so it would be a surprise if none of his clients had connections to PED use.
John Danks told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the extension he passed up hasn't affected his performance this season.
MLB.com's Jim Banks compares Zack Greinke to Fernando Valenzuela and Walter Johnson. It's not often you see Ty Cobb quoted in 2009.
Adam Rose of the LA Times asks whether the Dodgers should have signed Manny Ramirez in the first place and 62% of his readers say the deal was still worth it.

Indians Release Salas, DFA Chulk

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 8, 2009 at 3:26pm CDT

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported yesterday that the Indians released Juan Salas and designated Vinnie Chulk for assignment. Reliever Matt Herges was called up, Rafael Perez was demoted and today the Indians added Luis Vizcaino as they revamp their bullpen.

The Indians have an 11-18 record due in large part to a bullpen whose ERA was 6.49 even before the team lost 13-3 in Boston last night.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bay, Holliday, Hudson, Cameron, Mets, Yankees, Rays

By Cork Gaines | May 8, 2009 at 2:55pm CDT

On this date 27 years ago, Adrian Gonzalez was born. The former first overall pick by the Marlins has been traded twice. He was originally dealt to the Rangers in a deal that sent Ugueth Urbina to the Marlins. Later he was dealt to the Padres along with Chris Young for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka. As we enter the second month of the season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

Around the Majors looks at Jason Bay and Matt Holliday in an effort to find the best value in the free agents-to-be.
Feeling Dodger Blue declares Orlando Hudson the best free agent signing of 2009…so far.
The Eddie Kranepool Society thinks it might be time to break up the core of the Mets by shopping Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.
The Fowl Balls makes a case for the Yankees signing Paul LoDuca.
River Ave. Blues argues that the Yankees have gotten lazy with the roster and have missed opportunities to improve the bench.
Brew Crew Ball writes that Mike Cameron has been a great signing for the Brewers and wonders what the team should do with him as he nears free agency.
Over at my home base, Rays Index, we are playing a game with other Rays bloggers (and Tim Dierkes) called "The Tampa Bay Rays Trade Pool," based loosely on "The Dead Pool."

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Bengie Molina Talks About Future

By Tim Dierkes | May 8, 2009 at 2:42pm CDT

FRIDAY, 2:42pm: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Molina wants to return to the Giants, but won't discuss any extensions after the All-Star break. After that Molina wants to focus on the season and deal with free agency afterwards.

THURSDAY, 3:27pm: ESPN.com's Rob Neyer writes that the Giants need to get the most production possible out of Molina while he's on their team, even if that means suggesting they're more serious about discussing an extension than they really are.

9:18am: Talking to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Giants catcher Bengie Molina discussed the future. Molina is earning $6MM in the last year of his contract. He considers himself a starting catcher for another two or three years and wants to finish his career with the Giants. However, Molina knows Giants prospect Buster Posey may be ready for the Majors as soon as 2010.

Schulman learned that Molina isn't offended that the Giants haven't discussed an extension with him, but he would like to have a conversation soon. Molina said:

"I'm not afraid of going to free agency. What I've done for this organization, I've left my heart out there every night, day in and day out. All I want is, when the time comes, they come forward and tell me what their plans are."

Molina's gotten a nice chance to bat in the middle of the order in his Giants career, boosting his RBI totals. His high contact approach leads to strong batting averages but low walk totals.

Reds Assistant GM On Trades, Minors, Draft

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 8, 2009 at 2:22pm CDT

Bob Miller, the Assistant GM for the Reds, chatted with fans this afternoon on MLB.com. Here are some of the highlights:

This year the Reds would consider dealing for a right-handed power bat, but they'll "play it by ear and see if the deal will help" the team.
Of the trades he's been a part of, Miller's proudest of dealing Karim Garcia for Luis Gonzalez with the D'Backs.
He metioned the Brandon Phillips and Bronson Arroyo deals as the best ones the Reds have made recently.
The deal Miller's least proud of? Trading six players for Richie Sexson.
Miller believes the Reds have a strong minor league system because of its depth. He specifically mentioned Yonder Alonso, who's hitting well lately.
Miller compared the draft to "the biggest board game you can possibly imagine" in terms of the strategy it demands.

Indians To Sign Luis Vizcaino

By Tim Dierkes | May 8, 2009 at 1:08pm CDT

1:08pm: MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports that the Indians could announce a move this afternoon.

FRIDAY, 12:19pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports heard that the Indians intend to sign Vizcaino. He will either join the team immediately or tune up in the minor leagues first. The Indians' pitching struggled again last night, allowing 12 runs without recording an out at one point.

THURSDAY, 1:43pm: The Twitter post from Gaylord Sports linked below has been removed.

10:46am: According to Luis Vizcaino's agency Gaylord Sports, the reliever has been acquired by the Indians. The Cubs designated Vizcaino for assignment on April 23rd to make room for Jeff Samardzija. Vizcaino is owed $4MM, and presumably the Cubs will assume $3.6MM of that. They released him at some point, so he signed with Cleveland as a free agent.

The Cubs jettisoned Vizcaino after 3.6 scoreless innings. It seems they never wanted him; acquiring him was just a way to move some of Jason Marquis' salary.

Heyman On Berkman, Oswalt, Cliff Lee

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 8, 2009 at 12:38pm CDT

The latest rumors from SI.com's Jon Heyman…

Astros owner Drayton McLane is unlikely to deal Roy Oswalt or Lance Berkman because of his "personal feelings for them plus the Astros' recent history of strong finishes."
Cliff Lee is more likely to be traded. Heyman says Lee's value should be "fairly high even in a depressed market."
D'Backs people wondered why players such as Carlos Quentin performed better after leaving the team and these doubts contributed to Bob Melvin's firing.
Heyman also looks at some feel-good stories around the game.

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