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Archives for May 2009

Orioles Shopping Ryan Freel

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FRIDAY, 12:01pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports expects that Freel will be dealt or released. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that Andy MacPhail expects "resolution in a day or two that will be to everyone's satisfaction." 

THURSDAY: According to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun, Orioles baseball operations president Andy MacPhail has been calling around to gauge interest in utility man Ryan Freel.  Freel is done with his rehab assignment, and Schmuck says he's probably the odd man out.  One small problem: Freel is still owed $3.3MM this year.

Freel made it clear in late April that he'd weclome a trade.

Discussion: The Yankees’ Catcher

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3:11pm: It's official now; as MLB.com's B.J. Rains reports, Molina's headed to the DL.

11:27am: When the Yankees lost Jorge Posada to the DL for two to three weeks, Jose Molina became their starter. Now, Molina's quad is injured and, as Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports, Joe Girardi isn't optimistic about the injury. This leaves the Yankees with Francisco Cervelli behind the plate, a 23-year-old with a solid minor league resume, but only 41 games played above A ball and seven big league plate appearances. So what should the Yankees do if Molina has to spend time on the DL?

  • Let Cervelli play until Posada returns in a couple weeks.
  • Sign a free agent catcher like Johnny Estrada or Paul Lo Duca to fill in.
  • Trade for a catcher.

Matt Wieters Update

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Matt Wieters began the season as baseball's number one prospect, but we haven't heard much about him so far in 2009. Some took notice when he missed a bit of time because of a hamstring issue, but his season at AAA Norfolk has mostly been quiet. He's played well, though not incredibly, hitting one homer and batting .297/.391/.405 with 12 walks and 17 strikeouts. Gregg Zaun and Chad Moeller have combined for only 21 hits in 100 at bats for the O's, so they're not blocking Wieters' path. His main obstacle is time.

  • If the Orioles called Wieters up today, he'd accumulate enough service time this year (almost 150 days) to become a Super Two player. This means he'd cost the Orioles more money in the future because he'd go to arbitration four times.
  • If they wait until June 1st to call Wieters up, he won't accumulate more than 126 days service time. This would likely prevent him from becoming a Super Two and would likely save the Orioles millions of dollars in years ahead.
  • Waiting until June 1st or later also allows the Orioles to make sure Wieters is ready for the majors when he arrives. They can endure their soft-hitting catchers this year, because they're not a contender, so it would be a surprise to see the prospect called up soon.

Odds And Ends: Hinch, Manny, Longoria

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Links for Friday…

Bob Melvin To Be Replaced With A.J. Hinch

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11:04pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman says A.J. Hinch will move out of the front office to take over as the new D'Backs manager.  He'll be introduced Friday.  During his playing career, Hinch was a catcher for the A's, Royals, Tigers, and Phillies.

8:05pm: According to John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR, Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin will be replaced before Friday's game.  The writing had been on the wall for a few days now.  At 12-17, the D'Backs are already 9 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West.  SI.com's Jon Heyman says the D'Backs are staying in house, but it won't be Chip Hale, Kirk Gibson, or Brett Butler.  He believes the new manager will come from the team's front office.

Stark On Pitchers, Vlad, Sabathia, Crawford

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More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column today…

  • Stark rattles off a bunch of starting pitchers teams are "tracking" in advance of the trade deadline: Roy Halladay, Jake Peavy, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Aaron Harang, Erik Bedard, Kevin Millwood, Mark Buehrle, Doug Davis, Chris Young, Andy Pettitte, Bronson Arroyo, Jonathan Sanchez, Andy Sonnanstine, Jeff Niemann, Jason Marquis, Vicente Padilla, Jeff Suppan, and Russ Ortiz.  Not all of these guys are actually available, so check out the article for more analysis.
  • Teams are "backpedaling away" from Vladimir Guerrero as a free agent option after the season.  One scout sees Vlad as a DH right now.
  • C.C. Sabathia downplayed the importance of the out clause in his contract, talking to Stark.  Sabathia said it was "just something my agent came up with, and I just went with it."  Stark is skeptical though; he thinks the clause was specific to New York.
  • Stark talked to a baseball man familiar with the Rays' thinking who sees "zero chance" they don't exercise Carl Crawford's $10.125MM option for 2010.  The Rays have a three-year outlook on the budget.
  • With Jason Isringhausen ready within a few weeks, the Rays may have a surplus in the bullpen.  Stark doesn't expect Dan Wheeler or J.P. Howell to be moved, but teams are tracking them.
  • Stark sees Jorge Cantu as a trade candidate after the season.  He figures to make $5-6MM through arbitration.

Draft Update: Strasburg, Scheppers, Paxton

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ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill has an update on some top amateur players as June 9th draws closer:

  • He confirms what we heard last week: Barring the unforseen, the Nats will select Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick. 
  • Scouts expect Tanner Scheppers, who was drafted but never signed by the Pirates last year, to be selected within the first 15 picks. They're divided on whether the righty, who is pitching in an independent league, can crack the top ten.
  • Scott Boras added a new client, Kentucky lefty James Paxton, according to one of Churcill's sources.

What Manny’s Suspension Means For The Dodgers

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We know that Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games after failing a drug test, but what does it mean for the Dodgers? ESPN.com's Buster Olney breaks down the consequences for baseball's winningest team so far.

  • Ramirez loses between $7-8MM in salary this year.
  • He'll miss 50 games and return in early July. 
  • Olney says "no team with any sanity is going to match the money that Ramirez stands to make in the second year of his deal" (he makes $20MM next season). 
  • So Manny will not opt out of the contract.  
  • The Dodgers, like the Yankees with Alex Rodriguez, have been "duped," but there's nothing they can do about it.

 Some other consequences for the team:

  • Juan Pierre will presumably play every day in left field and bat eighth.
  • Could the $7-8MM be used to acquire a free agent like Pedro Martinez or Ben Sheets?
  • Could it give the team the flexibility to make a deal for a premier player?   

Manny Ramirez Suspended 50 Games

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2:48pm: ESPN.com's Peter Gammons says he believes the positive test was triggered because of a "personal medical issue," not HGH or steroids. Gammons spoke with a Red Sox official who doesn't believe "for a second" that Manny cheated.

1:30pm: ESPN's T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada say the drug was HCG – "a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It is similar to Clomid, the drug Bonds, Giambi and others used as clients of BALCO."

12:39am: Tim Brown and Steve Henson of Yahoo say Manny tested positive for…drumroll…a sexual enhancer (not Viagra).  Ramirez tested positive in Spring Training, and then again recently.  Manny did not test positive for a steroid or human growth hormone.

11:41am: In a statement, Manny apologized and explained what happened:

Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me.  Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

10:50am: According to Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, Dodgers star Manny Ramirez "tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and will be suspended for 50 games starting today."  The journalists have word on Manny's defense:

Ramirez is expected to attribute the test results to medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue, according to a source familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak publicly.

Manny was hitting .348/.492/.641 in 120 plate appearances and figures to be replaced by Juan Pierre.  Ramirez will be back in July, and the Dodgers are already up 6.5 games in the division.  So they'll probably be fine.  But this certainly throws a wrench into Manny's contract situation.  He has to decide in November whether to opt out of his $20MM 2010 salary.  Also, Manny will lose nearly $8MM in salary.

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