Giants Not Dangling Cain, Not Interested In Holliday
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle provides an update on a few Giants rumors.
- Schulman's "very high-level" Giants source says Matt Cain is not being dangled, contrary to an earlier rumor.
- Schulman agrees with Juan C. Rodriguez's report that the Giants have asked the Marlins about Dan Uggla.
- Schulman believes the Giants are talking to the Nationals about Nick Johnson. However, his source said the team has no interest in Matt Holliday. Much has been made of Holliday's slow start, but keep in mind he's hitting .296/.406/.494 in May.
Knobler On Braves, Peavy, Holliday
CBS Sports' Danny Knobler thinks the Jake Peavy drama this past week helped kick-start some discussion on team needs. He's got a couple interesting bullets:
- The Braves are shopping hard for a right-handed hitter and are said to be dangling Jeff Francoeur, though Mark Bowman speculated last week that they might release him. His value can't be too high now. We discussed the Braves' woes last week.
- Though they might have interest in Mark DeRosa and Peavy, the Brewers want to prove they can be a contending team before they make any big moves.
- Knobler reiterates the Marlins' willingness to hear offers on Dan Uggla and Jorge Cantu.
- With Matt Holliday's woes at the plate, scouts say the A's can't expect to get as much as they might've hoped. "He's so easy to pitch to right now it's unbelievable," one of Knobler's sources said.
Dodgers Sign Korean Pitchers
The Dodgers inked a couple pitchers to minor league deals yesterday, Ji-Mo Lee and Hyang-nam Choi. The 22-year-old Lee was released by the Lotte Giants in 2008 and recently changed his first name "for good luck." Nice. Dodgers' Assistant General Manager of Scouting Logan White claims he has "two types of pitches that are already at a Major League level."
Choi, a 38-year-old journeyman, seemed close to signing a minor-league deal with the Cardinals this January but it looks like the signing might have fallen through because of issues with the posting system. Choi has spent the last two years also pitching for the Lotte Giants, but appeared in the Indians organization in 2006, where he posted a 2.37 ERA and a 103/35 K/BB ratio in 106.1 IP. The East Wind-Up Chronicle says he may not have a powerful arsenal but does have a black belt in Taekwondo.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Iwamura, Mets
Some links to tide you over this Memorial Day Eve:
- John Sickels at Minor League Ball lists last year's starters who posted a Win Share over 10 alongside their draft origins. Last week, Future Redbirds advised against risking a first round pick on high school pitchers.
- MLB.com has a fan Q&A up with Pirates GM Neal Huntington, who believes this year's draft is deep in pitching but thin on quality college position players.
- Akinori Iwamura will probably hit the DL after he suffered a nasty collision in today's game and was carted off the field. Joe Maddon will have a look at internal options to fill in for now.
- With the Mets hurting badly, Ken Davidoff at Newsday acknowledges GM Omar Minaya has his work cut out for him. With Jose Reyes' lingering tendinitis in his right knee and his injured backups, Davidoff thinks Minaya should get an appraisal on Bobby Crosby. Davidoff also thinks the Mets should "aggressively" go after the rehabbing Ben Sheets and at least discuss Erik Bedard with the M's, despite the Mets' top prospects sitting at lower levels.
Giants Inquire On Uggla
Juan C. Rodriguez at the Sun-Sentinel says the Giants have had preliminary discussions with the Marlins about second baseman Dan Uggla, "though they are not believed to have reached general manager level."
This jives with reports that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria wants "substantive changes" for his team. Rodriguez says the Giants would almost certainly have to part with Matt Cain or Jonathan Sanchez if such a deal were to go through.
Rodriguez also speculates that the Giants might be kicking the tires on Nick Johnson and Mark DeRosa in their quest for a bat.
Rangers, Dodgers Eyeing Yusei Kikuchi
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a Nikkan Sports article indicating the Rangers sent two scouts to watch high school lefty Yusei Kikuchi. Newman notes that the Dodgers had Logan White watch Kikuchi practice back in March.
Kikuchi is highly regarded, but how does he compare to Junichi Tazawa? Newman told me:
The way I look at it is, Kikuchi is younger, taller, and lefthanded, whereas Tazawa was a older, more polished and had faced better competition. Kikuchi appears to have similar velocity to Tazawa. Tazawa was definitely closer to the big leagues; you wouldn't sign Kikuchi and have him start the season opener in AA. But Kikuchi is a better prospect than Tazawa was when he was 18. So Kikuchi may have a little more upside, but I don't think he would command the same kind of offers Tazawa got. A key difference is that Tazawa had basically made up his mind to come to America by the time I started writing about him. We don't know what Kikuchi's plans are.
Discussion: Replacing Mike Hampton
Richard Justice at the Houston Chronicle thinks Ed Wade's one-year gamble on Mike Hampton might come to an end soon. Hampton was "the guy they could afford, not the guy they really wanted," Justice says. The guy they wanted was Randy Wolf, who's sporting a nifty 3.02 ERA and 50/19 K/BB ratio for the Dodgers. After an ugly start today Hampton sits at a 5.62 ERA for the season and 7.04 in his last six.
Should a shakeup be in order, the 'Stros have their eye on Triple-A farmhand Bud Norris, who's pitching well for Round Rock. But as we noted here last week, Paul Byrd, Odalis Perez and Pedro Martinez are still waiting for a phone call–could they be a good fit? Or could Wade swing a deal?
And greetings folks, I'm one of the new guys in class. Feel free to throw spitballs if need be.
2010 Options: Houston Astros
Let's take a look at the 2010 options facing the Astros.
- Doug Brocail – $2.85MM club option with a $250K buyout. Brocail tossed 5.6 ugly innings this year before hitting the DL with a torn hamstring. It'd probably make sense for the Astros to decline the option and try to sign the 42 year-old more cheaply if they still want him.
- Brian Moehler – mutual option. He's had a rough season, with an 8.31 ERA and a knee injury. On the bright side, the .411 BABIP has to come down.
Beyond those two hurlers with options, the Astros have many free agents after '09, including Miguel Tejada, Jose Valverde, LaTroy Hawkins, Ivan Rodriguez, and Mike Hampton. Should they make an effort to retain any of them? Will the Astros shop these players, or instead hold out for another comeback playoff run?
Delcarmen Wants To Stay In Boston
Hacks with Haggs has an interview with Manny Delcarmen who says he "wouldn't be too happy" if he were dealt. Said Delcarmen,
The hard throwing Delcarmen is out of options and continues to show promise, posting a 0.95 ERA through 18 games so far in '09. Just recently, Epstein shot down a rumor involving the Nationals swapping Nick Johnson for Delcarmen.
Indians Limited By Payroll Concerns
Any trade moves the Indians can make will be restricted by payroll limitations, says the Cleveland Plain Dealer. As it stands, the Indians payroll will be over $80MM in 2010 so bringing in a veteran on a multiyear deal is seemingly out of the question.