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Archives for June 2009

Yankees Not Looking For Bats

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Marc Carig at the Newark Star Ledger tweeted a quote from GM Brian Cashman earlier today on the possibility the Yankees are looking for a bat:

"We don't need a bat… We have a tremendous offense that's scuffling right now," Cashman said.

Before an 8-4 victory tonight over the Braves, the Yankees had scored a total of 18 runs in 7 games, and their team OPS was .614. The spotlight was particularly on Alex Rodriguez, who went 1 for 15 in that stretch, where they lost five of seven.

Was the victory tonight enough to be convinced that the Yankees' offensive woes have come to an end? Was it ever worthy of concern in the first place, or did somebody unnecessarily hit the panic button? If you think the Yanks need a bat after all, who do you pursue? Share your thoughts.

Pirates Interested In Luis Ayala

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9:28pm: John Perrotto has another article up, saying the Pirates are only interested in Ayala at a "greatly reduced cost," i.e. the "vast majority" of the $700k still owed to him would need to be picked up by the Twins.

8:22am: The Pirates are interested in trading for reliever Luis Ayala, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. John Perrotto of PiratesReport.com confirms the Pirates' interest in the 31-year-old righty, who was designated for assignment by the Twins on Monday. 

Ayala requested a trade weeks ago because he wanted a bigger role in the Twins' bullpen. He makes $1.3MM this year.

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Phillies, Padres

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Serving up absolutely the most hyper of links from across the baseball sphere, with more to come:

  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik sat down for a lengthy Q&A with fans on MLB.com. Ever wanted to know what it's like to be a GM? "It's cool," says Zduriencik.
  • David Murphy at the Philadelphia Inquirer talked to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, who echoes a belief around the league: “I think things will heat up late, because everybody is still kind of in it,” he said.
  • According to Jorge Arangure at ESPN the Magazine, the Padres are keeping tabs on Dominican OF Jose Alberto Peña and pitcher Cristopher Cabrera.
  • Paul DePodesta says the Padres have come to terms with their third, fifth and seventh round picks.
  • Juan C. Rodriguez at the Sun-Sentinel wonders if the Marlins should go after Luis Ayala now that Matt Lindstrom has hit the DL.
  • Eric Seidman at Fangraphs takes a nifty look at batting average on ground balls. David Wright currently leads the majors with a .471 average in that department.
  • Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times discusses the ramifications of potential trade piece Adrian Beltre's recent bout with bone spurs.

Rosenthal On Lee, Holliday

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Ol' reliable Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. Let's scope out the highlights:

  • The Dodgers have had discussions about Cliff Lee, but the price might be too steep for them to acquire him before the deadline. The Indians are said to want top-shelf talent along the lines of Tommy Hanson or Clay Buchholz.
  • The Dodgers have talent like that in Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, but obviously they're not going anywhere. A package around James McDonald and Blake DeWitt wouldn't suffice.
  • The Phillies have also inquired on Lee, but "have balked at the price."
  • Reports that the A's would accept less for Matt Holliday because they'd prefer to skip out on the arbitration process this offseason are probably untrue, as a source said the potential high cost for the slugger is a "nonissue."

Yankees Designate Angel Berroa For Assignment

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According to Peter Abraham at the Journal-News, the Yankees have designated infielder Angel Berroa for assignment to make space for utilityman Cody Ransom.

Berroa, 31, put up a rough .356 OPS in 22 at-bats for the Yanks. He's notable for his Rookie of the Year campaign for the Royals in 2003, but he's been on a pretty steep decline since then.

Mets DFA Jon Switzer

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According to David Lennon at Newsday, the Mets have designated LHP Jon Switzer for assignment. He'll be replaced by infielder Argenis Reyes on the roster.

The 29-year-old Switzer had been signed to a minor-league deal this past winter. He posted an 8.11 ERA in 3.1 innings for the Mets, but had a solid 2.13 ERA and 29/9 K/BB ratio for Triple-A Buffalo. He could latch on a team looking for minor-league depth.

Odds And Ends: Rockies, Spilborghs, Harper

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More links for Wednesday evening…

Knobler On Cardinals, Phillies, Giants

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Danny Knobler of CBS Sports identifies the five neediest teams in baseball. No team will be able to acquire big names easily, however, as officials around the league agree that impact arms and bats aren't available with so many teams in the race. Here's a closer look at Knobler's rumors:

  • The Cardinals have had less production out of the cleanup spot than just about any NL team and GM John Mozeliak says he's "not ignoring" the issue.
  • As one official points out, "thirty teams in baseball could use Mark DeRosa" and the Cardinals could use him most of all.
  • Knobler expects the Phillies to continue looking for a starting pitcher. He doesn't rule out Erik Bedard and says the Phils have considered Zach Duke and Paul Maholm.  
  • The Giants could use a hitter and Knobler hears that Brian Sabean's facing pressure from his superiors to make a move.
  • The Brewers could use an arm, as we know. 
  • Omar Minaya seems more intense than usual, but the many injuries to his players could make it harder for him to justify making one big move. As one Mets official said, the team is in a "bad position."

Heyman On Strasburg, Pedro, DeRosa

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Jon Heyman of SI.com lists some of the best and worst starts to the season. Justin Upton and Marco Scutaro are two of the players to make the first list. Heyman's also got some rumors to pass along; here they are:

  • It is believed that Stephen Strasburg's people don't want him to pitch in the majors this year.
  • Strasburg's agent, Scott Boras, is believed to have mentioned Jose Contreras, who signed for $32MM, and Daisuke Matsuzaka, who signed for $52MM, as comparable players.
  • It doesn't sound like former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker will end up as the Nationals' next GM, though the Nats are said to be considering names other than Mike Rizzo's for the permanent job. 
  • Heyman says a Doug Davis return to Milwaukee could make sense. 
  • The Rays would like to add a closer without adding payroll, which will be a challenge.
  • Rays GM Andrew Friedman hasn't ruled out Pedro Martinez, but says he's a long shot.  
  • Heyman hears that the Cardinals and Mets are two of the teams calling the Indians about Mark DeRosa.   

Nationals DFA Kip Wells, Call On Clippard

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MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that the Nationals designated reliever Kip Wells for assignment to make room for Tyler Clippard. Wells, a 32-year-old righty, has an ERA of 6.49 in just over 26 innings, with 18 strikeouts and as many walks.

It's possible that Clippard will be the Nats' best reliever, as he's dominated Triple A so far this year. He backs up his sparkling 0.92 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 39 innings, and just 20 hits and 15 walks allowed.

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