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Boras: “No Compelling Reason” To Bench Magglio

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SATURDAY, 2:21pm: Tigers manager Jim Leyland shared some rather strong words with the media Saturday afternoon in response to Boras' comments: (Quotes courtesy of MLive.com's Chris Iott).

"I'm very respectful of Scott Boras, but I'm not going to listen to his (nonsense)," Leyland said.  "Scott Boras might be better off if he lets Magglio and myself handle this instead of him. … "This is about Magglio Ordonez and a manager trying to do something that he thinks may help and get him right.  Is it the right thing?  I don't know.  But that is what this is about.  And I'm not going to take shots from people in the newspaper that are untruths."

"If it's the truth and I'm wrong," the manager continued, "then go ahead and punch me in the jaw, but don't give me this (nonsense)."  

FRIDAY, 5:43pm: Lynn Henning of the Detroit News reports that Scott Boras says there's "no compelling reason" behind the Tigers' decision to bench Magglio Ordonez indefinitely. Boras called the move "myopic," providing many stats to show why Ordonez deserves to play. For example, he's hitting .301 over the course of the last 30 days.

Ordonez's contract calls for vesting options that would kick in depending on the number of times he bats this year, so the Tigers' decision to bench Ordonez seems financially motivated. He needs 215 plate appearances for an $18MM option to vest for 2010, and there's another $15MM at stake for 2011.

Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that the Tigers should release Ordonez instead of just benching him. As Rosenthal says, his .343 slugging percentage is hardly better than the numbers Rey Ordonez put up. 

Odds & Ends: Chipper, Tigers, Padres, Diamondbacks

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Some Saturday links…

Olney’s Latest: Dodgers, Yankees, Pedro, Strasburg

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes that it "is said by others" that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is searching for pitching. Olney outlines the heavy workload endured by the Dodgers' bullpen early on, and wonders how it will hold up down the stretch.

Here's some other bits that Olney's heard:

  • The Yankees are unlikely to trade Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady when the latter returns from an elbow injury because of the club's needs. Olney also mentions that they wouldn't be able to get full market value for Nady because of his injury.
  • The Yanks did discuss Nady with other clubs during the offseason after signing Mark Teixeira.
  • Several teams walked away from Pedro Martinez's workout yesterday unimpressed and uninterested in signing him.
  • Olney says that several teams would be interested in the future Hall of Famer if he decides to pitch for something close to the pro-rated minimum with incentives, and is willing to work his way back up through the minors.
  • Early talks between the Nationals and first overall pick Stephen Strasburg "are off to a sluggish start."

No Help Coming For Rays?

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According to Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg indicated that he feels his team is good enough to win with the players they have.

"If I look around the team, there's nowhere that I think at this point that we could improve ourselves dramatically," Sternberg said before the game. "There's no glaring hole. I don't see a hole.

"With the guys we have here and those (returning) guys, yeah, this is what's getting it done. I don't think anyone is lining up to throw a great player at us. We're very fortunate. We really don't have glaring needs. It's just performance."

The returning guys he speaks of are the eight players currently on the DL, as Scott Kazmir, Chad Bradford, Fernando Perez and Brian Shouse are expected to return to the club at some point this season. Topkin mentions that the back of the bullpen could use an upgrade, but Sternberg replied "If we spend more money, it's not going to be on a closer." Before the season we learned that the Rays were unlikely to add payroll.

Brewers Brass Discuss Ways To Improve Club

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MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that Brewers GM Doug Mevin, manager Ken Macha, and pro scouting head Dick Groch spoke for nearly two hours in the lobby of the team's hotel yesterday.

"We covered just about everything," Macha said. "The bench, position players, starting pitchers, bullpen."

"Let me put it this way: [Melvin] is keenly aware of avenues that would make our ballclub stronger," Macha said. "But almost every Major League team is still either buyers or they consider themselves [contenders]. There's no fits, like a jigsaw puzzle, where 'You guys need X, we've need Y. You have Y, we have X. Let's do it.' There's not a whole lot of that."

We hear lots of stories like this around this time of year, that most teams are still trying decide to buy or sell and that it's slowing down the trade market. The Brewers were one of the clubs that attended Pedro Martinez's workout yesterday, but McCalvy says Melvin has consistently downplayed his interest in the righthander,

Twins Release Henry Sanchez

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LaVelle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune reports that the Twins have released first baseman Henry Sanchez. Sanchez was the club's supplemental first round pick in 2005, taken three picks before Clay Buchholz. Sanchez hit just .216-.297-.358 in 91 minor league games, missing considerable time with various injuries. He was suspended 50-games for violating baseball's drug policy earlier this year.

Gammons’ Latest: Red Sox, Washburn, DeRosa

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In his latest blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons writes that "unless someone comes up with a Justin Smoak, Matt LaPorta or Brett Wallace," the Red Sox will hold on to Brad Penny and enjoy the depth. He says no one will offer up a prospect like that for a few months of Penny.

Here's the rest of Gammons' rumors:

  • Takashi Saito is the pitcher on Boston's staff most likely to be traded.
  • Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard "probably won't be tradeable before Aug. 1" because of their injuries.
  • Jarrod Washburn could be had.
  • The Red Sox have talked to the Angels about infielder Maicer Izturis, but the talks haven't gone anywhere
  • Mark Mulder "made considerable progress refinding his delivery after one session with pitching coach Rick Peterson."
  • The Mets are looking for an outfield bat. They made a run at Mark DeRosa, but wouldn't discuss Bobby Parnell.
  • The Cardinals wouldn't discuss Jason Motte or Chris Perez in exchange for DeRosa.
  • The uncertain situation surrounding the Cubs' ownership will likely prohibit any major additions.

Diamondbacks Agree To Terms With First Round Pick AJ Pollock

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Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with first round pick AJ Pollock. The deal is believed to include a $1.4MM signing bonus, which would be below MLB's expected slot recommendation of $1.55MM.The centerfielder from Notre Dame was the 17th overall selection and the second of the D-Backs' back-to-back first round selections.

The deal is still pending a physical, which is scheduled for Monday.

Discussion: Which Team Has The Best Young Core?

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Young players have taken over the game thanks to their ability to produce at a below market salaries. Let's take some time tonight to discuss which club has the best core of young players in place at the big league level right now. Here's some of the obvious candidates:

  • Dodgers: Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Clayton Kershaw, Russell Martin
  • Rays: Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, Evan Longoria, Dioner Navarro, David Price, BJ Upton
  • Red Sox: Dan Bard, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Jed Lowrie, Justin Masterson, Dustin Pedroia

Plenty of other teams like the Diamondbacks, Marlins, Orioles, and Reds boast an impressive collection of young players, so this should be an interesting talk. So, who ya got?

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