Archives for June 2009

Rosenthal On Spilborghs, Peavy, Aybar

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 9, 2009 at 9:26am CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that teams began calling the Rockies about Ryan Spilborghs last week when Carlos Gonzalez was called up. Here are the details from Rosenthal's column:

The Phillies, Red Sox and Tigers were among the teams inquiring about Spilborghs.
The Rockies will likely take their time fielding offers for Spilborghs and their other trade candidates. Jason Marquis, Huston Street and Brad Hawpe could all be dealt, but the Rockies aren't in a hurry to part with them.
Rosenthal finds it hard to imagine the Padres trading Jake Peavy before the offseason unless the Cubs get permission to take on his contract or a surprise bidder emerges.
The Angels could trade Erick Aybar for a bat or a reliever and make Brandon Wood their everyday shortstop. The Red Sox, Mets, Royals and Cardinals could use help at short.
The A's, riding a seven game win streak, are not involved in any trade talks right now.
The Angels would love to deal Gary Matthews Jr. for another overpaid player, but it's tough to match up bad contracts.
The Mets made a "blunder" when they paid $36MM for Oliver Perez when they could have gone after, Randy Wolf, who's only guaranteed $5MM.

The Market for Glavine

By Eddie Schmid | June 8, 2009 at 9:28pm CDT

He may be busy filing a grievance against the Braves with the players union, but could Tom Glavine still feasibly help a few teams? Glavine claims a couple teams have called offering work of some kind. Here's what we've learned over the past week.

MLB Trade Rumors got a hold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold, who says the Cardinals brass have expressed little interest in the veteran.
The Marlins are supposedly at budget, and thus have no interest in Glavine, according to Juan C. Rodriguez at the Sun-Sentinel.
Todd Zolecki at MLB.com says the Phillies don't seem to view Glavine as an option.
Michael Hunt at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel doesn't think the Brewers should pursue him.
Kevin Baxter at the L.A. Times claims the Dodgers aren't likely to pursue Glavine. Peter Gammons wonders if they'd reconsider.
David Lennon at Newsday says the Mets aren't interested in re-signing him.
Bill Ladson at MLB.com thinks the Nationals would want him more for a coaching gig, not as a player.

Does Glavine make sense for any teams, or was the Braves' assessment the nail in the coffin for his playing career?

Odds & Ends: Draft, Cardinals, Mets

By Eddie Schmid | June 8, 2009 at 8:01pm CDT

A dosage of mostly vague, speculative links to calm the nerves before tomorrow's draft:

Derrick Goold at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gives part 2 of his rundown of potential picks for the Cardinals.
Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe talked to one former scouting director who says the Nats should think "long and hard" before selecting Stephen Strasburg.
The Phillies have to wait until the 75th pick for their first draft selection, and David Gurian-Peck at MLB.com says they're leaning toward a high school player.
Dan Connolly at the Baltimore Sun dishes on the Orioles' draft options at pick no. 5. President Andy MacPhail says he's not afraid to dole out a large bonus.
Mark Bowman at MLB.com talked to Braves head of scouting Roy Clark and speculates the Braves will pursue pitching with the seventh pick.
Paul Hoynes at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer relays the opinion of Indians director of amateur scouting Brad Grant that the MLB draft needs a medical combine.
Matthew Cerrone at MetsBlog is fielding questions for an exclusive interview with Mets skipper Jerry Manuel.

Rangers To Pursue Pitching?

By Eddie Schmid | June 8, 2009 at 7:12pm CDT

After it appeared Brandon McCarthy would hit the DL with a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade, T.R. Sullivan at MLB.com chatted with Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who is going to turn to Doug Mathis for the open rotation spot for now. But he didn't rule out the possibility of a deal to shore up the position:

"'I'm open to it,' Daniels said. 'It's something we'll look into, but it's easier said than done. My expectation is we'll go with the guys we have. If there is a quality guy available, we'll look into it, but it's easier said than done.'"

Closer Frank Francisco is also hurting, and Daniels has made discussing relief pitching his "short-term focus," he told Sullivan.

The Rangers have been hit hard by the injury bug, but they remain atop the AL West with a 33-23 record, 4.5 games ahead of the Angels. Who makes sense to fill the holes? Are they still a legitimate contender?

Red Sox Discussing Shortstop Options

By Eddie Schmid | June 8, 2009 at 6:31pm CDT

According to Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have "left no stone unturned" in their search for a shortstop. Rounding out the list of names are Omar Vizquel, Jack Wilson, J.J. Hardy, the aforementioned Orlando Cabrera, Bobby Crosby, Jason Donald, Miguel Tejada and a mystery shortstop with the Braves. Ideally, Jed Lowrie would make a speedy return from the DL before they begin making any decisions.

As noted earlier, the Sox inquired on Cabrera but apparently aren't interested.

What should the Sox do? Just speculation–could the Braves' shortstop be Yunel Escobar or is it someone else?

White Sox Sign Freddy Garcia

By Eddie Schmid | June 8, 2009 at 6:04pm CDT

According to Buster Olney at ESPN, the White Sox have agreed to a minor-league deal with right-hander Freddy Garcia. He passed a physical and now will report to the Sox training facility in Arizona.

Garcia, who turns 33 on Wednesday, was released by the Mets April 28th after putting up an 8.18 ERA in 11 innings at Triple-A Buffalo. He hinted at retirement around that time due to persistent troubles with his shoulder. Garcia pitched for the Sox during their World Series run in 2005 and into 2007.

As reported by Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune, this comes on the heels of a vintage Ozzie Guillen outburst after the Sox dropped a game to the Tigers today, their sixth loss in seven games. Guillen said changes would be coming "Pretty soon."

Odds And Ends: Hamilton, Vizquel, Draft

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 8, 2009 at 5:04pm CDT

Why not rattle off a few more links to wrap up this Monday afternoon…

As MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports, Josh Hamilton will miss 4-6 weeks to repair a partially torn abdominal muscle.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes the Rangers are for real.
He says Jon Daniels is not looking to trade Omar Vizquel.
ESPN.com's Keith Law believes Stephen Strasburg will sign this year. He could be in line for a September debut, perhaps as a reliever.
Law's high on Tyler Matzek, a polished high schooler who should go early in the first round.
As Baseball America's J.J. Cooper reports, Tanner Scheppers boosted his draft stock by pitching in the upper 90s in his final start for the St. Paul Saints.
Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post says the Marlins could go after pitching with their first round pick, especially since the draft is pitching-heavy early on.
MLB.com's Corey Brock says the Padres will take Dustin Ackley if the Mariners don't.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says Josh Fields found his recent demotion "hard to swallow."

D’Backs Claim Blaine Boyer Off Waivers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 8, 2009 at 4:30pm CDT

According to the Arizona Republic the D'Backs claimed pitcher Blaine Boyer off waivers from the Cardinals, who designated him for assignment last week. The 27-year-old had a 4.41 ERA in 15 appearances with the Cards. It's been a hectic year for Boyer, who was traded from Atlanta to St. Louis back in April.

Determining The MLB Draft Order

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 8, 2009 at 4:06pm CDT

Here's how to determine the MLB draft order:

You start by upending the previous year's standings. The team with the worst record in the league gets the top pick in the following year's draft.
Sometimes, more than one team will have the same record. In 2008, for instance, the Reds, Rockies and Tigers all finished 74-88.
In that case, you go back one more season and compare those records. The Rockies finished ahead of the Reds and Tigers in 2007, so they were the last of the three teams to select in 2009. The Tigers finished ahead of the Reds in '07, so they picked after Cincinnati.
If a team fails to sign its first rounder, they get a pick in the next year's draft. A team that fails to sign the tenth overall pick gets the 11th overall selection the following year. A team that fails to sign the 21st overall pick, gets the 22nd pick the following year.
The first 10 picks in the draft are protected, so if one of those teams signs a free agent who turned down a qualifying offer, it will lose its second round pick instead. Any draft pick obtained for failing to sign a pick the previous year is also not subject to forfeiture.
After the first round is the compensatory round, for any team that lost a free agent who turned down a qualifying offer. Then comes Competitive Balance Round A, then Round 2, then Competitive Balance Round 3, Round 4, etc. Competitive balance picks are given out through a lottery, as explained here by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.

Rangers Exercise Washington’s 2010 Option

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 8, 2009 at 3:07pm CDT

According to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram the Rangers exercised the 2010 option on manager Ron Washington's contract. Washington has led the Rangers, who currently have a 4.5 game lead in the AL West, to a 33-23 record. GM Jon Daniels said picking up the option was an "easy decision" because the Rangers have played so well.

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