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Archives for June 2009

The Cardinals And The Economy

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The Cardinals are one of the surprise stories of the baseball season so far. Even after losing three straight by a combined score of 28-7, St. Louis is just two games behind Milwaukee in the National League Central.

But based on this item in a new column by Scott Miller of CBSSportsLine.com, the Cardinals better hope Tyler Greene is the answer at shortstop and Brad Thompson is able to fill in for Kyle Lohse.

"3. Tony La Russa, Twitter settle dispute: Too bad, too. Because had La Russa won the suit he wound up withdrawing, it probably was going to be the only way St. Louis could secure the money to add another bat to its lineup this summer."

It's an interesting piece less talked about in trade circles. Plenty of teams are assumed to be willing to dump salary once they fall out of the race, with an imperative to do so sooner in this difficult economic climate.

It may be, however, that many of the teams in a position to contend may not be adding salary, due to that very same economy.

In a season when even the Yankees claim they can't add salary, it will be fascinating to see if the glut of players expected to hit the market between now and July 31 fetch huge packages of prospects, if the few teams that can add payroll are bidding against themselves.

Bullpen Roundup: Who Should Rays Get; Is Rauch Out In Arizona?

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While Tampa Bay is still reeling from another loss due to a faulty bullpen, R.J. Anderson of DRaysBay.com has some suggested additions to the beleaguered group.

  • Winston Abreu, currently dominating at Triple-A Durham, could simply be called up.
  • Jason Grilli, recently designated for assignment by the Rockies, could be had for nothing.
  • Joel Hanrahan, recently taken out of the closer's role by Washington, would require a trade.

Considering that Grant Balfour, Joe Nelson and Dan Wheeler all have ERAs of 5.50 or higher, some fresh arms in the Tampa Bay bullpen would certainly be welcome.

Meanwhile, a less-treasured member of a major-league bullpen is Jon Rauch, who had a closed-door meeting with manager A.J. Hinch after Saturday night's game.

Rauch is still only utilized in low-leverage situations, and it seems he's worn out his welcome in Arizona. But his ERA dropped from 9.31 in April to 3.46 in May, and he's pitched two scoreless innings so far in June.

Whether the Rays, desperately seeking saves, and Rauch, America's tallest reliever, get together remains to be seen. No smoke here yet, let alone fire, but this seems like a natural connection to make.

Ortiz Taking Sox Out Of Hitter Sweepstakes?

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Don't look now, but reports of David Ortiz's demise may be exaggerated. As Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal reports, Ortiz is hitting .280 over his six-game hitting streak, including a home run, two doubles, and four RBI.

Remember that when it comes to Ortiz, the Red Sox, due to the enormous contract Ortiz carries, will likely be like Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber. If the numbers point to a one in a million chance of an Ortiz recovery, GM Theo Epstein may take a look at the $12.5MM owed to Ortiz in 2009, the $12.5MM in 2010, and say, "So you're saying there's a chance? Yeah!"

Glavine May File Grievance

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A report coming from the Associated Press says that Tom Glavine may file a grievance against the Atlanta Braves for releasing him on Wednesday.

There are a number of factors here, of course. The combination of money saved by releasing Glavine matches up well with the salary owed newly-acquired Nate McLouth.

Also, the Braves wanted room for Tommy Hanson, their top pitching prospect, in the rotation.

But left unsaid is what effect this may have on Glavine's ability to sign with another team. To the extent that baseball protects its own, will owners want to give Glavine a job?

Discussion: Which Young Pitcher Would You Take?

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Major League Baseball has quickly become a young man's game, and there is nothing more precious than young pitching. Tommy Hanson made his big league debut for the Braves today, allowing three homers and seven runs in six innings against the Brewers at home. Just yesterday the Rays' David Price gave up just two hits and three runs in a start against the Yankees in the Bronx, and on Tuesday the Nationals will make Stephen Strasburg the first overall pick in the 2009 Draft.

If you were running your favorite team, which of these three young pitchers would you take for your club? Price is the oldest at 23, but he also has the most experience. Hanson was the best pitching prospect left in the minors before his call up, and Strasburg may be the best draft prospect ever. There's no wrong answer, but I'm interested to see who everyone prefers. So, who ya got?

Red Sox Show Interest In Orlando Cabrera

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According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, the Red Sox have "had conversations" with the A's about shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who was Boston's shortstop on their 2004 World Series club. Cabrera is hitting just .235/.286/.303 after signing a one year, $4MM contract this offseason. He will receive a $250,000 bonus if traded. Boston shortstops have hit .235-.311-.325 this season.

Olney also says the Red Sox have also talked to the Pirates about Jack Wilson, but says the two teams don't match up well because "the Red Sox probably would prefer to keep some financial flexibility in the event that they need to acquire a DH type" in case David Ortiz doesn't turn it around. Wilson is still owed close to $6MM this season.

Odds & Ends: Phillies, Moore, Draft

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Three years ago today, four current big leaguers were selected on day two of the 2006 MLB Draft: Derek Holland of the Rangers, Daniel Murphy of the Mets, David Robertson of the Yankees, and Clay Zavada of the Diamondbacks. Here's some lazy Sunday afternoon linkage for you.

  • Sam Mellinger tweets that current Royals' and ex-Phillies' executive Mike Arbuckle says that his biggest regret is drafting Reggie Taylor over Roy Halladay in the first round of the 1995 Draft. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Arbuckle isn't alone with that sentiment.
  • Jim Salisbury runs through the Phillies' trade chips.
  • Royals' GM Dayton Moore says that his team isn't in need of any major changes right now, via Bob Dutton. “We are constantly evaluating our internal options to improve our team, and specifically our offense. And we’re always looking for opportunities to improve our team through trades or the waiver wire, and we’ll always be aggressive in trying to do that. But I’m confident that we will begin to perform better and play as we did in the first 30 games of the year. That’s all I can focus on.”
  • Meanwhile, Rany Jazayerli suggests a move for the Royals: trade for Jeff Francoeur. His reasoning: buy low on someone with gobs of talent.
  • Texas high school outfielder Randal Grichuk made a name for himself by hitting a few homers during a predraft workout at Busch Stadium, according to Derrick Goold.
  • Ross Ohlendorf's thesis shows that the rate of return of the top 100 picks from the 1989-2003 drafts was about 60%.

Braves Sign Jon Huber

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According to a release by the Lancaster Barn Stormers, the Braves have signed righthanded reliever Jon Huber to a minor league deal. Huber had been pitching for Lancaster in the independent Atlantic League this season, where he had a 3.63 ERA and a 10.08 K/9 in 22.1 innings. He has a 2.57 ERA in 28 big league innings, all coming with the Mariners back in 2006 and 2007. The Braves assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Indians Uncertain About Trade Status

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As MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports, GM Mark Shapiro and the Indians still haven't decided if they are going to start pawning off their movable pieces for players that can help the team next year and beyond. 

"We're on the sidelines right now," Shapiro said. "We're keeping a pulse of the market and not making a decision in either direction."  

The Tribe were 24-34 and seven games back in the AL Central coming into today's action, but currently have eight players on the disabled list. Starters Cliff Lee and the resurgent Carl Pavano figure to draw significant interest from contending teams, ditto catcher Victor Martinez. We've certainly heard plenty of rumors about infielder Mark DeRosa already.

With no reason to move players sooner rather than later, the Indians can afford to sit back and see how things play out once they get healthy. They are just one hot week from being right back in thick of things in a winnable division after all.

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