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Archives for August 2009

Odds & Ends: Hall, Padres, Smoltz

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Some links to tide you over during the game — or lack thereof, if you're facing the dreaded rain delay:

  • Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times wonders if Josh Wilson will be DFA'd tomorrow to make way for Bill Hall.
  • Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash weighs in on the Bill Hall trade, admitting that the move was partially financially motivated, reports Adam McCalvy at MLB.com.
  • Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres reports that the Padres are in serious talks with an unnamed, switch-hitting 16-year-old amateur for a bonus of $450k.
  • Krasovic also notes that the White Sox taking on Jake Peavy's contract made it a whole lot easier for the Friars to foot the bill for their top picks Donavan Tate, Everett Williams and Keyvius Sampson.
  • Dave Cameron at Fangraphs thinks the John Smoltz signing was a win for the Cardinals, saying that Smoltz's 40 inning sample size is far too small to judge his performance.
  • Israel Gutierrez at the Miami Herald has a list of reasons why John Smoltz would have been a great fit on the Marlins.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore says he expected a backlash when the team demoted Alex Gordon and defends the decision, reports Bob Dutton at the Kansas City Star. The move came just a day before the deadline that would have set Gordon as a free agent after 2012, and now his free agency is delayed until past 2013.

Dodgers Sign Vicente Padilla

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6:35pm: Jayson Stark at ESPN is reporting that the move is official. Padilla will sign a minor-league deal and make at least one start in the minors before he's called up to the Dodgers' rotation. He'll be owed the prorated portion of the league minimum–around $100k.

It's a cheap way for the Dodgers to add depth, since they'll only be responsible for the pro-rated MLB minimum, with the Rangers paying Padilla the rest of his $12MM salary.

Padilla, 32 next month, allowed 120 hits and 42 walks in 108 innings with the Rangers this year, striking out 59. Despite numerous suggestions that Padilla is a bad teammate, Joe Torre told the LA Times last week that he's confident his club wouldn't have problems integrating players with questionable backgrounds.

4:36pm: Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times hears that the Dodgers are "very" close to adding Padilla.

12:45pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the Dodgers are "moving closer" to an agreement with Padilla.

12:19pm: ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears that Vicente Padilla has become "a consideration" for the Dodgers now that a liner to Hiroki Kuroda's head has further depleted the team's rotation. The Dodgers are talking with Padilla's agent, Paul Kinzer, and we could hear of a deal this afternoon. The Dodgers, who would only be responsible for about $100k if they add Padilla, had uncertain interest as recently as yesterday but they're now considering him.

Boras On The Strasburg Negotiations

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Scott Boras told 619 Sports that he was never looking to sign Stephen Strasburg to a  $50MM deal, despite reports that he was using Daisuke Matsuzaka's contract as a reference point for the number one overall pick.

"I can assure you our first offer was well less than half of that," Boras said.

Here are some more points Boras makes over the course of the interview:

  • Boras says revenues around baseball have increased in the last decade, so he argues that money should trickle down to players and draft picks.
  • He also suggests that more teams are holding onto their players, which leads to smaller crops of free agents.
  • Boras says American players deserve as much as international ones.
  • Boras says J.D. Drew didn't sign with the Phillies because they told him they didn't believe him.
  • The agent praises Donavan Tate and Strasburg on their intelligence.
  • Boras says every organization makes mistakes with players, but suggests adding players with questionable character hurts teams most of all.
  • Check out the audio for Boras' description of deadline day. It's pretty interesting stuff.

Mariners Acquire Bill Hall

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According to the Seattle Times' Geoff Baker, the Mariners have acquired Bill Hall from the Brewers. There's an announcement expected before game time. According to Baker's sources, the Brewers will receive minor-league pitcher Ruben "Buddy" Flores in return. The Brewers will reportedly pay the rest of the $6.8MM salary due Hall this year and a large portion of his $8.4MM he earns in 2010.

Hall, 29, has had a rough year, putting up a .606 OPS in 234 PA, but perhaps he'll be able to find his swing with a change of scenery. He could fit into a platoon role against lefties, where the Mariners have struggled this season, and can at least defensively fill in the vacancy at third left by the ailing Adrian Beltre.

Flores is a 25-year-old righty and put up a 2.30 ERA and a 53/28 K/BB ratio in 43 innings in Single-A this year but has been lit up to the tune of a 13.06 ERA since being moved to High-A ball. He's a little old to be considered a prospect, but he projects as a middle reliever if he can put it together.

Selig Wants Worldwide Draft, Capped Bonuses

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Commissioner Bud Selig wants MLB to adopt  a worldwide draft and more rigid bonuses for picks when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after 2011, according to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post. Selig said the Nats and Stephen Strasburg agreed on a "fair" deal, but wants to cap the bonuses draftees receive. 

"There's no question in my mind, in 2011, certainly a slotting system and a worldwide draft are things we will be very aggressive talking about," Selig said.

Sheinin says a number of players are comfortable with the idea of capping bonuses for draftees, so there's potential for change when MLB negotiates the next CBA with the players' union.

Odds And Ends: Tejada, Varitek, Smoltz

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Some afternoon links…

Smoltz Clears Waivers, Reaches Deal With Cards

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The Cardinals continued a summer-long streak of big-name acquisitions this afternoon, agreeing to a deal with the recently-released John Smoltz, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards, who have already added Mark DeRosa and Matt Holliday, are exptected to slot Smoltz into their rotation. They'll only be responsible for the pro-rated portion of the major league minimum, a total of about $100k at this point.

As Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shows, the Cards' rotation will be imposing if Smoltz can recover from an ugly stint with the Red Sox. Nick Steiner of the Hardball Times says such a recovery is possible and David Golebiewski of FanGraphs agrees.

A’s Looking For Starting Pitching

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Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the A's are looking outside the organization for starting pitchers because they don't want to overwork rookies Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Vin Mazzaro. The A's considered going to a six-man rotation, but Justin Duchscherer and Dallas Braden are on the DL. Slusser mentions former A's starter Mark Mulder as a possible addition.

Heyman On Strasburg, Harper, Piniella

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Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Nationals made the "acquisition of the year" when they signed Stephen Strasburg 77 seconds before Monday night's deadline to sign draft picks. Nats president Stan Kasten says he's proud to have signed Strasburg even if he's not proud to have agreed to a record-setting deal. Like many others, Scott Boras believes the agreement was good for both sides. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:

  • Bryce Harper shouldn't come close to Strasburg's $15MM-plus if he signs next year.
  • The Rays offered first rounder LeVon Washington $1.1MM. It wasn't enough and Scott Boras was very disappointed not to reach a deal.
  • Heyman says there's no way the Cubs fire Lou Piniella after picking up his $4MM option for next year.
  • Jerry Manuel shouldn't have picked on Ryan Church, Heyman says.

Odds And Ends: Astros, Halladay, Phillies

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More links for Wednesday morning…

  • Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says it's insincere for Astros owner Drayton McLane to act like his team's still in contention.
  • As Alex Speier notes, Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said on WEEI in Boston that it's too soon to tell whether Roy Halladay will hit the trade market again this winter. Once the team has a permanent president and a firm payroll, it will be easier to tell.
  • Phil Wood of MASN.com says Mike Rizzo has earned a shot at the permanent Nats GM job.
  • Scott Miller of CBS Sports wouldn't be surprised if Lou Piniella decided not to manage the Cubs next year. His contract, which runs through 2010, will surely be his last, Miller says.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tells MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that he doesn't expect to make a waiver trade, though the Phils have claimed players.

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