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Archives for August 2009

Odds And Ends: Rockies, Volquez, Pirates

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More links for the morning…

  • At the Hardball Times, Adam Guttridge uses his trade evaluation system to break down some of last week's deals. He says the Phillies, Red Sox and White Sox overpaid to acquire star players. 
  • Todd Helton tells MLB.com's Thomas Harding it's nice to see the Rockies adding, rather than subtracting at the deadline.
  • Via Twitter, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that Edinson Volquez had Tommy John surgery and will miss a year. What a blow for the Reds.
  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reviews the new-look Pirates organization. 

Nats Will Look For Pitching & A Second Baseman

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The Nats will look for a veteran starter, relievers and a second baseman this offseason, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Here are the details on the team's plans:

  • Acting GM Mike Rizzo says he's looking for a "teacher and mentor type" pitcher to solidify the staff and help develop the club's young arms.
  • The Nats want to revamp their bullpen and Ladson expects them to pursue closers this offseason.  
  • Second base has been an issue, so Ladson suggests the team could pursue Orlando Hudson again when he becomes a free agent after the season.  
  • The Nats would also like to add speed to their lineup. 

Felix & Gonzalez Were Part Of Failed Deal

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You thought the Jake Peavy deal was a surprise? The Red Sox, Mariners and Padres discussed a trade that would have made the Peavy acquisition look like the Jason Hirsh deal, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Baker hears that the Red Sox gave the Mariners the chance to choose five of the following players in exchange for Felix Hernandez:

  • Clay Buchholz
  • Daniel Bard 
  • Justin Masterson 
  • Nick Hagadone 
  • Michael Bowden 
  • Felix Doubront 
  • Josh Reddick 
  • Yamaico Navarro 

The Mariners apparently turned down the deal, at which point the Padres became involved in discussions about a possible three-way trade. The Mariners would have received Adrian Gonzalez, Buchholz and prospects in the deal. They would have sent Felix to the Red Sox and dealt Brandon Morrow, Phillippe Aumont and Carlos Triunfel to the Padres, who would have received prospects from the Red Sox as well. In the end, Baker says the Mariners nixed the deal.

Matt Holliday’s Rising Value

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Matt Holliday was hot before he joined the Cardinals. Now he's 20 for his first 37 with the Cards and his season numbers have rounded into form. With a .311/.400/.501 line and above-average defense in left field, Holliday has reinserted himself atop this offseason's free agent class. One GM believes Holliday could boost his value even more with a strong finish:

"He might make himself $30MM these next two months," the GM told Yahoo's Jeff Passan.

With Scott Boras on his side, Holliday could receive the biggest payday of all this offseason, especially now that Jason Bay is slumping. Passan estimates Holliday will receive at least five years and $75MM. Mark Teixeira was the only free agent position player to receive that much last offseason, so a $75MM deal would be impressive, especially after Holliday's slow start. Still, the 29-year-old's value is considerably closer to that mark than it was when he stepped up to the plate hitting .223/.270/.351 on May 5th.

Odds And Ends: Mets, Mora, Peavy, Pirates

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Some links to start the week off…

Odds & Ends: Deadline, Halladay, French

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Just a few more links on a slow rumors night…

  • Scott Miller of CBSsports.com posts his deadline winners and losers. Unlike most of the reaction pieces we've seen, Miller defends Pirates GM Neal Huntington "as he stubbornly sticks to his vision." I think Huntington put it best when he said "We don't feel like we've broken up the 1927 Yankees."
  • Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says that now that the deadline has passed, Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay can focus on just pitching. I know it comes with the territory, but it must be tough having to answer the same questions about what you think will happen day after day.
  • MLB.com's Jim Street writes that getting traded to the Seattle in the Jarrod Washburn deal was a dream come true for Luke French, who somehow grew up a Mariners fan in Colorado.

Discussion: Brandon Webb

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Earlier today we learned that Diamondbacks' ace Brandon Webb will indeed go under the knife tomorrow to correct a shoulder problem that has kept him out basically all season. The procedure knocks Webb out for the remainder of the year and could keep him out for part of 2010 as well, although the recovery time is not yet known.

You may remember that injury concerns caused the D-Backs to pull their three year, $54MM extension offer to Webb last June, and that move certainly looks wise now. The club holds an $8.5MM option for Webb's services next year, but could instead buy him out for $2MM (the original $500K buyout was bumped up another $500K every time he finished in the top five in Cy Young voting from 2006-2009). 

Considering the net worth of the option is just $6.5MM to the team (the same as Webb's salary this year), do you think they should pick it up? If not, what kind of contract could Webb receive in the offseason?

Month In Review: July 2009

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With all of the deals that happened prior to the deadline this year, we're doing a rundown of all the trades that took place, just in case you missed something. We'll keep each bullet minimal. Here we go:

  • Technically, it was late June, but it was the first big name we saw move, and got us all thinking trade deadline. The Cardinals acquired Mark DeRosa for Chris Perez and a PTBNL who turned out to be Jess Todd.
  • The Cubs acquired Jeff Baker from Colorado for Alberto Alburquerque.
  • The Indians acquired Winston Abreu from the Rays for John Meloan.
  • The A's acquired Scott Hairston for Ryan Webb, Craig Italiano, and a PTBNL who was revealed to be Sean Gallagher eight days later.
  • The Royals acquired Ryan Freel for a PTBNL and cash.
  • The White Sox acquired Tony Pena from Arizona in exchange for Brandon Allen.
  • The Royals acquired Yuniesky Betancourt from Seattle for Danny Cortes and Derrick Saito. This one shocked a lot of people.
  • The Mets and Braves made a one-for-one swap of Ryan Church and Jeff Francoeur.
  • Seattle acquired Jack Hannahan for Justin Souza.
  • The Brewers acquired Felipe Lopez from the Diamondbacks for Cole Gillespie and Roque Mercedes.
  • The Orioles and Padres also made a one-for-one swap of Oscar Salazar and Cla Meredith.
  • In yet another one-for-one trade, the Cards sent Chris Duncan to Boston for Julio Lugo, after the Red Sox had DFA'ed Lugo.
  • The Red Sox added another left-handed bat when they acquired Adam LaRoche for Hunter Strickland and Argenis Diaz.
  • More big names for the Cardinals. They acquired Matt Holliday for Brett Wallace, Shane Peterson, and Clayton Moretnsen.
  • The Giants moves started by acquiring Ryan Garko in exchange for Scott Barnes.
  • After DFA'ing Mark Kotsay, the Red Sox traded him to the White Sox for Brian Anderson
  • The Pirates and Mariners completed a seven-player trade that sent Jack Wilson and Ian Snell for Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno, Nathan Adcock, Brett Lorin, and Aaron Pribanic.
  • The Reds acquired Wladimir Balentien from Seattle in exchange for reliever Robert Manuel.
  • The Yankees acquired Jason Hirsh from the Rockies and released Brett Tomko to make room.
  • The Phillies landed a Cy Young winner, but it wasn't Roy Halladay. They got Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco as well for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Lou Marson, and Jason Knapp.
  • The Giants acquired Freddy Sanchez in exchange for Tim Alderson.
  • The Royals acquired Josh Anderson for cash considerations after he was DFA'ed by the Tigers.
  • The Dodgers strengthened their bullpen, acquiring George Sherrill for Josh Bell and Steve Johnson.
  • The Cubs acquired both Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow from the Pirates for Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio.
  • The Tigers made a move to try to pull away with the division, acquiring Jarrod Washburn for Luke French and Mauricio Robles.
  • The Dodgers and Brewers swapped Vinny Rottino and Claudio Vargas.
  • The Red Sox made a big spalsh by acquiring Victor Martinez in exchange for Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price.
  • The Blue Jays acquired minor leaguer Sean Smith from the Pirates for future considerations.
  • The Yankees added Jerry Hairston Jr. from Cincinatti for minor leaguer Chase Weems.
  • Having acquired Victor Martinez, the Red Sox no longer had a place for Adam LaRoche. He was traded to Atlanta after just a few days in Boston for Casey Kotchman.
  • The Marlins bolstered their lineup, acquiring Nick Johnson in exchange for Aaron Thompson.
  • The Rockies added two pieces to their bullpen, a righty and lefty. They received Rafael Betancourt from Cleveland for Connor Graham, and also acquired Joe Beimel from Washington for Ryan Mattheus and Robinson Fabian.
  • The White Sox might've made the surprise deal of the year. They succeeded in their second attempt to acquire Jake Peavy, landing the Padres ace for Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell.
  • The Reds and Blue Jays exchanged third basemen, with Scott Rolen going to Cincinatti in exchange for Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke, and Zach Stewart.
  • The Twins added some much-needed infield help, getting Orlando Cabrera from the A's for Tyler Ladendorf.

That should cover it; let me know if I missed anything! A lot of action last month, and we look forward to another good one in August!

Odds & Ends: Foulke, Feliz, Tazawa

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A few links to check out on the 30th anniversary of Thurman Munson's death…

  • Mike Ashmore of AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com wrote a feature on Keith Foulke, who is pitching with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League. Foulke turned down several Triple-A offers before the season, including one from the Nationals, and admits it "probably turned out to be a little bit of a mistake." Foulke is looking to get back to majors as you'd expect, and says "“I’m going to make one last push over the last couple weeks, and we’ll see what happens."
  • The Rangers are ready to call up prospect Neftali Feliz, perhaps in time for tonight's game according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Baseball America rated Feliz the 13th best prospect in the game in early July.
  • Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal wonders if Japanese import Junichi Tazawa could be a candidate to fill the bullpen spot left vacated by Justin Masterson's inclusion in the Victor Martinez trade on Friday. Tazawa was recently bumped to Triple-A and is already on the 40-man roster.
  • Make you sure follow MLBTR on Twitter for the quickest updates possible. While you're at it, why don't you go ahead and follow me too. Almost all of my tweets are about baseball, I swears it.

Haudricourt On: Hall, Pitching, Cain

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Tom Haudricourt from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has some topics of discussion for your reading pleasure this Sunday afternoon:

  • Haudricourt says that there's a best case scenario for Bill Hall, and it's not returning to the Brewers' lineup. Haudricourt feels the best thing for both sides is for Hall to play strongly at the Triple-A level, draw interest from a team needing infield help, and get traded. This would require the Brewers eating a significant portion of the roughly $10MM Hall has left on his deal, but with Casey McGehee's emergence and Mat Gamel waiting in the wings, Hall is an odd man out.
  • It's not fair to blame the Brewers' lack of minor league pitching depth on injuries to first round picks such as Mike Jones and Mark Rogers. As Haudricourt says, at some point, you have to develop a mid- or late-round pick into a viable major leaguer. His example: Randy Wells – a 38th round pick – and his 2.84 ERA.
  • Matt Cain's dominance this season serves as a testimonial as to why the Brewers were unable to acquire him when they were rumored to be pursuing the San Francisco righty in the past. Haudricourt says the Giants never intended to deal Cain, and his 12-2 record and 2.12 ERA are the reasons for that.
  • Haudricourt wonders aloud how nice Zack Greinke would look in a Brewers uniform, and offers this quote from the Kansas City ace: "The way we've been playing, it's as bad as any team I've played for." Strong words from someone who's been with the Royals since 2004. Greinke is just 10-6 despite leading the Majors with a 2.08 ERA, and has a 2.97 ERA over his five no-decision this season. Ouch.
  • Haudricourt discusses the Indians as well, pointing out that no team had ever traded the AL Cy Young winner in back-to-back seasons. He quotes Cliff Lee:
"I'll miss the guys, but this is an opportunity to help a first-place team and the defending world champions. So I'm excited."

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