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Archives for August 2009

Royals Considering Extension For Moore

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8:39pm: The team confirms that there have been talks about an extension for Moore, but insist "no deal is in place or close" according to The KC Star's Bob Dutton.

7:45pm: Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse confirms through a source that the extension for Moore is "done."

10:22am: The Royals are considering a contract extension for GM Dayton Moore, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Moore's current contract runs through 2010 and the Royals may keep Moore around for even longer.

Moore, who took over control of the team in 2006, has been harshly criticized for some deals, but praised for others. He faced criticism for acquiring Mike Jacobs and Yuniesky Betancourt, but received praise for locking Zack Greinke up affordably.

Crasnick suggests that an extension for Moore would increase manager Trey Hillman's chances of keeping his job after next year, when his contract is set to expire.

Rangers Sign Ryan Freel

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MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers have signed veteran utility player Ryan Freel to a minor league contract, and have assigned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Royals designated him for assignment last week, and he's hit just .217-.319-.250 in 101 plate appearances this year.

Freel is joining his fifth organization in the last ten months.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Kazmir, Torres

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My momma always said, "Odds & Ends posts are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get…"

  • Joel Sherman of The NY Post says that the Yankees negotiated with then-free agent Paul Byrd earlier in the summer, but refused to meet his request of a guaranteed September call-up. Once the Red Sox signed Byrd, Yanks' brass assumed that they had agreed to Byrd's demand, and then claimed Chris Carter off waivers in hopes of creating some 40-man roster havoc for their main rival.
  • SI.com's Tom Verducci provides some insight into why the Rays traded (or will trade, since we're still waiting on an official announcement) Scott Kazmir. He notes that while he is still very young, Kazmir's velocity has been dropping and his strikeout rate is declining.
  • Alex Torres, one of the players involved in the Kazmir trade, was named one of this week's hottest prospects in Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet.

Indians Acquire Yohan Pino To Complete Pavano Trade

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The Indians have announced that they have acquired righthander Yohan Pino from the Twins as the player to be named later in this month's Carl Pavano trade. Pino was not on Minnesota's 40-man roster, so he did not need to pass through waivers to be included in the deal.

The 25-yr old has a 3.03 ERA and an impressive 4.00 K/BB ratio in 113 innings split between the Double- and Triple-A levels this year.

Cardinals, Franklin Near Agreement On Extension

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Friday, 5:20pm: Via MLB.com's Matthew Leach, Franklin confirms that the two sides are close to an agreement that will keep him in St. Louis through 2011. He says:

"We've been talking for a couple months, and it's getting pretty close. Both sides are going to be happy. My whole thing to be happy is to be able to maybe finish my career here. I'm not saying that I'm done after this, if we get this done, but it would be an awesome thing to be able to end my career here in St. Louis. To be close to home, it's a great opportunity for me and my family."

Thursday, 9:34pm: According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals and closer Ryan Franklin are near agreement on a two-year, $6.5MM contract extension that will keep Franklin with St. Louis through the 2011 season.

"A club source indicated some language had yet to be formalized but conceded that momentum appeared in place for an announcement, perhaps as soon as today," writes Strauss.

The agreement includes the previously negotiated $2.75MM club option in 2010, along with a $3.75MM deal for 2011. According to Strauss, there are also numerous other performance incentives for Franklin, 36, to attain to increase the total worth of the deal.

Franklin was not even the closer at the start of the 2009 season, but he has thrived in the role, with a 1.07 ERA in 50 1/3 innings so far this year.

Luis Gonzalez To Announce Retirement

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Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that outfielder Luis Gonzalez will officially announce his retirement tomorrow during "Luis Gonzalez Appreciation Night" in Arizona. Gonzalez will join the Diamondbacks' front office as a special assistant to team president and CEO Derrick Hall, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.

Gonzalez will retire with 2,591 hits, 354 career homers,and 1,439 RBI to his credit, but the most memorable hit of his career will surely be the walk-off bloop single in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series that gave the Diamondbacks the only championship in franchise history.

Dodgers Seek Run-Producing Pinch Hitter

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The Dodgers are looking to acquire a pinch hitter with power for the final month of the season, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The Dodgers have Mark Loretta and Juan Pierre off the bench, but neither player has much power, so they're looking outside the organization.

So far, Gurnick says the market for such bats appears thin. Jonny Gomes and Tony Clark could interest the Dodgers, but that's mere speculation on my part.

Odds And Ends: Oswalt, Cubs, Chapman, Padres

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More links as we get ready for the final weekend of August baseball…

  • Jermore Solomon of the Houston Chronicle wouldn't be surprised if Roy Oswalt wants out of Houston.
  • Tony Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Rich Harden and Aaron Heilman aren't the only Cubs to have been claimed on waivers. 
  • Aroldis Chapman continues to practice in Spain and is close to establishing residency in another country, according to Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com. The Cuban pitcher is considered one of the best amateur talents in the world.
  • Arangure Jr. reports that the Padres are close to signing Fabel Filpo for a six-figure deal.

Rosenthal On Competing In The AL East

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When you're in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox, you only have so many chances to win. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports presents the long-term strategies the Rays and Jays are likely to adopt as they try to compete with their richer division rivals:

  • Rosenthal says the Rays would likely trade Carl Crawford if they were in another division.
  • They'll listen to offers for him this offseason, but they may decide they need to capitalize on their chance to win now and hold onto Crawford, even if it means they only obtain compensation picks in return.
  • Like Crawford, Carlos Pena will be a tough sign when he hits free agency after the 2010 season.
  • The Rays were serious about their pursuit of Roy Halladay, Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee because they sense that they can win now.

The Blue Jays, will likely build for the future around their young pitching, plus Adam Lind, Aaron Hill and Travis Snider.

  • Rosenthal expects the Jays to trade Roy Halladay after the season.
  • He doesn't expect them to re-sign Marco Scutaro (a likely Type A free agent) or Rod Barajas (a likely Type B free agent). Instead they can take compensation picks in next year's draft.

Twins Acquire Ron Mahay

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1:32pm: The Twins acquired Mahay from the Royals, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The Royals will cover most of his salary, and the Twins will pay the pro-rated MLB minimum, which should amount to less than $100k.

1:14pm: The Twins are "on the verge" of acquiring reliever Ron Mahay from the Royals, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Royals designated the lefty for assignment last week. He allowed 55 hits and 19 walks in 41.1 innings, striking out 34. We first heard of the Twins' interest in the 13-year veteran yesterday.

Mahay makes $4MM this year, so there's about $740k remaining on his contract.

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