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Archives for September 2009

Orioles Will Not Part With Top Prospects

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The Orioles are known to be looking for an impact, middle-of-the-order hitter, but according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun, team president Andy MacPhail says he has no plans to part with any of his top young players to acquire such a hitter.

"Personally, I don't see us giving up any key building blocks going forward at this stage of the game," MacPhail said. "I'm pretty optimistic that we're going to be able to acquire guys that are going to be meaningful improvements for us without having to sacrifice key guys."

Zrebiec says this effectively takes the O's out of the running for Adrian Gonzalez, should the Padres put him on the market this winter. This year's free agent class lacks proven middle-of-the order guys beyond Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, although the Orioles are set in the outfield for the foreseeable future with Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Nolan Reimold.

"It could come either way. You just don't know how the offseason is going to evolve. One trade might start a set of dominoes going in a direction that you really can't anticipate in September. We're going to take a look at what options are available to us in terms of a bat."

"The important thing for us is pretty simple — you identify a pretty wide spectrum of players that are free agents or you think might be available and you make sure you have adequate scouting coverage on them," MacPhail said. "But every offseason, there are things that come about that you just don't anticipate. Our job right now is to make sure we got our scouts in the right places."

Discussion: Coco Crisp

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Looking to bring in a leadoff hitter and upgrade their outfield defense last offseason, the Royals killed two birds with one stone when they swapped reliever Ramon Ramirez for Coco Crisp in November. After hitting just .228/.336/.378 with 13 steals in 215 plate appearances, Crisp's season came to an end in June after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

In his place, 27-yr old Mitch Maier has done most of the heavy lifting in center. Even though his .251/.334/.365 overall line isn't pretty, Maier has hit an impressive .297/.387/.432 since July 29th. He can't match Coco's studly +15.5 UZR/150, but Maier's defense is solid with a +1.0 UZR/150.

Kansas City holds an $8MM option for Crisp's services next year, or they could opt to buy him out for $500K instead. Maier will bring home just over $400K this year, and he still has five more years of team control left. So tonight's question seems pretty straight forward – what should the Royals do with Crisp? Should they cut bait and use all the money they'd save elsewhere, or should they keep him and try to contend in a winnable AL Central?

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Sizemore, Gomes

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Curious about how untouchable Grady Sizemore is? I had to create a category for him just for this post. In the entire history of MLBTR, no one ever bothered to write any rumors about him…

  • ESPN's Keith Law writes that the Brewers "are closer to noncontention than contention, and trying to prop the playoff window open for another year or two could lead to a miserable bottoming-out not far down the road." He suggests they trade megastar Prince Fielder to help fill other holes, and build the team around Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo.
  • Jim Ingraham of The News Herald believes that the recent trades of Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez have effectively shortened the Indians' window to win with Grady Sizemore. Sizemore's contract runs through 2011 with a dirt cheap option for 2012, but Ingraham says there's "no reason to believe when Sizemore becomes a free agent after the 2012 season he won't leave whatever team he is with and sign a monstrous contract with one of the big-market teams."
  • Jonny Gomes is open to returning to the Reds next season, but says he'll "go where I can get the most at-bats," according to Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News. Gomes is making $600K this season and is arbitration eligible next year, so he can expect a hefty raise thanks to his .281/.355/.555 batting line.

Heyman’s Latest: Jeter, Wagner, Delgado, Lackey

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No team is successful without good coaching and guidance, so SI.com's Jon Heyman pays homage to those who got the job done behind the scenes by naming his ten most unsung heroes of the 2009 season. Rangers' pitching coach Mike Maddux tops the list, and several other familiar names make an appearance.

Here's the rest of Heyman's rumors…

  • Heyman guesses that the Yankees will resign Derek Jeter for at least $60MM over three years once his contract expires after next season. That's a lot of scratch for a guy who would be entering his age-37 season.
  • The Red Sox have "every intention" of offering Billy Wagner arbitration, and barring something unexpected, Wagner has every intention of turning it down. He's projected to be a Type-A free agent, so Boston would walk away with two high draft picks in that scenario.
  • Out since early May with a hip injury, Carlos Delgado hasn't given up on the idea of playing again this year. The Mets would be happy to accomodate him, because according to Heyman's sources the team has thought about bringing him back on an incentive laden contract. A late season cameo would at least give them a look at what kind of shape he's in.
  • Stop me if you've heard this before: the Mets might consider Orlando Hudson this offseason if they can find a taker for Luis Castillo. That's what, three times in the last 24 hours?
  • The Angels tried to sign John Lackey for four years and $60MM last offseason. Given the lack of impact starting pitching available this year, Lackey's price has gone up.
  • In regards to Ken Griffey Jr. and his .214 AVG, Heyman says "this has to be the end, no?" Griffey hasn't said anything about his future yet, though.
  • Kansas City ownership has "often prevented its baseball people from making deadline trades in order to avoid the dreaded 100-loss season." This strategy probably works against them in the long run, but Heyman suggests it may "make them a tougher team than some also-rans who hit the wall."
  • There's no evidence that Lou Piniella is a candidate to be fired (his $4MM option for 2010 has already been picked up), but the question about whether he wants to return or not has to be asked. Sweet Lou's body language did not look good last weekend.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Papelbon, Jeter, Jurrjens, Braves, Nats

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On this date 11 years ago, the Dodgers hired Kevin Malone to be their General Manager, replacing Tommy Lasorda. Three months later, the "new sheriff in town" signed Kevin Brown to a 7-year/$105MM contract, making Brown the first $100MM player in baseball history. The deal would cover Brown's age 34-40 seasons. Malone also avoided salary arbitration with Carlos Perez that off-season, giving him a 3-year/$15.5MM deal. Perez would spend the final year of the deal in Triple-A and never signed another big league contract. As most teams start looking to the off-season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • Jorge Says No! revisits the worst contract extensions from the past off-season.
  • Fire Brand of the American League takes a look at what it would mean to the Red Sox if they traded Jonathan Papelbon.
  • River Ave. Blues takes a look at what it will take to re-sign Derek Jeter.
  • MLB Notebook can see Jason Bay signing with the Mariners this off-season, but suggests it is not a good fit.
  • Talking Chop argues that trading Jair Jurrjens this off-season would be more beneficial for the Braves than trading Javier Vazquez or Tim Hudson.
  • Capitol Ave. Club previews the Braves' free agent class.
  • DC Sports Plus projects the Nationals' roster for next season, including the addition of Aki Iwamura.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Odds & Ends: Castillo, Wagner, Pitching

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Some links to look through on the day Eric Munson returns to the big leagues…

  • Joel Sherman of The NY Post wonders if a Luis Castillo for Jeremy Bonderman or Nate Robertson deal makes sense. Placido Polanco will be a free agent after the season, and both pitchers are expendable to Detroit. Castillo is owed $12MM over the next two years, while Bonderman and Robertson will take in $12.5MM and $10MM, respectively, in the final season of their contracts next year.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the best possibilities for Billy Wagner next year are the Braves, Astros, Cubs, Tigers, and maybe even the Nationals.
  • In a piece at ESPN, Baseball Prospectus' Shawn Hoffman looks at who could be the best pitching bargains of the offseason. Carl Pavano, Erik Bedard, and John Smoltz might be the best of the lot. You need Insider to read the article, but it comes recommended.

Stark On Free Agent Pitchers

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"I don't think there's one pitcher in this entire group I'd invest a lot of money in. Not one," said one general manager to ESPN's Jayson Stark. This year's collection of free agent pitchers doesn't have the star power that last year's CC Sabathia highlighted crop had, or that next year's group led by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee will have, but there will still be plenty of money thrown around.

As Stark explains, club officials seem to be down on available starters this year, describing them as "risky," "weak," "terrible," and "mediocre" among other things. One AL executive said that "There are some guys in this group who are dependable. Except they're dependable to give you 5.00 ERAs and 180 innings. And that's not what you want to build a staff around."

Regardless, Stark ranks the top ten starting pitching options in this year's free agent class. Here's a roundup of his list, with quotes from various sources…

  1. John Lackey: "He's the best name on the list," one exec said. "But if Anaheim shies away from this guy or doesn't make a serious attempt to sign him, I'd have concerns. They know him better than everyone else. So that would send out some serious red flags for me."
  2. Randy Wolf: He's "durable, dependable and left-handed," one GM said. And he's also "two 190-plus-inning seasons removed from any health issues."
  3. Joel Piniero: One GM said "I'd have interest in Pineiro, but I'd never invest multi-years in that guy. Just too inconsistent a track record."
  4. Jason Marquis: "He's having a great year," said an official of one team. "But I'm just not sure how to look at it. Was this a turning point in his career? Or do you look at it as somebody who turned it up and figured it out when he had the most to gain? I really don't know."
  5. Rich Harden: "I'd be scared to death to commit years to this guy," one AL exec said. "He's been used kind of like Pedro [Martinez] was used in the past, where they're always trying to build in an extra day's rest. And he's just a five-inning guy, in the National League. He might strike out 10, but he'll only go five innings, so he still kills your 'pen. He'll get some money. I just don't see anybody giving him more than a year."
  6. Andy Pettitte: One exec described his situation as "will probably either stay in New York or shut it down."
  7. Jarrod Washburn: One GM said, "he's 35 years old, and [before this year] his last winning season was [2004]."
  8. Jon Garland: "He doesn't have the stuff the other guys on this list have, but he's proven he's durable, and durability counts," said an official of one team. "It's like they say in golf: Most putts that you hit short don't go in. Well, most pitchers that don't make a start don't win. This guy at least makes his starts."
  9. Doug Davis: "Made for the NL West."
  10. Brad Penny: An executive said "He's the kind of guy who, if you give him a multiyear deal, he'll crush your franchise. Is somebody going to sign him for four years and expect 120 starts? Good luck."

Stark also names several players he calls "X-Factors," which are guys who could enter the market with major question marks. Included in this group are Brandon Webb, Erik Bedard, John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, Brett Myers, and Vicente Padilla. We could even add Chien-Ming Wang's name to that list.

Odds And Ends: Angels, Red Sox, Heyward

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Another round of links…

Nats Look To Add At Least Two Starters For 2010

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We knew the Nationals would be looking for a starting pitcher this winter, but Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post now reports that they hope to add at least two starters by next season. One figures to be a "bargain basement" type, perhaps Livan Hernandez. Boswell says the second pitcher will likely be the sort of arm who would fit into the middle of a good team's rotation. 

Doug Davis and Jon Garland could both fit for the Nationals, and there are many more names to consider in this year's crop of free agent pitchers. It's a long list, but Nats GM Mike Rizzo says he's "going to get one of them."

Nats Ask Guzman To Move To Second Base

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Nats GM Mike Rizzo and manager Jim Riggleman met with Cristian Guzman yesterday to ask the shortstop to move to second base next year, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Guzman, who has never played second base at the major league level, was apparently shocked and didn't give the Nats an answer. 

The Nationals hope to improve their defense up the middle, so they're considering the shift. If Guzman agrees to the move, the Nationals would likely be in the market for a shortstop this offseason. They have had interest in Orlando Hudson before, but if Guzman plays second, they would be looking at one of these shortstops. If they decide not to spend on a free agent, they could pursue one via trade (the Brewers and Rays have shortstop depth) or call on prospect Ian Desmond, who impressed in his MLB debut.

Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says moving Guzman doesn't necessarily lower his value. Shortstop is considered the more demanding position, but Guzman could potentially help his team by moving to the right side of the infield. 

This reminds me of Michael Young's decision to switch positions earlier in the year. The Rangers are in the pennant race thanks, in part, to Elvis Andrus, so Young's choice helped his club.

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