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Archives for September 2009

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Ayala, Kata, Nationals

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Another round of links on me…

  • Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun says it's time for Andy MacPhail to use some of his minor league inventory to land the Orioles a middle of the order hitter, while possibly gambling on a high quality free agent pitcher with an injury history. Personally, I don't think making moves like that will do much to improve the O's chances of competing in the AL East. They're on the right track now, with an impressive core of young talent highlighted by Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, Brian Matusz, and Chris Tillman. Patience.
  • According to Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel, veteran reliever Luis Ayala has elected to become a free agent. The Marlins designated him for assignment last week.
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tweets that the Astros outrighted infielder Matt Kata off the 40-man roster. I sure hope he wasn't waiting on that September callup.
  • The Nationals have fired director of player development Bobby Williams, reports Chico Harlan of The Washinton Post. Williams had a long standing relationship with previous GM Jim Bowden, and his firing represents the first significant front office move made by new permanent GM Mike Rizzo.
  • Are you a draft nut like me, but struggling to find ways to pass the time until next June? Then check out this NPB Draft projection by Patrick at NPB Tracker. High school pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, who has drawn interest from several MLB clubs, is the consensus top talent this year. 

Dodgers, Diamondbacks Trade Hits Snag

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When the Diamondbacks sent starter Jon Garland to the Dodgers late last month, they expected to receive infielder Tony Abreu in return. In addition to his gaudy minor league stats, Abreu appealed to Arizona because he still had two more pre-arbitration years ahead of him and five years total before he became a free agent.

However, as Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports, the team had no way of knowing that Abreu and the Dodgers were close to reaching an agreement to settle a grievance filed in 2007. As a result of the settlement, Abreu may be awarded additional service time that may make him arbitration eligible in 2011 instead of 2012. The D-Backs believe LA did not act in good faith during negotiations.

The grievance came after Abreu was optioned to the minors in July 2007, and he claimed he should have instead been placed on the disabled list with an abdominal injury. As you know from our service time primer, a player can accrue service time while on the DL but not while in the minors. Abreu would pick up 47 additional days of service time thanks to the grievance, which would likely make him a "Super Two."

As Piecoro explains, it's unclear what action the D-Backs will take at this point, but teams can file grievances with MLB over disputed trades. They could ask to amend the original list of players the two teams agreed upon to complete the deal, or they could ask for the Dodgers to kick in some cash to cover Abreu's increased salary.

No wonder why they always say abdominal injuries will linger if they aren't taken care of properly.

Gammons’ Latest: Iglesias, Magglio, Valentine

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In his latest blog post at ESPN, Peter Gammons writes that the NL West has quietly become very competitive thanks to three California pitcher's parks that make it such a pitching dominated division. Through the help of scouts and team executives, he points out all the great young talent in the division, highlighted by the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Pablo Sandoval, Troy Tulowitzki, and Mark Reynolds.

Here's a roundup of Gammons' rumors…

  • Gammons jokes that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti "could be arrested for shoplifting," because in the last two seasons he's acquired Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, George Sherrill, Jon Garland, Jim Thome, Doug Mientkiewicz, Ronnie Belliard, and Vicente Padilla while paying them approximately $2.7MM combined.
  • The Red Sox will get their first look at Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias, who they signed for $8.5MM back in July, in the Arizona Fall League. Gammons spoke to an NL GM who said he would have given Iglesias $12MM if his team could afford it, because "Our scouts say he's the best defensive shortstop they've ever seen."
  • If you're interested, you can see the full Arizona Fall League rosters here.
  • Jim Leyland was never told anything about benching Magglio Ordonez so his $18MM option in 2010 wouldn't vest. "He's going to make it," Leyland says. "So anyone who said otherwise has egg on his face. Dave Dombrowski has never even mentioned the vesting option." Ordonez needs just 35 more plate appearances this season to lock in the option.
  • Bobby Valentine's name was mentioned by Nationals' ownership during every interview they hosted while searching for a permanent GM, so he might be in the mix for their managerial job.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Figgins, Hanley, Kershaw, Drew

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Let's see what FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has for us in his latest Full Count video…

  • Chone Figgins could be one of the most popular free agents this winter. The White Sox have long had interest in him, and his skills as a leadoff hitter will make him attractive to many teams, perhaps even the Yankees.
  • Figgins will come cheaper than Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, and the Yanks could easily withstand his lack of power if they put him in left field. Four years younger than Johnny Damon, Figgins and Derek Jeter would make a dynamic 1-2 punch atop the Yankees' lineup.
  • Apparently, Hanley Ramirez isn't very popular in the Marlins' clubhouse. The complaints should only go so far though, because he's played hurt this seasons and is on target to play in 150 or more games for the fourth straight year. Hanley's also batting .385 with runners in scoring position this year after hitting just .239 in those spots last year. He's also worked very hard to improve his defense as well.
  • The Dodgers did well by adding Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla to their rotation, but one National League GM is worried about Clayton Kershaw because he's approaching 3,000 pitches thrown on the season, which is when you start to worry.
  • Maybe it's time to cut J.D. Drew some slack. Sure, he's missed 92 games in three seasons with Boston, but one team official told Rosenthal he'd sign Drew to the same contract (five years, $70MM) again in a second. The Red Sox consider Drew one of the five best right fielders in baseball when you consider on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and defense.

Looking Back At September ’08

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September is arguably the slowest month of the year when it comes to baseball rumors. The trade deadline has come and passed, the waiver trade deadline has come and passed, and free agency is still more than two months away. Heck, even the draft signing deadline has passed.

Most of the moves that will be made this month are smaller one involving minor leaguers or complementary players, but almost nothing that would impact a playoff race. Let's take a second to look back at the majors stories from last September, which might help give us an idea of what to expect this month…

  • The Brewers grabbed reliever Todd Coffey off waivers from the Reds. It was a small and seemingly inconsequential move at the time, but Coffey has been a horse out of the pen for the Brew Crew this year, giving them 71.1 innings of 2.78 ERA ball.
  • Kyle Lohse signed a four year, $41MM contract extension with the Cardinals. As ESPN's Jayson Stark noted on Thursday, only two players (David Eckstein and Ryan Franklin) have signed extensions in-season this year.
  • Two August waiver trades were completed last September. Cincinnati received pitcher Micah Owings from Arizona as the player to be named later in the Adam Dunn deal, while the Padres took home a pair of minor leaguers from the Dodgers to complete the Greg Maddux swap. We're still waiting for a few PTBNL to actually be named, including the one involved in the David Weathers deal.

Ironically enough, some of the biggest deals of last September didn't involve players at all, but instead front office personnel. The general managers of three big market teams - Brian Cashman of the Yankees, Omar Minaya of the Mets, and Theo Epstein of the Red Sox – all received contract extensions 12 months ago. Considering how this season has gone for the Mets, you'd have to think the Wilpons wish they could redo the Minaya extension considering it doesn't kick in until next year.

Three NL West GMs - Ned Colletti of the Dodgers, Dan O'Dowd of the Rockies, and Brian Sabean of the Giants - are not under contract beyond this season, however Colletti has a mutual option while the Giants have a club option on Sabean for 2010. Could we see one, or perhaps all three of these guys receive extensions this month?

Mets, Red Sox Complete Wagner Trade

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The Red Sox are sending minor league first baseman Eddie Lora to the Mets to complete last month's Billy Wagner trade, according to Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal. The 20-yr old Lora hit .222/.287/.414 in 99 at-bats with Boston's rookie level Gulf Coast League affiliate this year. He was not ranked as one of their top 30 prospects coming into the year according to Baseball America.

It's been reported that New York will also receive Triple-A first baseman Chris Carter in the deal, but he'll have to wait until the offseason to officially become part of the deal after the Yankees claimed him off waivers.

Odds & Ends: Gomes, Mets, Compensation Picks

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A few links to kick off Labor Day weekend…

  • The legendary Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News says that if the Reds "don’t give (Jonny) Gomes a shot at playing left field next year they’re missing out." The 28-yr old Gomes is hitting .285/.357/.566 in 249 plate appearances this year.
  • Joel Sherman of The NY Post writes that the Mets will have essentially the same problem this offseason that they had last offseason: a need for pitching even though they don't necessarily have the means to acquire it.
  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports says that baseball's free agent compensation system is broken, but neither MLB or MLBPA leaders think it's a big enough problem for "either side to re-jigger it" before the new CBA in 2011.
  • Bob Nightengale of USA Today points out that seven of the nine highest paid teams would make the playoffs if the season ended today. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said it's "very discouraging, from a data standpoint."

Victorino Wants To Remain A Phillie Long-Term

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Shane Victorino, a rare two time Rule 5 Draftee, has "said that he has a strong desire to remain with the Phillies long-term," according to Andy Martino of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Flyin' Hawaiian recently switched agents, moving from the Beverly Hills Sports Council to New York-based Seth and Sam Levinson, but said the decision came down to the "vibe" he got from the Levinsons, not necessarily the desire to secure a long term contract.

“I want to play here,” he said. “I don’t want to go anywhere. If I have to take one year deals the next few years, that’s fine.”

Victorino, 28, avoided arbitration by signing a one year, $3MM contract before the season. He has two more years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him, so he won't become a free agent until after the 2011 season at the earliest. An All Star for the first time this year, Victorino is hitting a stout .299/.367/.456, but his -9.8 UZR/150 defensive rating is near the bottom of the league among centerfielders.

Yankees Release Kevin Cash

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According to Peter Abraham of The Journal News, the Yankees have released catcher Kevin Cash. The move frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for Josh Towers, who was recalled today.

Cash, 32, hit .250/.308/.558 in 28 plate appearances for the Bombers this year. He's spent most of the year with Triple-A Scranton, and is currently out with a shoulder injury.

Giants Did Not Discuss Trade For Hoffman

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According to Henry Schulman of The SF Chronicle, the "Giants did not even discuss a trade for (Trevor) Hoffman, making it likely the Giants claimed him to block the Dodgers or Rockies from getting him." We heard that a trade was unlikely when the waiver claim was originally made.

"It didn't seem to get too much of a head of steam," said Hoffman.

As Schulman points out, if the move was in fact made to block other clubs from acquiring Hoffman, it could end up being significant. The Rockies, who lead San Francisco by just one game for the NL Wildcard, just lost closer Huston Street to right biceps tendinitis for the foreseeable future.

Hoffman, baseball's career saves leader with 584, is enjoying another tremendous season at age 41, pitching to a 1.71 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 42 IP.

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