Odds & Ends: Zambrano, Royals, Phils
Game time? It's time for some more links, me thinks:
- Anthony Castrovince at MLB.com pays tribute to Hall-of-Fame reporter Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, who will soon be out of a job.
- Dick Kaegel at MLB.com says that the Royals are still negotiating with their top picks, despite reports they had come to terms with their second- and fourth-round selections.
- David Kaplan at ChicagoNow stakes the claim that Carlos Zambrano is the most overpaid player in baseball. Jorge Says No! says, well… no.
- Jame Moyer has been sent to the bullpen in favor of Pedro Martinez, and he isn't happy. The ageless Moyer claims he was assured by GM Ruben Amaro before he signed a two-year deal that this "type of situation would not happen," reports Andy Martino at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Henry Schulman at the San Francisco Chronicle asks fans if they'd let Barry Zito go on a waiver claim. Easy call, right? Schulman offers up some bullet points to consider before you answer.
Will A Team Pay More Than Minimum For Padilla?
Teams interested in Vicente Padilla face the following decision, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney: wait until the righty clears waivers and try to sign him for the pro-rated minimum or offer to contribute more than the minimum and try to strike a deal with the Rangers now. The Rangers designated Padilla for assignment last week and he has since become "the target of some interest."
Odds And Ends: O’s, Jays, Greene, Brewers
More links on the 80th anniversary of Babe Ruth's 500th career homer:
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are well-positioned in case teams start shedding high-salaried corner infielders.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says the Jays called up Randy Ruiz. Why didn't Travis Snider get the call? His service time probably has something to do with it.
- The Padres filed a grievance after they had to pay Khalil Greene to recover from a self-inflicted hand injury when he was on their roster last year. Now, Tom Krasovic reports that the two sides have come to an agreement, so there will be no grievance hearing.
- Via Twitter, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Brewers designated minor league righty Nick Green for assignment to make room for David Weathers.
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals claimed minor leaguer John Bannister from the Rangers and assigned him to AA.
- Via Twitter, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says he doubts the Yankees will trade for Bronson Arroyo.
Nats Narrow Search For Next GM
According to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, the Nationals have narrowed their search for a permanent GM to three executives, one of whom is making the calls as the club attempts to sign pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg. Acting GM Mike Rizzo, Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer and D'Backs executive Jerry Dipoto are the frontrunners, but we shouldn't expect the Nats to name a permanent GM until after the deadline to sign draft picks passes on Monday.
Brewers GM On Trades, Free Agents, Draft
Brewers GM Doug Melvin said on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he's glad he didn't go after some of the free agent arms that were available last offseason. Here's the clip and here are the details:
- Melvin admits that pitchers like John Smoltz and Oliver Perez were tempting, but says he's glad he resisted.
- The Brewers were interested in Jarrod Washburn at the deadline, but didn't have enough young pitching to complete a deal with the Mariners.
- The Brewers were in on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, but were reluctant to give up Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel.
- Melvin sounds hesitant to experiment with Rickie Weeks in center field.
- The Brewers will have some "some flexibility" to add free agents this offseason.
- Melvin expects the Red Sox to pursue free agent position players aggressively.
- As of today, Melvin says he's not motivated to move J.J. Hardy, but hints that the Brewers could move him after the season to make room for Alcides Escobar.
- Melvin's pleased with the progress 2009 first rounder Eric Arnett has made.
Odds And Ends: Astros, Branyan, Helton, O’s
More links as Colby Rasmus and Pablo Sandoval turn 23…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle reports that attendance has dropped 12% at Astros games this year and could fall further. Team owner Drayton McLane won't say how much he'll spend on payroll next year.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says there's room for Russell Branyan on next year's Mariners team. Could $10MM over two years work for both sides?
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says Todd Helton has a chance at a Hall of Fame plaque, whether or not the first baseman is comfortable discussing his chances at immortality.
- The Orioles agreed to sign fifth rounder Ashur Tolliver for $200k, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. They also agreed to terms with Randy Henry for $365k and Ryan Berry for $418k. All three bonuses are higher than recommended.
Olney On Rios, Upton, Davis, Smoltz, Webb
ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggests that Alex Rios would sign a deal worth $20MM over two years or $30MM over three if he were a free agent right now. That means the White Sox are paying more than market value for their new outfielder, but clubs can't often acquire talented players in their prime. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:
- The White Sox are better equipped to win this year and, even though they took on lots of money, they didn't give up a single player to acquire Rios.
- Some talent evaluators are convinced the Rays will listen to offers for B.J. Upton this offseason.
- Olney hears that Doug Davis is currently on waivers and John Smoltz cleared waivers.
- If the D'Backs don't exercise Brandon Webb's $8.5MM option for 2010, he could become a gamble for big-market teams like the Yankees and Red Sox.
Sheffield Doesn’t Want To Be Traded
Gary Sheffield told the Associated Press that he would prefer not to be traded, but suggested that could change, depending on where the Mets try to deal him.
Odds And Ends: Webb, Tazawa, Morgan, Aurilia
A few links for the morning…
- Today's chat starts at 2pm CST.
- Brandon Webb says he'll pitch next year and he hopes it's with the D'Backs, according to Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic. The team has the option of paying Webb $8.5MM or buying him out for $2MM.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck says the Tigers, who had interest in Junichi Tazawa last Winter, now have to face the righty as he makes his first MLB start.
- How about this stat, from Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post: The Nats were 21st in the majors in runs before Nyjer Morgan's arrival. Since trading for him, they're third.
- MLB.com's Chris Haft wonders if the Giants may be about to release Rich Aurilia.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Red Sox agreed to sign 10th rounder Brandon Jacobs for $750k, which exceeds the recommended bonus by about $600k.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the A's have budgeted first round money for fourth rounder Max Stassi. However, there appears to be a 50% chance he accepts a scholarship at UCLA instead of going pro.
More Reactions To The Alex Rios Trade
More reactions to the biggest deal we've seen this August…
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says the White Sox can afford Alex Rios since they have a hole in center field, salaries coming off the books and a deep enough system to afford the price of "no players."
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the White Sox are making risky, fascinating moves.
- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports doubts the Blue Jays can win next year, even with Roy Halladay around. It takes a special team to win in the AL East and Knobler suggests the Jays don't have enough talent.
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams picked up a $56 ticket for jaywalking in Seattle yesterday, according to MLB.com's Christian Caple. He committed a million times as much to Alex Rios.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reminds us that the Giants at least considered a Tim Lincecum–Alex Rios swap less than two years ago.