Noah Lowry Misdiagnosed?
8:00pm: The Chronicle has a statement from the Giants, in which they deny Lapa's accusations.
2:41pm: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has the latest on Giants pitcher Noah Lowry. The 28 year-old southpaw hasn't pitched in the Majors since August of 2007 due to injuries. Today he is having surgery to remove a rib to facilitate circulation. Lowry's agent Damon Lapa told Crasnick the condition, thoracic outlet syndrome, has "existed since 2007 and essentially been misdiagnosed." Lapa says the Giants had the wrong surgery performed and had the pitcher do the wrong rehab as well. Henry Schulman has more from Lapa for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Lowry signed a four-year contract in April of 2006, and there's a $6.25MM club option for 2010. The Giants figure to decline that and non-tender Lowry since he will still be arbitration-eligible. I am guessing this whole situation will result in a lot of legal wrangling. Lowry is expected to enter 2010 with a clean bill of health.
Eric Chavez Explains Situation
6:22pm: Talking to MLB.com's Mychael Urban, Chavez clarified his injury situation:
"I just want to make sure everyone's clear: I'm not getting surgery. I'm rehabbing. I hope to be back when I'm eligible, and if I hurt my back again after I come back, I'm still not getting surgery. I'll rehab it again."
He explained that a spinal fusion would be something he'll have when he's 45 or 50.
9:44am: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has the latest details on the health of A's third baseman Eric Chavez. While Chavez hopes to join the team soon, his career will be over if the herniated disk in his back goes out. In that case he'd need a career-ending spinal fusion procedure. Since the disk can go out with as little as a sneeze, Slusser says "his future in baseball will be operating on a very thin line."
Chavez's six-year, $66MM extension was signed in March of 2004. He's owed an additional $8.6MM this year plus $12MM in 2010 and a $3MM buyout for 2011, for a total of $23.6MM left on the contract. Sadly the contract has been a sunk cost for a while now. As Slusser says, A's GM Billy Beane figures to be on the lookout for third base prospects in trades.
2010 Options: Chicago Cubs
The Cubs don't have any options to worry about for 2010, aside from manager Lou Piniella. But here are a few situations they'll face within the next few years:
- 2010 is the final year of Derrek Lee's contract, which pays $13MM annually. His heir apparent might be Micah Hoffpauir, who owns a .326/.385/.546 big league line but has just 156 plate appearances. Maybe Hoffpauir is the next Luke Scott, an older rookie who had a monstrous half-season in '06 and then settled in as a useful bat.
- Lefty starter Ted Lilly is also signed through 2010. This was one of the best signings of the 2006-07 offseason, and there were some bad ones. Lilly made 34 starts in each of his first two seasons for the Cubs and is off to a fine start this year. Do the Cubs try to extend him, knowing that he'll turn 35 in January of 2011? It's probably too early to ask.
- Rich Harden is a free agent after the 2009 season. The 27 year-old has logged 27 starts in his Cubs career, surpassing expectations. He's earning $7MM this year and is off to a so-so start due to poor control and a high home run rate. Will some team throw a silly contract at him if he makes 30 starts this year?
- Kevin Gregg's contract is up after '09. As expected, he's walked a ton of guys and been generally uninspiring. Presumably the Cubs will let him leave and promote Carlos Marmol to closer.
Odds & Ends: Boras, Francoeur, Cubs
Links for Tuesday…
- This week's chat will be held tomorrow at 2pm CST.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo discusses the Scott Boras effect on this year's draft, while Baseball America's John Manuel provides a draft overview.
- SI's Tom Verducci explains why the Rangers are for real. At 23-14, they're in first place (4 games ahead of the Angels).
- Andrew Beaton of Hot Foot provides a rebuttal to The Jonathan Sanchez Paradox: Oliver Perez.
- Padres exec Paul DePodesta talks about recently acquired shortstop Josh Wilson.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman writes about the Jeff Francoeur situation.
- According to Ameet Sachdev of the Chicago Tribune, actors Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, and John Cusack have met separately with Tom Ricketts about investing in the Cubs.
- RotoAuthority looks at the groundball rate leaderboard…did you know Gil Meche is second?
Rosenthal On Blue Jays, Maddon, Nix
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal praises Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi for all the successful home-grown pitching this year. Surprisingly, the Jays are second in the AL with a 3.85 ERA despite losing most of last year's rotation.
- Why no extension for Rays manager Joe Maddon? He's unsigned beyond this year.
- Rosenthal gives props to Reds left fielder Laynce Nix, one of the best minor league signees so far.
- The Around The Horn section of the column is packed with amusing tidbits; be sure to check it out.
Olney On Trade Scenarios
ESPN's Buster Olney talks about future trade possibilities in his blog today.
- Olney's Brewers source says the team is not looking outside for Rickie Weeks' replacement at this point. Manager Ken Macha doesn't view Craig Counsell as a regular, but he can platoon with Casey McGehee. And Alcides Escobar will start to work at second base in Triple A.
- The Red Sox might have to do something to replace David Ortiz at DH if he doesn't show signs of life soon. Olney speculates on the idea of Boston trading starting pitching "for some talented young hitter – like Matt LaPorta of the Indians." That would stink for LaPorta, getting traded twice within a year.
- Olney likes Mark DeRosa for the Mets. Most writers like DeRosa for any team though. Olney figures the Indians would seek pitching for him.
Strasburg Unlikely To Skip Minors
Yahoo's Jeff Passan talked to Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo, who said that he doesn't see any pitchers in the 2009 draft class jumping straight to the Majors. Knowing that Rizzo plans to draft Stephen Strasburg, the implication is that the righty won't join Washington's rotation right after signing. If you've been holding your fantasy league's #1 waiver pick for him, it's time to think about Plan B. Passan and Chico Harlan of the Washington Post both suggest the most we'd see from Strasburg would be a September cameo as part of a contractual obligation.
Mariners Sign Brad Nelson
According to Dan Walsh of SportsBubbler.com, Brad Nelson's agent says his client has signed with the Mariners on a minor league deal. Nelson, a 26 year-old first baseman/outfielder, hit .286/.380/.480 in his fourth stint at Triple A last year.
Carlos Delgado To Have Hip Surgery
An update from the Mets on Carlos Delgado: he'll have hip surgery tomorrow, and will probably be out until the All-Star break. We discussed possible replacements a few times here at MLBTR, but the Mets might be able to make it a few months with in-house candidates.
Rickie Weeks Out For The Season
Terrible news for the Brewers – Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that second baseman Rickie Weeks is out for the season due to a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. It's a 4-6 month recovery period. Weeks, 26, was off to a nice .272/.340/.517 start in 162 plate appearances.
If GM Doug Melvin decides to hit up the free agent market, he can consider Ray Durham, Mark Grudzielanek, or Damion Easley.