Rosenthal On Mariners, A’s, Putz
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The Mariners and A's are not thinking about selling off veterans at the trade deadline. Both clubs plan to go for it.
- Tough decision for the Mets after the season: do they exercise J.J. Putz's $9.1MM option for 2010? Cot's Baseball Contracts says it's an $8.6MM club option with a $1MM buyout.
- Rosenthal says one GM views the recent DL trips for Dontrelle Willis, Chien-Ming Wang, and Daisuke Matsuzaka as possible abuse of the system.
- Will Barry Zito continue to be decent this year? His control and groundball rate have been much improved and his average fastball velocity is up by 1.6 mph. The .250 BABIP doesn't figure to last though. Zito is owed $87.5MM for 2009-13, plus he has an $18MM option for 2014 that may vest.
2010 Options: Minnesota Twins
The Twins do not have any 2010 options. They do, however, have to start thinking about their course of action for Joe Mauer. 2010 is the last year of Mauer's deal; he'll earn $12.5MM. From Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe on March 8th:
While the Minnesota native would like to stay in the Twin Cities, he is expected to receive offers in the $20 million- to $25 million-per-year range. The [Red] Sox are expected to be front and center if Mauer is available.
It had been suggested by Charley Walters on March 6th that the Twins had scheduled a meeting with Mauer's agent, presumably to discuss an extension. Walters had written in December that the Red Sox were "already salivating over Mauer."
Mauer had surgery to remove a kidney obstruction in January, and was initially expected to be ready for the start of the regular season. However, discomfort lingered into March and he was diagnosed with inflammation of the sacroiliac joint. Mauer returned to action on May 1st, smacking a home run off Sidney Ponson. Mauer has also dealt with hamstring and knee issues in the past. He'll turn 28 in April of 2011 when he begins his next contract.
Discussion: Best Signing Under A Million Bucks
Let's hear your picks for the best signing under $1MM guaranteed this year. Contenders may include Jamey Wright, Jason Isringhausen, Rocco Baldelli, and David Eckstein. Click here and scroll down to see the full list.
Odds & Ends: Crow, Matsuzaka, Harrington
Links for Monday…
- I hosted a fantasy baseball roundtable question: what is your single biggest regret so far?
- Talking real baseball, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has his list of possible offseason-related regrets.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America says Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers will make their independent league debuts today. MLB.com's Bill Ladson says the Jim Bowden-less Nationals haven't ruled out taking Crow at #10, and they'll scout him today.
- Kirk Kenney wrote about the possibility of Stephen Strasburg skipping the minors.
- David Waldstein of the New York Times discovers how the Seibu Lions spent the $51.1MM posting fee from Daisuke Matsuzaka.
- Sadly, Tony Jackson was let go by the L.A. Daily News. Diamond Leung talks about Jackson, while Jon Weisman notes that the Dodgers are now down to two full-time beat writers.
- Weisman also writes about the Saturday night gathering involving Kim Ng and others.
- ESPN's Amy K. Nelson has an excellent story on Matt Harrington, who is out of baseball now.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at a bunch of young players who were locked up through their arbitration years.
2010 Options: Kansas City Royals
Today let's take a look at the 2010 options facing the Royals.
- Coco Crisp – $8MM club option with a $500K buyout. Crisp, 29, is off to a .242/.354/.463 start in his first 115 Royals plate appearances. He also leads all center fielders in UZR/150. It seems likely that the Royals will exercise Crisp's option.
- Miguel Olivo – $3.25MM mutual option. Olivo's big issue was playing time, but he's split the plate appearances behind the plate evenly with John Buck. Olivo hits lefties and catches Zack Greinke, but that may not be enough to justify the Royals exercising their side of the 2010 option.
Heyman On Strasburg, Pedro, Byrd
Let's take a look at the latest from SI.com's Jon Heyman.
- Heyman's on Twitter!
- Heyman runs through the surprise contenders and decides which teams are the real deal.
- The Nationals, as you know, have decided to draft Stephen Strasburg.
- Heyman learned from Yankees GM Brian Cashman that "the Yankees can't seriously consider Pedro Martinez or Paul Byrd until they're pitching somewhere." Heyman talked to another GM who estimated each player would need a month to get ready. Byrd told Yahoo's Tim Brown he needs just two weeks in the minors.
Damon Talks About Future, Varitek
MONDAY: WEEI's Alex Speier talked to Damon. Damon's stance on the term of his next contract:
"I would like to at least get two years, but we’ll see what happens. If I need to take a one with an option or a vesting option, then so be it."
Damon also stirred the pot a bit in reference to Jason Varitek:
"I couldn’t believe that they were letting him walk and try to find a team. That’s the difference between New York and Boston…If you’re a part of New York, they’re going to keep you there: Posada, Jeter, Mariano, it’s the first time in history guys have been on the same team for 15 years. It goes to show you something about how the Yankees think, and how many Yankees players have been exclusive with one team. They keep them forever. (The Red Sox) were ready to let (Varitek) go. He’s their starting catcher. That’s how the two teams work. You know his days are going to be numbered here. But hopefully not — he deserves to be here until his career is over."
FRIDAY: ESPN's Andrew Marchand has a story up about a Johnny Damon radio appearance on 1050 AM in New York. Damon, a free agent after the season, hopes to re-sign with the Yankees. However, he feels the chances are slim based on the team's young outfielders. Damon specifically mentioned Austin Jackson.
Damon, 35, is hitting .295/.385/.500 in 91 plate appearances on the young season. Realistically, the Yankees may well look to sign an outfielder this winter. It just might not be Damon.
Miguel Angel Sano Drawing Attention
Miguel Angel Sano, a 15 year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, is coveted by all 30 teams according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He'll turn 16 in May. The signing period for international free agents begins July 2nd. Kovacevic says Sano could command a bonus of $3MM.
Kovacevic says the Pirates are one of the favorites for Sano. GlobalPost has an informative video about the kid. In the clip, Sano wears apparel representing the Blue Jays, Cubs, and Cardinals at various times, for what it's worth. He was wearing an A's jersey when ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. and Luke Cyphers saw him. Sano is not worried about proving he's 15 years old, saying in the video, "Let them investigate me." To read a bit about his personality, check out this blog post.
White Sox Sign Daryle Ward
According to Bobbie Dittmeier of MLB.com, the White Sox signed first baseman/outfielder Daryle Ward and assigned him to Triple A Charlotte. In fact, Ward already homered for the team yesterday. He had been playing in the Atlantic League after the Reds let him go.
Ward, 34 in June, hit .216./.319/.402 in 119 plate appearances for the Cubs last year.
Mariners Sign Jerry Owens
According to Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune, the Mariners signed outfielder Jerry Owens to a minor league deal. Owens was designated for assignment to make room for Scott Podsednik a few days ago.
Owens, 28, spent most of last year at Triple A (his third stint at the level). He hit .276/.346/.316 with 30 steals in 43 tries. In their 2007 Handbook, Baseball America had this to say about his defense: "He covers plenty of ground in center field, though his arm is below average."