Halos Searching Internally For Pitching
Kevin Baxter of the LA Times cites Mike Scioscia, telling fans that the Angels will not go outside the organization to find additional starting pitching:
"Our solutions here, short term and long term, are in-house," said Scioscia, who will need an extra starter next Saturday in Minnesota.
Baxter says that right-hander Anthony Ortega is an option for that start in Minnesota, and Scioscia has also named Darren Oliver as a possibility, though he hasn't made a start since 2004.
The Angels have had their starting pitching decimated by injuries to John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar, and the tragic death of Nick Adenhart.
Baxter has updates on the three injured starters, saying that Lackey is long-tossing without pain and Santana will throw off a mound in the next few days. Escobar, on the other hand, had his minor league rehab start scratched last week and did not throw a bullpen session this weekend.
Delwyn Young Drawing Interest
Tony Jackson of the LA Times tells us that Dodgers' outfielder Delwyn Young is drawing interest from numerous teams. The Indians, Pirates, and Phillies have all had scouts present in the past week during a rehab assignment. Jackson expects a move to be made in the next few days.
Young, 26, is out of options. Jackson wrote in an earlier piece that he expected Young's rehab stint to go the maximum 20 days because there doesn't appear to be a place for him on the 25-man roster.
Young hasn't been overly impressive in the Majors over parts of three seasons, but he's a switch hitter and possesses a .303/.363/.515 minor league line.
Luis Gonzalez Still Wants To Play
Free agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez told Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse Saturday that he still wants to play, but hasn't recieved a phone call since spring training began.
Odds & Ends: Swisher, La Russa, Twins
Happy Easter to those celebrating. Here are your Sunday links…
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addresses the ever-popular question, "What if the Pirates had drafted Matt Wieters" in 2007?
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star did some number crunching and determined that forking over major cash for a free agent pitcher is often far too risky. 30 pitchers regressed after inking new deals, while only 13 improved.
- The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan believes the Brewers might make a run at Jake Peavy later this season.
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has abandoned the idea of hitting his pitcher eighth for the last three games, and his club is suddenly on a winning streak. "Hitting the guy ninth we've got a winning record," said La Russa. "I don't want to mess around with it." (Quote courtesy of Rick Hummel with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times examines the "evolution" of the trade that brought Nick Swisher to the Yankees. As Kepner notes, it "looks like a steal" at this point.
- The Twins are considering a uniform design change for the opening of Target Field in 2010. Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wants your suggestions.
- You're obviously a baseball buff if you're checking MLBTR daily, so let me direct you to a brand new site chock-full of streaming baseball-related content. It's NBCSports.com's newest darling, "Circling The Bases," featuring the writing styles of Aaron Gleeman, Matthew Pouliot and Craig Calcaterra.
Phillies Satisfied With Current Bench
According to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, the Phillies have no immediate plans to add another bench player.
Marlins Interested In Juan Morillo
According to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Marlins are interested in right-hander Juan Morillo, who was recently designated for assignment by the Rockies.
Gaudin, Padres Agree To Minor League Deal
Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres have signed right-hander Chad Gaudin to a minor league deal.
He'll head to San Diego on Sunday for the official signing and a bullpen session. The Padres are only required to pay $400K of the $2MM he's owed for 2009, with the Cubs picking up the rest of the tab. Gaudin went 2-1 with a 10.26 ERA this spring, but he might just find a spot in the Friars' bullpen once he works through whatever was plaguing him during camp.
Giants Sign Dallas McPherson
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants signed third baseman Dallas McPherson to a minor league deal. McPherson will head to extended spring training and then Triple A. It's a nice opportunity for the 28 year-old, who slugged 42 home runs at Triple A in '08 but was released by the Marlins a few weeks ago. If the signing is a success, the Giants can retain McPherson in future years as an arbitration-eligible player.
Mets DFA Marlon Anderson
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reports that the Mets have designated infielder-outfielder Marlon Anderson for assignment. The move was neccessary in order to clear roster space for fifth starter Livan Hernandez, who will start Saturday night against the Marlins.
Anderson, 35, was hitless in four at-bats for the Mets this season. He hit .208/.236/.245 during spring training.
Pedro Still Plans To Play In ’09
According to Mike Puma of the New York Post a "longtime friend" of Pedro Martinez says the righthander "fully expects" to play in 2009. Pedro is apparently sticking to his $5MM asking price and incentive-based deals do not appeal to him. His agent says he's already attracted interest from a number of teams and he's expecting more calls when holes appear in rotations around the league.