Saturday linkage…
- With Orlando Cabrera "leaning towards" accepting an offer from Cincinnati, Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Rockies are "a finalist" in the hunt for Melvin Mora. Renck reports that Colorado, Texas and Seattle are the most interested parties.
- Jim Edmonds tells MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Edmonds on Wednesday that "he didn't see a fit" for the outfielder in St. Louis. Edmonds signed with Milwaukee a day later.
- Righty Joe Nelson is attracting interest from the Dodgers, Nationals, and Red Sox, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The journeyman reliever broke through with the Marlins in 2008, posting a 2.00 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 54 innings. His 2009 with the Rays was less than spectacular, but the 35-year-old points to his performance outside May, as he had a 2.38 ERA in the 10 games prior and a 1.40 ERA in 20 games after.
- Jonny Gomes and the Reds are close to agreeing to a deal, according to ESPN. Yesterday, GM Walt Jocketty confirmed that the club offered a minor league deal to the 29-year-old outfielder. Gomes proved to be one of the best minor league signings of 2009, hitting .267/.338/.541 with 20 HRs in 98 games.
- The Padres have set an arbitration date with outfielder Scott Hairston, though they hope to reach an agreement beforehand, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter). Brock writes that the two sides could come to terms next week.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure (via Twitter) gets the feeling that Cuban prospect Jose Julio Ruiz may sign this week or shortly thereafter. Ruiz – who has reportedly garnered interest from the Red Sox and Tigers – was "unblocked" by the Office of Foreign Asset Control yesterday, allowing him to sign with a major league club.
I really can’t believe Jonny Gomes’s efforts last season doesn’t warrant him a major league deal. His defense is bad, but he slugged over .500.
He deserves some kind of a raise, maybe the Reds will work something out with him where if he makes the majors he would get more money than 2009. Personally, and on a sidenote, I think MLB needs to expand to 2 more teams, because there is too much talent not getting a fair shot out there.
And there are also teams that are not done shopping…
Also, if there were 32 teams, we could have an equal number of teams in the AL and NL. The reason we don’t now, if you didn’t know, if because there would be 15 teams in each league, requiring one inter-league game to be played every day.
If there were 32 teams, you could add 1 to the AL East and 1 to the AL West. This would eliminate the one NL series that has to be played during interleague time. 6 teams in the AL East, 5 in the Central, 5 in the West, it all evens out.
Yes, exactly. I wonder which cities would be best for possible new teams.
New Jersey needs a team and maybe Portland?
Putting a team in NJ would pull some money from the large market teams in the east.
I live in the tri-state area and I am telling you a team in New Jersey would not last long…seeing as many people from Jersey are yankee fans, I really don’t see a potential fan base for a Jersey team. Just throwing it out there what about a team in Puerto Rico?? Now they would have lots of fans…
Living in New Jersey myself, I know that all baseball fans are dedicated Yankee or Met fans and would not start liking a New Jersey team. Think of it as a Jacksonville Jaguars situation. Big city, but 2 other teams in the area already take all of the fans. Portland might work actually. However I think the two best areas would be Nevada and Nebraska. Not many people even like the D’backs a Nevada team can easily draw fans. Nebraskans are passionate about their college sports and I think would be passionate about a baseball team in their state.
I’d rather see 8 divisions and no wildcard.
The East is already full of powerhouses, it doesn’t need to be stacked with any more teams. The Rays are just starting to get good, it would spell hell for an expansion franchise.
Charlotte (AL East) and Las Vegas (AL West)
Right on what I was thinking Nic. With 17-20 Hrs as an average, an OPS up in the high 800’s, with 5 years of service time, Gomes and his agent should definitely be holding out for an ML deal. Hell, I’d almost rather have Gomes than Hermida on the BoSox. Fangraphs has Gomes’ 2009 performance listed at a value of $2.8MM, making him a bargain at about half that price.
“Who the hell gets attacked with a butter knife?”
He’s only worth what people are willing to spend. I hate the fangraphs player value system as a way to measure player pay. Pujols has been worth like 30-40 mil a year for the last 5 years on their scale and he obviously doesn’t make that. What the players are worth also pays for all the employees that work the stadiums and all the other expenses that go along with a big league team. The owners always get their share.
I personally think the salaries are over inflated anyway. What happens if the player has a bad year? Does he take a pay cut through arbitration? No, he only gets a 100k raise (im referring to the brewers pitcher, i think his name is bush)
I hope the Padres win if they go into arb with Scott Hairston. Tony Gwynn Jr. should be the Padres everyday Center Fielder.
Why? Scott Hairston is rare, in that he flourishes playing in Petco park. not many players do! They will platoon.
uh no, he’s a good fielder, but he needs work on his hitting skills.
he’s basically the polar oppisite of Lastings Milledge.
“A finalist” for Melvin Mora? Seriously Renck? As if there’s a big competition for his services…
who wouldn’t want a third baseman that can play the infield and the outfield. If I was the Rockies I would jizz myself if I had the possiblity of getting him. That means he can spell everybody in every position.
The Braves need to get Gomes and pay him a little more than the Reds offer. If he is pretty good but not spectacular, trade him when Heyward is ready.
Granted he has more power than Francouer, but he still strikes out as much as he does.
Damnit Mo! It’s a good PR move to bring Edmonds back. If he played his way on to the team, you bring him back to show the players the same loyalty the fans show your ballclub. If he didn’t make the team, you don’t offer him a contract (well maybe one as an OF coach) similar to the agreement Milwaukee has with him and he can try out somewhere else. Either way, his first shot at coming back should have been in St. Louis, plain and simple. If you couldn’t find the AB’s for him, then let him decide to walk away from your club, that’s his choice as a player/ But as a ballclub, you should always be welcoming your franchise greats with open arms. Especially when they offer to come back for the league minimum. If Tony Gwynn had wanted to go back to the Padres as a pinch hitter for the league minimum, you bet they would have given him a contract (okay so Edmonds and Gwynn aren’t quite on the same level, but the comparison still applies).