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Archives for January 2010

Davidoff On Damon, Draft Picks, Pavano, O’s

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Newsday's Ken Davidoff has his Baseball Insider column up (subscription required); let's take a look at the highlights:

  • The Yankees would love to have Johnny Damon back. The catch there is that they'd love to have him back for $2MM, which Davidoff doesn't see happening. I agree Damon doesn't seem likely to take that drastic of a pay cut, but his options are dwindling.
  • Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says the club acquired Curtis Granderson to be their center fielder, though some scouts have said Granderson struggles in center and is better suited for left field. The Yankees could use Brett Gardner in center, who doesn't profile as much of a corner outfielder offensively anyway.
  • MLB and the MLBPA are actively working to alter draft pick compensation for relievers. Davidoff writes that the Elias Ranking system fails Type-A setup men in particular. Most teams are unwilling to sacrifice a draft pick for an eighth inning role, leaving Type-A setup men with little choice but to accept arbitration. The current goal is for the rankings to favor saves more and wins less.
  • Tom O'Connell, the agent for Carl Pavano, did well to accept arbitration from the Twins and guarantee Pavano $7MM. As Davidoff points out, O'Connell guaranteed his client more money than a free agent such as Doug Davis, who signed for one year and $5.25MM with Milwaukee.
  • In this separate piece, Davidoff praises the work the Orioles have done this offseason, bringing in Kevin Millwood, Mike Gonzalez, Garrett Atkins, and most recently, Miguel Tejada.

Olney On Damon, Thome, Ortiz

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney wonders if the new Rangers ownership will make a splash and go after Ben Sheets, a known favorite of Nolan Ryan. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman says the Yankees have not set any deadlines on their negotiations with Johnny Damon. Jon Heyman of SI.com reported yesterday that Damon had to make a decision within days, but that's not the case, according to the GM.
  • Olney doesn't think it makes sense for the White Sox to give Jim Thome a roster spot.
  • The Red Sox will look to replace David Ortiz if he struggles in the first half. They'll pursue a catcher and move Victor Martinez to DH if Big Papi starts this season as poorly as he started last season.

Twins, White Sox Interested In Jim Thome

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SUNDAY, 10:36am: Guillen told fans that the club has yet to make a decision on Thome, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Of all the options out there, Guillen likes Thome best, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

SATURDAY, 2:04pm: Ozzie Guillen told White Sox fans this morning that he will only look to bring Thome back if he can get him a healthy number of at-bats, writes Cowley.

10:44am: Cowley tweets a quote from Guillen on Thome, who said "we have to make a decision on him before I leave for Miami." That's tomorrow, according to Cowley. 

9:36am: White Sox GM Kenny Williams said that Thome isn't a fit on the 2010 team "unless Ozzie (Guillen) says," tweets team vice president Scott Reifert.

FRIDAY, 9:02pm: A White Sox source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times that the chances of Thome re-signing with the Sox is "50-50 now, which couldn't be said [Thursday]." The source added that Chicago tops the list of teams Thome wants to play for, however he does have some interest in Minnesota.

3:03pm: The Twins have interest in free agent slugger Jim Thome, according to Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune.  Christensen writes that the Twins are bargain hunting and if Thome is willing to come at the right price, there could be a match.  A Twins official confirmed the club's interest, which was first reported by a Chicago radio station.

Even though the team already has a lefty DH in Jason Kubel, the 39-year-old would boost a lackluster Minnesota bench.  Thome hit .249/.372/.493 with 23 HRs for the White Sox before being dealt to the Dodgers in late August. 

Cafardo On Sheets, Lowell, Pineiro

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders why more teams don't take advantage of arbitration hearings. Clubs do have a history of winning cases against their players in recent years. Here are Cafardo's latest rumors:

  • A Red Sox source tells Cafardo that it's unlikely the team signs Ben Sheets. Not a surprise, given Boston's rotation depth.
  • One scout is certain Ron Mahay will be on a major league roster by the time Spring Training starts. 
  • An NL scout considers Miguel Batista a "very serviceable piece."
  • Since Miguel Cabrera was in rehab for alcoholism this offseason, teams weren't eager to trade prospects for the first baseman and pay his $20MM salary.
  • As we heard last week, the Twins are interested in signing Jim Thome. 
  • The Red Sox and Angels considered swapping Mike Lowell for Gary Matthews Jr. before concerns about Lowell's thumb emerged. 
  • An AL GM considers Joel Pineiro "another middle-rotation guy." 

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Hudson, Loretta, Pence

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More Saturday linkage..

  • Ty Wigginton of the Orioles will likely see his number of at-bats decrease after the team's signing of Miguel Tejada and Garrett Atkins.  Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com says that the 32-year-old could be a trade candidate in Spring Training.
  • The sale of the Rangers to Chuck Greenberg's group is complete and an announcement is forthcoming, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
  • Phil Wood of MASNSports.com understands the Nats' pursuit of Orlando Hudson, but not their reported interest in Orlando Cabrera.  Hudson is reportedly seeking $9MM per season whereas Mike Axisa estimates that Cabrera can be had for $3MM.
  • Veteran infielder Mark Loretta is expected to retire this week and take a job with an unspecified major league club, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.  The 38-year-old, who spent 2009 with the Dodgers, has a career .754 OPS.
  • Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes that signing Hunter Pence to one-year, $3.5MM deal makes sense for Houston.  McTaggart senses that there is some kind of a groundswell of support by Astros fans to lock up the 26-year-old, but the club still has three years of contractual control to make such a deal happen.
  • Signing Brad Penny saved money for the Cardinals, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  While it may seem as though Penny's $7.5MM deal is similar to Joel Pineiro's two-year deal that will pay him an average of $8MM per season, the extra year on Pineiro's contract didn't fit into the Cards' budget.
  • Due in part to the team's overload of left field options, top Reds prospect Todd Frazier could see some time at shortstop this season, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Frazier played shortstop in his time at Rutgers University but was moved to the outfield as he was considered to be "too big for the spot."  GM Walt Jocketty said that there will be open competition for the role of starting shortstop, though Fay says that it will likely go to the light-hitting Paul Janish.

Damon, Yankees Have Been Talking

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SATURDAY, 3:12pm: Yanks GM Brian Cashman denies that the club is waiting on Damon before looking into other outfield options, reports Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog.

Additionally, Cashman stressed that the team has "had no discussions on Jermaine Dye" and is "not on Jim Edmonds at all."

2:30pm: In a text to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger, Damon says that he "should have a team in a week" (via Twitter).

1:56pm: Heyman reports (via Twitter) that Damon has "days" to take a "low deal" from the Yankees.  Assuming he says no, the club will sign another outfielder from the group of Reed Johnson, Xavier Nady, Randy Winn, Jim Edmonds, and Jermaine Dye.

FRIDAY, 6:17pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman was on MLB Network's Hot Stove show tonight, and said that the Yankees and Johnny Damon have spoken recently. Here's his exact quote:

"He did meet or talk to the Yankees in the last couple of days. Still doesn't look like a great chance of happening though believe it or not. They are talking, but the Yankees have these budgetary constraints. They've been telling other teams they have about 2 million dollars to spend. I think for Damon they would probably go over that. I mean this is a guy who's had 100 runs scored 9 times and 24 home runs.  Terrific player, but I would still say more likely Braves or Tigers, at this point."

Two days ago we heard from former Yankee Jerry Hairston Jr. that the team never made him an offer because they're "waiting on Damon's price to come down," however GM Brian Cashman shot that report down.

It's certainly getting late in the offseason, however just for a frame of reference, Bobby Abreu didn't sign with the Angels until February 12th of last season. Damon might have a little more waiting to do.

Astros, Hunter Pence Avoid Arbitration

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The Astros have avoided arbitration with Hunter Pence, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, tweets Alyson Footer of MLB.com.  The signing leaves Houston with two remaining arbitration-eligible players: Wandy Rodriguez and Tim Byrdak.

Pence received his first All-Star selection in 2009, hitting .282/.346/.472 with 25 homers. He also played a solid right field, recording a UZR/150 of 5.3.

This was the 26-year-old outfielders' first time being arb-eligible.  The two parties met in the middle as Pence submitted a figure of $4.1MM and Houston submitted $3.1MM.

Odds & Ends: Tigers, Rangers, Lee, Matthews

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Saturday linkage…

  • White Sox GM Ken Williams said that the club proposed a long-term deal to Bobby Jenks before signing him to a one-year contract, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).
  • Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski admitted that they were "probably too liberal in giving long-term contracts to players," tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck. However, Dombrowski did say they want to sign Justin Verlander, presumably long-term (via Beck's Twitter).
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan tweets that there's a strong chance the sale of the Rangers could be completed today.
  • At his introductory press conference, Cliff Lee said he was hoping to be wowed by Seattle and the Mariners, and if he is, he would be open to re-signing there according to Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. When asked about his next contract, Lee joked "I want a 10-year deal for about 200 billion. Nah, I don't know."  
  • Tom Gage of The Detroit News writes that the Tigers have five lefty relievers on their roster, so don't be surprised if one of them gets traded. Bobby Seay might be the most vulnerable of the five (despite being the most established) because he'll make $2.475MM in 2010 and lefties hit him better than righties last year.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to several people in the game about the Mets picking up Gary Matthews Jr., and the general thought is that he "can't hit for average, can't hit for power, his defense ranks statistically among the worst outfielders in the majors, and, to top it off, rival scouts have been reporting that in recent years he has been a clubhouse negative."
  • Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald has some quotes from Red Sox principal owner John Henry about the team's offseason.
  • Free agent reliever Oscar Villarreal will throw for teams next Friday, tweets Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. He last pitched in the majors back in 2008 with the Astros.

Orioles Agree To Sign Miguel Tejada

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Miguel Tejada arrived in Baltimore with a $72MM contract and the promise of MVP-caliber play six offseasons ago. This time, the expectations are more moderate and so is Tejada's contract. The Orioles agreed to a one-year, $6MM deal with the infielder, who will play third for the first time in his MLB career. 

Baltimore already signed one corner infielder, Garrett Atkins, so Tejada will play third and Atkins will play first. The 35-year-old Tejada hit .313/.340/.455 for the Astros last season, with pretty drastic home-road splits. UZR/150 tells us that Tejada's defense cost the Astros ten-plus runs last year, though that was at a different position than the one the O's will have him play.

Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun first reported the deal and Jon Heyman of SI.com added the terms.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Astros Sign Kevin Cash To Minor League Deal

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The Astros have signed catcher Kevin Cash to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. 

The 32-year-old was once Tim Wakefield's personal catcher, though he spent last season with the Yankees. Cash is a career .186/.248/.287 hitter in close to 600 big league plate appearances, though his minor league numbers are much more respectable. With only two catchers on the 40-man roster (J.R. Towles and Humberto Quintero), all it takes is an injury for Cash to make the Opening Day roster.

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