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Archives for January 2010

Giants Seek Left-Handed Bat

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WEDNESDAY, 11:08am: Schulman adds Cust to the list of bats on the Giants' radar.

TUESDAY, 2:16pm: So far this winter the Giants have spent $15.25MM on Mark DeRosa and Juan Uribe.  After a conference call with GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle offer insight on the Giants' plans for the rest of the offseason.

  • Uribe could play third base regularly, which would push DeRosa to left field.  Uribe will not compete with Edgar Renteria for the shortstop job.
  • The Giants seek a left-handed hitter.  It would be either an outfielder or first baseman, as Travis Ishikawa is not under consideration to start at first.
  • Sabean said no deals are imminent.  At various points this winter the Giants have been linked to Johnny Damon, Scott Podsednik, and Adam LaRoche.  I should point out that other potentially available left-handed bats include Russell Branyan, Lyle Overbay, Luke Scott, David DeJesus, Jack Cust, Mike Jacobs, Rick Ankiel, and Aubrey Huff.
  • Schulman says the Giants are unlikely to spend much on a fifth starter or catcher.

GM Trade Histories: AL East

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Brendan Bianowicz has more updates to the GM Trade History series.  Today he covers the AL East.  Check out the Excel spreadsheets below to see trades, free agent signings, and notable draft picks for each GM.

Rangers Considering DH Targets

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MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has the latest on the Rangers' pursuit of a free agent designated hitter.  He suggests the Rangers are very interested in Vladimir Guerrero and Jermaine Dye, and consider Xavier Nady an intriguing name.  Gary Sheffield and Jim Thome are also in the mix.

There are issues with Vlad and Dye.  With Vlad, it's a matter of agreeing on the financials.  Maybe Guerrero expects big money, but I imagine reality will set in a month from now.  DH jobs are few and far between.  Dye, on the other hand, isn't quite ready to stop playing defense.

Padres Free Agent Targets

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As you might expect, new Padres GM Jed Hoyer is searching for bargains on the free agent market.  MLB.com's Corey Brock names names.

The Padres' first goal is to add a veteran catcher to back up Nick Hundley.  Mike Redmond and Ramon Castro are on the radar, Brad Ausmus less so.  Castro has shown pretty good power for a catcher, with a .415 career SLG.

Outfield targets include Jerry Hairston Jr., Randy Winn, and Reed Johnson.  Hairston, of course, can handle the infield as well.  These players figure to land contracts of $2MM or less, in my opinion.

Nationals Sign Matt Capps

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Reliever Matt Capps officially signed a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Nationals today.  He can earn another $425K for games finished.  ESPN's Jerry Crasnick first named the Nats a strong contender for Capps on December 21st.  ESPN's Buster Olney had the Nats closing in on the 23rd, and MLB.com's Bill Ladson had an agreement being reached on the 24th.  ESPN's Bruce Levine added the terms later that day. 

The Cubs and Mets were other late contenders for Capps, but his best shot at closing was in Washington. The Nationals have the option of keeping Capps for 2011 as an arbitration-eligible player.  He was surprisingly non-tendered by the Pirates on December 12th, and many teams expressed interest.  Capps, 26, had an off-year for the Bucs in '09, posting a 5.80 ERA with an abundance of hits and home runs in 54.3 innings.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

What’s Next For The Cardinals?

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The Cardinals committed $120MM over seven years to Matt Holliday yesterday; he'll be paid $17MM in each year of the deal (with $2MM deferred annually).  Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the contract "leaves the club with little financial space to address the No. 5 starter, the opening at third base and the wish to add a reliever."

Miguel Tejada and Felipe Lopez are known third base targets for the Cardinals, but Goold says either player would be difficult to fit into the budget based on current demands.  Goold's colleague Joe Strauss says Tejada and Lopez are probably out "unless their market collapses."  Goold expects David Freese to get a crack at the hot corner, with internal candidates filling the fifth starter role as well.  The CHONE projection system has Freese hitting .269/.335/.442 in 2010, which wouldn't be any worse than Tejada and Lopez's projections.

The Cards could add an affordable left-handed bench bat via free agency, and Goold says Ryan Church is one name on the radar.  As for the bullpen, Goold speculates on Octavio Dotel and notes that a Russ Springer reunion has been discussed.  The Cardinals' offseason financial flexibility will hinge on the arbitration cases of Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker.  Goold wouldn't be surprised to see March bargains or midseason additions if the Cardinals stay quiet over the next few months.

Marlins Notes: Kennedy, Reed, Cantu

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A couple of Fish-related tidbits from the land of Dwyane Wade and Dexter Morgan tonight….

  • Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins have made finding relief pitching a priority over replacing Ross Gload.  Jackson mentioned Adam Kennedy and Jeremy Reed as left-handed hitters "mentioned in informal talks" that Florida might be interested in signing once they take care of their bullpen.
  • It looks as if Dan Uggla will still be a Marlin when the 2010 season starts, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  Rodriguez thinks that if the Fish can't find a trade partner for Uggla, they may shift gears and "start taking calls" about Jorge Cantu.  Cantu's ability to place both first and third base makes him an attractive option to teams looking for help at the corners.  Could Baltimore be interested?  We know they're still in the market for a corner infielder, and the Orioles and Marlins touched base with each other about an Uggla trade earlier this winter.

Odds & Ends: Tigers, Pineiro, Padres, Giambi

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Here's a round-up of a few news items floating around the baseball world tonight….

  •  MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that Detroit might sit out the bidding for the few remaining closers on the market and instead hope that youngsters Ryan Perry, Daniel Schlereth or a healthy Joel Zumaya are able to pick up some saves.
  • Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reports (via Twitter) that the Mets "have debated" the merits of offering Joel Pineiro a two-year contract, but Pineiro wants a deal akin to the three-year, $29.75MM contract that Randy Wolf signed with Milwaukee.
  • Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres will sign an experienced backup catcher "within a few weeks."
  • Dave Cameron of the U.S.S. Mariner blog isn't a big fan of Seattle's trade for Casey Kotchman.
  • The apparent lack of interest in free agent Jason Giambi means that there's a greater chance he ends up back in Colorado, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding. 
  • With Boston's signing of Adrian Beltre, Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas thinks that the Rangers might have leverage to get a more favorable trade for Mike Lowell, should Texas still be interested.

LaRoche Turns Down Giants’ Offer

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ESPN's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that Adam LaRoche turned down a two-year, $17MM deal from San Francisco, and now the Giants may have pulled their offer back altogether.  LaRoche has been mentioned as a possible target for the Giants this winter and would certainly fill their need for a left-handed hitter, but as Olney notes in a follow-up tweet, San Francisco is "discussing alternatives" to signing the first baseman. 

The Giants' stance could also be a negotiating tactic to get LaRoche to drop his asking price given that, as Olney pointed out, LaRoche seems to be down to just the Giants and Orioles as potential suitors.  (The Mariners were scratched from the list given their acquisition of Casey Kotchman.)

Braves Sign Troy Glaus

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5:45pm: ESPN's Buster Olney specifies the dollar values within Glaus' incentive clauses (via Twitter).

2:24pm: The Braves officially signed Troy Glaus to a one-year today.  He'll get a $1.75MM base, a $250K bonus at 100 games, and another possible $2MM in incentives.  Glaus will play first base for Atlanta.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement on December 23rd, while David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweeted the value.

The 33-year-old Glaus was limited to 135 plate appearances this year due to the effects of January shoulder surgery.  He's played only 38.6 innings of first base in his career, all of them coming in the last two seasons.  When he's right, Glaus is a threat to slug around .500 and hit 30 home runs.

By itself, I like the Glaus signing.  I did not like the Braves trading Javier Vazquez to free up cash for Glaus and a potential outfield acquisition, however.

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