Links for Tuesday…
- Tim Lincecum passed his physical according to Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Presumably his two-year, $23MM deal is official now.
- Yankees' GM Brian Cashman sat down for an interview with NoMaas.org. He discussed what went into some of their decision making this offseason, among other things.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun projected the Orioles' Opening Day roster.
- Chien-Ming Wang has already passed his physical with the Nationals, reports Chico Harlan of The Washington Post. Given the righty's recent shoulder surgery, it was far from a formality.
- Joe Torre tells Mike Francesa of WFAN that the Dodgers are on the lookout for a fifth starter (audio here). Torre says the Dodgers could find that starter within their organization. He also says he and the Doders are talking about adding a year onto his contract, which expires after this season.
- Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Batter's Box that the Blue Jays will draft the best players available this June. Anthopoulos also said the Jays will be open to dealing from their pitching depth.
- MLB.com's Doug Miller shows that baseball's executives are getting younger as owners take a business-first approach to winning.
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says he'd be willing to guarantee Joe Mauer eight or ten years if that's what it takes to keep the catcher in Minnesota, despite the fact that Mauer would almost certainly be playing another position by the end of a contract that long.
- Padres GM Jed Hoyer tells MLB.com's Corey Brock that he's pleased with his first offseason as a GM and the process that the Padres used this winter.
- Giants officials believe "the day is coming when legions of talented hitters will follow" Pablo Sandoval's path to the majors, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Felipe Lopez would be a "great, great fit" for the Mets.
Robin G
Joe C is concern trolling with that article. “Oh, we have to lock up Mauer, but it’s not a good idea — except it’s a good idea — except it’s not a good idea…” He’s setting himself up to say “I told you so” no matter what. Give me LENIII any day.
Guest 1609
I don’t think that there is any need to put Joe Mauer at another position. If he plays like 120 games at catcher and 30 games at DH towards the end of his contract, it should be fine.
CosaOne
I think the issue is that if he signs a 10 year deal, he will be 37 at the end and its alot(maybe wishful thinking) to ask a catcher in his late 30’s to catch 120 games consistently without breaking downing healthwise or offensively. More likely he will have to move over to 3rd base but his bat is tremendous and will stay play at that position.
FooDew
I think Joe C is saying that with the financial limitations of the Twins the team won’t be as good with Mauer in 8 years as he’d be taking up 20% of the payroll, possibly playing a less important position. But there’ll be a riot in Minneapolis if he isn’t extended, and as the face of the franchise and a once in a generation player he’s an exception.
rockiesfan_303
Felipe Lopez is a perfect fit for Tampa for sure. I really hope they make the move.
bbxxj
Isn’t Lopez just a worse, more expensive version of Zobrist? The Rays probably have the most MI depth in the entire MLB so I’m not really seeing the fit here.
melonis_rex
Yeah, unless they plan to trade one of their middle infielders, I can’t see how Lopez fits in with the Rays.
They have Zobrist, Bartlett, Brignac, and Rodriguez and Aybar as a utility player. That’s an insane list.
Cubs makes a lot of sense.
UnfriendlyConfine
Lopez wouldn’t be bad for the Cubs, if the price is right. Hendry kinda hamstrung ’em with that stupid Grabow deal. I would’ve rather the Cubs gone after Hudson, but if Lopez doesn’t mind signing for VERY cheap, cool. Lopez would at least be better than a possible platoon of Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker.
Guest 1610
Agreed, or the Padres. Cubs?
markjsunz
Tampa traded away a veteran second baseman to either give the job to zobrist which will open an outfield spot for one of there touted youngsters, or give the second base job to one of there touted youngsters. Tampa probably would not be looking to giving Lopez a payday.
sackseph
The Giants Lineup is filled with old washed up hitters Yuck.
humbb
Kinda like last year. But the Yanks picked up one, while the Mets passed. Only Posey, Ishikawa and Schierholz represent the youth movement currently, as far as semi-regulars go. They could be in the mix if they can average about a half run more than last year per game. Not sure if the offseason moves will accomplish that.
At least the Giants have a pitching staff filled with young up’n comers.
SolidarityInSF
Uh.
And Sandoval?
humbb
Well, I hope the Panda is considered more than a semi-regular this year. But point well taken.
rainyperez
I’m pretty optimistic about Thomas Neal who I have been following very closely since the beginning of last season. If he can sustain his power numbers in AA and eventually AAA he will be a force to be reckon with when he is brought up. Thing is outfield is filled to the point where the Giants will have to start thinking of letting guys go like Velez and Lewis. I still have hope for Bowker and Nate. Both need to figure out the down and in pitch. I have higher hopes for Bowker because of his power potential.
RedbirdRuffian
No question that Lopez is a good fit for the Mets, but they have to do somthing with the incumbent and apparently no one wants to take on the contract. Another good fit for the Mets, and likeley at a bargain is Perkins of Minnesota. Has one option left, had some very good moments in the last couple of years before getting injured, and then passed by two other lefties in the organization (Duensing and rehabbing Liriano). Someone is going to get a good young middle of the rotation lefty if Perkins proves in spring training he has recovered from his shoulder problem. When not pitching injured he was solid, and Citibank is a good fit for him…
Drew 13
I’m all for unloading Perkins for something of value. A fourth OF that can cover CF is a thought. The Twins are in a mode right now where I’m not sure that just getting a couple low level prospects for him is the right move. Our Major League club is young. We’ll be working with basically this core of players for at least 2-4 years. Unless we can get a AAA 2B/SS who can be ready for the big show in a year or two, I’d rather end up with someone who can produce immediately.
0vercast
A 4th OF with some speed would be a good swap, for the Twins that is.
humbb
“When not pitching injured he was solid, and Citibank is a good fit for him…”
I’m sure that’s what convinced Jason Bay to sign … free checking and no ATM fees (with direct deposit, of course).
So tell me Omar, was it the free toaster that clinched it?
TwinsVet
You don’t want Perkins. Trust me.
gwells
I think the Mets would be a horrible place for Flopez.
When things go poorly for a team, he quits on it. As evidenced by his play in Washington. If he had been on the Mets last season, he would not have played as well as he did. He does not handle adversity well.
crewfan85
He did bat .320 for the Brewers last year after his trade from Arizona. I dont know if you remember, but they had the worst pitching in the NL, and tanked after the All-Star break.
Guest 1613
Agreed, Pablo Sandoval is one of the best young hitters in Major League Baseball.
blake
He is a very good hitter, but he is gonna regress this season. A 350 babip from a guy that weighs 250 lbs isn’t very sustainable. I mention the weight because he is obviously not a speedster kinda guy. The 220 ISO is very nice though
Jason_F
However, BABIP is a stat that should be measured against that particular player’s historical BABIP, not necessarily other players’ BABIP. Pablo Sandoval is a player that has an uncanny ability to square the ball up no matter where it is in relation to the strike zone. Todd Helton has a career BABIP of .341, Miguel Cabrera .350, David Wright .350, Kevin Youkilis .340, Bobby Abreu .351. All of these guys would be considered a “very good hitter” and “obviously not a speedster kinda guy.” I would not be surprised whatsoever if he were to post a similar, or even higher, BABIP.
Also, I’m sure the kung fu panda will “come to camp in the best shape of his career.”
; )
bafaabojangles
Pablo started a diet and weight loss regiman in early november. He has cut around 20 points and looks to be more lean and muscular… check out the footage of him dropping the puck at the Sharks game… If anything, I think losing the weight could affect his swing/production in a negative, considering that he has hit that way his whole career. However, he may be a little lighter on his feet and may get even more speed when his bat is going through the zone.
SolidarityInSF
Yes, but he’s also been on a strength-training/conditioning program for the first time in his life. Given that it’s being run by a head trainer for a major league baseball organization, one would expect that he will reap benefits in his bat speed (while he is working on pitch recognition) and overall power. As long as they don’t mess with his actual swing mechanics, I think he’ll be fine.
ivdown
Abreu was a speedy (not Pierre fast, but fast) player in his Phillies days. Around 20 SB a year if I remember correctly.
Jason_F
Well, if you ask me, I would say that Abreu is more of a good basestealer than a guy with good speed. If his speed were the major contributing factor to accumulating a lot of stolen bases, his UZR in the field should be better than it is and has been in recent years. This is also supported by the fact that he stole 30 bases last year and, being almost 36 years old, we know this wasn’t because of his blazing speed.
All of this is really irrelevant to my original statement, which related Sandoval to these hitters as guys who sustain a high BABIP throughout their career. Thanks for trying to nitpick, though.
ivdown
First off, I’d like to thank you for acting like a d*ck just now. Second off, it was relevant to what you were saying, because you used Abreu AS AN EXAMPLE. You said those guys weren’t really speedsters, and I thought Abreu was due to the fact that he has stolen so many bases, and as much as 30 as you said last season. Slow players can steal bases, sure. Pujols stole 16 in 09. But that’s about the point where the sb’s stop because they don’t have the speed to do any more. Abreu never had tremendous speed, sure, and he hasn’t covered all that much room in the outfield, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be fast, he could just be a bad fielder, and from what I’ve heard, he was deathly afraid to run into the outfield wall, and I’m sure that cost him more than his fair share of balls hit deep to his position.
Jason_F
Sensitive much? What it comes down to is the question, “Is Abreu the kind of player that you would consider a speedster?” I’m fairly sure most observers would answer ‘No.’ Therefore, my original statement using him as an example as a player who is a “very good hitter” and “obviously not a speedster kinda guy” still stands up to reason. Your statement: “Abreu never had tremendous speed.” Don’t guys that are considered speedsters have tremendous speed, therefore excluding him from that category? I think you realize that all of my examples are good ones and do support my theory that Sandoval might be able to sustain his high BABIP, but you tried to nitpick one tiny part of the support of that theory and you were wrong. It’s really not that big of a deal.
rico7961
Maybe the Mets and Twins could make an Angel Pagan/Glen Perkins swap. Pagan would really look nice on the Twins roster as that extra outfielder.
TwinsVet
Why do Mets people want Perkins? He’s not particularly talented. He’s got some attitude issues. He’s a quitter and a whiner.
I’d like nothing more than to see him leave Minnesota, I’m just amazed there’s people out there who would be glad to have him.
0vercast
Perkins has the pedigree.
Young, lefty SPs with an excellent track record in college and some decent MLB experience will always be of some degree of interest to most teams. Thats why I hope the Twins don’t just give him away for a case of rosin bags or something. He’ll be useful to someone, somewhere, at some point. Just not for the Twins, I don’t believe.
Drew 13
I like this idea. Solves our OF problem, that’s for sure.
redsandyanksfan
eh i dont think mets would do that with beltran being out for a while and trading for a young pitcher who has been hurt recently
flumesalot
“the day is coming when legions of talented hitters will follow”
Sounds so NFL fimls-ish.
humbb
“… into the frozen tundra of AT&T Park …”
dum-da-da-dum …
JohnLucarelli
Felipe Lopez would be a “great, great fit” for the Mets…
Aww, thanks Buster š
Frank
Well, all the Mets have to do is convince Lopez to “work for food” and they’ve got him!
RiverKKiller999
Yeah F-Lopez would look good as there bat boy …I don’t see F-Lopez as a fit for the Mets Buster!!
Bernaldo
Bad trade for the Twins! Pagan looks like a career journeyman without much upside and one ought not to trade young, left handed starters unless you get some honest value in exchange. Back-up outfielders who can play defense are not hard to find and you don’t need to trade starting pitchers to get one. Perkins is not top of rotation material and he can be a pain in the butt to be sure, but the Mets don’t have the talent in the right positions (without giving up a Martinez or one of their prized A-ball pitchers) to do this deal.
TwinsVet
You’d have thought the Twins (should) have cleaned out the Mets farm system in the Santana trade, anyways.
blake
You should do some research. In 350 abs last year Pagan put up a 2.5 WAR. And you are thinking of our prized AA/AAA pitchers in Holt, Mejia, and Niese.
rockvssingleparents
Angel Pagan gets crapped on a lot and I don’t understand why. Perkins is a mess, I think I’d rather keep Pagan.
bballrox4717
I really wouldn’t mind giving Gagne a minor league contract with a shot at the MLB roster. He’d have Tracy back and Apodaca has fixed the problems with Street, De la Rosa, Hammel, and Marquis enough to make them into extremely productive pitchers. Even if it doesn’t work, it wouldn’t be of any harm to give him a minor league deal to attempt a comeback……
dylanp5030
Marquis plays for the Nats.
dylanp5030
Sorry, I get what you mean now, my bad.
Bernaldo
Don’t give a darn about his WAR. Doesn’t change the fact that he is still a journeyman with marginal upside and not the kind of player you trade a young left-handed starter for. Pagan has a nice year last year but even the Mets, apparently, don’t consider him a starter. I was thinking specifically of Holt and Mejia both of whom played in A ball last year. And yes, both moved up to AA but doesn’t change that they played A ball last year.
bballrox4717
Yes, like the Mets would be giving up their most talented prospects for Perkins. Pagan is actually pretty good, and they shouldn’t even be trading him anyway when they have to worry about Francouer being an everyday starter. Perkins is a nice buy low candidate, but his 2008 season wasn’t even that good either, and doesn’t have much value. A change of scenery would be the best thing going forward for him.
blake
If you don’t care about his WAR then look at his UZR and OBP. I will admit that his numbers were propped up by an inflated babip, but he is a very very good 4th OF. And Mejia spent a decent amount of time in AA last year. Sorry about the snarky reply, I just thought you were a little hard on pagan. Also, the Mets think Francoeur is a starter… I wouldn’t take their player evaluation too seriously. Just because they don’t like Pagan doesn’t mean he is a bad player. It most likely means the opposite and this is coming from a Met fan.
rockiesfan_303
Link to the Mosely story?
Bernaldo
No apology necessary! I never questioned that Pagan is a good back-up outfielder. My point was that he is exactly that, a back-up and that one should not trade a young, left-handed starter for a player who looks like a career back-up outfielder. As I said earlier, Perkins is not a top-of-rotation kind of guy but he is worth – in my opinion – more than a back-up outfielder like Pagan. The Twins have four outfielders right now (Span, Cuddyer, Delmon Young, Kubel) though Kubel plays DH most of the time, so the Twins might look for a spare as a defensive replacement but not at the expense of Perkins.
No, the Mets would never give up their most talented prospects for Perkins but given that what they have to offer and what the Twins needs might be, I don’t the Mets are good trade partners.
Guest 1623
Gagne has a stash hidden in the Dodgers Clubhouse, he wants it back.
Ferrariman
Nah manny already took it
Ferrariman
I’m gonna take a guess, but Bill:
Doders=dodgers
Right????
Guest 1626
Bill = Ben
Right?
R_y_a_n
Hahaha. Like like like like like.
bleedDODGERblue
“like like like like like” the comment about gagne’s stash
bleedDODGERblue
I’m curious to see what “the Dodgers are on the lookout for a fifth starter” means to Joe Torre. To me it sounds like he and Colletti are still looking for someone to add to the rotation, I’m staying optimistic atleast
start_wearing_purple
You better hope they’re not looking into Looper or Washburn.
bleedDODGERblue
I actually wouldn’t mind Washburn as our 5th starter at all. I think he’d do alot better in the NL West than he did for Detroit at the end of last year. He might actually end up as our #3 or #4 starter if we got him, but I think he’d want more than the Dodgers could afford at the moment.
Guest 1638
Based on stuff, Washburn would be the 5 starter in the Dodgers rotation.. I wouldn’t mind him for less than 2 million dollars.
bleedDODGERblue
I was thinkin between Kuroda and Padilla to break up the string of right handers.
1. Kershaw L
2. Billz R
3. Kuroda R
4. Washburn L
5. Padilla R
Would make sense to switch Billz and Kershaw but I think Kershaw will be our #1
Guest 1639
Alright I gotcha..
bleedDODGERblue
Yeah but it’ll never happen.
TwinsVet
Billingsley isn’t in your plans?
bleedDODGERblue
Billz would be Billingsley… of course Billingsley’s in my plans
TwinsVet
Ah, thanks, moment of panic there sent me scrambling to for injury report records!
jhawk90
Is it so wrong for me to be enjoying the misery that is the unsigned Borass client?
lefty177
“Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Batter’s Box that the Blue Jays will draft the best players available this June.”
isn’t this all teams’ gameplan for the draft? Just curious
start_wearing_purple
Previous policy of the Pirates was to go after cheap and signable (if that’s a word) players. Beane’s moneyball policy is more about a specific type of player who tends to be closer to major league ready.
It does seem silly to say “draft the best players available” however there is some strategy in that. For instance Rick Porcello was a big name in the 2007 draft but dropped to the Tigers because of his contract demands.
thevauntedchris
Nomaas has gone down the crapper in the last 2 years, but I’ll give them credit. That was the best Cashman interview I’ve ever read. It actually discussed intelligent baseball with good questions and answers. I think it’s pretty obvious Cashman is a very good GM, payroll or not. He understands how to win in this league, and has improved the team every year since he was given full control. Great read