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Archives for February 2010

The Unsigned All-Star Team

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Here on February 8th, over 90 free agents remain unsigned.  It's time to determine the best available at each position.

Starting lineup:

Rotation:

Bullpen:

Honorable mentions: Jose Molina, Hank Blalock, Mike Jacobs, Jonny Gomes, Gary Sheffield, Rocco Baldelli, Todd Wellemeyer, Mike MacDougal, Russ Springer, Joe Beimel

Indians Notes: Dye, Gomes, Payroll

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Some Indians tidbits courtesy of The Plain Dealer's Terry Pluto..

  • The Indians are keeping an eye on Jermaine Dye, who recently turned down a $3.3MM offer from the Cubs before they moved on to Xavier Nady.  Cleveland would like to add a right-handed bat, and Dye fits the job description.  However, with a UZR/150 lower that -21.0 in each of the past four seasons, the 36-year-old is a defensive liability.
  • Jonny Gomes is another righty slugger on the open market who could land with the Tribe.  The 29-year-old is coming off of a banner year with the Reds, though he posted a -23.4 UZR/150 in the outfield.  As we've heard before, the club is also talking to Russell Branyan.
  • The Indians are expected to have the lowest payroll in the Central Division at about $65MM.  It appears that the only club in the American League with a lower payroll will be the Oakland A's.

Four Clubs Offer Minor League Deal To Takahashi

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9:01pm: The Pirates have emerged as a destination for Takahashi, according to a report from Sanspo passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.  The report also notes that the Dodgers are targeting other pitchers and the Mets were "moving towards an MLB contract," but couldn't agree on money.

Meanwhile, Takahashi was set to throw for teams today in Arizona, according to an article from Sponichi passed along by Newman.

2:32pm: Japaneseballplayers.com reports that Takahashi has turned down the Mets' offer as well. NPB Tracker tweets that Takahashi prefers to play on the West coast.

SUNDAY, 11:01pm: Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that Takahashi has turned down the Orioles' offer of a minor league deal, but that doesn't mean the two sides can't work something out down the road.

SATURDAY, 4:53pm: Takahashi is being considered by the Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, Pirates, and Padres tweets Jon Heyman of SI.  Heyman also writes that Takahashi will pick his team soon.

Meanwhile, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports (via Twitter) that the Giants are assuming that Takahashi will sign elsewhere.

FRIDAY, 7:19pm: NPB Tracker passes along a report (via Twitter) from the Japanese publication Sponichi Annex saying that the Giants and Dodgers are in the lead for Takahashi's services, however Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the the Giants are still waiting to hear back about their minor league offer.

THURSDAY, 2:38pm: Free agent lefty Hisanori Takahashi has minor league offers from the Red Sox, Giants, Padres, and Dodgers, according to a Sports Hochi report passed along on Twitter by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.

Last week, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote that Takahashi seeks a big league deal and has drawn interest from the Orioles, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox, and Giants.  Takahashi, 35 in April, profiles as a flyball/command pitcher who can fill a swingman role.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Red Sox, Bedard, Mets

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A Super batch of links..

  • In a piece for Fangraphs, Dave Cameron writes that the Twins are in the mix for the best offseason in baseball.  Earlier this week, Minnesota agreed to a one-year deal with Orlando Hudson for just $5MM and appear to be close to locking up Joe Mauer.
  • Even former Met Darryl Strawberry offered up a critique of the Mets' quiet offseason, writes Newsday's David Lennon. Strawberry said that the offseason "could have been better," when asked about it. Lennon's piece looks at some offseason targets that never became a reality for New York.
  • Following up on yesterday's news that Bobby Kielty is converting to a pitcher, MLBTR heard from Kielty himself via email. Kielty says his ultimate goal is to be a right-handed bat off the bench and eat up some relief innings if necessary. He threw some bullpens for the Mets last season and has thrown for Oakland as well. Kielty says he reads MLBTR every day. Thanks for the support, Bobby!
  • Peter Abraham has the full list of players who will be with the Red Sox in training camp this year.
  • Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that Erik Bedard seriously considered an offer from the Orioles similar to the deal he signed to return to Seattle. 
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post spoke one agent about the Mets, who said "How can you have that payroll and still not have a starting catcher or first baseman, a second baseman you hate and no legitimate starters after Johan?”
  • Paul Lo Duca is unlikely to accept a minor league assignment if he doesn't make the Rockies, reports Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post. Colorado signed Lo Duca to a minor league deal in January.
  • Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says that Pirates' GM Neal Huntington admitted that there are "a lot of rumblings" that prospect Jose Tabata might actually be in his mid-20's. Tabata's listed age is 21, and ESPN's Keith Law ranked him as the 57th best prospect in baseball last month. The Pirates originally acquired Tabata from the Yankees in 2008 as part of the Xavier Nady–Damaso Marte trade.

Discussion: Braden Looper

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While the most attractive free agent starting pitchers are now off of the market, there are still some notable names searching for a home in 2010.  One such pitcher is Braden Looper.

For the Brewers in 2009, Looper posted a 5.22 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 while eating 194.2 innings.  While standard pitching metrics were less than kind to the 35-year-old, xFIP portrayed him in a better light as he recorded a 4.90 – his best since becoming a starter in 2007.

In September of last year it appeared as though Milwaukee would exercise their side of Looper's $6.5MM mutual option for 2010.  Instead, GM Doug Melvin went in a different direction, choosing to buy out the option for $1MM.  Although he did not rule out a return at the time, Melvin filled the void by inking Randy Wolf and Doug Davis to help augment the rotation. 

In December, Looper made it known that he would like to pitch for the Cubs as his three children attend Chicago-area schools.  The Dodgers seemed like a possible fit for the righty until financial troubles limited their spending this offseason.  We're now one week into February, and Looper is still without a job.

What teams should look into signing Looper?  In a market where an effective (yet, injury prone) Erik Bedard just received $1.5MM guaranteed for 2010, what kind of a deal will Looper be able to land?

Week In Review: 1/31/10 – 2/6/10

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Slow day here as the Super Bowl rapidly approaches. Let's take a look back at the top stories from the previous week:

Cafardo’s Latest: Beckett, Red Sox, Twins, Lowry

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The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo has plenty of rumors from around the league for us this morning, so let's round them all up…

  • The Red Sox are likely to use Roy Halladay's three-year, $60MM deal "minus $6 million-$8 million" as a guideline for a potential Josh Beckett extension rather than John Lackey's five-year, $82.5MM deal. The reason being that they have some concern about the long-term health of his shoulder.
  • If another team comes offering Beckett big money after the season, the Sox will move on just as they did with Jason Bay. They could then look into free agents like Cliff Lee, who they pursued at the trade deadline, or even Ben Sheets and Brandon Webb if they bounce back from injury problems of their own.
  • With all of their additions this offseason, the Twins' payroll will jump from $65M to about $96M as they move into Target Field this year. GM Bill Smith said it will be up to manager Ron Gardenhire to determine how they use Jim Thome, and that they did their homework on Orlando Hudson's left wrist, which has given him trouble the last few seasons.
  • Minnesota's payroll will be larger than the Dodgers' this year.
  • The Red Sox watched Noah Lowry's recent workout, but "don't appear interested in signing him."
  • Dodgers' third base coach Larry Bowa said he knows that Manny Ramirez still wants to play another three or four years.
  • Two big league executives feel that the Giants and Tim Lincecum will settle on a contract before an arbitration hearing.
  • One reason the Cubs signed Kevin Millar was to loosen up the clubhouse after the Milton Bradley fiasco last season.
  • Drayton McLane is reportedly seeking $700MM to part with the Astros, but it's tough to see someone coming up with that when the Rangers sold for approximately $575MM.

Dodgers Sign Brian Giles

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The Dodgers signed outfielder Brian Giles to a minor league deal, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  In a pair of tweets, ESPN's Buster Olney reports that Giles would get a $550K base salary with another $200K in performance bonuses. If the Dodgers aren't going to keep him on the roster at the end of Spring Training, he can ask for his release.  Giles will compete for a fifth outfielder or pinch-hitter role.

Giles, 39, hit .191/.277/.271 in 253 plate appearances for the Padres last year, struggling defensively as well.  His season ended in June with a knee injury.  Giles had a strong season in 2008 - his .398 OBP ranked sixth in the league.  Former Padres GM Kevin Towers picked up his $9MM option for '09, despite the outfielder's off-the-field concerns.

Interesting note from Gurnick – "Giles nearly was general manager Ned Colletti's first acquisition after he took over the Dodgers in the winter of 2005, but the San Diego native re-signed with the Padres and Colletti turned to shortstop Rafael Furcal."  This time around Giles reportedly drew interest from eight to ten teams, including the Yankees and Reds.

No Phillies Deals For Japanese Lefties

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SUNDAY, 8:57am: We've been informed by the Phillies that they have not signed any pitchers from Japan.

FRIDAY, 7:36pm: The Phillies have signed Japanese southpaws Shigetoshi Yamakita and Naoyo Okamoto to minor league contracts according to Daily Sports Online (hat tip to Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker).

Both Yamakita (32) and Okamoto (26) spent the 2009 season with the Shonan Searex, a farm team of the Yokohama Bay Stars. Yamakita posted a 2.67 ERA with a 24-7 K/BB ratio in 27 innings, Okamoto a 5.28 ERA with a 10-9 K/BB ratio in 15.1 innings.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Beckett, Brewers, Giants

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Saturday night linkage..

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