Archives for February 2010

Quiet Offseason For Todd Wellemeyer

By Tim Dierkes | February 2, 2010 at 3:59pm CDT

It's been a quiet offseason for free agent pitcher Todd Wellemeyer. The 31-year-old righty has surfaced in nary a rumor aside from a November 20th Brewers mention by SI's Jon Heyman. Today, MLBTR learned that the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Rockies expressed interest at various points. Wellemeyer would prefer to continue starting.

Wellemeyer had a strong 2008 season for the Cardinals, posting a 3.71 ERA in 191.6 innings. But even then there were a few warning signs. His strikeout and walk rates were nothing special at 6.3 and 2.9 per nine. He's a flyball pitcher, leading to 25 home runs in those 32 starts. The biggest concern was the innings jump – Wellemeyer had spent most of his big league career as a reliever.

Wellemeyer agreed to a $4.05MM deal in his final year with the Cards. 2009 didn't go well – his elbow started hurting, his velocity and control slipped, and more flyballs left the yard. He might have to accept a minor league deal for 2010 to redeem himself.

Orlando Hudson Rumors: Tuesday

By Tim Dierkes | February 2, 2010 at 3:00pm CDT

3:00pm: MLB.com's Bill Ladson talked to Adam Kennedy, who said the Nationals "basically let us know that they are kind of waiting on Orlando." Hudson earned about $7MM last year after incentives and seemingly isn't ready to accept the inevitable pay cut. He's not coming off an injury this time, but it may be difficult to top last year's $3.38MM guarantee.

9:04am: The Mariners "remain a long shot candidate" to sign free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi admits that some roster maneuvering would be necessary to accomodate Hudson, as the Ms already have Jose Lopez at second and a full slate of position players. I should add that whether Hudson is an upgrade over Lopez overall is an open question.

Morosi names the Nationals, Indians, and Twins as Hudson's other suitors. We learned yesterday that the Twins are serious, while the Rockies are out.

Does Verlander Deserve More Than Felix?

By Tim Dierkes | February 2, 2010 at 12:16pm CDT

The Tigers are "increasingly optimistic" about signing Justin Verlander to a long-term deal, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Felix Hernandez's five-year, $78MM deal is being used for comparison, but Morosi feels Verlander might be aiming to top that with either a larger guarantee or a sixth year. What's more, Morosi feels Verlander is justified in asking for more money than Felix.

Morosi appears to be using the simplistic arbitration hearing-type stats to make his case – wins, All-Star appearances, and even no-hitters. But this is not a hearing decided by three baseball rubes. Consider:

Hernandez is almost three years younger than Verlander.
Hernandez has a better career ERA, ERA+, and FIP.
They're similar (Hernandez being slightly better) in career innings, strikeout rate, walk rate, and home run rate.
Regarding Verlander's seven extra career wins in six fewer starts, look at run support. Verlander has received 5.2 runs scored per start, Felix 4.3.

Kevin Gregg Narrowing Choices

By Howard Megdal | February 2, 2010 at 8:16am CDT

TUESDAY, 8:16am: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel offers a different take – he says not to look for a Gregg-Marlins reunion. Instead, the righty is close to signing with the Rockies or Blue Jays. According to this tweet from Yahoo's Tim Brown, the Padres are also in the mix.

MONDAY, 9:26pm: According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Kevin Gregg has narrowed his choices down to the Rockies and Marlins.

"I am not overly optimistic, but we have a chance," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd told Renck Monday. "Our job would be as a setup guy." For Gregg, the chance to be second in line to Huston Street isn't as promising as the chance to be behind Leo Nunez, Renck figures. After signing Melvin Mora, the Rockies had about $2MM to offer for Gregg.

Dodgers Sign Reed Johnson

By Steve Adams | February 1, 2010 at 8:15pm CDT

The Dodgers officially signed outfielder Reed Johnson to a one-year, $800K deal today. He can earn another $250K in incentives. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the near-agreement on Sunday, with Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times adding contract details.

Johnson, 33, hit .255/.330/.412 with the Cubs last season, seeing time at all three outfield positions, though primarily in center field. He was limited to just 65 games as a result of a fractured left foot. The Cubs non-tendered him after the season rather than pay him a salary in the $3MM range.

We've heard recently that the Dodgers have been in touch with Garret Anderson, but the Johnson acquisition likely puts an end to that. Johnson makes more sense as a fourth outfielder, given his ability to play anywhere in the outfield, though UZR suggests that his only strong spot is in left.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Mets, Astros

By Howard Megdal | February 1, 2010 at 7:13pm CDT

Lots to get to on this Monday- so close to spring training, you can taste the grapefruit, or if your team heads to Arizona, the cactus…

ESPN.com's Rob Neyer takes the Mariners to task for acquiring too many good players. He makes the point that "this is a good problem to have", but that the Mariners might have been better off simply letting Ken Griffey Jr. go. What he's saying makes some sense- there are a finite number of at-bats, of course- but when that is the worst thing you can say about the Seattle offseason, it's been a tremendous offseason.
T he New York Post's Joel Sherman points out that Seattle's GM, Jack Zduriencik, was an employee of the Mets for well over a decade. New York promoted Omar Minaya, Jim Duquette and Gary LaRocque instead, and Zduriencik headed to the Brewers. Sherman also takes the Mets offseason to task in this piece.
FoxSports.com's Jon Morosi is reporting that despite a 30-day negotiation window closing, the Astros may still be sold. Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball describes Houston owner Drayton McLane's current position as "make me an offer I can't refuse."
The Boston Herald's John Tomase discusses the pros and cons of Boston bringing back Josh Beckett.
Dave Cameron of Fangraphs wants people to calm down about projection systems. My projection is that people won't.

Red Sox Sign Joe Nelson

By Howard Megdal | February 1, 2010 at 6:36pm CDT

FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Red Sox have signed Joe Nelson to a minor league deal. WEEI's Alex Speier says Nelson will make $735K if he makes the team.

Nelson pitched for Tampa Bay in 2009, posting a 4.02 ERA in 40.3 innings. The 35-year-old righty will have to earn a shot at the big club out of spring training, and his walk rate will have to improve over 2009 (27 in those 40.3 innings) to stick with Boston.

Mets May Not Have Shot At Washburn

By Howard Megdal | February 1, 2010 at 6:12pm CDT

Mets fans are already in near-revolt mode, so the tweet from Jon Morosi that the Mets likely don't "have a real shot" at Jarrod Washburn will only stoke the fires further.

It isn't necessarily clear that the Mets should want Washburn, of course. He was a disaster in Detroit, posting a 7.33 ERA in 43 innings with unimpressive peripheral stats (16 walks, 21 strikeouts). Now 35, he's projected by ZIPS for a 4.59 ERA in 2010, though if his stint with the Tigers meant his production has fallen off a cliff, he won't approach that.

For comparison, ZIPS has Jon Niese projected with a 4.57 ERA, with Nelson Figueroa checking in at 5.06. While the Mets could have used some additional pitching, it isn't clear that Washburn is enough of an upgrade to justify a contract.

Athletics Designate Eveland, Taveras, Petit For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2010 at 4:59pm CDT

4:59pm: Via Twitter, Lee adds that the A's designated infielder Gregorio Petit for assignment as well. The 25-year-old hit .244/.292/.336 in Triple A last year, playing second base, shortstop, and third base.

12:39pm: The A's designated lefty Dana Eveland for assignment, tweets MLB.com's Jane Lee. Newly-acquired Willy Taveras was designated too, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune adds that the A's deal for Gabe Gross is official, and they've claimed versatile minor leaguer Steve Tolleson off waivers from the Twins. Let's break down the A's busy morning…

Eveland, 26, is headed elsewhere unless he clears waivers. In 2009 he was terrible in the Majors and lousy at Triple A as well. He joined the A's in December of '07 as part of the huge Dan Haren swap with the D'Backs. Eveland did give the A's 29 starts of 4.34 ball in '08, despite a 1.53 K/BB ratio.
Taveras and Aaron Miles were just passing through, acquired temporarily to facilitate deals for Adam Rosales and Jake Fox.
Tolleson, 26, hit .266/.340/.380 between Double A and Triple A in the Twins organization in '09. He played both middle infield positions, left field, and a little bit at the outfield corners. Before the season, Baseball America suggested Tolleson's best possible outcome would be Ryan Freel's career. The loss should clear a roster spot for Jim Thome, notes MLB.com's Kelly Thesier.

Yorvit Torrealba Has Padres Offer

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2010 at 4:30pm CDT

Catcher Yorvit Torrealba "has a one-year offer from the Padres in hand," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Olney adds that Torrealba "would like to engage the Mets, but to this point the Mets have indicated they don't have any money available to make something happen." Previous reports had indicated the Mets were turning to Torrealba after missing out on Bengie Molina, despite Torrealba's grievance against them. With question marks at catcher and in the rotation, Mets fans have to hope the team isn't out of money.

That said, the free agent catching market is bleak: Torrealba, Rod Barajas, and Jose Molina are the most notable names.

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