Archives for March 2010

Brian Wilson Agrees To Extension With Giants

By Luke Adams 2 | March 26, 2010 at 10:06am CDT

The San Francisco Giants agreed to sign closer Brian Wilson to a $15MM deal that buys out two arbitration years. Wilson will earn $6.5MM in 2011 and $8.5MM in 2012 under his new extension. The deal does not affect the one-year $4.4MM Wilson and the Giants agreed to for 2010.

CSNBayArea.com first reported the agreement and Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News added the contract details.

Wilson goes to arbitration four times as a Super Two player, so he'll be under team control for one season after the extension expires and projects to hit free agency after 2013. The deal gives the Giants cost-certainty, but they're not saving themselves money; no free agent reliever obtained a guarantee of more than $15MM this offseason.

Red Sox Release Brian Shouse

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 26, 2010 at 8:36am CDT

The Red Sox released Brian Shouse, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Back in January, the club signed Shouse to a minor league deal that would have paid him $800K had he made the major league roster.

The 41-year-old lefty posted a 4.50 ERA in 28.0 innings for the Rays last year, with 5.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. For what it's worth, Shouse posted a 0.96 ERA in ten outings this spring. Lefty reliever J.C. Romero won't likely be ready for Opening Day and the Phillies are looking for pitching, so it wouldn't be a surprise if they have some interest in Shouse.

Phillies Seek Rotation Depth

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 26, 2010 at 8:28am CDT

The Phillies are looking to add starting pitching, but aren't eager to guarantee anyone roster spot, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. Ideally, the Phillies would find an out-of-options pitcher or someone who has an out clause in his contract.

"If a player like that comes available, we'll have our eyes and ears open on it,'' Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

Amaro says pitching depth is a concern for the Phillies, so he's looking to find some. Boof Bonser and Dana Eveland are out-of-options arms the Phillies could consider. They haven't been linked to the recently-released Chad Gaudin so far.

The Phillies will also look for bullpen depth, writes Murphy. The Brewers recently released Scott Schoeneweis, though Amaro would probably not guarantee the left-hander a job.

Belliard Makes Weight; Contract Guaranteed

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 26, 2010 at 8:15am CDT

Ronnie Belliard weighed in at 208 pounds, so his contract with the Dodgers is now guaranteed, writes Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. Belliard reported to camp weighing 211 pounds, but his $825K contract only became guaranteed once he weighed less than 210 pounds.

The 34-year-old is fighting for playing time in the Dodgers infield. Last year, he played league average defense around the infield for the Nationals and Dodgers, hitting .277/.325/.451 in 287 plate appearances. Belliard is competing for the starting second baseman's job and spending time at the corner infield positions.

Odds & Ends: Dye, Arguelles, Royals, Astros

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2010 at 9:49pm CDT

Upset over seeing your Syracuse-topped bracket get ruined tonight? Cheer up by reading these news items!

MLB.com's Bill Ladson thinks the Nationals will make a move to bolster their current right-field platoon. He thinks Jermaine Dye would help the team, though Washington denied any interest in the veteran last week.
Noel Arguelles hasn't shown much in camp with Kansas City, but ESPN's Keith Law says it's part of the Royals' strategy to take it easy on the 20-year-old.
Rany Jazayerli of the Rany On The Royals blog looks at how K.C. has only recently gotten back into the habit of drafting local prospects. He also lists some of the local talent that the Royals didn't draft between 1988 and 2003, such as (sorry to mention it again, Royals fans) Albert Pujols.
The Astros are putting a greater emphasis on foreign scouting, writes The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice.
Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com lists 10 notable scouts who could be future general managers.
The Cubs could wait until the trade deadline before getting their desired set-up man, says FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi.

NL West Notes: Bowker, Giants, D’Backs

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2010 at 8:47pm CDT

Here's some news items from what might be baseball's most competitive division next season….

ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says that despite John Bowker's big spring, he's not likely to get regular playing time in the majors unless there's an injury in San Francisco or unless "the Giants trade him to an American League team looking for a cheap DH."
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Giants infielder Emmanuel Burriss will be out until June due to foot surgery, leaving the team in need of a utility infielder. This tracks with the information reported yesterday about the Giants looking for such a player in exchange for Fred Lewis. If a deal isn't out there, San Fran might be best served to just hang onto Kevin Frandsen. He's no whiz with the glove (Fangraphs lists him with a career UZR/150 of -13.5 at shortstop, albeit over just 198 innings), but this might not be a problem in the short-term if the Giants just need him as a reserve SS until Freddy Sanchez is healthy and Juan Uribe can move into the reserve middle-infield role.
Speaking of middle infielders, the Diamondbacks have a surplus of them and Augie Ojeda looks to be at the top of the trade list. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports that while the Snakes would like to make a move for pitching, their plans are complicated since they don't know how much time Brandon Webb will need to get healthy.
Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com says that Ivan DeJesus has gone from being seen as a potential future starting shortstop to "perhaps trade bait" for the Dodgers.
Ronald Belisario still hasn't arrived to spring training due to visa issues, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The fact that Belisario is out of options further complicates matters,
Padres RHP Tim Stauffer is also out of options, but MLB.com's Corey Brock predicts that San Diego will be able to deal him to "a pitching-starved team" rather than putting him on waivers.

Pujols Extension Talks Tabled Until Winter

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2010 at 8:00pm CDT

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting (via Twitter) that discussions between Albert Pujols and the Cardinals about a contract extension have "evaporated" for the time being. Further negotiation will have to wait until after the 2010 season.

Nothing weighs heavier on the minds of Cards fans than the idea that the team might not be able to lock up their franchise player beyond his current deal, but this latest news shouldn't be too much of a cause for concern. Pujols has already stated that he didn't want negotiations to reach into the season, lest they become a distraction. The slugger is under team control through 2011 (the Cardinals will obviously pick up Pujols' $16MM option for 2011) so there is still plenty of time for the two sides to reach an agreement.

Fangraphs On Indians, Dodgers, Darvish

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2010 at 6:48pm CDT

The gang over at Fangraphs continued their rankings of each team's organizational structure, and also provided an update on arguably the most intriguing prospect in Japan…

The Indians are 13th in Fangraphs' rankings. Dave Cameron says "despite the backlash against the Indians front office for the lack of results, this is still one of the best run organizations in the game." Cameron's prediction of big things in the future for the Tribe is backed up by Bryan Smith 's rundown of Cleveland's minor league system, focusing on GM Mark Shapiro's recent shrewd deals for prospects.
While the Dodgers are just a rung below in the #14 spot, Cameron is not impressed with the franchise thanks to the ongoing divorce and ownership dispute between Frank and Jamie McCourt. Cameron describes the McCourts "as people you don’t want owning your team." Marc Hulet's look at L.A.'s future prospects is similarly downbeat, though Hulet notes that many of the Dodgers' most recent blue-chip prospects are currently delivering at the major league level.
Patrick Newman breaks down the incredible numbers of Yu Darvish and calls him the "real deal," noting that Darvish has had three seasons better than Daisuke Matsuzaka's best efforts in NPB. While Darvish may be capable of pitching in the majors, however, Newman says that "Darvish has been outspoken about not wanting to make the leap to MLB." Newman mentions rumors that the half-Iranian Darvish may not want to play in the United States due to a possible backlash over his ethnicity, though Newman has never seen Darvish ever specifically comment on this issue.

Rangers Notes: Francisco, Wilson, Feldman, Mendoza

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2010 at 5:40pm CDT

Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News discussed a number of Rangers topics in a webchat this afternoon…

Grant predicts Texas will let Frank Francisco and C.J. Wilson leave when they reach free agency after the 2010 and 2011 seasons, respectively.
If Scott Feldman (who has two more arbitration years left) pitches well this season, Grant thinks the Rangers will try to negotiate a long-term deal with the starter.
The out-of-options Luis Mendoza wouldn't be attractive trade bait to other teams, Grant says, though "a bad team might claim him on waivers. If so, the Rangers will be happy to pay his taxi fare to another camp. He's done nothing but go backwards."
In regards to Brandon McCarthy, Grant thinks the right-hander will probably end up in the minors "unless somebody wants to make a deal based on projecting continued improvement with [his] sinker." Grant noted that a Nationals scout attended McCarthy's spring start on Wednesday.
Grant doesn't think the Rangers will have any interest in the newly-released Chad Gaudin since they have plenty of starting options already.

Odds & Ends: Kim, Dukes, Adrian

By Tim Dierkes | March 25, 2010 at 4:00pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

The Giants' Byung-Hyun Kim experiment is over, as the pitcher asked the Giants for his release according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy.
Multiple teams are interested in free agent outfielder Elijah Dukes, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Murray Chass chatted with agent Ron Shapiro about the Joe Mauer deal. Speaking of Mauer, 620 WTMJ's Dan O'Donnell spoke to MLBTR's Mike Axisa about how the catcher's deal might impact Prince Fielder.
The Marlins' interest in Mike Lowell is "barely above zero," learned MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Lowell told Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald today that he's not sure if a move back to the NL would work.
The Diamondbacks don't expect to sign Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune spoke to Padres CEO Jeff Moorad, who wouldn't be surprised to see Adrian Gonzalez play two more seasons for his team.
In reference to Mets rookie Jenrry Mejia, ESPN's Keith Law notes that "promoting prospects who aren't ready is a hallmark of GMs in fear for their jobs."
Tracy Ringolsby is now on Twitter, give him a follow.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post examines the Mets' reconfiguration of Hisanori Takahashi's contract.
I'll be participating in an NFBC fantasy league Sunday evening. They've got all kinds of events and prizes, check it out.

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