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Rosenthal On Marlins, Oswalt, Rangers

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Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has for us in his latest Full Count video..

  • If the Marlins do not start playing more consistently, manager Fredi Gonzalez will be on the hot seat.  Florida is one win below .500, which probably does not strike most as a failure considering their modest $47.4MM.  However, as Rosenthal put it, owner Jeffrey Loria is not exactly "Mr. Patient".  At the start of Spring Training, Loria said that the team had all the ammunition needed to make the postseason.
  • Roy Oswalt could be the best starter available at the deadline, depending on three factors.  The team must be willing to move him, the 32-year-old must be willing to waive his no-trade clause, and a team must be willing to take on the rest of his contract.  Oswalt will only approve deals to certain clubs and two of them, the Braves and Cardinals, are already flush with starting pitching.  Money will be a major factor, as he is set to earn $15MM this season and $16MM in both 2011 and 2012.  The final year of the deal holds a $2MM buyout.
  • Rangers pitchers Matt Harrison and Rich Harden are effectively on notice.  Tommy Hunter is set to begin a rehabilitation assignment and Derek Holland has been stellar thus far in Triple-A.  There are even more arms waiting in the farm system, including Tanner Scheppers, the 44th overall selection in the 2009 draft.

Diamondbacks Acquire Carlos Rosa

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The Diamondbacks have acquired righthander Carlos Rosa from the Royals in exchange for shortstop Rey Navarro, tweets David Holtzman, the director of media relations for the Royals.

Rosa, 25, posted a 4.56 ERA, 10.1 K/9, and 4.1 BB/9 in 71 Triple A innings last year.  Early in 2010, his peripherals have moved in the wrong direction.  Baseball America notes that Rosa was originally part of the Mike Jacobs trade in October of '08, but elbow concerns prompted the Royals to send Leo Nunez to Florida instead.  BA writes that Rosa, who was converted to relief last year, had the best fastball in the Royals' farm system.  However, his secondary pitches need work.

Navarro, 20, was promoted to High-A Visalia for the 2010 season.  In 2009, the switch-hitter hit .262/.308/.339 for Single-A South Bend.  BA sees him as a plus defender capable of playing a variety of positions.

Discussion: Raul Ibanez

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Raul Ibanez is in the second season of a three-year, $31.5MM deal with the Phillies, and so far 2010 isn't treating him as well as the first half of 2009 did. Last season, Ibanez got off to a torrid start, hitting 340/.399/.716 with 19 homers in his first 50 games. This year, the 37-year-old has yet to find his stroke, posting a slash line of just .221/.341/.338.

Ibanez is a notoriously streaky hitter, and it's possible another hot stretch like last year's is right around the corner. It's only May 1st and there are plenty of reasons to believe he'll right the ship, such as his .341 OBP, which is right in line with his career rate (.346) and his 2009 rate (.347). If Ibanez's struggles continue, however, it's a cause of concern for the two-time defending National League champs. In addition to this year's slow start, the outfielder finished 2009 by hitting 228/.313/.446 after those aforementioned first 50 games. Ibanez will turn 38 this month, and one has to wonder if his age is starting to catch up to him.

As a piece on ESPN.com's MLB Rumors page notes, Ibanez's leash will be long. The Phillies owe him $11.5MM in each of the next two seasons, and won't want to pay him that money to sit on the bench. Plus, their alternatives aren't overly appealing — in limited playing time, Ben Francisco has also struggled this year, and prospect Domonic Brown is probably not quite major league ready.

So what are the Phillies' options if Ibanez's numbers don't improve? Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer suggested that the club's best bet of retaining Jayson Werth beyond this year involved moving Ibanez to help clear salary space, but in addition to the $23MM he's owed, Ibanez's no-trade protection is problematic. Can you see the Phillies attempting to make any roster moves, or will this end up being a non-issue for the team?

Has Justin Speier Retired?

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The Rockies are operating under the assumption that reliever Justin Speier has retired, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. 

Colorado signed the 36-year-old to a minor league deal in January and cut him loose on April 3rd.  Upon being released, Speier said that he would retire if he could not land a major league gig even though the Rockies had offered him a spot in Triple-A.  Because he never reported to Colorado Springs, the organization assumes that he is done with baseball.

According to Baseball Reference, Speier has earned more than $20MM for his career, not including the $5.25MM he is owed by the Angels this season.  In twelve big league seasons, the righthander has posted a 4.11 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.

Boston Acquires Niuman Romero

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The Red Sox have acquired infielder Niuman Romero from the Indians for cash considerations, tweets Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.  The 25-year-old has been in Cleveland's farm system since 2005.

Romero made his major league debut in September of last season, appearing in 10 games for the Tribe.  He saw his first promotions to Double-A and Triple-A in 2009, where he was less than stellar offensively.  The native of Venezuela hit .240/.306/.292 in his stops in Akron and Columbus.

The acquisition comes days after the BoSox DFA'd Kevin Frandsen, who was claimed by the Angels.

Are Mets Looking To Move Murphy?

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The Mets want Daniel Murphy to learn to play multiple positions in part because it would increase his trade value, writes Brian Costa of the Star-Ledger.  A person familiar with the team's thinking told Costa that they will send the first baseman to Triple-A when he returns from a right knee sprain.  The demotion will give him an opportunity to learn other positions and take more at-bats than he would in the majors.

The 24-year-old Murphy has been unseated at first base by 23-year-old Ike Davis.  If Murphy can acclimate himself to left field and second base, he would become a more valuable asset whether he stays or goes elsewhere.

In his 204 games on the varsity squad, Murphy has hit .275/.331/.437.  His career UZR/150 at his preferred position is 8.6, while he posted a -9.0 in left field.  However, sample size should be taken into account as he played just 59 total games in left.

Cliff Lee Likely Headed To Free Agency

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Cliff Lee made his 2010 season debut last night, but at this point his agent appears to be looking ahead to the offseason. ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to Lee's agent Darek Braunecker, who indicated that his client is likely going to test the free agent waters after the season.

"We're five months away from free agency," said Braunecker, "so I think that's the most likely scenario at this point."

"We've not really had any significant discussions with Seattle. I wouldn't anticipate a deal [with the Mariners]."

With Josh Beckett signing an extension with the Red Sox, Lee is inarguably the top starter available on the free agent market next year. Back in March we heard that the lefty was likely to wait until after the season to discuss any kind of long-term deal with Seattle, so this latest news isn't really anything new. 

If he repeats his 2008 and 2009 effort this season (2.89 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 1.5 BB/9), Lee would have a good chance of eclipsing the five year, $82.5MM contracts signed by A.J. Burnett and John Lackey in the last two offseasons, but it's unlikely he'll match CC Sabathia's seven year, $161MM pact.

Rockies Designate Rincon For Assignment

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12:24pm: Renck tweets that Rincon has in fact been designated for assignment.

12:11pm: The Rockies are calling up righthander Esmil Rogers to start today's game against the Giants, and it appears that reliever Juan Rincon may lose his 40-man roster spot according to The Denver Post's Troy Renck (via Twitter). Rincon's name was not included on the pre-game lineup card.

The 31-year-old Rincon has appeared in just one game for the Rockies this year, giving up one run in one inning of work. Colorado re-signed him to a minor league contract over the winter.

Helping The Mariners Find Some Offense

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It's no secret that the Mariners came into the season with a plan for extreme run prevention through pitching and top shelf defense, but through 23 games they've scored the third fewest runs in the American League (82) thanks to a paltry .312 team OBP. The problem was as obvious as can be last night, when the Mariners twice had the bases loaded with less than two outs in extra innings, but scored a total of zero runs.

Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider took a look at the team's offensive plight, noting that the farm system offers a little help and that the arrival of Jack Hannahan and possibly Ramon Vazquez will provide just a marginal improvement for the bench. Seattle's designated hitters are hitting just .186/.263/.198, so Churchill offers up some trade suggests to help that situation. Note that the trade talk is based on his speculation only.

The names are not strangers to this space, including Josh Willingham, Adam Dunn, Luke Scott, and Jorge Cantu. All four would represent a demonstrative offensive upgrade, and by slotting them in at DH the team would maintain their run prevention strategy. Seattle has good but not great trade chips, but they might have the ability to absorb some salary, the best trade chip of all.

The Mariners are just half a game back in the league's most winnable division after the season's first month, so it's hardly time to panic. Though the sooner they can improve the DH position, the better.

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