Some links to check out while we wait to see if Jon Garland can help the Padres extend their lead in the NL West…
- Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that the Angels may take their time in trading for a first baseman, both to save money and to determine if they need to make a big pickup.
- Brewers' first-round pick Dylan Covey is looking for a $2MM signing bonus, which Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes is about $300K higher than MLB's slotted bonus price for a 14th overall selection.
- Haudricourt also reports that Milwaukee's first two picks from the 2009 Amateur Draft (26th overall right-hander Eric Arnett and 39th overall outfielder Kentrail Davis) have both been sent down a level. Arnett posted a 6.87 ERA in 12 starts at the low-A level and is moving down to rookie ball, while Davis goes from high-A to low-A.
- Royals manager Ned Yost tells MLB.com's Dick Kaegel that in spite of Alex Gordon's success at Triple-A, Gordon won't be called back up to the majors until Kansas City can find an everyday space for him.
- Five teams have an interest in outfielder Wilmer Romero in advance of the international signing period opening on July 2, tweets Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated.
- Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks the Pirates could spend around $10.5MM to sign their draft class since they "need, and want, to flood…their system with talent."
- The already pitching-rich Braves have "the most talented rotation in the minors" at Advanced-A Myrtle Beach, according to Fangraphs' Marc Hulet.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson sees Washington pursuing a pitcher and a hitter at the trade deadline, and answers a number of hot stove-related questions in a fan mailbag.
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times says that the Dodgers haven't made any progress towards acquiring Cliff Lee and are balking at the money left on Roy Oswalt's contract.
- Meanwhile, Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times says the Angels could have Paul Konerko today, if they wanted. He adds that if they do make a trade, they might be better off targeting a third baseman.
- A Mets' official indicated that the team won't discuss an extension with Rod Barajas until after the season, tweets Newsday's David Lennon.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe tweets that Ted Lilly was "begging" the Yankees to sign him before the 2007, but they went for Kei Igawa instead.
- Paul Hagen of The Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies shouldn't expect a trade deadline boost this year because of a depleted farm system beyond Domonic Brown and close to $140MM in salary commitments for 2011.
- Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle says it might not be until July that the Astros decide to "blow up the roster and start over."
- Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports looks at nine starting pitchers who will be on the market this summer, led by Lee.
As long as Mike Napoli is comfortable playing 1B, the Angels should focus on strengthening their unreliable bullpen and not worry about a temporary Morales replacement.
I couldn’t agree more. The Angels rotation is strong and is still only going to get stronger. Their offense is good and will only get better. They need Napoli’s bat in their lineup and without Kendry it’s the ideal spot.
They have two guys they need to promote to the bullpen from AAA. Depending on whether they help or not, bullpen help should be the Angels focus at the deadline. All that stuff about brining in a rental at 1B has already been shot dow by Scioscia himself and is only perpetuated by idiot fans of teams looking to dump vets and a bias East Coast media.
“The Angels rotation is strong and is still only going to get stronger. Their offense is good and will only get better” I believe that if you’re going to make a claim like this, then you should probably back it up with some evidence as to why to think it’s true.
Is it really an East Coast bias when the East Coast teams have shown to be better?
Kind of an interesting article by Passan, if for no other reason than to speculate just how overpaid Lee will get after this season as FA with no other reliable SP available and which of that list will go to the NYM and become the 2011 version of Derek Lowe/Oliver Perez.Mets need a couple starters now and have to get another starter, not just to fix rotational holes, but to counter the eminent Lee to the Bronx. Will it be taking on the massive commitment to Oswalt? Giving out a smaller contract to another walking wounded in Sheets? Guthrie might just be the next best of that bunch behind lee anyway over the LT and has done a fair job vs the power house AL east teams.
Guthrie would be a good pickup for the Mets, he’s under control for a couple more years so he’d be a little bit more expensive prospect-wise, but still not cost a fortune. I think he’d slot in nicely in the Mets rotation in the 3/4 spot.
Angels: There might be something to what @daze says, as the bullpen has often been a horror show this season, and Napoli at first would provide some oomph at the corner while allowing for tighter defense behind the plate.Mets: Although Barajas’ performance exceeds what many expected, it probably is safe to leave any possible extension talks for after the season. Besides, the team needs time to figure out where Thole’s at development-wise since he’s hardly rolling the way they had hoped.
If Bulger can come back healthy, Francisco Rodriguez continues what he’s doing and the Angels promote Michael Kohn, they will be fine. Too many ifs for my taste. You can bet that if the price is right, Reagins will deal for a good 7th/8th inning reliever.
I don’t understand how Passan could say that Haren is expensive. 25MM over two years for an ace in his prime sounds pretty alright to me…
Yeah I didn’t get that either, Haren is well worth his contract.
what will it take for the dodgers to get another starter?
A new owner, or a boatload of cash.
The two go hand in hand.
The two go hand in hand.
Right, all of baseball’s eyes are on Jon Garland. What else?
Gee the Dodgers balking at Oswalts price. The battling McCourts reported a tax free profit of $110 million in there divorce proceedings. They screwed the goverment out of taxes to boot. They have the money but they are not going to spend it. Most Likely One and done again this year.
So which team has stepped up to take on Oswalt’s salary, or given up the prospects it would take to get him? Oh, right, none.
This is just another storyline created by sportswriters who don’t have a clue about what’s actually going on.
So which team has stepped up to take on Oswalt’s salary, or given up the prospects it would take to get him? Oh, right, none.
This is just another storyline created by sportswriters who don’t have a clue about what’s actually going on.
I wonder what Alex Gordon’s trade value is?
KC has said they have no intentions on trading him.
KC has said they have no intentions on trading him.
Just about zero. Their words say they won’t trade him, their actions prove they don’t want him. Anyone who gives up anything of consequence for Gordon is stupid. I predict they keep him until he’s a minor league free agent. Meaning they don’t even get waiver wire money. It appears he’s not going to be great; it also appears the Royals don’t care if he can merely be good.
The only possible thing I see is a challenge trade for another disappointing player. Say an Andy Marte for an Alex Gordon. KC would be lucky to even get that, and should if it’s available to them.
Sorry I meant to hit reply rather than ‘Like.’
The only difference I see between those two are that one dominated in college and one dominated in the DR.
I would definitely take a flier on Gordon if they did put him up for sale. At the very least he can provide some depth at the corner for a team. It’s not like he is a total lost cause since he is racking it up in AAA.
Change of scenery could help him out and some confidence.
I agree the Sox and I think many other teams would take a flier on him. KC seems to be saying they don’t want him and you can’t have him. If there is a Royals fan out there that explain this situation to me, I’d love to hear it. I really don’t understand it.
I agree the Sox and I think many other teams would take a flier on him. KC seems to be saying they don’t want him and you can’t have him. If there is a Royals fan out there that explain this situation to me, I’d love to hear it. I really don’t understand it.
Just about zero. Their words say they won’t trade him, their actions prove they don’t want him. Anyone who gives up anything of consequence for Gordon is stupid. I predict they keep him until he’s a minor league free agent. Meaning they don’t even get waiver wire money. It appears he’s not going to be great; it also appears the Royals don’t care if he can merely be good.
The only possible thing I see is a challenge trade for another disappointing player. Say an Andy Marte for an Alex Gordon. KC would be lucky to even get that, and should if it’s available to them.
I wonder what Alex Gordon’s trade value is?
Alex Gordon for Brandon Wood? Who hangs up first?
Alex Gordon for Brandon Wood? Who hangs up first?
Daytoon Moore. Then again, you never know. GMDM traded for Yuniesky Betancourt.
Daytoon Moore. Then again, you never know. GMDM traded for Yuniesky Betancourt.
I don’t know what the problem would be with breaking these Odds & Ends posts up into parts rather than continuously adding to them. They are obnoxious walls of text by the end of the day.
I don’t know what the problem would be with breaking these Odds & Ends posts up into parts rather than continuously adding to them. They are obnoxious walls of text by the end of the day.
And I don’t like it when the title of the posts change either.
I don’t think 10.5M seems like a lot for the Pirates draft. That should cover their first two picks, I really want both of them signed. It’s hard to have a ton of leverage when you are the second pick in the draft though and you’re not really going to get more money the next season, but he will still get good enough money. The team spends nothing on free agents so they need to exploit the hell out of the draft for now so they can get some decent talent into the system.
I’ll never forgive the Yanks for slipping up on Lilly twice.
Really?? Ted Lilly??
I’ll never forgive the Yanks for slipping up on Lilly twice.
Lilly didnt beg the Yankees, I remember specifically that he had it narrowed down to the Cubs and Yankees, and he chose the Cubs.
Ha-ha. Ted Lilly has been an above average pitcher for many years. He was one of the few that actually ended up being worth the contract. Lets see Igawa or Lilly? The Yankees usually don’t make those kinds of mistakes.
Is this really that big of a mystery? Take a look at his numbers with AL East clubs. Hell, look at his numbers before joining the Cubs. That is not above average — it is average at best. He is an above average pitcher in the NL central for sure. The Yankees took a chance on Igawa and failed miserably. Yes, I’d rather have Lilly than Igawa, but hindsight is 20-20.
link to baseball-reference.com
The last 3 years in Toronto he was walking 4 per 9 innings, since then he has cut it down dramatically to under 3 every year for the cubs. There is more going on here than just a easier pitching league. He has improved himself as a pitcher and been much healthier.
Well it is much easier to pitch to a pitcher than a DH. That would explain his lower walk rates. I’d imagine that AL teams had a much higher OBP than NL teams.
His FIP numbers pretty much match his AL numbers. (With the only exception in 2009) His win values jumped after moving to the NL and has been consistently over 2.7 WAR since then. Yet, his fastball and other pitches have seen decreases in speed.
Although, I still would have gone with Lilly than some no named pitcher. (Everyone was after Dice-K but no one wanted Igawa. I guess there was a reason for that)
Good points strikethree. Look what Kennedy is doing in Arizona right now, and compare that to his limited time in NY. Lilly would have been a below-average pitcher in the AL Beast.
And also, what people don’t realize is that Lilly would have cost the Yankees considerably more than Igawa has. Lilly signs a 4-year, $40 million deal with the Yankees, and the Yankees need to pay an extra $16 million due to luxury tax. With Igawa’s $4 million a year deal (minus posting fee which doesn’t get added onto payroll), the Yankees pay only $8M extra, and also have $6 million more in payroll space for other players. In fact, I have a hard time believing they would have signed Teixeira had Lilly been on their payroll instead of Igawa, which would have propelled the Red Sox ahead of the Yankees last year and far into the future.
Frankly, I’ll take the current situation over them signing Lilly any day. Same kind of argument Sox fans make when they defend the Beckett trade, even though he’s fulfilling his destiny as merely an above-average, injury-riddled pitcher, and the Sox play on without a generational talent at shortstop (also means no Lugo, Lowrie/Gonzalez disaster, etc), and imagine the players they could have also added had they not spent money on that, etc…yet it’s all worth it because they won it all in 2007.
Anyway, not saying Igawa was the right move, just that it wasn’t some horrible catastrophe people are making it out to be. Lilly probably would have been bumped from the rotation last year, and have become a very, very expensive long man.
I’d have preferred it if the Yankees signed neither of them, but let’s not pretend this was some colossal, unforgivable mistake.
Good points strikethree. Look what Kennedy is doing in Arizona right now, and compare that to his limited time in NY. Lilly would have been a below-average pitcher in the AL Beast.
And also, what people don’t realize is that Lilly would have cost the Yankees considerably more than Igawa has. Lilly signs a 4-year, $40 million deal with the Yankees, and the Yankees need to pay an extra $16 million due to luxury tax. With Igawa’s $4 million a year deal (minus posting fee which doesn’t get added onto payroll), the Yankees pay only $8M extra, and also have $6 million more in payroll space for other players. In fact, I have a hard time believing they would have signed Teixeira had Lilly been on their payroll instead of Igawa, which would have propelled the Red Sox ahead of the Yankees last year and far into the future.
Frankly, I’ll take the current situation over them signing Lilly any day. Same kind of argument Sox fans make when they defend the Beckett trade, even though he’s fulfilling his destiny as merely an above-average, injury-riddled pitcher, and the Sox play on without a generational talent at shortstop (also means no Lugo, Lowrie/Gonzalez disaster, etc), and imagine the players they could have also added had they not spent money on that, etc…yet it’s all worth it because they won it all in 2007.
Anyway, not saying Igawa was the right move, just that it wasn’t some horrible catastrophe people are making it out to be. Lilly probably would have been bumped from the rotation last year, and have become a very, very expensive long man.
I’d have preferred it if the Yankees signed neither of them, but let’s not pretend this was some colossal, unforgivable mistake.
Beckett is more than an “above-average” pitcher, I’d look it up right now but I know someone else will do it and I’ve got to get back to work, but I promise Beckett is very talented and his numbers have been good (I think he’s really high on the list of ERA+ over the last 3 seasons)