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Archives for August 2010

Elias Rankings Update

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After the season the Elias Sports Bureau will take all players over the 2009-10 period, divide them into five groups for each league, and rank them based on various statistics.  Then each player will be labeled a Type A, B, or none.  Those designations and the possible accompanying arbitration offers determine draft pick compensation (click here for a refresher).

Eddie Bajek has reverse-engineered the Elias rankings, and he's providing that information exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors.  Here's a look at how the players rank for the period beginning with the 2009 season running through July 31st, 2010.  The Google spreadsheet below has separate tabs for each position group.  The players have two more months to change these rankings.  You can also go directly to the Google spreadsheet here.  Our last set of Elias projections is here, in case you want to see what changed.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Rangers, Maya, Lowell

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Sunday night linkage..

Pirates Notes: Bullpen, Payroll, Doumit

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Pirates GM Neal Huntington talked about the state of the club following the Trade Deadline on his radio show this afternoon.  MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch has the goods..

  • In the past week the Pirates have subtracted four veteran relievers, most notably trading Octavio Dotel to the Dodgers and Javier Lopez to the Giants.  In addition to counting on their starters to go deeper into games, Huntington acknowledged that the club may need some outside help:

"We are a little bit concerned that we're going to throw some young, inexperienced pitchers into situations they're not ready to handle. We may explore some options outside the organization to bring in a guy or two who has some experience back there. Or we might just go with the guys that we have to see if they can show us if they can be a part of this team this year and beyond," said Huntington.

  • The GM said that none of the deals that the Pirates made were financially driven and pointed out that Pittsburgh actually sent some cash to the Dodgers in the Dotel deal.  On the whole, the Pirates have loosened their belt somewhat and taken on payroll this year.
  • Upon their acquisition of catcher Chris Snyder, some wondered what the future might hold for Ryan Doumit.  Doumit would have a better chance of factoring into the Bucs' future plans if he could switch positions, but Huntington said that the club hasn't gotten a chance to evaluate his glove in one of the corner outfield spots.  It's possible that Huntington meant to say that he personally hasn't gotten to evaluate Doumit's defense in the outfield as the 29-year-old started 33 games in right field for Pittsburgh in 2007.  Huntington was named the team's GM in September of that year.

Discussion: Manny Ramirez

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After being unable to land Nationals slugger Adam Dunn, the White Sox turned their attention to another target in the hours leading up to the Trade Deadline: Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez.  The conversation reportedly didn't last long as Dodgers GM Ned Colletti essentially told White Sox GM Kenny Williams, "Thanks, but no thanks."  Reportedly, the Rays made an inquiry of their own as well.

As they sit a surmountable seven games back in the NL West, the Dodgers made moves at the deadline to improve themselves in the short-term.  Octavio Dotel and Ted Lilly were brought aboard and younger players with upside and team-friendly contracts like Blake DeWitt, James McDonald, and prospect Andrew Lambo were shipped out.  However, the club's goals can change very quickly if they are unable to make up ground or even tread water in the coming weeks.

The enigmatic superstar has spent a good deal of time on the disabled list this season but has still managed to put forward a .317/.409/.516 slash line and eight homers in 61 games.  For a team still in the playoff hunt, the 38-year-old could be very attractive, even for the roughly $7MM he is owed for the rest of the year.  If the Dodgers can't keep their playoff dreams alive, one has to imagine that Ramirez will be an August trade target.  The White Sox, Rays, and other contenders will certainly be keeping an eye on the club.

Odds & Ends: Ankiel, Ohman, Tigers, Mets, Rangers

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Links for Sunday, as a handful of players suit up for new teams….

Hart Wants Contract Extension

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Corey Hart is going public with his desire for a contract extension in Milwaukee, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.  Hart, who has been with the Brewers for his entire major league career, remained with the club after being linked to the Giants in the weeks leading up to the deadline.

Hart will be under club control through 2011, but says that he wants to stay with the club for longer:

"They know that," the two-time All-Star said. "I think, obviously, there are different variables. They have to figure out what to do with Prince [Fielder] and whether I'm part of what their long-term [plan] is."

As McCalvy points out, the Brewers haven't had an easy time negotiating with Hart's agent Jeff Berry in the past.  Their most recent duel resulted in the two sides going to arbitration over Hart's contract following the 2009 season.  Berry's client won the hearing, the Brewers' first since 1998.

After flirting with dealing Hart at the deadline, one has to wonder if Milwaukee will look to deal him in the offseason rather than lock him up long-term.

Astros Agree To Extension With Brett Myers

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SUNDAY, 12:51pm: The Astros and Myers have agreed to an extension that is guaranteed through 2012, per a team release. Houston will hold a club option for 2013 that could vest based on Myers' performance in 2012. The extension guarantees the right-hander at least $21MM, and could earn him up to $29.5MM, including the option and performance incentives.

SATURDAY, 9:06pm: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweets that Myers' new deal is expected to cover the 2011 and 2012 seasons with an option for 2013.

3:06pm: The Astros are close to a multiyear deal with Brett Myers, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  It's an odd time for an extension, but we heard all along the Astros preferred to retain Myers rather than trade him.

Myers, 29, signed a one year deal worth $5.1MM guaranteed this offseason with a $8MM mutual option for 2011 ($2MM buyout). The former Phillie has been better than I think even the Astros hoped he would be, pitching to a 3.10 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.60 BB/9 in 21 starts. He's the only pitcher in the game to make that many starts to complete at least six innings each time out. 

Nationals Sign Yunesky Maya

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AUGUST 1st: The Nationals have confirmed the signing, via a team press release. Maya's major league contract is for four years, though the salary is still unconfirmed. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post hears the deal is worth $6MM, while El Nuevo Herald's Jorge Ebro tweets a figure of $8MM, so it's safe to say that Maya will earn somewhere in that range.

JULY 20th: The Nationals reached a preliminary agreement with Cuban right-hander Yunesky Maya for an undisclosed amount, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (Spanish link). Rojas' source says Maya will undergo a physical next week in Washington. The 28-year-old also drew interest from the Red Sox, Indians, Phillies, Blue Jays, Mets, Yankees and others.

Maya had been eligible to sign with big league teams for the last month and he was unblocked two months ago. He has considerable experience as a starter in Cuba.  Nationals GM Mike Rizzo did not confirm or deny the signing, but he did rave about the pitcher to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.

Trade Deadline Reactions

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While we wait for August's rumor mill to pick up, the focus remains on the trades made over the last few days. Let's take a look at how a few writers are evaluating those deals….

  • USA Today's Bob Nightengale and the New York Post's Joel Sherman list their winners and losers, agreeing that the Rangers and Padres did very well, while the Mets and Red Sox needed to do more.
  • In Jeff Passan's assessment of July's deals for Yahoo! Sports, the Mets get a surprising thumbs-up.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examines how the trades affect the playoff races. The Phillies and Cardinals are among his predicted division winners, after their respective deals for Roy Oswalt and Jake Westbrook.
  • The Cardinals paid too high a price for Westbrook, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says that although the Dodgers' and Angels' moves were nice, they won't be enough to propel either team into the playoffs.
  • A pair of New York Daily News writers disagree about the merit of the Yankees' weekend acquisitions. According to Mike Lupica, all the additions make the Yanks seem slightly desperate, but John Harper sees nothing wrong with making baseball's best team better. I have to side with Harper here – Brian Cashman's goal is to field a championship team, not to worry about whether a division rival's inactivity makes his club look insecure.
  • The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice and Jerome Solomon have conflicting views on the post-deadline Astros. Solomon can't think of much to be happy about, while Justice writes that a younger, more energetic roster should be fun.

Cafardo On Lee, Edmonds, Dunn, Kelly

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In this week's installment of his Baseball Notes column, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo breaks down the winners and losers of the trade deadline. His assessment includes a few surprises, such as praising the inactive Blue Jays for "not settling for pennies on the dollar." Here are the rest of the highlights from Cafardo's piece:

  • This year's deadline could make teams even less willing to include no-trade clauses in future contracts. Players like Derrek Lee and Roy Oswalt took advantage of their clauses, making it difficult, or in Lee's case impossible, for their respective clubs to move them.
  • Having said that, Cliff Lee "has made it clear" he wants a no-trade clause in his next deal, having played for four different clubs in the past two seasons. As the best pitcher available this winter, he should be in a position to make that demand.
  • The Brewers would like to keep Jim Edmonds around past this season if he's healthy and willing to return. It appears, however, that he's leaning toward retirement.
  • Had David Ortiz not turned his season around earlier this year, the Red Sox would have been one of the teams in on Adam Dunn before the deadline.
  • With the Red Sox' starting rotation currently full, a few teams thought Boston may part with Casey Kelly. According to Cafardo, the Sox may try to move Daisuke Matsuzaka when they feel Kelly is major league ready.

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