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Archives for November 2010

Odds & Ends: Rasmus, Gilbert, Nishioka, Hoffman

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MLBTR wishes all of its American readers a very happy Thanksgiving.  For those readers not from the USA…uh, happy Thursday!  Onto some news items:

  • "Three contending clubs" have a "persisting interest" in Colby Rasmus, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Strauss noted in a follow-up tweet that these are teams with a "new interest," so presumably that eliminates past suitors like the Braves, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and White Sox.  The Rasmus rumor mill seemed to have petered out, with the most recent report stating that there was a 99% chance that Rasmus would still be in St. Louis next season.
  • Dennis Gilbert will not try to buy the Houston Astros, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.  Gilbert led a group bidding for the Rangers earlier this year and has been rumored to be a potential future ownership candidate for the Dodgers.
  • The Twins are "very much in on" Tsuyoshi Nishioka, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman.  We heard last week that Minnesota had an interest in the Japanese infielder.
  • When Kevin Towers was general manager of the Padres, he planned to eventually bring Trevor Hoffman back to San Diego so the future Hall-of-Fame closer could retire as a Padre, tweets Fanhouse.com's Tom Krasovic.  Though Towers has moved on to Arizona, Krasovic says there's a chance Hoffman could still return to San Diego now that Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta are no longer with the organization.
  • Bill James talks to CBSSports.com's Evan Brunell about a variety of topics, including the new Mets front office, the Justin Upton trade rumors and what the Royals should do with Zack Greinke.
  • Joe Pawlikowski of the River Ave Blues blog wishes the Derek Jeter negotiations moved as smoothly as Mike Mussina's contract talks with the Yankees after the 2006 season.

Orioles Want A One-Year Deal With Koji Uehara

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The Orioles are looking to re-sign reliever Koji Uehara to a one-year, incentive-laden contract, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.  Andy MacPhail "very much wants Uehara back on the [2011] Orioles, probably even to serve as the team’s closer," but Zrebiec writes that the club didn't offer arbitration to the Type B free agent due to concerns about Uehara's health. 

The 35-year-old has made four trips to the DL during his two years in Baltimore, but is coming off a season in which he posted a 2.86 ERA and a whopping 11.00 K/BB ratio in 43 relief appearances.  Those numbers would've earned Uehara a salary of roughly $6-$7MM in 2011 (up from $5MM in 2010) had he accepted the team's arbitration offer.

Zrebiec thinks that despite it all, "there is also a sense that Uehara’s first choice is return to the club," citing the fact that Uehara enjoys Baltimore and his son is enrolled in school in the city.  It's a calculated risk on the Orioles' part:

"Had they felt Uehara would get a multi-year deal elsewhere, I assume offering him arbitration would have been a slam dunk," Zrebiec says.  "But MacPhail has certainly put added pressure on himself to resign Uehara. If he can’t, the Orioles will not only be without their closer, but they won’t get a draft pick either.'

None of the five MLBTR writers polled thought Uehara would re-sign with the Orioles, though it's interesting to note that all five of us saw Uehara going to teams (the Mets, Red Sox, Tigers and Twins) where he would be a set-up man or an emergency closer, not the main ninth inning option.  Zrebiec notes that Uehara "loves the responsibility of closing," so he could choose to stay in Baltimore simply because the Orioles would install him as the closer on Opening Day.  Closer-needy teams like the Rays or Diamondbacks could also be contenders to sign Uehara if he prioritizes being a stopper and wants more than just one guaranteed year.

Reaction To The Victor Martinez Signing

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Victor Martinez's four-year, $50MM contract with the Tigers was finalized today.  Now that the offseason's first major free agent has left the market, there is no shortage of commentary about how this move impacts Martinez's former club in Boston.  A sampling…

  • "The Tigers are paying Martinez with the expectation that he’ll be able to replicate the career of [Jorge] Posada," writes The Providence Journal's Brian MacPherson, while the Red Sox saw Martinez as another Mike Lieberthal.
  • CSNNE.com's Sean McAdam points out that if Boston had to lose Martinez, Detroit was the best possible team to lose him to since the Tigers have the highest unprotected pick (19th overall) in the 2011 amateur draft.  WEEI.com's Alex Speier, however, points out that Boston's compensatory pick will fall into the second round if the Tigers sign a higher-ranked free agent than Martinez — namely, Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth.
  • In a separate story from Speier, multiple Red Sox sources say they doubt Martinez will remain a viable catcher for more than two seasons. As Speier points out, handing lots of responsibility to Jarrod Saltalamacchia is risky, but signing Martinez long-term would have been risky, too.  Speier says "the decision bore striking parallels" to when Johnny Damon signed with New York after the 2005 season.
  • Writing for WEEI.com, former Boston utilityman Lou Merloni thinks the Red Sox made a mistake by not re-signing Martinez.
  • Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe thinks Theo Epstein may be putting too much emphasis on stockpiling draft picks.

MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post

Renck On De La Rosa, Floyd, Nationals

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Troy Renck of the Denver Post shared a few Rockies-related items and opinions with his Twitter followers today.  All links within quote marks are tweets unless noted otherwise…

  • Renck feels it's "highly unlikely" that Jorge de la Rosa will re-sign with Colorado.  As we heard last week, the Rockies aren't prepared to offer the free agent starter anything more than a three-year contract, and one of the many clubs interested in De La Rosa will offer him at least four years.
  • Renck personally would have pursued De La Rosa had he been the Rockies GM, but he thinks the club should "shift toward" trading for Gavin Floyd and acquiring two of Kevin Kouzmanoff, Jose Lopez or Josh Willingham.  Kouzmanoff and Lopez have drawn some interest from the Rockies already.
  • The White Sox "like Ian Stewart," Renck said in regards to rumors from earlier in the week that Chicago and Colorado had at least discussed swapping the third baseman for Floyd.  Stewart would give the Sox some left-handed pop, possibly in a third base platoon with Dayan Viciedo.
  • Also noted in Renck's previous Twitter link was the fact that the Nationals "want pitching in every trade. Either big league pitching or guys who are close [to the majors]."
  • Type A free agent Carl Pavano will turn 35 in January and would cost the Rockies a draft pick to sign him, but Renck feels Pavano is "worth the risk" if the Rockies can't get Floyd.

Diamondbacks Acquire Zach Duke

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The Diamondbacks have acquired left-hander Zach Duke from the Pirates in exchange for a player to be named later, according to an Arizona team press release.  The player to be named later is "a mid-level prospect" who can't be named due to the roster freeze leading up to the Rule 5 draft, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  If this player is actually taken in the Rule 5 draft, Piecoro says the Bucs and Snakes "have agreed to other players" to be dealt to Pittsburgh.

Duke, 27, was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh last week following a rough 2010 that saw the southpaw post a 5.72 ERA in 29 starts for the Bucs.  A lifetime Pirate, Duke has a career 4.54 ERA in 160 games (159 of them starts) and a 1.88 K/BB ratio in six major league seasons.  He provides Arizona with a veteran innings-eating option for their rotation, though his career-high 1.4 HR/9 last season might be of greater concern if he's going to be pitching at Chase Field.

Piecoro reports that the D'Backs will try to sign Duke to a contract worth less than his $4.3MM salary in 2010, and if the two sides can't come to an agreement by the tendering deadline, Duke will be non-tendered.  (Both Twitter links)

Pirates Interested In Scott Olsen

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The Pirates are "deeply interested" in former Nationals left-hander Scott Olsen, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The Bucs are known to be looking for pitching this winter, and they have a particular need for left-handed starting help after the club designated Zach Duke for assignment last week.

Olsen posted a 5.56 ERA and a 1.96 K/BB ratio in 17 games (15 of them starts) for Washington last season.  He spent some time on the DL due to continued soreness in his throwing shoulder and had his 2009 season cut short due to labrum surgery on that same shoulder.  Health issues aside, Olsen has shown only flashes of consistency in his six-year career (a lifetime 4.85 ERA), but he has value as a low-risk/high-upside signing.  Matt Sosnick, Olsen's agent, tells Kovacevic that Pittsburgh is "one of several teams that have expressed interest in Scott."

Reds Hopeful Of Re-Signing Rhodes, Less So Cabrera

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The Reds have an interest in bringing back both Arthur Rhodes and Orlando Cabrera, but "the chances of Rhodes returning are far greater than Cabrera," reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Neither player was offered arbitration by the club yesterday, since as GM Walt Jocketty explained to Fay, the Reds didn't want to take the risk that either Rhodes or Cabrera would accept and earn a raise for 2011.

The lack of arbitration offers makes sense, though it means that the Reds will face more competition to re-sign Rhodes.  Since the left-hander was a Type A free agent, a team that signed him would've had to give up a draft pick as compensation — a risky price for a pitcher that turned 41 last month.  Now that the Reds have declined to offer arbitration, however, teams are free to sign Rhodes without losing one of their picks. 

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes predicted that if Rhodes wasn't offered arbitration, the veteran reliever could command a two-year deal on the open market in spite of his advanced age.  Jocketty says that he's "still hopeful of getting something done" with Rhodes and last we heard, Rhodes was also hoping to return to Cincinnati next season.

Cabrera became a Type B free agent when the Reds declined his 2011 option and it appears that his days in Cincinnati could be numbered.  Jocketty said talks between Cabrera and the team were left "open," but the shortstop is "looking for more playing time than we can offer."  We heard a couple of weeks ago that Cabrera was already drawing some interest from teams, which is no surprise given the slim pickings on the middle infield market this winter.  Since the Reds are committed to starting Paul Janish at shortstop next year, Cabrera will likely depart if he can find at least a platoon role with another club.

Odds & Ends: Bigbie, Jeter, Hoffman, Tigers

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Five years ago today, the Red Sox acquired Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett in the blockbuster trade that sent Hanley Ramirez to Florida. As I explained a year ago, that deal worked out pretty well for both clubs. Here are today's links…

  • Seven American League teams watched Larry Bigbie work out recently, MLBTR has learned. The teams have interest in the 33-year-old as a corner outfielder/DH.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com weighs in on the Derek Jeter contract talks and says the Yankees can't take the chance that Jeter walks out on them, even if it costs them an extra year or a few more million.
  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick compares the GM-manager relationships for Chicago's two teams.
  • Some baseball people people are convinced that Trevor Hoffman will return to San Diego, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. The expectation among GMs is that the Padres will trade Heath Bell by next year’s trade deadline.
  • The Tigers are still seen as serious bidders for outfielders, according to Olney.

Minor Deals: Parraz, Mattheus, Boggs

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We'll keep track of the latest minor deals right here:

  • The Red Sox claimed outfielder Jordan Parraz off of waivers from the Royals, the teams announced. The 26-year-old has yet to appear in the majors, but he posted solid numbers at Triple-A last year. In his second stint at Omaha, he batted .266/.350/.410 with 27 doubles.
  • The Royals also outrighted right-handers Gaby Hernandez and Victor Marte to Omaha.
  • The Nationals announced on Twitter that they outrighted right-hander Ryan Mattheus to Triple-A.
  • The Brewers signed Brandon Boggs, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The 27-year-old outfielder hasn't played much in the past two seasons, but he posted a .733 OPS in 334 plate appearances for the 2008 Rangers.
  • The Mariners and Astros also made minor deals today.

Cardinals, Giants, Padres Interested In Tejada

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The Cardinals, Giants and Padres are expressing varying degrees of interest in Miguel Tejada, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (link in Spanish). Some teams see Tejada as a shortstop and others see him as a third baseman, according to Rojas' source.

The 36-year-old played 58 games at short for the Padres after they acquired him from Baltimore, where he was playing third base. The Giants are focused on finding a shortstop and the Cardinals could use middle infield help.

Tejada could have earned a raise from his 2010 salary of $6MM had the Padres offered arbitration. The Padres did not offer arbitration, so teams will not have to surrender a pick to sign Tejada, a Type A free agent.

The six-time All-Star batted .269/.312/.381 with 15 homers between Baltimore and San Diego last year. He appeared in over 150 games for the 11th time in 12 seasons.

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