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Archives for 2010

International Links: Nishioka, Twins, Blanco

By Steve Adams | November 14, 2010 at 3:34pm CDT

Patrick Newman from NPB Tracker and MLBTR's Nick Collias relay some information from foreign sources:

  • According to Newman, the Chiba Lotte Marines made a conditional agreement last offseason to allow Tsuyoshi Nishioka to move to MLB. This explains the otherwise puzzling move to post Nishioka coming off his strongest season, with three years left before he's eligible for free agency. Newman says the decision to post Nishioka will be resolved by the 17th.
  • According to this article (translated by Collias), the Twins signed right-handed reliever Yorman Bazardo to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. The 26-year-old has previously been with the Marlins, Tigers, Mariners, and Astros organizations. He's seen 60 1/3 innings in the big leagues, but hasn't duplicated his minor league success (3.89 ERA, 2.6 BB/9, 5.4 K/9 in 1091 innings).
  • In a second article translated by Collias, we hear that the Rangers have told Andres Blanco that they view him as either an outfielder or catcher, but no longer as an infielder. The 26-year-old will work out at both positions in the Venezuelan winter leagues to try to earn another spot with the Rangers. In 68 games (185 PAs) this season, Blanco hit .277/.330/.349 while backing up Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus.
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Minnesota Twins Texas Rangers Andres Blanco Tsuyoshi Nishioka Yorman Bazardo

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Jays The Favorite For Uggla, Rox Priced Out?

By Steve Adams | November 14, 2010 at 3:05pm CDT

After having their four-year, $48MM extension offer to Dan Uggla rejected, the Marlins seem intent on trading their second baseman. Uggla has his faults; he's not a gifted defender, strikes out in more than one of every four plate appearances for his career, and he's due a nice raise on his $7.8MM salary for 2010. What Uggla does best is hit the ball far, and hit the ball hard. He's never hit fewer than 27 home runs, and has topped 31 long balls in each of the past four seasons.

ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that two rival executives have told him Toronto would be the favorite to acquire Uggla in a trade, should the Marlins indeed follow through on their trade intentions.

The Blue Jays may not seem the most apparent fit at first, given Aaron Hill's presence, however they could intend on moving Uggla to third base. And Uggla certainly fits in with the Blue Jays' mold from 2010. Toronto led the Majors with 257 home runs, and the club parted ways with third baseman Edwin Encarnacion earlier in the week.

Toronto also has a depth of pitching talent available, something that other teams no doubt covet. While the Marlins have acquired three young relievers in the past week (Ryan Webb, Edward Mujica, and Dustin Richardson), they'll no doubt still be on the lookout for young, controllable talent in any return for Uggla.

In a second tweet, Olney also notes that the Rockies were interested in acquiring Uggla midseason in 2010, but the Marlins slugger is likely to be too expensive for their tastes now.

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Colorado Rockies Miami Marlins Toronto Blue Jays Dan Uggla

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Terry Collins Favorite To Manage Mets?

By Luke Adams 2 | November 14, 2010 at 1:35pm CDT

1:35pm: In this series of tweets, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweets that there's no clear favorite between Collins and Melvin, but that Tim Teufel could fit as a first base coach. If Collins is hired as the manager, Melvin could still fit as a bench coach, according to Martino. Chip Hale will likely be retained regardless of the managerial decision, and the Mets may go outside the organization for their hitting coach.

In a second tweet, Rubin seems to agree as he offers up his prediction for the Mets' coaching staff: Collins managing, Melvin as the bench coach, Teufel at first base, Hale at third base, and Dan Warthen as the pitching coach.

12:51pm: When the Pirates hired Clint Hurdle, it left the Mets as baseball's only team without a manager and reduced their list of candidates by one. While the team has yet to finish conducting interviews, Terry Collins has emerged as the favorite to land the job, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.

Collins and Hurdle, along with Bob Melvin, were rumored to be the leading candidates for the Mets' job, with a handful of other names also in the mix. Rubin tweeted yesterday that he keeps hearing Collins mentioned as the team's most likely choice, and today confirmed Collins' front-runner status with a club source. The former Astros and Angels skipper has many supporters in the Mets organization, including Jeff Wilpon and Paul DePodesta.

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New York Mets

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Pirates Hire Clint Hurdle

By Luke Adams 2 | November 14, 2010 at 10:47am CDT

The Pirates have hired Clint Hurdle to fill their managerial opening, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). The deal is for three years, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (Twitter link) adds that the team will hold a press conference on Monday to make the official announcement.

Hurdle managed the Rockies from April 2002 to May of 2009, before being hired as the Rangers' hitting coach last offseason. During his time in Colorado, Hurdle compiled a 534-625 (.457) record, leading the club to the World Series once, in 2007.

Earlier this month, Pittsburgh narrowed their managerial search to two finalists – Hurdle and internal candidate Jeff Banister. Yesterday, Rosenthal reported that the Pirates had ramped up their efforts to land Hurdle.

With the hiring, Hurdle is of course out of the running for the Mets' managerial opening. In a separate tweet, Heyman suggests that New York's list of finalists will include Terry Collins, Bob Melvin, and perhaps Chip Hale, with Jose Oquendo to be interviewed tomorrow.

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New York Mets Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions

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Sherman On Crawford, Angels, Tigers, Greinke

By Luke Adams 2 | November 14, 2010 at 10:11am CDT

In his latest Hardball piece for the New York Post, Joel Sherman previews the upcoming GM meetings and look specifically at what to expect for a few top free agents and trade targets. Here are some of the highlights:

  • "Three teams with money will definitely be bidding" on Carl Crawford, according to an American League insider. Those three teams? The Red Sox, Tigers, and Angels.
  • People around baseball expect the Angels to spend big this winter, with one of Sherman's sources indicating that it wouldn't surprise him to see the Halos end up with Crawford, Rafael Soriano, and Adrian Beltre.
  • Several executives believe the Tigers will make a play for two bats from the top tier of free agents, which includes Crawford, Jayson Werth, Adam Dunn, and Victor Martinez.
  • Sherman predicts that Werth will sign a contract that lands somewhere in between the deals signed by Jason Bay and Matt Holliday a year ago. Five years and $90MM is the estimate from Sherman.
  • According to an NL exec, a Zack Greinke trade may be unlikely because the Royals "are starting from a position of not wanting to trade [Greinke], and when you start there, it is hard to get anywhere." Still, Sherman names the Rangers as a team to watch in the Greinke sweepstakes, particularly if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere.
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Boston Red Sox Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Adam Dunn Adrian Beltre Carl Crawford Jayson Werth Rafael Soriano Victor Martinez Zack Greinke

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Marlins Intend To Trade Uggla

By Luke Adams 2 | November 14, 2010 at 9:20am CDT

After breaking off extension talks and gauging interest in their second baseman, the Marlins now plan to trade Dan Uggla, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Marlins are "down the road" in discussions with a few teams and could make a deal within the next week, according to Rosenthal's source. Rosenthal identifies the Nationals, Tigers, Braves, and Blue Jays as potential suitors who are in on the 30-year-old.

When Rosenthal ran down the list of teams who could have interest in Uggla, he noted that not every club would view the Marlin as a second baseman. Many teams with question marks at third base are considering making a play for Uggla. Meanwhile, Rosenthal indicates the Cubs and Angels are among the teams who don't have interest in acquiring Uggla, despite having a need for offense.

Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post believes that Uggla and the Marlins could still agree on an extension, but concedes that the two sides are currently "very bitter at each other." He expects Florida to actively shop Uggla at this week's GM meetings, though he suggests the team will be demanding a significant return (all Twitter links).

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Atlanta Braves Detroit Tigers Miami Marlins Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals Dan Uggla

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Odds & Ends: Lopes, Maybin, Farrell, Cubs, Cousins

By Mike Axisa | November 13, 2010 at 9:59pm CDT

Links for Saturday…

  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff provides a primer for next week's GM Meetings in Orlando.  MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith will be on the scene there Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that former Phillies' first base coach Davey Lopes is close to joining the Dodgers' coaching staff in an unknown capacity.
  • Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse analyzes the Cameron Maybin trade, saying the outfielder doesn't need to develop into a star to represent an upgrade for the Padres.
  • Richard Griffin of The Star has a one-on-one interview with new Blue Jays manager John Farrell.
  • Cubs GM Jim Hendry told Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times that he's not worried about making a splash this offseason, but that it's "really imperative that we have two or three really good moves."
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says that in the wake of the Maybin deal, the Marlins will give Scott Cousins a long look in center field next year (Twitter link).
  • Meanwhile, Padres GM Jed Hoyer told Dan Hayes of The North County Times that Maybin is "exactly the type of player we hoped to acquire for Petco Park." (Twitter link)
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck states the obvious, saying that the Marlins probably would have been better off keeping Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis and then taking the draft picks when they left as free agents. I'm not sure that keeping those two would have been financially possible, though.
  • Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes that after catcher Erik Kratz signed with the Phillies, the Pirates will now have to bring in a catcher or two to provide depth at the Triple-A level.
  • The Nationals have signed righty reliever Tim Wood to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com. Wood, who turns 28 on Tuesday, appeared in 44 games with the Marlins over the last two seasons, pitching to a 4.32 ERA with nearly as many walks (25) as strikeouts (26) in 50 innings.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney expects the Cardinals to aggressively pursue Juan Uribe since they could use him at pretty much any of their non-first base infield positions (Twitter link).
  • Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald reports that GM Theo Epstein said the team has talked to Kevin Youkilis about moving to third base in the event that they are unable to re-sign Adrian Beltre, who we learned is one of their priorities.
  • Meanwhile, Alex Speier of WEEI.com separates fact from fiction with regards to Scott Boras' claims about Beltre.
  • SI.com's Melissa Segura tweets that a new league launched in the Dominican Republic yesterday, and it features the top young free agent players the country has to offer. 
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Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres St. Louis Cardinals Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Washington Nationals Adrian Beltre Juan Uribe Kevin Youkilis Scott Boras

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Huff Has Received Offers From Several Clubs

By Mike Axisa | November 13, 2010 at 9:32pm CDT

Aubrey Huff is in high demand these days following a .290/.385/.506 season, and his agent tells FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi that he's received contract offers from several clubs other than the Giants (Twitter link). In a second tweet, Morosi notes that the Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays, White Sox, and Rangers could use help at first base, but their level of interest is unknown.

Huff, 34 next month, enjoyed one of the finest seasons of his career in 2010, capping it all off with a World Championship. San Francisco certainly got their money's worth, paying Huff just $3MM on a one-year deal. Earlier this month we heard that there was a "pretty good chance" he'd be staying with the Giants, but I'm sure he'll hear everyone out before making his final decision.

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Uncategorized Aubrey Huff

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Free Agent Stock Watch: Adam Dunn

By Mike Axisa | November 13, 2010 at 9:08pm CDT

The Nationals and Adam Dunn went back-and-forth about a contract extension pretty much all season, though the outfielder turned first baseman eventually hit he free agent market for the second time in his career and is free to join with any club now. Let's look at where his stock stands…

The Good

  • Dunn has mammoth power, a skill that is becoming increasingly more difficult to find. He hit 38 homers in 2010 for the second straight year, and his 282 big flies since the start of the 2004 season are the second most in baseball behind Albert Pujols (294).
  • He's also an on-base machine, drawing at least 100 walks in six of the last seven years and in seven of the last nine.
  • Listed at 6-foot-6 and 285 lbs., Dunn is supremely durable. He's played in 1,108 of 1,134 possible games from 2004 through 2010, and his only career DL trip came back in 2003, when he missed 44 days with a sprained thumb.

The Bad

  • All of that power comes with the trade-off of high strike out totals. Dunn's struck out no fewer than 164 times in each of the last seven years.
  • Dunn's on-base percentage dropped to .356 in 2010, his lowest mark since 2003. That's the result of just 77 walks compared to his usual 100+, though given his track record and age (31) it could be a fluke.
  • A lefty swinger, Dunn has a considerable platoon split. Left-handers held him to a .719 OPS this season (.965 vs. RHP).
  • Regardless of where he is on the field – outfield or first base – he's a liability defensively, one of the very worst in the game. Dunn has also indicated that he doesn't want to be a designated hitter, limiting his market if true.
  • Dunn is a Type-A free agent and it's likely that the Nationals will offer him salary arbitration. Any team that signs him (other than Washington) will have to surrender a high draft pick.

The Verdict

Dunn is one of the best players available this winter, ranking fifth on Tim Dierkes' list of the top 50 free agents. He rejected Washington's three-year contract extension offer, so clearly he's looking to secure the long-term contract he wasn't able to land two years ago. 

It's easy to envision a power bat like this fitting into every lineup in baseball, but only few have the resources to sign Dunn. The Cubs are expected to have interest given their first base opening, but be sure that the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, White Sox, and others will be rumored land spots at some point this offseason.

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Free Agent Stock Watch Adam Dunn

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Amateur Signing Bonuses: Rangers

By Mike Axisa | November 13, 2010 at 7:50pm CDT

Time to take our amateur signing bonus series to Texas, the home of the defending AL champs…

  1. Mark Teixeira, $4.5MM (2001)
  2. Justin Smoak, $3.5MM (2008)
  3. John Danks, $2.1MM (2003)
  4. Vince Sinisi, $2.07MM (2003)
  5. Thomas Diamond, $2.025MM (2004)

The Rangers just finished the single greatest season in franchise history, but just one of the above players directly contributed to that cause. That would be Justin Smoak, who reached the big leagues just two years after being drafted 11th overall. He hit just .209/.316/.353 in 275 plate appearances for Texas before headlining the four prospect package that went to Seattle for Cliff Lee in early July.

Teixeira, the fifth overall pick back in 2001, contributed to the team's success this year, though in an indirect way. His bonus was part of a four-year, $9.5MM major league contract, the largest ever given to an amateur position player at the time (the record stood until Bryce Harper showed up this year). Tex was massively productive for the Rangers, hitting .283/.368/.533 with 153 homers in four-plus seasons before being traded the Atlanta. That haul netted the Rangers their current starting shortstop (Elvis Andrus) and closer (Neftali Feliz), not to mention another useful arm in Matt Harrison and their Opening Day catcher (Jarrod Saltalamacchia). That return is the gold standard when it comes to moving superstars.

Texas took Danks with the ninth overall pick in 2003, and he pitched to a 4.20 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 426.1 minor league innings for the team before they traded him and two others to the White Sox for Brandon McCarthy and a minor league in December 2006. Now one of the best starters in the game, Danks never pitched in a game for the team that drafted him.

Sinisi was the 46th overall pick in the same 2003 draft that netted the team Danks, but his career wasn't nearly as productive. He hit .293/.354/.423 in 909 plate appearances with Texas' various minor league affiliates before being traded to the Padres in a May 2006 deal that barely registered on the radar. It brought Freddy Guzman to the Rangers, and Sinisi hasn't played since becoming a minor league free agent after 2009. He never reached the big leagues, and spent three uneventful years in Triple-A.

Diamond was part of the team's highly touted DVD trio of pitching prospects along with Edinson Volquez and Danks. He was the tenth overall pick in the '04 draft and dominated in the minors (3.62 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 4.4 BB/9) before missing the entire 2007 season due to Tommy John surgery. Despite the procedure's high success rate, Diamond never fully regained his stuff nor his already shaky control. The Rangers designated him for assignment last September, after which the Cubs claimed him. Diamond did finally make it to the big leagues this year, making three starts with a 6.83 ERA for the Cubbies.

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Amateur Signing Bonuses Texas Rangers

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