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Archives for February 2011

Cubs Expect To Avoid Arbitration With Marmol

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Cubs GM Jim Hendry said that he still expects to avoid arbitration with closer Carlos Marmol, writes Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.

The Cubs and Marmol have an arbitration hearing scheduled for Feb. 15, but whether it be a one- or multiyear deal, Hendry said that he doesn't think the hearing will come to fruition, noting that he has a long-standing relationship with Marmol's agent, Barry Praver.

The North Siders prefer to ink Marmol to a three-year deal in the range of $22-25MM, according to Levine, which would buy out the right-hander's two remaining years of arbitration eligibility as well as one year of potential free agency. Marmol is seeking $5.65MM for 2011 while the Cubs have submitted a figure of $4.1MM, rendering a midpoint of $4.88MM, as our Arbitration Tracker shows.

Marmol reported to Spring Training in Mesa, Arizona, on Saturday and took a physical, indicating that a pre-hearing agreement may be imminent.

Upton Wants To Stay In Arizona

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Early on this offseason, Justin Upton was the subject of trade rumors as a new regime in Arizona gauged the market on their young star.  Upton addressed those rumblings this afternoon at Chase Field, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.

"At the time, I was prepared to deal with whatever happened. I want to be here. I’m here, I want to play for the D-Backs. I’m not ready to leave. I’m going to be a part of this team this year and hopefully we can turn this thing around," said the 23-year-old.

The rightfielder went on to say that he was surprised by the trade talks but added that "it happens to people every year."  Upton also insisted that his feelings were not hurt by the rumors and understood GM Kevin Towers' desire to look into improving the team any way possible.

Upton hit .273/.356/.442 with 17 homers in 133 games last season, a down year by his standards.  Many teams inquired on the youngster this winter but all were unwilling to meet the D'Backs' asking price.

Orioles Notes: Payroll, Pujols, Guerrero

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Earlier this week, The Baltimore Sun published highlights of Orioles GM Andy MacPhail's address to a group of Baltimore School of Law students.  MacPhail covered a wide range of topics and today the paper has published even more of his comments pertaining to the club..

  • Someone in the audience asked if promises were made three years ago by ownership that some of the cash generated by the creation of MASN would go toward increasing payroll.  MacPhail says that he instead told ownership to keep payroll down and invest in the farm system.  The GM's reasoning was that the O's will never be able to spend like Yankees and Red Sox and MASN can't generate money the way NESN (Red Sox) or YES (Yankees) can.
  • The O's would go beyond their budget to sign a special player under the right circumstances, or, as MacPhail phrased it, "the perfect storm".  The GM cited the club's $140MM offer to Mark Teixeira after the 2008 season as an example of that.  When someone asked if Albert Pujols could represent a similar perfect storm, MacPhail shot down the daydreams of optimistic Orioles fans everywhere by saying, "The likelihood of us stepping out to the degree that [Pujols] is looking at, for any one player, is remote at best. I read that he's looking for $30 million a year, and I just can't see how that's going to happen."
  • The club never anticipated increasing their bid for Vladimir Guerrero's services to $8MM.  While MacPhail didn't discern another active bidder at the time, he felt that the Rangers could jump back into the mix if they were to trade Michael Young.  Because of that, the GM increased his bid in order to "make the right deal."
  • The Orioles hope to make strides in international scouting, particularly in the Dominican Republic and in Venezuela.

Quick Hits: Duchscherer, Ramirez, Marmol, Broxton

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Links for Saturday..

Indians Making Progress With Kevin Millwood

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FEBRUARY 12: The Indians are still unwilling to sign Kevin Millwood to a one-year, $4MM deal, tweets Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.  Meanwhile, the club still has interest in Jeremy Bonderman, but on a minor league deal.

FEBRUARY 5, 3:26pm: Millwood is still talking with multiple clubs and has yet to decide where he will pitch in 2011, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  Meanwhile, even though the Indians would prefer to bring someone in on a minor league deal, the team has not ruled out signing a pitcher to a big league contract, writes Bastian.

11:50am: The Tribe may try to bring in one starting pitcher but not two, and there's a still a chance they won't sign anyone, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  Cleveland has been connected to Jeremy Bonderman recently, and Bastian says the Millwood talks seem to indicate that a snag has been hit with Bonderman.

9:34am: The Indians are making progress with free agent Kevin Millwood, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. He notes that CEO Paul Dolan would have to approve the signing if it's a big league contract.

Just a few days ago we heard that Millwood's camp was still seeking $4-5MM, prompting MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith to list some potential suitors for the right-hander. Millwood, 36, is familiar with the Indians, having pitched in Cleveland back in 2005, when he led the league with a 2.86 ERA and finished sixth in the Cy Young voting.

If the Tribe manages to bring Millwood back, one thing they can count on are innings. He's made no fewer than 29 starts or thrown fewer than 168 2/3 innings since 2004, eclipsing 190 innings in each of the last two seasons. Unfortunately he's posted an ERA north of 5.00 in three of the last four years, and his strikeout and ground ball rates have dipped down to 5.9 K/9 and 39.8%, respectively, over the last two years while his homer rate has climbed to 1.3 HR/9. 

Nationals Sign Two Dominican Prospects

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The Nationals have finalized deals with a pair of Dominican prospects, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.  Outfielder Randy Novas and catcher Raudy Read will receive $150K and $130K, respectively.

Johnny DiPuglia, the Nats' head of international scouting, said that the 17-year-old Read will "easily be an everyday catcher."  As for Novas, DiPuglia compared the 16-year-old's body to that of former big leaguer Devon White.

The club remains hesitant to hand out massive signing bonuses like the one they gave 16-year-old Esmailyn Gonzalez, who really turned out to be 20-year-old Carlos Alvarez, in 2006.  Excluding the Yunesky Maya major league deal, the Nationals spent about $1MM on signing bonuses for prospects in Latin America last year, one of the smallest budgets in the majors.  Now, DiPuglia tells Kilgore, the club is starting to spend more on international players.

Poll: Kevin Millwood’s Next Team

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Yesterday we learned that the Yankees are still considering Kevin Millwood to help round out their rotation.  The Bombers might feel compelled to boost their starting five, even after bringing Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon aboard recently.  They could also afford the veteran’s $4-5MM price tag – something that other clubs are hesitant over.

The Indians have long been linked to Millwood but would prefer to bring someone in on a minor league deal.  A $4-5MM deal would be too rich for their blood but as time passes one has to wonder if the right-hander’s camp might be willing to take less.  The 36-year-old also hasn’t ruled out a return to Baltimore and MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith recently wrote that it would make sense for teams like the Royals, Rockies, and Mariners to join the fray.

Red Sox Notes: Shoda, Coello, Bishop

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Don't let all that snow in Boston fool you, Spring Training is fast approaching.  Here's some of the latest BoSox news out of Fort Myers, Florida..

  • As we learned last night, the Red Sox are closing in on a deal with Japanese left-hander Itsuki Shoda.  A major league source told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that Shoda has been invited to minor league camp and would have to win a job to stay with the organization.  The figures on the deal are not yet out but Abraham writes that the cost to the Red Sox is minimal.
  • Robert Coello, who was designated for assignment on Wednesday, is still working out at the Red Sox minor league training facility while he waits to hear where he might be playing baseball this season.  The 26-year-old should be able to draw interest from clubs after turning in a 3.86 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 107 1/3 innings for Boston's Double-A and Triple-A affiliates as a swingman.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com profiles the story of Te Wera "Beau" Bishop and how the New Zealand softballer was discovered by the BoSox.

Quick Hits: D’Backs, Doumit, Wagner, Marlins

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Chuck Tanner, manager of Pittsburgh's last World Series championship team, passed away today at age 81.  Tanner played eight seasons in the majors but gained more fame as a manager, compiling a 401-414 record manning the benches of the White Sox, Athletics, Pirates and Braves from 1970 to 1988.  Tanner's lone postseason appearance came in 1979 when he led the "We Are Family" Bucs to victory over the Orioles in a tight, seven-game World Series.  The MLBTR team sends its condolences to Tanner's friends and family.

Some news to wrap up the week…

Red Sox Close To Contract With Itsuki Shoda

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The Red Sox are close to signing Japanese left-hander Itsuki Shoda to a minor league contract, reports Nikkan Sports (Japanese language link) and tweeted by NPBTracker's Patrick Newman.   As WEEI.com's Alex Speier translates, Sox GM Theo Epstein said the two sides are close to an agreement and Shoda will report to Boston's minor league Spring Training camp.

Shoda, 29, won the Pacific League's Rookie of the Year award in 2002 as a member of the Nippon Ham Fighters, but failed to live up to that early promise, eventually moving to Hanshin in 2007 and playing two seasons for the Tigers.  For the last two seasons, Shoda has pitched in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, posting a 3.60 ERA and a 3.35 K/BB ratio in 324 1/3 innings for the Sinon Bulls.

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