Archives for February 2011

Werth Thinks Phillies Could Have Had Him & Lee

By Mike Axisa | February 23, 2011 at 10:51am CDT

The Phillies added one $100MM player this offseason in Cliff Lee, but they lost another in Jayson Werth. The former Phillies outfielder told Paul Hagen of The Philadephia Daily News that he believes the team could have had both he and Lee if they'd planned things out better…

"I think if they would have played it right they would have had us both," said Werth. "I mean, they traded Cliff away for prospects and then realized that was probably not what they should have done. They ended up paying him a lot more than they would have if they'd signed him the year before. Then we would have had him. Chances are if they had signed him before they traded him, it probably would have made it a little easier to sign me."

Werth said that there are no hard feelings and he understands that the game is a business. Once he learned of Philadelphia's interest in Lee, he concluded that he wasn't coming back. "[It] kind of made it seem like they were playing us against each other a little bit," he added.

The 31-year-old Werth signed with the Nationals about ten days before the Phillies brought Lee back.

Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects

By Mike Axisa | February 23, 2011 at 10:11am CDT

Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list is out, and it's free for all to see. Bryce Harper, the first overall pick in the 2010 draft, tops the list, and is followed by Mike Trout. The Angels selected Trout with the Yankees' first round pick in 2009 (25th overall), which they received as compensation for losing Mark Teixeira. Five Royals cracked the top 20, including three in the top ten.

For comparison, check out MLB.com's Top 50 and Keith Law's Top 100 for ESPN.

Royals, Twins Sign Dominican Prospects

By Mike Axisa | February 23, 2011 at 8:07am CDT

The Royals have added to what is already the game's best farm system, signing right-hander Igor Feliz for $225K according to the Dominican Prospect League. The 17-year-old is said to have a "fastball [that] works between 91-93 mph but has been clocked up to 95 mph recently" and "good feel for his off-speed pitches." There's a chance he'll be able to remain a starter down the road.

The Twins, meanwhile, have added 19-year-old infielder Darfi Ortiz for $30K. He stands out for his "hard-nose style of baseball and … above average defensive actions in the middle of the diamond." Ortiz hit .333 with a .489 OBP and 14 stolen bases in 104 DPL plate appearances.

Quick Hits: Darvish, Simon, Kenny Williams, Rays

By Mark Polishuk | February 22, 2011 at 11:10pm CDT

Happy birthday to Brian Duensing (28), Kelly Johnson (29), Casey Kotchman (28), Daniel Nava (28), J.J. Putz (34), Don Wakamatsu (48) and Hall-of-Fame manager Sparky Anderson, who would've turned 77 years old today.

Onto some news from around the majors…

ESPN's Keith Law expects the Blue Jays to be "serious bidders" for Yu Darvish. (Twitter link) The Japanese star says he wants to pitch in the Major Leagues in 2012, and at least nine teams besides Toronto are known to have interest.
Prosecutor Victor Mueses tells ESPNDeportes' Enrique Rojas that there are no plans to drop pending manslaughter charges against Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon. It was reported over the weekend that Simon was expected to be released soon, but "nothing has happened to make us change our position," Mueses says. Rojas also reports that Simon has agreed to pay $70K to the families of the victims of the New Year's Eve shooting in order to have the charges dropped, but Mueses says that such an agreement wouldn't impact his office's case.
White Sox GM Kenny Williams criticized baseball's financial structure yesterday and told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune today that he was even uncomfortable with his own team's $125MM payroll. "We're out on a limb. But that's our choice. We made the choice in an effort to give our fans hope and give ourselves a chance to compete for a championship," Williams said. "If things don't go our way, if we don't get the support, we'll lose money. We're going to lose money but we've gone into this knowing how long can you do that, how much can you absorb?"
"The Rays’ bullpen figures to be a season-long work in progress," writes FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. Tampa Bay lost almost its entire bullpen to free agency, and Andrew Friedman admitted the club was "kind of freaking out about it" in January. Rosenthal says the Rays will look at relievers cut by teams at the end of Spring Training, and they will also continue to consider possible trades.
When might some of the Indians' young stars reach the majors? Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer weighs in on when Tribe fans can see the likes of Lonnie Chisenhall at Progressive Field.

Pirates “Not Handcuffed” By Finances, Says Owner

By Mark Polishuk | February 22, 2011 at 9:55pm CDT

The Pirates are "in a great position" financially and are willing to spend money both on signing draft picks and extending current players, owner Robert Nutting tells Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Nutting says the club has enough financial freedom to avoid making moves solely for payroll reasons.

"We are not handcuffed to where we have to make moves we don't want to make or we are unable to make moves we do want to make, purely because of financial reasons," Nutting said.

"As the players mature, we certainly believe we need to hold on to and sign some of these core players for a long term….Those are important steps that will come as we move forward."

Pittsburgh fans can be forgiven for taking a wait-and-see approach to Nutting's statements, given the team's 18-year streak of losing seasons. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes pointed out in his review of the Pirates' offseason, however, there are signs that the Bucs are loosening the purse strings — the club spent $17.75MM on free agent contracts and also signed a few high-upside veterans to minor league deals.

Though nobody expects Pittsburgh to contend in 2011, Nutting said his team will look to add a major piece with the first pick in the amateur draft, no matter what it may take to sign the first overall selection.

"We certainly will not be in a position where we select based on dollars or signability," Nutting said. "We're going to select for the greatest impact."

West Notes: Dodgers, Ludwick, Mariners

By Mark Polishuk | February 22, 2011 at 9:25pm CDT

On this day in 1957, Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley announced that his team could play as many as 10 exhibition games in California in 1958. It ended up being a bit of a lengthier stay, as the Dodgers left Brooklyn for Los Angeles following the 1957 season. Just like O'Malley, we're looking to the west coast (or at least the western divisions) for these news items…

If the Dodgers aren't satisifed with their Jay Gibbons/Tony Gwynn Jr./Marcus Thames platoon in left field, ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill lists some of the left fielders that could be available in a trade. Of the five players on Churchill's list, only Carlos Quentin would seem to be an everyday option, but if he's playing well enough to attract the Dodgers' attention, it's unlikely the White Sox would want to move him anyway.
Ryan Ludwick tells Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the two months that followed his trade to the Padres last season were the "worst two months of my big league career." Ludwick hit just .211/.301/.330 in 239 plate appearances in San Diego last year and admitted he struggled with the pressure of trying to take the Padres to the postseason.
The Mariners are likely to keep Dustin Ackley and Michael Pineda in the minors until at least June, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Both players "have areas of their games that could use further AAA development," but Baker also figures the Mariners want to avoid having either of their prospects qualify for Super Two status.
Angels right-hander Rich Thompson seemed to turn a corner last season, but since the Australian is out of options, ESPNLosAngeles.com's Mark Saxon says the Halos could lose Thompson unless he makes the team.
Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has acquired six players (Henry Blanco, Geoff Blum, Russell Branyan, Sean Burroughs, Xavier Nady and Brian Sweeney) this offseason that played for the Padres when Towers was that club's general manager, writes Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. "These are character guys, veterans that I knew would have a strong presence in our clubhouse," Towers said. "I knew what their intangibles are, which I thought was important….When you have history with individuals, you know what they're about as well."
The Rangers have invited Yhency Brazoban to their Major League Spring Training camp, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Brazoban signed a minor league deal with Texas in December that didn't include an invite to the team's big league camp.

Mark Grudzielanek Decides To Retire

By Mark Polishuk | February 22, 2011 at 9:09pm CDT

Veteran infielder Mark Grudzielanek has decided to retire, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. The 40-year-old appeared in 30 games with Cleveland last season before being released in June.

An 11th-round draft pick of the Expos in 1991, Grudzielanek collected 2040 hits and posted a .289/.332/.393 line in 15 seasons with the Expos, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, Royals and Indians. He had a reputation as a solid defender, particularly at second base; Fangraphs shows Grudzielanek with a career +7.2 UZR/150 rating at second since 2002 and Grudzielanek won a Gold Glove at the position in 2006.

Grudzielanek was an NL All-Star in 1996 and, while he never reached the World Series, made it to the NLCS with the Cubs in 2003 and with the Cards in 2005. According to Baseball Reference, Grudzielanek earned roughly $36.8MM in his career.

Red Sox Notes: Crawford, Cameron

By Mark Polishuk | February 22, 2011 at 8:17pm CDT

We already heard today that the Red Sox are planning to exercise Terry Francona's contract options for the next two seasons. Here are a few more items from the Sox camp…

Boston looks like the AL East favorite, but SI.com's Jon Heyman lists a few unanswered questions about how various players will perform this season.
Theo Epstein backed away from comments he made earlier this week saying the Red Sox "covered [Carl Crawford] as if we were privately investigating him." In an e-mail to ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes, Epstein said he used "a bad figure of speech" and said the club's "scouts just did a real thorough job on background, that's all" in researching the free agent outfielder. Crawford said Epstein informed him of Boston's tactics over the winter, but admitted that he was "a little freaked out" by the in-depth scouting procedures.
Mike Cameron reiterated his desire to not be traded, writes Gordon Edes. "Why would I want to be traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks to play every day and miss out on the opportunity here?”, Cameron asked. It's unknown if Cameron cited the D'Backs because he knew of any interest on their part, or if he was just throwing out the name of a team that isn't expected to contend this season. (If it's the latter, sorry, D'Backs fans.)

Beane On Beltre, Iwakuma, His Future In Oakland

By Mark Polishuk | February 22, 2011 at 6:54pm CDT

A's GM Billy Beane appeared on the "Athletics After Dark" podcast to discuss his team's winter moves, including a few that weren't made. Here are some of the highlights…

On his overall satisfaction with Oakland's offseason…

"It was probably the busiest offseason we've all had since I've been here and we think it's very, very productive."
"When it's all said and done we're very pleased with how the winter shaped up. We improved the offense which we set out to do, and we did it without taking away from a very good defensive team that we had last year. We were able to improve the pitching which I don't think was necessarily something we set out to do other than maybe looking at the fifth starter spot….While we did need to address the offense, the pitchers that were available were going to help us give up less runs, so in turn we wouldn't have to score as many runs, which is a non-linear way of approaching the issue."

On the Athletics' pursuit of Adrian Beltre…

"We're always optimistic and I think we're also realistic, too. Quite frankly, I've got a very, very good relationship with [Scott Boras] and I really enjoy dealing with him. He's probably one of the best, if not the best, representatives out there."
"Scott was honest with us from the outset of the winter about what he wanted. It took a while, but [he] ultimately achieved that, and that was beyond our means. I had no problem with the way the thing played out except for the fact that [Beltre] went to one of our rivals and I think significantly improved [the Rangers]."
"Usually you go into the free agent period thinking a player might cost you a certain amount, and in many and most cases, it ends up being more than what you thought it was originally going to be."

On if he feels Beltre and Boras saw Oakland's offer just as a stepping stone to offers from other teams…

"Ultimately they're trying to do what serves their clients best, and in some cases, if it means finding ways to extract more compensation, that's part of the deal….I don't have a problem with that, and I don't think at any point during the process they were disingenuous with us."

On Oakland's attempt to acquire Hisashi Iwakuma…

Beane pointed out that Iwokuma was only a year away from free agency, which is unusual since most Japanese players who gets posted are years away from free agency.
Beane said the gap between the Athletics' offer and Iwakuma's contract demands wasn't as wide as reported. "Publicly it looked like we were farther off than we really were," Beane said. "We were actually on the same page…If you factored in what we had to pay for the posting, and then the contract that we were willing to give, it came out to about what they were looking for on a yearly basis."
Beane isn't sure if the A's will pursue Iwakuma next winter, but the team "will certainly be monitoring that situation."

On Oakland's impressive young pitching staff…

"If you've got good pitching, particularly starting pitching and it's young, you've probably accomplished about 60-65% of what you need to do to be a contending club."
"In most cases, I think clubs realize they're [Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez] not the type of players we're going to discuss. That's why it's not so easy sometimes when people say 'Hey, they need a big bat,' you've got to understand that those big bats that people might want to trade, the first players they're going to ask for are those young pitchers. The challenge here is not robbing Peter to pay Paul when you're addressing your weaknesses. That's why we had to be very specific with who we went after and make sure that we didn't take away from the part of the club that made us very successful and ultimately will be very important for us going forward."
"You can look at players and say 'Hey, this would be a perfect fit,' but in a trade situation, if it's the perfect fit, in many cases it would cost us one of those pitchers."

On a recent piece from Bob Klapisch of FOXSports.com, saying that Beane may step down if the franchise isn't allowed to move to San Jose…

"I feel very fortunate, I love this franchise and I love being here. As much as rebuilding sounds like it's exhausting and we all like to win, it's also very exhilarating when you start to see progress. The fun of that part hasn't stopped for me, and until it does, I'll continue to do something I'm very proud to do, which is run this club."

NL Central Notes: Greinke, Wimberly, Lyon, Mier

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 22, 2011 at 5:59pm CDT

Notes from the NL Central…

Zack Greinke talked to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about his frustrations with the media and the reason he believes he can get to know his teammates without going out to dinner with them every night.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has more from Greinke.
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told Haudricourt that this year's Brewers team could help him reach one of his biggest life goals. "One thing I want before I kick the bucket is a World Series ring for the Milwaukee Brewers," Attanasio said.
Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains that Corey Wimberly, who arrived in Pittsburgh in an offseason trade with Oakland, intends to make it impossible for the Pirates not to place him on their 25-man roster. The speedy utility player stands just 5'8" and says he's well-suited for the National League.
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wonders where the critics of the Brandon Lyon signing have gone. Many analysts panned the reliever's three-year, $15MM deal last winter, but Lyon went on to stay healthy and produce for the Astros in 2010. His performance may have helped other relievers, as I explain here.
Jiovanni Mier, the Astros' 2009 first rounder, has added 20 pounds of muscle and impressed the team's front office, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
Clint Barmes is looking forward to playing shortstop again, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The new Astros infielder admitted that while he enjoyed playing in Colorado, he knew he'd have to go elsewhere if he wanted regular playing time.
Miguel Cairo is happy to have finally earned a multiyear contract, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. The veteran infielder signed a two-year deal with the Reds in December.

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