Let's check out some items concerning the Central divisions..
- Astros GM Ed Wade told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that the club will explore outside options with Clint Barmes sidelined for four-to-six weeks. Morosi notes that Houston has Angel Sanchez and Tommy Manzella in-house as well.
- The Indians' projected payroll for 2011 is roughly $48.5MM, writes Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. This marks the third straight year that the payroll has declined and the lowest it has been since 2005. In that year, the Indians opened with a $41.5MM payroll.
- More from the Tribe as skipper Manny Acta said he'll likely meet with GM Chris Antonetti today to discuss remaining decisions that need to be made, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets.
- The Royals cut four minor league players today, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Right-handers Aaron Hartsock and Scott Kelley and infielders Justin Figueroa and Tom Zebroski were given their walking papers. Kansas City has already made a handful of minor league transactions this week.
- Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com (via Twitter) spoke to Twins manager Rod Gardenhire about Rule 5 pick Scott Diamond. The skipper said that he hasn't haven’t seen enough of him to really evaluate him, though he noted that he's not speaking for the organization. The 24-year-old left-hander was plucked from the Braves.
- Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter) applauds the Cubs for telling Carlos Silva that they will look to trade him. Heyman suggests that the Mariners should do the same with Milton Bradley.
Jon Heyman thinks the Mariners should tell Milton Bradley that they will try to trade him. I would guess even Milton Bradley knows that the Mariners would love to trade him. I would also imagine even Milton Bradley realizes that there are exactly zero teams that are interested in having him. So thanks for the great info Heyman.
Actually, trading Bradley doesn’t make a lot of sense for the M’s right now unless they are getting a ML ready outfielder in return. With Saunders having to retool his swing (again) and having yet to prove him self as an everyday offensive threat and Goots still suffering from stomach problems, there really isn’t a whole lot of outfield depth for the Mariners. Trading MB simply for the sake of trading him is not a good move. The only way that makes sense is if Saunders puts it together and becomes a solid regular. There is still room for optimism, but that is less than a sure thing right now.
So… Silva for Bradley again?
Trade Silva for Bradley. Brilliant!
No need to trade the Braves anything just keep him on the roster. Diamond reminds me a lot of Duensing and could probably fit in the same role Duensing had the last two seasons. A bullpen of: Nathan, Capps, Mijares, Hughes, Slowey, Hoey/Manship, and Diamond would get the job done.
Just option him. Braves probably wont get him back. Braves could have kept Diamond if they really cared about him. Though, it doesn’t make much sense since he is a lefty and the Braves’ Lefty Depth is a little light.
Just because they didn’t have him on the 40 man roster doesn’t mean they didn’t care about him in my opinion. He has great minor league numbers if I remember correctly. Even my Twins left Kyle Waldrop available and he’s close to being a quality major league reliever. I’d rather keep Diamond on the 25 man roster than trade ATL anything though.
Two things:
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“Just keep him on the roster”??? That’s nonsense. That’s a luxury most ML teams can’t make – carrying a guy for the entire year on the 25-man roster. If you’re not gonna use him, then you gotta offer him back to Atlanta for the sake of your own pitching staff.
Gardenhire’s statement also doesn’t make any sense: if he hadn’t seen him enough to evaluate, then (a) why did the team draft him in the first place? and (b) how the heck can Gardie make an informed decision on his spring cuts? That’s poppycock.
I never said we wouldn’t use him. Where in the ____ did you get that from?
The M’s would be dumb to move Bradley right now. His stock is the lowest its going to be. He had a great spring and is in a contract year. I would see how he’s playing in June–you might just get something of value for him then.