A few stray items of note coming out of the National League as Thursday winds down …
- Rockies right-hander John Maine can opt out of his contract with Colorado if he's not on the 25-man roster on June 1, tweets Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post. Maine, who signed a minor league deal with the Rox this offseason, has missed the better part of each of the past two seasons with the Mets due to right arm trouble.
- The Nationals grabbed headlines this offseason by signing Jayson Werth to a hefty $126MM contract, and though it was widely regarded as a questionable baseball decision, owner Ted Lerner has no shortage of cash, writes Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo! Sports. Lerner, as Kaduk explains, ranks No. 376 on Forbes' list of wealthiest people in the world, and is presently the wealthiest majority owner in baseball.
- Astros pitching prospect Mike Foltynewicz is looking to build upon the strong professional debut he made in 2010, writes Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner. Astros assistant GM/director of scouting Bobby Heck said that the right-hander probably has the highest ceiling of any Astros minor leaguer. Interestingly, Foltynewicz told Goff that he probably would have gone to the Red Sox at No. 20 overall in last year's First-Year Player Draft had the Astros not nabbed him at No. 19.
I think the Nats are going to open the wallet big time for Pujols
I thought Jays or Twins owners’ were wealthier. Wouldn’t have guessed Nats…
You are thinking of Carl Pohlad for the Twins, he died in 2009. Now his son owns the Twin.
Jays are own by Rogers Communications Inc., not a true owner per say.
Is their any point to that last comment?
“Foltynewicz told Goff that he probably would have gone to the Red Sox at No. 20 overall in last year’s First-Year Player Draft had the Astros not nabbed him at No. 19.”
This irked me at first as ridiculous but it seemed too over the top so I thought about it. I figure in the interview they ask what it was like prior to the draft, what teams scouted him etc and he probably said the Red Sox were super interested, which they probably were. I’m too lazy to read the actual interview to find out if I’m right, but I bet you that I am.
If the Nationals don’t sign Pujols, they will sign Fielder
Harper / Zimmerman / Fielder / Werth …not bad for the heart of an order. I can definitely see it happening. Fielder and Boras will be looking for top dollar!
Ted Lerner wipes his ass with $126 million bills.
oakland athletics tag fail
I really dont think Prince is a good long term signing, but I guess someone has to sign him.
And if the Nationals didn’t take Bryce Harper he would be on the Pirates…
That seems to be a comment you could make about every player that was drafted
yeah but Dunn’s body type is very different from Fielders. Fielder is 5′ 11” 270 lbs, and hes only 26, I dont see him getting into much better shape. I think his body is going to start to fail him. If youre signing him until he is 30 then fine, but giving him a franchise first basemen deal (which is what he will be seeking) is scary.