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Archives for March 2011

Red Sox Notes: Gonzalez, Atchison, Kalish, Wakefield

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Daisuke Matsuzaka joins a growing list of Japanese players who have made donations to fund disaster relief in their homeland. Dice-K donated $1MM to the Japanese Red Cross Society though the Red Sox Foundation, according to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Here are a few other Sox-related notes:

  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only link) expects the Red Sox and Adrian Gonzalez to get an extension done for the slugger in the second week of the season, sometime during the club's first homestand. Olney points out that it might be in Gonzalez's best interest to nudge the Sox toward finalizing a deal sooner rather than later, since his market value could be hurt by an injury.
  • Boston optioned a handful of players to the minors today, including Scott Atchison and Ryan Kalish, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes.
  • While the Sox still have a few pitchers whose Opening Day fates are in limbo, it doesn't sound like Tim Wakefield is among them. WEEI's Alex Speier has quotes from Terry Francona discussing how the skipper hopes to maximize Wakefield's effectiveness this year.

Royals Acquire John Whittleman

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The Royals have acquired John Whittleman from the Rangers in exchange for a player to be named later, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).

Whittleman, 24, was selected by Texas in the second round of the 2005 amateur draft, but had yet to play above Double-A in the Rangers' system. In over 2,800 minor league plate appearances, the corner infielder has hit .242/.353/.389.

Nationals Notes: Morgan, Broderick, Maya

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Let's check out the latest news and rumors on the Nationals, who will open the season with $126MM man Jayson Werth hitting second….

  • Nyjer Morgan, who is reportedly being eyed by a few teams, doesn't expect to open the season with the Nationals. "I just think this place isn't for me," the outfielder told MLB.com's Bill Ladson. "I'm not saying there are bad people here. It's just that, maybe, I'm not a fit here anymore. It's time to move on."
  • In the same MLB.com piece, Ladson adds that Brian Broderick, a Rule 5 selection from the Cardinals, is expected to earn a spot on the Nats' Opening Day roster. Broderick figures to be used in short and long relief, though he can also start if needed.
  • Yunesky Maya was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse today, the team announced. Washington signed the Cuban pitcher to a four-year deal last summer.

Braden Looper Retires

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Braden Looper retired after the Cubs informed him that he didn't make the Opening Day roster, according to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald (on Twitter). The Cubs lured Looper out of retirement with a minor league deal that could have been worth $1MM back in January.

Though scouts seemed interested in Looper this spring, he chose retirement over the free agent market since he preferred to play in Chicago, near his family's home.

Looper, the third overall selection in the 1996 draft, last pitched in the majors for the 2009 Brewers. The 36-year-old retires with a 72-65 record, a 4.15 ERA and 669 strikeouts in 1176 innings as a Marlin, Cardinal, Met and Brewer. Baseball-Reference estimates that Looper earned over $24MM in his 12-year-career.

Scott Kazmir & A Comparable Pitcher

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It might be impossible to find two pitchers who have caused Mets fans more grief over the course of the past five years than Scott Kazmir and Oliver Perez. The similarities don't end there; the strikeout-inducing left-handers both turned in tremendous seasons by the age of 22 only to falter soon afterwards and saddle their teams with albatross contracts.

Scott Kazmir

They are so statistically similar that Baseball-Reference lists Perez as one of the most comparable pitchers to Kazmir and vice versa. Both induce strikeouts and allow walks at an unusually high rate and each has led the league in walks and either Ks or K/9 at one point.

Despite the walks, both pitchers were tremendous just four years ago. Perez posted a 3.56 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 2007, his age-25 season. Kazmir, who was just 23 that year, posted a 3.48 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.

It's not easy to find young left-handers with numbers like that, so the Rays, who acquired Kazmir from the Mets for Victor Zambrano in a one-sided 2004 trade, signed the lefty to a three-year, $28.5MM extension early in the 2008 campaign. After the season ended, the Mets signed Perez to a three-year free agent deal worth $36MM. 

The contracts have soured and the Rays and Mets have since severed ties with the pitchers, who will collect their respective $12MM paychecks elsewhere this year. Perez will start the season in the Nationals' minor league system, far from Anaheim, where Kazmir remains a member of the Angels rotation despite an unimpressive spring.

Kazmir has said he's confident in his stuff and it would be compelling to see the left-hander capitalize on the opportunity to start and return to form. It wasn't that long ago that he posted a 1.73 ERA in his six-start debut with the Angels and he appears healthy, so some hope may remain for Angels fans.

But the Mets opened the season with Perez in their rotation last year and just 12 months later he's pitching for his career in the minor leagues. For Kazmir to avoid an unceremonious release of his own, he'll have to pitch better when the season begins and end the parallels between him and Perez.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Mike Sweeney Retires

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Mike Sweeney signed a one-day contract with the Royals before officially announcing his retirement from baseball, the team announced.

Sweeney, 37, spent 13 years in Kansas City and represented the Royals in the All-Star Game from 2000-03 and in 2005. He'll retire with a career line of .297/.366/.486 in 16 seasons with the Royals, Mariners and Phillies. He appeared in the postseason for the first time last year and singled in the only playoff plate appearance of his career.

Sweeney ranks in the top six in Royals history in 17 offensive categories. He's second all-time in average (.299) and home runs (197). The Royals created the Mike Sweeney Award in his honor in 2008.

Kansas City drafted Sweeney in the 10th round of the 1991 draft, 262nd overall, as a catcher. He transitioned to first base and then DH, though the position shift didn't prevent him from making frequent DL trips. Sweeney earned nearly $73MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.

McLane Close To Selling Astros

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Astros owner Drayton McLane is nearing a deal to sell the team to Jim Crane, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Though McLane denies that he has a deal, Justice hears from insiders who insist the sides are close.

It’s not clear how much McLane will obtain for the Astros, but he will certainly turn a profit on the club he purchased for $117MM in 1992. Justice hears that the team's price tag definitely exceeds $523MM, which is how much the Rangers sold for last summer. That’s well above $474MM, the price at which Forbes recently valued the franchise.

McLane was close to selling the Astros to Crane in 2008, but the deal fell through. Crane has also attempted to buy the Cubs (2008) and Rangers (2010).

Padres Release Kevin Frandsen

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The Padres released Kevin Frandsen, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). Frandsen signed a minor league deal in January that would have paid him $575K for making the big league team after the Angels non-tendered him.

The Padres are looking for a utility player who can handle shortstop and are specifically interested in Alberto Gonzalez and Robert Andino, who are both out of options.

Frandsen, 28, has 32 games of big league experience at shortstop, but most of his experience has come at second and third. He has a .243/.302/.335 line in 626 MLB plate appearances with the Giants and Angels. A right-handed hitter, Frandsen has also played both corner outfield positions in the majors.

Teams Eyeing Nyjer Morgan

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2:29pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he has no interest in Morgan (Twitter link). The Brewers will rely on their in-house outfielders.

1:15pm: Rosenthal hears that the Brewers passed on Morgan (Twitter link). They'll go with Brandon Boggs and Jeremy Reed as extra outfielders.

11:17am: The Brewers are one of the teams looking at Nyjer Morgan, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Milwaukee just traded Chris Dickerson away and could have interest in restoring outfield depth.

Scouts covering the Nationals told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that Morgan is very much available. However, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reported two weeks ago that the Nationals weren't considering releasing the outfielder.

Beyond The Boxscore suggested the Marlins would be a fit for Morgan, whose on and off-field antics include memorable run-ins with Chris Volstad and the Marlins' fans.

Mariners Return Rule 5 Pick Jose Flores To Indians

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The Mariners announced that they returned right-hander Jose Flores to the Indians (Twitter link). Seattle had to offer the Rule 5 pick back or keep him on the 25-man roster all season long and Cleveland accepted Flores back and assigned him to minor league camp.

The 21-year-old, who signed with Cleveland as a non-drafted free agent in 2005, posted a 12.27 ERA in four relief appearances this spring. He has a 3.92 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 79 minor league games, but has yet to pitch above Class A.

Cleveland could re-obtain another Rule 5 pick before long, as the Pirates may not have roster space for infielder Josh Rodriguez. Oddly, the Mariners still have two pitchers named Jose Flores in their system even after today's transaction.

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