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Luis Hernandez Drawing Trade Interest

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Mets infielder Luis Hernandez is drawing trade interest, according to ESPN's Adam Rubin.  The Mets appear poised to give the backup middle infield job to Chin-lung Hu instead.  Hernandez is out of options, and Rubin does not think he would clear waivers.  The Mets signed Hernandez to a minor league deal back in February of last year.

Hernandez's trade value is limited, as glove-only middle infielders are not hard to come by in most organizations.  MLB.com's Corey Brock can envision the Padres having interest (Twitter link).  The Padres are known to be eyeing Alberto Gonzalez and Robert Andino, who are both out of options.  For our full list of out of options players, click here.

Brewers Acquire Brett Carroll

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The Brewers acquired outfielder Brett Carroll from the Royals for cash considerations, the team announced.  The Royals signed the 28-year-old as a free agent in November after the Marlins granted him free agency.

In parts of four seasons with Florida, Carroll has a .205/.284/.325 line in 319 plate appearances. Carroll, who broke camp with the Marlins in 2008 and '09, hit his first MLB homer off of Randy Johnson. The right-handed hitter was hitless in 15 at bats this spring before the Royals assigned him to minor league camp.

Though Carroll has struggled against MLB pitching in his short career, he has a more respectable .255/.323/.463 line in seven minor league seasons. The 2004 draft pick has played all three outfield positions in the majors and the minors.

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star first tweeted news of the deal last night.

Olney On Shortstops, Juan Cruz, Mets

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The latest from the blog of ESPN's Buster Olney…

  • Olney muses on who the Giants might look at as a midseason acquisition if Miguel Tejada does not work out at shortstop.  He comes up with Jose Reyes, Marco Scutaro, and Jack Wilson as possible trade candidates.  I can see Stephen Drew, J.J. Hardy, and Ronny Cedeno as other possibilities.
  • Evaluators tell Olney Rays reliever Juan Cruz looks excellent.  Apparently recovered from shoulder surgery, Cruz has allowed one run in eight spring innings.  He's whiffed nine and allowed only two hits, but also walked seven.
  • The Mets intend to keep Rule 5 picks Brad Emaus and Pedro Beato, according to Olney.  With Justin Turner being cut today, Emaus certainly appears to be the second base starter.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post digs into the Mets' logic with Emaus here.  The infielder, 25 on Monday, hit .298/.395/.495 at Triple-A last year.

A’s Could Extend Daric Barton

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"It's a good bet" that A's pitcher Trevor Cahill "will be signed through at least his arbitration years soon," according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  What's more, first baseman Daric Barton "is a strong possibility" to be signed through at least his arbitration years as well.  MLBTR's Luke Adams looked at the Cahill possibility last September, so let's focus on Barton.

Barton, 25, hit .273/.393/.405 in 686 plate appearances last year, leading the American League with 110 walks.  The A's also consider Barton's defense and durability to be positives, according to Slusser.  The first baseman did deal with a few injuries in 2009, and also spent a good portion of the season in the minors due to Jason Giambi's presence.  He'll be arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2011 season.

Barton

Barton is a very unique first baseman, and new agent Dan Lozano would have a hard time getting him properly compensated through the arbitration system.  Barton's value is tied to his OBP and defense; he only has 26 home runs and 136 RBI in 1,485 career plate appearances.  How unique is it for someone to play 150 games at first base and post an OBP of at least .390 with a SLG under .410, as Barton did last year?  According to the Baseball-Reference play index, the only other player to do it in the last 30 years was Mike Hargrove for the Indians in 1980.

If my theory that a player like Barton would be a bargain in arbitration is correct, the A's should only extend him if they're getting a big discount or control of free agent years.  From Lozano's point of view a great comparable would be Billy Butler, who is a also a little short on power but still signed for $30MM over four years ($19MM for his three arbitration years, $8MM for one free agent season, and a club option for a second).  The A's might argue that Barton better resembles a healthier Nick Johnson, though Johnson's three-year extension came at a much different point in his career.  Both Butler and Johnson, though, have at least flashed 20 home run power in their careers.

Farm System Rankings

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Baseball America's annual farm system rankings are out, with a few changes from their 2011 Handbook due to the Matt Garza trade.  The Rays' haul pushed them to #2 over the Braves, while the Cubs' losses knocked them from #8 to #16.

For more farm system rankings, check out ESPN's Keith Law and Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein.  Keep in mind that graduating prospects to the bigs is a bad thing for a team in these rankings, which as Law notes represent a snapshot.  Also, Goldstein provides haikus. 

If you look at rankings from all three side-by-side, you'll see that there is a consensus that the Royals, Rays, and Braves should be ranked #1, 2, and 3.  The Blue Jays, Yankees, and Reds have consensus top ten systems, with Toronto placing no worse than fifth.  There is also agreement that the Astros, Marlins, and Brewers belong in the bottom five.  Outliers: BA dislikes the A's and Angels more than the others, Law isn't as high on the Indians but likes the Cardinals and D'Backs, and BA likes the Dodgers more than the others.

AL East Links: All Five Teams

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Plenty of storylines in the AL East this year; here are a few…

  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos talked to Jeff Blair on the Fan 590 yesterday, and Andrew Stoeten of Drunk Jays Fans has highlights.  Anthopoulos talked about Aroldis Chapman, Frank Francisco, Brett Lawrie, and Juan Rivera among other things.
  • Much has been written lately about Rays' manager Joe Maddon's attempt to handle Manny Ramirez.  Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has quotes from the manager today.  ESPN's Jayson Stark tackled the Manny-Rays topic in depth yesterday, with one veteran big league coach and manager asserting, "I know one thing.  It will end horribly."
  • Despite being knocked around yesterday, Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, "That's one thing that never even crossed my mind – whether I'm making the team or not."  Mitre seems to be battling Freddy Garcia for a long relief job.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman talked about how Jesus Montero's defense seems to be slipping in tandem with his batting slump, in this article from Feinsand's colleague John Harper.  Montero might be best served at Triple-A for development and trade value purposes.
  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has extensive quotes from Adrian Gonzalez's agent John Boggs, as the good vibes about an April extension continue.  WEEI's Alex Speier explains that trading for Gonzalez rather than signing him as a free agent gives Boston a more desirable slice of the first baseman's career and also saves them perhaps $25MM or more.  I think the value of the careers of the prospects given up easily surpasses that amount of savings, but that's slightly negated by the Sox not having to give up a draft pick to get Adrian.
  • Orioles president Andy MacPhail admitted to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that service time is a factor in their decision whether to have top prospect Zach Britton break camp with the team.  At least he's being upfront about it.  Britton has allowed one run in 14 innings this spring.
  • Here's how the AL East stacks up in Baseball America's organizational talent rankings: the Rays are #2, the Blue Jays are #4, the Yankees are #5, the Red Sox are #17, and the Orioles are #21.

NL Central Notes: Greinke, Reds, Cardinals

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Links for Tuesday night, as the Cubs decide on the back of their rotation…

  • Zack Greinke told Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post that he chose to join the Brewers over the Nationals because he felt that Milwaukee was going to win sooner than Washington. The Nationals offered Greinke a $100MM extension at one point and Greinke didn’t accept it, though he says he expects the Nationals to be a good team within a few years since owner Ted Lerner wants to win badly. Greinke didn’t rule out the possibility of playing for the Nationals once he becomes a free agent, after the 2012 season.
  • The Brewers are likely to start the season with four starters and eight relievers, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon examines the Reds' bullpen and explains that Dontrelle Willis appears to have a good chance of making the team.
  • In a mailbag for MLB.com, Matthew Leach suggests it’s a make or break year of sorts for Cardinals Kyle Lohse, Ryan Theriot and Skip Schumaker. They’re not the only ones with lots riding on 2011, as the MLBTR team has outlined.

Possible Suitors For Rodrigo Lopez

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The Braves are looking to trade two veteran starters: Rodrigo Lopez and Kenshin Kawakami. Lopez logged 200 innings in the majors last year and teams will find his minor league contract considerably more appealing than Kawakami's $6.67MM salary.

Lopez led the National League in losses, earned runs and homers allowed last year and FIP and xFIP suggest his 2010 ERA of 5.00 was appropriate. But he logged 200 innings and struck out twice as many hitters as he walked.

The available alternatives are not inspiring, so teams looking for rotation depth could check in on the 35-year-old right-hander this month. Here are some of the clubs that could be calling the Braves:

  • Brewers – GM Doug Melvin says he's making calls to determine who's available. Wily Peralta, Marco Estrada, Eulogio de la Cruz and Tim Dillard are internal candidates to start for Milwaukee.
  • Rockies – The Rockies inquired on Lopez late this offseason and Troy Renck of the Denver Post wouldn't be surprised to see them check in on him again (Twitter links). Lopez appeared in 14 games for the Rockies in 2007.  Esmil Rogers and John Maine are among the candidates for the Rockies' final rotation spot, which opened up when Aaron Cook broke a finger.
  • Orioles – Another one of Lopez's former teams, the Orioles, could monitor Lopez's availability, though they have reason to like their own rotation candidates. 
  • White Sox - Phil Humber, who has started two MLB games in his career, appears to be the leading candidate to start until Jake Peavy is healthy. Lopez wouldn't be a sexy choice, but he's far more experienced than Humber.
  • Indians – The Indians expressed interest in some experienced starters this winter, possibly because Fausto Carmona is the only pitcher in the Indians' projected rotation who has a 200-inning season to his name. Lopez could have appeal to the Tribe.
  • Athletics – Though the A's appear set for now, they could inquire in case the combination of Brandon McCarthy, Tyson Ross and Bobby Cramer falters.

D’Backs Not Interested In Oliver Perez

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Though the Diamondbacks were eyeing left-handed relief help earlier in the month, they are not interested in Oliver Perez, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). The Mets released the 29-year-old left-hander yesterday and reports have since established that the Yankees and Brewers are not interested in Perez, either.

Perez, now a free agent, is set to earn $12MM in 2011, the final year of his three-year, $36MM contract. If an MLB team signs him, they'll contribute about $400K of his salary and the Mets will pay the remaining $11.6MM.

As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained earlier today, Barry Enright and either Armando Galarraga or Aaron Heilman figure to fill out the back of Arizona's rotation. Rule 5 pick Joe Paterson could make the team and Mike Hampton and Jordan Norberto provide additional depth from the left side. 

The Padres signed Perez as an amateur free agent in 1999 when current D'Backs GM Kevin Towers was San Diego's GM.

NL East Notes: Castillo, DePodesta, Braves

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Links from the NL East, as the Marlins declare that Josh Johnson is ready for the season…

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