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Rangers Willing To Eat Half Of Young’s Contract

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The Rangers are calling teams about Michael Young and are willing to eat about half of the $48MM remaining on his contract, tweets Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.  As we've been hearing in recent weeks, the club is still asking for top-end prospects and not getting any bites.

Several teams have been linked to the veteran slugger but it doesn't appear that anyone is close to making a deal for him.  The Diamondbacks rekindled talks with Texas a little more than a week ago but there has been little word on that front since.  Some have suggested that the Cubs and Phillies could look to acquire Young, but neither club has yet to make a move.

General Manager Jon Daniels & Co. could generate some interest in the infielder if they are in fact willing to eat a significant portion of his contract.  Young is owed $16MM per season through 2013.

Nationals Could Shop Ivan Rodriguez

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The Nationals are thinking about making Wilson Ramos the Opening Day starter behind the plate, two baseball sources tell Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  Ladson writes that if Ramos wins the starting job, then Ivan Rodriguez would be relegated to the bench or dealt to another team.  With Rodriguez out of the picture, Jesus Flores would presumably be the backup.

With the aforementioned catchers plus prospect Derek Norris in the fold, the Nationals have seemed willing to move a backstop this winter.  Flores drew some interest from the Astros following Jason Castro's potentially season-ending knee injury, but the club quickly cooled on him due to concerns about his surgically repaired shoulder.

If Washington feels comfortable with Ramos as their top catcher, then Rodriguez would be expendable.  The 39-year-old is in the final year of a two-year, $6MM deal.

Cardinals Release Two Minor League Pitchers

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The Cardinals have released right-handed pitchers Mark Diapoules and Houston Summers from minor league camp, according to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Summers signed with the team as a minor league free agent last year while Diapoules was St. Louis' 21st round pick back in 2006.

Diapoules, 22, spent most of 2010 with High-A Palm Beach, where he posted a 2.44 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in nine starts and five relief appearances.  He also made two starts for Double-A Springfield but did not fare well, pitching just 5.1 innings combined. 

According to Goold, there was no room for Diapoules as the organization's higher-level bullpens are more or less set.  By releasing him now, the club is giving him the opportunity to hook on elsewhere before rosters are cemented in a couple of weeks.

Jose Molina Says Bengie Still Wants To Play

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Bengie Molina said he is retired "for now" earlier this week, but his brother Jose told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Bengie still wants to play. He made it clear that his older brother would only sign a contract that showed him "sufficient respect," likely ruling out a minor league pact.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi asked Jose, his former player, if Bengie planned on playing this season during a Spring Training game this week, but Rosenthal says that was likely out of his own curiosity. GM Brian Cashman has said flatly the team is not looking for help at catcher despite Francisco Cervelli's fractured foot. Prospects Jesus Montero and Austin Romine are currently competing for the backup job behind Russell Martin in Cervelli's stead.

The Padres expressed interest in Bengie earlier this month, and the Astros figure to be looking for some catching help as well.

Poll: Luis Castillo’s Next Team

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The Mets finally went ahead and did what seemed inevitable yesterday, cutting ties with Luis Castillo. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said late last night that he expects Castillo to sign with a new team shortly after clearing waivers on Sunday, when it would only require the league minimum to bring him aboard. Let’s look at some potential suitors, then vote on his next destination…

  • Phillies: Chase Utley is out indefinitely with knee problems, and Castillo’s low cost would surely be attractive to a team pushing the limits on payroll.
  • Marlins: They’re currently scheduled to begin the season with Omar Infante at second and top prospect Matt Dominguez at third. Castillo, who originally broke in with Florida, would allow them to slide Infante to third and take it slow with Dominguez, who has yet to play above Double-A.
  • Dodgers: It’s possible that Casey Blake will miss the start of the regular season with back trouble, and Castillo could step in at second with Juan Uribe sliding over to third.
  • Rockies: They’ve been connected to Michael Young basically all offseason, but Castillo would be a much more affordable second base option as well as less risky since there’s no long-term commitment. Rosenthal mentioned that Colorado was not in the mix, however.
  • Orioles: Brian Roberts is dealing with back issues, and although he’s getting closer to game action, Castillo would provide insurance at second and in the leadoff spot.
  • Cubs: The second base job is still up for grabs on Chicago’s north side according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago, so Castillo could push Blake DeWitt, Jeff Baker, Darwin Barney, and Augie Ojeda.
  • Cardinals: Nick Punto is recovering from a hernia, leaving a little bit of an opening on the roster.

Castillo has never played a position other than second base in his Major League career (not even DH), so his ability to serve as a utility infielder is far from a given.

Handshake Agreement May Have Impacted Cabral

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Left-hander Cesar Cabral was involved in a pair of transactions last week, first getting claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays from the Rays before Tampa re-claimed him two days later. As Richard Griffin of The Toronto Star explains, a handshake agreement between Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and Red Sox GM Theo Epstein may have impacted the moves.

When the Jays hired former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell to be their new manager this offseason, the deal apparently came with a "non-compete" handshake agreement between the two clubs, preventing Toronto from selecting Boston players in the Rule 5 Draft. Cabral was selected by the Rays from the Sox in the Rule 5 Draft, but the Jays insist they were "playing by the rules" when they claimed him last week because at that time he was property of Tampa, not Boston.

A source tells Griffin that the original waiver claim (Jays taking Cabral from the Rays) may have been rescinded because of the handshake agreement, explaining why he ended up back with Tampa before Toronto could ever see him pitch in their uniform. It's unclear who exactly would have rescinded the claim if true; did the Jays back off or did MLB intervene?

Cabral, a 22-year-old lefty reliever, must stay on the Rays' 25-man roster all season or be placed on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, the Red Sox can take him back for half of the original $50K Rule 5 Draft fee.

Jason Davis Ends Comeback Attempt

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It's been eight years since Jason Davis was the Indians' number two starter behind CC Sabathia, but his comeback attempt with those same Indians came to an end yesterday. Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports (on Twitter) that Davis, who was in camp on a minor league deal, ended his comeback attempt after just a week.

Davis, now 30, didn't pitch at all in 2010, taking what was termed a "mental break." He last appeared in the big leagues in 2008 with the Pirates, and has battled control problems in recent years. In his last 96 1/3 innings (that includes his time in Pittsburgh plus a Triple-A stint in 2009), he walked 53 batters and struck out only 38. Davis finishes his career with a 4.82 ERA in 461 innings, having played for the Tribe, Mariners, and Bucs. 

Luis Castillo Rumors: Friday

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The Mets released Luis Castillo this morning, which means they're responsible for $6MM less the MLB minimum if he signs with another team. That's exactly what the second baseman intends to do, so we're going to keep track of which teams have potential interest right here:

  • The Cubs are interested in Castillo, a source told Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com.
  • The Orioles have "zero" interest in Castillo at this point, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
  • The Marlins have spoken internally about re-acquiring Castillo, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Castillo would be a candidate to play second base in case Matt Dominguez doesn't make the team and Omar Infante shifts to third base.
  • The Dodgers have no interest in Castillo, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter).
  • Asked about potential interest, Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock said "that remains to be seen," according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki (on Twitter).
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs argues that Castillo could hold down Philadelphia's second base job while Chase Utley recovers. Castillo isn't a long-term answer, but he could do enough to help the Phillies.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports expects that Castillo will sign shortly after clearning waivers on Sunday, and he confirmed that the Phillies, Marlins and Cubs are thought to be in on the veteran second baseman. Rosenthal added that the O's could be interested, depending on how Brian Roberts progresses with his back injury, and he tweeted that the Rockies are not in the mix.

Mets Notes: Castillo, Buyers, Lawsuit

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Here are a few items of note coming out of Mets camp on Friday night …

  • GM Sandy Alderson and manager Terry Collins admitted that Mets fans' disdain for Luis Castillo factored into the team's decision to release the embattled second baseman earlier today, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Collins implied that even if Castillo had played well, fans would have been hard on him at his first sign of struggles. Here are the early reports on where Castillo might and might not land.
  • There is "decent interest" in buying a minority stake in the Mets, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the potential partners are apparently insisting on including a clause that would make the team theirs should the Wilpons not be able to afford running the team anymore. This would seem to indicate that the cash from a minority partner might not necessarily solve all the Wilpons' financial troubles.
  • The trustee trying to recover funds from Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme in a lawsuit against Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz is now seeking a total of more than $1 billion, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The previous amount sought by the trustee wasn't far short of $1 billion, so, either way, it's a lot of money. If the Mets' owners lose and have to pay, it could be crippling to their chances of retaining the team, depending on how much they are forced to pay, of course.

Doug Davis To Audition For Teams Next Week

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Free-agent left-hander Doug Davis will work out for teams in Tempe, Arizona, on Thursday, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.

Davis, 35, appeared in just eight games with the Brewers in 2010, suffering from a virus in the lining of his heart and then undergoing surgery to repair a "small tear in his flexor tendon," according to Crasnick (via Twitter). Milwaukee declined to pick up its end of the lefty's $6.5MM option for 2011, granting Davis a $1MM buyout and free agency.

Between his age and recent trouble staying healthy, Davis' prospects of latching on with another team did not look especially great, depending on the terms of a contract he might have been seeking, of course.

However, his agent, Steve Canter, said that Davis has been throwing for two-plus months and that Davis "feels great," tweets Crasnick. And with a few pitchers having already gone down to injury this spring, Davis could seize an opportunity at the right price.

That being said, it's unclear whether Davis would be seeking a Major League or minor league deal. We've already seen the durable Kevin Millwood, who is reportedly seeking one year and $4MM, encounter trouble in securing a big league deal.

In 12 big league seasons, Davis has a 4.38 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.

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