Archives for March 2011

Eric Young Jr. Could Attract Trade Interest

By Zachary Links | March 12, 2011 at 2:38pm CDT

There are at least a few scouts on hand to watch Eric Young Jr. and with the Rockies' depth at second base, the 25-year-old could attract trade interest, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. There's presently no indication that the club is looking to move Young, Renck tweets, but things can change.

Young, who has also seen time in the outfield, would be an inexpensive addition to any club as he won't be arbitration-eligible until after the 2012 season. The light-hitting second baseman hit just .244 /.312/.285 in 51 games this season though he has shown better hitting ability at the Triple-A level (.787 OPS).

Red Sox Notes: Bergmann, Wakefield

By Zachary Links | March 12, 2011 at 1:15pm CDT

A couple of items from Beantown..

The Red Sox have voided the minor league contract of Jason Bergmann, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. The hurler came to camp with a shoulder injury and has been unable to pitch. Boston signed the right-hander in December after he posted a 2.84 ERA with 9.9 K/9 in 43 relief appearances for Washington's Triple-A affiliate in 2010. The 29-year-old has a 5.04 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 across parts of six seasons with the Nats.
Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield’s age and recent results make one wonder about his role on the 2011 Red Sox, writes Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. The club already has five starters and the 44-year-old isn't really geared to come out of the bullpen. Wakefield is guaranteed $1.5MM this season.

Discussion: Could The Angels And Astros Be A Match?

By Zachary Links | March 12, 2011 at 11:40am CDT

Recently, after learning of Jason Castro's season-ending injury, Astros owner Drayton McLane reportedly decided that the club could allocate extra money to find a backstop for 2011. It remains to be seen exactly how much funding the team is willing to put towards the catcher position, especially since Houston doesn't seem poised to contend this season and whoever they acquire will be simply keeping the spot warm for Castro.

There are plenty of catchers on the block, such as Pittsburgh's Ryan Doumit. Doumit could fit the bill as a one-year solution, though he will take in $5.6MM on the year when including the $500K buyout of his remaining years. The Astros' first choice to step in for Castro was Twins catcher Drew Butera, but they were quickly rebuffed. Nationals backstop Jesus Flores reportedly drew interest from GM Ed Wade but the club is said to have cooled on him in recent days. The 26-year-old has appeared healthy in Spring Training but Houston is still wary of his surgically repaired right shoulder.

While it seems that Wade won't take advantage of the Nats' glut at the catcher position, he could look elsewhere to find a club with a backstop to spare. We've yet to hear of the Astros reaching out to the Angels about one of their catchers, but it would make an awful lot of sense for them to make an inquiry.

While Jeff Mathis is in position to be the club's Opening Day catcher, Bobby Wilson is looking good in Spring Training – both literally and figuratively. The soon-to-be 28-year-old dropped 33 pounds at the behest of manager Mike Scioscia and seems likely to take the No. 2 position on the depth chart, in part because he's out-of-options. With youngster Hank Conger waiting in the wings, it would make sense for the Halos to clear a path for the up-and-coming prospect by dealing from a position of strength. Wilson could obviously be had for less than Mathis, but both catchers have affordable contracts and it's unlikely that either one would be termed "untouchable".

NL East Notes: Rodriguez, Amaro, Manuel, Utley

By Zachary Links | March 12, 2011 at 10:31am CDT

Let's take a look at some items on the Mets and Phillies..

The Mets are within their rights to limit the number of games closer Francisco Rodriguez finishes this year, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. If K-Rod finishes 55 games this year, his $17.5MM option for 2012 will vest. The player's union will reportedly keep a watchful eye on the situation.
Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter) finds the timing of Ruben Amaro's four-year extension interesting, as it comes shortly after manager Charlie Manuel agreed to a two-year extension. Heyman wonders if the Phillies wanted to avoid giving Manuel "any ideas", presumably meaning that they didn't want to give him a deal of similar length.
There has been a lot of talk about how the Phillies might look to replace the injured Chase Utley, but the club can survive without him, writes Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Meanwhile, the club is still without a clear timetable for when their star second baseman will return, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
Mets skipper Terry Collins tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that his club has plenty of starting pitching depth.

Phillies Sign Ruben Amaro Jr. To Extension

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 12, 2011 at 8:12am CDT

Now that they've locked their manager up, the Phillies have moved on to the front office. The Phillies and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. have finalized a four-year contract extension, according to a team press release.

The Phillies promoted Amaro to GM after Pat Gillick retired following the team's 2008 World Championship. Amaro, a seven-year veteran of the major leagues, spent ten years as an assistant GM before his promotion (1999-2008). You won't find anyone with deeper ties to the Phillies; Amaro was a batboy for the team and he and his father both suited up for the Phils at the Major League level.

Amaro has traded for Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt since taking over the team and later signed Lee as a free agent. The Phillies won the NL East in both 2009 and 2010, making it to the World Series in '09 and to the NLCS in '10. As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, Amaro has been aggressive with extensions, locking eight players up in two-plus seasons on the job.

Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News reported yesterday that the extension was "virtually done" and that the two sides were putting the "finishing touches" on the agreement. Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) reported that a deal was finalized.

Quick Hits: Chipper, Nix, Trout, Rockies

By Mark Polishuk | March 11, 2011 at 11:01pm CDT

Here's a potpourri of news items as we head into the weekend…

Chipper Jones talks to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince about his recovery from knee surgery and his future in baseball. Jones was thinking of retirement last summer before, as Castrovince writes, "he started to hit like Chipper Jones again….And where the knee injury might have been the straw that broke the camel's back in June, in August, it served as a motivating factor to keep going."
Laynce Nix has the been the subject of trade rumors, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Nix has a .251/.293/.445 career slash line against right-handed pitching and the Astros are reportedly in the market for a left-handed bench bat. Nix is currently in the Nationals' Spring Training camp on a minor league contract.
Star prospect Mike Trout is turning heads at the Angels' Spring Training camp, reports MLB.com's Lyle Spencer.
The Rockies will look internally to replace the injured Aaron Cook, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Already suffering from shoulder inflammation, Cook will be out until at least May due to a broken finger on his throwing hand.
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times looks at the Rangers' offseason and how the team had a more-than-adequate "plan B" (Adrian Beltre) in mind when they failed to re-sign Cliff Lee.
Jake Odorizzi might end up being the most important piece of the trade package the Royals received for Zack Greinke, says MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
Mariners manager Eric Wedge has brought a number of former Indians coaches and players with him to Seattle, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Brandon Wood has struggled this spring, while Mark Trumbo has had a big camp for the Angels. Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com thinks Trumbo's emergence means that the out-of-options Wood's "days in an Angels uniform appear to be numbered."
It was almost a year ago that Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland underwent life-threatening brain surgery. Today, MLB.com's Evan Drellich writes that "doctors have already been amazed at the speed of his recovery" as Westmoreland is trying hard to regain both his basic motor skills and his baseball abilities.

D’Backs Notes: Kennedy, Miranda, Skaggs, Young

By Mark Polishuk | March 11, 2011 at 10:05pm CDT

With the Cactus League in full swing, let's check out some news about the team that plays in Arizona year-round…

The Diamondbacks renewed the contracts of Ian Kennedy and Juan Miranda for the 2011 season, according to a team press release. This means the club couldn't agree to terms on a one-year contract with either pre-arbitration player. Madison Bumgarner, Tommy Hanson and Jason Berken are a few of the notable pre-arb players who have settled for renewals this spring.
The Snakes were pretty roundly criticized for not getting enough in return for Dan Haren last summer, but Tyler Skaggs (one of the prospects Arizona acquired in the deal with the Angels) tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he wants to "prove people wrong, to show people that I'm worth the trade." Skaggs, 19, was the 40th overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft, and he has a 3.16 ERA, a 4.26 K/BB ratio and a 9.3 K/9 rate in two minor league seasons.
Piecoro also comments on the recent Michael Young talks between the D'Backs and Rangers, saying he is "being told not to expect it to happen." Piecoro thinks even if the Rangers agree to pay most of Young's $48MM salary over the next three years, the D'Backs will still have to pay some of it, and "wouldn’t that money be better spent on the draft or on international signings?" Piecoro also doesn't think the Diamondbacks should deal away young players for Young, except for possibly Brandon Allen, "whom they don’t seem to value anyway."

This Date In Transactions History: March 11

By Mark Polishuk | March 11, 2011 at 9:28pm CDT

His name is Dan Uggla, and he's celebrating his 31st birthday today. He was also involved in one of the winter's biggest trades when the Marlins sent him to Atlanta. Uggla's birthday and his recent appearance on the trade wire combined to inspire the latest edition of This Date In Transactions History…

Brian Giles cut his comeback bid with the Dodgers short on March 11, 2010 when he announced his retirement due to nagging knee injuries. You can make a case for Giles as baseball's most underrated player in recent years — he posted a .902 career OPS (.291/.400/.502) over his 15-year career with the Indians, Pirates and Padres.
The Royals signed David DeJesus to a five-year, $13.8MM contract extension on this day in 2006. The deal contained a $6MM team option for 2011 that Kansas City exercised a month before dealing DeJesus to Oakland. DeJesus hit .289/.360/.426 during that contract's lifetime and gave the Royals some well-above average defense, especially in left field. The Royals got that solid performance plus Vin Mazzaro and Justin Marks from the A's, so K.C. received quite a nice return on that $13.8MM investment.
The Yankees released Ruben Rivera under odd circumstances on this day in 2002. The outfielder was cut during Spring Training for stealing a glove and bat from the locker of teammate Derek Jeter and selling the gear to a sports memorabilia dealer. Rivera was released after the other Yankee players (including his cousin Mariano) unanimously voted him off the team. Rivera only had 241 more Major League plate appearances after this incident, though he played for Panama in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics.
Former No. 1 overall amateur draft pick Ben McDonald was dealt from Cleveland to Milwaukee for Mark Watson on March 11, 1998. Just three months earlier, McDonald went from the Brewers (along with Ron Villone and Mike Fetters) to the Tribe for a package of Marquis Grissom and Jeff Juden. McDonald underwent rotator cuff surgery, however, in February 1998 that failed to correct a nagging shoulder problem, so he was sent back to Milwaukee. McDonald never pitched again, finishing his career with a 3.91 career ERA and a 2.05 career K/BB rate in 211 Major League games.
Hall-of-Famer Jim Palmer made his final pitching appearance in an Orioles uniform on this day in 1991. At age 45, Palmer attempted a comeback and allowed two runs and five hits over two innings in a Spring Training game against Boston. Palmer announced his final retirement the next day.
Between 1955 and 1964, Mickey Mantle averaged a 1.057 OPS for the Yankees. His only "down year" came in 1959 when he hit .285/.390/.514 with 31 homers. (To give you an idea of how great Mantle was, compare the worst year of his prime to Brian Giles' very good career numbers.) The Yankees gave Mantle a $7K pay cut when finalizing his next contract on this day in 1960, whittling his pay for the 1960 season to $65K. The Mick responded by leading the league in homers, total bases, runs and OPS that year.
On March 11, 1901, Hall-of-Fame manager John McGraw tried to sneak a player under baseball's color line by announcing that his Baltimore Orioles had signed "Charlie Tokohama," allegedly a member of the Cherokee Nation. Tokohama was actually Charlie Grant, a Negro Leagues star. McGraw's plot was discovered and Grant was prevented from ever playing in the majors.

Phillies Notes: Lee, Young, Utley

By Mark Polishuk | March 11, 2011 at 8:04pm CDT

Here's the latest from the four-time defending National League East champs…

In an interview today on Philadelphia's WIP Radio, Cliff Lee said that his top priority as a free agent was to join the team with the best chance of winning. After the Phillies, his next choices were the Rangers and the Yankees, in that order. New York was the third choice since, Lee says, "I felt like with what the Red Sox had done and it seems like some of the Yankee guys are getting older, but I liked the Rangers.”
It seems unlikely that the Phillies could manage to take on Michael Young's salary, but Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News outlines how the Phils could conceivably acquire the Rangers' infielder. Hagen surmises the club can partially pay for Young if they receive some insurance money back from a lengthy Chase Utley injury, and if the Phillies can move Joe Blanton (owed $17MM over the next two seasons) to the Rangers in the trade.
Both Hagen and MLB.com's Todd Zolecki point out that the Phillies want to avoid having their payroll reach the $178MM threshold that would cost them a luxury tax payment. The Philadelphia payroll currently projects to be in the $165MM-$168MM range. GM Ruben Amaro tells Zolecki that the team believes Utley "will be healthy enough sooner rather than later," but if the team does look outside the organization for help, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently looked at some potential second base candidates.

Ohio Notes: Mesoraco, Johnson, Davis

By Mark Polishuk | March 11, 2011 at 7:39pm CDT

Some notes from the Buckeye State's two teams…

Catching prospect Devin Mesoraco, the Reds' first-round pick in the 2007 draft, is impressing the club during Spring Training with both his bat and his defense, reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
The Reds didn't make major offseason acquisitions and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that it was the right way for GM Walt Jocketty to approach the offseason.
Here are a few details on Nick Johnson's minor league contract from MLB.com's Jordan Bastian and Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. According to Hoynes, Johnson can opt out of his contract and become a free agent if he's not on the Indians' Major League roster by July 1. Cleveland's $2.75MM team option on Johnson for 2012 will cease to be if Johnson isn't called up to the majors some point this season, tweets Bastian. Of course, if Johnson isn't playing well enough to even earn a call-up, Cleveland wouldn't have been likely to pick up that option for next year anyway.
Right-hander Jason Davis, who pitched for the Indians from 2002-07, is on a tryout with the Tribe's minor league camp, reports Paul Hoynes (Twitter link). Davis, who last pitched in the majors with Pittsburgh in 2008, has a 4.82 ERA in 144 Major League games, 56 of them starts.

MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith also contributed to this post

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