Rosenthal On Chapman, Braves, Rockies, Norris
Aroldis Chapman went on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation today, after Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported on the Reds’ options for proceeding with the struggling Cuban left-hander. Here’s the latest on Chapman plus notes from around the league:
- A veteran scout insists that the Reds need to demote Chapman and make him a starter, but pitching coach Bryan Price isn’t so sure that a demotion is the way to go. He points out that Sandy Koufax and Randy Johnson took time to develop. “Both struggled with command until they got enough work to figure out how their body works, how to put their hand in the right position to throw quality strikes,” Price said.
- The Braves would ideally add a leadoff hitter and put Martin Prado second in the order, according to Rosenthal. He suggests the Braves could target leadoff options Jose Reyes, Grady Sizemore, Denard Span or David DeJesus via trade or free agency after the season.
- The Rockies appear to be concerned about losing out of options relievers Felipe Paulino and Franklin Morales to waivers.
- Astros GM Ed Wade says Bud Norris has become a much more mature pitcher. The 26-year-old right-hander has 60 strikeouts in 50 innings this year.
Cardinals Claim Jess Todd
Jess Todd is heading back to St. Louis. The Cardinals claimed the right-hander off of waivers from the Yankees, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
The Cardinals selected Todd in the second round of the 2007 draft and promoted him to the Major Leagues in 2009. That same year, the Cardinals sent Todd to Cleveland along with current Indians closer Chris Perez for Mark DeRosa. Earlier this season the Indians designated Todd for assignment and the Yankees claimed the 25-year-old. Soon afterward, New York needed roster space and designated Todd for assignment.
Todd has allowed 19 hits, 8 walks and 13 runs in 10 2/3 minor league innings this year, striking out 7. However, he has averaged more than one strikeout per inning in his five-year minor league career. Todd has 28 1/3 innings of big league experience and his 7.62 ERA is unimpressive despite a strong 29K/12BB ratio.
Tigers Will Consider Trades For Hitters
The Tigers will consider trading for an outfield or third base bat, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, though the $15MM salary owed to Mets' third baseman David Wright "appears too rich for them to take."
Wright's salary is listed at $14MM at Cot's Baseball Contracts, so acquiring him on July 31st would require adding about $4.5MM. I imagine the cost in players to acquire Wright would be an even bigger concern, but only if he starts hitting in the next two months. Plus, the Tigers are already paying Brandon Inge $5.5MM this year and next to man the hot corner.
The Tigers haven't gotten much from outfielders Ryan Raburn, Austin Jackson, and Magglio Ordonez so far this season. A few speculative trade ideas: Jeff Francoeur, Jason Kubel, Hunter Pence, Ryan Ludwick, and Luke Scott. Problems: acquiring Francoeur or Kubel from division rivals could be tough, and Pence may not be available. Carlos Beltran would be a nice fit, but he earns more than Wright.
The Tigers were seven games out and in third place ten days ago, but since then they've won seven straight. They're now in second place, 3.5 games behind the Indians with Max Scherzer on the hill tonight.
Mariners Release Milton Bradley
MAY 16th: The Mariners released Bradley, tweets Ryan Divish of The News Tribune. He's now a free agent, to no one's surprise.
MAY 9th: The Mariners designated left fielder Milton Bradley for assignment and recalled outfielder Carlos Peguero, reports MLB.com's Greg Johns. In the likely event the Ms eventually release Bradley, they'll have to eat over $9MM in salary. Johns tweets GM Jack Zduriencik's explanation: "We felt Milton was not part of our future and not part of our present. Therefore, the move was made."
The Mariners shook up the roster a bit today, designating veterans Bradley and Ryan Langerhans to make room for youngsters Peguero and Mike Wilson. Bradley, 33, hit .209/.298/.351 in 393 plate appearances for the Mariners since he was acquired from the Cubs for Carlos Silva and $9MM in December of '09. Essentially the Mariners took on Bradley for two years and $5MM in that bad contract swap.
Bradley's time with Seattle was tumultuous, with a benching, multiple ejections, time on the restricted list for counseling, arthroscopic knee surgery, and an arrest for making a criminal threat.
Free Agent Offensive Leaderboards
We're about a quarter of the way through the 2011 season. Here's a look at the impending free agent leaderboards.
Batting average
- Lance Berkman – .347
- Jason Kubel – .331
- Jamey Carroll – .319
- Jose Reyes – .310
- Jeff Francoeur – .295
On-base percentage
- Lance Berkman – .434
- Jason Kubel – .387
- Jamey Carroll – .380
- David Ortiz – .377
- Carlos Beltran – .373
Slugging percentage
- Lance Berkman – .694
- Carlos Beltran – .569
- Jeff Francoeur – .550
- Prince Fielder – .540
- David Ortiz – .504
Walk rate
- Carlos Pena – 17.5%
- Kosuke Fukudome – 16.4%
- J.D. Drew – 16.3%
- Jonny Gomes – 15.7%
- Lance Berkman - 14.5%
wOBA
- Lance Berkman - .463
- Carlos Beltran – .402
- Jeff Francoeur – .390
- Prince Fielder – .390
- Kosuke Fukudome – .387
Home runs
1. Lance Berkman – 11
2. Prince Fielder – 9
3. Carlos Beltran, Jeff Francoeur – 8
5. David Ortiz, Rod Barajas, Albert Pujols – 7
If The Diamondbacks Become Sellers
The Diamondbacks currently sit at 17-22, in fourth place in the NL West and five games back of the Giants. The deficit doesn't seem insurmountable, but the Baseball Prospectus playoff odds report assigns the team a meager 0.8% chance. If GM Kevin Towers commits to selling in a couple of months, who might be available?
- Second baseman Kelly Johnson belongs at the top of the list, given his $5.85MM salary and impending free agency. However, Johnson is hitting .185/.256/.308 in 162 plate appearances and leads the NL in strikeouts. Even if he starts hitting, this will probably be a salary dump for Arizona at best.
- 29-year-old southpaw Joe Saunders is having a rough year, with a well-deserved 5.48 ERA through eight starts. There's a good chance he's non-tendered after the season. If he can put up a sub-5.00 ERA over the next two months the Diamondbacks might be able to save a few million on the contract. Lefty Zach Duke, recovering from a broken hand, may not make his season debut until late May or early June. If he pitches well in June, he could be a more affordable alternative to Saunders.
- There's an argument for trading shortstop Stephen Drew this summer. It'd probably make the team worse in 2012, but Drew's trade value could be higher than Jose Reyes' since the Arizona shortstop is under control for next season. Towers was willing to listen on Justin Upton during the offseason, and I think he'll field calls on Drew in the coming months. If Drew can be had, Towers would have to listen on catcher Miguel Montero as well, as Montero is also under team control through '12.
- Closer J.J. Putz is another solid player the D'Backs have to consider moving even if it hurts in the short-term. Putz is under contract for '12 and possibly '13. He's nine for nine in save opportunities in a world where Matt Capps can net a team Wilson Ramos.
- The Diamondbacks have a slew of additional veterans who wouldn't net more than salary relief in trade, assuming they're even around in July: Melvin Mora, Armando Galarraga, Aaron Heilman, Xavier Nady, Geoff Blum, Henry Blanco, Russell Branyan, and Willie Bloomquist.
Draft Prep: Know Your Bradleys
The draft is just three weeks away. Three Bradleys have first-round potential; let's brush up.
Archie Bradley
Archie is a right-handed pitcher out of Broken Arrow High School in Oklahoma. In his recent top 100 list, ESPN's Keith Law ranked him tenth. Back in February, Baseball America placed him ninth. Law notes that Archie "is committed to Oklahoma as a quarterback but his passion is baseball." According to Law, this Bradley sits 92-95 and has a hammer curveball "that might be the best in the draft." Talking to BA's Nathan Rode in February, Bradley labeled himself a "front of the rotation guy," noting that "people get away from the fastball too much." Comparisons to Dylan Bundy are natural, because the two top ten draft prospects pitch in the same conference and are good friends.
Jed Bradley
Jed is a 6'4" left-handed pitcher out of Georgia Tech. Law ranked him 13th, while BA had him 12th in February. Law says Jed sits at 89-94 and is a clear first-rounder, but his ceiling is currently limited because he lacks an average breaking ball. On May 11th, ESPN's Jason Churchill wrote that Bradley's recent performance had his stock dropping a bit, but he'll still go in the middle of the first round at worst. MLB.com's Peter Gammons still considers Jed a "sure top-10 selection." BA's Teddy Cahill noted that Bradley was undrafted out of high school, but he bulked up, added velocity, and learned a lot from former Yellow Jacket teammate Deck McGuire.
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Jackie is a 5'10" center fielder out of South Carolina. He's currently recovering from late April wrist surgery. While the injury itself doesn't affect his long-term outlook, it may prevent him from returning and breaking out of an extended slump. BA's Jim Callis puts Jackie in the second half of the first round, and Law ranked him 28th. Law's scouting report bottom line: "His upside is that of a plus glove in center who hits for average and probably 15-homer power." Jackie has over 4,000 Twitter followers and is advised by the Boras Corporation.
2012 Contract Issues: St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series, and their offseason should have plenty of intrigue. Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:
Eligible For Free Agency (8)
- Earlier this month, three GMs who spoke to SI's Jon Heyman predicted Albert Pujols would re-sign with the Cardinals after the season. The situation seems to have gone dormant since Spring Training, but not in a discouraging way. Perhaps coincidentally, Pujols is having the worst season of his career. It's only about a quarter over, but should the slugger fail to reach the .400 OBP and .600 SLG for which he's typically been considered a lock, that would have to affect the price tag and make the Cardinals' offer (north of $200MM over nine years) more palatable. Still, it's hard to picture Pujols not requiring a salary in the $24-26MM range.
- Lance Berkman has proven last year's power outage to be a fluke; he's leading the NL with a .694 SLG. He's close to the top in home runs, RBI, and OBP as well. Should Berkman's health and amazing offense continue, maybe he'll have his eye on Paul Konerko's three-year, $37.5MM contract, which was similarly signed by a mid-30s player coming off a huge year. I imagine he'll have to let the Cardinals resolve the Pujols situation first, if he's aiming to return.
- Ryan Franklin seems headed for a minor league deal, as he's lost his closing job and has been battered in his first 13 2/3 innings.
- The sample is tiny, but Trever Miller hasn't handled lefties well this year. Miguel Batista is another Cardinals veteran reliever whose ERA is much better than his peripheral statistics.
- Gerald Laird, Nick Punto, and Brian Tallet are also eligible for free agency.
Contract Options (3)
- Chris Carpenter: $15MM club option with a $1MM buyout. Though Carpenter's ERA is 4.95, his supporting stats are similar to last year's. The Cardinals will have to decide on him before Pujols, most likely. If Carpenter is healthy the Cards probably have to pick this up, knowing that they could at least trade the 36-year-old if need be.
- Adam Wainwright: $9MM club option for 2012, $12MM club option for '13, must be either voided or exercised at the same time. In his conversation with Heyman earlier this month, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak seemed to imply the team is planning to exercise Wainwright's options. Barring any major setbacks it's an easy call.
- Yadier Molina: $7MM club option with a $750K buyout. This option seems likely to be exercised.
Arbitration Eligible (6)
- First time: Colby Rasmus, Jaime Garcia, Jason Motte
- Second time: Kyle McClellan
- Third time: Ryan Theriot, Skip Schumaker
The Cardinals have several notable arbitration cases, starting with Rasmus and Garcia. Rasmus' career numbers should keep him at $3.5MM or less. Garcia's numbers are limited by missing the '09 season, but he's having a fantastic year and should jump past $3MM (more on that from MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith this week). Theriot and Schumaker are not locks to be tendered, but we'll see how the rest of the season plays out for them. If everyone is retained I'm estimating around $18MM for the team's arbitration eligibles.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Cardinals' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is $47.538MM not including the buyouts for Carpenter and Molina. If the three options are picked up they'll be at $78.538MM, and the arbitration eligible group could bring commitments up to $97MM. If payroll remains steady at $109MM, there's only about $12MM to work with before accounting for minimum salary players. I'm sure the Cardinals have already worked out ways to fit in a salary exceeding $20MM for Pujols, whether by backloading, raising payroll, or not retaining Carpenter, Theriot, and Schumaker. But if Pujols is re-signed it's hard to see where an eight-figure salary for Berkman fits in or how the Cardinals will have any significant money for other improvements.
Quick Hits: Vazquez, Mets, Brewers, Rays, O’s
Here are some items of note for Sunday. On this day in 1941, 70 years ago, Joe DiMaggio began his Major League-record 56-game hitting streak, a mark that still stands today and has been largely unchallenged, as Jayson Stark of ESPN.com writes.
- It doesn't sound like the Marlins are ready to give up on Javier Vazquez, writes Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post. The Fish are paying Vazquez $7MM this year, but he allowed six runs in four innings today to raise his season ERA to 7.55.
- The New York Post's Brad Hamilton reminds us that on July 1, the Mets will begin paying Bobby Bonilla $1.2MM each year for the next 25 years. New York struck that deal in 1999 to avoid paying the $5.9MM remaining on his contract when they released him.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes that despite the offensive woes of Carlos Gomez and Yuniesky Betancourt, the Brewers are sticking with them for the time being.
- Operating on a tight budget has its advantages for teams like the Rays, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Without extra cash to commit to pricey free agents, clubs like Tampa are rarely encumbered by poorly producing, highly compensated veterans, Sherman explains.
- Meanwhile, the Orioles would like to emulate the Rays' formula for success, writes Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com.
- Should the Yankees come to part ways with Jorge Posada in the wake of Saturday's incident, they could use the DH spot to rest veterans like Alex Rodriguez, or they could pursue a new DH like Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (subcription needed). Beltran is off to a great start with the Mets this season and could draw interest on the trade market, although Matt Klaassen of FanGraphs recently speculated that Beltran wouldn't yield much more than salary relief for the Mets.
- Pete Rose is still seeking a second chance to manage, and he thinks it's hypocritical that players and coaches who have used PEDs, abused alcohol and been involved in domestic-violence incidents remain in the game, according to an Associated Press report (via ESPN.com).
MLBTR Originals: 5/8/11 – 5/15/11
Let's recap all of the original content we provided here at MLBTR over the last seven days…
- Tim Dierkes listed some potentially available relievers as well as players that could be on the market if the Twins decide to become sellers. He also published a list of 2012 free agents, arbitration records for position players, and each agency's contract haul from this winter.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith spoke to Brandon Inge about his tenure with the Tigers, as well as Alex Avila and GM Dave Dombrowski about the team's catching depth. He also looked back at all of the relievers the Rays lost this past offseason.
- Steve Adams looked back at Jose Bautista's contract extension just three months after it was signed. Bautista was also the focus of Howard Megdal's latest Jack Of All Trades post.
- Mark Polishuk evaluated the Twins' rebuilt bullpen while Ben did the same for the Padres, Rays, and Diamondbacks. Dan Mennella looked at Heath Bell as a trade candidate and I went back and re-lived the first Mike Piazza trade.
- The 2012 Contract Issues series continued with the Rockies, Athletics, Phillies, and Royals.
- This week's poll question asked about Milton Bradley's future.
- I dug up the best the blogosphere had to offer in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- This week's chat transcript can be found here.
- Here's a list of MLBTR's regular features.
- We're looking for help with @closernews.