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Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Colletti, Hendry, Royals

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…

  • Ned Colletti is under contract as Dodgers GM through 2012, but he has an out-clause after that. MLB is unlikely to stand in the way if another team asks to interview him before then though.
  • The consensus is that the Cubs need to show some progress if GM Jim Hendry is going to keep his job beyond this season. The team's 14-17 start already has some in the game speculating about possible successors, which might include Colletti, former Diamondbacks GM and current Padres executive Josh Byrnes, and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn. If the ChiSox are worried about losing Hahn, Rosenthal says they could promote him to GM and promote Kenny Williams to club president.
  • Most expect the White Sox to "snap out of it," but if not, they could be a team to watch as the trade deadline approaches. One GM said Williams is not the type to "sit there in no man's land," so expect some rumblings about free agents to be Mark Buehrle and Edwin Jackson. Some believe Buehrle would only accept a trade to the Cardinals though.
  • Their most intriguing chips are John Danks and Carlos Quentin, who are under team control as arbitration-eligible players in 2012. Danks could bring a significant return.
  • The Royals could be quite busy if they remain in contention. The Zack Greinke trade and Gil Meche's retirement freed up significant cash, and the team could be both buyers and sellers. Wilson Betemit is expendable because of top prospect Mike Moustakas, possibly to the Marlins, and they could look to deal either Jeff Francoeur or Melky Cabrera. One thing they will need in return: bullpen reinforcements. The Kansas City bullpen is throwing a ton of innings.

Top Free Agent Starting Pitchers By ERA+

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Earlier this morning we looked at the top free agent hitters from this past offseason in terms of OPS+, and now it's time to look at the free agent pitchers using ERA+. Given the nature of their role, relievers are not included…

  • Dustin Moseley, Padres – 1.63 ERA (217 ERA+) – It's not just Petco Park, Moseley has a 3.75 ERA in two starts at home and a 0.68 ERA in four starts on the road.
  • Jorge de la Rosa, Rockies – 2.92 ERA (153 ERA+) – Several teams were interested in the southpaw, who re-upped in Colorado and continues to pitch well.
  • Bartolo Colon, Yankees – 3.00 ERA (134 ERA+) – What's more surprising: that Colon has been this effective, or that he's still pumping 94 mph gas?
  • Kevin Correia, Pirates – 2.91 ERA (134 ERA+) – Pittsburgh's Opening Day hurler has allowed two earned runs or less in five of his seven starts.
  • Brandon McCarthy, Athletics – 3.05 ERA (137 ERA+) – He also has the fifth best K/BB ratio (4.50) in the American League.
  • Bruce Chen, Royals – 3.59 ERA (109 ERA+) – Chen has finally found some staying power with his tenth big league club.
  • Cliff Lee, Phillies – 3.69 ERA (105 ERA+) – The winter's big prize whiffed 16 Braves last night, already his fourth double-digit strikeout game of the season.
  • Hiroki Kuroda, Dodgers – 3.69 ERA (100 ERA+) – Kuroda was a free agent but he never hit the open market; he agreed to re-sign with the Dodgers during the exclusive negotiating period.

It drops off quite a bit after that, Aaron Harang of the Padres is next on the list with an 81 ERA+ (4.37 ERA). Chris Young of the Mets has a 202 ERA+ (1.88 ERA), but he doesn't have enough innings to qualify for the league ERA title because he's spent some time on the disabled list.

Top Free Agent Hitters By OPS+

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The 2011 MLB season is a little more than a month complete, so let's take a quick look and see which free agent positions players have been the most productive at the plate using OPS+…

  • Lance Berkman, Cardinals – .392/.462/.775 (239 OPS+) – Puma's been the best hitter in the NL so far, enjoying a career resurgence in St. Louis.
  • Jeff Francoeur, Royals – .303/.343/.598 (163 OPS+) – Ben Nicholson-Smith wrote about the success of Dayton Moore's free agent signings yesterday.
  • Russell Martin, Yankees – .276/.382/.540 (154 OPS+) – The former Dodger has already hit more homers this year (six) than he did last year (five).
  • Paul Konerko, White Sox – .288/.358/.517 (140 OPS+) – Konerko didn't change teams, but he was on the open market and several other teams had interest.
  • Jack Hannahan, Indians – .264/.350/.440 (130 OPS+) – The only player here signed to a minor league deal, Hannahan's been worth every penny for the surging Tribe.
  • Pat Burrell, Giants – .239/.356/.443 (118 OPS+) – Another re-signing, at least one other team had interest in Pat The Bat this offseason.
  • Melky Cabrera, Royals – .285/.308/.453 (114 OPS+) -The Melkman has delivered for KC so far, giving Lorenzo Cain time to hone his skills in Triple-A.
  • Johnny Damon, Rays – .261/.292/.435 (107 OPS+) – Has stepped in as DH and been an above-average contributor after Manny Ramirez called it quits.
  • Adrian Beltre, Rangers – .238/.279/.460 (102 OPS+) – He's been a little inconsistent at the plate, but that brilliant defense at the hot corner is still very much there.

That's it, just eight free agents from this past offseason have been better than league average with the stick so far this season. Jayson Werth and Rod Barajas are just below that mark; they each check in at 99 OPS+. Orlando Cabrera and John Buck aren't far behind them at 97 and 96 OPS+, respectively.

Quick Hits: Martin, Bulger, Hudson, Draft

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A few items of note on Friday night as Derek Lowe's bid for the Majors' second no-hitter of the week falls by the wayside …

  • Rangers prospect Leonys Martin can opt out of his five-year contract and choose to go through the arbitration process if he has enough service time to qualify for arbitration before the contract expires, MLBTR has learned. Martin, 23, is a Cuban defector whose deal with Texas became official on Tuesday.
  • Angels reliever Jason Bulger, who was designated for assignment on April 27, cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
  • Diamondbacks right-hander Daniel Hudson was part of the ill-fated trade between the Padres and White Sox in May 2009 that was vetoed by Jake Peavy, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter). Peavy later accepted a trade to the South Siders at that season's deadline, but that package did not include Hudson. Instead, Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell went to the Friars. Hudson was later dealt to Arizona at the 2010 trade deadline in exchange for Edwin Jackson.
  • The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire at season's end, and hard-slotting for draft picks could be implemented in the new CBA, writes Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. Hard-slotting would affix a set price to each draft pick and preclude drafted prep players from using the threat of going to college as bargaining leverage. One scouting director told Mayo he expects to see more players sign this year since it could be their last chance to negotiate a hefty signing bonus.

Stark On Liriano, Hamels, Hosmer, Reyes

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Here's the latest from Jayson Stark of ESPN.com …

  • Twins lefty Francisco Liriano could be made available via trade in July if Minnesota continues to struggle, but teams will be hesitant to acquire him because of his inconsistencies. One scout told Stark that Liriano has great stuff, but the southpaw's mechanics are a mess. Liriano is under team control through next season.
  • Phillies lefty Cole Hamels' three-year, $20.5MM deal expires after this season, leaving him with one year of arbitration eligibility before free agency. Stark wonders how the Phillies will approach a potential extension for Hamels, and Hamels' agent said that the sides haven't yet discussed such a deal. One point of reference to keep in mind, per Stark: Justin Verlander, whose five-year, $80MM pact with the Tigers bought out three years of arbitration eligibility.
  • Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer made his Major League debut today amid much fanfare, but several teams told Stark that they would have waited a while longer so as to ensure that the blue-chipper wouldn't be a Super Two. Kansas City, however, has said all along that it would call up its players when they're ready, according to Stark. Earlier today, Ben Nicholson-Smith examined the financial implications of Hosmer's promotion.
  • The Mets and Giants maintain that they haven't discussed a potential trade for shortstop Jose Reyes. However, Stark thinks the Giants will need to address the position, and Reyes is a perfect fit.

Mets Notes: Wright, Cohen, Valuation

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Here are some Mets notes as the Amazin's open a three-game set against the Dodgers at Citi Field …

  • The Tigers will most certainly be interested in acquiring third baseman David Wright, should he be made available on the trade market, writes Lynn Henning of The Detroit News. Wright is signed through 2012 and has a club option for 2013. Henning speculates that Wright would probably cost the Tigers a top-end pitching prospect, and they'd also have to figure out a plan for incumbent Brandon Inge. Last night, Mark Polishuk of MLBTR identified Wright as a trade candidate and included the Tigers as a potential fit.
  • Steve Cohen, a billionaire "hedge-fund titan," is the frontrunner to purchase a minority stake in the Mets, according to Josh Kosman and Lenn Robbins of the New York Post. The candidates have been narrowed down to four, The Post reports, and the asking price is thought to be roughly $200MM for a 49-percent share of the team.
  • The Wilpons have more interested suitors than you might think, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, and the team is being valued nearer to $1 billion than previous reports of roughly $750MM.

Moore’s Free Agent Signings Playing Well So Far

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There are lots of reasons to be excited for the future of the Royals and one of them will make his Major League debut tonight: Eric Hosmer. The first base prospect will join a team that’s been surprisingly good so far in 2011 (they’re 17-14), one that appears poised to become a playoff contender once its highly-touted prospects become Major Leaguers.

It’s never all about the future, even with rebuilding teams like the Royals. Managers need players to pencil into the lineup and fans need something to cheer for, so general managers sign stop-gap players to represent the big league club while prospects develop. 

So far, the four veterans GM Dayton Moore signed this offseason are more than earning their keep. Jeff Francoeur has eight homers and a .305/.346/.602 line (it’s not BABIP-inflated, either) and Melky Cabrera has a .293/.317/.466 line after yesterday’s three-hit game. They've both been pleasant surprises for the league's best offense.

On the pitching side, Jeff Francis has a 5.45 ERA (3.73 xFIP) in 29 2/3 innings with a strong 21K/8BB ratio. Fellow southpaw Bruce Chen has a 3.59 ERA (4.54 xFIP) through 42 2/3 innings with a 24K/14BB ratio. Neither pitcher replaces Zack Greinke atop the rotation, but they’re healthy and productive at the very least. The quartet of Francis, Chen, Francoeur and Cabrera has been worth a combined 2.5 wins above replacement so far, yet another indication that they're producing.

Moore signed the four players for a total of $7.75MM and didn’t give up a single draft pick in the process. It’s a promising development for Royals fans since every homegrown team needs to supplement its core players with free agents at times. Moore’s track record on the free agent market includes its share of blemishes – Jose Guillen for example – but this year his approach has produced strong results for minimal cost.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Twins, Abreu, Boggs

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On this date in 2007, the Yankees signed Roger Clemens as a free agent. Clemens would pitch 99 innings for the Yankees with a 4.18 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 before calling it a career. The Yankees made the playoffs that year before losing to the Indians in the Division Series. Here are today's links:

  • As Alex Speier of WEEI.com points out, investing heavily in relief pitching is risky. Though it's early, Boston's expensive, revamped bullpen has struggled and Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler are now on the DL.
  • Twins GM Bill Smith told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Joe Mauer, now on the DL with bilateral leg weakness, will “get back to being Joe Mauer.”
  • Bobby Abreu told Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com that he plans to play three or four more years (link in Spanish). Abreu would like to reach 300 homers (he has 277), 400 steals (he has 376) and 600 doubles (he has 532) to boost his Cooperstown credentials.
  • Brandon Boggs accepted his Triple-A assignment and was recalled to take the place of Nyjer Morgan, who is on the DL, the team announced.

NL West Notes: Dodgers, Towers, Lincecum

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All eyes will turn to Andre Ethier as he looks to extend his 29-game hit streak against the Mets tonight. Here’s the latest from around the NL West, including some off-field news about Ethier’s team…

  • Dodgers vice-chairman Steve Soboroff insists that MLB is suffocating the Dodgers, as Yahoo's Tim Brown explains.
  • D’Backs GM Kevin Towers tells Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune that improving Arizona’s bullpen was “paramount” when he took over before last offseason. Towers returns to San Diego, where he ran the Padres for 14 years, as an opposing GM tonight.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com argues that it makes sense for the Giants to lock Tim Lincecum up long-term, especially since the two-time Cy Young Award winner is fitter than ever.
  • MLBTR's Tim Dierkes broke down Lincecum's historic arbitration case earlier this week.

Yankees Designate Kevin Russo For Assignment

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The Yankees designated infielder Kevin Russo for assignment to create roster space for newly-claimed reliever Jess Todd, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter).

Russo, 26, appeared in 31 games for the Yankees last year and posted a .470 OPS as a backup at third base and in left field. He has a .287/.351/.381 line in six minor league seasons and experience all over the infield and outfield. The Yankees explored trades for him in Spring Training.

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