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Archives for June 2011

Rosenthal On Reyes, White Sox, Padres, Nunez

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Here are some highlights from the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..

  • Rival clubs continue to report that the Giants are looking hard for a catcher.  In a perfect world, they'd pick up a shortstop too.  Rookie Brandon Crawford appears to be over-matched at the plate, Miguel Tejada has the lowest OPS in the National League, and Mike Fontenot won't be able to play the position every day even when he returns from the DL.  Jose Reyes has been mentioned as a fit but he'll probably cost a ton to land and quite a bit of cash to retain beyond this year.  One veteran that could make sense for the club is the Indians' Orlando Cabrera.  The Giants had interest in him last winter and he is now expendable.
  • The White Sox are looking to improve and there's one obvious move they can make within: dumping Juan Pierre and promoting Dayan Viciedo.  It would leave the club without a leadoff hitter, but Pierre has been struggling as of late anyway.  Meanwhile, Viciedo has been hitting .324 with power in Triple-A.
  • The Padres are taking one last stab at getting into contention, but one more losing stretch and they'll commence the selloff.  It would behoove them to act sooner rather than later with players like Heath Bell and Ryan Ludwick so that they can get the jump on the market.  Money is tight for many teams right now but the Padres might be willing to include some cash in deals to get better returns.
  • The rapidly declining Marlins will definitely be sellers and will listen on offers for Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs.  They could also shop Leo Nunez, even though the market for relievers is crowded.  Nunez is making $3.65MM this season and has one more year of arbitration eligibility left.

NL West Notes: Dodgers, Cook, Hawpe

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Let's check out a few items from the National League West..

  • Steve Soboroff, who publicly clashed with the commissioner’s office in his brief tenure as the Dodgers’ vice chairman, has resigned, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
  • Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune wonders where Brad Hawpe will fit in when he returns from the disabled list.  Even though it'll be hard to find a place for the veteran, it's hard to imagine the Padres cutting him loose and paying him the $2MM that he is still owed.
  • Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook needs to turn things around quickly before the Rockies start exploring other options, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.  Earlier today, Renck reported that the club has started calling other teams to gauge the market for rotation help.

Draft Links: Wong, Simon

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Teams have 51 more days to get their draft picks signed before the August 15th deadline. Let's round up the latest draft news here…

  • Cardinals first round pick Kolten Wong was expected to visit St. Louis today as he nears a deal with the team, reports The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Wong ran into some travel issues but is still expected to meet with the team soon, and scouting director Jeff Luhnow said they are having "active ongoing and daily discussions." A second baseman from Hawaii, Wong was the 22nd overall pick earlier this month, which comes with a slot recommendation of $1.287MM from MLB.
  • Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles have signed fourth rounder Kyle Simon, a right-hander from Arizona. MLB's slot recommendation for the 125th overall pick is approximately $231K, but it's unclear how much he received.

Rockies Calling Other Clubs About Pitching

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A few days ago we heard that the Rockies could end up looking for pitching help later this summer, and today Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post reports that the team has started calling other clubs to "gauge the market" for rotation help. GM Dan O'Dowd believes the team needs some reinforcements for their starting staff, echoing something Todd Helton said recently.

Colorado lost Jorge de la Rosa to Tommy John surgery earlier this year, and Jhoulys Chacin (2.71 ERA) is their only current starter with an ERA under 4.00. Jason Hammel (4.13 ERA) and Ubaldo Jimenez (4.50 ERA) have both been up and down, while Aaron Cook (4.67 ERA) is struggling with his trademark sinker. Recent call-up Juan Nicasio (4.71 ERA) is searching for his secondary pitches after skipping over Triple-A. Swingman Clayton Mortensen has a 4.71 ERA in five starts and a 1.65 ERA in six relief appearances.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently previewed the trade market for starting pitchers.

McCourt Willing To Sell Minority Stake In Dodgers

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With his proposed Fox television contract rejected and end of the month payroll looming, Frank McCourt and his lawyers recently had dialogue with MLB that have focused on his willingness to sell part of the team to keep it afloat, writes Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. A source tells Brown that McCourt has received “numerous inquiries” from parties willing to buy a piece of the team.

Bud Selig has been adamant in his refusal to allow clubs to use future earnings to pay off past debt, which is why the Fox deal was shot down. It’s unclear if the recent dialogue between McCourt and the league have resulted in any progress toward his retention of the club, but Brown’s source hears that the owner might not be able to meet payroll next week. If he doesn’t, MLB will likely step in and seize the team.

The Mets recently sold a minority share of the team to David Einhorn for about $200MM, giving that franchise a much needed cash infusion.

Olney’s Latest: Cashman, K-Rod, Rays, Managers

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In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to executives that believe this will be Brian Cashman's last season as Yankees GM. His contract expires after the season, and it could just be a simple case of burnout. "I think maybe he's finally had it," said one GM. "That's a job that will take a lot out of you." Olney cites Cashman's recent stretch of brutal and uncharacteristic honestly as evidence, but also notes that there have been three other instances in which he's looked ready to leave, only to end up staying on three-year deals.

Here are the rest of Buster's rumors…

  • A rival team official believes the Mets need to trade Francisco Rodriguez soon to keep his vesting option from becoming a problem. He's at 28 games finished now (needs 55 to vest a $17.5MM salary for next year), and the longer they keep him the less flexibility a team will have after acquiring him.
  • The Rays have "sent signals that they're open for business" and are prepared to take offers according to rival executives. Olney notes that their tradeable pieces include Kyle Farnsworth and B.J. Upton.
  • One GM told Olney that one position within the game without many young up-and-coming prospects is manager (Twitter link). That's why 80-year-old Jack McKeon and 68-year-old Davey Johnson landed jobs in the last week.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Mariners, Pedro, Giants

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On this day in 2004, the Royals completed a three-team deal that sent Carlos Beltran to the Astros.  The Athletics were the third party in the transaction and bagged Octavio Dotel from Houston.  The Royals, meanwhile, received Mark Teahen, John Buck, Mike Wood, and cash considerations..

  • A fun fact courtesy of ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin (via Twitter): Mets manager Terry Collins is tied with Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez for second-most managerial seniority in the NL East with their current team.
  • Mark Cuban’s interest in buying the Dodgers should make Padres fans nervous, writes Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Sullivan believes that Cuban has the forward-thinking mindset and deep pockets to shift the balance of power in the NL West.
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik has a chance to win right now and needs to make a move to bolster the offense, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
  • Pedro Martinez isn't ready to announce his retirement just yet, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link).  Martinez also says that he envisions himself in a Sandy Koufax-type role with a club.
  • The Giants could use an offensive infusion as the deadline approaches, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.

Nationals Notes: Johnson, Riggleman, McLaren

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The Nationals named John McLaren as their interim skipper last night, but the former M's skipper was just a temporary hire.  Here's the latest on the Nats as they look for a more permanent solution..

  • It would come as a huge surprise if Davey Johnson was not the Nats manager Monday in Anaheim, Kilgore tweets.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter) talked to a number of GMs, assistant GMs, and scouts over the last 24 hours and every single person said that Jim Riggleman made a major mistake.
  • McLaren will serve as the Nats' interim manager until Sunday, when they wrap up a three game set against the White Sox, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  McLaren is not a candidate to become the interim manager of the team for the remainder of 2011 (via Twitter).General Manager Mike Rizzo is expected to name another interim manager by Monday.
  • Rizzo said that Davey Johnson is a candidate to become the next manager of the Nationals, Ladson tweets.  Johnson currently serves as a senior adviser for the club.
  • The GM confirmed that he has spoken to Johnson, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.  He went on to say that he will name a new interim skipper in "days, not weeks".
  • Rizzo believes that Johnson would enjoy the challenge of managing the Nats, otherwise he wouldn't talk about it, Kilgore tweets.  Kilgore adds that there's a great chance that Johnson will be the choice.

Cardinals Notes: Reyes, Reifer, Samuel, Brown

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Let's check out a couple of notes on the Cardinals as they take on the Blue Jays at home..    

  • Roger Hensley of STLToday.com led a roundtable discussion on the idea of the Cardinals pursuing Mets shortstop Jose Reyes.  Derrick Goold argues that such a deal is not realistic because the Mets are looking for a haul similar to what the Athletics were seeking for Matt Holliday.  Most agree with Goold's view and are also doubtful that the club could afford to keep Reyes beyond this season.
  • The club now finds themselves with a logjam on the 40-man roster, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The Cards could put reliever Adam Reifer, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, on the 60-day DL, but doing so would put him on the major-league payroll and start his service time clock.  They could also drop Francisco Samuel or Andrew Brown, but they would risk losing them to another team.  With five weeks to go before the non-waiver trade deadline, it appears that the Cardinals are shopping and their moves will reach deeper than the majors.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Kemp, Hanley, Francis, Soto

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Eighteen years ago today, the Padres traded Gary Sheffield to the Marlins along with Rich Rodriguez for a package of three young players. The key to the trade for San Diego was right-hander Jose Martinez, who had been ranked as the 68th best prospect in the game by Baseball America before the season. They also received another righty by the name of Andres Berumen, but the real prize ended up being an unheralded reliever named Trevor Hoffman. Rodriguez and Berumen combined for a 5.88 ERA in 59 2/3 big league innings (all with the Padres), but Hoffman went on to be a Hall of Fame closer who saved more games than anyone else in history. Two of his 601 career saves came with the Marlins.

It wasn't a bad trade for Florida, either. Rodriguez posted a 4.11 ERA in 36 relief appearances after the deal before being released after the season. Sheffield hit in the middle of their order for parts of six seasons (.288/.426/.543) and helped them to the 1997 World Series title. Hopefully these links work out as well for everyone as that trade worked out for Florida and San Diego…

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