Archives for June 2011

Bay Area Notes: Ellis, Breslow, Fuentes, Whiteside

By Mark Polishuk | June 23, 2011 at 6:59pm CDT

Here's the latest on the A's and the Giants, including some trade rumors between the two clubs themselves…

"The Giants are not pursuing" A's second baseman Mark Ellis, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. (Twitter links). The Giants at least checked in on Ellis but have cooled their pursuit for a variety of reasons, including Ellis' salary, his poor performance this season, Oakland's trade demands and the presence of Bill Hall, Emmanuel Burriss and Freddy Sanchez (who could still return from the DL) on the roster.
Rival scouts have been watching Brian Fuentes and Craig Breslow, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Of the two southpaws, the Athletics would be more apt to move Fuentes since he has around $7.6MM remaining on his contract through 2012, whereas Breslow still has two more arbitration years left. Fuentes also stirred up controversy earlier this season when he criticized then-manager Bob Geren. These two pitchers and Jerry Blevins made MLBTR's Tim Dierkes' recent list of potentially-available left-handers.
Eli Whiteside has been ignoring the rumors about the Giants' catching search, reports Chris Haft and Adam Berry for MLB.com. The incumbent starter has been hitting well lately, which Whiteside attributes to getting regular playing time.
Another internal option for the Giants: Triple-A catcher Hector Sanchez. Schulman reports that Barry Zito was very complimentary about Sanchez's game-calling abilities during Zito's recent rehab stint at Fresno. Sanchez, 21, has a .299/.327/.495 line in 226 plate appearances this season, though just 42 of them have been at the Triple-A level.

Reaction To Jim Riggleman’s Resignation

By Mark Polishuk | June 23, 2011 at 6:08pm CDT

Just minutes after Laynce Nix's walkoff sacrifice fly gave the Nationals a 1-0 win over the Mariners this afternoon, Jim Riggleman announced he was stepping down as Washington's manager. Some of the early reaction and analysis of this sudden news…

According to a statement released by Nats GM Mike Rizzo, he "talked to Jim before the season and have emphasized since that no decision would be made on his extension until after the end of the season. I am surprised and disappointed, personally, and am even more disappointed for our players and fans. I was always taught that one of the cardinal rules of baseball was that no individual can put his interests before those of the team."
Rizzo also said that Riggleman wanted his 2012 option picked up by the end of Washington's game this afternoon or else he'd resign, and Rizzo "was not willing to make judgments of that magnitude in the course of a nine inning game." Riggleman tells MASNsports' Ben Goessling (Twitter link) that he didn't issue an ultimatum but “I wanted a conversation about it. I didn’t say, 'Pick up my option or else.' I said I think it’s worthy of a conversation."
Goessling also has reaction from Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth and other Nats players about the surprising news.
SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter link) thinks the blame lies with the Nationals since it "makes no sense" that the club wouldn't at least pick up Riggleman's 2012 option to keep their manager from being perceived as a lame duck.
Riggleman's split with the Nats confirms the belief that he was a "place-holder" manager for the team, says CBSSports.com's Scott Miller. "The thinking always was that Riggleman would only bring the Nationals to a certain point, and that when they were ready to win, someone else would be handed the keys to the car," Miller writes.
Though obviously issues between he and the team had been lingering for a while, Riggleman's stance was seen as overly-aggressive by some pundits. Newsday's Ken Davidoff (via Twitter) thinks even if Riggleman felt he wouldn't be back in Washington in 2012, he could've at least finished the season to better market himself for another team. "I think he overplayed his hand here," Davidoff tweeted. "Keep winning & the option would've taken care of itself."
A non-Nationals team official tells ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link) that he "wouldn't hire [Riggleman] for Double-A or Triple-A job. You can't walk away… when you're under contract."
Yahoo's Jeff Passan's tweeted response was more blunt: "I hope Jim Riggleman has a good 401(k), because no way he's ever managing another Major League team after this napalming."
Writing for ESPN.com, Jim Bowden lists several names the Nationals could consider as their new manager, including in-house candidates John McLaren, Bob Boone and Bo Porter. Randy Knorr, manager at Triple-A Syracuse, is a potential "long term solution," though Knorr hadn't been contacted about the job as of this evening, reports The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore (Twitter link).
Davey Johnson is a senior advisor for the Nationals but Heyman (via Twitter) doesn't know if the former World Series-winning manager would take the job even if asked.

Orioles Notes: Guthrie, Roberts, Minor Leagues

By Mark Polishuk | June 23, 2011 at 5:13pm CDT

The Nationals may be generating most of the headlines today, but there's also some news coming from the Beltway's other team. Here's the latest from the Orioles…

Jeremy Guthrie is perhaps Baltimore's most attractive trade candidate, but MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli doesn't think the right-hander will be moved. "It would take a significant haul on the Orioles' side to give up Guthrie," Ghiroli writes, and she also points out that Guthrie is the only veteran and only innings-eater on the club's pitching staff. Ghiroli cites the Indians and Rangers among the teams who have shown interest in Guthrie.
From that same mailbag item, Ghiroli thinks the Orioles should start looking for a new long-term answer at second base. Brian Roberts will be 36 when his deal runs out after the 2013 season and the former All-Star is already a question mark due to injuries. Short-term, however, the O's have no second base prospects ready to step in and Roberts has a no-trade clause in his contract.
The lack of minor league production from several of the Orioles' top prospects "has to be considered an organizational-wide failure," writes The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec. The development system has been further skewed since "for years, Oriole minor leaguers have been getting promotions because of a desperate need at the big league level, not because they’ve necessarily earned a shot."

Jim Riggleman Resigns

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 23, 2011 at 3:03pm CDT

In a surprising move, Nationals manager Jim Riggleman has resigned, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter link). Riggleman stepped down after his club beat the Mariners this afternoon and improved to 38-37 thanks to an impressive stretch over the course of which they've won 11 of 12 games.

The manager, who was in the final year of his contract, told GM Mike Rizzo that he would resign if his contract situation wasn't resolved, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Riggleman's agent, Burton Rocks, told Jon Heyman of SI.com that "they should have picked up the option" and that "it wore on Jim." Riggleman will manage again, according to his agent (Twitter link).

Rizzo had discussed picking up Riggleman's 2012 option, but felt the time wasn't right, according to Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). The GM called Riggleman's decision "very disappointing to the players, fanbase, city and [himself]."

It's the second time this week that an NL East manager has resigned; Edwin Rodriguez of the Marlins stepped down over the weekend.

NL Central Notes: Pujols, Valdes, Pirates

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 23, 2011 at 2:46pm CDT

On this date in 1984, Ryne Sandberg hit game-tying home runs off Cardinals reliever Bruce Sutter in the 9th and 10th innings as the Cubs beat the Cardinals 12-11. Willie McGee hit for the cycle in the memorable contest between the rival clubs. Here's the latest from their division…

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols doesn't want to discuss the impact his fractured arm will have on his free agent value, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.
The Cardinals promoted Raul Valdes to the Majors, optioned Maikel Cleto to Double-A and replaced minor leaguer David Kopp on the 40-man roster with Bryan Augenstein, according to the Post-Dispatch (the Cards still have one open spot on their 40-man roster). The bullpen changes started yesterday when the Cardinals released Miguel Batista after Tuesday's bullpen implosion.
The Pirates announced that they expect to add Chase d'Arnaud to the 25-man roster tomorrow. They optioned Josh Harrison to Triple-A to create room on the active roster and will make a 40-man move tomorrow. D'Arnaud, 24, has a .280/.347/.418 line at Triple-A this year.

NL East Notes: Harper, Zimmerman, Reyes, Phillies

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 23, 2011 at 1:30pm CDT

The Nationals announced that Bryce Harper, last year's first overall pick, and right-hander Brad Peacock will represent Washington at the All-Star Futures Game (Twitter link). Here are some more notes from the NL East…

Ryan Zimmerman tells Tim Kurkjian of ESPN The Magazine that he still hopes to play his entire career for the Nationals. "I think it would be really cool to play 15 or 20 years in the same place and say that I was there when things were not so great," Zimmerman said. As Kurkjian shows, the Nationals have turned into a respectable team after struggling for years.
Mets shortstop Jose Reyes told Aaron Taube of MLB.com that he isn't concerned about the fact that the Yankees aren't expecting to acquire him. "I don't worry about that. I play for the New York Mets," Reyes said.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would like to see his team add a right-handed hitter with some pop, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. Manuel’s wish may come true, as the Phillies are looking for just that and have checked in on the likes of Ryan Ludwick, Josh Willingham and Michael Cuddyer.

AL West Notes: Figgins, Angels, Willingham

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 23, 2011 at 12:37pm CDT

No American League West team is truly out of contention. The Rangers lead the way with a 40-36 record, the Mariners and Angels are hovering around .500 and the A's are back within 5.5 games of the division lead after a recent six-game winning streak. Here's the latest on the AL West:

The Mariners still owe Chone Figgins over $20MM between now and the end of the 2013 season, but the infielder is playing poorly, so Larry Stone of the Seattle Times runs through the team's options. Stone concludes that the Mariners probably have to cut down on Figgins’ playing time and hope he finally heats up so that they can get some value from him, either in a trade or on the field.
Angels GM Tony Reagins told Kevin Baxter of the LA Times that international free agency is an increasingly important and challenging source of talent for MLB teams. This year's international signing period begins July 2nd (link via the Baltimore Sun).
One scout for a contending team told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that Josh Willingham's Achilles injury could scare teams considering the outfielder as a possible trade target. The A's put Willingham on the disabled list, but he could return in early July, in time to reestablish his trade value.

Cubs To Determine Deadline Approach

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 23, 2011 at 11:13am CDT

Members of the Cubs' front office will meet early next week to determine their approach for this summer’s trade deadline, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The team intends to pursue top prospects and young players, but the details have yet to be determined, according to Levine.

It appears likely that the 30-44 Cubs will become sellers, in which case some pricey veterans could become trade bait. Aramis Ramirez won’t be one of them, since he won’t approve a trade, but Carlos Zambrano, Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome may find themselves on the trade market. Zambrano and Soriano have said they wouldn’t block trades.

GM Jim Hendry and assistant GM Randy Bush will direct top Cubs scouts during the meetings. Hendry will advise the scouts to monitor the clubs he believes match up best as possible trade partners for Chicago.

Tigers Notes: Leyland, Inge, Perry, Alburquerque

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 23, 2011 at 10:35am CDT

The Tigers are 9th in MLB with 330 runs scored, but they haven't been as successful at preventing their opponents from scoring. Though they have a pitcher-friendly park and arguably the best starter in the American League, the Tigers are 19th in MLB with 321 runs allowed. Here's the latest on the 40-35 club…

Manager Jim Leyland tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he wants to manage, but understands if the Tigers decide to hire someone else after the season, when his contract expires. "I’ve always been a believer in this: If somebody thinks that they can get somebody better, they should get him," Leyland said. "That’s what an owner should do.” Wins are the bottom line, even for an accomplished manager like Leyland, as Rosenthal explains
The Tigers announced that they optioned Adam Wilk and Danny Worth to Triple-A to create 25-man roster space for Brandon Inge, who is now healthy, and right-hander Ryan Perry. The moves didn't impact Detroit's 40-man roster, which is currently full.
Earlier in the week, John Autin of Baseball-Reference pointed out that Al Alburquerque is on a pace to challenge some historic marks this season. The Tigers signed the right-hander last November after the Rockies cut him loose. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently checked in on Alburquerque and other prospects who were dealt in July of 2009.

Olney On Hanley, Phillies, Ellis

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 23, 2011 at 9:50am CDT

Some people in the Marlins organization believe new manager Jack McKeon has exactly what it takes to deal with Hanley Ramirez, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Here’s the latest on the Marlins’ shortstop, who is having the worst offensive season of his career:

Ramirez’s stock “has dropped to Enron levels.” Some rival evaluators say that his poor start is more than a slump and that the shortstop needs to improve his physical condition.
“If he doesn't change his body,” one scout said. “He's going to have to move [to a different position] sooner rather than later."
Click here to check out Olney’s analysis of Ramirez from yesterday.
No one believes the Phillies when they say they have limited financial flexibility for possible trades, Olney writes.
The Orioles are another possible fit for Mark Ellis of the A’s. The Giants, one team with some interest in Ellis, have been considering other possible infielders, according to Olney.

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