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Archives for June 2011

Marlins Designate Dustin Richardson For Assignment

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The Marlins designated lefty reliever Dustin Richardson for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Dewayne Wise, tweets the team.  Center fielder Chris Coghlan was optioned to Triple-A to open a 25-man spot.

Today's series of moves reflects poorly on a pair of mid-November deals made by the Marlins.  Richardson was the Marlins' return from Boston for lefty Andrew Miller, who had been a big piece of Florida's Miguel Cabrera trade with Detroit.  Miller was non-tendered by the Red Sox, so any team could have jumped in and signed him.  But he re-signed and is flourishing in Triple-A, to the point where many teams tampered and tried to convince him to opt out of his contract according to Peter Gammons.  Richardson, meanwhile, had a 3.66 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 5.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 32 Triple-A innings.

Coghlan, the 2009 Rookie of the Year, was the Marlins' Opening Day center fielder despite never having played the position as a pro.  His demotion comes on the heels of a .230/.296/.368 line in 298 plate appearances.  Confidence in Coghlan was presumably part of the reason the Marlins found Cameron Maybin expendable in November; Maybin is hitting .259/.322/.413 for San Diego.   

The Marlins traded a superstar to Detroit in Miguel Cabrera in December of 2007, and Dontrelle Willis added value to the package.  They received Miller, Maybin, Burke Badenhop, Dallas Trahern, Eulogio de la Cruz, and Mike Rabelo in return.  If Richardson finds a new home they'll have nothing to show for Miller, while the Maybin thread leaves the Fish with relievers Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica.  Badenhop is part of the Marlins' big league bullpen as well. 

Rangers Agree To Terms With Matthews, Cone

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The Rangers agreed to terms with top draft picks Kevin Matthews and Zach Cone, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Matthews gets $936K, while Cone gets $873K.  Both players signed for slot.

Matthews, a high school lefty, was the last pick in the first round, 33rd overall.  The Rangers received the pick from the Phillies as part of the compensation for the loss of Cliff Lee.  ESPN's Keith Law considers Matthews one of the biggest reaches of the first round.  Baseball America says the consensus is that the southpaw will end up a reliever.  Matthews is one of three first round picks to sign so far; check out our list here.

Cone, an outfielder from the University of Georgia, went four picks later in the supplemental round.  He represents the other part of the Lee compensation.  Baseball America says scouts question his pitch recognition, but he profiles as an above-average defensive center fielder with "solid raw power and strength" and good athleticism.  Cone is represented by the Boras Corporation.

When Batting Champions Get Traded

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It shouldn't come as any surprise that if Jose Reyes, the current National League leader in batting average, gets traded, the move will be almost entirely unprecedented. Generally, players at the top of the league leaders category in batting average are considered irreplaceable, and stay put. But as should be obvious by now, these aren't ordinary times for the New York Mets.

But the only time a batting champion was ever dealt mid-year, it was by the arch rivals of the New York Mets back in the most successful period of the franchise's history. The year was 1990. The player was Willie McGee, the team the St. Louis Cardinals, and the statistical ramifications were truly wacky.

It had been a rough year for the Cards, who'd won a National League pennant in 1987, and 86 games in 1989. A team whose best seasons were built around speed, defense and pitching saw all three areas decline. Other than John Tudor, the pitchers were decidedly average- and Tudor, now 36, pitched just 146 1/3 innings.

The hitters were slowing down, too. Ozzie Smith turned 35. Vince Coleman, who'd stolen more than 100 bases three times, swiped just 77. Terry Pendleton hit .230 with six home runs, and no one had the power of Jack Clark – the home run leader was a young catcher named Todd Zeile, who clouted 15.

But Zeile, along with young outfielders Bernard Gilkey and Ray Lankford, appeared to be the foundation of the next Cardinals team. That made for a very different fit in the manager's chair, and halfway through the season, the great Whitey Herzog called it quits. Rebuilding mode was on.

But that didn't stop McGee, who'd already won a batting title and MVP back when the stakes were higher in 1985. Playing primarily center field, McGee posted a .335 batting average in 125 games during his age 31 season. The Oakland Athletics had Dave Henderson in center field, and wanted a better defensive alternative to the aging Hendu. So on August 29, Oakland traded Felix Jose, Stan Royer and Daryl Green to St. Louis for the magical McGee.

Jose was supposed to be the centerpiece of the deal, but he simply never developed into the top-tier slugger the Cardinals wanted. (Actually, his numbers mirror, rather dramatically, his minor league production). McGee's pace fell off as well, and he hit just .274 with the Athletics- enough, however, to get them to the 1990 World Series. McGee, a free agent-to-be like Reyes, then signed with the San Francisco Giants that winter.

Thanks to the math of the time, however, McGee's .274 didn't prevent him from winning a batting title. Back then, totals accrued in the American League were considered separate from NL totals. So McGee, with his .335 NL average in the required number of plate appearances, sat frozen atop the batting average leaderboard. Thus, he edged out the full seasons of Eddie Murray (.330), Dave Magadan (.328) and Lenny Dykstra (.325). George Brett's .329 took home AL honors. McGee's combined .324 average wouldn't have won either league.

How baseball would handle the leaderboard if Jose Reyes switched leagues is still unclear. Currently, Reyes trails Adrian Gonzalez, the AL leader in batting average, by a single point. But if Reyes should get dealt while winning a batting title, Mets fans cannot accurately bemoan an unprecedented occurrence. And in a fascinating twist, the GM who'd deal Reyes, Sandy Alderson, is the same GM who traded for McGee with the Athletics. Maybe the man just hates untainted batting titles.

McCourts Settle Divorce, Contingent On Fox Deal

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Frank and Jamie McCourt announced a divorce settlement, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.  However, the settlement is contingent upon MLB's approval of the Dodgers' deal with Fox, which SI's Jon Heyman says won't happen (Twitter link).  McCourt disagrees.  In the Fox deal is not approved, it's back to divorce court.  A decision is expected Tuesday, Jamie's attorney told Shaikin (Twitter link). 

Shaikin reports that the McCourts also "agreed to a one-day trial so that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon could make a final determination of whether the Dodgers belong solely to Frank McCourt or whether the team should be considered community property."  If the Dodgers are ruled community property, the team is likely to be sold as a result.

Click here to view the McCourts' settlement agreement, from the L.A. Times.

Stark On Dempster, Adams, Reyes, Braves

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Jayson Stark leads his latest column for ESPN with a debate with colleague Buster Olney about realignment possibilities.  He notes that his sources say there's no chance divisions are dissolved and baseball becomes two 15-team leagues.  On to Stark's other rumblings…

  • An NL executive who spoke with Cubs GM Jim Hendry says there's no likely scenario where Ryan Dempster is traded.  Earlier today, there were indications the Yankees at least have an eye on Dempster, who has full no-trade rights and a $14MM player option for 2012.
  • Padres reliever Mike Adams also is likely to stay put, as the Padres are only interested in trading impending free agents Heath Bell and Chad Qualls.
  • Jose Reyes might not be Brian Sabean's type of player, says one baseball man who speaks with the Giants' GM regularly.  Still, Stark's source wondered if the liberation of winning last year's World Series might compel Sabean to take more chances.  Of course, the Mets are looking like potential buyers right now.
  • The Braves are "aggressively positioning themselves to deal for an outfield bat as soon as they can find a team ready to open its sell-off shop for business," writes Stark, and they've already checked in on Josh Willingham and Hunter Pence.  We outlined potentially available power bats earlier this month.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Phillies, Cuban, Kazmir

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Three years ago today, the Mariners fired GM Bill Bavasi after five years at the helm. Seattle was an MLB worst 24-45 at the time, and they went on to become the first team in history to lose 100 games with a $100MM payroll. Current GM Jack Zduriencik took over after the season and immediately went to work rebuilding the team around Felix Hernandez and Ichiro Suzuki.

Here are this week's links as we draw closer to the trade deadline…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

How Are Free Agent Relievers Doing?

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During the 2010-11 offseason, 42 relievers signed Major League free agent deals.  From Rafael Soriano at $35MM to Taylor Buchholz at $600K, almost $253MM was invested in these relievers.  How are they doing so far?

Numbers for the average American League reliever:  a 3.86 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, and 0.88 HR/9.  AL teams threw around much of the relief cash during the offseason, accounting for more than 81% of the total spend.  The 26 signees have totaled 576 1/3 innings, from Joel Peralta at 33 1/3 to Pedro Feliciano at zero.  The average reliever in this group has 22 innings.  The results for the free agents: a 4.09 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, and 1.00 HR/9 – pretty close to league average.  Though he's allowed five home runs, Koji Uehara has probably been the best investment. 

The average National League reliever has a 3.54 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, and 0.74 HR/9.  NL teams invested only $48MM in relievers, as compared to $204MM for the AL.  The 16 NL signees have totaled 306 1/3 innings, or about 19 each.  Chad Qualls has been the workhorse at 35 innings, while Takashi Saito has registered only two frames.  As a whole the group has a 3.64 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, and 0.85 HR/9, also pretty close to league average.  With almost everyone in the group costing $5.5MM or less in total, there are plenty of bargains such as Qualls, Randy Choate, Todd Coffey, George Sherrill, and Buchholz (though he's currently injured).

My apologies for the lack of a groundbreaking conclusion here.  The 2010-11 free agent relief class has performed around league average.  The American League's heavy spending (36% of which came from the Yankees) has not paid off when compared to the National League bargain shopping.

If The Marlins Become Sellers

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The Marlins have lost seven in a row, and they're now 6.5 games out in the wild card.  It's time to think about selling.

Nunez

  • Closer Leo Nunez (pictured) has battled a stiff back lately and endured a few rough outings in the last month or so.  His numbers remain strong overall and he's under team control through 2012, so a quality prospect or two could be extracted.
  • The Marlins don't have impending free agents in their bullpen, but I could picture a few arbitration eligible types being available.  That might mean Clay Hensley if he returns strong in July, or Brian Sanches and Edward Mujica.  Don't expect the Marlins to go overboard dismantling their pen though, as improving it was a major focus of last offseason.
  • Omar Infante, a big part of the Dan Uggla trade, has struggled to a .253/.297/.306 line on the season.  If he picks it up a bit there could be mild interest in the versatile 29-year-old.
  • Bench players Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs could become available.  Dobbs' bat was quite useful in the first two months of the season.
  • I liked the Javier Vazquez signing at the time, but he has a 6.85 ERA to date and hasn't shown much in the way of improvement.  At $7MM, a release is more likely than a trade.
  • Check out other potential sellers posts here.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Cubs Rumors: Zambrano, Dempster, Soriano

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A few Cubs rumblings from ESPN's Bruce Levine…

  • Yankees scouts watched Carlos Zambrano pitch on the Cubs' recent road trip, writes Levine.  Levine notes that these were not advance scouts, but rather top advisers to GM Brian Cashman.  Hopefully they saw his start against the Cardinals rather than the Phillies.  Levine is of the opinion Zambrano would waive his no-trade clause, as a friend of the pitcher told him earlier this month, "At this point Carlos would probably let the Cubs trade him to Siberia."  As a 4.50 ERA guy in the National League with clubhouse concerns and over $28MM remaining on his contract through 2012, Zambrano would be a tough sell for any team.
  • Some of the Yankees top evaluators have more interest in Ryan Dempster, reports Levine, as you might expect.  They'll get a look at him Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.  Dempster has $7.7MM remaining on his contract this year, as well as a $14MM player option for 2012.  He also has full no-trade rights and strong ties to Chicago.
  • Alfonso Soriano told Levine he expects to stay with the Cubs (he's signed through 2014), but if the team wants to trade him he wouldn't stay.  Soriano, who is owed about $64MM through '14, has a full no-trade clause.
  • I tackled the possibility of the Cubs becoming sellers earlier this month.  They're ten games out in the NL Central and the wild card.

Minor Moves: Carter, Ramirez, Dopirak, Redding

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The latest minor moves…

  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy posted a comprehensive list of recent minor league transactions, including a swarm of draft pick signings and undrafted free agent pickups from the last week.
  • The Rays released Chris Carter according to the Triple-A International League transactions page. The 28-year-old hit .270/.309/.460 with ten homers in 233 plate appearances.
  • The Astros released catcher Max Ramirez and first baseman/DH Brian Dopirak, tweets Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  The Astros had signed Ramirez in May after he'd been released by the Cubs.  Dopirak was added in December.  Both players had OBPs under .290 in their brief Triple-A stints.
  • The Phillies signed righty Tim Redding to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.  The 33-year-old posted a 6.59 ERA in 13 starts for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate this year.
  • The Angels inked righty Jerome Williams for their Triple-A rotation, tweeted his agency Full Circle Sports Management.  The 29-year-old was drafted 39th overall by the Giants back in '99, one pick after the Rangers grabbed Colby Lewis.  Williams hasn't pitched in the bigs since '07.

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