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Archives for September 2011

Miguel Tejada Plans To Play In 2012

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Miguel Tejada told Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com that he has no intention of retiring. The shortstop, who was released by the Giants yesterday, says he’ll play winter ball in the Dominican Republic to get back in shape for another season in the Major Leagues.

Tejada is coming off of a disappointing season in San Francisco (he acknowledges that he didn't have a good time with the Giants). The 37-year-old hit .239/.270/.326 with four homers in 343 plate appearances. He split his time equally between third and short and even appeared at second base for the first time in his career.

Tejada, a 15-year veteran of the Major Leagues, will have to accept a substantial paycut from the $6.5MM salary he earned this season in order to play in 2012. He'll likely be looking at a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training 2012.

Minor Moves: Davis, Astros, Roemer

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Here are the latest minor moves…

  • The White Sox released Doug Davis, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. They had signed the veteran left-hander to a minor league deal in July.
  • Eddy has all of the other minor league transactions that took place between August 31st and September 6th. 
  • The Astros announced that they signed right-hander Alan Abreu as a non-drafted free agent out of Lander University. Abreu played primarily shortstop and center field in college, according to the Astros.
  • The D'Backs released right-hander Wes Roemer over the weekend, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Arizona released the former supplementary first round pick to clear 40-man roster space, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Roemer posted a 4.39 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 164 innings in the upper minors this year. He has a 4.44 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in five pro seasons.

Stark On Madson, Astros, Beane, Nationals

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MLB is building momentum toward two 15-team leagues with three five-team divisions per league, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. It doesn't appear that the players’ association will agree to expand the postseason unless owners agree to more balanced schedules and divisions, Stark reports. Here are the rest of his rumors…

  • It appears that the Tigers and Rays will pick up their options for Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth, respectively, this offseason.
  • Two MLB executives predicted to Stark that Ryan Madson will sign a deal like the one Valverde obtained two winters ago: $14MM over two years plus an option.
  • Multiple teams have expressed concerns about Francisco Rodriguez’s off-field “baggage,” though K-Rod stands out as one of the best free agent relievers of the winter.
  • Stark hears that MLB has been slow to approve incoming Astros owner Jim Crane in order to apply leverage on Crane so that he’ll agree to move the Astros to the American League. Earlier today, Bob Nightengale of USA Today had a report that conflicts with Stark’s article.
  • Friends of Billy Beane say the A’s GM has legitimate interest in the Cubs GM job, though he has an ownership stake and lots of freedom in Oakland.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo will interview managerial candidates this offseason before deciding whether Davey Johnson will return as manager in 2012.
  • First base doesn’t appear to be a priority for Washington, but Rizzo says "you never want to say never” when it comes to possible offseason moves.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Jerad Head

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The latest players to get outrighted to the minor leagues…

  • The Indians announced that they outrighted Jerad Head to the Triple-A Columbus roster after he cleared waivers. The Indians designated Head for assignment on Wednesday after he made his MLB debut on August 28th. The 28-year-old corner outfielder hit .284/.338/.526 with 24 home runs in 463 Triple-A plate appearances this year.

Astros Claim Lance Pendleton

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The Astros claimed right-hander Lance Pendleton off of waivers from the Yankees, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Pendleton, who was designated by the Yankees on Tuesday, spent Spring Training with Houston after they selected him from New York in last winter's Rule 5 draft. The Astros returned the 6'3" Houston native to the Yankees on March 27th when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.

The 27-year-old made his MLB debut for the Yankees in April and went on to post a 3.21 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 in 14 innings. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 3.10 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 66 2/3 innings as a starter and reliever.

Heyman On Orioles, Cubs, Astros

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The Orioles may have trouble attracting GM candidates with stature, assuming president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail leaves after the season, Jon Heyman writes at SI.com. Owner Peter Angelos is involved in all the big decisions the Orioles make, sometimes making the calls himself. Angelos loves manager Buck Showalter and there’s some buzz that Angelos could make his manager the GM as well, as unlikely as that seems. Here’s the latest from Heyman:

  • Showalter was Angelos’ choice last year, though MacPhail appeared to be leaning toward current Mariners manager Eric Wedge.
  • Cal Ripken Jr. doesn’t appear to have interest in becoming a general manager and people close to the longtime Orioles shortstop say they can’t see him working under Angelos as a GM.
  • It’s hard to imagine Rangers executive John Hart agreeing to work under Angelos, unless he gets real autonomy.
  • Angelos wouldn’t like the idea of hiring a Yankee to turn his franchise around and it appears unlikely that Brian Cashman would leave New York for Baltimore.
  • Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine, who grew up rooting for the Orioles, figures to be a candidate for the job.
  • Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts has started calling around “in earnest” about possible GMs.
  • If the Astros move to the American League, MLB will add an extra Wild Card team next year.
  • Mets executives see Justin Turner as a utility player.

Regular MLBTR Features

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If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, our Week In Review posts and Mike Axisa's Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:

  • MLBTR Chats – Come by every Wednesday at 2pm CDT to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the Major Leagues.
  • Baseball Blogs Weigh In – Every Friday morning, Mike Axisa directs you to some of the best writing on baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to send Mike a post of yours, reach him at: mike@riveraveblues.com.
  • Week In Review – It's remarkable how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, we summarize the week's biggest stories in our Week In Review posts.
  • MLBTR Originals – We gather all our original analysis and reporting in one place every Sunday night.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Gillies, d’Arnaud, Giants

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On this date in 2007, the Brewers became the third team in history to begin a game by hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs. Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, and Ryan Braun all did their damage against Phil Dumatrait of the Reds, who gave up five hits and four runs before leaving the game in the top of the first without retiring a batter.

Here is the best the baseball blogosphere had to offer over the last week, as the 2011 season begins to wind down…

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

Giants Notes: Burrell, Ross, Sanchez, Whiteside

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The 2011 Giants closely resembled last year’s World Championship team, but change lies ahead for San Francisco. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle explains that health considerations and the rising cost of arbitration eligible players will shape next year’s Giants team. Here are some highlights from Schulman's piece:

  • Pat Burrell could again sign a one-year deal when he hits free agency after the season (he earns $1MM this year), but he may have to retire because of a foot injury. Burrell says he’ll play as long as he’s healthy enough to take the field.
  • Schulman says it’s hard to imagine the Giants offering Cody Ross a raise from $6.3MM or agreeing to a multiyear deal when the outfielder hits free agency.
  • Mark DeRosa is hoping to sign closer to Atlanta, where he makes his home, and realizes he may be in line for a minor league deal.
  • The Giants will probably decline Jeremy Affeldt’s $5MM option for 2012, but they’ll “almost certainly” pursue him in free agency, according to Schulman.
  • Jonathan Sanchez and Andres Torres are non-tender candidates. When MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes identified Sanchez and Torres as non-tender candidates last month, he pointed out that Sanchez’s salary would rise over $6MM (he now earns $4.8MM) through arbitration. 
  • Eli Whiteside is another non-tender candidate, Schulman writes.
  • Jeff Keppinger, who’s arbitration eligible, will likely return in 2012 and it’s hard to imagine the Giants cutting Nate Schierholtz after seeing him progress in 2011.
  • The Giants may not have room on the roster for both Mike Fontenot and Emmanuel Burriss.

Ownership Notes: Dodgers, Astros, Selig

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Two of the least stable ownership situations in baseball can be found in Los Angeles and Houston. Here's the latest on bids for the Dodgers and Astros…

  • MLB's delay with Jim Crane's bid had nothing to do with switching leagues and "everything to do with his background," according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links).
  • There won't be enough time to realign the leagues by 2012, so we aren't likely to see expanded playoffs next year, according to Nightengale.
  • An attorney for Dodgers owner Frank McCourt called Bill Burke's $1.2 billion bid for the Dodgers a "publicity stunt" in documents filed in court this week, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. McCourt remains intent on keeping the Dodgers, Shaikin reports.
  • Incoming Astros owner Jim Crane told Joe Holley of the Houston Chronicle that he's becoming frustrated with the slow pace of the ownership transfer and the public speculation about the reasons for the holdup. Crane also pointed out that his contract with Drayton McLane goes through November 30th, which means a deal has to be finalized by then unless the sides agree to extend the window.
  • However, as Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle points out, there are a thousand reasons to question the character of an incoming owner, so commissioner Bud Selig probably won't look kindly on Crane's comments.

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