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Archives for September 2011

Mets Notes: Reyes, Einhorn, DePodesta

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A few items of note regarding the Amazin's as they take on the Marlins at Citi Field:

  • In the wake of the announcement that the Mets' partial sale to David Einhorn fell through, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com wonders whether the Mets will be able to re-sign impending-free-agent shortstop Jose Reyes. The Mets' payroll is expected to be somewhere around $110MM in 2012, with $55MM already tied up in the combined salaries of Johan Santana, Jason Bay and David Wright.
  • The Wilpons, the Mets' majority owners, interpreted Einhorn's interest in seeking pre-approval to become controlling partner five years from now as a sign of his true intent, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The deal was never a good one for the Mets, opines Heyman, who adds that a partnership is bound to fail when one side of it is banking on the failure of the other (Twitter links). I think Jon's on the mark with that.
  • Mets vice president of player development and amateur scouting Paul DePodesta has come a long way from his portrayal in the book Moneyball as a number-crunching sabermetrician, writes Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres. I strongly recommend this piece, as Krasovic does a nice job depicting DePodesta's balancing act between evaluating numbers and old-school scouting.

Mariners Release Matt Tuiasosopo

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The Mariners have released minor league infielder Matt Tuiasosopo, according to a club press release. The move makes room on Seattle's 40-man roster for lefty Cesar Jimenez, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding transaction.

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told Tuiasosopo that the release was the result of a roster squeeze and the M's would like to have the 25-year-old back in the spring, tweets Shannon Drayer of ESPN 710 radio in Seattle.

Tuiasosopo, a third-round draft pick in 2004, had spent all of 2011 with Tacoma, where he hit .226/.341./.394 with 14 homers. He played in parts of three seasons with the Mariners from 2008-10, hitting .176/.234/.306 in 210 plate appearances.

McCourt Gets $1.2 Billion Offer For Dodgers

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5:17pm: Major League Baseball is skeptical of the offer, writes Shaikin, as it suspects McCourt may be using the offer as a ploy to stir negotiations with other suitors or to persuade a bankruptcy judge to keep McCourt in charge of the team.

"There are questions within the sports industry about whether this is a genuine offer," said one industry consultant who works extensively with MLB and other professional sports leagues.

2:11pm: Frank McCourt's financial troubles have been well-documented, but the Dodgers owner could sell his team for more than any MLB franchise in history. McCourt has been offered $1.2 billion to sell the Dodgers, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Los Angeles Marathon founder Bill Burke headed the bid, which includes funding from Chinese and American investors.

Both Burke and a spokesman for McCourt declined to comment to Shaikin. McCourt has discussed the sale of a partial share of the Dodgers with at least two others groups, Shaikin reports. Burke's group is offering a cash payment for the team plus all related real estate and media rights. The bid would expire in 21 days with the goal of closing a sale within 90 days, according to Shaikin.

The Cubs sold for $845MM two years ago and that remains the record sale price for an MLB franchise.

Quick Hits: Brewers, August Winners, Free Agents

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Twins minor leaguer Kyle Gibson, the No. 22 overall draft pick in 2009, will undergo Tommy John surgery, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Best wishes to Gibson on making a full recovery and perhaps debuting in the Majors late in 2012.

Here are a few other items of note on this Thursday afternoon:

  • The Brewers were interested in acquiring lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez from the Orioles before Baltimore dealt him to Texas, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “We had the irons in the fire,” Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin said. The Brew Crew remains without a southpaw in their bullpen.
  • The Diamondbacks were among the five winners of August's post-deadline trade period, opines Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Arizona shored up its infield by acquiring infielders John McDonald and Aaron Hill from Toronto in exchange for Kelly Johnson. Morosi's other winners: The Rangers, Tigers, Braves and Indians.
  • Impending free agents, however established they may be, should still be scouted dilligently, writes Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). For example, though some of us may take it for granted that Albert Pujols' fractured wrist is fully healed, scouts from interested teams will be watching all of his final at-bats for even the slightest change in his swing or approach. After all, Bowden explains, with tens, and sometimes hundreds, of millions of dollars at stake, every bit of info helps.

GM Notes: Zduriencik, Cashman, Beane, Cubs

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The Mariners announced yesterday that they agreed to a multiyear extension with GM Jack Zduriencik. The deal ends speculation about a possible regime change and means there’s one less job opening for GM candidates in MLB. Here are the latest notes on baseball’s general managers…

  • Multiple high-ranking A’s officials tell Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the Cubs haven’t made any contact with Billy Beane about Chicago’s GM opening. 
  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff thinks Brian Cashman will be back with the Yankees next year, partly because of the Mariners' decision to retain Zduriencik. Not only does that remove one possible destination for Cashman, the longtime Yankees GM has been intrigued by the Seattle job in the past. 
  • Carrie Muskat of MLB.com lists Thad Levine of the Rangers, Ben Cherington of the Red Sox, J.J. Picollo of the Royals, Rick Hahn of the White Sox, Michael Hill of the Marlins and former Twins GM Terry Ryan as potential candidates for the Cubs' job.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Richardson, Quintanilla

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The latest players to get outrighted to Triple-A…

  • The Braves outrighted left-hander Dustin Richardson to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Richardson, 27, has spent the season at Triple-A, where he has a 4.79 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 6.1 BB/9 in 62 innings.
  • The Rangers announced that they outrighted Omar Quintanilla to Triple-A (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has spent most of the season at Round Rock , where he has a .298/.369/.452 line in 234 plate appearances.
  • Fred Lewis cleared waivers and the Reds outrighted him to Triple-A, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Lewis has a .230/.321/.317 line since signing a $900K deal with the Reds in January. He has played both corner outfield positions and spent time on the disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle.

Braves Release Wes Helms

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The Braves released Wes Helms barely two weeks after signing him, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). The infielder's heel is bothering him and he told Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez that he wouldn't be able to help as anticipated.

Helms hit .191/.276/.236 in 124 plate appearances for the Marlins before they released him. The 35-year-old has spent most of his 13-year career at first and third, but he also has some experience at second base and in the outfield. He has a .276/.350/.446 career line against left-handed pitching.

The Braves acquired Jack Wilson from the Mariners yesterday to provide middle infield depth.

Yankees Designate Ryan Pope For Assignment

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The Yankees designated Ryan Pope for assignment, according to Mike Ashmore of the Hunterdon County Democrat (on Twitter). The 25-year-old right-hander was not on the Yankees' active roster; the club had to designate him to create 40-man roster space for Jesus Montero and Scott Proctor.

Pope, a 2007 third rounder, has split the 2011 season between three of the Yankees' minor league affiliates, mostly pitching at Double-A and Triple-A. In total, he has a 5.12 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings this year.

Padres Claim Jeff Fulchino; Designate Pat Neshek

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The Padres announced that they claimed Jeff Fulchino off of waivers from the Astros and designated right-hander Pat Neshek for assignment. Fulchino is scheduled to join the Padres in San Diego tomorrow night.

Fulchino, 31, posted a 5.18 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and a 37.4% ground ball rate in 33 innings for the Astros this year. The right-hander has a career ERA of 4.74 with 8.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 176 2/3 MLB innings since 2006 and his average fastball velocity is 93.4mph.

Neshek pitched 24 2/3 innings for the Padres after they claimed him off of waivers from the Twins in March. The side-arming 30-year-old posted a 4.01 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 8.0 BB/9 with the Padres.

Orioles Claim Pedro Strop; Gonzalez Trade Complete

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THURSDAY: The Orioles announced that they claimed Strop from the Rangers. Baltimore obtained cash in the Gonzalez deal and used it to claim Strop, according to Connolly. The Gonzalez deal is now complete.

WEDNESDAY: Right-hander Pedro Strop will go to the Orioles as the player to be named in the deal that sent Mike Gonzalez from Baltimore to Texas, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.

Strop, 26, has appeared in 11 games for Texas this season and has a 3.72 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9 in 9 2/3 innings. The Dominican Republic native has also posted a 3.59 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 47 2/3 innings of relief for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate this season. 

In parts of three MLB seasons, Strop's average fastball has clocked in at 94.7 mph. Strop, who originally signed with the Rockies as a shortstop prospect, didn't start pitching professionally until his age-21 season.

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