On this date 11 years ago, the Angels signed amateur free agent Ervin Santana. The right-hander recently reached the 200-inning plateau for the fourth time in his career and he has a 3.27 ERA to go along with his July no-hitter. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo is "definitely" on the Cubs' wish list for their vacant GM position, reports Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post. Rizzo shot down any speculation about him leaving though, saying "there's nowhere I'd rather be than the Washington Nationals right now," and "this is the place I need to be."
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports (on Twitter) that Kurt Kemp has stepped down as Braves' director of player development to pursue other opportunities.
- Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com suggests that the Phillies could have interest in the recently designated for assignment Aaron Rowand after he clears waivers. He would not be eligible for postseason play, but Salisbury notes the team has had a "longstanding interest" in bringing Rowand back after losing him to the Giants in free agency.
- In a piece for Grantland.com, Jonah Keri wonders if losing Albert Pujols to the free agency would really be that bad for the Cardinals.
- Indians minor leaguer Hector Rondon told Carlos Alberto Zambrano of the Venezuelan paper Lider en Deportes that it appears that Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco will undergo Tommy John surgery. Rendon says the currently-disabled Carrasco told him of the upcoming operation.
- Meanwhile, Indians skipper Manny Acta told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that the team is stil exploring options for Carrasco's injured elbow (Twitter link). He acknowledged that Tommy John surgery was a possibility, but it is not a certainty at this point.
- Nate Mink of MLB.com explains that Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg showed he's ready for the Major Leagues in his final minor league rehab start.
- Doug Miller of MLB.com shows how so many former members of Mike Scioscia's coaching staff – Joe Maddon, Bud Black and Ron Roenicke – have gone on to become MLB managers.
- It appears that first base prospect Angel Villalona will return to the Giants organization now that murder charges against him have been dismissed, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The Giants expect to resolve a $5MM breach-of-contract lawsuit that Villalona filed against the team.
- Former GM Jim Bowden introduces us to the agents behind this offseason's big-name free agents in a must-read piece for ESPN. If you're interested in agents, be sure to check out our Agency Database.
Wait wait wait…Jim Bowden wrote a ‘must read’ piece?!?!?!
First I’ve heard of a ‘must read’ piece coming out of ESPN ever!
Wait.. Is his Name Hector Rondon or Rendon?
it’s Hector Rondon, not Rendon since they said both
Actually the Angels signed Johan Santana. He didn’t change his name to Ervin till later.
Are you making a joke or was his name really Johan before?
Nope, he was born Johan Santana. Apparently he came up with the name Ervin out of the blue.
Johan ( a DIFFERENT Johan) was his cousin with a slightly “younger” birth certificate… His real name is/has been Ervin.
Who’s on first?
What’s on second?
I don’t know.
Third base!
I don’t care!
He’s (sorta) the shortstop.
Whaddaya mean you don’t know? Who plays third base? 😉
Who’s on first.
I DON’T KNOW!!!! 🙂
Third base!
Not even sure what that meant, Johan Ramon Santana is now Ervin Santana.
Not true he changed his name because of Johan the Johan who pitches for the mets. he did it for a few reasons, one he didnt want people to mistake either of them for the other, and out of respect for johan. i remember reading about it back in the day.
Thats why this happened.
“Indians minor leaguer Hector Rondon told Carlos Alberto Zambrano of the Venezuelan paper Lider en Deportes that it appears that Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco will undergo Tommy John surgery.”
Good to see The Big Z doing something productive with his time off…
I wish the Angels would make some moves but they’re happy in 2nd place I guess
An Indians player injured? Who coulda guessed…
He’s been injured the past 2 months, nothing new here.
It was a joke…
I hope the Phillies can get Aaron Rowand. He has decent numbers against left handed pitchers, which should suit him well next year as a bat off the bench. Also gives them another name to add to the competition for left field next year.
Come on dude, I remember 2007 too. Rowand hit the stuffing out of the ball, he ran face first into a fence, and he gave a good sound byte. But that was 4 years ago, and next year it will be five. At his age, chances are he is done. Besides:
Mayberry >>>>>>>>>>>> >> Brown > Rowand
So he can’t be a good right handed bat off the bench for cheap? He can’t put up Ben Fransisco type numbers? I just said he would be a name to add to the equation to push the rookies. I expect Brown/Mayberry to platoon until one of them starts to struggle.
I’m not saying he would be the starting left fielder. I’m saying that they have another guy to add to the competition in spring training and he could fill the role that Ben Fransisco currently has.
I think he’s done. Francisco is having a terrible year, yet he still has an OBP of .335.
Rowand is a solid 50 bps below that, and has significantly more plate appearances than Benny does.
You might be right, Ryan, but it’s not like we’re adding him to the 25-man roster for the season. He’ll be about the 8th guy off the bench, we’d get him for a song, the Giants would be footing the bill, and Chollie’s been known to do well with hitters. Best case scenario, he comes in, Manuel and Gross help him put it back together, and he replaces Francisco (at a minimum salary, which is always nice) as our 5th OF, behind Brown/Mayberry/Vic/Pence next year. Worst case scenario, we see him in some meaningless games this month, give him a locker through spring training, find out he’s done, and wish him well in his future endeavors.
There’s really no downside here. I think it’s worth a shot.
I really don’t see the benefit. First of all, since 9/1 has passed, Rowand would be ineligible for the playoffs.
Second, look at the list of OF you just named. Two of them were picked up very cheap (Mayberry in trade, Vic was Rule 5). But they were in their early to mid 20’s when those moves were made. Rowand is in his mid-30’s. The potential upside here is very limited, and ever since 2007, he has not been much of a power threat at all.
I do not see the benefit to the Phillies at all. Someone might take a flier on Rowand, but I really hope the Phillies do not waste their time. If I am going to find out that a player is not good enough, I would rather find that out about a player who is 10 years younger than Rowand who at least has a hope of some upside. It’s worked out very very well for us in the past.
It would be for next year. Ben Fransisco is going to get non tendered and they’re going to need a 5th outfielder to back up Victorino next year if Mayberry is getting consistent playing time in left.
You’re right, because he’d refuse to play left field. Haven’t you heard? He’s a center fielder! You can’t insult him by asking him to be flexible for the team’s sake!
And to answer your first question: no. He can be cheap, but he won’t be any good.
I hope they can get him, too. That means that 1) He’ll be chasing that slider in the dirt and striking out for the Phillies, and 2) He’ll start whining in the clubhouse about how he’s not getting any playing time (even if for some reason he has the third-highest PAs on the team).
That would be a great move…for everyone else.
“It appears that first base prospect Angel Villalona will return to the Giants organization now that murder charges against him have been dismissed.”
Wonder if OJ coulda went bech to the NFL?….
Best part? Angels thought they signed Johan Santana.
…and I totally missed that somebody beat me to this punch, please ignore & move along =)
The Phillies have a guy, Harold Garcia, who is out for the year. Jim Salisbury wrote that the Phillies would have to waive another player… couldn’t they just put him on the 60 day DL and then have an open roster spot for Rowand?
Ok I get that the Cubs are a great brand, I get they have lots of fans but seriously stop. Of course every successful GM working, is on their wish list if they weren’t they wouldn’t have made a change in the first place. Honestly the only great GM I see even seriously considering it would be Beane and that’s only because he couldn’t use the interest to leverage a higher paycheck than the Cubs could offer. Theo, Cashmen, and Rizzo are in great situations, I guarantee they simply use the extra leverage to get bigger checks. The Cubs just isn’t a better job than even the Nationals. Just my opinion though but looking at the roster and payroll, all the better GM’s seem to be in better positions with no real reason to leave.
I agree with pretty much everything you said, LW. About the only caveat I’d add is that there would seem to be some prestige that would come for any GM who could turn the Cubs around into being a winning franchise, and more prestige on top of that, if that GM could get them to the WS, and even more with a WS victory.
However, I don’t think that Theo or Cashman need the prestige. They’ve both won multiple WS. And Theo already has breaking the 86 year Red Sox “curse” on his resume. Rizzo may not have quite that much on his resume, but the Nats job would seem like a great one right now. They’ve had some really good drafts, picked a couple of serious future studs (strasburg and the other guy, whose name escapes me). They’re definitely on the upswing. Now isn’t the time to jump ship for Rizzo. I’d want to see it thru, if I were in his shoes. Prove that you can take the team from the bottom to the top, not simply knocking on the door of respectability.
I agree its def one of the last remaining super challenges out there for GM’s to make a name on. And I def agree with the Rizzo comments. He has some of the best talent in the league and money to build a contender for years to come its gotta be a nice job.
Absolutely on Rizzo and the Nats. And why would someone want to bail on that sweet setup, and when the job’s only half done? Frankly, Rizzo would look even better if he can really make the Nats into a contending team and get into the playoffs. And challenge aside, the Nats job seemed like a better job than the Cubs one. He got to start with cleaner slate in DC. That is, not a lot of deadwood bad contracts littering up the field. Not a perfectly clean slate, but about as clean as it gets without the team being a brand new franchise. Plus he has a strong, supportive owner, and a nice new park. Seems like everything’s pretty rosy for Rizzo and the Nats. Just need some patience, and they’ll be a contender.
Rizzo must have impressed the Cubs with that thrifty Jayson Werth deal.
Let’s see – the Nationals have been in Washington for six seasons. If Rizzo could bring a World Series to the Nationals with the next 96 years that should impress the Cub fans.
Or maybe rebuilding the farm system by drafting #1 overall twice in a row in years where there were two no doubt about it picks.
Seems to me that in the last 102 years with the Cubs near the bottom almost everyone of those years they should have had a least one draft where they got two good talents.
Dude you need to re read the standings for those years and you will see that the cubs were never the worst team in the league in the past 102 years.
DUDE – their record for the last 102 years speaks for itself.
no doubt #1 picks, not no doubt signs. Also its the stuff he has done outside of the 1st round that has been most impressive. he has more to learn with free agents, but he has done an unbelievable job turning around the future of the Nats
Villalona coming back is pretty huge. Still only 21 years old. Hopefully he has stayed in shape.
I doubt he has, he had problems staying in shape when he was playing ball every day. I can’t imagine how well he did facing murder charges for nearly 2 years.
Apparently Waldis Joaquin saw him in the offseason and said the kid had dropped 20 pounds and was still training to keep his skills up.
The Phillies should stay away from Rowand. He’s not the same player he was for one year in Philly. He swings at bad pitches in the dirt (breaking pitches outside and low) time and time again. He NEVER changes his approach at the plate, with that idiotic stance, and his grounding into double plays has killed many a rally. His stats in Philly were INFLATED, just like Jason Werth’s.
So, if Amaro wants a rally killer, Rowand it the man.
but at least it would be for the league minimum.
He’d be a fifth outfielder and a guy to push Domonic and John Mayberry in Spring Training… for the league minimum or close to it.
Rizzo is much “hotter” than his actual range of talent across the various responsibliities that a good GM must handle successfully.
So I say take advantage of the inflated perspective of his abilities and trade him and Ian Desmond to the Cubs for, say, Starlin Castro and some decent minor league prospects. Hey, if the Cubs want him….maybe they’ll overpay for him. 😉
The other Chicago team may be about to trade their peculiar field manager to the Marlins…..maybe “baseball exec fever” has gripped Chicago