On a day when the Blue Jays adopted a familiar-looking "new" logo, here are some news items to carry us into the weekend….
- If the Astros fire Brad Mills, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes Mills could reunite with Terry Francona as the latter's bench coach for a future managing vacancy. Morosi also lists Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker as wish list candidates for Jim Crane if he removes Ed Wade as Houston's general manager. It would be the second stint as Astros' GM for Hunsicker, who ran the team from 1996-2004.
- Ryan Madson could be one of several free agents to lose his Type A status under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Such an adjustment would help Madson, as clubs with unprotected first-round draft picks currently have to give up that pick in order to sign the closer.
- Twins GM Terry Ryan tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Denard Span and Ben Revere won't be traded this winter. Minnesota could lose both Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel to free agency this offseason.
- The White Sox didn't add Jordan Danks to their 40-man roster, and Jim Margalus of the South Side Sox speculates that this could be a hint that Chicago is preparing to part ways with John Danks. The elder Danks brother has drawn strong interest on the trade market.
- The Braves "seem to undervalue [Martin Prado's] skills," writes Fangraphs' Jason Roberts, who thinks Atlanta may not get proper market value in exchange for the utilityman in a deal.
- Right-hander Darrell Rasner has signed a new contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, reports NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman. Matt Sosnick, Rasner's agent, tells Newman the contract is worth $1.5MM plus performance bonuses. Rasner last appeared in the majors as a Yankee in 2008 and has pitched for Rakuten ever since.
- The Blue Jays, Cardinals, Mariners, Red Sox and Twins are all listed as possible suitors for Kelly Shoppach by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).
Blue Jays would definitely benefit by signing Shoppach as back-up catcher coming from the AL East. Just like Tampa is doing by signing Toronto’s Molina, the Jays can replicate in the same way to get a better understanding of their pitching counterparts. I love these chess matches among GM’s.
Tampa’s going to hit Morrow hard next year lol
Might as well of just traded Molina for Shoppach lol if they sign him, as back-up I’d say he plays DH a bit too if Lind gets a day off and EE is at 1st. 2 years @ 5m tops if you ask me.
Maybe it’s more the fact that Jordan hit .251 the last 2 years rather than because they want to trade John…
With his decent on-base abilities, base running skills, moderate power, and Gold Glove-level defense he’s still got value, however that’s off-set by him striking out in almost 30% of his PA’s. A team looking for a defensive-minded fourth outfielder could do worse, though.
he’s on basing .316 or something in AAA, and his numbers have decreased at every promotion he’s had. it’s not looking good for him.
He had a .344 OBP in AAA this past year.
Crane should definitely get rid of Ed Wade who has just used the team to help the Phillies.
I’m definitely glad to hear Ryan doesn’t plan on moving Span and/or Revere right now.
doing.it.right
Wow, Torontos new jerseys are sick! I would love to see the Cardinals return to the baby blue pullovers. So glad to see Toronto bring back that font too.
I’m glad to see them, too. It may not instantly return them to their past winning ways, but there’s definitely a lot of talent on that club, and at least they will have much nicer threads to wear.
Bringin’ back the Blue Jays Swagga!
I’d like to see a three-way trade between Braves/Rockies/Padres- I’m assuming the Pads need a outfielder.
Braves get Headley + Rockies OF prospect
Padres get Smith + Braves low-minors pitching prospect
Rockies get Prado + Padres low-minors pitching prospect
I think everyone gets what they want this way. Pads need a good OF, Braves get a Chipper replacement 3B/stopgap LF, Rockies get Prado.
That may work but the Padres already insisted they don’t want to trade Headley
As a Braves fan, I would love this deal because we’d make out very well, but I really don’t see why the Pads would agree to this. They get screwed in that deal. Chase Headley + low-minors pitching prospect is worth much more than Seth Smith + low-minors pitching prospect.
Why would the fact that the white sox are letting his brother go effect Danks as a trade possibility, they are two completely different people
it’s known that john really wants to play on the same team with his brother. the way it’s looking for jordan though, the odds say that the only way that’s going to happen is on the sox in september.
Bring them both to Toronto.
Wren throws smokescreens left and right (aka “fibs”) to manipulate a situation the way he sees fit. He purposefully leaked Prado and Jurrjens’ names out to gauge interest in the players. He was hoping that some team would make a ridiculous offer he couldn’t refuse for one of the 2 players early on. Then, he would have time to measure the team’s needs and fill a hole via free agency before all of the players of interest were scooped up. If he traded one of the above mentioned, he’d likely be filling a hole at SS or LF, leaving one of the 2 positions to be filled via free agency. When a team didn’t bite, he “pulled back” his words through the mouthpiece of the organization (O’Brien). Forbidden fruit tastes sweeter…
Atlanta is willing to listen, but they are not shopping him. Prado lacks power and has a low walk rate, and for a team looking to get better in those aspects and who doesn’t have much money, trading Prado makes sense. Trading Jurrjens also makes sense, since he has been injured a lot, his velocity drop was a concern meaning his season could be attributed to luck.
If they don’t trade Prado or Jurrjens, they can’t do anything. No SS, they’d have to call Pastornicky up who isn’t ready, and depend on bounceback seasons by Prado and Heyward. Problem is, Prado at his best will never be a high OBP or SLG%, and the Braves know that.
If they want to get better, they have to make a trade, and Prado and Jurrjens are definitely the most tradeable pieces at this point at their second year of arbitration.
Braves should target, Carlos Quentin, Erick Aybar, Josh Willingham, Michael Cuddyer, or prospects.
I’ve got a trade in my head for awhile now that would bring Aybar and Quentin to ATL.
Braves send Martin Prado and Jair Jurrjens to the Angels for Erick Aybar and 2 solid low level prospects.
Then trade, JJ Hoover, Zeke Spruill, and Joe Leonard for Carlos Quentin.
Essentially trading Prado, Jurrjens, +3 prospects for Quentin, Aybar, +2 prospects. Braves will be adding between 1-2 million in salary, and getting two guys who are in line to be type A FA’s unless the new CBA changes their status.
Angels get a pitcher and a 3B, and instead of signing converted reliever CJ Wilson, they could use the money to sign Jose Reyes instead. the White Sox get salary relief and quality prospects. Braves cover their most pressing needs with a quality SS(with speed) and a power hitting right handed corner outfielder in Quentin, and now they have like 5 million to improve the bench.
“Prado lacks power”
An OPS of .838 in 2008, .822 in 2009 and .809 says otherwise. It’s funny that you mention that the Braves should trade Prado and then target Cuddyer. Do you realize that both guys are very, very similar….except that Prado is younger and less expensive?
Prado: .293/.341/.434
Cuddyer: .272/.343/.451
Cuddyer’s number are inflated by the outlier year in 2009 while Prados are deflated because of his outlier year in 2011. Too many people only remember Cuddyer’s 2009 season and think he is a superstar. He is just a solid player, much like Prado.
Also, Prado/Jurrjens is waaaaaaaaaay too much for Erick Aybar and two “solid low level prospects”.
Finally, Hoover/Spruill and Leonard isn’t enough for Quention.
It makes more sense to just trade Jurrjens for Quentin and use Prado in the super-utility role.
In a ‘what have you done for me lately’ type league, Cuddyer has done more than Prado.
Ah, gotcha. Then I guess all prospects are worthless…
Way to completely miss what I was meaning.
Uh, I’m not even sure what you mean by that. Prado has only been in the league four years and he has been excellent in 3 of those 4 years. Yes, he had a bad year last year, primarily due to injuries.
I meant HR power, Prado can hit a lot of doubles, and hit for a high average, but the fact is Braves need something better. And Aybar you’ve got to realize we’re talking about a gold glove SS here with an okay bat, by far the best option after Reyes. Aybar has 1 year left on his deal perfect fit for ATL, and as of right now in line to be a type A FA(who knows how the new CBA changes that). IMO it’s a fair trade.
Now Quentin, maybe they should improve the offer slightly, instead of Joe Leonard offer something better. Zeke Spruill is a pretty good prospect to me he is the center piece, and Hoover is pretty good as well. Quentin is also in line to be a type A FA.
I like Prado I really do, but I would rather have Quentin and Aybar. I don’t like Jurrjens because he gets injured all the time and his lost of velocity concerns me. Before anybody says JJ did it on purpose like Maddux did, I don’t believe that. He lost velocity because he isn’t healthy.
Prado has more value than Aybar by himself. And Type A free agency is gone.
A guy who hits for average and OBP is EXACTLY what the Braves need. They don’t need any more power hitters. They finished 3rd in the NL in home runs last year. What they need are guys who get on base for the power hitters they already have.
“It makes more sense to just trade Jurrjens for Quentin and use Prado in the super-utility role.”
Exactly. Either Quentin or Nick Swisher.
Oh jeez. I think the White Sox are gonna want a little more for a guy with a career OPS above .830 than two prospects that top out at the bottom of a rotation and a corner infield prospect that can’t hit or slug. I’m not saying the deal has to include Teheran, but someone like Delgado or Simmons would have to be the key to any deal.
Zeke Spruill is a good one. Delgado or Simmons won’t be traded for 1 year of Quentin.
A large part of a pitchers power and velocity is generated from pushing off with your legs. JJ is known to be working harder on building his leg strength and endurance. His velocity will most likely return when his legs are healthy again. It’s not like his power dropped because of an arm or shoulder problem- plus he’s not that big of a guy anyway so building up his leg strength can only help.
As an Astros fan, would be absolutely great if Brad Mills joins Terry Francona. Mills has absolutely no clue what he is doing. I can’t believe he did anything as the bench coach with the Red Sox. Crane’s first actions should be to fire Tal Smith, Ed Wade and Brad Mills and replace with Gerry Hunsicker, Andrew Friedman and Ryne Sandberg.
Ryan going to keep Span. This mean’s we are spending 4-5 mil for a middling closer (think Frank Francisco/Kevin Gregg territory), or 9-11 mil for a legit closer or 7 mil for Joe Nathan (rank him where you will).
I guess Ryan believes the difference between 2 mil for DeJesus or 5 mil for Crisp & Drew Storen for 418K & Span (and his concussion symptoms) for 3 mil & 7 mil for Nathan favors the Twins.
I like his first two moves this year – not dealing Span I donot agree with…Considering how many recurring issues Morneau has had, I’d be concerned we get 120 games from Span next year, and Nathan is no spring chicken. Storen is not Arb eligible til 2014 and he’s under team control through 2017. Span is guaranteed through 2015 with 14.25 MIL committed over those years. Span’s career line .285/.361/.387 versus Crisp .275/.330/.406 and DeJesus .284/.356/.421
Again Nathan & Span will cost us 10 million this year, and Nathan only has a year or two left and Span is gonna deal with the concussion probably the rest of his career.
Storen would cost us half a million this year & Twins Killer, DeJesus would cost us 2 million this year. That leaves us 7.5 million to spend on Kubel/Cuddyer/Willingham/Derreck Lee/whomever else we would want to play the other corner slot.
So we could easily be left with a three spot fallout from not making this deal of : Span/Nathan/Tosoni versus Storen/DeJesus/Kubel. I think I prefer the latter.
Sending Span/X for Storen/X and signing DeJesus with the money saved would leave us a starting lineup of:
CF: DeJesus
SS: Carroll
C/1B: Mauer
RF/DH: Kubel
1B/DH: Morneau
3B: Valencia
DH/RF: Plouffe/Doumit
2B: Casilla
LF: Revere/Plouffe
If we invest in both Willingham & Kubel it would be even more nice:
CF: DeJesus
SS: Carroll
C/1B: Mauer
RF/DH/LF: Kubel
1B/DH: Morneau
DH/RF/LF: Willingham
3B: Valencia
2B: Casilla
LF: Revere/Plouffe
My thoughts for Twins moves:
Offer Cuddyer arbitration, and when he declines, then let him walk and take the first-round draft pick. He’ll almost certainly walk and then end up in Philly.
Sign Kubel back for around $5 million per year (I want Kubel at a 2-year deal). I have no doubt in my mind that he would have had a 2009-like year last year had he not gotten injured.
Might be slightly risky, but I think MIN needs to sign Edwin Jackson this offseason. Can’t afford C.J. Wilson, Buehrle won’t come here, and Jackson has the best stuff out there for this free agent market. Move Duensing back to the pen and that’s killing two birds with one stone as the saying goes.
Rotation would look like:
1. Liriano
2. Jackson
3. Baker
4. Pavano
5. Blackburn
That’s better than last year’s opening rotation, and as the year goes on, Hendriks would be added as would Gibson after he recovers from injury.
As for the bullpen, Minnesota needs to spend some money. Capps and Nathan should walk. Too expensive for what the Twins would get back. Push hard for Francisco Rodriguez. I know he’s had that massive contract in the past but no team will give him that again. K-Rod could be had for around $7/8/9 million a year. I’d also love to bring back big Jon Rauch for $3 million.
Bullpen looks like:
CP: K-Rod
SU: Glen Perkins
SU: Jon Rauch
MRP: Duensing
MRP: Dumatrait
MRP: Kevin Slowey
LRP: Scott Diamond/Jeff Manship/Anthony Swarzak
Letting Cuddyer, Capps, Nathan walk.
Adding Kubel, Jackson, K-Rod and Rauch.
Lineup should be:
1. Span, CF
2. Carroll, SS
3. Mauer, C
4. Morneau, 1B
5. Kubel, RF
6. Doumit, DH
7. Valencia, 3B
8. Casilla/Nishioka, 2B
9. Revere, LF
I don’t think Gardy will put Nishioka at 2B after his injury last season.
But then again he has a very weak arm so I don’t think he’s suitable for SS either.
I’d personally rather Nishioka get sent down to AAA and get taught how to play ball. Last year it seemed like he had no clue what he was doing. Casilla is actually a way better option than Nishi is at this point.
I couldn’t agree more. I don’t think Nishioka should even be considered a starter in the majors yet until he has A LOT of practice at AAA. I think Casilla will get the 2B job in 2012, but he needs to stay healthy physically and mentally.
Definetely agree with signing Edwin Jackson. He is still very young and has time to improve already impressive stats. Not so sure Liriano is our ace though.
1. Edwin Jackson
2. Carl Pavano
3. Scott Baker
4. Francisco Liriano
5. Nick Blackburn / Anthony Swarzak
I don’t think the Twins will invest that much money into the bullpen you created either.
Also, are you thinking that Hendricks would take Blackburn’s rotation spot? Because I think Swarzak is more likely to do that.
Knowing the Twins they will probably pass on Jackson and re-sign Capps and Nathan, which gives us the same bullpen as last year…a horrible one. My moves would give them at least 5 reliable arms in the pen.
I think Hendriks will take Blacky’s spot, yes. Swarzak has his better days, but his ceiling in terms of play is already set. Hendriks has the potential to be a 2-3 starter.
This is what I’d like to see in the Twin’s ’12 bullpen-
CP: Joe Nathan
SU: Glen Perkins
SU: Frank Francisco
MRP: Phil Dumatrait
MRP: Brian Deunsing
MRP: Scott Diamond / Jose Mijares
LRP: Anthony Swarzak
I really don’t want to see Kevin Slowey on our team period. He is way too injury prone and it would be nice to shed that rediculous payment of his to spend elsewhere. I think we should sign Frank Francisco which should be cheaper, and a better option than resigning Matt Capps. As a Joe Nathan fan I’d love to see the Twins sign him for less money, but if that doesn’t work out then yeah I’d like to see the Twins use a little more money to sign someone like K-rod who should be a more reliable choice for their money.
I like it.
I think Ryan would trade Span for the right return. The Nats have Storen,Clippard,Norris,Flores,Desmond,Espinosa,Lombardozzi and a few good young pitching prospects which the Twins would consider. The Nats don’t want to give up anything. Ryan will wait to see what happens with Cuddyer and Kubel and go from there. But he would trade Span in a heartbeat for what he and the Twins consider the right return, from any team.
Last few seasons have wanted Shoppach, or a decent backuo catcher of his ilk since Mirabelli left and now that FINALLY do not want him with Lavarnway poised to make the roster, would rather them not get one..
The best thing to come out of it would be non tender/no contract offer papers to Tek while he is a FA.. So that is at least a good thing and also more than likely means they will be bringing back ortiz regardless.
Mark the Cardinals off the Kelly Shoppach list they have Tony Cruz who is a very good defensive catcher that they can use next season as their back up.
Why is there even an “IF” before the words “Ed Wade is replaced” ? Why on earth would he NOT be replaced?
Braves simply won’t trade the best of the best..
To claify:
1. Brian McCann
2. Tommy Hanson
3. Michael Bourn
4. Craig Kimbrel
5. Johnny Venters
6. Tim Hudson
7. Eric O’Flaherty
8. Jason Heyward
9. Julio Teheran
10. Brandon Beachy
11. Mike Minor
12. Randall Delgado
13. Tyler Pastornicky
14. Sean Gilmartin
15. Andrealton Simmons
16. Christian Bethancourt
17. Arodys Vizcaino
18. Freddy Freeman
19. Matt Lipka
20. Edward Salcedo
21. Joe Terdoslavich
Anybody else be my guest
I’m surprised Freeman is so low on this list.
Mike Minor sucks lol
The Braves don’t undervalue Prado’s skills. If they did, they would have traded him for Delmon Young…or Seth Smith…or someone else mentioned in some rumor reported by a writer, but never corroborated by Frank Wren. But you know what? Martin Prado is still an Atlanta Brave. That tells me they don’t see any of these rumored deals as being enough value to get in return for him.
I doubt the Twins will go for Shoppach. They have Mauer, and they just signed Ryan Doumit. Shoppach isn’t nearly as good as either of those players. This is coming from a Rays fan who had to watch Shoppach at the plate for two seasons.
If the Twins end up signing Shoppach, the Doumit signing would look very foolish IMO.
HAHAHA i would like one good reason for the Cards to be in on Shoppach. That is ridiculous crasnick. Cruz and Anderson, need I say more?