Starting Pitchers Among Best Low-Risk Pickups
Bartolo Colon didn’t pitch an inning in the Major Leagues last year. Neither did Erik Bedard, or Brandon McCarthy, or Ryan Vogelsong. Halfway through the 2011 season, each one of them has already made a difference at the highest level. The quartet of reclamation projects has combined for 309 2/3 innings of 2.88 ERA baseball this year with three times as many strikeouts (257) as walks (77).
A year after splitting his time between two Triple-A teams, Vogelsong (pictured) is a key contributor on one of baseball’s most effective pitching staffs. His 2.09 ERA leads a San Francisco rotation that includes the likes of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.
Yet there’s no denying that the same issue that kept the others off of MLB mounds in 2010 – health – persists. Colon could return from the disabled list this weekend; the Mariners placed Bedard on the DL today; McCarthy has been on Oakland’s disabled list for more than a month.
But before their respective teams placed them on the disabled list, their contributions surpassed all expectations. It’s been six weeks since McCarthy toed the rubber, yet A’s fans probably haven’t forgotten the 3.39 ERA and 37K/10BB ratio he posted through 63 2/3 innings.
The Yankees will be hoping for more of the same from Colon when he returns from the DL. The former Cy Young Award winner has tremendous numbers in 2011: a 3.10 ERA with a 72K/18BB ratio in 78 1/3 innings.
Two years after Colon won his Cy Young, Bedard posted a 3.16 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 en route to a top-five finish for the award. If the lefty’s 2011 numbers look familiar, it’s probably because Bedard was pitching as well as ever before hitting the DL. He has a 3.00 ERA with an 85K/26BB ratio 90 innings into the season.
Don’t forget that the Mariners signed Bedard for just $1MM. McCarthy signed with Oakland for the same amount and the Yankees’ deal with Colon is worth just $900K in base salary. Like Colon, Vogelsong signed a minor league contract in January.
The pursuit of high-risk, high-reward arms does not guarantee success by any means. Brandon Webb ($3MM) and Rich Harden ($1.5MM) signed for more than any of the pitchers above and neither has thrown a pitch in the majors this year.
Naturally, that won’t stop teams looking to gamble on seemingly injury-prone pitchers this offseason. Someone – Ben Sheets, Jeremy Bonderman or 48-year-old Jamie Moyer perhaps? – will return from the discard pile after a year-long absence and make an impact, whether it's for a handful of starts or an entire season season. It’s just a question of who will resurface and which team will sign him.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Yankees Designate Buddy Carlyle For Assignment
The Yankees designated Buddy Carlyle for assignment, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter). The move creates roster space for Sergio Mitre, who is headed back to New York and will rejoin the Yankees tomorrow.
Carlyle, 33, has a 4.70 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 8.2 BB/9 in 7 2/3 innings for the Yankees this year in his first MLB action since 2009. The 1996 second rounder spent last year in Japan, where he posted a 4.88 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 27 2/3 innings.
Yankees Acquire Sergio Mitre
Sergio Mitre is heading back to the Bronx. The Yankees acquired the right-hander from the Brewers for cash considerations, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). Milwaukee designated Mitre for assignment Monday and he has since drawn interest from other teams.
Mitre, 30, has posted a 3.27 ERA in 33 innings since Milwaukee acquired him from the Yankees for Chris Dickerson in March. The right-hander has a 14K/10BB ratio with a typically high 50.9% ground ball rate in his return to the National League.
David Eckstein Could Return In “Right Situation”
Major League teams haven’t forgotten about David Eckstein, the ten-year veteran who was the MVP of the 2006 World Series. In fact, he says he drew more interest than ever last offseason, including one offer that came four weeks ago and some Major League offers. Though the second baseman has not retired, he told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that he won’t return unless the circumstances are right.
“It totally has to be the right situation, but when you say that, it’s like you’re disrespecting the clubs that have talked to you,” Eckstein said. “This goes so much deeper than you guys will ever know.”
The 36-year-old says he feels fine physically and made a personal decision to take time off and manage his wife’s acting career. Eckstein posted a .267/.321/.326 line in 492 plate appearances for the Padres last year.
Dodgers Links: McCourt, Selig, Uribe
The Dodgers have filed for bankruptcy and owner Frank McCourt is up against MLB in a legal battle that’s not getting any friendlier. Here’s the latest…
- McCourt obtained court approval to use $60MM for his immediate bills and will learn whether he can access the rest of his $150MM loan on July 20th, according to Bill Shaikin and Michael Oneal of the LA Times.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan shows that commissioner Bud Selig has changed his stance on McCourt dramatically since the Dodgers owner took control of the franchise in 2004.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean shot down a rumor about the possibility that infielder Juan Uribe could return to San Francisco this year, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter). Baggarly and MLB.com's Chris Haft had both heard that the Dodgers could trade Uribe to the Giants, the team he played for in 2010.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Dodgers are in no substantive trade talks about anyone (Twitter link).
Minor Deals: Kensing, Bautista
Let's keep track of today's minor moves here…
- The Yankees have signed Logan Kensing to a minor league contract according to his representatives, CAA Baseball, on Twitter. The 28-year-old right-hander did not pitch in affiliated baseball last year and has a 5.81 ERA in 161 big league innings. He pitched for Yankees manager Joe Girardi with the Marlins in 2006.
- Righty Denny Bautista has signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization according to this report passed along by Dan of MyKBO.net. Bautista, 30, had a 4.21 ERA with 12.1 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 36 1/3 innings for the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate this season.
D’Backs Release Melvin Mora
The Diamondbacks released Melvin Mora, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (on Twitter in Spanish). Craig Grialou of 620 KTAR first reported the move (on Twitter).
Mora, 39, hit just .230/.246/.278 in 134 plate appearances this year while seeing time at third base almost exclusively. With Ryan Roberts having a big year, Mora was the odd man out and had to settle for limited action off the bench. Arizona signed him to a one-year deal worth $2MM in the offseason, and they'll still be on the hook for that salary the rest of the season.
Orioles Start Extension Talks With J.J. Hardy
The Orioles have been in touch with J.J. Hardy’s agent to discuss an extension for the shortstop, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail had stated his intention to start talks with Hardy's representatives at LSW Baseball before the All-Star break.
With free agency a few months away, Hardy is having his best season in years. The 28-year-old has a .303/.367/.548 line with 11 homers, nine of which have come in June. Talks haven’t gotten serious between Hardy and the Orioles, but they could pick up this month.
Though top shortstop prospect Manny Machado has an .829 OPS in his first year as a professional, the 18-year-old has yet to play above Class A. The Orioles appear to want to limit an extension for Hardy to two years.
Chicago Links: Williams, Viciedo, Hendry
Chicago's teams have combined for 70 wins and 90 losses, yet the White Sox say they could still turn their season around and the Cubs tell us not to expect a fire sale. Here are the details…
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times that his team can turn it around and start winning, but is licking its wounds too much at the moment. “We're going to have to start to turn this around quickly,” Williams said.
- Jim Margalus of South Side Sox explains that Dayan Viciedo may be in Triple-A because of service time considerations. The prospect is hitting minor league pitching as well as the White Sox could hope (.330/.369/.528 line), but if the White Sox wait another week, Viciedo won't have a full year of service time at the end of the year even if he doesn’t return to Triple-A. Margalus’ analysis is spot-on here.
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry told Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald that the Cubs won't have a fire sale this summer. They intend told keep the players who will help down the road, Hendry said. "If we make moves, it will be designed to make us better for the future."
Red Sox Notes: Lee, Beltran, Cuddyer, Millwood
How's this for a fun defensive alignment? Adrian Gonzalez will play right field for Boston tonight while David Ortiz plays first base. Here's the latest on the Red Sox from WEEI.com as we wait for Terry Francona's heavily-scrutinized defenders to take the field…
- The pitcher who defeated Boston last night, Phillies lefty Cliff Lee, told Kirk Minihane of WEEI.com that the Red Sox had "nonexistent" interest in him last offseason. "I think they were satisfied with their pitching, they weren't looking for pitching," Lee said. "Nothing with any substance to it, they were never serious."
- MLB Network analyst Peter Gammons reported yesterday that the Red Sox don't have financial flexibility and he explained Boston's predicament in further detail today on WEEI's Mut & Merloni Show. "They’re not getting Carlos Beltran," Gammons said. "They’re not getting Michael Cuddyer." Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com has highlights of Gammons' conversation.
- Kevin Millwood, who recently decided not to opt out of his minor league contract with the Red Sox, tells Sam Dykstra of WEEI.com that he'd consider it "a great opportunity" to join Boston's big league team.