Giants Haven’t Contacted Other Teams About Catchers
Giants GM Brian Sabean said he hasn't contacted any other clubs about finding a replacement behind the plate for Buster Posey, though several teams have made contact with him, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. For now, Sabean said the Giants are content to give backup catcher Eli Whiteside a chance to prove himself as an everyday player.
"[Whiteside has] been around the block," Sabean said. "And quite frankly, I don’t think anyone will trade us a catcher who’s any better than Whiteside. If someone is an all-around catcher, you’re not going to get that player in a trade."
Whiteside, 31, has been the backup in San Francisco for the last three seasons and has a career slash line of .229/.281/.363 in 316 plate appearances. While Whiteside's numbers aren't impressive, Sabean has a point about the shallow catching market and the lack of clear upgrades available. Washington is one of the few teams with catching depth, and the Giants reportedly contacted the Nationals about Ivan Rodriguez. As Baggarly notes, it may have been the Nats who made first contact if Sabean indeed hasn't made any calls.
Mets Notes: Wright, Alderson, Giants, Fossum
In the wake of Fred Wilpon's already-infamous New Yorker interview, David Wright tells Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) that he wants to "close the book" on the incident, and that Wilpon contacted him to say that he "misspoke." Wright also seems to have a sense of humor about the situation, saying "My parents texted me and told me I was their superstar." (Quote from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports).
Some other news from the Mets camp….
- In light of Wilpon’s comments, Joel Sherman of the New York Post asks whether Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes should care for anything but “padding their free-agent resumes” at this point. Sherman also says Wright has been handed an opportunity to step down from his unofficial position as team spokesman.
- GM Sandy Alderson said he hasn't spoken to Wright, Beltran or Reyes about Wilpon's statements, reports Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. “They’re professionals, and things happen from time to time and they’re able to take that in stride,” Alderson said. “I don’t think this has been a major issue for them." The link also contains Alderson's thoughts on next season's payroll and his first impressions of new Mets minority owner David Einhorn.
- The Giants need a big bat more than ever in the wake of Buster Posey's season-ending injury, but a source tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter link) that San Francisco hasn't been in contact with the Mets about any of their available hitters.
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Casey Fossum is "not inclined to pitch right now" and has been placed on the restricted list at the Mets' Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, reports Adam Rubin. (Twitter link) Despite this, the veteran southpaw has no plans to retire, and Buffalo manager Tim Teufel said that Fossum is trying to "reinvent himself" (via the Twitter feed of The Buffalo News' Mike Harrington). Fossum, who last pitched in the majors in 2009 and pitched in Japan last season, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in February. He has a 6.56 ERA in nine games (six of them starts) with Buffalo this year.
MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith also contributed to this post
Astros Release Joe Inglett
The Astros have released utility infielder Joe Inglett, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (via Twitter). Houston acquired Inglett from Tampa Bay in March, and designated him for assignment at the end of April. Inglett hit .222/.222/.259 in 27 plate appearances for the Astros this year and had just two hits in 37 plate appearances at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Inglett, who turns 33 next month, has a career .734 OPS in six Major League seasons with the Indians, Blue Jays, Brewers and Astros. He has played everywhere but catcher and first base during his career, even pitching a perfect inning of relief for Milwaukee last year. All but 92 of Inglett's 898 career plate appearances have been against right-handed pitching, so between Inglett's decent left-handed bat and his versatility, he's a good bet to be signed by a club in need of bench depth.
Stark On Giants, Padres, Pence
Now that Buster Posey is on the disabled list for the foreseeable future, the Giants are looking around for catching, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. Ivan Rodriguez, a player the Giants have asked about, and Bengie Molina, a player who would like to return to San Francisco, are the team’s most viable options at this point. Here are the details from Stark, plus other notes from around the league:
- The Nationals have been shopping Rodriguez since Spring Training and one executive says they would love to move him.
- The Padres are starting to give indications that they’ll be willing to move Heath Bell, Ryan Ludwick and Chad Qualls in a few weeks.
- However, rival teams say the Padres are “not motivated” to talk about players who are under control through 2012 or later, such as reliever Mike Adams.
- The Astros keep saying that they imagine Hunter Pence on Houston’s next winning team, which would presumably make him difficult to obtain this summer.
Quick Hits: Gonzalez, Cardinals, Posey
On this date in 1968, MLB announced two new expansion teams: the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres. The Expos’ ancestors (the Nationals) and the Padres occupy last place in their respective divisions this year. Here’s the latest from the Major Leagues:
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the Tigers kicked around the idea of trading for Adrian Gonzalez when he was with the Rangers in 2004-05 (Twitter link). However, talks never got very far and the Rangers dealt the first baseman to San Diego.
- A rival GM told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he expects the Cardinals to make a “major push” to acquire talent this summer, since this could be St. Louis’ last playoff run with Albert Pujols.
- Giants catcher Buster Posey would be “infinitely safer” at first base because he’d stay fresher, according to Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle (she acknowledges that Posey adds plenty of value as a catcher).
- An NL executive who could benefit from Posey’s absence was rattled by the catcher's injury because he's good for baseball, according to EPSN.com’s Buster Olney.
Tigers Acquire David Purcey For Scott Sizemore
The Tigers have acquired left-hander David Purcey from the Athletics for second baseman Scott Sizemore, the teams announced. The move provides the Tigers with another left-handed relief option and gives the A's second base depth behind the struggling Mark Ellis. In related moves, the Tigers called Danny Worth up and the A's called Bobby Cramer up.
Purcey, a 2004 first rounder, arrived in Oakland last month, after the Blue Jays designated him for assignment. He has a 3.60 ERA for the A's and Blue Jays this year with a 10K/7BB ratio through 15 innings. Last year, the 29-year-old posted a career-best 3.71 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 34 innings out of Toronto's 'pen.
Sizemore has been Detroit's everyday second baseman since getting the call to the Majors in early May. He has a .222/.329/.238 line in 74 plate appearances this year, which is similar to the batting line he produced as a rookie in 2010 (.224/.296/.336). A fifth round pick in 2006, Sizemore has a .301/.387/.453 line in the minor leagues.
The Tigers currently have three left-handed relievers on the active roster: Daniel Schlereth and recent additions Charlie Furbush and Adam Wilk (Brad Thomas is on the DL). Wilk and Furbush debuted this week and Purcey has pitched more MLB innings than Schlereth and Thomas combined, so he'll provide manager Jim Leyland with something of a known commodity.
Mets Designate Pat Misch For Assignment
The Mets designated Pat Misch for assignment to create roster space for Dale Thayer, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). In related moves, the Mets optioned Fernando Martinez to the minor leagues and promoted Thayer.
Misch, 29, made six relief appearances this year and has allowed 11 hits and four walks in 7 innings, striking out five. The left-hander has a 4.80 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in six seasons with the Giants and Mets.
Thayer, a right-hander who had brief stints with the Rays in 2009-10, has been pitching for the Mets' Triple-A affiliate. He has a 2.05 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 26 1/3 innings with Buffalo. A 47th round selection in 1999, Thayer has struck out nearly a batter per inning over the course of his nine minor league seasons.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Posey, Astros, Beltran
The Indians pulled off the rare triple steal on this date three years ago. Jamey Carroll got caught in a rundown after being picked off first by Ehren Wassermann, but Paul Konerko threw home to try to cut down David Dellucci, who broke from third. Dellucci was safe at home after beating the throw and Carroll advanced to second, all while Grady Sizemore (who was originally on second) scooted over to third. It was the first triple steal since 1987, when the Braves victimized the Astros.
Here are the best links the blogosphere had to offer over the last week…
- Call To The Pen chimed in on the Buster Posey–Scott Cousins collision.
- The Dugout Report explored Posey's future with the Giants before his injury.
- Bronx Bombers Report wonders if the Yankees could help the Giants given all their young catchers.
- Infield Chatter, meanwhile, wrote about the dangers of keeping elite players behind the plate.
- Crawfish Boxes listed some GM candidates for the Astros in case new owner Jim Crane lets current GM Ed Wade go.
- Bleacher Nation provided a complete dictionary of reasons of why the Cubs should fire GM Jim Hendry.
- The Shea Faithful says Carlos Beltran was worth the Wilpons' money.
- Pirates Prospects tried to figure out Joel Hanrahan's trade value.
- FanSpeak thinks the Nationals should look to move Todd Coffey sooner rather than later.
- Wahoo Blues warns the Indians to be careful as the trade deadline approaches.
- Royals Review looked at the improvement of Wilson Betemit.
- Tomahawk Chop tried to figure out what's wrong with Dan Uggla.
- The Last Sports Blog On Earth wonders if the Dodgers' best option is to punt the season.
- The Todd Van Poppel Rookie Card Retirement Plan weighs in on the Brian Fuentes-Bob Geren situation.
- The Hardball Times explained why it would be a bad idea for the Padres to call up Anthony Rizzo.
- Replacement Level Baseball provided scouting reports and video of four top draft prospects.
- MLB Reports took a shot at realigning the divisions.
- Through The Fence Baseball wrote about the problem with baseball announcers.
- MLB Depth Charts listed some top prospects with a chance to have some fantasy impact later this summer.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.
Owners Say The Darndest Things
Much of the baseball world was abuzz this week over the comments Fred Wilpon made in The New Yorker about his players and team. The attention is understandable, since the comments appear to be both wrong on the merits and antithetical to Wilpon's own self-interest. But ill-advised comments are nothing new for baseball owners.
After all, as Bill Veeck once said, "Baseball must be a great game, because the owners haven't been able to kill it." I thought it would be fun to see what the closest historical comparables are for each of Wilpon's gaffes this week (by all means, let me know in the comments section if I'm missing any – these are far from scientific conclusions).
On Carlos Beltran: “We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series. He’s sixty five to seventy per cent of what he was.”
Closest comp: When George Steinbrenner said of Dave Winfield: "Where is Reggie Jackson? We need a Mr. October or a Mr. September. Winfield is Mr. May."
Similarities include criticizing a player for only coming through during a specific time of year. Naturally, Beltran hasn't had much chance to come through during postseasons for the Mets. Even his famous 'failure' – a strikeout to end Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS – came in a series in which he hit three home runs.
On Jose Reyes: "He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money,” Wilpon said, referring to the left fielder's seven-year, $142MM contract with Boston. “He’s had everything wrong with him,” Wilpon said of Reyes. “He won’t get it.”
Closest comp: When Reds owner Bill DeWitt sent Frank Robinson to Baltimore for pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson in January 1966, he defended the trade by explaining that Robinson was "an old 30." Robinson went on to win the triple crown for Baltimore in 1966, and starred with the Orioles for many seasons to come.
Similarities include a shocking misread of the market for a player, and an attempt to denigrate an in-prime star. DeWitt was wise enough to wait until after he traded his player, of course.
On David Wright: "He’s pressing,” Wilpon said. “A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.”
Closest comp: Charlie Finley said to Vida Blue after the 1972 season, "So you won twenty games? Why didn't you win thirty?"
Similarities include a failure to recognize elite talent right in front of him. However, Finley had a larger purpose: to pay Blue less in ongoing contract negotiations. With Wright signed through 2013, Wilpon's motivations are far less clear.
On the Mets: “Good hitter,” Wilpon said in reference to first baseman Ike Davis. “S***** team—good hitter. Lousy clubs — that’s what happens.”
Closest comp: Anything George Steinbrenner ever said after the Yankees lost in the playoffs.
Similarities include the disparaging of the very team each man owned. The difference was that in Steinbrenner's case, the Yankees had usually won well over 90 games and made the playoffs.
Cubs Designate Robert Coello For Assignment
The Cubs announced that they designated Robert Coello for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Rodrigo Lopez. The Cubs optioned Justin Berg to Triple-A to create 25-man roster space for Lopez, who was acquired from Atlanta yesterday and will be in uniform for Chicago today.
Coello, 26, appeared in six games for the Red Sox last year before Boston traded him to Chicago for Tony Thomas this February. In 48 1/3 innings at Triple-A Iowa, Coello has a 7.82 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. The 6'5" right-hander has a 3.78 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 127 minor league appearances, most of which have come in relief.