Nationals Release Bisenius, Wood, Van Every
The Nationals released right-handers Joe Bisenius and Tim Wood and outfielder Jonathan Van Every, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter).
Bisenius, 28, appeared in five games for the Nationals last year in his first MLB action since 2007. He spent most of the season in the minors, where he posted a 3.05 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings across three levels.
Wood logged 27 2/3 innings for the Marlins last year, posting a 5.53 ERA. Also 28, he has a 4.72 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over the course of his eight-year minor league career.
Van Every played all three outfield positions for the Red Sox in 2010, the third consecutive season in which he had a brief stint in the majors. Red Sox manager Terry Francona has called on the 31-year-old to pitch in both of the past two seasons and Van Every has also pitched in a minor league game. He has a .254/.356/.477 line in a decade's worth of minor league plate appearances.
Indians Acquire Bubba Bell From Red Sox
The Indians announced that they acquired minor league outfielder Bubba Bell from the Red Sox for cash considerations. and assigned him to Triple-A. The 2005 draft pick had spent his entire pro career in the Red Sox organization until now.
Bell spent last season at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he hit .293/.366/.399 in 396 plate appearances. The 28-year-old has a .292/.370/.447 line in six pro seasons and has considerable minor league experience at all three outfield positions.
Your Alphabet Of 2011 Storylines
With Opening Day so close I'm having hot dog-based fever dreams, I decided to face a pair of problems squarely. One is how to properly organize my thoughts about the critical storylines we'll be following on MLB Trade Rumors this season. The other? How to entertain my daughter, who just turned one. Let's face it: after a while, even an infant turns to you with a look that says: "I get it. Pat the Bunny is both a proper name and a suggestion. What else you got?"
So to help her to sleep at night, let's take a look at what will keep the rest of us up, furiously refreshing the page:
A is for Albert, El Hombre's contract year
Who will show him the money? Should Cardinals fans have fear?
B is for Beltran, the limping Met in right
Look for New York to deal him to someone in the fight
C is for Crawford, who Sox got with late swoop
Did Boston overpay? And how do Rays regroup?
D is for Doug Davis, a story sweet and true
He'll soon help some rotation, and tears will flow on cue
E is for Ethier, who Dodgers may soon deal
While stardom is elusive, his production is for real
F is for Fielder, first baseman oversized
Who may lead Brew to pennant, then be free agent prize
G is for Gerrit, Cole should go first in draft
Consensus is a different pick would be extremely daft
H is for Houston, where Drayton's leaving town
New boss must reverse trend of Astros heading down
I is for Iannetta, catcher a mile high
Will he fulfill potential? Or will Rockies say goodbye?
J is for Javy, the once (and future?) stud
Will move from Yanks to Marlins revive this Gotham dud?
K is for K-Rod, will his huge option vest?
If he finishes 55, the Mets have failed their test
L is for Lee, last winter's big to-do
If Cliff's performance dips, how soon will Philly boo?
M is for McCourt, whose divorce battle rages
Will it affect the Dodgers' ability to pay their wages?
N is for Nathan, who's back from elbow woes
A large amount of money will ride on how he throws
O is for Orioles, with new faces from the past
In league's toughest division, they still should finish last
P is for Pirates, where hope is finally seen
Will record, after years of losing, mirror Charlie Sheen?
Q is for Quentin, Pale Hose need him to bash
With strong walk year, by winter's end he'll be awash in cash
R is for Reyes, a decent bet to go
A bidding war this summer will deal Mets fans a blow
S is for Sabathia, opt-out can make him free
But who'll outbid the Yankees? No one that we can see
T is for Tampa, in division nonpareil
Rays spent sparingly this winter, but what they spent, spent well
U is for Utley, who battles Wounded Knee
If he cannot recover, who will his stand-in be?
V is for Victor, who Tigers signed for bat
But now they'll catch Avila? I mean, what's up with that?
W is for Wilpon, who faces massive debts
The smart money says he will be forced to sell the Mets
X is for Xavier, left fielder at Chase
Expect him to have 25 home run pace
Y is for Yankees, and here is some advice
When you deal them a pitcher, make Montero the price
Z is for Zambrano, half-pitcher and half-storm
Says here that he will recapture his earlier ace form
Quick Hits: Selig, Leyland, Rangers, Ethier
Links for Wednesday evening to tide you over until Opening Day…
- Peter Gammons offers up some predictions at MLB.com, but not before explaining how quickly things can change once the season begins. MLBTR's team made postseason and award picks earlier tonight.
- Commissioner Bud Selig says he's hopeful for peaceful negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA after the season, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. "Hopefully, we'll do it the way we did it in '06 — thoughtfully, carefully and quietly," Selig said.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland told MLB.com's Jason Beck that he doesn't feel additional pressure because he's in the last year of his contract. “If we do all right, I assume I’ll be here," Leyland said. "If we don’t, I probably won’t be.”
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that he expects Texas to repeat as AL West champions. The Rangers will have the flexibility to make another major midseason acquisition, according to Ryan.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said on 710 ESPN's Mason and Ireland show that he was surprised by Andre Ethier's recent comments and that he has no interest in moving him (via ESPNLosAngeles).
Half Of Opening Day Starters Were First Rounders
Even though former top picks such as Zack Greinke, Adam Wainwright and Stephen Strasburg are currently sidelined, a substantial number of one-time first rounders will open their teams' seasons this week. Half of baseball's 30 Opening Day starters were once first round selections.
Five Opening Day starters - Felix Hernandez, Ubaldo Jimenez, Fausto Carmona, Livan Hernandez and Edinson Volquez – were not drafted, which means 60% of the starters who were at one point draft eligible came from the first round (15/25). As Keith Law recently pointed out at ESPN.com, "the vast majority of impact players" who enter pro ball through the draft were selected early on.
Of the 15 first rounders to become 2011 Opening Day starters, David Price (2007) was drafted most recently and Chris Carpenter (1993) was drafted longest ago. The opening round of the 2006 draft produced the most Opening Day starters, with four. Luke Hochevar (1st overall), Clayton Kershaw (7th), Tim Lincecum (10th) and Ian Kennedy (21st) all went early on in the '06 draft.
Roy Halladay (1995), C.C. Sabathia (1998), Brett Myers (1999), Jeremy Guthrie (2002), Tim Stauffer (2003), Justin Verlander (2004), Jered Weaver (2004), Ricky Romero (2005) and Mike Pelfrey (2005) join Price, Carpenter, Hochevar, Kershaw, Lincecum and Kennedy in the group of first rounders who got the Opening Day nod this year.
This isn’t to suggest that becoming an Opening Day starter is the standard that draft prospects like Gerrit Cole, Jed Bradley and Sonny Gray should aspire to. Clearly, there are more effective ways of measuring a pitcher’s value than the day on which his manager asks him to throw his first pitch. But it’s worth noting that so many Opening Day starters come from the first round and it'll be worth watching which starters get selected early this June.
MLBTR Writer Predictions
Nine MLBTR writers give 2011 predictions! Click here to see postseason and award picks from Tim Dierkes, Ben Nicholson-Smith, Mike Axisa, Luke Adams, Mark Polishuk, Zach Links, Dan Mennella, Howard Megdal, and Steve Adams. Make your predictions in the comments and we'll check back here in November.
Minor Deals: Swaggerty, Cruz, Brewers, Pirates
Teams are making procedural moves left and right as they finalize their Opening Day rosters. Here's the latest on some minor deals from around the majors…
- The Royals granted minor league left-hander Ben Swaggerty his release, according to MLB Reports (on Twitter). The 28-year-old has a 3.35 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in four minor league seasons as a reliever.
- The Rangers signed Luis Cruz after the Brewers released him, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). The infielder is playing short for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate tonight.
- The Brewers released a number of minor leaguers besides Cruz and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has all the details.
- The Pirates are "looking hard" into an external move, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter links). Pittsburgh would like to add pitching.
Giants Designate Travis Ishikawa For Assignment
The Giants designated Travis Ishikawa for assignment, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Rookie Brandon Belt made the Giants' Opening Day roster, bumping Ishikawa from the team.
The 27-year-old appeared in 116 games last year and hit .266/.320/.392 in 173 plate appearances. He doesn't have much power for a first baseman (career .400 SLG), but UZR suggests he is well above average with the glove (career 13.5 UZR/150).
Ishikawa, who is out of options, didn't draw trade interest this spring, according to Henry Schulman of the Chronicle (on Twitter). That could change now that the Giants only have ten days to trade Ishikawa, release him or outright him to the minor leagues.
Carlos Rosa Heading To Japan
The D'Backs announced that they released Carlos Rosa to sell him to a Japanese team. Rosa, 26, is out of options, so he would have had to clear waivers before going to the minor leagues.
Rosa appeared in 22 games for the D'Backs last year, allowing 20 hits and 12 walks in 20 innings while striking out nine. He had cameos with the Royals in 2008 and '09, but most of his pro experience comes in the minors, where he has a 3.54 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 623 2/3 innings.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported the move (on Twitter).
Procedural Notes: Abreu, Blanco, Evans, Hernandez
The latest procedural notes…
- D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Tony Abreu cleared waivers and is going to Triple-A (Twitter link).
- The Royals told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that Gregor Blanco cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link).
- Outfielder Nick Evans cleared waivers yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Mets outrighted Evans when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.
- Another Mets player, Luis Hernandez cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. He's unsure whether he'll accept a minor league assignment.
- Cubs catcher Max Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to minor league camp, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
- The Tigers outrighted infielder Audy Ciriaco to create a 40-man spot for reliever Enrique Gonzalez, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.
- Retired reliever Billy Wagner was removed from the Braves' 40-man roster today, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wagner has no plans to come out of retirement, but if he did he'd have to play for the Braves in 2011. The AP has details.
- Orioles righty Rick Vandenhurk cleared waivers, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
- Mets reliever Jason Isringhausen, who didn't make the club out of Spring Training, agreed to spend two weeks in Port St. Lucie. According to ESPN's Adam Rubin, one condition of the extended Spring Training agreement is that "if another team approaches Isringhausen in the interim about a major league opportunity, the Mets must either call up Izzy or let him depart." The Mets chose Blaine Boyer over Isringhausen for the Opening Day roster, which so far has allowed them to retain both relievers.
- Outfielder Brandon Boggs, outrighted by the Brewers yesterday, accepted his Triple-A assignment according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.