Quick Hits: Pujols, Crawford, Pavano, Rays, A’s, Mets
Links for Wednesday, as the Cardinals hope for the best regarding Adam Wainwright's elbow…
- In today's blog post (Insider req'd), ESPN's Buster Olney writes about the pressure both the Cardinals and Cubs will be under if Albert Pujols hits the open market. He likens Chicago's situation to what the Knicks and Cavaliers faced during last year's LeBron James madness.
- Carl Crawford told WEEI.com's Dennis & Callahan that the Yankees never made him an offer this offseason, and that he "didn't want to be somebody's backup plan." New York met with Crawford during the winter meetings.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman heard that the Pirates offered Carl Pavano two years and $13MM while the Yankees offered one-year and $9.75MM with incentives (Twitter link). Pavano eventually rejoined the Twins for two years and $16.5MM.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears "rumblings" that certain big market teams want to "drop" the Athletics and Rays, even though there's little chance it actually happens. Contraction doesn't appear to be on the horizon given revenue streams, and as Rosenthal notes, the player's union would consider the elimation of 50 jobs an "act of war."
- In a separate article, Rosenthal explores the domino effect Wainwright's injury may have on the Cardinals.
- Richard Sandomir and Ken Belson of The New York Times report that "a variety of proposals are surfacing that suggest that investors want more than the Mets are offering." The Wilpons are looking to sell about 25% of the team in the wake of the Madoff scandal, but not controlling interest.
- Over at RotoAuthority, Tim Dierkes ranks the top fantasy outfielders.
Antony On Nishioka, Hardy, Pavano, Liriano, More
Twins Assistant GM Rob Antony recently sat down for a chat with Jesse Lund from Twinkie Town to discuss a variety of topics. Let's recap the hot stove talk…
- Tsuyoshi Nishioka first popped up on the team's radar after Antony mentioned to his agent that the team was looking to get more athletic on the infield. This was long before they decided to trade J.J. Hardy.
- The Twins believe Nishioka is a good player, but they understand there might be a bit of a transition period. Not just for the move to MLB, but the move to the United States. They've hired an interpreter for Nishioka, and don't believe the additional Japanese media will be an issue in the clubhouse.
- The three-year, $9MM contract Nishioka signed was "exactly what we pretty much anticipated and were willing to give." They were trying to add speed and athleticism to the lineup, but no one on the free agent market jumped out at them, hence the pursuit of Nishioka.
- Hardy was expected to make $5MM+ in 2011 (he eventually signed for $5.85MM), and the team "just decided that we wanted to put that money into other areas." Carl Pavano, Jim Thome, and most of the bullpen were free agents, so they had to prioritize. "Trying to fit all those guys into a budget was going to be impossible."
- The Twins had conversations with other teams about Hardy, but there were never any real offers. The trade with Baltimore was "by far [their] best opportunity to make a deal." It became apparent that Brendan Harris wasn't a fit anymore, hence his inclusion in the trade.
- Antony says the Twins like Rule 5 Draft pick Scott Diamond in long relief, and Dusty Hughes' success against Minnesota last year played a role in claiming him off waivers.
- Although they would have liked to retain Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch, and Brian Fuentes, the Twins just "couldn't compete" with the multyear offers they were receiving as free agents.
- Thome decided that Minnesota was where he wanted to be after talking with his family, and the money didn't appear to be much of an issue.
- Antony expected Pavano to get two or three years at $10-11MM per season, and he knows the Brewers had some interest in the right-hander. Pavano's agent basically told the Twins he wanted to play there, and he wasn't a guy that was "chasing the last dollar."
- Rumors of Francisco Liriano being available in a trade were just that, rumors. As far as a multiyear deal with the lefty, Antony said there "can be many reasons why you don't consummate a multiyear deal, and sometimes the player doesn't want to, sometimes the club doesn't want to, sometimes you just don't agree on numbers, or whatever. So we're not going to talk about any of our negotiations with that or anything else, but he was a big part of our rotation. We're not talking to anybody right now on Francisco Liriano."
- The team is at the "far reaches" of where they can go with payroll, so they tried to maintain flexibility for 2012 by not doing any multiyears deals this offseason (aside from Pavano).
- "If the right deal arises and we can improve our ballclub, we could look at it from that point of view," said Antony, regarding a potential trade involving one of the team's excess starting pitchers. "I don't think we'd trade away one of our starting pitchers for a middle reliever or something. It would have to be something that would make sense for us. And a trade isn't even the most likely scenario, it's a possible scenario."
Antony also talked about Justin Morneau's health, Delmon Young's breakout, injury concerns, minor league prospects, and much, much more. Make sure you give it a read.
Phillies, Rays May Be Front-Runners For Durbin
12:07pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman adds the Mariners and Rangers to the mix, saying Durbin is deciding between those two plus the previously reported Rays, Red Sox, and Phillies (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 9:41am: Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says the Red Sox have not yet heard back from Durbin, and it appears that the Phillies and Rays are the front-runners at the moment (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 7:11pm: Durbin would accept a minor league contract with the Phillies, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, "if Durbin's hand is forced because there are no Major League offers on the table." A source tells Gelb that Durbin's agent, Dan Horwits, is negotiating with two teams about Major League contracts but no offers have been made. Gelb also hears that Durbin hopes to make his decision within the next two days.
4:39pm: The Red Sox are interested in Chad Durbin as a starter and have made him an offer, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter). The Rays and Rangers also have some degree of interest in Durbin, according to Gammons.
One of the top remaining free agents, Durbin has drawn interest from Seattle since exchanging offers with the Phillies last month. It seems unlikely that Durbin will return to Philadelphia, but Gammons says he may head to Clearwater, where the Phillies train, Thursday. He could be intrigued by Boston's offer given his interest in playing for a contender.
The 33-year-old posted a 3.80 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 42.4% ground ball rate in 68 2/3 innings last year. Durbin has averaged 65 appearances and 75 innings in three seasons out of the Phillies' bullpen.
Werth Thinks Phillies Could Have Had Him & Lee
The Phillies added one $100MM player this offseason in Cliff Lee, but they lost another in Jayson Werth. The former Phillies outfielder told Paul Hagen of The Philadephia Daily News that he believes the team could have had both he and Lee if they'd planned things out better…
"I think if they would have played it right they would have had us both," said Werth. "I mean, they traded Cliff away for prospects and then realized that was probably not what they should have done. They ended up paying him a lot more than they would have if they'd signed him the year before. Then we would have had him. Chances are if they had signed him before they traded him, it probably would have made it a little easier to sign me."
Werth said that there are no hard feelings and he understands that the game is a business. Once he learned of Philadelphia's interest in Lee, he concluded that he wasn't coming back. "[It] kind of made it seem like they were playing us against each other a little bit," he added.
The 31-year-old Werth signed with the Nationals about ten days before the Phillies brought Lee back.
Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects
Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list is out, and it's free for all to see. Bryce Harper, the first overall pick in the 2010 draft, tops the list, and is followed by Mike Trout. The Angels selected Trout with the Yankees' first round pick in 2009 (25th overall), which they received as compensation for losing Mark Teixeira. Five Royals cracked the top 20, including three in the top ten.
For comparison, check out MLB.com's Top 50 and Keith Law's Top 100 for ESPN.
Royals, Twins Sign Dominican Prospects
The Royals have added to what is already the game's best farm system, signing right-hander Igor Feliz for $225K according to the Dominican Prospect League. The 17-year-old is said to have a "fastball [that] works between 91-93 mph but has been clocked up to 95 mph recently" and "good feel for his off-speed pitches." There's a chance he'll be able to remain a starter down the road.
The Twins, meanwhile, have added 19-year-old infielder Darfi Ortiz for $30K. He stands out for his "hard-nose style of baseball and … above average defensive actions in the middle of the diamond." Ortiz hit .333 with a .489 OBP and 14 stolen bases in 104 DPL plate appearances.
Quick Hits: Darvish, Simon, Kenny Williams, Rays
Happy birthday to Brian Duensing (28), Kelly Johnson (29), Casey Kotchman (28), Daniel Nava (28), J.J. Putz (34), Don Wakamatsu (48) and Hall-of-Fame manager Sparky Anderson, who would've turned 77 years old today.
Onto some news from around the majors…
- ESPN's Keith Law expects the Blue Jays to be "serious bidders" for Yu Darvish. (Twitter link) The Japanese star says he wants to pitch in the Major Leagues in 2012, and at least nine teams besides Toronto are known to have interest.
- Prosecutor Victor Mueses tells ESPNDeportes' Enrique Rojas that there are no plans to drop pending manslaughter charges against Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon. It was reported over the weekend that Simon was expected to be released soon, but "nothing has happened to make us change our position," Mueses says. Rojas also reports that Simon has agreed to pay $70K to the families of the victims of the New Year's Eve shooting in order to have the charges dropped, but Mueses says that such an agreement wouldn't impact his office's case.
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams criticized baseball's financial structure yesterday and told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune today that he was even uncomfortable with his own team's $125MM payroll. "We're out on a limb. But that's our choice. We made the choice in an effort to give our fans hope and give ourselves a chance to compete for a championship," Williams said. "If things don't go our way, if we don't get the support, we'll lose money. We're going to lose money but we've gone into this knowing how long can you do that, how much can you absorb?"
- "The Rays’ bullpen figures to be a season-long work in progress," writes FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. Tampa Bay lost almost its entire bullpen to free agency, and Andrew Friedman admitted the club was "kind of freaking out about it" in January. Rosenthal says the Rays will look at relievers cut by teams at the end of Spring Training, and they will also continue to consider possible trades.
- When might some of the Indians' young stars reach the majors? Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer weighs in on when Tribe fans can see the likes of Lonnie Chisenhall at Progressive Field.
Pirates “Not Handcuffed” By Finances, Says Owner
The Pirates are "in a great position" financially and are willing to spend money both on signing draft picks and extending current players, owner Robert Nutting tells Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Nutting says the club has enough financial freedom to avoid making moves solely for payroll reasons.
"We are not handcuffed to where we have to make moves we don't want to make or we are unable to make moves we do want to make, purely because of financial reasons," Nutting said.
"As the players mature, we certainly believe we need to hold on to and sign some of these core players for a long term….Those are important steps that will come as we move forward."
Pittsburgh fans can be forgiven for taking a wait-and-see approach to Nutting's statements, given the team's 18-year streak of losing seasons. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes pointed out in his review of the Pirates' offseason, however, there are signs that the Bucs are loosening the purse strings — the club spent $17.75MM on free agent contracts and also signed a few high-upside veterans to minor league deals.
Though nobody expects Pittsburgh to contend in 2011, Nutting said his team will look to add a major piece with the first pick in the amateur draft, no matter what it may take to sign the first overall selection.
"We certainly will not be in a position where we select based on dollars or signability," Nutting said. "We're going to select for the greatest impact."
West Notes: Dodgers, Ludwick, Mariners
On this day in 1957, Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley announced that his team could play as many as 10 exhibition games in California in 1958. It ended up being a bit of a lengthier stay, as the Dodgers left Brooklyn for Los Angeles following the 1957 season. Just like O'Malley, we're looking to the west coast (or at least the western divisions) for these news items…
- If the Dodgers aren't satisifed with their Jay Gibbons/Tony Gwynn Jr./Marcus Thames platoon in left field, ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill lists some of the left fielders that could be available in a trade. Of the five players on Churchill's list, only Carlos Quentin would seem to be an everyday option, but if he's playing well enough to attract the Dodgers' attention, it's unlikely the White Sox would want to move him anyway.
- Ryan Ludwick tells Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the two months that followed his trade to the Padres last season were the "worst two months of my big league career." Ludwick hit just .211/.301/.330 in 239 plate appearances in San Diego last year and admitted he struggled with the pressure of trying to take the Padres to the postseason.
- The Mariners are likely to keep Dustin Ackley and Michael Pineda in the minors until at least June, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Both players "have areas of their games that could use further AAA development," but Baker also figures the Mariners want to avoid having either of their prospects qualify for Super Two status.
- Angels right-hander Rich Thompson seemed to turn a corner last season, but since the Australian is out of options, ESPNLosAngeles.com's Mark Saxon says the Halos could lose Thompson unless he makes the team.
- Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has acquired six players (Henry Blanco, Geoff Blum, Russell Branyan, Sean Burroughs, Xavier Nady and Brian Sweeney) this offseason that played for the Padres when Towers was that club's general manager, writes Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. "These are character guys, veterans that I knew would have a strong presence in our clubhouse," Towers said. "I knew what their intangibles are, which I thought was important….When you have history with individuals, you know what they're about as well."
- The Rangers have invited Yhency Brazoban to their Major League Spring Training camp, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Brazoban signed a minor league deal with Texas in December that didn't include an invite to the team's big league camp.
Mark Grudzielanek Decides To Retire
Veteran infielder Mark Grudzielanek has decided to retire, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. The 40-year-old appeared in 30 games with Cleveland last season before being released in June.
An 11th-round draft pick of the Expos in 1991, Grudzielanek collected 2040 hits and posted a .289/.332/.393 line in 15 seasons with the Expos, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, Royals and Indians. He had a reputation as a solid defender, particularly at second base; Fangraphs shows Grudzielanek with a career +7.2 UZR/150 rating at second since 2002 and Grudzielanek won a Gold Glove at the position in 2006.
Grudzielanek was an NL All-Star in 1996 and, while he never reached the World Series, made it to the NLCS with the Cubs in 2003 and with the Cards in 2005. According to Baseball Reference, Grudzielanek earned roughly $36.8MM in his career.