Within this week's Sunday Baseball Notes, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported that Kevin Cash has decided to end his playing career. Let's take a look at a few other notes Cafardo shared in his column….
- Addressing the starting rotation, Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says the team may "buy low on some guys and create a competition in camp." One buy-low candidate the Sox are known to be eyeing is Paul Maholm. Cafardo expects the former Pirate to sign a one-year, incentive-laden deal somewhere.
- The Red Sox may also have Joe Saunders on their radar. One NL scout weighed in on the southpaw: "You'd be afraid that he'd give up some homers at Fenway. But on the other hand, when you've got a guy who can pitch 200 innings from the No. 4 spot in your rotation, I'm telling you, that is effective because that's one of the bullpen spots in the rotation. I mean, that's where you normally believe you have to use a lot of your pen, and if a guy like that saves you, that's important."
- The Cubs are willing to absorb most of the $54MM remaining on Alfonso Soriano's contract in order to facilitate a trade.
- According to Cafardo, many teams, including the Red Sox, Cardinals, and Rays, will become more interested in Ryan Madson if and when his asking price drops. I have my doubts that Madson will become inexpensive enough for the Rays to get too involved.
- 40-year-old lefty Ron Mahay says he feels great and intends to continue his pitching career. Mahay recorded a 3.44 ERA in 34 innings for the Twins in 2010, but couldn't crack the big league roster for the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, or Cardinals in 2011.
i hope some team gives mahay a chance to pitch again
I really don’t see the need for Madson with the Cards.
Not at his price anyways. We would be better with him, but I see us having a plus bullpen as it is, so why spend $10 million on another RHP?
I don’t either. Unless we can do something w/ McClellan? He didn’t have too good of a yr in 2011
I’m sure he’ll have a bounce back year. It has to be hard to switch from rotation to bullpen in the middle of the year. Especially on the ego.
KMac was one of the top setup pitchers in baseball in 2008 to 2010. He led the majors in holds in 2008 and had an era of 2.27 and held hitters to a .210 average in 2010. He is only 27 years old. Pitching twice as much innings as normal left him with a dead arm toward the end of the year resulting in a higher than normal era. A smart team will see the value he brings and could get a steal if the Cards trade him.
Soriano to (insert AL team with DH need here).
If he can play 1B (which one thinks he should be able to, Tampa Bay and Texas immediately become good ideas.
Maybe Tampa, but not Texas. They don’t need the bad additive to the clubhouse.
Soriano isn’t a bad guy, he’s just overpaid.
As a guy he might be fine, but as a player he’s lazy.
He’s not lazy either, he just isn’t that great of a player. He always sucked in the field he just used to be fast and have a lot of power, now he only has some power.
he is really indecisive in the outfield. he doesn’t know when to try to run and dive for a ball or play it off the hop. if one gets by him in the corner, he doesn’t look like he is going after the ball very fast, turning doubles into triples. a few times he has got caught watching balls that he thinks are going over the fence, but end up bouncing off the wall and he only ends up with a single as opposed to at least a stand up double. ever since jarmillo got to chicago, he has done better at laying off the sliders bounced in the dirt in front of the plate. last year he stopped he patented jump-catch in the outfield.
all that being said. he isn’t blocking any outfield prospects right now. the only ones who could stick with the club this year are campana and jackson. i think byrd moves to right, jackson in center, and soriano in left are fine for the next 2 years.
David DeJesus wants to talk with you.
Soriano is actually one of the hardest working players out there and is actually a good clubhouse guy. The problem is, most Cub’s fans see him as lazy since he doesn’t run fast around the bases. Reality is, his knees are shot and he simply is not very mobile anymore. For the casual Cub’s fan or fan from another team, it comes off as lazy.
Never heard him being called lazy or a bad attitude player. I wonder where THAT comes from. Jeesh. He’s extremely overpaid but that isn’t his fault.
If someone offered me all that money I’d sign too. Blame the organization not the player
I’ve seen him play quiet a bit over the past few seasons and he is lazy in the field, lazy on the bases and lazy at the plate. It has nothing to do with my being a Cards fan.
why should anyone take your opinion when people who watch him play a lot more, teamates, media, experts have not made those claims?
How does a guy “play quiet?”
He’s not lazy, he’s physically incapable. The guys is 36 and has legs of glass. Great guy, hard worker. Overpaid with a diminishing skill set.
Wow. I almost threw up. Texas does NOT need a 1B. Moreland is respectable over there. And seeing as we have the 2nd best lineup in al of baseball, I’d rather have a young Moreland who has a solid bat with good power, over an old, overpaid, egotistical Soriano.
Why would the Rays waste their time trying to see if he could play 1st base? They cherrish their defense and realize it actually wins games.
This guys glove was always horrible and now his bat is washed up. This dude is almost worthless.
I always liked watching him swat flies and moles in the ground whenever he chases balls over his head and in the dirt…
Other than that? Why would anyone pay even part f his salary when Damon, Vlad, even Ordonez are all out there and are all tons better.
I think Soriano could hit more HR’s next year than those three in a DH role, all things equal.
He could hit more HR maybe, but there is more to a game than just hitting HR and pathetic at everything else.
Damon will get on base much more and still provide a little power, Vlad will certainly hit better and might even get his power stroke back. ordonez is the one Soriano could possibly be the closest to and then only because he is fairly fragile now.
Soriano has had a higher OPS than Damon the last 2 years.
Yes, but he’s had about an equal OPS to that of Darnell McDonald when D-Mac bats against lefties (.801 vs. .804). Why deal with the pay and ego when a platoon of a pair of replacement players matches the output?
obviously the cubs would be paying most of the salary
and why do you feel he has an ego? any facts to back that up
If were to be on the hook for any portion of his salary above $1MM per season, the cost would not be justifiable. The Cubs ain’t planning on eating $51MM of the $54MM he’s owed. My ego comment is drawn from Cubs’ fans comments that Soriano is lazy, doesn’t give his best effort, acts like a prima donna, etc. Even if those comments were to turn out to be unreliable, which I doubt, he still makes no financial sense for us, even if the Cubs are willing to eat $50MM.
Boras is usually pretty good at judging a market for his high end free agents but he really screwed up on Madson. Between Papelbon signing quickly, the Red Sox going the cheaper route, and the Rangers and Angels preferring to spend money in other ways, Madson might be stuck with taking a cheapish one year deal.
Boras it looks like has had (and having still) a bad year all around with his “boys”. Fielder has no big $$$ people left to name as potential landing spots who potential suitors will believe. Nobody in their right mind is going to give Jackson anywhere near 5 years, or 50-60m and like you said, he has already left madson up a creek.
Possibly he should have negotiated that deal with the brewers, like they wanted to instead of testing the waters, but that goes against his “I know better” mentality and he in almost every single case will take his big clients to the market.
Now if the brewers even want to get involved have a feeling that 5/00-120m offer believe was being floated around earlier will be coming down thanks to Boras. he knew full well in advance the big marker teams were set and not going to be involved, Pujols probably would be out there and if he wanted to get that big deal, should have made signing his client a priority and doing it BEFORE pujols inked his deal, cause now Anaheim is gone as well.
So many bow down and think this guy is brilliant, but he plays it the same way every time and I don’t buy into his brilliance 1 iota. Simple to read as have said before.. Like a pre school kids book.
Phillies played him well. Played him at his own game.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go back to the Brewers for another year below market value, and see what next years free agency can do for him.
The off season isn’t over yet.
Madson’s leverage is so bad, he might be stuck taking a one year deal with a below-market team option attached.
Soriano cannot play 1st. He’s a big burden (along with others) hanging over the Cubs and he needs to be ousted.
It would be extremely unlikely I think but if Madson’s market crumbles enough for Boston to get involved, that would seriously be one heck of a bullpen. Bailey would have to be okay with being the setup guy of course, but Madson-Bailey-Melancon would be pretty deadly.
However I am not happy at ALL with these Joe Saunders rumors. Paul Maholm, I can see some interest. But stay FAR away from Saunders, Boston. PLEASE.
Personally, I would keep Bailey as closer and have Madson set up.
Madson wouldnt take a setup role so your scenario doesnt work
Looks like Theo is giving away not just players, but money. Wonderkid my foot.
Exactly what is Theo suppose to do? It’s not like he can wait until Reaggins gets another GM job or anything.
I never understood why AA is called a genius this early in his career. He found a true sucker to take Wells and he simply put Rios on waivers and someone picked him up. That speaks more to the stupidity of others than the genius of him.
As for Soriano/Theo, it’s either keep him around and watch him take up space, play marginally “ok” at spurts of time and to delay the rebuilding by occupying a position a youngster could be showcased at. Why? If he has to deep throat the contract and get a C ranked prospect with a glimmer of upside or another reclamation project similar to VOlstad then do it and erase the memories of Hendry, etc as soon as possible.
Seriously, I don’t hate the Cubs or anything but for the past 3 or 4 years hasn’t any discussion about the Cubs been similar to “haha 100 + years of futility” and “haha how’s that Zambrano and Soriano contracts doing for you”. Consider this the stripping down of the building to its baseboards and framework part of the rebuilding period.
Ricciardi put Rios on waivers.
I’m not generally disagreeing with you here, except to say that AA has been far better than just the measure of the massive bad contract he has fortunately unloaded. He has moved people at the right time at the right price, picked up draft picks and free agents with the perfect eye, and has drafted extremely well.
A universally acknowledged bad contract that isn’t his fault for potential prospects and you’re complaining? Just go.
Soriano is a sunk cost, they’re gonna have to pay him either way. Might as well try to get a few young kids in return.
If the Braves were willing to take a risk on Saito and Sherrill, I see no reason not to take a chance with Ron Mahay.
Why the Cardinals their loaded with RHP. If they sign Madson they will have too trade Mccellen or Boggs
I’d rather have Madson than Boggs or Kyle. They are both trade candidates anyway, and I think we could get a solid return if we put them both in the same deal. Kyle could be traded as a 4-5 starter or a set-up man.
Even if we received a weak return, I’d rather keep Boggs than McClellan. Boggs throws harder, better stuff. Don’t need McC to get those lefties out. We’ve got two LHP in the bullpen
Boggs may throw harder, but he does not have better stuff by any means. McClellan has better control and a nasty curveball at times. Boggs has a wild fastball, and that’s about it.
Boggs also has a power sinker and tight slider. You can’t really compare the two. They are complete opposites. Kyle’s future is back-end starter, while Boggs is a possible closer. Kyle is control/curveball/change up while Boggs is power/slider/sinker.
Honestly, if the Cards signed Madson (very unlikely because we have about 3-5 million to work with) I would prefer Motte to close games. I think Motte is gonna be an All-Star closer for many years. This is the year that we find out what we have. I love his ninth inning heat that he brings to the table (my love for 9th inning heat likely stems from not having any the past few years, Ryan Franklin).
Phillies are looking for a RH power bat for the bench, assuming the trade would be a C prospect and most of his contract eaten, I wouldnt mind the pick up Alfonso Soriano. While not great at 2nd, its “some” insurance in case of an Utley injury.
Help to keep them under luxury tax and fill their last role.
Nvm just realized his last time playing 2nd was in 2005. Eww
Doesn’t mean you couldn’t work him out at 2nd through ST so that he could be a capable backup. Not saying it would be the best idea, but Soriano at 2nd isn’t a completely lost idea.
Yes it is. He was a horrible second baseman when he had two knees. Now that he has no knees it is the worst idea ever since Nuts ‘N Gum.
“You’d be afraid that he’d give up some homers at Fenway. But on the other hand, when you’ve got a guy who can pitch 200 innings from the No. 4 spot in your rotation, I’m telling you, that is effective because that’s one of the bullpen spots in the rotation. I mean, that’s where you normally believe you have to use a lot of your pen, and if a guy like that saves you, that’s important.”
Not unless hes giving up 6 or 7 runs in 3 innings. You’re going to go to the Pen..
Why won’t the Red Sox go after Brandon Webb he will come cheap also,He was only paid 3 million last year he won the cy young award with arizona and a 22 game winner ,why not take the chance
If they could get him on a minor league deal I think that would be an outstanding idea, it wouldn’t cost them anything to speak of, and if he became even half the pitcher he was pre-2009 it could be the steal of the off-season. He’s only pitched 4 innings since 2008 because of shoulder bursitis though, so the chances of him even pitching in a major league game next year (and the chances of him being any good even if he does) might not be very good.
Also, I truly think a guy like Madson is overrated. Maybe 7 mil tops per year? Idk, I wouldn’t sign him to a multi year deal though..
To the NL scout saying Saunders would be effective just bc he can throw 200 innings…
John Lackey has averaged over 180 IP in his 2 seasons in his two years in Boston. He has averaged about 6 IP per start over those 2 seasons. That being said he was still able to kill our bullpen by going 3, 4, 5 starts in a row without getting thru 5 innings. Saunders is the lefty version of Lackey. Former Angels, flyball pitcher without strikeout stuff who is praised for his ability to throw 200 IP in a season. Go ask the Boston fans how they feel about Lackey? Think you’ll get your answer on how they’ll feel about Saunders.
You are almost 100% correct. You get -5% for failing to state that Lackey can occasionally have “strike out” stuff when he pitches with tilt (“downward angle”), and Saunders never does anything close to that. Despite that, your analysis is 100% on target. That’s why I would prefer Maholm, who has a craftier approach that can occasionally strike guys out, and still gives lots of innings (assuming his shoulder checks out).
Cause he’s baaaaad.
If you are going to sign Saunders, you might as well just bring Wakefield back.
No i wasn’t. Bringing him and his personality into a clubhouse is a bad add…hence my use of the word ‘additive’.
I dont think it would be a bad pickup for a team with needs at DH/1b. The Cubs are willing to cover almost all of the contract, so theres no risk giving him a chance with a new team. He could still provide value as a hitter in the future; maybe a change of scenery would help.
Paul Maholm isn’t any better.
When he closed for a year and is seeking money of a closer, why would he then ruin that by accepting a setup role. Its better to take a 1 year deal as a closer and re-enter the market still as a closer than except a setup man contract. Goes against everything he has made his career into.
Doubt it. We’ll have Tateyama, Lowe, Uehara, Ogando, Adams and Nathan locking up the last 3 innings. There’s no need to waste money on Madson.
Guys like Webb will always find someone to give them a shot; from ’03-’08 he is in the conversation for the best pitcher in baseball. Since that time he has had injury problems (shoulder problems to boot), but he just started his rehab with Texas last year, and if he could continue that rehab with someone, and become even half the pitcher he used to be, he would be an outstanding pickup. If he doesn’t become that guy, and he’s signed to a minor league deal, then there’s really no loss.
I disagree. Saunders isn’t anywhere near as well mixed as Maholm. Maholm can be effective without overpowering stuff, and Saunders just relies on the law of averages. I strongly prefer Maholm.
You are wrooooooong.
(I’m not in a very intelligent state of mind)