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Archives for February 2012

Johnny Damon No Longer Considering Yankees

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The Yankees are reportedly in "extensive" talks with Raul Ibanez about their DH job, but another option is no longer on the table. Johnny Damon told George A. King III and Joel Sherman of The New York Post that both he and the team are no longer considering a second tour of duty in New York.

"We both are looking at other options now,'' said Damon, adding that it's "unfortunate."

GM Brian Cashman acknowledged that the two sides spoke about a possible reunion, saying: "He called and I told him the truth. He is not the No. 1 option if and when I turn to DH options."

Earlier today we heard that even after the A.J. Burnett trade, the Yankees only have enough money to sign Eric Chavez or a left-handed DH, not both. Team executives will meet next week to reconsider the budget once the trade is made official, however. More than 58% of nearly 12,000 MLBTR readers prefer either Ibanez or Vladimir Guerrero to Damon according to the results of this morning's poll.

Brewers, Marcum Have Yet To Talk Extension

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Last offseason, the Brewers traded Brett Lawrie to the Blue Jays for Shaun Marcum, who helped the club to the NLCS. Now they're faced with his impending free agency. Marcum is scheduled to hit the open market after this season, and he told Todd Rosiak of The Journal Sentinel that the two sides have yet to talk about an extension.

"There hasn't been (talks)," said Marcum. "When we were doing the arbitration thing, we were told they just wanted to do a one-year deal. I'm assuming that's what that means — we're just doing one year and they're going to let me walk."

Marcum and the Brewers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $7.725MM earlier this month. The soft-tossing changeup specialist told Rosiak that he's made it clear to the team that he hopes to remain in Milwaukee long-term.

"I told my agent, and he's let it be known that we're interested," Marcum said. "But the door's definitely wide open if they want to talk. The organization's been great. It feels like home; it's a lot like where I live back in the off-season (Missouri). My wife loves it there, and we feel like it's a great fit for us. And playing in front of 40,000 fans every night, you can't beat it."

Back in November we heard that the Brewers were expected to explore long-term deals with Marcum and Zack Greinke, who is also open to an extension. The 30-year-old Marcum pitched to a 3.54 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 33 starts last season, though he was bothered by a hip flexor. He was absolutely brutal during his final four starts of the regular season (1.64 WHIP and 6.66 ERA in 24 1/3 innings) and it carried over into the playoffs (2.28 WHIP and 14.90 ERA in 9 2/3 innings), so perhaps the club wants to make sure that's behind him before getting serious about an extension.

Yankees Sign Clay Rapada

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The Yankees have signed lefty reliever Clay Rapada to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports David Waldstein of The New York Times (Twitter links). MLB.com's Zack Meisel first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal. The Meister Sports Management client was released by the Orioles a few days ago.

Rapada, 30, posted a 6.06 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 16 1/3 innings for the Orioles last year. He had pitched 52 2/3 MLB innings over the course of five seasons for the Tigers, Rangers, Cubs and Orioles and is not yet arbitration eligible. The Yankees are likely trying to replenish some left-handed relief depth after Hideki Okajima failed his physical.

Quick Hits: Athletics, Phillies, Burnett, Drew, D’Backs

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Here's a look at today's links as players settle in for Spring Training..

  • Athletics skipper Bob Melvin expects to see roster additions on pitching and position player sides before the full camp opens, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
  • The Phillies were exploring a three-way trade to land A.J. Burnett, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  A third team would have been brought in to allow the club to unload Joe Blanton.
  • The Diamondbacks might have to find a more permanent solution at shortstop if Stephen Drew doesn't fully recover from his ankle injury, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  Arizona holds a $10MM mutual option on Drew for 2013.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) be surprised to see the Angels make two trades before the end of Spring Training due to the amount of redundancy on their roster.  
  • Manny Ramirez worked out for the Athletics and the club could sign the slugger within the next week, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Edell

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News out of the American League East..

  • The Red Sox know that they won't be getting Brett Jackson or Josh Vitters from the Cubs in the compensation agreement but still hope to come away with a quality prospect, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
  • The Yankees considered considered taking Diego Moreno in the Rule 5 draft but already made two selections and didn't want to use another 40-man spot, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  The Bombers viewed Moreno as one of the ten best prospects in the Bucs' system but knew that Pittsburgh didn't, Sherman tweets.
  • More from Sherman (via Twitter), who writes that the Yankees don't think that Exicardo Cayones can make it in the majors if he doesn't add more power.
  • Orioles left-hander Ryan Edell, who signed a minor league deal with the club, isn't expected in camp and it appears that he's going to retire, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Edell, 28, has pitched in the minors since 2005 for the Indians, Athletics, and Phillies.

Cubs Designate Blake DeWitt For Assignment

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FEBRUARY 18TH: DeWitt has apparently cleared waivers and has until Wednesday to decide whether to sign with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.

FEBRUARY 6TH: The Cubs announced that they designated infielder Blake DeWitt for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for Adrian Cardenas, who the Cubs claimed from Oakland today.

DeWitt, 26, posted a .265/.305/.413 line in 243 plate appearances in 2011, playing left field, second base and third base. The 2004 first rounder owns a .260/.329/.385 career line in four seasons with the Dodgers and Cubs.

DeWitt and the Cubs had agreed to a $1.1MM salary for 2012 earlier in the offseason, avoiding arbitration. The Cubs could attempt to deal DeWitt, but if they release him, I expect they'll be responsible for one sixth of his salary (approximately $183K). He was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason.

Yankees Notes: Burnett, Chavez, DH, Kuroda

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The Yankees agreed to trade A.J. Burnett to the Pirates yesterday, two days before their pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Spring Training. With less than 24 hours officially remaining in their offseason, let's round up the latest news surrounding the team…

  • Burnett will take his physical tomorrow and final approval of the trade from the commissioner's office is likely to come Monday afternoon, reports Erik Boland of Newsday (on Twitter).
  • Even after the Burnett trade, the Yankees have room in the budget for Eric Chavez or a left-handed DH but not both, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post (Twitter links). Team executives plan to meet after the trade becomes official to discuss whether room can be made for both.
  • The Yankees still prefer Raul Ibanez to Johnny Damon because he's better against right-handed pitchers and on defense, but Damon is not entirely off the board according to Sherman (on Twitter). MLBTR readers were split pretty evenly between those two (and Vladimir Guerrero) in this morning's poll about the club's DH spot.
  • Hiroki Kuroda reported to camp today and spoke to reporters (including Chad Jennings of The Journal News) about his decision to stay with the Dodgers at the trade deadline last year. The 37-year-old right-hander also wouldn't commit to any plans beyond this season.
  • Joe Brescia of The New York Times chatted briefly with Gene Michael, the team's former GM and current advisor to Brian Cashman. He talked about the Jesus Montero–Michael Pineda trade, the difference between how the Yankees are run now compared to George Steinbrenner's heyday, and more.

Alderson On Wright, Payroll, Farm System

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After chronicling his drive from New York to Florida on Twitter, Mets GM Sandy Alderson met with the media at the team's Spring Training facility today. Let's round up the news, courtesy of ESPN New York's Adam Rubin and Andy Martino of The New York Daily News (on Twitter)…

  • Alderson said any the decision to trade David Wright at the deadline will not be tied to the team's record, unlike Carlos Beltran last year. Wright's $16MM club option for 2013 – which he can void if traded – is a big reason why.
  • When asked if the club could increase payroll if they're in contention, Alderson replied: "Yes, uh huh." When asked if he knew by how much, he said: "No, uh, uh."
  • "The farm system is improving … We have players that are close to having an impact on the Major League club," said the GM in a quote passed along by the team (on Twitter), but he added that prospects like Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Jeurys Familia are not candidates to make the team, even as injury replacements.
  • The Mets added Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch, and Ramon Ramirez this offseason, making the Opening Day status of Bobby Parnell and Pedro Beato murky. They do have minor league options remaining, however.

Poll: The Yankees’ Next DH

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The Yankees freed up some money yesterday by agreeing to trade A.J. Burnett to the Pirates for two minor leaguers and a total of $13MM in salary relief. They’ll save $5MM in 2012 and $8MM in 2013. Reports indicate that they’re expected to sign both Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez once the trade becomes official.

Chavez will fill out the bench like last year, but Ibanez would step in as the left-handed half of a DH platoon with Andruw Jones. Even though Spring Training is right around the corner, there is no shortage of DH-type bats on the open market as our Free Agent Tracker shows. If the Yankees were to decide to pass on Ibanez, they could always turn to Vladimir Guerrero or former Yankees Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui. Guerrero is a right-handed hitter, however. They also signed Russell Branyan to a minor league contract recently.

Given Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch and the presence of Jones, it makes sense for the Yankees to pursue a left-handed bat. Ibanez hit .245/.289/.419 overall last year but .256/.307/.440 against righties, which is good but not great. Damon (.255/.314/.401) and Matsui (.242/.318/.336) weren’t any better against righties, and in fact Guerrero outperformed all three of those guys against northpaws (.291/.315/.428). The Yankees have no shortage of DH options, but which one is the best?

Outrighted To Triple-A: Mike Wilson

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Let's keep track of the day's outright assignments right here…

  • Mike Wilson accepted his outright assignment and is back in camp with the Mariners, reports MLB.com's Greg Johns (on Twitter). Wilson had been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Shawn Camp earlier this month. The 28-year-old outfielder hit .331/.418/.555 with 16 home runs in 388 plate appearances in his third pass at the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

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