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Archives for March 2012

Orioles Notes: Britton, Willis, Catchers

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Here's the latest from Charm City…

  • Zach Britton underwent two rounds of platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy today in an effort to solve the inflammation in his throwing shoulder.  The young left-hander told reporters (including Brittany Ghiroli from MLB.com) that Dr. James Andrews recommended the procedure and if it works, Britton will be able to avoid surgery.  Britton will be sidelined for at least six weeks and he hopes to be pitching by early May.
  • Dontrelle Willis said he received offers from other teams before signing with the Orioles, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The O's plan to use Willis as a left-handed relief specialist and he'll start the season in the minors, Dan Duquette told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com).  Duquette also said the team would look out for other available pitchers but are concentrating on evaluating their current arms in camp.
  • "It's going to be hard to pick up another catcher this time of the year," Duquette said, indicating that the Orioles will stick with Ronny Paulino as their backup catcher if Taylor Teagarden has to spend time on the disabled list.

Los Angeles Links: Kershaw, Fielder, Cantu, Phillies

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At least one of the five groups bidding to buy the Dodgers has asked about the possibility of selling the naming rights to Dodger Stadium, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.  Naming rights are commonplace in sports, but as Shaikin notes in his piece, it would be a poor PR move for a new owner to immediately change the name of one of baseball's most historic parks.

Here are a few more items from both the Dodgers and the Angels…

  • Clayton Kershaw was "less than thrilled" about making just $500K last season, which may be part of the reason the Dodgers signed their ace to a two-year, $19MM deal, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  The Dodgers wanted to sign Kershaw to a four-year extension that would have covered the southpaw's first free agent season.
  • Heyman also calls Matt Kemp's eight-year contract extension with the team "possibly the best financial move anyone made this winter."
  • The Dodgers made an offer to Prince Fielder at the Winter Meetings for a four-year contract worth an average annual value of less than that of Alex Rodriguez, Ned Colletti tells Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link).  Rodriguez earns an AAV of $27.5MM on his current Yankees contract but one would think that L.A.'s offer couldn't have been much lower than that, given that they were just offering four years.
  • Also from Bowden (via Twitter), Fielder's agent Scott Boras said Colletti's recruiting meeting with Fielder was the best he's seen in 30 years.
  • Jorge Cantu hopes to be traded to a team with corner infield needs if he can't make the Angels' roster, reports Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles.  Cantu has the option of opting out of his contract with L.A. if he's in the minors on May 1.  He has also considered taking "a couple of months off this summer" as his girlfriend is due to give birth to their first child in June. 
  • If the Angels were to offer one of their backup infielders (Alberto Callaspo or Maicer Izturis) to the Phillies, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez speculates that the Halos could look for Kyle Kendrick or Joe Blanton back in such a trade.  In Blanton's case, the Phils would have to cover a big chunk of his $8.5MM salary for this season.
  • Earlier today we covered the hot-stove highlights of Arte Moreno's recent interview with GQ.

Arte Moreno On Pujols, Crawford, Reagins, Darvish

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Angels owner Arte Moreno spoke to GQ's Nathaniel Penn about a number of the team's recent moves (and non-moves) in this Q&A piece…

  • Moreno isn't worried that he'll be paying Albert Pujols $30MM per season after he turns 40.  “If he's healthy enough and he's playing for us, then I'm gonna just say, ‘Merry Christmas to all baseball fans,' because we get to see one of the best players of our generation coming to bat," Moreno said.  The owner also noted that his wife played a role in the Pujols negotiations, as both she and Pujols' wife have ties to the Kansas City area.
  • The Angels didn't investigate rumors that Pujols is older than his listed age.  "Somebody starts checking on your age you start wondering, 'Do we really want to have a relationship like this?'", Moreno said.
  • The Angels never bid on Carl Crawford during the 2010-11 offseason.  Moreno stood by his criticism of Crawford's seven-year/$142MM contract with Boston since "I don't think anybody…was in the vicinity of that offer."  In Pujols' case, however, the team felt comfortable signing him to a massive contract since the Halos had lots of new funds coming in via their new TV deal.
  • "Still, I don't think in a perfect world we really thought Albert was going to be available," Moreno said. "They just won a championship in St. Louis, he had been there eleven years, and you think they're gonna make a deal."
  • Moreno wasn't keen to discuss the firing of former GM Tony Reagins, saying "I just think what happens is over a period of time you don't think you're going in the direction you want to go."  Moreno did hint that Reagins was fired due to the combination of the Halos missing the playoffs for the last two seasons and the thus-far disasterous results of team's deal for Vernon Wells.
  • Speaking of that deal, Moreno said his team's baseball staff felt Mike Napoli's throwing arm wouldn't hold up for an entire season of catching and he was about to get too expensive for the team's liking through arbitration.  Moreno praised Rangers manager Ron Washington's handling of Napoli and also noted "the book's not closed on Vernon, you know."  
  • The Angels didn't bid on Yu Darvish and Moreno said was never approached by his baseball staff about the Japanese right-hander, guessing it was due to the size of the required posting bid.  

Spanish Links: Vazquez, Wandy, Jorge Vazquez

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Links in Spanish about three jugadores who don't know where they'll be a year from now…

  • Javier Vazquez received calls from two general managers this offseason, and his agent received calls from others, the pitcher told Esteban Pagán Rivera at the Puerto Rican paper Primera Hora. Vazquez says he was frank with his suitors, saying, "I haven't felt the slightest itch to play. But I haven't announced my retirement because who knows if, three months or a year from now, I get the urge to play again."
  • Wandy Rodriguez is approaching this offseason's trade rumors as if he were a soldier and the Astros were his army, the 33-year-old lefty told Juan Mercado from the Dominican daily El Día. "Wherever they send me, that's where I'll go, since I don't have any city in particular (in mind)," Rodriguez said. The Astros originally signed Rodriguez as an international free agent in 1999, and he says he appreciates the team that "opened the doors" for him to make it to the majors. "Now, if they decide to trade me, the only thing to do is accept it and leave."
  • Slugging Yankee prospect Jorge Vazquez is growing impatient with the minor leagues and would like to try Japan or Korea if there's not a place for him in the major leagues, according to the president of the Mexican League's Tigres de Quintana Roo, where Vazquez played in 2007 and 2008. "If they don't give him an opportunity this year, he wants them to trade him, or to go to [play] baseball in the east," Cuauhtémoc "Chito" Rodríguez told Fernando Ballesteros at Puro Béisbol. "He doesn't want to continue on in Triple A anymore, not just with the Yankees, but with any other organization as well." Vazquez made a case for being MLB-ready in 2011, putting up a .262/.314/.516 line with 32 homers at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Cubs Notes: Soler, Pitching, LaHair, Jackson

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As long-time Cubs shortstop Shawon Dunston celebrates his 49th birthday today, here's the latest out of Wrigley Field…

  • Rumors that the Cubs have a $27MM agreement in place with Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler "are completely bogus," GM Jed Hoyer told reporters (including Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune).  Soler is still waiting to be officially declared a free agent by Major League Baseball.
  • Hoyer also says (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times) that he "wouldn’t be surprised" if the Cubs made a trade before the season begins, though the team is happy with its current roster.  The Cubs theoretically have an excess of pitching but Hoyer likes having that extra depth in the staff.
  • Anthony Rizzo has hit well this spring while Bryan LaHair has struggled, but Hoyer tells reporters (including ESPN Chicago's Doug Padilla) that the Cubs still intend to start LaHair at first base on Opening Day and have Rizzo begin the year in the minors.
  • Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago says the Cubs aren't keen on starting the Major League service time clocks of their top prospects, so Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters look to remain in the minors for at least a few months, if not all, of the 2012 campaign.  Also from Levine's chat, he discusses the lack of news about possible trades of Matt Garza or Marlon Byrd and now Alfonso Soriano is virtually untradeable even if he enjoys a good first half of the season.

Latest On Roy Oswalt

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The Cardinals and Rangers — Roy Oswalt’s preferred teams earlier this year — both have questions in their rotations, but it doesn’t sound as though either team is in the mix for the free agent right-hander at this time. The Cardinals aren't sure how much time Chris Carpenter will miss, and Neftali Feliz got his shoulder checked out this week, so both of last year’s World Series contestants may have less pitching than expected. 

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Cardinals prefer to rely on internal options and that the Rangers aren’t currently keen on Oswalt (all links go to Twitter). The Cardinals will rely on Lance Lynn, who’s currently being stretched out as a starter. The Rangers can turn to Alexi Ogando or Scott Feldman if Feliz’s injury proves to be more serious than expected. 

As Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out (Twitter links), Andy Pettitte’s $2.5MM salary establishes precedent for Oswalt should he also sign soon. Oswalt prefers the Cardinals, according to Sherman.

Offseason In Review: Colorado Rockies

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The Rockies made changes at catcher, second base, third base, and right field this offseason, and many rotation spots are up for grabs.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

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The biggest move of the Rockies' busy offseason was the Cuddyer signing.  Though he's below-average defensively at the position, Cuddyer is penciled in to replace Smith and Spilborghs as the Rockies' right fielder.  Smith is defensively-challenged himself, and as a left-handed hitter he's the inverse of Cuddyer offensively.  Pairing Smith with a better platoon partner like Jonny Gomes, as the A's did, would have equaled or exceeded Cuddyer's production at a fraction of the commitment.  There is an intangible side to the Cuddyer signing, as the Rockies like the leadership he brings.

Smith was fairly popular on the trade market, and Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd eventually pulled the trigger for a pair of back-rotation arms in Moscoso and Outman.  Chatwood, acquired for catcher Chris Iannetta, has more upside than those two but was rushed to the Majors last year by the Angels.  Iannetta had more value to the Rockies than to any other team, because he gained the ability to void his 2013 club option only if traded.  The Rockies controlled Iannetta for two years, but the Angels probably control him for one.  O'Dowd still did well in getting six years of Chatwood for Iannetta, a player of whom he did not seem terribly fond.

Though the Rockies won the Iannetta trade from an actuarial standpoint, they downgraded at catcher in 2012.  Ramon Hernandez is inferior defensively and is probably incapable of catching 100 games in his age 36 season.  Perhaps the Rockies feel the short-term dropoff in their catcher swap is insignificant, and wanted a more experienced backstop for a young pitching staff.  

Some of O'Dowd's intended upgrades required payroll flexibility, so he shipped out unneeded veterans Street and Wigginton.  Unloading $7MM owed to Street was a masterstroke, and ditching $2MM on Wigginton was also a win.  These were O'Dowd's questionable contracts in the first place, but at least he was able to cut his losses.  O'Dowd added a pair of new contracts in the extensions for relievers Betancourt and Belisle.  Each received one extra year at the market rate for a solid setup man, which is favorable to letting both reach free agency after 2012.

The Rockies' newfound payroll flexibility allowed for the acquisition of Scutaro.  The Rockies acquired a quality infielder on a salary dump, and only had to make a one-year commitment.  With an average throwing arm and declining range, Scutaro is better-suited for second base as he enters his age 36 season.  There will be a defensive loss compared to Ellis, but he required a two-year commitment.  An OBP north of .350 from Scutaro would be a big improvement over the .304 mark compiled by the team's second basemen in 2011.  

With a below-midpoint $8.2MM salary, Guthrie will cost less than Hammel and Lindstrom, who are owed $8.55MM in 2012.  Hammel flashed potential in 2009-10, but he's not a 200-inning workhorse like Guthrie.  Prior to the Guthrie acquisition, the closest to a sure thing in Colorado's rotation was 24-year-old Jhoulys Chacin, who led the NL in walks in 2011 and showed up to spring training overweight.

For the remaining rotation spots, the Rockies' options were so numerous that they deemed Slowey expendable.  The Rockies acquired the non-tender candidate from Minnesota in December for reliever Daniel Turpen, and then flipped him to Cleveland about a month later for reliever Zach Putnam and $1.25MM.  It was a middle reliever upgrade for the Rockies, at the cost of $1.25MM.  Juan Nicasio and Drew Pomeranz probably slot into the Rockies' rotation behind Guthrie and Chacin, but there will be heavy competition all year.

Stewart and Weathers were shipped to Chicago in a change of scenery deal.  Weathers' trade value was probably minimal, as he would eventually clear waivers with the Cubs.  The Rockies' third base situation may remain dicey in the short-term, as Blake, Chris Nelson, Wood, and/or Harris will keep the seat warm for top prospect Nolan Arenado.  The Rockies received Colvin and LeMahieu for Stewart, two useful big leaguers who may fall short of everyday duty.

After all the offseason activity, are the Rockies a better team?  Last year's rotation posted a 4.73 ERA, so that bar is set low.  The bar is low at the hot corner as well, and the Rockies definitely improved at second base.  With full seasons from Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler, the offense could be a powerhouse.  The Rockies must hope a potentially downgraded defense and an inexperienced rotation can keep them in games.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Minor Moves: Phillies, Barfield, Dodgers, Smit

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A look at today's minor moves..

Indians Designate De La Cruz For Assignment

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The Indians announced that they designated left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for waiver claim Rick VandenHurk.

De La Cruz posted a 4.19 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 86 innings as a starter and reliever at Double-A last year. The 6'5" 23-year-old has typically walked and struck out lots of opponents, as his career rates of 8.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 indicate. The Indians originally sent De La Cruz to the Rangers on February 21st before re-acquiring him six days ago. He made one appearance for Texas before being returned to Cleveland.

Indians Claim Rick VandenHurk

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The Blue Jays announced that the Indians claimed right-hander Rick VandenHurk off of waivers. The Blue Jays had signed the native of the Netherlands to a Major League contract in February after the Orioles released him.

VandenHurk, who is out of options, has experience in five big league seasons, but he appeared in just four games for the 2011 Orioles. He spent most of the season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. The 6'5" 26-year-old has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles.

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