Archives for March 2012

Athletics Notes: Pridie, Ramirez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 9, 2012 at 3:28pm CDT

Yoenis Cespedes may make his Cactus League debut this weekend, GM Billy Beane said, according to Barry Bloom of MLB.com. Here are some more Athletics-related notes…

Athletics outfielder Jason Pridie will be suspended 50 games for violating the minor league drug program, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links). Pridie tested positive for a “drug of abuse,” rather than a performance-enhancing drug, apparently doing so for the second time. He signed a minor league deal with the A’s in November.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains that retiring was probably a mistake for Manny Ramirez. The decision to retire affected the type of suspension he faced for violating MLB's drug policy.
Ramirez said he almost signed with the Blue Jays this offseason before determining the Athletics' interest was more serious. “At first [the Blue Jays] said yes. Then they said, ‘We’re going to have to think about it,’” Ramirez said.
The A's released catcher Landon Powell earlier today.

Red Sox Notes: Rotation, Tazawa, Melancon

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 9, 2012 at 2:07pm CDT

The latest on the Red Sox, via Alex Speier of WEEI.com…

The Red Sox are currently evaluating five starters for the final two spots in their rotation, Speier writes. Daniel Bard, Alfredo Aceves, Vicente Padilla, Andrew Miller and Felix Doubront are all in the mix for a starting job. Aaron Cook and Ross Ohlendorf could join the competition, but they have yet to pitch in games.
The Red Sox are open to the idea of trading for a starter during Spring Training or once the season begins, but they’re comfortable with what they have, Speier reports.
Speier also has the details on the contracts of Boston's pre-arbitration eligible players. Junichi Tazawa($920K) and Mark Melancon ($521K) will earn well over the $480K minimum in 2012. The Red Sox announced today that they have agreed to terms with the 16 players on their 40-man roster who aren't yet arb eligible.

Regular MLBTR Features

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 9, 2012 at 1:48pm CDT

If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, our Week In Review posts and Mike Axisa's Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:

MLBTR Chats - Come by every Wednesday at 2pm CDT to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the Major Leagues.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In - Every Friday morning, Mike Axisa directs you to some of the best writing on baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to send Mike a post of yours, reach him at: mike@riveraveblues.com.
Week In Review - It's remarkable how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, we summarize the week's biggest stories in our Week In Review posts.
MLBTR Originals - We gather all our original analysis and reporting in one place every Sunday night.

AL Central Notes: Hafner, Verlander, Cabrera

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 9, 2012 at 12:33pm CDT

Every AL Central team except the Royals has won the division at least once since 2007. Here are the latest AL Central links as the Tigers look to win back-to-back division titles for the first time since they won the 1934-35 pennants…

The Indians are hoping for modest production from Travis Hafner in 2012, which will probably be his final season with the Indians, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. "If Travis can be a productive major-league hitter this year, we'll be happy," GM Chris Antonetti said.
Justin Verlander and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports discussed the right-hander's newfound celebrity in a piece that's well worth reading. Verlander makes it clear that he loves Detroit, but admitted he’s thought about what playing in a bigger market would be like. “It would be fun, but hopefully I help turn Detroit into a major market,” Verlander said. “Other teams are major markets not just because of their fan base but because of the national fan base.”
No talks about a new contract for Verlander have taken place, but he’s “open for conversation” with the Tigers. Verlander, who’s under team control through 2014, is intrigued by free agency.
In this FOX Sports video, Morosi said the Tigers are realistic about Miguel Cabrera's limitations as a defender at third base, and seem committed to making the arrangement work.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland recently joined Evan & Phillips on Sirius XM Radio and said he's willing to accept that Cabrera won't get to as many balls as Brandon Inge might.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: A’s, McCutchen, Molina, Yu

By Mike Axisa | March 9, 2012 at 11:35am CDT

On this date in 1995, the 28 owners unanimously approved the addition of two new franchises: the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays. The clubs were assigned leagues in 1997 and started play in 1998. Here are the box scores for the first game in D'Backs and D'Rays history. With the regular season just a month away, let's round up the latest from around the web…

Rum Bunter interviewed Pirates GM Neal Huntington about the A.J. Burnett trade.
The Todd Van Poppel Rookie Card Retirement Plan interviewed Jonny Gomes, Collin Cowgill, and Josh Donaldson of the Athletics.
Athletics Farm interviewed Athletics director of player personnel Billy Owens.
Raise The Jolly Roger is thrilled about the Andrew McCutchen extension.
Pirates Prospects wrote about the long-term impact of McCutchen's deal.
Buried Treasure explored McCutchen's trade value.
Redbird Rants celebrated Yadier Molina's contract extension.
STL Cardinal Baseball presented an alternate reality for the Cardinals.
The Brewers Bar looked at the Brewers history of extensions (part one, part two).
Disciples of Uecker notes that the Brewers depth will get a chance to shine early in the season.
Call to the Pen wrote about Yu Darvish's impressive Spring Training debut.
Phillies Nation says the Phillies can afford both Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino, but not a third baseman.
Twins Fan From Afar looked into how "true aces" are acquired.
BoSox Injection believes it would make sense for the Red Sox to bat Kevin Youkilis leadoff.
Puckett's Pond thinks the Twins bullpen has a chance to be just fine.
Dr. Stangeglove thinks moving Neil Walker to third base is a bad idea.
South Side Sox says the White Sox don't have much wiggle room for their bench.
The EntreprenOriole wrote about the best defensive catcher in baseball.
Levi's Landing analyzed the Giants baserunning.
NASORB published a list of the Mariners' top 25 prospects.
Baseball GMs wrote about players deserving of qualifying offers (part one, part two).
Hume's Jays Bullpen proposed a realignment plan.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

A’s Release Landon Powell

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 9, 2012 at 10:31am CDT

The A's released catcher Landon Powell, the team announced. Powell had been outrighted off of the 40-man roster in January and was in camp as a non-roster player. The 29-year-old SFX client is now a free agent.

Powell has a .207/.284/.328 line in 406 plate appearances over the course of three seasons with the Athletics. He has played some first base, but spent most of his time behind the plate. Just 60% of stolen base attempts against Powell have been successful since 2009.

The A's had agreed to terms with Powell on a one-year $620K salary via arbitration earlier in the offseason. They owe him one sixth of that figure — approximately $103K — even though they cut him. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the news.

Latest On Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 9, 2012 at 10:30am CDT

It appeared earlier this week that the Giants and Matt Cain had built momentum toward an extension. One person in the know even said there's no chance the 2013 free agent signs for less than $100MM. Here are today's updates on talks between Cain, the Giants and teammate Madison Bumgarner:

The Giants agreed to a one-year deal with Bumgarner, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The pre-arbitration eligible starter will earn $575K or so in 2012.
There's no hard deadline for talks with Cain, Schulman adds. Cain would like negotiations to be done with by Opening Day.
Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com suggests the Giants could work out extensions for Cain and Bumgarner within the week. The sides have been working late and the Giants like package announcements, Baggarly tweets. MLBTR has previewed possible extensions for Cain and Bumgarner this past offseason.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that Kevin Brown, the only right-handed pitcher in history to obtain a $100MM deal, signed his contract 13 years ago and suggests the market is ready for a correction by a present-day right-hander such as Cain. The Giants are privately optimistic that they'll lock Cain up, Rosenthal writes.

Teams With Open 40-Man Roster Spots

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 9, 2012 at 9:39am CDT

Most teams have full 40-man rosters at this point in the year, but one third of MLB clubs have at least one open spot. These teams could offer free agents Major League deals without having to cut another player (if they have enough money and projected 25-man roster space) or make a waiver claim at some point before Opening Day. Here’s the team-by-team breakdown:

Braves – 36
White Sox – 37
Nationals – 38
Yankees – 39
Angels – 39
Phillies – 39
Cubs – 39
Cardinals – 39
Rockies – 39

Keep in mind that the 21 teams with full 40-man rosters could create roster space by moving a player to the 60-day disabled list or by releasing, outrighting or designating for assignment a rostered player.

Source: MLB.com and MLBDepthCharts.com.

Duquette: Damon Deal Unlikely

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 9, 2012 at 8:30am CDT

FRIDAY: Duquette told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com "maybe" when asked if Damon was a possibility. Another Orioles person said "not yet" (Twitter link).

THURSDAY: Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, that he doesn't expect to sign Johnny Damon (Twitter link). Even though the free agent continues to be linked to the Orioles, Duquette doesn't anticipate a deal.

"I don't think so. I already signed Johnny Damon when he was 28," Duquette said in reference to Damon's deal with the Red Sox.

Damon hit .261/.326/.418 with 16 homers and 29 doubles in 582 plate appearances for the Rays in 2011. He was Tampa Bay's primary DH last year, but maintains he could still play the field if necessary. Agent Scott Boras recently suggested the market for his client will pick up within a few weeks.

I'm sure there's a lot of clubs that are looking at youth, and by the time spring training ends they may be looking at it differently," Boras told MLBTR's Tim Dierkes last week.

Quick Hits: Jackson, Perkins, Lane, Nitkowski

By Mark Polishuk | March 8, 2012 at 10:27pm CDT

Happy birthday to Hall-of-Famer Jim Rice, who turns 59 today. On a more somber note, it was on this day in 1999 that the legendary Joe DiMaggio passed away at age 84 after a battle with lung cancer.

Here's some news from around the majors as we head into the end of the work week…

Edwin Jackson tells Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he didn't receive any interest from the Cardinals about returning to the team. "There was no involvement with the Cardinals. Pitching wasn't a department they needed help in. Their rotation is pretty much set," Jackson said. "It was a place I wouldn't have minded going back to…but, coming into the offseason, it was never a place I realistically thought I had a chance to go back to."
Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities radio details Glen Perkins' path from filing a grievance against the Twins in 2009 and seemingly being on the outs with the club to today's three-year extension that keeps the southpaw in Minnesota through 2015.
Jason Lane talks to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic about his attempt to return to the Major Leagues as a pitcher, and how a chance meeting with Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers last summer led to Lane getting a minor league deal with Arizona.
C.J. Nitkowski, who last pitched in the majors in 2005, threw a bullpen session with the Mets on Thursday, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. Nitkowski pitched in Japan and Korea from 2007-2010 and, as MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince details, underwent a controversial blood-and-stem cell treatment last year. Nitkowski was the ninth overall pick of the 1994 amateur draft and pitched for eight teams in a 10-year Major League career, including a five-game stint with the Mets in 2001.
The long-term effects of Lucas Giolito's UCL strain have yet to be determined, but Baseball America's Conor Glassey examines how the injury could impact Giolito's position in the 2012 amateur draft.
The Mexican Baseball League has announced that Jose Canseco will not play for Quintana Roo Tigers after the slugger allegedly took a banned substance and refused to take a drug test, reports ESPN's news news services. League president Plinio Escalante told ESPN Deportes that testosterone was the banned substance. Canseco has denied the charge on his Twitter account.

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