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Archives for April 2012

Olney On Perez, Thornton, Inge, Mets

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Most general managers prefer not to rush trades for bullpen help early in the season because relievers are so volatile, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Olney takes a look at some relievers off to hot starts in his latest Insider-only column. Here are some highlights:

  • Blue Jays left-hander Luis Perez has impressed an AL executive after striking out 14 in 12 2/3 scoreless innings to start the season. "He could be a starting pitcher, but to me, he's as good a left-handed reliever as there is in the American League right now," the person said.
  • Olney points out that left-hander Matt Thornton is pitching well and notes that the White Sox tried to trade him at last year’s trade deadline and again over the winter.
  • MLB executives have told Olney that they aren’t interested in acquiring Brandon Inge because he doesn’t contribute at the plate anymore.
  • Olney wonders when the Mets will be able to spend like a large market team and says manager Terry Collins “has done a terrific job” with the current roster.

Bronson Arroyo Obtains Ten And Five Rights

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Bronson Arroyo didn’t play in yesterday’s game against the Giants, but it was a significant contest for the right-hander nonetheless. Arroyo now has ten and five rights and cannot be traded without his permission.  

Arroyo began the year with nine years and 150 days of MLB service and yesterday marked the 22nd day of the Reds’ season. Nine years and 172 days equates to ten years of service for the 35-year-old, and his last six-plus seasons have been spent in Cincinnati.

Players who have accumulated ten years of Major League service time can't be traded without their permission if they have spent the last five years with their current club. If the Reds trade Arroyo, deferred payments on his current contract are voided and paid up-front by his new team, so it’s especially hard to imagine a trade in his case.

Quick Hits: Phillies, Inge, Yankees, Red Sox

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The final game on tonight's docket is in progress as the Nationals face the Padres at Petco Park.  Links for this evening..

This Date In Transactions History: Graig Nettles

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There are a number of reasons why a club might trade a former All-Star.  Most of the time, it has more to do with production than a player's literary work.

On this date in 1984, the Yankees completed their trade of third baseman Graig Nettles to the Padres when they chose minor leaguer Darin Cloninger as the player to be named later to go with left-hander Dennis Rasmussen.  Reportedly, George Steinbrenner secured a sneak preview of Nettles' book, "Balls", which was highly critical of the Yankees owner.  While Steinbrenner was happy to jettison the third baseman across the country, Nettles was also quite satisfied with the deal.  The veteran pushed for a trade to the Padres in the past but had his request denied.

While Nettles' book was largely responsible for the timing of the trade, the deal also made sense from a baseball standpoint.  The 39-year-old signed a two-year, $1.8MM deal in '83 but was already being moved into a timeshare at his position.  The Yankees traded for the Indians' Toby Harrah and shifted Roy Smalley from shortstop back to third base, moves that Nettles admitted made him uneasy.

Even at his advanced age, Nettles had plenty of quality baseball left.  The veteran hit .228/.329/.413 in his first year in San Diego and earned his sixth career All-Star selection in 1985.  Nettles would wrap up things up with the Montreal Expos in 1988 after 22 major league seasons.  The San Diego native hit .248/.329/.421 with 390 homers over his career.

Athletics Notes: Balfour, Colon, Hughes, Inge

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A few items on the A's..

  • Jane Lee of MLB.com doesn't expect the A's record to dictate their level of activity in the trade market.  Grant Balfour is already a popular name for clubs looking for relief help and Bartolo Colon should draw heavy interest from contenders looking for help at the Trade Deadline.  Earlier this week, Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at Balfour as a trade candidate.
  • Lee also writes that she was surprised by the club's decision to pick up Luke Hughes rather than use Adam Rosales at third base.  The A's claimed Hughes off of waivers from the Twins on Sunday.
  • Speaking of the club's third base situation, Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter) expects the A's to consider pursuing Brandon Inge.

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

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A look at a few items out of the AL East as the Blue Jays take on the Orioles in Baltimore..

  • The Orioles are still looking for ways to improve defensively and the club has some interest in Brandon Inge, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Inge was let go by Detroit earlier today but made it clear that he wants to continue playing.
  • There hasn't been any talk of Will Middlebrooks being promoted in support of the struggling Kevin Youkilis, a Red Sox source told Alex Speier of WEEI.com.  So far this year, the veteran is hitting just .204/.267/.296 as Middlebrooks has looked solid for Triple-A Pawtucket.
  • Peter Gammons of MLB.com tweets that the lesson to be learned from the Red Sox's Carl Crawford "debacle" is that the club should have had his agent work with the club to help with his adjustment to a new market.  Crawford hit just .255/.289/.405 for Boston in 2011 and could now miss three months after undergoing elbow surgery.
  • Former pitcher Curt Schilling suffered the same torn anterior labrum in his throwing shoulder as Michael Pineda and believes that he could bounce back better than ever and return in less than a year, writes Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com.  Yesterday we learned that the Yankees pitcher is likely going to be sidelined for a full year.

Tigers Release Brandon Inge

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The Tigers announced that they've released infielder Brandon Inge (Twitter link). Detroit will call up Brad Eldred to take Inge's place on the active roster.

Inge, the Tigers' primary third baseman for much of the past eight seasons, was the team's longest tenured player. However, the Tigers didn't have an obvious role for him after signing Prince Fielder and moving Miguel Cabrera to third base. The ever-versatile Inge learned second base this Spring Training, earning praise from his bosses for his defensive work. However, he has just two hits in 20 trips to the plate so far this season and he posted a .548 OPS last year, so the Tigers weren't getting much from him on offense. 

Inge, an All-Star in 2009, has two 27-homer seasons to his name. He has considerable MLB experience at third, catcher and center field, plus recent experience as a second baseman. I'd be surprised if teams view him as anything but a third baseman, though. Inge will earn $5.5MM this season and his contract includes a $6MM club option ($500K) buyout for 2012.

Inge made it clear that he wants to continue playing, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com (via Twitter). Any team that signs him would only owe him a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum for the remainder of the season. Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com first reported the news (Twitter links).

Quick Hits: Trout, Avila, Cardinals

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On this date two years ago the Phillies signed Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125MM extension. Right away, critics of the deal wondered why the Phillies would commit nine figures for Howard's age 32-36 seasons when he doesn't play a premium position. Their questions persist two years later since Howard's on the disabled list and his power numbers are in decline. Here are today's links…

Minor Moves: Jay Gibbons

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Brewers signed outfielder Jay Gibbons to a minor league deal, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The Brewers, who had released Gibbons at the end of Spring Training, assigned him to Double-A Huntsville. Gibbons appeared in 24 games for the Dodgers last year, playing both corner outfield positions and posting a .255/.323/.345 line in 62 plate appearances. He has a .258/.318/.460 career line against right-handed pitching.

Trade Candidate: Brett Myers

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The Brett Myers trade rumors have been circulating for a while, and there’s no reason to expect them to slow down between now and the July 31st trade deadline. Myers, a capable pitcher nearing free agency on a team not expected to contend, should draw some trade interest this summer.

Brett Myers - Astros (PW)

Myers' name surfaced at the 2011 Winter Meetings and the right-hander still seemed to be available in January, when Jayson Stark reported that the Astros were willing to take on at least $7MM of his 2012 salary in a trade. Houston GM Jeff Luhnow said this month that he’s not presently shopping Myers, and while that’s entirely believable, the team's stance could very well change within the next 95 days.

Myers, 31, probably won’t be on the next contending Astros team. He’s earning $12MM in 2012 and has a club/vesting option valued at $10MM for 2013 ($3MM buyout). Like most players on the Astros’ roster, Myers is a product of the Ed Wade regime. I doubt Luhnow will have reservations about trading Myers when the time is right.

Unfortunately for the Astros, Myers earns a starting pitcher’s salary. Other trade candidates such as Huston Street ($7.5MM) and Grant Balfour ($4MM) will be more appealing to contenders since they earn considerably less than Myers. I expect the Astros will have to take on millions to move Myers.

For the Astros to convince a rival team to take on more than a couple million of Myers’ salary, he’ll have to continue pitching well. So far — and it’s admittedly quite early — Myers has pitched five innings with a 4K/1BB ratio and three saves. It’s worth noting that his fastball velocity has climbed by nearly 4 mph this year to 92.2 mph from 88.4 mph (source: FanGraphs). He's just 74 pitches into the season — not even a full start’s worth — but the uptick in velocity isn’t surprising given Myers’ new role.

Should the 7-12 Astros fall out of contention early, Luhnow might have the chance to start selling before other trade candidates become available. This could enable him to send more of Myers' salary to a team looking to acquire relief help before the trade market heats up in July. Still, it seems more likely that the Astros will postpone most serious trade talk until after they select first overall in the upcoming June draft. There's also a good chance Myers' salary would clear waivers, so he might be available in August.

Myers should draw interest from contenders, especially if his strong April portends a successful first half. But it seems likely that the Astros will have to take on millions to complete a deal. Depending on Myers' performance, the evolution of the trade market and Luhnow's willingness to absorb salary, the Astros could acquire anything from a marginal minor leaguer to a legitimate prospect for their closer.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

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