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Twins Owner Supports Ron Gardenhire, Terry Ryan

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Twins owner Jim Pohlad expressed his support for GM Terry Ryan and manager Ron Gardenhire today, reports Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities radio.  Pohlad made a rare appearance on the field today, talking to Gardenhire during batting practice before Monday's game with the Angels.  Pohlad said that he is "pleased" with how Ryan has performed his job since returning to the team as the interim general manager last November, and Pohlad added that both he and Ryan have "100 percent confidence" in Gardenhire.

Pohlad admitted it has been difficult watching his team's poor start to the season and while he described the season as "technically salvagable," he sees why Minnesota fans could want a change in management.  "But I suppose (calling for someone's job) would be the natural (reaction) for somebody who's not really part of the organization might say. A frustrated fan might say that," Pohlad said.

Ryan was the Twins' GM from 1994-2007, becoming a consultant to the team once Bill Smith took over the job but returning when Smith was fired last November.  I don't see the Twins outright firing Ryan given that his tenure with the organization and the fact that he's working on an interim basis already, though it's possible he could step down after 2012 if the club settles on a permanent GM.

Gardenhire's own history with the team is also a point in his favor.  This is Gardenhire's 11th season as the Twins' manager, a stint that has seen him lead the team to six AL Central titles and an overall 873-775 record.  Gardenhire could take the fall since the Twins are on pace for their second consecutive last-place season but it's hard to blame him for the team's injuries and lackluster roster.

Orioles Close To Deal With Miguel Tejada

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MONDAY: Tejada passed his physical and is expected to sign his minor league deal with the O's tomorrow, reports Roch Kubato of MASNsports.com (Twitter link).

FRIDAY: The Orioles are close to a deal with Miguel Tejada, reports Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com (Twitter links). GM Dan Duquette told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com that they'll watch Tejada work out at the team's complex in Florida on Monday before officially signing him (Twitter link).

"We've got to take a look at him first," said the GM.

Tejada, 37, hit just .239/.270/.326 in 343 plate appearances with the Giants last season before being released in September. The SFX client spent 2004-2007 and the first half of 2010 with Baltimore, hitting .305/.354/.481 overall. Tejada could provide some third base depth is Mark Reynolds continues to struggle.

AL East Notes: Rays, Pauley, Encarnacion, Wada

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Here's the latest from the AL East…

  • The Rays' success with low-budget acquisitions stands out in contrast to other teams' lack of return on expensive free agents, writes Gary Shelton of the Tampa Bay Times.  The Rays had a modest offseason and have baseball's second-best record, while Shelton notes the Marlins have only a .500 record after spending big last winter.
  • Rays ownership's patience with the Andrew Friedman/Matt Silverman/Joe Maddon management team is a big reason why Tampa Bay has become a consistent contender, writes MLB.com's Bill Chastain.
  • The Blue Jays offered David Pauley a minor league contract in March, tweets MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.  Pauley decided to sign with the Angels instead since "there was an opportunity to come and play" in Los Angeles.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos "deserves a lot of credit" for Edwin Encarnacion's success in 2012, manager John Farrell tells MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.  "[Anthopoulos] is the one that has talked about him repeatedly, and consistently, with the belief that there is an above-average offensive player in there," Farrell said.
  • Tsuyoshi Wada has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list, the Orioles announced today.  The move creates space on the 40-man roster for right-hander Stu Pomeranz (brother of Rockies' hurler Drew Pomeranz), who had his contract selected from Triple-A.  Wada is set to undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the 2012 season.
  • Fangraphs' Matt Klaassen looks at J.J. Hardy as "an excellent trade chip," though the Orioles' decision to move Hardy or any other veterans has been impacted by the club's surprising rise to the top of the standings.
  • The Yankees might be wise to retain impending free agent Nick Swisher, opines Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog, though signing him could be difficult given the Yankees' plan to fit their payroll under the luxury tax threshold by 2014. 
  • For more on the Bronx Bombers, check out this collection of Yankees notes compiled earlier today by MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Rosenthal On Ethier, Santana, Blue Jays, D’Backs

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Here's the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Impending free agent Andre Ethier is "the first opportunity for the Dodgers’ new ownership to make a statement in the post-McCourt era," and while Ethier has let it be known that he's willing to negotiate a new deal during the season, Rosenthal thinks Stan Kasten would prefer to see Ethier perform well and stay healthy for the entire 2012 season before offering him a contract extension.  Rosenthal predicts Ethier will look for a deal similar to Jayson Werth's seven-year, $126MM contract with the Nationals, and given the lack of proven power bats on the market, Ethier "probably can name his price" this winter if he keeps producing.
  • Johan Santana's hefty contract and no-trade clause will make it hard for the Mets to move him without eating a lot of money in a deal.  Rosenthal thinks it makes more sense for the Mets to just hang on to Santana, who can be a valuable mentor to the team's young pitchers.
  • The Blue Jays are unlikely to trade either J.P. Arencibia or Travis d'Arnaud before the end of the season, as the Jays like Arencibia's game-calling and d'Arnaud's overall potential.  Rosenthal cites the Diamondbacks as one of several teams interested in Toronto's catchers, which follows up on his report in March that the Snakes were looking at Arencibia.  Arizona's interest would seem to indicate that the D'Backs are preparing a backup plan should they not be able to re-sign Miguel Montero.
  • It "does not appear out of the question" that the Rockies will make changes to the coaching staff given the team's pitching woes, defensive struggles and overall poor start.
  • A scout tells Rosenthal that Andy Pettitte "does not look close to ready" and will need several more minor league starts before he's ready to return to the Yankees.

2013 Contract Issues: San Diego Padres

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Each year, MLBTR looks ahead to the contract issues facing the 30 MLB teams. We’ll lead off with the Padres this year:

Eligible For Free Agency (3)

  • Mark Kotsay – Kotsay signed a $1.25MM contract with the Padres this past offseason and has eight hits and a homer in a limited role so far in 2012. He'll turn 37 this December, but the Padres figure to have interest in retaining him on a minor league deal if he continues hitting.
  • Jeff Suppan - One start into the season it's too early to say whether the right-hander will have a role on next year's team. Perhaps another minor league deal will work for both sides.
  • Jeremy Hermida - Like Kotsay, Hermida's an extra outfielder who won't necessarily have a place on the 2013 Padres. At 28, he's the younger of the two.

Contract Options (3)

  • Huston Street: $9MM mutual option which the club can decline for $500K. Dan Mennella recently discussed the Padres' choices, reminding us that a midsummer trade is possible.
  • Jason Bartlett: $5.5MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout. Though the option can vest during the season, Bartlett doesn't appear to figure in to the Padres' long-term plans.
  • Orlando Hudson: $8MM club option with a $2MM buyout. Again, it seems unlikely that the Padres will commit a significant part of their payroll to an aging middle infielder whose offensive production has dropped off.

Arbitration Eligible (13)

Headley leads a large Padres arbitration class that could theoretically cost $30MM in 2013. It's unlikely that they'll all be tendered contracts, however, and Moseley and Owings might already be considered non-tender candidates. Padres director of baseball operations Josh Stein will still have enough arb cases on his hands to keep busy next winter.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The Padres have a 2013 payroll commitment of just $11.475MM, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. GM Josh Byrnes figures to have some payroll flexibility once arbitration raises are accounted for even if the team's payroll remains relatively low.

Quick Hits: Gonzalez, Mota, Red Sox

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Brewers shortstop Alex Gonzalez has torn his right ACL and is expected to miss the rest of the season, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter links). It's another setback for the Brewers, who have also lost Mat Gamel and Chris Narveson to season-ending injuries. Gonzalez's vesting option for 2013 is no longer in play, as Haudricourt notes. Here are today's links…

Outrighted To Triple-A: Harris, Eldred

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We’ll track the latest outright assignments here…

  • The Reds announced that they have outrighted Willie Harris to Triple-A (Twitter link). The utility player has appeared in 19 games this year, but has just three hits and two walks.
  • The Tigers outrighted first baseman/designated hitter Brad Eldred to Triple-A, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Eldred hit .388/.444/1.013 with 13 homers in 90 Triple-A plate appearances to start the season and the Tigers called him up for five games. In parts of eight Triple-A seasons, the 31-year-old has a .260/.327/.536 line.

Minor Moves: Martinez-Esteve

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Here are the latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Mariners released infielder Eddy Martinez-Esteve, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times tweets. The 28-year-old spent seven minor league seasons with the Giants before joining the Mariners' organization in time for the 2012 campaign. Martinez-Esteve has a .295/.382/.431 line as a professional since being selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2004 draft.

NL East Notes: Harper, Hamels, Rizzo, Brown

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Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels created a stir last night by admitting he hit Nationals rookie Bryce Harper intentionally. Though Harper didn’t publicly express frustration at being hit, GM Mike Rizzo fired back at Hamels this morning. The details and other NL East-related notes…

  • Rizzo called Hamels' act the most "classless, gutless" thing he's seen in his career, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. “Cole Hamels says he’s old school? He’s the polar opposite of old school,” Rizzo said. “He’s fake tough." I’d recommend reading Kilgore’s entire piece for the details.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports points out that Hamels won't be signing with the Nationals next offseason and writes that Rizzo will be lucky if he is not reprimanded for his comments.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com notes that there's "nothing doing" with respect to an extension for Hamels (Twitter link).
  • Morosi expects Harper to stay in the Major Leagues for good, since he's played too well to be sent down to the minor leagues (video link).
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Rizzo's comments were an overreaction to legitimate old school play from Hamels (video link).
  • Bill Ladson of MLB.com suggests the Nationals may make a trade instead of relying on Xavier Nady and Roger Bernadina in left field (Twitter link).
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America hasn't given up on Phillies prospect Domonic Brown despite his struggles. Brown could still hit for a high average with 20 homers per season to go along with plus speed and arm strength, Callis writes.

Luhnow On Astros’ Trade Candidates

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The 13-15 Astros have scored more runs than they’ve allowed so far this season, but they’re still expected to be sellers at the summer trade deadline. GM Jeff Luhnow acknowledged to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he'll consider trades that add talent to the organization. 

“If we have pieces on our club that are in demand by other clubs and we get enough future value for them to make up for the short-term loss, we’ll consider every opportunity,” Luhnow told Rosenthal.

The GM expects rival teams to have interest in some of his players late this summer. Left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, closer Brett Myers, first baseman Carlos Lee and reliever Brandon Lyon are playing well, but Luhnow said he’s not actively looking to make trades yet.

“We need those guys right now,” Luhnow said. “I’m not in any rush to have any conversations about our veteran players.”

Rodriguez, Myers and Lee have $10MM or more remaining on their contracts and relative to other middle relievers, Lyon’s $5.5MM salary is hardly a bargain. The Astros would presumably need to absorb a considerable percentage of their veteran players’ contracts to obtain highly-regarded prospects in trades.

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