Odds and Ends: Griffey, Baek, German, Wells
Here’s today’s link collection.
- Hal McCoy seems fairly certain that Ken Griffey Jr. will play out the season with the Reds.
- Dejan Kovacevic has heard that the Pirates are torn between Pedro Alvarez and Tim Beckham at #2.
- Cha Seung Baek has been DFA’d, and this time he might be claimed. He could have a career as a fifth starter somewhere.
- John Brattain explains why he feels teams are colluding against Barry Bonds.
- The Rangers DFA’d reliever Franklyn German; Evan Grant explains why.
- The Indians claimed reliever Oneli Perez from the White Sox. Baseball America says the six-fingered pitcher has attitude questions.
- According to Buster Olney, David Wells is still waiting by the phone hoping for a team to call.
- RotoAuthority examines Daniel Cabrera‘s hot start.
Odds and Ends: Royals, Cashman, Tavarez
4:45pm: Updating the Tavarez item – the Boston Herald reports that he’s accepted a minor league assignment in order to buy the Red Sox more time in trading him.
10:38am: Here’s today’s link collection.
- MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel hears the Royals are leaning toward an impact bat in the June draft. Baseball America predicted catcher Buster Posey, while Jonathan Mayo went with first baseman Eric Hosmer. First baseman Justin Smoak is another possibility.
- Paul DePodesta tells a story about the gamesmanship of the draft.
- Hank Steinbrenner says there’s a chance Brian Cashman will be the Yankees’ GM next year, if he wants to be. He might be able to find a better situation. If there’s a new GM, his first task might be negotiating with Scott Boras for Mark Teixeira.
- The Rockies still might have mild interest in Julian Tavarez, who will become a free agent today.
- The Marlins, Rockies, and Rangers were the three clubs interested in Edinson Volquez when he was a kid in the Dominican.
Rangers Leaning Toward College Pitcher In Draft
According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the Rangers "would love to take a high upside college pitcher who could shoot through the system" with their 11th overall pick this June. Sullivan suggests Shooter Hunt, Tanner Scheppers, and Christian Friedrich as possibilities. Scheppers may be out of the picture given the stress fracture of his shoulder.
ESPN’s Keith Law ranked his top 60 for the draft on May 10th, and he considered the top college pitchers to be Aaron Crow, Brian Matusz, Scheppers, Friedrich, Josh Fields, and Hunt. In their May 16th mock draft, Baseball America picked high school first baseman Eric Hosmer for Texas.
By the way, check out the June Amateur Draft link. This will remain on the sidebar until after the June 5th draft takes place.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Delgado, Sexson, Crisp, Byrd
Ken Rosenthal has some items worth discussing in his latest Full Count video:
- Trade Carlos Delgado for Richie Sexson? Rosenthal doesn’t see why not. They’re both in walk years, neither have a no-trade-clause, and they’re both making roughly the same amount. I’ll add to that by noting both have arguably met more success hitting in each other’s league.
- The Indians may put Paul Byrd on the block in an effort to acquire pieces that could eventually lead to an upgrade at 2B or 3B later this season. The Indians currently have 7 capable starters in Sabathia, Carmona, Lee, Byrd, Westbrook, Sowers, and Laffey.
- Crisp’s Latest: It may be in the best interest of the Red Sox to wait to deal Coco Crisp in the offseason when the demand increases. The Padres could use him now but the 2009 Free Agent class is thin at centerfield. Coco could be maintained for $5.75MM in ’09 and a club option in 2010 for $8MM, or a $0.5MM buyout.
- Two Byrds in one post! Marlon Byrd‘s return from the DL could mean more time at DH for Josh Hamilton in an effort to keep him rested throughout the season. Hamilton only played 90 games last year after missing about 4 years due to drug suspensions and injury. If Byrd performs then this would take the Rangers out of the DH market. So far, so good.
By Nat Boyle
Seven Teams Have Monitored Freddy Garcia
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, at least seven clubs have monitored Freddy Garcia‘s progress: the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, and Mariners. It wouldn’t be surprising if even more clubs show up to watch Garcia throw when he is able to audition. A midseason free agent has major appeal. The Indians are one additional club rumored to have interest.
Garcia remains a mystery – we don’t know when he’ll be ready, how much money he’ll want, or how effective he’ll be.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Lidge, Daniel Cabrera, Bonds, Edmonds
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. I put the Griffey info in a separate post; let’s discuss the rest.
- Rosenthal suggests that Brad Lidge would be harder to replace than Pat Burrell, and for that reason the Phillies will make a bigger effort to re-sign him. I imagine Phillies fans would prefer that course of action. The problem? The Phillies have little chance of offering four years, according to Jayson Stark.
- The Rangers will face a delicate situation in coming years: moving Michael Young to a different position. The chain reaction could make Hank Blalock available. Blalock has a club option for ’09 at $6.2MM.
- Aside from Rick Porcello replacing Kenny Rogers at some point, the questionable Detroit rotation is set and signed through 2010.
- One scout seems to think Daniel Cabrera has turned the corner and shouldn’t be traded. He’ll become a free agent after the 2010 season and earns $2.875MM this year.
- Though it might be seen as a desperation move, the Tigers don’t have much to lose by signing Barry Bonds. Gary Sheffield endorsed it.
- Rosenthal says the Rays and Jays are teams with "possible interest" in Jim Edmonds but are likely to pass. That leaves the Cubs.
- Will Jason Giambi find a job next year after the Yankees decline his option? He plans to try.
- The Red Sox asked about Mark Loretta during Spring Training as "infield insurance." Rosenthal suggests the Sox consider Omar Vizquel, a defensive upgrade over Julio Lugo.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Milton Bradley
In December, Milton Bradley signed a one-year deal with the Rangers for $5.25MM guaranteed. He can earn up to $2.75MM more based on playing time incentives. The Padres didn’t offer him arbitration; they were afraid of a possible award nearing $10MM.
Bradley was available at an affordable price and term mainly because of his injury history – he hasn’t played 100 games in a season since 2004. His ’07 season ended with an ACL tear in a bizarre incident (his manager tackled him to keep him away from an umpire who had provoked him). That Bradley was ready for Opening Day was remarkable.
Since Bradley was traded to the Padres on June 29th of last year, he’s been an elite hitter: a .981 OPS in 263 at-bats. In that period his OBP ranks 7th in the game (.419) and his SLG ranks 15th (.563). Bradley could be called the Rich Harden of hitters – oft-injured, but elite when he plays. Bradley might be a hot trade commodity this July. He won’t come cheap, since he has a decent chance of Type A status.
The smart move for Bradley in ’09 will be to choose a team with an open DH spot. If he can remain relatively healthy and incident-free for the rest of ’08, he could ask for a $12MM salary. He could even get multiple guaranteed years (after all, Frank Thomas did). The Yankees, Rays, Jays, Royals, and Mariners could be possibilities if the Rangers don’t re-sign him. Of course, we can’t rule out the NL – Bradley nearly re-signed with the Padres.
Odds and Ends: Millwood, Posey, Igawa
Here’s the latest link collection.
- Former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta is now blogging for the public. He currently works for the Padres as Special Assistant for Baseball Operations.
- In his words, Kevin Millwood felt a stabbing pain even though he hadn’t been stabbed. He’s on the shelf with a groin injury, taking him off the trade market temporarily.
- Rays Index had some quality draft links yesterday about the Rays and their #1 pick. Jim Callis of Baseball America says catcher Buster Posey is "the current favorite."
- Joel Sherman wonders what might’ve been if the Yankees had signed Ted Lilly instead of Kei Igawa.
- Ken Davidoff reminds us of the Padres’ past claim on Igawa, and also notes Boston’s interest.
- Giants owner Peter Magowan may move on.
- This email exchange between Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger and Carlos Delgado‘s agent David Sloane is entertaining.
- Here’s a valuable free agent to consider: Leo Mazzone.
Jays Acquire Kevin Mench, Brad Wilkerson
3:03pm: The Wilkerson signing is also official now. Both are pretty much no-risk moves.
2:48pm: According to the Newberg Report mailing list, the Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Kevin Mench from the Rangers for cash considerations.
The Brad Wilkerson acquisition may still be in the works, but Mench is a better match as a lefty-masher. He has a career line of .305/.361/.563 against them. It’s only been 34 Triple A ABs but Mench is hitting .412/.500/.706 against southpaws this year.
Broussard Designated
THURSDAY: According to Jamey Newberg, Broussard has been designated for assignment.
WEDNESDAY: Evan Grant’s article from late last night implies that the Rangers could designate first baseman Ben Broussard when Marlon Byrd returns from the DL next week. Broussard has been pushed to the bench following 89 ugly plate appearances. He’s earning $3.85MM this year. Grant has wondered whether a Broussard release would be paired with a Ron Washington firing.
Broussard, 31, was last effective in 2006 when he hit righties well. Still, for the minimum salary he’s a low-risk bench addition. Broussard could be the first of many Rangers vets to depart. Grant suggests Frank Catalanotto and Gerald Laird would be nice fits for the Yankees. They probably wouldn’t mind having Kevin Millwood, either.