Video Mailbag: Capuano, Sabathia, Pierre
Time for another video mailbag. All sorts of topics are covered, including the Brewers’ pitching surplus, C.C. Sabathia, and Juan Pierre. I’m looking into getting a wireless mic for these, in case you were wondering.
Laird Likely To Stay Put
According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers don’t plan on trading catcher Gerald Laird despite some interested parties. In fact, Laird could catch 100+ games this year despite last year’s Jarrod Saltalamacchia acquisition. Salty could take a smaller role with the big club or get some Triple A seasoning. It’s easy to forget that he skipped that level.
The Rangers prefer Laird’s strong defense and spotty offense to Salty’s subpar defense and offensive potential. And it’s not fair to write Laird off offensively quite yet; he hit well in a half-season in ’06. ’07 was his first year catching full-time.
The Rangers have a third future MLB-quality backstop in Taylor Teagarden. They’ve also got Cristian Santana and Max Ramirez in the organization, two guys who are less certain to become starting catchers in the bigs. Interesting prospects nonetheless. Jon Daniels has an uncommon surplus on his hands.
Heyman’s Latest: Crede, Ethier, Teixeira
SI.com rumor guru Jon Heyman has a new column up; let’s take a gander.
- Heyman talked to an NL scout who considers Joe Crede a below average third baseman right now. If that scout’s opinion is the consensus, it makes sense that Kenny Williams is inclined to wait for Crede to build more value.
- The Rangers pushed hard to acquire Andre Ethier from the Dodgers, both in a Mark Teixeira deal and after L.A. signed Andruw Jones. If I were a Dodger fan, I’d be angry to see the team put its pride ahead of winning by playing Juan Pierre over Ethier.
- Heyman talked to a general manager who felt the Braves have no chance of signing Tex. That GM named the Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees, Giants, Mariners, Dodgers, and Angels as potential suitors. In a survey of almost 1,700 MLBTR readers, the Yankees were picked as the team most likely to sign Teixeira (followed closely by the Braves).
Rangers Sign Sidney Ponson
The Rangers have signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league deal, and he will arrive in camp on Monday, according to Richard Durrett of The Dallas Morning News. GM Jon Daniels says Ponson is in good shape. If he’s indeed touching 94 mph and has turned over a new leaf, he might just be able to do some good. The Rangers aren’t risking anything here.
Ponson, 32, made seven lousy starts for the Twins last year. This winter, he pitched 14.2 innings while allowing two runs for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League. He struck out eight and walked four in the stint. He also had the opportunity to hang out with Quinton McCracken and Danny Graves, among others (note: not sure if he actually hung out with those two. I would’ve.)
Odds and Ends: Johnson, Ponson, Nady
Ever lose a contact in the bathroom and scour for it for hours? That was my morning. Good times. On to the links.
- Friend of MLBTR Susan Slusser notes that the Giants had two scouts watching the A’s on Wednesday. One guy they might have been eyeing is first baseman Dan Johnson. It seems that Johnson, who is out of options, may be able to linger around on the A’s roster until at least mid-April given the expanded rosters for the Japan series. And since Slusser’s article we’ve learned that Daric Barton‘s hand injury is more serious than initially thought. That could buy Johnson even more time if the A’s aren’t ready to trade him.
- The Cardinals, Mariners, Royals, and Diamondbacks, Astros, and Rangers were among teams with scouts watching Sidney Ponson touch 94mph today. He’s stopped drinking and lost some weight; who knows, maybe he can help an NL club.
- Peter Abraham views Joba Chamberlain‘s recent comments with a little skepticism.
- MLB.com’s Marty Noble calls a Mets trade for Xavier Nady "quite unlikely," though an anonymous Mets player likes the idea.
Gammons’ Latest: Bonds, Murton
ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog post with some hot stove info.
- Gammons has a quote from Andrew Friedman that should be the final word on Barry Bonds to Tampa Bay: If I didn’t entertain ideas, be it a signing of a great hitter like Bonds or a trade, I should be fired. But that is past. Let’s take Friedman at his word and rule Bonds out for the Rays.
- Gammons notes that the Cubs have discussed Matt Murton with the Rangers and Red Sox, but he alone wouldn’t get them Marlon Byrd or Coco Crisp. Murton was drafted 32nd overall by Boston in ’03, and then traded to the Cubs a year later in the Nomar Garciaparra deal. Murton would remain pretty well blocked in Boston though.
Odds and Ends: Spiezio, Pavano, Gross, Jackson
Links, rumors…
- Scott Spiezio is in trouble with the law, and the Cardinals decided to release him for it. Joe Ostermeier notes that the Cards now have about $20MM in dead money on the payroll for ’08.
- Evan Grant believes the Rangers would want Jose Ceda or Donald Veal in a deal for Marlon Byrd.
- Call it informed speculation, but Mike Berardino wonders whether Carl Pavano could end up back with the Marlins eventually.
- Ken Rosenthal recently wrote that the Padres were eyeing Gabe Gross. Tom Haudricourt found out that Kevin Towers never inquired on the Brewers outfielder, but that doesn’t mean the Friars weren’t eyeing him.
- Ken Davidoff makes a case for why the Astros should sign Roger Clemens.
- Sadly, the Rockies pulled the plug on a deal with Neifi Perez at the last minute.
- We hear "best shape of his life" often in Spring Training, but not with the newly signed Bartolo Colon. The Red Sox have some history pursuing Colon, as noted by Rob Bradford.
- Conor Jackson switched agents.
Brian Roberts Rumors
Yesterday, SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote that the Cubs-Orioles Brian Roberts trade talks still have a little life, and the O’s are scouting various young Cubs. On Sunday Jim Salisbury said the Orioles only needed to decide which pitchers they want to complete a deal.
Today, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times checks in with the latest. To begin with, Mark DeRosa‘s heart complications seem under control, and won’t force the Cubs’ hand.
Wittenmyer adds that the ball is indeed in Baltimore’s court, and their scouts will need at least a week to observe various Cubs. He says the Orioles are requesting Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, and two more top youngsters. That steep price could cause the Cubs to turn to Coco Crisp or Marlon Byrd. However, neither the Red Sox nor the Rangers seem to value either as a fourth outfielder.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Gross, Weaver, Encarnacion
Ken Rosenthal is on the scene with some new rumors.
- Astros president Tal Smith arguing other teams’ arbitration cases. Rosenthal finds it a bit awkward, while Keith Law finds it to be a hilarious conflict of interest.
- Possible trades of Matt Murton to the Padres or Rangers seem to have fizzled. The Padres may turn to the Brewers’ Gabe Gross, a player who previously caught the eye of the A’s, Indians, and Braves. Our good friend PECOTA sees a .267/.366/.467 line from Gross this year. With Gross and various veteran starters, the Brewers have some surpluses to work with.
- Rosenthal believes the Cardinals’ interest in Jeff Weaver to be not especially serious. They’ve got in-house candidates to start, and Matt Clement needing some time is not a revelation.
- We’ve read about extension possibilities for Matt Capps and Alex Rios. To that mix, Rosenthal adds Edwin Encarnacion. The Reds might want to do it now; he seems primed for a big year.
Odds and Ends: El Duque, Rays, Botts, Cruz
Today’s linkage…
- RotoAuthority tries to decide what to do with the fourth pick in a fantasy draft.
- The rumor about the Royals moving to the NL seems unfounded.
- Sean McAdam says the Red Sox will keep an eye on the free agent pitching market, but don’t intend to spend much.
- El Duque has all sorts of problems, which I won’t go into. Maybe he’s just down on his luck, but he indicated a 50/50 chance of this being his last season. He’ll earn $6.5MM, and PECOTA calls for a 4.08 ERA in 98 innings.
- DRays Bay talked to team owner Stu Sternberg. Sternberg mentioned that he reads Rays Index, the blog of MLBTR contributor Cork Gaines.
- Evan Grant compares Rangers Jason Botts and Nelson Cruz, one of whom will not be with the team by Opening Day. They are among many on our Out of Options – 2008 list, which is growing by the hour.