Minor Deals: Raynor, Ortegano, McCulloch
The Nationals claimed Lee Hyde off of waivers from the Braves earlier today. Here are the rest of the day's minor moves…
- John Raynor requested his release and the Marlins granted it, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The outfielder posted a .722 OPS in 41 Triple-A contests last year
- The Braves lost a second player on waivers today, when the Yankees claimed left-hander Jose Ortegano. The Yankees optioned the 23-year-old to Triple-A, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter). In 131 minor league innings spent mostly at Triple-A last year, Ortegano posted a 5.98 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 as a starter.
- The Reds acquired right-hander Kyle McCulloch from the White Sox for cash considerations, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The 2006 first rounder spent last year in the upper minors, where he posted a 5.77 ERA with 3.7 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 as a swingman.
Quick Hits: Fielder, Braves, Mauer, Astros, Albers
Links for Wednesday as the MLBPA announces that the jerseys for three rookies – Jason Heyward, Stephen Strasburg and Buster Posey – were among the top 20 sellers in 2010…
- Prince Fielder tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that he has "eliminated" distractions about his upcoming free agency, since he realizes it's just baseball and nothing he needs to get nervous about.
- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he would like to add a right-handed hitting backup to complement Eric Hinske, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Back in December, I considered some options that fit that description.
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wonders what might have happened if the Twins hadn’t signed Joe Mauer to a $184MM extension last spring and MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes helps identify some teams that would have been bidding on Mauer as a free agent.
- When the Astros front office constructs its Opening Day roster, options are a factor, GM Ed Wade told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. For a complete list of out of options players, click here.
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald suggests we should "check back often" on Matt Albers (Twitter link). Earlier tonight, the Red Sox shot down a report suggesting that the right-hander is Japan-bound.
Nationals Claim Lee Hyde
About an hour after agreeing to sign Oliver Perez, the Nationals added another left-hander from another division rival, claiming reliever Lee Hyde from the Braves (Twitter link). To create roster space for their new addition, the Nationals placed Stephen Strasburg on the 60-day DL.
The Braves selected Hyde in the fourth round of the 2006 draft and he underwent Tommy John surgery the following year. The 26-year-old Georgia native pitched 60 2/3 total innings at Double-A and Triple-A last year, posting a 3.41 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.
Baseball America did not rank Hyde among the top 30 Braves prospects before the 2010 or 2011 season.
Possible Suitors For Rodrigo Lopez
The Braves are looking to trade two veteran starters: Rodrigo Lopez and Kenshin Kawakami. Lopez logged 200 innings in the majors last year and teams will find his minor league contract considerably more appealing than Kawakami's $6.67MM salary.
Lopez led the National League in losses, earned runs and homers allowed last year and FIP and xFIP suggest his 2010 ERA of 5.00 was appropriate. But he logged 200 innings and struck out twice as many hitters as he walked.
The available alternatives are not inspiring, so teams looking for rotation depth could check in on the 35-year-old right-hander this month. Here are some of the clubs that could be calling the Braves:
- Brewers – GM Doug Melvin says he's making calls to determine who's available. Wily Peralta, Marco Estrada, Eulogio de la Cruz and Tim Dillard are internal candidates to start for Milwaukee.
- Rockies – The Rockies inquired on Lopez late this offseason and Troy Renck of the Denver Post wouldn't be surprised to see them check in on him again (Twitter links). Lopez appeared in 14 games for the Rockies in 2007. Esmil Rogers and John Maine are among the candidates for the Rockies' final rotation spot, which opened up when Aaron Cook broke a finger.
- Orioles – Another one of Lopez's former teams, the Orioles, could monitor Lopez's availability, though they have reason to like their own rotation candidates.
- White Sox - Phil Humber, who has started two MLB games in his career, appears to be the leading candidate to start until Jake Peavy is healthy. Lopez wouldn't be a sexy choice, but he's far more experienced than Humber.
- Indians – The Indians expressed interest in some experienced starters this winter, possibly because Fausto Carmona is the only pitcher in the Indians' projected rotation who has a 200-inning season to his name. Lopez could have appeal to the Tribe.
- Athletics – Though the A's appear set for now, they could inquire in case the combination of Brandon McCarthy, Tyson Ross and Bobby Cramer falters.
NL East Notes: Castillo, DePodesta, Braves
Links from the NL East, as the Marlins declare that Josh Johnson is ready for the season…
- After some confusion, Luis Castillo arrived in Phillies camp, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post de-bunks the notion that the Mets could have built up trade value for Castillo instead of releasing him.
- Mets exec Paul DePodesta said in a chat at Baseball Prospectus that he likes to be aggressive in the draft and take occasional "shots where it's appropriate." However, DePodesta cautioned that it's possible to overspend on amateurs, since there is a finite number of future big leaguers out there (hat tip MetsBlog).
- Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs predicts that the Braves will get something in exchange for Kenshin Kawakami, even if they have to eat some of his $6.67MM salary.
- For the latest on the Nationals, click here.
Braves Looking To Trade Rodrigo Lopez
The Braves are "looking to make a deal involving Rodrigo Lopez," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. The news comes as no surprise; MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith highlighted Atlanta's rotation surplus yesterday.
Lopez, 35, posted a 5.00 ERA, 5.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 1.7 HR/9, and 37.6% groundball rate in 200 innings for the Diamondbacks last year before signing a minor league deal with the Braves. He's been pretty good in 13 2/3 spring innings this year. The Braves would likely seek a modest return.
Braves Still Hoping To Deal Kawakami
The Braves are still hoping that Kenshin Kawakami draws interest from another team that's willing to take on a considerable portion of the $6.67MM he’ll earn in 2011, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Kawakami lost his rotation spot last June after losing his first nine decisions.
He appeared in just three big league games after June 26th, partly because the Braves sent him to the minor leagues for five starts. The 35-year-old started today, but is not competing with Rodrigo Lopez, Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor for Atlanta's open rotation spot. Instead, the Braves will trade Kawakami or return him to the minor leagues.
Japanese teams were willing to take on more than half of Kawakami's salary as recently as last month and some MLB teams, including the Brewers, could use rotation depth. I examined some options for Milwaukee earlier tonight.
Heyman On Wainwright, McLouth, Marlins, Mets
The Orioles don’t look like contenders to Jon Heyman of SI.com, who suggests yesterday's 10-0 loss to the Yankees could be a sign of things to come. Here are Heyman's latest rumors…
- Three rival GMs tell Heyman that they expect the Cardinals to exercise Adam Wainwright’s $21MM option for 2012-13 after the season. Wainwright is recovering from Tommy John surgery and won't pitch in 2011, but has pitched at a Cy Young level for the past two seasons.
- However, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says he “hasn’t thought about” Wainwright's option yet.
- Matt Holliday and Heyman agree that it’s a no-brainer for St. Louis to pick it up. To see what $21MM buys on the free agent market, click here.
- Some people in the Braves organization are referring to Nate McLouth as "Pittsburgh Nate,'' since they’ve been impressed with his performance this spring. McLouth posted an .801 OPS in Pittsburgh and has just a .709 mark with the Braves.
- Braves GM Frank Wren says Craig Kimbrel’s slow start doesn’t worry him.
- One NL scout expects the Marlins to “surprise some people” despite their current spring losing streak.
- Luis Castillo remains a “slight favorite” to win the Mets’ second base job.
Offseason In Review: Atlanta Braves
The Braves are next in our Offseason In Review series.
Major League/International Signings
- Alex Gonzalez, SS: one year, $2.5MM. Club option exercised.
- Eric Hinske, 1B/LF: one year, $1.45MM.
- George Sherrill, RP: one year, $1.2MM.
- $500K buyouts for Kyle Farnsworth and Rick Ankiel
- Total spend: $6.15MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Extensions
- Dan Uggla, 2B: five years, $62MM.
Trades and Claims
- Claimed OF Joe Mather off waivers from Cardinals
- Acquired 2B Dan Uggla from Marlins for IF Omar Infante and RP Mike Dunn
- Acquired RP Scott Linebrink and $3.5MM from White Sox for P Kyle Cofield
- Claimed RP Anthony Varvaro off waivers from Mariners
Notable Losses
- Billy Wagner, Takashi Saito, Kyle Farnsworth, Omar Infante, Mike Dunn, Kyle Cofield, Scott Diamond, Melky Cabrera, Troy Glaus, Matt Diaz, Derrek Lee, Rick Ankiel
Summary
The Braves' winter kicked off with the October hiring of Fredi Gonzalez as manager. GM Frank Wren's ensuing offseason was one of the game's best, as he was able to avoid a soaring free agent market and trade for a star player at a discount.
Uggla's acquisition price and the Marlins' willingness to trade him within the division surprised me. The Braves came out smelling like roses, giving up one year of a good utility player and a hard-throwing but wild reliever. Uggla (pictured) seems to boost the Braves' offense more than most available left fielders would have. However, adding four years and $52MM for Uggla doesn't seem like much of a discount compared to his expected free agent contract. Had he not been extended, Uggla might have been looking at an additional $5-9MM over the 2011-15 seasons.
The Braves lost Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez from their pen in the previous offseason and signed Wagner and Saito as replacements. Those two have since departed as well. The Braves continued the veteran reliever cycle for just $3.2MM for Sherrill and Linebrink, also retaining arbitration eligible Scott Proctor for $750K. All three represent cases of buying low, but even if they don't bounce back the Braves will have a full season of Craig Kimbrel and other holdovers like Jonny Venters, Peter Moylan, and Eric O'Flaherty. The organization's power arms in the minors accentuate the fact that only secondary bullpen additions were needed.
I liked several of Wren's smaller moves this offseason. He retained Hinske without adding a second year. Lopez, who pitched 200 innings last year, adds rotation depth on a minor league deal. Mather is a good athlete who figures to make the team as an extra outfielder.
Because of the depth they've accumulated, the Braves were able to avoid the high end of the free agent market for first basemen, starting pitchers, and relievers. The club's rotation depth should take them far, and with many good young pitchers pushing toward the Majors they may even have a surplus soon. The Braves may be exposed in left and center field if Prado has to fill in for Chipper Jones at third base for an extended period of time. I expect Wren to be active on the trade market if the outfield does become a concern.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Quick Hits: Chipper, Nix, Trout, Rockies
Here's a potpourri of news items as we head into the weekend…
- Chipper Jones talks to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince about his recovery from knee surgery and his future in baseball. Jones was thinking of retirement last summer before, as Castrovince writes, "he started to hit like Chipper Jones again….And where the knee injury might have been the straw that broke the camel's back in June, in August, it served as a motivating factor to keep going."
- Laynce Nix has the been the subject of trade rumors, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Nix has a .251/.293/.445 career slash line against right-handed pitching and the Astros are reportedly in the market for a left-handed bench bat. Nix is currently in the Nationals' Spring Training camp on a minor league contract.
- Star prospect Mike Trout is turning heads at the Angels' Spring Training camp, reports MLB.com's Lyle Spencer.
- The Rockies will look internally to replace the injured Aaron Cook, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Already suffering from shoulder inflammation, Cook will be out until at least May due to a broken finger on his throwing hand.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times looks at the Rangers' offseason and how the team had a more-than-adequate "plan B" (Adrian Beltre) in mind when they failed to re-sign Cliff Lee.
- Jake Odorizzi might end up being the most important piece of the trade package the Royals received for Zack Greinke, says MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
- Mariners manager Eric Wedge has brought a number of former Indians coaches and players with him to Seattle, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Brandon Wood has struggled this spring, while Mark Trumbo has had a big camp for the Angels. Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com thinks Trumbo's emergence means that the out-of-options Wood's "days in an Angels uniform appear to be numbered."
- It was almost a year ago that Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland underwent life-threatening brain surgery. Today, MLB.com's Evan Drellich writes that "doctors have already been amazed at the speed of his recovery" as Westmoreland is trying hard to regain both his basic motor skills and his baseball abilities.