Heyman On Manuel, Fredi Gonzalez, Hunter
Managers Ken Macha, Dusty Baker, Trey Hillman, Ron Washington and John Russell are under varying degrees of pressure, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here are the details on two other managers on the hot seat:
- Mets people say it's "too early" to react and replace Jerry Manuel, so they aren't about to fire him. Some people around the Mets say former MLB manager and newly-hired Mets scout Bob Melvin is in line to manage the club if Manuel falters. Mets management seems reluctant to bring Bobby Valentine back for a second stint managing the club.
- If the Marlins fire Fredi Gonzalez before his contract expires after 2011, he could be a fit in Atlanta. The longtime Braves coach could return to replace Bobby Cox, who is in the midst of his final season managing the Braves.
- Torii Hunter won't try to extend his career by DHing. Hunter says defense got him to the majors, so he intends to play a couple more years and then spend more time with his family.
Stark On Bell, Nathan, Oswalt, Dunn
Let's check in on the Rumblings and Grumblings of ESPN's Jayson Stark…
- One exec Stark spoke to implied the Padres may not be motivated to trade closer Heath Bell because he's under team control through 2011 and signed at $4MM for 2010. Bell's salary could double in '11, though, and I'm not convinced the Padres will want to pay it.
- Stark talked to a GM who thinks Bell makes sense for the Twins as a backup plan in case Joe Nathan needs a 16-month Tommy John recovery period to get back to normal. Stark learned that a significant part of Nathan's salary this year is insured, so that frees up some money this year. But again, will the Twins want to pay nearly $20MM to two relievers in 2011?
- Should Houston's troubles continue, Stark wonders if Roy Oswalt would consider waiving his no-trade clause. He says a friend of Oswalt believes the pitcher's preferred destinations are Atlanta, St. Louis, and Texas. It's hard to see those clubs making a play for Oswalt, especially with his large salaries for '10 and '11.
- Stark guesses the Nationals are more likely to trade Adam Dunn before the deadline than sign him to an extension. Last we heard, ESPN's Buster Olney said there were no ongoing extension talks.
- Twins catching prospect Wilson Ramos has been labeled as one of the game's best trade chips, but assistant GM Rob Antony says that "right now, we'd lean toward keeping him."
- If he can't find a big league job, Kevin Millar could sign with the St. Paul Saints, where his pro career began. Millar was released by the Cubs on March 30th.
Odds & Ends: Antonetti, Harper, Embree
Links for Wednesday…
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick looks at nine revolving door positions for various teams, such as Red Sox shortstop and Braves' left fielder.
- RotoAuthority looks at a few potential buy-low candidates on the young fantasy season.
- Murray Chass takes USA Today to task for publishing inaccurate salary data.
- Jim Callis ranks Baseball America's #1 prospects from the last ten years, putting Jason Heyward behind only Matt Wieters and Josh Beckett.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince looks at the background of the Indians' GM-in-waiting, Chris Antonetti.
- ESPN's Keith Law agrees with Ben Goessling of MASN, saying the Nationals have "more or less settled on Bryce Harper." Law says the Nats would be nuts to take someone else.
- MLB.com's Ian Browne tweets that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has been in touch with Alan Embree's agent, perhaps regarding the lefty's April 15th out-out date.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star notes that the Blue Jays have to place Adeiny Hechavarria on the 2013 25-man Opening Day 2013 roster, or else place him on waivers.
- SI's Melissa Segura tweets that the Twins were impressed by outfielder Vicmal de la Cruz, "perhaps the jewel of the 2010 July 2 class." Click here to view Kiley McDaniel's video of the kid.
GM Initiation: Josh Byrnes
We're kicking off a new series here at MLBTR called GM Initiation. Each post in the series will look at a general manager's first trade.
Josh Byrnes was hired as Diamondbacks GM on October 28th, 2005. His first deal came on December 7th at the Winter Meetings. Byrnes and Braves GM John Schuerholz agreed on a deal to send catcher Johnny Estrada to Arizona for relievers Oscar Villarreal and Lance Cormier. Estrada went on to have a solid '06 campaign for the D'Backs and was used in a trade to acquire Doug Davis after the season. Both relievers pitched two seasons for Atlanta, with Villarreal posting better numbers.
Byrnes was kind enough to answer a few questions about his first trade.
MLB Trade Rumors: 2005 marked your first Winter Meetings as a general manager. How would you describe the experience?
Josh Byrnes: The 2005 Winter Meetings were busy. We were exploring many trades to reshape the roster. It was our first time together as a larger group in that type of setting.
MLBTR: Did you enter the '05 Meetings intent on acquiring a starting catcher? About how many different catchers were you seriously considering?
Byrnes: We were trying to improve in the middle of the field. Later that month, we acquired Orlando Hudson, Eric Byrnes and Chris Young. Estrada was the catcher who made the most sense at the time.
MLBTR: What kind of relationship did you have with Braves GM John Schuerholz prior to the Estrada deal? How long did it take to put the trade together?
Byrnes: I knew John a little bit. The trade came together fairly quickly. We had a few discussions at the meetings and agreed after a few conversations.
MLBTR: Does the Estrada trade hold significance for you, since it was your first acquisition? Is the significance diminished because you were such an active trader that month?
Byrnes: I said at the time that the deal carried some significance to me because we did it with John. Certainly, he is one the best (if not the best) GM’s of all time. He is also very passionate about the game and the industry, so it is memorable to have made my first trade with John.
Top Trade Chips: NL East
Let's continue our top trade chips series today with the NL East…
- Braves: The Braves aren't going to move Tommy Hanson and/or Jason Heyward, and they already traded away their top piece of bait this winter when they sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees. What Atlanta does have is cache of big time pitching prospects in 20-year-old Randall Delgado,19-year-old Julio Teheran, and 19-year-old Arodys Vizcaino that they could dip into if needed.
- Marlins: Florida has been reduced to flipping players before they get expensive through arbitration, nevermind get close to free agency. Dan Uggla is the team's highest paid player and also one of its most productive, but he's perpetually on the block because he's owed $7.8MM this season and will make even more in 2011 through arbitration. The Marlins could trade him, put Chris Coghlan back at second (his natural position), and call up super-prospect Mike Stanton to fill the vacant outfield spot.
- Mets: Even though Carlos Beltran's knee is problematic and Jeff Francoeur is a perennial non-tender candidate, the team's best piece of trade bait is 21-year-old outfielder Fernando Martinez. Lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano could be used as trade fodder, but if ownership decides to part ways with GM Omar Minaya, then they could be in for a full blown firesale. Everyone not named David Wright would be available.
- Nationals: Forget Stephen Strasburg, it's obviously not happening. However, GM Mike Rizzo has a valuable piece in Josh Willingham, who is no stranger to the trade rumor circuit. He is under team control through 2011, and his production isn't far off from Bay's. Relievers Matt Capps and Brian Bruney could be dealt as well.
- Phillies: Philadelphia unloaded most of their top prospects to acquire Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay in the last nine months, so the cupboard is pretty bare. They could shop hard-throwing and oft-injured reliever Scott Mathieson, but the doomsday scenario could find Jayson Werth on the block if the Phils don't think they can re-sign him after the season. Of course that's highly unlikely, he's only the second or third best player on the top team in the league.
Odds & Ends: Britton, Beckett, Crawford, Blue Jays
Links for Friday…
- If you play fantasy baseball, follow @closernews on Twitter as your guide to all things saves-related.
- Righty reliever Chris Britton has signed with the Lincoln Salt Dogs of the independent American Association according to a team press release. The 27-year-old last appeared in the big leagues with the Yankees in 2008, and spent last season in the Padres' minor league system.
- WEEI.com's Ethan Landy provides a transcript of Peter Gammons' appearance on The Big Show earlier today. Among other topics, he discussed how quickly the Josh Beckett deal came together.
- Satchel Price at Beyond The Box Score looks at some players making big money who are candidates to be released. MLBTR covered the same topic about a month ago.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports considers possible suitors for Carl Crawford once he reaches free agency.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos comments on his hire of stat expert Tom Tango, in this article by Colby Cosh of Maclean's.
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons analyzes Jason Heyward's impact on the city of Atlanta.
- Yahoo's Alex Remington presents the Tommy John All-Stars, comprised of pitchers who had success after the elbow surgery.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Norris, Braves, Yankees
One year ago today, 22-year-old Angels' starter Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver just hours after shutting out the A's for six innings. The lone survivor from Adenhart's car, his friend and Cal State Fullerton catcher Jon Wilhite, recovered from his injuries well enough to throw out the first pitch at an A's game in July. The drunk driver, 23-year-old Andrew Thomas Gallo, is still awaiting trial. Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse recently spoke to a few members of the Angels about the Adenhart tragedy.
On a much less somber note, here's a look at what's being written around the web during the season's first week…
- The Dodgerhater sat down for a chat with Astros pitcher Bud Norris.
- Capitol Avenue Club looks at ten players the Braves could attempt to lock up to long-term deals.
- At Home Plate wonders if the Yankees' big money deals will come back to haunt them.
- El Lefty Malo muses about the Giants' poor track record for developing position players.
- Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke? is excited for what they call "the first true season of the Neal Huntington era."
- The Cubs Reporter looks at the Cubs' ownership history.
- South Side Sox has some fun with retired numbers.
- Fenway Nation doesn't like the lack of speed on Boston's bench.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Braves Claim Cristhian Martinez
The Braves have claimed righty reliever Cristhian Martinez off waivers from the Marlins, tweets Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team then optioned him to Triple-A.
Florida designated Martinez for assignment on Saturday to free up a 40-man roster spot. The 28-year-old posted a 5.13 ERA and a 6.2 K/9 with a 2.7 BB/9 in 26.1 innings of relief for the Marlins last year. He's never spent a day in Triple-A, but his minor league walk rate is impressive at 1.8 BB/9.
2011 Contract Issues: Atlanta Braves
A look at the Braves' options after the season:
- Closer Billy Wagner has a $6.5MM club option with a $250K buyout. Wagner has looked nasty in the early going.
- Infielder Omar Infante has a $2.5MM club option with a $250K buyout. The Braves figure to exercise if Infante has a season like '08 and '09.
Troy Glaus, David Ross, Eric Hinske, and Takashi Saito are the Braves' eligible free agents; the group is guaranteed $7.55MM this year. The Braves players on multiyear deals aren't in line for significant raises in 2011, with Brian McCann and Nate McLouth totaling a $3MM bump.
First-time arbitration players include Jair Jurrjens, Yunel Escobar, Martin Prado, and Eric O'Flaherty. Jurrjens and Escobar are candidates to be locked up long-term, but Jurrjens is represented by Scott Boras. Regardless of extensions, Jurrjens and Escobar will receive big raises.
Peter Moylan is a second-year arbitration player, while Melky Cabrera will be eligible for the third time. Matt Diaz will enter the process for the fourth time.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Braves Sign Alex Romero
The Braves signed outfielder Alex Romero to a minor league deal, based on the team's Double A roster. The Braves confirmed the signing.
Romero signed a minor league deal with the Astros in December, but was released in March. The 26-year-old hit .348/.416/.462 for the D'Backs' Triple a club last year, but struggled in 157 big league plate appearances. Two years ago, Baseball America called Romero "the ideal fourth outfielder."