Odds And Ends: Gotay, Register, Haynes
A couple of minor pickups this afternoon:
- The Rays have claimed left-hand-hitting Nathan Haynes off waivers from the Angels. Rocco Baldelli will be moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man. Marc Lancaster speculates that Haynes, who is out of options, will take a roster spot that was presumed to be Eric Hinske’s.
- The Mets have given up trying to trade for Rule V pick Steven Register, and are letting him go back to Colorado. He’ll report to Triple A.
- Ruben Gotay, who had been DFA’d by the Mets, has been picked up by the Braves. Adam Rubin also notes that Anderson Hernandez has been optioned to AAA. UPDATE: To make room for Gotay on the 25-man, the Braves have asked for waivers on Scott Thorman. He has cleared, and will report to Triple A Richmond.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski
Pirates Acquire Tyler Yates From Braves
10:23am: Byung-Hyun Kim‘s gone, in the accompanying move. So is Jaret Wright, according to RotoWorld.
8:40am: Dave O’Brien was right – the Braves chose Tyler Yates as the out of options reliever to deal. They sent him to the Pirates today for a minor league hurler named Todd Redmond. On Monday, O’Brien said he expected the Braves to trade one of Scott Thorman or Brayan Pena as well.
Yates, a 30 year-old Hawaiin, has a solid 8.3 per nine innings strikeout rate in his 162 inning career. He needs to work on his control though. Yates was drafted by the A’s and dealt to the Mets in the Dave Justice deal. Baseball America says he began ’04 as the Mets’ fifth starter but was shortly converted to relief. He missed the ’05 season with rotator cuff surgery. His acquisition may push Jaret Wright or Byung-Hyun Kim out of Pittsburgh.
Redmond, 23 in May, was ranked as the Pirates’ #27 prospect by Baseball America. They note his "outstanding control" but lack of dominant stuff. BA believes he profiles as a middle reliever in the long term.
Braves Expect Trades
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien talked to Braves GM Frank Wren, and he learned that Wren expects to "make a deal or two."
DOB says the Braves are looking to add a proven bench bat. They can spare an out of options reliever from the group of Blaine Boyer, Chris Resop, Tyler Yates, and Royce Ring. O’Brien sees Yates as the one to go. Catcher Brayan Pena and first baseman Scott Thorman are other possible trade chips.
As for who’s coming to Atlanta, O’Brien pretty much ruled out Reed Johnson and Robert Fick. He considers Wes Helms a possibility. The Orioles and Giants are two teams with veterans to spare, though most are of the overpriced variety.
Odds and Ends: Braves, Cruz, Breslow
Some nuggets from today…
- The Braves look to be the market for a bat off the bench and according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution it’s not likely to be a minor name. O’Brien asked Wren if the Braves "had money to add a player of significant salary to their payroll," throwing out an accompanying figure of $3-4MM, to which Wren said yes "without hesitation." Let’s use this to set the stage for what should be an interesting late spring Reed Johnson sweepstakes.
- Evan Grant of the The Dallas Morning News believes that Jason Botts 2 for 5 performance on Saturday versus the Mariners has locked up a roster spot for the young DH/1B. Speculation is that Kevin Mench, who can be optioned, would be sent to the minors and that Nelson Cruz could be designated for assignment.
- MLB.com speculates the ugly spring put up by Aaron Fultz may have played a part in the team’s decision to claim Craig Breslow off waivers from the Red Sox. Fultz has put up an 11.88 ERA in just over eight innings and last week he gave up four runs on five hits during a performance against Double-A Akron in an intrasquad game last week.
Aaron Shinsano writes for East Windup Chronicle.
Javy Lopez Retires
After being reassigned to minor league camp by the Braves, Javy Lopez says he will retire.
"It didn’t happen in spring training," Lopez said. "This is the only chance I get. They give me the opportunity to come back and prove to myself that I can still play. I had the chance and didn’t do what I’m supposed to do, or at least not good enough."
The 37-year-old was banking on a comeback with the Braves, the team with which he played the bulk of his career (1992-2003), but his .188 average all but killed his chances of becoming Brian McCann’s backup.
The Braves still have Brayan Pena, Clint Sammons and Corky Miller competing for the backup catcher role.
Alejandro Leal writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached here.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Loretta, Ensberg, Lopez, Ring
Ken Rosenthal has some Spring Training odds and ends this morning.
- Rosenthal adds Mark Loretta as a possible third base acquisition for the Dodgers. Given their desire for a relatively affordable guy who can also handle second, Rosenthal has linked them to Ron Belliard and Esteban German previously. Loretta shouldn’t be too hard to pry away from the Astros. Though he can’t play second, Morgan Ensberg could be an option if the Yankees let him leave.
- The Nats are shopping Felipe Lopez, who’s said he wouldn’t be content on the bench. Rosenthal says the Nationals have their eye on awful shortstop Angel Berroa as a possible replacement, which is strange on multiple levels. Not only is Berroa not a Major Leaguer at this point, but the Nats plan to use Cristian Guzman at short.
- Royce Ring is said to be "perhaps the most available of the Braves’ out of options relievers." Who needs a lefty?
Could Tigers Trade For An Atlanta Reliever?
7:21pm: David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirms Detroit’s interest in the Braves’ Out Of Options Four. DOB can envision a scenario where the Braves carry three of the four and trade one.
3:23pm: Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press speculates that the Tigers and Braves may match up well for a trade. Morosi notes four out of options relievers for Atlanta: Blaine Boyer, Chris Resop, Royce Ring, and Tyler Yates. He also mentions "frequent trade discussions" in recent years between the two clubs.
ESPN’s Jayson Stark wrote yesterday that the Tigers "would like to add a big-time set-up arm." Stark said nothing was imminent but the Tigers have been active in trade discussions. The above Braves relievers don’t fit the "big-time" criteria; Atlanta’s four would make sense for Philly if they weren’t in the same division.
My list of more highly regarded guys who might be available: Brian Fuentes, Damaso Marte, Joe Nathan, Jamie Walker, Chad Bradford, Huston Street, Alan Embree, Kevin Gregg, Jon Rauch, and Chad Cordero. Any others come to mind?
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rule 5 Draftees
Last year the Reds selected Josh Hamilton in the Rule 5 draft despite only 23 games above Single-A and only 15 games anywhere since 2002 (actually the Cubs picked Hamilton and traded him to the Reds the same day). Hamilton went on to hit .292-19-47 in 90 games. This year, 18 players were chosen in the Rule 5 draft (14 pitchers). These players must remain on the 25-man roster all season or be offered back to their original club for $25K. By my count, three players (Sergio Valenzuela, Lincoln Holdzkom, Jose Capellan) have already been offered back to their original clubs (Capellan was picked up on waivers by a third team during the process). Hamilton is the rare case of a position player sticking with his new club as it is far easier to hide a developing pitcher and still get him playing time in the bullpen than it is on the bench.While it is rare for position players to stick, we have already learned that the Cardinals may keep Brian Barton as a fifth outfielder. As opening day rosters begin to take shape, let’s take a look at what is being said in the Blogosphere about the chances for the Rule draftees.
- Tim Lahey (RHP, CHC/MIN): Bleed Cubbie Blue sees the Cubs working out a trade with the Twins that would allow them to send Lahey to AAA. In fact, they speculate that Lahey will be the PTBNL in the Craig Monroe deal.
- Evan Meek (RHP, PIT/TB): Bucs Dugout predicts that Meek will at least start the season with the Pirates before being offered back to the Rays.
- Randor Bierd (RHP, BAL/DET): Bird Brain projects Bierd to make the roster and hopes the O’s give him every chance to stick.
- Jose Capellan (LHP, CIN/BOS): Capellan was originally selected by the Giants but was just placed on waivers. The Reds picked him up (Rule 5 rules still apply) and Obsessive Giants Compulsive is surprised the Giants let him go.
- Sergio Valenzuela (RHP, CIN/ATL): Valenzuela was sold back to the Braves after not making a single appearance in a spring game. The Braves then traded Valenzuela to a team in the Mexican League. Which begs the question…Are "future considerations" from the Mexican League worth the $25K the Braves dropped to bring him back? Talking Chop finds the entire situation funny and is not surprised that Valenzuela did not stick with the Reds.
- Brian Barton (OF, STL/CLE): Cardinals GM is predicting Barton to be on the opening day roster with Juan Gonzalez starting the season in AAA.
- R.A. Dickey (RHP, SEA/MIN): Detect-O-Vision is infatuated with the knuckleballer but notes that Dickey "has a looooooooooong way to go".
- Steven Register (RHP, NYM/COL): Mets Fever thinks Register might actually stick by earning the final spot in the bullpen.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
What To Do With Wes Helms?
In the 2006-07 offseason, Wes Helms had just finished his best year (in terms of rate stats, at least). He hit .329/.390/.575 for the ’06 Marlins, facing a disproportionate number of lefties.
David Bell and Abraham Nunez had combined for an OPS under .700 at the hot corner for the ’06 Phillies, so they figured Helms would be an upgrade even stretched as a full-timer. They gave him a two-year, $5.45MM deal with a $3.75MM club option for ’09. Part of the motivation was to save money for an Alfonso Soriano bid. Plus, Mark DeRosa had already signed with the Cubs.
The signing did not go as planned, as Helms hit just .246/.297/.368 and lost full-time status quickly. The Phils gave third base time to Nunez and Greg Dobbs, once again generating subpar results. They signed Pedro Feliz to a two-year deal this winter.
The Phils would like to trade Helms now, and David Murphy suggests swapping him with Steve Kline could make sense. The Giants aren’t interested though. Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto says the Phils indeed desire a southpaw reliever for Helms, who is drawing interest from the Braves and Marlins (both clubs he’s played for previously).
Braves Interested In Juan Rivera?
Juan Rivera is in a tough place – he doesn’t have an opportunity to prove he can be a healthy and effective outfielder despite heading into his contract year. He’s been very respectful to the Angels about his situation though. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times recently speculated that Rivera would have a starting role on teams like the Braves, Mets, or Giants. Rivera’s best year was ’06, when he hit .310/.362/.525 in 124 games. But then Rivera broke his leg in winter ball in December of that year and it’s been a long time coming back. Ken Rosenthal suggested Sunday that Reggie Willits was not available but the Angels want to trade Rivera.
Yesterday evening, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the following regarding Rivera:
After talking to a couple of people today, I think there’s something to the Juan Rivera thing. I believe the Braves do have interest, just not sure if there’s a match….
Rivera would be a nice addition for Atlanta, though Matt Diaz deserves his shot in left field. But Rivera could also push out Scott Thorman and serve as Mark Teixeira‘s backup.