Quick Hits: Trout, Avila, Cardinals
On this date two years ago the Phillies signed Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125MM extension. Right away, critics of the deal wondered why the Phillies would commit nine figures for Howard's age 32-36 seasons when he doesn't play a premium position. Their questions persist two years later since Howard's on the disabled list and his power numbers are in decline. Here are today's links…
- The Angels don't have immediate plans to call top prospect Mike Trout up from Triple-A despite his hot start and the Angels' offensive troubles, Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reports. "But when you play at the level Mike is playing at now, you become more of a focal point of fans, the media and the organization," manager Mike Scioscia acknowledged.
- Jim Bowden of ESPN.com says teams would do well to lock up stars such as Andre Ethier, Starlin Castro and Alex Avila to extensions.
- Lance Lynn's emergence means the Cardinals don't need to add Roy Oswalt or another starter to the rotation, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. The Cardinals' rotation seemed thin when Chris Carpenter hit the disabled list this spring, but GM John Mozeliak's patience is paying off so far.
Minor Moves: Jay Gibbons
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The Brewers signed outfielder Jay Gibbons to a minor league deal, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The Brewers, who had released Gibbons at the end of Spring Training, assigned him to Double-A Huntsville. Gibbons appeared in 24 games for the Dodgers last year, playing both corner outfield positions and posting a .255/.323/.345 line in 62 plate appearances. He has a .258/.318/.460 career line against right-handed pitching.
Trade Candidate: Brett Myers
The Brett Myers trade rumors have been circulating for a while, and there’s no reason to expect them to slow down between now and the July 31st trade deadline. Myers, a capable pitcher nearing free agency on a team not expected to contend, should draw some trade interest this summer.
Myers' name surfaced at the 2011 Winter Meetings and the right-hander still seemed to be available in January, when Jayson Stark reported that the Astros were willing to take on at least $7MM of his 2012 salary in a trade. Houston GM Jeff Luhnow said this month that he’s not presently shopping Myers, and while that’s entirely believable, the team's stance could very well change within the next 95 days.
Myers, 31, probably won’t be on the next contending Astros team. He’s earning $12MM in 2012 and has a club/vesting option valued at $10MM for 2013 ($3MM buyout). Like most players on the Astros’ roster, Myers is a product of the Ed Wade regime. I doubt Luhnow will have reservations about trading Myers when the time is right.
Unfortunately for the Astros, Myers earns a starting pitcher’s salary. Other trade candidates such as Huston Street ($7.5MM) and Grant Balfour ($4MM) will be more appealing to contenders since they earn considerably less than Myers. I expect the Astros will have to take on millions to move Myers.
For the Astros to convince a rival team to take on more than a couple million of Myers’ salary, he’ll have to continue pitching well. So far — and it’s admittedly quite early — Myers has pitched five innings with a 4K/1BB ratio and three saves. It’s worth noting that his fastball velocity has climbed by nearly 4 mph this year to 92.2 mph from 88.4 mph (source: FanGraphs). He's just 74 pitches into the season — not even a full start’s worth — but the uptick in velocity isn’t surprising given Myers’ new role.
Should the 7-12 Astros fall out of contention early, Luhnow might have the chance to start selling before other trade candidates become available. This could enable him to send more of Myers' salary to a team looking to acquire relief help before the trade market heats up in July. Still, it seems more likely that the Astros will postpone most serious trade talk until after they select first overall in the upcoming June draft. There's also a good chance Myers' salary would clear waivers, so he might be available in August.
Myers should draw interest from contenders, especially if his strong April portends a successful first half. But it seems likely that the Astros will have to take on millions to complete a deal. Depending on Myers' performance, the evolution of the trade market and Luhnow's willingness to absorb salary, the Astros could acquire anything from a marginal minor leaguer to a legitimate prospect for their closer.
Photo courtesy of US Presswire.
Yankees Notes: Pineda, Cashman, Pettitte
Michael Pineda will miss the rest of the season to undergo and recover from arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The injury weakens the Yankees for the current season and creates questions about what the 23-year-old will contribute long-term. Here are the latest links regarding the Yankees and their pitching staff…
- The Yankees were looking forward to strong pitching performances from Pineda at reasonable salaries that would help keep the team's payroll beneath the $189MM luxury tax threshold, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he regrets the injury, but not his team's decision-making process. “The deal we did I would do that ten times out of ten,” Cashman told Sherman.
- Andy Pettitte's return is suddenly much more vital to the Yankees, Sherman notes. The left-hander pitched five innings at Double-A Trenton last night, allowing three earned runs.
- John Harper of the New York Daily News says it's not reasonable or fair to blame Cashman for Pineda's shoulder injury. The Yankees evaluated the right-hander's elbow and shoulder carefully at the time of the trade and his arm seemed fine. "He was strong as a bull in resistance testing," Cashman said.
- Harper points out that scouts and executives liked the Pineda-Jesus Montero trade for the Yankees back in January.
Minor Moves: Thurston, Vazquez, Edell, Cantrell
The latest minor moves via Matt Eddy of Baseball America…
- The Twins have signed Joe Thurston according to their manager of baseball communications Dustin Morse (on Twitter). The 32-year-old infielder was released by the Phillies earlier this week and has a .226/.305/.323 line in 384 MLB plate appearances with the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox, Cardinals and Marlins.
- Ramon Vazquez signed with the Birdgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The 35-year-old hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since 2009, but has experience in nine MLB seasons.
- The Orioles released Ryan Edell, Eddy tweets. Edell, 28, pitched for the Phillies' top affiliate last year, posting a 3.27 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 77 innings.
- The Royals released right-hander Eric Cantrell, Eddy tweets. The Royals selected Cantrell in the seventh round of the 2010 draft. The 22-year-old has a 5.43 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in parts of three seasons as a professional.
Quick Hits: Reyes, Napoli, Miller
Jared Hughes of the Pirates and Zach Putnam of the Rockies made history today as the 26th players on their teams' respective rosters for this afternoon's double-header. This was the first time teams carried extra players, now a possibility for select double-headers under the sport's new collective bargaining agreement. I believe the change makes sense for ownership, which reduces injury risk by adding depth, and players, who obtain additional service time and pay. On to today's links…
- Jose Reyes says the Mets should keep David Wright in place long-term, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reports. “That’s good if they can bring David back, he’s a symbol of the game,’’ Reyes said.
- Dan Szymborski of ESPN and Baseball Think Factory takes his readers on a tour of the worst trades in recent history. The Bartolo Colon trade and the Mark Teixeira trade top the list, but the Vernon Wells–Mike Napoli swap also makes an appearance.
- Marvin Miller, the 95-year-old former leader of the MLB players association, says player salaries are reasonable when compared to the earnings of some CEOs, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com). Miller describes the current dynamic between owners and players as a win-win situation. "It is an amazing story how under those circumstances, there can be both management and labor really winning," Miller said.
Michael Pineda To Undergo Labrum Operation
Michael Pineda has a tear in his right labrum and will undergo arthroscopic surgery next Tuesday, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The 23-year-old will likely miss a full year, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch tweets. The Yankees acquired Pineda in an offseason trade that sent their top hitting prospect to the Mariners, but the right-hander has yet to pitch his first inning in pinstripes.
On paper the Yankees have a relatively deep rotation even without Pineda. Andy Pettitte continues working his way back to the Major Leagues, where he’s expected to join C.C. Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examined the Pineda-Jesus Montero trade earlier today (before this afternoon's news), declaring the Mariners the early winners of the swap. Yankees GM Brian Cashman says Pineda was healthy when the Yankees acquired him in January, Hoch tweets. Pineda, a rookie in 2011, won't be arbitration eligible until the 2013-14 offseason.
Jeremy Bonderman Intends To Play In 2013
Right-hander Jeremy Bonderman had reconstructive elbow surgery yesterday and intends to play in the Major Leagues next year, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports. The 29-year-old Legacy Sports Group client last pitched in MLB for the 2010 Tigers.
Bonderman, Detroit's first round pick in 2001, broke in as a 20-year-old with the 2003 Tigers, starting 28 games for a team that would lose 119. He improved steadily over the course of the next few seasons and eventually posted a 4.08 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 214 innings for the 2006 Tigers team that won the AL pennant. However, he underwent shoulder surgery in 2008 and posted a 5.53 ERA in 2010, his most recent MLB season.
Sherman On Cardinals, Mets, Hughes
The Cardinals are defending their World Series title without Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan, but they’re off to an 11-7 start nonetheless. One general manager recently went out of his way to note that “the Cardinals are a good organization” in a conversation with Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here’s more from Sherman, starting in St. Louis:
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says successful organizations can’t rely on one particular person. “To have sustained success, it is about being deep in all areas,” Mozeliak told Sherman. “So you are not reliant on any one person or one area of strength.”
- Sherman wonders if the Mets might be able to spend on a long-term extension for David Wright since they didn’t re-sign Jose Reyes and the contracts of Johan Santana and Jason Bay will expire following the 2013 season (the Mets hold club options for 2014). The Mets have ignored overall organizational depth for too long, Sherman writes.
- When asked about Phil Hughes’ slow start, Yankees GM Brian Cashman pointed out that pitchers such as Tim Lincecum, Adam Wainwright and Jon Lester have also struggled early on. “Based on the list, [Hughes] is in pretty good company,” Cashman said. “I think his stuff has been better than the results.” Cashman doesn’t sound interested in demoting the right-hander to the minors or moving him to the bullpen.
Minor Moves: Martin, George, Cintron, Hester
We’ll keep track of the latest minor moves right here…
- The Mets re-signed outfielder Dustin Martin, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The Mets drafted Martin in 2006 but traded him to Minnesota. He has a .276/.347/.417 line in seven minor league seasons, the last three of which he played at Triple-A Rochester.
- The Orioles' Triple-A affiliate announced that the organization released left-hander Chris George (Twitter link). George, a first rounder back in 1998, has started for Norfolk for the past two-plus seasons.
- Infielder Alex Cintron, who last played in the Major Leagues with the 2009 Nationals, signed with an independent league team, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Cintron, 33, has played in nine big league seasons.
- The Angels signed minor league catcher John Hester and assigned him to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The Orioles released Hester last week to create roster space for Luis Exposito. Hester, 28, has big league experience with the Diamondbacks and a .285/.345/.471 batting line in seven minor league seasons.