Quick Hits: Wang, Marlins, Dunn
The Nationals signed Livan Hernandez to a one-year deal worth $1MM on this date last year. He has a 4.36 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and 41.7% ground ball rate in 163 innings for the Nats this season – well worth the investment Washington made a year ago. Here’s the latest from around MLB, starting with a note on the Nats…
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson suggests that there's a strong chance Chien-Ming Wang returns to the Nationals in 2012 if he continues providing quality outings down the stretch.
- The Marlins could take a run at C.J. Wilson if the money doesn’t get crazy, Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes (on Twitter).
- Top Marlins executives will start preparing for the 2012 season Wednesday, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen met with slumping slugger Adam Dunn today to discuss a reduction in playing time, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
NL Central Notes: Astros, Carpenter, Berkman
We've already checked in on the Pirates and here's the latest on the rest of the NL Central as the first-place Brewers rest…
- Jim Crane's purchase of the Astros is on hold because MLB is investigating employment and war profiteering charges against the incoming owner, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. However, current owner Drayton McLane remains optimistic that the sale will go through within ten days.
- Matthew Leach of MLB.com says the Cardinals will likely find a way to bring Chris Carpenter back in 2012, even if it doesn't mean exercising his $15MM option. I took a close look at the option last week, explaining that there are ample reasons for the Cards to pick it up.
- Though Lance Berkman projects as a Type A free agent in the National League, he would be a much higher Type A free agent in the American League, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reports (on Twitter). It's noteworthy since the Rangers just lost Nelson Cruz to the disabled list and could consider Berkman, who has cleared waivers.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Upton, Snider
Adrian Gonzalez won the AL Player of the Week Award for last week after homering five times in seven days. Here's the latest from a division that includes a number of prominent MVP candidates, including Gonzalez…
- Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com argues that Red Sox manager Terry Francona deserves more credit. The skipper has never won AL Manager of the Year, but Edes says he deserves it this year for the work he has done leading the Red Sox to an AL-best 82-51 record.
- B.J. Upton told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he's happy the Rays chose to hold onto him instead of trading him. The outfielder, who will be arbitration eligible for the final time this offseason, says he'd "love" to be back in Tampa Bay in 2012.
- Travis Snider acknowledged to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca that his position in the Blue Jays organization has changed in recent years. The Jays demoted the former first rounder twice this season and he has lost ground on the depth chart to Eric Thames and others. Snider's resting his right wrist now and looking forward to the 2012 campaign.
AL West Notes: Athletics, Cruz, Angels
Ichiro Suzuki's streak of ten consecutive 200-hit seasons will likely end this year, since he's 49 hits away from 200. But as the Mariners point out, Ichiro has picked up at least 49 hits in a month six times in his career. Here are some more notes from the AL West…
- The A's will need to make a 40-man roster move tomorrow, when they add Neil Wagner to their active roster, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). They'll have room on the 25-man roster once Jerry Blevins clears waivers tomorrow.
- The Rangers expect Nelson Cruz to miss three weeks with a strained left hamstring, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). The Rangers could consider Lance Berkman of the Cardinals, but GM Jon Daniels indicated that he expects to find help from within the organization.
- Wilson notes that Leonys Martin will take Cruz's roster spot for now and that a Berkman deal seems unlikely (Twitter links).
- As Kevin Baxter of the LA Times explains, the Angels have been playing better partly because of Vernon Wells' increased productivity. The offseason acquisition started off slowly and his season line is still just .216/.249/.393, but he has four multi-hit games in his last six contests.
Ricky Romero’s Extension One Year Later
When the Blue Jays committed $30.1MM to Ricky Romero last August, he had just 52 MLB starts to his name. But the Toronto front office was less concerned about his relative inexperience than the reality that pitchers’ throwing arms are often fragile.
“I think the risks are pretty obvious with health,” GM Alex Anthopoulos said last August 14th. “You’re always concerned with respect to health.”
In the year and two weeks since Romero signed his five-year extension, he has logged 238 innings, including 181 this year. When the left-hander looks back at the first year of the deal, he evaluates himself on his ability to stay on the field.
“Oh yeah, I think it’s health,” he said, crediting Toronto’s training staff. “That’s the big thing for anyone – to stay healthy. That’s the biggest concern – if you’re going to be able to last the whole season and not break down.”
If Romero (pictured) looked at the stat sheet, he’d find himself in the top ten in the American League in ERA (4th, 2.78), but he doesn’t evaluate himself on ERA, wins, xFIP or any statistic other than innings pitched.
“No, not at all,” he said. “For me I take pride in just going out there and giving my team a chance to win and racking up innings. If I do that and have quality outings? I’m good with that. I feel like I’ve done that this year.”
The numbers confirm that Romero has been effective. He has a 3.13 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 238 innings since finalizing the deal, which set a record for pitchers with less than two full years of MLB service. At the time of the extension, the Jays were willing to enter unchartered territory with the 2005 first rounder since they looked forward to seeing him develop into their ace.
“We see a guy like Ricky continuing to improve,” Anthopoulos said last year. “We think he’s going to be an innings eater, we think he’s going to be a horse. We think he’s going to continue to evolve.”
Jon Lester and Yovani Gallardo, whose extensions figured prominently into the Blue Jays’ deal with Romero, have both taken steps forward since signing their respective contracts. Like the Blue Jays, the Red Sox and Brewers are getting what they paid for – and then some. Despite the similarities between his career and theirs, Romero doesn’t watch Lester and Gallardo any more attentively than he watches others.
“Whenever they’re on TV or there are highlights of them, yeah I’ll watch,” Romero said. “But I like watching baseball highlights period. It doesn’t matter who it is. I don’t pay any extra attention to them. They’re both great pitchers and having good years too.”
Romero’s extension won’t expire before 2015 (the Blue Jays have a club option for 2016), so they have reason to look well beyond 2011. Though there are no guarantees in baseball, especially for pitchers, Romero says his arm feels as good as ever.
“I’m feeling great,” he said. “I think as the season goes on I continue to get stronger and that’s what you’re looking for.”
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Pirates Notes: Maholm, Lee, Ludwick, Jones
Despite the Pirates' midseason flirtation with the pennant race, they're going to finish below .500 again, barring a late-season surge. Here's the latest on the 62-71 Pirates from Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review…
- The Pirates still haven’t approached Paul Maholm about a possible extension, according to Biertempfel. The club has a $9.75MM option for Maholm in 2012 and they expect to keep him around, despite the shoulder strain that currently has him on the disabled list. "It's a no-brainer to want to try to keep him here," GM Neal Huntington told Biertempfel.
- Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick will get lots of playing time when they return from the disabled list, since it could affect the Pirates' ability to attract players to Pittsburgh. "How you treat players is a recruiting piece," Huntington said.
- The Pirates haven’t given up on Garrett Jones, who is hitting well in August and now has a .249/.331/.452 season line with 15 homers.
- Right-hander Chris Leroux would like to move from the bullpen to the rotation, but that seems unlikely, according to Biertempfel. Leroux, who has been excellent in 13 innings out of the ‘pen this year, is out of options.
Giants Designate Clayton Tanner For Assignment
The Giants designated Clayton Tanner for assignment, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Eric Surkamp, who started against Houston tonight.
Tanner, a 23-year-old left-hander, has yet to appear in the Major Leagues. The 2006 third rounder has a 3.66 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 686 1/4 minor league innings. He has spent the 2011 season starting for the Giants' Double-A Richmond affiliate.
D’Backs Designate Ransom For Assignment
SATURDAY: Ransom has accepted his assignment to Triple-A Reno, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (via Twitter).
WEDNESDAY: The D'Backs announced that they designated infielder Cody Ransom to create 25-man roster space for Aaron Hill and John McDonald. The first roster spot opened up yesterday, when Arizona sent Kelly Johnson to Toronto in the deal that brought Hill and McDonald to the National League. The D'Backs now have full 25 and 40-man rosters.
Ransom, 35, appeared in 12 games for Arizona this year, hitting .152/.243/.303 in his 37 trips to the plate. He played short and third in 2011 and also has big league experience at first, second and left field. A nine-year veteran, Ransom has a .220/.304/.383 line in 383 career plate appearances.
Quick Hits: Harden, Thome, Weaver, Carroll
Links for Friday, before Jim Thome makes his return to Cleveland as the Indians host the Royals…
- Athletics pitcher Rich Harden thought he was Boston-bound on the night of July 30th, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.
- Jim Bowden of ESPN.com breaks down Cleveland's trade for Thome, calling it a "tremendous acquisition by [Indians GM Chris] Antonetti."
- Paul Swydan of FanGraphs says Thome's arrival in Cleveland may be just what the Indians need, since he’ll provide some much-needed pop.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says Jered Weaver's extension with the Angels is mostly unrelated to the contracts similar pitchers will sign. Weaver is simply a terrific pitcher who decided to stay close to home, not a trailblazer or a benchmark, Crasnick writes.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com points out that the cases of Carlos Zambrano and Brandon Webb can help us understand Weaver's deal.
- Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times argues that the Dodgers should trade Jamey Carroll to a contender to give him another shot at the postseason.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says he favors expanded playoffs, two 15-team leagues and balanced interleague schedules for teams in the same division. However, MLB owners don't appear to be ready to go to two 15-team leagues by next year.
What The Padres Can Do About Heath Bell
Against all odds, Heath Bell is still a Padre. He was a trade candidate last summer, last offseason, this July and again this August. But the Giants and Padres weren’t able to work out a deal following San Francisco’s claim, so Bell remains in San Diego.
Here are the Padres’ options regarding their closer:
- Put Him Back On Waivers – San Diego GM Jed Hoyer could put Bell on waivers in an attempt to save $1.4MM or so in salary. This option seems unproductive – all they would get is salary relief – and unlikely. If the Padres put Bell on waivers again this month, they'd be irrevocable.
- Work Toward An Extension – Bell has consistently said that he’d accept less money to stay in San Diego. ‘Less’ would still be expensive in this instance, so Hoyer and CEO Jeff Moorad may decide the small-market Padres have more pressing needs given their strong bullpen.
- No Arbitration Offer – The Padres could simply let Bell walk after the season and thank him for five years of excellent relief. This seems unlikely, but it’s too early to rule it out.
- Offer Arbitration And Keep Him If He Accepts – This would mean the Padres are stuck paying a relief pitcher about 20% of their payroll and it would also mean no compensatory draft picks in 2012.
- Offer Arbitration And Trade Him If He Accepts – If the Padres want draft picks for Bell, they’ll have to offer arbitration. Bell has said he’d accept and Moorad has said he wouldn’t mind if that happened, so an arbitration offer seems likely. Even if the Padres don’t like the idea of paying Bell $10MM or so in 2012, they could offer a contract and then trade him if he accepts, like the Rangers did with Frank Francisco last year.
There’s also the possibility that Bell will turn down arbitration, leaving the Padres with two top picks in next year’s draft. That’s essentially out of their control once the offer of arbitration is out there, though.
Nearly half of 6,500 MLBTR readers said in a recent poll that they would sign Bell to an extension. While that would appease some Padres fans and the right-hander himself, it would create as many problems as it solves for a team with such a modest payroll. It’s doubtful that the Padres would give Bell up for nothing though, so at this point it seems likely that they’ll offer arbitration after the season and go from there.