New York Notes: Pavano, Posada, Mets
Links for Wednesday, before Carl Pavano faces some former teammates in the Bronx…
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi confirmed to Spencer Fordin of MLB.com that the Yankees were considering Pavano last offseason, despite his injury-riddled stint with the club from 2005-08. "He's resurrected his career," Girardi said. "He's pitched well for the Twins, and he's given them innings. When we've faced him in the playoffs, he's pitched well. The guy knows how to pitch. The big thing for Carl is he's been healthy."
- Neither the Yankees front office nor Girardi seems to assume Jorge Posada will re-sign in New York after the season, when his contract expires, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Posada, who turns 40 in August, does not want to leave and intends to produce and force the Yankees’ hand.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff looks back at the Mets' recent GMs and managers and says the organization hasn't come close to maximizing its resources because of ineffective leaders. Sandy Alderson is the Mets' best hire since Frank Cashen, according to Davidoff.
- MLBTR's Howard Megdal ranked Cashen as the best GM in Mets franchise history during the offseason.
Olney On Astros, Castro, Dodgers
ESPN.com's Buster Olney is not buying Boston's slow start, though no World Series winner has ever opened the season with four consecutive losses. Another 0-4 team, the Rays, entered the year with a fragile equation for success and may be more vulnerable than their struggling division rivals, Olney says. Here are more rumblings from around baseball:
- Rival scouts don’t see much MLB caliber hitting on the Astros other than Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn and Carlos Lee. The over/under for Astros wins in 2011 should be 60, according to one scout. Houston won 76 games last year and has a solid rotation, so I'll take the over on that one.
- A couple of years ago, Cubs GM Jim Hendry described Starlin Castro as someone who could remind us of Edgar Renteria. The 21-year-old shortstop already has 10 hits this season and could become one of the top shortstops in baseball.
- The Dodgers are paying some deferred money this year, but Olney points out that their payroll has dropped from $118MM to $92MM since 2008. Owner Frank McCourt is trying to come up with $200MM to maintain the rights to the franchise.
Pirates Sign Dan Meyer
The Pirates signed left-hander Dan Meyer and assigned him to Triple-A, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (on Twitter). The Phillies had released him over the weekend.
Meyer appeared in just 13 games for the Marlins last year after posting a 3.09 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 71 appearances for Florida in 2009. The results weren't there in 2010, when Meyer spent most of the season in the minors and spent time on the disabled list with a calf strain. Meyer walked 12 and struck out four in 9 1/3 innings of big league work, though his minor league numbers (2.93 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 46 innings) suggest he's capable of more.
A first round selection of Atlanta's in 2002, Meyer developed into a highly touted prospect. The Braves sent him to Oakland in the Tim Hudson deal and he has since been in the Phillies' and Marlins' organizations. Still just 29, Meyer will provide depth in the minors for the Pirates.
Langosch also confirmed that the Pirates signed Tim Wood, as MLBTR reported last week.
NL West Notes: Bell, Kemp, McCourt
The latest from the NL West, as Troy Tulowitzki hits his first home run of the season…
- Padres closer Heath Bell, who has expressed his desire for an extension, says he will stop discussing his contract status in the media, according to Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres. The Padres had preliminary discussions with Bell about an extension earlier in the spring. If they don't sign him long-term, he'll become a free agent after the season.
- Matt Kemp is in a different state of mind this year, writes Yahoo's Tim Brown. The talented Dodgers center fielder says he's putting his disappointing 2010 campaign behind him.
- Dodgers owner Frank McCourt sent representatives to meet with the commissioner's office about preserving the rights to the team, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. McCourt's people proposed a plan that involves a TV deal with Fox that could help stabilize the team.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com, who first reported the meeting, says that McCourt needs $200MM to settle his divorce and keep the team.
Orioles Eyeing Rotation Depth
Baltimore's front office is 'poking around' for No. 5 starter types, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The undefeated Orioles have allowed just one run in each of their first four games, but now that Brian Matusz is on the 15-day disabled list with an intercostal strain, the team's rotation is thinner than expected.
Jeremy Guthrie, Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman and Zach Britton have impressed so far and Brad Bergesen will start against the Tigers tomorrow. It's a promising, but inexperienced group, so it's not surprising to see that president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has some interest in adding depth.
Potentially available starters include Kevin Slowey, free agent Carlos Silva, Jo-Jo Reyes and former Orioles starter turned Braves minor leaguer Rodrigo Lopez. Though there's no indication that the Orioles are interested in those arms, their names could come up in conversation.
Selig On Mets, Contraction, Realignment, Playoffs
Commissioner Bud Selig told Chris Russo on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio that he’s confident in the Mets, not considering contraction and open to realignment and expanding the playoffs. Here are the details and other highlights:
- The Mets asked for and obtained a loan from MLB, but they have not asked for a second loan, despite reports to the contrary.
- Though Selig did not tell Mets owner Fred Wilpon to hire new GM Sandy Alderson, he encouraged the Mets to hire his longtime friend. “He’s very competent," Selig said of Alderson. "Very, very, very smart.”
- MLB has “not discussed contraction at all.”
- However, Selig is open to changing the structure of baseball's leagues and divisions. “Realignment is something that in the future I really want to look at particularly before I leave.” It’s not currently a priority for Selig, who likes some geographical realignment.
- MLB is “working on” adding two teams to the playoffs and we could see changes as soon as 2012.
Revisiting The Jason Hammel Trade
The Rays roster is dotted with the spoils of trades involving excess starting pitchers. Matt Joyce arrived in the Edwin Jackson deal; the Rays obtained Sean Rodriguez when they sent Scott Kazmir to Anaheim and Chris Archer and others could soon join Sam Fuld on the roster and make Matt Garza’s departure easier to bear. But no matter how hard you look, you won’t see anyone from the trade that sent Jason Hammel to the Rockies exactly two years ago.
The Rays acquired Aneury Rodriguez for Hammel on this date in 2009 and the right-handed prospect spent two years in the Rays’ system, making it to Triple-A, where he spent most of last season. He pitched well in 2010, posting a 3.71 ERA in 123 2/3 innings with 7.3 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. The 23-year-old became a reliable starter with four pitches that peak at average and are often fringy, according to Baseball America.
It wasn’t enough for the Rays to protect him in the Rule 5 draft, but it was enough for the Astros to select him. Now a member of Houston’s bullpen, Rodriguez currently ranks 11th among top Astros prospects, according to Baseball America. Houston will have to offer Rodriguez back to the Rays if they determine that he isn’t worthy of a roster spot all season, so the Rays could still profit from the Hammel deal. As it stands now, however, the return they obtained has had zero impact on their MLB team.
It’s easy to see why the Rays didn’t get much for Hammel. He was out of options at the time and had just lost a springtime battle with Jeff Niemann for a spot in the rotation. Hammel had a career ERA of 5.90 at the time and had started just 28 MLB games, so he was far from the established starter he has since become. Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman made Hammel available, eventually trading him to obtain something of value instead of exposing him to waivers and losing him for nothing.
In the two years that have passed since the deal, Hammel has a 4.57 ERA in 354 1/3 innings with 7.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. That was good for 7.5 wins above replacement in 2009-10, more than any starter on the Rays or Rockies other than Ubaldo Jimenez.
The deal, which attracted little fanfare at the time, has turned into a steal for the Rockies. It may not be a franchise-altering trade like the one that saw the Rockies acquire Carlos Gonzalez and Huston Street, but Colorado obtained an inexpensive and effective starter for an unproven prospect who has yet to materialize at the Major League level – a definite coup for GM Dan O’Dowd.
Quick Hits: Pelfrey, Wandy, Beato, Bennett
Links for Monday, before Josh Beckett makes his 2011 debut. Will he live up to his extension?
- Rival executives don’t expect Mariners ace Felix Hernandez to be available this summer, but they’re eyeing Wandy Rodriguez and Mike Pelfrey as potential trade targets, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.
- If you want to look a little further ahead, check out Tim Dierkes' preview of which starters will be available next offseason.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law suggests the Orioles will regret leaving Pedro Beato off of their 40-man roster last fall. The Mets nabbed the reliever in the Rule 5 draft and he's now on the team's active roster.
- Former Braves reliever Jeff Bennett is trying to revive his career after seeing it hit rock-bottom, as Greg Sullivan of the Tennessean writes.
Antonetti On Masterson, Hagadone, Martinez
Indians GM Chris Antonetti told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that Carlos Santana has fully recovered from last year’s knee injury and shouldn't face any limitations this season. He sure looked good when he dove to start a triple play over the weekend. Here are some highlights from Antonetti’s conversation with Speier:
- The Indians expect Justin Masterson to build on last year’s success and become a reliable major league starter.
- Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price, the prospects Cleveland acquired in the Victor Martinez deal “have a chance to contribute to [the Indians’] major league pitching staff in the near future,” Antonetti said.
- Dealing Martinez wasn’t easy, but Antonetti knows difficult trades are part of the game. “Nearly every team faces the reality that it can’t retain every player it values,” he said. “Inevitably some players will leave via free agency and some players will be traded prior to reaching that point.
- Antonetti says the Indians are on their way to becoming a championship caliber club. “The timing of our success will largely depend upon how quickly this group transitions from a collection of young players with potential to a championship caliber team that consistently produces at the Major League level,” Antonetti said.
Josh Beckett’s Extension One Year Later
When Josh Beckett makes his first start of the season tomorrow, exactly one year will have passed since the Red Sox locked him up for $68MM over four years. Now Boston's fourth starter, Beckett is trying to recover from what was arguably the worst season of his ten-year career.
Poor performance and poor health turned Beckett from one of the most dependable starters in the league to one of the most perplexing. A lower back injury sent him to the disabled list and limited him to 21 starts, his lowest total since 2002. When he did pitch, the results weren't pretty. Of the 140 MLB pitchers who threw 100 innings last year, Beckett ranked 137th with a 5.78 ERA.
Beckett would have been a free agent after last year if the Red Sox hadn't locked him up and it's easy to see why GM Theo Epstein and the Red Sox front office wanted to keep him in Boston. He was among American League leaders in a number of categories including strikeouts per nine innings (8.4 K/9), walks per nine innings (2.3 BB/9) and innings (212 1/3) in 2009 and was coming off of a season filled with personal bests. Plus, Beckett had a standout postseason record and was one of two pitchers in baseball to record at least 150 strikeouts every season from 2003-09.
His free agent stock would have tumbled after the 2010 season and he would have been lucky to sign for half of what Boston committed to him last April. Though interested teams would have liked Beckett's 93.5 mph fastball, 45.8% ground ball rate and typically strong strikeout and walk numbers (8.2 K/9, 3.2 BB/9), he would have represented a risky investment given his back injury and lackluster results.
Beckett has bounced back from disappointing seasons to prove doubters wrong before. He followed up his discouraging Boston debut with 20 wins and a second place finish in the 2007 Cy Young voting. And at 30 years of age, he is certainly not old.
The extension kicks in this year (and will pay Beckett $15.75MM annually through 2014), so it's too early to label it a bust or a success. But one year after its completion, the contract looks like a definite overpay and the Red Sox are hoping Beckett rebounds once again.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.