Robert Andino’s Uncertain Future
Robert Andino is out of options and the Orioles just added Julio Lugo, so as MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli reports, Andino's future with the Orioles is anything but certain. The Orioles aren't likely to carry two middle infield backups, but they would have to pass Andino through waivers before sending the 25-year-old to the minors. The O's have two days to set their Opening Day roster and that makes Andino a trade candidate. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told Ghiroli that the club is considering a number of options.
"We will see how that plays out," MacPhail said. "We still have some moving pieces, and we will see how that shakes out here in the next week."
A week ago, the Rangers would have seemed like a logical fit for Andino, who has experience around the infield. The Rangers have since added Andres Blanco, who promptly won the team's utility infield job. At this point, the Rangers' interest in Andino presumably depends in part on the team's confidence that Ian Kinsler's sprained ankle will soon heal.
Royals Acquire Luis Mendoza
The Royals acquired Luis Mendoza from the Rangers for cash considerations, according to a team press release. The 26-year-old right-hander pitched 111.1 innings for Triple A Oklahoma City last year, posting a 4.53 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. He got roughed up in his lone big league appearance last season, when he allowed four earned runs in one innings for the Rangers.
Mendoza was out of options, which meant the Rangers couldn't have assigned him to the minors without passing him through waivers first. The Royals placed Mendoza on their 40-man roster, which is now full.
Odds & Ends: Rays, Reds, Pettitte, Robertson
Here are some links for the day…
- Rays GM Andrew Friedman told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he "doesn't expect" to go outside of the organization for bullpen help (Twitter link). The Rays already added Virgil Vasquez today.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that the team could make a midseason deal or two.
- Andy Pettitte hinted to the YES Network's Jack Curry that this may be his last season. The lefty says he wants to spend more time with his family.
- Nate Robertson tells Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald that he's glad to be back in Florida, especially since he's surrounded by a number of former Tigers.
- Jayson Werth says he isn't thinking about his upcoming contract year, but Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson told Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that it can become a distraction for lots of players.
- Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle says Buster Posey will likely start the year in the minors, partly because the Giants wouldn't mind slowing down the catcher's service time clock.
- Johnny Damon tells the Associated Press that he has been impressed with the Tigers this spring.
- Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team's front office has been a "pleasant surprise" so far.
Blalock To Assess Major League Options
Reid Brignac made the Rays' Opening Day roster, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times and that makes Hank Blalock the odd man out. Topkin says Blalock will now assess his major league options. Blalock has until Sunday morning to find another big league opportunity, according to Topkin (via Twitter). Otherwise, Blalock will play in the minors for the "foreseeable future."
Blalock, who would have earned $925K if he'd made the team, can opt out of his deal with the Rays since he's not on their major league roster. Earlier in the week, Blalock said he's not interested in playing minor league baseball at this point in his career. Before Blalock signed with the Rays, the Marlins appeared to have some interest as well.
Blalock hit .175/.277/.325 in 46 plate appearances this spring. Last year he hit 25 homers and posted a .234/.277/.459 line for the Rangers. That's a better representation of what the 29-year-old Scott Boras client can do at the plate.
Calling Up Buster Posey
There's a good chance Buster Posey goes to Triple A Fresno soon – at least for now. But the 23-year-old catcher is one of the best prospects in the game, so the Giants figure to call on him at some point, even if he doesn't make the team. That would be determined, in part, by Posey's play in the minors, but performance wouldn't be the only consideration for the Giants.
If they keep Posey, who has 33 days of major league service time, in Fresno until May 20th or later, he can pick up a maximum of 136 days of service time this year. That would keep his service time total under the 172 threshold days players need for a full season. This means the Giants can call on Posey in late May and be confident that he won't have 172 days after the season. That would postpone his free agency until after the 2016 season. Bottom line: the Giants can delay Posey's free agency by a year if they call him up in late May.
If the Giants are happy with Bengie Molina's production at the end of May, they could keep Posey in the minors for another month and prevent him from becoming a Super Two player. If the Giants call on Posey at the beginning of July, he won't have 130 days of service time at the end of the season. Bottom line: the Giants can save themselves money in arbitration if they call Posey up at the beginning of July.
This isn't to say that the Giants will make roster any decisions based on Posey's service time clock, but the options above figure to be a consideration for the team, as they would be for most clubs in this situation.
The Stats MLBTR Readers Need To Know
Baseball is a numbers game and we use lots of stats here at MLBTR. Some of them are easy to understand (Albert Pujols hit 47 homers last year) and some of them aren't as simple (Pujols posted a 0.8 UZR/150 last year). So here's a guide to some stats you see here and elsewhere. It's not meant to be comprehensive; there are lots more useful stats than the ones that appear below, but these are some important ones:
- OBP – On-base percentage shows you the percentage of time a player reaches base. The league average usually hovers around .330 and last year was no exception (.331 in the NL and .336 in the AL). OBP is computed by adding hits, walks, and hit-by-pitches as the times on base, and dividing that by the sum of the player's at-bats, walks, hit-by-pitches, and sacrifice flies.
- SLG – Slugging percentage measures a player's extra base power. SLG is calculated by dividing a player's total bases by his at-bats. Power hitters like Adam Dunn and Ryan Howard regularly slug over .500, but league averages are usually closer to .420.
- You'll often see us list a player's batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage (always in that order) like this: .280/.340/.450.
- UZR/150 – Ultimate Zone Rating is a defensive metric that estimates the runs a defender saves or costs his team. UZR/150 shows a player's impact per 150 games played. Check out this two–part explanation for more detail and keep in mind that it's best to look at multiple seasons when evaluating a player's defense with UZR/150.
- K/9 – The number of batters a pitcher strikes out per nine innings pitched. Last year pitchers struck out 7.0 batters per nine innings.
- BB/9 – The number of batters a pitcher walks per nine innings pitched. Last year pitchers walked 3.5 batters per nine innings.
Check out Baseball-Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus for lots more stats and check out our transactions glossary and the one at Cot's for explanations of transactions terms.
Orioles Release Mike Costanzo
The Orioles released Mike Costanzo, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles offered him the chance to stay in the organization as a pitcher, but the corner infielder asked for his release instead.
The 26-year-old hit a combined .202/.304/.316 in the upper levels of the Orioles' system last year. Costanzo, a 2005 second round selection by the Phillies, came over to Baltimore in the 2007 deal that sent Miguel Tejada to Houston.
Pedro Martinez In 2010
Nine years ago today, Pedro Martinez opened Boston's season with a strong seven inning performance in Baltimore against the Orioles. Red Sox fans had no reason to expect anything less from their ace, since he was coming off a two-year stretch over the course of which he struck out nine times as many batters as he walked and kept his ERA under 2.00.
You won't find Pedro on anyone's Opening Day roster this year and nobody expects the righty to pitch like the ace he was a decade ago, but Pedro still has value, so he should have suitors if he wants to sign mid-season.
Pedro seems more likely to sign with a National League team and the Phillies have been linked to him throughout the offseason. Joe Blanton's oblique injury has the NL Champions looking for pitching, but Pedro wouldn't help them now. It takes a while for any player to get into game shape and Pedro's now 38. Even if he were to sign today, he would presumably need at least a month to prepare himself. The Phillies signed Pedro on July 14th last year and he made his 2009 debut about a month later, on August 12th.
That means teams like the Phillies and Mariners that need arms now don't have much reason to call on Pedro at this point. But he would be a good fit for a team looking to add second-half depth, mostly because he can still pitch.
Pedro recovered from an ugly 2008 season and contributed 44.2 solid innings for the Phillies last year, posting a 3.63 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9. The early-season rest seemed to help Pedro out, as his average fastball was 88.5 mph – faster last year than in any season since 2004. The Phillies' investment worked last year, so there's no reason to think Pedro can't help someone out in 2010 – it's just not going to happen soon.
Rays Acquire Virgil Vasquez
The Rays acquired Virgil Vasquez from the Pirates for a player to be named later, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. We heard yesterday that the two clubs were talking about a possible deal involving Vasquez.
The 27-year-old right-hander appeared in 14 games for the Pirates last year. He pitched to a 5.84 ERA in 44.2 innings, with 5.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. Vasquez also made 19 starts at Triple A, where he posted a 3.93 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9. He combined an 89 mph fastball with a slider, a curve and a change-up last year, according to FanGraphs.
Derek Jeter’s Position
Derek Jeter was an above-average defensive shortstop last year, but he turns 36 in June and he plays a demanding position, so the Yankees have to be prepared to react in case Jeter's defense deteriorates. To find out how the Yankees might proceed, ESPN.com's Buster Olney polled scouts, talent evaluators and a former GM on Jeter's future. Here are some highlights:
- One talent evaluator believes the Yankees would be willing to talk about trading Robinson Cano. This would create an opening at second base, which would allow Jeter to move to the right side of the infield.
- Jeter could be an average first baseman in the opinion of one scout, but Mark Teixeira has first base covered for the Yankees.
- Another scout believe Jeter will end up in left field. He may not have the speed to play center, but could probably handle left.
- Former Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi doesn't see Jeter switching positions for now and can imagine him playing shortstop for another five years.
Does it matter yet? Jeter still plays shortstop well and he's not going anywhere now. But he's entering a contract year and his future position will presumably have an impact on the contract talks that take place between the Yankees and Jeter's agent, Casey Close, have after the season.