Odds And Ends: Milledge, Tate, Royals
Links for the morning…
- As much as Nyjer Morgan has helped the Nationals, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Lastings Milledge has been a complete pro so far with the Pirates.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock hears that the Padres are "making progress" towards signing first rounder Donavan Tate.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports that the D'Backs are making progress with first rounder Bobby Borchering.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wonders how much the Royals would improve with a cast of strong fielders.
- We heard on Sunday that Troy Percival was leaning towards retirement. Now, as MLB.com's Bill Chastain reports, Percival says he's done unless something "miraculous" happens.
Marlins Sign Esteban Yan
More than three full years after he last pitched in a major league game, Esteban Yan signed with the Florida Marlins, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The 34-year-old veteran of 11 major league seasons had been pitching in the independent Atlantic League before the Marlins signed him. Yan was starting, but it's unclear whether the Marlins will have him work as a starter or a reliever once he reports to Triple A. In nearly 500 appearances over the course of a decade-plus, Yan started just 23 MLB games.
Will A Team Pay More Than Minimum For Padilla?
Teams interested in Vicente Padilla face the following decision, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney: wait until the righty clears waivers and try to sign him for the pro-rated minimum or offer to contribute more than the minimum and try to strike a deal with the Rangers now. The Rangers designated Padilla for assignment last week and he has since become "the target of some interest."
Odds And Ends: O’s, Jays, Greene, Brewers
More links on the 80th anniversary of Babe Ruth's 500th career homer:
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are well-positioned in case teams start shedding high-salaried corner infielders.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says the Jays called up Randy Ruiz. Why didn't Travis Snider get the call? His service time probably has something to do with it.
- The Padres filed a grievance after they had to pay Khalil Greene to recover from a self-inflicted hand injury when he was on their roster last year. Now, Tom Krasovic reports that the two sides have come to an agreement, so there will be no grievance hearing.
- Via Twitter, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Brewers designated minor league righty Nick Green for assignment to make room for David Weathers.
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals claimed minor leaguer John Bannister from the Rangers and assigned him to AA.
- Via Twitter, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says he doubts the Yankees will trade for Bronson Arroyo.
Nats Narrow Search For Next GM
According to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, the Nationals have narrowed their search for a permanent GM to three executives, one of whom is making the calls as the club attempts to sign pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg. Acting GM Mike Rizzo, Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer and D'Backs executive Jerry Dipoto are the frontrunners, but we shouldn't expect the Nats to name a permanent GM until after the deadline to sign draft picks passes on Monday.
Brewers GM On Trades, Free Agents, Draft
Brewers GM Doug Melvin said on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he's glad he didn't go after some of the free agent arms that were available last offseason. Here's the clip and here are the details:
- Melvin admits that pitchers like John Smoltz and Oliver Perez were tempting, but says he's glad he resisted.
- The Brewers were interested in Jarrod Washburn at the deadline, but didn't have enough young pitching to complete a deal with the Mariners.
- The Brewers were in on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, but were reluctant to give up Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel.
- Melvin sounds hesitant to experiment with Rickie Weeks in center field.
- The Brewers will have some "some flexibility" to add free agents this offseason.
- Melvin expects the Red Sox to pursue free agent position players aggressively.
- As of today, Melvin says he's not motivated to move J.J. Hardy, but hints that the Brewers could move him after the season to make room for Alcides Escobar.
- Melvin's pleased with the progress 2009 first rounder Eric Arnett has made.
Odds And Ends: Astros, Branyan, Helton, O’s
More links as Colby Rasmus and Pablo Sandoval turn 23…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle reports that attendance has dropped 12% at Astros games this year and could fall further. Team owner Drayton McLane won't say how much he'll spend on payroll next year.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says there's room for Russell Branyan on next year's Mariners team. Could $10MM over two years work for both sides?
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says Todd Helton has a chance at a Hall of Fame plaque, whether or not the first baseman is comfortable discussing his chances at immortality.
- The Orioles agreed to sign fifth rounder Ashur Tolliver for $200k, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. They also agreed to terms with Randy Henry for $365k and Ryan Berry for $418k. All three bonuses are higher than recommended.
Olney On Rios, Upton, Davis, Smoltz, Webb
ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggests that Alex Rios would sign a deal worth $20MM over two years or $30MM over three if he were a free agent right now. That means the White Sox are paying more than market value for their new outfielder, but clubs can't often acquire talented players in their prime. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:
- The White Sox are better equipped to win this year and, even though they took on lots of money, they didn't give up a single player to acquire Rios.
- Some talent evaluators are convinced the Rays will listen to offers for B.J. Upton this offseason.
- Olney hears that Doug Davis is currently on waivers and John Smoltz cleared waivers.
- If the D'Backs don't exercise Brandon Webb's $8.5MM option for 2010, he could become a gamble for big-market teams like the Yankees and Red Sox.
Sheffield Doesn’t Want To Be Traded
Gary Sheffield told the Associated Press that he would prefer not to be traded, but suggested that could change, depending on where the Mets try to deal him.
Odds And Ends: Webb, Tazawa, Morgan, Aurilia
A few links for the morning…
- Today's chat starts at 2pm CST.
- Brandon Webb says he'll pitch next year and he hopes it's with the D'Backs, according to Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic. The team has the option of paying Webb $8.5MM or buying him out for $2MM.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck says the Tigers, who had interest in Junichi Tazawa last Winter, now have to face the righty as he makes his first MLB start.
- How about this stat, from Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post: The Nats were 21st in the majors in runs before Nyjer Morgan's arrival. Since trading for him, they're third.
- MLB.com's Chris Haft wonders if the Giants may be about to release Rich Aurilia.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Red Sox agreed to sign 10th rounder Brandon Jacobs for $750k, which exceeds the recommended bonus by about $600k.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the A's have budgeted first round money for fourth rounder Max Stassi. However, there appears to be a 50% chance he accepts a scholarship at UCLA instead of going pro.