Odds And Ends: Reds, LaRoche, Francoeur
More links for the afternoon…
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe heard rumors from scouts that the Reds are dangling one of their veteran pitchers. Could Bronson Arroyo be available? Maybe Aaron Harang?
- Ozzie Guillen would endorse an extension for Scott Podsednik, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates aren't close to trading Adam LaRoche.
- MLB.com's Jen Langosch reports that the Pirates have signed three more draft picks.
- Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News asks his readers: what would you do with the struggling Rangers offense?
- Bradford Doolittle of the Kansas City Star says Royals GM Dayton Moore has referred to Jeff Francoeur as a successfully-developed player more than once.
Rangers Want Pitching, Unlikely To Add Salary
Rangers president Nolan Ryan told Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he'd like to add a starter or a durable reliever, though it will be difficult for Texas to take on salary in a deadline deal.
There are free agent pitchers available, but Ryan isn't sure if the team will pursue any of them. The Rangers have been linked to the now-rehabbing Ben Sheets for months, but he's not ready to return to action. In theory Pedro Martinez could be an option, but Ryan said the Rangers wouldn't be able to meet his salary demands.
Mets Release Pena, Valentin
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reports that the Mets released Wily Mo Pena and Javier Valentin from Triple A Buffalo.
Pena, 27, has 77 major league home runs to his name, including 26 with the Reds in 2004. He was hitting .276/.296/.414 with 5 homers in Buffalo. Valentin's best years came in Cincinnati, where he played half of his ten major league seasons. This season the 33-year-old was hitting .260/.360/.416 in Triple A.
Rays Rumors: Pedro, Sheffield
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times provided a pair of quick but interesting Rays rumors on the weekend:
- The Rays have no interest in Pedro Martinez as a starter. Here's a rundown of some other teams rumored to be interested in Pedro.
- Gary Sheffield wants to play two more seasons and retire with the Rays. Sheffield's 40 and the market for aging DH types has really slowed, but he does have an OPS of .876. The Rays already have Pat Burrell next year- would they have any interest in Sheffield?
Odds And Ends: Wedge, Penny, Mets
Some links to start the week off…
- Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the Indians wouldn't improve if they fire Eric Wedge.
- As this poll shows, 71% of Plain Dealer readers want Wedge fired.
- Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer suggests the Indians' inability to develop better pitching shows in the standings.
- MLB.com's Ian Browne says Brad Penny's becoming more and more valuable, especially to the Red Sox.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets' chance to deal Jose Reyes, David Wright or Carlos Beltran for three or four cheap, young players has likely come and gone.
- The Moneyball movie, which was to star Brad Pitt, is now in jeopardy.
Prospect Updates: Strasburg, Harper, Sanchez
Updates on some of baseball's best prospects;
- It's fair to expect intense negotiations between Stephen Strasburg, Scott Boras and the Washington Nationals this summer. In this Philadephia Inquirer article by Don McKee, Jered Weaver says his negotiations were too "frantic" back when he was a top college pitcher like Strasburg.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs are creating so many new ways to lose that they could end up with a worse record than the Nationals and the chance to take Bryce Harper first overall next June.
- Dave Mackall of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Pirates first rounder Tony Sanchez is "not oblivious" to the critics who say the Pirates drafted him too early.
- Pedro Alvarez has been promoted to AA, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Steve Melewski of MASN.com reports that Mychal Givens was surprised when the Orioles drafted him. O's scouting director Joe Jordan says he'd be surprised if Givens signs soon.
Tigers Rumors: Magglio, Boras, Guillen
A closer look at the drama between the Tigers, Magglio Ordonez and Scott Boras, along with a couple other Tigers notes:
- Boras told MLB.com's Jason Beck that he wasn't delivering a message to Jim Leyland when he spoke out against the Tigers' decision to bench his client. Boras says he'd phone Leyland if he wanted to talk to him.
- Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press says Boras did phone Leyland- the problem is, the call came in the middle of yesterday's Tigers game.
- Leyland believes Boras overreacted to the team's decision.
- Ordonez could return to the Tigers' lineup against the Cubs tomorrow, according to Jason Beck.
- And Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that Carlos Guillen is feeling better and could be ready for action by early July.
- The Tigers are looking to trade for a power bat regardless.
Josh Johnson Will Seek Big Payday
Josh Johnson won't be a free agent until after the 2011 season, but his agent's already anticipating a big contract, according to Manny Navarro and Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Matt Sosnick, who represents the Marlins righty, says his client deserves a hefty contract along the lines of A.J. Burnett's ($82.5MM) or C.C. Sabathia's ($161MM):
"The way that I think Josh needs to be valued is somewhere between Burnett's contract and Sabathia's contract, and probably closer to Sabathia's," Sosnick said. "Josh is that guy in two years."
If Johnson wants his deal to be closer to $161MM than $82.5MM, he's looking at a contract worth upwards of $122MM. In recent years, the Marlins have been willing to trade players other than Hanley Ramirez once they become expensive during their arbitration years or let them depart as free agents.
Johnson's agent can throw lofty numbers around, since Johnson's pitching so well this year. He's 7-1, and has allowed only 110 baserunners in 105 innings, striking out 88. Just yesterday, ESPN.com's Buster Olney called him the NL version of Roy Halladay. Johnson will be just 27 when he hits the open market, so expect a long list of bidders.
Boras: “No Compelling Reason” To Bench Magglio
Braves Sign Chris Burke
Talking Chop reports that the Braves signed utilityman Chris Burke to a minor league deal. Burke, 29, has played every position but pitcher and catcher in the major leagues. In 32 games with the Padres this year, Burke's OPS was .575. More recently, he played in Triple A Tacoma in the Mariners' organization.