The Nationals’ Bullpen
According to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, "changes are coming" to the Nationals' bullpen if it doesn't improve. The Nats have since DFA'd Mike Hinckley and called up Ron Villone, but they could make more moves:
- The Nats could exchange bad contracts with another team. Trading Austin Kearns ($8MM) for Miguel Batista ($9MM) has been discussed.
- Harlan adds that the trade market for relievers isn't good because many teams have struggling bullpens.
- The Nats' will likely address the bullpen from within the organization. Jason Bergmann and Tyler Clippard are available in the minor leagues.
Odds And Ends: Manny, Rangers, Pie
Links for Saturday morning…
- On ESPN Radio, Keith Law says no team would pass on Manny Ramirez if he's available for $5MM in the near future, regardless of his suspension. He won't be available at that rate this offseason, as he has a $20MM player option for 2010.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News passes on a quote from Dodgers GM Ned Colletti: "My concern is still with the pitching."
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune believes the Dodgers' pitching will carry them while Manny serves his suspension.
- Jamey Newberg suggests on the Newberg Report that the Braves would deal the haul they received for Mark Teixeira– Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek– for any one of four players they gave up to get Tex- Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz or Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
- The Chicago Tribune suggests the Orioles may try to sneak Felix Pie to Triple-A through waivers.
Pirates Sign Adam Melhuse
According to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Pirates signed catcher Adam Melhuse and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. Melhuse is a 37-year-old switch hitter who caught part-time for eight seasons, most recently with the Rangers and Rockies last year. The move gives the Pirates depth behind Jason Jaramillo, who has surprised with an .847 OPS since starting for the injured Ryan Doumit.
Ryan Freel Traded For Joey Gathright
6:14pm: MASN's Roch Kubatko has more from Orioles president of basball operations Andy MacPhail. Apparently the trade took about four days to complete.
"We know the tool he has," MacPhail said of the newly acquired Gathright. "He's 28 years old and he's got great speed. A career .260 hitter without much power. I think people have a pretty good understanding. But he really creates more of an inventory for us at a position that is still somewhat up in the air."
4:44pm: According to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald the Orioles will pay the difference between the two players' salaries. Basically the teams are paying the same amount as they would have had they not made the deal.
4:22pm: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Orioles will continue to pay part of the $3.3MM Freel will make before the end of the season.
3:38pm: The Orioles have traded Freel to the Cubs for Gathright, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Gathright has already cleared waivers and will be assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.
12:54pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Cubs are talking to the Orioles about a trade for Ryan Freel. As Rosenthal points out, the Cubs have more oufield depth than expected, thanks to Micah Hoffpauir and Kosuke Fukudome. Joey Gathright, who has batted only 14 times this year, is expendable. The Orioles are talking to other clubs about Freel, who has about $3.3MM remaining on this year's contract.
Odds And Ends: Bay, Boras, Danks
Links for Friday afternoon…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports revisits last year's July 31st trade deadline and breaks down the decisions that sent Jason Bay to Boston instead of Tampa Bay.
- Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News lists off a number of Scott Boras clients who have been linked to PEDs. To be fair, Boras has a lot of clients and baseball's had a lot of users so it would be a surprise if none of his clients had connections to PED use.
- John Danks told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the extension he passed up hasn't affected his performance this season.
- MLB.com's Jim Banks compares Zack Greinke to Fernando Valenzuela and Walter Johnson. It's not often you see Ty Cobb quoted in 2009.
- Adam Rose of the LA Times asks whether the Dodgers should have signed Manny Ramirez in the first place and 62% of his readers say the deal was still worth it.
Indians Release Salas, DFA Chulk
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported yesterday that the Indians released Juan Salas and designated Vinnie Chulk for assignment. Reliever Matt Herges was called up, Rafael Perez was demoted and today the Indians added Luis Vizcaino as they revamp their bullpen.
Reds Assistant GM On Trades, Minors, Draft
Bob Miller, the Assistant GM for the Reds, chatted with fans this afternoon on MLB.com. Here are some of the highlights:
- This year the Reds would consider dealing for a right-handed power bat, but they'll "play it by ear and see if the deal will help" the team.
- Of the trades he's been a part of, Miller's proudest of dealing Karim Garcia for Luis Gonzalez with the D'Backs.
- He metioned the Brandon Phillips and Bronson Arroyo deals as the best ones the Reds have made recently.
- The deal Miller's least proud of? Trading six players for Richie Sexson.
- Miller believes the Reds have a strong minor league system because of its depth. He specifically mentioned Yonder Alonso, who's hitting well lately.
- Miller compared the draft to "the biggest board game you can possibly imagine" in terms of the strategy it demands.
Heyman On Berkman, Oswalt, Cliff Lee
The latest rumors from SI.com's Jon Heyman…
- Astros owner Drayton McLane is unlikely to deal Roy Oswalt or Lance Berkman because of his "personal feelings for them plus the Astros' recent history of strong finishes."
- Cliff Lee is more likely to be traded. Heyman says Lee's value should be "fairly high even in a depressed market."
- D'Backs people wondered why players such as Carlos Quentin performed better after leaving the team and these doubts contributed to Bob Melvin's firing.
- Heyman also looks at some feel-good stories around the game.
Discussion: The Yankees’ Catcher
3:11pm: It's official now; as MLB.com's B.J. Rains reports, Molina's headed to the DL.
11:27am: When the Yankees lost Jorge Posada to the DL for two to three weeks, Jose Molina became their starter. Now, Molina's quad is injured and, as Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports, Joe Girardi isn't optimistic about the injury. This leaves the Yankees with Francisco Cervelli behind the plate, a 23-year-old with a solid minor league resume, but only 41 games played above A ball and seven big league plate appearances. So what should the Yankees do if Molina has to spend time on the DL?
- Let Cervelli play until Posada returns in a couple weeks.
- Sign a free agent catcher like Johnny Estrada or Paul Lo Duca to fill in.
- Trade for a catcher.
Matt Wieters Update
Matt Wieters began the season as baseball's number one prospect, but we haven't heard much about him so far in 2009. Some took notice when he missed a bit of time because of a hamstring issue, but his season at AAA Norfolk has mostly been quiet. He's played well, though not incredibly, hitting one homer and batting .297/.391/.405 with 12 walks and 17 strikeouts. Gregg Zaun and Chad Moeller have combined for only 21 hits in 100 at bats for the O's, so they're not blocking Wieters' path. His main obstacle is time.
- If the Orioles called Wieters up today, he'd accumulate enough service time this year (almost 150 days) to become a Super Two player. This means he'd cost the Orioles more money in the future because he'd go to arbitration four times.
- If they wait until June 1st to call Wieters up, he won't accumulate more than 126 days service time. This would likely prevent him from becoming a Super Two and would likely save the Orioles millions of dollars in years ahead.
- Waiting until June 1st or later also allows the Orioles to make sure Wieters is ready for the majors when he arrives. They can endure their soft-hitting catchers this year, because they're not a contender, so it would be a surprise to see the prospect called up soon.