Olney On Strasburg
ESPN.com's Buster Olney heard that the Nationals "fully intend to draft and sign" Stephen Strasburg. Former Nats GM Jim Bowden made similar comments earlier in the week. Some rival talent evaluators expect the Nationals would shut Strasburg down if they can't sign him early. He has pitched 78.1 innings so far this year and no team would want to risk overusing an arm that valuable.
Yankees Sign Casey Fossum
According to Chad Jennings of the Scranton Times Tribune the Yankees signed Casey Fossum; he will start for AAA Scranton today. Fossum pitched in three games for the Mets this year before they designated him for assignment. The 31-year-old veteran of 237 major league games pitched well in the minors this April, striking out 12 in 11 innings and allowing ten baserunners.
Odds And Ends: Yankees, Pedro, Mets
Links for Saturday morning…
- Some Yankees fans are frustrated by the first month C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira spent in pinstripes, but Torii Hunter would be happy to add them to the Angels, according to Matt Gagne's article in the New York Daily News.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes that the Orioles continue to deny interest in Pedro Martinez.
- MLB.com's Marty Noble reports that Omar Minaya now says the Mets have an "edge".
- Noble adds that Oliver Perez could conceivably be asked to accept a minor league assignment if he pitches poorly today.
- ESPN.com's Peter Gammons discusses teams' recent appreciation for a strong defense.
- Gammons spoke with on GM who suggested we're in a golden era of second basemen in which players like Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Chase Utley, Robinson Cano and Aaron Hill hit well at a "defensive" position.
- ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian asks why the Rangers have always been offense-first.
- Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports that the Blue Jays are scouting high school pitcher Shelby Miller.
Rangers Release Derrick Turnbow
According to Jamey Newberg of TheNewbergReport.com, the Rangers have released Derrick Turnbow after the pitcher triggered a clause in his contract that allowed him to demand a release. Turnbow and the Rangers agreed that he would be able to ask for his release if he wasn't on the team by May 1st. Turnbow walked nine and allowed 11 hits in 6.1 innings in AAA, striking out one batter.
Looking Back At May 2008
When I looked back at April 2008 I was surprised by how much action there was. So why not take a look through the MLBTR archives now that we've begun another month? If last year is any indication, May could be filled with old players trying to find teams and young players getting extensions. Here's a look at what happened a year ago:
- Julio Franco finally retired, at the age of 49; Mike Piazza called it a career, too.
- There were rumors that Kenny Lofton and David Wells might return.
- Some of baseball's young stars signed long-term extensions: Hanley Ramirez topped the rest with his six year $70MM deal, and Ryan Braun, Scott Kazmir and Joakim Soria all inked multi-year deals as well.
- The Rich Harden rumors started up a year ago this time.
- Coco Crisp was a hot topic, but he wasn't dealt until after the season.
- The Cubs picked up Jim Edmonds after he was released by the Padres.
- The Marlins added Jacque Jones after the Tigers released him.
- And some things never change: Freddy Garcia was available as a free agent and Pedro Martinez was insisting that he wasn't about to retire.
Heyman On Nationals, Lee, A-Rod
SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column up; here are some highlights:
- Heyman spoke with a Nats person who described college pitcher Stephen Strasburg's curve as a "legit hammer." The Nats will have the chance to draft him with their first overall pick this June.
- The Nats could have a solid young rotation soon if they add Strasburg to go along with Shairon Martis and Jordan Zimmermann, both 22. John Lannan and Scott Olsen are only 24 and 25, respectively.
- There has been contact between the Nats and Pedro Martinez, though Heyman writes that Pedro makes more sense for a team trying to win now.
- Speculation that Cliff Lee could be dealt is "not crazy at all," especially considering that last year's C.C. Sabathia deal worked well for both the Indians and Brewers.
- Heyman also weighs in on the latest Alex Rodriguez controversy.
Rosenthal On Mets & Phillies
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with two NL East GMs about the state of their teams a month into the season. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. addressed his team's pitching:
- Amaro expects pitchers Brett Myers, Joe Blanton and Chan Ho Park to improve. If not, Amaro says "we'll be open to other options."
- Rosenthal expects the Phillies to look internally for rotation help before making any deal. J.A. Happ, Carlos Carrasco, Rodrigo Lopez or Kyle Kendrick could could be asked to start.
- Rosenthal adds that the Phillies' greatest need will be a reliever if Brad Lidge remains sidelined.
Mets GM Omar Minaya took stock of his team, which is now 9-12.
- Asked if the Mets are pursuing Pedro Martinez, Minaya said "not right now."
- Minaya suggested the Mets will dabble in any big name that surfaces on the trade market.
- Payroll could become an issue for the Mets, who have already committed $149MM to the team.
- Rosenthal writes that the Mets "look like they blew it" when they decided to sign Oliver Perez instead of offering Derek Lowe a fourth year.
- Minaya said Gary Sheffield and Alex Cora bring an "edge" to the team that Jose Reyes and David Wright lack.
The Dodgers’ Rotation
They're 15-8, in first place in the NL West, but the Dodgers face questions about a rotation that includes three ERAs of 5.50 or more. Behind Chad Billingsley and Randy Wolf, they have Clayton Kershaw, who hasn't pitched out the the fifth inning his last two starts, James McDonald, who has walked a batter an inning this year, and Eric Stults, who's allowing two baserunners an inning. Yahoo's Tim Brown takes stock of the rotation and how Ned Colletti will progress with it.
- Brown says it's unlikely the Dodgers will add Pedro Martinez, Paul Byrd, Odalis Perez or Freddy Garcia.
- One scout's analysis: "There's plenty of pitching available. None you'd want."
- Brown suggests the Dodgers need a club like the Indians, Reds or Mariners to fall from contention so some quality arms become available.
- If David Price pitches his way into the Rays' rotation, Jeff Niemann could become trade bait.
The Dodgers could rely on pitchers already in the organization. Hiroki Kuroda is rehabbing, though MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports the righty is likely weeks away from a return. Jason Schmidt is rehabbing too, according to Gurnick. Jeff Weaver pitched well against the Padres last night and Eric Milton and Shawn Estes are stashed away in the minors.
Odds And Ends: Sanchez, Strasburg, Big Unit
Links for Saturday…
- Baseball America's John Manuel reports that 22-year-old Twins first base prospect Henry Sanchez has been suspended 50 games for violating minor league baseball's drug policy. Sanchez was the 39th overall pick in the 2005 draft.
- John Maffei of the North County Times reports on Stephen Strasburg's latest start, one in which the top prospect struck out 14, though he did allow a home run (hat tip to Buster Olney). His strikeout to walk ratio now exceeds 10-1.
- Ever wonder how much Japanese teams spend on their players? Ryo Shinkawa of NPB Tracker has the figures and their payrolls range from $18-45MM this year.
- ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski reviewed some old scouting reports on Randy Johnson with the Big Unit himself.
- And there are more injuries piling up: Chien-Ming Wang and Cody Ransom for the Yankees and Brian McCann and Garret Anderson for the Braves.
Byrd Would Pitch For Angels
Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reports that Paul Byrd is interested in pitching for the Angels. Byrd's agent spoke with the Angels recently and heard that they're going to find pitching within their organization until John Lackey and Ervin Santana return. Earlier in the week GM Tony Reagins acknowledged contacting the agents for Byrd, Mark Mulder and Pedro Martinez.