Odds And Ends: Bradley, Haren, Griffey, Holliday, Atkins
A few minor notes from the MLBiverse…
- Evan Grant wonders if the Rangers might try to trade Milton Bradley if they fall even farther back in the standings and then try to resign him in the off-season when he is a free agent.
- The D-Backs have begun negotiations with Dan Haren on a contract extension. Haren is signed though ’09 with a $6.75MM team option in ’10.
- Ken Griffey Jr says that he wants to win a championship in Cincinnati.
- With the Rockies playing the Indians, it was inevitable that the Matt Holliday- or Garrett Atkins-to-the-Indians speculation would resurface.
Mariners To Release Sexson
Kirby Arnold of the Everett Herald is reporting that the Mariners will release Richie Sexson, and it could happen in the next week.
According to one person familiar with moves that are planned, Sexson will be let go, possibly within days. The timing is not set because the team is dealing with other personnel issues that go beyond the procedures for moving Sexson.
Sexson is still due about half of his ’08 salary of $14MM. This was the last year of a 4-year/$50MM deal.
This move shouldn’t come as a big surprise. After the firing of Bill Bavasi, the M’s are clearly ready to shake up the roster and Sexson’s contract was dead-weight.
Ponson Released By Rangers
The Dallas Morning-News is reporting that the Rangers were unable to trade Sidney Ponson and have now placed him on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release.
On June 6, the Rangers DFA’d Ponson for "disrespectful and adverse reactions to situations unbecoming of teammates." The Rangers had 10 days to work a deal for the pitcher with a 4-1 record and 3.88 ERA.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Lo Duca, Cabrera, Nady, Bay
A few more minor notes from the MLBiverse…
- Jay Gibbons joins the Long Island Ducks.
- The Giants may have to trade for a long-reliever. Bruce Bochy admits that his team is without a long-reliever and will work to find extra innings from his middle relievers.
- With Paul Lo Duca coming off the DL, the Nationals will now have three catchers. Chico Harlan feels the Nats will hope that Lo Duca plays well in his return to increase his trade value.
- Nick Cafardo believes that the White Sox will let Orlando Cabrera walk at the end of the season as a free agent, feeling that their double-play combination of the future is in the system and not far away.
- Bob Smizik doesn’t see the Pirates landing any top prospects for Xavier Nady or Jason Bay, should they be dealt.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Sabathia, Durham, Bedard
A few random musings from the Blogosphere…
- In the wake of the recent C.C. Sabathia-to-the-Yankees rumors, River Ave. Blues lays down a few ground rules for commenting on trade rumors.
- Bottom 9 insists that the Indians have the pitching to stay in the race and Sabathia is not going anywhere.
- Indians Confidential is also emphatic that Sabathia is not going to be traded and is still holding out hope that the Indians and Sabathia can agree to a long-term extension.
- Yankees Chick is not anxious to trade away Robinson Cano and/or Melky Cabrera but notes that if the Yankees are going to make a playoff push the pitching staff needs an upgrade.
- Rivera’s Cutter speculates that the Yankees could just trade for Sabathia as a rental and let him leave after the season and take the free agency compensation draft picks.
- Viva El Birdos would like to see the Cardinals upgrade at second base and believe Ray Durham would be a nice alternative if Brian Roberts is unattainable.
- Phillies Nation is not convinced that Erik Bedard would be a nice addition to the Phillies rotation, noting that Bedard has been awful away from the pitcher-friendly Safeco Field.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Dodgers Acquire Berroa From Royals
9:49pm The LA Daily News is reporting that the Royals are picking all of Berroa’s ’08 salary.
9:32pm The Kansas City Star is reporting that the Royals have traded Angel Berroa and cash to the Dodgers for minor leaguer Juan Rivera.
Berroa, the ’03 AL Rookie of the Year, spent most of ’07 and all of ’08 in triple-A. He was hitting .291/.323/.519 with 10 home runs in 51 games this season for Omaha. Juan Rivera is hitting .241/.267/.345 in single-A.
Berroa is making $4.75MM this season and there is a $5.5MM club option for ’09 with a $0.5MM buyout.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Rangers DFA Ponson
The Dallas Morning News is reporting that the Rangers have designated Sidney Ponson for assignment for "disrespectful and adverse reactions to situations unbecoming of teammates."
Ponson, a non-roster invitee in spring training, was having a solid season for the Rangers with a 4-1 record in 9 starts and a 3.88 ERA. The Rangers have 10 days to trade Ponson.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: More Draft Recap
A couple of more interesting links recapping the Rule 4 draft…
- Jim Callis of Baseball America conducted his draft day chat.
[On picking Tim Beckham over Buster Posey] . . . That pick just came down to the Rays’ personal preference. The easier choice would have been Posey, because he’ll be ready quicker and fill a more obvious need, but Tampa Bay thought Beckham had more upside.
- Kevin Czerwinski has a cool list of over 30 players that were drafted, all of whom have a more famous relative, including Jeremy Beckham, a second baseman from Georgia Southern and older brother of top pick Tim Beckham, who was also selected by the Rays in the 17th round.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Chipper Jones Prefers To Remain With Braves
David O’Brien is reporting that Chipper Jones would like to play at least four more years and that he would prefer to spend those years in a Braves uniform.
"I don’t think there’s any reason I can’t play through 40," he said, "long as I don’t let my body go, which is not going to happen. I’m too active year-round to let my body go.
"My desire to stick around and play four, five, six more years is strong. I want to accomplish some things here, put up some numbers here as long as the Braves want me."
The Braves have an option that would pay Jones $8-11MM in ’09 depending on performance, although it is expected that the number would be closer to $11MM.
O’Brien believes that if Jones is healthy, he will command far more on the open market after the ’09 season, and wonders if a team like the Rangers or the Astros (Jones lives in Texas in the off-season) might pursue Jones with a huge contract offer. However, Jones emphasized that he is not interested in the biggest deal and would prefer to remain with the Braves.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here .
Crasnick On Griffey And Dunn
Jerry Crasnick comments today on the Reds new youth movement and what that might mean for Ken Griffey Jr and Adam Dunn.
Crasnick notes that it will be difficult to replace Dunn’s production, but wonders if he just needs a change of scenery. Dunn does not appear to have any desire to enter negotiations on an extension and still seems to be harboring some bad feelings towards the club…Although Crasnick doesn’t specifically speculate, it sounds as if the Reds would be best served trading Dunn.
As for Griffey, Crasnick believes that Griffey might be willing to renegotiate his $16.5MM ’09 option if the team is willing to add a second year on to the deal. However, Crasnick is not sure the Reds are willing to keep Griffey around until he is 40. Crasnick does speculate that even though the Mariners poor start eliminates the possibility of a trade during the season, the M’s may be willing to bring Griffey back in ’09 as a free agent to play first base, especially with Richie Sexson’s contract set to expire.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here .