Howard Megdal | MLB Trade Rumors

Anthony Reyes Added To Cleveland’s 40-Man Roster

By Howard Megdal | February 24, 2010 at 5:52pm CDT

An under-the-radar move to keep an eye on is Cleveland's decision to add Anthony Reyes to the 40-man roster and place him on the 60-day disabled list, something the Indians needed to do to keep Reyes from exercising an out clause in his contract.

Indians GM Mark Shapiro told MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince that he believes Reyes can help the Indians this year, and there is ample reason to believe him.

Reyes underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2009, providing a medical answer to why a pitcher who had been so dominant in the minors- and occasionally in the majors- could also do things like post a 2-14 record and a 6.07 ERA in 2007 for the Cardinals, or post more walks than strikeouts for Cleveland in 2009.

But it is easy to forget that Reyes was considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, making Baseball America's Top 100 lists in both 2005 and 2006. In 428 minor league innings, Reyes struck out 446 while walking just 101.

Tommy John surgery is usually a 12-month recovery, so Reyes could be back in action by this June. It is hard to know just how much to expect out of him upon his return, but clearly, Cleveland considers him worth another look.

Odds & Ends: Athletics, Padres, Astros

By Howard Megdal | February 11, 2010 at 8:30pm CDT

So much to get to as Thursday winds down:

CSNBayArea.com's Mychal Urban reflects on the Oakland winter, and writes that Ben Sheets was the most important acquisition of the team's offseason.
MLB.com's Corey Brock writes that his guess has Adrian Gonzalez staying for 2010 and getting dealt next winter.
The Padres also hired Randy Johnson as their Minor League Coordinator, but not that Randy Johnson.
The Astros have offered Willy Taveras a minor league deal, Bernardo Fallas writes in the Houston Chronicle.

Frank Thomas To Retire

By Howard Megdal | February 11, 2010 at 6:56pm CDT

Frank Thomas, one of the most feared hitters of the past two decades, is calling it a career, MLB.com's Scott Merkin and Doug Miller report. Thomas is scheduled to have a Friday press conference in Chicago, where he had his greatest years, to announce the move.

Thomas has impressive career stats by any measure. He is 18th on the career list in home runs with 521, and his rate stats are even better: a career .301/.419/.555 batting line.

Thomas did not play in 2009, and had a .240/.349/.374 line in a 2008 season split between Oakland and Toronto.

With 1,311 games at designated hitter, and just 971 at first base, the debate will begin as to whether a primary DH belongs in the Hall of Fame. From this view, it will be hard to keep a hitter as dominant as Thomas out of the Hall.

Reds Sign Kip Wells; Gomes Still Possible

By Howard Megdal | February 11, 2010 at 6:34pm CDT

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Reds have signed Kip Wells to a minor league deal.

Wells, 32, pitched to a 5.33 ERA for Cincinnati and Washington last year, with a pedestrian 40 walks, 43 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings.

Reds GM Walt Jocketty said it is still possible the team will sign Jonny Gomes, but there is no news on that front. Beyond Gomes, Cincinnati has no other free agent targets.

Marlins Sign Mike Lamb

By Howard Megdal | February 11, 2010 at 5:56pm CDT

Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post tweets that the Marlins have agreed to terms with infielder Mike Lamb on a minor league deal.

Lamb also received an invite to spring training, but will need to hit better than he did in 2009 to make the club. He spent the year with Triple-A Buffalo, posting just a .261/.299/.370 line in 466 plate appearances.

Mets Sign Shawn Riggans

By Howard Megdal | February 11, 2010 at 5:36pm CDT

In a press release, the Mets have announced the signing of catcher Shawn Riggans to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.

Riggans had a rough 2009, hitting .143 in seven major league games with Tampa Bay, and posting just a .233/.298/.314 line in three minor league stops. Clearly, his right shoulder tendinitis played a role.

As recently as 2007, he posted strong minor league numbers, but there is little reason to expect Riggans to be much of an upgrade at catcher for the Mets. Still, when the starter is likely Omir Santos, a career minor leaguer, it is understandable that the Mets are bringing in some extra competition.

Martinez, Smoltz To Sign In-Season

By Howard Megdal | February 11, 2010 at 5:28pm CDT

Jim Bowden of XM tweets that it appears both Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz will wait until the season has started to sign 2010 contracts.

For Martinez, such a move mirrors his 2009, when he waited until July to sign with the Phillies. He was effective for them, pitching to a 3.63 ERA in regular-season 44 2/3 innings, along with several strong postseason starts.

Smoltz improved greatly as the 2009 season progressed, faltering badly with Boston but pitching to a 4.26 ERA with St. Louis.

The peripheral numbers for both pitchers suggest that they can help major league teams this season. However, considering that neither one has pitched 200 innings since Smoltz did in 2007, this seems like a wise decision for both of them.

Kevin Gregg Narrowing Choices

By Howard Megdal | February 2, 2010 at 8:16am CDT

TUESDAY, 8:16am: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel offers a different take – he says not to look for a Gregg-Marlins reunion. Instead, the righty is close to signing with the Rockies or Blue Jays. According to this tweet from Yahoo's Tim Brown, the Padres are also in the mix.

MONDAY, 9:26pm: According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Kevin Gregg has narrowed his choices down to the Rockies and Marlins.

"I am not overly optimistic, but we have a chance," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd told Renck Monday. "Our job would be as a setup guy." For Gregg, the chance to be second in line to Huston Street isn't as promising as the chance to be behind Leo Nunez, Renck figures. After signing Melvin Mora, the Rockies had about $2MM to offer for Gregg.

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Mets, Astros

By Howard Megdal | February 1, 2010 at 7:13pm CDT

Lots to get to on this Monday- so close to spring training, you can taste the grapefruit, or if your team heads to Arizona, the cactus…

ESPN.com's Rob Neyer takes the Mariners to task for acquiring too many good players. He makes the point that "this is a good problem to have", but that the Mariners might have been better off simply letting Ken Griffey Jr. go. What he's saying makes some sense- there are a finite number of at-bats, of course- but when that is the worst thing you can say about the Seattle offseason, it's been a tremendous offseason.
T he New York Post's Joel Sherman points out that Seattle's GM, Jack Zduriencik, was an employee of the Mets for well over a decade. New York promoted Omar Minaya, Jim Duquette and Gary LaRocque instead, and Zduriencik headed to the Brewers. Sherman also takes the Mets offseason to task in this piece.
FoxSports.com's Jon Morosi is reporting that despite a 30-day negotiation window closing, the Astros may still be sold. Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball describes Houston owner Drayton McLane's current position as "make me an offer I can't refuse."
The Boston Herald's John Tomase discusses the pros and cons of Boston bringing back Josh Beckett.
Dave Cameron of Fangraphs wants people to calm down about projection systems. My projection is that people won't.

Red Sox Sign Joe Nelson

By Howard Megdal | February 1, 2010 at 6:36pm CDT

FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Red Sox have signed Joe Nelson to a minor league deal. WEEI's Alex Speier says Nelson will make $735K if he makes the team.

Nelson pitched for Tampa Bay in 2009, posting a 4.02 ERA in 40.3 innings. The 35-year-old righty will have to earn a shot at the big club out of spring training, and his walk rate will have to improve over 2009 (27 in those 40.3 innings) to stick with Boston.

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