Quick Hits: Buchholz, Ishikawa, Tabata, Rivera
Rounding up Sunday's links, as Andre Ethier celebrates his 29th birthday….
- Jon Lester told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that he didn't talk to Clay Buchholz about the pros and cons of signing a long-term extension before the right-hander inked a four-year pact today.
- Travis Ishikawa admitted he hoped another team would claim him when he was placed on waivers earlier this season, according to MLB.com's Chris Haft. However, now he says he's glad he's still with the Giants organization and is excited to stay on the West Coast, playing for Triple-A Fresno.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks back at the trade that sent Xavier Nady to the Yankees. Kovacevic argues that even if three of the four players the Pirates received for Nady don't work out, Jose Tabata alone makes it a steal for Pittsburgh.
- Juan Rivera isn't off to a good start with his new team, as Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Sun writes. The Blue Jays are reportedly interested in trading Rivera, but his performance so far likely isn't helping draw any interest.
- The Indians will have some roster shuffling to do when injured players return, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who also addresses trade possibilites in a Tribe mailbag.
- Nationals infielder Alex Cora should make a good manager someday, says MLB.com's Marty Noble.
Extension Candidate: Gio Gonzalez
Now that the Athletics and Trevor Cahill have reportedly agreed to a multiyear deal, young players like Daric Barton, Gio Gonzalez, and Andrew Bailey could be next in line for extensions, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes previewed a Barton extension last month, so let's have a look at what it might take to lock up Gonzalez, another key member of the A's rotation.
As I wrote last fall when I examined the possibility of a new contract for Cahill, Billy Beane and the A's have an extensive history of signing young pitchers to multiyear deals rather than going to arbitration. MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows that Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, Rich Harden, Dan Haren, and Brett Anderson all inked contracts for at least four years early in their careers. When dealing with their top arms, the A's appear to believe the opportunity to save a few million dollars by avoiding arb is worth the risk of injury or regression. With Anderson already locked up, and Cahill on the verge, Gonzalez might be next.
One could argue, based on his excellent 2010 campaign, that the Oakland southpaw belongs in the same discussion as Jon Lester, Yovani Gallardo, and Ricky Romero, who each signed five-year deals worth approximately $30MM. However, due to some struggles in his first two years with the A's (6.24 ERA in 132 2/3 IP), Gonzalez's career ratios, such as a 4.29 ERA and 4.7 BB/9, don't compare well to the numbers those pitchers had posted when they signed.
Of course, while Gonzalez's career stats give the A's some leverage in negotiations, time is not on the club's side. Off to a fast start in 2011, the 25-year-old seems only to be getting better, which means his value could continue to rise throughout the season if the A's wait on a deal. Additionally, Gonzalez is set to become a Super Two player, meaning 2012 will be the first of four, rather than three, arbitration years.
Gonzalez's career totals may slightly hurt his bottom line on a potential extension, but his recent performance will ensure he won't come cheap. Once the figures for Cahill's deal surface, we should get a better idea of what sort of dollar amount it would take to secure Gonzalez's arb seasons. If the ACES client stays healthy and continue to improve, he could eventually earn more than $25MM through arbitration, so I'd expect the A's to explore something in the neighborhood of $20MM for those four years.
Olney On Yankees, Rays, Manny
Zach Britton certainly hasn't been surrounded by as much hype as Stephen Strasburg was last year, but, like the Nationals' youngster, Britton is "must-see TV," according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). In today's Insider-only blog, Olney says the Orioles lefty looks like the best of 2011's rookie class so far this year. Here are some other items of interest from the piece:
- The Yankees are trying to get 20 to 35 starts from their fourth and fifth spots in the rotation, before the trade market really takes shape. At that point, the team could try to pursue an arm like Brett Myers or James Shields, if they're available.
- Olney is hearing from clubs that they will now "warily approach" making any trades with the Rays, who are considered a "savvy organization." While it's too early for the Cubs to worry about offseason acquisition Matt Garza, particularly given his impressive strikeout rate, the right-hander isn't happy with his first two starts.
- Olney agrees with Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, who says that the Rays and their fans are the ones who Manny Ramirez's retirement hits the hardest. Not only will the Tampa fans miss out on watching Manny, but continued struggles by the team could result in key players being placed on the trade block.
New York Notes: Martin, Beltran, Silva
Let's check out the latest updates out of New York, as the Yankees and Mets prepare for their rubber matches against the Red Sox and Nationals, respectively.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday says most baseball people he spoke to this winter "wouldn't have believed" that Russell Martin would play this well to start the season. Martin, who homered twice in the Yankees' win yesterday, was viewed by many as a bad signing.
- Carlos Beltran, who also belted two home runs yesterday, is showing he could be a valuable trade chip this summer, writes Kevin Kernan of the New York Post.
- Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild contextualized the team's signing of Carlos Silva by saying, "You have a few guys and you hope you catch lightning in a bottle with one or two, according to this New York Daily News report. Silva had harsh words for Cubs pitching coach Mark Riggins on his way out of Chicago, but Rothschild says he has a good history with the right-hander: "We worked well together. I didn't have any problems with him."
- For whatever it's worth, Bernie Madoff reiterated that he believes the Mets owners were unaware of his Ponzi scheme, according to Teri Thompson and Wayne Coffey of the Daily News.
Quick Hits: Zito, Orioles, Meyer, Cardinals
Links for Sunday, as Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler become the first set of teammates in MLB history to homer in each of their team's first three games…
- Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) knows that the point has been made before, but he finds it unfathomable that the Giants thought it smart to give $126MM to Barry Zito.
- The Orioles released minor league outfielder Danny Figueroa, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.
- The Phillies have released Dan Meyer from their minor league camp, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.
- Within his Sunday Baseball Notes, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that the Rangers "haven't closed the door" on a Michael Young trade. Cafardo says not to rule out the Phillies, though the Phils are a little more optimistic about Chase Utley's health than they were a couple weeks ago.
- Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. says his club has room to add payroll this season "if the right situation develops," according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier discusses former first round pick Jason Place, who the Red Sox released yesterday.
- In an article for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto takes a look at the Indians' future infield.
Rosenthal On Twins, Cardinals, Sizemore
With opening weekend in full swing, Ken Rosenthal has his first Full Count video of the season up over at FOX Sports. Let's check out the highlights….
- The Twins' outfield is worth keeping an eye on, since Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel are facing free agency after 2011 and many of the team's top prospects are outfielders. Rosenthal says it's "even possible" that the Twins could trade Denard Span, who is signed through 2014.
- While Matt Holliday recovers from his appendectomy, the Cardinals are comfortable platooning Allen Craig and Jon Jay. Craig is "highly sought after" in trade talks, particularly by American League teams, according to Rosenthal. However, the Cards aren't inclined to move him.
- Even if Grady Sizemore returns to form in the coming months, he's not likely to be dealt at the trade deadline. His 2012 club option becomes a player option if he's traded, so if they wanted to explore a deal, the Indians would probably do so next winter, after picking up the option.
Diamondbacks Will Not Sign Kevin Frandsen
MONDAY: The D'Backs won't be signing Frandsen after all, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
FRIDAY: Less than 24 hours after being released by the Padres, Kevin Frandsen has found another home in the NL West. Frandsen has agreed to sign with the Diamondbacks, according to Jeff Fletcher of BayBridgeBaseball (via Twitter). Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic adds (via Twitter) that the deal is pending a physical and the 28-year-old will head to Triple-A Reno.
Following his release, Frandsen told MLB.com's Corey Brock that he hoped to catch on with another team soon, and he didn't waste any time in fulfilling that goal. The Diamondbacks will be the third NL West club to sign Frandsen, who saw big league playing time in parts of four seasons with the Giants. The Lapa/Leventhal client earned 173 plate appearances for the Angels in 2010, hitting .250/.294/.319.
New York Notes: Silva, Sanchez, Beato, Colon
Here's the latest out of Queens and the Bronx on the final Sunday before regular season baseball gets underway….
- The Yankees have no plans to pursue the recently released Carlos Silva tweets Jack Curry of the YES Network. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild was Silva's pitching coach with the Cubs last season.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi told Chad Jennings of The Journal News that Romulo Sanchez was scratched from today's road trip "for reasons I can’t give to you at this point." The right-hander is out of options and a long shot to make the team, and Girardi gave a look that indicated a trade was in the works acording to Jennings.
- Pedro Beato will make the Mets' Opening Day roster, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. The Mets selected Beato from the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft.
- In another tweet, Heyman says the Mets are searching for a second left-handed reliever, in part to match up with some of the lefty sluggers in the NL East.
- In a conversation with Steve Selby of the New York Post, David Wright says he's not concerned about the possibility of a Mets fire sale.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News argues that the Yankees took the "safe, easy" route in giving Freddy Garcia a rotation spot over Bartolo Colon.
- The Yankees hope Colon can occupy the swing-man role previously held by Alfredo Aceves, writes Feinsand.
Astros Return Lance Pendleton To Yankees
The Astros have returned Rule 5 pick Lance Pendleton to the Yankees, tweets Astros' director of social media Alyson Footer. Pendleton cleared waivers and will be assigned to New York's minor league camp (Twitter link).
Pendleton, 27, was one of two Rule 5 selections by the Astros, along with Aneury Rodriguez. Pendleton had been competing for a spot in Houston's bullpen, but struggled with his control this spring, walking eight batters in just 7 2/3 innings.
Alberto Gonzalez Drawing Interest
At least four teams have "serious interest" in the out of options Alberto Gonzalez, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (via Twitter). Ladson names the Athletics, Astros, Padres, and Braves as teams who are eyeing the Nationals' infielder.
Last Sunday, we heard the Padres were "looking hard" at Gonzalez, who has the ability to play an array of defensive positions. Though the 27-year-old posted just a .578 OPS in part-time duty for the Nationals a year ago, he has played well this spring, hitting .365/.400/.404. Still, with Jerry Hairston Jr. and Alex Cora on board, there may not be room for Gonzalez on the Nats' Opening Day roster.