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West Rumors: Beltre, Hultzen, Neshek, Rockies

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Some links from the left coast…

  • Adrian Beltre told Scott Miller of CBS Sports that he signed with the Rangers instead of the Angels because he felt Texas gave him "the best chance to put a ring on [his] finger." The third baseman wouldn't elaborate on the talks he had with the Halos before signing.
  • ESPN's Keith Law hears that the Diamondbacks love Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen, a projected first round pick (Twitter link). Arizona holds the third and seventh overall picks in this year's draft, and Hultzen owns a 62:4 K:BB ratio in 34 1/3 innings this spring.
  • Dan Hayes of The North County Times tweets that new Padre Pat Neshek isn't guaranteed to make the team because he still has a minor league option remaining.
  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter) could see the Rockies checking in on Michael Young now that the Rangers are reportedly willing to eat half of the veteran's salary.
  • Renck also tweets that if Chone Figgins were made available, Colorado would be interested in him as a player but disinterested overall because of his hefty contract. Figgins is entering year two of a four-year deal worth $36MM, plus a vesting 2014 option for $9MM.

Nothing Going On Between Cardinals, Phillies

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Earlier this week we heard that the Phillies have some interest in Cardinals' outfielder Jon Jay, though Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that nothing is going on between the two teams right now (Twitter link). The Cards are looking for a right-handed reliever to replace Kyle McClellan, who will likely take Adam Wainwright's spot in the rotation, but they appear to be looking elsewhere.

The Phillies have eight righty relievers on their 40-man roster, though Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, and Jose Contreras probably aren't going anywhere. Since the Cardinals finished with fewer wins than the Padres last year, they had a chance to claim Pat Neshek but apparently decided against it. St. Louis also passed on Kiko Calero earlier this month.

Ben Nicholson-Smith explored Philadelphia's interest in Jay last week.

Luis Castillo Close To Joining Phillies

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Former Mets second baseman Luis Castillo is close to joining the Phillies, a source told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. Castillo was scheduled to clear waivers at 1pm ET today, and Philadelphia will only have to pay him the league minimum.

The Phillies have a bit of a question mark at second base right now given Chase Utley's knee injury, and Castillo would give them a veteran stopgap. Although he hit just .235/.337/.267 in 299 plate appearances last season, Castillo is only a year removed from a .387 OBP. The Mets are on the hook for the 35-year-old's $6MM salary, less whatever Philadelphia pays him.

More than 2,500 MLBTR readers predicted that Castillo would join the Phillies.

This post was originally published on March 20th, 2011.

Jose Molina Says Bengie Still Wants To Play

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Bengie Molina said he is retired "for now" earlier this week, but his brother Jose told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Bengie still wants to play. He made it clear that his older brother would only sign a contract that showed him "sufficient respect," likely ruling out a minor league pact.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi asked Jose, his former player, if Bengie planned on playing this season during a Spring Training game this week, but Rosenthal says that was likely out of his own curiosity. GM Brian Cashman has said flatly the team is not looking for help at catcher despite Francisco Cervelli's fractured foot. Prospects Jesus Montero and Austin Romine are currently competing for the backup job behind Russell Martin in Cervelli's stead.

The Padres expressed interest in Bengie earlier this month, and the Astros figure to be looking for some catching help as well.

Poll: Luis Castillo’s Next Team

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The Mets finally went ahead and did what seemed inevitable yesterday, cutting ties with Luis Castillo. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said late last night that he expects Castillo to sign with a new team shortly after clearing waivers on Sunday, when it would only require the league minimum to bring him aboard. Let’s look at some potential suitors, then vote on his next destination…

  • Phillies: Chase Utley is out indefinitely with knee problems, and Castillo’s low cost would surely be attractive to a team pushing the limits on payroll.
  • Marlins: They’re currently scheduled to begin the season with Omar Infante at second and top prospect Matt Dominguez at third. Castillo, who originally broke in with Florida, would allow them to slide Infante to third and take it slow with Dominguez, who has yet to play above Double-A.
  • Dodgers: It’s possible that Casey Blake will miss the start of the regular season with back trouble, and Castillo could step in at second with Juan Uribe sliding over to third.
  • Rockies: They’ve been connected to Michael Young basically all offseason, but Castillo would be a much more affordable second base option as well as less risky since there’s no long-term commitment. Rosenthal mentioned that Colorado was not in the mix, however.
  • Orioles: Brian Roberts is dealing with back issues, and although he’s getting closer to game action, Castillo would provide insurance at second and in the leadoff spot.
  • Cubs: The second base job is still up for grabs on Chicago’s north side according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago, so Castillo could push Blake DeWitt, Jeff Baker, Darwin Barney, and Augie Ojeda.
  • Cardinals: Nick Punto is recovering from a hernia, leaving a little bit of an opening on the roster.

Castillo has never played a position other than second base in his Major League career (not even DH), so his ability to serve as a utility infielder is far from a given.

Which team will sign Luis Castillo?
Phillies 36.91% (2,698 votes)
No one will sign him 14.71% (1,075 votes)
Cubs 14.49% (1,059 votes)
Marlins 12.49% (913 votes)
Cardinals 6.09% (445 votes)
Another team not listed 5.18% (379 votes)
Dodgers 4.72% (345 votes)
Orioles 3.52% (257 votes)
Rockies 1.90% (139 votes)
Total Votes: 7,310

Handshake Agreement May Have Impacted Cabral

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Left-hander Cesar Cabral was involved in a pair of transactions last week, first getting claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays from the Rays before Tampa re-claimed him two days later. As Richard Griffin of The Toronto Star explains, a handshake agreement between Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and Red Sox GM Theo Epstein may have impacted the moves.

When the Jays hired former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell to be their new manager this offseason, the deal apparently came with a "non-compete" handshake agreement between the two clubs, preventing Toronto from selecting Boston players in the Rule 5 Draft. Cabral was selected by the Rays from the Sox in the Rule 5 Draft, but the Jays insist they were "playing by the rules" when they claimed him last week because at that time he was property of Tampa, not Boston.

A source tells Griffin that the original waiver claim (Jays taking Cabral from the Rays) may have been rescinded because of the handshake agreement, explaining why he ended up back with Tampa before Toronto could ever see him pitch in their uniform. It's unclear who exactly would have rescinded the claim if true; did the Jays back off or did MLB intervene?

Cabral, a 22-year-old lefty reliever, must stay on the Rays' 25-man roster all season or be placed on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, the Red Sox can take him back for half of the original $50K Rule 5 Draft fee.

Jason Davis Ends Comeback Attempt

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It's been eight years since Jason Davis was the Indians' number two starter behind CC Sabathia, but his comeback attempt with those same Indians came to an end yesterday. Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports (on Twitter) that Davis, who was in camp on a minor league deal, ended his comeback attempt after just a week.

Davis, now 30, didn't pitch at all in 2010, taking what was termed a "mental break." He last appeared in the big leagues in 2008 with the Pirates, and has battled control problems in recent years. In his last 96 1/3 innings (that includes his time in Pittsburgh plus a Triple-A stint in 2009), he walked 53 batters and struck out only 38. Davis finishes his career with a 4.82 ERA in 461 innings, having played for the Tribe, Mariners, and Bucs. 

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Greenberg, Sandoval, Pineda

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On this date last year, the Diamondbacks inked Mark Reynolds to a three-year contract worth $14.5MM, buying out his first three years of arbitration-eligibility plus a club option for his fourth (Reynolds qualified as a Super Two). The 27-year-old hit .260/.349/.543 with 44 homers in 2009 but slumped down to .198/.320/.433 with 28 homers last season. He also struck out 200+ times for the third straight year. New GM Kevin Towers traded Reynolds to the Orioles for a pair of relievers in December, just nine months into his new deal.

These links are the best the blogosphere had to offer over the last seven days, so enjoy…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rollins, Jackson, Latos, Rays

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The first game in Petco Park history was played seven years ago today. Led by head coach Tony Gwynn, the San Diego State Aztecs defeated the University of Hawaii by a score of 4-0. The teams shattered the attendance record for a college baseball game, drawing 40,106 fans. The previous record was just short of 28,000 fans.

I don't think we're going to break any records with these links, but let's give it a shot…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Highest Paid Players Of The Last Three Decades

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It's no secret that baseball player salaries have exploded over the last two decades, but just how much? With some help from the USA Today Salary Database, let's look at the game's highest paid players from last season, ten seasons ago, and twenty seasons ago…

2010

  1. Alex Rodriguez– $32MM
  2. CC Sabathia - $23MM
  3. Derek Jeter - $22.6MM
  4. Mark Teixeira - $20.625MM
  5. Johan Santana - $20.145MM
  6. Miguel Cabrera - $20MM
  7. Carlos Beltran - $19.402MM
  8. Ryan Howard, Carlos Lee & Alfonso Soriano - $19MM
  9. Carlos Zambrano - $18.875MM
  10. John Lackey - $18.7MM

Four Yankees occupy the top spots, and six New York players are in the top seven. Ichiro Suzuki, Barry Zito, Torii Hunter, and Manny Ramirez were the only other players to pull down more than $18MM last season.

2000

  1. Kevin Brown – $15.714MM
  2. Randy Johnson – $13.6MM
  3. Albert Belle – $13MM
  4. Bernie Williams – $12.357MM
  5. Larry Walker – $12.143MM
  6. Mike Piazza – $12.071MM
  7. David Cone – $12MM
  8. Pedro Martinez – $11.5MM
  9. Mo Vaughn – $11.167MM
  10. Sammy Sosa – $11MM

Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux, Raul Mondesi, and Jeter make up the rest of the eight-figure club.

1990

  1. Robin Yount – $3.2MM
  2. Kirby Puckett – $2.817MM
  3. Roger Clemens & Paul Molitor – $2.6MM
  4. Eddie Murray – $2.514MM
  5. Don Mattingly – $2.5MM
  6. Will Clark & Rickey Henderson – $2.25MM
  7. Tom Browning, Mark Davis & Teddy Higuera – $2.125MM
  8. Eric Davis, Andre Dawson, Kent Hrbek & Jack Morris – $2.1MM
  9. Pedro Guerrero & Kevin Mitchell – $2.083MM
  10. Mark Gubicza – $2.066MM

Tim Raines wasn't far off the list at $2.055MM, and at least six other players earned no less than $2MM that season. 

The top ten salaries in the game have nearly doubled over the last ten years, and they've increased ten-fold over the last 20 years. Albert Pujols could very well land the first contract with a $30MM average annual value next winter; how long will it be before we see a $40MM a year player, maybe ten years? Based on the recent inflation, it could be sooner.

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