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MLBTR Originals: 2/27/11 – 3/6/11

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Time to recap the original content posted here at MLBTR over the last seven days…

New York Notes: Mets, Piazza, Yankees, Aceves

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Eight years ago today, the Yankees signed Ramon Ramirez to a minor league contract after winning his rights via the posting system with a $350K bid. Ramirez, then 21, had been with the Hiroshima Carp, appearing in just two games with them from 2002-2003.

Here's some links from the Big Apple…

  • Bud Selig briefly spoke to SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter link) about the Mets' ownership and dire financial situation. "We're in unchartered waters. I talk to Fred (a lot), we just have to hope it works out," said the commissioner. The team is said to be seeking another loan on top of the $100MM it's already been granted by the league.
  • Mike Piazza is helping coach Team Italy this spring, and he told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin and Newsday's David Lennon that he would like to own a team someday, but not necessarily the Mets (Twitter links). When asked if he's been contacted by anyone about owning a club, Piazza replied "I can't confirm or deny."
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe that he doesn't believe he'll be able to acquire a starter before the Opening Day, and perhaps not until June. "Normally anything of quality doesn't become available until after the June draft," said Cashman. "That's why you try and get as much as you can get accomplished in the winter. I know New York doesn't handle patience very well. But I'm from Kentucky, so it's a little easier for me to deal with."
  • Cashman also spoke to Abraham about why the Yankees non-tendered Alfredo Aceves, who eventually signed with the Red Sox. "I offered him a minor league contract, that was it. I wasn't going to do anything more than that," said the GM. "Because of the back issue, we could not give him [a Major League contract]. He was throwing off the mound for us and he always hit a wall. So we ultimately continued to fail throughout the entire process to get him off the DL and active. He had a lot of success for a period of time, but then ultimately we'd had to take steps back and we'd have to shut him down and re-do the treatment."

Is James Shields The Next Rays’ Starter To Go?

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Quality starting pitching is the best currency in the game, and no team has traded more of it in recent years than the Rays. They've traded what amounts to an above-average rotation within the last 27 months alone: Matt Garza, Edwin Jackson, Jason Hammel, Mitch Talbot, and Scott Kazmir. There are a number of teams out there that would trade their starting staff for that fivesome right now. 

Tampa was able to trade away all those arms because their farm system continues to pump out top flight pitching prospects. If you dig through Baseball America's all-time top 100 prospects lists, you'll see that the franchise hasn't had a top pitching prospect bust since Dewon Brazelton, the third overall pick in the 2001 draft. That's the result of tremendous scouting and player development, as well as incredible luck. 

357100813012_Orioles_at_Rays If it wasn't for B.J. Upton's brief cameo in 2004, the longest tenured player on the team would be 29-year-old righty James Shields. He's given the Rays four straight seasons of 200+ innings with a 4.17 ERA overall, though he slipped to a 5.18 ERA with a league leading 34 homers allowed last summer. The 2011 season is the last guaranteed year on Shields' contract ($4.25MM), though he would still be under control as an arbitration-eligible player in 2012. The club also holds very affordable options for 2012 ($7MM), 2013 ($9MM), and 2014 ($12MM).

With David Price, Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson, and Jeff Niemann still years away from huge paydays, Shields is the obvious candidate to be the next piece of trade bait. That contract is definitely team friendly, and guys that you can pencil in for 200 innings a year don't exactly grow on trees. As an added bonus, his fastball velocity has actually increased over the last few years, quite uncommon for pitchers that have logged so many innings. Throw in AL East and playoff experience, and you've got a hot commodity. Just look at the demand for Garza. 

Alex Torres (acquired in the Kazmir trade) and Alex Cobb will begin the 2011 season just a phone call away in Triple-A, and they represent the next wave of pitching help. Behind them will be Nick Barnese, Alex Colome, and Matt Moore in Double-A, and soon enough we'll be talking about Enny Romero and Jake Thompson in the same way. All seven of those guys were ranked among the team's 16 best prospects in the latest edition of Baseball America's Prospect Handbook.

Both the Rangers and Rockies had their eye on Shields this offseason, but the market for his services certainly wouldn't be limited to those two clubs. The Yankees and Nationals are known to be seeking pitching at the moment, and the Cardinals could also join the mix in the wake of Adam Wainwright's injury. More than likely, Tampa will hold onto Shields at least for the first half of the season before deciding to move him. They also have the option of waiting until next offseason, when they could take advantage of a thin free agent pitching market.

The Rays have been very successful in recent years thanks to their never-ending cycle of pitching. They get what they can out of a pitcher, then trade him once his contract becomes prohibitive and simply replace him with another high-end, young (and cheap) arm. Shields has started the last three Opening Days for Tampa, but 2011 could be his last with the team.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Julio Lugo Hoping For A Chance

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It's hard to believe that just four offseasons ago, Julio Lugo was the recipient of a contract that guaranteed him $36MM. Now he finds himself unemployed, telling Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (link in Spanish) that he still hopes a team will take a chance on him this season…

"I want to play, I'm healthy," said Lugo. "The last thing you lose is hope … I keep working every day to be ready when someone remembers my name and believes I can help … I can help in many ways, while playing in different positions in the infield and outfield, run, pinch hit."

Lugo, 35, spent last season with the Orioles, hitting just .249/.298/.282 in 264 plate appearances. The Red Sox designated him for assignment in July 2009, trading him to the Cardinals for Chris Duncan a few days later. Boston paid Lugo almost $13MM over the last year-and-a-half to play in St. Louis and Baltimore.

A right-handed bat with some speed, Lugo has played every position but pitcher, catcher, and first base in his career. As far as we know, no team has expressed interest in him this winter, but all it takes is one Spring Training injury for that phone to ring.

Padres Sign Jon Leicester

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The Padres have signed right-handed reliever Jon Leicester to a minor league contract according to the transactions page of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He is not in big league camp as a non-roster invitee according to the team's official site.

Leicester, 31, appeared in 48 games (six starts) with the Cubs and Orioles from 2004 through 2007, pitching to a 5.88 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 82 2/3 innings. He's spent the last two years in Japan, making 55 relief appearances for the Orix Buffaloes. In 62 2/3 innings on the other side of the pond, Leicester owns a 4.88 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.

Mets Want Reyes To Improve OBP Before New Deal

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One of the key components of being a leadoff man is the ability to get on base, and people familiar with the Mets' thinking tell SI.com's Jon Heyman that the team wants Jose Reyes to improve his on-base percentage before they give him a multiyear deal (Twitter link). The 27-year-old posted a .321 OBP in 2010.

Reyes' OBP was an issue earlier in his career as well; he got on base just 30.3% of the time in his first three seasons, a span of 1,254 plate appearances. He responded by posting an OBP between .354 and .358 in the next three years before a hamstring injury shortened his 2009 campaign. Reyes' career OBP is .335, and for comparison's sake, leadoff hitters around the game got on base at a .329 clip in 2010.

Reyes will earn $11MM in 2011 after the Mets exercised the club option in his contract. He's scheduled to be a free agent after the season. Last month we heard that the team wants to see if Reyes can stay healthy this summer before offering him a new contract. That's fine with the switch-hitting shortstop; he recently said he prefers to wait until after the season to talk about a new deal anyway.

Frank Catalanotto Says He’s Through Playing

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Journeyman Frank Catalanotto is not "officially" retired yet, but today he told David Lennon of Newsday that he's through playing (Twitter link). Catalanotto has a part-time gig coaching Team Italy, and he's in demand for television and radio work.

The 36-year-old carved out a big league career that spanned 14 seasons by being a left-handed bat and versatile. Catalanotto owns a more than respectable .291/.357/.445 batting line with 84 career homers, and he played every position other than pitcher, catcher, shortstop, and center field at one time or another. His best season came with the Rangers in 2001, when he hit .330/.391/.490 with 11 homers, 31 doubles, and just 55 strikeouts in 512 plate appearances.

Catalanotto broke camp with the Mets as a bench player last year, hitting .160/.192/.200 in 26 plate appearances before being designated for assignment in May. He first hinted at retirement shortly thereafter. Catalanotto played for the Tigers, Rangers (two stints), Blue Jays, and Brewers in addition to the Mets, and Baseball-Reference.com has his career earnings at just north of $22MM.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Anderson, Pujols, Liriano

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On this date in 1976, San Francisco mayor George Moscone intervened in the sale of the Giants to Labatt Brewery, which would have moved the team to Canada. Moscone helped arrange a last-minute sale to Bob Lurie and Bud Herseth for $8MM, keeping the team by the bay.

These links aren't in danger of relocating; here's the best the blogosphere had to offer over the last week…

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

Dodgers Sign Randy Keisler

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The Dodgers have signed Randy Keisler to a minor league contract according Dynasty Athlete Representation (on Twitter).

The 35-year-old left-hander hasn't appeared in the majors since 2007, and he's spent the last two years pitching in an independent league and the Mexican League. He spent the 2008 season with Triple-A affiliates of the Orioles and Cubs, posting a 4.03 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 114 innings. Keisler has pitched for the Yankees, Padres, Reds, Athletics, and Cardinals in his career, pitching to a 6.63 ERA in 150 2/3 big league innings.

Players That Signed Extensions With A New Team

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Every year we see teams sign their star players to long-term contract extensions, often buying out arbitration and/or free agent years. But every so often a team will acquire a player in a trade and then sign him to an extension before they ever play a game in their uniform. Many times an extension will be a condition of a trade, other times it can be unexpected.

Here's a few extensions that were signed before the player ever played a game for the team, sorted by guaranteed money…

  • Miguel Cabrera, Tigers – A little more than three months after the trade that brought him to Detroit, the Tigers gave Cabrera an eight-year, $152.3MM contract. Off-the-field transgressions aside, he's been worth every penny: .314/.388/.567 with 109 homers in three years in MoTown.
  • Johan Santana, Mets – The trade was contingent on Santana agreeing to a new deal, which he did when the team offered six years and $137.5MM. Although he's battled injuries with the Mets, Santana's pitched to a 2.85 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in the three years since the trade.
  • Ken Griffey Jr., Reds – The Kid signed what was then the largest contract in baseball history the day he was traded to Cincinnati, a nine-year, $112.5MM pact. He hit .270/.362/.514 with 210 homers in parts of nine seasons with the Reds, battling numerous injuries.
  • Roy Halladay, Phillies – Philadelphia wasted no time getting Halladay under contract, giving him a three-year, $60MM deal the day he was acquired from the Blue Jays. The extension doesn't kick in until this year, but Doc was as good as advertised in his first season with the Phillies, winning the Cy Young Award to go with a regular season perfect game and a playoff no-hitter.
  • Javier Vazquez, Yankees – After acquiring Vazquez from the Expos, the Yankees locked him into a four-year, $45MM pact. It didn't work out in New York; he pitched to a 4.91 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 2004 before being traded to Arizona as part of the package for Randy Johnson the following offseason.
  • Dontrelle Willis, Tigers – The Tigers locked up Willis before they locked up Cabrera. He signed a three-year, $29MM contract about two weeks after the trade, and you can bet the team wishes it could have pushed the reset button on this one. Willis pitched to a 6.86 ERA in just 101 innings in a Tigers' uniform.

Dan Uggla joined this group earlier this winter, and it's very possible Adrian Gonzalez will before the end of the month as well. Other players like Josh Beckett and Scott Rolen (with the Cardinals) signed extensions within a few months of being acquired, playing just a handful of games with their new teams beforehand.

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