Odds & Ends: Rincon, Calero, Rangers, Encarnacion
Here are some links to kick off the weekend…
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post provides the details on Juan Rincon's contract with the Rockies. He'll earn $800K plus incentives in the big leagues, or $20K per month in the minors.
- Satchel Price at Beyond The Box Score wonders why we haven't heard more about Kiko Calero this offseason. The Cubs and Giants were interested in the righthander at various times this offseason.
- Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas reiterates what we heard yesterday: the Rangers are seeking a veteran catcher. He mentions that they've shown interest in both Rod Barajas and Dioner Navarro.
- Edwin Encarnacion suffered burns to his face in a fireworks accident according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas. He will not require surgery, and will be ready to go in Spring Training.
- Jeff Passan at Yahoo! Sports lists ten players we should keep an on eye to see how their market develops during the remainder of the offseason. His list is led by Matt Holliday and Aroldis Chapman.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach notes that if the Cardinals felt they weren't in a good position to re-sign Holliday, they would have moved on to other targets by now.
- Dick Kaegel of MLB.com says that "it would take a calamitous showing" for Royals' manager Trey Hillman to lose his job this season given his relationship with GM Dayton Moore.
- Steve Slowinski at DRaysBay goes back in time to evaluate the Danys Baez and Lance Carter for Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany trade.
Discussion: Which Team Has Improved The Most?
There's still a long way to go this offseason, however that won't stop us from debating which team has improved it's roster the most (so far).
The Red Sox have added the likes of John Lackey, Mike Cameron, Marco Scutaro, and Jeremy Hermida while losing Jason Bay, Billy Wagner, and Takashi Saito. Meanwhile, the Yankees replaced Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Melky Cabrera with Nick Johnson, Curtis Granderson, and Javier Vazquez. The Mariners added Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, and Milton Bradley while the Phillies imported Roy Halladay and Placido Polanco.
There are no shortage of teams that qualify for the title of "most improved," however determining which team actually deserves it will be tough. Who do the dedicated readers of MLBTR think baseball's most improved team is?
Trades So Far This Offseason
Yesterday we took a look at the multi-year deals already given out this offseason, so let's change gears and take a look at the trades that were completed. Here's a list of the deals that have already gone down:
- The biggest deal of the offseason involved three teams and two Cy Young Award winners. The Phillies acquired Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays in exchange for prospects Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor, and Travis D'Arnaud while shipping Cliff Lee to the Mariners for prospects Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, and J.C. Ramirez. The Jays then turned around and flipped Taylor to Oakland for another prospect, the suddenly well-traveled Brett Wallace.
- In another three team swap, the Yankees received Curtis Granderson, the Diamondbacks received Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy, and the Tigers received Max Scherzer, Phil Coke, and prospects Austin Jackson and Daniel Schlereth.
- The Yankees acquired Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan from the Braves for Melky Cabrera, prospects Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino, and cash.
- The Cubs finally unloaded Milton Bradley, sending him to the Mariners for Carlos Silva.
- The Brewers and Twins swapped J.J. Hardy and Carlos Gomez.
- The Orioles reeled in Kevin Millwood from the Rangers, sending Chris Ray and their third overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft to Texas. The Rangers used the pick to take lefty relief prospect Ben Snyder from the Giants.
- The Pirates acquired Akinori Iwamura from the Rays for Jesse Chavez, who then sent Chavez to the Braves for Rafael Soriano after he accepted arbitration.
- The White Sox acquired Mark Teahen from the Royals in exchange for prospects Chris Getz and Josh Fields, then later acquired Juan Pierre from Dodgers for prospects John Ely and Jon Link. The Dodgers will pay $10.5MM of the $18.5MM owed to Pierre over the next two years.
- The Diamondbacks acquired Aaron Heilman from the Cubs for prospects Scott Maine and Ryne White.
- The Astros picked up Matt Lindstrom from the Marlins in exchange for prospects Robert Bono and Luis Bryan, as well as Houston's eight overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft. Florida used the pick to take third base prospect Jorge Jimenez from the Red Sox.
- The Rays acquired Kelly Shoppach from the Indians for a player to be named later, who turned out to be Mitch Talbot.
- The Blue Jays acquired Brandon Morrow from the Mariners in exchange for reliever Brandon League and prospect Johermyn Chavez.
- The Athletics picked up Aaron Miles, Jake Fox and cash considerations from the Cubs for Jeff Gray and prospects Matt Spencer and Ronny Morla.
- The Nationals picked up Brian Bruney from the Yankees in exchange for the first overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft. The Yanks used the pick to take outfield prospect Jamie Hoffmann from the Dodgers.
- The Red Sox acquired Boof Bonser from the Twins in exchange for prospect Chris Province, and Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins for prospects Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez. Boston also traded a player to be named later or cash to the Royals for Tug Hulett.
- The Rangers acquired Clay Rapada from the Tigers for a player to named later of cash considerations.
- The Padres acquired catcher Dusty Ryan from the Tigers for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Odds & Ends: Byrd, Werth, Tigers, Brewers
Here's your first batch of links for 2010…
- Marlon Byrd signed with the Cubs partly because of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Jaramillo worked with Byrd in Texas.
- The Marlins are willing to spend on Aroldis Chapman because they don't anticipate handing big bucks over to their first round pick next year, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The Marlins have the 23rd overall pick in the draft.
- Jayson Werth is set to become a free agent after the 2010 season, and MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says he isn't sure the Phillies could retain him if he goes looking for a deal similar to what the Mets gave Jason Bay.
- Jason Beck of MLB.com says he'd be surprised if the Tigers didn't trade for a veteran reliever on a short-term contract to fill in at the back of the bullpen.
- Don't discount the idea of Brewers' GM Doug Melvin making another move to bolster his pitching staff, says Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Such a move could come before the season, or ahead of the trade deadline.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock notes that Padres' GM Jed Hoyer has talked about finding players that fit Petco Park, which would be "an athletic one, has doubles-power, someone who can run … if it's an outfielder, someone who can go get a ball, someone who won't clog the bases."
- The Rangers will bring in "at least one and possibly two" veteran catchers, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. He notes that the team has talked about Rod Barajas and Yorvit Torrealba, but both are looking for two-year deals.
- In an interview with Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chipper Jones says that he's told team officials he'll only change positions if the team brings in "the right personnel." Chipper also reiterated that he's going year-to-year at this point of his career, and admits there's parts of being a ballplayer that he's sick of.
- Here's the current 2010 draft order based on the free agent signings that are official. At the moment, the Angels have five of the first 37 picks.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Twins, Beltre, Giants
On New Year's Day 49 years ago, the stadium on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull Boulevard in Detroit was officially renamed Tiger Stadium. The then 49-year-old park had previously been known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium. Tiger Stadium would serve as the home of Detroit's ball club until the 2000 season, and was demolished completely in 2009.
Here's a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…
- Bucco Fans takes a look at what could have happened if the Pirates had kept their 2008 roster together.
- Twins Overlook runs down Minnesota's top seven prospects, led by outfielder Aaron Hicks.
- Meanwhile, Nick's Twins Blog examines the current state of the Twinkies' starting rotation.
- The Bottom Line looks at how signing Adrian Beltre could affect the big picture in Boston.
- DRaysBay compares Matt Joyce to Matt LaPorta, and finds that the gap between the two may not be as big as you think.
- Jorge Says No! looks at the potential risk and reward of the Mark DeRosa signing.
- El Lefty Malo guesses that the Giants will wait to see how Jonathan Sanchez's arbitration case turns out before deciding on whether or not to move a starter for a bat.
- Pinstripes Published suggests David DeJesus as a possible left field solution for the Yankees.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Angels Preparing Offer For Chapman?
Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles says that the Angels "appear to be lining up an offer" for Cuban southpaw Aroldis Chapman. The Halos might have an advantage over other clubs in the Chapman sweepstakes because of first baseman Kendry Morales, who has become a good friend of the lefthander.
"Selfishly, we're a nice fit. It's hard to come over here, and Kendry gives him some idea of the pitfalls of the adjustment," Angels scouting director Eddie Bane said. "It's a fit, but who knows? It depends on the price."
So far only two teams have made an offer to Chapman (the Red Sox and Marlins), and Bane said that he doesn't "see a team like Oakland or Kansas City or someone like that getting him." We just learned about the A's interest in Chapman two days ago.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Matsui, Mariners, Callapso
On Christmas Day way back in 2001, Hideki Matsui became the highest paid player in Japanese baseball history, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $4.7MM with the Yomiuri Giants. In his seven-year (and counting) Major League Baseball career, Matsui has never earned less than $6MM annually.
Let's see what's being written around the blogosphere…
- River Ave. Blues takes a look at the economic impact of Matsui leaving the World Champs for the Angels.
- U.S.S. Mariner runs down some potential first base options for the Mariners, covering players available through trades, free agency, and those already in-house.
- It's About The Money, Stupid! compares Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson to the two guys they're replacing, Johnny Damon and Matsui.
- South Side Sox provides some thoughts on Kenny Williams' busy offseason.
- Royals Authority says Kansas City needs an outfielder, and proposes a few deals centered around Alberto Callaspo.
- Viva El Birdos has some concerns about signing Matt Holliday to a long-term contract.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Vazquez, A’s, Orioles, Marlins
A few links…
- ESPN's Keith Law rated David Ortiz signing with Boston as the best free agent pickup of the decade. Darren Dreifort's deal with the Dodgers was the worst, and he called the Erik Bedard trade the biggest of the decade. That last one is certainly debatable; I prefer the Bartolo Colon for Grady Sizemore (plus others) deal.
- Interestingly, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman noted today that the club tried to acquire Javier Vazquez from Arizona after 2005 and the White Sox after 2008, “but we just didn’t match up," reports Chad Jennings of The Journal News.
- Bruce Jenkins of The SF Chronicle says that the A's are winning the battle of the Bay Area this offseason. Of course, the regular season is the battle you really want to win.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports that Orioles' president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said "My guess is I wouldn't think we'll be doing anything anytime soon, which is not to be interpreted as not doing anything between now and Sarasota." The O's finalized the Garrett Atkins deal today.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes about the Marlins' first base situation, noting that there's certainly no shortage of in-house options.
- Bill Ladson of MLB.com tweets that the Nationals continue to show interest in righty John Smoltz, "but they are not willing to break the bank to get him."
- Coco Crisp's physical with the A's was delayed because of travel issues, so the announcement of his signing will have to wait says Susan Slusser of The SF Chronicle.
- Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball takes a look at the growth of player salaries over the last decade.
- Here's some news on a different kind of contract negotiation: According to the AP (via ESPN) MLB and the umpires hope to have a new agreement in place tomorrow, which will allow for greater flexibility with postseason assignments.
Wren: We’re Going To Add A Run Producer
Following today’s Javier Vazquez deal, Braves’ GM Frank Wren was a guest on 790 The Zone to talk about what lies ahead for his team. Click here to listen to the audio.
Wren discussed how he sees the deal helping his team, but adds that “There’s definitely some more things we’re doing.” When asked directly if he was looking to add a middle of the order bat, Wren replied “We think we’re in the mix for a guy just like that. We’re going to add a run producer that’s going to round out our offense.”
The Vazquez deal saves the team about $9MM next season, and they’re known to be seeking a righthander hitter. Jason Bay and Matt Holliday both appear to be too expensive, though names like Marlon Byrd and Adam LaRoche have been kicked around.
Report: Mets Have Looked Into Bringing Pedro Back
6:43pm: The Newark Star-Ledger's Brian Costa tweets that "A Mets official denies ESPN report that team has looked into bringing back Pedro Martinez."
3:43pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark reports that the Mets have looked into bringing Pedro Martinez back to Flushing, and are "continuing to kick around the idea internally." One official with a club who had interest in Pedro said he's looking to exceed Brad Penny's deal, which means one year and $7.5MM guaranteed.
The 38-year-old Pedro earned about $1.5MM with incentives in 2009, when he made nine starts with a 3.63 ERA for the Phillies. He's looking to play a full season in 2010.