Frank Thomas Released
11:10am: While I was writing the below, Frank Thomas was released. That was fast. I would expect the Jays to call up Adam Lind. They’ve lost a big chunk of run production, so they should be looking for a new DH. Barry Bonds? As for Thomas, I think there will be a lot of interest. My immediate thought is the Rays, which could come back to bite the Jays. Better suggestions?
9:48am: More drama coming out of the Blue Jays clubhouse as Frank Thomas has been benched indefinitely, sparking rumors of his potential release. Last night, the Big Hurt was keeping the bench warm in favor of Matt Stairs at DH. Even when Shannon Stewart was scratched in left field, Joe Inglett was slotted into left instead of moving Stairs there and plugging the slumping Thomas into the lineup. Reports Richard Griffin of the Toronto Sun, GM J.P. Ricciardi said this move (benching Thomas for Joe Inglett) was "just putting out what we think is our best lineup to score runs." That speaks volumes.
This doesn’t seem to be a motivational tactic by Manager John Gibbons akin to Ozzie Guillen’s annual declaration that Bobby Jenks isn’t guaranteed the closer role. Instead Griffin reports that Thomas was told by Gibbons that this replacement was "indefinite, maybe forever." In other words, the Jays might be considering releasing him and saving the $10MM owed to Thomas next season; or they could be weathering his displeasure and keeping his PAs to a minimum since the $10MM in 2009 is a vesting option that he earns by recording 1,000 PAs in ’07-’08 (he only needs 304 this year). No wonder Thomas is peeved.
Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Star reports,
If the Jays do decide to go without Thomas, to release him, they could bring up Adam Lind to play left field on an everyday basis — he is better defensively than either Stairs or Stewart — and have the veterans split the DH duties. At Syracuse, Lind, a left-handed hitter, is hitting .360 with three homers and 13 RBIs.
Adds Richard Griffin,
If the Jays wish it, his Toronto career, in fact, could be over. A revised DH combo of Stairs and either Rod Barajas or Marco Scutaro could be easier to slot into the batting order than was the slumping one-man roadblock that is the Hurt. After Scott Rolen returns from an injury rehab assignment in a couple of weeks, there will be nowhere logically for Thomas to hit.
Thomas started slowly through 60 AB last year too before putting together a .277-26-95 season. PECOTA projects a drop in average, but another 25-90 campaign. If healthy, I could see Thomas doing even better than those marks. Still, if they bench or release him it’s to save themselves from having to give $10MM to a 41 year old Thomas. If they do release him, I would expect him to get signed elsewhere faster than you can say "Barry Bonds". At which point, I would also expect a fuming Thomas to go on a Hulk-like rampage.
By Nat Boyle
Rays To Stay Flexible
Some Rays notes to report on from Marc Lancaster:
- A quote from Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg: "We have room to cut payroll, we have room to grow payroll. We’ll be opportunistic. I know you guys have heard it, but we’re never going to take our eye off of that. If somebody happens to want a high-priced talent of ours and we can get low-priced talent, great. And if they want a low-priced talent and we get high-priced talent that we think is very additive, that’s fine, too."
- According to Lancaster, just because the Rays didn’t pick up Rocco Baldelli‘s option doesn’t mean they’re not committed to the player. Rays Executive VP Andrew Friedman says, "We’ll do anything in our power to keep him in a Rays uniform as long as possible." If Baldelli can recover and get back on track, he could possess the same relative injury risk and upside at a fraction of the cost.
By Nat Boyle
Olney’s Latest: Lidge, Shields, Eveland, Lahey
Here are some trade-rumor-tidbits from Buster Olney this morning:
- For the first time in his career, Scot Shields was activated from the DL and rookie pitcher Rich Thompson was sent down to Triple A. The Angels had hoped to keep the kid around but last friday’s 1 inning, 5-run meltdown assured his ticket out.
- A likely story: Dana Eveland is making Billy Beane look smart. He shut down the Indians for 7 innings yesterday, striking out 7. When Dan Haren was sent to Arizona for 6 prospects, Tim thought the Dbacks won and suggested Eveland could be a back of the rotation starter of the David Wells-variety as was the common consensus around the league. Eveland hadn’t shown anything at the major league level; however, it seems Eveland might be realizing his potential (413 minor league IP, 8.84 K/9). Then again, it’s been one start and Olney notes Jhonny Peralta just thinks Eveland got lucky. Time will tell, but Beane has a funny way of making time work in his favor.
- As Brad Lidge comes back, reliever Tim Lahey is designated for assignment to make room. Lahey’s path is a bit of a head-scratcher. He was selected by the Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft from the Twins before being claimed off waivers by the Phillies. He’s now back on waivers, and if he clears, he’ll have to be offered back to the Twins who apparently do want him back. So an imminent Twins/Phillies deal could be in the works.
By Nat Boyle
Giants Interested In Nick Johnson?
Henry Schulman at The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Giants GM Brian Sabean is seeking a left-handed hitting 1B to complement the aging Rich Aurilia, and lists Nick Johnson and the Braves’ Scott Thorman as points of interest.
Nick Johnson is off to a hot start hitting .368/.455/.688 in 19 ABs, and for this reason Schulman suggests he could be off the market; however, contrary to that rationale, the Nationals might want to take advantage of Johnson’s sudden upswing in value. They do have Dmitri Young sitting idly by. If the Giants want to spend $11MM over the next 2 years on Johnson, he would be a solid addition to a lackluster offense. Johnson would almost certainly make a bench player of Aurilia.
Scott Thorman, who the Braves have been shopping for over a month, is 26, and hit 11 homeruns in 268 ABs last season. With Mark Teixeira locked in at 1B this season, and plenty of guys who can be moved to 1B next year (Matt Diaz, Mark Kotsay, et al), Thorman no longer seems to be the heir apparent should Teixeira not re-sign.
While I’m always hesitant to suggest a team should deal with Billy Beane, Dan Johnson needs a new home. Sure his value has collapsed over the past couple seasons, but he hits lefty, could provide power, and is only 28. He’s on a one year contract for $410,000, so there’s not much risk, and Beane’s asking price can’t be high. If the Giants don’t want to commit $11MM to a player as they try to rebuild, DJ could be a good alternative.
Any other 1B options you think would be a good fit?
By Nat Boyle
Don’t Count Bonds Out
Last we checked, Barry Bonds was determined not to retire. Rangers beat writer Jim Reeves has this to say about the basher:
"Fact is, if the Rangers are somehow a surprise contender by midseason and Bonds is still out there… let me just suggest that the Bonds issue might well be revisited again by the powers that be at The Ballpark in Arlington."
Reeves is not advocating the signing. In fact, he’s urging Rangers owner Tom Hicks not to bend when he responded to the question of signing Bonds with a vehement, "No way" that put this rumor to sleep almost a month ago. However, Rangers Manager Ron Washington is vocally in favor of bringing Bonds on board.
"’I’d do it,’ Washington said. ‘I would. I’m a Barry Bonds fan. I’ve always been a Barry Bonds fan… He’s going to help you win a lot of ballgames. That’s what it’s all about … He has his own attitude, but that don’t bother me,’ Washington said. ‘The bottom line is what does he do for us between the lines?’"
By Nat Boyle
Rockies Want De La Rosa As PTBNL
Last Wednesday, the Royals acquired Ramon Ramirez from the Rockies for a player to be named later. Well, later appears to be now as the Rockies have expressed interest in Jorge De La Rosa assuming he clears waivers and accepts the assignment. For more clarity, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star breaks down why it wasn’t just a straight trade of Ramirez for De La Rosa:
"Any club claiming De La Rosa on waivers would be on the hook for his $1.025 million salary. He can choose to become a free agent if he clears waivers but would forfeit his salary if he does so. If De La Rosa clears waivers and accepts the assignment, he can be traded as a minor-league player. A player to be determined later can’t be a player on a club’s 40-man roster."
De La Rosa started strong this spring but ended with an 8.03 ERA. After posting optimistic k/9 rates of 8.9 and 9.2 in ’05 and ’06 respectively, De La Rosa has struggled in his move from Milwaukee to the Royals. He throws hard and may find more success in the NL with some more work in minors.
By Nat Boyle
K-Rod Won’t Negotiate During Season
The Daily News LA has a brief update on the Angels and their attempt to re-sign Francisco Rodriguez. Apparently neither party has made much headway on getting a deal done before the season and now that Spring Training is ending K-Rod and his agent, Paul Kinzer, won’t negotiate during the season.
"…Kinzer said he has ‘absolutely not’ given the Angels a deadline or ultimatum to sign Rodriguez before the season starts or watch him leave as a free agent next fall.
Rodriguez conceded Saturday that seems to be the likely outcome.
‘Everything’s headed that way,’ he said. ‘But there’s going to be six long months of the season and I can’t predict what’s going to happen in one week or one month or six months.’"
MLBTR suggests $50MM over 4 years is not unreachable for K-Rod, given Joe Nathan‘s recent $47MM over 4 years. Still both sides are distant at this point as the Angels best offer has been $34 over 3 years. K-Rod argued for $12.5 in the arbitration case he eventually lost, so the Angels contract offer falls short of what Rodriguez feels he deserves now in arbitration. K-Rod is only 26, seven (!) years younger than Nathan, and for that should be able to command a 4+ year deal easily.
By Nat Boyle
Giants Designate Steve Kline
Chris Haft at MLB.com reports the Giants have designated lefty reliever Steve Kline for assignment. Adds Haft,
"Dropping Kline… was not completely unexpected. Kline, 35, is coming off his worst season since his rookie year of 1997, having posted a 4.70 ERA and more walks than strikeouts last year. He also allowed left-handed batters to hit .318 off him. This spring, Kline owned a 5.40 ERA in 11 appearances and had yielded 17 hits in 11 2/3 innings."
Lefties who can’t get lefties out aren’t well sought after. Still, somebody will probably take a flier on Kline. Any ideas as to who could use him?
By Nat Boyle
Sheets & Sabathia Head Next Year’s Free Agent Class
A couple nice nuggets to confirm what we already suspect regarding a couple big fish on the 2009 Starting Pitcher Free Agents list.
As MLBTR covered here, this should be Ben Sheets‘ last year with the Brewers. Further affirming the inevitable, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says,
If the 29-year-old right-hander finally has a healthy season and puts up impressive numbers, the Brewers would be hard-pressed to meet his asking price on what has been a runaway pitching market in recent years. And, should Sheets break down again and turns his four-year, $38.5 million contract into a complete boondoggle, the Brewers would be taken to task for giving him another chance.
And news on an even bigger fish, Patrick McManamon of the Ohio Beacon Journal brings us a quote from Indians GM Mark Shapiro that could lead one to believe that C.C. Sabathia will be voted out of the Tribe:
”We’re forced to confront decisions every year,” Shapiro said. ”We don’t lose much next year. We lose one core player next year . . . maybe not. But then the two years that follow we lose almost no one — and none of our core players. ‘The biggest challenge that we’ve got over the next four years, the three years that follow this one, is how we handle losing C.C., if we lose him.”
Tim recently put together an excellent breakdown of Sabathia-suitors here.
By Nat Boyle
To Be Dealt: Bay, Nady, Marte, Morris, Wilson
A short but sweet article came out in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette this morning detailing the Pirates’ five main trade candidates. No new or surprising names appear on the list but it’s a handy roundup for those not up to date on their Bucco news. As we head into the ’08 season (tonight!) the Pirates may not be contenders, but they could be difference makers.
Jason Bay – $5.75MM in ’08, $7.5MM in ’09 – I was surprised they didn’t deal him in the offseason, but the Pirates are wisely taking a wait and see approach with Bay. Surely he can’t be as bad as he was last season. Like the Pirates, PECOTA is predicting a moderate bounce back season, but not quite the elite 30 HR seasons of ’05-’06.
Xavier Nady – $3.35MM in ’08, arbitration eligible in ’09 – To make room for blocked prospect Steve Pearce, Nady needs to go; however, there’s enough doubt around the league that he can hit righties well enough to justify an everyday position. The Mets are the only listed suitor as they could use a corner OF/1B.
Damaso Marte – $2MM in ’08 with club option for ’09 – The article’s rhetoric seems to imply Marte is the most likely to be dealt with Yankees and Braves as suitors. When it comes to crafty, lefty relievers, expect a number of teams to come calling.
Matt Morris – $9.5MM in ’08, $9MM club option in ’09 ($1MM buyout) – Morris had a nice first half for the Giants last year(3.55 ERA) before regressing to his struggling ways. His talent should make it hard to trade him out of the NL, and his contract and could make it difficult to deal him to any team not desperate for someone to pickup innings. The Pirates should be crossing their fingers for another strong first half.
Jack Wilson – $6.5MM in ’08, $7.25MM in ’09, $8.4 club option for ’10 – The article notes that the Pirates will need a SS in return for someone on this list before they can comfortably deal Wilson as he’s the only everyday SS in their system. As Tim noted back in August, Wilson just wants out of Pittsburgh and will waive his six team no trade clause.
We’d love to hear from Pirates fans on all of this.
By Nat Boyle