Mets Designate Manny Acosta For Assignment
The Mets designated reliever Manny Acosta for assignment, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. GM Sandy Alderson also told reporters that Blaine Boyer and Daniel Murphy made the team, Jason Isringhausen has yet to decide whether to report to extended Spring Training, and Jason Bay and Ronny Paulino could potentially land on the disabled list to start the season.
Acosta, 30 in May, posted a 2.95 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9, and 41.7% groundball rate in 39 2/3 relief innings for the Mets last year. He posted similar peripheral stats in 36 1/3 Triple-A frames. The Mets claimed him off waivers from the Braves a year ago. With a strong strikeout rate and 94 mph fastball, Acosta should generate some interest.
Also, Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger tweets that first baseman/outfielder Nick Evans could clear waivers today, in which case he'd take Bay's spot if the veteran does hit the DL.
Marlins Position Battles
The latest on the Marlins as they firm up their roster in advance of Friday's opener against the Mets…
- Outfielder Dewayne Wise has been reassigned to minor league camp, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Wise is unsure whether he'll accept the assignment, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The 33-year-old hit .250/.304/.462 in 55 spring plate appearances. Wise had a better spring than Scott Cousins, but a mid-March toe injury hurt Wise's chances. Also, Spencer notes that Wise would require a 40-man roster spot, even though they'd be full if they add Donnie Murphy and Greg Dobbs and put Evan Reed on the 60-day DL.
- Rodriguez also notes that the Marlins released former first-round pick Brett Sinkbeil. The 26-year-old righty had been removed from the 40-man roster in November after posting a 5.71 ERA in 63 Triple-A relief innings.
- Spencer's article explains that eight relievers are battling for seven spots on the Marlins. Two of Burke Badenhop, Brian Sanches, and Edward Mujica are expected to make the team, wrote MLB.com's Joe Frisaro yesterday. Mujica and Sanches are out of options.
- Murphy appears to be the team's Opening Day third baseman; president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told Spencer the trade front is quiet. They'd only be looking for a "place-keeper" for Matt Dominguez, anyway.
Predicting Free Agent Destinations: Polishuk Wins
Back on November 10th, MLBTR writers Steve Adams, Mark Polishuk, Ben Nicholson-Smith, and Mike Axisa joined me in an attempt to predict destinations for my top 50 free agents. As expected, the best of us still batted under .300, even with gimmes like Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter in the mix. On 18 of the 50 players, at least one of us guessed correctly, including impressive picks for Orlando Hudson, J.J. Putz, Derrek Lee, Joaquin Benoit, Kevin Correia, Yorvit Torrealba, Juan Uribe, and Andy Pettitte.
Our winner was Mark Polishuk, with 12 out of 50 – a .240 batting average. Mark's especially shrewd picks for Lee, Benoit, Correia, and Torrealba pushed him to the top. Here are the correct picks from each MLBTR writer.
- Mark Polishuk (12) – Victor Martinez, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Carl Pavano, Jake Westbrook, Aubrey Huff, Jim Thome, Magglio Ordonez, Derrek Lee, Joaquin Benoit, Kevin Correia, Yorvit Torrealba
- Steve Adams (11) – Victor Martinez, Mariano Rivera, Paul Konerko, Derek Jeter, Jake Westbrook, Aubrey Huff, Jim Thome, Magglio Ordonez, Orlando Hudson, J.J. Putz, Kerry Wood
- Tim Dierkes (10) – Victor Martinez, Mariano Rivera, Paul Konerko, Derek Jeter, Carl Pavano, Jake Westbrook, Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, Andy Pettitte, Kerry Wood
- Ben Nicholson-Smith (9) – Mariano Rivera, Paul Konerko, Derek Jeter, Carl Pavano, Jake Westbrook, Aubrey Huff, Jim Thome, Kevin Correia, Kerry Wood
- Mike Axisa (6) – Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jake Westbrook, Jim Thome, Magglio Ordonez, J.J. Putz
Of the top five free agents – Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Adrian Beltre, Jayson Werth, and Adam Dunn – none of us had a correct pick. It's safe to say this was an offseason full of surprising signings. Next time we'll try to get the entire writing team involved, and also give you a chance to make your picks.
Red Sox, Rockies Working On Trade?
The Red Sox and Rockies are working on a trade, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. He says it's "likely something minor in nature." Abraham feels that Rockies catcher Matt Pagnozzi "could be of interest to the Red Sox."
Nationals Notes: 40-Man Roster, Rule 5 Picks
The Nationals host the Braves on Thursday, when Livan Hernandez and Derek Lowe will face off. The latest on the club…
- The Nationals currently have 37 players on their 40-man roster after putting pitchers Chien-Ming Wang and Elvin Ramirez on the 60-day DL. The move buys the Nats extra time with Ramirez, a Rule 5 pick from the Mets who has little experience above High-A.
- The team's lone remaining 25-man roster decision is Alex Cora versus Alberto Gonzalez for a backup infield job, reports Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com. Cora would need a 40-man spot, as will Laynce Nix, Chad Gaudin, and Matt Stairs.
- Rule 5 pick Brian Broderick, a righty taken from the Cardinals, made the team according to Goessling (Twitter link). For much more on Broderick, check out Buster Olney's blog if you have ESPN Insider.
Rockies Acquire Josh Fields
The Rockies acquired third baseman Josh Fields from the Pirates for a player to be named later or cash, tweets the team. Fields had been reassigned to the Pirates' minor league camp three days ago. He'd signed a minor league deal in December. The Pirates have jettisoned several of their minor league signings, with Andy Marte perhaps the next to go.
Fields, 28, missed most of the 2010 season due to hip surgery, though he had 104 interesting plate appearances before being non-tendered. Aside from third base, he's dabbled at first and left field.
Fields was drafted 18th overall by the White Sox in 2004 and was once considered a top prospect. He crushed 23 home runs in 418 plate appearances with the Sox in '07, nine of which came in August of that year.
Twins Retain Scott Diamond Through Trade
The Twins have retained Rule 5 pick Scott Diamond by working out a trade with the Braves, tweets MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. The Twins are sending righty relief prospect Billy Bullock to the Braves in the deal. Diamond was assigned outright to Triple-A, according to the Twins.
Diamond, a 24-year-old southpaw, posted a 3.46 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 0.3 HR/9 in 158 2/3 innings across 27 starts at Double and Triple-A last year. Baseball America ranked him 29th among Twins prospects, noting that his ceiling is as a fourth or fifth starter.
Bullock, 23, put up a 3.53 ERA, 12.8 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 74 relief innings for the Twins' High-A and Double-A clubs last year. BA ranked Bullock 15th among Twins prospects, praising his repertoire but questioning his command. Having swapped their #15 prospect for their 29th best, the Twins clearly don't agree with Baseball America's rankings in this case.
Mariners Release Josh Wilson
The Mariners released infielder Josh Wilson, tweets MLB.com's Greg Johns. Wilson, 30, hit .227/.278/.29 in 388 plate appearances for the Mariners last year, logging 839 innings at shortstop. By cutting him now, the Mariners owe only 45 days termination pay. On a $725K salary that amounts to about $179K.
The Everett Herald's Kirby Arnold tweeted earlier today that the Mariners selected the contracts of Chris Ray and Jamey Wright, so today's purchase of Adam Kennedy's contract fills up the team's 40-man roster. Wilson told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times the Mariners are keeping non-roster invitee Luis Rodriguez as well, which can be made possible by placing Mauricio Robles on the 60-day DL.
Luis Cruz Elects Free Agency
Infielder Luis Cruz has refused an outright assignment by the Brewers and elected free agency, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. McCalvy says word from Cruz's teammates is that he will sign with the Rangers.
Cruz, 27, hit .281/.309/.414 in 518 Triple-A plate appearances last year, spending most of his time at shortstop.
What They Said When The Mariners Signed Silva
Former Mariners GM Bill Bavasi signed Carlos Silva to a four-year, $48MM deal in December of 2007. Two years later, Jack Zduriencik sent Silva and $9MM to the Cubs for Milton Bradley in a bad contract swap. Yesterday, Silva was released by the Cubs with $13.5MM remaining on the contract. Silva, known as an innings eater at the time of the signing, has provided a 5.82 ERA over 296 2/3 frames over the last three years. Let's see what was being said at the time of the signing…
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Tim Dierkes, MLB Trade Rumors
This is the new price of a big league innings eater. Silva may not be anything special, but he's shown the ability to eat American League innings. Those guys don't grow on trees.
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Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
The strike throwing, no outpitch hurler is just a very easy skillset to find in a pitcher. Throwing a huge amount of money at Carlos Silva simply because he’s proven is a gigantic waste of resources.
This was actually written before the Mariners signed Silva, but it still sums up Cameron's evaluation of the deal.
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Jeff Sullivan, Lookout Landing
There's no doubt in my mind that this is a financially irresponsible contract, and that you could get 90-100% of Silva's production going forward from someone else for a tiny fraction of the price. Of that I don't think there's any question. But overpaying is nothing new for this team, and at the end of the day, I would so much rather pay too much money than give away too much talent.
Note: this was Jeff coming to terms with the deal, after saying worse things about it previously.
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Geoff Baker, Seattle Times
Did the M's truly overpay for Silva? We'll know the answer in a couple of years if he misses a season with a blown out elbow ligament. But if he stays healthy, the way Washburn and Batista have to this point, you get a slightly above-average pitcher for what should be a below-market rate.
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Keith Law, ESPN
If we set the length of the contract aside for a moment, the signing of Carlos Silva makes some sense…The contract itself, however, is lunacy…While he's likely to be an immediate upgrade over the internal options Seattle had, the odds of him turning out to be a good investment over a four-year period — even before we consider the chance he suffers a major injury — are low, and if the Mariners' defense declines via a trade of Adam Jones or Adrian Beltre, Silva's performance will take a direct hit.
The three quotes I pulled out from Law's blog post are best read in context, if you have ESPN Insider. The entire post is a good read.
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Silva ended up performing worse than any of us thought he would. Most writers agreed when he signed that he made the Mariners better, which never happened. Aside from missing the mark on Silva's ability to continue eating innings, I also failed to recognize that his contract was an outlier rather than the new standard for innings eaters. Three years later, innings eater types are only getting $4-8MM per year and one or two years.