Trading Carlos Zambrano
Carlos Zambrano signed a five-year, $91.5MM extension with the Cubs in August of 2007. At the time, I had mixed feelings – the Cubs received a discount in the number of years, but still committed a big salary to a pitcher whose best years were behind him. Talking to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs GM Jim Hendry defended the contract yesterday:
"There was nothing wrong with the investment. This guy was an outstanding pitcher in the National League, in the game, for the four or five years before that. And there's no question that the deal was a solid one in the industry. He certainly would have been one of the hotter tickets on the street if that thing went to the end of the season."
Wittenmyer says the Cubs now have an "obvious desire" to unload Zambrano and his remaining $45.4MM. You may recall that the Cubs had a similar obvious desire with Milton Bradley last winter, and they eventually found a match. Hendry may find trading Zambrano a bigger challenge. For the moment, we'll toss aside Z's full no-trade clause.
- Carlos Lee is owed $46.85MM through 2012, his contract matches up quite well with Zambrano's. However, the Cubs don't need an outfielder and Lee has a full no-trade clause this year. It's impossible to imagine Lee and Alfonso Soriano in the same outfield, even though the Cubs liked Lee in the past.
- Aaron Rowand and Edgar Renteria are owed a total of $35.7MM. The Giants would be adding $9.7MM in salary, though that's not a bad price for Zambrano over the next few years. But as far as team needs, this makes little sense for either side.
- Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo are owed a total of $27.6MM. The Mets would be taking on nearly $18MM to own Zambrano through '12 and finally ditch this pair of bad contracts.
- Any deal with the Braves would have to involve Derek Lowe, who is owed $38MM through 2012. I don't see why the Braves would want to make the switch.
- The Indians could match the Cubs' Zambrano commitment almost perfectly with Travis Hafner, Kerry Wood, and Jake Westbrook. It seems pointless, though, and Hafner isn't able to play first base.
- The Royals' three bad contracts – Gil Meche, Jose Guillen, and Kyle Farnsworth - have $27.7MM remaining. It's a poor match, though ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Royals are pushing to move Guillen and will eat a lot of dollars.
- One last idea, perhaps the craziest yet. The Yankees owe A.J. Burnett $58.3MM through 2013. Burnett isn't faring well in the second year of his deal, and the Cubs would be taking on almost $13MM to make the swap. The Cubs would assume less than $6MM if they included Derrek Lee, though.
- As you can see, I failed to find a reasonable Zambrano trade scenario involving other overpaid players. Feel free to speculate in the comments.
Atkins Looking For Fresh Start
Garrett Atkins, recently designated for assignment by the Orioles, is headed home to California to wait out his fate. MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli spoke to the corner infielder, who would be willing to sign a minor league deal with a new club. Ghiroli notes that interested teams would wait until after he clears waivers. Atkins is not thinking about retirement.
Atkins, 30, signed a one-year, $4.5MM deal with the Orioles on December 22nd after being non-tendered by the Rockies. The signing was considered one of the worst of the offseason in our March executive poll. Having logged 152 plate appearances with a .214/.276/.286 line in 2010, Atkins' stock has only dropped further.
Atkins told Ghiroli that he is ready to move on from the Orioles. However, he told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he would consider playing in the minors for another organization. That approach worked for Pat Burrell, who is hitting well for the Giants after a stint in their minor league system.
Will Dodgers Pursue Bullpen Help?
The Dodgers need bullpen help, in the opinion of Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. Manager Joe Torre has been leaning heavily on closer Jonathan Broxton, who failed to protect a four-run lead against the Yankees last night. Shaikin feels that the Dodgers have only two other reliable relievers – Ronald Belisario and Hong-Chih Kuo.
GM Ned Colletti has already stacked the Albuquerque Isotopes' roster with veteran relievers – Jesus Colome, Jack Taschner, Kiko Calero, and Claudio Vargas are recent additions. Asked over email by MLBTR whether he is looking to upgrade the bullpen and if he'd be open to renting a reliever, Colletti was noncommittal: "Always depends on who is coming in and who is going out." Talking to Shaikin yesterday, Torre said, "I know Ned is certainly not zeroing in on one little area." In other words, Colletti is considering more than just starting pitching.
If Colletti looks to make a deal, I imagine Kerry Wood, Kyle Farnsworth, Octavio Dotel, D.J. Carrasco, Brendan Donnelly, and Javier Lopez can be had. I also wonder about Brandon League, David Aardsma, Brandon Lyon, Matt Lindstrom, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, and Matt Capps. The remaining salary on these contracts ranges from $413K for Lopez to $5.59MM for Wood.
Dodgers Sign Jack Taschner
The Dodgers signed lefty reliever Jack Taschner to a minor league deal. Albuquerque Isotopes GM John Traub confirmed in an email to MLBTR that the southpaw was added to the roster yesterday. Taschner allowed one of Allen Craig's two home runs in Sunday's blowout loss to the Memphis Redbirds. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has been stockpiling veteran relievers – he also added Claudio Vargas, Jesus Colome, and Kiko Calero to the Triple A club recently.
Taschner, 32, posted a 6.05 ERA, 7.9 K/9, and 3.7 BB/9 in 19.3 innings for the Pirates this year before being designated for assignment on June 8th. He later elected free agency after refusing an outright assignment to the minors. Taschner's line against lefties in his brief time with the Pirates was odd – he struck out nine and walked one in 6.6 innings, but also allowed eight hits and seven runs.
The Dodgers' bullpen features lefties Hong-Chih Kuo and George Sherrill. Kuo must be used carefully, while Sherrill has struggled.
Poll: Best Available Reliever
As usual, relievers will be in high demand as the trade deadline approaches. Certain potential sellers, like the Orioles, Brewers, and Diamondbacks, aren't shopping quality relievers. The Padres and White Sox are trying to make the playoffs, not break up their bullpens. With no clear relief ace hitting the market, we're left with this poll question:
Who is the best available reliever?
Click here to vote and here to view the results. Note: if you don't think someone listed will be made available, don't vote for him!
Opt-Out Date Approaching For Yanks’ Moseley
The Yankees signed 28-year-old righty Dustin Moseley to a minor league deal in mid-February; he'd been non-tendered by the Angels earlier in the offseason after a lost '09 campaign. Moseley has made a dozen starts for the Yanks' Triple A club, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that his opt-out date comes up Thursday. If the Yankees don't promote Moseley, he can elect free agency.
Moseley sports a 4.21 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 2.2 BB/9 in 72.6 Triple A innings, with only six home runs allowed. Tonight's start against Glen Perkins and the Rochester Red Wings is his last before the opt-out date. Rosenthal feels that Moseley would land toward the back end of the Yankees' bullpen, if he gets the call.
Mets’ Targets Include Cliff Lee, Ted Lilly
The Mets will be in on Seattle ace Cliff Lee – that appears certain. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Omar Minaya has notified Jack Zduriencik of his interest, and the Mets are scouting Lee's starts.
Contrary to a Kevin Burkhardt report last night, Sherman says the Mets "would not need a negotiating window to sign Lee long-term even if it includes top prospect Jenrry Mejia in a package." However, between the injuries to potential trade chips Mejia and Angel Pagan and the ownership approval needed to pull the trigger, Minaya faces hurdles in acquiring Lee.
Sherman writes "the Mets have little interest" in Roy Oswalt and Fausto Carmona. Instead, Cubs southpaw Ted Lilly might head up their list of Lee alternatives. Lilly has been excellent since signing a four-year, $40MM deal with the Cubs in December of '06. The contract has about $6.4MM remaining. Though Lilly profiles as a Type A free agent after the season, an arbitration offer is in question. I doubt Lilly's limited no-trade provision will be an obstacle, as he's probably eager to return to the playoffs. The Cubs have about a month to decide whether to cash in their chips, and Lilly is their best one.
Elias Rankings Update
After the season the Elias Sports Bureau will take all players over the 2009-10 period, divide them into five groups for each league, and rank them based on various statistics. Then each player will be labeled a Type A, B, or none. Those designations and the possible accompanying arbitration offers determine draft pick compensation (click here for a refresher).
Eddie Bajek has reverse-engineered the Elias rankings, and he's providing that information exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors. Here's a look at how the players rank for the period beginning with the 2009 season running through June 20th, 2010. The Google spreadsheet has separate tabs for each position group. The players have about three more months to change these rankings. Since last time, Adrian Beltre and Carl Pavano moved from B to A.
Team And Transaction-Only Feeds
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In the navigation bar, check out the Feeds By Team dropdown. Clicking on the name of a team returns all the posts that reference that club. For example, this page displays only posts with Braves-related rumors. The newest will always be on top.
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Cardinals Sign Jeff Suppan
MONDAY, 4:27pm: MLB.com's Spencer Fordin reports that the deal is now official.
SATURDAY, 7:56pm: Cards manager Tony La Russa confirmed that the club will bring Suppan back for a second stint, writes MLB.com's Barry M. Bloom.
The club has already cleared space on the 40-man roster by outrighting Tyler Norrick. Now, they must make a move on the 25-man roster to activate Suppan.
6:13pm: The Cardinals are planning to sign the veteran hurler early next week and put him in the rotation, according to Fox Sports Midwest (via Twitter). The club has been impressed with Suppan's side sessions where he has demonstrated that his arm is healthy.
St. Louis must first make some roster adjustments before inking Suppan.
THURSDAY, 2:50pm: The Cardinals will sign Jeff Suppan, according to the Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Suppan pitched for St. Louis for three seasons before signing a four-year, $42MM deal with the Brewers. The Brewers released the righty Monday with $10MM remaining, making him a free agent. The Cards will pay just the pro-rated league minimum.
The Cardinals' rotation has been weakened by Brad Penny's lat strain and Kyle Lohse's forearm injury, creating the need for a veteran at the back end to soak up innings.