Will Bruney Injury Lead To Relief Acquisition?
Yankees reliever Brian Bruney still has an aching elbow, and he's scheduled to meet with Dr. James Andrews tomorrow. Bruney's elbow issues date back to 2004, when he was Arizona's closer of the future (they eventually designated him for assignment in May of '06, allowing him to sign a minor league deal with the Yankees).
With Bruney out indefinitely, Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues thinks the Yankees need to acquire setup man in the coming weeks. He speculates on Chad Qualls, Jose Valverde, Russ Springer, and Huston Street. Other names to consider: Danys Baez, George Sherrill, Ron Mahay, Matt Thornton, and old friends Octavio Dotel and Tom Gordon.
There are plenty of internal options as well. As Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger notes, the Yanks already have a tough Phil Hughes vs. Chien-Ming Wang situation in the rotation. Wang will work out of the pen for now. Plus there's the discussion Pawlikowski wanted no part of: Joba Chamberlain to the bullpen.
Rosenthal On Astros, Marquis, DeRosa, Francoeur
Let's take a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Rosenthal recommends the Astros trade veterans to improve their bottom-ranked farm system. He'd especially like to see Houston make Roy Oswalt available. They'd have take Oswalt's no-trade clause into consideration.
- The Phillies continue to seek a starter, and they made an inquiry on Colorado's Jason Marquis. Rosenthal finds Erik Bedard "perhaps the most intriguing fit" and notes that the Phils probably have flexibility to add payroll. This question came up in a recent chat…I do think the Phillies have the pieces to pull off a Bedard trade.
- The Brewers are not going after Cleveland's Mark DeRosa, as they cannot spare Major League pitching for him. Rosenthal also finds Jake Peavy unlikely, as the Brewers probably couldn't pull off a deal without creating a new need. Of Peavy, Rosenthal says, "He will not leave easily."
- The Mets are interested in Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson, who is off to a .338/.445/.471 start.
- The Royals might be the top suitor for Jeff Francoeur if the Braves shop him, but not everyone in Kansas City's front office is keen on him. The Red Sox are known to have an eye on Francoeur.
- Rosenthal's heard speculation that the Sox could trade Daniel Bard, whose value may be at a high point.
- Rather than acquire someone like Yuniesky Betancourt, the Padres will stick with in-house options at shortstop (mainly Luis Rodriguez and Everth Cabrera, once they're healthy).
Odds & Ends: MacDougal, Maddon, Brazell
Memorial Day linkage…
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson says it's decision time for Mike MacDougal and the Nationals.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune transcribed comments made by White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to ESPN 1000's Chuck Swirsky. Reinsdorf said the Sox are moving on from the Jake Peavy deal and also implied that no one is untouchable.
- Joe Maddon's three-year extension with the Rays is official.
- Craig Brazell agreed to a deal with the Hanshin Tigers, according to reports gathered by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Brazell had been playing for the St. Paul Saints after nothing materialized from an Orioles spring training invite.
- Murray Chass talks about Jeff Moorad's path to becoming part-owner of the Padres.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes about the D'Backs, who have seven of the first 64 draft picks.
- Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has an interesting article about minor league free agents.
Discussion: AL’s Most Underrated
Back on May 18th we discussed the NL's most underrated players, and uncovered a lot of good names. What about the AL? A few names that come to mind for me are Curtis Granderson, James Shields, Mark Buehrle, and Nick Markakis. I would've mentioned Adrian Beltre, prior to his work this year. Who are your picks?
Matt Belisle Designated For Assignment
According to Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies, the team designated pitcher Matt Belisle for assignment and recalled Josh Fogg. Ringolsby feels the Padres might make a waiver claim on Belisle, who was knocked around in 17.3 relief innings this year.
2010 Options: Milwaukee Brewers
Braden Looper has the Brewers' lone 2010 option. It's a $6MM mutual option, plus performance bonuses. There's a $750K buyout if the club declines. Looper has done about as expected this year, with a 4.47 ERA in 50.3 innings. I can see the Brewers going either way on this one, but I lean toward a decline.
Notable free agents after 2009: Mike Cameron, Trevor Hoffman, and Jason Kendall. The team also has important arbitration cases in J.J. Hardy, Dave Bush, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, Jody Gerut, Seth McClung, Todd Coffey, and Carlos Villanueva. Deft payroll management on Doug Melvin's part will be required, and it wouldn't be surprising to see a few offseason trades.
No Extension Offers For Pirates’ Veterans
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have not approached Adam LaRoche, John Grabow, and Jack Wilson about contract extensions. All three are eligible for free agency after the season, and could be on the trading block in July. More details:
- LaRoche, 29, is hitting .222/.309/.449 in 178 plate appearances while earning $7.05MM. He avoided his typical slow April but has been awful in May. It seems excessive for the Mets to rent him for two months, in my opinion.
- Grabow, 30, has a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings while earning $2.3MM. He's not shutting down southpaws. The market may be weak for him.
- Wilson, 31, is at .260/.294/.385 in 103 plate appearances. Kovacevic says the Pirates have not formally responded to Wilson's offer to renegotiate his $8.4MM 2010 club option at a lower rate. He'd make sense for a contender seeking a defensive upgrade at shortstop.
Padres Willing To Trade Kouzmanoff?
According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Padres "have shown a willingness to move" third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff. Wittenmyer adds that "the Cubs acknowledge a potential fit, although they say they think [Mike] Fontenot, in particular, can adequately fill the interim need at third [while Aramis Ramirez is injured]." The article has the flavor of a trade rumor, but Wittenmyer does not say the Cubs actually inquired on Kouzmanoff.
Kouzmanoff, 28 in July, is hitting an ugly .236/.285/.366 in 172 plate appearances on the season, even worse than his subpar 2008. To his credit, he did hit .292/.329/.473 on the road last year. The Fielding Bible II noted that Kouzmanoff "showed some improvement" on defense last year. He will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season, and you have to wonder if the Padres will move him before that jump in salary. Would the Cardinals make sense?
Giants Not Dangling Cain, Not Interested In Holliday
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle provides an update on a few Giants rumors.
- Schulman's "very high-level" Giants source says Matt Cain is not being dangled, contrary to an earlier rumor.
- Schulman agrees with Juan C. Rodriguez's report that the Giants have asked the Marlins about Dan Uggla.
- Schulman believes the Giants are talking to the Nationals about Nick Johnson. However, his source said the team has no interest in Matt Holliday. Much has been made of Holliday's slow start, but keep in mind he's hitting .296/.406/.494 in May.
Rangers, Dodgers Eyeing Yusei Kikuchi
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a Nikkan Sports article indicating the Rangers sent two scouts to watch high school lefty Yusei Kikuchi. Newman notes that the Dodgers had Logan White watch Kikuchi practice back in March.
Kikuchi is highly regarded, but how does he compare to Junichi Tazawa? Newman told me:
The way I look at it is, Kikuchi is younger, taller, and lefthanded, whereas Tazawa was a older, more polished and had faced better competition. Kikuchi appears to have similar velocity to Tazawa. Tazawa was definitely closer to the big leagues; you wouldn't sign Kikuchi and have him start the season opener in AA. But Kikuchi is a better prospect than Tazawa was when he was 18. So Kikuchi may have a little more upside, but I don't think he would command the same kind of offers Tazawa got. A key difference is that Tazawa had basically made up his mind to come to America by the time I started writing about him. We don't know what Kikuchi's plans are.