Stark On Pitchers, Vlad, Sabathia, Crawford
More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column today…
- Stark rattles off a bunch of starting pitchers teams are "tracking" in advance of the trade deadline: Roy Halladay, Jake Peavy, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Aaron Harang, Erik Bedard, Kevin Millwood, Mark Buehrle, Doug Davis, Chris Young, Andy Pettitte, Bronson Arroyo, Jonathan Sanchez, Andy Sonnanstine, Jeff Niemann, Jason Marquis, Vicente Padilla, Jeff Suppan, and Russ Ortiz. Not all of these guys are actually available, so check out the article for more analysis.
- Teams are "backpedaling away" from Vladimir Guerrero as a free agent option after the season. One scout sees Vlad as a DH right now.
- C.C. Sabathia downplayed the importance of the out clause in his contract, talking to Stark. Sabathia said it was "just something my agent came up with, and I just went with it." Stark is skeptical though; he thinks the clause was specific to New York.
- Stark talked to a baseball man familiar with the Rays' thinking who sees "zero chance" they don't exercise Carl Crawford's $10.125MM option for 2010. The Rays have a three-year outlook on the budget.
- With Jason Isringhausen ready within a few weeks, the Rays may have a surplus in the bullpen. Stark doesn't expect Dan Wheeler or J.P. Howell to be moved, but teams are tracking them.
- Stark sees Jorge Cantu as a trade candidate after the season. He figures to make $5-6MM through arbitration.
Manny Ramirez Suspended 50 Games
2:48pm: ESPN.com's Peter Gammons says he believes the positive test was triggered because of a "personal medical issue," not HGH or steroids. Gammons spoke with a Red Sox official who doesn't believe "for a second" that Manny cheated.
1:30pm: ESPN's T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada say the drug was HCG – "a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It is similar to Clomid, the drug Bonds, Giambi and others used as clients of BALCO."
12:39am: Tim Brown and Steve Henson of Yahoo say Manny tested positive for…drumroll…a sexual enhancer (not Viagra). Ramirez tested positive in Spring Training, and then again recently. Manny did not test positive for a steroid or human growth hormone.
11:41am: In a statement, Manny apologized and explained what happened:
Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.
10:50am: According to Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, Dodgers star Manny Ramirez "tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and will be suspended for 50 games starting today." The journalists have word on Manny's defense:
Ramirez is expected to attribute the test results to medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue, according to a source familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak publicly.
Manny was hitting .348/.492/.641 in 120 plate appearances and figures to be replaced by Juan Pierre. Ramirez will be back in July, and the Dodgers are already up 6.5 games in the division. So they'll probably be fine. But this certainly throws a wrench into Manny's contract situation. He has to decide in November whether to opt out of his $20MM 2010 salary. Also, Manny will lose nearly $8MM in salary.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Ibanez, Indians
Links for Thursday…
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post did a little research on pitchers drafted within the first ten picks. Meanwhile, Boswell's colleague Chico Harlan spotted Nationals' acting GM Mike Rizzo chatting with Scott Boras.
- The latest from Baseball America: Tanner Scheppers' stock is rising, Grant Green's is falling.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes about Raul Ibanez. In the article, it's revealed that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. doesn't buy into defensive stats outside of fielding percentage.
- ESPN's Tim Kurkjian looks at the early returns on free agent signings.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer learned that Mark Shapiro is initiating the calls to other GMs.
- Will Sommer of Mets Fans Forever chatted with ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
Rosenthal On Royals, Atkins, Baez, Huff
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has trade speculation in the sidebar of his latest column.
- Rosenthal sees shortstop Mike Aviles as the Royals' weakest link, given his .523 OPS in 97 plate appearances. Most projection systems had Aviles in the .720-.750 range. Rosenthal runs through potential trade targets such as Orlando Cabrera, Jack Wilson, Miguel Tejada, and Marco Scutaro. The first three have their flaws, and Scutaro doesn't figure to be available.
- Rosenthal suggests the Rockies could accomplish their goal of more playing time for Ian Stewart by trading Garrett Atkins. However, Atkins is fairly pricey and is off to a .224/.287/.367 start through 108 plate appearances.
- Orioles reliever Danys Baez is generating trade buzz with his 2.30 ERA through 15.6 innings. Baez is still owed $4.55MM of his $5.5MM '09 salary, and he also gets a $500K bonus if traded. So just moving the contract might be a feat for Andy MacPhail, in my opinion.
- Aubrey Huff, with $6.62MM left on his contract, could eventually draw interest from teams like the Royals and Mariners, in Rosenthal's opinion. Huff seems back to his pre-2008 level; he's hitting .270/.331/.423 in 124 plate appearances.
Indians Release Juan Salas
According to Stacy Long of the Montgomery Advertiser, the Indians released reliever Juan Salas today (hat tip to DRays Bay). The Indians had acquired Salas from the Rays on February 19th, designating Andy Marte for assignment to make room. Salas has a colorful history; here's what I wrote back in February:
Salas, 30, posted a 2.62 ERA in 44.6 Triple A innings last year with excellent strikeout and walk numbers. Salas' history includes a PED suspension, a falsified birth date, and a conversion from third base. Aside from that he's known for his cutter. Salas dealt with an epileptic seizure, a sore elbow, and visa problems in '08.
Meanwhile, Marte went unclaimed and remained with the Tribe. He's off to a .333/.405/.694 start through 11 games.
2010 Options: Seattle Mariners
The Mariners do not have any 2010 options. Instead, they're looking at the completion of the Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, and Erik Bedard contracts after '09 (among others). Those four represent $40MM coming off the books. However, it's also 40% of the starting rotation and the starting third baseman.
Assuming Jack Zduriencik does not want to tangle with Scott Boras over Beltre, he could consider 23 year-old prospect Matt Tuiasosopo for the hot corner. Tuiasosopo just began his second Triple A stint, and it's not going well so far. The Ms could explore the free agent market, which will include Joe Crede, Chone Figgins, Troy Glaus, and perhaps Melvin Mora.
The rotation should be interesting, especially with Brandon Morrow deciding his future is in the bullpen. If the Ms go outside the organization for a veteran starter or two, I'm guessing they'll sign a bargain free agent or make a trade.
White Sox To Pass On Bonds, Pedro
6:22pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com chimes in via Twitter, saying he hears "no dice on Pedro and Chisox." Heyman does suggest some team should be interested in Pedro.
9:04am: Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times was wondering yesterday whether a couple of free agents might be able to help the White Sox.
DH Jim Thome has been bothered here and there by a heel injury, though he played in the last two games. Cowley asked GM Ken Williams if Barry Bonds would be Plan B if the heel injury worsened, and Williams emailed back, "No."
Cowley quizzed manager Ozzie Guillen about Pedro Martinez, who would conceivably become the team's fifth starter if Jose Contreras is booted. Ozzie's answer left the door just barely ajar:
"Pedro Martinez was mentioned in spring training, but just because a couple of his friends called me, and my job is to give Kenny the information. But that's it, no, Pedro, no, not right now. I don't know if we're going to because that's Kenny's decision, but right now that's not on my mind.''
According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, top pitching prospect Aaron Poreda is not an immediate candidate if Contreras falters Thursday.
Frank Coonelly MLB.com Chat
Once again Pirates president Frank Coonelly chatted with fans on MLB.com. His team owns a 12-14 record, fifth in the NL Central. A few highlights from the chat:
- Coonelly asked how close the Pirates were to signing Adam Dunn. Coonelly replied, "we never got close to what he was seeking." The implication is that the Pirates at least inquired, which is news to me.
- Coonelly named the bullpen as an area that could warrant future moves.
- The Pirates spent about $9.8MM on the draft last year, and they've got the fourth overall pick in 2009. According to Coonelly, the Pirates will be "equally aggressive in the draft this year." The Royals and Red Sox also spent around $10MM last year.
2010 Options: Oakland Athletics
The A's are faced with just one 2010 option, Jason Giambi. It's a $6.5MM club option with a $1.25MM buyout. So the question will be whether Giambi, at age 39, is worth a net of $5.25MM in 2010. Through 96 plate appearances this year, Giambi is hitting .210/.333/.296. He's hitting grounders at the same rate as his miserable '04 season. The silver lining might be that Giambi had a rough April last year as well.
The A's really need Giambi, Orlando Cabrera, and Matt Holliday to start hitting. Talking to Joe Stiglich of the San Jose Mercury News, GM Billy Beane indicated the A's are unlikely to bring in reinforcements for their woeful offense.
Odds & Ends: Qualls, Scheppers, Strasburg
Links for Wednesday…
- D'Backs closer Chad Qualls has MLBTR bookmarked…nice!
- In yesterday's post on Miguel Angel Sano, I linked to a three-minute video. It turns out that clip was a snippet of a documentary called Live to Play, Play to Live. A production company is following five players, including Sano, leading up to the July 2nd signing period.
- Baseball America's J.J. Cooper writes about the independent league season debuts of Tanner Scheppers and Aaron Crow. Scheppers is with the St. Paul Saints, who also employ Craig Brazell and Kerry Ligtenberg.
- Keith Law discusses Stephen Strasburg in this ESPN video. Law predicts Strasburg will sign for $18-20MM. Strasburg's coach Tony Gwynn advises caution for the Nationals if they draft him, in talking to Edward Lewis of the Daily Aztec.
- Former Yankees Dominican scouting director Ramon Valdivia filed a $3MM wrongful termination suit against the team, according to ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr.
- SI's Jon Heyman looks back at the incredible 2005 draft class.