Gary Sheffield Rumors: Friday
It seems that the Mets may join the Phillies and Reds in the Gary Sheffield sweepstakes. According to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, "Sheffield's availability intrigues team officials." Rubin cautions that an internal meeting about the subject has yet to take place. Rubin believes Sheffield would have to start with a bench role, and the Mets might have to release Marlon Anderson to clear that spot. MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone would like Anderson to be replaced with Frank Catalanotto instead.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post also thinks Sheffield is on the Mets' radar, and does believe they "have held some in-depth discussions on if they should sign the guy."
How about the Dodgers? Ramona Shelburne of the L.A. Daily News talked to Joe Torre, who said it wouldn't make sense.
Click here to catch up on yesterday's Sheffield happenings.
Rosenthal On Sheffield, Repko, McPherson
A look at Ken Rosenthal's column from yesterday afternoon…
- The Marlins chose Ross Gload over Frank Catalanotto, but are still considering signing Cat for the minimum now that he's been released.
- The Braves are not interested in bringing back Gary Sheffield. Meanwhile, Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets (as well as the Phillies and Reds) have an eye on Sheffield.
- Sheffield is apparently the only right-handed hitter on the Phillies' radar. Rosenthal learned that the Rockies' asking price for Jeff Baker is high.
- The Braves almost made a deal for Dodgers outfielder Jason Repko, but backed off recently.
- The Yankees will pass on Dallas McPherson, but the Giants may consider him.
- The Yanks don't seem desperate to move Melky Cabrera. They've received multiple calls on him but Rosenthal says "the team will only move him for the right price."
Minor Moves
A few players were released this evening…
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says pitcher Casey Daigle was among the players released by the Rangers. Wilson says Daigle is currently on a reality show with wife Jennie Finch.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a Kyodo News report that the Cubs released pitcher Ken Kadokura.
- Chad Jennings The Times Tribune says Reegie Corona has been placed on waivers by the Mariners, the first step toward returning the Rule 5 pick to the Yankees.
- The Orioles released shortstop Chris Gomez, who became unnecessary with the Robert Andino acquisition.
Three Teams Interested In Sheffield
8:52pm: Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News has another quote from Jocketty:
"Sheffield and (manager) Dusty Baker have a history and they talked yesterday. He has to clear waivers today, but we'll talk. We have interest because he would be a legitimate big right-handed bat to add to our lineup."
McCoy believes a meeting between Reds officials and Sheffield might take place Thursday.
7:14pm: Fay continues with the updates: Reds GM Walt Jocketty has confirmed his club's interest in Sheffield. "He's still a threat in the lineup… If the price is right," said the Cincinnati GM. The Reds will also look at Geoff Jenkins, who was released by the Phillies on Tuesday.
6:54pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Reds manager Dusty Baker is meeting with Sheffield. It sounds like they're one of the "three interested teams" that Leyland alluded to this morning.
5:53pm: ESPN's Buster Olney has more from Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams. Williams says Sheffield will be able to play this season and "a couple more seasons, at least." Olney adds that "some in baseball are speculating whether Sheffield would be a good fit with the Braves, where he had a good experience in 2002-03 and was liked by manager Bobby Cox."
Talking to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. again confirmed his interest in Sheffield.
1:30pm: David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Tigers manager Jim Leyland told Detroit reporters today that three teams are interested in Gary Sheffield. The Phillies are presumed to be one; some reports have suggested a slim chance despite Sheff's agent calling the talks "productive."
Marlins Interested In Frank Catalanotto
The Marlins acquired Hayden Penn and Ross Gload today, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says they might not be done. Frisaro says the Fish also showed interest in Rangers' utility guy Frank Catalanotto.
I imagine the Marlins are probably not willing to assume much of the $6MM owed to Catalanotto. In the case of Gload, the Royals are believed to be paying $1.5MM of the $1.9MM according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
Marlins Acquire Hayden Penn For Robert Andino
4:21pm: Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has Larry Beinfest's thoughts on the Marlins' acquisitions today. Berardino also says Dallas McPherson "might wind up with the Yankees."
11:54am: Interesting swap today: the Marlins acquired pitcher Hayden Penn from the Orioles for shortstop Robert Andino. Both players are out of options.
Penn, 24, wasn't able to crack the Orioles' weak rotation. Perhaps he can recover the promise he had back in '05 and '06 with a fresh start.
Andino, 25 later this month, hit .287/.356/.497 in his second attempt at Triple A. He was blocked by Hanley Ramirez in Florida, but he plays strong defense and may be able to chip away at Cesar Izturis' playing time in Baltimore. Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says it looks like Chris Gomez will be released now. Schmuck also has Andy MacPhail's explanation of the deal.
Angels Eyeing Aaron Harang?
The Aaron Harang chatter started with ESPN's Peter Gammons on March 22nd. Gammons wrote:
The Reds have let teams know that they will wait and see whether they need to move Aaron Harang during the season.
But then the next day Reds GM Walt Jocketty said, "I'm not going to comment on something when he doesn't know what he's talking about" and laughed off the rumor, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Harang's name came up again in yesterday's Ken Rosenthal column, in association with a one-sided call from the Angels to the Reds about taking Gary Matthews Jr. off their hands.
Today, ESPN's Buster Olney adds to the rumblings:
Joe Saunders is coping with a dead arm. No wonder the Angels have dispatched a scout to go see the Reds' Aaron Harang make his next spring start.
Saunders' arm is already alive again, but John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, and Ervin Santana are all dealing with injuries.
Marlins Acquire Ross Gload; Royals Release Peralta
3:11pm: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star says the Royals also released reliever Joel Peralta, saving about $380K in the process. Peralta, 33, posted a 5.98 ERA, 6.5 K/9 2.4 BB/9 last year in 52.6 innings while allowing 15 home runs.
11:47am: According to a press release, the Royals traded first baseman Ross Gload to the Marlins for a player to be named. Gload, 33 in a few days, hit .273/.317/.348 in 418 plate appearances for the Royals last year. He's owed $1.9MM this year and has a $2.6MM club option for '10. It's surprising to see the thrifty Marlins make this seemingly pointless acquisition. Previously their corner options consisted of Jorge Cantu, Emilio Bonifacio, and Wes Helms.
Blue Jays Release Matt Bush
According to Robert MacLeod of The Globe and Mail, the Blue Jays released pitcher Matt Bush today. The Jays picked up Bush from the Padres this winter, and he quickly violated their zero tolerance policy with some kind of bad behavior.
Offseason In Review: New York Mets
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Mets. Here's what we wrote about the team on October 14th. Changes for 2009:
Additions: Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, Sean Green, Darren O'Day, Oliver Perez (re-signed), Tim Redding, Connor Robertson, Alex Cora, Carlos Delgado (exercised option), Jeremy Reed, Cory Sullivan, Fernando Tatis (re-signed), Freddy Garcia, Casey Fossum, Livan Hernandez, Ramon Martinez, Bobby Kielty, Rob Mackowiak
Subtractions: Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou, Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, Scott Schoeneweis, Claudio Vargas, Jorge Sosa, Luis Ayala, Joe Smith, Damion Easley, Endy Chavez
Last year the Mets tied for 2nd in the NL with 4.93 runs scored per game. Despite a similar lineup, CHONE projections and the lineup analysis tool put them at 4.69 per game for '09. Rather than any one player, the projection system sees small declines for multiple guys. Should Omar Minaya have brought in a corner outfielder?
The rotation hasn't changed much either. Last year's group posted a 3.98 ERA in 971 innings, 5th in the NL. The front four of Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Perez, and John Maine may again be followed by a revolving door of fifth starters. This time the candidates are Hernandez, Redding, Garcia, and Jon Niese. It's inexact, but using CHONE I have the Mets starters around a 4.20 ERA in '09. The system does not see Santana and Pelfrey repeating their ERAs (2.53 and 3.72).
The focus of the offseason was to revamp the bullpen. Minaya signed K-Rod and traded for Putz and Green. These improvements should make up for any slippage by the rotation. The Mets played strong defense in '08, and that should hold true in '09.
The bullpen should add a few wins, but will that improvement be balanced out by a slightly worse offense and rotation? If so, the Mets are an 86 win team.
Bottom line: Minaya may not have done enough by revamping his bullpen and bringing in a new fifth starter cast. The Mets could be players at the trade deadline.