Astros Place Fernando Nieve On Waivers
According to Ed Price of Fanhouse, the Astros placed pitcher Fernando Nieve on waivers this week. Nieve is out of options, so the only way the Astros can send him to the minors is if no one claims him.
Nieve, 26, spent most of ’08 at Triple A. He posted a 5.72 ERA in 72.3 innings there but did average 92.5 on this fastball in his Major League stint. He had Tommy John surgery in May of 2007.
Cubs Sign Esteban German
According to a press release from the team, the Cubs signed infielder Esteban German to a minor league deal. He was released by the Royals last week after clearing waivers.
German, 31, hit .245/.303/.338 in 242 plate appearances last year while playing in left field as well as all around the infield. Presumably the Cubs consider German a possible third base backup; he played 281 innings at the hot corner in ’07 and 43 in ’08. The Cubs will have the option of keeping German for 2010, as he’ll be arbitration-eligible after ’09.
Offseason In Review: Colorado Rockies
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Rockies. Here’s what we wrote about the team on September 22nd. Changes for 2009:
Additions: Huston Street, Greg Smith, Carlos Gonzalez, Alan Embree, Jason Marquis, Matt Murton, Matt Belisle, Randy Flores, Josh Fogg, Glendon Rusch (re-signed), Sal Fasano, Dan Ortmeier, Scott Podsednik (re-signed)
Subtractions: Matt Holliday, Brian Fuentes, Willy Taveras, Luis Vizcaino, Matt Herges, Mark Redman, Livan Hernandez. Midseason: Kip Wells
The Rockies are not a rebuilding club, and I would’ve liked to see them retain Holliday for an ’09 run or at least swap him for something better. GM Dan O’Dowd did not bring back star-level talent in return. The Fuentes loss I understand, and the others were negligible.
The ’08 Rockies ranked 8th of 16 NL clubs with 4.61 runs per game. As crazy as it sounds, though, it’s possible the Rockies improve to 4.86 runs per game in ’09 despite the loss of Holliday (using the trusty lineup analysis tool and CHONE projections). Here’s why: Atkins and Tulo bouncing back, no more Taveras, and more Iannetta/Helton/Stewart/Spilborghs/Smith. Even 4.81 runs per game would’ve ranked fourth in the NL last year.
The Rockies’ defense was poor last year – 14th in the NL according to The Fielding Bible II. The hope is that a healthy Tulo recreates his ’07 wizardry and Hawpe is less brutal in right.
Ah, pitching. Obviously Rockies pitchers are in a rough situation with Coors Field, but they did have strong showings from Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez. Jeff Francis went under the knife, so it’ll be up to guys like Marquis, Jorge de la Rosa, Smith, Jason Hirsh, and Franklin Morales to post ERAs under 5.00 from the #3-5 slots. The bullpen will need Street to fill Fuentes’ void, a healthy Taylor Buchholz, and a resurgent Manny Corpas.
If the Rockies pitch and play defense like they did last year, I have them around 77 wins for ’09. Even if they prevent runs like they did in ’07 (their best effort of the decade) it’s still an 83 win team.
Bottom line: O’Dowd may have been right in assuming that the Rockies’ offense can withstand the loss of Holliday, but he failed to obtain the quality starting pitching the team requires.
Padres Hoping For Will Ohman?
What’s up with free agent lefty Will Ohman? According to Dan Hayes of the North County Times, the Padres are hoping Ohman drops down to the $1MM range. You may recall that the Cardinals recently signed Dennys Reyes for $3MM over two years. The Padres see Ohman as more than a lefty specialist though.
At any rate, Padres GM Kevin Towers told Hayes, "There could be new faces coming in over the next couple of weeks."
Odds & Ends: Pedro, Boras, Bonds, Fielding
Links for Friday…
- Which players have the biggest differences in fantasy draft position, comparing Yahoo and ESPN?
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram does not find it likely that the Rangers will release Frank Catalanotto and eat the $6MM owed to him.
- Gil LeBreton of the Star-Telegram suggests Rangers GM Jon Daniels will have some tough trade decisions to make as the team inches closer to contention.
- Amy Martinez of the Seattle Times examines the economic impact of Ken Griffey Jr.
- Jose Reyes says Pedro Martinez would like to pitch for the Mets, talking to MLB.com’s Marty Noble.
- Amusing article about Scott Boras by Matt Taibbi in Men’s Journal.
- The Twins again made it clear they’ll pass on Barry Bonds. Three other teams have also publicly rejected his agent’s advances.
- Fielding Bible guru John Dewan says defense is worth roughly half as much as offense.
- Hat tip to Baseball Think Factory’s excellent Baseball Newsstand for several of today’s links.
- Sorry about the three double-posts on the site. I am still waiting for TypePad to fix the issue.
Marlins Release Jay Gibbons
According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, the Marlins released outfielder Jay Gibbons today.
Gibbons and Jose Guillen were the first players to be suspended without failing a drug test. Gibbons was slapped with a 15-day penalty in December of ’07 after SI.com learned that he’d received shipments of steroids and hGH. He was released by the Orioles in March of ’08 (they ate $11.9MM), and shortly thereafter the Gibbons and Guillen suspensions were rescinded. Gibbons wrote an impassioned letter to all 30 teams, and then spent ’08 with the Long Island Ducks before signing a minor league deal with the Brewers.
Price Could Force Rays To Make Trade
Marc Topkin and Joe Smith are reporting that the Rays still think ’07 first-overall pick David Price is "in need of minor-league development," and could be headed to triple-A Durham to start the season. Price is hoping to force the Rays’ hand and make the opening day roster.
"It’s not very fun if I’m not here competing for a job," Price said Monday. "That’s what I came here for, to compete for that fifth spot, and that’s what I want to do. … I want them to not be able to look me in the eyes at the end of spring training and tell me I’m going to (Triple-A) Durham."
If Price can win the final spot in the rotation, the Rays would likely only have room for one of Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel as a long reliever in the bullpen. Both players are out of minor league options and both would certainly be claimed if the Rays try to sneak them through waivers. If Price impresses in spring training, the Rays may be forced to deal prior to opening day.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Phillies, Manny, Japanese Players
Here are a few more random notes from the MLBiverse…
- Todd Zolecki says the Phillies would likely have to trade Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs if they want to add another right-handed bat to the bench, noting that it is not likely for either player to be released after the Phils already ate Adam Eaton‘s contract. Zolecki does say that Stair’s $1MM salary would be easier to absorb.
- Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal gives us some quotes from Terry Francona in response to being asked about Jonathan Papelbon calling Manny Ramirez a "cancer." Francona would not answer the questions directly but did say "The moves we make, I think that speaks volumes enough."
- Keith Law scouted the Japanese squad at the World Baseball Classic and gives us the rundown on a few of their better players. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t believe that any of the players mentioned will be eligible to make the jump to MLB anytime soon.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Rosenthal On Pedro, Wood, Pudge, Gonzalez
Ken Rosenthal weighs in on a few of the recent hot topics…
- Like we heard earlier, Rosenthal says the Dodgers would only be willing to add Pedro Martinez to the mix if he is willing to "pitch for pay" and accept an incentive-laden contract. Rosenthal adds that Martinez’ agents reached out to the Dodgers and that the Dodgers contacted Pedro’s personal trainer but deny that any serious conservations have occurred.
- Rosenthal feels that the Dodgers have a better shot of landing a starter if they trade Delwyn Young who is out of minor league options.
- Rosenthal says Brandon Wood has given up hope that the Angels will trade Chone Figgins to clear a spot for Wood on the roster. Wood does have a minor league option remaining. Rosenthal says the Angels would need to find another leadoff hitter if they let Figgins walk at the end of the season as a free agent.
- Rosenthal adds that the Marlins are "warming to the idea" of signing Ivan Rodriguez, but that playing time remains an issue as Pudge wants to play five days a week.
- According to Rosenthal, Luis Gonzalez is willing to resign with the D-Backs, but it may only happen if Eric Byrnes continues to have problems with his hamstring.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Offseason In Review: Detroit Tigers
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Tigers. Here’s what I wrote about them on September 18th.
Additions: Edwin Jackson, Brandon Lyon, Gerald Laird, Matt Treanor, Adam Everett, Juan Rincon, Scott Williamson, Alexis Gomez, Timo Perez
Subtractions: Edgar Renteria, Matt Joyce, Kenny Rogers, Aquilino Lopez, Todd Jones, Casey Fossum, Gary Glover, Kyle Farnsworth. Midseason: Ivan Rodriguez
In September we were talking about the Tigers slashing payroll drastically, but they’re in the $125MM range to start ’09. The club remains saddled with multiple bad contracts.
While the Tigers’ offense last year didn’t quite meet expectations, the team did rank fourth in the AL with 5.07 runs per game. The ’09 lineup has new regulars Laird and Everett and will be without Joyce at the outfield corners. Using CHONE projections and Baseball Musings’ lineup analysis tool, it seems that this crew can match last year’s performance.
The question mark remains on the runs allowed side of things. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski took steps to improve the team’s defense (8th in the AL last year according to the Fielding Bible II) by bringing in Everett and Laird. Using Inge at third base all year will help as well.
The Tigers had lousy pitching last year, in both the rotation and bullpen. Jackson is an improvement over Kenny Rogers, while Justin Verlander and Nate Robertson should bounce back to some extent (though Armando Galarraga should regress). 30 healthy starts from Jeremy Bonderman would go a long way toward solidifying this group, but it almost has to be better than the ’08 rotation.
I feel similarly about the bullpen. Lyon is better than Todd Jones, and Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney are hopefully healthy. The pen should be better, we can say that much. It’s hard to predict, but if the Tigers are able to get to around 775 runs allowed they should be on track for 85-86 wins.
Bottom line: Dombrowski trimmed payroll but still made improvements to the Tigers’ defense and pitching. If a few of the many wild cards in the rotation come through they’ll be in contention.