Rosenthal On Manny, Anderson, Kasten
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal wonders if Manny Ramirez could get a multiyear deal following a big/well-behaved ’09, in the vein of other Boras clients such as Kevin Millwood and Kyle Lohse (Ivan Rodriguez, too). Of course, Manny is a lot older than those guys were.
- Rather than money, Garret Anderson wants the 632 hits he needs to reach 3,000. If he gets there, he’ll make for some interesting Hall of Fame debates.
- Rosenthal spoke to an executive who knows Stan Kasten. This exec expects Kasten to surprise with his GM choice, and doesn’t see him hiring a "young up-and-comer" or Chuck LaMar.
- The Cubs are said to be "content with their bench players." Cubs manager Lou Piniella has talked a bit about wanting an "extra infielder who can play first and third." Rosenthal adds that the team’s new ownership "might not be willing to assume the remaining $63 million on Jake Peavy‘s contract in a reeling economy."
Pre-Arbitration Signings
FRIDAY: More pre-arb signings from Sherman, including Franklin Gutierrez and Hong-Chih Kuo.
THURSDAY: A handful of pre-arbitration signings from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, all at $465K or less, include Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, Chris Iannetta, Howie Kendrick, and Hunter Pence.
A-Rod Has Torn Labrum In Hip
7:12pm: All A-Rod, All the time…Tom Verducci notes that the A-Rod injury is a sign of a bigger problem, that the Yankees are getting old. Verducci also notes that Mark Teixeira is the player that will be most impacted without A-Rod’s protection and the pressure to live up to the new contract…The New York Post has another comprehensive list of possible A-Rod replacements. The two intradivisional options at the top of their list seem like a long-shot…Ken Davidoff wonders if some time away will help Yankees fans appreciate what they have with A-Rod…Rob Neyer can’t help but wonder if the Yankees are going to have to eat a good chunk of the $178MM they still owe A-Rod.
5:30pm: Even more from Abraham with special bonus audio of Brian Cashman: Abraham says surgery is necessary at some point, but that the Yankees are hoping that rest and rehab will be enough to hold off the surgery until after the season. Abraham notes that Mike Lowell tried the same tactic last season after his injury was discovered in June, but the injury got so bad he was held off the playoff roster.
3:27pm: More details from Abraham: A-Rod has a torn hip labrum that would take four months to repair surgically. He won’t play in the WBC and he’ll play less in Spring Training to try to return soon. Marc Craig of the Star-Ledger writes that A-Rod’s out indefinitely and could still need surgery. The New York Daily News offers more, including analysis from various doctors.
2:40pm: Peter Abraham of The Journal News talked to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who said Rodriguez’s cyst was drained and they will attempt rest and rehab rather than surgery.
12:59pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post offers other ideas for third base if A-Rod is to be out for a considerable length of time: Scott Rolen, Melvin Mora, Brandon Inge, Hank Blalock, Chone Figgins, Adrian Beltre, Blake DeWitt, Martin Prado, and Mark Teahen.
12:17pm: ESPN’s Peter Gammons comments about the injury, wondering if mid-May is a best case scenario. Gammons speculates that Garrett Atkins or Chad Tracy could be fits for the Yanks, but the price for Atkins could be high. River Ave. Blues likes Mark Grudzielanek or possibly Bobby Crosby as other external options, while ESPN’s Buster Olney speculates on Bill Hall (who is recovering from a torn calf). Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders if Bobby Crosby could fit.
ESPN’s Stephania Bell suggests ten weeks could be a light estimate, if Rodriguez has a labral tear.
10:40am: ESPN’s Enrique Rojas talked to Alex Rodriguez‘s brother, who says the Yankees third baseman will miss about ten weeks due to hip surgery to remove a cyst. A ten week rehab would put A-Rod at a mid-May return, so he could miss a quarter of the season. A-Rod’s brother told MLB.com the operation will be performed Monday. The Yankees haven’t confirmed anything yet though. It probably makes sense to hold off on replacement speculation until we get official word on the injury.
Check out my instant fantasy take on the situation over at RotoAuthority.
Giants Release Dave Roberts
6:20pm: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke with Brian Sabean who said he tried to trade Roberts all winter. Sabean also emphasized that the Giants are "on a path to get younger and healthier. Right now that’s not on his resume. I think the longer we went not doing something would have been an injustice to trying to find out about our own kids and giving him a chance to go somewhere else."
Rob Neyer adds that the Roberts contract is "Brian Sabean’s recent performance in a nutshell."
A month ago El Lefty Malo predicted that if Roberts were a free agent this off-season, the current baseball economy would probably force Roberts to retire. Now we get to see if this was prophetic.
1:37pm: According to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, the Giants released outfielder Dave Roberts. They’ll eat his $6.5MM salary for ’09, minus $400K if another team signs him.
Roberts was part of a string of bad signings by Giants GM Brian Sabean. He signed a three-year, $18MM contract in December of ’06.
Offseason In Review: Washington Nationals
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Nationals. Click here to read what I wrote about the team on September 10th.
Additions: Adam Dunn, Scott Olsen, Josh Willingham, Daniel Cabrera, Javier Valentin, Alex Cintron, Wil Ledezma, Josh Towers, Freddie Bynum, Brad Eldred, Joel Guzman, Terrell Young, Gary Glover, Gustavo Chacin, Jorge Sosa, Jose Castillo, Corey Patterson
Subtractions: Jim Bowden, Tim Redding, Odalis Perez, Luis Ayala, Jon Rauch (midseason) Emilio Bonifacio, Felipe Lopez, Aaron Boone, Paul Lo Duca (midseason), Charlie Manning
Nationals starters tossed 880.6 innings last year, with Redding and Perez accounting for nearly 40% of that. The Nats paid those veterans $1.85MM. This year, they’ll spend $5.4MM on Olsen and Cabrera, younger hurlers with upside. It’s a solid swap. With the return of John Lannan and the emerging Jordan Zimmermann, it’s a younger, more interesting rotation.
I wrote in September:
Hopefully Jim Bowden won’t become too obsessed with Adam Dunn this winter (assuming Bowden keeps his job). Dunn doesn’t fit on this team. They’re in the beginning of a long rebuilding process.
It turns out Bowden kept his job just long enough to sign Dunn, who probably won’t be a part of the next good Nationals team. The money would’ve been better spent on the June draft – the Nats have the #1 and #10 picks. The Nationals’ new GM will have to hit a home run with that draft, and may also be charged with trading Nick Johnson and signing Ryan Zimmerman long-term.
If a $20MM commitment to Dunn was Bowden’s worst winter move, though, that’s not too bad in the grand scheme of things. And Bowden does deserve a parting gift for his acquisition of Olsen and Willingham.
Bottom line: Bowden’s out; 2009 is about finding the right GM and stocking the farm system.
Moises Alou Likely To Retire
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talked to outfielder Moises Alou, who is likely to retire. Alou said:
"I’m going home after this. I haven’t decided 100 percent. But it looks like it. It looks like it. I’m tired of the nagging injuries — my calf, my quad, my hammy, everyday something different. It got to the point that I didn’t trust going out there. Everybody wants me to keep playing. I know the feelings inside — the pains and aches. Sometimes it is time to let it go. It’s not forever. This is my last rodeo, like you guys say. It’s a nice one."
Alou would finish with a career line of .303/.369/.516 for the Pirates, Expos, Marlins, Astros, Cubs, Giants, and Mets. He hit 332 home runs and banked almost $86MM.
Schuerholz Not Likely For Nationals Job
On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that Braves president John Schuerholz was a subject of speculation for the Nationals GM job. Rosenthal added:
Schuerholz, 68, is from Baltimore, about 45 miles north of Washington, but might only leave the Braves if the Nationals offered him a percentage of ownership. Even then, he probably would be reluctant to make a career change; he has worked for the Braves since Oct. 1990.
Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked Schuerholz about the possibility today; here’s what he said:
"Other than the fact that it had no element of fact to it, I don’t know where he came up with it. It was completely baseless as it relates to me. Obviously it was his judgment or guess that it might be so because I happen to have been born in Baltimore and I worked for Stan (Kasten). Those two things are true. Other than that, end of story."
Juan Pierre Will Pursue Trade
According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick:
The Dodgers have given Juan Pierre‘s agent permission to explore potential trade partners for the outfielder who again lost his starting job with the re-signing of left fielder Manny Ramirez.
Pierre says his agent will "talk to teams and try to find a situation that can work out for everybody."
The whole idea seems weird to me. Why would Pierre’s agent be making these calls instead of Ned Colletti? Perhaps the idea is for Pierre’s agent to identify a few teams that wouldn’t mind having the outfielder under certain circumstances, to get the ball rolling. Pierre’s owed a hefty $28.5MM over the next three seasons, but he is willing to defer payment.
Odds & Ends: Free Agents, Manny, Buchholz
Links for Thursday…
- A confident Sidney Ponson expects his agent to receive a few calls after he pitches in the WBC Saturday, according to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- ESPN’s Rob Neyer looks at the most interesting remaining free agents.
- Jorge Says No! names their 8 Worst Free Agent Contracts of the offseason.
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire weighs in on the Manny Ramirez contract, noting the player’s control over the team’s finances. Check out Manny’s comments made to the AP. Juan Pierre doesn’t have much to say about the signing.
- Baseball America’s Ben Badler talks about the reactions of Latin American scouts to the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal.
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark looks at the top players who are on Spring Training invites.
- Rockies reliever Taylor Buchholz will miss the rest of Spring Training with a sprained elbow.
- Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves made room for Tom Glavine on the 40-man roster by outrighting pitcher Anthony Lerew, who cleared waivers.
Ivan Rodriguez Rumors: Thursday
10:54am: WEEI’s Alex Speier spoke to Rodriguez, who said:
"My agent and I, the conversation we had is (regarding) Houston and Florida. There have been rumors about the Mets, also. But as of right now, there’s nothing firm. Nothing has happened. We’re still waiting."
Pudge spoke highly of the Mets and didn’t rule out the idea of being a backup on a one-year deal.
9:23am: In a column last night, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports weighed in on free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez.
Rosenthal says the Marlins and Mets remain interested in Rodriguez, but in either case he’d have to earn his playing time. Pudge wants to enter a situation where he’ll get to play five days a week. The Marlins and Mets aren’t ready to push aside John Baker or Brian Schneider to guarantee that. Also, the Mets would have to move backup Ramon Castro to be able to sign Rodriguez. Rodriguez seems more concerned with playing time than money. He’ll attempt to raise his stock in the WBC.
Rosenthal says the Astros will pass over "concern that Rodriguez would be a poor teammate."