Orioles, Red Sox Swap Bierd And Pauley
Roch Kubatko of MASN Online reports this afternoon that the Orioles and Red Sox made a swap of righthanded pitchers. The O’s sent Randor Bierd to the Sox for David Pauley.
Bierd, 25 in March, tossed 36.6 relief innings for the ’08 Orioles, posting a 4.91 ERA. The Orioles had taken him from the Tigers with the third pick in the December ’07 Rule 5 draft. He spent a couple of months this year on the DL with a shoulder injury, which worked out nicely for the Orioles since Rule 5 picks have to be on the Major League roster if healthy. Baseball America sees him as a decent reliever with "impeccable control."
Pauley, a 25 year-old starter, posted a 3.55 ERA in 25 Triple A starts for Pawtucket in ’08. The Sox designated him for assignment last Tuesday to make room for John Smoltz. Baseball America considered Pauley a potential #4-5 starter with three average pitches, when discussing him in their ’06 Handbook.
Marlins Prefer To Add A Catcher
MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says that moreso than signing Andruw Jones, the Marlins would like to add a veteran catcher to pair with John Baker. Ivan Rodriguez makes sense, but Frisaro says the Fish would probably only offer him the league minimum. Pudge wants $3MM, says Ken Rosenthal.
The Marlins had late-December interest in Gregg Zaun, but $2MM was out of their price range. Frisaro says they’ve been exploring trading for Rangers backstop Max Ramirez (the price would certainly be young pitching).
Mike Gonzalez, Duaner Sanchez Avoid Arb
According to the AP, relievers Mike Gonzalez and Duaner Sanchez have avoided arbitration and signed for ’09.
Gonzalez, closer for the Braves, will earn $3.45MM. He’ll join Jose Valverde, Billy Wagner, and others on the free agent market after the season. Sanchez will make $1.6875MM with the Mets.
Blue Jays Avoid Arb With Brandon League
According to Robert MacLeod of the Globe and Mail, the Blue Jays avoided arbitration with reliever Brandon League by signing him at $640K for ’09. Between injuries, the 25 year-old was solid this year. The strikeout/walk ratio wasn’t pretty, but he got tons of grounders.
Cards Avoid Arb With Wellemeyer, Duncan
According to an MLB.com press release, the Cardinals avoided arbitration with Chris Duncan and Todd Wellemeyer, signing both for 2009. This is a big year for Wellemeyer, who is eligible for free agency after the season. He gets $4.05MM, while Duncan will earn $825K with another $500K in performance bonuses.
Rockies Avoid Arb With Huston Street
According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Rockies avoided arbitration with reliever Huston Street by signing him for $4.5MM for ’09. This is Street’s second arb year, so he’ll be a free agent after the 2010 season. His future contracts will be greatly affected by whether he can re-establish himself as a closer.
Nationals Still Targeting Strasburg
In a Saturday article, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune explained how the Padres would like to bring righty Stephen Strasburg home with the #3 pick in the June draft. He wonders if the Padres could flash enough cash for Scott Boras to "steer Strasburg past the Nationals and Mariners."
Not to worry, Nationals fans. Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post says Strasburg remains atop the Nats’ list by a wide margin. Barring a major injury, the Nationals will draft Strasburg. As it usually is with Boras and most early draft picks, signability is a concern. However, Sheinin says the Nationals’ relationship with Boras improved with the Mark Teixeira negotiations.
Saturday Evening Writer Wanted
MLBTR is looking to add a Saturday evening writer to the staff. The position is paid on an hourly basis. Here’s what we’re looking for:
- Availability for the next six Saturday evenings, 5pm-midnight CST. The specific dates are Jan. 24, Jan. 31, Feb. 7, Feb. 14, Feb. 21, and Feb. 28. If that goes well you can remain in the mix for random shifts, if you’d like.
- Knowledge of all 30 baseball teams, no discernible bias toward your favorite.
- Ability to analyze articles and craft intelligent, well-written posts summing the news up in a few paragraphs. I want the best of both worlds, as you have to be able to do this very quickly after the source article is published. It’s preferred that you add value to the article with your own insight, numbers, or links to other relevant articles.
- Attention to detail – absolutely no spelling errors, especially for player and journalist names. Ability to follow the MLBTR style and tone. Also it is important to avoid duplicating content previously covered on the site.
- Ability to use an RSS feed reader such as Google Reader. This is crucial.
- Blogging experience is preferred. We use TypePad, which is easy to use if you have blogged before.
- You have to be able to put up with me, responding to constructive criticism and digesting the MLBTR instruction document quickly.
- If you’re interested, email mlbtrweekend@gmail.com and explain your qualifications. Please don’t send anything to my other email address. Usually we receive a few hundred inquiries, so unfortunately I cannot reply to all or even most. Thanks.
Mariners Avoid Arb With Felix Hernandez
According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Mariners avoided arbitration with pitcher Felix Hernandez by signing him for $3.8MM for ’09. Chien-Ming Wang received $4MM in his first arb year, though he is a Super Two player so he goes to arbitration four times rather than three. Cole Hamels, also a Super Two, will receive $4.35MM for his first arb year in his newly-signed deal.
When the 2011 season comes to a close and Hernandez can file for free agency, he’ll be just 25 years old.
Pirates Notes: Maholm, Mientkiewicz, Alvarez
The latest on the Pirates, from Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Extension talks with Nate McLouth are dormant, but talks with Paul Maholm are not. Maholm is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, so he’s under team control through 2011.
- Doug Mientkiewicz was overwhelmed by the support he’s getting from Pirates fans.
- Scott Boras apparently told the Pirates Pedro Alvarez was working very hard to stay in shape while their negotiations dragged, but team president Frank Coonelly says Alvarez "was not in good condition" when he showed up for the Florida Instructional League in September.