Chris Snyder Likely To Be Moved
Nationals catcher Chris Snyder is drawing interest from teams who are looking for a backup, including the Angels, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Nationals are deep at the position and Snyder is likely to be sent elsewhere.
Snyder has an opt-out clause in his deal that will allow him to pursue other opportunities if he is not on the big league roster by March 24th. The 32-year-old posted a .176/.295/.308 batting line with seven homers in 258 plate appearances for the Astros last season.
The Astros declined a $4MM option on Snyder after last season, opting to pay him a $500K buyout instead.
Yankees Release Matt Diaz
The Yankees have released outfielder Matt Diaz, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (on Twitter). Diaz was expected to fill a need for the Yankees as a right-handed hitting outfielder.
The Bombers signed Diaz to a minor league deal back in December that would have paid $1.2MM plus incentives if he made the big league roster. The Reynolds Sports Management client boasts a career .324/.364/.498 slash line against lefties. Last season with the Braves he posted a .222/.280/.333 batting line in 51 big league games.
Rangers Searching For Starting Pitcher
The Rangers are scanning the market for a starting pitcher, officials on other teams have told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Rangers have kept in contact with free agent pitcher Kyle Lohse and have also been linked to Tigers starter Rick Porcello.
Robbie Ross and non-roster invite Nick Tepesch are in competition to make the roster and officials from other clubs seem to think that Texas would rather keep Ross in the bullpen as he thrived there last season. There's also some sentiment from a couple Rangers people that Alexi Ogando might be better off going back to the bullpen, though the main decision makers don't necessarily agree.
The Rangers like Porcello but he would require giving up a top player or prospect. They have ramped up their interest in Lohse ever since Martin Perez suffered a broken arm a couple weeks ago, but they have the same reservations about signing him as other clubs.
Heyman points out that other starters that could be available include Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly of the Dodgers, Bud Norris of the Astros, and possibly Jake Arrieta and Zach Britton of the Orioles.
Ramon Hernandez Drawing Trade Interest
A few teams looking for an extra catcher are talking to the Rockies about acquiring Ramon Hernandez, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Yankees haven't inquired but the Angels, Pirates, Rays, and Phillies could all have interest (Twitter link).
The Rockies have a surplus of catchers with Hernandez, Wilin Rosario, Jordan Pacheco, and Yorvit Torrealba in the fold. Colorado is said to like Torrealba's veteran leadership and his handling of young pitchers, making fellow veteran Hernandez expendable. Hernandez, 36, is set to earn $3.2MM this season on the backend of his two-year pact.
Cafardo On Chamberlain, Cishek, Royals, Rangers
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe ranks all 30 managers in the major leagues. In Cafardo's view, you're doing something right if you're managing in MLB, so there are no negative comments for any of the skippers. Buck Showalter takes third place for his work with the surprise Orioles last season. Rays manager Joe Maddon takes second for his innovative ways. The top spot, however, goes to the Giants' Bruce Bochy. Here's more from Cafardo..
- We learned last week that the Rangers are scouting Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees and one AL scout believes that the Bombers believe they have gone as far as they can with the right-hander. “They would deal him in a heartbeat and then fill in with one of their starters in the bullpen,” said the scout. “If Texas would give up Mike Olt, a deal could get done there.”
- The Marlins' Steve Cishek is drawing considerable interest from teams looking for a reliever. One scout says that the side-arming sinker baller is likely on most wishlists around baseball.
- The Royals are open to moving Luke Hochevar (albeit, for a higher-than-expected price) but they're also willing to trade projected No. 5 starter Bruce Chen.
- The Phillies' Yuniesky Betancourt has improved his visibility and it wouldn't be shocking to see a team deal for him before Opening Day. The shortstop has a March 24th opt out date and he is on the Cardinals' list as they look to replace Rafael Furcal.
- Cafardo believes that there is an obvious trade to be made involving Tigers right-hander Rick Porcello and the Red Sox's Andrew Bailey. However, Boston's rotation is full right now and they already have Allen Webster waiting in the wings.
- One National League GM says that teams will be kicking themselves for missing out on Kyle Lohse, despite the draft pick compensation that he will cost. “That’s the way it’s going to go,” said the GM, “but you also don’t want to overpay for a pitcher who has been hanging around that long. If you can’t get him at your price, then you look foolish paying what he was asking two months ago.” In Cafardo's view, the Rangers are still the most logical destination.
- Manny Acta, who is now serving as an analyst for ESPN, has said that he hopes to get back into managing. However, he says that he's not interested in becoming a GM.
Jeff Samardzija Says No Extension Talks Recently
6:09 PM: A report that Jeff Samardzija and the Cubs were "far apart" in talks on an extension appears to have taken Samardzija himself by surprise, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat writes. "There really hasn't been any talks," says Samardzija, who says that he and the Cubs have had other priorities since the beginning of spring training. The two sides had talked about the possibility of an extension months ago, and they "were on the same page" at the time, Samardzija says.
5:03 PM: The Cubs made pitcher Jeff Samardzija an offer "well above" the nearly $30MM, five-year contract the Rangers gave Derek Holland last spring, but it doesn't appear that it will be enough to get a deal done, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Samardzija, who has three years to go before he reaches free agency, is believed to be seeking something much more lucrative.
Theo Epstein & Co. have made two runs at signing the 28-year-old but the gap between the two sides is sizable enough that it has put talks on hold. While the right-hander isn't afraid to hold out for what he feels is a fair number, Heyman notes that he has made no secret of his fondness for the Cubs organization. All things considered, there is reason for both sides to be optimistic that a deal will eventually be struck.
The 2012 season marked Samardzija's first in the rotation as he pitched to a 3.81 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Cardinals, Lohse, Royals, Hochevar
Earlier today, we learned that the Cardinals are interested Astros pitchers Lucas Harrell and Bud Norris while also shopping for available shortstops. The Cards were somewhat expected into looking at help at shortstop but their interest in pitching is a fairly new development. Here's more out of St. Louis and other notes out of the Central divisions..
- It would be a curious move for the Cardinals to trade from their surplus of young upside pitching to acquire more experienced pitching when their more obvious need is at shortstop, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, it's not surprising to Goold (Twitter link), that the Cards would go bargain hunting with a call to the Astros.
- More from Goold, who notes that if the Cardinals really saw a need for starting pitching, they could re-engage Kyle Lohse (Twitter link). Lohse, of course, would only require money and not the forfeiture of prospects. Goold doesn't see Lohse settling for a one-year deal yet, however.
- In a Q&A, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star writes that the talk of the Royals asking for a lot to part with Luke Hochevar is more than a rumor. The Royals appear to want a guy who could help the big-league club or a legitimate prospect and don’t want to eat a lot of his $4.56MM salary.
- When asked about an extra right-handed hitting outfielder, Tigers manager Jim Leyland responded "We want one. You can take that to the bank. It's 99.9 percent (sure) we'll have one," according to Tom Gage of the Detroit News (on Twitter).
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Encarnacion, M’s, Greinke
Five years ago, Padres left-hander Randy Wolf took the hill in spring training with his brother Jim serving as the home plate umpire. However, that didn't help the pitcher much as he struggled in a 6-2 loss to the Brewers. That marked the only time that this happened because even though Jim has served as the third base ump in a regular season game with Randy on the hill, he is not assigned to call balls and strikes when his brother is pitching. Here's this week's look around the blogosphere..
- House Of The Bluebird analyzes Edwin Encarnacion's leap forward in 2012.
- Prospect Insider says the Mariners are better than you think.
- Halos Daily re-evaluated the Zack Greinke trade.
- I R Fast looked at Michael Roth's Pitch F/X data.
- Baseball Stooges ranked the top five GMs in baseball.
- Kingdome Of Seattle Sports projected the Mariners' Opening Day lineup.
- The Shea Faithful explains why Matt den Dekker needs more seasoning in the minors.
- Phillies Nation wonders what should be done with Yuniesky Betancourt.
- Pinstripe Pundits wonders if Brennan Boesch is a good fit for the Bombers.
- The Doubleday breaks down Stuart Sternberg's recent comments.
- Marlin Maniac spoke with Jason Collette of Baseball Prospectus.
- Rox Pile has some pitchers that the Rockies could target.
- The Tribe Daily talks Ubaldo Jimenez.
- Kings of Kauffman explains why the Royals can beat out the Tigers this year.
- MLB Reports delivers the Brewers' state of the union.
- Baseball Big Brother Project presents a tale of two clocks.
- The Daily Statesman writes that Matt Adams is now left in an awkward position.
- Blog Red Machine wonders if Cesar Izturis will make the cut in Cincinnati.
- Couch Side Show looks at the top fantasy third basemen.
- Baseball Hot Corner says this could be the year of the Brandons in San Francisco.
- On The Way Home asks if Greinke is worth the money for the Dodgers.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Aceves, Hicks, Tigers, Jones
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com feels that the Red Sox should part ways with the volatile Alfredo Aceves, but it doesn't seem like such a move is in the cards. General Manager Ben Cherington told Heyman via text not to expect to see Aceves cut while another person connected to the club said that he can't see it happening. The Red Sox's bullpen is shorthanded at the moment with Franklin Morales and Craig Breslow sidelined, so now would not be a great time to drop Aceves. Here's more from around baseball..
- All signs point to Twins prospect Aaron Hicks making the leap from Double-A to win the club's center field job, Heyman writes. Recently, Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at service time considerations for Hicks and other top prospects in baseball.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland has success with a bullpen by committee in the past and it could work again for him in 2013, writes Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com. Detroit has inquired on closing options from other teams in recent weeks but they could instead use rookie Bruce Rondon and other relievers already in-house to close out games.
- Chipper Jones joked that former teammate David Ross should start a rumor that he was coming back to baseball to sign with the Red Sox, but the catcher wanted no part of it, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald. Ross asked Jones if he's staying retired and the future Hall of Famer said "I ain't going nowhere."
Royals Have High Asking Price On Luke Hochevar
Teams that have asked about trading for Luke Hochevar have been told by the Royals that they want quite a bit in return, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The 29-year-old is set to earn $4.56MM this season after avoiding arbitration in January.
It's surprising to hear that Kansas City is looking for a significant return on the right-hander after he pitched to a 5.73 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 32 starts last season. In fact, Royals skipper Ned Yost announced today that Hochevar would be slated for the bullpen rather than fight for the fifth spot in the rotation against Bruce Chen, Will Smith, and Luis Mendoza.
Hochevar, the former first-overall pick in the 2006 draft, owns a career 5.39 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. The right-hander has one more year of arbitration eligibility left and will be free to hit the open market after the 2014 season.
The Royals called the Rockies to discuss Hochevar back in December but nothing came of those talks.