Latest On Jairo Beras
The Rangers have anxiously awaited MLB's ruling on the signing of Dominican prospect Jairo Beras and the club could have an answer as soon as next week, according to Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram. The league launched an investigation in late March to determine if Beras is in fact 17-years-old and that the $4.5MM contract is legal.
Until late February, Beras presented himself as a 16-year-old, which would have made him eligible to sign on July 2nd and subject to the new CBA's restrictions on international amateur spending. While team officials won't talk about the situation, sources tell Ben Badler of Baseball America their assertion is that they simply outworked other clubs.
While the Rangers want to stress that they did nothing wrong, the greater focus will be on the 6'5" outfielder and why he previously claimed a different date of birth. However, sources told Badler that they would not be surprised if MLB allowed Beras to sign without any sanctions.
Quick Hits: Phillies, Inge, Yankees, Red Sox
The final game on tonight's docket is in progress as the Nationals face the Padres at Petco Park. Links for this evening..
- The Phillies had trade interest in Brandon Inge during spring training, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. However, it's not clear if the club still has an eye on Inge. The Orioles are also said to have some interest in the third baseman.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman understands that he will have to take responsibility if the team's trade for Michael Pineda does not work out in the long term, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. Pineda will miss the rest of the season as he recovers from arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
- Right now, the Red Sox's deal with Carl Crawford looks to be a disaster, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The outfielder is set to earn $142MM over the course of his seven-year pact.
This Date In Transactions History: Graig Nettles
There are a number of reasons why a club might trade a former All-Star. Most of the time, it has more to do with production than a player's literary work.
On this date in 1984, the Yankees completed their trade of third baseman Graig Nettles to the Padres when they chose minor leaguer Darin Cloninger as the player to be named later to go with left-hander Dennis Rasmussen. Reportedly, George Steinbrenner secured a sneak preview of Nettles' book, "Balls", which was highly critical of the Yankees owner. While Steinbrenner was happy to jettison the third baseman across the country, Nettles was also quite satisfied with the deal. The veteran pushed for a trade to the Padres in the past but had his request denied.
While Nettles' book was largely responsible for the timing of the trade, the deal also made sense from a baseball standpoint. The 39-year-old signed a two-year, $1.8MM deal in '83 but was already being moved into a timeshare at his position. The Yankees traded for the Indians' Toby Harrah and shifted Roy Smalley from shortstop back to third base, moves that Nettles admitted made him uneasy.
Even at his advanced age, Nettles had plenty of quality baseball left. The veteran hit .228/.329/.413 in his first year in San Diego and earned his sixth career All-Star selection in 1985. Nettles would wrap up things up with the Montreal Expos in 1988 after 22 major league seasons. The San Diego native hit .248/.329/.421 with 390 homers over his career.
Athletics Notes: Balfour, Colon, Hughes, Inge
A few items on the A's..
- Jane Lee of MLB.com doesn't expect the A's record to dictate their level of activity in the trade market. Grant Balfour is already a popular name for clubs looking for relief help and Bartolo Colon should draw heavy interest from contenders looking for help at the Trade Deadline. Earlier this week, Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at Balfour as a trade candidate.
- Lee also writes that she was surprised by the club's decision to pick up Luke Hughes rather than use Adam Rosales at third base. The A's claimed Hughes off of waivers from the Twins on Sunday.
- Speaking of the club's third base situation, Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter) expects the A's to consider pursuing Brandon Inge.
AL East Notes: Orioles, Red Sox, Crawford, Yankees
A look at a few items out of the AL East as the Blue Jays take on the Orioles in Baltimore..
- The Orioles are still looking for ways to improve defensively and the club has some interest in Brandon Inge, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Inge was let go by Detroit earlier today but made it clear that he wants to continue playing.
- There hasn't been any talk of Will Middlebrooks being promoted in support of the struggling Kevin Youkilis, a Red Sox source told Alex Speier of WEEI.com. So far this year, the veteran is hitting just .204/.267/.296 as Middlebrooks has looked solid for Triple-A Pawtucket.
- Peter Gammons of MLB.com tweets that the lesson to be learned from the Red Sox's Carl Crawford "debacle" is that the club should have had his agent work with the club to help with his adjustment to a new market. Crawford hit just .255/.289/.405 for Boston in 2011 and could now miss three months after undergoing elbow surgery.
- Former pitcher Curt Schilling suffered the same torn anterior labrum in his throwing shoulder as Michael Pineda and believes that he could bounce back better than ever and return in less than a year, writes Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com. Yesterday we learned that the Yankees pitcher is likely going to be sidelined for a full year.
AL East Notes: Byrd, Bowden, Hall, Valentine, Pettitte
In lieu of their game tonight, here's a look at items on the Yankees and Red Sox..
- With the Cubs in rebuilding mode, Marlon Byrd expected to be traded but was surprised by the timing, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
- Former Red Sox pitching prospect Michael Bowden might be able to find his groove with the Cubs, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal. Bowden was sent to Chicago as part of the Byrd deal and should finally be given the chance to pitch consistently at the major league level.
- Veteran Bill Hall told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that teams assume that he will not play in Triple A because he elected free agency after failing to make the Yankees’ Opening Day roster. In actuality, the utility man says that he opted out because of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's strange schedule in 2012. Because of ballpark renovations, they will be playing "home" games in six different cities this season. The 32-year-old says that he's willing to play in the minors and get started right away.
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) writes that manager Bobby Valentine is not to blame for the Red Sox's poor start. Olney expects the club to comb the trade market early and wouldn't be surprised to see pitcher Aaron Cook called up to the varsity squad prior to his opt-out date.
- Meanwhile, Valentine is rather critical of his own performance, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
- Andy Pettitte's comeback quickly went from an interesting story to a necessity for the Yankees, opines Mike Bauman of MLB.com.
Poll: Will The Giants Extend Tim Lincecum?
Last week the Giants announced a five-year extension for Madison Bumgarner that will keep the left-hander in the fold through 2017 and could keep him in place through 2019 with a pair of options. The deal guarantees the hurler $35MM over five years and sets a record for pitchers with one-plus years of MLB service. The 22-year-old is now locked up for years to come alongside Matt Cain, but there's still the matter of addressing Tim Lincecum's future.
The two-time Cy Young winner is under team control through 2013 and the two sides haven't made a great deal of progress towards a new deal in recent months. Some see the long-term contracts for Bumgarner and Cain as preparation for Lincecum's eventual departure. Others contend that while San Francisco has committed a great deal of money to the two pitchers, it has little bearing on whether the club will iron out a deal with The Freak. As it stands today, do you see the Giants extending Lincecum?
Will Giants Extend Tim Lincecum?
-
No 60% (6,619)
-
Yes 40% (4,383)
Total votes: 11,002
MLBTR Originals
A look at this week’s original reporting and analysis from the MLBTR team..
- Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at the top arbitration eligible catchers for 2013.
- Mike Axisa put together a list of players claimed off of waivers since the start of the offseason and are now contributing at the big league level.
- Ben compiled a list of the top young pitchers without extensions.
- The specifics of Madison Bumgarner‘s five-year, $35MM extension were somewhat surprising, Ben writes.
- James Loney‘s late-season tear in 2011 likely saved his job with the Dodgers, but this will be a Make Or Break Year for the first baseman, Mike writes.
- I asked MLBTR readers if they like the Erick Aybar extension from the Angels’ perspective and the results were just about split.
- BN-S examined how much Super Two status is worth.
- Ben had the wheel for our chat on Wednesday.
- With enough interested parties, larger offers wouldn’t be out of the question for Francisco Liriano. A repeat of his 2011 numbers, however, would likely relegate Liriano to a one-year deal, writes Steve Adams.
- The Astros welcomed a new owner, hired a new GM and agreed to switch leagues this past offseason.
- There are three players who will soon have their ten and five rights kick in.
- Mike rounded up the best from around the baseball blogosphere for this week’s edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Here’s a list of all the ways you can enjoy MLBTR.
Quick Hits: Rays, Inge, Red Sox, Indians
On this day in 1997, the Yankees traded Ruben Rivera, Rafael Medina, and $3MM to the Padres for players to be named later, Homer Bush, and minor leaguer Gordon Amerson. A little more than a month later, the Padres later sent Hideki Irabu to the Yankees as one of the PTBNLs to complete the deal. Here's a look at today's links..
- It looks like the Rays will need to go out and find help behind the plate, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Even though Tampa Bay appears to be in browsing mode at the moment, big name catchers such as A.J. Pierzynski, Geovany Soto, and Kurt Suzuki could all be available. Lower tier possibilities include Miguel Olivo, Chris Snyder, George Kottaras, and Bobby Wilson.
- As Brandon Inge continues to take more and more criticism, Terry Foster of The Detroit News thinks that it's time for the Tigers to let him go. Inge is making $5.5MM this season and can be bought out of his $6MM option in 2013 for $500K.
- The only former Rangers teammate that pitcher Vicente Padilla has had a real problem with is new teammate Marlon Byrd, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (Twitter links). The pitcher, now with the Red Sox, was released by Texas in 2009 for behavior that was seen as a distraction to the clubhouse.
- The Indians need to do a better job of building through the draft, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.
Red Sox Notes: Cherington, Valentine, Bard, Cook
A look at the Red Sox following last night’s ugly loss to the Yankees..
- Saturday was the symbol of an organization that has made too many poor decisions in recent years, both under Epstein and new GM Ben Cherington, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The club shouldn’t be blamed for failing to match the Phillies’ offer for Jonathan Papelbon, but they can be faulted for failing to find adequate replacements for him and Daniel Bard, knowing that they planned to make Bard a starter.
- After last night’s game, Cherington, president Larry Lucchino, and principal owner John Henry met with Bobby Valentine. Not much was said after the meeting but in a brief phone interview with Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com, Henry said “This is not a 14-game problem, this is 41-game problem (including the Red Sox’ 7-20 mark last September). Our pitching has been terrible over the last 41 regular season games.”
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe thinks that the Red Sox should put Bard in the role of closer and recall Aaron Cook from Triple-A to fill in the back of the rotation. Cook can request his release if he’s not on the 25-man roster on May 1st and again on June 1st.
- Cherington hopes that Marlon Byrd will turn over a new leaf in Boston, write Peter Abraham and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. “He’s been a good major league center fielder for a long time and is off to a tough start,” the GM said. “But our hope is that a change of scenery and maybe a new environment may get him going.”