Dodgers Notes: Ethier, Kasten, Selig, O’Malley
The sale of the Dodgers to a group headed by Magic Johnson and longtime MLB executive Stan Kasten has been the biggest story in sports over the past 48 hours. Here's a look at the latest out of Los Angeles..
- Andre Ethier says that it's too early to say how the Dodgers’ sale could affect his future, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Ethier is under contract this year for $10.95MM and will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season. The outfielder sounds open to discussing a deal during the season.
- Jim Bowden of ESPN Radio (via Twitter) believes that one of Stan Kasten's first moves will be to sign Clayton Kershaw long-term and go after the likes of Matt Cain, Cole Hamels, or Zack Greinke in free agency.
- MLB commissioner Bud Selig addressed the sale of the club, saying, "This has been a long, difficult process, and I once again want to thank the great Dodger fans for their loyalty and patience," tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- Former owner Peter O'Malley led an unsuccessful bid to buy back his club but is happy to see that Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten will be at the helm, writes Shaikin.
Heyman On Lannan, Tigers, Abreu, Zito, Dunn
Here's the latest from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com..
- The Tigers' interest in John Lannan is only lukewarm at best and one executive told Heyman (via Twitter) that American League teams are leery of what switching leagues would do. For their part, the Nationals still seem eager to move the left-hander.
- With no real playing time likely available to Bobby Abreu, it might be for the best for the Angels to simply release the veteran, Heyman writes. Even though Abreu's agents, Peter and Edward Greenberg, said his recent comments were taken out of context, Abreu is obviously frustrated and unhappy about his situation.
- Is Barry Zito's contract the worst free agent deal ever? – Heyman believes that it is and it tops his top ten list. John Lackey, Gary Matthews, Carl Pavano, and Mike Hampton round out the top five.
- There are several theories as to why Adam Dunn wasn't able to produce last year, including the idea that his big contract got to him, writes Heyman. The 32-year-old hit .159/.292/.277 in 122 games last season.
Week In Review: 3/18/12 – 3/24/12
It's time to take a look back at the week that was as we get closer and closer to Opening Day..
- The Rangers agreed to terms with Derek Holland on a five-year, $28.5MM contract extension. The deal covers the 2012-16 seasons and includes two club options, as MLBTR's Tim Dierkes first reported. Holland posted a 3.95 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 46.4% ground ball rate in 198 innings this past season.
- Chipper Jones' 19th season in the majors will also be the final one of his career. The Braves announced that their 39-year-old third baseman will retire following the 2012 campaign. Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504) are the only switch hitters with more career home runs than Jones.
- The Angels are reportedly emerging as the frontrunner for Roy Oswalt's services. Meanwhile, it doesn't look like he'll wind up with the Cardinals or Rangers.
- The Royals acquired outfielder Jason Bourgeois and catcher Humberto Quintero from the Astros for minor league left-hander Kevin Chapman and a player to be named later. Bourgeois posted a .294/.323/.357 line with 31 stolen bases last year, while playing all three outfield positions and appearing at second base. The 30-year-old will be arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2012 season.
- There's an "understanding" between the Giants and Matt Cain that they'll try to wrap up contract extension talks before the Opening Day.
- The Giants are telling teams they're shopping both Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot.
- The elbow injury to Reds closer Ryan Madson will require Tommy John surgery, ending the right-hander's season.
- The Padres and catcher Nick Hundley agreed to terms on a three-year extension. The deal covers the 2012-14 seasons and includes a club option for 2015.
- The Red Sox are monitoring the market for left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez.
- The Mets would like to trade Mike Pelfrey, though it's not clear how serious they are about that.
- Don't expect the D'Backs to to get deals done with Ian Kennedy or Daniel Hudson.
- Jeff Moorad stepped down as the Padres' CEO and President and COO Tom Garfinkel will assume CEO duties on an interim basis. Moorad will stay on as vice chairman and oversee the Padres' relationship with FOX Sports San Diego.
- The Orioles are shopping right-handed reliever Kevin Gregg and corner infielder Mark Reynolds. Both players are under contract for 2012 with club options for 2013.
- The Rangers "might prefer" to keep some of the extra arms on their pitching staff rather than make a trade.
- The Phillies announced that they released right-hander Joel Pineiro. He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in January and would have earned $1.5MM on the MLB roster.
- The Mets agreed to a $162MM settlement with Irving Picard, the trustee for those who lost money in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
- The Angels signed David Pauley to a minor league contract. Meanwhile, they continue to look for starting pitching depth.
- The Mariners cut veteran Hong-Chih Kuo.
- Vladimir Guerrero intends to play this season and Japan is an option.
- The Dodgers designated right-hander Ramon Troncoso for assignment in order to reinstate Ronald Belisario from the restricted list.
- The Indians claimed right-hander Rick VandenHurk off of waivers from Toronto.
- The White Sox re-acquired Rule 5 selection Terry Doyle from the Twins. The Twins paid $50K to acquire Doyle in December and they'll get half of that sum back from the White Sox.
- The Orioles signed Dontrelle Willis to a minor league contract and will make $700K in the big leagues.
- The Nationals signed Xavier Nady to a minor league deal.
- The Mariners announced that they have released reliever Shawn Camp. The 36-year-old signed a Major League deal worth $750K in February.
- The Tigers announced claimed left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz off of waivers from the Indians.
- Joe Torre has rejoined Major League Baseball as its executive VP of baseball operations.
Brewers Will Table Marcum Talks Until After Season
Brewers GM Doug Melvin said that the club will let Shaun Marcum play out the rest of the season and reach free agency, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Marcum and the Brewers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $7.725MM in February.
Last month, the 30-year-old said that he hopes to remain in Milwaukee for the long haul. Marcum battled through a hip flexor issue in 2011 and posted a 3.54 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 33 starts. It doesn't appear that there has been much in the way of contract talks between the two sides this winter and it's also unclear where things stand with the club and fellow hurler Zack Greinke.
Phillies Have Interest In Yankees’ Ramiro Pena
With second baseman Chase Utley sidelined with no timetable to return, the Phillies plan to start Freddy Galvis and are hoping to bolster their infield depth behind him. With that in mind, General Manager Ruben Amaro & Co. have some interest in Yankees utilityman Ramiro Pena, according to George A. King III of the New York Post.
Earlier today, Utley spoke to reporters and insisted that he'll return to action at some point this season. The Royals' Chris Getz was one possible trade target for the Phillies but it's unlikely that he'll be dealt as he has a good chance at opening the season as Kansas City's starting second baseman.
Andy Sonnanstine Elects Free Agency
Cubs right-hander Andy Sonnanstine is now a free agent after declining an outright assignment to Triple-A, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Chicago outrighted the veteran to their Iowa affiliate on Thursday.
Sonnanstine, who turned 29 last Saturday, signed a non-guaranteed split contract with the club in December. The longtime Rays hurler posted a 5.55 ERA with 12 walks and 12 strikeouts in 35.3 innings of work for Tampa Bay last year.
The 6'3" pitcher made 72 starts for the Rays from 2007-2009 but worked mostly out of the bullpen in '10 and '11.
MLBTR Originals
A recap of all of the original analysis and reporting from MLBTR’s staff this week..
- Tim was the first to report that Derek Holland‘s new deal with the Rangers covering the 2012-16 seasons will include two team options.
- Pitching prospect Rafael DePaula agreed to sign with the Yankees for $500K in November, 2010, but hasn’t had a visa until now, so the deal hasn’t been completed. Agent Charisse Espinosa-Dash told MLBTR this week that DePaula has his visa and that the original deal is expected to go through once the Dominican right-hander passes a physical.
- Matt Wieters hit .262/.328/.450 with 22 homers for the Orioles in 2011 and was named to his first All-Star Game. Mike Axisa examined what it might take for the O’s to sign him to a new deal.
- This is a make or break year for 28-year-old Kendrys Morales, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith.
- Our Offseason In Review series continued with looks at the Cardinals, Mariners, Rockies, Royals, Brewers, Marlins, Blue Jays, Angels, Diamondbacks, and Mets.
- The Royals seek catching depth following Salvador Perez’s left knee operation, and GM Dayton Moore could look for replacements in a number of places, Ben writes.
- Six franchises that haven’t appeared in a postseason game in the last ten years: the Mariners, Orioles, Blue Jays, Pirates, Royals and Nationals/Expos. Ben asked our readers which franchise will end their franchise drought and a whopping 49% chose the Nationals.
- Mike’s latest edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In features pieces on Andy Pettitte‘s comeback, Joakim Soria, and the Alberto Callaspo trade market.
- Ben noted that 18 of the pitchers in projected rotations around MLB are at least 35 years of age or will turn 35 at some point in 2012.
- BN-S had the wheel for MLBTR’s chat on Wednesday.
- If you prefer your MLBTR fix limited to only your favorite team, we’ve got you covered.
Minor Moves: White Sox, Royals, Golson, Cora
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves right here:
- The Royals announced via Twitter that they have traded outfielder Greg Golson to the White Sox for cash considerations. The 26-year-old appeared in nine games for the Yankees last year and hit .263/.330/.385 in 105 games with the team’s Triple-A affiliate.
- The Cardinals announced that they released infielder Alex Cora and catcher Koyie Hill. The Cards signed Cora to a minor league deal back in February that would have been worth $800K if he made the big league roster. Hill, who spent 2011 with the Cubs, hooked on with the Cardinals in January.
Quick Hits: Getz, Utley, Phillies, Giants, Madson
Sunday afternoon linkage..
- One source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) doubts that the Royals will trade Chris Getz as he has a good chance to open the season as the club's starting second baseman. Last week we heard that Getz could be an option for clubs seeking infield depth.
- The Phillies are said to be looking for infield depth with Chase Utley sidelined but the second baseman insists that he will be back at some point this year, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
- The spring play of Giants shortstop Joaquin Arias and the performance of Emmanuel Burriss has the club confident enough to put out trade feelers for Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot, writes Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that agent Scott Boras should have found a way to get Ryan Madson a multi-year deal this offseason.
AL East Notes: Suzuki, Yankees, Rays, Lawrie
With Opening Day right around the corner, the Yankees are set to enter the 2012 season with tremendous pitching depth. Yesterday, we learned that the Bombers offered Freddy Garcia to the Marlins but couldn't get the Fish to bite on a deal. Here's more on the Yanks' pitching and other items out of the American League East..
- The Rays say that they haven't talked with the A's about Kurt Suzuki, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Earlier today, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote that the Rays have been pushing hard to land the catcher.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes the Yankees' wealth of left-handed pitching this season is a change of pace from what they've had in years past. Aside from a David Wells here or a Sabathia there, Sherman argues that the club hasn't been successful when it comes to developing and importing lefty arms.
- Players' union president Michael Weiner is happy about the Rays increased payroll and hopes to see the club's attendance numbers rise along with it, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Owner Stuart Sternberg has said they made the increase essentially as an investment, hoping that spending beyond their means will lead to more wins, and, in turn, better attendance.
- Brett Lawrie told Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that he wasn't thrilled with the way that the Brewers were looking to develop him and happy to be dealt to the Blue Jays.