Quick Hits: Johnson, Dodgers, Aardsma, Padres
Sunday night linkage..
- Kelly Johnson's arbitration hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
- Dodgers owner Frank McCourt needs to be more open and direct about his financial troubles, writes T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times.
- Before suffering a hip injury, Mariners pitcher David Aardsma was a major trade candidate. After undergoing surgery in December, the hurler is still unsure of when he'll be able to return, writes Larry LaRue of The News Tribune.
- Recent trades have weakened the Padres bullpen, says Bill Center of the Union-Tribune.
Discussion: Jose Bautista
On Friday, Jays outfielder Jose Bautista told Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun that he has set a deadline for extension talks with the club. The slugger and the club have an arbitration hearing scheduled for tomorrow and it seems like a safe bet that the meeting will go through as planned. While Bautista would like to sign a multiyear deal with the club, the Blue Jays have yet to put an offer on the table.
Today, Fidlin implores Toronto to lock the 30-year-old up with a multiyear pact. It's possible, he says, that the club is wary of signing another monster deal after having just gotten themselves out from under two monster contracts in the past year-and-a-half. It's also possible that Alex Anthopoulos & Co. are wary of Bautista's shocking and sudden emergence as a primetime player. After hitting .238/.329/.400 from 2004 through 2009, the veteran broke out in 2010, hitting .260/.378/.617 with a staggering 54 home runs – eclipsing his previous watermark of 16.
There remains a considerable gap between the two sides as Bautista seeks $10.5MM while the Blue Jays are offering $7.6MM. Fidlin argues that the outcome of the hearing is rather inconsequential in the scheme of things. The club has a limited time to work out a long-term deal with the Super Two star and must get a deal done while they can. If you were in Anthopoulos' position, what would you do?
Red Sox Notes: Papelbon, Pena Jr., Jenks
Let's take a look at some Red Sox-related tidbits from around the web..
- Earlier today, BoSox closer Jonathan Papelbon told reporters that he doesn't know why everyone assumes he won't be with the club after 2011. Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal brings us select quotes from the outspoken hurler, including his approval of GM Theo Epstein's moves this offseason.
- After starting his career as a shortstop, Tony Pena Jr. is now in camp with the BoSox as a relief pitcher, trying to make the squad as a non-roster invitee, writes Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. Pena says he tops out at 94 miles per hour but usually throws in the low 90s.
- This winter's acquisitions of relievers Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler will help to reduce Daniel Bard's appearances, but manager Terry Francona is more excited about the two reducing the number of times Bard needs to warm up in the bullpen, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.
MLBTR Originals
It's time to take a look back at all of the original reporting and analysis MLBTR has come up with this week..
- This week we asked our readers where they think Michael Young will wind up and where pitcher Kevin Millwood will sign.
- Confused about aspects of the Bernie Madoff/Mets situation? Don't fret, you're not alone. This week Howard Megdal brought us a simple guide to the Metropolitans' mess.
- Mike Axisa rounded up the best baseball writing from around the web in this week's edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Tigers pitcher Joel Zumaya is about to enter a Make Or Break Year.
- As of last Monday, only 13 arbitration eligible players were still unsigned for 2011. To keep up with all of the remaining cases, check out the MLBTR Arb Tracker.
- Three contracts signed this winter prevent the team from offering arbitration if the player is a Type A at the end of the term and Tim Dierkes ran them down in one handy post.
- Having trouble keeping track of all our original work? Check out this list of our regular MLBTR features.
- Steve Adams took a look at minor league deals that could be worth a million or more.
- Our own Ben Nicholson-Smith is doing his thing over at Fangraphs in a series of guest posts.
- We fielded your questions in our weekly chat. If you missed out, you can take a look at the transcript right here.
- February 6th has been a busy day in years past, as Luke Adams pointed out.
- Do you love baseball? Do you speak Spanish? You just might have what it takes to work for MLBTR as a translator.
Rockies To Sign Chris Sampson
FEBRUARY 13: With the Rockies already at full capacity for non-roster Spring Training invitees, Sampson will not receive an invite, Goff writes. Instead, the reliever will be reporting to minor league camp in Arizona.
Sampson told Goff that the Rockies intend to give him every opportunity to succeed at the Triple-A level and will likely be in position for a potential call-up if he stays healthy. The deal will become official upon Sampson passing a physical exam.
FEBRUARY 9: The Rockies have agreed to a minor league deal with right-handed reliever Chris Sampson, according to Stephen Goff of Examiner.com. The pact includes an invite to Spring Training.
Sampson, 32, spent his entire career with the Astros up until now. After turning in a 5.93 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 on the season, Houston removed Sampson from the 40-man roster. The reliever chose to accept his demotion to the minors and delay his entrance to the open market.
In five big league seasons with Houston, Sampson owns a 4.42 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. The Texas native is represented by Hendricks Sports.
Upton Wants To Stay In Arizona
Early on this offseason, Justin Upton was the subject of trade rumors as a new regime in Arizona gauged the market on their young star. Upton addressed those rumblings this afternoon at Chase Field, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.
"At the time, I was prepared to deal with whatever happened. I want to be here. I’m here, I want to play for the D-Backs. I’m not ready to leave. I’m going to be a part of this team this year and hopefully we can turn this thing around," said the 23-year-old.
The rightfielder went on to say that he was surprised by the trade talks but added that "it happens to people every year." Upton also insisted that his feelings were not hurt by the rumors and understood GM Kevin Towers' desire to look into improving the team any way possible.
Upton hit .273/.356/.442 with 17 homers in 133 games last season, a down year by his standards. Many teams inquired on the youngster this winter but all were unwilling to meet the D'Backs' asking price.
Orioles Notes: Payroll, Pujols, Guerrero
Earlier this week, The Baltimore Sun published highlights of Orioles GM Andy MacPhail's address to a group of Baltimore School of Law students. MacPhail covered a wide range of topics and today the paper has published even more of his comments pertaining to the club..
- Someone in the audience asked if promises were made three years ago by ownership that some of the cash generated by the creation of MASN would go toward increasing payroll. MacPhail says that he instead told ownership to keep payroll down and invest in the farm system. The GM's reasoning was that the O's will never be able to spend like Yankees and Red Sox and MASN can't generate money the way NESN (Red Sox) or YES (Yankees) can.
- The O's would go beyond their budget to sign a special player under the right circumstances, or, as MacPhail phrased it, "the perfect storm". The GM cited the club's $140MM offer to Mark Teixeira after the 2008 season as an example of that. When someone asked if Albert Pujols could represent a similar perfect storm, MacPhail shot down the daydreams of optimistic Orioles fans everywhere by saying, "The likelihood of us stepping out to the degree that [Pujols] is looking at, for any one player, is remote at best. I read that he's looking for $30 million a year, and I just can't see how that's going to happen."
- The club never anticipated increasing their bid for Vladimir Guerrero's services to $8MM. While MacPhail didn't discern another active bidder at the time, he felt that the Rangers could jump back into the mix if they were to trade Michael Young. Because of that, the GM increased his bid in order to "make the right deal."
- The Orioles hope to make strides in international scouting, particularly in the Dominican Republic and in Venezuela.
Quick Hits: Duchscherer, Ramirez, Marmol, Broxton
Links for Saturday..
- Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun called the Orioles' signing of pitcher Justin Duchscherer the latest "late-winter Hail Mary" by GM Andy MacPhail.
- C.C. Sabathia told Mark Hale of the New York Post that he isn't concerned about the Yankees' rotation.
- Carlos Marmol took his physical in Mesa, Arizona today, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. Marmol and the Cubs should finalize a long-term deal this week.
- The Nationals still have loose ends to tie up from the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
- Tom Singer of MLB.com will be keeping a close eye on Jonathan Broxton of the Dodgers as he looks to get his career back on track this season. Recently our own Mike Axisa characterized 2011 as a make or break year for the closer as he approaches free agency.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cardinals and outfielder Jim Edmonds have not yet scheduled the physical that he needs to pass in order to finalize his minor league deal with the club. GM John Mozeliak confirmed that the agreement is open-ended in order to allow Edmonds time to recover from foot surgery before taking the physical.
- After signing a one-year, $4MM this winter, Aaron Harang is looking to return to old form with the Padres, writes Don Norcross of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Meanwhile, Eric Chavez is looking for a fresh start with the Yankees, writes Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News.
Nationals Sign Two Dominican Prospects
The Nationals have finalized deals with a pair of Dominican prospects, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Outfielder Randy Novas and catcher Raudy Read will receive $150K and $130K, respectively.
Johnny DiPuglia, the Nats' head of international scouting, said that the 17-year-old Read will "easily be an everyday catcher." As for Novas, DiPuglia compared the 16-year-old's body to that of former big leaguer Devon White.
The club remains hesitant to hand out massive signing bonuses like the one they gave 16-year-old Esmailyn Gonzalez, who really turned out to be 20-year-old Carlos Alvarez, in 2006. Excluding the Yunesky Maya major league deal, the Nationals spent about $1MM on signing bonuses for prospects in Latin America last year, one of the smallest budgets in the majors. Now, DiPuglia tells Kilgore, the club is starting to spend more on international players.
Poll: Kevin Millwood’s Next Team
Yesterday we learned that the Yankees are still considering Kevin Millwood to help round out their rotation. The Bombers might feel compelled to boost their starting five, even after bringing Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon aboard recently. They could also afford the veteran’s $4-5MM price tag – something that other clubs are hesitant over.
The Indians have long been linked to Millwood but would prefer to bring someone in on a minor league deal. A $4-5MM deal would be too rich for their blood but as time passes one has to wonder if the right-hander’s camp might be willing to take less. The 36-year-old also hasn’t ruled out a return to Baltimore and MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith recently wrote that it would make sense for teams like the Royals, Rockies, and Mariners to join the fray.
Which Team Will Sign Kevin Millwood?
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Yankees 42% (2,913)
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Indians 27% (1,879)
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A different team 9% (639)
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Orioles 8% (528)
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Mariners 6% (426)
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Royals 5% (333)
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Rockies 2% (149)
Total votes: 6,867