Odds & Ends: Rangers, Red Sox, Wilson, Dodgers
Links for Saturday..
- Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News notes all of the roster turnover the Rangers have already experienced this season.
- Ian Browne of MLB.com (via Twitter) says that outfielder Jonathan Van Every is being placed on the 40-man roster so that Josh Reddick can get more at-bats in the minors.
- Angels catcher Bobby Wilson was on the receiving end of a violent collision at the plate on Friday, writes Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com. With Wilson and Jeff Mathis sidelined, the Angels likely won't be able to move one of their catchers anytime soon.
- Ramon Ortiz was essentially auditioning to keep his job with the Dodgers on Friday night, says Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
- Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun writes that the promotion of Rhyne Hughes could mean a reduced role for starting first baseman Garrett Atkins.
Discussion: Kaz Matsui
Astros second baseman Kaz Matsui is in the final season of a three-year, $16.5MM pact signed in December of 2007. Matsui's flat start combined with the strong play of Jeff Keppinger has led to the two men splitting time at second. One has to imagine that Matsui will find himself relegated to the bench if he cannot boost his .214 OPS in the near future.
Of course, putting a player set to earn $5MM on the pine is rather wasteful. However, drumming up a market for the native of Japan may prove to be difficult. After a solid campaign in 2008, Matsui hit just.250/.302/.357 in '09. Fangraphs estimates that his play last season was barely worth more than half of what he earned as his defense was also pedestrian.
If Matsui can get back to his 2008 form, could the Astros find a taker for him without absorbing the majority of the money he is owed?
Red Sox Acquire Jonathan Van Every
The Red Sox acquired outfielder Jonathan Van Every from the Pirates in exchange for a player to be named later, according to a team press release. To make room for Van Every on the 40-man roster, Boston has designated righty Santo Luis for assignment.
Van Every spent 2008 and part of 2009 with Boston, making 18 big league appearances across the two seasons. Despite hitting .263/.360/.524 with 26 HRs in 2008 for the club's Triple-A affiliate, the 30-year-old was released in July of the following year. Van Every has one option remaining. The move improves Boston's outfield depth as Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury are on the 15-day disabled list.
Luis, 26, was claimed off waivers from the White Sox ten days ago. He posted a 4.34 ERA, 12.7 K/9, and 3.7 BB/9 in 56 High A relief innings last year, allowing 11 home runs. Chicago had claimed Luis from the Astros in '07 in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.
Odds & Ends: Matsui, Braves, Bumgarner, Benson
Sunday night linkage..
- It appears that Kaz Matsui is in danger of losing his job as starting second baseman, writes Alyson Footer of MLB.com. This is thanks in large part to the red-hot play of Jeff Keppinger.
- Braves CEO Terry McGuirk refuted a report that the team slashed payroll 13% since last season, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. McGuirk also says that he doesn't see the Liberty Media group, which owns the Braves, selling the team in the near future.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer looks at Madison Bumgarner's recent troubles on the mound.
- Kris Benson believes that can throw the ball even harder than he did in his debut with the D'Backs, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Benson, who signed a minor league deal with the club this offseason, was recently promoted to be Arizona's fifth starter.
Week In Review – 4/11/10 – 4/17/10
Let's take a look back at the week that was..
- Prince Fielder is said to be seeking a deal in the vicinity of $200MM, comparable to the contracts of Mark Teixeira and Joe Mauer. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio remains hopeful that they'll retain the star slugger.
- The A's signed pitcher Brett Anderson to a four-year extension on Friday. The deal runs from 2010-2013 with club options on 2014 and 2015. The deal guarantees the lefty $12.5MM and could be worth as much as $31MM over six years.
- Jose Veras was designated for assignment by Florida. The Marlins have already kicked all of their scrap heap relief pickups to the curb.
- The Blue Jays announced that they have signed Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to a four-year, $10MM deal. The deal includes a $4MM signing bonus for the 19-year-old.
- Another Cuban defector joined the majors as the Rays announced that they have inked Leslie Anderson to a four-year pact.
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry shot down speculation that the club might release Alfonso Soriano before his contract expires in 2014.
- San Francisco shipped outfielder Fred Lewis to the Blue Jays and will receive either cash or a player to be named later in return.
- The Nationals DFA'd Jason Bergmann. Washington GM Mike Rizzo will reportedly try to trade the hurler.
- Cincinnati DFA'd two players: Aaron Miles and Wladimir Balentien. Both players cleared waivers. Miles was released while Balentien was outrighted to their Triple-A affiliate.
- On Wednesday we heard that the Rangers may pursue Aaron Miles, though there's been nothing new on that front just yet.
- We learned this week that the Mets are not looking to make any changes to their pitching staff. They are also not interested in free agent Jarrod Washburn.
- Free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye made it known that he would like to play for the Mariners. He has received an offer from the Nationals, though the amount is unknown.
- Meanwhile, Orlando Hudson surmised that racism is why Dye is without a job in the majors.
- The Mariners are reportedly interested in infielder Ramon Vazquez. Vazquez was released by the Pirates earlier this month.
- Toronto claimed Shawn Bowman off of waivers from the Mets. The 25-year-old will report to the Jays' High A affiliate.
- The Padres and third base prospect Duanel Jones are reportedly moving towards an agreement.
- Alan Embree decided to stick around with the BoSox organization until the end of the month.
- Seattle DFA'd Ryan Langerhans, though he would later clear waivers and report to the M's Triple-A affiliate.
- Clint Everts cleared waivers after being cut loose by the Mets.
- Rich Aurilia retired from baseball.
- The BoSox claimed righty Santo Luis off of waivers from the White Sox.
- Mike rounded out the Top Trade Chips series with a look at the AL East. You can check out the entire series here.
- Tim kicked off the GM Initiation series, reaching out to Rangers GM Jon Daniels and Arizona GM Josh Byrnes.
- Tim also identified relief trade candidates from around the majors.
Discussion: Gaby Sanchez
After a battle for the first base job during Spring Training with top prospect Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez came out on top. Sanchez had just two major league starts to his credit coming into this season, but he has done well in the full-time position thus far. In 12 games, Sanchez has hit .308/.426/.538.
Meanwhile, as an item on the ESPN MLB Rumors page points out, Morrison is also performing well for the club's Triple-A affiliate. The 22-year-old lefty has an OPS of 1.066 and a pair of home runs in ten games. While sample size is obviously an issue here, one wonders if more of the same from Morrison could make Sanchez expendable. Prior to this season, ESPN.com's Keith Law ranked Morrison as the #21 prospect in baseball.
Dealing the Miami-born Sanchez could certainly help the Marlins get a boost in other areas. In the past, they have managed to catch lightning in a bottle when building their bullpen. However, GM Michael Hill would likely feel more comfortable if he could pick up some additional relief help this season. The Marlins have already parted ways with four of their relief additions from this offseason: Jose Veras, Mike MacDougal, Seth McClung, and Derrick Turnbow.
Odds & Ends: Anderson, Smoltz, White Sox, Ripken
Links for Saturday..
- R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs isn't quite sure why Brett Anderson (and his agent) would agree to the four year extension he signed, but he also notes that Oakland's side of the deal isn't exactly risk-free.
- Baseball color analyst John Smoltz won't completely rule out a return to baseball, writes Chad Finn of the Boston Globe. In March, Ken Rosenthal noted that the Phillies have shown strong interest in the soon-to-be 43-year-old as a possible mid-season addition.
- Ozzie Guillen stood up for White Sox hitting coach Greg Walker, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Orioles owner Peter Angelos said that he would be happy to sit down and talk with Cal Ripken Jr. if he is interested in a position with the club, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.
- Mets manager Jerry Manuel shot down rumors of a clubhouse rift, tweets David Lennon of Newsday.
- Outfielder Fred Lewis is happy to be a member of the Blue Jays, according to Larry Millson and James Hall of MLB.com. The Giants shipped the 29-year-old to Toronto earlier this week and will receive either cash or a player to be named later in return.
Ramon A. Ramirez Clears Waivers
BoSox reliever Ramon A. Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. The move leaves 39 men on Boston's 40-man roster.
Ramirez has just 16 big league games to his credit, but pitched decently while with the Reds' Triple-A affiliate. In 31 appearances last season (20 of which were starts), Ramirez posted a 4.03 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. His 39.1 innings pitched in the majors yielded a 2.97 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.
The move also clears up confusion within the Boston clubhouse as they have another reliever by the name of Ramon Ramirez. He was acquired in 2008 when Theo Epstein & Co. sent Coco Crisp to the Royals. As they said in the Highlander, there can be only one.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Hechavarria, Benson, Teahen
Tuesday night linkage…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports weighed in on Orlando Hudson's assertion that racism plays a role in free agency. Earlier today, Tim gave us his take on the matter.
- The Blue Jays hope to see Adeiny Hechavarria reach Double-A by season's end, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star spoke to Alexei Ramirez, who believes that "it won't be long" before we see Adeiny Hechavarria in the majors. Ramirez watched Hechavarria's meteoric rise through the the ranks of Cuban baseball.
- Kris Benson is a candidate to become the D-Backs' fifth starter, writes MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Arizona signed the 35-year-old to a minor league deal in mid-March.
- Mark Teahen is still adjusting to his new club, writes Larry Millson of MLB.com.
Discussion: Grady Sizemore
In September of last year, Mike Axisa wrote this in reference to Grady Sizemore:
Curious about how untouchable Grady Sizemore is? I had to create a category for him just for this post. In the entire history of MLBTR, no one ever bothered to write any rumors about him…
Even after an offensively-challenged, injury-shortened 2009, the Indians front office is adamant about keeping the outfielder. However, an item on the ESPN.com rumors page argues that the 27-year-old won't be around by the time the Tribe is ready to compete.
Sizemore's rather reasonable deal runs through 2011 with a club option for 2012. He'll earn $5.6 this season, $7.5MM next season, and $8.5MM in the option year. It should be noted, however, that the club option becomes a player option if the three-time All-Star is dealt.
The ESPN piece suggests the Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners, and Phillies as potential suitors for Sizemore's services. Dealing the outfielder, they say, could help the Tribe bolster their pitching.
What sayeth you, MLBTR commentariat? Should Chris Antonetti & Co. move Sizemore this season?