Orioles Rumors

Odds & Ends: Bell, Dye, Ortiz, Davis, Strasburg

By Tim Dierkes | April 19, 2010 at 9:32pm CDT

Links for Monday…

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Tom Krasovic tweets that the Twins have a scout at tonight's Padres-Giants game, but it's just a routine visit. He adds that Heath Bell remains on Minnesota's radar, but the two sides haven't talked since Spring Training.
The Giants have no interest in Jermaine Dye, tweets Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. The reasons are the same as they've been all winter: defense and asking price.
More changes could be coming to the Dodgers' bullpen, says Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. Russ Ortiz was designated for assignment yesterday, and Hernandez thinks Ramon Ortiz could be next.
Talking to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith, I learned that teams can now safely promote minor leaguers for their MLB debuts with no chance of the player amassing 172 days of service in 2010. By promoting '08 first-rounder Ike Davis today, the Mets ensured that he will be under team control through 2016 instead of 2015. In contrast, the Braves have Jason Heyward through '15.
On that same topic, agent Scott Boras told MLB.com's Peter Gammons that Stephen Strasburg starting in the minors "had nothing to do with money."
Joe Posnanski digs into Forbes' team revenue numbers, noting that the Yankees made $173MM more than any other team.
MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch tells us Hayden Penn has accepted the Pirates' Triple A assignment in lieu of electing free agency.
In a statement, Cal Ripken said he looks forward to continued talks with the Orioles about a position in the organization.

Odds & Ends: Davis, Cano, Athletics, Pirates

By Luke Adams 2 | April 18, 2010 at 6:31pm CDT

As today's games try to top Ubaldo Jimenez's no-hitter and the Mets' marathon victory, let's browse a few links….

The Astros will likely make a roster room to clear the way for Lance Berkman's return, tweets Alyson Footer of MLB.com.
A Mets official told Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated that the club has to "win now" (link goes to Twitter). Earlier today, Mike Jacobs was DFA'd in a move that could clear space for Ike Davis.
Benjamin Kabak at River Ave. Blues looks back at the Alfonso Soriano–for-Alex Rodriguez trade, and how the Rangers had the opportunity to select Robinson Cano as a second player in the deal. Instead, they chose Joaquin Arias. Think they regret that one?
Joel Sherman of the New York Post lists ten players and managers who are on the hot seat two weeks into the 2010 season, with Jerry Manuel and Dave Trembley earning the top two spots. Mike Puma of the New York Post writes that Mets' players have jumped to Manuel's defense, while Bill Madden of the New York Daily News thinks that Orioles' players have given up on Trembley.
With Michael Wuertz nearly ready to come off the DL, the Athletics will have to clear a roster spot for him. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle runs down a few of the players whose status could be in jeopary, including the recently acquired Edwar Ramirez and the out-of-options Chad Gaudin.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic examines the Pirates' organization in search of pitchers with ace potential.
In a mailbag, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer defends the Indians' signings of supposed "marginal, aging players." He also notes that if the Indians end up losing the Cliff Lee deal, they have no one to blame but themselves, since they scouted many of the same Phillies prospects when they discussed a potential CC Sabathia trade in 2008.
Fantasy baseball season is in full swing, and saves are at a premium as always. Don't forget to follow @closernews to keep up with the ever-changing late-inning scenarios in Major League Baseball!

Odds & Ends: Anderson, Smoltz, White Sox, Ripken

By Zachary Links | April 17, 2010 at 9:22pm CDT

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.

Top Trade Chips: AL East

By Mike Axisa | April 17, 2010 at 7:27pm CDT

Let's finish off our series with the toughest division in baseball…

Blue Jays: The Jays already traded away most of their top pieces, but they still have three desirable relievers in Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, and Kevin Gregg. All three can become free agents after the season. There might be some interest in first baseman Lyle Overbay, who will also hit the open market after the season.
Orioles: Considering how poorly he pitched before landing on the DL, I'm sure a large part of the Baltimore faithful wouldn't mind seeing Mike Gonzalez go. Alas, that won't happen anytime soon. There always seems to be interest in Luke Scott, who still has two more years of team control left. If they decide to sell at mid-season, Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie could find their way onto the block.
Rays: The Rays are a player development machine, and they have enough young players to get get pretty much anyone they want. They have enough depth that they could trade one of Reid Brignac or Sean Rodriguez plus one of Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, or Jeremy Hellickson and not miss a beat. If they fall out of it and decide to sell, it doesn't get much better than Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, and Carlos Pena. I believe the term is "stacked."
Red Sox: Boston has held onto Clay Buchholz for this long, but with his name appearing so frequently on the rumor circuit, it really wouldn't be surprising if they moved him for a big time player. They might still be able to find a taker for Mike Lowell, and there would be interest in Manny Delcarmen if he were made available. They did lose a valuable chip when Junichi Tazawa went down with Tommy John surgery.
Yankees: They seem unwilling to trade either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, so their best chip is the semi-blocked Jesus Montero. Of course, the Yankees have the ability to absorb even the ugliest of contracts, so maybe we should consider that their biggest trade chip.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Lowell, D’Backs

By Mike Axisa | April 17, 2010 at 5:43pm CDT

FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…

If the Red Sox decide to give Mike Lowell more at-bats at the expense of David Ortiz, don't be surprised if it happens soon. Just six of their next 26 games are on the road, and Lowell is a .303/.361/.513 career hitter at Fenway. Yesterday we heard that the Sox would probably release Ortiz before keeping him on the bench.
Should the Orioles decide to part ways with manager Dave Trembley, Rosenthal calls Greg Maddux an outside the box replacement candidate. Andy MacPhail has long admired Maddux's baseball smarts, and thinks he could succeed in any role. Keep in mind that the 355 game winner is currently working for Cubs GM Jim Hendry, and his only tie to the O's is MacPhail, his former GM with Chicago.
The Diamondbacks' rotation depth remains an issue, but they have minimal interest in Jarrod Washburn. They only have so much money to spend, and Washburn is coming off knee surgery and hasn't been through Spring Training. Arizona believes they're better off waiting until other teams fall out of the race and the trade market begins to develop.
The concern in Atlanta is about Bobby Cox's bullpen management. The 38-year-old Billy Wagner and 40-year-old Takashi Saito have been worked hard in the early going.

Largest Contracts In Team History

By Mike Axisa | April 17, 2010 at 12:14pm CDT

We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time and position, so let's now dig up the largest contracts ever given out by each of the 30 teams. These are in terms of guaranteed money only, but some could end up being even larger because of incentives and option years.

Angels: Torii Hunter, five years, $90MM
Astros: Carlos Lee, six years, $100MM
Athletics: Eric Chavez, six years, $66MM
Blue Jays: Vernon Wells, seven years, $126MM
Braves: Chipper Jones, six years, $90MM
Brewers: Ryan Braun, eight years, $45MM
Cardinals: Matt Holliday, seven years, $120MM
Cubs: Alfonso Soriano, eight years, $136MM
Diamondbacks: Randy Johnson, four years, $53.4MM
Dodgers: Kevin Brown, seven years, $105MM
Giants: Barry Zito, seven years, $126MM
Indians: Travis Hafner, four years, $57MM
Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki, five years, $90MM
Marlins: Hanley Ramirez, six years, $70MM
Mets: Johan Santana, six years, $137.5MM
Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman, five years, $45MM
Orioles: Miguel Tejada, six years, $72MM
Padres: Jake Peavy, three years, $52MM
Phillies: Chase Utley, seven years, $85MM
Pirates: Jason Kendall, six years, $60MM
Rangers: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $252MM
Rays: Wilson Alvarez, five years, $35MM
Reds: Ken Griffey Jr., nine years, $116.5MM
Red Sox: Manny Ramirez, eight years, $160MM
Rockies: Todd Helton, nine years, $141.5MM
Royals: Gil Meche & Mike Sweeney, both five years, $55MM
Tigers: Miguel Cabrera, eight years, $152.3MM
Twins: Joe Mauer, eight years, $184MM
White Sox: Frank Thomas, seven years, $64.4MM
Yankees: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $275MM

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Olney’s Latest: Smoak, Davis, Ripken, Mathis, Lowell

By Mike Axisa | April 17, 2010 at 10:52am CDT

In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider required and recommended), Buster Olney writes that Rangers' first base prospect Justin Smoak is off to a strong start in Triple-A and could push Chris Davis either out the door or onto the bench. Smoak is hitting .300/.475/.567 with two homers in 40 plate appearances so far this year, while Davis is off to a .194/.265/.290 start with 10 strikeouts in 34 plate appearances.

Here's the rest of Olney's rumors…

A possible reason why Orioles owner Peter Angelos declined to hire Cal Ripken Jr. is because of "concern about whether the addition of the legend would lead to office politics and ugly fallout."
With the Angels carrying three catchers, Olney speculates that Boston could be a trade match for Jeff Mathis, and wonders if the talks could be expanded to include Mike Lowell given the Halos' troubles at the hot corner. Red Sox catchers have thrown out just one of 17 base stealers this season, and Mathis has thrown out 23% of would-be base stealers in his career.

Odds & Ends: Ripken, Angels, Athletics, Lewis

By Luke Adams 2 | April 16, 2010 at 9:51pm CDT

Rounding up some Friday night links….

The Braves released minor league right-hander Deunte Heath, writes Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that Orioles owner Peter Angelos nixed the idea of Cal Ripken Jr. joining the organization in a baseball capacity.
The Angels aren't actively shopping anyone, but they're receptive to the idea of trading a catcher, according to Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles. We looked at the club's catching logjam and Mike Napoli's potential availability earlier in the evening.
Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group tweets that, following Brett Anderson's extension, Billy Beane will consider locking up other young Athletics to long-term deals. Stiglich says Kurt Suzuki probably tops that list, and, in a piece for CSNBayArea.com, Mychael Urban suggests Andrew Bailey is another possibility.
According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), Suzuki and his agent haven't heard from the A's regarding an extension yet, but they're open to the idea. Recently, MLBTR looked at comparables for a Suzuki extension.
MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that the Nationals had no interest in acquiring Fred Lewis, since they consider Justin Maxwell to be their "own Fred Lewis."
Bobby Valentine said on Sirius XM Radio that coaching the Mets isn't something he's considering, according to the New York Post's Dan Martin.

Robert Andino Clears Waivers

By Zachary Links | April 7, 2010 at 1:09pm CDT

WEDNESDAY, 1:09pm: Andino has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple A Norfolk, according to an Orioles press release. MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli has comments from Andino on the situation.

SATURDAY, 3:25pm: The Orioles have designated Robert Andino for assignment, writes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. The club now has ten days to trade, release, or request waivers on the infielder.

The recent acquisition of Julio Lugo from the Cardinals made the soon-to-be 26-year-old expendable. Baltimore GM Andy MacPhail says that the roster, barring injury, is now set, according to MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli.

In 215 plate appearances for the O's last season, Andino hit .222/.274/.288 with 2 HRs. However, he played an above-average shortstop, posting a UZR/150 of 6.3.

Odds & Ends: Giants, Beckett, DePaula, Aubrey

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 5, 2010 at 8:30pm CDT

Some links on what promises to be one of the best days of the year…

Chris Haft of MLB.com writes that the Giants' bench is lacking in right-handed bats, though he doesn't suggest they'll look to make a trade.
The Red Sox have expressed reluctance in the past to sign pitchers to long-term contracts, but MLB.com's Ian Browne notes that Josh Beckett's extension means the club has four important starters under team control through 2014.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Beckett extension was directly motivated by the Red Sox' rivalry with the Yankees.
Beckett told reporters that he focuses on the security that comes with his extension, not the money he could potentially have obtained on the open market, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
The San Francisco Chronicle had some nice things to say about MLBTR in its business report. Check it out.
The Mariners remain the favorites to sign Dominican pitcher Rafael DePaula, according to Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Michael Aubrey cleared waivers and was outrighted to the minors, according to an Orioles press release. The team designated Aubrey for assignment last week.
Check out this two-sport star: the White Sox hired former Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause to oversee the team's scouting in the Dominican Republic, according to ESPNChicago's Bruce Levine.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette points out that the Pirates will have the lowest Opening Day payroll in baseball and asks when the future starts for the Pirates. His answer? Once Pedro Alvarez takes over third base at PNC Park. If all goes well for Pittsburgh, that could happen before midseason.
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times has the Mariners' payroll at about $89MM, a little higher than USA Today's $86.5MM figure.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels tells Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that speculation that the Rangers are looking for reasons to fire manager Ron Washington is "silly."
As Jeff Powalisz of the Boston Globe points out, Boston's free agent acquisitions are already contributing.
Matt Stairs will become the first modern-day position player to suit up for 12 different teams when he takes the field for the Padres, as MLB.com's Corey Brock points out.

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