Helping The Mariners Find Some Offense
It's no secret that the Mariners came into the season with a plan for extreme run prevention through pitching and top shelf defense, but through 23 games they've scored the third fewest runs in the American League (82) thanks to a paltry .312 team OBP. The problem was as obvious as can be last night, when the Mariners twice had the bases loaded with less than two outs in extra innings, but scored a total of zero runs.
Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider took a look at the team's offensive plight, noting that the farm system offers a little help and that the arrival of Jack Hannahan and possibly Ramon Vazquez will provide just a marginal improvement for the bench. Seattle's designated hitters are hitting just .186/.263/.198, so Churchill offers up some trade suggests to help that situation. Note that the trade talk is based on his speculation only.
The names are not strangers to this space, including Josh Willingham, Adam Dunn, Luke Scott, and Jorge Cantu. All four would represent a demonstrative offensive upgrade, and by slotting them in at DH the team would maintain their run prevention strategy. Seattle has good but not great trade chips, but they might have the ability to absorb some salary, the best trade chip of all.
The Mariners are just half a game back in the league's most winnable division after the season's first month, so it's hardly time to panic. Though the sooner they can improve the DH position, the better.
Is The Orioles’ Plan Flawed?
Despite last night's walk-off win over the Red Sox, the Orioles boast MLB's worst record at 5-18 and second worst run differential at -43, and they're already set a record low for single game attendance at Camden Yards. Among other issues, Baltimore has struggled to find a solution for the closer's role since Mike Gonzalez hit the disabled list, not that he was much help before the injury.
SI.com's Tom Verducci spoke to a rival team executive who believes the Orioles' model is flawed. "They took good young players and surrounded them with non-tenders, veteran guys who can't play," said the exec. "It's a brutal combination."
Julio Lugo, Garrett Atkins, Cesar Izturis, Miguel Tejada, Will Ohman, and Gonzalez represent that core of of non-tenders and veteran guys who can't play (to use the executives words). However, those players aren't expected to form the core of the next contending Orioles' team.
Baltimore has an enviable group of young players led by Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, and Brian Matusz, plus they also have Chris Tillman, Josh Bell, Jake Arrieta, and Zach Britton not too far away in the minors. That's the group expected to help them contend in the future, not the veteran players on one and two year deals.
I respectfully disagree with the rival executive's take on Baltimore's plan. It's certainly not going to yield maximum results this season, but Andy MacPhail can't turn around a team that hasn't had a winning season in more than a decade overnight. He's done a great job of building that young core, and the Orioles are clearly a team looking towards 2011 and 2012. The veterans mentioned above are just filling in the gaps relatively cheaply so they don't have to rush any prospects up from the minors.
MacPhail's plan is better than tricking himself into believing his team is one or two or three veterans away from competing, especially in that division. That logic will only lead to more losing seasons.
Wilfrido Perez Clears Waivers
FRIDAY, 2:41pm: According to a team press release, Perez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Double-A Bowie.
TUESDAY, 2:25pm: The Orioles have designated reliever Wilfrido Perez for assignment, according to a press release. The move clears a roster spot for Alfredo Simon, whose contract the Orioles selected from Triple-A Norfolk.
The 25-year-old Perez has spent his entire career in Baltimore's system. Last season, he closed games for the Double-A Bowie Baysox, recording seven saves and a 1.37 ERA in 24 appearances. The left-hander has struck 11.1 batters per nine innings over the course of his minor league career, but is off to a slow start as the Baysox' closer this year, allowing six runs and 13 baserunners in just five innings.
Stark On Fielder, Howard, Sizemore, Frasor
Jayson Stark's latest Rumblings and Grumblings column is hot off the press at ESPN.com. Let's take a look.
- Stark explains that the potentially legendary 2012 first base free agent class may be further depleted, as Albert Pujols is expected to stay in St. Louis and Adrian Gonzalez could be traded and extended by his new team. Even Lance Berkman might stay put, leaving Prince Fielder as the remaining big name. There are some who rank Fielder below Ryan Howard, writes Stark.
- Stark says the Phillies signed Howard now because they felt a Pujols extension would drive up Howard's price. For an explanation straight from the horse's mouth, check out Todd Zolecki's MLB.com chat with Ruben Amaro Jr. and Pat Gillick.
- If the 2012 first base free agent class is loaded, will there be enough teams willing to shell out massive contracts? Stark says yes, naming a dozen teams he figures could be in the mix. Don't forget the Nationals and Orioles, two clubs that made huge bids for Mark Teixeira.
- Jayson Werth's agent Jeff Borris named the Jason Bay and Matt Holliday deals as frames of reference for his client. Stark takes that to mean Werth will be looking in the $16-17MM range. My question: does he get five years?
- One source of Stark's says the Indians have shown zero inclination to trade Grady Sizemore. Sizemore's $10MM club option for 2012 becomes a player option upon a trade, and Stark feels Sizemore would "almost certainly" exercise it – decreasing his trade value. That assumes, of course, that Sizemore doesn't turn things around anytime soon.
- Stark doesn't think the Red Sox have reached a desperation point regarding acquiring a catcher who can throw. Bringing in a Chris Snyder or a Gerald Laird might necessitate releasing David Ortiz or Mike Lowell.
- The Orioles have interest in Blue Jays reliever Jason Frasor.
- In a table, Stark provides an interesting look at teams' guaranteed money rankings for 2011 and '12. The Dodgers, interestingly, are very light on '12 commitments ($3.3MM).
Olney’s Latest: Lowe, Cruz, Atkins, Rangers
Buster Olney's latest blog entry at ESPN.com focuses on Ryan Braun, who Olney thinks could eventually take over Albert Pujols' title of the National League's best hitter. The article also includes a few hot-stove notes….
- Olney hears from talent evaluators that the trade market for starting pitching probably won't really develop for at least another month or two. Unless they can dump salary, teams likely won't be looking to move any starters quite yet. Derek Lowe and his $15MM price tag are mentioned as a potential salary dump.
- The Royals haven't put Juan Cruz on waivers yet, meaning he'll probably be placed there Monday and clear on Wednesday. Olney speculates that the Cubs, in need of a setup man, could kick the tires on Cruz.
- As the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly suggested last night, Garrett Atkins' job could already be in jeopardy after Rhyne Hughes' promotion. When MLBTR talked to baseball execs in March about offseason moves, the Orioles' signing of Atkins was nominated as one of the worst.
- Olney says the perception around the league is that owner Tom Hicks is creating roadblocks for the sale of the Rangers in the hopes of securing more cash. Because of complications with the sale, baseball's other owners will likely have to throw in more money.
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.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Orioles, Griffey, Braves
FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's see what he has for us…
- The Orioles will almost certainly be the first team to fire their manager this season, and both Bob Melvin and Bobby Valentine came up in past internal discussions. Bigger jobs are in store for Valentine, but Buck Showalter might also be a candidate. Rosenthal reminds us that the team doesn't have anyone in-house with prior big league managing experience.
- The Mariners expect Cliff Lee back on Friday and Erik Bedard back in four weeks, but the focus will remain on the offense and Ken Griffey Jr.'s .238/.289/.262 performance. Rosenthal says not to expect anything to happen with him anytime soon; Seattle has five Griffey-centric promotions scheduled for the first half.
- The Braves are a logical landing spot for Adrian Gonzalez, but they're also very high on first base prospect Freddie Freeman. The last time they traded for a first baseman with a year-plus left on his contract, they basically rebuilt the Texas Rangers.
- The Nationals made a run at Jermaine Dye and had more than one conversation with Gary Sheffield's agent, but GM Mike Rizzo said those talks were just to gauge interest. For now, they're happy with the a platoon of Willie Harris and Justin Maxwell because of their defensive abilities, and Rizzo says that will remain a point of emphasis as the team moves forward.
- Rosenthal expects the Nats to get better as the season progresses. They'll be adding Stephen Strasburg, Drew Storen, Chien-Ming Wang, Ross Detwiler, and Jordan Zimmermann to their pitching staff at various points this year.
Stark On Padres, Jose Guillen, Derrek Lee
ESPN's Jayson Stark kicks off today's column with a look at which teams' starts he considers reality and illusion. Beyond that, a look at his hot stove rumblings…
- One club official who "felt out" the Padres over the winter believes they'll hold on to their top players if they're in contention in July. As Stark says, the market would look a lot worse without Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell.
- Stark names six sluggers who "might be in play" this summer: Josh Hamilton, Adam Dunn, Adam LaRoche, Rick Ankiel, Paul Konerko, and Manny Ramirez. Hamilton and Manny are longer shots, but they'd certainly get the hot stove burning.
- As for Jose Guillen – executives Stark talked to just aren't interested, despite his .377/.406/.738 start.
- In search of new stadiums, where could the Rays and A's legitimately threaten to move? Stark and his sources run through ideas and can't find a viable city.
- A friend of Cal Ripken's tells Stark "there's a lot of mutual respect" between Ripken and Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Ripken seeks a difference-making job, rather than just a title. It doesn't necessarily have to be with the Orioles.
- The Cubs told Derrek Lee's agent Casey Close they'd prefer to let the season play out before talking extension. Lee discussed the situation during Spring Training.
- Stark's sources consider Brett Anderson's four-year, $12.5MM deal a very team-friendly contract. To the A's credit, most young pitchers are not willing to give two club options. Playing devil's advocate – did the potential cost savings justify committing four years to Anderson after just one year of service? You can find multiple clubs that do not share Oakland's enthusiasm for locking up good young pitchers.
2011 Contract Issues: Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles face two contractual options after the season:
- First baseman Garrett Atkins has an $8.5MM club option with a $500K buyout. Barring a miraculous return to his 2006 abilities, the Orioles will decline.
- Lefty reliever Mark Hendrickson has a $1.2MM club option with a $200K buyout. Much too early to call.
Paying a $500K buyout to Atkins means shaving $3.5MM off the payroll. The Orioles can free up nearly $30MM in additional funds, since Kevin Millwood, Miguel Tejada, Koji Uehara, Ty Wigginton, and others are up for free agency. They'll also trim $1.5MM in buyouts paid to Melvin Mora and Chad Moeller. The Orioles will shed $32.85MM if they let all their free agents go aside from Hendrickson.
On the increase side, there's a $3.5MM bump for Nick Markakis. The Orioles have three first-time arbitration players in Adam Jones, Jim Johnson, and Felix Pie. Jeremy Guthrie, Cla Meredith, and Matt Albers will go for a second time, Luke Scott a third. The Orioles should have at least $15MM to play with even if they hold payroll steady and tender everyone a contract.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Orioles Claim Pedro Viola
The Orioles claimed lefty Pedro Viola off waivers from the Reds today, according to a team press release. Viola was assigned to Triple A, and Felix Pie was transferred to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.
Viola, 26, posted a 5.47 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 6.0 BB/9 in 49.3 Triple A relief innings last year, allowing seven home runs. In their 2010 Handbook, Baseball America praised Viola for a 92-94 mph fastball. However, they describe his changeup and slider as fringy and note his inconsistent command. Viola will be a project for Tides pitching coach Mike Griffin.