Odds and Ends: Pirates, Royals, Gagne
Links for Wednesday…
- Joe Torre plans to retire as a manager after the 2010 season, learned MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.
- Braves blog Talking Chop talked to ESPN’s Keith Law about the farm system.
- Baseball America’s Jim Callis spoke to one assistant GM who believes teams will cut back in the international market, partially because they can do so without a major backlash from fans. Callis also has the ’09 draft order at that link.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at the $69MM+ teams spent on first-round draft picks last year.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates have anywhere from $41.75-$75.15MM tied up in Nate McLouth, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit, all of whom were signed this winter. In a blog post, Kovacevic notes how the McLouth talks did a 180 when Frank Coonelly stepped in.
- Alex Speier of WEEI talked to Red Sox execs John Henry and Larry Lucchino about the salary cap idea as well as the team’s offseason.
- Aubrey Huff, a free agent after the season, isn’t worried about the future according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.
- Chris Forsberg of the Boston Globe relays quotes from Jonathan Papelbon about the long-term deal that did not materialize this winter.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the idea of releasing Mark Teahen and John Buck to sign Orlando Hudson, which some Royals fans are pushing for.
- Pitcher Kevin Correia turned down better deals to sign with his hometown Padres, according to MLB.com’s Corey Brock.
- Newly signed Brewers reliever Eric Gagne hopes to atone for his 2008 season, says Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Roberts, Orioles Narrowing Gap On Extension?
WEDNESDAY, 7:59am: Schmuck takes a stab at the numbers on a possible Roberts extension:
The Orioles – according to Baltimore Sun reporting – were holding close to a three-year offer worth $30MM until the past few weeks. Though no definite number came out of the Roberts camp, the word on the street was he was looking for closer to $40MM over that term and would look more kindly on a four-year offer. No one would be surprised if the final deal ends up being four years for about $44MM, which would be about the same average annual salary the Orioles gave Nick Markakis.
Markakis, however, is guaranteed almost $15MM per year for his first three free agent seasons.
WEDNESDAY, 10:51am: Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun talked to Orioles president Andy MacPhail, who said he’s "narrowing the gap" with Brian Roberts‘ agent on a possible extension. Spencer Fordin’s source doesn’t believe Roberts’ extension has been held up because of Orlando Hudson‘s free agency. MacPhail said similar things to Roch Kubatko of MASN. Roberts does not want to talk about the topic until Thursday. Perhaps this spring, we’ll be spared the constant Roberts trade rumors.
Odds and Ends: Dunn, Schumaker, Abreu
Links for Friday…
- The Blue Jays signed pitcher Dirk Hayhurst to a minor league deal; they’d released him to make room for Matt Bush.
- Alex Speier of WEEI has quotes from John Smoltz about his departure from Atlanta. Smoltz leaving the Braves was the biggest surprise of the offseason for me.
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark surveyed 15 baseball sages for all kinds of opinions on the best and worst of the offseason (which is not officially over yet).
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post has more from the Adam Dunn press conference.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sees Skip Schumaker as the Cardinals outfielder most vulnerable to a trade.
- ESPN’s Keith Law weighs in on the Bobby Abreu signing.
- Kevin Goldstein’s Top 100 Prospects list is up over at Baseball Prospectus.
- Scott Moore cleared waivers; he’ll remain in the Orioles organization.
- My definition of a fantasy baseball sleeper, over at RotoAuthority.
- Shoutout: MLBTR had over 9,800 pageviews from Puerto Rico this month.
Jeff Zrebiec Talks To Andy MacPhail
Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun talked to Orioles president Andy MacPhail recently. A few hot stove highlights:
- MacPhail doesn’t feel misled by Mark Teixeira and Scott Boras, but notes that there was never any engagement from them after the Orioles made their offer.
- The Orioles’ philosophy is to "grow the arms and buy the bats." With Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, and Jake Arrieta in the system, it seems to be going according to plan.
- MacPhail says owner Peter Angelos is not meddling, in fact "there is nothing further from the truth."
- Of course, MacPhail would like to sign Brian Roberts to an extension while maintaining financial flexibility.
Odds And Ends: Brewers, Roberts, Tejada
A few links for Wednesday night…
- According to The Sports Network, the Brewers signed minor leaguers Eduardo Morlan and Cody Scarpetta to one year deals.
- Brian Roberts hasn’t given up on working out an extension with the O’s, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports. Kubatko writes "it’s pretty clear that he wants a fourth year."
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News profiles Jesus Montero, the 19-year-old who could succeed Jorge Posada if he fares well as a catcher.
- MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports that Tigers’ pitching prospect Rick Porcello isn’t changing his approach as he approaches the majors.
- AZSnakePit.com interviewed D’Backs GM Josh Byrnes about pitching, defensive metrics and the June draft.
- Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Chase Utley looks healthy in Clearwater.
- The Astros hope Miguel Tejada starts the season as their shortstop, according to Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle. Astros GM Ed Wade is apparently "committed to Tejada."
Wigginton Deal Finalized, Moore Designated
According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, the Orioles finalized their two-year deal for Ty Wigginton and designated Scott Moore for assignment to make room. The Wiggy signing has led many MLBTR readers to wonder if Luke Scott could be available in trade.
Odds and Ends: PECOTA, Wigginton, Tanaka
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- PECOTA projects the standings. The projection system’s playoff teams are the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, A’s, Mets, Cubs, and Diamondbacks (plus a one-game Braves-Phillies playoff).
- Ty Wigginton‘s deal should be official today or tomorrow. Additionally, the Orioles are close to signing reliever Ryohei Tanaka to a minor league deal according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
- RotoAuthority ranks the third basemen for fantasy baseball.
- I will be doing a radio interview at 3:30 CST today on WKNT in Florida. At that time you can click here to listen.
Odds and Ends: Wigginton, Prior, Andruw
Links for Monday…
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are "bringing Ty Wigginton back for further examination this week."
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune snagged this Mark Prior quote: "If Kurt Warner can disappear for five years, I can disappear for three."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs points out that a Jermaine Dye career path is Andruw Jones‘ best case scenario.
- Baseball America has a run-down of all the minor league transactions between January 31 and February 6.
- Athletics Nation wonders if the A’s could bring Mark Mulder in to fill a lefty reliever role.
- I did a Q&A with We Should Be GMs.
O’s Avoid Arb With George Sherrill
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles have agreed to terms with reliever George Sherrill on a one-year, $2.75MM contract.
Sherrill was the club’s last arbitration-eligible player. He requested $3.4MM and the Orioles offered $2.2MM back when figures were due. The left-hander saved 31 games for the O’s last season, but did so while posting a 4.73 ERA. He’ll battle Chris Ray for the closer’s role during spring training.
Blue Jays, Brian Tallet Avoid Arbitration
According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Blue Jays avoided arbitration with reliever Brian Tallet by signing him at $1.015MM for ’09. Tallet, 31, held lefties to a .257/.327/.327 line in 2008.
In other lefty reliever news, MLBTR has learned that George Sherrill will agree to terms with the Orioles today or tomorrow. Sherrill had submitted at $3.4MM while the Orioles countered at $2.2MM.