Odds & Ends: Proctor, Dunn, Contreras
Links for Tuesday…
- According to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Marlins reliever Scott Proctor is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. So that's $750K down the tubes, though Rodriguez wonders if they might re-sign him to an incentive-laden deal after the season.
- New blog post at Live to Play, Play to Live chronicling Miguel Angel Sano's 16th birthday party. His day began with a tryout for the Giants.
- Sports Illustrated names the game's best and worst owners.
- WEEI's Alex Speier says that if Daniel Bard never returns to the minors, he'll eventually be the second player to achieve Super Two status under Theo Epstein.
- Sam Miller of the OC Register asks who hangs up on a Jonathan Sanchez for Brandon Wood swap.
- I noticed that Preston Wilson surfaced with the Long Island Ducks. Brad Halsey, Dan Miceli, Ken Ray, and Lew Ford are also on the team, which is managed by Gary Carter.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has a bunch of new info on the Moneyball movie, which comes out in 2011.
- Adam Dunn told John Shea of the Chronicle that he was open to signing with the Giants but did not hear from them.
- Jose Contreras cleared waivers, which is not a surprise given the $8MM+ left on his contract.
Rosenthal On Ortiz, Braves, White Sox
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal notes how easy it would be for the Red Sox to find a left-handed hitter to top David Ortiz's 2009 production – many such bats are impending free agents and could be available in July. A shortstop and young catcher also remain on Boston's wish list. Unfortunately, with no-trade protection and about $22.5MM remaining on his contract, Ortiz is pretty much immovable.
- Former D'Backs pitching coach Bryan Price resigned in part due to reservations about working for new manager A.J. Hinch.
- Rosenthal notes the Braves' surplus of quality minor league arms, and suggests they're well-equipped to trade for a bat. The Braves rank 11th in the NL with 4.41 runs scored per game.
- The White Sox's rotation is looking a bit shaky given the ineffectiveness of Jose Contreras. Rosenthal says "the team eventually figures to be in the market for a starter." The Sox are hanging in there at 3.5 games out with a 14-17 record.
- Aside from Cliff Lee, Rosenthal believes Indians infielder Mark DeRosa could draw attention closer to the trade deadline.
Boston Pitching Surplus
ESPN's Buster Olney speculates on Boston's pitching surplus:
Eventually, it figures that Justin Masterson will go back to the Boston bullpen, and that will create the spot in the rotation for Daisuke Matsuzaka. If the Red Sox want to create another for Clay Buchholz, they would always have the option of taking offers for a veteran pitcher who has had quality starts in four of his six outings. That guy is Brad Penny, who might be a nice fit for a team like the Milwaukee Brewers or the Mets. That's all speculation at this point.
Even if Buchholz can't supplant Penny, how about John Smoltz? He's back on track and may even pitch an extended spring training game on Friday. The surplus also includes 22 year-old Michael Bowden, he of the 1.01 ERA in five Triple A starts.
The best bet for the Sox may be to just hoard this depth in the event of an injury. Even though most expect Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, and Penny to pitch much better from here on out, the fact is that Boston's rotation ranks dead last in the AL with a collective 5.81 ERA. They're 20-12 despite that stat.
Red Sox Call Up Daniel Bard, DFA Lopez
4:39pm: The Boston Herald reports that in order to make room for Bard, the Red Sox have designated Javier Lopez for assignment. Lopez had posted a 9.26 ERA through 11.2 innings this season.
11:19am: Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal reports the Red Sox will call up Daniel Bard in time for tonight's game. Writes McDonald:
McDonald notes the Sox will have to take someone off the 25-man roster and make a move to put Bard on the 40-man.
Odds & Ends: O’s, A’s, Milledge, Manny
Your links for Tuesday…
- MASN's Buck Martinez believes the Orioles are headed in the right direction as an organization. "Sit back, relax and watch the organization grow," he writes.
- Vlae Kershner of the San Francisco Chronicle summarizes the current standing of the Athletics' bid for a new ballpark. Would a fancy facility in San Jose, the nation's 10th largest city, help boost the team's payroll?
- Lastings Milledge, who was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse on April 14, told the Washington Post's Chico Harlan that he hasn't kept in touch with the Nationals' front office, and hasn't been paying attention to the club's day-to-day progress. Sounds like a bad situation that might only get worse.
- According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, super agent Scott Boras told Playboy magazine in a recent interview that his client, Manny Ramirez, simply didn't like living in the city of Boston. That, Boras claims, is the reason Manny wanted out. "It wasn't like Cleveland," said Boras. And it's not like L.A., apparently.
Odds & Ends: Crow, Matsuzaka, Harrington
Links for Monday…
- I hosted a fantasy baseball roundtable question: what is your single biggest regret so far?
- Talking real baseball, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has his list of possible offseason-related regrets.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America says Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers will make their independent league debuts today. MLB.com's Bill Ladson says the Jim Bowden-less Nationals haven't ruled out taking Crow at #10, and they'll scout him today.
- Kirk Kenney wrote about the possibility of Stephen Strasburg skipping the minors.
- David Waldstein of the New York Times discovers how the Seibu Lions spent the $51.1MM posting fee from Daisuke Matsuzaka.
- Sadly, Tony Jackson was let go by the L.A. Daily News. Diamond Leung talks about Jackson, while Jon Weisman notes that the Dodgers are now down to two full-time beat writers.
- Weisman also writes about the Saturday night gathering involving Kim Ng and others.
- ESPN's Amy K. Nelson has an excellent story on Matt Harrington, who is out of baseball now.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at a bunch of young players who were locked up through their arbitration years.
Damon Talks About Future, Varitek
MONDAY: WEEI's Alex Speier talked to Damon. Damon's stance on the term of his next contract:
"I would like to at least get two years, but we’ll see what happens. If I need to take a one with an option or a vesting option, then so be it."
Damon also stirred the pot a bit in reference to Jason Varitek:
"I couldn’t believe that they were letting him walk and try to find a team. That’s the difference between New York and Boston…If you’re a part of New York, they’re going to keep you there: Posada, Jeter, Mariano, it’s the first time in history guys have been on the same team for 15 years. It goes to show you something about how the Yankees think, and how many Yankees players have been exclusive with one team. They keep them forever. (The Red Sox) were ready to let (Varitek) go. He’s their starting catcher. That’s how the two teams work. You know his days are going to be numbered here. But hopefully not — he deserves to be here until his career is over."
FRIDAY: ESPN's Andrew Marchand has a story up about a Johnny Damon radio appearance on 1050 AM in New York. Damon, a free agent after the season, hopes to re-sign with the Yankees. However, he feels the chances are slim based on the team's young outfielders. Damon specifically mentioned Austin Jackson.
Damon, 35, is hitting .295/.385/.500 in 91 plate appearances on the young season. Realistically, the Yankees may well look to sign an outfielder this winter. It just might not be Damon.
No Contract Talks For Jason Bay
According to Amalie Benjamin and Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe, Jason Bay's agent Joe Urbon says contract talks have not resumed with the Red Sox. Urbon said he hasn't even talked to Bay.
WEEI's Alex Speier talked extensively with Bay on April 23rd; check that out here.
Odds & Ends: Bowden, Owens, Flores
Links for Thursday…
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and ESPN's Jason Churchill say high school catcher Luke Bailey is having Tommy John surgery. He might fall out of the top 20 in the draft, says Churchill.
- Thom Loverro of The Washington Times transcribes all kinds of amusing comments made by former Nationals GM Jim Bowden earlier this month. Bowden touched upon Stephen Strasburg, Mark Teixeira, and Aaron Crow.
- Alex Speier of WEEI notes that free agency hasn't done much for the Red Sox recently, outside of the Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz bargain signings.
- ESPN's Jim Caple talked to pitcher Jeff Zimmerman, who is on the comeback trail with the Mariners.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that White Sox outfielder Jerry Owens may be on the way out. It sounds like Scott Podsednik is coming up, but there will be no roster move today.
- Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says Rockies reliever Randy Flores, currently in Triple A, is debating whether to opt out of his contract.
- Zach Berman of the Washington Post gathered quotes on new Nationals pitcher Logan Kensing.
- Tonight at 10pm CST, Seth Stohs and Twins pitcher Glen Perkins will co-host the MN GameNight radio show.
Rosenthal On Yankees, Acta, Pedro
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The Yankees' bullpen ranks 12th in the AL with a 6.47 ERA in 64 innings. Rosenthal learned that GM Brian Cashman isn't interested in any of the available relievers, and the plan seems to be to let them pitch their way out of the funk. Early offenders include Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, and Damaso Marte. Plus, Brian Bruney is out with an elbow injury.
- Rosenthal explains some of the criticisms of Nationals manager Manny Acta. He does not think a firing is imminent, but Acta may not make it through the year.
- David Ortiz on Pedro Martinez: "When I saw him pitch, I had hot flashes of when he was here."
- Rosenthal notes the team-friendly nature of Albert Pujols' current seven-year, $100MM contract.