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Heyman On Blue Jays, Royals, Bradley, Reyes

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The trade that sent Vernon Wells from Toronto to Anaheim was the “Holy Grail” of deals for the Blue Jays and the best move of the winter, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. Jose Bautista's five-year, $65MM contract places second on Heyman's list of teams' top offseason moves. As Heyman says, Bautista could have been in position to earn $100MM or more as a free agent after the season if the Blue Jays hadn't signed him long-term. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore is pleased with Jeff Francoeur's production so far and says the outfielder does a lot of things well, though he “doesn't have a knack for getting on base.” As I showed last week, the Royals are getting lots out of their free agent acquisitions so far in 2011.
  • Can Milton Bradley find another job? Five MLB executives expressed at least strong doubt about Bradley's future job prospects in the Major Leagues. His fading offense and poor defense don't make up for the distractions he creates, which led one exec to predict that the outfielder's “career is over” now that Seattle designated him for assignment. Others expect Bradley to get one last chance.
  • It's early, but Heyman suggests the White Sox, Tigers and A's look like possibilities for Carlos Beltran this summer. Beltran has a no-trade clause and is impressing scouts early on this season.
  • The Red Sox and Blue Jays could be interested in catcher Jordan Weems, a high schooler who is moving up some draft boards.
  • Heyman hears that it's “highly unlikely” that the Red Sox would be willing to meet the Mets' asking price for Jose Reyes this summer.

Quick Hits: Pirates, Atchison, Astros

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The Pirates are over .500 at 18-17. Here are some links for Monday night, as we wonder how long they can maintain a winning record…

  • Pirates starters have been pitching well and manager Clint Hurdle tells MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch that pitching can be contagious, just like hitting. GM Neal Huntington has acquired two of his starters in the last year: James McDonald (trade) and Kevin Correia (free agency).
  • As Jonathan Mayo explains at MLB.com, potential changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement could make drafted players more eager to sign. One scouting director expects to see a few more signings than usual in 2011. 
  • Red Sox reliever Scott Atchison was added to Boston's Triple-A roster after being optioned to the minors, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (on Twitter). The Red Sox designated Atchison for assignment Friday in what was "a purely procedural move," according to Speier.
  • Houston attorney Kenny Friedman told Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner that he maintains interest in buying the Astros. Though Jim Crane now has an exclusive negotiating window during which he can buy the team, Friedman, the father of Rays executive Andrew Friedman, is working on his bid.

Red Sox Still Considering Catching Options

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The Red Sox have made contact with Bengie Molina, but aren't ready to move on him yet, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. With Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hitting a combined .179/.246/.241 in 123 plate appearances this season, Molina could grow more appealing to the Sox in the near future.

We heard last month that Boston was eyeing catching help and that Molina was on the team's list of possibilities. Although Ivan Rodriguez and Chris Snyder were also on that list, Rosenthal says the Sox are "cool" on Pudge, and the Pirates are more inclined to move Ryan Doumit than Snyder.

Jeff Mathis, who received high praise from Varitek, could be available as well. However, as Rosenthal points out, while Mathis is a strong defensive backstop, his .199/.262/.311 career slash line wouldn't help the Sox.

Cafardo On Rays, Mathis, Flowers, Red Sox

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe opens this week's Sunday Notes column by taking a look at how the Rays have succeeded this year depite losing many key players in the offseason. Cafardo points out that the AL East looks like a "very flawed division" so far, meaning the Rays could once again be bunched up with the Yankees and Red Sox in the standings. Here are some other notes from Cafardo:

  • Jason Varitek praised the defensive abilites of Jeff Mathis, who may be a trade candidate: "He’s a very athletic catcher. He has a good arm. He creates a good situation for his pitching staff. You can tell the pitchers really enjoy throwing to him. He’s fun to watch back there because he does things so easily. He’s one of the best."
  • Tyler Flowers, the catcher for the White Sox' Triple-A club in Charlotte, could be available and was scouted by the Red Sox and a handful of other teams in Spring Training.
  • Red Sox minor leaguer Josh Reddick has "generated a lot of chatter among scouts," according to Cafardo, who speculates the outfielder would draw plenty of interest if Boston made him available. One scout on Reddick: "He’s a major league player and he’d be playing for a lot of teams in the big leagues right now."
  • Former Red Sox and White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk would like a chance to instruct young players for either organization, but says he's never received a serious offer to do so.

Quick Hits: Barnes, Chavez, Kasten, Simon, Berkman

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Congrats to Justin Verlander. The Tigers' ace threw a no-hitter against the Blue Jays this afternoon, the second of his career. He's now one of only 28 men to throw multiple no-hitters in the big leagues. Here are Saturday's links…

  • Red Sox GM Theo Epstein was personally scouting UConn RHP Matt Barnes tonight, reports Dom Amore of The Hartford Courant (on Twitter). Barnes is expected to go in the first round this year, in which the Red Sox have two picks.
  • Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers called up Craig Gentry to replace Nelson Cruz, who was placed on the disabled list (Twitter links). He notes that one possible reason why they didn't call up Endy Chavez is because they'd have to place him on waivers once Cruz was healthy.
  • In a guest post for Through The Fence Baseball, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith took stock of the winter's biggest offseason deals.
  • Bill Madden of The New York Daily News wrote about the numerous big-money players that are struggling this year, including Derek Jeter and Hanley Ramirez.
  • Stan Kasten confirmed to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post that he sold his ownership stake in the Nationals this March. Kasten stepped down as team president late last year, but it's unclear what he'll do next. He was mentioned as possibly trustee when MLB took over the Dodgers' financial operations.
  • Alfredo Simon was in the Orioles' clubhouse today, and will continue working his way back with a minor league appearance next week according to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. Connolly says the team will have to recall, waive, or release Simon by "roughy May 22" after he spent two months in a Dominican Republic prison and being placed on the restricted list.
  • Bernie Miklasz of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch spoke to Cardinals GM John Mozeliak about the resurgent Lance Berkman. "We did a lot of due diligence," said the GM. "We truly believed he could have a bounce-back year. When we looked at it, we knew he was working extremely hard on his conditioning, was getting the knee healthy, was getting himself in tremendous shape, and that he'd be a lot stronger. That was a big thing. We knew that he still had an eye for hitting, and he would work the count and take walks. The question was, how would he be physically. And once we knew how much he was putting into his training, it gave us confidence."

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Twins, Abreu, Boggs

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On this date in 2007, the Yankees signed Roger Clemens as a free agent. Clemens would pitch 99 innings for the Yankees with a 4.18 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 before calling it a career. The Yankees made the playoffs that year before losing to the Indians in the Division Series. Here are today's links:

  • As Alex Speier of WEEI.com points out, investing heavily in relief pitching is risky. Though it's early, Boston's expensive, revamped bullpen has struggled and Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler are now on the DL.
  • Twins GM Bill Smith told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Joe Mauer, now on the DL with bilateral leg weakness, will “get back to being Joe Mauer.”
  • Bobby Abreu told Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com that he plans to play three or four more years (link in Spanish). Abreu would like to reach 300 homers (he has 277), 400 steals (he has 376) and 600 doubles (he has 532) to boost his Cooperstown credentials.
  • Brandon Boggs accepted his Triple-A assignment and was recalled to take the place of Nyjer Morgan, who is on the DL, the team announced.

Quick Hits: Wheeler, Doumit, Relegation

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The legendary Cy Young threw a perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics on this date in 1904.  The perfecto was one of three no-hitters thrown by Young in his career, and it accounted for nine of Young's record 24 consecutive hitless innings.

Some notes from around the majors…

Red Sox Place Dennys Reyes On Restricted List

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The Red Sox placed Dennys Reyes on the restricted list, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Sean McAdam of CSNNE reports that the left-hander, who was designated for assignment in April, needed time at home in Mexico (Twitter link).

Reyes, 34, walked two and allowed a pair of hits in 1 2/3 innings spread out over four appearances with Boston before the Red Sox removed him from their active roster. Players on the restricted list do not count toward a team's 25-man or 40-man roster.

Draft Notes: Royals, Hultzen, Red Sox

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It takes a while for draft picks – even highly-touted ones – to make an impact in the Major Leagues. For example, only a handful of 2009 first round selections have made it to the majors so far (Stephen Strasburg, Mike Minor, Drew Storen, Aaron Crow, Mike Leake and Alex White). That won't stop us from anticipating the next generation of MLB stars and looking ahead to this June's draft…

  • Earlier today, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes pointed out a potential hidden gem for the draft: Montana high school outfielder Ben Roberts (Twitter link).
  • Most scouts assume that the Royals will take local high school standout Bubba Starling if he's available when they select fifth overall, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
  • Starling, Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen or UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer could be selected within the first two picks of this year's draft, according to Jason A. Churchill of ESPN.com. 
  • Meanwhile, Texas right-hander Taylor Jungmann has seen his stock rise recently, while Connecticut right-hander Matt Barnes has seen his stock fall, according to Churchill. 
  • The Red Sox are showing interest in high school catcher Tyler Marlette, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Marlette is a defensive backstop who could be selected within the first two rounds of the draft.

Pedro Martinez On His Way To Retirement

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Right-hander Pedro Martinez has virtually ruled out a return to the major leagues and says he is on his way to retirement, according to the Associated Press.  In an interview that was broadcast today in the Dominican Republic, Martinez said that he has stayed in shape, but not with his eye on a return.

"I keep active because I have not announced my retirement, because that is something that takes time and you have to plan it. Plus, it is something that the Dominican people expected," the three-time Cy Young award-winner said.

Just three weeks ago, Martinez seemed to hint that he was looking to return to baseball and preferably for the Boston Red Sox.  However, the Dominican hurler now says that his comments were misinterpreted.  Martinez also dropped the Yankees in conversation, but the Bombers probably wouldn't have been interested in him anyway.

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