Odds & Ends: Jenkins, Orioles, Molina, Lee, Konerko
Links for Saturday…
- Geoff Jenkins told Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel that he received several offers in Spring Training this year, but they were all jobs in Triple-A, which "wasn't in [his] heart." Earlier tonight we learned that Jenkins is close to announcing his retirement.
- Despite his team's poor start, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail believes his team is on the right track with their rebuilding effort, says Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News provides a follow-up to today's Bengie Molina discussion in a series of tweets. Baggarly says service time will not factor into Buster Posey's potential promotion, and doesn't think the Giants will shop Molina after Posey arrives. Baggarly adds that Molina's hamstring injury is not serious and no roster move will be needed.
- Molina told Kevin Burkhardt of SNY that he wanted to sign with the Mets and was ready to move his family to New York, but was upset that they refused to increase their offer to two guaranteed years. (hat tip to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.com)
- In a CMSB radio interview, Newsday's Ken Davidoff suggests that Cliff Lee and Paul Konerko will be two of the most interesting players to monitor as the trade deadline approaches.
- John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle has some quotes from Eric Chavez, who admitted feeling pressure to perform since this is the last year of his contract. He also understands that the A's need a productive DH, which he hasn't been. Through 91 plate appearances, Chavez is hitting .220/.275/.305.
- CC Sabathia doesn't believe that Victor Martinez's impending free agency is the reason behind his former battery mate's slow start, according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier. V-Mart is hitting just .267/.330/.381 on the year, though he's picked it up of late.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post wonders why the Yankees would do business with the injury prone Nick Johnson instead of waiting out Johnny Damon. Johnson left last night's game with a sore right wrist and appears headed for the disabled list.
- Ever wonder what happened to the six players that went to Florida in the Miguel Cabrera–Dontrelle Willis blockbuster? The Detroit Free Press has the answer.
Teams That Could Look For An Upgrade At DH
Designated hitter usually isn't a position that you'll see teams go out and spend big bucks to fill. Most of the 14 AL clubs have an older and fading player still under contract that can't play the field anymore, so a lot of times he'll get the spot by default. Think David Ortiz and Eric Chavez. Even when a team does go into the free agent market for a DH, they usually won't commit more than one year to a player.
Here are a few a clubs getting below average production from a roster spot designed to do nothing but hit…
- Angels: After a hot start, Hideki Matsui has tailed off, and overall the team's DH's are hitting .207/.305/.342.
- Athletics: Chavez isn't getting the job done, posting a .235/.284/.318 batting line.
- Mariners: Mike Sweeney and Ken Griffey Jr. have gotten most of the DH at-bats, and overall the team has gotten just .189/.250/.207 worth of production. They've been rumored to have interest in Jose Guillen.
- Rays: In the second year of his two year deal, Pat Burrell is hitting .222/.321/.375, which is actually an improvement from 2009.
- Red Sox: Ortiz has gotten most of the action at DH, but is hitting just .178/.265/.411.
- White Sox: Chicago's DH spot has been a revolving door, but overall they've hit just .204/.297/.310.
- Yankees: Nick Johnson was signed in the offseason to fill this spot, but he hit .167/.388/.306 before landing on the disabled list with a wrist issue.
If any of those teams want to upgrade their current DH situation, they could turn to the free agent market, where Carlos Delgado (recovering from hip surgery), Jermaine Dye, and Gary Sheffield reside. The trade market could also prove fruitful, as players like Guillen, Lance Berkman, and Luke Scott could be made available.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Astros, Castro, Crawford
Let's start this Friday off with some links…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com feels that Neal Huntington's rebuilding plan has yet to yield results.
- Olney tweets that rival executives feel that both Oswalt and Lance Berkman would have trade value, but only if Houston was willing to eat a lot of money and accept secondary prospects in return. Yesterday we learned that Berkman would be willing to waive his no-trade clause.
- SI.com's Melissa Segura hears that MLB will announce a pilot program that will allow international amateurs to register before the July 2nd signing period begins, which should streamline age investigations and signings (link goes to Twitter).
- Meanwhile, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez chatted with MLB's Dominican office consultant Sandy Alderson about what he hopes to achieve regarding how he hopes to improve the international market.
- ESPN's Enrique Rojas tweets that the Cubs have called up top shortstop prospect Starlin Castro. The 20-year-old was rated as the 16th best prospect in the game by Baseball America prior to the season, and was hitting .376/.421/.569 in 121 Double-A plate appearances. Chicago has already pushed his free agency back a year, but he can still qualify as a Super Two after 2012.
- Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle mentions that the Astros have only $44MM in salary commitments for next season, most of which is tied up in Roy Oswalt and Carlos Lee. I respectfully disagree that Oswalt's $16MM salary "can easily be traded." How many teams have that much room in their budget?
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Carl Crawford has put himself in a pretty good position going into free agency. The Rays' left fielder is hitting .343/.408/.571, but is only 7-for-11 in stolen base opportunities, and there's still 83% of the season left the play.
- ESPN's Keith Law and Jason Churchill go back and redo the 2004 draft. Both see Justin Verlander and Dustin Pedroia going 1-2 in a redraft.
Are Lackey, Bay Cause For Worry?
Leave it to some who follow the Red Sox and Mets to worry prematurely about their big acquisitions, John Lackey and Jason Bay.
In the case of Lackey, he probably quieted some of the criticism with his seven innings against the Angels Wednesday night, allowing just one run. Meanwhile, Bay's struggles haven't yet abated. Should either fan base be worried? Did the Red Sox waste $82.5MM on Lackey, and the Mets blow $66MM on Bay? There's certainly not enough evidence to think so, and the guess here is that in the short-term, neither team will be sorry.
Let's start with Lackey. In his first 37 innings, he's pitched to a decent 3.89 ERA, and really, that reflects one poor start. Take that start out, and he has five quality starts in five outings, with a 2.14 ERA. He's gone seven innings in each of his last three starts. The only thing that could cause concern is that he's struck out just 21 in those 37 innings. That is a rate of just 5.1 per nine innings, well off of his pace from last season, when he fanned 7.1 per nine. But take a look at Lackey's first six starts from 2009. He posted a 6.61 ERA, and even his strikeout rate was just 5.2 per nine. It then jumped to a robust 7.5 per nine over his final 21 starts, along with a 3.23 ERA in those contests.
So it is entirely too soon to worry about Lackey. But what about Bay?
The numbers have been pretty ugly so far. Bay is hitting just .238/.345/.376 in his first 119 plate appearances as a Met. And it isn't like he's been particularly hit-unlucky, with a .338 batting average on balls in play in 2010, above his career BABIP of .327. He's walking and striking out about as much as he did in 2009, and is actually hitting more line drives this year than last year. So is it simply that Bay lost all of his power? Unlikely. It simply appears this streaky hitter is in a slump.
It went less noticed last year because of his strong start, but Bay had a remarkably similar period in his 2009 season. From June 3 to July 31, 2009, Bay hit .214/.349/.341, with just four home runs in 212 plate appearances over that time. However, he balanced that out with 222 plate appearances from the start of the season to June 2 hitting .286/.410/.632, and finished the season from August 1 on with 204 plate appearances of .301/.392/.631 hitting.
Most likely, Mets fans will feel awfully silly about Bay fretting once he goes on this type of extended tear. And fortunately for the Mets, the concerns about his defense have largely proven to be unfounded so far, with Bay hovering right around average in left field.
In short, there are things for both the Red Sox and Mets to worry about. But John Lackey and Jason Bay aren't it.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rays, Lackey, Peavy, Cano
On this date 11 years ago, Hideki Irabu of the Yankees and Mac Suzuki of the Mariners faced off in the first match up of Japanese starting pitchers in Major League history. Irabu allowed one run over seven innings as the Yanks defeated Seattle by the score of 10-1.
Here are some links from around the baseball blogosphere…
- Rays Index tries to figure out which starting pitcher Tampa Bay will trade after the season.
- At Home Plate thinks John Lackey was off-base with his recent comments about the Angels.
- The Friarhood wonders if the Padres can already be declared the winner of the Jake Peavy trade.
- Nick's Twins Blog says that trading Wilson Ramos is a no-brainer.
- More Hardball looks at some players who are performing well in the big leagues after signing minor league deals this offseason.
- Yankeeist revisits the old Robinson Cano for Matt Kemp trade rumor.
- Mets Paradise wonders how long Frank Catalanotto and Fernando Tatis will keep their jobs.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Santana, Red Sox, Lee, Saunders
Thursday night linkage..
- Indians catching prospect Carlos Santana is making major strides behind the plate, writes The Plain Dealer's Doug Lesmerises.
- Boston GM Theo Epstein doesn't believe that personnel changes in May can make much of an impact, writes Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald.
- Astros outfielder Carlos Lee says that he may retire following the 2012 season, writes Bernardo Fallas of The Houston Chronicle. Lee is due to make $18.5MM in each of the next three seasons.
- The Mariners have promoted Michael Saunders after placing Milton Bradley on the restricted list, tweets Shannon Drayer of ESPN Radio Seattle.
- Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com spoke to Scott Podsednik, who said that he wasn't surprised that the White Sox didn't come up with an offer strong enough to keep him. After months of negotiation, Scotty Pods signed a one-year, $1.75MM deal with Kansas City, which included a 2011 club option.
Bonser Could Take Schoeneweis’ Spot
If the Red Sox promote Boof Bonser once he is healthy again, the former Twins hurler could take Scott Schoeneweis' spot in the bullpen, writes Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal. Barbarisi points out the possibility that the BoSox may not want carry two lefties in the bullpen.
If Bonser does bump Schoeneweis from the roster, it is unlikely that he would accept a demotion to the minors. When the 36-year-old was released by the Brewers in late March, he told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that if he was unable to find a big league job, he refused to "toil around in the Minor Leagues". Milwaukee offered the veteran a spot in Triple-A Nashville, but he declined.
Schoeneweis has pitched just 10.2 innings for the BoSox this season. Thus far he has registered 9 strikeouts, 7 walks, and allowed 8 runs.
Bonser is set to pitch his first game in a month this Friday in an outing for Triple-A Pawtucket. Barbarisi writes that Bonser could also remain in the minors as a depth starter in case of injury.
Stark On Gordon, Dunn, Lowell
The five most untradeable contracts in baseball? ESPN's Jayson Stark's poll of baseball executives say it's Alfonso Soriano, Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner, Carlos Lee, and Barry Zito. Hard to argue; check out our Bad Contract Swap Meet from last year for a look at other ugly deals. It was interesting to see Daisuke Matsuzaka and Kosuke Fukudome nab honorable mentions in Stark's poll. On to his other rumblings…
- Stark's conversations led to repeated mentions of the new collective bargaining agreement, which will go into effect in December of 2011. The uncertainty will have an impact – will 2011 draftees lack leverage, knowing that a slotting system could be installed the following year? Does it make sense to worry about Super Two status for Mike Stanton now, when that provision might not exist in 2012?
- Teams have kicked the tires on Alex Gordon, but the Royals have no interest in trading him. MLBTR's Luke Adams led a discussion post on Gordon yesterday.
- The Dodgers are scouring the trade market for starting pitching, while the Royals and Phillies seek bullpen help. The Mariners and Braves are trying to add offense. The Diamondbacks are actually more interested in starting pitching than relief, and are expected to have Chris Snyder available once Miguel Montero returns.
- A "baseball man familiar with the Nationals' thinking" expects Adam Dunn to return in 2011, though not necessarily via an in-season extension.
- A friend of Mike Lowell tells Stark the third baseman would love to play for the Twins or Angels if the Red Sox plan to trade him.
- The Phillies have recently adopted a stance against full no-trade clauses, which is reflected in the Roy Halladay and Ryan Howard extensions.
Alan Embree Elects Free Agency
WEDNESDAY, 6:24pm: Embree cleared waivers and has elected to become a free agent, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
FRIDAY, 10:23pm: The Red Sox designated lefty reliever Alan Embree for assignment, tweets Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. Boston DFA'd the 40-year-old in order to make room for the returning Daisuke Matsuzaka. Embree did not appear in a major league game for Boston this season.
Embree was allowed to opt out of his minor league deal with the BoSox on April 15th, as he had not yet been promoted to the majors. He agreed to extend his deal for another two weeks and was called up ten days later. The contract was set to pay the lefty $500K for making the major league squad, a sum that could have ballooned to as much as $1.1MM with incentives.
Roughly two weeks ago, the veteran reliever stated that he would "go home" if he wasn't on the varsity squad in Boston or presented with another enticing opportunity. Embree told Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald that he will now return home to talk to his agent to see if another team might be interested in his services. Lauber points out that the Phillies were interested at one point, though it's unclear if they still have a spot for him.
Santo Luis Clears Waivers
Back on April 14th, the Red Sox claimed 26-year-old righty Santo Luis off waivers from the White Sox and optioned him to Double A. However, Luis was designated for assignment ten days later when the Sox acquired Jonathan Van Every from the Pirates. Today, Baseball America's Matt Eddy reports that the Red Sox were able to sneak Luis through waivers successfully.
Luis posted a 4.34 ERA, 12.7 K/9, and 3.7 BB/9 in 56 High A relief innings last year, allowing 11 home runs. He saved 14 games for Joe McEwing's Winston-Salem Dash. The Sox had claimed Luis from the Astros in '07 in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.