Red Sox Call Up Alan Embree
The Red Sox have called up lefty reliever Alan Embree from Triple-A, tweets Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald. Embree would have been able to opt out of his minor league contract on April 30th if he had not been called up by then.
The 40-year-old Embree was originally able to opt out of his deal on April 15th, but he agreed to push it back another two weeks. Embree allowed two runs in 7.1 Triple-A innings, but he held lefties to just one walk in 4.1 innings against them.
Boston will need to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate Embree's arrival.
Ortiz Wants To Play “Two Or Three More Years”
There has been a lot of attention paid to Red Sox slugger David Ortiz lately, mostly because he's off to a slow start for the second straight year. However, Ortiz is focused on future, telling WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that he wants to play "Two or three more years and then I’ll take it to the house.”
Ortiz mentioned that he lost 20 pounds over the winter by changing his diet, though he's still hitting just .160/.236/.320 through his first 55 plate appearances. He started last season slow as well, but rebounded in the second half to finish the year with a respectable .238/.332/.462 batting line with 28 homers.
Big Papi is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, during which he'll earn $12.5MM. The team holds an option for next season at the same salary with no buyout, and it's hard to see them exercising that even if his performance recovers similar to last year.
Odds & Ends: Paul, Embree, Zobrist, Wakefield
Links for Monday, as we digest Ryan Howard's $125MM extension…
- Since the Dodgers called Xavier Paul up from the minors, he should be getting regular playing time with Manny Ramirez out, reasons Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
- Alan Embree told Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal that he won't be extending his contract deadline again. He hopes to be called up by the Red Sox by April 30th.
- The AP has details on Ben Zobrist's $18MM extension with the Rays.
- Though the knuckleballer doesn't say it, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says "it's obvious [Tim Wakefield] isn't keen on his new [bullpen] assignment."
- Jim Callis of Baseball America explores what might happen if MLB allows trading draft picks.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders how long Javier Vazquez will be given to get on track.
- With tongue firmly in cheek, Grant of the McCovey Chronicles predicts free agent-to-be Jayson Werth will sign with the Giants next winter.
- ESPN's Keith Law shares his rankings of the top 100 prospects for the June amateur draft. (ESPN Insider subscription required.)
- Speaking of young players, MLB.com's Jane Lee talks to Athletics director of player personnel Keith Leippman about some of the top prospects in Oakland's farm system.
- ESPN.com's Eric Karabell says that if Matt Capps can keep up his strong start, the right-hander will be a good trade chip for Washington over the summer. Karabell also notes that if Capps is dealt, it will likely be to a team looking for set-up help, not a closer.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times says it's a close call between Derek Jeter or Manny Ramirez for the title of "best big contract in baseball history."
Red Sox Sign Cuban Catcher Ibarra
The Red Sox signed Cuban catcher Adalberto Ibarra to a five-year Major League deal, according to Cubanballplayers.com. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe confirmed the signing with Ibarra's agent Edwin Mejia. Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the deal guarantees $3MM, "with incentives that could bring the total to $4.3MM." Silverman says Ibarra will report to the team's minor league complex before they decide where to assign him.
Ibarra, 22, played catcher, first base, second base, and third base in Cuba, but Cubanballplayers.com says the Sox view him as a backstop. According to Silverman, he hasn't focused on catching until the last few years.
Odds & Ends: Fields, Contracts, Suppan, Silva
Links for Sunday….
- Injuries have really soured the Royals' half of the Mark Teahen trade so far. Both Chris Getz and Josh Fields are on the disabled list, and the Associated Press reported today that Fields will undergo hip surgery that will likely end his season.
- Ethan Trex has an interesting article up on CNN.com that highlights some unusual contractual clauses over the years, including George Brett becoming partial owner of a Memphis apartment complex back in 1984 and Charlie Kerfeld receiving 37 boxes of orange Jell-O in 1987. Seriously.
- It looks like a trend is developing in the NL Central. A few days after the Cubs moved Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that the Brewers will do the same thing with Jeff Suppan and his $12.5MM salary. As for Zambrano, the Cubs won't use him on back-to-back days for now, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post tries to play matchmaker and work out a Carlos Silva–George Sherrill/Jamey Carroll trade between the Cubs and Dodgers. I'm not sure such a swap necessarily makes sense for either team, given the Cubs' lefty surplus and Silva's price tag next year.
- Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes that Victor Martinez is working overtime to improve his throwing, presumably hoping to silence the constant rumblings about the Red Sox shopping for a catcher.
- The latest mailbag from Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer includes a Carlos Santana update and an assessment of the Indians' free agent prospects following the 2010 season.
Cafardo On Suzuki, Cabrera, Griffey, Zambrano
In Nick Cafardo's latest piece for the Boston Globe, he takes an extended look at the Red Sox' early-season catching issues. He reiterates that if David Ortiz's struggles continue, the logical solution is to move Victor Martinez to DH and acquire a catcher. Cafardo names Kurt Suzuki as a player who would intrigue the Sox, since he can hit as well as play defense. Here are a few of Cafardo's other notes:
- Other catchers to keep an eye on for the Sox include Chris Iannetta, Miguel Olivo, Chris Snyder, and even Twins prospect Wilson Ramos, though he'd be costly.
- Cafardo praises the work Miguel Cabrera has put in to improve his image after last year's off-field problems. According to Cafardo, the Tigers "entertained trade proposals for him, but they wanted the farm in return."
- Ken Griffey Jr. is off to a slow start this year, but the Mariners will give him time to work through it. Seattle may eventually have to limit his playing time if his bat doesn't get hot, but would never release him.
- Cafardo is skeptical that the Cubs will be able to trade for a setup man and move Carlos Zambrano back into the rotation in the near future, suggesting the relief market is fairly thin.
- One AL international scout's assessment of Cuban shortstops Jose Iglesias and Adeiny Hechavarria: "Iglesias is certainly the more polished player at this stage, but Hechavarria has more upside…. I’d say Iglesias could play defensively in the big leagues right now, where Hechavarria would need a year or two to refine his game a bit." While the Sox would like to give Iglesias more minor league experience, they could bring him up if something were to happen to Marco Scutaro or Dustin Pedroia.
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.
Red Sox Acquire Jonathan Van Every
The Red Sox acquired outfielder Jonathan Van Every from the Pirates in exchange for a player to be named later, according to a team press release. To make room for Van Every on the 40-man roster, Boston has designated righty Santo Luis for assignment.
Van Every spent 2008 and part of 2009 with Boston, making 18 big league appearances across the two seasons. Despite hitting .263/.360/.524 with 26 HRs in 2008 for the club's Triple-A affiliate, the 30-year-old was released in July of the following year. Van Every has one option remaining. The move improves Boston's outfield depth as Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury are on the 15-day disabled list.
Luis, 26, was claimed off waivers from the White Sox ten days ago. He 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. Chicago had claimed Luis from the Astros in '07 in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.
Gammons On Snyder, Ramos, Martinez, Ortiz
Peter Gammons made his weekly appearance on WEEI’s Big Show today, and as always, dished about some possible Red Sox moves. Ethan Landy has the full transcript available, but here are some of the more interesting tidbits…
- In regards to the Chris Snyder trade rumors, Gammons said the Sox would be hesitant about paying the catcher the rest of the $4.75MM he’s owed for this season and the $5.75MM owed for 2011. Gammons said the Red Sox would prefer to spend that money on “a big piece” at the trade deadline.
- Gammons tabs Minnesota prospect Wilson Ramos as “probably the best [catcher] in the minor leagues that might be traded,” though he thinks a deal is a longshot since the Twins would ask for Daniel Bard or Clay Buchholz in return. A few weeks ago, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes looked at what the Twins might do with Ramos.
- Should Boston pick up another catcher, of course, that would leave Victor Martinez out of a position what with Kevin Youkilis at first and Adrian Beltre at third. Gammons points out that the Sox would face a tough decision about what to do with “three DH’s on the roster,” counting Martinez along with David Ortiz and Mike Lowell.
- Gammons reiterated a past point about how catching prospect Mark Wagner may have more value to Boston than Ortiz at this stage, given Wagner’s defensive skills and Ortiz’s struggles at the plate. Though, as Gammons notes, “they set this team up to get offense out of catcher and DH, so that is a tough change in direction without a real answer.”
Could The Braves Join Adrian Gonzalez Sweepstakes?
We've been hearing the Adrian Gonzalez-to-Boston rumors for months now, though there have been whispers that Boston may not have the minor league package necessary to extract Gonzalez from San Diego, the Padres might just keep Gonzalez if they don't find a deal to their liking, and that other teams will be taking just as hard a look at the slugging first baseman.
FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi suggests that Atlanta may be one of those other teams. Morosi spoke to an unnamed scout who said that the Braves "may have the greatest need" for a hitter of Gonzalez's caliber given Atlanta's team-wide struggles at the plate. The Braves entered Friday's action with a .229 team batting average, tied with the Mets for sixth-lowest in baseball.
Going into the offseason, Atlanta's greatest need was to add a big bat to give more support to one of baseball's strongest starting rotations. The Braves instead made several small moves to add the likes of Eric Hinske, Melky Cabrera and Troy Glaus rather than splurging on a high-priced free agent. While it's still too early in the season to fully judge how these moves will pan out, Glaus (as Morosi points out) has particularly struggled at first base, posting a .524 OPS in 58 plate appearances. Given that Glaus is on a one-year, $1.75MM contract, the Braves would have no hesitations about benching, trading or even releasing Glaus if the right opportunity at Gonzalez came along.
In picking up Gonzalez, Morosi notes that the Braves would be blocking the progress of slugging first base prospect Freddie Freeman. However, since this is Bobby Cox's final season, could the team be in an all-out "win now" mode? If the Braves find themselves fighting for a playoff spot in July, Freeman's future promise might be considered a necessary sacrifice for Cox's last postseason push. Also, Freeman would be a logical addition to the hypothetical package to San Diego.
Of course, adding a star first baseman is no golden ticket to the playoffs. The Braves know this all too well — they sent Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Beau Jones to Texas at the 2007 trade deadline for Mark Teixeira. While Teixeira hit well for Atlanta, the Braves only finished third in the NL East in 2007 and wound up trading Teixeira themselves the next July. No doubt this recent deal will make the Braves think twice before offering up another big group of prospects for what might end up being a short-term rental of a player.