Odds & Ends: Yankees, Braves, Cardinals
March goes in like a lion, but the lion is cut when the rosters get trimmed to 25…
- Benjamin Kabak at River Avenue Blues takes a look at how the Yankees can include an ownership stake in Derek Jeter's next contract.
- Former Yankee Melky Cabrera is also in the news, with MLB.com's Mark Bowman detailing how his game translates in the National League. As should surprise no one who has watched both leagues lately, the move figures to help Melky.
- Brian Walton of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat has a rundown of the Cardinals' 21 new signings from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Tops among the new signings appears to be Amauris Capellan, an outfielder who has drawn comparisons to Raul Mondesi.
- Taiwan Baseball has an update on Min-Tzu Chen, an outfielder-turned-pitcher three months ago, who is now sporting a fastball at 90-93 MPH. According to the site, the Royals and Padres have both made offers in the $150K-$200K range.
- Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe thinks the Red Sox may have found something special in offseason acquisition Boof Bonser.
Royals Claim Gaby Hernandez
Pitcher Gaby Hernandez continues to bounce around, as the Royals claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox today according to a team press release. The Mariners designated Hernandez for assignment upon signing Ryan Garko. The Red Sox claimed Hernandez, but then designated him upon claiming Casey Fien.
Hernandez, 24 in May, posted a 5.23 ERA, 6.0 K/9, and 3.0 BB/9 in 146.3 Triple A innings last year. Heading into the '09 season, Baseball America wrote that Hernandez "flashes three average or better pitches, but he often tries to be so fine that his stuff plays down." At the time, BA suggested he could still become a No. 4 or No. 5 starter.
Heyman On Adrian, Jeter, Hamilton
SI's Jon Heyman leads his latest column with a discussion about Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who he feels is likely to be shopped hard at this year's trade deadline. I've noted before that Gonzalez's market should not be limited to big-spending clubs, as he's set to earn just $10.25MM for 2010-11. It's fitting that Heyman believes as many as 10 to 12 teams already inquired, including the Red Sox, Mets, Mariners, and Dodgers. On to Heyman's other rumors…
- Heyman spoke to "two executives from competing teams" who believe Derek Jeter "could ask for a six-year deal." The idea is that a six-year extension would take Jeter to age 42, as Alex Rodriguez's contract does.
- Heyman notes that Josh Hamilton turned down a four-year, $24MM offer from the Rangers last year. The security might've made sense for Hamilton given his injury problems.
- One executive Heyman spoke to believes the availability of decent free agents, perhaps continuing into the season, could reduce trading.
Red Sox Notes: Ortiz, Victor Martinez
A few Red Sox bullet points today…
- David Ortiz told Dennis & Callahan he'd like to play three or four more years, and wants to finish his career with the Red Sox. In my opinion, for that to happen, Ortiz will need to be willing to go one year at a time and also sign for much less than his $12.5MM 2011 club option.
- Also on Dennis & Callahan, catcher Victor Martinez said he has not discussed an extension with the Red Sox yet.
- In an article for Baseball America, Maury Brown notes that the Red Sox exceeded the luxury tax threshold four times but only paid a total of $13.86MM. Maury's article concerns the luxury tax and revenue sharing in general; check it out.
Odds & Ends: Chapman, Upton, Mets, Gallardo
Some links as Spring Training games get started…
- Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports writes that Aroldis Chapman may be the most well-known of the recent Cuban defectors hoping to make an MLB impact, but that he's hardly the only one.
- The Hendricks brothers, who represent Chapman now, reached a settlement with API, who used to represent the lefty, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
- The Justin Upton deal should work for both sides, writes Tyler Hissey of Around the Majors. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic warns that there's some risk involved from Arizona's perspective, and wonders if B.J. Upton's recent struggles factored in his brother's decision to sign an extension now.
- The Mets have called the Padres about Adrian Gonzalez, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter).
- Yovani Gallardo's agent had some talks with the Brewers about a long-term deal last spring, but nothing came of them, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that Joe Crede is hitting, throwing and waiting for a job offer.
- Red Sox Assistant GM Ben Cherington tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com that the club has catchers in the upper minors who are "capable of coming up and playing." From defensive catchers like Dusty Brown and Mark Wagner to the powerful Luis Exposito, the team has potential behind the plate, though it doesn't have certainty for 2011.
- R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs wonders if Eric Hinske will encourage Jason Heyward to sign a long-term deal, like Evan Longoria did a couple springs ago.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star reports that another team offered Noel Arguelles more than the $7MM bonus he will receive from the Royals.
Odds & Ends: Calero, Beckett, Robles, Bay
Links to kick off the new month…
- The Mets "would have interest in Kiko Calero on a minor league deal," tweeted Ken Davidoff of Newsday yesterday. Calero is holding out for a big league contract, which seems reasonable.
- Scott Boras client Jacoby Ellsbury hasn't had any long-term contract discussions with the Red Sox, nor does he intend to, reports Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com.
- The latest GM's Corner video from Jim Bowden of FOX Sports is fifteen minutes well-spent, with appearances by Billy Beane, Jack Zduriencik, Mike Rizzo, Logan White, and Lance Berkman. The video is all about scouting.
- Check out Rob Bradford's in-depth discussion with Josh Beckett for WEEI.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners might have a nice find in hard-throwing lefty Mauricio Robles, who came from Detroit in last summer's Jarrod Washburn trade.
- Baker's colleague Larry Stone talked to Jason Bay, who said the Mariners expressed interest but never made a serious push for him.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that Brett Tomko and Jason Jennings will each earn $700K if they make the A's.
Red Sox Claim Casey Fien, Designate Gaby Hernandez
The Red Sox claimed pitcher Casey Fien off waivers from the Tigers today, according to the Tigers' official Twitter feed. Fien was designated for assignment on Tuesday to make room for Johnny Damon. The Red Sox announced that they designated former waiver claim Gaby Hernandez for assignment to clear a spot for Fien. It's been a busy winter for Hernandez, who was designated for assignment by the Mariners when they signed Ryan Garko.
Fien, 26, posted a 3.41 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 in 58 Triple A relief innings this year. He struggled in 11.3 big league frames, which marked his Major League debut. Baseball America ranked Fien 27th among Tigers prospects, writing that he "profiles as a middle reliever." Still, his minor league command is intriguing.
Cafardo’s Latest: Lowell, Mahay, Matsui, Selig
In his new column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo takes a look at the Tampa Bay Rays, and their desire to recapture their 2008 success. Within the piece, Cafardo also offers up some hot stove nuggets….
- The Red Sox are serious about keeping Mike Lowell's bat around, but if they do decide to move him, the Twins "could be a major suitor." They've had interest in Lowell in the past, which would likely be renewed if the Sox paid most of the $12MM he's owed.
- Ron Mahay turned down a minor league contract offer from the Red Sox. It sounds like he's looking for a deal that would guarantee him a spot on a major league roster.
- The Angels intend to give free agent addition Hideki Matsui a shot in the outfield, despite his knee problems. Yankee officials still don't believe that he'll be physically able to play in the field.
- Cafardo writes that Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino and Orioles president Andy MacPhail are two names at the top of the list of candidates to replace Bud Selig as baseball's commissioner after 2012.
Odds & Ends: Jeter, Marlins, Fielder, Aurilia, Boras
If you're in the Northeast, here are some links to check out while you take a break from shoveling…
- ESPN's Jayson Stark ranked baseball's ten-year contracts, with Derek Jeter's soon to be completed ten-year, $189MM deal coming in as the best.
- The Marlins agreed to one-year contracts with 12 of their pre-arbitration eligible players according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, including Sean West, Chris Volstad, Emilio Bonifacio, and Dan Meyer.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio confirmed that he will be involved in long-term contract discussions with Prince Fielder, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). Haudricourt also tweets that Attanasio and GM Doug Melvin met today to discuss the situation and there will be no deadlines imposed on the 25-year-old.
- Rich Aurilia, who stopped by the Giants' camp today, says that while he's still looking for a job, he will retire if he doesn't have one by the end of spring, tweets Jeff Fletcher of AOL Fanhouse. The 38-year-old has a broadcasting deal in place if he is unable to find a job on the field.
- Shin-Soo Choo says that he would like to stay in Cleveland long-term, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Choo, like Morales, cut ties with his former agent (Alan Nero) in favor of Scott Boras.
- Michael Weiner, the executive director of the players' union, confirmed that the union is participating in an investigation into alleged unauthorized withdrawals from Kendry Morales' bank account by a former employee of his former agents, Hendricks Sports Management (Bill Plunkett of the OC Register reporting). Morales recently dropped HSM and hired Scott Boras.
- Bernie Miklasz of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides a few quotes from Albert Pujols about his contract situation. "Do I want to do this right now and take care of this so we don't need to worry about it? Of course," said Pujols. "If it happens, it happens. But there are some things I am able to control and there are other things that are out of my hands that I can't control. And that's the truth."
- The Mariners signed righty Tom Wilhelmsen to a minor league contract, according to Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times. The 27-year-old had been out of baseball since 2005 because of substance abuse issues, though he resurfaced with an independent league team last season.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report indicating the the Orix Buffaloes are moving towards a deal with Freddie Bynum. The White Sox released Bynum last week so he could pursue opportunities in Japan.
- Meanwhile, Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that Felipe Lopez will provide the Cardinals with a great amount of flexibility.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post calls the contracts of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia and other Yankee players "time-bomb contracts."
- John Tomase of The Boston Herald says the Red Sox have a deep bench with Mike Lowell, Bill Hall, Jeremy Hermida, and Jason Varitek.
Discussion: Best Move Of The Offseason
With Felipe Lopez finally catching on with the Cardinals, essentially every big name free agent is off the market (no disrespect to Jermaine Dye and Jarrod Washburn). That allows us to sit back and reflect on all of the offseason's moves, and try to figure out which one was the very best.
Here are some candidates…
- Mets sign Jason Bay to a four-year, $66MM contract.
- Yankees acquire Curtis Granderson for three prospects.
- Phillies acquire Roy Halladay for three prospects.
- Red Sox sign John Lackey to a five-year, $82.5MM contract.
- Mariners acquire Cliff Lee for three prospects.
- Rays acquire Rafael Soriano for Jesse Chavez.
There's certainly no shortage of candidates, but one has to be the best of the best, right? What do you think it is?