Odds & Ends: Epstein, Cards, Contracts, Greene
Links for a snowy Thursday…
- MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets of the Dodgers' interest in Robb Quinlan for a fourth outfielder role. The Rockies and Twins are other known suitors.
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein appeared on the Toucher and Rich show this morning. He spoke about the team's offense, Adrian Gonzalez, Mike Lowell, and the "bridge period" comment; MLB.com's Ian Browne provides the transcript.
- MASN's Steve Melewski says the Red Sox rescinded the contract given to reliever Bob McCrory after he failed his physical.
- Tommy Rancel of DRays Bay looks at the team-friendly deals signed by Paul Cohen clients.
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told Cam Inman of The Contra Costa Times there's a non-zero chance the team adds Mark McGwire to the player roster on August 31st.
- There is currently no timetable for the Cardinals to sit down with Albert Pujols' agents, GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards are ready to talk when Pujols is.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball is beta-testing an MLB salary database. Also of note: Cot's Baseball Contracts has joined the Baseball Prospectus family.
- ESPN's Buster Olney wrote yesterday that Khalil Greene is working hard and seeks a big league deal. Greene can play shortstop or third base, and Olney sees Oakland as a potential match.
- The Pirates aren't far apart with Zach Duke on his 2010 salary, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic believes Duke's $2.2MM salary could double in his second arbitration year. A multiyear deal is not in the works.
- Murray Chass chronicles the blank contract Andre Dawson gave to the Cubs in the spring of '87.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues looks at Nick Johnson's injury history in detail.
- A December 30th tweet from SI's Melissa Segura notes that Dominican lefty Victor Payano signed with the Rangers. Payano had a deal with the Red Sox in July for $900K that was voided due to shoulder concerns. Here's a video of the 16-year-old courtesy of Kiley McDaniel.
Papelbon Discusses 2010 Contract
ESPN's Gordon Edes wrote today that it's reasonable to expect Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to reach a $10MM salary in 2010. Papelbon's thoughts on the idea:
"Heck yeah, as far as what me and my brain are thinking, but I haven't even sat down with my agents yet. We don't even have a number in place. There haven't been any discussions between me and the Red Sox and my agents at all."
Papelbon, who is arbitration-eligible for the second time, is willing to go year-to-year to "do things for my fellow closers." On the other hand, he seems open to a multiyear deal if the price is right. Edes says a two-year, $14.75MM offer from the Red Sox a year ago fell a few hundred thousand short. Turning that down proved wise, as Papelbon set a first-time arb-eligible pitcher record with a $6.25MM salary in '09 and should exceed $9MM this year. He'll be eligible for free agency after the 2011 season.
Other arbitration-eligible closers this winter include Heath Bell, David Aardsma, Brian Wilson, Jonathan Broxton, Huston Street, Bobby Jenks, Leo Nunez, Frank Francisco, Chad Qualls, and Carlos Marmol.
Odds & Ends: Cantu, Lowry, Nationals, Braves
Some links for Wednesday night…
- The Marlins have no interest in trading Jorge Cantu to save money, even if they don't trade Dan Uggla before the season, tweets Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald. Yesterday we heard the team may "start taking calls" about Cantu if they can't unload Uggla.
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times says that the Dodgers are among the 14 teams that have asked for Noah Lowry's medical records according to his agent Damon Lara. We first heard of their interest in the lefty way back in early December.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said he is still looking for starting pitching and to improve his team's defense, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman says that Braves' team president John Schuerholz indicated the team's payroll "won't be diminished at all." Bowman's rough estimate has the team's 2010 payroll at about $87MM after they spent roughly $95MM in 2009.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports (via Twitter) that the Brewers have outrighted pitcher Omar Aguilar to Triple-A, however assistant GM Gord Ash said the team has no move in the works to the fill the vacated 40-man roster spot according to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel (again, via Twitter).
- In response to a fan on Twitter, C.J. Wilson tweets that the Rangers have never offered him a long-term deal.
- Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News says there's a chance Juan Uribe could be the Giants' starting third baseman, shifting Mark DeRosa to the outfield. He adds that the team plans to make more moves, however their lack of pitching depth will make it tough to swing a trade.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com examines how the recent moves by the Red Sox impact their payroll with regard to the luxury tax.
- The Diamondbacks have released minor league righthander Tony Barnette so he can pursue opportunities in Japan, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert (via Twitter).
GM Trade Histories: AL East
Brendan Bianowicz has more updates to the GM Trade History series. Today he covers the AL East. Check out the Excel spreadsheets below to see trades, free agent signings, and notable draft picks for each GM.
Odds & Ends: Tigers, Pineiro, Padres, Giambi
Here's a round-up of a few news items floating around the baseball world tonight….
- MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that Detroit might sit out the bidding for the few remaining closers on the market and instead hope that youngsters Ryan Perry, Daniel Schlereth or a healthy Joel Zumaya are able to pick up some saves.
- Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reports (via Twitter) that the Mets "have debated" the merits of offering Joel Pineiro a two-year contract, but Pineiro wants a deal akin to the three-year, $29.75MM contract that Randy Wolf signed with Milwaukee.
- Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres will sign an experienced backup catcher "within a few weeks."
- Dave Cameron of the U.S.S. Mariner blog isn't a big fan of Seattle's trade for Casey Kotchman.
- The apparent lack of interest in free agent Jason Giambi means that there's a greater chance he ends up back in Colorado, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding.
- With Boston's signing of Adrian Beltre, Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas thinks that the Rangers might have leverage to get a more favorable trade for Mike Lowell, should Texas still be interested.
Odds & Ends: Phillies, Iannetta, Braves
Links for Tuesday…
- Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro said a lefty reliever and another starter are still on his wish list, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post provides the details of Chris Iannetta's contract extension. The backstop can void the $5MM club option for 2013 if he is traded anytime before then.
- Braves' GM Frank Wren said he's looking for just "one more small piece" to fill out his club's offensive needs, tweets MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Bowman notes that the Braves need a primary pinch hitter.
- Adrian Beltre will take his physical on Thursday, tweeted Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post provides some thoughts on the Mets' deal with Jason Bay. He notes that the team's scouts "contend Bay is a better defender than (Matt) Holliday," despite what the metrics and people outside the organization say.
- The Giants designated defensively-skilled shortstop Brian Bocock for assignment to make room for Juan Uribe, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- ESPN's Keith Law sees "very little downside" for the Red Sox with the Adrian Beltre deal. He notes that Boston's defense should be terrific this year. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says Beltre is "in the conversation of the best defensive third baseman of all time." WEEI's Rob Bradford says the Red Sox considered signing Beltre after the '04 season, and even discussed trying him at shortstop. Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says Beltre is, at the least, an upgrade over Casey Kotchman.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday feels the Mets could raise payroll in 2011, so they won't be limited because of Jason Bay's contract. By the way, Bradford has the transcript from Bay's press conference today.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball notes that the ten-day arbitration-filing period begins today. MLB.com's Doug Miller highlights the biggest eligible names.
- ESPN's Buster Olney suggests the Giants and Mets have been the slowest to adapt to advanced stats. He also notes that the proliferation of better defensive metrics could greatly benefit Carl Crawford as a free agent next offseason.
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart talked to Astros GM Ed Wade, who said the trade market isn't great because of all the remaining free agents. Also, Wade is focused on one-year deals for arbitration-eligible players such as Michael Bourn, Wandy Rodriguez, and Hunter Pence.
- With Matt Holliday inching toward a large contact with the Cardinals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at other $100MM deals given to outfielders.
- MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone has a summary of Peter Gammons' appearance on WFAN this morning.
- R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay interviewed Dan Feinstein, the Rays' Director of Baseball Operations.
Red Sox, Mets Discussed Castillo For Lowell
TUESDAY, 12:52pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports finds Castillo "highly unlikely to be traded, for Lowell or anyone else." Joel Sherman of the New York Post learned that the Mets and Red Sox have not discussed a Castillo-Lowell swap for weeks.
MONDAY, 9:52pm: WEEI.com's Rob Bradford writes that a Castillo-for-Lowell deal is "not close." He feels that it's most likely Lowell will have to prove his health in Spring Training before a trade occurs. Meanwhile, Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Rangers "have not ruled out re-engaging on Lowell."
6:56pm: ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick tweets, "I just heard that Red Sox have talked to the Mets about a Mike Lowell-for-Luis Castillo trade. Not sure how serious it is." He adds that Lowell is expendable with Adrian Beltre in the fold. Also, with Castillo gone, the Mets could go after Orlando Hudson.
The deal certainly clears an unwanted player for both teams. But while it is easy to see Lowell getting some at-bats for the Mets at first, and even spelling David Wright at third base, where Castillo fits in- given his poor defense at second base, and the existence of Dustin Pedroia– with Boston is harder to understand.
The money would be even in such a deal. Lowell is owed $12MM in 2010, while Castillo is owed $6MM in each of the next two years.
Mets “Very Interested” In Delgado
Erik Boland and David Lennon over at Newsday have a piece up reporting that the Mets are "very interested" in bringing back Carlos Delgado.
Delgado, who played in the Puerto Rican Winter League Sunday for the first time since surgery on his hip in May, went 1-for-4 as a designated hitter. As befitting a player who managed to play in just 26 games in 2009, the Mets are interested in Delgado on an incentive-laden deal.
Still, it is easy to understand New York's interest. Delgado was hitting .298/.393/.521 in 2009, one year after putting up a 2008 batting line of .271/.353/.518, including a tremendous second half.
Just for fun, let's combine rumors for a Delgado platoon with Mike Lowell, who was rumored to be in discussions to come to New York in exchange for Luis Castillo early this evening in a tweet by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.
Delgado, against righties, had a .912 OPS in 2008, .902 in 2009. Lowell had a .961 OPS against lefties in 2008, an .867 OPS against them in 2009.
In other words, it would be an offensive option that would likely leave Daniel Murphy in the dust.
The piece also reports that the Mets are interested in starting pitching, with Joel Pineiro their preferred choice.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Twins, Beltre, Giants
On New Year's Day 49 years ago, the stadium on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull Boulevard in Detroit was officially renamed Tiger Stadium. The then 49-year-old park had previously been known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium. Tiger Stadium would serve as the home of Detroit's ball club until the 2000 season, and was demolished completely in 2009.
Here's a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…
- Bucco Fans takes a look at what could have happened if the Pirates had kept their 2008 roster together.
- Twins Overlook runs down Minnesota's top seven prospects, led by outfielder Aaron Hicks.
- Meanwhile, Nick's Twins Blog examines the current state of the Twinkies' starting rotation.
- The Bottom Line looks at how signing Adrian Beltre could affect the big picture in Boston.
- DRaysBay compares Matt Joyce to Matt LaPorta, and finds that the gap between the two may not be as big as you think.
- Jorge Says No! looks at the potential risk and reward of the Mark DeRosa signing.
- El Lefty Malo guesses that the Giants will wait to see how Jonathan Sanchez's arbitration case turns out before deciding on whether or not to move a starter for a bat.
- Pinstripes Published suggests David DeJesus as a possible left field solution for the Yankees.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Angels Preparing Offer For Chapman?
Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles says that the Angels "appear to be lining up an offer" for Cuban southpaw Aroldis Chapman. The Halos might have an advantage over other clubs in the Chapman sweepstakes because of first baseman Kendry Morales, who has become a good friend of the lefthander.
"Selfishly, we're a nice fit. It's hard to come over here, and Kendry gives him some idea of the pitfalls of the adjustment," Angels scouting director Eddie Bane said. "It's a fit, but who knows? It depends on the price."
So far only two teams have made an offer to Chapman (the Red Sox and Marlins), and Bane said that he doesn't "see a team like Oakland or Kansas City or someone like that getting him." We just learned about the A's interest in Chapman two days ago.