Odds & Ends: Bray, Fox, Manny, Crow
Links for Wednesday…
- Today's chat will be at 3pm CST.
- According to Andy Martino, the Phillies claimed righty Steven Register off waivers from the Rockies today and sent him to Triple A.
- Reds reliever Bill Bray will miss the rest of the season due to Tommy John surgery, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon yesterday.
- Dave Cameron at FanGraphs says Jake Fox belongs in the Majors, given his ridiculous Triple A numbers (.431/.513/.954 in 130 ABs with 17 HR and 50 RBI). The Cubs, though, are already trying to find ways to get Micah Hoffpauir into the lineup.
- ESPN's Buster Olney pictures what would've unfolded if Manny Ramirez hadn't used PEDs.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle on the Noah Lowry situation.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe speculates on possible moves for the Red Sox.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis says Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has been talking to Randy Hendricks about getting Aaron Crow's consent in the event the Nationals want to draft him again.
Nick Johnson Rumors
The Nationals' injury-prone first baseman, Nick Johnson, is off to a .333/.432/.468 start in 169 plate appearances. He hasn't played a full season since '06, so it might make sense for GM Mike Rizzo to trade him while he's healthy and hitting. Johnson has about $4.2MM left on his contract.
On Saturday, ESPN's Peter Gammons wrote:
The Nationals have let it be known that Nick Johnson is available, but Boston won't trade Clay Buchholz.
I think MLB.com's Bill Ladson was responding to that Gammons sentence when he wrote today:
Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson has been mentioned in trade rumors of late. The Red Sox are said to be scouting Johnson, but the truth is, according to a baseball source, Washington and Boston haven't talked since April.
Ladson goes on to say that the Nationals would want a pitching prospect in a Johnson trade, and the player had kind words for the Red Sox.
How about the Giants, who are 14th in the NL with 3.97 runs scored per game and have gotten a .228/.275/.272 line out of first basemen Travis Ishikawa and Rich Aurilia? Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News says "I heard Nick Johnson's name on the lips of more than one uniformed person Tuesday." Aurilia might be on the way out, but to make room for Jesus Guzman.
The Mets are another team often speculated as a suitor for Johnson. GM Omar Minaya will stay in-house for now for Carlos Delgado's replacement, but maybe he'll make a deal if Delgado has a setback.
Olney On Trade Scenarios
ESPN's Buster Olney talks about future trade possibilities in his blog today.
- Olney's Brewers source says the team is not looking outside for Rickie Weeks' replacement at this point. Manager Ken Macha doesn't view Craig Counsell as a regular, but he can platoon with Casey McGehee. And Alcides Escobar will start to work at second base in Triple A.
- The Red Sox might have to do something to replace David Ortiz at DH if he doesn't show signs of life soon. Olney speculates on the idea of Boston trading starting pitching "for some talented young hitter – like Matt LaPorta of the Indians." That would stink for LaPorta, getting traded twice within a year.
- Olney likes Mark DeRosa for the Mets. Most writers like DeRosa for any team though. Olney figures the Indians would seek pitching for him.
Rosenthal Discusses Victor Martinez
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports sets up a new line of trade speculatin' today: he asks whether the Indians might be willing to take offers on catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez in the near future. The Indians would have to fall out of contention first (they're currently 7.5 games out), and even then it'd be a long shot. Martinez, 30, is hitting a robust .401/.478/.632 in 178 plate appearances this year. He has $4.3MM more coming this year and an easily-decided $7MM club option for 2010.
Rosenthal says the Red Sox already inquired on Martinez about a month ago. While "premium players on both sides" were discussed, "the talks failed to progress." Rosenthal speculates on names such as Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, and Lars Anderson.
Rosenthal doesn't mention them, but the Mets could be a nice fit for V-Mart if Carlos Delgado's injury puts him out for several months.
Gammons On Ackley, Red Sox, Relievers
ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up. Let's take a look.
- Gammons writes in praise of North Carolina's Dustin Ackley, who is likely to be chosen by the Mariners at #2 in June. Ackley may wind up at center field or second base.
- The Red Sox don't appear willing to trade young pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Nick Hagadone. The Sox have looked at bats such as Colorado's Matt Murton and Ryan Spilborghs, but for now aren't desperate enough to trade pitching. Gammons wonders if, for the right bat, Boston would part with Manny Delcarmen. He believes Delcarmen could close in the NL.
- Gammons says the Mets think they could have Carlos Delgado back by August if he has hip surgery, allowing them to stay in-house for his replacements.
- The Dodgers, Indians, Yankees, and Twins are looking for relief help. Gammon names Jose Valverde, Huston Street, Danys Baez, Russ Springer, and John Grabow as future trade candidates.
Javier Lopez Clears Waivers
According to Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal, Javier Lopez has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket. The left-hander was DFA'd last week in order to clear roster space for Daniel Bard. Lopez, who had posted a 9.26 ERA through 11 2/3 innings in the bigs, hopes to work his way back to Boston this season.
Odds & Ends: Sheets, Blanco, Coghlan
Links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority talks about the popular fantasy pickups this week.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels says Ben Sheets is "watching from a distance" while recovering from elbow surgery, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers "apparently are in position to sign Guillermo Pimentel, a top outfield prospect from the Dominican Republic" for $1.5-2MM.
- Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe says Red Sox reliever Javier Lopez cleared waivers and will head to Triple A.
- Sam Miller of the OC Register assembled a lineup/slideshow of prospects who deserve a big league shot.
- Henry Blanco isn't sure why he wasn't able to re-sign with the Cubs, according to the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan.
- Nick Yohanek, the fan who caught Chris Coghlan's first big league home run, explains his side of the story in asking for the following for the ball: a signed Coghlan game bat, a signed Coghlan ball, and a Hanley Ramirez game bat. What's your take on this?
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Trades Possibilities
On this date 11 years ago, the Marlins traded Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson and two others to the Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. Piazza's tenure with the Marlins would last five games in which he was 5-18 with a triple and 5 RBI. Seven days later he was traded to the Mets for Preston Wilson and two minor league pitchers that would combine for 5 career appearances. To this day, Mike Francessa of WFAN in New York City will tell anybody that listens that he was responsible for convincing the Mets to make the deal. So far this season we have seen a couple of minor deals. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Feeling Dodger Blue feels now is a good time to trade James Loney and wonders if Jorge Cantu can be had.
- Fire Brand of the American League addresses the possibility of the Red Sox trading Brad Penny and looks at some players the Red Sox might pursue.
- 6 Pound 8 Ounce Baby Joba takes an early look at the teams that might be buyers and sellers at the deadline.
- Around the Majors takes a look at the 2010 free agents that are represented by Scott Boras.
- Jorge Says No! discusses whether Koji Uehara was the best free agent signing this year.
- The Bottom Line wonders if the Red Sox missed an opportunity to sign Jason Bay to an extension.
- El Lefty Malo takes a look at several players the Giants let go and whether the moves were smart in hindsight.
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse proposes some names that can be brought in to fix the Cubs bullpen.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds & Ends: Proctor, Dunn, Contreras
Links for Tuesday…
- According to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Marlins reliever Scott Proctor is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. So that's $750K down the tubes, though Rodriguez wonders if they might re-sign him to an incentive-laden deal after the season.
- New blog post at Live to Play, Play to Live chronicling Miguel Angel Sano's 16th birthday party. His day began with a tryout for the Giants.
- Sports Illustrated names the game's best and worst owners.
- WEEI's Alex Speier says that if Daniel Bard never returns to the minors, he'll eventually be the second player to achieve Super Two status under Theo Epstein.
- Sam Miller of the OC Register asks who hangs up on a Jonathan Sanchez for Brandon Wood swap.
- I noticed that Preston Wilson surfaced with the Long Island Ducks. Brad Halsey, Dan Miceli, Ken Ray, and Lew Ford are also on the team, which is managed by Gary Carter.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has a bunch of new info on the Moneyball movie, which comes out in 2011.
- Adam Dunn told John Shea of the Chronicle that he was open to signing with the Giants but did not hear from them.
- Jose Contreras cleared waivers, which is not a surprise given the $8MM+ left on his contract.
Rosenthal On Ortiz, Braves, White Sox
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal notes how easy it would be for the Red Sox to find a left-handed hitter to top David Ortiz's 2009 production – many such bats are impending free agents and could be available in July. A shortstop and young catcher also remain on Boston's wish list. Unfortunately, with no-trade protection and about $22.5MM remaining on his contract, Ortiz is pretty much immovable.
- Former D'Backs pitching coach Bryan Price resigned in part due to reservations about working for new manager A.J. Hinch.
- Rosenthal notes the Braves' surplus of quality minor league arms, and suggests they're well-equipped to trade for a bat. The Braves rank 11th in the NL with 4.41 runs scored per game.
- The White Sox's rotation is looking a bit shaky given the ineffectiveness of Jose Contreras. Rosenthal says "the team eventually figures to be in the market for a starter." The Sox are hanging in there at 3.5 games out with a 14-17 record.
- Aside from Cliff Lee, Rosenthal believes Indians infielder Mark DeRosa could draw attention closer to the trade deadline.