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Julian Tavarez To Sign With Brewers

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MONDAY: Tom Haudricourt reports that the Brewers are set to sign Tavarez for bullpen depth.

SUNDAY: The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo writes that Bartolo Colon, a close friend of Julian Tavarez, said Tavarez told him that he would prefer to pitch for the New York Mets. Tavarez was recently DFA’d by the Red Sox and elected free agency rather than accepting an assignment to Triple A Pawtucket.

Tavarez could make sense for the Mets in many roles. Jason Vargas and Matt Wise have been ineffective in limited use, while Mike Pelfrey has been very inconsistent over the first two months of the season. The Mets, however, have yet to indicate whether they have interest in the veteran right-hander.  Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto has the Orioles and Brewers as the top suitors; I hadn’t heard Baltimore in the mix until now.

Odds and Ends: Pokey, Lowe, Boss

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Before you fire up the grill, check out these links.

Perrotto’s Latest: Atkins, Holliday, Howard

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Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto has a new column up; let’s discuss the hot stove tidbits.

  • Perrotto wouldn’t be surprised to see Clay Buchholz rejoin the Red Sox as a reliever, though some have suggested he’ll just remain in Pawtucket.  The Red Sox have an embarrassment of starting pitching right now.
  • The Indians are "bringing up Garrett Atkins and Matt Holliday in trade talks."  Holliday just hit the DL, but there’s plenty of time before the deadline.
  • Perrotto’s sources suggest the Phillies may deal Ryan Howard before the ’09 season, to avoid his probable large salary.  Can you think of any reasonable fits for him?

No Santana, No Regrets for Red Sox

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Earlier this morning, MLBTR noted how Ken Rosenthal doesn’t think the Yankees have regrets over not landing Johan Santana despite their would-have-been trade pieces now struggling or injured.  Today’s Boston Globe discusses the Red Sox similar feelings.

Chad Finn not only brings us an amusing baseball card of a young Lou Pineilla, but also shares his relief that Boston did not give up Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, and/or Jed Lowrie for Johan (consequently setting the record for a trade involving the most players with first names beginning with the letter "J").

Referencing Buster Olney’s blog, Finn concedes to Olney that this years version of Santana is still better than 95% of the starters in the bigs.  Still, he harkens back to this piece from November in which he suggested Santana was beginning to decline and should be dealt for a monstrous booty (as he was) and feels he may have been right with recent grumblings from scouts as reported by Olney:

"Sources say his shoulder showed some wear and tear, which is not unusual for a pitcher of Santana’s age. This is not to say Santana is not an effective pitcher now, but all of this information makes you wonder how effective he will remain during the course of his multiyear deal... Said an AL scout who has seen Santana this month: ’His stuff isn’t even close to what it was [with the Twins].’"

No hot stove news here, but it’s still a much-discussed topic in rumorland.  And as it stands, it seems all three teams (Mets included) have, so far, made good in this situation.  In his NL conquest Santana, known for stronger second halves, has a 3.36 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, yet a 7.8 K/9 down from a career 9.4.

By Nat Boyle

Odds And Ends: Ramirez, Tavarez, Brewslow, Pena

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Thankfully, the calendar will soon flip to June, and trade rumors will start to heat up. To tide you over until then, here are a few notes from around the league.

  • Sean McAdam wonders if Manny Ramirez’s current slump will affect the team’s decision to exercise his $20MM option for 2009. Manny sounded rather confident last month that the team would pick it up. And while it’s nearly a given that he’ll recover from this month, the Red Sox could read it as a sign of decline. Still, the chances of the option being picked up are still high.
  • A few days after accepting an assignment to AAA Pawtucket, Julian Tavarez has instead opted for free agency.
  • Couple of transaction notes. Braves C Brayan Pena has been activated from the DL, and immediately designated for assignment. Indians reliever Craig Breslow was also DFA.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog, and can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Kershaw, Medders, Tavarez

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Hopefully they’ll let you leave work early today in anticipation of the holiday weekend.  Before you go, here are some random links.

Stark’s Latest: Young Players, Giles, DeJesus

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Jayson Stark’s latest Rumblings and Grumblings column is chock full of information.

  • Stark rattles off Dan Uggla, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, Russell Martin, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Felix Hernandez, Jeff Francoeur, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia as youngsters who do not have long-term deals in the works.  With Uggla and Greinke, the opposition seems more on the team’s side.  With Hamels and Howard neither side wants a long-term deal.  With the rest, the player is resisting.
  • The Padres’ top trading chip is probably Brian Giles, though a deal would further deplete a weak offense.
  • The A’s are willing to deal, with pitching considered the surplus.  Billy Beane might be able to snag one good prospect for Rich Harden.
  • There’s some doubt as to whether the Rockies will make Matt Holliday this year’s Mark Teixeira as we approach the deadline.
  • Teams other than the Royals are speculating that center fielder David DeJesus might be available.
  • The Marlins and Hanley Ramirez battled over a no-trade clause…and the Fish won.  He has none.

Young Red Sox Strike Back

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Not every good young player is salivating at the thought of inking a team-friendly multiyear contract.  Prince Fielder, Russell Martin, and Casey Kotchman are three who seem fine going year-to-year and maximizing earnings.  According to Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald, Dustin Pedroia and Jonathan Papelbon are two more players "intent on bucking what has become a disturbing trend."

It’s mainly the idea of tossing in multiple team options that bristles the players and their agents.  Bradford reports that more experienced agents have voiced their concern about the trend to the Players Association.

Papelbon, for one, knows he’s an elite closer and is prepared to set the bar for stoppers with his service time.  You may recall that the Red Sox gave him $775K this year to top Mariano Rivera’s two-year closer service time record.  Though they play different positions, Papelbon’s agent will probably at least reference Ryan Howard’s landmark $10MM first-year arbitration reward when Papelbon’s time comes before the ’09 season.

Locking Up Young Stars: Martin, Kendrick, Kotchman, Pedroia, Uggla

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Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times takes a look at the spate of recent long-term deals for young stars.  Talking to different players and agents, Shaikin found no consensus on whether such contracts are a good idea.

  • Some folks (including Shaikin and Pat Gillick, apparently) believe it’s wise for richer clubs to go year-to-year to avoid getting stuck with a bad contract.  I’m sure teams have done comprehensive studies on these types of contracts, but my guess is that flops are few are far between.  I can only think of a handful (Angel Berroa, Eric Hinske come to mind).  As Scott Boras says, teams usually choose players who will succeed.
  • Boras advises his clients to go year to year and maximize their total earnings.  He suggests young players signing long-term are getting "30 cents on the dollar."  Paul Cohen, author of the Troy Tulowitzki and Evan Longoria contracts, preaches security over maximum earnings.
  • Ned Colletti revealed that he has twice approached catcher Russell Martin about an extension, and has been denied.  Martin will be arbitration-eligible after this season and should add an extra zero to his $500,000 salary, at least. 
  • Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick would consider a long-term offer, and GM Tony Reagins isn’t opposed to long-term deals for young players.
  • First baseman Casey Kotchman is a year-to-year guy.  He astutely notes that in most professions employees aren’t even guaranteed one year.
  • Jumping over to the Boston Herald – the Red Sox have twice approached Dustin Pedroia about a deal.  Pedroia is amenable to the idea. 
  • It’s not known if the Marlins are planning to buy out Dan Uggla’s arbitration years, but he seems open to it.

Moss Recovery May Affect Crisp

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The Providence Journal reports that Red Sox outfielder Brandon Moss could begin a minor league rehab assignment this week (he had an emergency appendectomy).  Bobby Kielty is not close to returning from his broken hand.

Why is this relevant?  Nick Cafardo had reported a few weeks ago that Moss’ injury killed the chances of trading Coco Crisp.  A healthy Moss could reignite trade talks for Crisp, unless the Sox decide to enjoy the luxury and wait until the offseason.

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