Odds and Ends: Posada, Uribe, Wise, Red Sox
Today’s links…
- Jorge Posada could rejoin the Yankees as early as Wednesday (a few reports suggested Tuesday). Kat O’Brien of Newsday says the Yanks will hold on to both Jose Molina and Chad Moeller for "a while" after Posada returns, but as Peter Abraham points out on the LoHud Yankees blog, the Yankees have a real need for a set-up man now that Joba Chamberlain is starting.
- Juan Uribe has been activated from the 15-day DL, and although Ozzie Guillen said he wasn’t guaranteed playing time, they had to make room on the roster nonetheless. DeWayne Wise was designated for assigment.
- The news that Clay Buchholz has been optioned to Pawtucket comes as a shock to yours truly, but it underscores just how much starting pitching the Red Sox have right now, even with Daisuke Matsuzaka currently on the 15-day DL. Free agent pickup Bartolo Colon has worked out so far as a low-risk, high-reward signing. They’ve also got a good spot-starter in Justin Masterson, currently in Double A. And as if that weren’t enough, Curt Schilling could start throwing off a mound June 6. The odd man out could bring something useful in a trade. Just idle speculation, and I know there’s no such thing as too much pitching…but the Red Sox do have some holes to fill.
Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro. She can be reached here.
Gammons On Available Pitchers
ESPN’s Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months. We’ll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series.
Gammons’ trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood. Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season. Sowers and Duke are the kids. Harden is the oft-injured ace. Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts.
Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios. He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.
Julian Tavarez To Sign With Brewers
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
Before you fire up the grill, check out these links.
- Dayn Perry has an enjoyable series at Baseball Prospectus called Mock Blockbuster. He proposes trades that would benefit both teams. His latest: Greg Maddux and Brian Giles for Jordan Schafer.
- Rays Index wonders whether Eric Hinske or Gabe Gross could be expendable once Willy Aybar returns.
- Joe Capozzi remembers Mike Piazza’s five game stint as a Marlin.
- Pokey Reese sighting!
- Ned Colletti told struggling free-agent-to-be Derek Lowe the Dodgers aren’t slamming the door on him coming back.
- The Red Sox signed an Australian teen named Boss Moanaroa.
- Athletics Nation chats with Billy Beane.
- Jerry Reinsdorf hasn’t ruled out re-signing Joe Crede after the season.
- R.I.P. Geremi Gonzalez. I remember him as a bright spot on the ’97 Cubs. I mailed him a baseball card for an autograph, and it came back signed.
Perrotto’s Latest: Atkins, Holliday, Howard
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
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
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
Hopefully they’ll let you leave work early today in anticipation of the holiday weekend. Before you go, here are some random links.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at Clayton Kershaw, who may be called up soon.
- Brandon Medders was DFA’d to make room for Doug Davis. Not to be mean, but the 28 year-old reliever doesn’t do anything particularly well.
- The Glendon Rusch signing takes the Rockies out of the Julian Tavarez sweepstakes. Jayson Stark said the Brewers made a run at Tavarez a week ago.
- Paul Sullivan suggests that Jim Edmonds may be on a short leash in Chicago.
- Jon Heyman grades last winter’s trades.
- We’ve filled the Sunday afternoon writing gig…many thanks to all who applied.
Stark’s Latest: Young Players, Giles, DeJesus
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
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.