Quick Hits: Garcia, Delgado, Nationals, Rockies
Happy birthday to the Big Cat, Johnny Mize! The Hall-of-Famer was born on January 7, 1913 in Demorest, Georgia. Other notable players born on this day include Jon Lester, Alfonso Soriano, Eric Gagne and Francisco Rodriguez.
Onto the news items….
- A reunion between Freddy Garcia and the Tigers is "possible, though unlikely at this point," writes MLB.com's Jason Beck. Garcia, who made three starts for Detroit in 2008, "is believed to be open" to the idea and Tigers officials at least discussed the prospect, Beck reports. The right-hander appears to be behind at least Jeremy Bonderman and Brad Penny on the club's list of veteran depth options for the rotation.
- Carlos Delgado is recovering from his third hip surgery but still hasn't ruled out a Major League comeback, writes Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.
- The Nationals are counting on a much-improved defense to help them in 2011, reports Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post.
- While the Rockies haven't made any huge additions, their moves to keep their young core players gave them the most successful offseason in the NL West, writes Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com.
- Ed Wade says the Astros might consider acquiring a replacement for Jeff Keppinger if none of their young infielders can fill the backup role in Spring Training, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
- Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com says the Indians need to start seeing some production in 2011 from the young players the team received in the Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia trades.
- Frank McCourt met with executives from the comissioner's office to outline his plans for keeping control of the Dodgers amidst his divorce proceedings, reports the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin.
Quick Hits: Keppinger, Pettitte, Bell, Molina
Here are some items of note on this Thursday, a day on which the Reds and Rangers each settled with one of their arbitration-eligible players. Remember to refer to our handy Arbitration Tracker, as those cases will continue to pop up in the coming weeks …
- The Astros were thought to be mulling the idea of trading Jeff Keppinger this offseason, but the utility infielder is scheduled to undergo left foot surgery next week and will likely miss the start of the regular season, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. This offseason, Houston acquired Bill Hall to play second base and Clint Barmes to man shortstop, so Keppinger has become expendable, but the injury should put a significant dent in the likelihood of him being dealt before the season. Keppinger enjoyed a career year in 2010, hitting .288/.351/.391 in 575 plate appearances. The Astros and Yankees briefly discussed a swap for Keppinger, but those talks went nowhere.
- The Yankees are willing to offer $12MM or $13MM to Andy Pettitte and are awaiting a decision from the lefty, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. As Heyman notes, either of those figures would represent a modest raise for Pettitte, who earned $11.75MM in 2010, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Pettitte, who has been playing on one-year deals in each of the past four seasons, will probably either re-sign with the Yankees or retire.
- Padres closer Heath Bell hopes to remain in San Diego with a multiyear contract, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Bell is in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and, having turned 33 in September, wants to garner long-term security, notes Center. Padres GM Jed Hoyer didn't offer much, saying that he and Bell's agent have "touched on it."
- After splitting 2010 between the Giants and Rangers, free-agent catcher Bengie Molina is seeking the "right fit," and one scenario that interests him is backing up his brother Yadier with the Cardinals, tweets Heyman. However, St. Louis already has a solid backup backstop in Gerald Laird, who signed a one-year deal with the Cards in December, so that seems unlikely.
Rosenthal On Fuentes, Soriano, Keppinger
The Red Sox, Rays, Yankees and Twins are among the many teams interested in Brian Fuentes, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. There’s some question as to whether Fuentes is truly a closer, but his asking price suggests he views himself as one. Here’s the latest on Fuentes and more notes from around the majors:
- Fuentes is asking for over $5MM per season on a multiyear deal, according to Rosenthal.
- The Yankees are not after Rafael Soriano, according to Rosenthal (on Twitter). They have inquired on the Scott Boras client, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
- Talks between the Yankees and Jeff Keppinger went nowhere, Rosenthal reports (on Twitter). The Astros have acquired Clint Barmes and Bill Hall this offseason, making Keppinger expendable. The Yankees, however, could rely on Eduardo Nunez instead.
Unfinished Business: NL Central
We looked at the NL East earlier; now it's time to examine the unfinished business of NL Central clubs.
- Cubs: Starting pitcher. ESPN's Bruce Levine says the Cubs are still talking to Tampa Bay about Matt Garza, though the Rays seem to prefer to hang on to him. The Cubs' rotation is already five-deep, so adding a back-end guy wouldn't make sense.
- Reds: Lefty reliever, left-handed hitting outfielder/leadoff hitter, backup shortstop, Joey Votto extension. The Reds have a small amount of cash to play with after Arthur Rhodes signed with the Rangers. Scott Podsednik or Fred Lewis could fit into their tight budget. NL MVP Votto will be tough to lock up, but he's under team control through 2013 anyway.
- Astros: Lefty reliever. The Astros will probably stay in-house for left-handed relief, though they could make a minor move. They also appear reluctant to sign a left fielder and affect Brett Wallace's playing time. Their last move may be trading Jeff Keppinger to clear a little payroll.
- Brewers: None. After signing Takashi Saito today, the Brewers might be done with a successful offseason. They have Yuniesky Betancourt at shortstop and Carlos Gomez/Chris Dickerson in center, but don't appear to be looking for upgrades.
- Pirates: Veteran reliever, starting pitcher, taker for Ryan Doumit. Despite the signings of Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch says they're still looking for starting pitching. They've also been in on Octavio Dotel and others and appear to be shopping Doumit.
- Cardinals: Albert Pujols extension, pitching depth. There was word on December 8th from Joe Strauss that the Cards were shopping for a sixth starter and big league reliever, though MLB.com's Matthew Leach wrote six days ago that they appear to be done adding Major Leaguers. An established backup third baseman wouldn't hurt. The dominating story for the next several weeks should be Pujols, who will be perilously close to free agency if the Cards don't get something done before spring training.
Odds & Ends: Diamondbacks, Lindstrom, Lee, Ramirez
Merry Christmas everyone! Let's see what tidbits of information Santa has for us under the tree..
- It appears that the Diamondbacks' offseason revamping has already come to a close, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.
- Even though the Astros didn't get a ton in return for Matt Lindstrom, they didn't get fleeced either, opines David Golbiewski of Fangraphs.
- Alex Rodriguez told Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News that he thinks the Yankees will be just fine without Cliff Lee.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets that the Rockies aren't too worried about resigning Joe Beimel because they trust Matt Reynolds and, to a lesser extent, Franklin Morales.
- More from Rubin as he suggests that the Yankees could have brought up Manny Ramirez's name while discussing Johnny Damon with agent Scott Boras.
- The Royals should be able to fill out their rotation with talented, cost-controlled pitchers in the coming years. In the meantime, however, their rotation could use a boost after the Zack Greinke deal, writes Golebiewski.
Odds & Ends: Brewers, Nolasco, Thames, Astros
Happy Holidays to all of MLBTR's readers. Here is today's batch of links…
- Yovani Gallardo was delighted to learn of the deal that brought Zack Greinke to Milwaukee, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- The Ricky Nolasco deal leaves the Marlins with $41.5MM in contractual committments for nine players this season, writes Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post. The right-hander made his three-year extension worth $26.5MM official early this morning.
- In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney says the Yankees are unlikely to bring Marcus Thames back for the 2011 season since they need reserve players capable of providing flexibility on defense.
- Astros GM Ed Wade told Joseph Duarte of The Houston Chronicle that he believes he had enough "protection on the back end of the bullpen" to trade Matt Lindstrom. "With the ability to go out and add two more young arms to create more depth in the system and balance the payroll, this was a sensible deal for us to make."
- MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling muses about some players who have taken their time finding a new team this offseason.
Rockies Acquire Matt Lindstrom
The Rockies have acquired Matt Lindstrom from the Astros in exchange for minor league pitchers Jonnathan Aristil and Wes Musick, according to a Houston team press release.
Lindstrom, 31 in February, posted a 4.39 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 23 saves in his first season as an Astro. He logged 53 1/3 innings and posted a 48.9 % ground ball rate. This marks the second consecutive offseason (third time overall) that Lindstrom has been traded; the Mets sent him to the Marlins in 2006 and the Marlins sent him to the Astros just over a year ago.
Lindstrom earned $1.625MM in 2010 and will make over $2MM through arbitration next year. He's under team control through 2012. The right-hander joins Huston Street, Matt Belisle and Rafael Betancourt at the back of the Rockies' 'pen. This addition could limit the Rockies' interest in David Aardsma, Jon Rauch, Chad Qualls, Todd Coffey and Matt Guerrier.
Aristil, 24, was an infielder when he signed a free agent contract with Colorado in 2003. Since converting to pitching in 2006, the right-hander has posted a 4.47 ERA in 113 appearances, 53 of them starts and just 12 of which came above the Single-A level.
Musick, 23, is a left-hander whom the Astros originally drafted in the 46th round of the 2005 draft, but Musick chose to attend the University of Houston instead. Picked by the Rockies in the ninth round of the 2009 draft, Musick has posted impressive numbers in his first two pro seasons — a 3.78 ERA, 8.5 K/9 rate, a 2.1 BB/9 rate and an even 4.00 K/BB ratio in 30 games (28 of them starts).
MLB.com's Thomas Harding was the first to report that Lindstrom was on his way to Colorado, while ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported earlier this afternoon that the Astros were nearing a deal for the reliever. Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle was the first to report Musick's inclusion in the deal, while Astros director of social media Alyson Footer tweeted the news about Aristil.
MLBTR's Mark Polishuk contributed to this post
Astros Working On Potential Matt Lindstrom Deal
The Astros are working hard on a possible trade involving Matt Lindstrom, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The Rockies are looking for relief help and appeared interested when Lindstrom became available earlier this month. They are one possible suitor for Lindstrom, but there's a long list of teams with potential interest in right-handed middle relievers.
Lindstrom, 31 in February, posted a 4.39 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 23 saves in his first season as an Astro. He logged 53 1/3 innings and posted a 48.9 % ground ball rate. Lindstrom earned $1.625MM in 2010 and will make over $2MM through arbitration next year. He's under team control through 2012.
Astros Sign Gustavo Chacin
The Astros signed left-hander Gustavo Chacin to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training, according to Alyson Footer of the Astros (on Twitter). He posted a 3.72 ERA in over 200 innings as a 24-year-old in the AL East five years ago, prompting the Blue Jays to introduce Chacin cologne. The promotion was memorable, but the left-hander's next four seasons were not. He struggled through the 2006-07 campaigns and spent 2008-09 in the minors.
Chacin rallied in 2010, posting a 4.70 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings with the Astros. Houston outrighted the 30-year-old Venezuelan off of the 40-man roster earlier in the offseason, but liked what they saw from him enough to invite him back for another season.
Bill Hall Talks Astros
Before he signed with the Astros, Bill Hall drew interest from teams that wanted him to be a utility player again. The 30-year-old played seven positions for Boston in 2010 and while Hall takes pride in his versatility, he chose Houston because the Astros wanted to make him their everyday second baseman.
"I don't like the word utility player. I call myself a baseball player" Hall said on a conference call with reporters. "I'm really good at a lot of positions, but if I concentrate on one, hopefully I can be great."
Hall said he's excited about returning to the NL Central, working under manager Brad Mills and hitting for power to the opposite field. He hit 18 homers and posted a .247/.316/.456 line last year – respectable numbers that he intends to surpass in 2011.
Hall clubbed 35 homers for the Brewers in 2006, but hasn't topped 18 homers or a .456 slugging percentage since. He'll have the chance to do some damage against Milwaukee in 2011 and says he has already circled some dates on next year's schedule.