Odds and Ends: Hawkins, Pettitte, Strasburg
Rounding up the day’s links…
- Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News talks about the future of Garrett Atkins. We discussed the possibility of an Atkins trade in this post.
- MLB.com’s Jim Molony says the Astros would like to re-sign reliever LaTroy Hawkins. Amazingly, Hawkins has thrown 17 scoreless innings as an Astro.
- This is a popular link lately…Vegas Watch examines April predictions from various analysts. Meanwhile, Scott Long digs in deeper on PECOTA’s American League predictions. Personally I am more interested in the logic behind projections. Did anyone predict Rays starters to post a 3.88 ERA? Did anyone peg Dioner Navarro and Carl Crawford‘s seasons?
- Viva El Birdos hopes the Cardinals do not sign Jon Garland this winter.
- Sam Mellinger wonders how the Royals would replace David DeJesus if they traded him.
- Andy Pettitte remains undecided on 2009. He’s hinted a desire to come back, but it’s unknown whether the Yankees want him. Houston could make sense.
- The Mariners are currently in line to have first crack at drafting Stephen Strasburg. They could even use Erik Bedard‘s money to sign him.
- Javier Valentin hasn’t heard from the Reds regarding 2009.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Huff, Hardy, Russ Ortiz
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column up.
- Mark Attanasio set a dangerous precedent by firing Ned Yost. Will he interfere with GM Doug Melvin’s plans in the future?
- Rosenthal considers Aubrey Huff a "highly desirable trade commodity" this winter. That begs the question – why did Huff pass through waivers unclaimed in August?
- Trading J.J. Hardy is more likely than moving him to third base. Hardy is under team control for two more seasons. The Jays, Tigers, Royals, Twins, Giants, Dodgers, and Cardinals could be in the market for a shortstop. Demand certainly outstrips supply.
- Rosenthal believes Rafael Furcal would be a nice fit for the Blue Jays. He agrees that GM J.P. Ricciardi is likely to return.
- The Orioles might prefer affordable veterans to A.J. Burnett as they try to improve their pitching staff this winter.
- Russ Ortiz wants to pitch in 2009, and he worked out for ten days a week ago. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick first reported the workout yesterday. He says the Royals, Astros, Brewers, and Red Sox had scouts at the audition.
Molony’s Latest: K-Rod, Helms, Valverde
Let’s dig into the latest blog post from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.
- Molony believes the Mets, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers, Indians, and Cubs are considering signing Francisco Rodriguez this winter. I think K-Rod’s demands could cause a nice ripple effect for Brian Fuentes, the second-best closer on the market. Regarding Molony’s six teams, a strong case can be made against several of them signing Rodriguez. The Rays and Indians will probably take a careful approach to free agency, while the Tigers may not have room in the budget. The Cubs seem likely to bring Kerry Wood back.
- Also on the topic of K-Rod, ESPN’s Andrew Marchand (via MetsBlog) quotes the pitcher’s agent naming the Cardinals, Tigers, Dodgers, Angels, and Mets as the five likely serious suitors. They’re looking for 5/75.
- Wes Helms would like to return to the Marlins next year. Molony believes the Marlins may want to retain Helms or Luis Gonzalez but perhaps not both.
- The Astros would prefer an extension for closer Jose Valverde rather than a likely eight figure arbitration reward. Valverde, 29, could reasonably demand more than $50MM in a multiyear extension.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Mets, Brewers, Astros
Ken Rosenthal has a lot to offer in his latest Full Count video:
- The Mets will prefer to pickup Carlos Delgado‘s $12MM option rather than buy him out for $4MM. That’s a guarantee for a guy who should finish the year around 35-100 despite not contributing for the first two months.
- According to sources, Manny Ramirez is unlikely to go the Mets. They will more likely focus their spending on pitching. John Maine has a bone spur in his right shoulder. Pedro Martinez and Oliver Perez are free agents. The Mets will need to go after starting pitching.
- If the Mets go after Francisco Rodriguez, would they dangle Billy Wagner on the trade market in his contract year?
- If the Astros sign Ben Sheets and Randy Wolf, they’d become immediate contenders, if not division favorites.
- To recoup the loss of Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia, the Brewers might want to trade J.J. Hardy or even Prince Fielder for a pitcher to join Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, and Dave Bush. I can’t see them trading Fielder and a lot will be determined by how they fare in the playoffs.
- Casey Blake will be in high demand this offseason. As a third baseman, his only real competition is the fragile Joe Crede. Blake can play 1B, 3B, RF and LF. He’s a good fit for the Dodgers to re-sign but, according to Rosenthal, he may want to go closer to his Iowa home.
Odds and Ends: Bass, Astros, Beltre, Marlins
A roundup of links for your afternoon reading:
- Tadahito Iguchi, recently released by the Padres, has returned to the Phillies.
- The Brewers have signed Mike Lamb, who had been DFA by the Twins.
- Richard Justice praises Ed Wade’s bullpen construction.
- El Lefty Malo discusses the Giants’ reported interest in Adrian Beltre. He doesn’t think a straight-up trade for Jonathan Sanchez makes sense for the Giants.
- Tons of arbitration eligible players for the Marlins this off-season. Will they start selling off parts? It seems likely. To sign everyone would bring their payroll over $30MM. Tough to sustain when you’re drawing just 600 fans in September.
- Tony LaRussa expects the Cardinals front office to work to improve the team this off-season. The have plenty of hefty contracts coming off the books.
- In a minor move, the Twins have sent righty Brian Bass to the Orioles for a PTBNL.
Stark’s Latest: Cain, Beltre, Burrell, Wigginton
Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
- Stark wonders why no one has questioned MLB’s apparent trade deadline extension for the Manny Ramirez deal.
- Currently the idea of the Brewers swapping Prince Fielder for Matt Cain is just fun speculation. However, it is true the Brewers will listen on Fielder (he is about to get expensive). The Giants are known to like the big first baseman. The hangup is Brian Sabean’s reported unwillingness to trade Tim Lincecum or Cain.
- The Giants also have their eye on Adrian Beltre. The Mariners want starting pitching, but one year of Beltre is not equal to four of Jonathan Sanchez.
- The Phillies still don’t want to go past two guaranteed years for Pat Burrell. Stark points out another complication – Burrell would gain 10-and-5 rights early in a Phillies contract. Any NL team inking Burrell for four years is a risky proposition given his defense. If Burrell leaves the Phillies, Stark doesn’t expect the team to sign a major free agent as his replacement.
- The Indians deserve props for acquiring Anthony Reyes. Let’s not overdo it though – it’s only been five starts, and his strikeout rate is just 4.0 per nine in Cleveland.
- The Indians talked to multiple teams about Cliff Lee last winter. Interestingly, they thought the hardest about swapping him for Carlos Quentin.
- The Astros were quite willing to trade Ty Wigginton, prior to his massive August.
Odds and Ends: Olivo, Eckstein, Angels, Astros
Labor Day linkage…
- I did a Q&A with an Angels blog called The Halo Is Lit.
- Royals catcher Miguel Olivo patched things up with manager Trey Hillman. Olivo has a mutual option for ’09.
- David Eckstein is a borderline Type B player, but the D’Backs won’t get a pick unless they offer him arbitration and he declines and signs elsewhere. As of August 29th, Eckstein did not have Type B status anyway. By the way, the D’Backs designated Emiliano Fruto for assignment to make room for Eckstein.
- Needless to say, the Angels weren’t able to acquire a shortstop.
- Richard Justice thinks many Astros fans owe GM Ed Wade an apology.
- Patrick Newman has more info on Satoru Komiyama‘s mysterious breaking pitch, the shake.
Astros Sign Erstad, Moehler To Extensions
Astros MLB.com beat writer Krysten Oliphant reports that the team has signed veteran outfielder Darin Erstad and right-handed pitcher Brian Moehler to one-year extensions.
Erstad gets a $1.75MM deal plus bonuses and Moehler nets a $2.3MM extension and bonuses; he has an option for 2010. Erstad and Moehler have been a couple of bright spots among Ed Wade’s offseason acquisitions.
Molony’s Latest: Fuentes, Red Sox, White Sox
Here’s the latest from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.
- The Red Sox are eyeing Rockies closer Brian Fuentes, though Ken Rosenthal has said Fuentes cannot be traded this month. Plus, the Rockies still intend to make a playoff run in the weak NL West.
- The Red Sox and White Sox had scouts at Wednesday night’s Astros-Reds game. Roy Oswalt pitched that one, but he won’t be traded. The Reds still have some good trade candidates in the bullpen (David Weathers has cleared waivers, Jeremy Affeldt is a free agent after the season).
Molony’s Latest: Red Sox, Kelly Johnson
Here’s a look at the latest blog post from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.
- Molony agrees with previous reports – the Red Sox are eyeing outfield help. An inquiry on Darin Erstad fizzled, while Mark Kotsay remains on the radar. Drew might be headed to the DL.
- The Red Sox might also be eyeing another starter, given Josh Beckett‘s injury. Molony speculates that Kevin Millwood or Vicente Padilla could make sense (both have cleared waivers).
- Molony expects Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson to be traded this winter. Johnson, 26, slipped to .264/.333/.405 in 482 plate appearances this year. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time.