Rosenthal On Penny, Bay, Brandon Wood
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal suggests Cecil Cooper of the Astros may be the first manager fired; he says the team's veterans "do not care for Cooper." He's in the last year of his contract.
- With a comeback season for the Red Sox, Brad Penny could be in line for a lucrative free agent deal after the season. One executive told Rosenthal Penny had the least amount of structural issues in his arm compared to similar free agents last winter.
- The Red Sox are said to be "maintaining a quiet dialogue" with Jason Bay, who is eligible for free agency after the season. Rosenthal says there's no acrimony or deadline; the sides are just trying to determine Bay's value. It's a tricky calculation for corner outfielders, and the market will be flush after the season.
- Angels infielder Brandon Wood appears big league ready. Will the Angels trade Chone Figgins this summer to make room, or at least let Figgins leave as a free agent after the season? There are plenty of ways to sort out the situation, but Wood deserves to play.
- Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario, signed out of the Venezuelan winter league, drew strong praise from one scout.
- One scout had this to say regarding Emilio Bonifacio: "He's just a guy."
Angels Reject Pedro’s Overtures
According to Bill Plunkett of the O.C. Register, Pedro Martinez's agent reached out to the Angels. However, GM Tony Reagins said, "We haven't made any offer or had any discussions about bringing him in. We're still in this pattern where we're waiting for guys – Ervin Santana, John Lackey – to get back."
Reagins believes his own rehabbing starters will be ready in the same amount of time it'd take a free agent to get into shape. Plunkett notes that a trade could make more sense but Reagins doesn't believe it's necessary.
There's a handful of mildly interesting starting pitchers without jobs. Martinez and Odalis Perez lead the group, with Mark Mulder more of a question mark and Paul Byrd sitting out until the second half. Ben Sheets could be another interesting second half free agent. As for Orlando Hernandez, no one knows what he's up to and his agent isn't returning calls.
Halos Searching Internally For Pitching
Kevin Baxter of the LA Times cites Mike Scioscia, telling fans that the Angels will not go outside the organization to find additional starting pitching:
"Our solutions here, short term and long term, are in-house," said Scioscia, who will need an extra starter next Saturday in Minnesota.
Baxter says that right-hander Anthony Ortega is an option for that start in Minnesota, and Scioscia has also named Darren Oliver as a possibility, though he hasn't made a start since 2004.
The Angels have had their starting pitching decimated by injuries to John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar, and the tragic death of Nick Adenhart.
Baxter has updates on the three injured starters, saying that Lackey is long-tossing without pain and Santana will throw off a mound in the next few days. Escobar, on the other hand, had his minor league rehab start scratched last week and did not throw a bullpen session this weekend.
Nick Adenhart Killed In Car Accident
5:07pm: According to Mike DiGiovanna and Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, Adenhart and friends Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson were killed. The fourth friend, Jon Wilhite, was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
3:12pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown and Kevin Kaduk have reactions to the Adenhart tragedy. Baseball America profiles his career, and also has a statement from Angels GM Tony Reagins. MLB.com's Lyle Spencer also has a nice tribute.
10:16am: Awful news today. TMZ reports that Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a felony hit-and-run car accident early this morning. Two others (one affiliated with the Angels organization) were killed in the crash, and the offender was caught and hospitalized. The 22 year-old had just tossed six scoreless innings the night before, the best performance of his young career.
NBC Los Angeles and the L.A. Times have more on the story.
Stark On Olsen, Willingham, Millwood, Peavy
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new column up.
- Stark looks at a few trades that didn't happen. Aside from the Angels' run at Aaron Harang at the end of Spring Training, they also talked to the Nationals about Scott Olsen. Stark says Dustin Moseley, Shane Loux, and Jason Bulger were three names kicked around in the Olsen talks.
- Earlier this spring, the Rays inquired on Washington's Josh Willingham, apparently dangling Jason Hammel. Willingham is currently unhappy about being on the Nationals' bench, a situation that probably would not have improved in Tampa Bay.
- Kevin Millwood could be attractive midseason trade bait, if his Opening Day start was any indication. Millwood's contract allows the club to decline his $12MM 2010 option unless he pitches 180 innings this year. He also has a limited no-trade clause.
- Stark talked to an executive of a team that has Jake Peavy on its radar. This exec noted that teams did not overpay in deals for Rich Harden and Johan Santana, so the Padres may not be able to demand a ridiculous bounty for Peavy.
Odds & Ends: Lackey, Sheffield, Luis Gonzalez
Links for Thursday…
- Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald learned that while White Sox GM Ken Williams seeks a leadoff hitter, he does not have interest in Juan Pierre or Gary Matthews Jr.
- In an article yesterday, MLB.com's Lyle Spencer said all is quiet on the John Lackey extension front. Angels GM Tony Reagins said Lackey's initial Opening Day deadline was never a factor for the team.
- Murray Chass says Gary Sheffield's clubhouse presence is a positive.
- Luis Gonzalez, a free agent, hopes to play in 2009. But when he retires, he'll do so as a Diamondback according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro wrote in praise of Florida starter Josh Johnson.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock says the Padres introduced Tom Garfinkel as the new president and chief operating officer in charge of non-baseball operations.
- I wrote about Blue Jays starter David Purcey over at RotoAuthority.
Lackey Extends Deadline For Extension Talks?
Previously, Angels pitcher John Lackey had expressed a desire to wrap up contract extension talks by Opening Day. A couple weeks ago Lackey suggested the Angels were "not trying very hard" and he'd be comfortable going to free agency. It was thought that Lackey wanted something in the range of five years and $80MM.
The Angels are willing to talk about an extension during the season. Now that Lackey is dealing with an elbow injury, he's softened his stance according to Mike DiGiovanna and Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times:
"Opening day is not my opening day anymore," said Lackey, who was shut down two weeks ago because of a forearm strain. "I'm going to let my agent handle that. I'm just worried about getting healthy now and helping us win. It's not going to be a distraction."
It's a tough call for the Angels – do they use this leverage to sign Lackey at a reasonable price? Or do they consider the '08 and '09 injuries red flags for the future?
Angels Open In Lackey Negotiations
According to Kevin Baxter of the LA Times Angels GM Tony Reagins has no deadline for a possible extension with John Lackey, though the pitcher has made Opening Day his deadline.
Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Angels
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Angels. Here's what we wrote about them on October 15th. Changes for 2009:
Additions: Brian Fuentes, Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera (re-signed), Darren Oliver (accepted arbitration)
Subtractions: Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Garret Anderson, Jon Garland, Darren O'Day. Midseason: Casey Kotchman
The Angels were 10th in the AL last year with 4.72 runs scored per game. GM Tony Reagins wasn't able to retain Teixeira, but Abreu for less than 3% of the guaranteed money ain't bad. CHONE projections and the lineup analysis tool suggest this team will score 5.16 runs per game in '09. The Angels' offense is better than I realized.
If last year's run prevention holds up, the Angels project to win around 95 games. Let's take a closer look.
The '08 rotation posted a 4.14 ERA in 1012 innings, and they've since subtracted Garland and his 4.90 mark in favor of Kelvim Escobar (once he's ready). Throw in Dustin Moseley as the sixth man and the rotation projects around 4.10. The problem is that Ervin Santana and John Lackey are ailing and may not combine for 56 starts again. Still, if Santana and Lackey can combine for 300 innings the Angels should be fine. Nobody is out for the season currently. The Angels' toughest division rival, the Athletics, have at least as much rotation uncertainty.
Last year's bullpen posted a 3.69 ERA in 439.3 innings. I liked the Fuentes signing. Natural regression probably puts the bullpen closer to 4.00, but that's not too bad.
Defensively the Angels ranked 9th in the AL according to The Fielding Bible II. They may slip a bit further without Kotchman and Teixeira at first base.
All in all I see the Angels winning 90-91 games as presently constructed. Obviously the health of the rotation is a huge variable, but I imagine Reagins will make an acquisition if one of the injuries turns out to be major.
Bottom line: The Angels patched over their free agent losses with more affordable players in Fuentes and Abreu. The Halos again have a strong club barring a rotation catastrophe.
Odds & Ends: McPherson, Izzy, Hammel
Happy April Fools, or something. Here are your Wednesday night links…
- Mike Axisa over at River Ave. Blues believes the Yankees should take a long look at former top prospect Dallas McPherson.
- Sam A. Miller of the Orange County Register presents some best-case scenario projections for the 2009 Angels.
- Jason Isringhausen is going to stick it out with the Rays. He'll be placed on the disabled list to start the season, but could be pitching for Tampa by mid-May.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus discusses some of the Rays' offseason moves with RaysProspects.com. He also touches on Jason Hammel's trade value.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly hosted a chat with fans at MLB.com on Wednesday.
- Mariners Rule 5 pick Jose Lugo, a reliever, has been returned to the Twins.
- Another Rule 5 pick, catcher James Skelton, has been waived by the Diamondbacks.
- If you missed it, take a look at Tim's Tuesday chat.
- Join the fun! Add MLBTR to your Twitter following tonight. And hey, while you're at it, why not check out your (attention craving) friend Drew Silva as well?