Odds & Ends: Prior, Votto, Gaudin, Hendry, Rangers
Links for Thursday, as we wait to see how much more damage Vladimir Guerrero will inflict upon the Angels tonight…
- Mark Prior's agent says that one club wants to sign the right-hander after his workout this week, tweets Tom Krasovic of AOL Fanhouse. Prior reportedly hit the magic number of 90 mph during his workout.
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer indicates (via Twitter) that extension talks for Joey Votto will wait until after the season.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post tweets that the Yankees will not designate Chad Gaudin for assignment when they call up Dustin Moseley. The team has an empty spot on its 40-man roster, and is likely to place someone on the DL or option another reliever to Triple-A instead.
- Jim Hendry of the Cubs is the easiest general manager to make a deal with, according to a poll of GMs from around the league conducted by ESPN's Buster Olney.
- The sale of the Rangers is heading to a one-day auction that will be held on July 16th, reports Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.
Odds & Ends: Moseley, Reds, Prior, Nationals
Links for Wednesday, as Dustin Pedroia gets an early start on his rehab assignment…
- The Yankees will soon add Dustin Moseley to their roster, probably at the expense of Chan Ho Park or Chad Gaudin, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Moseley's opt-out clause kicks in tomorrow.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that he's looking at pitching, though the team has a limited number of 'bullets' to fire this summer.
- A veteran scout told Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse that Mark Prior was "just all right" in his workout today (Twitter link). Prior, who last pitched in the majors in 2006, is attempting a comeback.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that he would like the Nats to become “younger, better [and] more athletic” if they make trades this summer.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times notes that the Phillies scouted last night's Yankees-Mariners game and wonders if the Phils are eyeing Jose Lopez, who could fill in for Chase Utley and Placido Polanco.
- The Nationals appear satisfied with hot-hitting Roger Bernadina in right field, but they did have interest in David DeJesus at one point, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (via Twitter).
- Two executives told MLB.com’s Peter Gammons that there's no way the Twins will give up pitcher Kyle Gibson this summer. Like Cardinals prospect Shelby Miller, Gibson is a 2009 draft pick who signed late, so he would have to be dealt as a ‘player to be named later’ in any July trade.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Padres had interest in Eric Patterson before the Red Sox acquired him over the weekend (Twitter link).
Cliff Lee Rumors: Wednesday
9:25pm: An AL GM told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that he believes the Twins could acquire Lee with a package built around prospect Wilson Ramos. Rival GMs believe the Rangers may be better off holding onto their prospects than acquiring Lee.
4:15pm: The Mariners have not started making counter offers for Lee, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Rival executives remind Olney that the Mariners may want to deal soon, since an injury would deflate Lee's trade value (all Twitter links)
3:37pm: The Mets, Yankees, Rangers and Phillies appeared to be the only teams scouting Lee last night, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Twins and Dodgers were among the interested teams that did not attend, but it is early and Lee is a known commodity, so the lack of scouts hardly means there's a lack of interest.
10:11am: The Mariners will require a blue-chip prospect in a Cliff Lee trade, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post, even though the last two Lee trades may not have included one. Sherman suggests the Mets want Lee badly, while the Yankees would just like the Ms to "keep them posted."
Sherman explains that the Mariners like, but don't love, Mets pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia. He feels that a Mets trade would have to be built around Mejia or Wilmer Flores. The Mets are willing to trade Flores in a Lee deal, reports Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog. They're reluctant to part with other top prospects. The Mets would like to trade for a starting pitcher as soon as possible, but Cerrone says the Mariners prefer to wait until after the All-Star break to trade Lee.
From the Yankees side, Sherman recommends they make Jesus Montero available. They've done so before when Lee and Roy Halladay were on the trade market. Sherman also notes that the Mariners like Yankees Double A second baseman David Adams. Baseball America ranked Adams 22nd among Yankees prospects heading into the season, and he sports a .309/.393/.507 line at Trenton. Should the Yanks prefer to pursue Lee as a free agent, Bill Madden of the New York Daily News learned that old friend C.C. Sabathia would be happy to help recruit.
In a longer blog post, Sherman elaborates on what Lee would mean for the Mets, what the Mariners will require, and how prospects are overvalued these days.
Yanks President Expects Jeter, Rivera Back
Yankees president Randy Levine was quoted last night on impending free agents Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera:
"We don’t negotiate in public, but I would find it highly, highly unlikely if both of them were not back with the Yankees. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are the Yankees."
The comment came from a New York Times session, as reported by Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues. Kabak notes that despite the pledge to avoid public negotiation, the Yankees may have already reduced their leverage.
Levine and GM Brian Cashman also touched on their approach toward Japanese scouting, the draft, and other topics, so be sure to check out Kabak's summary.
Odds & Ends: A-Rod, Beltre, Athletics, Rockies
Links for Tuesday, as Tigers reliever Casey Fien returns to the Majors after spending the offseason in waiver wire hell…
- The home run milestone incentives in Alex Rodriguez's contract were the brainchild of Warren Buffett, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. The milestones start with home run #660; A-Rod currently has 594.
- WEEI's Alex Speier has the interesting story of the Dodgers signing Adrian Beltre in 1994 at age 15 by way of falsified documents, including the player's recollection of the situation. I swapped emails with Fred Claire, who was Dodgers GM at the time. Claire takes responsibility for the incident, but "had no awareness that Beltre's birth date had been altered in any way, shape or form" and "would never have approved such an act."
- Joe Stiglich of the Contra Costa Times talked with scouts about the Athletics' trade chips. At least one scout prefers Ben Sheets to Kevin Millwood.
- Dave Cameron's presciption for the Rockies in this FanGraphs article: move Brad Hawpe to first base and acquire Dan Uggla. Another good read from Cameron is his takedown of the theory that Russell Branyan will bring protection for other Mariners hitters. Speaking of Branyan, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Seattle's acquisition "stunned" rival executives.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues looks at Octavio Dotel as a potential Yankees trade target, and prefers they do not pursue a reunion.
- Howard Megdal of SNY is "reluctant to deal any significant part of the Mets' future for a rental of Cliff Lee." Megdal feels that the team's window to win extends beyond 2010.
Opt-Out Date Approaching For Yanks’ Moseley
The Yankees signed 28-year-old righty Dustin Moseley to a minor league deal in mid-February; he'd been non-tendered by the Angels earlier in the offseason after a lost '09 campaign. Moseley has made a dozen starts for the Yanks' Triple A club, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that his opt-out date comes up Thursday. If the Yankees don't promote Moseley, he can elect free agency.
Moseley sports a 4.21 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 2.2 BB/9 in 72.6 Triple A innings, with only six home runs allowed. Tonight's start against Glen Perkins and the Rochester Red Wings is his last before the opt-out date. Rosenthal feels that Moseley would land toward the back end of the Yankees' bullpen, if he gets the call.
Cafardo On Baylor, Haren, Konerko, Bedard
With the Marlins and Orioles searching for new managers, Don Baylor wonders why he isn't being considered for either job, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Baylor would love a chance to manage Baltimore, the franchise that drafted him over four decades ago, in the second round of the 1967 amateur draft. Let's check out Cafardo's other notes….
- The Yankees, Twins, Nationals, Cardinals, and Tigers had scouts watching Dan Haren's most recent start.
- There were a few teams hoping Paul Konerko would be available this summer, but with the White Sox suddenly just a game and a half out of first place, they obviously don't plan to trade their home run leader.
- Cliff Lee may not be the only Seattle left-hander on the trade block next month. Erik Bedard is due back soon, and Cafardo thinks that the Mariners could try to move him if he looks healthy in July.
- Scott Schoeneweis would like to catch on with a club as a situational lefty, but "his phone isn't ringing."
- D.J. Carrasco could be traded before the deadline. Carrasco's numbers this season haven't been overly impressive (4.12 ERA, 1.76 K/BB), but if the relief market is as thin as Buster Olney indicated this morning, the right-hander should draw some interest.
Odds & Ends: Patterson, Marlins, League, Zambrano
Some Saturday links as the Red Sox suffer their latest injury, this one involving Clay Buchholz and running the bases…
- FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Red Sox's acquisition of Eric Patterson came together quickly; they had yet to inquire about him as recently as noon Eastern time today.
- Marlins' first base coach Dave Collins abruptly resigned today, reports Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post. He wonders if the move may be related to an imminent Bobby Valentine hiring, but president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said that was not the case (all Twitter links).
- Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says (via Twitter) that Brandon League is the Mariners' second best trade chip behind Cliff Lee. The hard-throwing righty reliever is owed approximately $590K the rest of the season, and is under team control for two more years.
- With the Yankees facing off against the Dodgers, Tyler Kepner from the New York Times reminds us that Alex Rodriguez was almost a Dodger back in 1993. Fortunately for the Mariners, the first pick still alternated yearly between the AL and NL back then.
- In the comments of his blog, the Atlanta Journal Constitution's David O'Brien says that conversations with people across the Braves organization yesterday have him convinced more than ever that Fredi Gonzalez will be the Braves' next manager.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs may have reached the "breaking point" with Carlos Zambrano, and says they're probably better off eating the $45MM left on his contract and trading him away.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier says that Dustin Pedroia's foot injury is going to test Boston's less than stellar infield depth.
- Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says that the Indians will probably be able to make smaller deals like they did last year with Rafael Betancourt (to the Rockies) and Ryan Garko (to the Giants).
Chad Moeller Clears Waivers
SATURDAY, 7:37pm: Mark Feinsand of The New York Daily News tweets that Moeller has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.
MONDAY, 6:15pm: The Yankees have designated Chad Moeller for assignment, tweets Sweeny Murti of WFAN. Colin Curtis, who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, will take Moeller's place on the roster.
Moeller joined the big-league club after Jorge Posada's injury, starting just four games and hitting .182/.250/.364 in 12 plate appearances. The 35-year-old backstop has been well-traveled over the past few years, spending time with the Orioles, Dodgers, Reds, Brewers, and Yanks (twice) since 2006.
Mariners Willing To Trade Cliff Lee Immediately?
Mariners' GM Jack Zduriencik has maintained that he is not yet willing to throw in the towel and trade ace lefty Cliff Lee, but Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com heard from two executives that Seattle is willing to deal him "immediately for the right offer." One of those executives predicted that he could be moved in the next seven to ten days, similar to the timetable the Indians used when dealing CC Sabathia two years ago.
By moving Lee now as opposed to waiting until the deadline, the Mariners could maximize their return since the acquiring team will be getting an extra month of the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner. They'll also save a larger percentage of the approximately $4.94MM owed to Lee the remainder of the season, and of course reduce the risk of a trade value crippling injury.
Rosenthal's sources say that the Mets, Dodgers, and Rangers have all inquired about Lee, but many project the Twins as the front runner. The Mariners have scouted the Yankees' farm system, but the Yanks' scouting of Lee is just the team's routine coverage of a pitcher on their free agent wish list. They are happy with their five-man rotation at the moment.
Seattle is currently 14 games back in the AL West while Cleveland was 13.5 back when they dealt Sabathia. They received a four prospect package highlighted by Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley, and the Mariners can reasonably expect a similar return for Lee. The 31-year-old lefty has made 11 starts this year after missing time with an oblique injury, and has pitched to a 2.39 ERA in 86.2 innings. He's struck out 76 and walked just four.