Odds & Ends: Astros, Royals, Abreu
Let's kick off the day with links…
- Yahoo's David Brown caught up with Pedro Martinez as part of his Answer Man series.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle writes about the Astros' mistake of ignoring pitching.
- Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle notes that the Michael Bourn–Brad Lidge swap no longer looks lopsided. The Astros sent Lidge and Eric Bruntlett to Philly for Bourn, Geoff Geary, and Mike Costanzo in November of 2007.
- Rany Jazayerli has an open letter to Royals owner David Glass regarding the Dayton Moore extension.
- Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times writes about Bobby Abreu's influence on the Angels' other hitters. In the article, Abreu says, "I definitely want to come back."
- Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the legend of Garrett Jones. The 28 year-old Rookie of the Year contender has crushed 18 home runs in 237 plate appearances. What kind of numbers do you see him putting up next year?
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels that Johnny Damon makes more sense for the Yankees next year than Hideki Matsui.
Odds & Ends: Johnson, Peavy, Nelson
Links for Thursday…
- Pitching prospect Steve Johnson, part of the trade that sent George Sherrill to the Dodgers, found out about the deal via MLB Trade Rumors. Very cool! Tom Sedlacek of the Bowie Baysox did the interview with Johnson.
- MLB.com's Scott Merkin has comments from Jake Peavy about the failed Cubs trade and the two White Sox trades.
- Rays reliever Joe Nelson cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment, according to Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune.
- The Phillies designated pitcher Steven Register and catcher Joel Naughton for assignment, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Odds and Ends: Nomar, Astros, Kazmir
A few links to get the evening started…
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Phillies are still "mildly following" Nomar Garciaparra. Though Nomar would not be eligible to play in the postseason for Philadelphia, he might provide some depth down the stretch.
- Astros owner Drayton McLane "has fired more managers, general managers and coaches the last five years than any other owner in baseball," according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Justice posits that the axe might drop on someone new during the Astros' off day tomorrow.
- The Tampa Tribune's Marc Lancaster talked to Rays owner Stuart Sternberg, who argued that the team's trade of Scott Kazmir was "not a salary dump" but "a reallocation of resources."
Rosenthal On Abreu, Royals, Garland
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Bobby Abreu and the Angels have mutual interest in continuing their relationship, according to his agent Peter Greenberg. Greenberg says there have been discussions but they'll probably wait until after the season. Abreu, 36 in March, is hitting .297/.391/.428 in 547 plate appearances while playing subpar defense. He should end up earning $6MM given his plate appearance incentives. He'll easily achieve Type A status again.
- Rosenthal praises the Royals for extending GM Dayton Moore, and suggests the team should commit to a full-bore rebuild. Rosenthal believes it would've been wise to trade Mark Teahen and Gil Meche.
- Rosenthal says to expect another overloaded 1B/DH market this winter. Survey the free agent market here. I think we might find a .400 OBP on the cheap in Nick Johnson, while Jason Giambi is in for a minor league deal. Carlos Delgado, Russell Branyan, Hank Blalock, Ken Griffey Jr., Hideki Matsui, Aubrey Huff, Gary Sheffield, and Jim Thome are some of the other names.
- The Phillies decided to stick with Miguel Cairo as their right-handed bench bat, rather than pursue Nomar Garciaparra.
- A rival exec Rosenthal spoke to feels that Tony Abreu is not enough for Jon Garland, since the D'Backs are picking up all of Garland's contract.
Pirates, Phillies & Dodgers DFA Minor Leaguers
The Pirates designated pitcher Jon Meloan for assignment to create roster room for Daniel McCutchen, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. The 25-year-old righty has played in the minors for the Pirates, Indians and Rays this year. In total, he's allowed 68 hits and 28 walks in 65 innings, striking out 60.
Meanwhile, the Phillies designated minor leaguer Brad Harman for assignment, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Harman hasn't played in the majors this year, but he batted 11 times in a brief call up last year. The 23-year-old, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, has played around the infield in his minor league career.
The Dodgers designated Jesus Castillo for assignment, according to MLB.com. (Hat Tip: Diamond Leung) Castillo, a 25-year-old righty, has allowed 150 hits and 55 walks in 146.0 innings at AA this year, striking out 85.
Nomar Might Be On The Move
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, "there remains a small chance Nomar Garciaparra will go to a contender" before Monday's waiver trade deadline.
Nomar has gone hitless in his last 14 pinch-hit appearances and is batting just .264/.299/.364 this season with two home runs and 13 RBI in 129 at-bats for the A's. But he's a .321/.386/.589 career postseason hitter with seven home runs and 24 RBI over 112 late-October at-bats, and has always been regarded as a solid clubhouse guy.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Penny, Harden, Lidge
Rumor machine Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count Video up at FoxSports.com. Let's dive on in…
- The outcome of this weekend's games could determine which team the recently released Brad Penny signs with. The Giants and Marlins are the two teams pursuing him the most, but the Giants are in a better position in the NL Wildcard standings.
- The Yankees, Twins, and A's are also expressing interest in the righthander, but "what pitcher in his right mind would want to stay in the American League?"
- The A's and Padres have even "floated the idea" of signing Penny beyond the rest of this season, but Penny's best bet might be to go to a team like the Giants and reestablish himself in a pennant race, then go back into the free agent pool this winter on a high note.
- The Cubs are more open to dealing Rich Harden to the Twins than you might think. The Cubs could receive two high draft picks if they offer Harden arbitration after the season and he signs elsewhere, but that's a risky strategy. Given his injury history, the club might not want to take a $10MM or so hit if he accepts, even for only one year.
- The bigger question with Harden may be how aggressive the Twins will be in trying to deal for him. Remember that stars Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan have said the team needs more to contend, with Morneau mentioning that the team needs to impress Joe Mauer since he's due to become a free agent after next season.
- Yes, the Yankees were messing with the Red Sox when they claimed Chris Carter off waivers, but Boston's 40-man roster only has 38 players on it at the moment. Daisuke Matsuzaka will assume one of those spots when he comes off the 60-day DL, and the other is reserved for Paul Byrd.
- People might need to relax when it comes to Brad Lidge's struggles. His recent blown save against the Pirates might be the result of overuse, as Lidge was pitching for the fourth straight day. He had done it twice before this season, but he entered game three of that stretch with a four-run lead. Manager Charlie Manuel may need to be more careful with how he uses his closer down the stretch.
Odds And Ends: Lee, Carroll, Bradley
Because today's acquisition could be tomorrow's trade bait…
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki talks to Cliff Lee about his right to demand a trade after the season, as someone traded mid-year during a multi-year contract. Lee says he's focused on 2009. "I'm not even worried about that at all," Lee told Zolecki. "I've given zero thought to it. I'm worried about my next outing against Atlanta [on Saturday]. I really haven't put any thought into that at all." The Phillies hold a $9MM option on Lee for 2010. Also working against Lee demanding a trade: his new team would own his rights for three seasons, meaning Lee couldn't become a free agent until after the 2012 season.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer believes Jamey Carroll would be an attractive utility target for contending teams. Hoynes writes, "He's hitting .318 (27-for-85) in his past 24 games and .290 (65-for-224) overall with seven doubles, two triples, two homers, 20 RBI and 42 runs. He's played second base, third base, left field and right field."
- Chicago Tribune columnist Phil Rogers advises the Cubs that they have only one choice with struggling outfielder Milton Bradley: release him. Says Rogers, "As of Wednesday, when Bradley declared he roots for nine-inning games because he can't wait to get home, Hendry no longer can cross his fingers and hope Bradley becomes the player he pictured he would be in right field at Wrigley Field. He has to do something to get him off the roster, the sooner the better."
Stark On Holliday, Lee, Yankees, Hoffman
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the Cardinals and Phillies may be better off letting their respective deadline acquisitions walk once they hit free agency. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:
- We know that Matt Holliday's interested in staying in St. Louis. But one AL exec doubts the Cards can afford to tie up $40-50MM per year in Holliday and Albert Pujols. It could work short-term, but could prevent the Cardinals from keeping Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Plus, the pair of sluggers may not be worth a combined $50MM in a few years.
- One team official believes Cliff Lee's agent will be looking for a $100MM payday once the lefty hits free agency after next season (assuming the Phils pick up his 2010 option). The official says the Phillies should consider letting Lee walk after next year, instead of committing long-term to him.
- The teams that considered dealing for Johan Santana after the 2007 season aren't surprised to hear that he's having elbow trouble now, though it's not something they anticipated with any sense of certainty. However, Mets assistant GM John Ricco says he doesn't regret the way the team handled its ace.
- There are increasing indications that the Yankees don't plan on being big buyers in the free agent market this offseason. The Yankees seem more likely to keep Johnny Damon and let Austin Jackson grow into a full-time player than pursue Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.
- Stark hears that the Red Sox were the only team to claim Billy Wagner. We heard the Angels had interest, but apparently they never made a claim.
- One executive believes AL teams would have very little interest in Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman has value because of his status as a Type A free agent, which could factor in to teams' claims.
- Rival clubs expect the Blue Jays to try dealing Edwin Encarnacion after the season. He makes $4.75MM in 2010, so it won't be easy.
- The Royals are still trying to deal Ron Mahay and at least one scout expects a team or two to have interest in ther veteran lefty.
Phillies Likely Done Dealing
The Phillies are still watching the waiver wire, but GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer that his team has likely made its last trade of the season. Greg Dobbs hurt his calf last week, which weakened the Phillies' bench, but Amaro says the injury is "not serious." Martino suggests the Phillies could call on Andy Tracy, a power-hitting minor leaguer, to complement Dobbs and Matt Stairs.
Nomar Garciaparra has said he'd consider a trade to Philadelphia, so Amaro can explore other options if he decides to look outside of the organization.