Odds & Ends: Marlins, Rangers, Injuries
Another round of links…
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro takes a more in-depth look at Marlins president Larry Beinfest's comments on the possibility of long-term extensions for pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson. "With a new stadium set to open in 2012," Frisaro writes, "the Marlins are in a better position to sign players to multi-year deals."
- Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Rangers' potential 25-man roster. Pouliot is now halfway through the interesting collection of columns.
- Bob Harkins, also writing for NBC Sports, suggests the Phillies are a good match for all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman, who has reportedly been placed on waivers by the Brewers.
- Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post notes, via Twitter, that the payroll "just for Mets players on the DL would be higher than the total budgets of 17 other teams." Tough times in Queens.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith hosted his weekly live chat on MLBTR Tuesday afternoon. If you missed it, we've got it archived for your viewing pleasure.
Stairs Wants To Return To Phillies In 2010
Matt Stairs will be 42 by the time Spring Training starts next year, but he says he has another year left in him and wants to spend it with the Phillies, according to Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Stairs, who makes a base salary of $1MM this year, becomes a free agent after the season.
Stairs knows his future depends on the team's interest in bringing him back, but assistant GM Scott Proefrock said it's too early to think about free agents. Despite his recent struggles, Stairs has four homers and a .739 OPS in just over 100 plate appearances this season.
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Perez, Pedro
A few items to peruse as the Red Sox and Yankees grind it out on Sunday Night Baseball…
- Matthew Pouliot of NBCSports.com continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Cardinals. "Producing the game's best player and one of the top five pitchers only goes so far," writes Pouliot. "The Cardinals' lack of pitching depth leaves them right in the middle of these rankings."
- As Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, reliever Chris Perez has now thrown 15 consecutive scoreless innings out of the Tribe's bullpen. He was acquired from the Cardinals in early July (along with Jess Todd) for third baseman Mark DeRosa, who is batting .234/.303/.445 with eight home runs and 15 RBI in 128 at-bats for St. Louis.
- Pedro Martinez allowed four earned runs over six innings Sunday in his return to Flushing, New York, but escaped with his second victory in three starts with the Phillies. Interestingly, he was given a standing ovation when he first took the mound. “The ovation, that’s exactly the response I expected because of the mutual bond I have here,” Martinez said. “I respect them and I love them." (Quote courtesy of the Associated Press).
Billy Wagner Claimed On Waivers By Red Sox
6:08pm: Rosenthal updated his post to say the Mets "will be reluctant to include money in a deal, according to a source with knowledge of the club's thinking."
5:05pm: Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com reports that the Red Sox claimed Wagner. The two clubs have until 1pm ET on Tuesday to work out a deal. Earlier today we noted that Boston would like to add the veteran southpaw to their bullpen.
4:55pm: MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says the Phillies didn't claim Wagner.
3:06pm: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says it's "almost inconceivable" that the Marlins would commit to about $3.5MM for a six week rental.
2:28pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that an unknown team has claimed Billy Wagner on waivers. Wagner, who has $2.5MM coming his way before the end of the season, will make $8MM next year if his team doesn't buy him out for $1MM. The Mets now have three days to work out a trade with the claiming team. Afterwards, they can either pull him back off waivers or allow the other team to take him and pay his contract, Alex Rios-style.
The Mets placed Wagner on waivers two days ago and we have since learned that the Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest. Wagner, 38, was sharp in his return from the DL yesterday, hitting 96 mph in a quick inning of work.
Newsday's David Lennon checked in with Wagner and the lefty sounds open to a deal.
"Might be the closest I ever get to a World Series," he said.
Odds And Ends: Astros, Mets, Phillies, Wagner
Links for the afternoon…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle presents a dream Astros lineup for 2010 that includes John Lackey and Justin Duchscherer.
- Tyler Hissey ranks Lackey, Duchscherer and other impending free agents to start determining their value.
- Jay Schreiber of the New York Times says the Mets' failure to agree to terms with either Damien Magnifico or David Buchanan by Monday's deadline to sign picks adds to a frustrating season.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff was surprised to hear someone claimed Billy Wagner.
- Scott Lauber of the News Journal hears that Wagner would not have approved a trade to his former team, the Phillies.
Stark On Wagner, Padres, Crawford
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark shows that a number of contenders have vulnerable-looking closers. The Cubs and Phillies two of many teams with shaky arms at the back of the 'pen. Here are the details and the rest of Stark's rumors:
- At least one scout believes John Smoltz would have been the perfect arm for the Marlins to add to their 'pen.
- However, clubs pursuing Smoltz heard that he wanted to start, at least for now.
- A scout who watched Billy Wagner throw has "no doubt" that Wagner could help a team win. The Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest in Wagner, but neither team would be likely to give up much of a prospect unless the Mets picked up salary.
- Stark hears that the Padres pulled Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez back off waivers after multiple teams claimed them.
- Mark Hendrickson cleared waivers, and can now be traded to any team. The Rockies were interested before the deadline, but they may decide to see where the Billy Wagner bidding goes before pursuing Hendrickson again.
- One rival GM considers the Cards "the best team in the league right now."
- The Royals don't seem interested in trading their top pitchers. They pulled Brian Bannister back from waivers and though Joakim Soria and Gil Meche are on waivers now, they aren't likely to be dealt.
- Clubs eyeing Carl Crawford believe the Rays are becoming less likely to deal him. Desmond Jennings could become the Rays' left fielder, but they'd probably have to be overwhelmed to part with Crawford.
- It's possible that Jamie Moyer could draw interest as a trade candidate after the season.
- One AL exec isn't sure Bryce Harper's the guarantee people perceive him to be.
- Stark points out that the Astros traded Ivan Rodriguez just as his incentives were about to start kicking in.
- An official of a team that inquired about Stephen Strasburg before the draft says that Scott Boras invoked Daisuke Matsuzaka's name without specifically saying he wanted $50MM for his client.
Odds And Ends: Astros, Halladay, Phillies
More links for Wednesday morning…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says it's insincere for Astros owner Drayton McLane to act like his team's still in contention.
- As Alex Speier notes, Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said on WEEI in Boston that it's too soon to tell whether Roy Halladay will hit the trade market again this winter. Once the team has a permanent president and a firm payroll, it will be easier to tell.
- Phil Wood of MASN.com says Mike Rizzo has earned a shot at the permanent Nats GM job.
- Scott Miller of CBS Sports wouldn't be surprised if Lou Piniella decided not to manage the Cubs next year. His contract, which runs through 2010, will surely be his last, Miller says.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tells MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that he doesn't expect to make a waiver trade, though the Phils have claimed players.
Smoltz To Sign With Cardinals
10:59pm: From Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Smoltz will accept the Cardinals' offer to join the club as its fifth starter after clearing waivers at noon CST [Wednesday], barring an unforeseen waiver claim." The Cards will be on the hook for only about $100K. Smoltz will work as the team's fifth starter, at least initially.
8:18pm: Jayson Stark of ESPN is reporting that Smoltz is "strongly leaning" toward signing with the Cardinals. He has told friends that he is planning to make a decision on Wednesday.
Stark writes that the Dodgers, Marlins, and Rangers were also in pursuit of Smoltz. He adds that the Cards will use Smoltz as a set-up man for Ryan Franklin.
5:10pm: MLB.com's Todd Zolecki confirmed the Cardinals' interest in Smoltz on Twitter and added that the Phillies "aren't interested."
9:04am: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak confirmed to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he has "legitimate interest" in John Smoltz. Another official described the team's interest as "very serious." The Red Sox released the righty yesterday, and he's set to become a free agent tomorrow, at which point any team can sign him for the pro-rated major league minimum.
Draft Updates: White Sox, Tigers, Royals, Phils
4:33pm: John Manuel of Baseball America reports that the Phillies will sign Colvin for $900k, or six times as much as the commissioner recommends. The Phillies have now signed everyone they drafted through the first 13 rounds.
4:22pm: More updates, with under seven hours remaining before the deadline to sign picks…
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says the White Sox won't sign third rounder Bryan Morgado unless there's a last-minute turn of events.
- Law reports that the Phillies are working towards an agreement with seventh round pick Brody Colvin. However, Law hears that the Phillies aren't on the brink of signing the righty.
- The Tigers had their top three unsigned picks, including first rounder Jacob Turner, undergo physicals today, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck.
- It's too early to tell how their picks will work out, but J.J. Cooper of Baseball America says the Royals are spending aggressively on the draft for the second straight year.
Odds And Ends: Draft, Wagner, Pirates
Some more links as we near the deadline for signing draft picks…
- Jim Callis of Baseball America creates a handy chart to let us know how much money the unsigned draft picks are seeking.
- Callis reports that the Giants signed Brandon Belt for $200k and the Rangers signed Shawn Blackwell for $300k.
- Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies should at least consider making a run at Billy Wagner if he's healthy.
- Rockies manager Jim Tracy tells Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he admires his former club, the Pirates, for boldly trying to acquire the talent to become an NL Central force and remain one for years.
- MLB.com's Doug Miller speaks to Jarrod Washburn and other major leaguers about the effect trades have on players and their families.
- Nats manager Jim Riggleman told Chico Harlan of the Washington Post that the negotiations between the team and Stephen Strasburg are likely to be too complicated for those in uniform to worry about.