Odds and Ends: Bay, Roberts, Cliff Lee
And here we have some random links I’ve collected over the past day or so.
- The Bucs will try to fill their open 40-man spots through low profile moves, not unlike the Jason Michaels one. They won’t move Jason Bay or Xavier Nady until they’re truly out of it. 4.5 games out of the wild card, they still have a prayer here on May 9th.
- Keith Law’s top 60 prospects list for the June draft has been published. Shortstop Tim Beckham heads the list.
- Gordon Wittenmyer looks back on the Cubs players rumored to be traded for Brian Roberts.
- Juan Uribe, partially on the strength of a great takeout slide, still has life with the White Sox.
- Nick Piecoro reminds us that the D’Backs were close to acquiring Cliff Lee in a deal for Carlos Quentin this winter. That would just be unfair, Lee as a part of that rotation. Ken Davidoff notes that the Mets discussed Lee as well.
- So…did the Yankees really have a shot at Micah Owings in the Randy Johnson deal?
Pirates Acquire Jason Michaels, Brewers Mull Turnbow
After being designated for assignment back on May 5, Jason Michaels has been traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for, what else, a player to be named later. As Tim noted on Monday, Michaels has been pretty terrible so far this year. Not that he was so hot during his tenure in Cleveland. He wasn’t able to get his OBP above .330 or his SLG above .400. Not so hot for a corner outfielder.
The Pirates options OF Nyjer Morgan to Triple A to make room for Michaels. The Bucs now have two open spots on the 40-man roster. Feel free to speculate.
In other recently-designated news, it is believed that the Brewers have placed reliever Derrick Turnbow on waivers. The former closer was DFA a week ago, so something needs to be done soon. Tom Haudricourt believes he could clear waivers by Friday.
If he clears, he could accept an assignment to Triple A with the Brewers. Otherwise he’d become a free agent and forfeit the remainder of this $3.2MM salary.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.
Odds and Ends: Botts, Red Sox, McLouth
Roundup of links!
- According to Jamey Newberg, Jason Botts has cleared waivers. He probably won’t get another chance with the Rangers though.
- Gordon Edes notes that the Red Sox have five picks in the first three rounds of the June draft. Even though they don’t start until the 30th pick, the Sox have had much success in recent years.
- No extension talks have begun with Nate McLouth, but Dejan Kovacevic does expect it to happen.
- I updated the fantasy baseball closers depth chart over at RotoAuthority.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Freddy Garcia is "progressing nicely" in rehab and will throw off a mound about a week from now.
- Marc Topkin wonders if the Rays should consider Jason Michaels (among others) if they aren’t satisfied with their current right field options.
Pirates Hope To Retain Meek
Dejan Kovacevic fills us in on the Pirates’ attempts to retain 25 year-old reliever Evan Meek.
Meek was a Rule 5 pick who the Bucs just couldn’t hide in their big league pen all year. Meek was designated for assignment yesterday but the Pirates are trying to make a deal with the Rays rather than return him.
Baseball America says that Meek "uses a low-90s fastball that has good sink and run to pick up strikeouts and groundballs." As you might guess, control has been an issue.
Odds and Ends: Morris, Moeller, de la Rosa
Let’s kick things off with an odds and ends post today. By the way did anyone watch Max Scherzer‘s debut last night? Damn.
- Dejan Kovacevic notes that even if Matt Morris considered retiring and abandoning his ’08 salary, the Players Association would’ve strongly objected.
- Rays Senior VP of Baseball Ops Gerry Hunsicker indicates that the team will spend money to improve the team if they’re still contending a few months from now.
- According to Jon Heyman, catcher Chad Moeller will remain with the Yankees.
- Another fine piece from Bob Nightengale of USA Today (hat tip to ShysterBall). The article discusses the pros and cons of young players leaving money on the table in exchange for security.
- The Rockies may complete their long-rumored Jorge de la Rosa acquisition. The Rox have question marks in the rotation after Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis.
- Good point from Ken Davidoff – the Phil Hughes/Johan Santana question can’t be answered yet.
Matt Morris Retires
According to Justin Rodriguez of the Times-Herald Record, pitcher Matt Morris has retired. He confirmed it with Rodriguez; Morris has no desire to battle his way back or work out of the bullpen.
Morris finishes with a 3.98 career ERA in 1806 innings, including a respectable 121 wins. Kind of nice that the career ERA didn’t get pushed over 4.00. Retired at 33 with $60MM earned…can’t say I don’t envy him!
Pirates Gaining Trade Value
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses five Pirates players who were discussed in winter trade rumors. Neal Huntington wasn’t satisfied with the offers, and decided to keep Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, John Grabow, and Damaso Marte. Huntington says Nate McLouth‘s name was only floated as a "trial balloon."
Bay, Nady, and Grabow have all increased their value through strong Aprils (in part via their stats, in part via good health). Marte seems to have recovered from a rough start. Let’s discuss some possible suitors.
- Bay is off to a .264/.396/.448 start. The 29 year-old earns earns $5.75MM this year and $7.5MM in ’09. His main asset is OBP; the Padres and Mariners could use a boost. And he’d still be a nice fit in left for the Indians.
- Nady is hitting .327/.358/.531. He’s also 29. He’s a Scott Boras client; he earns $3.35MM this year and will also be under team control for the ’09 season. He might be a good fit for the Mets, assuming they have the pieces to re-acquire him. The Bucs could always take Aaron Heilman as part of the deal and put him in the rotation.
- Grabow is under team control through ’09; Marte will be a free agent after this year unless a pricey $6MM option is exercised. The Phillies are said to be looking for a lefty reliever, and the Yankees have inquired in the past.
Pirates Release Matt Morris
Unfortunately, there’s no surprise here. ESPN reports the Pirates have released Matt Morris. As Tim noted last night, the Pirates had little choice and eating $10MM seems their best option. According to ESPN,
"The decision to cut Morris will cost the Pirates more than $10 million, in addition to what they already have paid him this season. Morris is making $10,037,283 this season, or about one-fifth of their payroll, and has a $1 million buyout for 2009."
There shouldn’t be much interest for Morris. A minor league contract somewhere could be a possibility. But retirement seems inevitable, and Morris may be resigned to the fact:
"I’ve always said the other team will let you know when you’re done."
Phil Dumatrait will replace him in the rotation, and John Van Benschoten will be called up to fill the roster spot.
By Nat Boyle
Will Mets Release Delgado?
Is Carlos Delgado the next Frank Thomas? Or worse yet, is he the next Mike Piazza? Sammy Sosa? Barry Bonds? (steroid implications aside). So asks Joel Sherman of the NY Post who’s headline – always in that in-your-face extra-bold verdana – reads "DELGADO ON HIS WAY OUT AT FIRST". With aging veterans out of work, and a rash of young talent being locked up, 2008 really feels like the end of one era and the marked beginning of the next.
An arbitrary fun-fact from Sherman, "In the past 25 years, just one champion has had a regular first baseman older than 32 (the 2001 Diamondbacks with 37-year-old Mark Grace)." Delgado’s making $16MM this season, and although 35 is often a notorious age at which batters decline, this cliff fall is not the norm. Still, a contract of that magnitude will keep Delgado in New York for at least a short while longer.
In Buster Olney’s latest, he speculated Delgado’s release, which seems to be slightly more than speculation at this point. Olney cited Xavier Nady or Scott Hatteberg as potential replacements should the Mets want to trade for a replacement. Nady, however, might not be available until the Pirates say "uncle."
Should the 35-yr old Delgado reenter free agent land, what kind of interest will there be? Most likely less than there was for Frank Thomas, but someone would throw him a bone as he’d be low risk, high reward. Not unlike Thomas, PECOTA projects a .265-20-80 season from the veteran and while that’s not a $16MM season, it’s still adequate production for many teams from a corner infielder or DH.
By Nat Boyle
Decision Time On Matt Morris
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pirates management met with Matt Morris after today’s performance brought his ERA to 9.67. I mentioned in my recent video mailbag that I couldn’t see Morris lasting past June 1st, but it looks like May 1st is in question. Kovacevic explains the three possible scenarios:
- Morris goes to the bullpen.
- The Pirates release Morris, eating more than $10MM.
- Morris retires, saving the Pirates millions. But as classy as Morris may be, no one should expect him to leave that kind of money on the table. It’s not his fault Brian Sabean signed him in 2005.