Quick Hits: Braun, Lohse, Franklin, Wood
Some news items as Matt Kemp is once again a walkoff hero for the Dodgers…
- Ryan Braun and his agent, Nez Balelo, initially approached the Brewers about the long-term extension Braun signed with the team today, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We didn’t have to do this and he didn’t have to do this,” said GM Doug Melvin. “Very rarely does it happen where a player understands a franchise and where he’s at, and where he wants to be in the future."
- ESPN's Keith Law discusses the Braun extension, Joe Mauer's future at catcher and several draft prospects in a chat with fans.
- Kyle Lohse is finally living up to his contract and helping the Cardinals' rotation survive without Adam Wainwright, writes Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Ryan Franklin's recent criticism of St. Louis fans might ensure that this is his last year with the Cardinals, says ESPN Insider's Doug Mittler.
- How does Brandon Wood compare to other disappointing prospects? Baseball America's Ben Badler investigates (BA subscription required).
- Adrian Gonzalez talks to Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune about how the slugger is adjusting to the heightened expectations that come with playing for the Red Sox.
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy has this week's compilation of minor league transactions.
Cardinals Notes: Ludwick, Eduardo Sanchez, Pujols
As the Cardinals continue their four-game series in Los Angeles tonight, here are some Redbird-related news items…
- GM John Mozeliak took some criticism for trading Ryan Ludwick last summer, but Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch argues that Mozeliak may deserve some credit given Ludwick's struggles since the deal. Ludwick has just a .607 OPS in 207 plate appearances as a Padre.
- The Cardinals have spent some extra money on Caribbean scouting and development in recent years, and the first prospect to emerge from the revamped system is Eduardo Sanchez, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Sanchez made an impressive Major League debut on Wednesday, recording five strikeouts in two innings of relief against Arizona.
- Gordon, Strauss and a roundtable of other Post-Dispatch writers look at how Adrian Gonzalez's extension with the Red Sox may affect Albert Pujols' contract this winter.
- Speaking of Pujols, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports looked the slugger's recent emergence from an early-season slump.
Stark On Orioles, Beltran, Reyes, Carpenter
The Yankees weren’t counting on much from Kevin Millwood when they signed him to a minor league deal and, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, that may be a good thing. Stark hears that Millwood “looks terrible” and isn’t throwing as hard as usual in extended Spring Training. Here’s Stark’s latest from around the league:
- An AL executive expects the Orioles to be one of the most active sellers in baseball if they fade this summer. With Vladimir Guerrero, Derrek Lee, J.J. Hardy and others on the roster, the O’s have a lot of potential trade chips.
- The Mets would ‘love’ to see Carlos Beltran play well enough to make himself appealing as a trade candidate. Scouts are already watching Beltran in case he’s available at the deadline.
- One NL scout says he’d recommend Jose Reyes on a two month rental, but wouldn’t advise committing to the shortstop long-term.
- Despite speculation that Chris Carpenter could be traded, most clubs expect the Cardinals to hold onto him. St. Louis holds a $15MM option for Carpenter in 2012 ($1MM buyout).
Quick Hits: Zito, Rangers, Morgan, Angels
Links for Thursday night..
- The Giants likely can't get much for Barry Zito and therefore a deal involving him is unlikely, writes MLB.com's Chris Haft.
- Ryan Theriot enjoyed his brief stint with the Dodgers last season, writes Quinn Roberts for MLB.com. After playing 54 games for the club last season, he was shipped to the Cardinals for reliever Blake Hawksworth.
- Despite all of the uncertainty about their rotation heading into this season, it seems like the Rangers pitching is just fine, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- After bouncing around from the Pirates to the Nationals to the Brewers, Nyjer Morgan seems to be carving out a niche for himself in Milwaukee, writes George Von Benko for MLB.com. The Brewers acquired Morgan in exchange for Cutter Dykstra in late March.
- Major League Baseball announced the selection order for the draft (June 6-8) and the Padres own five of the first 58 overall selections, writes Corey Brock of MLB.com. In addition to their own first-rounder, the club has the ninth pick for failing to sign their 2010 first-round pick, pitcher Karsten Whitson. They also have three compensatory picks for Jon Garland (Dodgers), Yorvit Torrealba (Rangers) and Kevin Correia (Pirates).
- The Angels are grateful to have picked up left-handed relievers Hisanori Takahashi and Scott Downs this offseason, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
Cardinals Acquire Victor Marte
The Cardinals acquired reliever Victor Marte from the Royals for future considerations, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Marte, 30, posted a 3.32 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, and 0.7 HR/9 in 40 2/3 Triple-A relief innings last year. Marte was signed by the Royals as an amateur free agent over ten years ago; he logged time in Japan at one point.
Quick Hits: Abreu, Dodgers, Snell
Links for Monday night, as Sam Fuld comes tantalizingly close to hitting for the cycle and a couple of young left-handers toe the rubber in San Francisco…
- MLB.com's Doug Miller says some players can't be replaced because they do more than put up numbers. Bobby Abreu, Mark Ellis and Craig Counsell are in Miller's select group.
- A Boston law firm, Bingham McCutchen, is suing Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times.
- The Cardinals officially granted Ian Snell his release so that he can pursue a job elsewhere, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). Snell, who retired about a month ago, now says he's considering a return.
Ian Snell Considering Return
It's been less than a month since Ian Snell abruptly announced his retirement, but the right-hander is now considering a return according to MLB.com's Evan Drellich.
"He told the world he's retiring, and that's what we thought was going to happen," said Joe Sroba, Snell's agent. Sroba said further news about a potential return could come within a week, and that the Cardinals were a possibility. Snell had been in camp with St. Louis as a non-roster player before retiring.
Snell, 29, had his best season with the Pirates in 2007, when he posted a 3.76 ERA in 208 innings. That performance earned him a three-year, $8.6MM extension, but he quickly lost effectiveness.
Offseason In Review: St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are next in our Offseason In Review series.
Major League Signings
- Jake Westbrook, SP: two years, $16.5MM. Includes $8.5MM mutual option for 2013 with a $1MM buyout if club declines.
- Albert Pujols, 1B: one year, $16MM. Club option exercised.
- Lance Berkman, RF: one year, $8MM.
- Gerald Laird, C: one year, $1.1MM.
- Brian Tallet, RP: one year, $750K.
- Nick Punto, 2B/SS: one year, $750K.
- Total spend: $43.1MM.
International Signings
- Leobaldo Pina, Fernando Gonzalez, Jorge Araujo
Notable Minor League Signings
Trades and Claims
- Claimed SP Bryan Augenstein off waivers from Diamondbacks
- Acquired 2B Ryan Theriot from Dodgers for RP Blake Hawksworth
- Acquired SP Maikel Cleto from Mariners for SS Brendan Ryan
Notable Losses
- Brendan Ryan, Blake Hawksworth, Randy Winn, Aaron Miles, Jeff Suppan, Brad Penny, Dennys Reyes, Mike MacDougal, Joe Mather, Brian Broderick
Summary
February was a painful month for the Cardinals, as they failed to sign Pujols to an extension and lost Adam Wainwright to Tommy John surgery. Still, Pujols and Tony La Russa will be in St. Louis for at least one more season, so let's take a look at how GM John Mozeliak augmented his team.
Last year's significant one-year gamble was righty Brad Penny; this time it's a position player in Lance Berkman. In both cases the Cardinals paid a little more than I would have predicted, but it's hard to complain much about a one-year contract. Berkman can probably still hold a spot in the middle of a lineup – ZiPS projects .262/.379/.449 – but expecting the 35-year-old to play more than 400 innings in the outfield for the first time since 2004 seems unrealistic. You have to think his injury risk is heightened and the defense he does provide will be a negative.
The Westbrook contract represents a bargain, in both the $8.25MM salary and avoidance of a third year. The need for 200 respectable innings from Westbrook (pictured) became much stronger when Wainwright went down. The dropoff from Wainwright to Kyle McClellan might have pushed most pundits to pick the Reds or Brewers in the NL Central, but the Cardinals still have enough pitching to contend.
Theriot didn't cost much to acquire, since the Dodgers probably would have non-tendered him. He's a stretch as an everyday shortstop; a run at J.J. Hardy would have been better, though he may have been too expensive at $5.85MM. Failing a Hardy trade I would have retained Brendan Ryan, who at least provides significant defensive value.
What about Pujols? The Cardinals reportedly offered eight or nine years at $19-23MM annually. While that might have been the third-largest contract in baseball history, I feel that $225MM over nine years would be the floor for an acceptable deal. That'd still represent a hometown discount. The Cardinals will need to enter that uncharted territory in the crucial five-day negotiating period after the World Series ends, having failed to resolve the Pujols situation during the 2010-11 offseason.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Quick Hits: Zito, Orioles, Meyer, Cardinals
Links for Sunday, as Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler become the first set of teammates in MLB history to homer in each of their team's first three games…
- Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) knows that the point has been made before, but he finds it unfathomable that the Giants thought it smart to give $126MM to Barry Zito.
- The Orioles released minor league outfielder Danny Figueroa, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.
- The Phillies have released Dan Meyer from their minor league camp, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.
- Within his Sunday Baseball Notes, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that the Rangers "haven't closed the door" on a Michael Young trade. Cafardo says not to rule out the Phillies, though the Phils are a little more optimistic about Chase Utley's health than they were a couple weeks ago.
- Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. says his club has room to add payroll this season "if the right situation develops," according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier discusses former first round pick Jason Place, who the Red Sox released yesterday.
- In an article for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto takes a look at the Indians' future infield.
Rosenthal On Twins, Cardinals, Sizemore
With opening weekend in full swing, Ken Rosenthal has his first Full Count video of the season up over at FOX Sports. Let's check out the highlights….
- The Twins' outfield is worth keeping an eye on, since Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel are facing free agency after 2011 and many of the team's top prospects are outfielders. Rosenthal says it's "even possible" that the Twins could trade Denard Span, who is signed through 2014.
- While Matt Holliday recovers from his appendectomy, the Cardinals are comfortable platooning Allen Craig and Jon Jay. Craig is "highly sought after" in trade talks, particularly by American League teams, according to Rosenthal. However, the Cards aren't inclined to move him.
- Even if Grady Sizemore returns to form in the coming months, he's not likely to be dealt at the trade deadline. His 2012 club option becomes a player option if he's traded, so if they wanted to explore a deal, the Indians would probably do so next winter, after picking up the option.