Rangers To Pursue Pitching?
After it appeared Brandon McCarthy would hit the DL with a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade, T.R. Sullivan at MLB.com chatted with Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who is going to turn to Doug Mathis for the open rotation spot for now. But he didn't rule out the possibility of a deal to shore up the position:
"'I'm open to it,' Daniels said. 'It's something we'll look into, but it's easier said than done. My expectation is we'll go with the guys we have. If there is a quality guy available, we'll look into it, but it's easier said than done.'"
Closer Frank Francisco is also hurting, and Daniels has made discussing relief pitching his "short-term focus," he told Sullivan.
The Rangers have been hit hard by the injury bug, but they remain atop the AL West with a 33-23 record, 4.5 games ahead of the Angels. Who makes sense to fill the holes? Are they still a legitimate contender?
Odds And Ends: Hamilton, Vizquel, Draft
Why not rattle off a few more links to wrap up this Monday afternoon…
- As MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports, Josh Hamilton will miss 4-6 weeks to repair a partially torn abdominal muscle.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes the Rangers are for real.
- He says Jon Daniels is not looking to trade Omar Vizquel.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law believes Stephen Strasburg will sign this year. He could be in line for a September debut, perhaps as a reliever.
- Law's high on Tyler Matzek, a polished high schooler who should go early in the first round.
- As Baseball America's J.J. Cooper reports, Tanner Scheppers boosted his draft stock by pitching in the upper 90s in his final start for the St. Paul Saints.
- Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post says the Marlins could go after pitching with their first round pick, especially since the draft is pitching-heavy early on.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock says the Padres will take Dustin Ackley if the Mariners don't.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says Josh Fields found his recent demotion "hard to swallow."
Rangers Exercise Washington’s 2010 Option
According to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram the Rangers exercised the 2010 option on manager Ron Washington's contract. Washington has led the Rangers, who currently have a 4.5 game lead in the AL West, to a 33-23 record. GM Jon Daniels said picking up the option was an "easy decision" because the Rangers have played so well.
Dellucci Would Return To Rangers
According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, the recently-released David Dellucci is interested in playing for the Texas Rangers again. He could return to Texas, where he played two seasons, if they offer him the major league minimum. The Indians are paying the rest of his salary.
Heyman On Strasburg, D’Backs, Penny
Jon Heyman of SI.com anticipates some memorable negotiations between the Nationals, Scott Boras and Stephen Strasburg. Here's what Heyman heard about Strasburg along with the rest of his rumors:
- Boras is still expected to demand $50MM for Strasburg.
- Think that's a lot? Some think Strasburg would command $100MM as a free agent.
- Executives generally guess he'll end up signing for more than $20MM, but not by much.
- One NL exec said he expects the deal to reach $30MM.
- Strasburg could always pitch in Japan or for an independent team if he doesn't sign, but Heyman imagines he'd much rather join a major league franchise immediately.
- The Pirates could draft catcher Tony Sanchez with the fourth pick.
- The D'Backs could deal Chad Qualls and Tony Pena at the deadline.
- Boston seems "in a hurry" to deal Brad Penny.
- One Red Sox person was not impressed by what he saw from Jeff Francoeur.
- It's probably too early for the Rangers to release Vicente Padilla.
Odds And Ends: Mariners, Rangers, Smoltz
Here are a few links to kick the week off…
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners would risk losing fan interest if they deal players like Erik Bedard before the Mariners fall far out of the playoff race.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Rangers GM Jon Daniels is looking to the trade market for a bullpen upgrade.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that John Smoltz is open to pitching out of the bullpen and may be asked to skip occasional starts. This could be one way of managing the starting pitching surplus in Boston.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders whether Kevin Frandsen, now in Triple A, would be open to starting fresh with a different club.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star believes the Royals are better off than they were a few years ago, but says they'll have trouble realizing their goal of contending in 2010.
- Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Tom Glavine isn't good enough to help the Brewers and Jake Peavy isn't cheap enough.
Vizquel Willing To Play For Boston
Omar Vizquel expressed a willingness to play for the Red Sox, should the opportunity for a trade arise at some point this season, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.
In the piece, Tomasse says that Vizquel "wishes the Red Sox made a play for him when they had a chance." Vizquel said the Red Sox had not called. Tomasse says the Red Sox did inquire about Vizquel earlier this year, but that the Rangers are not interested in dealing the veteran shortstop.
Odds & Ends: Schuerholz, Fukumori, Perez
Some Saturday morning links to hold you over while the cartoons are on commercial break…
- Braves' team president John Schuerholz issued a public apology for how Tom Glavine's release was handled, as MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports. "I'm not regretting the decision making. I'm regretting the manner in which it was portrayed and explained to Tommy. I feel like I could have done a better job with that."
- Patrick at NPB Tracker passes along a report that the Rangers are trying to transfer Kazuo Fukumori's rights to a Japanese club. Fukumori had a 20.25 ERA in four ineffective outings for Texas last year, but he hasn't pitched this year and is training in Arizona.
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. reports that Cuban outfielder Felix Perez has been suspended one year for falsifying age documents. Perez, who claimed he was 20 years old, was close to signing a $3MM contract with the Yankees when it was discovered that he is actually 24 or 25.
- UmpBump.com's Nick Kapur lists one player each NL team should cut from their roster. While just about everyone listed has been downright terrible this year, most of the players would have no trouble finding a new job if they were actually released.
Padilla Clears Waivers
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Vicente Padilla has cleared waivers. This comes as a surprise to no one, as Padilla still has roughly $8MM remaining on his contract for this year alone. Wilson wonders if Padilla will pitch better now that he knows none of the 29 other teams want to pick him up if they have to pay his salary. He'll be a free agent if the Rangers buy out his option after the season, so Padilla can use the next four months to rebuild his value.
Odds And Ends: Nats, Astros, Putz, Brewers
More links for Friday afternoon…
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post believes the Lerner family and Stan Kasten have to take responsibility for a weak Nationals team and turn it around in Washington.
- Former Nats GM Jim Bowden told WUSA9 that in retrospect he wishes he'd kept a closer eye on the Nationals' actions in the Dominican.
- More from Richard Justice on his chat with Astros owner Drayton McLane. It's "likely" that Ivan Rodriguez, Jose Valverde and Miguel Tejada will be shopped.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says he wouldn't be surprised if Braves GM Frank Wren calls the Rockies about Ryan Spilborghs, now Colorado's fifth outfielder.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Vicente Padilla wants to stay with the Rangers.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports J.J. Putz will undergo elbow surgery Tuesday and miss at least two months.
- An interesting tweet from Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: There's talk of the Red Sox having interest in J.J. Hardy.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers are eyeing pitching in this year's draft. They'll have to wait until late in first round to acquire any, however, as they select 26th.