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Olney On Yankees, Rays, Manny

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Zach Britton certainly hasn't been surrounded by as much hype as Stephen Strasburg was last year, but, like the Nationals' youngster, Britton is "must-see TV," according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). In today's Insider-only blog, Olney says the Orioles lefty looks like the best of 2011's rookie class so far this year. Here are some other items of interest from the piece:

  • The Yankees are trying to get 20 to 35 starts from their fourth and fifth spots in the rotation, before the trade market really takes shape. At that point, the team could try to pursue an arm like Brett Myers or James Shields, if they're available.
  • Olney is hearing from clubs that they will now "warily approach" making any trades with the Rays, who are considered a "savvy organization." While it's too early for the Cubs to worry about offseason acquisition Matt Garza, particularly given his impressive strikeout rate, the right-hander isn't happy with his first two starts.
  • Olney agrees with Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, who says that the Rays and their fans are the ones who Manny Ramirez's retirement hits the hardest. Not only will the Tampa fans miss out on watching Manny, but continued struggles by the team could result in key players being placed on the trade block.

Quick Hits: Pedro, Martin, Archer, Davis, D’Backs

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Links for Saturday, after Matt Harrison threw his second gem in as many starts…

  • A team official told Joel Sherman of The New York Post that the Yankees have no interest in Pedro Martinez even though he's looking to return (Twitter links). The Yankees changed their mind about Carlos Silva after the right-hander agreed to get in shape and pitch in the minors.
  • Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com spoke to Russell Martin, who said the Red Sox expressed interest in signing him this offseason but were concerned about his injured hip.
  • Rays prospect Chris Archer holds no ill-will towards the Cubs for dealing him, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.  The right-hander was a part of the deal that brought Matt Garza to Chicago.
  • The Yankees did not send a scout to watch Doug Davis' workout yesterday, reports George A. King III of The New York Post.
  • In his Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to some executives that said Manny Ramirez's reported PED use may have altered the future of former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes and manager Bob Melvin. Arizona led the NL West for most of the 2008 season, but were knocked out of postseason race when the Dodgers made a late charge after acquiring Manny at the deadline.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick profiled Brett Wallace of the Astros, who was traded three times in the span of 371 days. "The way I choose to look at it, the teams that traded for me all had a plan for me and believed in me," said the first baseman. "But it definitely makes you step back and see the business side of baseball. When you get traded one year out of the draft, it's an eye opener. It doesn't matter how much a team likes you or doesn't like you. Things can change. Things are going to happen, and anyone is touchable."

Extension Candidate: Starlin Castro

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While pitching will always be baseball's most precious commodity, young shortstops aren't far behind. The Cubs have one of the very best in Starlin Castro, who didn't turn 21 until two weeks ago. Since being called up last May, he's hit .304/.350/.418 in 538 plate appearances, including .367/.406/.567 in the early goings of 2011.

When it comes to long-term contracts for young shortstops, three names jump to mind (in recent years): Jose Reyes, Troy Tulowitzki, and Hanley Ramirez. Let's compare their stats through the first 132 or so games of their careers, the number Castro has played to date…

Castro: .304/.350/.418, 33 2B, 7 3B, 3 HR, 10 SB
Reyes: .283/.307/.407, 28 2B, 6 3B, 7 HR, 32 SB
Tulowitzki: .271/.349/.410, 19 2B, 3 3B, 15 HR, 8 SB
Ramirez: .279/.345/.447, 32 2B, 9 3B, 12 HR, 43 SB

Castro's early career peformance ranks right up there with the other three, though Reyes was the only other guy playing full-time in the show at age 20. The Mets' shortstop gave up his three arbitration years for $12.25MM (total) plus one free agent year at $9MM. Tulo's first extension bought out his three arb years for $17.25MM plus one free agent year for $10MM. Ramirez's contract was the biggest of them all, buying out his three arb years for $23.5MM plus three free agent years for an average of $15.5MM per season. Both Reyes and Tulo had options for a second free agent year at similar money to the first.

Castro could qualify as a Super Two after the 2012 season since he spent 150 days in the Major Leagues last season, meaning he'd be arbitration-eligible four times instead of three. The three above contracts aren't a perfect comparison in that case, but it's clear that if the Cubs want to lock-up their franchise cornerstone, they'll need to spend $20MM or so for his arbitration years plus something like $12-15MM per free agent year. 

The Cubs have a ton of money coming off the books after the season in the form of Aramis Ramirez ($14.6MM), Kosuke Fukudome ($14.5MM), Carlos Silva ($11.5MM), Carlos Pena ($10MM), and John Grabow ($4.8MM), but they also have to prepare for sizable arbitration raises to Matt Garza, Geovany Soto, and Randy Wells. Locking up Castro will give them not only some cost certaintly going forward, but also peace of mind that one of the game's top young talents will be in Chicago's north side well into the future.

Quick Hits: Villanueva, Looper, Red Sox, Wilson

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As the Giants raise their World Series banner with an assist from the Say Hey Kid, here's some news from around the majors…

  • The Brewers received cash, rather than a player to be named later, from the Blue Jays to complete the Carlos Villanueva trade, reports the team (and passed on by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy).
  • The Cubs aren't considering trying to lure Braden Looper out of retirement, reports ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine.  Looper retired when he didn't make Chicago's Opening Day roster.  With right-handers Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells on the disabled list, the Cubs have a sudden lack of pitching depth, but the team will turn to internal options like Casey Coleman, who will start on Sunday. 
  • The Red Sox got their first win of the season today, but there's still plenty of talk about Boston's slow start.  SI's Tom Verducci thinks there are legitimate reasons for worry, namely that Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka "have to suddenly reverse the downward trends of their careers in their 30s."
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com also questions Boston's pitching, pointing out that barring rebound years from Beckett, Lackey and Matsuzaka, "they’re essentially the same team as the Yankees — terrific offense, deep bullpen, weak back of the rotation."  Rosenthal, however, thinks it is far too early in the season for the Sox and their fans to panic.
  • Jack Wilson asked to be taken out of the Mariners' 7-3 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday, Seattle manager Eric Wedge told reporters today.  Wilson implied that Wedge had removed him from the game, which upset Wedge, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  The Twitter feed of the Brock & Salk radio show on 710 ESPN Seattle reports that Wedge described Wilson's actions as "unspeakable" and wouldn't discuss the veteran infielder's status with the club.
  • Pirates right-hander Tyler Yates has a torn flexor tendon in his throwing elbow, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.  Yates hasn't pitched since 2009 due to Tommy John surgery, and Langosch reports that this latest injury might convince Yates to retire, a decision he's already considered earlier in his career.
  • The Diamondbacks are looking at Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon and Danny Hultzen with the third pick in this June's amateur draft, says Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  Sources on other teams think this trio will be the first three players taken in the draft, though perhaps not in that order.  Arizona also has the seventh overall pick, and Piecoro notes that the D-Backs' priority with that pick is to draft a player they can sign.  Vanderbilt's Sonny Grey and high schoolers Dylan Bundy and Taylor Guerrieri are some of the players Piecoro hears connected with this pick.   
  • Doug Davis held another workout today, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  Five or six teams were present, down from the eight clubs that watched Davis throw two weeks ago. 

Olney On Castro, Escobar, Wells, Pineda

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The Red Sox should complete a seven-year extension worth $154MM or so with Adrian Gonzalez at some point in the next ten days, as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reminds us. On a lighter note, Olney points out that Boston appears to be functioning despite a winless week for the Red Sox. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors.

  • Starlin Castro has “made the adjustment” to the big leagues and is no longer phased to be playing at the highest level, Cubs GM Jim Hendry says. 
  • Another young shortstop, Alcides Escobar of the Royals, may be the best defensive shortstop in the American League, according to at least one scout. 
  • Angels fans may not like hearing it, but one evaluator says that in sending Mike Napoli elsewhere they “traded a player who would've given them similar production to what they'll get out of Vernon Wells , except it'll cost them about $75 million more." 
  • Instead of delaying Michael Pineda’s service time and/or arbitration, the Mariners called him up to start the season in Seattle. "He earned the right to be on the club," GM Jack Zduriencik said. "We actually talked about calling him up last September."

Minor League Transactions

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There was a slew of minor league transactions from March 30 to April 5, and Matt Eddy of Baseball America has written them up and included info on some noteworthy names. Here's more on those …

  • The Cubs released righty Chris Huseby, an 11th-round draft pick in 2006 who signed for a hefty $1.3MM. Huseby wasn't panning out as a pitcher and saw action in the outfield in recent seasons.
  • The Indians released third baseman Matt Cusick, one of the two players they received from the Yankees in last season's swap for Kerry Wood. The other player – Andrew Shive – had been previously released.
  • The Rockies released reliever Craig Baker, who led the Minors in saves in 2009 with 33. A fourth-round pick 2006, Baker's 2010 was derailed by the injuries that haunted him earlier in his career.
  • The Astros released reliever Bubbie Buzachero, who is among the active career leaders in minor league saves.
  • The Royals released speedy outfielder Hilton Richardson, a seventh-round pick in 2007 who has 77 steals in the minors in 100 attempts. The Braves then signed Richardson.
  • The Dodgers released lefty reliever James Adkins, a sandwich-round pick in 2007 out of Tennessee. The southpaw is the Volunteers' career leader in strikeouts but has struggled with control and against righties in the minors.
  • The Brewers released hard-throwing lefty Evan Frederickson, the 35th overall pick in 2008. Frederickson has been excessively wild in his minors career, never walking fewer than 7.6 batters per nine, according to Eddy.
  • Twins righty Chris Province, acquired from the Red Sox in the Boof Bonser trade in 2009, voluntarily retired. Province surrendered a lot of hits in 2010, but seeing as he posted solid groundball rates for two poor teams, Eddy wonders whether he might have fared better with a better defense behind him.
  • The Padres released catcher Mitch Canham, the 57th overall pick in 2007. The Friars hoped Canham would develop into an offense-first backstop, but he was abused by basestealers, and his production with the bat didn't hold up at other positions.
  • The Giants released righty Craig Whitaker, a supplemental-round pick in 2003. Whitaker, as Eddy notes, is something of a rarity as an unsuccessful power arm drafted by San Francisco. Outfielder Ben Copeland, the Giants' first pick (fourth round) in 2005, was also released.
  • The Rangers released righty Danny Gutierrez, formerly one of their top-10 prospects. Gutierrez had been acquired from the Royals, but his stuff has diminished and was suspended 50 games for amphetamines prior to the 2010 season.
  • The Blue Jays released speedy outfielder Eric Eiland, a second-round pick in 2007. Eiland has been an efficient basestealer but has struggled overall offensively.

Tribe, Red Sox, Cubs Release Former High Draft Picks

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SUNDAY: The Indians also released a former high pick according to this report from the AP (via ESPN), cutting ties with Preston Mattingly. The son of former AL MVP and current Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, Preston was drafted 31st overall by the Dodgers in 2006. The Indians acquired him in a minor league trade on Sept. 26 this past season.

The high school shortstop signed a $1MM bonus out of the draft, but has since been converted to an outfielder and tallied just a .232/.275/.334 line through 1,667 minor league plate appearances. At the time, Baseball America described him as a "well-kept secret … with bat speed, pop and an advanced approach. "

FRIDAY: The Red Sox have released outfielder Jason Place and the Cubs have released right-hander Aaron Shafer, MLBTR has learned. Neither player was among their team's top 30 prospects according to Baseball America's Prospect Handbook.

Place, 22, was the 27th overall pick in the 2006 draft and signed for $1.3MM. He had a fine professional debut that season (.292/.386/.442 in 132 rookie ball plate appearances), but has struggled in the four years since. He climbed as high as Double-A, and is a .234/.315/390 career hitter.

Shafer, 24, was a second round pick in 2008 (65th overall). He signed for $625K. Shafer picked well in relief last year (2.68 ERA in 80 2/3 IP), but that's only because he dominated Single-A (0.96 ERA in 46 2/3 IP) while getting hammered in Double-A (5.03 ERA in 34 IP).

MLBTR's Steve Adams also contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Kroon, Sanchez, Cubs, Pirates, Rays

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The Red Sox announced the passing of longtime executive Lou Gorman, who built Boston's 1986 American League Championship team. Our condolences to Gorman's family and friends. Here are this evening's links…

  • Giants GM Brian Sabean confirmed to Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News that right-hander Marc Kroon has an out-clause in his contract that can be triggered on June 1st (Twitter link). The Japanese league vet will head to Triple-A after signing a minor league deal earlier this year.
  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report indicating that Romulo Sanchez has signed with the Rakuten Golden Eagles for $475K plus bonuses (Twitter links). The Yankees released Sanchez so he could purse a job in Japan last week.
  • Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball reports that 234 players (27.7%) on MLB rosters on Opening Day were born outside of the United States. The all-time record is 29.2% in 2005.
  • Cubs chairmam Tom Ricketts told Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune that he's okay with eating the $11.5MM left on Carlos Silva's deal in order to release the right-hander. "We knew it was a possibility that there might not be a spot for him, and that’s just the way it is," said Ricketts. "You’ve got to have the best team on the field, and that’s what counts."
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy rounded up all of last week's minor league transactions. See what familiar names were signed and released as teams finalize their minor league rosters.
  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette challenges Pirates leaders to change the perception that the team is focused on profit, destined never to compete.
  • Cork Gaines of Rays Index shows that the Rays' payroll dropped 41.7% from last year, all the way down to $41.9MM. The Rays committed $12.6MM to Wade Davis yesterday, an especially substantial investment for a team on such a limited budget.
  • White Sox director of international scouting Jerry Krause is stepping down to join the Diamondbacks, according Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. The former Chicago Bulls GM will assist Arizana executive Jerry DiPoto.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Dodgers can overcome surrounding distractions to become a playoff team in 2011. In fact, he predicts an NL West title for the Dodgers.

Procedural Notes: Abreu, Blanco, Evans, Hernandez

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The latest procedural notes…

Abreu, Ramirez, Blanco, Mets On Waivers

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D'Backs infielder Tony Abreu, Cubs catcher Max Ramirez, Royals outfielder Gregor Blanco and Mets infielder Luis Hernandez are on waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork adds that Nick Evans and Pat Misch of the Mets are also on waivers.

It's not surprising to see Abreu on waivers, since Arizona made him available earlier in the month. Ramirez is no stranger to waivers, having been claimed twice this past winter. Hernandez doesn't have an obvious role on the Mets and has drawn trade interest. 

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