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Quick Hits: Rays, Inge, Red Sox, Indians

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On this day in 1997, the Yankees traded Ruben Rivera, Rafael Medina, and $3MM to the Padres for players to be named later, Homer Bush, and minor leaguer Gordon Amerson.  A little more than a month later, the Padres later sent Hideki Irabu to the Yankees as one of the PTBNLs to complete the deal.  Here's a look at today's links..

Cafardo On Peavy, White Sox, Twins, Liriano, Rays

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The Red Sox are struggling early on in the season, but no one in the American League East seems to be off to a hot start, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  However, as one American League GM said, "I will never comment on any team or even my own based on April. You just don’t get a fair assessment. You may get a snapshot of what you may be short on, or what you may have overevaluated. But even then, you have to be careful about making hasty decisions in April because there’s a long way to go." Here's more from Cafardo..

  • White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy is back on some teams’ radars as a midseason acquisition after a strong start to the year.  Scouts have been impressed with Peavy’s overall stuff and the fact that he is notching strikeouts and throwing 92-93 m.p.h.  Peavy, 30, earns $17MM this season and the White Sox would likely have to take on a portion of what’s remaining if he’s dealt.  However, he has a partial no-trade to eight teams and the White Sox may not part with him if they're still relevant in July.
  • The Twins had some bites on Francisco Liriano this winter but didn’t pull the trigger.  Because Minnesota probably won’t re-sign him, they're hoping to land a prospect or two for him at the trade deadline.  He'll have to pitch better for that to happen, however.
  • If the Rays pitching is clicking as expected, Wade Davis will be trade bait at some point this season.  So far though, in his current role as long man, scouts love what they see.
    A longtime National League scout who has been keeping an eye on the Rays this season says that the club could use another bullpen piece.
  • There has been some questioning of Blue Jays manager John Farrell’s pitching moves at times, according to a major league source.
  • Cafardo asked Pedro Martinez whether he could pitch right now and he responded, "Not right now. I would need about 20 days."
  • Cafardo is surprised that Ivan Rodriguez is retiring and one National League GM said that the veteran, "is probably better defensively right now than 75 percent of the catchers in the league."

Rosenthal On Oswalt, Cardinals, White Sox, Rays

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Highlights from the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..

  • Teams are again reaching out to Roy Oswalt, including the Red Sox and Cardinals.  The Red Sox's needs are obvious and the Cardinals' needs can grow depending on whether Chris Carpenter returns and if they decide to move Lance Lynn back to the bullpen.  Oswalt, according to a source, is throwing bullpen sessions every other day.
  • The White Sox might look at the trade deadline differently than they have in the past.  The extra wild card could dissuade them from moving veterans but the new CBA could make them more inclined to trade potential free agents such as A.J. Pierzynski.  It's extremely doubtful that they would extend the qualifying offer to the catcher in order to receive draft pick compensation as it could cost them $12MM.  The Rays and Dodgers could both be potential landing spots for the veteran.
  • The Rays spent the entire winter trying to upgrade their catching situation and it remains a work in progress.  However, Tampa Bay was able to win 91 games without major production from the position last year and the club believes that they are better all-around than in 2011.

Minor Moves: Fossum, Johnson, Wells, Buschmann

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here…

  • The Orioles released left-hander Casey Fossum and catcher Josh Johnson, tweets Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com.  Both players were at Baltimore's extended Spring Training camp on minor league contracts.
  • The White Sox have parted ways with Kip Wells, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The White Sox had signed the right-hander to a minor league deal ten days ago.
  • The Rays acquired right-hander Matt Buschmann from the Nationals for cash and assigned their new acquisition to Double-A, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The 28-year-old posted a 6.16 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 134 1/3 innings with the Padres' top affiliates last year. Buschmann has started 116 minor league games in six pro seasons.

Rosenthal On White Sox, Mets, Reds

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports had his doubts about rookie managers Robin Ventura and Mike Matheny heading into the season, but both appear to be doing well so far. Here are more of Rosenthal’s notes from around the league…

  • An unnamed rival executive says former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was an “inefficiency” who prevented his team from reaching its full potential in Chicago.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams likes that his team has pitched well and played solid fundamental baseball, Rosenthal reports. Williams prefers not to comment on Guillen, who managed the White Sox from 2004-11.
  • GM Sandy Alderson suggests the Mets’ 6-3 start is an indication that the Mets’ cautious optimism was warranted earlier this spring. “We’re hoping with what happened over the first 10 days or so, people will begin to see the potential of this team differently,” Alderson said.
  • Rival executives aren’t sure how the Reds will manage their payroll now that Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto have lucrative long-term extensions.

Central Notes: White Sox, Twins, Carroll, Brewers

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Things are looking good on the South Side of Chicago as the White Sox find themselves on a three-game winning streak.  They'll look to make it four straight tomorrow afternoon when they take on the Tigers at home.  More on the White Sox and other items out of the Central divisions..

  • White Sox GM Ken Williams termed the club's quiet hot stove season as "boring," writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com.  "At the same time we were confident in our young players," the GM said. "We were still feeling around that veteran deal, something that could bring it all together. It was just different. Not as active. My phone bill was lower."
  • Some were skeptical this offseason when the Twins gave 38-year-old Jamey Carroll a two-year deal to be their everyday shortstop.  Rob Neyer of SBNation looked at other players who went from utility roles to starting jobs so late in their career and was unable to find a true comparable.  Carroll's contract guarantees him $6.75MM with a third year vesting option worth $2MM if he gets to 400 plate appearances in 2013.
  • The Brewers reinstated right-hander Mark Rogers from the restricted list, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.  Milwaukee will assign the 26-year-old to Triple-A.

Quick Hits: Hunter, Garza, Padres, Betemit

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The Twins pounded out 20 hits en route to a 10-9 victory over the Angels today at Target Field.  Josh Willingham hit his third homer in as many games for Minnesota, and Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau also went yard — the first time the duo have homered in the same game since July 6, 2010.

Here are some notes from around the majors…

  • Torii Hunter hasn't had any discussion with the Angels about a contract extension but understands why, he tells Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.  "I don't want to bother those guys," Hunter said. "They've had so much going on. I definitely feel no rush. It'd be nice (to get an extension offer) but if not, I understand….They have other guys like (Erick) Aybar they need to lock up. Plus they've got (Mike) Trout lying in the weeds."  Hunter is a free agent after this season and will be 37 on Opening Day 2013.  He said he wants to return the Angels, but if not, he wants to play for another contending team.
  • Nez Balelo, Matt Garza's agent, is scheduled to be in Chicago during the Cubs' homestand, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said that a potential long-term deal with Garza is the sort of "big-picture issue" that can't be measured by how Garza performs early this season or even throughout 2012.
  • Separate ownership groups led by agents Dennis Gilbert and Arn Tellem could be interested in buying the Padres, reports Dan Hayes of the North County Times.  A source tells Hayes that any potential buyer could bring a Padres legend like Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield or Steve Garvey to serve as the public face of the ownership group.  Garvey is known to already be fronting a group that is interested in the Padres after falling short in a bid to buy the Dodgers.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams discusses new manager Robin Ventura, several players and his expectations for the team as a whole for 2012 in a Q&A with the team's TV crew (transcribed on MLB.com).
  • The well-traveled Wilson Betemit is playing for his seventh team in 10 years but is only focused on helping the Orioles, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
  • Andre Ethier is very focused on playing well in 2012 and putting himself in line for a big contract either with the Dodgers or with another club when he hits free agency this winter, sources tell ESPN Los Angeles' Tony Jackson.

White Sox Acquire Jose Castro

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Let's keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

  • The White Sox have acquired infielder Jose Castro from the Reds according to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). He was assigned to Triple-A Charlotte. Castro, 25, hit .306/.343/.354 in 318 plate appearances in Cincinnati's minor league system last year. He's a .262/.307/.314 career hitter in the minors and has never played in the big leagues.

White Sox To Sign Kip Wells

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We'll keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

  • The White Sox agreed to sign right-hander Kip Wells to a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Wells, 34, last pitched in the Major Leagues in 2009. He broke in with the 1999 White Sox and spent three seasons in Chicago before the White Sox traded him to Pittsburgh. Wells reached 93 mph in a recent workout with the Mets.

Offseason In Review: Chicago White Sox

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The White Sox invested in John Danks, but said goodbye to Ozzie Guillen, Sergio Santos, Carlos Quentin, and Mark Buehrle.

Major League Signings

International Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

White Sox GM Kenny Williams has always marched to the beat of a different drum, and this offseason was no exception.  While Williams met expectations by sitting out free agency and trading some veterans, he also authored a surprising extension and bucked industry consensus in the nuances of his trades.

In September, Williams pulled off a rare type of trade, sending allowing manager Ozzie Guillen to join the Marlins for Marinez and Martinez.  Marinez and Martinez profile as a setup man and utility infielder, but it's still a win to get potential big leaguers for a manager who had seemingly already checked out.  I see the appeal of replacing Guillen with Ventura, who might be Guillen's polar opposite but also a fan favorite.  Someone like Davey Martinez might have been a more practical choice, however.

Sergio Santos seemed like a building block for the White Sox, even if they were mostly punting on the 2012 season.  Santos was extended to a team-friendly deal in September, but traded to the Blue Jays in December with no advance warning.  The hard-throwing 28-year-old closer was not known to be available.  In the trade, Williams placed his bet on a lone prospect, 23-year-old starter Nestor Molina.  Despite dominant numbers at High-A and in a short Double-A stint last year, Molina is seen by prospect experts as a back-of-the-rotation type.  It's unlikely the White Sox agree with that assessment.  They certainly had inside knowledge on Molina, having hired former Blue Jays director of Latin American operations Marco Paddy prior to the trade.  Paddy later convinced Williams to spend $250K on 17-year-old Venezuelan Luis Martinez, a big step for a team typically reluctant to spend internationally outside of Cuba. 

It was in response to a question, but Williams took the leap and agreed the Santos trade was "the start of a rebuilding."  The GM qualified that by saying it wasn't a "falling domino rebuilding," because the offers for his starting pitching were lacking.  Williams backed up his words by extending Danks about three weeks later.  Coming off his worst season in quite a while, Danks didn't give much of a discount on the eve of his contract year.  The White Sox made a sizeable five-year commitment, including four free agent seasons at $14.25MM apiece.  Just 27 in April, Danks represented a better investment to the White Sox than longtime ace Buehrle, who had recently signed a four-year, $58MM free agent deal with Ozzie Guillen's Miami Marlins.  

Danks' 2011 season was all over the map, with a reduced strikeout rate against left-handed hitters, an awful May, and strong work from June through August sandwiching a month missed from an oblique strain.  In three seasons prior, he'd posted a 3.61 ERA over 608 1/3 innings.  Danks' extension includes a full no-trade clause only for 2012, so Williams retains flexibility for a future trade.  Danks' rotation-mate Gavin Floyd seems more likely to be dealt in the near future, as a solid mid-rotation starter who can be controlled through 2013.  If the Sox aren't contending but Floyd has a decent first half, he'll be one of the better starters available. 

Quentin, on the other hand, was not extended heading into his contract year.  The 29-year-old right fielder was dealt to San Diego for pitching prospects Castro and Hernandez.  Castro, the headliner, has decent upside even after a lost 2011 season.  Still, no one considers him among the best 100 prospects in the game.  Unlike the Santos trade, I think the White Sox were just taking the best they could find for Quentin rather than bucking industry consensus in their prospect evaluations.  Quentin is good for only 120 games per season, his defense is average at best, and his OBP is respectable by virtue of getting hit by a pitch 20 times a year.  He's not the type of difference-maker for which a team can extract top prospects.

Frasor was an unnecessary bullpen luxury for the Sox even with Santos gone, so Williams shipped him back to the Blue Jays for a couple of prospects.  The deal justified Chicago's earlier decision to exercise Frasor's club option.

Ventura will provide a fresh outlook for the White Sox, especially since he has no prior coaching experience.  His hire signals a youth movement, and the White Sox need results from Dayan Viciedo, Brent Morel, Gordon Beckham, and Chris Sale.  However,  the team's 2012 chances still hinge on disappointing well-paid players such as Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, and Jake Peavy.

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