Odds and Ends, Prospects Edition: Kendry Morales, Dayan Viciedo, Logan Morrison
Some news from the winter leagues and beyond:
- Kendry Morales homered and doubled in Dominican Winter League play yesterday. "Morales is 9-for-23 and has homered in four of his six games in the Dominican Republic," reports Rotoworld. "He’s trying to force the Angels to open up either first base or DH for him next year." Of course, if the Angels can’t re-sign Mark Teixeira, Morales may not have to do much forcing (as the Angels have known all along).
- Seen as the future "Babe Ruth of Cuba" until he defected, Dayan Viciedo has been cleared by MLB to be a free agent. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has the White Sox ready to snap up the third-base prospect, who is still just 19.
- First-baseman Justin Smoak, the Rangers’ first-round pick this year, is hitting .389 in the Arizona Fall League. The AFL is quite a ways from MLB, but even so, I can’t help but think that the last thing the Rangers really need in their pipeline is more offense…
- Another first-base prospect, the Marlins’ Logan Morrison, is leading the AFL in batting average (.457), currently has a 12-game hit streak and has 5 homers through 17 games. Morrison was a 22nd-round pick in 2005, but has come a long way, writes ESPN.com’s Jason Grey, who sees in him the man to anchor Florida’s ‘initial sack’ in the future.
- A little more on those two Indian pitching prospects, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel — 19 years old, they pitched in front of 30 scouts in Arizona on Thursday. Patel hit 90 mph on the radar gun during a 30-pitch session, Singh 84 mph. The two former javelin throwers managed a few breaking balls, as well, and agent Jeff Borris said he expected "multiple offers." No word on whether those offers have come in.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Nationals, Manny, Peavy, Vazquez
We’ve already touched on Ken Rosenthal’s Matt Holliday update, but there are other good tidbits in the article as well:
- "Club officials believe" that the Nationals are "reasonably close to a breakthrough." They blame 2008’s sorry performance on the raft of injuries Washington suffered, which is why they’re willing to spend now for a big bat — the key names floating around have been the aforementioned Holliday, Adam Dunn, and Mark Teixeira, though Rosenthal seems skeptical they could snag any of them. But what about Manny Ramirez? "Jim Bowden, the Nats’ unconventional GM, probably would love the idea, but D.C. might not be big enough for Manny and Barack Obama." Looking at the impact that Manny has had on the LA’s attendance, and looking at the empty seats at Nationals Park, it could make sense.
- Obligatory Jake Peavy update: Padres discuss keeping the ace, Braves grow impatient. Cubs are still in the mix, while the Dodgers and Yankees are "on the backburner." (Buster Olney had a subtly different take posted a few hours later — that Peavy would be dealt before the turkey hits the sideboard.) Rosenthal also quotes Pads GM Kevin Towers as wanting to move the fences in at Petco (which is hard enough just to write without typing in "cavernous" as an automatic prefix).
- The Mets, among other ballclubs, are interested in Rays’ righties Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson, but the Rays are in no hurry to make a deal.
- "The White Sox are in an ideal position with" Javier Vazquez if they wait until Peavy, CC Sabathia, et al are placed and then shop him, Rosenthal argues. The 32-year old righty will make $23 MM through 2010, which he calls "a bargain for a pitcher who has produced four straight 200-inning seasons, albeit with a 49-51 record and 4.41 ERA." On the other hand, Vazquez has also hit the 200-strikeout mark in each of the last two seasons.
Sarah Green can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Guerrero, Blue Jays, Reds
Links for Saturday…
- J.P. Ricciardi has begun "exploring other things" in case the Jays can’t bring back A.J. Burnett.
- The Angels aren’t discussing a contract extension with Vladimir Guerrero yet.
- Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto are off-limits according to Walk Jocketty.
- The White Sox are interested in a 19-year-old Cuban third base prospect, Dayan Viciedo. Ken Williams, who has a history of acquiring Cuban players, may have the inside track on signing Viciedo.
- The Astros signed a young international player of their own, Chia-Jen Lo. They announced Friday that they signed the 22-year-old Taiwanese righty to a minor league contract.
- The Rockies added a 16-year-old Venezuelan pitcher, Alving Mejias.
Odds and Ends: Tazawa, Young, Kouzmanoff
Links for Friday. As always, I’ll update this post with more stuff so refresh later if you’re interested.
- Nick Piecoro suggests catcher Miguel Montero could be the D’Backs’ best trade chip. Their needs will be second base and perhaps starting pitching.
- The Marlins’ top priority is improving their defense.
- Dave Cameron takes apart Scott Boras’ claim about Oliver Perez. If more of these client books leak out, Boras is going to have to hire Cameron to keep him quiet.
- White Sox GM Ken Williams talked about adding speed from within, though Williams is notoriously unpredictable.
- Two 19 year-old Indian men named Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel will try out in front of Major League scouts today after winning the Million Dollar Arm contest. The idea of the contest was to find raw talent among India’s huge population, kids who could hit 85mph consistently. The Red Sox and Indians are among the clubs in attendance.
- The Phillies may be interested in Junichi Tazawa, though Ruben Amaro’s "We know of him" comment isn’t exactly an endorsement. The Indians, Yankees, and D’Backs will pass on Tazawa, who could command $7MM.
- Also at NPB Tracker, a second Japanese club hopes to convince the Rangers to trade Nelson Cruz. Doesn’t make much sense for Texas.
- Amaro is figuring out his front office; Chuck LaMar has been promoted to assistant GM.
- Chris De Luca’s sources close to Bud Selig say there’s "zero chance" Bud and the owners let Mark Cuban buy the Cubs.
- Baseball America has the full list of 561 minor league free agents. See anyone you like?
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire looks at the notable waiver claims of the past few years.
- Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto says the Twins are reportedly willing to trade Delmon Young to the Padres for Kevin Kouzmanoff.
Mets Revamping The Bullpen
The Mets’ primary focus this winter is to completely revamp their bullpen. Ken Davidoff and Joel Sherman outline Plan A: free agents. Names in the mix: Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, Joe Beimel, Juan Cruz, and Chad Cordero. Sherman figures the Mets are in a good position because most of the other big-market teams aren’t looking for a closer.
Plan B: trades. The Mets have already discussed Bobby Jenks with the White Sox. J.J. Putz, Huston Street, and Kevin Gregg are the other names. It all depends on how much young talent Omar Minaya wants to sacrifice.
As a corollary to Plan B, the Mets want to ship out Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman, and Scott Schoeneweis. They hope to clear payroll and/or bring in other relievers in these trades. Davidoff says Heilman has plenty of admirers.
Another note from Sherman – the Mets "could be interested" in Jason Varitek if the price comes down but Varitek doesn’t re-sign with Boston. In another article, Davidoff lays out Plans A, B, and C for both the Mets and Yankees.
Rockies Rumors: Holliday, Taveras, Atkins
4:54pm: More Rockies chatter from Troy Renck. The Rockies intend to sort out the Holliday/Atkins trade situations before moving on to other concerns such as the bullpen. They do like the idea of bringing Jeremy Affeldt back, though. Renck has the Twins and Indians kicking the tires on Atkins, while Tracy Ringolsby believes Michael Cuddyer could be a fit for Colorado.
11:18am: The latest Rockies buzz…
- Buster Olney says the Rockies are very motivated to move Matt Holliday. Olney wonders if the Rox might end up taking a bit less than expected for him. Troy Renck says various execs see the A’s and Phillies as the most likely matches for Holliday. The Rays are another possibility. GM Dan O’Dowd will be open-minded about the return.
- Renck also says the White Sox have contacted the Rockies about Willy Taveras.
- Renck talked to the agent for Doug Brocail, Brandon Lyon, and Kyle Farnsworth. All three are open to pitching in Colorado.
- Tracy Ringolsby says the Rockies have had "initial talks" with the Twins regarding Garrett Atkins. He wonders if the Angels could jump in later.
- Ringolsby suggests Brad Penny would be an interesting candidate for the Rockies.
Heyman’s Latest: Furcal, Jenks, Nats, Yankees, White Sox
Here are a few of the latest notes from Jon Heyman…
- The Dodgers offered Rafael Furcal a two-year deal worth $25-30MM. A source close to Furcal told Heyman that the Dodgers know that it will take more and at least eight teams have expressed interest in Furcal.
- In the same piece Heyman says the White Sox are open to trading Bobby Jenks, but Heyman’s source says it will "take quite a bit."
- Heyman says the Nationals are not likely to land any of the big names they covet noting they do not have the pieces for a trade and few free agents would be willing to play for a 100-loss team. Heyman does say Adam Dunn could be one player that is willing to sign with the Nats based on his relationship with Jim Bowden.
- Heyman says the Yankees may be serious about trading for Mike Cameron noting that they have even asked for Alex Rodriguez’ opinion of his former teammate.
- Heyman reports that the White Sox could trade several of their bigger players. Most of the names have been heard here over the last couple of days, but one we haven’t heard in a while is Paul Konerko. Heyman says Konerko could be an attractive backup plan to any team that fails to sign Mark Teixeira. Heyman also says the White Sox could go after Orlando Hudson if they can unload some of their bigger contracts.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: White Sox, Royals, Jays, Crede, Hosmer
A few notes from the MLBiverse…
- Ken Williams says the White Sox are in a position where they could either add more young players to develop or add some veteran pieces to the group. Williams says whichever road they choose, the team is "in a pretty good position."
- Joe Posnanski, on his blog, takes a look at some recent rumors surrounding the Royals. He feels that is the rumors have any truth to them, they are scary, noting that it would lead to an OBP-deprived lineup. Posnanski feels Dayton Moore is a "smart baseball man" and won’t make the moves being rumored.
- Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star looks at the Jays roster and dreams about the free agents that could fill in the holes.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says Joe Crede will not return to the White Sox.
- DraftInfo talked to Eric Hosmer about his first year as a pro. Hosmer discussed the Pedro Alvarez situation, noting that he was never worried with Scott Boras as his agent.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Giants Rumors: Burrell, Rollins, Rowand
THURSDAY: More Giants info, courtesy of John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. GM Brian Sabean is looking for offense in the infield, but he considers Cain untouchable. Jonathan Sanchez or various pitching prospects could be trade bait instead.
Sabean also met with the agents for various free agent hitters and relievers, including Orlando Hudson and Bob Howry.
WEDNESDAY: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has some interesting rumors this evening.
- Baggarly believes the rumor of the Giants’ interest in Rafael Furcal makes sense, as it’d solidify their middle infield situation.
- He doesn’t see the Giants signing Pat Burrell, given their desire to get younger and more athletic. Still, he expects Brian Sabean to check in on him.
- Here’s a new one: Baggarly’s heard the Phillies will listen to offers for shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Rollins is owed just $23.5MM over the next three seasons.
- Scott Eyre enjoyed his time with the Phillies, though the Giants could take a shot at bringing him back.
- Baggarly doesn’t buy any of the Bengie Molina trade rumors. He gives a 75% chance Matt Cain stays put.
- Baggarly expects the Giants to quietly explore the market for Aaron Rowand, which could include the Yankees and White Sox. Rowand is owed $44MM over the next four seasons, and has no-trade protection.
Mets Prioritize Pitching
9:15pm: Michael Schmidt has a look at the amusing binder the Boras Corporation compiled to sell Oliver Perez.
6:31pm: Mets GM Omar Minaya commented on Manny Ramirez, indicating that he plans to invest in pitching instead.
2:34pm: The Mets expressed preliminary interest in Jon Garland and Ryan Dempster, according to Ken Davidoff. Dempster’s agent made it clear that he won’t be re-signing with the Cubs soon.
1:23pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote in his blog this morning that the Mets are probably not willing to go past three years for Francisco Rodriguez or any reliever.
10:03am: More Mets chatter from Joel Sherman of the New York Post. He says the Mets and Rays have had preliminary discussions about Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine. The Rays have some interest in Aaron Heilman, though the Mets would need to give more.
Sherman believes the Mets’ interest in Ibanez is minor, and Carlos Delgado or Ryan Church would have to be dealt first.
9:45am: The Mets are prioritizing pitching this winter, based on articles by Mike Puma of the New York Post, Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, and Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Let’s dig in!
- Puma says the Mets have Scott Boras clients Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe on the radar. Perez offers the benefit of familiarity, though he’s not likely to sign quickly. Ken Rosenthal says the Mets would probably do $12MM a year for Perez, but Boras will want more. Rubin notes that Lowe is doubly attractive to the Mets for his closing experience.
- Rubin lists the Rockies, Cardinals, Cubs, and D’Backs as potential trade destinations for Aaron Heilman. The Rays have also been connected to Heilman.
- Davidoff mentions Omar Minaya’s Javier Vazquez connection. ESPN’s Keith Law says the Vazquez to the Mets rumor "appears to have originated in the Chicago camp, and the White Sox are keen to move him."
- ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Mets inquired on Rays pitcher Edwin Jackson.
- Davidoff also points out the Mets’ interest in Raul Ibanez despite their emphasis on pitching. The Royals and Cubs are also in on Ibanez so far.