Odds & Ends: Embree, Rizzo, Votto, Rollins, Huffman
Links for Thursday…
- If you're viewing MLBTR on your cell phone, try mlbtraderumors.mobi!
- Alan Embree expects to exercise the opt out clause in his contract if he's not added to the Red Sox's big league roster by April 15th, reports WEEI.com's Ethan Landy.
- MASNSports.com about how a Major League trade comes together. Check it out, very interesting stuff.
- C. Trent Rosecrans of CNATI.com learned from Reds GM Walt Jocketty last night that the team has yet to have contract extension discussions with first baseman Joey Votto. Yesterday we speculated on what it might take to lock Votto up long-term.
- An interesting Rays-centric back-and-forth continues, with Jeff Passan filing a reubttal on Jonah Keri's site.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy looks at the recent instances of teams signing home-grown pitchers to extensions.
- Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was on the Dan Patrick Show talking about the surprise he and Jayson Werth felt when Cliff Lee was dealt. Rollins said the Yankees would've kept Lee and Roy Halladay and made a run with the pair of aces.
- Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains that while it was painful to lose Chad Huffman to a waiver claim, there's a silver lining in the organization's improved depth.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has the details on Josh Beckett's new contract with the Red Sox, which totals $68,520,403.
- Many lesser-known players have been released in recent days; Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the details.
Odds & Ends: Lerew, Cuba, Coonelly, Hechavarria
Links for Wednesday…
- Anthony Lerew cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A, tweets Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. The Royals designated Lerew for assignment over the weekend.
- Kat O'Brien of The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote a very interesting piece about what happens in Cuba once their players defect. Said one local cab driver: "[Aroldis] Chapman doesn't exist. He never existed."
- Pirates' team president Frank Coonelly chatted with fans at MLB.com. He fielded a question about what the Pirates would do with the second overall pick in June's draft if for some reason the Nationals pass on Bryce Harper.
- The Tigers released minor leaguer Kory Casto, reports Tom Gage of The Detroit News. Casto had been signed to a minor league deal after a .271/.334/.378 performance for the Nationals' Triple A club. Baseball America ranked him fourth among Nats prospects heading into the '07 season.
- Which of Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit is most likely to be traded this summer? Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tackles the question.
- SI's Jon Heyman speculates that the Phillies would probably have to trade Raul Ibanez to be able to retain Jayson Werth after this season.
- Adeiny Hechavarria's visa has been approved and he's headed to the U.S. to take his physical this week for the Blue Jays, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan suggests the Rays will have long-term difficulty competing, while Jonah Keri offers a rebuttal.
- Rocco Baldelli still has hopes of playing baseball, according to this FOX Sports Florida article. He's currently rehabbing a shoulder injury and working with Rays minor leaguers.
- ESPN's Adam Rubin says the Mets will not place Canadian third base prospect Shawn Bowman on waivers until they've exhausted trade possibilites.
- In search of an accurate Mariners payroll number, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times arrives at about $93MM.
- Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies explains why free agent Braden Looper would be a good fit for Colorado. On a related note, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post learned that the Rockies are not interested in Jarrod Washburn.
- Elsewhere on the "nothing brewing" front, Jim Bowden of FOX Sports tweets that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told him the team has had no discussions regarding Pedro Martinez.
Blocked Prospects: Yonder Alonso
The Reds have successful drafted and developed their first baseman of the future, and it's not 2008 first round pick Yonder Alonso. Joey Votto, a second round pick back in 2002, has emerged as one of the game's best young hitters, posting the fourth highest OPS (.981) in baseball last year. Tim mentioned Votto as a young player with a chance to receive a contract extension, and went so far as to find some comparables.
Baseball America ranked Alonso the 45th best prospect in the game, while ESPN's Keith Law had him 76th. Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein left him off his Top 101 Prospects List entirely. In their 2010 Handbook, Baseball America rated Alonso the team's second best prospect (though that was before the Aroldis Chapman signing) and wrote that he is "the purest hitter in the system and has above-average power." Though he missed a big chunk of the 2009 season with a hamate injury, Alonso hit .292/.374/.464 across three levels.
As the 7th overall pick in 2008, Alonso received a Major League contract that put him on the 40-man roster immediately and will pay him $4.55MM through 2012. The clock is ticking on Alonso's three option years, which will expire after the 2011 season, however it's worth noting that he'll qualify for the rare fourth option because his original three will be used before his fifth pro season. Regardless, Cincinnati is in a bit of a pickle because they have a highly touted first base prospect ready to start the season in Double-A, and a 26-year-old franchise player at the same position.
Rumors swirled last year that the Reds would try Alonso behind the plate, but he doesn't have the body for it and it's a position that takes quite some time to learn. MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that Alonso will play left field this year, which is exactly what the Padres did with Kyle Blanks when he approached the big leagues blocked by Adrian Gonzalez. If the experiment in left doesn't go as planned, Alonso will be a prime piece of trade bait.
When it comes to comparable prospects being traded, the first name that comes to mind is Matt LaPorta. The Brewers selected him in the first round despite having Prince Fielder in the big leagues, but used him to headline a package for CC Sabathia, who helped them get to the playoffs. If the Reds contend this year or next, Alonso could be the guy to get them the piece needed to put them over the top. For now, he'll try out left field and continue to develop at Double-A.
Discussion: Joey Votto Extension
We haven't heard anything about the Reds considering an extension offer for first baseman Joey Votto, but he's high on our speculative list of candidates.
Votto, 26, finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2008 and followed with an even better performance in his second full season. Unfortunately, issues related to the passing of Votto's father affected him early in '09.
Votto will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season. The Reds signed him for $550K for 2010, throwing several extra tens of thousands his way in the name of goodwill. Let's consider a few possible comparables for Votto:
- Adam Lind recently signed a four-year, $18MM deal with the Blue Jays with three club options. He gave up his three arbitration years for $15MM. The option years cover his first three years of free agent eligibility and are in the $7-8MM range. At this stage in their careers Votto has the batting average advantage, home runs are about even, and Lind wins in RBIs and runs. Votto's other advantages: a strong rookie season and the ability to play a respectable first base. Lind has split his time between left field and DH.
- Kevin Youkilis signed a four-year, $41.125MM deal in January of '09. The deal bought out two remaining arbitration years and two free agent seasons, with a club option on a third. The difference is that Youkilis was less accomplished in every way when he reached arbitration for the first time, and the Red Sox didn't lock him up until a year later.
- Mark Reynolds was signed with 1689 plate appearances across roughly 2.8 seasons whereas Votto will have roughly 1870 across 3.2 seasons. Plus Reynolds was signed a year prior to arbitration-eligibility. Reynolds' three arbitration years went for $23.5MM, assuming the D'Backs pick up his 2013 option.
- Prince Fielder gave up his first two arbitration years for $18MM. This is another tough comp because with three years service time, Fielder outpaced where I project Votto to be in all categories except batting average. Plus, Scott Boras drove a hard bargain and didn't give up Fielder's third arb year or any free agent years.
- Ryan Zimmerman stacks up OK, although he had a .282 average and 58 home runs at the time of his deal against a projected .308 and 83 for Votto. He gave up the same five-year slice of his career the Reds might crave for Votto, at a price of $45MM.
- I think a five-year deal in the $50MM range would make sense for the Reds and Votto. He'd give up his three arbitration years for roughly $22MM, plus a couple of free agent years for $14MM each. Of course, a lot depends on Votto's 2010 season. Keeping CHONE's rates but upping the at-bats to 575, Votto is projected for something like a .303 average, 29 home runs, 99 RBIs, and 85 runs.
Offseason Questions For The NL Central
With the offseason and our team-by-team reviews in the books, we're asking questions of each club. Let's try the NL Central.
- Limited by the Milton Bradley situation this offseason, did the Cubs add enough pitching in Carlos Silva and John Grabow?
- Will Reds free agent signings Orlando Cabrera and Ramon Hernandez be upgrades over Paul Janish and Ryan Hanigan? Did the short-term gain of freeing up 2010 payroll justify adding two years to Scott Rolen's contract?
- Will Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom effectively replace LaTroy Hawkins and Jose Valverde at the back end of the Astros' bullpen? Will free agent additions Brett Myers and Pedro Feliz lead the way in a stellar run prevention season, offsetting an apparently weak offense?
- Despite bad pitching contracts on the books, Brewers GM Doug Melvin committed $50MM to four hurlers. Will the Brewers at least cobble together an above-average staff for 2010?
- Should the Pirates have gotten something in return for Matt Capps or held on to him until his value improved? At the price of $4.85MM and Jesse Chavez, did they overpay for a year of Akinori Iwamura?
- Could the Cardinals have re-signed Matt Holliday for significantly less? Will Brad Penny blossom under Dave Duncan and justify a hefty $7.5MM guarantee?
Reds DFA Miles, Balentien
The Reds have designated Aaron Miles and Wladimir Balentien for assignment, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of CNati.com (Twitter link). We heard on the weekend that the Reds were likely to designate the pair for assignment to create roster space if GM Walt Jocketty didn't find a trade partner.
The Mariners designated Balentien for assignment last summer, before the Reds acquired the outfielder leading up to the trade deadline. The Reds would acquire Miles six months later for Adam Rosales and Willy Taveras in a bad contract swap.
Miles hit .185/.224/.242 in 170 plate appearances for the Cubs last year and followed that up with a .152/.222/.212 performance this spring. It's hard to imagine any team claiming him. Balentien hit a more robust .327/.353/.571 this spring; in 295 plate appearances last year, he hit .234/.305/.385.
Reds Notes: Wells, Chapman, Leake, Balentien, Miles
A few Reds-related items to round up:
- The team has released Kip Wells, according to the club's official Twitter page. They had signed the veteran right-hander to a minor league deal earlier in the winter.
- Aroldis Chapman is among the players listed in the same tweet that will head to the Reds' Triple A affiliate in Louisville.
- Mike Leake, Cincinnati's first round pick in last year's draft, has earned a spot in the rotation as the team's fifth starter, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Sheldon points out that Leake will be the first drafted pitcher to skip the Minor Leagues entirely since Darren Dreifort, and ESPN.com's Rob Neyer adds that no starting pitcher has pulled off the feat since Jim Abbott in 1989.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Wladimir Balentien and Aaron Miles remain on the roster for now, but will not be on the team. GM Walt Jocketty says that the club will try to trade them in the next few days, if possible. Fay adds in a tweet that the pair will be designated for assignment on Sunday.
Odds & Ends: Rays, Reds, Pettitte, Robertson
Here are some links for the day…
- Rays GM Andrew Friedman told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he "doesn't expect" to go outside of the organization for bullpen help (Twitter link). The Rays already added Virgil Vasquez today.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that the team could make a midseason deal or two.
- Andy Pettitte hinted to the YES Network's Jack Curry that this may be his last season. The lefty says he wants to spend more time with his family.
- Nate Robertson tells Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald that he's glad to be back in Florida, especially since he's surrounded by a number of former Tigers.
- Jayson Werth says he isn't thinking about his upcoming contract year, but Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson told Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that it can become a distraction for lots of players.
- Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle says Buster Posey will likely start the year in the minors, partly because the Giants wouldn't mind slowing down the catcher's service time clock.
- Johnny Damon tells the Associated Press that he has been impressed with the Tigers this spring.
- Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team's front office has been a "pleasant surprise" so far.
Odds & Ends: Padron, Washburn, Moeller, Chapman
Links for Tuesday…
- I joined Jeff & Jeff on KNFS 590 St. Louis today; click here to listen to audio.
- Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald tweets that the Red Sox signed 22-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Padron to a minor league deal with a $350K bonus. Cuban Ball Players has a bit on Padron here.
- SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Royals will join the Mariners in the Jarrod Washburn bidding. Heyman first made the Royals-Washburn connection on January 11th, but nothing much came of it.
- Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times spoke to Orlando Cabrera, Tony Reagins, and Walt Jocketty about the decline in multiyear free agent contracts.
- Rays first baseman Dan Johnson cleared waivers and accepted a Triple A assignment, tweets Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun feels that Orioles catcher Chad Moeller is unlikely to accept a minor league assignment now that the team has chosen Craig Tatum to back up Matt Wieters.
- Aroldis Chapman is expected to begin the season in the minors, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs praises the Rockies for their player development, but questions their offseason tweaking. For more on that topic, check out our Rockies offseason in review.
- Rich Hill, recently reassigned to Triple A, can elect free agency around June if he's not in the Majors according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Odds & Ends: Braun, Reds, Marlins, Washburn
A few more Friday links for your browsing pleasure…
- Speaking to Tim Allen of 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee (via SportsRadioInterviews.com), Ryan Braun said he has no regrets about signing an eight-year $45MM deal with the Brewers in 2008.
- The Reds haven't been very involved in trade discussions during the spring, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (Twitter link) thinks the Marlins will fill out their bullpen via a waiver claim or trade.
- Larry Stone of The Seattle Times would like to see the Mariners get something done with Jarrod Washburn.
- Cristian Guzman is making a case to be the Nationals' starting shortstop, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson. If the Nats named Guzman the starter, Ian Desmond would start the season at Triple-A so he could play every day.
- In his latest mailbag, Scott Merkin of MLB.com answers questions about the futures of A.J. Pierzynski and Jermaine Dye. He also gives his opinion on which player would be the ideal big-name trade target for the White Sox.