Odds and Ends: Patterson, Lowry, Alvarez
Today’s linkage…
- Brewers fans, act quickly to snag free tickets to tonight’s game courtesy of Eric Gagne. Nice gesture.
- Of course Ned Colletti wants to re-sign Manny Ramirez. It’s just a question of dollars and years. Does Manny get the rumored 4/100 he might desire?
- The Jays locked manager Cito Gaston up through 2010.
- Richard Griffin says the Blue Jays will be better for it if they lose A.J. Burnett. Meanwhile, River Ave. Blues is open to the idea of the Yankees signing him.
- No, Corey Patterson is not dating Dusty Baker’s daughter. And Baker says he wasn’t behind the signing, either.
- The Reds might not be in the market for a catcher this winter, if they go with Ryan Hanigan as the starter in ’09.
- The Mariners officially founded the 100/100 club.
- Peter Abraham sees the Yankees going with Brett Gardner as the center fielder in 2009. Peter Gammons is "convinced he is going to be an everyday center fielder."
- Sam Mellinger discusses a way to drastically shake up the Royals: trade both Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria for loads of young, cheap players. As he notes, the strategy could work out but might cause a fan revolt.
- Andrew Baggarly wonders if Noah Lowry‘s injury problems could prevent a Matt Cain trade. Also, Baggarly sees a non-tender in Kevin Correia‘s future.
- Frank Coonelly suggested Pedro Alvarez‘s new deal is comparable in value to the original. Scott Boras then jumped on the conference call to say it was a favorable change, and much different from the original. Additionally, Coonelly contacted Baseball America’s Jim Callis to dispute the idea of a premeditated plan to negotiate with Alvarez after the deadline.
- The Marlins will focus on improving their defense this winter.
Odds and Ends: Hawkins, Pettitte, Strasburg
Rounding up the day’s links…
- Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News talks about the future of Garrett Atkins. We discussed the possibility of an Atkins trade in this post.
- MLB.com’s Jim Molony says the Astros would like to re-sign reliever LaTroy Hawkins. Amazingly, Hawkins has thrown 17 scoreless innings as an Astro.
- This is a popular link lately…Vegas Watch examines April predictions from various analysts. Meanwhile, Scott Long digs in deeper on PECOTA’s American League predictions. Personally I am more interested in the logic behind projections. Did anyone predict Rays starters to post a 3.88 ERA? Did anyone peg Dioner Navarro and Carl Crawford‘s seasons?
- Viva El Birdos hopes the Cardinals do not sign Jon Garland this winter.
- Sam Mellinger wonders how the Royals would replace David DeJesus if they traded him.
- Andy Pettitte remains undecided on 2009. He’s hinted a desire to come back, but it’s unknown whether the Yankees want him. Houston could make sense.
- The Mariners are currently in line to have first crack at drafting Stephen Strasburg. They could even use Erik Bedard‘s money to sign him.
- Javier Valentin hasn’t heard from the Reds regarding 2009.
Week in Review: 9/14 – 9/20
Another week down here at MLBTR, here’s your review!
- The Brewers fired manager Ned Yost on Monday. Yost has taken a lot of criticism, and while I personally don’t feel like it’s a bad move, it seems like an odd time to disrupt the clubhouse, given that the Brewers are right in the wild card race. Perhaps this was intended to spark the Brewers and act as a wakeup call, but they have just two wins since the move.
- In an attempt to cut payroll, the Tigers may have to move Magglio Ordonez this offseason. Ordonez will make $18MM next year and has options for 2010 and 2011. Anyone else think the Reds should make a serious run at Maggs? A lineup filled with Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Edwin Encarnacion, and Ordonez could be extremely potent, to go along with a rotation anchored by Edinson Volquez, Aaron Harang, and Johnny Cueto.
- Despite their bullpen woes, the Mets are not likely to make a run at either Francisco Rodriguez, or Brian Fuentes either. The Mets’ internal options have been bad, but K-Rod is in for a record-setting deal, and aside from the sheer number of saves, I don’t feel that his numbers stand out to the point where the team that lands him is going to get the full value of that contract. Personally, I think passing is a good decision.
- Are the Royals currently interested in making a move for Braves’ right fielder Jeff Francoeur? The Royals have very few guys with solid OBPs, and adding Francoeur to the everyday lineup doesn’t seem like the route to go. Still, he has a long-standing relationship with Royals GM Dayton Moore, so it could be a valid possibility. The Royals have said they are willing to part with anyone aside from Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, and Joakim Soria.
- The Red Sox and Theo Epstein have agreed to a contract extension.
- Things to think about for in the offseason: Kevin Gregg expects to be traded, Matt Cain wants to stay in San Francisco, Milton Bradley wants a long-term deal and feels he has a 50-50 chance at returning to the Rangers. In the meantime, likely non-tender candidates include both Josh Bard and Erik Bedard.
- Tim updated the Offseason Outlook series with entries for the Athletics, Braves, and Tigers. He also took a look at the Third Base Market, led by Casey Blake.
- And for anyone curious about Manny Ramirez’s end in Boston, here’s Curt Schilling’s take on the situation.
Odds and Ends: Sabathia, Price, Reds, Mariners, Cardinals
Ken Rosenthal says that the Brewers’ decision to start CC Sabathia on three days’ rest could hurt the free-agent hurler right before he hits the open market. And he says David Price, coming out of the bullpen, could do for the Rays this posteason what Francisco Rodriguez did for the Angels in 2002.
Dusty Baker likes the Reds’ chances in 2009. Even though they’ve got nine free agents, Baker likes their "young nucleus" and speed.
Mariners’ watchers are looking forward to the day 19-year old prospects Phillippe Aumont and Michael Pineda join the rotation—but according to that article, they may still have to wait two or three years. Three years seems excessive to me, considering that Aumont already has four pitches and that Pineda, who admittedly is still working on his third pitch, possesses an excellent command of the strike zone.
The Cardinals are dealing with some pitching uncertainty: 40-year old Russ Springer is thinking of retiring, and they’re still waiting for the results of Chris Carpenter‘s MRI.
Lou Piniella says every team is built to win the World Series: "some get a chance to, and some don’t."
Sarah Green writes for the Boston Metro and UmpBump.
Week in Review: 9/7 – 9/13
Just a few weeks left in the regular season, but plenty of news here on MLBTR still. Let’s look back at the past week:
- The Mets received terrible news when they learned that their All-Star closer, Billy Wagner, will need Tommy John surgery and miss all of 2009. Wagner does not expect to return to the Mets, and apparently the Mets have already told him his 2010 option will not be exercised. The Mets seem likely to be in the Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes mix. On that note, Fuentes will probably not return to Colorado next season.
- I’m taking this one with a grain of salt, but it sure makes for a headline: Mark McGwire would consider playing again? Big Mac says he can still hit if someone wants him. However, it seems to me there’s another 40-something former slugger with steroid allegations who says the same thing, and no one’s biting on that front…
- Adam Dunn hasn’t heard anything about a possible extension from the Diamondbacks, but he’s not worried about it. He doesn’t sound too pleased with former teammate Bronson Arroyo these days, however…
- Speaking of Dunn, the Reds officially acquired Micah Owings as part of their trade of him this week.
- Tim updated the Offseason Outlook series, with installments for the Nationals, Royals, and Pirates. He also took a look at some of the potential big-name free agents following the 2009 season.
- The Elias Rankings for American League and National League relievers are out.
- Two minor moves: The A’s released designated hitter Mike Sweeney, and the Brewers claimed pitcher Todd Coffey.
Dunn: No Word From D-Backs About Contract For Next Year
Dayton Daily News columnist Hal McCoy checks in from Phoenix, where he’s been following the Diamondbacks-Reds series. McCoy chatted with Adam Dunn before Friday’s game. He asked Dunn if he and the Diamondbacks had talked about a contract for next year and Dunn said, “No, nothing. And I’m not worried about it."
And then the talk turned to Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who recently told writers the Reds traded Dunn because he was going to ask for between $120 million and $125 million for a new contract.
“Who is he, my agent?” said Dunn. “First and foremost, I would never say anything like that. And if I did the only guy I would have said it to would have been Ken Griffey Jr. But I didn’t say it.
Did you know that Dunn and Griffey were such good friends? I didn’t.
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. He can be reached here.
Reds Officially Acquire Owings
According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds officially received pitcher Micah Owings as part of the bounty for the Adam Dunn trade. Owings dealt with shoulder stiffness shortly after the D’Backs sent him to the minors in late July.
Owings, 26 in a few weeks, posted a 5.93 ERA in 104.2 innings this year. He lost a mile an hour on his fastball, but maintained a solid strikeout rate. His control worsened, and home runs continued to be a problem. Owings’ flyball tendencies won’t be a good fit for Great American Ballpark, but he can still be a solid #4 starter when healthy.
Brewers Claim Todd Coffey
WEDNESDAY: According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Brewers claimed Coffey off waivers and designated Laynce Nix for assignment. With the Nix move, the Brewers’ summer ’06 bounty for Carlos Lee is all pretty much gone. They do have pitcher Jake Odorizzi, picked 32nd overall as compensation for Cordero.
TUESDAY: According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds designated reliever Todd Coffey for assignment today. On his 28th birthday, no less. Coffey did a fine job in ’06 (even closing for a brief period), but has struggled since.
Coffey was known for his sprint in from the bullpen, but apparently he abandoned the practice last year. This year, Coffey dropped 25 pounds in the offseason but subsequently lost a mile per hour off his fastball.
Walt Jocketty – GM Trade History
Molony’s Latest: Fuentes, Red Sox, White Sox
Here’s the latest from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.
- The Red Sox are eyeing Rockies closer Brian Fuentes, though Ken Rosenthal has said Fuentes cannot be traded this month. Plus, the Rockies still intend to make a playoff run in the weak NL West.
- The Red Sox and White Sox had scouts at Wednesday night’s Astros-Reds game. Roy Oswalt pitched that one, but he won’t be traded. The Reds still have some good trade candidates in the bullpen (David Weathers has cleared waivers, Jeremy Affeldt is a free agent after the season).