Heyman On Peavy, Tigers, Cliff Lee
The latest from SI.com's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman lists 30 breakout candidates for 2009, headed by Paul Maholm of the Pirates.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers had this to say regarding trading Jake Peavy midseason: "If we start spinning our wheels, we might engage in discussions." ESPN's Buster Olney also wrote about Peavy this morning, noting that the Cubs were "much closer than anybody realized at the time" to acquiring Peavy this winter. Towers gave Olney a similar quote about Peavy – he doesn't want to think about it right now but if the team is out of contention it's possible.
- Heyman names the Tigers and Blue Jays as teams that may look to dump salary this summer. He speculates on names such as Jeremy Bonderman, Brandon Inge, Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez, Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells, and Scott Rolen.
- Cliff Lee is a tricky case for an extension, but the Indians told his agent Darek Braunecker they'd let him throw out a bid. Braunecker didn't bite, and negotiations are not expected to take place during the season. You have to wonder if Lee will be traded next winter or at the 2010 trade deadline.
Padres Acquire Edward Mujica
WEDNESDAY: Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the Padres acquired Mujica from the Indians. Brock reports the same. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the Indians will receive a player to be named later or cash. Click here to read Paul DePodesta's thoughts on Mujica.
Additionally, Krasovic says the Padres shipped minor league pitcher Manny Ayala to the Phillies.
TUESDAY: According to MLB.com's Corey Brock, the Padres continue to eye the trade market for a hard-throwing reliever with late-inning potential. Like recent acquisition Eulogio De La Cruz, the focus is on pitchers who are out of options.
Brock says the Padres might have interest in Cleveland's Ed Mujica. Mujica, 25 in May, hasn't had big league success in recent years but did average 92.5 mph on his fastball in '08.
My own speculation – another name to watch might be Fernando Nieve, who the Mets recently claimed from the Astros but then placed back on waivers. Here's the partial list of other out of options players I cobbled together earlier this year.
Odds & Ends: Colletti, Youkilis, Turnbow
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Rays info from Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times: they're trying to figure out a way to keep Jason Isringhausen, and they've released pitcher Chuck Tiffany (part of the Danys Baez trade in '06).
- In talking to Ramona Shelburne of the L.A. Daily News, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti explained his success reading the market this offseason. He also said, "I believe there will be some players available on July 31st that normally would never be available."
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday reminds us of past trade discussions involving Kevin Youkilis, before he was highly regarded.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis notes that the Cubs released "three of their top picks from the last six drafts this spring: outfielder Ryan Harvey, the sixth overall pick in 2003; righthander Grant Johnson, a second-rounder in 2004; and lefty Mark Pawelek, the 20th overall choice in 2005."
- According to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, Rangers reliever Derrick Turnbow's opt-out date is Thursday. He's talking to his agent about whether he should head to Triple A Oklahoma.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince says lefty reliever Juan Lara signed a minor league deal with the Indians – "just 16 months after a car accident nearly took his life."
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Yankees, Young, Barfield
Your Saturday night links, with more to come…
- Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com takes a look at the Cardinals' third base race. Brian Barden appears doubtful to win the job, however temporary it may be, despite a .344 spring record.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi could decide to start the season without a designated long reliever, according to Peter Abraham of The Journal News. Alfredo Aceves, Dan Giese and Brett Tomko would be the casualties of that decision.
- Dmitri Young told Chico Harlan of the Washington Post that he plans to be on the Nationals' 25-man roster when the team heads north.
- Josh Barfield has claimed the Indians' final roster spot. His versatility apparently won him the job.
- Can't get enough of MLBTR? Follow the action on Twitter. And if you're feeling really adventurous, why not add me, your good friend Drew Silva?
Indians Won’t Negotiate With Cliff Lee
SATURDAY, 3:41pm: Indians GM Mark Shapiro brushed aside reporters Saturday when asked why negotiations won't take place this season (quote courtesy of CBSSports.com):
"Over the course of spring training, we meet with a number of player agents," Shapiro said. "Consistent with that, we talked with Darek Braunecker, who represents Cliff. Other than that, there's really nothing for me to say. We never talk about negotiations."
THURSDAY, 8:57pm: According to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Indians told reigning Cy Young winner Cliff Lee they will not negotiate an extension with him right now due to the economy. The Indians have a reasonable $9MM option on Lee for 2010, and he'll be eligible for free agency after that.
Lee's agent Darek Braunecker (of A.J. Burnett fame) confirmed the Indians' stance with Hoynes after meeting with the team. Braunecker does not plan to discuss an extension during the season, and Lee noted that the player gains leverage when he enters his free agent year. So the Indians would probably have to make a convincing offer to lock him up during the 2009-10 offseason after they exercise his option.
Lee is having a rough Spring Training – 25 hits and 16 earned runs allowed in 11.6 innings.
Pirates Ramp Up Interest In Ohman
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have ramped up their interest in free agent lefty Will Ohman. The Bucs made an offer Saturday for one year plus an option, and Ohman's agent countered yesterday. Ohman's still looking for a $2MM salary. Dialogue is ongoing with the Pirates.
Kovacevic names a slew of other teams in on Ohman: the Giants, Dodgers, Marlins, Nationals, and Indians. He says the Nats and Indians are new to the mix.
My opinion – it'd be odd to see the Nationals sign Ohman after Joe Beimel, but they could be trying to build up a trade surplus. The Pirates would have one given the presence of John Grabow.
Indians Claim Jae Kuk Ryu
According to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, the Indians claimed righty Jae Kuk Ryu off waivers from the Padres today. Ryu had arthroscopic elbow surgery in July. No offense to Ryu, but it's not a good sign when the pitching-starved Padres don't have room for you.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bucs, Jays, Pedro, Pudge, Phils, Twins
On this date 72 years ago, in what may have been the biggest trade in Negro League history, Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson were traded from the Pittsburgh Crawfords to the Homestead Grays for $25K and two players. Earlier this week, Pudge Rodriguez, one of the greatest catchers of this generation, became the latest big-name free agent to find a home. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Pirate Revolution takes a look at some players that could become available for the Pirates in the next two weeks as teams trim their rosters, including Jeff Niemann.
- The 2012 payroll commitments in the AL East do not sit well with Drunk Jays Fans.
- MLB Notebook attempts to calculate exactly how much teams should be willing to give Pedro Martinez.
- Jorge Says No! says the Astros and Pedro are a good match and the recent signing of Pudge is an indication that the Astros are going for it this season.
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham says Pudge "fooled" the Astros into giving him $1.5MM.
- The Fightins try to dispel the myth that Raul Ibanez was a poor defensive addition to the Phillies.
- Twins Geek takes a look at the Twins incredible shrinking payroll.
- Fire Brand of the American League says the release of Josh Bard has much bigger implications for the Red Sox than might be evident on the surface.
- Sully Baseball takes a look at the Cleveland Indians all-time homegrown team versus their all-time acquired team.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Pudge, Gorzelanny, Miller
Your Wednesday links, with more to come…
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the Cardinals' payroll is down about $8MM heading into the '09 season.
- The Washington Post's Cameron Smith believes the Pudge Rodriguez signing "is a huge step for Houston."
- A bit of a shock out of Pirates camp: The club optioned left-hander Tom Gorzelanny to Triple-A Indianapolis.
- Chicago-area reporters don't expect the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family to be finalized before Opening Day.
- Minor league free agent Rob Flanigan has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
- According to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, 24-year-old pitching prospect Adam Miller's career might be "in jeopardy as a result of decreased range of motion and strength in his right middle finger."
- Mark it, dude: Tim's weekly chat is going down on Thursday at 2pm CST.
Offseason In Review: Cleveland Indians
The Indians are next in our Offseason In Review series. Here's what we wrote about them on September 30th. Changes for 2009:
Additions: Kerry Wood, Mark DeRosa, Carl Pavano, Luis Valbuena, Juan Salas, Joe Smith, Greg Aquino, Jack Cassel, Vinnie Chulk, Matt Herges, Tomo Ohka, Kirk Saarloos, Tony Graffanino, Jamey Carroll (exercised option). Midseason: Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, Zach Jackson, John Meloan, Anthony Reyes, Carlos Santana
Subtractions: Franklin Gutierrez, Juan Rincon, Matt Ginter, Jorge Julio. Midseason: Casey Blake, Paul Byrd, C.C. Sabathia, Jason Michaels
The Indians' offense ranked 6th in the AL last year with 4.97 runs per game. The infield was the obvious area for improvement, and GM Mark Shapiro acquired DeRosa. CHONE projections suggest bounceback years for Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, resulting in 5.37 runs per game for Cleveland. That level of scoring would've ranked second in the AL last year.
Defensively, The Fielding Bible II ranked the Indians third in the league last year. Much of that run prevention came from the departed Gutierrez, however.
The Indians set out to get a closer, and Shapiro signed Wood in mid-December. The move is risky, given Wood's injury history. Still, he was among the best relief arms available and did not cost a draft pick. The pen was also bolstered by the addition of sidearming groundballer Smith.
The big question for the 2009 Indians is the rotation. Cliff Lee is the only safe bet. They'll need Fausto Carmona to bounce back, and healthy, decent performances from Pavano and Reyes. The Indians might've been able to get a more reliable pitcher than Pavano on a one-year deal. There are several decent options for the fifth starter job, and Jake Westbrook should be back midseason.
If the Indians match last year's 761 runs allowed, they're a 92 win team. But with the loss of Gutierrez's defense, regression from Lee, and no contribution from Sabathia, that's a tall order. Still, with a middling 780 runs allowed they'd project for 90 wins.
Bottom line: Shapiro succeeded in adding an infielder and improving the bullpen. 2009 may rest on four variables: Martinez, Hafner, Pavano, and Reyes.