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Rockies Measuring Trade Interest In Paulino, Morales

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The Rockies are "expected to continue measuring trade interest" in hard-throwing pitchers Felipe Paulino and Franklin Morales, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  At least one NL Central team has expressed interest in Morales, he adds.  Both pitchers are out of options, so the Rockies can't demote them without exposing them to waivers.

Paulino, 27, was acquired from the Astros in November for Clint Barmes.  He throws hard and gets strikeouts, but allows tons of hits and plenty of walks and home runs.  He's relieving now, but has 34 career starts to his name.  Paulino missed a good chunk of 2010 with a shoulder injury. 

Morales, 25, was considered the eighth best prospect in all of baseball prior to the 2008 season, according to Baseball America.  He has a higher profile than Paulino, having made a couple of playoff starts in '07 and served as the Rockies' closer at times.  There might be five or six lefties in the Majors who throw harder than Morales.  However, he's prone to flyballs and walks and has also battled shoulder injuries.  Paulino and Morales are projects, so they make the most sense for non-contenders.

Rosenthal On Chapman, Braves, Rockies, Norris

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Aroldis Chapman went on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation today, after Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported on the Reds’ options for proceeding with the struggling Cuban left-hander. Here’s the latest on Chapman plus notes from around the league:

  • A veteran scout insists that the Reds need to demote Chapman and make him a starter, but pitching coach Bryan Price isn’t so sure that a demotion is the way to go. He points out that Sandy Koufax and Randy Johnson took time to develop. “Both struggled with command until they got enough work to figure out how their body works, how to put their hand in the right position to throw quality strikes,” Price said.
  • The Braves would ideally add a leadoff hitter and put Martin Prado second in the order, according to Rosenthal. He suggests the Braves could target leadoff options Jose Reyes, Grady Sizemore, Denard Span or David DeJesus via trade or free agency after the season.
  • The Rockies appear to be concerned about losing out of options relievers Felipe Paulino and Franklin Morales to waivers.
  • Astros GM Ed Wade says Bud Norris has become a much more mature pitcher. The 26-year-old right-hander has 60 strikeouts in 50 innings this year.

Stewart Has Discussed Trade With Rockies

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Earlier today, Rockies third baseman Ian Stewart was demoted to Triple-A for the second time this season.  This time around, Stewart is concerned that he might not make it back with the club, writes Jim Armstrong of The Denver Post.

The subject of Stewart being dealt was discussed during a meeting with GM Dan O'Dowd and manager Jim Tracy, but Stewart walked away from the meeting hoping he could still produce for the Rockies in 2011.

"I don't get the sense they're just ready to let me go at the snap of a finger. I get the sense they still believe in me and they feel like I can help this organization out this year," said the 26-year-old.

Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter) believes that the Rockies will gauge interest in Stewart but doesn't believe that they'll trade him while his value is so low.  Stewart will be arbitration-eligible for the second time this offseason.

"I don't get the sense they're just ready to let me go at the snap of a finger. I get the sense they still believe in me and they feel like I can help this organization out this year."

Read more: Rockies send down 3B Ian Stewart, welcome back Ty Wigginton – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_18059550#ixzz1MI0G0Rpj
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NL West Notes: Dodgers, Starling, Jimenez

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The Padres (127 runs scored), Giants (128) and Dodgers (140) are all among the four most feeble offenses in the National League so far. Here's the latest on the NL West…

  • Despite a weakened bullpen and a thin lineup, the Dodgers are within 3.5 games of the division lead. The team's rotation is the reason things aren't worse, manager Don Mattingly told Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.
  • D'Backs GM Kevin Towers and vice president Jerry Dipoto scouted high schooler Bubba Starling in person, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The two-sport star is athletic enough to make Bryce Harper take note; some say he can hit the ball a mile, throw 95 mph as a pitcher and toss a football 50 yards from his knees.
  • It should come as no surprise that the Scott Boras client will be an expensive sign, Piecoro explains. Nebraska wants Starling to play quarterback and center field on a scholarship, so he has leverage. Arizona has the #3 and #7 selections in the first round this June.
  • The Rockies "no longer have an ace," according to Tom Verducci of SI.com, who hears from one scout that Ubaldo Jimenez is pitching like he's hurt. His fastball has slowed down, but the Rockies say Jimenez is healthy and dealing with mechanical and command issues.

2012 Contract Issues: Colorado Rockies

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The Rockies are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series.  Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:

Eligible For Free Agency (3)

  • The Rockies don't have any crucial players eligible for free agency after the season.  Jose Lopez is the closest to a regular, but he's been terrible this year.
  • Role players Jason Giambi and Alfredo Amezaga are also eligible for free agency.

Contract Options (1)

  • Aaron Cook: $11MM mutual option with a $500K buyout.  Cook is rehabbing from a shoulder injury and a broken finger.  The Rockies won't be exercising their side of this option.

Arbitration Eligible (6)

The Rockies' arbitration class lacks intrigue as well.  Smith and Fowler may have emerged as quality regulars, but they don't have robust career numbers and won't be paid a ton.  Stewart, Spilborghs, and Paulino have struggled mightily in the early going, so they'll be eyeing the non-tender deadline with trepidation. 

2012 Payroll Obligation

The Rockies' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is $65.284MM.  This club is all about cost certainty.  We can throw in $6MM for first-timers Smith, Fowler, and Morales to get to the $71MM range, about $11MM short of this year's payroll.  One thing I haven't mentioned in these posts is that minimum-salary players require millions of dollars too, and they're not factored into these rough calculations.  At any rate, even if they let Stewart, Spilborghs, and Paulino go, the Rockies don't project to have much money to work with if they hold payroll steady.  That might be fine, because they have players they can pencil in at every spot.

Rockies Notes: Tulowitzki, Jimenez, Stewart

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Despite slow starts from Ubaldo Jimenez and Carlos Gonzalez, the Rockies lead the NL West by four games. Here's the latest…

  • Jack Etkin takes an in-depth look at Troy Tulowitzki in a piece for Baseball America. Within Etkin's article, there's word that Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd and Tulowitzki discussed an eventual position change "at length." Tulowitzki will be nearly 36 at the end of the 2020 season, the last one on his contract.
  • O'Dowd told Dave Krieger of the Denver Post that Jimenez is completely healthy, just struggling to adapt to Major League hitters in ways he hasn't had to before.
  • Ian Stewart, who was called up yesterday, is back with the Rockies for the first time in two weeks, as Steve Foster of Inside the Rockies notes.

Outrighted: Boggs, Bowker, Alan Johnson

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Today's notes on recently-outrighted players:

Stark On Beltran, Jimenez, Millwood

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The latest from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • The addition of two playoff teams could have a big effect on the American League, with certain clubs being able to aim for 89 or so wins.
  • The Mets seem more eager to trade Carlos Beltran than Jose Reyes or David Wright, says Stark, perhaps with a June deal possible for the outfielder.  The Mets appear willing to take on a portion of Beltran's $18.5MM salary to improve the return.
  • Stark says "don't be surprised" if the next labor deal makes DUIs grounds for suspension.  Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweets that Shin-Soo Choo's Monday DUI makes it six already for MLB players this year. 
  • Several scouts feel that Ubaldo Jimenez's shoulder is bothering him, despite the team's denials.  Jimenez hasn't been very impressive in any of his four starts this year.
  • An official of one team that monitored Kevin Millwood feels that he "might be done" and his stuff has regressed.  Millwood hopes to sign this week after opting out of his Yankees contract Monday.

Dead Money: Paying Players To Play Elsewhere

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Eating money in trades or by releasing players is far from an ideal business practice, but sometimes it's a necessary evil. The Mets believe they are better off paying Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo a combined $18MM not to be on their team this year, and released the two just last month. David Wharton of The Los Angeles Times wrote about the concept of "dead money" today, speaking to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, sports economist J.C. Bradbury, and Scott Boras.

With some help from Cot's Baseball Contracts, let's look at the teams that are paying players to be anywhere but on their roster this season…

This doesn't include money the Braves owe Kenshin Kawakami ($7.4MM) or the Yankees owe Kei Igawa ($4MM). Both Japanese imports remain in the organization, but they've since been banished to the minor leagues. It also doesn't include all the money the Mets famously owe Bobby Bonilla for the next two decades.

Yuniesky Betancourt is the only player collecting paychecks from three different big league teams at the moment, but Carlos Silva could join him if he's called up by the Yankees. Gary Matthews Jr. could also be in that mix if he catches on somewhere this summer.

Rockies Designate Alan Johnson For Assignment

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The Rockies designated right-hander Alan Johnson for assignment to create space on the 40-man roster, the team announced (on Twitter). In corresponding moves, Colorado called up Alfredo Amezaga and optioned Clayton Mortensen to Triple-A.

Johnson started one game for the Rockies this year, surrendering 6 hits, 3 walks and 4 earned runs in 4 innings of work on April 17th, when he made his MLB debut. The 27-year-old has since been demoted to Triple-A, where he has a 0.84 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 10 2/3 innings of work. Baseball America did not list Johnson among its top 30 Rockies prospects before the season.

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