Rockies Rumors

Odds & Ends: Lerew, Cuba, Coonelly, Hechavarria

By Tim Dierkes | April 7, 2010 at 9:02pm CDT

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.

Odds & Ends: Beckett, Lind, Cardinals

By Tim Dierkes | April 6, 2010 at 5:54pm CDT

Why isn't there more baseball today? Links for Tuesday…

BoSox manager Terry Francona is glad that the organization hammered out Josh Beckett's extension before it became a media circus, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.
I'll be joining Jeff & Jeff on KFNS St. Louis today at 1:25pm CST. Click here to listen live.
SI's Jon Heyman wonders if the Diamondbacks and Rockies will get in on free agent lefty Jarrod Washburn.
Josh Beckett initially wanted to top Carlos Zambrano's five-year, $91.5MM deal, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford. The market has changed since that deal was signed in August of '07, and the Red Sox secured Beckett for four years and $68MM.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says rival agents are exasperated by Adam Lind's four-year, $18MM extension, given the three club options. Frustrated agents – always a good sign for the team.
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch analyzes changes in the Cardinals' Opening Day payroll compared to '09.
Steve Sommer of FanGraphs finds the best one-year deals at $2MM guaranteed or less for 2009, with Carl Pavano's Indians contract leading the way.
The Twins look at seven factors when considering signing a young player to a long-term extension, learned Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Baseball America's Will Lingo puts together a list of lesser-known future GM candidates in the latest Ask BA.

Offseason Questions For The NL West

By Tim Dierkes | April 6, 2010 at 1:43pm CDT

The Offseason In Review series is complete, and now the NL West steps up to the plate for a series of questions.

Did the Diamondbacks upgrade in going from Max Scherzer to the more expensive Edwin Jackson? Will Brandon Webb supply five strong months and justify his $6.5MM net option price?
Was it necessary for the Rockies to sign Rafael Betancourt and Huston Street to multiyear deals, since they controlled both for 2009 already? Are the Rockies sending mixed messages at the catcher position, signing Miguel Olivo weeks after extending Chris Iannetta?
Was the risk of the Dodgers offering Randy Wolf arbitration worth the possible reward of the #36 and #65 picks in the 2010 draft? Can Vicente Padilla fill Wolf's shoes? Did Jamey Carroll's two-year deal represent the best use of $3.85MM?
Could the Padres have added offense and made a legitimate run at a 2010 pennant? On the flip side, would seriously shopping Adrian Gonzalez during the offseason have maximized the return?
Did the signings of Mark DeRosa, Freddy Sanchez, Bengie Molina, Juan Uribe, and Aubrey Huff for $34.75MM improve the Giants' offense?

Discussion: Brad Hawpe

By Luke Adams 2 | April 5, 2010 at 8:47pm CDT

At the beginning of baseball's offseason, Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd said that while he was willing to listen to trade offers for Brad Hawpe, the team had no desire to move its right fielder. With the Rockies looking like a strong playoff contender, there's a good chance they'll maintain that stance throughout the 2010 season. On a Colorado roster with a loaded outfield, however, Hawpe will be an interesting case going forward.

An underrated source of offensive production, the 30-year-old has been extremely consistent for the Rockies, compiling a .288/.384/.518 slash line and averaging 25 homers over his last four seasons. His play in the outfield is another story. Hawpe's -25.9 UZR/150 last season was a league-worst mark among qualifying fielders, but was actually an improvement over his -46.6 UZR/150 in 2008. Given his poor defense and his struggles against left-handers (.243/.337/.438 in 2009), Hawpe will likely cede some playing time to lefty killers Dexter Fowler and Ryan Spilborghs.

Hawpe will earn a reasonable $7.5MM salary this year. His club option for 2011, which he could void in the event of a trade, is a little pricier, at $10MM (with a $500K buyout). The Rockies could decide at year's end to decline Hawpe's option, turning instead to their younger, cheaper talent. The team has no shortage of outfield options, including Carlos Gonzalez, Seth Smith, Fowler, and Spilborghs.

If you were O'Dowd, how would you handle Hawpe in 2010? Is he a trade candidate this season? Is his offense strong enough to make up for his defense? Are his services worth the $9.5MM it would cost the Rockies to retain him for 2011?

Rockies Release Justin Speier

By Mike Axisa | April 3, 2010 at 6:14pm CDT

The Rockies have released righty reliever Justin Speier, tweets Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies. Ringolsby says that Speier will retire if he can't land a big league job, but the door is open for him at Colorado's Triple-A affiliate.

Speier, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies back in January, and posted a solid 3.42 ERA with a 12/3 K/BB ratio in 13 innings this spring. The last time he was an effective big league reliever was back in 2007, when he posted a 2.88 ERA in 50 innings during the first year of the four year, $18MM he signed with the Angels.

Anaheim still owes him $5.25MM this season, which he'll add to the $20MM Baseball-Reference.com says he's earned to this point in his career.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Figueroa, Rays, Martinez

By Mike Axisa | April 3, 2010 at 4:22pm CDT

Links for Saturday…

Rule 5 Draft pick Carlos Monasterios will make the Dodgers' Opening Day squad, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. However, Joe Torre will not announce whether the team will carry 11 or 12 pitchers until tomorrow.
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter) says to expect word that Elliot Johnson has cleared waivers and will stay with the Rays at their Triple-A affiliate. Johnson, who was out of options, was waived by Tampa Bay earlier this week.
Righthander Nelson Figueroa was one of six players cut by the Mets, according to MLB.com's Bill Chastain. Figueroa is out of options and has been outrighted before, so he can elect to become a free agent instead of reporting to the minors if he clears waivers.
Victor Martinez doesn't feel he needs promises in his next contract that he will remain at catcher, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. This morning we learned that V-Mart doesn't want talks about a contract extension to take place during the season.
Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies points out that the Rockies will start the year with the highest Opening Day payroll in team history, a cool $85,808,682.
Marc Carig of The Newark Star-Ledger tweets that Marcus Thames has officially made the Yankees' Opening Day roster. He could have opted out of his minor league deal if he didn't make the team out of Spring Training, but now he'll earn $900K for the season.

Phillies Looking At Tim Redding

By Luke Adams 2 | April 1, 2010 at 5:43pm CDT

The Phillies are "kicking the tires a bit" on Tim Redding, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Renck says that Philadelphia was interested in Redding over the winter, before the right-hander signed a minor league deal with the Rockies.

We heard this week that Redding, who was assigned to Colorado's Triple A affiliate, has an opt-out clause in his contract that he can exercise if he finds a spot on another club's 25-man roster.

Following an oblique injury to Joe Blanton, the Phils seem to be looking a little more aggressively at potential starting pitching options around the majors. Still, Renck suggests that the Phillies' interest in Redding isn't overly strong at the moment, and that for now the team plans to replace Blanton in their rotation with Kyle Kendrick. Given the lack of positive reports delivered by Mariners' scouts who watched Redding pitch, Philadelphia could be better off sticking with Kendrick.

Odds & Ends: Lowell, Redding, Brantley, Wilson

By Mark Polishuk | March 31, 2010 at 10:04pm CDT

Some news items as we say goodbye to March and hello to another great baseball-filled April…

ESPN's Rob Neyer thinks the Rangers should just go ahead and acquire Mike Lowell, since the reported $3MM gap between Texas and Boston is a small price to pay for solidifying the Rangers' first base platoon. Given the number of conflicting reports about the deal, it's hard to say if a Lowell-to-Texas trade is imminent or a longshot at this point.
Tim Redding talks to The Denver Post's Jim Armstrong about being assigned to Colorado's Triple-A team. Four days ago, Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies pointed out that Redding has an opt-out clause he can use if he finds a spot on another team's 25-man roster. That's unlikely; Ringolsby says the Mariners scouted Redding but came away unimpressed.
The Indians were hoping to hold up Michael Brantley's service clock, but his strong Spring Training and Russell Branyan's injury forced the club's hand, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. Brantley will now be Cleveland's starting left fielder on Opening Day.
Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times takes a look at Angels catcher Bobby Wilson, who is out of options and faces a tough task in finding a roster spot given the Mike Napoli–Jeff Mathis combo behind the plate in Los Angeles. If the Angels are forced to put Wilson on waivers, you'd figure that several teams would be interested in a catcher who has a solid .283/.338/.423 line in 2642 minor league plate appearances.
Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com chatted with fans about a number of A's and Giants-related topics, including Urban's belief that the extensions for Matt Cain, Brian Wilson and Jeremy Affeldt may have been inspired by San Francisco's confidence in their upcoming crop of position players.
In another online chat, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentioned that the Cardinals are interested in acquiring a left-handed power bat for the bench. Strauss noted the club's "history of eleventh-hour spring training moves."

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Giants, Lo Duca, Stults

By Zachary Links | March 30, 2010 at 10:39pm CDT

Tuesday night linkage..

The Dodgers' ownership issue won't be resolved until the end of the season, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The trial to determine the owner of the club will begin on August 30th.
Sergio Santos – formerly a shortstop in the Diamondbacks organization – has made it to the major leagues as a pitcher for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
Todd Wellemeyer isn't sure that the Giants' rotation is better than the Cardinals starting five that he was a part of, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. While it has yet to be announced, Wellemeyer will likely be crowned the fifth starter in San Francisco's rotation.
Rockies catcher Paul Lo Duca will accept his reassignment to the minors, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times supports the Dodgers' sale of Eric Stults to the Hiroshima Carp. This year marked Stults' ninth with the organization.
Dontrelle Willis is sad to see Nate Robertson go to Florida, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Willis' inclusion in Detroit's rotation was a big reason why the Tigers were able to part with Robertson.

Odds & Ends: Padron, Washburn, Moeller, Chapman

By Tim Dierkes | March 30, 2010 at 4:15pm CDT

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.

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