Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Giants, Lo Duca, Stults
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
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: Stauffer, Twins, Tigers, Desmond
Links for Sunday….
- More from Rosenthal, as he tweets that the Padres are not looking to move Tim Stauffer despite there being several teams interested in the pitcher. Stauffer has been rumored to be on the trade block as he is out of options.
- FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter) that the Twins will use a closer-by-committee approach to start the season, which presumably means no trades are imminent.
- Dave Dombrowski denies that the Tigers are looking for a second base upgrade, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark had reported that Detroit could be in the market for a second baseman, given Scott Sizemore's up-and-down spring, but Dombrowski says the club's lineup is set. The GM also mentions that "a lot of clubs have been calling" about the Tigers' pitching.
- Ian Desmond has been named the Nationals' starting shortstop, according to the team's Twitter page. The rookie beat out Cristian Guzman, who will now earn $8MM this season as a utilityman. Guzman, for his part, will not ask for a trade, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- The Rockies had interest in Chad Gaudin last year, but don't think they have a spot for him anymore, tweets Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.
- Mike Lowell is maintaining a realistic outlook on his current situation, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston. Edes adds in a tweet that Lowell took grounders at third base this morning, a good sign for the health of his knee.
- Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post explains the decision facing the Nationals regarding Scott Olsen. The Nats are evaluating whether or not Olsen belongs in their rotation, and will owe him his full 2010 base salary ($1MM) if he's with the team past March 31.
Offseason In Review: Colorado Rockies
The Rockies are next in our Offseason In Review series.
Major League Signings
- Rafael Betancourt, RP: two years, $7.55MM.
- Miguel Olivo, C: one year, $2.5MM. Includes $2.5MM club option with a $500K buyout.
- Jason Giambi, 1B: one year, $1.75MM.
- Melvin Mora, 3B: one year, $1.3MM.
- Total spend: $13.1MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
- Joe Beimel, Jimmy Gobble, Tim Redding, Juan Rincon, Justin Speier, Paul Lo Duca, Jay Payton, Travis Metcalf, Robby Hammock, Brad Eldred
Trades and Claims: None
Extensions
- Huston Street, RP: three years, $22.5MM. Includes $9MM player option for 2013 with a $500K buyout.
- Todd Helton, 1B: two years, $9.9MM. Rockies also saved money via deferrals and new 2011 salary.
- Chris Iannetta, C: three years, $8.35MM. Includes $5MM club option for 2013 with a $250K buyout.
- Ryan Spilborghs, OF: two years, $3.2MM.
Notable Losses
- Garrett Atkins, Yorvit Torrealba, Jason Marquis, Josh Fogg, Joel Peralta, Alan Embree, Glendon Rusch, Jose Contreras, Matt Herges, Matt Murton, Mike McCoy
Summary
Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd focused most of his offseason efforts on the bullpen and bench, with the lineup and rotation already in good shape. He also locked up four of his own players. Let's take a closer look.
Betancourt was the main offseason splash. The Rockies acquired him from the Indians in July and enjoyed 25.3 dominant innings. That was enough to convince O'Dowd to take the plunge with an arbitration offer to the Type A free agent, though he declined Betancourt's $5.4MM club option first. Betancourt played it safe and accepted the offer, and the Rockies worked out a two-year agreement a couple months later. Betancourt turns 35 soon and has been dealing with shoulder inflammation, so this was a risky signing.
The risk of the Betancourt signing was balanced out by a slew of minor league deals to once-effective relievers. It's likely that a few of these work out, and the Rockies end up with a pretty good pen.
Tacking two, possibly three extra years on to Street's deal was unnecessary. Street dealt with biceps inflammation in September and now faces shoulder issues. A one-year deal in the $8MM range made more sense. As dominant as Street was in 2009, closers aren't getting paid like this anymore.
The Rockies want Helton to retire a Rockie, but did they need to commit to 2012 and 2013 now? A reworking of Helton's previous monstrous contract provides short-term financial relief, a necessity after O'Dowd committed $11MM to Street and Betancourt for 2011. The Iannetta extension was a clear bargain, though it was surprising to see the Rockies pick up Olivo a few weeks later for a 2010 job-sharing arrangement.
Offensive changes were unnecessary, as the Rockies' offense stacks up with any team in the NL. They might have the game's best fourth and fifth outfielders in Seth Smith and Spilborghs, and the bench was further solidified with Giambi and Mora.
It will be difficult for Jeff Francis to replicate Marquis' 216 innings of 4.04 ball, though letting the latter go and taking a draft pick was the right move. Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, Jorge de la Rosa, and Jason Hammel form an underrated front four.
Though O'Dowd overindulged on extensions, the 2010 Rockies have few weaknesses and should be in the thick of the playoff hunt once again.
Rockies, Beimel Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rockies signed lefty reliever Joe Beimel to a minor league deal, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the deal pays an $850K base salary in the Majors with $300K in incentives. Beimel believes he can be ready for the season, though he's likely to start the year in the minors. He was signed to step into the lefty reliever spot left vacant by Franklin Morales, who will fill in for injured closer Huston Street.
Last year Beimel signed on March 18th, so he's comfortable waiting for the right deal. The southpaw, 33 in April, continued to pitch well against lefties aside from allowing four home runs in 26 innings. It seems those home runs cost Beimel, as he got a guaranteed $2MM deal coming off an otherwise similar '08 season. Beimel has seen significant time against righties the last few years, and the results have not been pretty.
Odds & Ends: Helton, Gaudin, Hensley, Papelbon
Links for Monday…
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post has the details of Todd Helton's new contract extension. He can void the deal if two of three general partners sell their controlling interest in the team, and it contains $13.1MM in deferred money at three percent interest.
- The Yankees could look to move Chad Gaudin soon, according to Rosenthal (via Twitter). In another tweet, he mentions that Clay Hensley can opt out of his contract with the Marlins if he's not on the roster by April 1st.
- Jim Bowden shows off his post-trade fist pump in his latest GM's Corner video for FOX Sports. Bowden asked a slew of GMs about their processes for making deals; Frank Wren estimated that less than ten percent of discussions lead to trades.
- In considering Jonathan Papelbon's future, WEEI's Alex Speier demonstrates just how risky large multiyear deals for relievers have been.
- FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says the Blue Jays "will not settle for fringe prospects in return" for relievers Scott Downs and Jason Frasor, and they could use them to continue the rebuilding effort.
- Rosenthal adds that Gary Sheffield is talking to a NL club, though it's not clear which one.
- Meanwhile, Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com notes that both Jamey Wright and Austin Kearns have out clauses in their contracts, but a club official said the provisions will not impact the makeup of the team. A source added that there are "no trades on the horizon" for Cleveland.
Astros Not Interested In Beimel
7:28pm: FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter) passes on this quote from Beimel's agent, Joe Sroba: "Talks with [the] Mets have fallen apart. Beimel is re-open to consider all clubs and willing to be flexible."
10:31am: Astros GM Ed Wade told MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez that his club is "more than adequately covered" with the relievers they have, so don't expect the Astros to pursue Joe Beimel (Twitter link). New additions Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom lead a bullpen that could include Tim Byrdak, Jeff Fulchino, Chris Sampson and Alberto Arias on Opening Day.
Mets, Rockies Interested In Joe Beimel
5:35pm: Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Mets continue to talk with Beimel, while other clubs remain in the mix.
9:25 am: The Rockies expressed interest in free agent lefty Joe Beimel, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Southpaw Franklin Morales is slated to close while Huston Street is out with a shoulder injury, creating an opening in left-handed relief.
Beimel, 33 in April, posted a 3.58 ERA, 5.7 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 in 55.3 innings for the Nationals and Rockies last year. The excellent FanGraphs splits pages show us that Beimel still handles lefties quite well, but had home run problems against them last year. He is not to be used against righties.
Today is the one-year anniversary of Beimel's one-year, $2MM deal with Washington, so he's not afraid to wait for the right situation. At the trade deadline the Nats traded Beimel and cash to Colorado for Robinson Fabian and Ryan Mattheus. The Rockies chose not to offer arbitration to Beimel on December 1st. Last we heard Beimel received an offer from the Mets in recent weeks.
Rockies Eyeing Juan Cruz
The Rockies are showing interest in Royals reliever Juan Cruz, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Joe Beimel was named as a Rockies target as well recently, in the wake of Huston Street's shoulder injury.
Last year the Royals signed Cruz on February 28th, as the hard-throwing reliever was hampered by his Type A status. The Royals ultimately gave up the #60 pick in the draft and inked Cruz to a two-year, $6MM deal with a club option for 2011. Though he continued to throw 94 mph in his first season with Kansas City, Cruz's strikeout rate disappeared as he dealt with a shoulder strain.
Cruz has $3.75MM remaining on his contract, so the Royals would presumably have to eat salary to make a deal happen.
Odds & Ends: Guzman, Sonnanstine, Jukich
Links for Wednesday…
- The Mets have no interest in trading for Cristian Guzman, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Guzman could have played shortstop in New York while the Mets wait for Jose Reyes to get healthy.
- Dave Allen at FanGraphs thinks the Rays should use Andy Sonnanstine as a long reliever to start the season with an eye towards trading him if something comes up. Sonnanstine is going to get squeezed out of Tampa's rotation in a numbers crunch, but he has minor league options remaining.
- The Cardinals are in trade talks with the Reds in hopes of keeping Rule 5 lefty Ben Jukich, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Indians signed righty Justin Germano to a minor league deal, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Germano, 27, posted a 4.38 ERA, 4.97 K/9, and 1.18 BB/9 in 76 innings for the Softbank Hawks last year.
- After working out for the Diamondbacks, Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo will audition for at least four more teams according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- Dan O'Dowd told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times he hopes Troy Tulowitzki retires a Rockie.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues explains why he does not expect the Yankees to sign Joe Mauer even if the superstar catcher reaches free agency.
- Kiko Calero received calls from a dozen teams this winter, reports Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News.
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner finds Seattle to be lacking in middle infield depth.