Rosenthal On White Sox, Pedro, Baker
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The White Sox are still trying to figure out their center field situation, but they are not involved on pricey veterans such as Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr.
- Fantasy alert: Rosenthal names David Aardsma as the likely leader for the Mariners closer job, with Chad Cordero and Brandon Morrow lingering.
- The Dodgers "continue to balk at Pedro Martinez's $5MM asking price."
- Rockies utility man Jeff Baker, who is out of options, is drawing interest from the Phillies, Astros, and Pirates. Rosenthal suggests recently-demoted Kyle Kendrick as a possible target for Colorado, assuming the Phils can move Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs to clear a spot. Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Yankees are unlikely to acquire Baker.
- The Blue Jays have been scouting shortstops Chin-Lung Hu, Juan Castro, and others in hopes of finding someone they can stash at Triple A for insurance.
- Was Willy Taveras a bad move for the Reds? Rosenthal says rival executives think so.
Gammons On Matthews, Teahen, Harang, Peavy
12:07pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer asked Reds GM Walt Jocketty about Gammons' Harang note. Jocketty said, "I'm not going to comment on something when he doesn't know what he's talking about."
9:19am: ESPN's Peter Gammons had a new blog post yesterday discussing available players.
- Gammons names Geoff Jenkins ($8MM remaining, limited no-trade), Brian Giles ($9MM remaining, full no-trade), Gary Matthews Jr. ($33.5MM remaining, full no-trade), Marcus Thames ($2.275MM salary), Nick Johnson ($5.5MM salary), Jason Repko, and Jeff Baker as players being dangled. Gammons links Matthews to the Yankees but admits his contract will be an issue.
- Mark Teahen has drawn interest from the Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees.
- Gammons says the Reds "have let teams know that they will wait and see whether they need to move Aaron Harang during the season." It'd be a shame to see the Reds break up that rotation. Harang has about $36MM coming to him over the next three seasons if his 2011 option is exercised.
- Brewers third baseman Bill Hall expects his team to pursue Padres ace Jake Peavy if available this summer. Unlike C.C. Sabathia, Peavy is more than a rental.
Beimel Contract Details
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has details on Joe Beimel's new contract with the Nationals. Renck says it's a one-year, $2MM deal with up to $250K in incentives. The incentives kick in at 60 games and max out at 80. Renck says the Rockies balked at Beimel's asking price. Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies has more:
Beimel signed with Washington, a one-year $2 million deal in the last week. He showed no interest in the Rockies' overtures. He was seeking more than $3 million, and I have seen some reports that he was actually asking for a two-year deal at $4 million a year, but I have not had anyone confirm that.
Does Beimel make sense for the Nationals? Unless they can flip him for something good in July, it seems to be $2MM better spent on the draft.
We have a few other Nationals notes from MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Ladson talked to an opposing scout who says the Nats are trying to trade Nick Johnson and Austin Kearns but does not expect them to find a match. Additionally, minor league signee Jorge Sosa hasn't been able to get a work visa in the U.S.
Odds & Ends: Wade, Baker, Catalanotto
Links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority advises how to manage information during your fantasy draft.
- Something's not right with Corey Koskie, and the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan says he'll decide about his future by Saturday.
- Former Blue Jays assistant GM Bart Given has a blog, and it's pretty good from what I've read (hat tip: Drunk Jays Fans).
- Sidearmer Mark Worrell, acquired by the Padres for Khalil Greene, needs Tommy John surgery according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says the White Sox "traded infielder Sergio Santos to San Francisco for future considerations." Santos was picked 27th overall by the D'Backs in the 2002 draft.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post wonders whether $5MM first baseman Dmitri Young will be willing to accept an assignment to Triple A.
- MLB.com's Alyson Footer says Astros GM Ed Wade never lied to her and doesn't owe her an apology about Ivan Rodriguez. Wade just changed his mind after talking to Footer.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune doesn't see the Cubs releasing $4MM reliever Luis Vizcaino.
- Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies believes Jeff Baker is the team's most likely infielder to be dealt. ESPN's Jayson Stark mentioned Baker yesterday as a trade candidate, and the Denver Post's Troy E. Renck has wondered if he'd fit for the Yankees or Astros.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers have discussed Frank Catalanotto with other clubs but found no takers. Catalanotto has $6MM coming to him.
- Rany Jazayerli discusses the Royals' signing of Sidney Ponson and release of Jimmy Gobble.
Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.
- The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
- Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
- Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
- Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million. He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price. Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
- Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available. The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.
Giants Seek Catcher, Reliever
According to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News:
Scouts are buzzing that the Giants are actively looking to upgrade at backup catcher and long relief. One possibility is catcher Rob Bowen, whom the A's released Tuesday.
Baggarly suggests the Giants' trade chips include pitchers Luis Perdomo and Merkin Valdez, as well as outfielder Eugenio Velez.
A handful of catchers remain on the free agent market, including new member Josh Bard. Tracy Ringolsby wonders if the Rockies will renew their interest in Bard. The Marlins, however, don't appear interested according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The free agent market also features about a dozen relievers.
Rockies Sign Lew Ford
We haven’t written about Lew Ford in years. According to Jack Etkin of Inside The Rockies, Colorado signed the outfielder to a minor league deal. Ford spent ’08 in Japan. He seems to have little chance of making the big league team. It seems that Seth Stohs had this news way back on March 4th.
Back in ’04, Ford played regularly for the Twins and hit .299/.381/.446 in 154 games.
Beimel Close To Choosing An Offer
3:44pm: Corey Brock of MLB.com spoke Saturday with Padres GM Kevin Towers, who said plainly that the Friars "are not in the mix" for Beimel. Brock surmises that it’s all "about money."
1:25pm: MLB.com’s Ed Eagle adds the Rockies to the mix of interested teams.
11:15am: According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com Joe Beimel is close to choosing between offers. Oakland and San Diego are apparently in the running for the lefty reliever. The Dodgers were still interested a week ago.
Dennys Reyes, who held lefties to a lower average than Beimel last year, signed a two-year deal worth $3MM with the Cardinals that will likely be comparable to the deal Beimel eventually gets.
Odds & Ends: Darvish, Rockies, Angels, Nats
More links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority has a list of undervalued pitchers for 2009.
- ESPN’s Keith Law raves about Yu Darvish, saying he’d be a #1 starter in the U.S. Should be wild if he’s ever posted.
- Salon.com’s King Kaufman spoke to Tracy Ringolsby about his move from the Rocky Mountain News to Inside The Rockies.
- Sam Miller of the OC Register comes up wih some options for the backend of the Angels’ rotation.
- MLB.com’s Bill Ladson has his own blog: All Nats All The Time.
- Ladson says the Nationals’ GM position will remain open for the forseeable future, with the team maintaining its current Stan Kasten/Mike Rizzo arrangement. Pete McElroy of MASN has a Q&A with Rizzo.
Offseason In Review: Colorado Rockies
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Rockies. Here’s what we wrote about the team on September 22nd. Changes for 2009:
Additions: Huston Street, Greg Smith, Carlos Gonzalez, Alan Embree, Jason Marquis, Matt Murton, Matt Belisle, Randy Flores, Josh Fogg, Glendon Rusch (re-signed), Sal Fasano, Dan Ortmeier, Scott Podsednik (re-signed)
Subtractions: Matt Holliday, Brian Fuentes, Willy Taveras, Luis Vizcaino, Matt Herges, Mark Redman, Livan Hernandez. Midseason: Kip Wells
The Rockies are not a rebuilding club, and I would’ve liked to see them retain Holliday for an ’09 run or at least swap him for something better. GM Dan O’Dowd did not bring back star-level talent in return. The Fuentes loss I understand, and the others were negligible.
The ’08 Rockies ranked 8th of 16 NL clubs with 4.61 runs per game. As crazy as it sounds, though, it’s possible the Rockies improve to 4.86 runs per game in ’09 despite the loss of Holliday (using the trusty lineup analysis tool and CHONE projections). Here’s why: Atkins and Tulo bouncing back, no more Taveras, and more Iannetta/Helton/Stewart/Spilborghs/Smith. Even 4.81 runs per game would’ve ranked fourth in the NL last year.
The Rockies’ defense was poor last year – 14th in the NL according to The Fielding Bible II. The hope is that a healthy Tulo recreates his ’07 wizardry and Hawpe is less brutal in right.
Ah, pitching. Obviously Rockies pitchers are in a rough situation with Coors Field, but they did have strong showings from Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez. Jeff Francis went under the knife, so it’ll be up to guys like Marquis, Jorge de la Rosa, Smith, Jason Hirsh, and Franklin Morales to post ERAs under 5.00 from the #3-5 slots. The bullpen will need Street to fill Fuentes’ void, a healthy Taylor Buchholz, and a resurgent Manny Corpas.
If the Rockies pitch and play defense like they did last year, I have them around 77 wins for ’09. Even if they prevent runs like they did in ’07 (their best effort of the decade) it’s still an 83 win team.
Bottom line: O’Dowd may have been right in assuming that the Rockies’ offense can withstand the loss of Holliday, but he failed to obtain the quality starting pitching the team requires.