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Odds and Ends: Morris, Moeller, de la Rosa

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Let’s kick things off with an odds and ends post today.  By the way did anyone watch Max Scherzer’s debut last night?  Damn.

Rockies Designate Jayson Nix

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According to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, the Rockies have designatd second baseman Jayson Nix for assignment.  So, he can be had cheaply or for nothing.

Nix, 25, was a long shot to have the bat for regular duty this year after posting a .793 OPS in his second Colorado Springs stint in ’07.  He is a skilled defensive player though.  He was the last pick of the first round of the ’01 amateur draft (just six after David Wright, and ahead of Dan Haren!).  The hindsight game isn’t fair but I like to play anyway.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Roberts, Jones

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Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has his latest video "Rosenthal’s Full Count" up and running.

  • First, Rosenthal calls Andruw Jones the "early candidate for worst free agent signing" noting that Jones is now batting 7th. Rosenthal goes so far as to say that the Dodgers’ best outfield right now includes Juan Pierre and does not include Jones…The Dodgers are truly lucky to have Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp on the cheap right now ($840K combined), because Jones ($14.1M) and Pierre ($8M) are a lot of dead contract weight for one outfield.
  • And we can thank Rosenthal for keeping Brian Roberts in our lives…Rosenthal notes that as the O’s start coming back to earth after their hot start, they can start thinking once again about their July fire sale. The big name is obviously Roberts and Rosenthal says that the Cubs still want the second baseman. He says the Rockies are also likely to be interested. However, the Indians, who tried to put a package together for Roberts this past off-season, will not be one of the bidders as it would require position shuffling, something not likely to occur in-season…Then again, Peter Angelos may just keep dangling Roberts into next off-season. Once Roberts is traded, Angelos may be worried that there won’t be much reason to talk about the O’s. You guys would miss all the Roberts rumors, wouldn’t you?

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Rockies Likely To Get de la Rosa

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According to Tracy Ringolsby, the Rockies are likely to receive pitcher Jorge de la Rosa from the Royals as the player to be named later in the Ramon Ramirez deal.  The Rox will have him start at Triple A now that he’s cleared waivers and accepted his minor league assignment.  He went unclaimed partially because of his $1.025MM salary.

De la Rosa, a southpaw, turns 27 in a few days.  He hit the DL in August with an elbow strain.  He was also affected by a bruised thumb.  His fastball averaged 92.3 mph in ’07, not bad for a lefty.

Odds And Ends: Quintero, Rios, Pierre

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A few random notes from around the MLBiverse…

  • Henry Schulman says the Giants are in need of a backup catcher and a logical choice may be Astros backup Humberto Quintero, whom Bruce Bochy is familiar with from his days with the Padres. He also notes that the Rays have two experienced catchers that were just reassigned to the minor leagues in Josh Paul and Mike DiFelice.
  • The Jays and Alex Rios are closer today to an agreement on a long-term extension than they were yesterday. That according to Rios’ agent, Paul Kinzer. Yesterday it was reported that the Jays had offered a six-year, $65MM deal. No word yet on what any new offers might look like. Kinzer reasserted that a deal needs to be done by tonight or negotiations will be put off until after the season.
  • Bobby Kielty initially accepted his demotion to Pawtucket, but he is now having second-thoughts and will wait a few days to see if any other teams are interested in a switch-hitting outfielder. With all the rumors swirling recently about teams in need of outfield help, I have to believe that Kielty will land a major league gig. PECOTA projects a line of .253/.331/.418 based on 159 plate appearances and Kielty can play all three outfield spots.
  • The Dodgers made it official today, giving Andre Ethier the left field job.   This puts one more nail in the coffin of one of the worst free agent signings in recent memory. The move means that Juan Pierre will be a reserve, one year after signing a five-year, $44MM deal. The Dodgers will certainly look to trade Pierre, but will have to swallow a good portion of the $36.5MM remaining on the deal.
  • A couple of big names have made major league rosters after only earning non-roster spring training invites prior to spring training. The Rockies have given a job to Scott Podsednik, while the Rays did the same with former Rookie-of-the-Year Eric Hinske. In fact, Hinske will start on Opening Day and will be the Rays’ right fielder against right handers to begin the season.
  • Phil Sheriden notes that Adam Eaton was named the Phillies’ fifth starter, but that may not last long as Pat Gillick will certainly be looking for a better option. Sheriden feels that Gillick is much better at making moves in-season than during the offseason.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Rockies Want De La Rosa As PTBNL

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Last Wednesday, the Royals acquired Ramon Ramirez from the Rockies for a player to be named later. Well, later appears to be now as the Rockies have expressed interest in Jorge De La Rosa assuming he clears waivers and accepts the assignment.  For more clarity, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star breaks down why it wasn’t just a straight trade of Ramirez for De La Rosa:

"Any club claiming De La Rosa on waivers would be on the hook for his $1.025 million salary. He can choose to become a free agent if he clears waivers but would forfeit his salary if he does so. If De La Rosa clears waivers and accepts the assignment, he can be traded as a minor-league player. A player to be determined later can’t be a player on a club’s 40-man roster."

De La Rosa started strong this spring but ended with an 8.03 ERA.  After posting optimistic k/9 rates of 8.9 and 9.2 in ’05 and ’06 respectively, De La Rosa has struggled in his move from Milwaukee to the Royals.  He throws hard and may find more success in the NL with some more work in minors.

By Nat Boyle

Odds And Ends: Gotay, Register, Haynes

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A couple of minor pickups this afternoon:

  • The Rays have claimed left-hand-hitting Nathan Haynes off waivers from the Angels. Rocco Baldelli will be moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man. Marc Lancaster speculates that Haynes, who is out of options, will take a roster spot that was presumed to be Eric Hinske’s.
  • The Mets have given up trying to trade for Rule V pick Steven Register, and are letting him go back to Colorado. He’ll report to Triple A.
  • Ruben Gotay, who had been DFA’d by the Mets, has been picked up by the Braves. Adam Rubin also notes that Anderson Hernandez has been optioned to AAA. UPDATE: To make room for Gotay on the 25-man, the Braves have asked for waivers on Scott Thorman. He has cleared, and will report to Triple A Richmond.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski

Royals Acquire Ramon Ramirez

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According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies traded reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Royals for a player to be named later.  In an accompanying move, the Royals designated Jorge de la Rosa for assignment.

The 26 year-old righty reliever has posted some big-time strikeout rates at various stops.  He’s a former outfielder who has bounced around in the Yankees, Reds, and Rockies organizations.  He even did a stint in Japan.  In 2005, Baseball America described Ramirez’s power repertoire as a 92-94 mph heater, a hard curveball, and a splitter. 

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