Rockies Likely To Get de la Rosa
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
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
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
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
Rockies Release Marcus Giles
The Rockies have released veteran Marcus Giles; they’re going with Jayson Nix at second base to open the season. Giles had a good spring, hitting .321/.457/.536 in 28 ABs. The Dodgers are one team with possible mild interest.
Giles is not yet 30 but he’s scramlbing for work these days. Back in ’05 he posted an .826 OPS; what happened?
Royals Acquire Ramon Ramirez
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.
Mets Place Register, Gotay On Waivers
The Mets have placed second baseman Ruben Gotay and pitcher Steve Register on waivers. MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone explains the situation (Register was a Rule V pick from the Rockies). Gotay, 25, would be a mildly interesting pickup.
Odds and Ends: Giles, Crisp, A-Rod
Nothing huge cooking this morning, so here are some odds and ends.
- Doesn’t look like the Dodgers will acquire Marcus Giles.
- Rany Jazayerli writes about how Kansas City is home to many of the country’s best baseball journalists. On a related note, the Star’s Sam Mellinger has a chat with Brian Bannister on his blog.
- Coco Crisp rattles off the trade rumors he’s heard: Cubs, Sox, A’s, Padres. No deal appears imminent, though Crisp was healthy enough to pinch-run this morning.
- John Harper snags an exclusive with Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod admitted he chose the Rangers over the Mets for money and feared he was going down that road again this past winter.
- Roch Kubatko writes that Brian Roberts was pulled from the lineup today for back pain, hoping to nip trade speculation in the bud.
- The Phillies have to make a decision on Kris Benson today.
- Aaron Gleeman weighs in on the Joe Nathan extension. Buster Olney talked to baseball execs who felt the Twins should’ve added Nathan’s money to their Johan offer.
Stark’s Latest: Roberts, Fuentes, Lofton
ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new blog post jam-packed with hot stove rumors.
- The Cubs are getting frustrated with the Brian Roberts situation, wondering if they’ll ever complete this trade. The Orioles are scouting players but still haven’t given the Cubs the names they crave. I got the exact same vibe from the source who told me Jose Ceda‘s inclusion was never proposed by the Cubs.
- The Tigers and Phillies are both hunting for bullpen help; Detroit’s sights are set higher than Philadelphia’s. Unwanted players such as Wes Helms and Brandon Inge aren’t in demand. And while Marcus Thames is desirable, he’s not enough to get Aaron Heilman from the Mets. Brian Fuentes, also a Yankees target, may be the best available reliever. But Stark says the Rox want a "high-upside young arm" for the southpaw.
- My own guess at some useful relievers who may be available: Damaso Marte, Joe Nathan, Jamie Walker, Chad Bradford, Huston Street, Alan Embree, Kevin Gregg, Jon Rauch, and Chad Cordero.
- Stark names the Cubs, Rays, and Mets as the teams looking for an extra outfielder. No deals appear imminent, though the Rays made an unsuccessful offer to Kenny Lofton. The Mets and Cubs are considering the same names we’ve heard for a few weeks now. The Cubs are in a holding pattern since they may get Jay Payton in a Roberts deal with Baltimore.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rule 5 Draftees
Last year the Reds selected Josh Hamilton in the Rule 5 draft despite only 23 games above Single-A and only 15 games anywhere since 2002 (actually the Cubs picked Hamilton and traded him to the Reds the same day). Hamilton went on to hit .292-19-47 in 90 games. This year, 18 players were chosen in the Rule 5 draft (14 pitchers). These players must remain on the 25-man roster all season or be offered back to their original club for $25K. By my count, three players (Sergio Valenzuela, Lincoln Holdzkom, Jose Capellan) have already been offered back to their original clubs (Capellan was picked up on waivers by a third team during the process). Hamilton is the rare case of a position player sticking with his new club as it is far easier to hide a developing pitcher and still get him playing time in the bullpen than it is on the bench.While it is rare for position players to stick, we have already learned that the Cardinals may keep Brian Barton as a fifth outfielder. As opening day rosters begin to take shape, let’s take a look at what is being said in the Blogosphere about the chances for the Rule draftees.
- Tim Lahey (RHP, CHC/MIN): Bleed Cubbie Blue sees the Cubs working out a trade with the Twins that would allow them to send Lahey to AAA. In fact, they speculate that Lahey will be the PTBNL in the Craig Monroe deal.
- Evan Meek (RHP, PIT/TB): Bucs Dugout predicts that Meek will at least start the season with the Pirates before being offered back to the Rays.
- Randor Bierd (RHP, BAL/DET): Bird Brain projects Bierd to make the roster and hopes the O’s give him every chance to stick.
- Jose Capellan (LHP, CIN/BOS): Capellan was originally selected by the Giants but was just placed on waivers. The Reds picked him up (Rule 5 rules still apply) and Obsessive Giants Compulsive is surprised the Giants let him go.
- Sergio Valenzuela (RHP, CIN/ATL): Valenzuela was sold back to the Braves after not making a single appearance in a spring game. The Braves then traded Valenzuela to a team in the Mexican League. Which begs the question…Are "future considerations" from the Mexican League worth the $25K the Braves dropped to bring him back? Talking Chop finds the entire situation funny and is not surprised that Valenzuela did not stick with the Reds.
- Brian Barton (OF, STL/CLE): Cardinals GM is predicting Barton to be on the opening day roster with Juan Gonzalez starting the season in AAA.
- R.A. Dickey (RHP, SEA/MIN): Detect-O-Vision is infatuated with the knuckleballer but notes that Dickey "has a looooooooooong way to go".
- Steven Register (RHP, NYM/COL): Mets Fever thinks Register might actually stick by earning the final spot in the bullpen.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.