Odds And Ends: Blue Jays, Cotts, Indians
Manny's back to help celebrate the Fourth of July weekend! Here are some links to start the day off…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Blue Jays execs will decide what course of action to take this month once they see how the team performs on its ten-game road trip against divisional rivals.
- Jamey Newberg ranks this week's top 20 Rangers prospects for MLB.com. Texas just keeps churning out quality players; this week it's Julio Borbon.
- Cubs reliever Neal Cotts underwent Tommy John surgery, according to the Sports Network, via the Miami Herald.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners and Angels have a serious advantage over the Rangers when it comes to making deadline deals now that the Rangers are borrowing money from MLB.
- Steve Kornacki of MLive provides five reasons why the Tigers may not make the playoffs and five reasons why they're in first.
- As Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes, Seth McClung's preformance has made the Brewers' need for a starter more glaring.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the Indians would need a "staggering" return for either Cliff Lee or Victor Martinez.
Morosi On Yankees, Qualls, Tigers
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports has a few more rumors worth passing along:
- The Yankees' bullpen has been performing well, but that's not stopping the team from keeping a close eye on D'Backs closer Chad Qualls.
- If Brian Bruney doesn't start pitching more consistently, the Yankees may feel more pressure to acquire Qualls, who won't be a free agent until after next season and makes an affordable $2.5MM this year.
- The Tigers are still looking for an outfield bat as Magglio Ordonez's hitting woes continue. The haircut may not have been the answer, as he has just two hits in his last 20 at bats.
Stark On Dodgers, Giants, Brewers
In this ESPN Radio segment, Jayson Stark says the Dodgers will go after the best starting pitcher they can find. There's no elite starting pitching out there now, but Ned Colletti is looking to turn some up. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:
- The Giants need an impact hitter and they're "in on every bat out there."
- Matt Holliday is not a likely fit for the Cardinals.
- Stark says Doug Davis is a good fit in Milwaukee.
- The Mets are more interested in left-handed first basemen, so Nick Johnson still looks like a good fit for them.
- The Tigers are looking for a bat, The White Sox could add pitching and the Twins want relievers.
Odds And Ends: Snell, Tigers, Dotel
Some more links for a quiet Thursday…
- MLB.com's Jen Langosch says it's "almost certain" that Ian Snell will be demoted to Triple A and Dejan Kovacevic confirms the news. Snell has been mentioned in some rumors, but his value's pretty low at this point.
- Chris Iott of MLive.com reports that the Tigers signed two of their picks and a non-drafted free agent.
- Octavio Dotel realizes he could be traded and says nothing will surprise him, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
- In a piece for MLB.com, Jamey Newberg says Justin Smoak and Martin Perez lead the list of top Rangers prospects.
- Don't forget to tune in at 6:20 CST when I'll be talking rumors on the TEAM 1380 in St. Louis.
Tigers Rumors: Polanco, Rodney, Lyon, Everett
Lynn Henning of the Detroit News predicts how the Tigers will handle four impending free agents this offseason:
- Placido Polanco "will likely be allowed to chase free agency" as the Tigers look for another second baseman.
- The Tigers are thinking about Joel Zumaya as their 2010 closer, but they'll likely offer Fernando Rodney arbitration anyways. Henning says Rodney's a good bet to sign a multi-year deal elsewhere.
- Henning expects Brandon Lyon to receive an offer of arbitration.
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The Tigers love Adam Everett and want him back, so much so that they may offer him a contract before he hits free agency.
Odds And Ends: Brewers, Magglio, White Sox
More links for Tuesday…
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. hears the Royals are a likely destination for Cheslor Cuthbert, a Nicaraguan prospect who would command a bonus of about $1MM.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears from a Mets official that the team "will not mortgage [their] future" this summer in any trades.
- Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer continues to argue that firing Eric Wedge won't solve the Indians' problems even though Mike Hargrove, who some would like to see back in Cleveland, is a skilled manager.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com says Donald Fehr did his job well- too well, in fact. Check the story out for some anecdotes from years ago.
- The Detroit Free Press reports that Magglio Ordonez returns to the Tigers' lineup tonight.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer suggests the Mariners should choose talent over sentiment if they're serious about winning this year.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that the White Sox signed second round pick David Holmberg.
- I'll be talking rumors with the Benchwarmers on 590 KFNS in St. Louis at 11pm CST tonight so tune in if you're in the area or online.
Heyman: Ten Teams That Could Add Payroll
Jon Heyman of SI.com provides a list of ten teams that could add payroll. He adds the Angels, Brewers, Red Sox and Brewers to the list we assembled last week. Here are his ten teams:
- The Red Sox could add payroll, but they don't have significant needs.
- The Mets could add payroll and they need a hitter who can play first, the outfield, or both.
- The Phillies could add payroll to acquire pitching.
- The Angels, with several contracts expiring this year (Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey, Chone Figgins), could add salary.
- The Giants could take on payroll to add a bat.
- The Brewers and Cardinals could both free up money to add a pitcher or hitter.
- The Tigers, White Sox and Dodgers round out Heyman's list, but he warns us not to rule out the Yankees.
- Don't look for the White Sox to deal prospects away to increase their playoff chances, even though they trail the Tigers by just 5.0 games.
- On another note, no one's called the Mariners about Adrian Beltre.
Tigers Rumors: Magglio, Boras, Guillen
A closer look at the drama between the Tigers, Magglio Ordonez and Scott Boras, along with a couple other Tigers notes:
- Boras told MLB.com's Jason Beck that he wasn't delivering a message to Jim Leyland when he spoke out against the Tigers' decision to bench his client. Boras says he'd phone Leyland if he wanted to talk to him.
- Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press says Boras did phone Leyland- the problem is, the call came in the middle of yesterday's Tigers game.
- Leyland believes Boras overreacted to the team's decision.
- Ordonez could return to the Tigers' lineup against the Cubs tomorrow, according to Jason Beck.
- And Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that Carlos Guillen is feeling better and could be ready for action by early July.
- The Tigers are looking to trade for a power bat regardless.
Odds & Ends: Pedro, Ordonez, Holliday
On this day in MLBTR history: Last year, the Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons and Matt Holliday talks were still swirling. In '07, we actually cared who was on Eric Gagne's team veto list and saw Michael Barrett get traded to the Padres.
- Bill Ladson at MLBlogs got word that reports that a Nationals rep saw Pedro Martinez pitch Friday are untrue.
- Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave. Blues takes issue with CERA, the stat that tries to determine "catchers' ERA."
- Jason Beck at MLB.com has more clarification on Jim Leyland's comments on Magglio Ordonez and Scott Boras. Says Leyland: "It was total nonsense on the agent's part that I blindsided Magglio Ordonez."
- John Shea at the San Francisco Chronicle outlines a scenario where 16-year-old super-prospect Bryce Harper might fall to the A's in next year's draft.
- Bill Shaikin at the L.A. Times wonders if Holliday could end up with the Angels.
- Clark Spencer at the Miami Herald wonders where Josh Johnson will end up after 2012.
- Joel Sherman at the New York Post proposes an idea where the Commissoner's Office swallows one bad contract on each MLB team, and which he believes should go.
Boras: “No Compelling Reason” To Bench Magglio
SATURDAY, 2:21pm: Tigers manager Jim Leyland shared some rather strong words with the media Saturday afternoon in response to Boras' comments: (Quotes courtesy of MLive.com's Chris Iott).
"I'm very respectful of Scott Boras, but I'm not going to listen to his (nonsense)," Leyland said. "Scott Boras might be better off if he lets Magglio and myself handle this instead of him. … "This is about Magglio Ordonez and a manager trying to do something that he thinks may help and get him right. Is it the right thing? I don't know. But that is what this is about. And I'm not going to take shots from people in the newspaper that are untruths."
"If it's the truth and I'm wrong," the manager continued, "then go ahead and punch me in the jaw, but don't give me this (nonsense)."
FRIDAY, 5:43pm: Lynn Henning of the Detroit News reports that Scott Boras says there's "no compelling reason" behind the Tigers' decision to bench Magglio Ordonez indefinitely. Boras called the move "myopic," providing many stats to show why Ordonez deserves to play. For example, he's hitting .301 over the course of the last 30 days.
Ordonez's contract calls for vesting options that would kick in depending on the number of times he bats this year, so the Tigers' decision to bench Ordonez seems financially motivated. He needs 215 plate appearances for an $18MM option to vest for 2010, and there's another $15MM at stake for 2011.
Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that the Tigers should release Ordonez instead of just benching him. As Rosenthal says, his .343 slugging percentage is hardly better than the numbers Rey Ordonez put up.