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Cafardo On Jones, Nationals, Floyd, Indians, Red Sox

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Agent Scott Boras told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he expects trade deadline activity to decrease because the superpowers in baseball are going to save money on the luxury tax and can’t spend it in the draft.  Boras was in attendance for the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston and our own Tim Dierkes sat down for an interview with the super agent.  Here's more from Cafardo's Sunday column..

  • The Orioles' Adam Jones keeps popping up in trade discussions with the Nationals, but O's sources indicate that there’s very little chance he'll be dealt.  The Nats are trying to figure out center field, and for the moment they’re content with using Jayson Werth, Roger Bernadina, and Rick Ankiel.  However, they will be scouting Michael Bourn, B.J. Upton, Gerardo Parra, and Peter Bourjos in spring training.
  • White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd could be in play for the Blue Jays or Red Sox.  The White Sox don’t appear eager to move Floyd, but GM Kenny Williams wouldn’t be shy if it brought him a decent bounty in return.
  • The Indians will try to fill in for Grady Sizemore with Michael Brantley, but their scouts are looking for a center field option in the trade market.
  • Free agent Adonis Garcia is drawing interest from several teams, but the Red Sox aren’t overly enamored, according to a team source.
  • Roy Oswalt is still in play and later in camp the Red Sox could put on a full-court press for him.
  • The Rays are looking for a catcher to back up Jose Molina and Boras may look to put Ivan Rodriguez in that spot.
  • There seems to be concern that the Astros are shooting themselves in the foot by moving starter Brett Myers into the closer role as he is one of the veterans they have been trying to deal.  Teams typically need innings-eaters over late-inning relievers.
  • Cafardo wonders aloud if Terry Francona will land with the Mets when he resumes his managerial career.

Luhnow On Myers, Draft, Astros

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New Astros GM Jeff Luhnow participated on the baseball analytics panel today at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.  A few highlights:

  • After the panel, I mentioned to Luhnow that his decision to move Brett Myers to the Astros' closer role has raised a few eyebrows.  I asked if he thought Myers will have more impact in the bullpen than the rotation, and the GM replied, "I think for our team, right now, where we are and what we need, Myers in the bullpen is going to help us.  We've got some options in the rotation and we really didn't have good options for that [closer] role.  He's excited about it, and I'm excited to see how it works out. If it doesn't work out, we can always go back to the other way."   As to whether the two parties would "re-restructure" the contract in that case, Luhnow said that would not be necessary because it's currently structured so it can go either way.
  • During the panel, Luhnow explained what it's like to make a move that is not well-received.  "It's frustrating, because you wish you could tell the fans everything that went into the decision.  You go on FanGraphs and you read stuff about the player, and if that's all the information you had, you might make a different decision.  But you've got a lot of information from the clubhouse, medical information, you have a lot of other pieces that are relevant that you really can't discuss.  You're going to be second-guessed no matter what, so you just have to take it and move on."
  • "You can't go wrong" with the first overall pick in the draft, Luhnow told me.  He's never picked higher than Brett Wallace at #13 in 2008 for the Cardinals.  He says there's already a short list of candidates for the Astros' 1-1 pick in 2012.  I mentioned the huge expectations for such a pick, and Luhnow replied, "No question about it, there have been 1-1s that have not worked out well and we hope that we're one of the 1-1s that turns out to be a franchise player.  That's the 
    expectation, that's the goal.  There's risk in any player you select in the draft, but hopefully we'll take one that will move quickly and be an impact player."
  • "There's no question that sports analytics helped the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series last year," said Luhnow on the panel.  He said the Cardinals didn't have much with respect to analytics when he arrived in 2003, and the Astros are similar nine years later.  He considers a blank slate "a huge opportunity to gain an edge."  Luhnow says he's hired ten people since being named Astros GM, and "four of them were geeks, nerds, computer guys."
  • Luhnow says the Dominican amateur market is almost inverted from the bargains of 10-15 years ago, and likes the limitations imposed in the new collective bargaining agreement.

NL Central Notes: Burnett, Cardinals, Astros

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Though two NL Central veterans dominated headlines this offseason, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder signed with American League teams and Aramis Ramirez's three-year, $36MM deal with the Brewers was the largest free agent contract by any of the division's six teams. Here are the latest links from the NL Central…

  • The Pirates announced that they expect A.J. Burnett’s eye injury to sideline him until two or three months from now. The right-hander underwent surgery today after injuring himself in a bunting drill.
  • Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that the Cardinals couldn't take the chance of letting Yadier Molina hit free agency. "We didn't extend Molina because he had a good year offensively last year,” he said. “We extended him because of the bulk of the work since he became a regular in 2005." Molina and the Cardinals finalized a five-year, $75MM extension yesterday.
  • Four of the ten people Astros GM Jeff Luhnow has hired might be described as geeks or nerds, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports from the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston (Twitter links). Luhnow said he’s had a clean slate, since the Astros weren't doing much in terms of analytics before hiring him.

Quick Hits: Rendon, Astros, Royals

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On this date last year, Adam Wainwright underwent Tommy John surgery, but it didn't stop the Cardinals from winning the 2011 World Series. Earlier today Tyler Kepner of the New York Times looked back at the moment Wainwright struck Carlos Beltran out to end the 2006 NLCS and the present-day relationship between the new teammates. Here are more of today's links…

  • Third base prospect Anthony Rendon is impressing Nationals scouts and front office personnel this spring, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Rendon, a first round pick in 2011, doesn't appear to be far removed from the Major Leagues. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman just signed a long-term deal, but Rendon says he is comfortable at second base.
  • In a chat with fans at MLB.com, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said the club still needs to "add to [their] depth" and land an impact prospect with the first overall pick in June's draft.
  • The Royals' Opening Day payroll figures to be in the $57MM range, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweets. Dutton has the full breakdown here.

Cafardo On Oswalt, Angels, Bourjos, Rodriguez, Lowe

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Here's a look at some highlights from today's column by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe..

  • One National League GM said that Roy Oswalt's desire to pitch closer to home has some teams wondering if the hurler might not be enthused about pitching this season.  "Everyone knows he has back issues, but the thing that bothered teams was that all of a sudden, he wanted to be closer to home and wanted to start picking and choosing where he wanted to be. A lot of people felt he lost that desire he used to have to pitch, and now we’re seeing him say, ‘Maybe I’ll show up somewhere around midseason and make just as much as I’d make if I signed now,'" said the GM. 
  • The Angels are unlikely to outright release Bobby Abreu as they owe him $9MM, but their efforts to deal him have been fruitless so far.   
  • Peter Bourjos, meanwhile, is still prominent on the Nationals’ wish list for center fielders, but the Angels want considerable value back if they deal him.   With Torii Hunter in the final year of his contract, there is room for the Halos to keep both Bourjos and Mike Trout.
  • Astros left-hander Wandy Rodriguez will be a top "go get" guy before the deadline for teams needing an extra piece. Astros people remain surprised at the lack of interest in Rodriguez, even with the club willing to pick up about half the $36MM owed to him.
  • Indians pitcher Derek Lowe has strong interest in returning to the Red Sox after this season as a starter or reliever.  Cafardo writes that the veteran could have been an interesting solution as the BoSox's fourth or fifth starter, but picking up a large chunk his salary from the Braves didn't interest Boston.
  • Jason Varitek's friends still insist that he is leaning toward retirement as he can’t envision himself in a non-Red Sox uniform.  However, he feels that he can still play and at least be a backup catcher somewhere.

Astros Keeping Tabs On Jorge Soler

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The Astros are keeping tabs on powerful Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler as he nears free agency, GM Jeff Luhnow told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  Soler, who is represented by Praver/Shapiro, is not yet a free agent, but Luhnow has seen him and is in contact with his camp.

Baseball America ranks the Astros' farm system 17th in the game, but ESPN's Keith Law has them 27th.  With 11 picks in the first ten rounds of the 2012 draft including the first overall, the Astros have MLB's second-largest allowance at $11.1777MM, according to Baseball America.  BA's Jim Callis would rank Soler 43rd on their top 100, better than any Astros prospect aside from Jonathan Singleton.  With the new $2.9MM international spending cap beginning with the 2012 July 2nd class, Soler represents the last chance for any team to bid eight figures for a raw international free agent. 

NL Central Notes: Burnett, Madson, Kvasnicka

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Let's celebrate perhaps the last year of a six-team NL Central with spring training links for all the clubs…

  • Pirates infielder Gustavo Nunez, who was taken from the Tigers in December's Rule 5 draft, was placed on the 60-day DL with a right ankle injury, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Side effects of the move: the Pirates buy some time before deciding whether to put Nunez on the 25-man roster, and a 40-man roster spot is opened for new acquisition A.J. Burnett.
  • The Burnett acquisition creates competition at the back end of the Pirates' rotation, writes Biertempfel.  He believes Kevin Correia and Jeff Karstens will battle for the last spot, if everyone is healthy.  Burnett talked to reporters this morning.  One interesting news tidbit was his comment that one ever asked him about a potential Angels trade, though he confirmed he's not interested in the West Coast for family reasons.  Unprompted, Burnett debunked the rumors about his wife's transportation preferences, saying with a smile, "She loves to fly."
  • Ryan Madson's $8.5MM commitment with the Reds is spread out over three budgets, explains ESPN's Buster Olney: "$2MM during the 2012 season, $2MM in deferred salary on Nov. 1, 2012 — which is the start of the 2013 budget — and another $2MM in deferred salary, without interest, on Nov. 1, 2013, at the outset of the 2014 fiscal year. In the middle of that, they have a $2.5MM buyout on an $11 million option for 2013."  On the topic of his one-year deal, Madson told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon, "I take it as motivation to show people again, to prove that it's real.  It's unfortunate it's that way but I'm not complaining. I'm very happy. I'm very privileged to have this opportunity, and I just want to run with it and show people that I will be OK."
  • Righty Brett Tomko always wanted to come back to Cincinnati, he told John Fay of the Enquirer.  Tomko said it's taken two years to recover from a 2009 pinched nerve.
  • The Astros could have a new player at all nine positions for Opening Day 2012 compared to '11, writes Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Astros 2010 supplemental first-round pick Mike Kvasnicka is moving back to catcher from third base, tweets Levine.  Kvasnicka was recently ranked 25th among Astros prospects by Baseball America.
  • "I'm not one to look back with animosity, however people or fans want to view my time there," former Cubs GM Jim Hendry told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Hendry noted that it was "just nice" to be wanted by the Yankees, "the most storied franchise in sports."  He's now with the Yankees as a special assistant to GM Brian Cashman, and isn't worrying about becoming a GM again.
  • "They always say contract years turn out to be great years," Brewers starter Chris Narveson mentioned to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum are entering contract years, while Randy Wolf has a $10MM club option for '13 with a $1.5MM buyout.
  • Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright refuses to put a limit on his innings following 2011 Tommy John surgery, he told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, but she notes that GM John Mozeliak has said 200 frames is likely out of the question.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Young, Kazmir

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The Brewers beat Jose Veras in arbitration, so he’ll earn $2MM in 2012, rather than the $2.375MM he had asked for. Here are the latest links from the NL Central…

  • Both the Brewers and agent Bryce Dixon used Kameron Loe's recent $2.175MM agreement to argue their respective cases in the Veras hearing, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports. 
  • It's been 25 days since the arbitration hearing for Ryan Braun's appeal of a positive drug test began, but the soft deadline passed without a decision, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. A decision is expected within ten days.
  • The Pirates were impressed by Dmitri Young's workout yesterday, but they won't offer him a contract, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. Manager Clint Hurdle said he got a good read on the the 38-year-old after yesterday’s workout.
  • The Astros have already seen Scott Kazmir throw, so they don't intend to watch him audition in front of scouts tomorrow, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets.

NL Central Notes: Snyder, Mejdal, Young

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We've already heard that the Reds don't expect to make any additions before Spring Training. Here are the latest rumors from the rest of the NL Central…

  • Chris Snyder, who signed with the Astros earlier this offseason, says a part of him had always wanted to join his hometown team, according to Zachary Levine and Sam Khan Jr. of the Houston Chronicle. The 31-year-old backstop is a Houston native.
  • Newly-hired director of decision sciences Sig Mejdal explained to Levine how he intends to use data in a way that will allow the Astros to improve their on-field product.
  • Dmitri Young worked out for the Pirates today and manager Clint Hurdle said he got a good read on the first baseman/outfielder, according to Tom Singer of MLB.com. "He met all the criteria we wanted to see," Hurdle said. "He ran the bases, took balls at first base, threw from the outfield and hit from both sides of the plate." The 38-year-old is attempting a comeback after losing 70 pounds.
  • In case you missed it, Brewers reliever Jose Veras had an arbitration hearing today and the Cubs are interested in Ramon Ortiz.

Cafardo On Oswalt, Burnett, Phillies, Rodriguez

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe takes a look at what we can expect out of David Ortiz's arbitration hearing on Monday.  The only way the hearing can turn bad, according to one source with experience in arbitration cases, is if the Red Sox mention that Ortiz's positive test for a banned substance in 2003. However, Boston may be reluctant to go there, for risk of inviting bad feelings.  Here more from Cafardo..

  • The Red Sox are willing to give Roy Oswalt a one-year deal worth $5-$7MM, but the veteran remains reluctant to pitch in Boston.  However, as we've heard elsewhere, the 34-year-old hasn't ruled Boston out.
  • Any money that the Yankees save in a potential A.J. Burnett trade will be put toward a lefthanded-hitting DH/outfielder type, with Raul Ibanez and Johnny Damon likely in that mix.
  • Don't be surprised if Vladimir Guerrero, Magglio Ordonez, Xavier Nady, or Manny Ramirez wind up with the Phillies.  The Phillies really want to add a righthanded hitter who can pinch hit and occasionally play the outfield.  However, they’re extremely close to luxury tax territory.
  • The Athletics, Orioles, and Blue Jays remain the main teams interested in Ramirez.
  • Mike Gonzalez remains the most high-profile lefty reliever on the market and agent Scott Boras is hoping teams reassess their needs right before camp.  The Phillies could be a fit, but they have budget concerns.  The Orioles also want to add one more bullpen piece but they might not want to go down that road again.
  • The lack of interest in Astros left-hander Wandy Rodriguez is surprising considering that the club would assume a fair portion of the $36MM left on his deal.  Houston is also surprised at the lack of interest in righty Brett Myers, who would appear to be a good piece for a contending club.
  • While interviewing for the Red Sox managerial job, Tigers third base coach Gene Lamont felt confident that he was going to get the nod.  Lamont met with Ben Cherington and Larry Lucchino in Boston, John Henry in Boca Raton, Florida, and Tom Werner in New York City.
  • After watching Ryan Flaherty in camp with the Orioles, Cafardo believes that the infielder and Rule 5 draft pick can win a spot with the club.
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