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NL Central Notes: Brewers, Conrad, Pirates, Francisco

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The Brewers will honor Bob Uecker with a statue that will be unveiled on August 31.  The legendary broadcaster joins Bud Selig, Robin Yount and Henry Aaron as other Milwaukee baseball heroes who are immortalized in statue form at Miller Park.  At least, that's the intended location, as Uecker joked, "It's not going to be at (Miller) Park. Robin and Henry wanted their statues moved if mine was put there."

Some more news from the Brewers and elsewhere in the NL Central…

  • The Brewers are looking for middle infield help but GM Doug Melvin said that it's a tough market since many other teams are looking for the same thing, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  The Phillies, Athletics and Twins are just a few of the clubs known to be hunting for infielders.  McCalvy also covers several other Brewers-related topics as part of this fan chat. 
  • Brooks Conrad is one internal infield option that the Brewers seem likely to keep on the roster, reports McCalvy.  Conrad is in camp on a minor league deal and manager Ron Roenicke noted the value of Conrad's ability to play several positions and switch-hit.  If Conrad is kept on the Major League roster, he will earn $510K.  Conrad can play second, so the Brewers would probably focus on finding a shortstop if they do acquire another infielder.
  • The Pirates' projected $52MM payroll makes sense for the team right now, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, as there weren't any clear opportunities to spend last winter and the Bucs need to save their money for key long-term pieces (like Andrew McCutchen and his new six-year contract extension).
  • Juan Francisco's failure to come to camp in shape and with a calf injury properly rehabiliated, not to mention his poor performance this spring, has turned him from a "near-lock" to make the Reds roster into a question mark, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.  Francisco is out of options, as is Wilson Valdez, another contender for a spot on Cincinnati's bench.
  • Also from Sheldon (via Twitter), he shoots down internet rumors linking the Reds and Phillies in a Brandon Phillips-for-Cole Hamels deal.  No surprise that rumor is "false," it doesn't make sense for either team.  
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tries to predict the Astros' Opening Day roster.
  • Here are some Cardinals and Cubs news items from earlier today on MLBTR.

Spanish Links: Vazquez, Wandy, Jorge Vazquez

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Links in Spanish about three jugadores who don't know where they'll be a year from now…

  • Javier Vazquez received calls from two general managers this offseason, and his agent received calls from others, the pitcher told Esteban Pagán Rivera at the Puerto Rican paper Primera Hora. Vazquez says he was frank with his suitors, saying, "I haven't felt the slightest itch to play. But I haven't announced my retirement because who knows if, three months or a year from now, I get the urge to play again."
  • Wandy Rodriguez is approaching this offseason's trade rumors as if he were a soldier and the Astros were his army, the 33-year-old lefty told Juan Mercado from the Dominican daily El Día. "Wherever they send me, that's where I'll go, since I don't have any city in particular (in mind)," Rodriguez said. The Astros originally signed Rodriguez as an international free agent in 1999, and he says he appreciates the team that "opened the doors" for him to make it to the majors. "Now, if they decide to trade me, the only thing to do is accept it and leave."
  • Slugging Yankee prospect Jorge Vazquez is growing impatient with the minor leagues and would like to try Japan or Korea if there's not a place for him in the major leagues, according to the president of the Mexican League's Tigres de Quintana Roo, where Vazquez played in 2007 and 2008. "If they don't give him an opportunity this year, he wants them to trade him, or to go to [play] baseball in the east," Cuauhtémoc "Chito" Rodríguez told Fernando Ballesteros at Puro Béisbol. "He doesn't want to continue on in Triple A anymore, not just with the Yankees, but with any other organization as well." Vazquez made a case for being MLB-ready in 2011, putting up a .262/.314/.516 line with 32 homers at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Royals Acquire Jason Bourgeois, Humberto Quintero

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5:36pm: Luhnow told reporters (including MLB.com's Brian McTaggart) that the player to be named later will be the "key component" of the trade (Twitter links). Astros Sr. Director of Social Media Alyson Footer says it'll be a while before that player is named, however. It's probably worth noting that any player drafted last year can not officially be traded yet, so they can only be included in a deal as a player to be named right now.

3:38pm: The Royals have acquired outfielder Jason Bourgeois and catcher Humberto Quintero from the Astros for minor league left-hander Kevin Chapman and a player to be named later. Both teams have announced the trade.

Bourgeois posted a .294/.323/.357 line with 31 stolen bases last year, while playing all three outfield positions and appearing at second base. The 30-year-old will be arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2012 season.

Quintero, 32, appeared in 79 games last year, posting a .240/.258/.317 line in 272 plate appearances. He'll earn $1MM in 2012 and hit free agency after the season. He and Brayan Pena will share the Royals' catching duties while Salvador Perez recovers from a knee operation.

“Jason and Humberto were a big part of this team last year and both will be missed,” Astros GM Jeff Luhnow stated. “This deal gives us an opportunity to add prospect depth and we are excited about both players coming our way.”

Chapman, a fourth round selection in 2010, split last season between Class A and Double-A in the Royals' minor league system. The 6'4" 24-year-old posted a 4.94 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 62 total innings of relief in 2011.

The move likely means Jordan Schafer will assume the starting center field role in Houston. The Astros have catchers Chris Snyder and Jason Castro, so they could afford to part with Quintero and his salary. Meanwhile, projected Royals starter Lorenzo Cain could find himself competing with Bourgeois for playing time. The Royals placed Perez and Manny Pina on the 60-day disabled list to create roster space for their new acquisitions.

Jason Bourgeois, Humberto Quintero Traded

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Jason Bourgeois and Humberto Quintero of the Astros have been traded, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports (all Twitter links). The Nationals have been linked to Bourgeois while the Royals and Phillies are known to be looking for catching depth. The Royals have been trying to trade for Quintero, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets.

Catching Options For The Royals

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The Royals seek catching depth following Salvador Perez’s left knee operation, and GM Dayton Moore could look for replacements in a number of places. Perez remains the Royals’ long-term solution behind the plate, so they’re looking for someone to complement Brayan Pena for a few months. It makes sense for the Royals to pursue a short-term acquisition, since obtaining a prospect would be costly and Perez should return midsummer. Here’s a rundown of the avenues Moore could explore:

Free Agents

At this point there aren’t many free agents who spent considerable time in the Majors last year. Ramon Castro is available and the Royals have been linked to veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez. 

Out of Options Players

Craig Tatum and Chris Stewart aren’t projected to make their teams’ Opening Day rosters and could be available later in the month. Bobby Wilson and Jose Lobaton don’t have guaranteed MLB jobs either, so the Royals could inquire on them. The Royals have leverage here, since they are well-positioned to claim a catcher on waivers should a club try to slip someone through.

Veteran Trade Targets

Perhaps Rob Johnson of the Mets, Josh Bard of the Dodgers, Dioner Navarro and Corky Miller of the Reds, Humberto Quintero of the Astros or Koyie Hill of the Cardinals would appeal to the Royals as a short-term answer. Those backstops don’t have guaranteed roster spots with their current organizations and would likely be available in the right deal. The Royals had a scout watching Quintero yesterday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported.

NL Central Notes: Chapman, Francis, Punto, Heredia

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Let's continue our tour of the divisions with news from the NL Central…

  • "The Reds’ handling of Aroldis Chapman is beginning to resemble Joba Chamberlain 2.0," writes Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan.  Cincinnati is leaning towards using Chapman as a reliever this season but Passan argues that a pitcher with Chapman's potential should be given the chance to start and not worry about being shuttled between the rotation and the bullpen.  Another note from the piece is that Chapman's velocity is down to the 92-95 mph range this spring, but Chapman has been pleased with his improved command and his new pitch, a splitter.
  • Like Chapman, Jeff Francis has pitched well this spring but may not find a spot in the Reds rotation, prompting ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter) to consider Francis an "affordable alternative for teams in the John Lannan hunt."  Francis signed a minor league deal with the Reds that contains an opt-out clause for March 28 that he could exercise if he doesn't think he'll find a job in Cincinnati.  (In regards to Lannan, he could be off the trade market altogether given Chien-Ming Wang's hamstring injury today.)
  • Nick Punto told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that his top two offseason options were the Cardinals and Red Sox, but the Cards never made him a contract offer.
  • Astros minor leaguer Angel Heredia has been suspended for 50 games following a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, reports The Associated Press.  Heredia, a right-handed pitcher, played for Houston's Dominican Summer League team.

Central Links: Schafer, Samuel, Cust, White Sox

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Nine years ago today, the Pirates signed Kenny Lofton to a one-year contract. After hitting .277/.333/.437 in 374 plate appearances for Pittsburgh, he was traded to the Cubs along with Aramis Ramirez for Jose Hernandez, Bobby Hill, and Matt Bruback at the deadline. Here's the latest from two of Lofton's many former divisions, the NL and AL Central…

  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel that he has no plans to trade Logan Schafer despite the club's center field depth (Twitter link). The 25-year-old Schafer has had a strong spring but is stuck behind Nyjer Morgan and Carlos Gomez on the depth chart.
  • The Astros and GM Jeff Luhnow intend to take a look at right-handed reliever Francisco Samuel, reports B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com (on Twitter). The Cardinals – Luhnow's former team – released Samuel earlier today.
  • Jack Cust has had a slow start to Spring Training, though Luhnow indicated to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince that the slugger will continue to get chances with the Astros. They signed him to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal worth $500K with an option for 2013 this offseason.
  • "We looked to see if we could acquire some of the game's most impactful young players," said White Sox GM Kenny Williams to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com when asked about the team's rebuilding plan. "Our target list was our target list. We set the price high, and we stuck with it."

Astros Sign Landon Powell

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The Astros signed catcher Landon Powell to a minor league deal and invited him to big league camp, Alyson Footer of the Astros tweets. The A's had released the 29-year-old SFX client five days ago.

Powell has a .207/.284/.328 line in 406 plate appearances over the course of three seasons with the Athletics. He has played some first base, but spent most of his time behind the plate. Just 60% of stolen base attempts against Powell have been successful since 2009.

Powell joins catchers Jason Castro, Chris Snyder and Humberto Quintero on the Astros' depth chart. The A's owe Powell approximately $103K even after cutting him from the roster last week.

Quick Hits: Twins, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners, Mitre

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Tuesday night linkage..

  • Free agent reliever Michael Wuertz says his tryout will be early next week with plans to be finalized in the next day, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Minneapolis.  The Twins are expected to attend.
  • Signing closer Joe Nathan allowed the Rangers to move Neftali Feliz into the rotation while keeping skipper Ron Washington comfortable by continuing to have an established closer, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Nathan inked a two-year, $14.75MM deal with Texas last November, though the club typically doesn't give multi-year deals to relievers.
  • There were at least 40 scouts on hand to watch the Orioles today, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun.
  • The Mariners reported a financial loss for a fiscal year with a $7.3MM deficit for 2011, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  This marks just the second time since the opening of Safeco Field that the M's find themselves in the red.
  • The bidding groups for the Dodgers appear to have been whittled down to five from seven tonight, a person familiar with the meetings tells Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com.  The highest bid was $1.6 billion from Magic Johnson and former baseball exec Stan Kasten, whose purchase would be partially financed by private equity.  The lowest bid from the five groups was $1.3 billion.
  • Looking at at future payroll commitments, major league assets, farm systems, ownership status, and front office strategies, ESPN.com's Keith Law (Insider sub. req'd) tries to hash out when clubs such as the Mets, Cubs, and Astros will be able to contend.
  • The biggest area of uncertainty for the Nationals, outside of their surplus of starting pitchers, seems to be their bench, writes Amanda Comak of The Washington Times. 
  • Free agent Sergio Mitre will work out for teams in March or April and expects to play in the majors this year, according to Tim (via Twitter).

John Lannan Drawing Interest

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The Red Sox, Tigers and Astros are watching John Lannan and a deal involving the left-hander is "likely" Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweets. The Mets and Padres had interest, but balked at his $5MM salary.

Lannan doesn't have a guaranteed rotation spot in Washington after posting a 3.70 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings last year, so he's a potential trade candidate this spring. The Blue Jays, Royals and Tigers are among the teams monitoring the market for starting pitching, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported today.

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