NL Central Links: All Six Teams
The Cardinals lead the NL Central by one game over the Reds. A link for each of the six teams:
- The $680MM deal to sell the Astros to Jim Crane's group "could be completed as early as next week," report Zachary Levine and Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Ownership of the club could be tranferred to Crane "as early as July," they write. Crane is believed to prefer having an agreement in place before the June 6th draft, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Pirates reliever Jose Ascanio's rehab period ends today, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the team must decide whether to add the out of options righty to the 25-man roster or risk losing him to another team. The 26-year-old has been battling shoulder and elbow injuries, but MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch wrote Monday that adding him to the big league bullpen is the most likely move.
- You read yesterday about the hug heard 'round the Midwest, as Cubs GM Jim Hendry embraced Albert Pujols before the game at Wrigley. The hug means next to nothing; as CSN's Patrick Mooney points out, Hendry has tons of connections throughout the industry. Still, it can't hurt to note that Cubs owner Tom Ricketts shook hands with the free agent to be as well.
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has begun an "open-ended convalescence" in the words of Joe Strauss' source, as he recovers from shingles. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter says La Russa "will miss the rest of the team's current road trip and perhaps significantly more time."
- Despite allowing five runs and nine hits in six innings, Brewers offseason acquisition Shaun Marcum picked up his fourth win yesterday. Marcum is showing no ill effects from his springtime shoulder stiffness; his 4.17 K/BB ratio ranks sixth in the NL. With a strong season I can see him getting close to $10MM for 2012, his final arbitration year.
- Aroldis Chapman won't be sent to the minors to work out his issues, Reds manager Dusty Baker told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The hard-throwing lefty has allowed at least one run and two walks in each of his last three appearances.
Astros Sign Max Ramirez
The Astros signed catcher Max Ramirez to a minor league deal, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle. Carlos Corporan broke a finger last week, further compromising the Astros' catching depth, explained Levine. Ramirez had been released by the Cubs on Friday. The 26-year-old had been claimed off waivers by the Cubs from the Red Sox, who claimed him from the Rangers.
Ramirez hit .286/.373/.381 in 226 plate appearances for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate last year, picking up another 85 PAs with the big club. He played 11 games for the Cubs' Triple-A team this year. Ramirez may still have potential with the bat, but he is considered a below-average defensive catcher.
Astros Notes: Crane, Pence, Draft
At 13-22, the Astros currently have the worst record in the National League. Baseball Prospectus continues to give them a 0.0% chance at the playoffs. The Astros have scored 4.2 runs per game, which ranks seventh in the league. However, their bullpen has the NL's worst ERA at 5.40. The starting pitching has been subpar as well at 4.81, though that ranking is largely due to J.A. Happ (5.75) and the recently-designated Nelson Figueroa (8.28 as a starter). On to today's notes…
- Only "a little fine-tuning" remains to complete the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane, reports Bob Allen of ABC 13 out of Houston. Allen expects the sale price to be around $680MM.
- I covered the Astros' 2012 contract issues last week; it will be interesting to see how the new ownership approaches the offseason. If Hunter Pence reaches 100 RBIs for the first time in his career, will he set a new third-time arbitration record for position players going year by year? Will the Astros be willing to pay him eight figures?
- Astros fans can look forward to the June 6th draft, in which the team picks 11th overall. Three Baseball America experts did a mock draft as if they were in charge of the teams, and Conor Glassey took Oklahoma high school righty Dylan Bundy for Houston after considering George Springer and Taylor Jungmann. Prior to the season, prospect gurus such as Keith Law, Kevin Goldstein, and BA all ranked the Astros' farm system 26th or worse among the 30 teams.
- MLBTR has all kinds of Astros-centric pages to check out: Facebook, Twitter, RSS, and forums.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Atchison, Astros
The Pirates are over .500 at 18-17. Here are some links for Monday night, as we wonder how long they can maintain a winning record…
- Pirates starters have been pitching well and manager Clint Hurdle tells MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch that pitching can be contagious, just like hitting. GM Neal Huntington has acquired two of his starters in the last year: James McDonald (trade) and Kevin Correia (free agency).
- As Jonathan Mayo explains at MLB.com, potential changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement could make drafted players more eager to sign. One scouting director expects to see a few more signings than usual in 2011.
- Red Sox reliever Scott Atchison was added to Boston's Triple-A roster after being optioned to the minors, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (on Twitter). The Red Sox designated Atchison for assignment Friday in what was "a purely procedural move," according to Speier.
- Houston attorney Kenny Friedman told Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner that he maintains interest in buying the Astros. Though Jim Crane now has an exclusive negotiating window during which he can buy the team, Friedman, the father of Rays executive Andrew Friedman, is working on his bid.
Astros Designate Nelson Figueroa For Assignment
The Astros designated Nelson Figueroa for assignment according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter). Houston called up Sergio Escalona in a corresponding move.
Figueroa made the Astros' rotation out of Spring Training, but has since been demoted to the bullpen. After a two-inning outing tonight in which he allowed a run and five baserunners, Figueroa has a season ERA of 8.69 with 16 walks, 45 hits allowed and 17 strikeouts. Last year he posted a 3.22 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 67 innings as a swingman.
If the 36-year-old right-hander gets picked up off of waivers, it will the fourth time he has been claimed in his nine-year career. Just last year, the Phillies selected Figueroa off of waivers from the Mets and the Astros nabbed him from the Phillies.
2012 Contract Issues: Houston Astros
The Astros are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series. Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:
Eligible For Free Agency (2)
- Clint Barmes' Astros career has just begun. He'd like to stay beyond 2011, but the team's willingness to extend him will depend on his performance.
- Jason Michaels is also eligible for free agency.
Contract Options (1)
- Bill Hall: $4MM mutual option with a $250K buyout. Hall has a standard mutual option, which is really just a way for the Astros to push some money onto next year's payroll. He didn't do anything in April to suggest the team should extend him.
Arbitration Eligible (9)
- First time: J.A. Happ, Jeff Fulchino, Alberto Arias, Angel Sanchez
- Second time: Nelson Figueroa
- Third time: Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, Jeff Keppinger
- Fourth time: Humberto Quintero
Not all of these players will make it to the point of being tendered contracts. Pence and Bourn are the significant cases, assuming they are not traded. Pence had a big arbitration win in February and could make the jump to $10MM in 2012 and well beyond that in '13. Bourn is controlled through '12 and is represented by Scott Boras; his salary next year could exceed $7MM. Happ could top $3MM and Keppinger is already above $2MM. I'll estimate $24MM or so to retain the key players.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Astros' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is $47.25MM. That could climb to $71MM if the main arbitration eligibles are retained, which would be about $6MM below this year's reduced payroll. If Jim Crane buys the team, what path will he take? The new ownership group could purge more of the remaining veterans and build the team from the ground up, using 2012 as a consolidation year (after which Carlos Lee and Brandon Lyon will be off the books). Or, assuming players such as Pence, Bourn, Brett Myers, and Wandy Rodriguez are not traded in July, a new owner could throw around some free agent dollars and try to find a way to compete in '12.
Astros Notes: McLane, Crane, Friedman, Inglett
The Astros have allowed more runs than any other National League team (151). Despite Bud Norris' emergence and solid pitching from Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers, the bullpen ERA is 4.97 and J.A. Happ and Nelson Figueroa have struggled. Here's the latest on the Astros, with a focus on the potential sale of the team…
- Astros owner Drayton McLane told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that Houston businessman Jim Crane has become the lone buyer he’s focusing on. “Jim Crane is the only person we’re negotiating with now,” McLane said Monday.
- Others were interested as prospective buyers, however. Houston attorney Kenny Friedman confirmed that he had spoken to McLane about assembling a group to buy the team, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Friedman is the father of Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
- Joe Inglett, who was designated for assignment late last week, cleared waivers and accepted a Triple-A assignment, according to McTaggart (on Twitter).
Dead Money: Paying Players To Play Elsewhere
Eating money in trades or by releasing players is far from an ideal business practice, but sometimes it's a necessary evil. The Mets believe they are better off paying Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo a combined $18MM not to be on their team this year, and released the two just last month. David Wharton of The Los Angeles Times wrote about the concept of "dead money" today, speaking to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, sports economist J.C. Bradbury, and Scott Boras.
With some help from Cot's Baseball Contracts, let's look at the teams that are paying players to be anywhere but on their roster this season…
- Angels: Gary Matthews Jr. ($11.4MM)
- Astros: Roy Oswalt ($7MM)
- Blue Jays: Vernon Wells ($5MM)
- Cubs: Carlos Silva ($7.25MM, plus $2MM in 2012)
- Diamondbacks: Chris Snyder ($3MM)
- Dodgers: Manny Ramirez ($8.33MM per year through 2013), Andruw Jones ($3.2MM per year through 2014), Juan Pierre ($3.5MM)
- Mariners: Carlos Silva ($5.5MM), Yuniesky Betancourt ($1MM), Josh Wilson ($179K)
- Mets: Oliver Perez ($4MM), Luis Castillo ($6MM), Gary Matthews Jr. ($1MM)
- Rockies: Manny Corpas ($3.55MM, $250K in 2012)
- Royals: Yuniesky Betancourt ($2MM)
- Twins: Brendan Harris ($500K)
- White Sox: Scott Linebrink ($3.5MM)
This doesn't include money the Braves owe Kenshin Kawakami ($7.4MM) or the Yankees owe Kei Igawa ($4MM). Both Japanese imports remain in the organization, but they've since been banished to the minor leagues. It also doesn't include all the money the Mets famously owe Bobby Bonilla for the next two decades.
Yuniesky Betancourt is the only player collecting paychecks from three different big league teams at the moment, but Carlos Silva could join him if he's called up by the Yankees. Gary Matthews Jr. could also be in that mix if he catches on somewhere this summer.
Astros Notes: Barmes, Crane, Berkman
After spending time on the DL with a fractured hand, Clint Barmes made his Astros debut tonight. The shortstop went 0-for-4 as Houston dropped a 5-0 result to Milwaukee. Here are some other items from Minute Maid Park…
- Drayton McLane and Jim Crane have entered an "exclusive negotiating window" to arrange the club's sale to Crane, according to Houston TV station KILT. McLane tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that Crane is only one of several potential buyers with whom he is negotiating.
- As much as Astros fans might want to see Lance Berkman back in Houston (or as much as Berkman reportedly would like to finish his career with the team), Chip Bailey of the Houston Chronicle doesn't think Berkman fits in with the Astros' commitment to their youth movement.
- As reported earlier tonight, the Astros released minor league right-hander Cesar Carrillo.
- Houston fans can get all the latest news on their team by following MLBTR's Astros-centric RSS feed, Facebook page and Twitter account.
Astros Release Cesar Carrillo
The Astros have released right-hander Cesar Carrillo, reports Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times (via Twitter). Carrillo was put on waivers by San Diego last September and claimed by Houston, but struggled (a 9.64 ERA in 9 1/3 innings) for Double-A Corpus Christi this season. It's an unfortunate birthday present for Carrillo, who turns 27 today.
Carrillo was a first-round pick of the Padres (18th overall) in the 2005 amateur draft and was ranked as the 88th-best prospect in the game by Baseball America before the 2006 season. Carrillo underwent Tommy John surgery in 2007, however, and never quite got back on track. The right-hander has a career 5.14 ERA in 99 minor league games (93 of them starts) and made three starts for the Padres in 2009, allowing 15 earned runs and 12 walks in just 10 1/3 Major League innings.