Odds & Ends: Pudge, A-Rod, Wilson, Hill
Links for Thursday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle talked to various Astros players about the Ivan Rodriguez signing.
- John Brattain of The Hardball Times asks what might have happened with Alex Rodriguez if he hadn't had Scott Boras whispering in his ear.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette assures us that the Pirates shopped shortstop Jack Wilson aggressively this winter.
- Eric Seidman of FanGraphs questions the Nationals' decision to release Shawn Hill. If Hill is useful in future years, this one's on Mike Rizzo.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the Royals' signing of Sidney Ponson.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star has a funny story involving Roy Halladay and Travis Snider.
- RotoAuthority looks at the fantasy prospects of Nationals top prospect Jordan Zimmermann.
Astros Looking To Acquire Third Baseman?
According to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle, in the wake of Aaron Boone's announcement this morning that he'll miss the season with a heart condition, Astros GM Ed Wade received a call from a team "informing him they had a third baseman available" for trade.
It sounds like Wade will entertain the possibility of making a deal, but he first wants to see how prospect Chris Johnson and veteran Geoff Blum will respond to increased playing time. Spring training has been rough on both guys thus far. Johnson, 24, is hitting just .231 this spring with one dinger and six RBI. Blum, 35, is batting .158 with no home runs and just three RBI in 32 at-bats.
"If we think there's a need at the end (of camp), there's going to be guys available," Wade said Wednesday. "I got a call today from a club that's got a guy that they want to make available so if we have the need. We know what Blum's capable of doing and we like what CJ's shown so far. We'll let them play and see what happens."
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Pudge, Gorzelanny, Miller
Your Wednesday links, with more to come…
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the Cardinals' payroll is down about $8MM heading into the '09 season.
- The Washington Post's Cameron Smith believes the Pudge Rodriguez signing "is a huge step for Houston."
- A bit of a shock out of Pirates camp: The club optioned left-hander Tom Gorzelanny to Triple-A Indianapolis.
- Chicago-area reporters don't expect the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family to be finalized before Opening Day.
- Minor league free agent Rob Flanigan has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
- According to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, 24-year-old pitching prospect Adam Miller's career might be "in jeopardy as a result of decreased range of motion and strength in his right middle finger."
- Mark it, dude: Tim's weekly chat is going down on Thursday at 2pm CST.
Astros Not Close To Signing Pedro Martinez
10:56am: John Perrotto, the Baseball Prospectus writer who first ran the Pedro-to-the-Astros story, has issued a mea culpa:
Let’s get this straight right off the top: I was wrong, way wrong about Pedro Martinez being on the verge of signing as a free agent with the Astros.
WEDNESDAY, 9:17am: Oritz reports that third baseman Aaron Boone will leave the Astros to undergo open heart surgery. It's unclear when or if he'll ever play baseball again. This appears to be the only big announcement that the Astros had planned for this morning.
TUESDAY, 9:35pm: Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle talked to Astros GM Ed Wade, who said the team has had "zero discussions" on the Pedro front. Martinez is not close to signing with the Astros. De Jesus Ortiz was also able to determine in talking to owner Drayton McLane that he is not selling the team or firing, hiring, or signing anyone. The press conference also has nothing to do with steroids. MLB.com's Alyson Footer also confirmed that the Astros are not close to an agreement with Pedro.
Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez spoke to Pedro and learned that the pitcher is down to two options (MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reporting). SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote Monday that the Mets and Dodgers seem to be the likely possibilities.
8:25pm: John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus says the Astros are close to an agreement with Pedro Martinez.
6:34pm: According to MLB.com's Alyson Footer, the Astros scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning at 8:45am CST. Footer says the Astros confirmed it's not about Ivan Rodriguez. Any guesses?
Odds & Ends: Suzuki, Zambrano, Nationals
Links for Tuesday…
- Remember Mac Suzuki? According to MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel, the Royals’ first Japanese pitcher worked out for Kansas City and Cleveland and will audition for the Dodgers as well. He’s spent the last three years in the Mexican League.
- Carlos Zambrano‘s second-favorite team is the White Sox, according to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times. Big Z’s contract with the Cubs runs through 2012 or 2013.
- Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo told Chico Harlan of the Washington Post he’s received a lot of phone calls about his outfield/first base logjam.
- RotoAuthority runs through all 30 closer situations. Print it out and bring it to your draft.
- Cole Hamels update: no structural damage to his elbow. ESPN’s Buster Olney says it’s inflammation.
- Hal McCoy heard from a scout that the Reds might be shopping pitcher Nick Masset, who is out of options.
- Baseball America’s Jim Callis says about 42-44% of first-round draft picks have significant big league careers.
- "Only a physical and minor details" remain on Ivan Rodriguez‘s one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Astros, according to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle.
- Free agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez still hopes to play in 2009. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D’Backs’ interest only lies in post-retirement employment.
- According to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, the Mets have begun the process of returning Rule 5 pick Rocky Cherry to the Orioles. UPDATE: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post says the O’s rejected Cherry and the Mets released him.
- This week’s chat has been moved to Thursday at 2pm CST.
Astros Agree To Terms With Ivan Rodriguez
1:08pm: ESPN’s Steve Phillips says the Astros reached an agreement with Rodriguez on a one-year, $1.5MM deal with another $1.5MM in performance bonuses. Scott Boras’ offseason is over, aside from Byung-Hyun Kim and Eric Gagne.
12:54pm: A deal with the Astros appears close, according to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. GM Ed Wade admitted he’s re-engaged with Scott Boras on Pudge.
11:28am: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Pudge is in serious talks with the Astros.
10:05am: Free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez may sign soon. A look at his rumored suitors:
- Marlins: Owner Jeffrey Loria talked about his fondness for Pudge, but added that there are a lot of variables to consider. The issue seems to be Rodriguez’s desire to catch the majority of games.
- Giants: Henry Schulman’s source says they’ve explored signing Rodriguez "as a utility catcher and infielder." MLB.com’s Chris Haft doesn’t think it makes sense.
- Astros: Richard Justice thinks the team should try to sign Pudge and Pedro Martinez for less than $5MM total. MLB.com’s Alyson Footer on Friday: "After checking with Ed Wade yet again today, I can assure you the Astros are not pursuing him. And judging from the irritated look on his face, I can also assure you I won’t be asking him about Pudge again anytime soon." SI.com’s Jon Heyman mentioned Houston in his Friday Pudge column.
- Twins: Heyman mentioned the Twins after talking to an NL team involved in the Pudge bidding. La Velle E. Neal III hadn’t heard anything as of Saturday.
- Mets: MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone doesn’t see any evidence that Rodriguez is an option.
Odds and Ends: Selig, Wrigley, Ordonez, Wade, Macha
A few links for your Saturday night enjoyment:
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times details Bud Selig’s concern about how the state of the economy will effect baseball. Selig says that he "used to think we were recession-proof" but that "this is different."
- The economy might also effect the business of selling rooftop seats near Wrigley Field, writes Nancy Armour of the Associated Press.
- Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated writes about the political stance that has Magglio Ordonez getting booed at the WBC.
- Scott Lauber of the Wilmington News Journal has excerpts from a press conference with Astros GM Ed Wade. Wade, the former Phillies GM, talks about last year’s World Series and discusses the Brad Lidge trade.
- John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Ken Macha’s challenge with the Brewers is reminiscent of one he faced with the A’s in 2005.
Astros Place Fernando Nieve On Waivers
According to Ed Price of Fanhouse, the Astros placed pitcher Fernando Nieve on waivers this week. Nieve is out of options, so the only way the Astros can send him to the minors is if no one claims him.
Nieve, 26, spent most of ’08 at Triple A. He posted a 5.72 ERA in 72.3 innings there but did average 92.5 on this fastball in his Major League stint. He had Tommy John surgery in May of 2007.
Heyman On Pudge, Pedro, Catalanotto
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up; let’s take a look.
- Heyman says Oakland’s "win now" mandate this winter came from owner Lewis Wolff.
- The Astros and Marlins are interested in Ivan Rodriguez, "no matter what they say publicly."
- Heyman says Pedro Martinez is "talking up a Dodgers reunion." So far, there’s been no indication the Dodgers are entertaining it.
- Edgar Renteria‘s agent was initially asking for a three or four-year deal.
- It’s no surprise that Frank Catalanotto is available, but the $6MM owed to him is an obvious impediment.
- According to Heyman, Andruw Jones told Rangers brass he’s flexible on the March 20th decision date in his contract.
- Heyman describes the Josh Hamilton extension talks as "just getting going" and believe the John Lackey discussions have only been preliminary.
Astros Sign Musser
According to Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros signed left-handed reliever Neal Musser to a minor league deal. Musser was designated for assignment by the Royals two weeks ago when they signed Tug Hulett.
Musser only appeared in one game for the Royals a year ago, but made 17 appearances in ’07.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.