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Royals Acquire Ramon Ramirez

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According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies traded reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Royals for a player to be named later.  In an accompanying move, the Royals designated Jorge de la Rosa for assignment.

The 26 year-old righty reliever has posted some big-time strikeout rates at various stops.  He’s a former outfielder who has bounced around in the Yankees, Reds, and Rockies organizations.  He even did a stint in Japan.  In 2005, Baseball America described Ramirez’s power repertoire as a 92-94 mph heater, a hard curveball, and a splitter. 

Odds and Ends: Giles, Crisp, A-Rod

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Nothing huge cooking this morning, so here are some odds and ends.

  • Doesn’t look like the Dodgers will acquire Marcus Giles.
  • Rany Jazayerli writes about how Kansas City is home to many of the country’s best baseball journalists.  On a related note, the Star’s Sam Mellinger has a chat with Brian Bannister on his blog.
  • Coco Crisp rattles off the trade rumors he’s heard: Cubs, Sox, A’s, Padres.  No deal appears imminent, though Crisp was healthy enough to pinch-run this morning.
  • John Harper snags an exclusive with Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod admitted he chose the Rangers over the Mets for money and feared he was going down that road again this past winter.
  • Roch Kubatko writes that Brian Roberts was pulled from the lineup today for back pain, hoping to nip trade speculation in the bud.
  • The Phillies have to make a decision on Kris Benson today.
  • Aaron Gleeman weighs in on the Joe Nathan extension.  Buster Olney talked to baseball execs who felt the Twins should’ve added Nathan’s money to their Johan offer.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Loretta, Ensberg, Lopez, Ring

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Ken Rosenthal has some Spring Training odds and ends this morning.

  • Rosenthal adds Mark Loretta as a possible third base acquisition for the Dodgers.  Given their desire for a relatively affordable guy who can also handle second, Rosenthal has linked them to Ron Belliard and Esteban German previously.  Loretta shouldn’t be too hard to pry away from the Astros.  Though he can’t play second, Morgan Ensberg could be an option if the Yankees let him leave.
  • The Nats are shopping Felipe Lopez, who’s said he wouldn’t be content on the bench.  Rosenthal says the Nationals have their eye on awful shortstop Angel Berroa as a possible replacement, which is strange on multiple levels.  Not only is Berroa not a Major Leaguer at this point, but the Nats plan to use Cristian Guzman at short.
  • Royce Ring is said to be "perhaps the most available of the Braves’ out of options relievers."  Who needs a lefty?

Odds and Ends: Dan Johnson, Baldelli, Soria

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Let’s round up some linkage.

Odds and Ends: Mirabelli, Lohse, Spring Stats

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Here are some links I’ve cobbled together.

Dodgers Haven’t Discussed German With Royals

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On Sunday evening, Ken Rosenthal wrote that Ron Belliard of the Nationals and Esteban German of the Royals were "attracting the Dodgers’ interest."

However, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports today that Royals’ GM Dayton Moore has not been informed of any interest in German by the Dodgers.  German is known for his .373 career OBP and his versatility, though Baseball Prospectus says he is "capable of playing second, third, and the outfield equally poorly."

Odds and Ends: Loretta, German, Belliard, Baldelli

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  • An update to the Ken Rosenthal article discussed earlier suggests that either Esteban German or Ron Belliard would be better, cheaper alternatives for the Dodgers than Joe Crede or Brandon Inge. It would take less to get Belliard or German, they’re paid less, and either of them could back up Jeff Kent, 40, at second base in addition to playing third. Both players are "attracting the Dodgers’ interest" according to Rosenthal.
  • The Baltimore Sun is now reporting that the Orioles have an interest in Mark Loretta. Hopefully this is a sign that the Brian Roberts-to-Chicago saga will soon mercifully come to a conclusion. Loretta apparently isn’t slated for regular duty in a Houston infield that now features Miguel Tejada, Kaz Matsui and Ty Wigginton, which is why he might be in play. The Astros sent a scout to watch the O’s on Sunday.
  • Rocco Baldelli spoke with Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal about his myriad health problems, and dispelled some of the more creative speculation about him. He didn’t, however, address the big decision on his future that the Rays will be forced to make in the coming weeks. As discussed here a couple of days ago, and again in Sunday’s St. Petersburg Times, the decision on whether the team will pick up Baldelli’s 2009 option has to be made by April 1st. The Times suggests the Rays will pass, meaning a $4MM buyout.

Posted by Andrew Stoeten of Drunk Jays Fans.

Odds and Ends: Johnson, Ponson, Nady

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Ever lose a contact in the bathroom and scour for it for hours?  That was my morning.  Good times.  On to the links.

  • Friend of MLBTR Susan Slusser notes that the Giants had two scouts watching the A’s on Wednesday.  One guy they might have been eyeing is first baseman Dan Johnson.  It seems that Johnson, who is out of options, may be able to linger around on the A’s roster until at least mid-April given the expanded rosters for the Japan series.  And since Slusser’s article we’ve learned that Daric Barton’s hand injury is more serious than initially thought.  That could buy Johnson even more time if the A’s aren’t ready to trade him.
  • The Cardinals, Mariners, Royals, and Diamondbacks, Astros, and Rangers were among teams with scouts watching Sidney Ponson touch 94mph today.  He’s stopped drinking and lost some weight; who knows, maybe he can help an NL club.
  • Peter Abraham views Joba Chamberlain’s recent comments with a little skepticism.
  • MLB.com’s Marty Noble calls a Mets trade for Xavier Nady "quite unlikely," though an anonymous Mets player likes the idea.

Send Questions To Brian Bannister

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MLBTR did a Q&A with Royals starter Brian Bannister in January, and his answers were terrific.  Far from the usual athlete cliches.  Bannister recently answered questions at MLB.com, and he’ll be doing that twice monthly.  He posted the email address infocus@royals.com for you to submit questions – go for it!

While we’re on the topic of Bannister, Rany Jazayerli discusses how he can continue to succeed in the Majors even if he can’t maintain a .262 batting average on balls in play.

Royals Not Interested In Sosa

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TODAY: Royals GM Dayton Moore denies interest in Sosa, saying he’s not looking to acquire any free agents currently.

THURSDAY: According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, the Royals’ talks for Sammy Sosa have some life again.  However, a Royals official told ESPN last week that the team prefers to go young.  Meanwhile, Jose Guillen is campaigning for Sosa. 

Really, Sammy taking away ABs from any current Royal doesn’t seem to make any sense.  You’d hate to see Billy Butler affected, and even a trickle down minor loss of opportunity for Joey Gathright, Ross Gload, Mark Teahen, or Ryan Shealy would be counterproductive.  It’s time for Sosa to settle in as a bench player who can mash lefties, rather than shoot for 400+ ABs.

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