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Offseason Questions For The AL West

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With all the offseason reviews completed, we're asking a few questions of every team.  The AL West is on the hot seat this time.

Odds & Ends: Lowell, Redding, Brantley, Wilson

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Some news items as we say goodbye to March and hello to another great baseball-filled April…

  • ESPN's Rob Neyer thinks the Rangers should just go ahead and acquire Mike Lowell, since the reported $3MM gap between Texas and Boston is a small price to pay for solidifying the Rangers' first base platoon.  Given the number of conflicting reports about the deal, it's hard to say if a Lowell-to-Texas trade is imminent or a longshot at this point.
  • Tim Redding talks to The Denver Post's Jim Armstrong about being assigned to Colorado's Triple-A team.  Four days ago, Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies pointed out that Redding has an opt-out clause he can use if he finds a spot on another team's 25-man roster.  That's unlikely; Ringolsby says the Mariners scouted Redding but came away unimpressed. 
  • The Indians were hoping to hold up Michael Brantley's service clock, but his strong Spring Training and Russell Branyan's injury forced the club's hand, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.  Brantley will now be Cleveland's starting left fielder on Opening Day.
  • Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times takes a look at Angels catcher Bobby Wilson, who is out of options and faces a tough task in finding a roster spot given the Mike Napoli–Jeff Mathis combo behind the plate in Los Angeles.  If the Angels are forced to put Wilson on waivers, you'd figure that several teams would be interested in a catcher who has a solid .283/.338/.423 line in 2642 minor league plate appearances.
  • Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com chatted with fans about a number of A's and Giants-related topics, including Urban's belief that the extensions for Matt Cain, Brian Wilson and Jeremy Affeldt may have been inspired by San Francisco's confidence in their upcoming crop of position players.
  • In another online chat, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentioned that the Cardinals are interested in acquiring a left-handed power bat for the bench.  Strauss noted the club's "history of eleventh-hour spring training moves."

Minor League Transactions

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Matt Eddy of Baseball America is back with his weekly list of minor league transactions, and here are a few of the familiar names on the move…

  • RHP Chad Orvella, who last played in the majors for Tampa Bay in 2007, was released by the Angels after signing with the club earlier this month.
  • The Dodgers released outfielder Brian Barton.  Barton was one of just two non-pitchers to appear in a game last season without making a plate appearance.  He entered his only major league game of 2009 as a pinch-runner and was caught stealing.
  • Jesse Foppert was released by Florida.  Foppert's last major league game was in 2005 with San Francisco, but the right-hander has been pitching in the Giants' (and, briefly, the Mariners') system ever since.  Prior to the 2003 season, Foppert was the fifth-highest ranked prospect in the game by Baseball America. 
  • And finally, if you see a spate of "Boston Releases Papelbon" headlines, it's not an April Fool's joke.  The Red Sox released right-hander Josh Papelbon, Jon's younger brother.

Odds & Ends: Giants, Harper, Heyward, Padres

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Some links as the weekend draws closer…

Odds & Ends: Gonzalez, Scott, Phillies, Indians

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A wrap-up of some items as we head into the weekend…

  • Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle wonders if the Athletics erred in dealing promising outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to Colorado.
  • MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli says that the Orioles are holding off on any potential Luke Scott trades until they see if Felix Pie and Nolan Reimold are healthy and can handle regular roles.
  • Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock tells MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the team isn't looking at free agent relievers to fill in for the injured Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero: "We're keeping our eyes open, but we're not actively pursuing. People are calling us more than we're calling them."
  • The Indians have no interest in the recently-released Elijah Dukes, reports The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes.
  • Speaking of the Tribe, they announced in a press release that seven players were optioned to their minor league camp, the most notable of these being top catching prospect Carlos Santana.  Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Hoynes that Santana was being sent down to work on his defense, but noted that Santana will "be on an accelerated program" due to his impressive bat.  The ESPN Insider Rumors page speculates that the club may have made the move to delay the start of Santana's major league service time.
  • In the wake of Cliff Lee's suspension, abdominal strain and possible DL stint, Dave Cameron of the U.S.S. Mariner blog notes (via Twitter) that signing Jarrod Washburn as a replacement wouldn't work since Washburn wouldn't be fit for the start of the season anyway.
  • MLB.com's Marty Noble covers several topics in a reader mailbag, including how Mets prospect Fernando Martinez "is less likely trade bait now" than he has been in the past two years.
  • Arn Tellem, Hideki Matsui's agent, was originally told by the outfielder that he wanted to play in the majors for 10 years, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Matsui is about to enter his eighth season, and though his current contract with the Angels is just for the 2010 campaign, I suspect the 2009 World Series MVP will last that full decade.

Odds & Ends: Mateo, Kelvim Escobar, Mariners

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Links to kick off the work week…

  • Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo is scheduled to work out for the Diamondbacks today, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  Mateo's reps don't share the Cardinals' concerns about Mateo's vision.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Rays came second in the Kelvim Escobar bidding, offering $600K.  Unlike the Mets, the Rays saw Escobar as a second half contributor. 
  • Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post thinks stat lovers themselves "may be the new inefficiency in the market," making Adam Dunn a bargain at three years and $40MM even if his defense doesn't improve.
  • FanGraphs' Dave Cameron explains why the Astros and Royals sit at the bottom of his organizational rankings.
  • SI's Jon Heyman names his "bests" for 2010, with the Angels getting the nod for the best rotation top to bottom.  Heyman also talks about Jarrod Washburn, considered a person of interest for Seattle.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Ms are "still pondering backup catching options from outside."  There aren't too many available backstops who can be considered clear improvements.
  • In his latest GM's Corner video for FOX Sports, Jim Bowden gathers all the GMs involved in the Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee deals.  Alex Anthopoulos mentioned that Ruben Amaro Jr. would not include Kyle Drabek or Domonic Brown when Halladay was discussed at the GM Meetings, but relented on Drabek a few weeks later.
  • Dustin Parkes of Drunk Jays Fans says "the team has put its money where its mouth is" by signing Adeiny Hechevarria.

Athletics Return Cassevah To Angels

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The Athletics returned Rule 5 pick Bobby Cassevah to the Angels, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  The Halos will pay the standard $25K fee in the transaction.

Cassevah, 24, was one of 17 players taken in the Major League phase of December's Rule 5 draft.  He posted a 3.68 ERA, 5.5 K/9, and 4.5 BB/9 in 73.3 relief innings for the Angels' Double A club, allowing just two home runs.  Baseball America ranked Cassevah 26th among A's prospects, praising his heavy 92-94 mph sinker but suggesting he has middle reliever upside given the control problems.

Given the $21MM spent on one-year deals, the A's fancy themselves contenders in the AL West.  As such, it would've been difficult to keep Cassevah in the Majors all year.

Execs Name Best, Worst Moves Of The Offseason

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Recently MLBTR spoke to several MLB executives to gather their nominations for the best and worst moves of the offseason.

Free agent signings that received mention for the best moves: Felipe Lopez, Adrian Beltre, Adam LaRoche, Chone Figgins, Hideki Matsui, and Aroldis Chapman.  Said one exec on Chapman: "He might truly live up to the hype."  It's hard not to praise the Cards for getting Lopez on a one-year, $1MM deal.

Three trades came up as choices for the best moves of the offseason: the Mariners' acquisition of Cliff Lee, the Royals' trade of Mark Teahen, and the Rangers' trade of Kevin Millwood.  One exec noted that the Mariners "didn't trade anyone that can hurt them in the next couple of years" for Lee, while another believed that "trading Lee and Kyle Drabek in the Roy Halladay deal will hurt [the Phillies] in the long run."  The Royals received props for "getting some value for Teahen," while the Rangers' increased payroll flexibility from the Millwood deal was noted.

Nominated for the worst moves: free agent deals for Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Brandon Lyon, Jason Kendall, Aubrey Huff, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and Garrett Atkins.  All the execs polled mentioned Holliday's seven year, $120MM deal when choosing their worst deals of the winter.  Said one: "The fear that he would sign a one-year deal elsewhere and take his chances a year from now — that just doesn't make sense to me."

Aside from Kendall and Huff, there was a vibe of "like the player, hate the contract" with the panned free agent signings.  One exec felt the Royals downgraded behind the plate with Kendall.  Huff was nominated as a small-scale misstep, in that the exec felt that "Hank Blalock is better and he couldn't get half that salary on a non-roster deal."

Escobar To Decide About 2010 On April 1

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The R-word has been swirling around Kelvim Escobar lately, amidst reports that the 33-year-old Mets reliever may need shoulder surgery again after managing just one start in two seasons. Escobar answers some of these concerns in an interview with Rafael Tejera at the Venezuelan paper El Nacional (link in Spanish), telling Tejera, "If I wanted to retire, I would have done it already."

As for the 2010 season, Escobar insists he hasn't given up on it yet, but he will only make his final decision after picking up a ball again. "In the coming weeks, I'll simply work to strengthen my shoulder, and then it will be April 1 when I return to throwing," he says. "If I feel the same pain that day, I'll have to make the decision I have been considering since I was with the Angels: to rest for a full year and recover."

Other links from the Spanish language beat:

  • With Cuban prospect Leslie Anderson's foot now planted in the door to the tune of $3.75MM for four years with the Rays, the question becomes: When and at what position will he play? A source close to the negotiations tells the Nuevo Herald's Jorge Ebro that the Rays want to see the 27-year-old "wearing the uniform as quickly as possible," while Marc Topkin at the St. Petersburg Times notes that Anderson is widely expected to start off in the minors. Neither brings up the subject of positions, although Anderson's agent Jaime Torres tells Topkin that Anderson will head to Rays camp later this month ready to fight for a spot on the big league roster at first base and all three outfield positions.
  • Another high-average hitter from the Cuban Serie Nacional, shortstop Yadil Mujica, has been cleared as a free agent, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. In the same day, Mujica switched agents to Legacy Sports, also the new home of Jose Julio Ruiz. A scouting report on Mujica can be found here.
  • Jesus Guzman tells Lider en Deportes' Carlos Rodriguez that he has received no guarantee of making the Giants' opening day roster, but he has received another sort of guarantee from manager Bruce Bochy: Whatever chance he has will be in the outfield, as opposed to the infield, where Guzman has almost exclusively played in the past. After three brief callups in 2009, the Giants designated the 26-year-old Venezuelan for assignment to make room for Bengie Molina this offseason, then invited him back to spring training. Last season at Triple A Fresno, Guzman put up a .321/.379/.507 line in 500 PA while playing mostly first base.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Roberts, Giles, Amaro

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On this date nine years ago, the Astros signed Richard Hidalgo to a four-year, $32MM contract. At the time, it was the third-richest contract in franchise history, behind only Jeff Bagwell's five-year, $85MM deal and Craig Biggio's four-year, $33MM deal. Hidalgo would go on to hit .266/.342/.475 with 87 home runs during the life of the deal, though he was dealt to the Mets mid-way through the 2004 season.

Here's a look at what's been written around the web…

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