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Odds And Ends: Angels, Red Sox, Heyward

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Another round of links…

Odds And Ends: Lackey, Millwood, Ross

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Some more links for the morning…

  • As MLB.com's Lyle Spencer reports, John Lackey is pitching well at the perfect time for the Angels, who now have a solid rotation one through five. It doesn't hurt Lackey's position as an impending free agent, either.
  • Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for next season will kick in tonight if he pitches 8.0 innings or more. He has 172 innings on the season and the option vests once he reaches 180.
  • It looks like the Rangers will be able to surround Millwood with even more young talent next year. As Jamey Newberg shows for MLB.com, the club has more than its share of promising young players in the minors and, now, in the majors.
  • Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports that Cody Ross earned $25k for making 540 plate appearances on the season. He could have more money coming his way, as he makes the same amount for reaching 570 and 600 plate appearances.

Figgins Not Ruling Out A Return To LA

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We've heard rumors that the Yankees, White Sox and Cubs could have interest in Chone Figgins this offseason, but the free agent-to-be tells Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that other cities don't appeal to him as much as LA does.

"It's a different world than here," Figgins said. "Not to say those places are bad, but here is what my game is all about. The guys they bring in fit the program. You get used to winning and that's a great feeling. It doesn't matter how much money you have there."

However, he doesn't seem inclined to give the Angels a hometown discount, as much as he appears to enjoy playing for them. He will likely have many suitors because of his .400 OBP, versatility and defense (he's a strong defender at third, according to UZR).

Heyman On Awards, Lackey, Pettitte

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A look at the latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Heyman hands out the hardware, starting with Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols for the MVP awards.  I'll let you click to see his take on the other awards.
  • Heyman says "there hasn't been any hint of negotiations between the Angels and ace pitcher John Lackey."  He believes their initial offer before the season was in the four-year, $60MM range.  Hard to see Lackey leaving a possible $20MM+ on the table.
  • Andy Pettitte will decide on 2010 once he talks to his family in Houston after the season.

Mike Sweeney Hopes To Play In 2010

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Designated hitter Mike Sweeney hopes to play again in 2010, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  He'll have to postpone microfracture knee surgery to do so.  The 36 year-old is hitting .277/.335/.441 in 236 plate appearances, his best power display since '05.  He's on a $500K minor league deal signed in January.

Sweeney told Baker he decided to play next year after receiving support from his wife.  His two choices are the Mariners and the Angels.

Odds & Ends: Astros, Royals, Abreu

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Let's kick off the day with links…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Scott Kazmir

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On this date 34 years ago, Rod Barajas was born. Barajas has played 11 seasons with four different franchises, hitting .241/.286/.411. This year, he is in the final year of a two-year deal that pays him $2.5MM this season. With less than a month remaining in the season, many others will see their contracts expire and look forward to free agency. Let's take a look at what is being written in the blogosphere…

  • The Hardball Times says Scott Kazmir may be injury-prone moving forward, but he still has the arm to be an Ace.
  • Rays Revolutionary has no problem with trades that help the Rays budget, but are upset at the timing of the Kazmir deal.
  • The Rays Party looks at what the Kazmir deal means for the Rays now and down the road.
  • Jorge Says No! is not a fan of the timing of the Kazmir trade, but says the Rays got a good package, and in the end, it is Pat Burrell's fault.
  • The Bottom Linewonders why the Red Sox did not claim Kazmir and block his move to the Angels, a potential playoff opponent.
  • UmpBump says the Kazmir deal makes sense, but maybe the Rays should have waited until the off-season.
  • The Baseball Opinion likes the Kazmir deal for the Rays noting they dumped the salary and that there is likely more wrong with his arm than we know.
  • Around the Majors loves the Kazmir deal for the Rays, noting that Kazmir no longer has a fastball to live up to his reputation.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Stark On Lackey, Rays, Jeter

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More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column at ESPN.com…

  • One of Stark's sources says the Angels' acquisition of Scott Kazmir is not linked to John Lackey's future.  Lackey is said to have dropped his price from the C.C. Sabathia range ($161MM over seven years) to A.J. Burnett money ($82.5MM over five years) due to his recent injury history.  The Angels will attempt to re-sign Lackey, but they have their limit.  Stark's suggestion that Lackey had a "Sabathia-esque" price tag in Spring Training runs counter to Mike DiGiovanna's report that the pitcher wanted Burnett money at that time.
  • Stark feels that the Rays' trade of Kazmir will help them allocate money toward retaining Carl Crawford and/or Carlos Pena.  Crawford's 2010 club option is worth between $10-11.5MM.  Pena is signed at $10.125MM for '10 and is represented by Scott Boras.  One positive: the slugging first baseman inked a below-market deal in January of '08.
  • Derek Jeter is not talking about his next contract, but Stark feels the Yankees will take care of him.  They may wait until after next season, when Jeter finishes his current deal.
  • Rockies manager Jim Tracy is familiar with Brad Penny, and his opinion might have caused the team to back off.  And the Yankees cooled Jon Garland because they didn't see him as a difference-maker in the AL East.
  • The Marlins were in on Mike Cameron, but the Brewers decided to keep their players and win as many games as possible.
  • The White Sox "wanted something good" for Jermaine Dye, according to one Stark source.  He would not have been as easy to pry away as Jim Thome and Jose Contreras were.
  • A couple of sources are skeptical that the Red Sox will shop closer Jonathan Papelbon this winter.
  • Stark notes that only two players – Ryan Franklin and David Eckstein – signed extensions in-season.  These days it makes more sense to talk during the exclusive negotiation period after the season.  Plus, there were many bargains to be had on the free agent market last offseason.

Odds And Ends: Royals, Kazmir, Hudson

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Some links for the morning…

  • Jeff Sackmann of the Hardball Times can imagine an excellent Royals team in 2012, but says there's no guarantee we'll see such a thing.
  • As MLB.com's Doug Miller shows, cheap, no-name closers can be just as effective as proven commodities.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the addition of Scott Kazmir should help the Angels reach the playoffs once again.
  • Tim Hudson and Dan Meyer were traded for each other in 2004. This week, Hudson pitched against Meyer's team for the first time, as MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports.
  • Jamey Newberg ranks Justin Smoak and Martin Perez ahead of the other Rangers minor leaguers in this week's prospects report for MLB.com.

Odds & Ends: Posey, Maybin, Penny

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Links for Wednesday…

  • Due to Bengie Molina's injury, the Giants have changed their mind and called up top prospect Buster Posey according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.  So Posey's clock starts earlier than planned.
  • Speaking of service time, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tells me Cameron Maybin's call-up gives him 129 days of service time after this year.  That puts him on the fringe of Super Two status after the 2011 season.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick ranks the impact of trades made by contenders in July.  He talked to an exec who thinks Matt Holliday "could make an extra $3MM a year as a free agent this winter because of his strong finish."
  • Yahoo's Gordon Edes has his trade deadline winners and losers.
  • Ryan Doumit's agent Matt Sosnick shot down recent negativity surrounding his client, while Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gets to the bottom of the catcher's recent benching.
  • Brad Penny still hates the Dodgers, a team he'll face twice this month according to Baggarly.  Baggarly also has a quote from Penny ripping on the Marlins.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has more from Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, who knows he gained trade value when the team delayed his free agency.
  • J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics wonders whether the Braves should pick up Tim Hudson's $12MM option for 2010.  Hudson has the right to void that option, not that he would.  Back in January Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the Braves "fully intend to exercise it, barring some unexpected turn of events."
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs notes that Kendry Morales has matched the production of the Angels' former first baseman, $180MM man Mark Teixeira.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has comments from Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes on the team's Jon Rauch–Kevin Mulvey swap.  Piecoro says the D'Backs have about $23MM to work with this winter as they presumably look to add pitching.
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times guesses Ken Griffey Jr. will retire after this season.
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