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Olney On The Bullpen Market

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Teams like the Yankees and White Sox are already encountering bullpen problems and it won’t be long before other clubs are looking for relief help as well. The Yankees aren’t optimistic about the current relief market, while Chicago’s search for an effective closer has manager Ozzie Guillen dreaming of Bobby Thigpen. As one GM points out to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, lots of teams will be looking for bullpen help this summer and lots of effective pitchers should eventually become available.

Unless Heath Bell takes a massive discount to stay in San Diego, Olney suggests the Padres will deal him. The White Sox should be considered the early favorites to land Bell, Olney says.

Jonathan Broxton, Francisco Rodriguez and the Blue Jays and Rays relievers could also become available this summer. Jose Valverde will probably stay in Detroit unless the Tigers fall far out of the race, but Michael Wuertz (now on the disabled list) could be on the block even if Oakland contends.

Quick Hits: Zito, Rangers, Morgan, Angels

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Links for Thursday night..

Minor Deals: Mattingly, Mariners, Yankees

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Let's take a look at a few minor deals courtesy of Baseball America's Matt Eddy..

  • The Dodgers welcomed back outfielder Preston Mattingly after he was released by the Indians.  The son of the Dodgers skipper was the club's first-round selection (31st overall) in the 2006 draft.
  • Mariners right-hander Nolan Gallagher has voluntarily retired after injuries limited him to just 22 appearances over the last three seasons.  The 25-year-old was the M's fourth round selection in 2007.
  • The Yankees have signed 24-year-old right-hander Reinier Casanova.  The Cuban-born hurler defected following the 2009 season.

Dodgers Notes: Carroll, Eckstein, Dye

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The Dodgers have only scored 34 runs in their first ten games, but they're 6-4 in the early goings of the 2011 season. Here’s the latest on the club, which just lost its starting shortstop, probably for a month or more…

  • Rafael Furcal’s broken thumb leaves the Dodgers weakened in the middle infield, and they’re preparing to fill the void by playing Jamey Carroll at shortstop and Ivan DeJesus at second base, according to MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (Twitter link).
  • Furcal is not retiring, though he's frustrated by his latest injury.
  • The Dodgers expressed some interest in David Eckstein this offseason, but backed off when they heard he was asking for $2MM, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown (on Twitter).
  • Recently retired slugger Jermaine Dye tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the Dodgers showed interest in him this offseason, before they signed Marcus Thames. The Blue Jays and Brewers showed interest after the 2009 season, according to Dye.

Rafael Furcal Not Retiring

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1:06pm: Furcal's agent Paul Kinzer ended the retirement talk, telling Yahoo's Tim Brown, "He'll be back.  He's just frustrated" (Twitter link).

7:34am: Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal broke his thumb last night, and MLB.com's Ken Gurnick has his postgame reaction:

"I think about retiring if I'm not healthy. I feel so good with my back, now this — what do you think I am thinking?"

The recovery time could be four to six weeks, but Gurnick says Furcal will see a hand specialist today.  Most likely, the 33-year-old shortstop was just emotional in the aftermath of yet another injury.  He'll probably be talked out of the retirement idea by Dodgers teammates and management as well as his agent.

Furcal's contract, signed in December of 2008 amid all kinds of drama, calls for a $12MM salary this year.  He also has a 2012 option for the same salary that vests with 600 plate appearances, which is no longer possible.

Most teams would suffer a major downgrade if they lost their starting shortstop, and the Dodgers are no exception.  Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times runs through the team's internal options.

Michael Young Not Seeking Trade

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Rangers infielder Michael Young appeared on ESPN's Mike & Mike show today, and he's backed off from his February trade request:

"At this point now, my thoughts are completely on the Texas Rangers.  That's the way it should be. I'm not going to sit here and say I want to leave a team that's 9-1, a team that went to the World Series last year. Right now a trade is the furthest thing from my mind. Once the season rolls around, it's time to play baseball. I'm not going to concern myself with things I can't control."

So far this year, Young has played seven games at DH, two at second base, and one at first base for the Rangers.

The Dodgers, who lost shortstop Rafael Furcal to a broken thumb last night, "recently checked back" with the Rangers on Young according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (Twitter link).  However, Brown says the price hasn't dropped and the Dodgers passed.

Quick Hits: Abreu, Dodgers, Snell

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Links for Monday night, as Sam Fuld comes tantalizingly close to hitting for the cycle and a couple of young left-handers toe the rubber in San Francisco…

Heyman On Manny, Mets, Yankees, Dodgers

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Jon Heyman of SI.com points out that despite all of his antics, Manny Ramirez earned more than any players other Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. And unlike Jeter and Rodriguez, Ramirez was not a well-rounded player. Here’s Heyman’s latest from around the league:

  • There’s ‘growing suspicion’ that the Mets will look to trade veterans such as Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and Francisco Rodriguez if they are not contending midseason. Plus, Mike Pelfrey could find himself on the block.
  • Though the Yankees maintain that Phil Hughes is healthy, it’s troubling for them to see him pitching with reduced velocity. It’s part of the reason they have continued adding starting pitching depth, most recently with Carlos Silva.
  • Dodgers owner Frank McCourt had proposed a deal that would have seen FOX advance him $200MM, but MLB rejected it, according to Heyman. McCourt is losing the support of fellow owners, Heyman reports.

Dodgers Notes: Zach Lee, Mattingly, McCourt

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Some news as the Dodgers start a weekend series in San Diego…

  • Zach Lee, the Dodgers' first-round pick in the 2010 amateur draft, made his pro debut tonight for the Class A Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League, reports Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times.  Lee allowed two hits and three walks in four scoreless innings for the Loons, striking out five.  Lee was recently ranked as the 89th-best prospect in the game by Baseball America.
  • From that same item, Dilbeck reports that the Dodgers have brought back Preston Mattingly, son of manager Don Mattingly.  The younger Mattingly was drafted 31st overall by L.A. in the 2006 amateur draft, traded to the Indians in September and released by the Tribe last week.
  • Major League Baseball has not yet reached a decision about Frank McCourt's proposed new TV deal with Fox, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  SI's Jon Heyman reported earlier that MLB wasn't going to approve a $200MM loan from the network to McCourt, but that was in reference to a seperate proposal that Bud Selig rejected last month.
  • Tony Gwynn Jr. talks to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Tony Jackson about how he's enjoying playing for the Dodgers and how disappointed he was to be non-tendered by San Diego over the winter.
  • Matt Kemp is off to a strong start, and ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne looks at some of the little things the center fielder is doing to rebound from a disappointing 2010 season.

Minor League Transactions

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There was a slew of minor league transactions from March 30 to April 5, and Matt Eddy of Baseball America has written them up and included info on some noteworthy names. Here's more on those …

  • The Cubs released righty Chris Huseby, an 11th-round draft pick in 2006 who signed for a hefty $1.3MM. Huseby wasn't panning out as a pitcher and saw action in the outfield in recent seasons.
  • The Indians released third baseman Matt Cusick, one of the two players they received from the Yankees in last season's swap for Kerry Wood. The other player – Andrew Shive – had been previously released.
  • The Rockies released reliever Craig Baker, who led the Minors in saves in 2009 with 33. A fourth-round pick 2006, Baker's 2010 was derailed by the injuries that haunted him earlier in his career.
  • The Astros released reliever Bubbie Buzachero, who is among the active career leaders in minor league saves.
  • The Royals released speedy outfielder Hilton Richardson, a seventh-round pick in 2007 who has 77 steals in the minors in 100 attempts. The Braves then signed Richardson.
  • The Dodgers released lefty reliever James Adkins, a sandwich-round pick in 2007 out of Tennessee. The southpaw is the Volunteers' career leader in strikeouts but has struggled with control and against righties in the minors.
  • The Brewers released hard-throwing lefty Evan Frederickson, the 35th overall pick in 2008. Frederickson has been excessively wild in his minors career, never walking fewer than 7.6 batters per nine, according to Eddy.
  • Twins righty Chris Province, acquired from the Red Sox in the Boof Bonser trade in 2009, voluntarily retired. Province surrendered a lot of hits in 2010, but seeing as he posted solid groundball rates for two poor teams, Eddy wonders whether he might have fared better with a better defense behind him.
  • The Padres released catcher Mitch Canham, the 57th overall pick in 2007. The Friars hoped Canham would develop into an offense-first backstop, but he was abused by basestealers, and his production with the bat didn't hold up at other positions.
  • The Giants released righty Craig Whitaker, a supplemental-round pick in 2003. Whitaker, as Eddy notes, is something of a rarity as an unsuccessful power arm drafted by San Francisco. Outfielder Ben Copeland, the Giants' first pick (fourth round) in 2005, was also released.
  • The Rangers released righty Danny Gutierrez, formerly one of their top-10 prospects. Gutierrez had been acquired from the Royals, but his stuff has diminished and was suspended 50 games for amphetamines prior to the 2010 season.
  • The Blue Jays released speedy outfielder Eric Eiland, a second-round pick in 2007. Eiland has been an efficient basestealer but has struggled overall offensively.
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