Odds & Ends: Uggla, Royals, New Blood
Here's some links to start off a gorgeous Sunday (at least around these parts)…
- After calling out teammate Hanley Ramirez, Bill Shaikin of The LA Times wonders if Dan Uggla might get a ticket out of Florida. If so, he says Uggla could be a fit for the Dodgers, who he says "are not expected to engage in a bidding war to retain second baseman Orlando Hudson."
- Sam Mellinger of The KC Star presents a few ways to improve the Royals for 2010. In addition to not handing out albatross contracts to players like Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Guillen, Mellinger suggests the team trade Alberto Callaspo, nontender Mike Jacobs, and resign Coco Crisp.
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post rates which teams "succeeded and failed in bringing new blood to their organizations" over the last year. The Yankees take home top honors thanks to additions of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira, and Nick Swisher. The Mets … well they come in last.
- Make sure you follow MLBTR on Twitter for the fastest rumor updates around.
Cafardo’s Latest: Red Sox Shortstop Options, Griffey, Suppan, Mulder, Glavine
The Red Sox have been trying to find a long term solution at shortstop ever since the Nomar Garciaparra trade back in 2004, and while the recent pickup of Alex Gonzalez has provided some stability, the team still needs to find a solution for next year and beyond. Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says that first, the Sox have to decide if "they can afford to carry a light-hitting, great-fielding shortstop or sacrifice a bit of defense to aim for a more balanced lineup."
He presents some possible solutions to their seemingly perpetual shortstop issues, so let's round 'em up…
- Marco Scutaro: The 33-yr old has enjoyed a tremendous season for Toronto (.282/.380/.411), and projects to be a Type-A free agent. He made just $1.1MM this season, and it seems likely that the Blue Jays would offer him arbitration.
- Hanley Ramirez: Cafardo mentions that it still remains to be seen if Hanley can stick at short long term, but there is no question that he's one of the five best players in the game today. Given his team friendly contract that will pay him $64.5MM between now and 2014, the Sox would have to offer a bounty of young talent just to get their foot in the door.
- Miguel Tejada: A projected Type-B free agent this offseason, it seems unlikely that the Astros would offer him arbitration. He could be a one year stopgap at shortstop, and perhaps enjoy an offensive resurgence similar to Mike Lowell thanks to Fenway Park and the Green Monster.
- J.J. Hardy: As Cafardo notes, it "would take a leap of faith to think that his horrid season is an aberration." However, he did hit .280/.333/.470 from 2007-2008, and they'd definitely be buying low.
- Jose Reyes: We've seen plenty of talk that the Mets should trade Reyes, but it remains to be seen if they actually will. Can you imagine Reyes and Jacoby Ellsbury on the bases?
- Troy Tulowitzki: Cafardo admits it's a long shot, but everybody has a price. Considering that Tulo is guaranteed just $29.25MM between now and 2014 and is hitting .283/.363/.526 this year, doesn't it seem like it might be easier to acquire Hanley?
- Cafardo also throws out the names of several other possible options, including Adam Everett, John McDonald, Omar Vizquel, Stephen Drew, and Brandon Wood.
The Red Sox still have Jed Lowrie in-house, but he's missed considerable time this year with wrist problems. It would be a stretch to think that 19-yr old Cuban signee Jose Iglesias could fill in next year, but stranger things have happened. I'll throw the name of one more impending free agent out there: Felipe Lopez. He last played shortstop regularly in 2007, but it's at least worth considering.
Here's the rest of Cafardo's non-Red Sox rumors…
- Ken Griffey Jr. would like to return to Seattle for another year, and "probably can if his price is right." Junior is hitting .218/.325/.393 in 382 plate appearances this year, almost exclusively as a DH.
- The Brewers placed Jeff Suppan on trade waivers last week, and Cafardo says it'll be interesting to see "if any contending team still looking for an experienced starter puts in a claim or tries to make a deal for him." Considering there's still $14.5MM in guaranteed money left on his contract, I'd guess no one puts a claim in.
- Hardy was also placed on trade waivers.
- Free agent pitcher Mark Mulder has decided not to make a comeback this year even though he made progress with his throwing program. He's likely to play winterball though.
- Agent Gregg Clifton says client Tom Glavine is unlikely to attempt a comeback next year, and has started to field calls about broadcasting opportunities.
Odds & Ends: Orioles, Ayala, Kata, Nationals
Another round of links on me…
- Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun says it's time for Andy MacPhail to use some of his minor league inventory to land the Orioles a middle of the order hitter, while possibly gambling on a high quality free agent pitcher with an injury history. Personally, I don't think making moves like that will do much to improve the O's chances of competing in the AL East. They're on the right track now, with an impressive core of young talent highlighted by Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, Brian Matusz, and Chris Tillman. Patience.
- According to Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel, veteran reliever Luis Ayala has elected to become a free agent. The Marlins designated him for assignment last week.
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tweets that the Astros outrighted infielder Matt Kata off the 40-man roster. I sure hope he wasn't waiting on that September callup.
- The Nationals have fired director of player development Bobby Williams, reports Chico Harlan of The Washinton Post. Williams had a long standing relationship with previous GM Jim Bowden, and his firing represents the first significant front office move made by new permanent GM Mike Rizzo.
- Are you a draft nut like me, but struggling to find ways to pass the time until next June? Then check out this NPB Draft projection by Patrick at NPB Tracker. High school pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, who has drawn interest from several MLB clubs, is the consensus top talent this year.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Figgins, Hanley, Kershaw, Drew
Let's see what FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has for us in his latest Full Count video…
- Chone Figgins could be one of the most popular free agents this winter. The White Sox have long had interest in him, and his skills as a leadoff hitter will make him attractive to many teams, perhaps even the Yankees.
- Figgins will come cheaper than Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, and the Yanks could easily withstand his lack of power if they put him in left field. Four years younger than Johnny Damon, Figgins and Derek Jeter would make a dynamic 1-2 punch atop the Yankees' lineup.
- Apparently, Hanley Ramirez isn't very popular in the Marlins' clubhouse. The complaints should only go so far though, because he's played hurt this seasons and is on target to play in 150 or more games for the fourth straight year. Hanley's also batting .385 with runners in scoring position this year after hitting just .239 in those spots last year. He's also worked very hard to improve his defense as well.
- The Dodgers did well by adding Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla to their rotation, but one National League GM is worried about Clayton Kershaw because he's approaching 3,000 pitches thrown on the season, which is when you start to worry.
- Maybe it's time to cut J.D. Drew some slack. Sure, he's missed 92 games in three seasons with Boston, but one team official told Rosenthal he'd sign Drew to the same contract (five years, $70MM) again in a second. The Red Sox consider Drew one of the five best right fielders in baseball when you consider on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and defense.
Stark On Lackey, Rays, Jeter
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 & Ends: Posey, Maybin, Penny
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.
Odds & Ends: Diamond, Penny, Pelekoudas
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- The Rangers designated pitcher Thomas Diamond for assignment, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Diamond was the 10th overall pick in the 2004 draft. He was considered the #52 prospect in the game by Baseball America in '05, but he had Tommy John surgery in '07 and dealt with shoulder soreness this year.
- ESPN's Buster Olney says the Angels were in on Brad Penny, with a bullpen role in mind.
- Stephen Strasburg has a few things to learn about dealing with media attention, says John Feinstein of the Washington Post.
- Mariners Associate GM Lee Pelekoudas has resigned to pursue other career opportunities, according to a team press release. Pelekoudas was the Ms' interim GM before Jack Zduriencik was hired. He spent 30 years in the organization.
- USA Today's Paul White writes about the stigma of a college degree for ballplayers.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star suggests newly-extended GM Dayton Moore, and not the Glass family, is accountable for the Royals' future performance.
- Reliever Luis Ayala, recently designated for assignment by the Marlins after pitching badly, was upset by the team's "lack of respect" (Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporting). Ayala earned $1.3MM for his 5.63 ERA this year in 40 innings.
Marlins DFA Luis Ayala
Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel tweets that the Marlins have designated reliever Luis Ayala for assignment to make room on the roster for Cameron Maybin. Ayala had a bloated 11.74 ERA in 10 appearances for the Marlins, but a much more tolerable 4.18 ERA in 32.1 IP for the Twins earlier in the year.
Perrotto’s Latest: Twins, Damon, Franklin, Penny, Dye
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus brings us his latest from around the leagues:
- When they come off the DL, Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins will be used in relief. So, the Twins are hoping to add a starter who can pitch in the playoffs. This means they have until tomorrow at midnight to do so.
- The Yankees would like to re-sign Johnny Damon to a one year deal and give Austin Jackson a second year to develop at Triple-A, while pursuing Matt Holliday and Jason Bay in the offseason.
- The Marlins and Giants are frontrunners to land Brad Penny.
- The Cardinals expect to exercise Ryan Franklin‘s $2.75MM club option and then sign an extension with their closer for 2011.
- The Royals want to extend G.M. Dayton Moore who is signed through 2010.
- Perrotto says the Cubs are likely to deal Milton Bradley this winter, even if it means eating a large portion of the $21MM owed to him through 2011.
- Jermaine Dye will more than likely not see his $12MM option exercised by the White Sox after a dip in production in tandem with the salary demands of Alex Rios and Jake Peavy.
- For the postseason, the Dodgers are seeking “a left-handed bat with power” for their bench.
- The Nats are auditioning Livan Hernandez as a veteran innings eater for 2010.
- The Diamondbacks may non-tender Conor Jackson.
- Brewers manager Ken Macha said G.M. Doug Melvin “scoured the area for pitching” before the deadline but was unable to add a starter because he refused to trade Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar.
- After making seven trades this year, the Pirates are the youngest team in the MLB.
Odds & Ends: Kazmir, Rays, Hoffman, Byrd
We can link to it, we have the technology…
- ESPN's Keith Law feels the Rays received "a tremendous return for a pitcher whose value had really nose-dived over the past 10 months" when they dealt Scott Kazmir to the Angels late Friday evening.
- Manager Joe Maddon says that the team feels they have the depth to cover the loss of Kazmir, and that it won't hurt their chances of getting back to playoffs this year. The depth Maddon speaks of comes in the form of Andy Sonnanstine and prospect Wade Davis, though Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times says Sonnanstine will get the call against the Red Sox on Tuesday.
- Topkin was all over the Kazmir saga yesterday, and now that the dust has settled he says the team can use the savings to keep it's core intact. Several veterans, such as Carl Crawford, have raises built into their contracts, and several of the club's young players will be due big raises in arbitration.
- When asked if closer Trevor Hoffman might go to the Giants after being claimed on waivers, Brewers GM Doug Melvin said "probably not," according to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel.
- Boston reportedly agreed to give Paul Byrd a September callup, but it looks like his shot may come sooner than that. With Tim Wakefield's back acting up again, the Sox will send Byrd to the mound tomorrow night according to John Tomase of The Boston Herald.
- Sheldon Ocker of The Akron Beacon Journal takes an early look at some of the players that could help get the Indians back on track in 2010.
- The Marlins officially introduced first round pick Chad James to the masses this afternoon, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.