The Benitez/Julio/Burgos Connection
It’s all connected in beautiful symmetry: First Armando Benitez pitched for the Orioles, Mets and Marlins, and now hurls for the elderly Giants. When Jorge Julio came to New York by way of Baltimore, it seemed that Benitez had never left. Also a shaky, flame-throwing right-hander, Julio even looked like Benitez to Mets fans– many of them thought the two pitchers were the same man. Now Julio occupies Benitez’s former role as Marlins’ closer.
What does this have to do with the Mets now? According to DNL from Armchair GM, the trade last year of Kris Benson and his wife Anna to the Baltimore Orioles for John Maine and Jorge Julio had a deeper meaning. Perplexing on the surface– why trade away needed started pitching for an unnecessary, shaky reliever?– the trade was greatly redeemed when Julio was traded to the Diamondbacks for Orlando Hernández.
The armchair GM proposes that this was Omar Minaya’s plan all along- to showcase the young, high-upside fireman early in the year in order to trade him later for a good veteran pitcher. This is what the team is now doing with Ambiorix Burgos, or so this speculation goes. Acquired from Kansas City for Brian Bannister, Burgos seemed like an unlikely candidate for the Mets’ solid bullpen, and despite continuing his struggles during spring training, made the team and pitched with a one run lead yesterday afternoon against the Phillies. Perplexingly, he was left in the game to face the lefty slugger Ryan Howard with a base open and the tying and lead runs in scoring position. Why? Perhaps Omar Minaya told Willie Randolph to "give him some good spots," and the manager complied.
It’s possible that Burgos, the successor to the Benitez/Julio line (yes, he also looks like part), will be on the move some time this year for a starting pitcher.
John Peterson is a Mets fan and writes for the blog Blastings Thrilledge.
Marlins Acquire Jorge Julio
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the Diamondbacks traded reliever Jorge Julio and cash to the Marlins for Yusmeiro Petit today. Fantasy leaguers, get on it. The team confirmed that he’ll slide right into the closer role.
Pretty good return for Arizona; Petit was the main piece in the Carlos Delgado trade last winter. Petit put up some excellent numbers in Double A in ’05 but scouts weren’t enamored with his stuff. Sure enough, his deception wasn’t enough at Triple A last year and his strikeout rate dropped significantly.
Latest On Jorge Julio
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. Well, actually it went up 12 hours ago. If it’s whispered, (or just written on FOXSports.com), we hear it (once we wake up, eat some Arby’s, and get situated).
Ken’s main rumor:
The current suitors for the relief ace known as Jorge Julio are the Cardinals and Marlins, with the Bucs and D-Rays on the fringes. For the sake of my Al Reyes sleeper pick let’s keep him out of Tampa Bay. I think the Cardinals could really use a guy like Julio. The acquiring team will be on the hook for all $3.6MM, unless they pony up a top-notch prospect. The Marlins get special treatment I guess.
Marlins, Mariners Still Scouting Benitez
To hear Armando Benitez tell it, the Giants would regret trading him. That’s probably true, but it speaks more to the sorry state of their bullpen than his abilities.
According to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, the Marlins and Mariners scouted his performance yesterday. Baggarly mentions other previously interested clubs: the Reds and Red Sox. I imagine the Sox will back off now, assuming they were interested in the first place.
As far as Seattle’s needs, reports are positive on J.J. Putz. Back when we assumed he was healthy, he was a bit undervalued in fantasy baseball. Now with an elbow scare, I think he can be an absolute bargain if he drops to the 10-12th round.
The Marlins have internal options comparable to Benitez in skill, if not track record. The Giants will probably hang on to their closer unless a viable replacement emerges.
Lieber, Kim Rumors
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has some trade rumor tidbits from around baseball this morning. To summarize:
- Renck does not think the Phils truly want to use Jon Lieber as a reliever, and mentions two scenarios floating around. Lieber could be paired with Aaron Rowand and sent to the White Sox, which I would think would require at least Mike MacDougal. Would be interesting to see Liebs back in Chicago if old pals KW and "Stand Pat" Gillick can work it out. Or, he could go to Milwaukee for Kevin Mench. Such a trade would have to push Claudio Vargas to the bullpen.
- Renck says the Rockies like Mark Hendrickson despite his mediocrity and their stable of starters. The Dodgers would like to include Hendrickson as part of a bigger deal for a slugger.
- Byung-Hyun Kim to Florida is a long shot unless the Rox eat most of his $2.5MM salary. The Rocky Mountain News reiterates that the interested parties are Florida, Oakland, and Texas. You can add the Pirates to that list as well. The Bucs could also trade for Armando Benitez.
- John Thomson seems likely to be released. The A’s have been rumored.
Marlins Lean Toward Benitez Over Julio
The Marlins are still very much interested in acquiring Armando Benitez or Jorge Julio to front their bullpen, according to MLB.com.
A Benitez deal is more likely because apparently the Giants will pick up most of Benitez’s contract. Julio makes $3.6MM to Benitez’s $7.6MM, but the D’Backs may not want to chip in at all.
Can the Marlins continue their string of resurrected closers? The parade includes Joe Borowski, Todd Jones, and Benitez. They’ve also had twenty save seasons this decade from Braden Looper, Vladimir Nunez, and Antonio Alfonseca.
The Marlins are still very
The Marlins are still very much interested in acquiring Armando Benitez or Jorge Julio to front their bullpen, according to MLB.com.
A Benitez deal is more likely because apparently the Giants will pick up most of Benitez’s contract. Julio makes $3.6MM to Benitez’s $7.6MM, but the D’Backs may not want to chip in at all.
Can the Marlins continue their string of resurrected closers? The parade includes Joe Borowski, Todd Jones, and Benitez. They’ve also had twenty save seasons this decade from Braden Looper, Vladimir Nunez, and Antonio Alfonseca.
Byung-Hyun Kim On The Block
According to the Rocky Mountain News, the Pirates, Marlins, Dodgers, and A’s have interest in pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim. The Denver Post only mentions the A’s, however.
The source I talked to said the Marlins actually have no interest in Kim, and the Dodgers only do if they can move Mark Hendrickson in the trade. It really seems to be the A’s leading the pack because of reservations with Joe Kennedy. Kennedy wasn’t going to pitch 200 innings anyway, so they’ve known for a while that they need a strong sixth man.
If the Pirates were to acquire Kim, they’d quietly have some solid starting pitching depth in the organization.
Reds, Marlins Interested In Benitez
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Marlins and Reds are the two clubs currently interested in Giants reliever Armando Benitez. This is the first word of Cincinnati’s interest.
Benitez has been looking good this spring and is pitching with confidence. One report last week said the Giants would eat all but a million bucks of his salary, but another said the Giants would eat less than half. If the latter is accurate then the Marlins may not want to be involved. I really think their internal options are just as good as Benitez.
Ken Rosenthal’s Latest
Ken Rosenthal has been hard at work with his sources, and he has a new article at FOX Sports. Some highlights:
- The Marlins and Dodgers are interested in Byung-Hyun Kim as a reliever, and the A’s could add him as the fifth starter instead of Joe Kennedy. Kim, a 28 year-old sidearmer, hasn’t closed since ’03 with Boston. A trade to Florida would make him the ninth inning favorite though. He’ll earn $2.5MM this year.
- The Rockies like Mark Hendrickson of L.A., and they may release Josh Fogg this spring. I wouldn’t discard Kim while acquiring Hendrickson; Kim projects as a slightly better pitcher. Advantages to acquiring Hendrickson from Dan O’Dowd’s point of view: a slightly better groundball rate and two years remaining until free agency.
- The Blue Jays want to give Josh Towers a rotation spot. Towers has nine Ks in nine innings this spring while allowing two runs. Does spring training really have that kind of influence on a team’s decision-makers? Towers will make $2.9MM this season, but he’s still pretty far from free agency. The Jays would like to trade John Thomson; otherwise they may release him. As a newly signed free agent Thomson can veto any deal. He’d be wise to take a trade to the NL, in my opinion.
- Rosenthal thinks the Orioles and Nationals will be competing for Mark Teixeira, who will become a free agent after the 2008 season. Tex is a Maryland native, which usually doesn’t matter for a Boras client. But Boras might actually be able to use this to get the two clubs bidding against each other.