Quick Hits: Young, Cook, Dodgers, Cashman, Beltran
It was on this day in 1956 that Frank Robinson hit his first Major League home run, en route to 586 career homers and a legacy as one of baseball's all-time greats. Today, the Orioles are honoring Robinson with a statue at Camden Yards that will be unveiled before tonight's game with the A's.
Some notes from around the Majors…
- The Reds have made it a priority to establish a strong bond with their fans — and hopefully increase attendance — by retaining popular players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips, explains Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- Former Expos/Nationals closer Chad Cordero told reporters, including Bill Ladson of MLB.com, that he'd like to make a comeback next season (Twitter link).
- Delmon Young could be activated from the Tigers' restricted list by Tuesday or possibly even Monday night depending on the outcome of his evaluation by a counselor on Monday, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including Chris Iott of MLive.com. If Young is judged to require treatment for anger management and/or alcohol abuse, however, he would be sidelined for an indeterminate amount of time.
- Bobby Valentine told reporters (including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford) that the Red Sox are considering using Aaron Cook as a reliever. Cook can opt out of his contract if he is not called up to Boston's Major League roster by May 1 and the Sox have no clear spot for Cook in the rotation. Cook has made just one relief appearance in the last eight seasons but recently said he's open to the idea.
- There's no language in Cook's contract that would preclude a trade, notes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, although he adds there's no reason to think the Red Sox would want to do that (via Twitter).
- The sale of the Dodgers to the Magic Johnson/Stan Kasten/Mark Walter ownership group is expected to be closed by Monday, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- "This is a massive decision gone wrong right now," Yankees GM Brian Cashman told ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews in regards to the Michael Pineda/Jesus Montero deal and Pineda's subsequent season-ending shoulder injury. "So all scrutiny is fair….Our fans are right to be upset about this. I'm devastated by it," Cashman said.
- Besides the Cardinals, Carlos Beltran said the Indians pursued him the hardest in the offseason, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter). Beltran said he ultimately chose to sign with St. Louis because he wanted to play for the World Series champions and remain in the National League.
- The Brewers have transferred Chris Narveson to the 60-day DL and called up reliever Vinnie Chulk to take Narveson's spot on the 40-man roster, the team announced via Twitter. Mike McClendon was optioned to Triple-A in another corresponding move. Narveson will undergo shoulder surgery on Tuesday that will sideline him for the rest of the 2012 season.
MLBTR's Dan Mennella contributed to this post.
2013 Vesting Options Update
As the calendar gets ready to flip over to May, let's check in on the players who have vesting options for the 2013 season…
- Jason Bartlett, Padres – $5.5MM option vests with 432 plate appearances. Bartlett currently has 61 PA and has come to the plate at least 432 times in each of the last five seasons.
- Alex Gonzalez, Brewers – $4MM option vests with 525 PA. Gonzalez has 66 PA at the moment and has eclipsed 525 PA in both 2010 and 2011.
- Kevin Gregg, Orioles – $6MM option vest with 50 games finished. Gregg has finished three games this season but is a release candidate given his poor performance (7.94 ERA).
- Brett Myers, Astros – $10MM option vests based on unknown starting or relieving milestones.
Chipper Jones has an option worth $9MM+ that will vest with 123 games played, but he's already rendered the option moot by announcing his plans to retire after the season. Chipper has played in a dozen of the Braves' first 20 games.
Minor Moves: Jay Gibbons
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The Brewers signed outfielder Jay Gibbons to a minor league deal, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The Brewers, who had released Gibbons at the end of Spring Training, assigned him to Double-A Huntsville. Gibbons appeared in 24 games for the Dodgers last year, playing both corner outfield positions and posting a .255/.323/.345 line in 62 plate appearances. He has a .258/.318/.460 career line against right-handed pitching.
Chris Narveson To Undergo Season-Ending Operation
Brewers left-hander Chris Narveson told reporters, including MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, that he needs season-ending surgery on his pitching shoulder. The operation will repair a partially torn rotator cuff and require between six and nine months of rehab.
The Brewers moved right-hander Marco Estrada to Narveson's spot in the rotation, so they have enough starting pitching for now. Estrada struck out nine over five innings while allowing one run in his first start of the season on Saturday. Wily Peralta, who was recently optioned back to the minor leagues, provides GM Doug Melvin with another internal candidate for the rotation.
Narveson, 30, made 28 starts for the Brewers in each of the past two seasons. He has a 4.67 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 394 2/3 innings as a big leaguer and will be arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason.
Brewers Notes: Greinke, Gibbons, Payroll
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy covers a number of Brewers-related topics as part of an online chat with fans….
- When Matt Cain signed his six-year, $127.5MM extension with the Giants, McCalvy "got the sense that just blew things up" in regards to the state of Zack Greinke's contract talks with the Brewers. Before Cain's deal, McCalvy thought Greinke would "absolutely" remain in Milwaukee, and while he isn't quite as certain now, there is still a chance Greinke re-signs with the Brewers even if he reaches free agency.
- Jay Gibbons was released by the club during the final week of Spring Training. Gibbons, 35, signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee in February.
- In the unlikely event that the Brewers are out of the NL Central race by July, McCalvy still doesn't think the Brewers will sell off such players as Greinke, Shaun Marcum or Francisco Rodriguez. The team is drawing more fans than ever to Miller Park and "it would be a very tough sell to those ticket holders if you start trading away your core players."
- McCalvy says he could see the club "dial back a bit" on payroll in the coming years. The Brewers' relatively small TV market and cable TV contract will make it hard for the team to sustain its current payroll, which Cot's Baseball Contracts calculates at approximately $98.15MM for the 2012 season.
Cafardo On Greinke, Marcum, Damon, Indians
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders how the Red Sox will approach Jacoby Ellsbury, now that he is injured for the second time in three years? The Sox could be thinking longer-term with players like Daniel Bard, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Andrew Bailey but Ellsbury's health is a concern. However, it might not make a big difference one way or another as Ellsbury is a Scott Boras client. Here's more from Cafardo..
- The Brewers took a hit when they couldn’t retain Prince Fielder, and owner Mark Attanasio is very competitive. That could spark the club to get a deal worked out with right-hander Zack Greinke, even though the two sides recently put discussions on hold. Greinke, however, needs to have a strong season and show consistency from one year to the next to get the big-money deal he’s after. Greinke could be after a Matt Cain-type deal (six years, $127.5MM) but the numbers may not support that.
- There hasn't been much talk between the Brewers and Shaun Marcum either, but Milwaukee should have extra incentive to get a deal done after giving up Brett Lawrie to land him.
- Could the Indians slow offensive start have sparked them to sign Johnny Damon? Cafardo writes that GM Chris Antonetti came to the conclusion that the Tribe could use Damon, especially after the club hit .176 on its opening five-game homestand.
- Scouts seem to have split opinons on Alex Rodriguez as some say that his bat has slowed down significantly and others believe that he looks as physically sound as he has in three years. Cafardo agrees with the latter. Including this season, Rodriguez has six years remaining on his ten-year, $275MM deal.
Rosenthal On Lannan, Greinke, Cardinals, McCann
Highlights from the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- The Nationals continue to look for a taker for John Lannan but his $5MM salary is only part of the problem. A rival exec points out that any team that gets Lannan might prefer to let him go this offseason rather than go to arbitration with him, further diminishing his value.
- A rival executive says that Joey Votto's ten-year, $225MM contract with the Reds could affect Zack Greinke's talks with the Brewers. In the past, a team like Milwaukee could claim that a small market team could never afford such a deal, but that no longer seems like a fair argument.
- The Cardinals talked about trading Kyle Lohse or Jake Westbrook to free up space for Albert Pujols but it now looks like they made the right decision to hang on to both. While the two pitchers will earn a combined $20MM+ this season, both reported in excellent condition this season and are off to strong early starts.
- The Braves are locked into their local TV deal for the next 20 years – a deal that could soon become the worst in the sport. Meanwhile, their payroll is stagnant and while the farm system is deep in pitchers and shortstops, it's not terribly deep in other areas. Rosenthal can't imagine that the future looks promising for catcher Brian McCann as he is two years away from free agency.
Central Notes: White Sox, Twins, Carroll, Brewers
Things are looking good on the South Side of Chicago as the White Sox find themselves on a three-game winning streak. They'll look to make it four straight tomorrow afternoon when they take on the Tigers at home. More on the White Sox and other items out of the Central divisions..
- White Sox GM Ken Williams termed the club's quiet hot stove season as "boring," writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com. "At the same time we were confident in our young players," the GM said. "We were still feeling around that veteran deal, something that could bring it all together. It was just different. Not as active. My phone bill was lower."
- Some were skeptical this offseason when the Twins gave 38-year-old Jamey Carroll a two-year deal to be their everyday shortstop. Rob Neyer of SBNation looked at other players who went from utility roles to starting jobs so late in their career and was unable to find a true comparable. Carroll's contract guarantees him $6.75MM with a third year vesting option worth $2MM if he gets to 400 plate appearances in 2013.
- The Brewers reinstated right-hander Mark Rogers from the restricted list, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Milwaukee will assign the 26-year-old to Triple-A.
Stark On Dodgers, Fielder, Rays, Braves
It’s tempting to assume the Dodgers will spend aggressively on free agents once new ownership is in place, but Jayson Stark of ESPN.com says it’s not that simple. Here are Stark’s latest rumors, starting in Los Angeles…
- Former Braves and Nationals president Stan Kasten, a key member of the Dodgers’ new leadership group, spent conservatively on outside free agents while in Atlanta, and the Nationals didn’t start spending aggressively until Kasten had moved on. Agents say spending lavishly on free agents is not Kasten’s style.
- Longtime Braves GM John Schuerholz "wouldn't be surprised" if the Dodgers spend big here and there, but he doesn’t expect splashy signings to become habitual.
- For the first time ever, no MLB team has a payroll below $50MM.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Stark that National League teams have trouble competing for free agent sluggers who may have to become designated hitters late in their careers. Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols joined American League teams on long-term deals this past offseason. “When the length of those deals got to nine and 10 years, we just couldn't compete," Melvin said.
- The Rays aren’t looking for a short-term solution behind the plate, but they’d like to add an everyday catcher who can contribute for years, according to Stark.
- Schuerholz, who’s now the Braves president, says the team hopes to retain Brian McCann long-term, even though there are “no guarantees” that’s possible.
Brewers Notes: Greinke, Braddock
After dropping an 8-0 result to the Cubs at Wrigley Field today, here's the latest from the Brewers camp…
- “I’ve been told that it’s just between my agent and the team now,” said Zack Greinke in regards to the news that the Brewers and his representatives have suspended negotiations about a contract extension. Greinke told reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) that "it might have been a long shot from the beginning" that the two sides would agree on a multiyear deal. Greinke can become a free agent after the 2012 season.
- Zach Braddock is on the temporary inactive list at Triple-A Nashville, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. The left-hander was inactive for the last half the 2011 season dealing with personal issues. Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash declined to talk about Braddock's situation with McCalvy. Braddock, 24, posted a 7.27 ERA in 17 1/3 innings with the Brewers last year.
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