Quick Hits: Marcum, Crede, Contraction
A few items of note for Thursday evening. On this day in 2005, the Committee on Government Reform held its now-infamous 11-hour hearing, during which former and current players such as Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa testified about steroid use in baseball.
- Brewers right-hander Shaun Marcum, acquired from the Blue Jays in an offseason trade, exited his Cactus League start due to shoulder tightness, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke acknowledged feeling concerned about the righty, and Olney described the potential situation as "not good." The Brewers have already lost ace Zack Greinke for a few starts after he suffered broken ribs in a pickup basketball game, and a potential injury to Marcum, though only speculation now, would be a major blow for a team expected to be in the thick of the NL Central race. Marcum, 29, missed all of 2009 with Toronto following Tommy John surgery in late 2008.
- It's too soon to speculate about the severity of Marcum's injury or how much time he might miss, if any, but as our Free Agent Tracker shows, there wouldn't be much for Milwaukee to choose from in the event it should need a fill-in. Kevin Millwood and former Brewer Doug Davis are among the usual suspects, while Jeremy Bonderman is expected to sit out the season, and Jarrod Washburn hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2009. The Phillies' Joe Blanton is thought to be on the trade block.
- White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said yesterday that Joe Crede and agent Scott Boras made a poor decision in turning down a multiyear extension offer when the third baseman was with the South Siders. Today, Boras responded, saying that Crede's camp is the side that proposed the extension, not the other way around, writes Brett Ballantini of CSNChicago.com. Crede's career has been derailed by injuries, and he hasn't played in the Majors since spending 2009 with the Twins. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies this offseason but decided not to report to camp, becoming a free agent.
- A person "involved in baseball labor" confirmed to Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Major League Baseball has considered a streamlining proposal, wherein the A's and Rays would be contracted, and owners Lew Wolff of Oakland and Stu Sternberg of Tampa Bay would buy the Dodgers and Mets, respectively. However, it is unlikely to transpire, according to Sherman, because baseball has enjoyed relative labor peace at a time when other sports leagues haven't, and the idea of contracting two teams would not sit well with the MLB Players Association — even if the owners conceded to preserving the jobs by expanding MLB rosters to 27.
NL Central Notes: Cubs, McClellan, Wallace, Rogers
Notes from the NL Central as Opening Day draws closer…
- Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com hears from Cubs sources that the team isn't talking to the Rangers about Michael Young. The Cubs maintain that they’re comfortable with Jeff Baker and Blake DeWitt at second base.
- Kyle McClellan solidified his bid to become the Cardinals' fifth starter today. As MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports, the converted setup man pitched five shutout innings against the Braves, which presumably lessens the chances that the Cards look outside of the organization for starting pitching. I took a look at McClellan's role in St. Louis last week.
- Brett Wallace collected four hits and drove in seven today, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. The Astros acquired the first baseman from the Blue Jays last summer after obtaining Anthony Gose from the Phillies in the Roy Oswalt deal. Wallace is vying to become Houston's everyday first baseman.
- As MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports, the Brewers optioned pitching prospect Mark Rogers to Triple-A today because they weren't confident his shoulder stiffness would go away in time for the season. Once he's at full strength, Rogers remains a candidate to fill in for Zack Greinke, who is expected to miss a few starts with a fractured rib.
Central Notes: Royals, Chisenhall, Theriot, Brewers
Let's take a look at some items from both the AL and NL Central..
- Royals manager Ned Yost told the Associated Press that he would like to have two left-handers in the bullpen to start the year, though he won't have two southpaw relievers just for the sake of it. For the time being, it sounds like Kansas City will look for an answer in-house, starting with their newest acquisition Robert Fish.
- When asked if service time factored into the decision to demote Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians GM Chris Antonetti said, "That's certainly not the case," tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- After being dealt from the Dodgers to the Cardinals, Ryan Theriot says that he's looking to play the way he did in 2008, writes MLB.com's Matthew Leach. In '08, Theriot posted a slash line of .307/.387/.359 for the Cubs.
- Chris Cwik of Fangraphs wonders if the Brewers' acquisition of Zack Greinke has left them too thin in some areas.
NL Central Notes: Brewers, Cubs, Hendry, Pujols
Notes from the NL Central as we wish the best of luck to all those affected by the earthquake in Japan…
- Brewers reliever Takashi Saito won't have to return to Japan, since his family has been safely accounted for, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (on Twitter).
- Outfielder Brett Jackson headlines MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo's list of the top 10 prospects in the Cubs organization.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times shows that the Cubs–White Sox rivalry doesn't seem fierce now, since White Sox GM Kenny Williams supports the Cubs and Cubs GM Jim Hendry has nice things to say about the White Sox.
- Baseball writers at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch weigh in on the following question: will Albert Pujols play even better than usual in 2011? The Cardinals slugger is months away from hitting free agency for the first time in his career.
Quick Hits: White, Matsui, Morales
Links for Wednesday as the Phillies adjust to the possibility of losing Chase Utley for a while. Click here for Tim Dierkes' list of alternatives for the Phillies and keep reading for today's links…
- Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Pat White retired from baseball, according to the AP (on ESPN). The 26-year-old signed a minor league contract with the Royals in September.
- Other teams showed interest in Hideki Matsui, but the DH told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that the A's were the only club to make him a formal offer.
- Kendry Morales tells Kevin Baxter of the LA Times that his first name is actually Kendrys. His birth certificate reads "Kendrys Morales," but he never corrected the Angels' documents.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports compares Zack Greinke's injury to the one Cliff Lee suffered last year. The Brewers are hoping the parallels end there, since the Mariners lost 101 games last year. As Rosenthal explains, Greinke's injury isn't the only concern for Milwaukee.
- Tim Dierkes lists 30 starting pitchers to watch for fantasy purposes at RotoAuthority.
Melvin: Greinke Did Not Violate Contract
Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Zack Greinke did not violate his contract by cracking a rib while playing basketball. Greinke’s contract prevents him from playing competitive basketball, but doesn’t prohibit pickup games, so the Brewers won’t discipline him and he’ll earn his entire $13.5MM salary.
The front office hopes Greinke will miss just two or three starts and is considering rookies such as Wily Peralta, Amaury Rivas and Mark Rogers as possible placeholders for the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner. As I explained earlier tonight, the Brewers can likely get by with pitchers already in the organization.
The Brewers are eyeing rival pitchers in case a possible fit becomes available. But Melvin says a trade or claim probably doesn’t make sense. "The problem with getting somebody else is what do you do with him when Zack comes back?" Melvin asked.
Greinke Hurt; Brewers Appear To Have Enough Depth
Like their division rivals, the Brewers lost a top starter to injury before the season even started. But unlike the Cardinals, the Brewers have reason to expect their ace back before long. As a result, it appears that Milwaukee has the depth to get by without making external additions.
Zack Greinke cracked a rib playing basketball and will start the season on the disabled list, so the Brewers will begin the eagerly anticipated 2011 campaign without their most accomplished starter. Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson should provide rookie manager Ron Roenicke with a strong front four and the team doesn't expect to need an extra starter very often; GM Doug Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that the Brewers will only need a fifth starter three times in April.
Though the Brewers have a thin farm system – Baseball America ranked it 30th among the 30 MLB organizations – top prospect Mark Rogers started two games for the club last year and could be an option this spring. Rogers, a raw 25-year-old, has an upper-90s fastball and a potentially devastating curve, according to Baseball America. Those tools helped him post a 3.65 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in the minors last year after missing 2007 and 2008 with shoulder operations. The right-hander has encountered some shoulder issues again this spring, however, so he's no sure thing.
But the Brewers don't have to push Rogers to the major leagues, since Manny Parra (pictured) is available, as long as his back stiffness passes, as he expects it to. The left-hander has averaged 24 starts over the course of the past three seasons, including 16 starts in 2010. He posted a 5.02 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 as a swingman last year, logging 122 innings.
Roenicke recently told McCalvy that he considers Tim Dillard, Wily Peralta and Amaury Rivas potential starters as well. The team's current options don't compare with Greinke, but Parra, Rogers or someone else should be able to provide the Brewers with a handful of solid starts as their ace recovers.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Jays, Brewers Head List Of Dominican Signings
The Dominican Prospect League has announced several more signings:
- The Blue Jays signed 17-year-old outfielder Francisco Tejada for $150K. With the move, all 30 teams have signed a player out of the DPL. The press release refers to Tejada's "high athletic ceiling," citing his speed and arm.
- The Brewers inked 17-year-old third baseman Estervin Matos for $100K after a strong offensive performance in the DPL.
- Additionally, the Mets signed righty Miguel Angel Bautista for $10K, the Nationals signed righty Deury Vazquez for $30K, and the Diamondbacks signed American-born middle infielder Jesse Liriano for $10K.
No Extension This Time For Brewers, McGehee
The Brewers announced that they signed Casey McGehee to a one-year contract instead of completing the extension they had preliminary discussions about. There's no rush for a deal, as the third baseman isn't arbitration eligible until after the coming season and isn't scheduled to hit free agency until after the 2014 campaign.
McGehee hit 23 homers last year, posting a .285/.337/.464 line in 670 plate appearances in his first full season. The longtime Cubs farmhand caught on with the Brewers in 2009 and hit 16 homers with an .859 OPS in 394 plate appearances as a rookie.
The Brewers, who have already extended infielder Rickie Weeks this offseason, have now signed all 40 players on their 40-man roster.
Brewers Discussing Extension With Casey McGehee
The Brewers are in discussions with Casey McGehee about a multiyear extension for the third baseman, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. GM Doug Melvin says he should know within "the next few days" whether an extension is feasible, though he notes that the two sides have only talked "briefly" about a long-term contract.
McGehee, 28, hit .285/.337/.464 in 670 plate appearances for Milwaukee last season, his first as an everyday player. He is under team control through 2014 and will be arbitration-eligible for the first time next winter. If Melvin does get McGehee locked up, it would be the second multiyear deal given to a Brewer infielder this offseason, on the heels of Rickie Weeks' four-year, $38.5MM extension.