Odds and Ends: Gallardo, NPB, Braves
Today’s link collection…
- Check out the latest MLB Roundup video. The crew hands out April awards, assesses Billy Beane’s gameplan, and looks at Jeff Ma’s third-place Tout Wars team.
- RotoAuthority helps Yovani Gallardo owners pick up the pieces and find a replacement (he has a torn ACL). The Brewers have guys they can plug in but Gallardo seemed primed for a stellar season. They’ll keep an eye on the trade market.
- Mike Hampton could retire, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll abandon the rest of his ’08 salary.
- Nippon Professional Baseball might shorten the tenure needed for free agency, except for those looking to go overseas. Players hoping to jump from Japan to MLB would still have to serve nine years or be posted.
- In the sidebar of this article, Ken Rosenthal suggests that Frank Wren will explore the trade market for starting pitching but won’t overpay for mediocrity. Tracy Ringolsby wonders whether the Braves will consider re-acquiring Kevin Millwood.
Turnbow Designated
FRIDAY, 9:34am: It’s official – Turnbow has been designated for assignment.
FRIDAY, 8:53am: Adam McCalvy says the Brewers will call up outfielder Joe Dillon today, leading to speculation that Turnbow will be designated.
THURSDAY: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wonders whether the Brewers will decide to eat Derrick Turnbow‘s $3.2MM salary and release him.
Not only is Turnbow unhappy, but he’s been rocked in eight appearances this year. He probably needs a fresh start. I am not a fan of the "relief ERA" metric, but the Red Sox, Mariners, and Rangers fare poorly by it. In reality, there are probably a dozen teams that would like to try to straighten Turnbow out. Control, of course, is his main issue.
Odds and Ends: Bonds, Zito, Bush
Today’s link compilation.
- Dusty Baker spoke to Barry Bonds on the phone a few weeks ago, and came away feeling that Bonds does not miss baseball.
- A mere ten million bucks, a team can eat that. But, as Andrew Baggarly says, "They don’t make mouths big enough to eat the roughly $112.5 million that Barry Zito is guaranteed." Zito could be exiled to the bullpen.
- Dave Bush went unclaimed by the other 29 teams because with option waivers, the team can pull the player back if claimed.
- Jim Callis tosses out some options for the Astros with the 10th pick, noting that the team is likely to adhere to slotting guidelines.
- Peter Abraham runs through the available catcher options for the Yankees now that Jorge Posada is DL-bound.
Gabe Gross Traded To Tampa
In a quick, surprise move, the Brewers have traded outfielder Gabe Gross to the Rays for 23-year-old Class-A right hander Josh Butler. There is no word on Tampa Bay’s roster move to make room for Gross, who can play all three outfield positions. Presumably, it will be Justin Ruggiano, but I suppose it could be Nathan Haynes.
Gross has 48 plate appearances in the young season, but is hitting only .179/.303/.205. That’s just extra base hit, a double. He does have eight walks to seven strikeouts, which is a plus. But certainly not enough to keep him around once Mike Cameron returns from his suspension in a few days.
Butler has struggled in three starts in High-A ball this year, posting a 6.35 ERA. He was the 46th overall pick in the 2006 draft. The Baseball America handbook says he has a 92 to 95 mph fastball with outstanding movement, hard overhand curve, and a good change.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Gross, Rios, Perez
The tireless Ken Rosenthal has another column up today. Not a whole ton in the way of trade rumors, but let’s see what we can salvage from the article.
- The A’s could be a team interested in trading for the Brewers’ Gabe Gross, who is the likely casualty once Mike Cameron returns from suspension. Gross can play all three outfield positions, and it’s not clear whether the A’s view him as a roving fourth outfielder, or a replacement for Emil Brown.
- Rosenthal notes that the Blue Jays are following the lead of David Eckstein, hustling like crazy to first base. This, he notes, keeps fielders on their toes and makes them more apt to commit an error. The only one not buying in, apparently, is Alex Rios. How is this significant? Well, Rios just signed a six-year, $64MM contract before this season. Not exactly the impression you want to be making.
- The Mets’ Oliver Perez one a solid year away from cashing in this winter. Young, hard-throwing lefties are always in demand. He’s on his way now, sporting a 2.49 ERA through four starts, striking out just a hair under a batter an inning. Now, if he can only find a pitching coach who can teach him to throw strikes — he has 12 walks in those innings, which is less than a 2:1 ratio.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.
Turnbow Unhappy
According to Tom Haudricourt, reliever Derrick Turnbow had his agent contact Brewers GM Doug Melvin about his current mop-up role. Turnbow has been marginalized following this winter’s acquisitions of Eric Gagne, David Riske, and Salomon Torres. He’s not requesting a trade, but he’s not happy.
An uncharacteristic bout of good control in 2005 allowed Turnbow to save 39 games and earn a three-year extension the following spring. He’s paid $3.2MM this season, the last of the deal. If my calculations are correct, he still won’t be a free agent until after the ’09 season. Turnbow has whiffed a ton of hitters over the last two seasons, but he can’t find the plate. The Tigers and Braves are a couple of possible suitors if Melvin decides to shop him.
Brewers Sign Jeff Weaver
Sounds like Scott Boras finally found a job for Jeff Weaver. According to Tom Haudricourt, Weaver signed an incentive-laden minor league deal with the Brewers. I never would’ve guessed it – the Brewers will already have an extra starter on their hands when Yovani Gallardo returns. Haudricourt has further details on Weaver’s contract here.
It’s a risk-free move by Doug Melvin, especially with Weaver willing to start at Triple A (as he should given the late start). Weaver, 31, posted an ugly 6.20 ERA last year in 27 starts for the Mariners. Perhaps between Mike Maddux’s tutelage and a return to the NL, Weaver’s career can be salvaged.
Dave Bush Could Be Available
Tom Haudricourt outlines the Brewers’ roster crunch – something has to give this weekend to make room for Yovani Gallardo. The best solution may be to risk losing Seth McClung on waivers while moving Dave Bush to the bullpen. But trading Bush has to be considered.
Bush, 28, has been knocked around in two starts this year. He doesn’t even have his customary strong K/BB (last year his ratio was an impressive 3.0 despite a 5.12 ERA). If nothing else, Bush is an innings eater with strong command. He earns $2.55MM this year and is under team control through 2010. I previously mentioned the Braves and Tigers as teams in need of starting pitching. The Marlins could also use help.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In
Bunch of random topics so let’s just get to it and see what it being said in the Blogosphere…
- Big League Stew talks to Bless You Boys about the idea of Barry Bonds signing with the Tigers. BYB argues against signing Bonds noting that the Tigers already have a bunch of slow players (base cloggers?) and what they really need is some more speed in the lineup…Although we keep hearing about collusion and have not heard any numbers bandied about, Bonds has always made it very clear how much he values the almighty dollar. Does anybody else think that Bonds would already be in uniform if he had come out said he would play 2008 for $3-5MM plus incentives? The baggage is what it is, but teams might find it easier to deal with it at a price Bonds is not likely to accept.
- Rockin’ The Red takes a look at the five Cardinals that are most likely to be traded during the season…Chris Duncan is an interesting name on the list. With all the outfielders that the Cards have, Duncan is a solid bat that is likely to be a Super-2 at the end of the year.
- The Yankees: Minors to Majors looks at the pending free agents for the Yankees and concludes that there is plenty of compensation picks to be had giving the Yankees plenty of flexibility to sign a high-end free agent like C.C. Sabathia…Of course, that is assuming the Yankees would let something like draft pick compensation stand in the way of signing a free agent. Not likely.
- Wrigleyville23 has had enough of the Brian Roberts-to-the-Cubs media reports…Who?
- The Bronx Zoo would love to see Nick Johnson back in a Yankees’ uniform but notes that Dmitri Young may not be a dependable replacement for the Nats.
- Mets Fever notes that eight players have moved among the Brewers, Mets and Nats since this offseason…Let’s just say that the Brewers did not get the best of that "three-way trade".
- One writer at DRays Bay is hoping the Rays and M’s can re-engage talks for Edwin Jackson…The M’s may be interested once again after being two-hit by Jackson yesterday, but maybe the price just went up.
- One name that kept popping up recently as a possible trade piece in the near future was Rich Harden. Well, Harden has once again found himself on the DL and Athletics Nation is not taking it well.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Braun, Cueto, Pelfrey
An assortment of links…
- Ryan Braun‘s agent is in town to talk about extension scenarios with the Brewers. Perhaps the Brewers could get him for slightly more than the $30MM Troy Tulowitzki received. As Tom Haudricourt writes, a Prince Fielder extension seems less likely.
- The Blue Jays once offered Frank Catalanotto for Johnny Cueto, when Wayne Krivsky was new on the job. Nice try, J.P.
- Buster Olney believes tonight’s start by Mike Pelfrey might determine the likelihood of the Mets pursuing outside pitching help. Claudio Vargas remains unsigned.