Quick Hits: Jackson, Perkins, Lane, Nitkowski
Happy birthday to Hall-of-Famer Jim Rice, who turns 59 today. On a more somber note, it was on this day in 1999 that the legendary Joe DiMaggio passed away at age 84 after a battle with lung cancer.
Here's some news from around the majors as we head into the end of the work week…
- Edwin Jackson tells Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he didn't receive any interest from the Cardinals about returning to the team. "There was no involvement with the Cardinals. Pitching wasn't a department they needed help in. Their rotation is pretty much set," Jackson said. "It was a place I wouldn't have minded going back to…but, coming into the offseason, it was never a place I realistically thought I had a chance to go back to."
- Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities radio details Glen Perkins' path from filing a grievance against the Twins in 2009 and seemingly being on the outs with the club to today's three-year extension that keeps the southpaw in Minnesota through 2015.
- Jason Lane talks to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic about his attempt to return to the Major Leagues as a pitcher, and how a chance meeting with Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers last summer led to Lane getting a minor league deal with Arizona.
- C.J. Nitkowski, who last pitched in the majors in 2005, threw a bullpen session with the Mets on Thursday, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. Nitkowski pitched in Japan and Korea from 2007-2010 and, as MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince details, underwent a controversial blood-and-stem cell treatment last year. Nitkowski was the ninth overall pick of the 1994 amateur draft and pitched for eight teams in a 10-year Major League career, including a five-game stint with the Mets in 2001.
- The long-term effects of Lucas Giolito's UCL strain have yet to be determined, but Baseball America's Conor Glassey examines how the injury could impact Giolito's position in the 2012 amateur draft.
- The Mexican Baseball League has announced that Jose Canseco will not play for Quintana Roo Tigers after the slugger allegedly took a banned substance and refused to take a drug test, reports ESPN's news news services. League president Plinio Escalante told ESPN Deportes that testosterone was the banned substance. Canseco has denied the charge on his Twitter account.
Central Notes: Perkins, Quade, Luhnow
Three of the four teams that reached last year's League Championship Series play in MLB's central divisions. Let's check in on the central with less than four weeks to go before Opening Day…
- Glen Perkins will earn $2.5MM in 2013 and $3.75MM in 2014 and 2015 on his new extension with the Twins, Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune tweets. The deal includes a $4.5MM club option for 2016 with a $300K buyout.
- Former Cubs manager Mike Quade told Yahoo’s Tim Brown that he may take the summer off, but will coach again eventually (Twitter link). The Cubs dismissed Quade early in the offseason before hiring Dale Sveum to manage the team.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow apologized to Rangers president Nolan Ryan and GM Jon Daniels after saying last week that the Rangers spend on the international market “like drunken sailors.” Luhnow said his remarks were taken out of context, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. “It was not a dig against that organization because they’ve done a great job there,” Luhnow said.
Twins Extend Glen Perkins
The Twins have signed left-hander Glen Perkins to a three-year, $10.3MM extension, the team announced. The SFX client was already under contract for $1.55MM in 2012, so the deal covers the 2013-15 seasons. It includes a club option for 2016.
“He has been a reliable reliever for us and has helped stabilize the back end of our bullpen in the set-up role," Twins GM Terry Ryan said.
Perkins, 29, posted a 2.48 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 61 2/3 innings last year. Pitching out of the bullpen, his average fastball velocity jumped to 93.8 mph.
Perkins' deal buys out his final season of arbitration eligibility and at least two free agent seasons. It includes incentives for games finished, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (on Twitter). Sean Marshall, a left-handed setup man with a stronger track record than Perkins, recently signed a three-year, $16.5MM extension with the Reds. MLBTR's Extension Tracker offers a complete look at recent extensions for lefty relievers.
Central Notes: Luhnow, Hart, Braun, Zumaya
Some links from baseball's Central Divisions for your Sunday reading…
- New Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has the right outlook, but very few pieces to work with, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. One scout told Heyman that aside from Carlos Lee, only two players in the Astros' projected lineup have a chance to be even league-average hitters: Jason Castro and Chris Johnson.
- Corey Hart has torn cartilage in his knee that will require arthroscopic surgery and sideline him for three-to-four weeks, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said they won't rush Hart back like they did from an oblique injury that cost him his 2011 Spring Training, and that Hart will likely open the season on the disabled list.
- MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner told Haudricourt that the leak in Ryan Braun's positive drug test was an isolated, case-specific incident and that the process doesn't have a confidentiality problem.
- Joel Zumaya has opted for Tommy John surgery, writes MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Dr James Andrews will perform the operation at the end of March, and the Twins have yet to decide if they'll place Zumaya on the 60-day DL or release him, assistant GM Rob Antony told Bollinger.
Zumaya Has Torn UCL, Out For Season
An MRI today reavealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament for Joel Zumaya, tweets Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN. Twins GM Terry Ryan confirmed to reporters, including Chris Girandola of MLB.com, that Zumaya will miss the 2012 season. According to Ryan, Zumaya will decide in the next couple of days whether or not he'll undergo Tommy John surgery.
The Twins signed the oft-injured flamethrower to a low-risk Major League deal that guaranteed Zumaya $850K if he broke camp with the team. Because of the injury, the Twins are only on the hook for $400K of that figure. Mackey writes that Ryan says the Twins will stay in-house to fill the void in their bullpen and that Zumaya is "distraught."
The 27-year-old Zumaya owns a career 3.05 ERA in 209 2/3 innings of work with a 9.0 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9. It's hard not to feel for Zumaya, who hasn't pitched since June of 2010 and was looking to revive his career as a member of the Twins.
Morneau: Concussion Symptoms May Threaten Career
Justin Morneau has played just 69 games since being concussed July of 2010, and there's no guarantee his troubles are over with. The 30-year-old first baseman acknowledged that concussion symptoms could end his career, according to Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“I don’t think there will be a career if it’s something I’m dealing with," he said. “That’s the reality of the whole thing. I’m obviously not going to continue to mess around with this if it continues to be a problem. There comes a point where you can only torture yourself for so long."
Morneau explained that he enjoys playing baseball, but finds it frustrating not to be able to contribute on the field. He's under contract for $14MM in 2012 and the same amount in 2013. Morneau is a four-time All-Star who won the 2006 American League MVP at the age of 25.
Quick Hits: Draft Pools, Young, Jurrjens, Prado, Pudge
The city of Montreal will pay tribute to former Expos great Gary Carter by naming a street or other public place in his honor, reports Linda Gyulai of the Montreal Gazette. City officials will consult with the Carter family to find an "appropriate" location to bear the Hall of Famer catcher's name. Carter passed away last Thursday after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
Some news from around the majors….
- Jim Callis of Baseball America breaks down how much each team will have to spend in the first 10 rounds of the 2012 draft. The Twins top the list, able to spend as much as $12.37MM to sign their 13 picks over the initial 10 rounds, while the Angels ($1.645MM) have the least to spend on their eight picks over the same stretch.
- The draft pool totals will shift if Derrek Lee — the last free agent with compensation attached to him — signs a Major League deal with a new team. As Callis notes, however, it's pretty unlikely that Lee will find such a deal at this point.
- The Pirates and Phillies both passed on signing Dmitri Young after working him out in Florida this months, reports MLB.com's Matthew Leach. Even if Young's baseball comeback falls short, he says the real victory is his improved health, having lost over 70 pounds.
- Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado are both pleased to still be Braves after a long winter of trade rumors surrounding both men, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
- Ivan Rodriguez isn't prepared to retire and is keeping in shape for a possible job this season, he tells the Associated Press. "It has been a tough market for veterans," Rodriguez said. "There are a lot of guys who have won championships and have playoff experience to offer teams with no jobs. It's hard to believe.''
Antony On Cuddyer, Kubel, Young, Nathan, Span
Twins assistant GM Rob Antony discussed the team's offseason moves, players who signed elsewhere over the winter, plans for 2012, and more in an interview with Jesse Lund of the Twinkie Town blog. Here are some of the highlights…
- Michael Cuddyer was the Twins' "number one priority all off-season" but moved on once it became clear that the team wouldn't be able to re-sign him. Antony "always believed he wanted to be a Twin for his entire career" and thinks Cuddyer was "disappointed" to ultimately leave the team for Colorado.
- Jason Kubel shared his concerns with Antony about how Target Field is a tough stadium for power hitters, and the assistant GM believes this was a factor in Kubel leaving the team.
- The Twins dealt Delmon Young to the Tigers last season simply because the team put a priority on re-signing Cuddyer and Kubel, so they wanted to get some return for Young rather than possibly non-tender him after the season.
- Joe Nathan didn't give the Twins a chance to match the $14.75MM contract he received from the Rangers. Antony said there were no hard feelings about Nathan leaving, since the veteran closer was focused on playing for a contender. We heard in November that Minnesota's best offer to Nathan was "a bit less" than Texas' offer.
- The Nationals were "definitely interested" in Denard Span at the trade deadline last summer, but Antony doesn't "think we were ever close to doing anything."
- Antony said that some internet rumors about players on the trade market often lead to exploratory conversations between GMs about said players. "There are a lot of names that pop up where we do a lot of that same thing. 'Look, if you're looking to move this guy, he could be a fit over here. I don’t know what’s fact and what’s rumor, but if you are serious in trading a player we’d like to be kept in mind, we have some interest,' " Antony said. He brought up this point in regards to a question about Martin Prado, which would seem to hint that the Twins and Braves perhaps had such a conversation about the utilityman.
- Antony thinks Tsuyoshi Nishioka will give Alexi Casilla a strong battle for the starting second base job and that Nishioka "deserves a mulligan" for his tough 2011 season. Nishioka suffered a broken leg in his first season in the Major Leagues.
- "We have had more meetings with our training and medical staff this season than in the ten years prior to," Antony said in regards to how the Twins responded to last year's injury-riddled season. Still, Antony doesn't lay blame on the training staff: "These are the guys who were in place the year before, and the year before, and the year before that, so it’s not like all of a sudden they don’t know how to do their job. And last year, it was a perfect storm of everything that could do wrong, did go wrong."
AL Central Links: Castellanos, Royals, Sabathia
Here's a round-up of news from the AL Central…
- With Miguel Cabrera taking over at the hot corner for the Tigers, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press looks at how the switch affects the progress of third baseman Nick Castellanos, one of the team's top prospects. I can't see this being a major long-term issue — Castellanos is just 19 and I can't see Cabrera staying on third for very long, given his defensive limitations. If anything, Victor Martinez could be the odd man out, with Prince Fielder locked in at first and Cabrera probably requiring a move to DH sooner rather than later.
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star covered a number of Royals topics as part of a live chat with fans earlier today.
- The players the Indians acquired for C.C. Sabathia in 2008 have produced -0.6 WAR in the three-plus seasons since the trade, writes Fangraphs' J.P. Breen. "The Indians still have nine years of control between [Matt] LaPorta and [Michael] Brantley, but neither appear destined for full-time roles at the big league level," Breen writes.
- Twins starter Francisco Liriano has worked on his mechanics and better locating his fastball this winter in preparation for what could be a make-or-break season for the southpaw, reports Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities Radio.
- Dick Allen's arrival in 1972 didn't just make the White Sox better on the field, but his presence might have also helped keep the team in Chicago, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
AL Central Notes: Inge, Royals, Hernandez, Twins
Happy birthday to former White Sox farmhand Michael Jordan, who turns 49 years old today. Jordan played one season of Double-A ball with the Birmingham Barons in 1994, hitting .202/.289/.266 in 497 plate appearances. On the strength of those numbers, Jordan was named ESPN's greatest athlete of the 20th century. In hindsight, it's possible ESPN may have also taken Jordan's basketball career into consideration, but you'd have to take that argument up with the gang at MLBTR's new sister site Hoops Rumors.
Here's the latest from around the AL Central…
- Brandon Inge will be given a chance at the Tigers' second base job during Spring Training, manager Jim Leyland told reporters (including John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press). Inge joins Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago in battling for playing time at second. With Miguel Cabrera now playing third, Inge finds himself without a position. Inge has been a strong defensive third baseman throughout his career (a +5.6 UZR/150) but he has never played second during his 14-year professional career.
- Rany Jazayerli thinks the Royals should have acquired at least one more proven starting pitcher this offseason, arguing that such a move could have possibly given Kansas City a shot at the division title.
- Roberto Hernandez (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) is visiting baseball camps in the Dominican Republic to teach young players not to lie about their identity or true age, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Jorge Brito, Hernandez's agent, didn't say whether these visits were necessary for Hernandez to regain his ability to leave the Dominican and rejoin the Indians.
- MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger gives his thoughts about what the Twins' Opening Day roster could look like.