Twins Rumors

Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bruney, Cooper

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 8:44am CDT

Let's kick it off today with some odds and ends.

RotoAuthority discusses responding to lame trade offers in your fantasy league.
Reliever Mike MacDougal will join the Nationals tomorrow, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Who knows, he could be closing for them by next week.
Talking to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, Cubs GM Jim Hendry defended the Mark DeRosa trade. Here is my problem with it: it was a financially-motivated deal made by a big-market team, and did not bring back players who could help in 2009.
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the White Sox acquired journeyman minor league infielder Anderson Machado from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains the Jody Gerut for Tony Gwynn Jr. swap. DePodesta's third bullet point, money, had to be the overriding factor given Gwynn's negligible value around the league.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Bobby Crosby as perhaps a more pressing trade situation for the A's than Matt Holliday.
Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage in Brian Bruney's elbow, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Given the uncertainty, though, a bullpen acquisition would still make sense.
It looks like the writing is on the wall for Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle lists his offenses.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is skeptical the Cardinals will make a big move.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus agrees that the Pirates are the favorite for Dominican talent Miguel Angel Sano, and says the Rays, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rangers, and Twins are also after him. It's speculated by McDaniel and elsewhere that the Pirates could budget less toward their fourth overall pick in June to compensate for Sano. John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports says they like Kyle Gibson, Aaron Crow, Bobby Borchering, and Wil Myers. Tanner Scheppers did not give the Bucs permission to redraft him.

Edes On Francoeur, Nick Johnson, Valverde

By Tim Dierkes | May 27, 2009 at 8:10pm CDT

8:10pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the Red Sox-Francoeur rumor:

Talked to someone in Braves organization who sort of dismissed the Red Sox rumor. Said he hadn’t heard one thing about them having any serious interest in Francoeur or scouting him recently.

9:01am: Yahoo's Gordon Edes wrote about many different trade scenarios in his column last night.

Edes seconds Ken Rosenthal's rumor that the Red Sox have been scouting Jeff Francoeur.
The Nationals have been scouting the Mets' Triple and Double A teams, trying to figure out a possible return for Nick Johnson. Names of interest for Washington: Jon Niese, Mike Antonini, Eddie Kunz, and big leaguer Bobby Parnell. The Red Sox also had interest in Johnson, but not for the price of Michael Bowden. Back to the Mets – Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a list of available players they could consider aside from Johnson, including Jermaine Dye, Ben Francisco, Adam LaRoche, and Eric Hinske.
Edes likes the fit of Jose Valverde with the Rays, but speculates that the Astros could ask for Wade Davis in return. Six years of Davis would be a huge price to pay for a few months of Valverde plus possible draft picks. Edes also likes Mark DeRosa for Tampa Bay, but they seem well-equipped to handle Akinori Iwamura's injury with internal options.
Edes names the Phillies, Brewers, Royals, and Twins as possible suitors for Brad Penny. Edes adds that the Phillies "are already making plans for life without Brett Myers" after this season.
The shortstop market includes Jack Wilson and perhaps John McDonald, but could become more interesting for a team like Boston if the Indians make Jhonny Peralta available.

Athletics Claim Craig Breslow

By Tim Dierkes | May 20, 2009 at 2:11pm CDT

According to La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the A's claimed lefty reliever Craig Breslow off waivers from the Twins. The Twins called up Anthony Swarzak in his place. Breslow, a 28 year-old Yale alum, posted a 6.28 ERA in 14.3 innings this year. Last year, though, he posted a 1.91 mark in 47 innings.

Swarzak, a righthanded starter, ranks as the Twins' 6th-best prospect according to Baseball America. BA says he has a plus fastball and curveball.

Gammons On Ackley, Red Sox, Relievers

By Tim Dierkes | May 16, 2009 at 10:04pm CDT

ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up. Let's take a look.

Gammons writes in praise of North Carolina's Dustin Ackley, who is likely to be chosen by the Mariners at #2 in June. Ackley may wind up at center field or second base.
The Red Sox don't appear willing to trade young pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Nick Hagadone. The Sox have looked at bats such as Colorado's Matt Murton and Ryan Spilborghs, but for now aren't desperate enough to trade pitching. Gammons wonders if, for the right bat, Boston would part with Manny Delcarmen. He believes Delcarmen could close in the NL.
Gammons says the Mets think they could have Carlos Delgado back by August if he has hip surgery, allowing them to stay in-house for his replacements.
The Dodgers, Indians, Yankees, and Twins are looking for relief help. Gammon names Jose Valverde, Huston Street, Danys Baez, Russ Springer, and John Grabow as future trade candidates.

Odds And Ends: Jones, Peralta, Liriano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 16, 2009 at 10:41am CDT

Lins for Saturday morning…

As ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports, Adam Jones is pleased that the Orioles have so much pitching approaching the majors, but he wants to win now.
SI.com's Tom Verducci calls Jones baseball's most improved player and breaks down the outfielder's hot start.
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Jhonny Peralta is playing third base for now.
Rob Neyer of ESPN.com writes that there are no guarantees for Francisco Cervelli once Jose Molina and Jorge Posada are fully healthy.
Neyer adds that the Twins need Francisco Liriano to take his game to the next level and regain the form that saw him dominate the American League in 2006.
In a third piece, Neyer weighs in on the White Sox, concluding that there's no reason to panic in a division that the Sox could take with 85 wins. Still, the team has issues in center field and in the middle infield.

2010 Options: Minnesota Twins

By Tim Dierkes | May 5, 2009 at 8:04am CDT

The Twins do not have any 2010 options. They do, however, have to start thinking about their course of action for Joe Mauer. 2010 is the last year of Mauer's deal; he'll earn $12.5MM. From Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe on March 8th:

While the Minnesota native would like to stay in the Twin Cities, he is expected to receive offers in the $20 million- to $25 million-per-year range. The [Red] Sox are expected to be front and center if Mauer is available.

It had been suggested by Charley Walters on March 6th that the Twins had scheduled a meeting with Mauer's agent, presumably to discuss an extension. Walters had written in December that the Red Sox were "already salivating over Mauer."

Mauer had surgery to remove a kidney obstruction in January, and was initially expected to be ready for the start of the regular season. However, discomfort lingered into March and he was diagnosed with inflammation of the sacroiliac joint. Mauer returned to action on May 1st, smacking a home run off Sidney Ponson. Mauer has also dealt with hamstring and knee issues in the past. He'll turn 28 in April of 2011 when he begins his next contract.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Teixeira, Ligtenberg

By Tim Dierkes | May 1, 2009 at 11:32am CDT

Links for Friday…

RotoAuthority looks at the April offensive stat leaders.
Jim Callis of Baseball America discussed Jim Bowden's Stephen Strasburg comments. Bowden says the Nationals' decision to draft Strasburg has been made, and predicts they'll sign him for around $15MM minutes before the deadline.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. talked to Nats interim GM Mike Rizzo about their revamped Latin American plan.
Mark Teixeira talked to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times about his decision to sign with the Yankees.
Brian Stensaas of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes about Kerry Ligtenberg, who is attempting a comeback with the St. Paul Saints.
SI.com's Tom Verducci spoke with one GM who points to struggling older teams and says "it's better to be young these days."
Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Tigers are being patient with pitchers Ryan Perry and Rick Porcello.
MLB.com's Corey Brock doesn't expect GM Kevin Towers to sit back and watch if the Padres continues to struggle.
Here's Baseball America's list of the hottest prospects in the minors right now.
ESPN.com's Keith Law scouts a pair of college players who could turn up on BA's list next year: Tim Wheeler and Drew Storen.
Twins reliever Juan Morillo cleared waivers, so he'll head to Triple A according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Odds & Ends: Bowden, Owens, Flores

By Tim Dierkes | April 30, 2009 at 9:00am CDT

Links for Thursday…

MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and ESPN's Jason Churchill say high school catcher Luke Bailey is having Tommy John surgery. He might fall out of the top 20 in the draft, says Churchill.
Thom Loverro of The Washington Times transcribes all kinds of amusing comments made by former Nationals GM Jim Bowden earlier this month. Bowden touched upon Stephen Strasburg, Mark Teixeira, and Aaron Crow.
Alex Speier of WEEI notes that free agency hasn't done much for the Red Sox recently, outside of the Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz bargain signings.
ESPN's Jim Caple talked to pitcher Jeff Zimmerman, who is on the comeback trail with the Mariners.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that White Sox outfielder Jerry Owens may be on the way out. It sounds like Scott Podsednik is coming up, but there will be no roster move today.
Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says Rockies reliever Randy Flores, currently in Triple A, is debating whether to opt out of his contract.
Zach Berman of the Washington Post gathered quotes on new Nationals pitcher Logan Kensing.
Tonight at 10pm CST, Seth Stohs and Twins pitcher Glen Perkins will co-host the MN GameNight radio show.

Odds And Ends: Sanchez, Strasburg, Big Unit

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 25, 2009 at 12:51pm CDT

Links for Saturday…

Baseball America's John Manuel reports that 22-year-old Twins first base prospect Henry Sanchez has been suspended 50 games for violating minor league baseball's drug policy. Sanchez was the 39th overall pick in the 2005 draft.
John Maffei of the North County Times reports on Stephen Strasburg's latest start, one in which the top prospect struck out 14, though he did allow a home run (hat tip to Buster Olney). His strikeout to walk ratio now exceeds 10-1.
Ever wonder how much Japanese teams spend on their players? Ryo Shinkawa of NPB Tracker has the figures and their payrolls range from $18-45MM this year.
ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski reviewed some old scouting reports on Randy Johnson with the Big Unit himself.
And there are more injuries piling up: Chien-Ming Wang and Cody Ransom for the Yankees and Brian McCann and Garret Anderson for the Braves.

More From Torii Hunter

By Tim Dierkes | April 22, 2009 at 9:13am CDT

On Sunday, Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press had this to say about Torii Hunter:

The longtime Twin grows so sentimental about his former home whenever he’s in Minneapolis, he told Jim Rantz, the franchise’s director of minor leagues, that he would like to finish his career with the Twins. But not until his five-year, $90 million contract with the Angels runs out, of course. "He said, 'I'll come off the bench and pinch-hit,’'" manager Ron Gardenhire said of the 33-year-old center fielder. "He said, 'Save me a spot.’'"

Gardenhire added that "we'll probably work something out" if Hunter is looking for a job after the 2012 season.

Hunter was questioned about his comments by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Here's what he had to say:

"They asked me, and I said, 'Why not?' That was the place I grew up with, so why not consider that? But at the same time, I'm home. I'm having fun here. That's a long way away. I don't know where my career will take me."

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