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Odds And Ends: Lahey, Gibbons, Freel

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A couple minor notes this morning…

  • The Phillies claimed reliever Tim Lahey off of waivers from the Cubs. Lahey was the top pick in the Rule 5 draft from the Twins’ system. The Cubs had to expose Lahey to waivers prior to offering him back to the Twinkies. Rule 5 rules still apply with the Phillies, so Lahey must remain on their 25-man roster all season or be offered back to Minnesota.
  • John Fay notes that after the Reds latest round of cuts the roster sits at 26 which could open the door for a trade. He doesn’t offer any potential names, but Ryan Freel still seems like the most logical choice.  By the way, LEN3 notes that the Reds called the Twins about Freel and the Twins weren’t interested.
  • Peter Schmuck thinks that the Orioles might be reluctant to cut Jay Gibbons while Major League Baseball continues to renegotiate the league’s drug policy. Gibbons is facing a 15-day suspension for use of PEDs but many believe the suspension will be lifted under the new agreement which ironically is supposed to stiffen penalties. Schmuck feels that if Angelos decides to keep Gibbons, it could undermine Andy MacPhail’s efforts to rebuild the Orioles.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Reds Shopping Freel?

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John Fay, writing on his Reds Insider blog, notes that the reason for the lack of cuts in Reds camp is that they might be looking to move Ryan Freel. He didn’t elaborate much, other than to say he heard talks of Philadelphia, Minnesota, "and others."

Freel is pretty versatile, having handled all three outfield positions, as well as second and third base. The Twins could use his bat in the lineup. But where would he play? Second? Displace recently-acquired Carlos Gomez in center field temporarily? Or just a utility role?

The same situation appears to be in place in Philly. They just signed Pedro Feliz to play third, and have a full infield beyond that. In the outfield, they signed Geoff Jenkins over the off-season to go with Shane Victorino and Pat Burrell. So it appears he’d be headed for a utility role there, too.

The question, then, becomes: What will the Reds do about their outfield? Do they really plan to start Norris Hopper in center? Or does this signal that Jay Bruce could be back soon? Lots of questions to be asked surrounding this rumor.

(Of course, less than three hours after Fay noted the lack of cuts, the Reds re-assigned Andy Phillips, optioned Bill Bray, and returned Jose Capellan to the Red Sox.)

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski

Odds and Ends: Giles, Crisp, A-Rod

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Nothing huge cooking this morning, so here are some odds and ends.

  • Doesn’t look like the Dodgers will acquire Marcus Giles.
  • Rany Jazayerli writes about how Kansas City is home to many of the country’s best baseball journalists.  On a related note, the Star’s Sam Mellinger has a chat with Brian Bannister on his blog.
  • Coco Crisp rattles off the trade rumors he’s heard: Cubs, Sox, A’s, Padres.  No deal appears imminent, though Crisp was healthy enough to pinch-run this morning.
  • John Harper snags an exclusive with Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod admitted he chose the Rangers over the Mets for money and feared he was going down that road again this past winter.
  • Roch Kubatko writes that Brian Roberts was pulled from the lineup today for back pain, hoping to nip trade speculation in the bud.
  • The Phillies have to make a decision on Kris Benson today.
  • Aaron Gleeman weighs in on the Joe Nathan extension.  Buster Olney talked to baseball execs who felt the Twins should’ve added Nathan’s money to their Johan offer.

Joe Nathan Agrees To Extension With Twins

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2:07pm: LEN3 has details.  He says it’s $11.25MM per year for 2008-11.  He’s unsure of the amount of the 2012 option, but it has a $2MM buyout.  Since Nathan was set to earn just $6MM in ’07, it seems that’s been overwritten or increased. 

1:19pm: MLB.com reports the deal as done.  It’s a three-year extension with a club option for a fourth.

MONDAY, 8:22am: La Velle E. Neal III says only minor details remain on Nathan’s extension.  They still need to figure out what to do about a no-trade clause.  Buster Olney says the deal will have "significant no-trade provisions."

SATURDAY: ESPN’s Buster Olney (Insider required) reveals in his blog that the Twins have all but re-signed Joe Nathan to a four-year deal, paying $11-12MM per.

Olney considers this a surprising move for a mid-market team. It’s particularly unusual for the Twins, as they re-signed Justin Morneau earlier in the year (and Joe Mauer last year), but couldn’t hold on to Torii Hunter or Johan Santana.

Alejandro Leal writes for umpbump.com. He can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Rivera, Hamels, Sherrill

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Here’s today’s gathering of links.

  • John Shea examines the Giants’ roster crunch, which would be greatly relieved by trading Dave Roberts and Steve Kline.
  • Adam Rubin implies that the Angels want too much from the Mets for Juan Rivera – Jon Niese or Bobby Parnell.  A deal seems unlikely.
  • Cole Hamels, accused by a heckler of being a cross between Casey Fossum and Shawn Camp.  BURNED!
  • Buster Olney is hearing from other teams that the Orioles may shop 30 year-old newly anointed closer George Sherrill this summer.
  • Joe Christensen believes that we’ll learn about Joe Nathan’s future with the Twins by week’s end.
  • Brock For Broglio posted an interesting interview with Voros McCracken.  This quote from McCracken caught my eye: "One of the things that kind of bugged me with the Red Sox was a somewhat implied expectation that I’d come up with something like DIPS on a regular basis."

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rule 5 Draftees

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Last year the Reds selected Josh Hamilton in the Rule 5 draft despite only 23 games above Single-A and only 15 games anywhere since 2002 (actually the Cubs picked Hamilton and traded him to the Reds the same day). Hamilton went on to hit .292-19-47 in 90 games. This year, 18 players were chosen in the Rule 5 draft (14 pitchers). These players must remain on the 25-man roster all season or be offered back to their original club for $25K. By my count, three players (Sergio Valenzuela, Lincoln Holdzkom, Jose Capellan) have already been offered back to their original clubs (Capellan was picked up on waivers by a third team during the process). Hamilton is the rare case of a position player sticking with his new club as it is far easier to hide a developing pitcher and still get him playing time in the bullpen than it is on the bench.While it is rare for position players to stick, we have already learned that the Cardinals may keep Brian Barton as a fifth outfielder. As opening day rosters begin to take shape, let’s take a look at what is being said in the Blogosphere about the chances for the Rule draftees.

  • Tim Lahey (RHP, CHC/MIN): Bleed Cubbie Blue sees the Cubs working out a trade with the Twins that would allow them to send Lahey to AAA. In fact, they speculate that Lahey will be the PTBNL in the Craig Monroe deal.
  • Evan Meek (RHP, PIT/TB): Bucs Dugout predicts that Meek will at least start the season with the Pirates before being offered back to the Rays.
  • Randor Bierd (RHP, BAL/DET): Bird Brain projects Bierd to make the roster and hopes the O’s give him every chance to stick.
  • Jose Capellan (LHP, CIN/BOS): Capellan was originally selected by the Giants but was just placed on waivers. The Reds picked him up (Rule 5 rules still apply) and Obsessive Giants Compulsive is surprised the Giants let him go.
  • Sergio Valenzuela (RHP, CIN/ATL): Valenzuela was sold back to the Braves after not making a single appearance in a spring game. The Braves then traded Valenzuela to a team in the Mexican League. Which begs the question…Are "future considerations" from the Mexican League worth the $25K the Braves dropped to bring him back? Talking Chop finds the entire situation funny and is not surprised that Valenzuela did not stick with the Reds.
  • Brian Barton (OF, STL/CLE): Cardinals GM is predicting Barton to be on the opening day roster with Juan Gonzalez starting the season in AAA.
  • R.A. Dickey (RHP, SEA/MIN): Detect-O-Vision is infatuated with the knuckleballer but notes that Dickey "has a looooooooooong way to go".
  • Steven Register (RHP, NYM/COL): Mets Fever thinks Register might actually stick by earning the final spot in the bullpen.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Inge, Salcedo, Corey, Nathan

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I write this odds and ends post with two less wisdom teeth than I had yesterday.  Looks like applesauce for dinner.

  • Jon Heyman says the Dodgers and Tigers haven’t talked lately, and doesn’t see L.A. taking on Brandon Inge’s $19.1MM.  Aside from the standard Giants suggestion, Heyman puts on his speculation cap and wonders whether Inge could catch for Houston.  What is J.R. Towles, chopped liver?
  • This is questionable, but hey, it’s a Friday.  Hi5 is a popular social networking site in Central America.  A reader sent me a link to this page, which may belong to future superstar kid shortstop/Boras client Edward Salcedo.  The owner of the page slapped up a big ol’ Indians logo over a month ago with the caption "my team."  I have to reiterate that I don’t know if this is really Salcedo’s page.  The Tribe said on Tuesday that Salcedo remained unsigned.
  • The Orioles are observing 34 year-old journeyman reliever Bryan Corey.
  • Joe Nathan, still chatting contract with the Twins.  Kelly Thesier noted that it was the Twins reaching out recently.  Nathan’s agent will meet with them Tuesday.
  • Jacob Jackson goes out on a limb and wonders if Justin Upton could be Oakland’s first $100MM player.
  • The new Phils-ville blog is up.

Rangers Were Close To Acquiring Johan

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with some inside info from the What Might’ve Been file.  He says the Rangers and Twins were close to an agreement on the players involved in a trade that would’ve sent Johan Santana to Texas.  The Twins pulled the plug when Santana was noncommital about whether he’d approve a trade to the Rangers.  They felt that this would’ve decreased his market value (instead the Twins ended up overplaying their hand and accepting the second or third-best offer).

Heyman speculates that the Rangers could’ve offered Eric Hurley and/or Edinson Volquez, for starters.  A Taylor Teagarden and various high-ceiling types could’ve been in there too, I imagine.  Would’ve been interesting to see Minnesota get Teagarden and shift Joe Mauer to third base in ’09.

The Rangers hoped to pair Johan with Torii Hunter, but Hunter couldn’t pass on the Angels’ offer.  Five years, $90MM is the kind of offer he had to pounce on. 

Managers On The Hot Seat

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It is a slow news day, so we are going to venture a bit off the beaten path…As spring training is now in full swing, a number of managers may have their jobs on the line during the ’08 season. Three managers are in the final year of their deals and another 12 managers have two years left on their contracts. This second group will be due either an extension or a pink slip next winter as few teams are willing to play out a season with a lame-duck manager. Therefore, any manager with two years remaining on their contracts (including options) will likely have their fate determined prior to the ’09 season.

Ignoring managers that may be on the hot seat for other reasons (i.e. Willie Randolph), here is a list of managers that could potentially have their jobs on the line in ’08 based on their current contract situations. (Numbers in parentheses represent the number of years remaining on current contract)

  • Cecil Cooper, HOU (2)
  • Bob Geren, OAK (1+1 team option)
  • John Gibbons, TOR (1)
  • Bobby Cox, ATL (1)
  • Ned Yost, MIL (1+1 team option)
  • Tony LaRussa (2)
  • Bruce Bochy (2)
  • John McLaren, SEA (1)
  • Fredi Gonzalez, FLA (2)
  • Dave Trembley, BAL (1+1 team option)
  • Bud Black, SD (1+1 team option)
  • Joe Maddon, TB (2)
  • Clint Hurdle, COL (2)
  • Jim Leyland, DET (2)
  • Ron Gardenhire, MIN (2)

Taking a closer look at the list…Of the managers in the final year of their deal, Cox will be back if he chooses. LaRussa and Leyland may very well enter ’09 without new deals considering their ages. Yost, Gardenhire, Hurdle and Black look like locks for extensions prior to ’09. However, the remaining eight names on the list (Cooper, Geren, Bochy, Gonzalez, Trembley, Maddon, Gibbons, McLaren) may very well be managing for their jobs in ’08.

By Cork Gaines

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