Delmon Young Available?
According to Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
The Twins won’t talk about it, but it’s expected that Delmon Young, the left fielder they obtained from Tampa Bay before this past season, will be made available on the trade market.
It seems an odd time to shop Young, but moving him for a shortstop or third baseman might clear the way for an outfield of Michael Cuddyer, Carlos Gomez, and Denard Span.
Young, 23, hit .290/.336/.405 in 623 plate appearances. He made some progress in his walk rate, and at least slugged .448 after June 1st.
Twins Interested In Orlando Cabrera
According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins are interested in free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Christensen guesses Cabrera could receive a three-year, $30MM contract this winter.
Cabrera, 34 in November, hit .281/.334/.371 in 730 plate appearances. He has a reputation as a strong defensive shortstop, though the plus/minus system says he made just one more play than the average shortstop this year. He’s much better on balls hit to his left than his right.
I like that the Twins seem willing to throw around a little cash, but Cabrera seems a questionable target. Rafael Furcal is risky too, but at least there’s upside.
Odds and Ends: Lowe, Redmond, Timlin
Linkage for Friday…
- River Ave. Blues discovered that Mike Mussina‘s wife may be a bigger factor than we thought in regard to his retirement decision.
- David O’Brien tosses out some names for the Braves to consider: Derek Lowe, Matt Cain, Roy Oswalt, and Josh Willingham. Everyone likes Lowe…Anthony McCarron says the Yankees and Mets should consider him. Those clubs could also enter a bidding war for C.C. Sabathia, says Bob Klapisch. Will C.C.’s postseason record diminish his contract? I don’t think so.
- Greg Couch doesn’t want Javier Vazquez pitching for the White Sox again. Maybe Ozzie is right, Vazquez is not a big-game pitcher. But why say that publicly?
- Joe Christensen seems certain the Twins will exercise Mike Redmond‘s $950K option.
- Chris Carpenter‘s shoulder injury is unprecedented among pitchers. Do the Cardinals need to add veteran rotation insurance? Speaking of unprecedented procedures…Takashi Saito had platelet-rich plasma injected into his elbow in July.
- Joe Starkey thinks the Pirates should…non-tender Adam LaRoche?
- Mike Timlin could retire.
- Huge E-Ticket Manny Ramirez feature from Bill Simmons, wherein Scott Boras is blamed for his Boston exit. Good read.
Week In Review: 9/21 – 9/27
Here’s your weekly look back at some of the biggest stories we’ve covered on MLBTR!
- The Pedro Alvarez drama may finally be behind us. The Pirates’ first-round pick agreed to terms with the organization on a new four-year, $6.355MM major league contract. Jim Callis and Dejan Kovacevic have some more insight to offer on the signing here. The contract was officially signed later in the week, and the grievance was resolved. Royals fans and Eric Hosmer are also both relieved that this is over I’m sure.
- The Blue Jays began talking extension with A.J. Burnett this week. Later on, we learned that the Jays would offer a two-year, $30MM extension onto the remaining two years of his contract, bringing the total remaining value to four years, $54MM. Burnett seemed pleasantly surprised with the amount of money the Jays were said to offer. He expected they’d offer less. You’re always going to be wondering just how many innings he can give you in a season, but in a world where Carlos Silva makes $12MM per season, if Burnett is healthy he’d be a steal at this price.
- Lots of question marks for another AL East team’s rotation, with the Yankees trying to figure out just what exactly Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina are planning for 2009. Pettitte has said that he’ll play for the Yankees or retire. Bringing Pettitte back only makes sense if he’s willing to take a much smaller contract. I think around $10MM would make sense; someone also suggested a $7-8MM deal with incentives. That seems fair as well. As for Mussina, he initially said that he didn’t think he’d pitch in 2009, but later at least discussed the possibility of pitching for 300 wins. His first preference would be to pitch for the Yankees again. Congrats to Moose on picking up win number 20 today, by the way. Another milestone in a great career.
- Erik Bedard’s injury and operation weren’t as serious as thought, and the Mariners now face more of a decision on bringing him back. If he’s healthy enough to pitch, I can’t see a reason not to bring him back. Maybe they can at least get a few months of the pitcher they initially thought they were getting, and get something in return in July.
- Curious about what it will take for your club to reel in that free agent you’re craving? Buster Olney took a look at the market earlier this week that might shed some light on the issue.
- One player who will be in that free agent pool is Orlando Cabrera. He openly criticized his teammates, saying that none of them wanted to win enough, and that "they were the problem," not him. Cabera’s hitting a very weak shortstop market; he should draw a lot of interest from numerous clubs. Interestingly, that article suggests Chicago’s biggest rival – Minnesota – as a possible landing place for Cabrera.
- Two players officially called it quits this week. Todd Jones retired, notching 319 saves in his career. Elsewhere, J.T. Snow signed a one-day contract with San Francisco, so he could officially retire as a Giant.
- Tim updated the Offseason Outlook series with entries for the Reds, Rockies, and Rangers.
- Has anyone seen Brad Penny recently? No? Apparently, neither have the Dodgers.
Mariners Rumors: Johjima, Washburn, Ibanez
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times has all sorts of good Mariners info today.
- Kenji Johjima‘s three-year, $24MM extension was mandated by Japanese ownership. Johjima has an opt-out clause after the ’09 season, but only in the event of a serious family issue. The extension looks like a sunk cost for Seattle before it even begins.
- Backup catcher Jamie Burke is a free agent after the season. He would like to return but needs to discuss playing time with the Ms.
- The Mariners’ direction remains unclear – is 2009 a rebuilding year? If so, why didn’t they swap Jarrod Washburn and his contract for a young Twins pitcher? Even if ’09 isn’t a rebuilding year that would’ve made sense.
- The Mariners still have interest in re-signing Raul Ibanez. He may prefer to sign with a contender, leaving the Mariners with even less power.
- Baker believes that with Erik Bedard‘s injury (and possible non-tender), the team should focus on contending around 2011. After the ’11 season, Felix Hernandez will reach free agency.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cards, Sheets, Twins, Pirates, K-Rod, Sabean
A few random notes from around the baseball Blogosphere…
- Rockin’ The Red says one of the priorities for the Cardinals this offseason should be signing a left-handed reliever. They examine the upcoming free agent market and feel Will Ohman and Jeremy Affeldt are the most attractive options.
- Was Watching explores the Yankees "lust" for Ben Sheets and notes that he may be a better option than A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia.
- Twinkie Town projects the Twins ’09 payroll.
- Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? says it is better for the Pirates to wait and add payroll noting that a small increase now will not make the Buccos a contender. They believe it makes more sense to wait until ’10 or ’11.
- One writer at Fanhouse feels Chris Perez could keep the Cardinals from signing Francisco Rodriguez, giving the Cards money to spend on the rest of the bullpen.
- Another writer at Fanhouse wonders why Brian Sabean is going to be back in ’09.
- El Lefty Malo says Brian Sabean’s plan has "more or less worked". The suggestion is that it has only been one year since the rebuilding process began.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Hank Steinbrenner Forming Advisory Group
SATURDAY: Cashman responds to the advisory group comments. He wouldn’t say whether he wants to return.
THURSDAY: Peter Abraham relays comments Hank Steinbrenner made to the AP today. Hank will review the entire organization and put together an advisory group for decision-making. Brian Cashman would still be in charge, but it sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen. Cashman probably will not want to stay if he loses autonomy. Speculation is that Cashman could consider the vacancies in Philadelphia or Seattle.
One thing’s for sure – the Yankees are prepared to throw around some cash this winter. Steinbrenner seemingly has regrets about not acquiring Johan Santana. As far as the ’09 staff goes, Brian Cashman would have interest if Mike Mussina wants to come back. Presumably the Yankees would add one or two more free agent starters after Mussina.
Rockies May Consider Trading Holliday, Atkins
Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News thinks the Rockies are primed for a major shakeup this winter. Specifically, GM Dan O’Dowd could move two star players in Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins.
Ringolsby figures the Phillies, Angels, Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox will be the main suitors for Holliday. The 28 year-old is hitting .311/.403/.492 on the road this year, suggesting he could be a .900 OPS masher in any park. I’m not seeing the fit for the Red Sox, while the Yanks could work Holliday in if they let Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu leave. The other three teams also make sense in certain scenarios. But do the Phillies have the top-level pitching needed to acquire Holliday? It’s been suggested in the past that dark horses such as the Royals or Nationals could enter the mix for the slugger.
Atkins, 28, is hitting .235/.281/.386 away from Coors. His road OPS was under .800 last year as well, so suitors will be wary. Ringolsby suggests the Angels, Twins, Red Sox, and Yankees here. Again I don’t see the fit for Boston. The Twins would need faith in Atkins’ ability to play third base. Unlike Holliday, Atkins is under team control through 2010.
Odds and Ends: Bass, Astros, Beltre, Marlins
A roundup of links for your afternoon reading:
- Tadahito Iguchi, recently released by the Padres, has returned to the Phillies.
- The Brewers have signed Mike Lamb, who had been DFA by the Twins.
- Richard Justice praises Ed Wade’s bullpen construction.
- El Lefty Malo discusses the Giants’ reported interest in Adrian Beltre. He doesn’t think a straight-up trade for Jonathan Sanchez makes sense for the Giants.
- Tons of arbitration eligible players for the Marlins this off-season. Will they start selling off parts? It seems likely. To sign everyone would bring their payroll over $30MM. Tough to sustain when you’re drawing just 600 fans in September.
- Tony LaRussa expects the Cardinals front office to work to improve the team this off-season. The have plenty of hefty contracts coming off the books.
- In a minor move, the Twins have sent righty Brian Bass to the Orioles for a PTBNL.
Week In Review: 8/24 – 8/30
Sunday afternoon is here again… let’s have a look back at some of the moves and rumors since last time:
- The injury-plagued Red Sox acquired Mark Kotsay to help compensate for their injuries. In exchange, the Braves received minor league outfielder Luis Sumoza. Nice acquisition by the Red Sox; Kotsay has been swinging a solid bat this season.
- The Twins acquired Eddie Guardado from Texas in exchange for minor league pitcher Mark Hamburger. Guardado has spent the majority of his career with Minnesota and provides a solid arm to the bullpen. To make room for him, they DFA’d Mike Lamb. Nice move by the Twins, with the added benefit of being able to see "Rangers trade Guardado for Hamburger" in the news. Now that’s a headline!
- The Phillies added a veteran player as well, when they acquired Matt Stairs from Toronto in exchange for minor league lefty Fabio Castro. Stairs should be a decent option off the bench, and he’s still perfectly capable of hitting the ball out of the park.
- Scott Boras continues to find ways to create controversy. He’s now claiming that Pittsburgh’s top pick Pedro Alvarez verbally agreed to his $6MM signing bonus after the midnight deadline, and is trying to demand that the contract be renegotiated for a higher number. The Players Association has filed a grievance on his behalf. Alvarez could wind up back in the 2009 draft pool. Here’s a look at some baseball blogs’ opinions on the matter.
- Minor moves: The Diamondbacks claimed Wil Ledezma off waivers from San Diego, the Braves signed Elmer Dessens to a minor-league contract, and the Astros gave one-year extensions to both Brian Moehler and Darin Erstad.