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Cafardo On Broxton, Phillies, Span, Orioles, White Sox

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that Mariano Rivera is arguably the most important player in the American League East.  The Yankees will look to in-house solutions in the back of their bullpen for now, but other teams in need of relievers will start combing the market for answers.  The Cubs would obviously part with Carlos Marmol.  The Pirates could move Joel Hanrahan, but the price would be steep. The White Sox might trade left-hander Matt Thornton and the Astros could be willing to deal Brett Myers. 

Teams are looking to see whether the Mets would deal Bobby Parnell and whether the Royals move Jonathan Broxton.  Kansas City, however, would need to receive his permission since he was signed as a free agent and otherwise couldn’t be moved until after June 15th.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • Phillies people insist that they are not on the lookout for a third baseman/left fielder with Placido Polanco struggling.  "We’re just trying to hold our heads above water until we get our guys back," a Phillies official told Cafardo.
  • Twins center fielder Denard Span remains on the Nationals' radar, but with closer Drew Storen sidelined, a deal is on hold for a while.
  • According to an Orioles source, they have received calls on Kevin Gregg and Matt Lindstrom.  The O's would love to move part of Gregg's $5.8MM deal for 2012.  Lindstrom, meanwhile, will earn $3.6MM with a $4MM option for 2013.
  • The Astros will hang on to Wandy Rodriguez until late July when they can get the best possible deal for him.
  • Even though White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is reaching the end of his contract and is 35, don’t be surprised if the club talks about keeping him for another year or two.  Many in Chicago feel the mantle will be passed to Tyler Flowers, but Jerry Reinsdorf is very loyal to his veteran players.
  • First baseman Derrek Lee is definitely on the Brewers’ radar with Mat Gamel out for the season.  They’re thinking about moving Corey Hart from right field to first, but there may be outside options.  The Red Sox’s Lars Anderson and the Orioles’ Mark Reynolds could be two names to consider.
  • The Red Sox expect to have Andrew Bailey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford, Kevin Youkilis, and Daisuke Matsuzaka back at some point this summer.  General Manager Ben Cherington believes, "that would be better than anything we could do in a trade deadline deal."

New York Notes: Rivera, Chamberlain, Harvey, Bay

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Mariano Rivera suffered an apparent right knee injury while shagging fly balls during batting practice today in Kansas City.  MLB.com's Bryan Hoch has the details about the injury, which has been initially diagnosed as a twisted knee (Twitter link), though Rivera will undergo an MRI tonight.  If the injury requires Rivera to miss time, it would be the legendarily durable closer's first DL stint since 2003.  Follow @CloserNews for the latest on Rivera's status and how his possible absence would impact the Yankees' bullpen.

Here's some news from both Big Apple teams…

  • Joba Chamberlain has been transferred to the 60-day DL, the Yankees announced today.  In corresponding moves, Jayson Nix has been called up from Triple-A and Eric Chavez has been put on the seven-day DL due to a possible concussion.
  • The Mets have no plans to call up star prospect Matt Harvey to become the team's new fifth starter, GM Sandy Alderson told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  “Aside from Matt himself — and I love that he thinks this way — there is no one in the organization who feels he is ready to be in the major leagues,” Alderson said.  "When we bring him up, we hope to do so and not have to send him back.  This is not about filling an immediate need.  This is about the long-term stability of the organization and the team.”  To that same end, the Mets will also not call up any of their other top pitching prospects like Zack Wheeler or Jeurys Familia.
  • "There are no other options" for the Mets in regards to Jason Bay other than to hope that he returns from the DL fit and starts hitting, writes MLB.com's Anthony DiComo as part of a reader mailbag.  I wouldn't say Bay is completely untradeable, as the Mets may be able to move him for another bad contract, though that wouldn't really help the situation.  Bay is owed approximately $13.3MM over the remainder of this season and $16MM in 2013, though as DiComo notes, Bay's injury problems make it unlikely he will get the necessary plate appearances for his 2014 $17MM club option to vest.

Mike Pelfrey To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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5:52pm: A team source told Rubin that the Mets are expected to non-tender Pelfrey after the season. Tommy John rehab usually takes 12 months, but the non-tender deadline is December 2nd this year.

MONDAY, 4:33pm: Assistant GM John Ricco confirmed to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that Pelfrey will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow (Twitter link).

THURSDAY: Mets right-hander Mike Pelfrey is expected to miss the rest of the 2012 season to undergo and recover from Tommy John surgery. Manager Terry Collins told reporters that Pelfrey will likely have ligament replacement surgery, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports (Twitter links). Pelfrey himself says there's a 99% chance he'll have the operation, according to Martino.

This could represent the end of Pelfrey's Mets career. He'll earn $5.68MM in 2012 and the Mets would have to offer a similar salary to retain him for 2013. As Matt Swartz showed earlier today, injured players don't generally take pay cuts in arbitration, so the Mets might prefer to non-tender their 2005 first round selection instead. The 28-year-old had pitched well in three 2012 starts and owns a 4.36 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in parts of seven MLB seasons. Scott Boras represents Pelfrey, who is under team control through 2013.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Olney On Perez, Thornton, Inge, Mets

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Most general managers prefer not to rush trades for bullpen help early in the season because relievers are so volatile, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Olney takes a look at some relievers off to hot starts in his latest Insider-only column. Here are some highlights:

  • Blue Jays left-hander Luis Perez has impressed an AL executive after striking out 14 in 12 2/3 scoreless innings to start the season. "He could be a starting pitcher, but to me, he's as good a left-handed reliever as there is in the American League right now," the person said.
  • Olney points out that left-hander Matt Thornton is pitching well and notes that the White Sox tried to trade him at last year’s trade deadline and again over the winter.
  • MLB executives have told Olney that they aren’t interested in acquiring Brandon Inge because he doesn’t contribute at the plate anymore.
  • Olney wonders when the Mets will be able to spend like a large market team and says manager Terry Collins “has done a terrific job” with the current roster.

Mets Sign Fred Lewis, Brad Emaus

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The Mets have signed outfielder Fred Lewis and infielder Brad Emaus to minor league contracts, the team announced (on Twitter). Both players were assigned to Triple-A Buffalo.

Lewis, 31, was released by the Indians earlier this month. He posted a .230/.321/.317 line in 210 plate appearances for the Reds last year, but he spent time on the disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle. Lewis played both corner outfield positions for Cincinnati, and he has a track record of success against right-handed pitching (.780 career OPS).

Emaus, 26, opened last season with the Mets as a Rule 5 Draft pick. He hit .162/.262/.162 in 42 plate appearances before being returned to the Blue Jays in mid-April. Toronto traded Emaus to the Rockies soon thereafter, and he went on to hit .313/.389/.564 in 186 plate appearances with Colorado's Triple-A affiliate.

Quick Hits: Reyes, Napoli, Miller

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Jared Hughes of the Pirates and Zach Putnam of the Rockies made history today as the 26th players on their teams' respective rosters for this afternoon's double-header. This was the first time teams carried extra players, now a possibility for select double-headers under the sport's new collective bargaining agreement. I believe the change makes sense for ownership, which reduces injury risk by adding depth, and players, who obtain additional service time and pay. On to today's links…

  • Jose Reyes says the Mets should keep David Wright in place long-term, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reports. “That’s good if they can bring David back, he’s a symbol of the game,’’ Reyes said.
  • Dan Szymborski of ESPN and Baseball Think Factory takes his readers on a tour of the worst trades in recent history. The Bartolo Colon trade and the Mark Teixeira trade top the list, but the Vernon Wells–Mike Napoli swap also makes an appearance.
  • Marvin Miller, the 95-year-old former leader of the MLB players association, says player salaries are reasonable when compared to the earnings of some CEOs, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com). Miller describes the current dynamic between owners and players as a win-win situation. "It is an amazing story how under those circumstances, there can be both management and labor really winning," Miller said.

Sherman On Cardinals, Mets, Hughes

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The Cardinals are defending their World Series title without Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan, but they’re off to an 11-7 start nonetheless. One general manager recently went out of his way to note that “the Cardinals are a good organization” in a conversation with Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here’s more from Sherman, starting in St. Louis:

  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says successful organizations can’t rely on one particular person. “To have sustained success, it is about being deep in all areas,” Mozeliak told Sherman. “So you are not reliant on any one person or one area of strength.”
  • Sherman wonders if the Mets might be able to spend on a long-term extension for David Wright since they didn’t re-sign Jose Reyes and the contracts of Johan Santana and Jason Bay will expire following the 2013 season (the Mets hold club options for 2014). The Mets have ignored overall organizational depth for too long, Sherman writes.
  • When asked about Phil Hughes’ slow start, Yankees GM Brian Cashman pointed out that pitchers such as Tim Lincecum, Adam Wainwright and Jon Lester have also struggled early on. “Based on the list, [Hughes] is in pretty good company,” Cashman said. “I think his stuff has been better than the results.” Cashman doesn’t sound interested in demoting the right-hander to the minors or moving him to the bullpen.

Mets Links: Mike Pelfrey, Jason Bay

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Jose Reyes played his first game at CitiField as a Marlin tonight after leaving New York for Miami and $106MM this offseason. Here's the latest on the Amazin's…

  • Right-hander Mike Pelfrey was placed on the DL with an elbow injury today, and ESPN New York's Adam Rubin hears he suffered a partial tear of his UCL and could be out for the season. Pelfrey is headed for a second opinion and was a non-tender candidate even before the injury.
  • Jason Bay was also placed on the DL today, and Rubin points out that the outfielder's 2014 option vests if one of two conditions are met: 500 plate appearances this year and next or 600 plate appearances in 2013. Bay currently has 57 plate appearances and the injury could impact the first condition.
  • Earlier today we had some notes about the left side of the Mets' infield, shortstop Ruben Tejada and third baseman David Wright.

Minor Moves: Martin, George, Cintron, Hester

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We’ll keep track of the latest minor moves right here…

  • The Mets re-signed outfielder Dustin Martin, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The Mets drafted Martin in 2006 but traded him to Minnesota. He has a .276/.347/.417 line in seven minor league seasons, the last three of which he played at Triple-A Rochester.
  • The Orioles' Triple-A affiliate announced that the organization released left-hander Chris George (Twitter link). George, a first rounder back in 1998, has started for Norfolk for the past two-plus seasons.
  • Infielder Alex Cintron, who last played in the Major Leagues with the 2009 Nationals, signed with an independent league team, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Cintron, 33, has played in nine big league seasons.
  • The Angels signed minor league catcher John Hester and assigned him to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The Orioles released Hester last week to create roster space for Luis Exposito. Hester, 28, has big league experience with the Diamondbacks and a .285/.345/.471 batting line in seven minor league seasons.

NL East Notes: Jurrjens, Utley, Tejada, Wright

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Here are some links from the NL East on the day Chipper Jones turns 40 and Jose Reyes returns to Citi Field…

  • The Braves optioned right-hander Jair Jurrjens to Triple-A Gwinnett following a disappointing start against the Dodgers yesterday. The right-hander has a 9.37 ERA through four starts, so he's returning to the minors, where he last spent considerable time in 2007. Jurrjens' path to free agency could be affected if he spends two months or more in the minor leagues.
  • Phillies manager Charlie Manuel hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing Chase Utley at first base when he's activated from the disabled list, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. If Utley returns before Ryan Howard, the Phillies could mix things up defensively. "We'll figure that out when we get there," Manuel said. 
  • Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada has the unenviable task of replacing Reyes, but as Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com shows, the 22-year-old has already earned the confidence of his team. Meanwhile, Tejada says Reyes was a "great teammate" in New York before signing a $106MM free agent contract with the Marlins this past offseason. 
  • Ken Davidoff of the New York Post suggests there's no rush to lock David Wright up long-term despite the third baseman's hot start. Davidoff points out that it's April and that Wright is under team control through 2013. If he's still hitting this well when summer trade talks begin in earnest, the Mets will face a major decision, but we aren't there yet.
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