Olney On Mets, Dodgers, Pujols
A year ago it was the Rangers and Cubs. Now, the Mets and Dodgers have ownership issues, as ESPN.com's Buster Olney explains in his latest blog entry. Here are the details…
- Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has “serious” financial problems, according to Olney. The day-to-day costs of running a team could soon create more of a need for cash for McCourt, who has looked for investors, but has not shown any interest in selling off much of the team.
- MLB is expected to let the Dodgers ownership situation play out on its own, writes Olney.
- The Dodgers’ ownership issues appear to be “much more immediate” than those of the Mets, but the Mets have significant financial obligations in a number of areas. For more on the Madoff/Wilpon/Mets mess, read Howard Megdal's latest for MLBTR.
- Both the Mets and Dodgers have been mentioned as hypothetical landing spots for Albert Pujols, who will hit free agency if he doesn’t sign an extension by the time Spring Training starts. One rival executive suggested to Olney that the Cubs could become the top bidder for Pujols if he hits the open market. "I think their ownership is gearing up for that," the executive said.
Quick Hits: Drese, Johnson, Delcarmen, Reyes
Eleven year ago today, the Ken Griffey Jr. era came to an end in Seattle. The Mariners traded their franchise player to the Reds for a four player package highlighted by Mike Cameron and Brett Tomko, and later that day Junior signed a nine-year, $116.5MM contract.
Here's a few links for the evening…
- Remember Ryan Drese? He signed with the Orioles according to this week's edition of minor league transactions, courtesy of Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Drese, a 14-game winner with the Rangers in 2004, last pitched in the big leagues in 2006. He spent last year in the independent Atlantic League.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic hears that Kelly Johnson's arbitration hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Phoenix. Our Arbitration Tracker shows that Johnson filed for $6.5MM, and the team countered with $4.7MM.
- Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall chatted with fans at MLB.com today, and said he believes "the roster is set for the most part."
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier spoke to Manny Delcarmen's agent, who confirmed that his client had a Major League contract offer from a NL club, but choose the Mariners because of opportunity.
- MLB.com's Spencer Fordin spoke to Jose Reyes at a charity event today, and the shortstop said he's not thinking about his contract right now. Reyes can become a free agent for the first time after 2011.
Quick Hits: Marcum, Blanco, Peavy, Pujols
Links for Wednesday night..
- Brewers negotiator Teddy Werner told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter) that the ability for Shaun Marcum to exceed the $4MM arb midpoint via incentives was key to making the deal happen.
- Royals outfielder Gregor Blanco is out of options and on the bubble, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
- The Mets could learn a lot from the Rangers, who also experienced financial trouble recently, writes Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal.
- Jake Peavy is eager to fulfill the expecations that the White Sox had for him when they traded for him in 2009, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
- Agent Adam Karon has been promoted to partner and general counsel at Sosnick-Cobbe Sports, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Karon represents Jonathan Singleton, Brent Morel, Jesse Biddle, Sean Coyle, Chris Heisey, and others.
- Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (via Twitter) points out that the Cardinals have an exclusive negotiating window with Albert Pujols from the end of the team's season to five days after the World Series.
- The Cards should give Pujols the dollars he's looking for but only across seven years, says Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter).
- The White Sox are amongst the teams that did well this offseason, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.
- Reliever Duaner Sanchez worked out for several clubs in Arizona today, though the Red Sox were not among them, tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. The veteran right-hander last pitched in the majors in 2009 when he made 12 appearances for the Padres.
Quick Hits: AL West Grades, O-Cab, Scott, Hernandez
Offseason grades were revealed for the NL Central on Tuesday by ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, and his colleague Jerry Crasnick has marks for the AL West today. Here's more on that and a couple other tidbits of note …
- The A's had the best offseason of the AL West clubs, writes Crasnick, after adding some pop to their lineup relatively cheaply and solidifying their bullpen behind their strong, young starting rotation. They missed out on a couple bigger-ticket players and added some guys with injury questions, Crasnick notes, but they improved overall. The Rangers fared OK this offseason, writes Crasnick. The loss of Cliff Lee hurts Texas, as does its mishandling of a good asset in Michael Young, although Adrian Beltre was a nice if pricey add. The Angels and Mariners had a rough go of it, according to Crasnick, with the Halos committing too much money to Vernon Wells in the wake of losing out on Carl Crawford, and the M's pulling off some "uninspiring" signings, like Miguel Olivo.
- Free-agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera is talking to a couple teams and is "too good not to get a job," writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Twins, Brewers and Pirates all could make sense as a landing spot for Cabrera, Heyman explains.
- The Mets have signed outfielder Lorenzo Scott to a minor league deal, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Scott, 28, spent 2010 in the Marlins organization, primarly with the Double-A Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League. There he hit .265/.369/.412 in 324 plate appearances.
- The Mariners have signed Moises Hernandez, the older brother of Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, to a minor league deal, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Hernandez, 26, was last with a Major League organizaiton in 2009, when he pitched for three Braves affiliates. For his minor league career, Hernandez has a 4.37 ERA in 116 appearances (57 starts).
- MLBTR founder and owner Tim Dierkes was interviewed by the folks over at BaseballNation.net recently, so be sure to give that a read for more information on the innerworkings of MLBTR.
Mets To Sign Casey Fossum
The Mets agreed to sign Casey Fossum, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Fossum gets a minor league deal and an invitation to minor league Spring Training, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter links).
The former Met will provide the team with left-handed depth in the bullpen, and compete with Taylor Tankersley, Tim Byrdak and Mike O'Connor for playing time.
Fossum, 33, spent last season in Japan after spending nine seasons in the Major Leagues. He has a 5.45 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 786 innings for the Rays, Red Sox, D'Backs, Mets and Tigers. He started regularly early on in his career, but has been working exclusively out of the 'pen since 2008.
Fossum's rate stats are slightly better against left-handed hitters (7.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 41.2% ground ball rate), but he hasn't shown a pronounced platoon split over the course of his career.
Mets Sign Dale Thayer
The Mets have signed right-hander Dale Thayer to a minor league contract, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, and the deal does not include an invitation to Major League camp in Spring Training.
Thayer, 30, pitched in one game for the Rays in 2010, and has a career ERA of 7.47 in the big leagues in 12 appearances.
Thayer was signed by the Padres as an amateur free agent in 2002 and dealt to the Rays in September 2006 as part of the swap that sent Russell Branyan from Tampa Bay to San Diego.
New York Notes: Aceves, C.C., Emaus, Martin
Alfredo Aceves' signing seems like just the latest wrinkle in a long line of them in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, but the Mets had a stake in that deal, too. Here's more on that and some other items of note coming out of the Big Apple on Tuesday …
- The Mets, like the Red Sox, offered Aceves a Major League contract, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the right-hander preferred to play for Boston. The Mets were disappointed to miss out on Aceves, Heyman tweets, and understandably so, as Aceves would have been another decent addition for a team that entered the offseason on a tight budget. Interestingly, Aceves is reportedly throwing in bullpen sessions, which is further along than the Yankees anticipated he'd be at this juncture, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. One has to wonder whether the new timetable would have influenced the Yanks' decision to non-tender Aceves in December.
- Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia has shed 30 pounds this offseason in an effort to reduce the load on his surgically repaired right knee, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Typically, we don't get too excited over this sort of Spring Training cliche, as we're bound to hear quite a bit about who's in shape and who's not over the next couple weeks, but 30 pounds is a lot of weight, and we're especially mindful of the opt-out clause in Sabathia's contract after the 2011 campaign. If he's healthy and has a big season, Sabathia could be in for another big payday next offseason.
- Mets second baseman Brad Emaus, a Rule 5 draftee, has a good chance of making the Mets' Opening Day roster as either their starting second baseman or in a platoon/utility role with Daniel Murphy, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. To that end, Rubin notes it's now "widely expected" that Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo will both be "jettisoned" before Opening Day.
- Yankees catcher Russell Martin is not 100 percent recovered from the right knee surgery he underwent in December, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, but the Bombers' backstop expects to be ready by Opening Day. The Yankees are known to have exceptional depth at catcher with Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, so they probably won't have to range outside the organization in the event that Martin isn't fully healthy after Spring Training.
- Mets shortstop Jose Reyes feels sorry for the Wilpons on account of their financial plight, tweets Peter Botte of the New York Daily News, but he's not concerned about his contract status and is ready to "play baseball and see what happens." Reyes, a free agent after this season, also said that he feels as good as he's felt in the past two years and is expecting a big season, tweets Botte.
ESPN Links: Wright, Dodgers, Papelbon
On this date five years ago, the Dodgers signed Japanese veteran Takashi Saito to a minor league contract that paid him just $500K in the big leagues. Saito, then 36, seized the team's closer role by mid-May, and in three years with the Dodgers he pitched to a 1.95 ERA with 11.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 189 2/3 innings.
Here's some notes from the worldwide leader…
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick graded the offseason of the five AL Central clubs, giving the Tigers a B+ for their additions of Victor Martinez, Joaquin Benoit, and Brad Penny. Indians' fans, I'm sorry to say your team received a D.
- David Wright told ESPN's Jayson Stark that he believes his Mets teammates will be impacted by a lawsuit seeking $1B from ownership. "When something is going on with them, of course it's going trickle down," said Wright. "You have to understand that unfortunately there's some great parts about this business and there's some situations like this." Make sure you check out Howard Megdal's simple guide to the Madoff/Wilpon mess.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti spoke to Jon Weisman of ESPN Los Angeles about a variety of topics, including closer Jonathan Broxton and the team's outfield situation. I recently identified Broxton as a player entering a make or break year.
- ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes spoke to Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who said he's comfortable with his role on the team. The Sox imported Bobby Jenks this offseason, and it's been speculated that he could replace Papelbon if he struggles.
The Madoff/Wilpon Mess: A Simple Guide
Maybe you're wondering: why do I need to follow the lawsuit by Irving Picard, trustee for Bernie Madoff victims, against Fred Wilpon and his business partners, who own the New York Mets? Regardless of the outcome, will Luis Castillo hit any better? Will Oliver Perez pitch any better? Will Johan Santana heal any better?
The answer to all three questions is, sadly, no. But the ramifications of the suit, unsealed last Friday, will impact the way the Mets are run for years to come, whether Fred Wilpon is forced to take on a minority owner, sell the entire team, or spend the upcoming months (and possibly years) in litigation.
The Mets' ownership group is being sued for $300MM in fictitious profits, along with another $700MM in damages, for their connection to the Ponzi scheme operated by Bernie Madoff. The impact on the franchise is likely to be immense. Here's what you need to know about the current circumstances:
Quick Hits: Diamondbacks, Guerrero, Marcum, Pence
Football will dominate today's sports headlines, but ESPN.com's Jayson Stark tweets some good news for baseball fans – Super Sunday also represents the start of the last week without baseball until November! Here are today's links, as the Packers and Steelers prepare to square off in Texas….
- The Diamondbacks could hit it big in the draft this year, a rival scout tells Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Arizona will hold the No. 3 and No. 7 picks this June.
- It's time to give Peter Angelos and the Orioles credit for signing Vladimir Guerrero, writes Kevin Cowherd of The Baltimore Sun. The big ticket signing is the latest move made by the O's who will see their payroll jump from $73MM in 2010 to $93MM in 2011.
- Francisco Liriano's $4.3MM salary could impact the Brewers' negotiations with Shaun Marcum, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Both pitchers submitted a $5MM figure. Milwaukee countered with $3MM while the Twins offered Liriano $3.6MM before settling on a $4.3MM mark last week.
- An arbitration hearing for Hunter Pence and the Astros has been set for February 18th, reports Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner. As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Pence is Houston's last remaining case, and the two sides' figures are $1.75MM apart.
- Within a piece on the Rays' bullpen, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune writes that the team is waiting until early this week to make roster moves to free room on the 40-man roster for Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez.
- The Yankees' hunt for starting pitching and the Mets' financial issues will get more attention, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post thinks the more intriguing stories in New York involve the futures of the two starting shortstops.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer previews some storylines and poses some questions for the Reds as they prepare for the season.