Will Mets Release Delgado?
Is Carlos Delgado the next Frank Thomas? Or worse yet, is he the next Mike Piazza? Sammy Sosa? Barry Bonds? (steroid implications aside). So asks Joel Sherman of the NY Post who’s headline – always in that in-your-face extra-bold verdana – reads "DELGADO ON HIS WAY OUT AT FIRST". With aging veterans out of work, and a rash of young talent being locked up, 2008 really feels like the end of one era and the marked beginning of the next.
An arbitrary fun-fact from Sherman, "In the past 25 years, just one champion has had a regular first baseman older than 32 (the 2001 Diamondbacks with 37-year-old Mark Grace)." Delgado’s making $16MM this season, and although 35 is often a notorious age at which batters decline, this cliff fall is not the norm. Still, a contract of that magnitude will keep Delgado in New York for at least a short while longer.
In Buster Olney’s latest, he speculated Delgado’s release, which seems to be slightly more than speculation at this point. Olney cited Xavier Nady or Scott Hatteberg as potential replacements should the Mets want to trade for a replacement. Nady, however, might not be available until the Pirates say "uncle."
Should the 35-yr old Delgado reenter free agent land, what kind of interest will there be? Most likely less than there was for Frank Thomas, but someone would throw him a bone as he’d be low risk, high reward. Not unlike Thomas, PECOTA projects a .265-20-80 season from the veteran and while that’s not a $16MM season, it’s still adequate production for many teams from a corner infielder or DH.
By Nat Boyle
Will Salty Callup Lead To Laird Trade?
Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been called up, and GM Jon Daniels has no plans for him to warm the bench. Salty performed well at AAA Oklahoma, and when backup backstop Adam Melhuse broke a bone in his hand on Thursday, the call-up seemed imminent. However, incumbent Rangers catcher Gerald Laird has also been solid to start the season. Given the organization’s desire to get Saltalamacchia regular at-bats and the lackluster hitting of first baseman Ben Broussard, I think it’s likely that the defensively sub-par Salty will see at least some time at the "cold corner."
But with the Rangers off to an absolutely abysmal start–Buster Olney cites a scout today saying that the team looks "out of control"–we have to wonder when the Rangers will open up the treasure chest and share some of their backstop bounty with the rest of the league. As previously noted in this space, the team is expected to be sellers come July. In addition to Laird and Saltalamacchia, the Rangers also have three decent catching prospects. With catching talent so scarce, other GMs will likely come knocking sooner rather than later. Rumors about Laird have been flying to and fro since Texas acquired Saltalamacchia in the Mark Teixeira deal last summer, but Salty’s call-up means the clock has officially started ticking. Although Daniels said recently he wasn’t planning on trading Laird, I have a feeling he’s just playing hard to get. Some possible suitors? The Reds, the Mets, the Blue Jays, or the Red Sox.
Sarah Green writes for the Boston Metro and UmpBump.com. She can be reached here.
Olney’s Latest: Nady, Delgado, Clement, Lofton
Buster Olney has some thoughts. Let’s have a looksee.
- He thinks that Xavier Nady could fit with the Mets or the Indians, but notes that the Pirates are sitting tight for now, hoping to compete this year. They’ll be singing a different tune in July.
- Olney goes on to speculate that the Mets could release Carlos Delgado if he continues his weak hitting. Nady would seem a decent replacement, though he hasn’t played first since 2006. Scott Hatteberg could be another option.
- In what he calls "pure speculation," Olney suggests that the Mariners trade Jeff Clement to the Red Sox for Coco Crisp and some pitching. It’s a rather vague trade idea, and I’d think that the Mariners could fetch a lot more than Crisp if they opted to trade Clement, who is having his way with AAA pitching.
- It appears Jake Peavy wants the Padres to sign Kenny Lofton. With the way Jim Edmonds and Scott Hairston are hitting, I can’t blame him.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Gross, Rios, Perez
The tireless Ken Rosenthal has another column up today. Not a whole ton in the way of trade rumors, but let’s see what we can salvage from the article.
- The A’s could be a team interested in trading for the Brewers’ Gabe Gross, who is the likely casualty once Mike Cameron returns from suspension. Gross can play all three outfield positions, and it’s not clear whether the A’s view him as a roving fourth outfielder, or a replacement for Emil Brown.
- Rosenthal notes that the Blue Jays are following the lead of David Eckstein, hustling like crazy to first base. This, he notes, keeps fielders on their toes and makes them more apt to commit an error. The only one not buying in, apparently, is Alex Rios. How is this significant? Well, Rios just signed a six-year, $64MM contract before this season. Not exactly the impression you want to be making.
- The Mets’ Oliver Perez one a solid year away from cashing in this winter. Young, hard-throwing lefties are always in demand. He’s on his way now, sporting a 2.49 ERA through four starts, striking out just a hair under a batter an inning. Now, if he can only find a pitching coach who can teach him to throw strikes — he has 12 walks in those innings, which is less than a 2:1 ratio.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.
Frank Thomas Suitors
The Blue Jays are on the hook for the rest of Frank Thomas‘ salary this year, making him a fine bargain for a team looking for a DH. It seems that the signing team will not be liable for his 2009 vesting option. As an injury-prone DH with clubhouse concerns, Thomas has similarities to Barry Bonds. The Big Hurt will come more cheaply, offering less production but no steroid baggage. As far as suitors:
- Mariners GM Bill Bavasi will talk to his scouts about Thomas. Question for Mariners fans: does Thomas offer more at DH than Jeff Clement, who is raking at Triple A?
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels didn’t rule Thomas out but seems to be leaning away from it. The Rangers have plenty of DHs on hand already.
- The A’s will at least have an internal discussion about Thomas, but they aren’t tipping their hand.
- Rays manager Joe Maddon was noncommital when asked about Thomas. They did just add Dan Johnson.
- Could the Mets follow suit and release Carlos Delgado?
Odds and Ends: Schilling, Piazza, Howard
Tax day roundup…
- Some mild drama over whether Curt Schilling would consider pitching for the Yankees next year. He reiterated that he won’t. It takes two to tango, anyway.
- Pedro Martinez may be out until June. Nelson Figueroa‘s chance continues, with Claudio Vargas as the backup plan. The Mets still have a solid rotation without Pedro.
- Mark Healey has heard rumblings that the Reds and Yankees are looking at Mike Piazza.
- Phillies Nation on why they would trade Ryan Howard.
- Bill Barnwell looks at the four trades Randy Johnson trades. I thought the Unit looked respectable last night, though it’s hard to gauge against the Giants.
- Susan Slusser believes a recent roster move indicates that the A’s are playing to win in ’08. They’re in first place at the moment.
- The Dodgers rolled out the red carpet for bloggers.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In
Bunch of random topics so let’s just get to it and see what it being said in the Blogosphere…
- Big League Stew talks to Bless You Boys about the idea of Barry Bonds signing with the Tigers. BYB argues against signing Bonds noting that the Tigers already have a bunch of slow players (base cloggers?) and what they really need is some more speed in the lineup…Although we keep hearing about collusion and have not heard any numbers bandied about, Bonds has always made it very clear how much he values the almighty dollar. Does anybody else think that Bonds would already be in uniform if he had come out said he would play 2008 for $3-5MM plus incentives? The baggage is what it is, but teams might find it easier to deal with it at a price Bonds is not likely to accept.
- Rockin’ The Red takes a look at the five Cardinals that are most likely to be traded during the season…Chris Duncan is an interesting name on the list. With all the outfielders that the Cards have, Duncan is a solid bat that is likely to be a Super-2 at the end of the year.
- The Yankees: Minors to Majors looks at the pending free agents for the Yankees and concludes that there is plenty of compensation picks to be had giving the Yankees plenty of flexibility to sign a high-end free agent like C.C. Sabathia…Of course, that is assuming the Yankees would let something like draft pick compensation stand in the way of signing a free agent. Not likely.
- Wrigleyville23 has had enough of the Brian Roberts-to-the-Cubs media reports…Who?
- The Bronx Zoo would love to see Nick Johnson back in a Yankees’ uniform but notes that Dmitri Young may not be a dependable replacement for the Nats.
- Mets Fever notes that eight players have moved among the Brewers, Mets and Nats since this offseason…Let’s just say that the Brewers did not get the best of that "three-way trade".
- One writer at DRays Bay is hoping the Rays and M’s can re-engage talks for Edwin Jackson…The M’s may be interested once again after being two-hit by Jackson yesterday, but maybe the price just went up.
- One name that kept popping up recently as a possible trade piece in the near future was Rich Harden. Well, Harden has once again found himself on the DL and Athletics Nation is not taking it well.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Robinson Tejeda Clears Waivers
WEDNESDAY at 6:29pm: Surprisingly, Tejeda passed through waivers unclaimed. He’s headed to Oklahoma.
TUESDAY at 9:07am: We discussed 26 year-old starter Robinson Tejeda here. Imagine Carlos Silva with poor control and mid-90s heat (hmm, doesn’t sound too much like Silva actually). Anyway, the Rangers designated Tejeda for assignment last week and have until Wednesday to trade him. Jon Daniels doesn’t expect a deal, meaning Tejeda may simply be plucked off waivers. He’s a project, so he might make more sense for a rebuilding team. Jayson Stark saw no indications that the Mets were after Tejeda; David Lennon did.
The above-linked article from Anthony Andro also notes that outfielder Nelson Cruz passed through waivers unclaimed and is headed to Triple A. The 27 year-old seems to have earned the Quad-A tag.
Mets Close To Deal With Claudio Vargas
Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mets are close to a minor league deal with free agent righty Claudio Vargas. It’s a smart move; they need someone who can eat innings at a league average ERA. Four teams were pursuing Vargas.
Vargas, 29 in May, has always posted a decent strikeout rate. If he rediscovers his control from ’06 and limits the longball, he could be solid. No risk for the Mets. Vargas initially balked at the idea of going to the minors, but perhaps he couldn’t find any better offers.
Odds and Ends: Braun, Cueto, Pelfrey
An assortment of links…
- Ryan Braun‘s agent is in town to talk about extension scenarios with the Brewers. Perhaps the Brewers could get him for slightly more than the $30MM Troy Tulowitzki received. As Tom Haudricourt writes, a Prince Fielder extension seems less likely.
- The Blue Jays once offered Frank Catalanotto for Johnny Cueto, when Wayne Krivsky was new on the job. Nice try, J.P.
- Buster Olney believes tonight’s start by Mike Pelfrey might determine the likelihood of the Mets pursuing outside pitching help. Claudio Vargas remains unsigned.