Odds & Ends: Kielty, Ruiz, Gillick, Santos
Saturday morning links…
- Arangure (via Twitter) writes that the A's have agreed to terms with Michael Feliz, a right-hander from the Dominican Republic. The deal, which is still pending a physical and an age investigation, will provide Feliz with an $800K bonus. The Dominican Prospect League website says that the 6'4, 200-pound hurler is 16-years-old.
- Tim tweets that Bobby Kielty is converting to pitching, and that his slider is actually pretty good. The 33-year-old last played in the big leagues back in 2007, when he was still an outfielder of course.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure tweets that the Blue Jays, Rockies, and Rangers are the teams most interested in Cuban first baseman Jose Julio Ruiz. Ruiz was recently cleared to sign by the Office of Foreign Asset Control.
- Pat Gillick has returned to the Phillies as a senior advisor to president Dave Montgomery, reports Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun. Gillick was the team's GM from 2006-2008.
- ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to several talent evaluators, none of whom think Omir Santos is equipped to be a number one catcher. If the season started today, Santos would likely be behind the plate for the Mets.
Odds & Ends: Jackson, Norman, Dye, Lester, Manny
Some links for Friday night…
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert tweets that the Diamondbacks and Edwin Jackson have made no progress towards reaching an agreement to avoid arbitration. A hearing is set for February 17th.
- Chuck Finder of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette passes along a report from the independent St. Paul Saints that says that the Pirates have signed 25-year-old outfielder Anthony Norman to a minor league deal.
- Several executives told Morosi that they expect Jermaine Dye to sign with an AL club, though no one's sure which one.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier says that Jon Lester's contract is one of the biggest bargains in baseball when you look at the deals Felix Hernandez and Justin Verlander just received. Lester signed a five-year deal last March that guaranteed him at least $30MM.
- Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times wonders if 2010 could be the final year of Manny Ramirez's career. If so, he has a chance to be just the eighth player in history to retire with a career OPS over 1.000.
- ESPN's Keith Law says that the Orlando Hudson signing is a major upgrade for the Twins, likely enough to make them preseason favorites in the AL Central.
- Meanwhile, Law thinks it's too risky for the Diamondbacks to give Mark Reynolds a multi-year contract right now. The two-sides have been discussing such a deal recently.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says the Mets are more likely to sign a pitcher rather than another catcher this month.
- Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle has some quotes from Travis Buck regarding his standing with the A's following all of their outfield additions, and adds that the team has found some interest in Dana Eveland and Gregorio Petit, both of whom were recently designated for assignment.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Baldelli, Gregg, Blockbusters
On this date way back in 1935, the Yankees released an aging slugger by the name of Babe Ruth just one day before his 40th birthday so he could sign with the Boston Braves. The Sultan of Swat hit .288/.448/.537 with 22 homers in his final season in New York, easily his worst full season with the team. He went on to hit just .181/.359/.431 with six homers in 28 games for the Braves before retiring in May. Ruth ended his career as a .342/.474/.690 hitter with a then-record 714 homers.
Here's some links from around the web…
- TYU wants to see the Yankees invite Rocco Baldelli to Spring Training as a non-roster player.
- The Tao of Stieb tries to make sense of the Kevin Gregg addition for the Blue Jays.
- Red Legged, Blue Blooded Boilermaker reviews Cincinnati's offseason and projects their 25-man roster.
- Fantasy Baseball Junkie examines how players perform after being involved in a blockbuster trade, with a fantasy spin.
- More Hardball built a 25-man roster out of players still available on the free agent market.
- Camden Crazies looks at how Miguel Tejada may handle the transition to third base.
- Flushing University says that the Mets have failed to address their biggest needs this offseason.
- MLB News and Rumors compiled prospect lists from all of the different outlets.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Mets, Rockies, Giants Interested In Wellemeyer
2:36pm: Troy Renck of The Denver Post says that the Giants are the favorite to land Wellemeyer, followed by the Rockies.
2:01pm: Todd Wellemeyer told the Team 1380 in St. Louis that he could sign with the Mets, Rockies or Giants. Tim McKernan of the Team tweets that Wellemeyer hasn't talked to the Cardinals and doesn't expect to return to St. Louis (Hat Tip: Bart Hubbuch).
MLBTR reported earlier this week that the Phillies and D'Backs expressed interest in Wellemeyer, along with the Rockies. The 31-year-old pitched to a 5.89 ERA in 122.1 innings last year, with sub-par rate stats: 5.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
Odds & Ends: Garciaparra, Jackson, Barajas, Branyan
Links for Thursday…
- Nomar Garciaparra told Lou Merloni of WEEI.com that he would like to play in 2010, if the right situation presents itself. Garciaparra played in 65 games for the A's last season, hitting .281/.314/.388 with 3 homers.
- RotoAuthority discusses the fantasy prospects of Rangers starter Colby Lewis.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says that while an arbitration hearing is likely for Edwin Jackson and the Diamondbacks, "the team has broached the idea of a two-year deal."
- Piecoro also says the D'Backs are considering bringing recently-designated lefty Dana Eveland back.
- Talking to agents who dealt with the Mets this winter, Murray Chass believes the team was incapable of multitasking. On a related note, MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone believes the team remains interested in free agent catcher Rod Barajas.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says Russell Branyan was seeking a three-year deal in the $20-30MM range earlier this offseason. At this point I'd say he's looking at a one-year deal at maybe $3MM.
- Unlike CEO Jeff Moorad, Padres GM Jed Hoyer said all the right things regarding Adrian Gonzalez (Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reporting).
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Twins are in a position of strength in that they don't need Orlando Hudson or Jarrod Washburn. He doesn't feel they'd still be willing to offer $5MM to Washburn. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes that if the Mariners re-sign Erik Bedard, as has been rumored, they probably wouldn't sign Washburn.
- Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times says the grievance has been settled regarding the Ramirez Provision, involving forced charity donations as part of contracts.
Odds & Ends: Everidge, Lincecum, Lewis, Manny
Links for Wednesday…
- Tommy Everidge cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The Mariners designated Everidge for assignment last week to make room on the roster for Eric Byrnes.
- Various agents think the Giants and Tim Lincecum will somehow avoid an arbitration hearing regardless of how poorly talks are going, reports MLB.com's Chris Haft.
- The Astros signed 18-year-old Nicaraguan first baseman Mesac Laguna yesterday, reports Roger Olivas of El Nuevo Diaro.
- Free agent journeyman Nelson Figueroa hopes to return to the Mets but wants to avoid the minors, reports Angel Pinto Vaamonde of the blog BeisbolVenezolano.net. Thanks to Nick Collias for translations on these two bullets.
- Colby Lewis heard from 12 or 13 teams before signing with the Rangers, reports ESPN's Tim Kurkjian. The A's and Twins also offered two-year deals.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball explains how an arbitration hearing works. Hearings are scheduled through February 21st, with Tim Lincecum's case drawing the most attention.
- Manny Ramirez "seriously considered opting out of his contract to return to the American League for a designated-hitter role," reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The idea seems silly now, but in November it wasn't ridiculous to think Manny might've preferred to chase, say, a two-year, $32MM deal elsewhere.
- Bill Shanks of Scout.com talked to Braves assistant GM Bruce Manno, who replied "Never say never" when asked about Johnny Damon. Still, Manno likes the club as it stands. And MLB.com's Mark Bowman believes the Braves are not actively pursuing Damon.
- Rany Jazayerli examines a "delusional" quote from an anonymous Royals official regarding the team's 2008-09 offseason.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays should have significant payroll flexibility after the 2010 season.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince doesn't see Orlando Hudson as a fit for the Indians.
Minor League Transactions: Mench, Perez, Cairo
A 25 homer hitter, a former first rounder and a 14-year veteran signed this week. Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the details on those transactions and more. Here are some highlights from January 25th-31st:
- The Nationals signed Kevin Mench. The 32-year-old didn't play in the majors last year, but he hit 25 homers as recently as 2005. He has a career .900 OPS against lefties.
- The Blue Jays signed Wade Townsend. The Rays released the 2005 first rounder last summer, but the Jays are giving him a chance.
- The Reds signed Miguel Cairo. The 14-year-veteran posted a .705 OPS for the Phillies last year in 47 plate appearances.
- The White Sox signed Daniel Cabrera. The 6'7'' right-hander led the American League in walks and earned runs allowed when he logged over 200 innings for the Orioles in 2007. He split time with the D'Backs and Nationals last year, struggling with both clubs.
- The Dodgers signed Timo Perez out of the Can-Am League. The 34-year-old surfaced as a rookie for the Mets in the 2000 Subway Series.
- The Phillies signed Freddy Guzman.
- The Mets signed Val Pascucci, who has 193 minor league homers to his name.
Aurilia Hopes To Sign With Yankees Or Mets
Rich Aurilia isn't ready to retire, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. The 38-year-old corner infielder is seeking a minor league deal, and he'd like to play for the Yankees or Mets. Baggarly notes that Aurilia and new Yankee Randy Winn are old friends.
Aurilia signed a minor league deal with the Giants in February of last year and proceeded to have a rough 133 plate appearances. He doesn't blame injuries – in fact, Aurilia's trips to the DL were for phantom injuries (at the Giants' request).
Odds & Ends: Mariners, Mets, Astros
Lots to get to on this Monday- so close to spring training, you can taste the grapefruit, or if your team heads to Arizona, the cactus…
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer takes the Mariners to task for acquiring too many good players. He makes the point that "this is a good problem to have", but that the Mariners might have been better off simply letting Ken Griffey Jr. go. What he's saying makes some sense- there are a finite number of at-bats, of course- but when that is the worst thing you can say about the Seattle offseason, it's been a tremendous offseason.
- The New York Post's Joel Sherman points out that Seattle's GM, Jack Zduriencik, was an employee of the Mets for well over a decade. New York promoted Omar Minaya, Jim Duquette and Gary LaRocque instead, and Zduriencik headed to the Brewers. Sherman also takes the Mets offseason to task in this piece.
- FoxSports.com's Jon Morosi is reporting that despite a 30-day negotiation window closing, the Astros may still be sold. Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball describes Houston owner Drayton McLane's current position as "make me an offer I can't refuse."
- The Boston Herald's John Tomase discusses the pros and cons of Boston bringing back Josh Beckett.
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs wants people to calm down about projection systems. My projection is that people won't.
Mets May Not Have Shot At Washburn
Mets fans are already in near-revolt mode, so the tweet from Jon Morosi that the Mets likely don't "have a real shot" at Jarrod Washburn will only stoke the fires further.
It isn't necessarily clear that the Mets should want Washburn, of course. He was a disaster in Detroit, posting a 7.33 ERA in 43 innings with unimpressive peripheral stats (16 walks, 21 strikeouts). Now 35, he's projected by ZIPS for a 4.59 ERA in 2010, though if his stint with the Tigers meant his production has fallen off a cliff, he won't approach that.
For comparison, ZIPS has Jon Niese projected with a 4.57 ERA, with Nelson Figueroa checking in at 5.06. While the Mets could have used some additional pitching, it isn't clear that Washburn is enough of an upgrade to justify a contract.