Yankees Rumors

AL East Notes: Ellsbury, Yankees, Gregg

By Luke Adams 2 | September 11, 2011 at 12:26pm CDT

This weekend's series between the Rays and Red Sox has made things a little more interesting in the AL East. With another win today, Tampa Bay would pull to within 3 1/2 games of the second-place Red Sox. Both teams have only intra-division games left on the schedule, including four more against each other next weekend. Here's a round-up of the morning's AL East links, as Jon Lester and James Shields prepare to square off in St. Petersburg:

Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald discusses the upcoming arbitration case for Jacoby Ellsbury, who is putting up MVP-caliber numbers while earning $2.4MM this season. As Lauber writes, it's not easy to find appropriate comparables for the Red Sox outfielder. Lauber cites Andruw Jones, Hunter Pence, and Carlos Beltran as some names that could come up during negotiations. Last month, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained that Ellsbury's salary should exceed $6MM.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post praises the Yankees' bench, pointing out that the club's depth is one reason for its AL East lead. GM Brian Cashman noted that the Yanks weren't desperate for reinforcements at the trade deadline this year: "We did our trade deadline deals in the winter. Our supplemental moves kept us from having to trade assets in July for answers."
The Orioles can't go into next season with Kevin Gregg as their closer, argues MASN's Steve Melewski. The right-hander is under contract for 2012 ($5.8MM), but has been inconsistent at the back of Baltimore's bullpen this year, posting a 4.45 ERA and 6.3 BB/9. Another reason why the O's may want to keep Gregg away from the ninth inning next season? He has a $6MM option for 2013 that would vest if he finishes 50 games in 2012. As the team's closer this season, he has just 43 games finished, but he recorded more than 50 in each of his previous four seasons.
For the latest updates on the Orioles closing situation, along with 29 others, be sure to follow @closernews on Twitter or visit CloserNews.com.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Iannetta, Santana, Willis

By Mark Polishuk | September 10, 2011 at 11:05pm CDT

Joey Votto celebrated his 28th birthday with a 3-for-4 performance today against the Rockies, including his 27th homer of the year. It wasn't enough, however, as Cincinnati dropped a 12-7 result to Colorado.

Some notes from around the majors….

The Red Sox could use another solid starting pitcher but "for the moment don't feel there's anyone out there available who's better than what they have," a team official tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
The Rockies will give catcher Wilin Rosario a lot of playing time this month as they decide what to do with Chris Iannetta this winter, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. If Rosario plays well, Colorado may decide to deal Iannetta, who's due to make $3.55MM in 2012. Iannetta's name was mentioned in trade rumors involving the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Pirates and Padres at the July deadline.
Johan Santana will probably not pitch in the Major Leagues for the Mets this season, reports Anthony DiComo for MLB.com.
Dontrelle Willis probably won't be back with the Reds next season, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Willis has re-established himself as a big league starter this year but Fay figures that this progress has likely priced the southpaw out of the Reds' range.
Another Red who likely won't be back in Cincinnati next year is Paul Janish, opines Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News. Despite some excellent glovework (a +11.6 UZR/150 at shortstop this year), Janish will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter and is probably a non-tender candidate with Zack Cozart taking over at short.
Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune says several American League scouts have asked him about Jesus Guzman's fielding ability in recent weeks, a sign that AL teams could have an interest in Guzman as a DH candidate. Center discusses Guzman, Bud Black's status, a possible extension for Cameron Maybin and other Padres-related topics in an online chat with fans.
Andruw Jones has been playing all season with a small tear in his left knee, reports Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. The Yankees discovered the injury during Jones' physical but signed the veteran outfielder anyway (both Twitter links).

Astros Claim Lance Pendleton

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 9, 2011 at 1:38pm CDT

The Astros claimed right-hander Lance Pendleton off of waivers from the Yankees, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Pendleton, who was designated by the Yankees on Tuesday, spent Spring Training with Houston after they selected him from New York in last winter's Rule 5 draft. The Astros returned the 6'3" Houston native to the Yankees on March 27th when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.

The 27-year-old made his MLB debut for the Yankees in April and went on to post a 3.21 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 in 14 innings. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 3.10 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 66 2/3 innings as a starter and reliever.

AL East Notes: Robertson, Granderson, Aviles

By Dan Mennella | September 8, 2011 at 10:00pm CDT

A few items of note out of the AL East, where the Yankees lead the Red Sox by 2 1/2 games through Thursday's action …

Yankees setup man David Robertson has pitched so well this season that Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders whether we're watching the development of Mariano Rivera's heir apparent as New York's closer. Rivera is under contract through next season.
Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson is in the thick of MVP talks because of his stellar season, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, but he's also an affable, charitable, humble and highly intelligent person. He's the Yankees' player rep for the MLBPA and is one of two league-wide reps along with Craig Counsell of the Brewers. Crasnick's piece is an excellent read.
Not much was thought of it when the Red Sox acquired Mike Aviles from the Royals, but the utility infielder is preparing himself for what could be an important postseason role, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Aviles isn't a prototypical burner but is an efficient basestealer, according to Bradford, and could pinch-run in the postseason in a big spot — a la Dave Roberts in 2004.

Five Non-Moves That Shaped The 2011 Season

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 8, 2011 at 10:49am CDT

Blockbuster trades and record-breaking free agent contracts are lots of fun, but not all rumors turn into reality. Some of the storylines that dominated MLBTR early on this season never actually happened. Here’s a look back at five of them:

Giants don’t replace Buster Posey – Last year’s Rookie of the Year went down on May 25th. Since then, the Giants have seen their catchers hit .208/.272/.298 with five homers. The Giants wouldn’t necessarily be leading the NL West if they had acquired reinforcements, but I’m comfortable saying the first-place Diamondbacks didn’t mind seeing Brian Sabean roll out Eli Whiteside, Chris Stewart and Hector Sanchez instead of acquiring a replacement. Finding catching midseason is never easy and the Giants’ non-Posey catchers did limit the running game (34% of would-be base stealers caught), but the defending World Champions could have done better.
Padres hold Heath Bell – It was a foregone conclusion that the Padres would trade Heath Bell this year. Instead of pitching for a contender, he’s playing out the season in San Diego, wondering how the Padres will handle him this offseason.
Yankees don’t acquire starting pitching – Ubaldo Jimenez, Wandy Rodriguez and Hiroki Kuroda were all linked to the Yankees, who seemed to be in need of pitching depth from day one. 141 games later, Yankees starters lead the American League in K/9 (7.1), are second in xFIP (3.78) and fifth in ground ball rate (44.9%). Brian Cashman’s reluctance to overpay for pitching in trades has allowed Ivan Nova to blossom, but it hasn’t answered questions about who will follow C.C. Sabathia in New York’s playoff rotation.
Rays stand pat – B.J. Upton, Johnny Damon, James Shields and Kyle Farnsworth all made regular appearances on MLBTR this summer, but they stayed put. Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who spent the July 31st trade deadline having his appendix removed, added summer reinforcements by calling up hot-hitting prospect Desmond Jennings a week before the deadline.
Mets hold Jose Reyes – It's easy to wonder what the Mets would have obtained for Jose Reyes if they had dangled him in early July. He was hitting .354/.398/.529 at the time and had yet to spend time on the disabled list this year. The Mets, who are expected to pursue Reyes when he hits free agency this offseason, held onto him instead of sending him to a contender. Though Reyes missed time in July and August, he would have provided a contending team with a boost (and provided the Mets with more prospects).

New York Notes: Cano, Johan, Reyes

By Tim Dierkes | September 7, 2011 at 1:26pm CDT

The Yankees are waiting for the playoffs, while the Mets are jockeying for .500. The latest on New York's teams…

Scott Boras client Robinson Cano told Ken Davidoff of Newsday, "I will make my own decision. I'm a grown man, and I can decide where I want to be, what I want to do." Cano has club options for 2012 and '13 that are likely to be exercised, so it's not quite time to worry about his next contract with the Yankees.
Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues has reservations about the Yankees spending big bucks on Yu Darvish if he's posted, but is intrigued by the righty.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman explained to John Harper of the New York Daily News why he was "very comfortable saying no" to the Mariners' request to include Ivan Nova or Eduardo Nunez along with Jesus Montero in his offer for Cliff Lee last summer. Montero's stock is higher right now, but the debate remains open as to whether the Mariners should have chosen him over Justin Smoak.
Johan Santana is currently showing better stuff than he did last year, Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Santana, who had shoulder surgery a year ago, is the key to the Mets' 2012 rotation.
The Mets shouldn't sleep on the Nationals as a potential NL East contender in the near future, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman adds that the Nationals are "routinely in the discussion" when he asks baseball executives to speculate on where Jose Reyes could sign this winter.

Outrighted To The Minors: Neshek, Pope, Walters

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 6, 2011 at 10:18pm CDT

Here are the latest players to get outrighted to the minor leagues…

The Padres outrighted Pat Neshek to Triple-A today, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). They had designated the reliever for assignment last Thursday.
The Yankees outrighted Ryan Pope to Triple-A, reports Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (on Twitter). Pope was designated for assignment last week, when the Yankees needed 40-man roster space for Jesus Montero. The 25-year-old righty posted a 5.12 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings split between Double and Triple-A this year.
The Blue Jays outrighted P.J. Walters to the minor leagues, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter). Walters appeared in one game for the Blue Jays after they acquired him in the deal that brought Colby Rasmus to Toronto. In 51 MLB innings, the right-hander has a 7.24 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.

GM Candidate: Damon Oppenheimer

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 6, 2011 at 5:18pm CDT

MLBTR’s list of general manager candidates introduced 20 people who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs. We’re now going to bring you closer to the candidates with a series of pieces. Today the series continues with Yankees executive Damon Oppenheimer.

The Padres were a natural fit for Damon Oppenheimer when his playing career ended in 1985. He was a) a sports-obsessed southern California native b) a former peanut vendor at Jack Murphy Stadium, then the home of the Padres and c) the son of a Padres’ front office employee - Oppenheimer’s mother handled San Diego's minor league operations for decades before retiring a few years ago.

The Brewers drafted Damon as a catcher out of USC in 1985, but it didn’t take long for him to join the Padres as an area scout and begin a career in player evaluation when his playing career ended after one season.

Oppenheimer scouted for the Padres, Rangers and Yankees, both in the U.S. and in Latin America before assuming his current role as the Yankees’ scouting director. Though he continues to scout on special assignments in Latin American and Asia, his primary responsibility is evaluating domestic talent for the amateur draft. Since becoming scouting director in 2005, Oppenheimer has selected the likes of Brett Gardner, Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy and David Robertson with the help of his scouting staff.

He and I spoke last week; here are some highlights from the conversation:

On the role of statistics in scouting:

Growing up I had always paid attention to them and was always interested as a kid. I followed the normal stats back then – home runs and average and ERAs. When I first got into scouting, I thought it was important. I thought the guys I played with in college, the guys that were good put up good stats, so I thought ‘why not take that into consideration and then on top of using the [scouting] tools we’re always talking about, pay attention to the stats.’

They tell you something and I’ve always liked looking at stats to see how a guy’s doing. I’m a proponent of paying attention to them. You’re not doing your full job if you don’t pay attention to them. I don’t think they tell you the whole story about a player, especially college stats when they’re using aluminum or high school games where the competition level isn’t the same. You can’t rely on stats. You can use them to supplement things and help you understand players.

On mentors in the game:

There aren’t many people who were as fortunate as I was to really grow up in the game. My mother was the assistant to the scouting director then became director of minor league operations for the San Diego Padres, so back in the 1980s, I was constantly around baseball. I was fortunate with that and that’s very unique. A lot of times, guys follow their dads and this is something where I was able to follow my mom.

Sandy Johnson was the scouting director of the Padres back then and he was instrumental with helping me out with what I believed in in scouting.

Then I’ve been fortunate here with the Yankees. The time around George Steinbrenner was tremendous. I learned a lot, whether it was about making decisions, standing up for what you believe, working for a man who wants to win so bad. I learned a lot from him and obviously [GM] Brian Cashman and [senior VP of baseball operations] Mark Newman, the guys here with the Yankees. I’ve been blessed to learn a ton from those guys.

On growing up around the Padres:

I was always a baseball junkie, I was always a sports junkie. I grew up around the Padres and even as a kid, 16 years old, still playing baseball, I had a job at Jack Murphy Stadium [the Padres’ former home] selling peanuts just so I could basically get in for free, sell those until the sixth inning and watch the rest of the game.

On the possibility becoming an MLB GM:

It would be an honor. It would be a great challenge. If the right situation presented itself I think it would be a great opportunity. I’m very fortunate to work for a great organization here and it hasn’t been my main goal that I have to be a general manager someday. I’d like to be, but I do feel blessed to be where I’m at also.

Yankees Designate Lance Pendleton For Assignment

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 6, 2011 at 4:16pm CDT

The Yankees designated right-hander Lance Pendleton for assignment, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter). Though active roster spots are plentiful this time of year, the move opens up a spot on New York's 40-man roster for George Kontos, whose contract was selected from the minors.

The 27-year-old made his MLB debut in April and went on to post a 3.21 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 in 14 innings for the Yankees. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 3.10 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 66 2/3 innings as a starter and reliever. The Yankees selected the 6'3" Houston native in the fourth round of the 2005 draft.

MLB Voids Contract Of Yankees’ Paniagua

By Dan Mennella | September 3, 2011 at 6:14pm CDT

SATURDAY: Paniagua's suspension was due to "falsified documents," Badler hears from MLB vice president Kim Ng. The league is still investigating the matter and hasn't made a final ruling on Paniagua's status. Ng notes that Paniagua's representatives are asking the league to reconsider the initial decision and that while the right-hander is unable to sign with any team for a year, Paniagua isn't technically "suspended" since he isn't under an official contract yet.

THURSDAY: Major League Baseball has voided the $1.1MM contract of Yankees pitching prospect Juan Carlos Paniagua and suspended the right-hander for one year, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. MLB hasn't specified — even to the Yankees — why Paniagua has been suspended, but "one-year suspensions are usually reserved for a player who presents false information to teams about his age or identity," writes Badler.

Paniagua is no stranger to these circumstances. The Diamondbacks signed him — then going by the name Juan Collado — for a mere $17K in May 2009. While that contract was under review, Paniagua was allowed to play in the Dominican Summer League under a rule that's since been changed, and he impressed scouts with a big fastball. The contract with Arizona was voided and Paniagua was suspended in June 2010. When that suspension was lifted in March, teams were lining up for his services, with the Yankees placing the winning bid.

His contract once again was pending MLB's review since signing with the Yankees, and he has not played in any games during that time. We can't say for sure why Paniagua was suspended, but Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic speculated in March that the hangup may have been regarding Paniagua's birthday, which he didn't amend even when he came clean about his name:

There still is a lot of skepticism about whether he’ll actually get off the island and into the U.S. The fact that he changed his name, but not his birthday, is a red flag.

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