Pedro Martinez Looking To Return
Free-agent pitcher Pedro Martinez is waiting for a call to help a team win a World Series, writes Joe Brescia of the New York Times. The 39-year-old says that he could get himself into playing shape rather quickly.
"I’m in shape right now and I’m training and I’m playing catch, so getting to full strength would probably take me a month, month and a half, to be on a mound," said the eight-time All-Star.
Martnez was asked if he would choose the Yankees, BoSox, or Phillies if all three teams called and offered the same salary. The vet said that he would probably choose Boston, so that he could retire and enter the Hall of Fame with the same hat. He would consider the Phillies though as he would like to win a championship in the National League.
The right-hander last pitched in 2009 for the Phillies, posting a 3.63 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in nine starts.
Yankees Sign Carlos Silva
The Yankees have signed Carlos Silva, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter). It is a minor league deal, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Yankees will be responsible only for the major league minimum if he is added to the big league roster, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
Silva, who turns 32 in two weeks, was released by the Cubs in late March. The club is on the hook for most of his $11.5MM salary and $2MM buyout for 2012. The Yanks weren't originally interested in the pitcher's services after the Cubs cut him loose, Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets, but they'll now take a look at him in light of Phil Hughes' recent struggles.
Early yesterday morning, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the right-hander had offers from several teams and was on the cusp of choosing one. If Silva reaches the big league squad, he'll pitch under Larry Rothschild, his former pitching coach in Chicago.
Heyman On Marlins, White Sox, Jenks, Glaus
There is likely an unusually short list of managers on the hot seat this year, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. Marlins skipper Edwin Rodriguez is the lone manager who truly has uncertain job security, according to Heyman. Rodriguez received a one-year deal from the Marlins, which is rare for managers and suggests he doesn’t necessarily figure into the club’s long-term plans. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors.
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told Heyman that "no one's on the hot seat.”
- Jim Leyland of the Tigers, Jim Riggleman of the Nationals and Ozzie Guillen of the White Sox are not necessarily on the hot seat, but they’re worth keeping an eye on, according to Heyman.
- Leyland will likely be given the chance to return to Detroit after the season when his contract expires, but that’s not a sure thing, according to Heyman.
- One White Sox person told Heyman that Guillen “isn't going anywhere.”
- Before the Yankees signed Rafael Soriano, GM Brian Cashman told Bobby Jenks that he wasn’t offering any setup man $8MM. The Yankees signed Soriano for $35MM over three years, though Cashman advised against it.
- Free agent Troy Glaus is still at home after drawing some interest this winter.
New York Notes: Pavano, Posada, Mets
Links for Wednesday, before Carl Pavano faces some former teammates in the Bronx…
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi confirmed to Spencer Fordin of MLB.com that the Yankees were considering Pavano last offseason, despite his injury-riddled stint with the club from 2005-08. "He's resurrected his career," Girardi said. "He's pitched well for the Twins, and he's given them innings. When we've faced him in the playoffs, he's pitched well. The guy knows how to pitch. The big thing for Carl is he's been healthy."
- Neither the Yankees front office nor Girardi seems to assume Jorge Posada will re-sign in New York after the season, when his contract expires, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Posada, who turns 40 in August, does not want to leave and intends to produce and force the Yankees’ hand.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff looks back at the Mets' recent GMs and managers and says the organization hasn't come close to maximizing its resources because of ineffective leaders. Sandy Alderson is the Mets' best hire since Frank Cashen, according to Davidoff.
- MLBTR's Howard Megdal ranked Cashen as the best GM in Mets franchise history during the offseason.
New York Notes: Feliciano, Reyes, Harris
Links for Monday night, as Jorge Posada hits his third home run in two days…
- Pedro Feliciano told Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork that he was upset to hear that Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen suggested he was overworked last year (Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he was "abused."). Feliciano maintains that he likes to pitch a lot and predicts he'll strike out Ike Davis when the Yankees face the Mets this year. Feliciano says he didn't sign with the Mets because they weren't willing to offer a multiyear deal.
- As MLB.com's Anthony DiComo explains, the decade-long partnership between Jose Reyes and David Wright of the Mets may come to an end in 2011.
- Willie Harris, who is off to a hot start with the Mets, drew interest from a half-dozen other teams this offseason, according to DiComo.
AL East Notes: Cole, Penny, Davis, Vlad
A few AL East links, as the Orioles enjoy first place…
- Check out some interesting quotes from Yankees executives Brian Cashman and Damon Oppenheimer in Tyler Kepner's profile of potential #1 draft pick Gerrit Cole for the New York Times. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith spoke to Cole in March.
- The Rays and other teams approached Brad Penny during the offseason about becoming a closer, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Three club options "are far too many" from a player's point of view, writes SI's Jon Heyman in reference to Wade Davis' new contract with Tampa Bay. Davis' agent B.B. Abbott explained to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith on Thursday that the pitcher felt the contract represented a worthwhile tradeoff.
- Not much is known about Vladimir Guerrero's personal life, but Kevin Van Valkenburg and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun shed a little light on his personality.
East Notes: Simon, Red Sox, Feliciano, Mets
Let's take a look at some items from the AL and NL East..
- An Orioles source confirmed to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun that Alfredo Simon arrived in Tampa on Saturday afternoon and will work out at the team’s minor-league complex within the next few days.
- Don't get accustomed to the Red Sox signing $100MM players, cautions Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.
- Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon hasn't been totally cleared of wrongdoing in a fatal shooting, but he has been able to secure a visa which allowed him to travel to the United States. Simon's agent, Phil Issac, says that Simon will arrive in Florida this afternoon, writes Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. Zrebiec writes that it's too early to speculate about his availability, but the veteran will begin a throwing program and start preparing for the 2011 season.
- Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez wants to stay with the club beyond 2011, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The catcher has been brought up in trade rumors as some believe that the club could make Jesus Flores the backup after handing the keys over to Wilson Ramos behind the plate.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that Pedro Feliciano was "abused" by the Mets' use of him in recent years, tweets Jim Baumbach of Newsday.
- One group of bidders interested in buying a share of the Mets includes Tampa Bay Rays minority owner Randy Frankel, writes Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News.
Lame Duck General Managers
By now, I'm sure you've looked over our list of players that will be free agents after the 2011 season numerous times, but what about general managers? With some help from Cot's Baseball Contracts, here's the list of GMs without contracts for 2012…
- Andy MacPhail, Orioles – Technically, MacPhail isn't the GM, he's the president of baseball operations. He's still the guy calling the shots though. Last October we heard that he doesn't have any plans to approach owner Peter Angelos about a new deal before his current one expires.
- Neal Huntington, Pirates – Team president Frank Coonelly said he expects Huntington to be in Pittsburgh "for a long time" earlier this year.
- Walt Jocketty, Reds – Cincinnati is clearly a team on the rise, so it seems likely that ownership would want to bring Jocketty back after the season.
- Dave Dombrowski, Tigers – A few months ago we heard that the fates of Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland could be a package deal based on the team's performance in 2011.
- Brian Cashman, Yankees – The third longest-tenured GM in the game would seem to be on rocky ground after being over-ruled by ownership on the Rafael Soriano signing, but we heard afterwards that he still has the "full backing" of the Steinbrenners.
Heyman On Marlins, Pujols, Sabathia
Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Colby Rasmus, Gordon Beckham and Matt Kemp make Jon Heyman's list of players who could take another step toward stardom in 2011. Here are the latest rumors from Heyman at SI.com…
- Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez begins the season ‘under the gun,’ according to Heyman. Rodriguez was never the first choice of owner Jeffery Loria, who can make Miami seem like ‘Steinbrenner south.’
- Three GMs predict Albert Pujols will re-sign with the Cardinals after the season, when he hits free agency for the first time in his career. The sides are not negotiating during the season, but earlier in the spring, the Cardinals’ main offer was for over $200MM and nine years.
- A rival GM predicts that C.C. Sabathia is “definitely opting out'' of his contract with the Yankees after the season. It seems likely that the lefty could obtain more than $92MM over four years if he puts together a typical season in 2011.
NY Notes: Hernandez, Misch, Yanks Rotation
One New York team, the Mets, rested today while the other, the Yankees, opened their season with a win over the Tigers. Here are some items of note for each of Gotham's big league ballclubs …
- Luis Hernandez has decided to remain with the Mets organization after clearing waivers, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The second baseman, rumored at one point during Spring Training to be the favorite to win the starting job at second base, will report to Triple-A Buffalo rather than testing free agency.
- Similarly, left-hander Pat Misch has opted to stay with the organization after clearing waivers, writes Rubin. Misch, too, will report to Triple-A Buffalo.
- All the conjecture over the state of the Yankees' rotation came to an end today, at the outset of the regular season, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Despite the attention paid to the state of the Bombers' rotation this offseason and spring, Sherman writes, their starting five was hardly a sure thing in 2010, when they managed to win 95 games and reach the ALCS. As with last season, the lineup and bullpen are very strong, but it will be interesting to see how the spotty rotation plays out and whether GM Brian Cashman makes any in-season moves in the event that things don't work out between A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia. No team's Nos. 1-5 starters are perfect, of course, but as Sherman notes, the Red Sox and Rays appear to have the better rotations in the AL East on paper as of now.