Potential Pitching Options For The Cardinals
The Cardinals are expected to receive some bad news pretty soon, as it appears as though right-hander Adam Wainwright will miss the 2011 season with Tommy John surgery. Manager Tony LaRussa told Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that they "have to overcome this," though St. Louis still has a formidable front of the rotation featuring Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, and Jake Westbrook.
Reliever Kyle McClellan is already working under a starter's program this spring according to Goold, so he could be first in line for the vacated rotation spot. The team could also turn to Brian Tallet, Miguel Batista, Ian Snell, P.J. Walters, or Lance Lynn if needed. What about external options? Let's take a look…
- Kevin Millwood – The 36-year-old free agent is said to be "waiting for the right widespread panic," and Wainwright's injury would certainly qualify. Millwood was rumored to be seeking $4-5MM, and recently declined a minor league offer from the Yankees.
- Joe Blanton – It's long been speculated that the Phillies would try to unload the $17MM owed to Blanton over the next two years, though St. Louis' payroll is said to be "leaking." Philadelphia would likely have to eat a significant portion of Blanton's contract to facilitate a trade, defeating the point of moving him.
- Jeremy Bonderman – Still just 28, Bonderman has been connected to the Indians recently but is still without a job for 2011.
- Chad Durbin – At least one team (the Red Sox) have interest in him as a starter, but he'd have more of an opportunity with the Cardinals. Durbin has 75 big league starts to his credit, but none since 2007. He could also provide bullpen depth if McClellan moves into the rotation.
- Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia – both right-handers are with the Yankees on minor league contracts that allow them to become free agents if they don't make the team out of Spring Training.
There's no way to replace a pitcher of Wainwright's caliber, so the Cardinals will have to hope that whoever takes his place in the rotation simply provides quality innings while the rest of the team takes their game up a notch.
Quick Hits: Pujols, Crawford, Pavano, Rays, A’s, Mets
Links for Wednesday, as the Cardinals hope for the best regarding Adam Wainwright's elbow…
- In today's blog post (Insider req'd), ESPN's Buster Olney writes about the pressure both the Cardinals and Cubs will be under if Albert Pujols hits the open market. He likens Chicago's situation to what the Knicks and Cavaliers faced during last year's LeBron James madness.
- Carl Crawford told WEEI.com's Dennis & Callahan that the Yankees never made him an offer this offseason, and that he "didn't want to be somebody's backup plan." New York met with Crawford during the winter meetings.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman heard that the Pirates offered Carl Pavano two years and $13MM while the Yankees offered one-year and $9.75MM with incentives (Twitter link). Pavano eventually rejoined the Twins for two years and $16.5MM.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears "rumblings" that certain big market teams want to "drop" the Athletics and Rays, even though there's little chance it actually happens. Contraction doesn't appear to be on the horizon given revenue streams, and as Rosenthal notes, the player's union would consider the elimation of 50 jobs an "act of war."
- In a separate article, Rosenthal explores the domino effect Wainwright's injury may have on the Cardinals.
- Richard Sandomir and Ken Belson of The New York Times report that "a variety of proposals are surfacing that suggest that investors want more than the Mets are offering." The Wilpons are looking to sell about 25% of the team in the wake of the Madoff scandal, but not controlling interest.
- Over at RotoAuthority, Tim Dierkes ranks the top fantasy outfielders.
Quick Hits: Athletics, Cabrera, Jeter, Braves, Janssen
Let's take a look at some links for Monday night..
- Jane Lee of MLB.com writes that Athletics manager Bob Geren believes that his club has improved by leaps and bounds this winter.
- Recent addition Orlando Cabrera might not hold the Indians' starting second-base job for long, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- Yankees captain Derek Jeter is not going to be happy about the comments made by Hank Steinbrenner earlier today, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out that Braves GM Frank Wren is now under contract for the same period as manager Fredi Gonzalez, whom he hired to replace Bobby Cox. Earlier today the two sides agreed to a two-year contract extension.
- There may not be a spot in the Blue Jays' bullpen for pitcher Casey Janssen but the veteran says he's not looking for a way out of Toronto, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
- New to San Diego, Jorge Cantu says that he's ready to produce even though he'll be asked to move around the diamond, writes MLB.com's Tom Singer. The Padres offically inked Cantu to a one-year deal worth $850K towards the end of January.
- Speaking of brand new members of the Pads, Kevin Frandsen is delighted to be back in the National League, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times.
Steinbrenner On Jeter, Luxury Tax, Burnett, Soriano
It doesn't take much to coax Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner into giving his thoughts on the state of the franchise and baseball as a whole. The outspoken part-owner sounded off on a number of topics to reporters today, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com..
- Steinbrenner seems worried about the team's drive to win, saying "I think maybe they celebrated a little bit too much last year," the co-chairman said. "Some of the players are too busy building mansions and other things and not concentrating on winning." Shortstop Derek Jeter built a mansion in Florida during the offseason after negotiating a new three-year, $51MM deal. When asked if the comment was directed at the team captain, Steinbrenner insisted that he wasn't singling anybody out.
- The Yankees' 2010 payments as a result of luxury tax and revenue sharing programs are expected to total about $130 million, Steinbrenner said. He continued to say that the Yankees are allied with other major market teams on the issue and believes that Commissioner Bud Selig wants to "correct it in some way." Hoch noted that in a recent interview on Boston's 98.5 the Sports Hub, the commish said that he is happy with the system as it stands today.
- Steinbrenner says that pitcher A.J. Burnett seems "very hungry" for a bounce-back season. Last year, Burnett turned in a 5.26 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. The 34-year-old right-hander is set to earn $16.5MM annually through 2013.
- Skipper Joe Girardi, closer Mariano Rivera and several hitters were consulted on the idea of signing Rafael Soriano, Steinbrenner said. Last week, Rivera said that he had not been consulted about the signing but was happy to have the reliever aboard.
Phillies Claim Brian Schlitter
SUNDAY: Carpenter has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A, tweets CSN's Jim Salisbury. He'll return to the Phillies' big league camp tomorrow as a non-roster player.
TUESDAY: Cliff Lee isn't the only pitcher the Phillies nabbed from the Yankees this winter. The Phillies announced that they claimed Brian Schlitter from New York off of waivers. Philadelphia designated Andrew Carpenter for assignment to create room for Schlitter, who was designated for assignment yesterday.
Schlitter was already claimed once this year; the Yankees acquired him from the Cubs last month. The right-hander appeared in seven games for the Cubs last year and surrendered 18 hits and five walks in eight innings, striking out seven. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa, where he posted a 3.15 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings in his first season at the highest level of the minors.
Carpenter, 25, has played for the Phillies in each of the last three seasons, but never for more than 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander posted a 4.05 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 27 starts for the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate last year. Baseball America does not consider the 2006 second rounder one of the Phillies' top 30 prospects.
Cafardo’s Latest: Molina, Aceves, Nathan, Cameron
Bruce Bochy, coming off a World Series victory, tops Nick Cafardo's list of baseball's best managers in the Boston Globe. Cafardo, who ranks baseball's skippers 1 through 30, praises Bochy's "flawless postseason," explaining that he "had a pretty dynamite pitching staff in San Francisco but basically took a team of vagabonds to the highest peak." Here are some other items of interest from Cafardo's piece:
- Bengie Molina has gone back and forth on whether he wants to play this year. A team like the Red Sox wouldn't mind adding him for insurance, but Molina would be looking for a job that offers fairly consistent playing time.
- Alfredo Aceves, who recently signed with the Red Sox, "wasn't pleased" that the Yankees didn't show a stronger interest in re-signing him. Brian Cashman said the Yanks only offered Aceves a minor league deal due to injury concerns.
- Joe Nathan's recovery from Tommy John surgery is on track and he expects to be ready for the start of the season. Twins management is confident in Nathan's health as well, which is why the team didn't make significant additions to a bullpen that lost Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, and Jon Rauch.
- Although Cafardo thinks Mike Cameron will see plenty of playing time in Boston this year, he cautions that the outfielder could become trade bait before the end of Spring Training. One National League scout's thoughts: "Cameron is a guy who fits well on a team because he’s versatile, plays excellent defense, and can hit left-handed pitching. A team like the Phillies would have to be interested, but he’s a guy who could help a lot of teams."
New York Notes: Cano, Jeter, Castillo, Paulino
We've already heard this morning about one New York club finalizing some minor league deals, while the other had a minor league offer turned down. Let's catch up on the rest of the latest updates on the Yankees and Mets….
- On the heels of hiring agent Scott Boras, Robinson Cano says he doesn't intend to ask the Yankees for a contract extension before his current deal expires, writes Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger.
- Derek Jeter spoke to media today at Spring Training, including Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The longtime Yankee said that, when the time comes, he fully plans to exercise his 2014 player option.
- Feinsand's Daily News colleague Bill Madden would like to see the Yankees open up the competition for the fourth and fifth rotation spots to some of their top prospects.
- Luis Castillo arrived later than expected to Mets' camp, due in part to his brother's upcoming surgery, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork. Newsday's David Lennon adds (via Twitter) that Castillo cleared up the misunderstanding with manager Terry Collins and is ready to compete for the team's second base job.
- Ronny Paulino's arrival to camp has also been delayed, in his case by visa issues, says Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger. Paulino, who was suspended last year for violating baseball's drug policy, will miss the first eight games of this season as he finishes serving the suspension.
Millwood Rejected Yankees’ Minor League Offer
One of the few notable names left on the starting pitching market, Kevin Millwood still appears to be seeking a Major League contract. The veteran right-hander recently turned down a minor league offer from the Yankees, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. According to Sherman, the deal was structured similarly to the one Freddy Garcia signed with the club.
Despite their ongoing need for help at the back of the rotation, the Yankees are "adamant" about not guaranteeing Millwood big league money to compete for a starting pitching job. If the righty were to sign a minor league deal, he would have to beat out New York's other in-house options to earn a roster spot.
Considering most teams have figured out their rotations by now, there may not be a Major League offer out there for the 36-year-old. While it's never safe to underestimate Scott Boras, Millwood doesn't seem to have many suitors, with the Yankees and Indians among the few teams linked to him in recent weeks. When we asked you last weekend for predictions on Millwood's landing spot, those two clubs combined to earn about 70% of over 6,800 votes.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Fenway, Epstein
Here is the latest from two of baseball's biggest powerhouses…
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Chad Jennings of The Journal News that there are no player moves on the horizon. "I have nothing I'm involved with right now," he said. "Zero."
- Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino told Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe that his team will have the financial room to add players at the trade deadline, if needed (Twitter link).
- Lucchino also told Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston and Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe that he was informed by engineers that Fenway Park will be structurally sound for another 40-50 years, so there are no plans for a new ballpark (Twitter links).
- Red Sox owner John Henry told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he doesn't even know how long GM Theo Epstein is under contract, and there are no real discussions about his future (Twitter link). Cot's Baseball Contracts doesn't know how long Epstein is under contract either.
- Boston has paid upwards of $85MM in revenue sharing and approximately $1.5MM in luxury tax, tweets Speier.
- Anyone dreaming of Mark Teixeira for Albert Pujols trade can stop now. The Yankees first baseman told Joel Sherman of The New York Post (on Twitter) that "I've got that no-trade [clause] for a reason. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be buried in these pinstripes."
AL East Notes: A-Gon, Yankees, Rays, Pujols
A few items from baseball's high-rent district…
- John Boggs, agent for Adrian Gonzalez, tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that he'd be "surprised" if his client isn't signed to a long-term deal with the Red Sox once the season begins. Boggs said he hasn't been in negotiations with Sox managment since December, but will travel to the team's Spring Training camp in March to continue talks. There have been rumors that Gonzalez has already agreed to an extension but the deal isn't being announced until April so the club can avoid a luxury tax hit; the first baseman denied these rumors in December.
- The Yankees, for a change, head into Spring Training with a lot of competition for jobs, writes Fanhouse's Ed Price.
- In his profile of the Rays' "sleeper" pitching prospects, John Sickels of Minor League Ball says Tampa Bay's collection of minor league arms is so deep that "in other organizations, some of these would be Top Ten prospects and considered anchors for the future, rather than 'oh yeah, him too' pitchers."
- Albert Pujols in a Red Sox uniform? It's not a hint about next winter, but rather a what-if from the 1999 draft that ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes explores with Boston scout Ernie Jacobs.