Yankees Rumors

Odds & Ends: Glavine, Thorman, Sheffield

By Tim Dierkes | April 28, 2009 at 11:59am CDT

Links for Tuesday…

Chat today, 2pm CST.
ESPN's Buster Olney talked to Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi, who has no plans to pursue the available free agent pitchers.
MLB.com's Mark Bowman has the latest on Tom Glavine's shoulder rehab. Glavine seems more optimistic than when he last addressed the media.
Jamey Newberg says the Rangers released first baseman Scott Thorman after 32 Triple A at-bats.
Steve Lombardi at WasWatching.com did a Q&A with Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
Jorge Says No! creates a roster of the worst free agent contracts of 2000-04.
Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says the Gary Sheffield-Tigers trade was still a win for the Yankees even though the prospects haven't panned out.
Over at RotoAuthority, I talked about three pitchers I drafted but already gave up on.

Rosenthal On Yankees, Acta, Pedro

By Tim Dierkes | April 28, 2009 at 8:52am CDT

The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

The Yankees' bullpen ranks 12th in the AL with a 6.47 ERA in 64 innings. Rosenthal learned that GM Brian Cashman isn't interested in any of the available relievers, and the plan seems to be to let them pitch their way out of the funk. Early offenders include Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, and Damaso Marte. Plus, Brian Bruney is out with an elbow injury.
Rosenthal explains some of the criticisms of Nationals manager Manny Acta. He does not think a firing is imminent, but Acta may not make it through the year.
David Ortiz on Pedro Martinez: "When I saw him pitch, I had hot flashes of when he was here."
Rosenthal notes the team-friendly nature of Albert Pujols' current seven-year, $100MM contract.

Odds & Ends: Perez, D’Backs, Baez

By Tim Dierkes | April 27, 2009 at 9:57am CDT

Links for Monday…

RotoAuthority looks more closely at the Pirates' MLB-best rotation.
Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the Marlins won't be pursuing Luis Vizcaino.
On Saturday, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wrote that the Rangers don't expect to be in on Pedro Martinez, but could have interest in Vizcaino for a Triple A job.
Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts has a quick American League Elias rankings preview.
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post thinks Oliver Perez may be headed to the bullpen or even Triple A if he'll consent. Perez has pitched poorly in three of his four starts. He's had streaks like this before, though.
With Brandon Webb out for at least six weeks, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic wonders if the Diamondbacks will be sellers this summer.
Could Danys Baez have midseason trade value? Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun thinks it's possible, despite the pitcher's $5.5MM salary.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks back at last summer's Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte deal with the Pirates.
Murray Chass thinks Ned Colletti deserves a contract extension. Do you agree?
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. wonders who will be the first American-born player to exploit a draft loophole by dropping out of high school and living in another country for a year to become a free agent.

Yankees Release Humberto Sanchez

By | April 25, 2009 at 2:50pm CDT

According to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, the Yankees have released right-hander Humberto Sanchez.

The move opened a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Mark Melancon. Sanchez, 25, was unable to make the big league roster this spring after developing forearm tightness early on. He pitched two innings for the Yankees in 2008, allowing one earned run.

Sanchez was traded from the Tigers to the Yanks back in 2006 as part of a package for Gary Sheffield. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2007 and hasn't been healthy since. We'd expect another organization to pick him up and give him a shot at Triple-A.

Odds And Ends: Sanchez, Strasburg, Big Unit

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 25, 2009 at 12:51pm CDT

Links for Saturday…

Baseball America's John Manuel reports that 22-year-old Twins first base prospect Henry Sanchez has been suspended 50 games for violating minor league baseball's drug policy. Sanchez was the 39th overall pick in the 2005 draft.
John Maffei of the North County Times reports on Stephen Strasburg's latest start, one in which the top prospect struck out 14, though he did allow a home run (hat tip to Buster Olney). His strikeout to walk ratio now exceeds 10-1.
Ever wonder how much Japanese teams spend on their players? Ryo Shinkawa of NPB Tracker has the figures and their payrolls range from $18-45MM this year.
ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski reviewed some old scouting reports on Randy Johnson with the Big Unit himself.
And there are more injuries piling up: Chien-Ming Wang and Cody Ransom for the Yankees and Brian McCann and Garret Anderson for the Braves.

Pedro Martinez May Sign Soon

By Tim Dierkes | April 24, 2009 at 6:47pm CDT

6:47pm: Just to clarify, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says the team maintains mild interest in Pedro.

1:41pm: For what it's worth, Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post would like to see the Nationals ink Pedro. He believes the organization has more than enough money, citing the recent Forbes findings, to match the right-hander's high salary demands.

FRIDAY, 8:53am: MLB.com's Bill Ladson has a source saying the Nationals haven't had interest in Pedro since Spring Training. The door remains just a crack open in the event that Martinez becomes amenable to an inexpensive contract. Otherwise, Ladson's Nationals source says, "We are satisfied with our rotation even though there is going to be some bumps along the way. We wouldn't want to make any changes there."

Meanwhile, here's Dodgers GM Ned Colletti talking about Pedro.

THURSDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Pedro Martinezcould decide on his next team within two weeks. He's set to begin throwing off a mound tomorrow. Rosenthal says Pedro is open to both contending and rebuilding teams, but continues to demand a $5MM salary. ESPN's Jayson Stark suggested today that Martinez's exorbitant asking price may be a way of delaying his return.

A rundown of possible suitors, from Rosenthal:

Angels GM Tony Reagins recently admitted to contacting Pedro's agent, but Rosenthal says "the two sides have not spoken in more than two weeks."
Rosenthal learned from Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo that the team has mild interest in Pedro and scouted him in March. Martinez's asking price is the issue.
The Rangers have some interest.
Rosenthal's Yankees source denies interest in Pedro, despite the pitcher telling friends the opposite. There is a Dominican newspaper report floating about suggesting a Pedro-Yankees union, but we'll trust Rosenthal's source.
The Indians don't have the money, the Dodgers don't like the price, and the Mets aren't interested.
Rosenthal does not mention the Orioles, Cardinals, or Pirates, teams that have been linked to Pedro in the past.

Matt Holliday Interested In Yankees

By Tim Dierkes | April 24, 2009 at 8:26am CDT

FRIDAY: Kevin Kernan of the New York Post asked Holliday specifically about playing for the Yankees. He said:

"I think a little bit as a human being you can't help but to think that if the Yankees are interested I would definitely consider it. I wouldn't be looking around if I were under contract for the four years, but I think I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be interested, especially with the Yankees being such a storied franchise. So yeah, you take a look around; you never know what's going to happen. This is a beautiful place."

WEDNESDAY: Not a big surprise, but Newsday's Ken Davidoff learned that Matt Holliday is willing to play in New York. The Mets or Yankees could consider the Scott Boras client, who is a free agent after the season. For what it's worth, Holliday's father Tom told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times in November that he'd like to see Holliday traded to the Yankees, or at least an East Coast team.

What's your prediction for Holliday's next contract? Will he top the four year, $82MM extension offered by the Rockies? And will the A's trade him in July?

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mulder, Pedro, Cabrera, Holliday

By Cork Gaines | April 24, 2009 at 8:09am CDT

On this date 32 years ago, Carlos Beltran was born. Beltran is still one of only 19 players to ever sign a contract for at least $100MM (four currently play for the Yankees). With three years left on Beltran's seven-year, $119MM deal signed in 2005, let's take a look a what is being written in the Blogosphere…

Feeling Dodger Blue wonders if Mark Mulder is the Dodgers' best option.
Never Forget '69 wonders if the Mets should explore adding Pedro Martinez.
The Detroit Tigers Weblog addresses the recent rumors that the Tigers will look to trade Miguel Cabrera.
The Baseball Opinion takes a closer look at the Nationals' attempt to remake their roster.
River Ave. Blues says the Yankees' series against the A's was an audition for Matt Holliday.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Odds & Ends: Valuations, Figueroa, Thome

By Tim Dierkes | April 23, 2009 at 9:18am CDT

Links for Thursday…

Forbes' MLB team valuations are out. The Yankees top the list at $1.5 billion, while the Marlins are 30th at $277 million.
Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News says Nelson Figueroa will refuse the Mets' assignment to Triple A and become a free agent.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports talked to Jim Thome about many topics, including his future and the Cleveland discussion with Manny.
Peter Gammons spoke to Yankees GM Brian Cashman yesterday at Southern Connecticut State University. This AP article has a few tidbits, but let me know if you find a transcript. Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant has a few quotes.
MLB.com's David Singh has the story of Darren O'Day's interesting day.

2010 Options: New York Yankees

By Tim Dierkes | April 22, 2009 at 3:38pm CDT

It turns out the Yankees do not have any players with options for 2010 (unless you count Sergio Mitre, who will be arbitration-eligible even if his option is declined). Instead, they'll be finished with the contracts of Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Xavier Nady, Andy Pettitte, and Jose Molina. The Yanks figure to be in the market for an outfielder. Matt Holliday is just one of many options; click here to see the 2009-10 free agent list.

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