Quick Hits: Hamels, Athletics, McCarthy, Rockies
Stephen Strasburg looked almost human tonight, allowing two runs in six innings against the Astros to raise his ERA all the way up to 0.95 for the season. Strasburg still picked up the win in a 6-3 Nationals victory and, as a bonus, got a hilarious new nickname for his curveball, courtesy of MLB Network's Jerry Manuel.
Here are a few odds and ends from around the Majors…
- Matt Cain figures Cole Hamels' next contract (whether with the Phillies or on the free agent market) will earn the southpaw more than Cain's recent extension with the Giants, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. "History-wise, lefties have always brought more than a righty," Cain said. "It's just the nature of the game." Cain said he was happy to sign his extension and remain in San Francisco for the long-term as free agency is "not always a beautiful thing."
- The Athletics' stadium issue and possible move to San Jose will not be on the agenda at the next owners meetings, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Earlier today, Slusser reported that the A's were pushing to have the issue subjected to a vote of other owners so they could have the issue settled once and for all.
- ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter) thinks the A's could explore a multiyear contract with Brandon McCarthy. The right-hander has pitched very well in his time in Oakland, posting a 3.24 ERA and a 4.59 K/BB ratio in 28 starts. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes considered McCarthy as an extension candidate in February.
- The Rockies' starting pitching woes could be solved by three southpaw prospects — Drew Pomeranz, Christian Friedrich and Tyler Matzek, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- Also from Renck, he notes that Troy Tulowitzki's six-year extension from the Rockies in 2010 drew criticism at the time, but now could be seen as a bargain in the wake of the mega-deals given to Albert Pujols and Joey Votto.
- The Reds are one of several preseason contenders off to a slow start, but Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News says it's far too early for fans to panic.
Bay Area Notes: San Jose, Bumgarner, Lincecum
Long-time Athletics minor league roving instructor Ron Plaza passed away last night at age 77, according to a team media release. Plaza had been with the A's since 1983, and also worked for the Reds and Cardinals organizations during his 61-year career in baseball as a player, manager and coach. We at MLBTR send our condolences to Plaza's family, friends and colleagues.
Here's the latest from both the A's and the Giants…
- The Athletics aim to put their new stadium and proposed move to San Jose on the agenda for next month's owners meetings, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. By forcing the other owners to vote on the move, the A's would finally get some resolution on an issue that has dragged on for three years. Neither A's owner Lew Wolff or GM Billy Beane would comment on the story.
- One of Slusser's sources (Twitter link) isn't certain if the A's will be successful in getting their case heard at the owners meetings. It will ultimately be up to Bud Selig, who decides on the meetings' agenda.
- Madison Bumgarner's extension with the Giants is "a win for everyone involved," writes Dave Cameron for Fangraphs.
- The Giants now have greater cost certainty with Bumgarner and Matt Cain both locked up to multiyear contracts, which Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter) feels will make the team likelier to sign Tim Lincecum to a long-term deal "if he has a good year." Lincecum signed a two-year pact with the Giants in January that puts him on pace to hit free agency after the 2013 season.
Athletics Designate Brandon Allen For Assignment
7:55pm: Manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Joe Stiglich of The Bay Area News Group and MLB.com's Jane Lee) that the plan was for Barton to be the first baseman all along. Kila Ka'aihue played better, and he expects Allen to get claimed off waivers (Twitter links).
3:58pm: The Athletics designated first baseman Brandon Allen for assignment, according to a team press release. The move allows Oakland to reinstate first baseman Daric Barton from the disabled list.
Allen, 26, was acquired from the Diamondbacks at last year's trade deadline along with reliever Jordan Norberto for right-hander Brad Ziegler. With a glut at first base, the A's were said to be shopping Allen over the winter.
The first baseman/leftfielder has a .286/.401/.555 slash line across parts of three Triple-A seasons but yet to put it all together in the majors. In 109 big league games for the D'Backs and A's, Allen has hit .205/.291/.375 with eleven homers.
Cardinals Acquire Cedric Hunter
The Cardinals have acquired Cedric Hunter from the Athletics for future considerations, reports Brian Walton of TheCardinalNation.com. Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch confirmed the move (on Twitter). Hunter has been assigned to Triple-A.
Hunter, 24, was with Oakland after being claimed off waivers from the Padres in October. He had one hit and one walk in five plate appearances for San Diego last season, also putting up a .255/.322/.358 in 316 Triple-A plate appearances. Baseball America ranked him as the Padres top prospect back in 2007.
AL West Notes: Rangers, Abreu, Gonzalez
Gabe Kapler and Ivan Rodriguez each hit two homers April 3, 2000 as the Rangers celebrated an Opening Day victory over the White Sox. The Rangers have another season-opening date with the White Sox on Friday when both teams open their 2012 campaigns. Here's the latest from the AL West…
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels doesn't expect his club to finalize any contract extensions before Opening Day, he told reporters (including MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan), but Daniels is still hopeful since, "all it takes is one conversation to pick something up again." While the team prefers to have contract talks settled by Opening Day, Daniels said he is open to negotiating during the season, "if we are able to handle it quietly and not let it be a distraction." We heard earlier today that Texas is talking about a six-year extension with Ian Kinsler.
- An unnamed Angels player says Bobby Abreu is becoming more accepting of his backup job with the team, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. Abreu has spoken out about his reduced role and the Halos are known to be shopping him, with one potential deal with the Indians falling through earlier this week.
- The Athletics released right-hander Edgar Gonzalez last week, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gonzalez signed a minor league deal with the A's in November. Gonzalez posted a 5.00 ERA in 26 appearances (25 of them starts) for the Rays and Rockies' Triple-A affiliates last season, appearing in one Major League game with Colorado. The veteran righty has a 5.90 ERA in 107 career appearances with the Rockies, A's and Diamondbacks since 2003.
Quick Hits: Byrnes, Hoyer, Cain, Mets, Chamberlain
Ten years and one day ago today, the Marlins traded Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca to the Cubs for Julian Tavarez, Ryan Jorgensen, Jose Cueto, and Dontrelle Willis. Willis alone made the deal worthwhile for the Fish. Here's the latest from around the league…
- When Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein first called former Padres CEO Jeff Moorad for permission to speak to a member of his front office, he asked about assistant GM Josh Byrnes according to Dan Hayes of The North County Times. Epstein was instead allowed to speak to GM Jed Hoyer because "he was the GM of a last-place team," said Moorad.
- There has been some recent "back and forth" between the Giants and Matt Cain about a contract extension, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Cain did say that his upcoming free agency is "an exciting part of your career."
- Outfielder Mike Baxter, catcher Mike Nickeas, and lefty Danny Herrera are front-runners for roster spots with the Mets, writes ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. Baxter and Herrera are not on the team's 40-man roster.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman declined to comment when asked about Joba Chamberlain's contract situation according to Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger (on Twitter). The right-hander suffered an open dislocation of his right ankle playing with his son last week and could miss the season.
- When the Blue Jays and Athletics discussed Gio Gonzalez this offseason, Oakland asked for 19-year-old right-hander Noah Syndergaard according to Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail. Baseball America ranked Snydergaard as Toronto's seventh best prospect in December.
AL East Notes: Suzuki, Yankees, Rays, Lawrie
With Opening Day right around the corner, the Yankees are set to enter the 2012 season with tremendous pitching depth. Yesterday, we learned that the Bombers offered Freddy Garcia to the Marlins but couldn't get the Fish to bite on a deal. Here's more on the Yanks' pitching and other items out of the American League East..
- The Rays say that they haven't talked with the A's about Kurt Suzuki, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Earlier today, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote that the Rays have been pushing hard to land the catcher.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes the Yankees' wealth of left-handed pitching this season is a change of pace from what they've had in years past. Aside from a David Wells here or a Sabathia there, Sherman argues that the club hasn't been successful when it comes to developing and importing lefty arms.
- Players' union president Michael Weiner is happy about the Rays increased payroll and hopes to see the club's attendance numbers rise along with it, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Owner Stuart Sternberg has said they made the increase essentially as an investment, hoping that spending beyond their means will lead to more wins, and, in turn, better attendance.
- Brett Lawrie told Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that he wasn't thrilled with the way that the Brewers were looking to develop him and happy to be dealt to the Blue Jays.
Cafardo On Suzuki, Oswalt, Correia, Zimmermann
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe argues that two best players at catcher and shortstop positions in camp with the Red Sox organization are Ryan Lavarnway and Jose Iglesias and believes that they absolutely should be on the final 25-man roster. There could be disagreement from different factions of the club about what to do with the two players and it'll be interesting to see how it all turns out. Here's more from Cafardo..
- The Rays have been trying hard to get A's catcher Kurt Suzuki but Oakland isn’t crazy about getting Wade Davis or Jeff Niemann in return. One National League GM points out that those are the type of pitchers that Billy Beane winds up trading and would want a higher grade of pitcher. Right now, the Rays aren’t willing to pay that price.
- The idea that Roy Oswalt wants to play in the Midwest or South can be overcome with money, according to a major league source. To get him, Cafardo writes that the Red Sox have to loosen their purse strings.
- Major league sources say that the Pirates would entertain a deal for right-hander Kevin Correia.
- The Angels asked the Nationals about Jordan Zimmermann, but there’s no chance unless they part with someone like Mike Trout, and that’s not happening.
- Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald could get some bites if he gets squeezed out in Boston. The Indians, Giants, and Braves are all looking for a righthanded-hitting outfielder.
- The Yankees are being a little careful about trading their pitching depth, but it appears Freddy Garcia would be available at the right price, which may be high.
- White Sox pitchers Gavin Floyd and John Danks are both available in the right deal, but according to one GM, Kenny Williams will want at least "two A-level prospects and a third that’s a notch below, and that might not get it done."
West Links: Dodgers, Kinsler, Athletics, Giants
Three years ago today, the Padres traded Khalil Greene to the Cardinals for Luke Gregerson and Mark Worrell. Greene hit .200/.272/.347 during his one season in St. Louis and has been out of baseball for two years while Gregerson has emerged as one of the game's best setup relievers. Here's the latest from baseball's two West divisions…
- Bidding for the Dodgers is down to three groups according to Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter): Steven Cohen & Patrick Soon-Shiong, Magic Johnson & Stan Kasten, and Stan Kroenke.
- The Rangers and agent Jay Franklin met on Friday to discuss a contract extension for Ian Kinsler, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Franklin is “not very optimistic” a deal will be reached before the season. Kinsler is under contract for 2012 with a $10MM club option for 2013.
- Commissioner Bud Selig is "working actively behind the scenes" to find a resolution between the Giants and Athletics regarding Oakland's stadium situation according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Pat Burrell has formally agreed to scout for the Giants this season, reports Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. The slugger retired this offseason and is currently providing internal evaluations of San Francisco's prospects.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote about the evolution of the DH position, where clubs are using a rotation system similar to the Rangers last season.
Quick Hits: Forbes, Padres, Felix, Athletics
Forbes Magazine calculates the Yankees (unsurprisingly) as the most valuable franchise in baseball, worth an estimated $1.85 billion. The second-place team on the list are (somewhat surprisingly) the Dodgers at $1.4 billion, up nearly 75% in value from last year as Forbes predicts the team's forthcoming sale and new TV contract will return it to top-tier status. The Forbes list also reveals which teams lost value from last year and which didn't turn a profit in 2011, as well as looking at how cable TV deals are changing the economics of the game.
Some other news from around the majors…
- Yasmani Grandal is happy that Padres teammate and fellow catcher Nick Hundley received a contract extension but isn't worried that Hundley's deal impacts his own future with the club, reports Dan Hayes of the North County Times. "It doesn't matter if somebody got a deal or not. You never know what could happen," Grandal said. "They could get traded or you could get traded. I'm not only playing for one organization. I'm playing for the 29 others that are out there. That's one way I see it, and if it's not meant to be it's not meant to be. If I don't make it to the big leagues with this club I can make it with any other team."
- Hundley's reasonable contract could make him a strong trade candidate, opines Dave Cameron of Fangraphs, who the Padres could deal this summer if Grandal has a strong first half at Triple-A.
- Felix Hernandez says he is asked about his future with the Mariners in almost every interview, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, and joked he might hang a banner reading "I'm not going anywhere" over his locker.
- The Athletics are thus far very pleased with the four prospects (Tom Milone, Brad Peacock, A.J. Cole and Derek Norris) they received from the Nationals in the Gio Gonzalez trade, reports Jeff Fletcher for the Washington Times.
- Matthew Eddy of Baseball America recaps the week's minor league transactions.
- Vernon Wells thinks the Blue Jays could make "exceptions" to their policy of not offering contracts longer than five years, reports Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Ironically, Wells' seven-year, $126MM deal with Toronto in 2006 is no doubt a major reason why the current Jays management team has adopted this policy.
- Some newly-hired bench bosses make FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal's annual list of managers on the hot seat, including Ozzie Guillen and Bobby Valentine.