Athletics Rumors

Odds & Ends: Munson, Ranaudo, Sheets

By Tim Dierkes | February 25, 2010 at 1:24pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

Chat today, 2pm CST.
Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets that the Padres signed Eric Munson to a minor league deal. Munson, 32, hit .265/.362/.450 in Triple A last year while catching 73 games.
Potential high 2010 draft pick Anthony Ranaudo, a righty at LSU, will miss a start Friday due to elbow discomfort according to Baseball America's Aaron Fitt.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick looks at the mentor role Ben Sheets will play for the Oakland pitching staff.
Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball reports that despite a decrease in attendance, MLB revenue reached a record $6.6 billion in 2009.
J.D. Drew feels that he's been worth the $42MM he's been paid so far by the Red Sox over the 2007-09 seasons, reports Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald.

Odds & Ends: Damon, A’s, Beckett, Reynolds, Dye

By Luke Adams 2 | February 21, 2010 at 4:29pm CDT

Sunday links….

Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times has Kenny Williams' final take on missing out on Johnny Damon to the Tigers. Cowley's piece also expands a bit on the Dye note we've linked to below.
The A's received cash to complete the trades for both Adam Rosales and Dana Eveland, writes Susan Slusser.
Regarding his current contract situation, Josh Beckett says he and the Red Sox "talked about talking," according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier. Beckett says he won't have anything to say about the situation during Spring Training or even after. Speier's piece also contains video highlights of Beckett's press conference, including his take on Mike Lowell's situation.
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert has a series of tweets regarding Mark Reynolds, who hopes to have his contract situation resolved within the next couple weeks. Reynolds says that the deadline for talks is still Opening Day. Gilbert adds that the current discussion is whether to buy out two or three arbitration years.
White Sox GM Ken Williams considered pursuing Jermaine Dye, but felt that the Sox' need for a left-handed bat was more pressing, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).
MLB.com's Scott Merkin tweets that John Danks and the White Sox did not discuss a multi-year deal this offseason.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports, via Twitter, that the Rays were in the mix for Johnny Damon until the end, bidding more than every team but the Tigers.
Jim Leyland says that Damon's arrival in Detroit won't mean any less at-bats for Carlos Guillen, according to John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian breaks down (via Twitter) the early-round draft picks the Blue Jays will now hold this summer, following the Mets' agreement with Rod Barajas.
Former Brave Greg Norton will head into 2010 as a coach instead of a player for the first time. He'll serve as the hitting coach for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate.
WEEI's Alex Speier takes a look at the first impression made in Red Sox camp by slick-fielding shortstop Jose Iglesias. Many felt the Sox overpaid for the Cuban prospect last summer, but according to Speier, the Cubs were willing to pay even more.

Odds & Ends: Dunn, Delgado, Pujols, Mets

By Mike Axisa | February 20, 2010 at 9:04pm CDT

Links for Saturday…

Rizzo reiterated to Ladson that he'd like to sign Adam Dunn to a contract extension, however he declined to talk about how the negotiations were going. The two sides first discussed an extension a few weeks ago.
Carlos Delgado's agent David Sloane tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that his client will be out of action for four months after undergoing hip surgery. Last week, prior to his recent procedure becoming public knowledge, Sloane told Rosenthal that Delgado might wait until mid-season to sign.
Ladson tweets that Nats president Stan Kasten was seen talking to Cristian Guzman's agent on Saturrday afternoon, though neither party would comment on the conversation (via Twitter). Guzman is in the final year of a two-year, $16MM contract.
MLB.com's Bill Ladson says (via Twitter) that Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo indicated that he's not finished trying to improve his team, and that's he's still on the look out from some pitching.
GM Ed Wade wasn't the only Astros' executive to have his contract extended today. Assistants Ricky Bennett, David Gottfried, and Bobby Heck were all extended through 2011, tweets Houston's Senior Director of Social Media Alyson Footer.
Mets' owner Fred Wilpon called the team's offseason "torture," according to Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News (via Twitter). Wilpon also said he expects the team to stay within the family for generations.
SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Victor Martinez said he "definitely" wants to stay in Boston beyond this season. We previewed V-Mart's impending free agency a few weeks ago.
The A's will officially name Grady Fuson as a special advisor today, tweets Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. Fuson was fired as the Padres' VP of scouting and player development by new GM Jed Hoyer back in October.

Mets Trying To Void Waiver Claim On Jay Marshall

By Mike Axisa | February 20, 2010 at 9:12am CDT

The Mets are trying to void the waiver claim they made on lefty reliever Jay Marshall because of a pre-existing shoulder injury, reports Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News. Marshall was claimed from the A's back in early January, and the commissioner's office is looking into the matter.

Marshall, 27 next week, missed 32 days at the end of last season with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder. In 49.1 big league innings, he's posted a 7.66 ERA with more walks (22) than strikeouts (19), though his minor league numbers are more than respectable.

Odds & Ends: Gonzalez, Benson, Giants, Mariners

By Mark Polishuk | February 17, 2010 at 9:24pm CDT

A quick rundown of some of the day's items…

In an appearance on WEEI's Dale & Holley Show, ESPN's Keith Law said that the Red Sox are the clear front-runners if and when Adrian Gonzalez hits the trade market. "I really think that Boston could top anybody if Adrian Gonzalez becomes available, and he will," Law said. The transcript of Law's appearance is available here.
It looks like Washington might still be the only team interested in Kris Benson. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that the Indians have no interest in the right-hander.
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark polled "20 baseball wise men" to get their take on the offseason moves. The panel picked Seattle and Arizona as the most improved teams in their respective leagues, while Cleveland and the Dodgers were the least improved. John Lackey was named the winter's best free agent signing, while Brandon Lyon's deal with Houston was considered the worst.
Giants infielder Freddy Sanchez underwent shoulder surgery on December 23, but the news of the procedure didn't come out until almost a month later. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News believes the club wanted to keep Sanchez's condition a secret in order to help them sign Juan Uribe to a more team-friendly contract. Uribe signed a one-year, $3.25MM deal on January 5.
MLB.com's Jim Street answers some Mariner-related questions in a fan mailbag. Some topics of note include the possibility that the M's could deal one of their surplus outfielders, and Chad Cordero could also be trade bait if he doesn't make the Seattle bullpen but otherwise appears recovered from shoulder surgery.
Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs thinks "Arizona overpaid a bit" in the arbitration settlement between the Diamondbacks and Edwin Jackson, but also notes that "there is reason to believe this deal is fair to both sides."
Miguel Olivo took less money to play in Colorado because he wanted to be on a contending team, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
"It's decision time" for teams to negotiate with players entering the last year of their contracts, says USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
Wandy Rodriguez and the Astros had their arbitration hearing today, and The Associated Press reports that a decision should be reached by tomorrow. Rodriguez wants $7MM, while Houston has countered with an offer of $5MM.
Jane Lee of MLB.com breaks down the dollars and reasoning behind Oakland's quick flip of Willy Taveras earlier this month.
There are no new developments between Jonny Gomes and the Reds, but John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the two sides are still talking. GM Walt Jocketty is hopeful the team and player "can get something done this weekend."
Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at some of the issues facing the Pirates this spring, and notes that the club's young players could be helped without the pressure to win starting jobs.

Mark Mulder Not Ready To Retire

By Tim Dierkes | February 15, 2010 at 8:58pm CDT

8:58pm: Mulder told Slusser that even though he is going to "shut [his arm] down from throwing," he is not calling it quits just yet.

1:14pm: Mulder's agent Gregg Clifton told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that reports of his client retiring are not accurate, as Mulder hasn't made a decision. However, Mulder's former teammate Eric Chavez told MLB.com's Jane Lee the pitcher is "done."

8:45am: Lefty Mark Mulder is retiring, according to television reports from Today's TMJ4 of Milwaukee. The 32-year-old has been unable to contribute in the big leagues after having rotator cuff surgery in September of '06.

Mulder would finish with a 4.18 ERA and 103 wins in nine seasons for the Athletics and Cardinals spanning 1,314 innings. 88 of those wins came from 2001-05. He won three postseason games, with a 2.34 ERA in 42.3 innings. Mulder finished second in the Cy Young voting in his sophomore season, and made two All-Star teams. According to Baseball-Reference, Mulder banked about $33MM in his career.

Odds & Ends: Franklin, Red Sox, Cardinals, Mauer

By Mike Axisa | February 14, 2010 at 11:05pm CDT

Some links for Sunday…

As A's were unable to land Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro this offseason, GM Billy Beane says that the club had to work harder than ever to fill their holes, writes MLB.com's Jane Lee.
Cody Ross' arbitration hearing with the Marlins will take place tomorrow morning at 10:00, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Ross – who is one of seven remaining players who has an arbitration hearing scheduled – is seeking $4.45MM while the Marlins are countering with $4.2MM.
Maury Brown of Biz of Baseball brings us the record of each club in arbitration hearings since the process was first put into place in 1974. In this span, the A's have had the most hearings with 35.
Brady Gardiner of Sirius XM Radio tweets that Ryan Franklin's agent said that in 2007, his client turned down a more lucrative offer from Toronto to sign with the Cardinals in order to play for Dave Duncan. Franklin signed a one-year, $1MM deal with St. Louis in January of '07.
Dustin Pedroia takes exception to those who question Boston's offense in 2010, writes WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. Pedroia feels the Red Sox lineup can score more runs than the 2009 club. He also voices high praise for Josh Beckett and says he wants Beckett around "for a long time."
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Dispatch answers 10 questions for Cardinals fans, and notes that Russ Springer would take a marked-down contract to return to St. Louis. St. Louis stands to enter camp with rougly a $92,625,000 payroll
Sid Hartman of The Minneapolis Star Tribune says that Twins' owner Jim Pohlad may have to change his policy of not deferring money if they want to re-sign Joe Mauer. Hartman says Mauer would save millions in income tax by deferring some payments until after he retires.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post names his winners and losers of the offseason. Roy Halladay and the Twins head the winners, while the Dodgers and Royals highlight the losers.
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe runs down each team's offseason, and looks at what lies ahead for each during the 2010 season.

Odds & Ends: Athletics, Padres, Astros

By Howard Megdal | February 11, 2010 at 8:30pm CDT

So much to get to as Thursday winds down:

CSNBayArea.com's Mychal Urban reflects on the Oakland winter, and writes that Ben Sheets was the most important acquisition of the team's offseason.
MLB.com's Corey Brock writes that his guess has Adrian Gonzalez staying for 2010 and getting dealt next winter.
The Padres also hired Randy Johnson as their Minor League Coordinator, but not that Randy Johnson.
The Astros have offered Willy Taveras a minor league deal, Bernardo Fallas writes in the Houston Chronicle.

Frank Thomas To Retire

By Howard Megdal | February 11, 2010 at 6:56pm CDT

Frank Thomas, one of the most feared hitters of the past two decades, is calling it a career, MLB.com's Scott Merkin and Doug Miller report. Thomas is scheduled to have a Friday press conference in Chicago, where he had his greatest years, to announce the move.

Thomas has impressive career stats by any measure. He is 18th on the career list in home runs with 521, and his rate stats are even better: a career .301/.419/.555 batting line.

Thomas did not play in 2009, and had a .240/.349/.374 line in a 2008 season split between Oakland and Toronto.

With 1,311 games at designated hitter, and just 971 at first base, the debate will begin as to whether a primary DH belongs in the Hall of Fame. From this view, it will be hard to keep a hitter as dominant as Thomas out of the Hall.

Athletics Release Willy Taveras

By Tim Dierkes | February 9, 2010 at 12:10pm CDT

The Athletics released outfielder Willy Taveras, tweets MLB.com's Jane Lee. Taveras had been designated for assignment on February 1st immediately after being acquired from the Reds along with Adam Rosales. Taveras passed through Oakland as GM Billy Beane's way of facilitating the Rosales acquisition.

The A's ultimately acquired Jake Fox and Rosales. The financial cost is the $4MM owed to Taveras, less $400K if he signs elsewhere as a free agent and less the $1MM the Cubs sent with Aaron Miles. If Taveras signs somewhere the A's will have paid $2.6MM to get Fox and Rosales, while also giving up Jeff Gray, Ronny Morla, and Matt Spencer.

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