Nomar Might Be On The Move
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, "there remains a small chance Nomar Garciaparra will go to a contender" before Monday's waiver trade deadline.
Nomar has gone hitless in his last 14 pinch-hit appearances and is batting just .264/.299/.364 this season with two home runs and 13 RBI in 129 at-bats for the A's. But he's a .321/.386/.589 career postseason hitter with seven home runs and 24 RBI over 112 late-October at-bats, and has always been regarded as a solid clubhouse guy.
Odds & Ends: Kazmir, Byrd, A’s, Lackey
Sunday evening linkage…
- As noted by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, new Angels hurler Scott Kazmir is already falling in love out West. "It kind of feels like a playoff atmosphere every time you're here," Kazmir said Sunday. "You have the Rally Monkey, the whole thing going on." He's under team control until 2012 and will make his Angels debut Wednesday.
- Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com spoke Sunday with A's manager Bob Geren, who revealed his plan for September's roster expansion. It has already been confirmed that Brett Wallace will not see major league action this year.
- Paul Byrd told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that he wasn't guaranteed a call-up by the Red Sox when they signed him to a minor league deal in early August. The 38-year-old made his 2009 debut Sunday afternoon, tossing six shutout innings against the Blue Jays.
- John Lackey earned his 100th career win Sunday with eight innings of five-hit ball against the Athletics. He heads an intriguing 2010 free agent class.
Brad Penny Rumors: Sunday
Brad Penny isn't scheduled to clear waivers until early next week, but we've already heard that several clubs are interested in picking him up for the stretch run. The Oakland A's are one of those teams, but Susan Slusser of The SF Chronicle says that the team believes Penny "might be claimed on release waivers and he likely would accept because he is close to getting some bonuses."
Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that in all likelikood, Penny's decision will come down to whatever team appears to have the best chance of winning a championship. Pitching for a contender would allow him to "better set himself up for his impending free agency." This is just my belief, but if he wants to boost his stock prior to free agency he's best off heading back to the National League.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Penny, Harden, Lidge
Rumor machine Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count Video up at FoxSports.com. Let's dive on in…
- The outcome of this weekend's games could determine which team the recently released Brad Penny signs with. The Giants and Marlins are the two teams pursuing him the most, but the Giants are in a better position in the NL Wildcard standings.
- The Yankees, Twins, and A's are also expressing interest in the righthander, but "what pitcher in his right mind would want to stay in the American League?"
- The A's and Padres have even "floated the idea" of signing Penny beyond the rest of this season, but Penny's best bet might be to go to a team like the Giants and reestablish himself in a pennant race, then go back into the free agent pool this winter on a high note.
- The Cubs are more open to dealing Rich Harden to the Twins than you might think. The Cubs could receive two high draft picks if they offer Harden arbitration after the season and he signs elsewhere, but that's a risky strategy. Given his injury history, the club might not want to take a $10MM or so hit if he accepts, even for only one year.
- The bigger question with Harden may be how aggressive the Twins will be in trying to deal for him. Remember that stars Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan have said the team needs more to contend, with Morneau mentioning that the team needs to impress Joe Mauer since he's due to become a free agent after next season.
- Yes, the Yankees were messing with the Red Sox when they claimed Chris Carter off waivers, but Boston's 40-man roster only has 38 players on it at the moment. Daisuke Matsuzaka will assume one of those spots when he comes off the 60-day DL, and the other is reserved for Paul Byrd.
- People might need to relax when it comes to Brad Lidge's struggles. His recent blown save against the Pirates might be the result of overuse, as Lidge was pitching for the fourth straight day. He had done it twice before this season, but he entered game three of that stretch with a four-run lead. Manager Charlie Manuel may need to be more careful with how he uses his closer down the stretch.
Odds And Ends: Chavez, Arroyo, Thome, Millwood
More links for the morning…
- Eric Chavez told Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune that he would consider extending his career as a DH, even though he'd prefer to play defense, too.
- Does Bronson Arroyo want to go to a contender? No, he'd rather stay in Cincinnati and pitch for the Reds next year, according to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News.
- Jim Thome wants to play next year and make a run at 600 career homers, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Thome is just 36 homers away from reaching the milestone.
- Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for 2010 becomes guaranteed if he pitches 19.0 more innings and reaches 180 for the season, so he's only about three starts away.
Crosby Unlikely To Return To Oakland
Bobby Crosby told Joe Stiglich of the San Jose Mercury News that he can't imagine signing with the A's after the season, when he becomes a free agent for the first time.
"If the opportunity was given to me to play shortstop here, I'd have no problem coming back," Crosby said. "But I know that's not going to be the case."
Crosby, who turns 30 this winter, makes $5.25MM this year. He's hitting .223/.294/.365 this season, with just 16 extra base hits. Since being named the 2004 Rookie of the Year, Crosby has struggled to stay healthy and has managed only a .669 OPS. Coming into this season, Crosby had been a defensive asset for five straight years, according to UZR.
He'll face tough competition on the free agent market after the season. Former A's Miguel Tejada, Marco Scutaro and Orlando Cabrera will lead a strong class of free agent shortstops this winter.
Odds & Ends: Duncan, Draft, A’s
A couple of links as we head toward an afternoon of baseball…
- As Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports, manager Tony La Russa doesn't believe Chris Duncan, who was recently released from the Red Sox, will want to rejoin the Cards. "That's his call," the skipper said Friday. "It's not ours. My guess is he's not real pleased with us."
- Maury Brown of "The Biz of Baseball" has a review of MLB's draft slot recommendation system. His conclusion? It needs fixing.
- Matthew Pouliot of NBCSports.com continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Oakland A's. It's a must-read for all of you Moneyball fans.
- MLBTR's own Mike Axisa takes a closer look at the Dustin Pedroia–Robinson Cano debate over at River Ave. Blues. Joel Sherman first drummed up the discussion with this piece in the New York Post, in which he asked seven MLB executives to choose between the two second basemen.
Odds & Ends: Duchscherer, Clark, Wagner
Friday Night Lights Links…
- Justin Duchscherer will miss the rest of the season with clinical depression according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. He's been on the disabled list just about all season with an elbow issue, but this is just sad, sad news. CSN California first had the scoop earlier tonight. Duke is scheduled to become a free agent after the season.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports that Tony Clark has had discussions with the Diamondbacks about possibly joining the team in a baseball operations role. The club released Clark last month.
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post spoke to an AL executive who speculates (key word) that the Red Sox "claimed (Billy) Wagner over worries that (Jonathan) Papelbon's mechanics and control are off." Remember, the key word is speculates.
- LeVon Washington, Tampa Bay's unsigned first round pick, has choosen to attend JuCo powerhouse Chipola College next season according to Marc Lancaster of The Tampa Tribune. The school has produced Buck Showalter, Mat Gamel, and Russell Martin, among others. Washington will be eligible for the draft again next year.
Odds And Ends: Cubs, Royals, Morgan
More links for the afternoon…
- MLB president Bob DuPuy confirmed to MLB.com's Barry Bloom that the Cubs should soon be sold to Tom Ricketts for about $900MM.
- Royals third-rounder Wil Myers told Matt Forman of Baseball America that it felt a little weird to face live pitching after a few months off. He still managed to hit a homer in his ffith pro at bat.
- You don't hear many Cardinals fans complaining about Matt Holliday, but how about Brett Wallace, the centerpiece of the trade that sent Holliday to St. Louis? As Baseball America shows with its latest Prospect Hot Sheet, Wallace homered five times this week.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post compares Nyjer Morgan to a number of leadoff hitters throughout history and shows that Morgan looks like a nice acquisition.
- The Nats introduced Stephen Strasburg to the fans at Nationals Park this afternoon, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
Padres Send Patterson to Athletics
According to Corey Brock of MLB.com, via Twitter, the Padres are sending reliever Scott Patterson to the A's for cash. Patterson, who turned 30 this year, was pitching for the Padres AAA affiliate. He pitched 4.2 innings for the Yankees and the Padres last year.
Brock also notes that the Padres have signed reliever Rocky Cherry and sent him to Portland. Cherry most recently pitched in the Red Sox minor league system.