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Keith Foulke Attempting Comeback

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Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe talked extensively with Keith Foulke, who currently closes for the Newark Bears.  It's an amusing read.

Foulke hopes the independent league stint is a springboard back to the bigs:

"I'm not hoping to lead the Atlantic League in saves.  I hope the phone rings today and it's the Diamondbacks and I can pack my stuff and get out of here.  Any big league city is better than being here.  I'd even play for the Yankees. I still think I have something to offer."

Grossfeld talked to a couple of scouts who gave Foulke mixed reviews, but he does have an 0.75 ERA in 12 innings with seven saves.  Other members of the Bears' pitching staff include Armando Benitez, Bobby Brownlie, Ryan Bukvich, Shawn Chacon, and Aaron Fultz.

You may recall that Foulke walked away from $5MM from the Indians in 2007, choosing to retire due to injuries.  Foulke commented on Curt Schilling, who was paid $8MM last year without pitching for the Red Sox: "He's got to wake up and look himself in the mirror every day."  Grossfeld adds that Foulke hinted the A's did not pitch him in September last year due to his incentive-laden contract.

Eric Chavez Explains Situation

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6:22pm: Talking to MLB.com's Mychael Urban, Chavez clarified his injury situation:

"I just want to make sure everyone's clear: I'm not getting surgery. I'm rehabbing. I hope to be back when I'm eligible, and if I hurt my back again after I come back, I'm still not getting surgery. I'll rehab it again."

He explained that a spinal fusion would be something he'll have when he's 45 or 50.

9:44am: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has the latest details on the health of A's third baseman Eric Chavez.  While Chavez hopes to join the team soon, his career will be over if the herniated disk in his back goes out.  In that case he'd need a career-ending spinal fusion procedure.  Since the disk can go out with as little as a sneeze, Slusser says "his future in baseball will be operating on a very thin line."

Chavez's six-year, $66MM extension was signed in March of 2004.  He's owed an additional $8.6MM this year plus $12MM in 2010 and a $3MM buyout for 2011, for a total of $23.6MM left on the contract.  Sadly the contract has been a sunk cost for a while now.  As Slusser says, A's GM Billy Beane figures to be on the lookout for third base prospects in trades.

Gammons On Ackley, Red Sox, Relievers

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ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.  Let's take a look.

  • Gammons writes in praise of North Carolina's Dustin Ackley, who is likely to be chosen by the Mariners at #2 in June.  Ackley may wind up at center field or second base.
  • The Red Sox don't appear willing to trade young pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Nick Hagadone.  The Sox have looked at bats such as Colorado's Matt Murton and Ryan Spilborghs, but for now aren't desperate enough to trade pitching.  Gammons wonders if, for the right bat, Boston would part with Manny Delcarmen.  He believes Delcarmen could close in the NL.
  • Gammons says the Mets think they could have Carlos Delgado back by August if he has hip surgery, allowing them to stay in-house for his replacements.
  • The Dodgers, Indians, Yankees, and Twins are looking for relief help.  Gammon names Jose Valverde, Huston Street, Danys Baez, Russ Springer, and John Grabow as future trade candidates.

A’s Acquire Adam Kennedy

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SATURDAY, 7:18pm: According to the Associated Press, via the Miami Herald, the A's have sent minor league infielder Joe Dillon to the Rays to complete the trade.

Dillon, 33, has been on the Triple-A Sacramento disabled list all season with a lower back injury.  He hit .263/.374/.409 in 171 minor league at-bats last season and will simply provide organizational depth for the Rays.

FRIDAY, 6:48pm: Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune gathered a nice quote from Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman, on why the club felt compelled to make the deal:

"It's an extended opportunity for Adam and we weren't going to stand in the way," said Friedman.  "We feel like we're going to get a guy that's going to help us some depth-wise, and that was our understanding with Adam coming in — we're not a group that's going to stand in the way of someone, especially someone that hadn't played in the minor leagues in 10 years."

4:31pm: According to Jeff Fletcher of AOL Fanhouse the Rays traded Adam Kennedy to the A's for a player to be named later. Kennedy, 33, was playing at Triple-A Durham for the Rays and the A's have assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate, Sacramento. Kennedy gives the A's the infield depth they need after losing Mark Ellis, Eric Chavez and Nomar Garciaparra to the disabled list.

A’s Designate Ben Copeland For Assignment

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According to MLB.com's Noah Coslov, the A's have designated outfielder Ben Copeland for assignment.

Copeland was selected by the A's this winter in the Rule 5 draft.  He spent the first few weeks of the 2009 season on the disabled list with a shoulder issue, and wasn't given a plate appearance once he was activated on May 5.  The 25-year-old hit .261/.334/.417 in 372 at-bats last year for Double-A Connecticut.

Rosenthal On Royals, Atkins, Baez, Huff

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has trade speculation in the sidebar of his latest column.

  • Rosenthal sees shortstop Mike Aviles as the Royals' weakest link, given his .523 OPS in 97 plate appearances.  Most projection systems had Aviles in the .720-.750 range.  Rosenthal runs through potential trade targets such as Orlando Cabrera, Jack Wilson, Miguel Tejada, and Marco Scutaro.  The first three have their flaws, and Scutaro doesn't figure to be available.
  • Rosenthal suggests the Rockies could accomplish their goal of more playing time for Ian Stewart by trading Garrett Atkins.  However, Atkins is fairly pricey and is off to a .224/.287/.367 start through 108 plate appearances.
  • Orioles reliever Danys Baez is generating trade buzz with his 2.30 ERA through 15.6 innings.  Baez is still owed $4.55MM of his $5.5MM '09 salary, and he also gets a $500K bonus if traded.  So just moving the contract might be a feat for Andy MacPhail, in my opinion.
  • Aubrey Huff, with $6.62MM left on his contract, could eventually draw interest from teams like the Royals and Mariners, in Rosenthal's opinion.  Huff seems back to his pre-2008 level; he's hitting .270/.331/.423 in 124 plate appearances.

2010 Options: Oakland Athletics

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The A's are faced with just one 2010 option, Jason Giambi.  It's a $6.5MM club option with a $1.25MM buyout.  So the question will be whether Giambi, at age 39, is worth a net of $5.25MM in 2010.  Through 96 plate appearances this year, Giambi is hitting .210/.333/.296.  He's hitting grounders at the same rate as his miserable '04 season.  The silver lining might be that Giambi had a rough April last year as well. 

The A's really need Giambi, Orlando Cabrera, and Matt Holliday to start hitting.  Talking to Joe Stiglich of the San Jose Mercury News, GM Billy Beane indicated the A's are unlikely to bring in reinforcements for their woeful offense.

Odds & Ends: O’s, A’s, Milledge, Manny

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Your links for Tuesday…

  • MASN's Buck Martinez believes the Orioles are headed in the right direction as an organization.  "Sit back, relax and watch the organization grow," he writes.
  • Vlae Kershner of the San Francisco Chronicle summarizes the current standing of the Athletics' bid for a new ballpark.  Would a fancy facility in San Jose, the nation's 10th largest city, help boost the team's payroll?
  • Lastings Milledge, who was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse on April 14, told the Washington Post's Chico Harlan that he hasn't kept in touch with the Nationals' front office, and hasn't been paying attention to the club's day-to-day progress.  Sounds like a bad situation that might only get worse.
  • According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, super agent Scott Boras told Playboy magazine in a recent interview that his client, Manny Ramirez, simply didn't like living in the city of Boston.  That, Boras claims, is the reason Manny wanted out.  "It wasn't like Cleveland," said Boras.  And it's not like L.A., apparently.

Rosenthal On Mariners, A’s, Putz

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • The Mariners and A's are not thinking about selling off veterans at the trade deadline.  Both clubs plan to go for it.
  • Tough decision for the Mets after the season: do they exercise J.J. Putz's $9.1MM option for 2010?  Cot's Baseball Contracts says it's an $8.6MM club option with a $1MM buyout.
  • Rosenthal says one GM views the recent DL trips for Dontrelle Willis, Chien-Ming Wang, and Daisuke Matsuzaka as possible abuse of the system.
  • Will Barry Zito continue to be decent this year?  His control and groundball rate have been much improved and his average fastball velocity is up by 1.6 mph.  The .250 BABIP doesn't figure to last though.  Zito is owed $87.5MM for 2009-13, plus he has an $18MM option for 2014 that may vest.

Miguel Angel Sano Drawing Attention

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Miguel Angel Sano, a 15 year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, is coveted by all 30 teams according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  He'll turn 16 in May.  The signing period for international free agents begins July 2nd.  Kovacevic says Sano could command a bonus of $3MM.

Kovacevic says the Pirates are one of the favorites for Sano.  GlobalPost has an informative video about the kid.  In the clip, Sano wears apparel representing the Blue Jays, Cubs, and Cardinals at various times, for what it's worth.  He was wearing an A's jersey when ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. and Luke Cyphers saw him.  Sano is not worried about proving he's 15 years old, saying in the video, "Let them investigate me."  To read a bit about his personality, check out this blog post.

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