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Frank Thomas Suitors

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The Blue Jays are on the hook for the rest of Frank Thomas’ salary this year, making him a fine bargain for a team looking for a DH.  It seems that the signing team will not be liable for his 2009 vesting option.  As an injury-prone DH with clubhouse concerns, Thomas has similarities to Barry Bonds.  The Big Hurt will come more cheaply, offering less production but no steroid baggage.  As far as suitors:

Odds And Ends: Lowry, Street, Farnsworth, Roberts

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Just a few loose links for Saturday morning.

  • Billy Beane has talked to Alan Hendricks, agent for closer Huston Street, about an extension. However, they have been informal talks, with no specifics to mention. Don’t expect much movement on this front until we get deeper into the season and see where the A’s really stand.
  • Brian Roberts is relieved now that the trade rumors are dead. "I know where I’m going to be on a nightly basis now, at least," Roberts said. "It is a relief because I think everybody wants stability in their life, but I understand that doesn’t always happen. If it comes up again, I’ll deal with it."
  • Brian Sabean talked about the possibility of a six-man rotation once Noah Lowry returns to action in May. The article says that this "ensure that the youngest and most prized starters, Cain and Lincecum, are not overtaxed in a rebuilding season." But you still need them to get their innings in. Lincecum, for instance, pitched 177.1 innings last year. You’d like to get him to 200 this year, which would be difficult in a six-man rotation environment.
  • It looks like Kyle Farnsworth will be suspended for throwing at Manny Ramirez the other night. I know it’s not a transaction rumor. But won’t punishing retaliation just mean more preemptive aggression?

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.

Odds and Ends: Pavano, Lima, Sabathia

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Today’s link collection contains a trio of awesome pitchers.  Enjoy.

Considerations For A’s With 12th Pick

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As you know, the A’s have the 12th overall pick in the June draft.  Jim Callis’ always-informative Ask BA segment in the latest Baseball America print magazine (issue 0809) discusses some possibilities.

Callis suggests shortstop Gordon Beckham would make sense if available – he’s likely to wind up somewhere in the infield long-term.  Callis also rattles off a couple of catchers (Kyle Skipworth and Buster Posey), pitcher Christian Friedrich, and outfielder Aaron Hicks.  Friedrich may be a consideration for the Giants at #5, however.

Odds and Ends: Schilling, Piazza, Howard

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Tax day roundup…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In

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Bunch of random topics so let’s just get to it and see what it being said in the Blogosphere…

  • Big League Stew talks to Bless You Boys about the idea of Barry Bonds signing with the Tigers. BYB argues against signing Bonds noting that the Tigers already have a bunch of slow players (base cloggers?) and what they really need is some more speed in the lineup…Although we keep hearing about collusion and have not heard any numbers bandied about, Bonds has always made it very clear how much he values the almighty dollar. Does anybody else think that Bonds would already be in uniform if he had come out said he would play 2008 for $3-5MM plus incentives? The baggage is what it is, but teams might find it easier to deal with it at a price Bonds is not likely to accept.
  • Rockin’ The Red takes a look at the five Cardinals that are most likely to be traded during the season…Chris Duncan is an interesting name on the list. With all the outfielders that the Cards have, Duncan is a solid bat that is likely to be a Super-2 at the end of the year.
  • The Yankees: Minors to Majors looks at the pending free agents for the Yankees and concludes that there is plenty of compensation picks to be had giving the Yankees plenty of flexibility to sign a high-end free agent like C.C. Sabathia…Of course, that is assuming the Yankees would let something like draft pick compensation stand in the way of signing a free agent. Not likely.
  • Wrigleyville23 has had enough of the Brian Roberts-to-the-Cubs media reports…Who?
  • The Bronx Zoo would love to see Nick Johnson back in a Yankees’ uniform but notes that Dmitri Young may not be a dependable replacement for the Nats.
  • Mets Fever notes that eight players have moved among the Brewers, Mets and Nats since this offseason…Let’s just say that the Brewers did not get the best of that "three-way trade".
  • One writer at DRays Bay is hoping the Rays and M’s can re-engage talks for Edwin Jackson…The M’s may be interested once again after being two-hit by Jackson yesterday, but maybe the price just went up.
  • One name that kept popping up recently as a possible trade piece in the near future was Rich Harden. Well, Harden has once again found himself on the DL and Athletics Nation is not taking it well.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Dan Johnson Designated

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THURSDAY, 10:00am: The Giants have no interest in Johnson, according to Henry Schulman.

WEDNEDAY, 3:11pm: As expected, Johnson was designated for assignment today.

11:14am: Susan Slusser believes first baseman Dan Johnson’s Oakland career might be over, as the A’s need a roster spot for rookie starter Greg Smith.  Speculation is that Billy Beane could try to trade him to the Giants, where he’d be free to play regularly and bat in the middle of the order.

Johnson, 28, has a .249/.344/.419 career line in 318 games.  He was a late bloomer, earning a September call-up in ’04 as a 25 year-old.  He didn’t appear in any big league games because of vertigo, though.  Yes, vertigo.  Baseball America’s 2005 handbook had Johnson sixth among A’s prospects, between Joe Blanton and Huston Street.

Johnson got the call in May of ’05 when DH Erubiel Durazo hit the DL.  His rookie season resulted in a solid .806 OPS.  He didn’t snag any ROY votes, but Street won it while Nick Swisher and Blanton received votes.  It was downhill from there for Johnson.

When the A’s signed Frank Thomas in the offseason, Johnson became the everyday first baseman.  He was lousy in every month aside from June, and even started the season 0 for 27.  He was demoted to Triple A in July and came back in September.  Double vision was later cited as a factor in the poor season.

The Shannon Stewart acquisition before the ’07 season pushed Johnson into a bench role.  He then tore hip cartilage in March, missing most of April.  He had a very strong May but was otherwise unimpressive.

Johnson lost 15 pounds this past offseason due to an illness, and then the Mike Sweeney acquisition pretty much ended his time in Oakland.  A trade to San Francisco might represent his last shot at lasting as a big league regular.

Odds and Ends: Harden, Bonds, Ramon Hernandez

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Time to round up today’s linkage.

Olney’s Latest: Lidge, Shields, Eveland, Lahey

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Here are some trade-rumor-tidbits from Buster Olney this morning:

  • For the first time in his career, Scot Shields was activated from the DL and rookie pitcher Rich Thompson was sent down to Triple A.  The Angels had hoped to keep the kid around but last friday’s 1 inning, 5-run meltdown assured his ticket out.
  • A likely story:  Dana Eveland is making Billy Beane look smart.  He shut down the Indians for 7 innings yesterday, striking out 7.  When Dan Haren was sent to Arizona for 6 prospects, Tim thought the Dbacks won and suggested Eveland could be a back of the rotation starter of the David Wells-variety as was the common consensus around the league.  Eveland hadn’t shown anything at the major league level; however, it seems Eveland might be realizing his potential (413 minor league IP, 8.84 K/9).  Then again, it’s been one start and Olney notes Jhonny Peralta just thinks Eveland got lucky.  Time will tell, but Beane has a funny way of making time work in his favor.
  • As Brad Lidge comes back, reliever Tim Lahey is designated for assignment to make room.  Lahey’s path is a bit of a head-scratcher.  He was selected by the Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft from the Twins before being claimed off waivers by the Phillies.  He’s now back on waivers, and if he clears, he’ll have to be offered back to the Twins who apparently do want him back.  So an imminent Twins/Phillies deal could be in the works.

By Nat Boyle

Giants Interested In Nick Johnson?

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Henry Schulman at The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Giants GM Brian Sabean is seeking a left-handed hitting 1B to complement the aging Rich Aurilia, and lists Nick Johnson and the Braves’ Scott Thorman as points of interest.

Nick Johnson is off to a hot start hitting .368/.455/.688 in 19 ABs, and for this reason Schulman suggests he could be off the market; however, contrary to that rationale, the Nationals might want to take advantage of Johnson’s sudden upswing in value.  They do have Dmitri Young sitting idly by.  If the Giants want to spend $11MM over the next 2 years on Johnson, he would be a solid addition to a lackluster offense.  Johnson would almost certainly make a bench player of Aurilia.

Scott Thorman, who the Braves have been shopping for over a month, is 26, and hit 11 homeruns in 268 ABs last season.  With Mark Teixeira locked in at 1B this season, and plenty of guys who can be moved to 1B next year (Matt Diaz, Mark Kotsay, et al), Thorman no longer seems to be the heir apparent should Teixeira not re-sign.

While I’m always hesitant to suggest a team should deal with Billy Beane, Dan Johnson needs a new home.  Sure his value has collapsed over the past couple seasons, but he hits lefty, could provide power, and is only 28.  He’s on a one year contract for $410,000, so there’s not much risk, and Beane’s asking price can’t be high.  If the Giants don’t want to commit $11MM to a player as they try to rebuild, DJ could be a good alternative.

Any other 1B options you think would be a good fit?

By Nat Boyle
 

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