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Bartolo Colon

Odds and Ends: Posada, Uribe, Wise, Red Sox

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Today’s links…

  • Jorge Posada could rejoin the Yankees as early as Wednesday (a few reports suggested Tuesday). Kat O’Brien of Newsday says the Yanks will hold on to both Jose Molina and Chad Moeller for "a while" after Posada returns, but as Peter Abraham points out on the LoHud Yankees blog, the Yankees have a real need for a set-up man now that Joba Chamberlain is starting.
  • Juan Uribe has been activated from the 15-day DL, and although Ozzie Guillen said he wasn’t guaranteed  playing time, they had to make room on the roster nonetheless.  DeWayne Wise was designated for assigment. 
  • The news that Clay Buchholz has been optioned to Pawtucket comes as a shock to yours truly, but it underscores just how much starting pitching the Red Sox have right now, even with Daisuke Matsuzaka currently on the 15-day DL. Free agent pickup Bartolo Colon has worked out so far as a low-risk, high-reward signing. They’ve also got a good spot-starter in Justin Masterson, currently in Double A. And as if that weren’t enough, Curt Schilling could start throwing off a mound June 6. The odd man out could bring something useful in a trade. Just idle speculation, and I know there’s no such thing as too much pitching…but the Red Sox do have some holes to fill.

Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro. She can be reached here.

Heyman On the Rockies and Holliday

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The idea of the Rockies trading Matt Holliday this summer is not a new one. Ken Rosenthal speculated on the possibility two weeks ago. Today, Jon Heyman goes a little deeper. While he feels trading Holliday is certainly possible, there are at least a couple of executives who think it is unlikely. To sum up:

  • The Rockies are tied for the worst record in baseball and several executives are now wondering if they will be willing to trade Garrett Atkins and/or Holliday.
  • Willy Taveras and Brian Fuentes will almost certainly be made available.
  • One GM thinks that last year’s mid-season turnaround may make Dan O’Dowd less likely to pull the trigger on a trade.
  • One exec said that the Rockies will have a tough time matching the deals that the Indians received for Bartolo Colon in ’03 and the Rangers received for Mark Teixera last year, as those were highly specialized situations.

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

Gammons On Available Pitchers

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ESPN’s Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months.  We’ll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series.

Gammons’ trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood.  Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season.  Sowers and Duke are the kids.  Harden is the oft-injured ace.  Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts.

Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios.  He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.

Julian Tavarez To Sign With Brewers

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MONDAY: Tom Haudricourt reports that the Brewers are set to sign Tavarez for bullpen depth.

SUNDAY: The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo writes that Bartolo Colon, a close friend of Julian Tavarez, said Tavarez told him that he would prefer to pitch for the New York Mets. Tavarez was recently DFA’d by the Red Sox and elected free agency rather than accepting an assignment to Triple A Pawtucket.

Tavarez could make sense for the Mets in many roles. Jason Vargas and Matt Wise have been ineffective in limited use, while Mike Pelfrey has been very inconsistent over the first two months of the season. The Mets, however, have yet to indicate whether they have interest in the veteran right-hander.  Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto has the Orioles and Brewers as the top suitors; I hadn’t heard Baltimore in the mix until now.

Odds And Ends: Reyes, Colon, Indians, Nationals

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A few notes from the MLBiverse…

  • Anthony Reyes, who has been the object of much trade speculation, made his first start at AAA on Friday night. Reyes pitched 3+ scoreless innings with a strict pitch-count. The Cardinals appear to be reconverting Reyes into a starter in the hopes of increasing his value for potential trade partners.
  • Jim Bowden hinted that he may implement a full-fledged youth movement in the near future, noting that a number of top prospects are close to being ready. Specifically, he mentioned two outfielders which would likely mean that Bowden will seek to move Austin Kearns and/or Wily Mo Pena. Kearns is due $8MM next year and there is a $10MM option for 2010 ($1M buyout). Pena may be easier to move with only a $5MM team option for 2009.
  • Justice B. Hill suggests that the Indians are now paying the price for their inability to swing a deal this past offseason for another offensive weapon at one of the corner outfield spots or third base. The timing of the story was unfortunate as the Tribe laid a 12-spot on the Jays last night.
  • The Red Sox do not have a need for a starting pitcher at this point, but they may soon have one too many arms for the rotation if Bartolo Colon continues to progress. Colon allowed one run in three innings, touching 97 on the radar gun. The obvious move would be to move somebody to the bullpen, but if somebody does go down with an injury, Colon’s availability likely means that the Red Sox will not be in the market for an extra arm down the stretch.

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

Colon Opt-Out Pushed To June 1

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Informally, Bartolo Colon has agreed to push his opt-out date from today to June 1st.  His contract remains the same otherwise, according to Alex Speier. 

Colon’s oblique strain basically set him back a month.  He looked quite good in his one Triple A start on April 3rd.  It sounds like Colon and the Red Sox want to make this work, but who will he replace in the rotation?  It would have to be Tim Wakefield, Jon Lester, or Clay Buchholz.

None of them are pitching badly, though Lester appears to be on the shakiest ground given his strikeout, walk, and home run rates.  As far as innings concerns, Lester pitched 163 last year while Buchholz tossed 148.  Even by the "30 inning increase" threshold, they’re both safe to make 30+ starts.  Regardless of how they sort it out, this is a good problem for the Red Sox.

Colon Nearing Return, Opt-Out Date

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For most of March, the Red Sox looked like they made the pick-up of the winter by signing Bartolo Colon to a minor league contract. While scouting reports from his winter work had him sitting in the upper 80s with his fastball, the Red Sox said he was hitting low 90s, a fine place to be for the former Cy Young winner. But after just one start in AAA, he was derailed with an oblique injury, and has been on the DL ever since.

The Sox got a bit of good news, bad news on Colon. On the positive side, he’s schedule for three side sessions, and could be back on the hill by May 5. Problem is, he can opt out of his contract on May 1 and become a free agent.

Chances are, Colon and the Sox will work on some kind of agreement that extends Bartolo’s window to opt out. The team could use the added depth, and Colon likely wants to stay with a winner. Then again, he might be able to get a guaranteed deal somewhere if he opts out.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog. Send along any rumors here.

Odds and Ends: Hatteberg, Colon, Longoria

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And now for more Odds and Ends around the league:

  • In his latest "Full Count" audio piece at Fox Sports, Ken Rosenthal expects the Reds to do some roster shuffling that could come down to trades.  Scott Hatteberg has become "expendable" with the recent emergence of Joey Votto and by the fact that the Reds have too many lefty hitters.
  • Cork Gaines latest Baseball Blogs Weigh In delved into the Evan Longoria signing.  To add to that, Ken Rosenthal, also in his Full Count piece, notes favorably that Longoria has set himself for life without having to establish himself and that his payday will come at age 31, still in time for a 4-5 year deal.
  • The Boston Herald’s reporting Bartolo Colon could opt to leave the Red Sox if he’s not in the bigs by May 1st. Manager Terry Francona hopes he will "forego the decision for a while (most likely until May 15)."  With a recent setback being the reason he’s not in the majors, I don’t see him going anywhere just yet.
  • An amusing quote from columnist John Mehno of the Beaver County Times on whether the Pirates can be expected to lock up any of its young talent: "Given the lack of can’t-miss prospects in the system, Pirates rookies intent on becoming instant millionaires should probably keep buying lottery tickets."

By Nat Boyle

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Garcia, Lohse, Colon

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With a full slate of Spring Training games underway today, there are still some big names hanging out in the free agent market. After the Red Sox signed signed former Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal, there are still two big-name starting pitchers that have yet to find new homes. Former all-star Freddy Garcia is not expected to be ready until mid-season after having rotator cuff surgery last fall, but may have interest from several clubs. On the other hand Kyle Lohse is still looking for work despite being perfectly healthy. His biggest ailment maybe that his agent’s name is Scott Boras. With just over four weeks until opening day, let’s take a look at coverage of these pitchers in the blogosphere.

If there is a topic you would like to see covered in "Baseball Blogs Weigh In" please let me know HERE.

  • Mets Fever notes that the names Garcia and Lohse keep popping up on the radar and they are not surprised considering that the Mets rotation is a crapshoot once you get past Johan Santana.
  • Sox and Pinstripes says that signing Garcia would be a smart move for the Red Sox. With Colon and Curt Schilling, Garcia would provide the Sox with plenty of second half pitching insurance.
  • Fire Brand of the American League is hoping the Red Sox will sign Garcia as they believe he will be more dependable than Colon.
  • MetsBlog can’t see the Mets signing Lohse unless they can find a way to unload Orlando Hernandez. And then they would only go for a one year deal.
  • Sox & Dawgs notes the age-old baseball cliche that a team can never have too much pitching and likes the addition of Colon.
  • Bugs & Cranks says that the signing of Colon has them seeing El Guapo Deja Vu and wonder if he will be as important and beloved as another former Cy Young winner, Eric Gagne.
  • Surviving Grady notes that every good sitcom needs a fat guy and now the Red Sox have theirs in the form of Colon.

By Cork Gaines

Odds and Ends: Spiezio, Pavano, Gross, Jackson

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