Odds & Ends: Kikuchi, Bengie Molina, Marlon Byrd
Links for Wednesday…
- NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman says reports suggest the Rangers may be the top suitor for high school lefty Yusei Kikuchi. Newman adds a new team to the mix for Kikuchi based on comments from GM Ed Wade: the Astros.
- More from Newman, on what he calls "an interesting counter-point to the Kikuchi situation." Well-regarded Dominican righty Rafael DePaula, who has been suspended by MLB for misrepresenting his age, might head to Japan to begin his professional career.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News talked to Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez, who hopes the team re-signs catcher Bengie Molina. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks Molina might be the best catcher in San Francisco Giants history. Molina has a .278/.302/.440 line in his three seasons with the team. He projects as a Type A free agent.
- Michael Young says the Rangers have to re-sign outfielder Marlon Byrd, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Byrd, 32, has a .280/.325/.479 line in 590 plate appearances and projects as a Type B free agent.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star adds Zack Greinke's recent New York-related quote to a list of Greinke gems.
Fixing The Mets
The New York Post's Joel Sherman offered up some suggestions for shaking things up in the Mets clubhouse this offseason. He worries that Luis Castillo won't be able to replicate his strong 2009 and that Jeff Francoeur (.826 OPS with New York) may not be able to build on his solid second half. Unsurprisingly, his chief concern is the Mets starting rotation.
However, Sherman suggests that the Mets first address their other holes before looking at starting pitchers, considering the weak crop available this winter:
"Put out strong one-year offers with a 2011 option to a group at each position. Say Rod Barajas/Bengie Molina/Miguel Olivo at catcher; Nick Johnson/Russ Branyan/Adam LaRoche at first: and Bobby Abreu, Mark DeRosa and Jermaine Dye for left field. The first guy to take the offer in each group gets the contract."
The Mets were linked to Bobby Abreu for some time last offseason, so it would make sense for them to re-visit that idea again this year. Adam LaRoche looks like a completely different player in Atlanta, posting .354/.432/.618 with 12 HRs in 49 games. Abreu projects to be a Type A free agent whereas LaRoche should be a Type B.
Should the Mets address their pitching woes via free agency? As badly as they need to bolster spots two through five, there won't be a great deal of options available. Would you extend multi-year deals to the likes of Rich Harden or Joel Pineiro? Should the Mets pick up where they left off last year and consider Randy Wolf?
Heyman’s Latest: Mets, D-Backs, Indians
Jon Heyman takes a look at three teams that underachieved this season and how each might approach the off-season…
New York Mets
- Heyman thinks the payroll will be about the same next season, noting that any attempt to lower the payroll would be a tough sell to the fans.
- Needs include left fielder, first baseman, catcher, starting pitcher and overall depth.
- Mets are looking at Matt Holliday and Jason Bay and could target Adrian Gonzalez and Bengie Molina.
- Starting pitchers the Mets may pursue include Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Jason Marquis as well as Roy Halladay if he's available.
- Mets may try to move Luis Castillo and replace him with Orlando Hudson.
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Heyman hears the D-Backs will try to sign Brandon Webb to a new deal at slightly less than the $8.5MM option they have for next season.
- The D-Backs may try to re-sign Doug Davis, but that will still leave a couple of holes in the rotation.
- Arizona may try to fill the second base job via trade. Heyman suggests that Eric Byrnes and Chris Snyder could be trade bait and feels Byrnes could be moved for Castillo.
Cleveland Indians
- Heyman says the Indians need to replace Carl Pavano's ability to eat innings.
- The Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee deals saved the Indians $21MM, some of which could be used in free agency.
Other notes…
- It looks like Andy Pettitte will reach most of the incentives in his contract, nearly doubling his base salary of $5.5MM.
- Dan Uggla feels he will be traded this off-season and Heyman says the Marlins won't want to pay his arbitration figure.
Giants Rumors: Penny, Molina, Posey
The latest on the Giants, who trail the Wild Card-leading Rockies by just a game:
- Brad Penny gave the Giants more than they could have expected in his return to the NL, as Dan Gelston of the AP notes (via the Miami Herald).
- ESPN.com's Keith Law would like to see the Giants play Buster Posey enough down the stretch to prepare him for a starting role in 2010. They could then let Bengie Molina walk and spend on another bat.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders if the Giants are trying to "light a fire" under Bengie Molina.
Molina Wants To Stay In San Francisco
Bengie Molina wants the Giants to offer him a two-year contract, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Molina, who becomes a free agent after the season, hasn't started formal talks with the team, so he considers the next six weeks a chance for him to audition for the job he already has.
Some teams would hope for the return of a catcher who has led a strong pitching staff and clubbed 15 home runs, but it's not that simple in San Francisco. Buster Posey– considered by Baseball America to be the 6th-best prospect in the game- is waiting at Triple A Fresno. He's hitting .322 with nearly as many strikeouts as walks and 48 extra base hits for an OPS of .958 in the upper minors.
Molina believes he could teach Posey and says there's room for both on the club. Molina should be a Type A free agent after the season, so the Giants could offer him arbitration and either keep him around for another year or collect two draft picks if he signs elsewhere.
Sabean On Lincecum, Sandoval, Bonds, Posey
Giants GM Brian Sabean tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Giants were determined to draft Tim Lincecum in 2006. Sabean avoided watching him pitch in person because he was worried someone else would take him and he didn't want other teams to know how serious the Giants were. Here are some highlights from the interview:
- Sabean says the Dodgers are the best team in the NL.
- He says the Giants could have used a high-profile player to distract from Barry Bonds once Jeff Kent left.
- Sabean is confident the Giants want to keep him on as GM.
- The Giants aren't sure what position Pablo Sandoval will play long-term.
- Sabean is non-commital on the future of the catcher position. Bengie Molina's a free agent after the season and top prospect Buster Posey has reached Triple A.
Odds & Ends: Isringhausen, Sturtze, Molina
Some Sunday morning Odds & Ends:
- So, whatever happened to Tanyon Sturtze? Sturtze never caught on with the Dodgers and was granted his release on May Day last week. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says he is now considering retirement to spend time with his kids.
- In the same piece, Cafardo reports Giants catching prospect Buster Posey has busted five homeruns and notched 22 RBI already in Single A San Jose, putting him on "a fast track to the big leagues." With Bengie Molina entering free agency, the Giants will not feel forced to re-sign him. According to Cafardo, the team would love to retain Molina to act as a mentor for Posey but for the fact that "Molina isn't ready for the mentoring role." Molina told reporters he'll seek a starting job. Finding one should be no trouble whatsoever.
- Also in that same piece, former player Troy O'Leary is developing a baseball reality TV show…
- According to Marc Lancaster, Jason Isringhausen is healthy. His rehab assignment is up May 19 but the Rays seem hesitant to call him up until then. With 10 days to determine what to do with him, it's expected Izzy will slot into the bullpen for Triple-A Durham until the Rays have to make a decision.
- Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com says Luis Vizcaino will join the Indians bullpen this week rather than go through a minor league stint in Triple-A Columbus. Vizcaino hasn't pitched in a game since April 21, right before the Cubs designated him for assignment and released him. Who gets sent down instead? Jensen Lewis or Tony Sipp both have options. Masa Kobayashi is a candidate to be released altogether, says Castrovince.
Bengie Molina Talks About Future
FRIDAY, 2:42pm: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Molina wants to return to the Giants, but won't discuss any extensions after the All-Star break. After that Molina wants to focus on the season and deal with free agency afterwards.
THURSDAY, 3:27pm: ESPN.com's Rob Neyer writes that the Giants need to get the most production possible out of Molina while he's on their team, even if that means suggesting they're more serious about discussing an extension than they really are.
9:18am: Talking to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Giants catcher Bengie Molina discussed the future. Molina is earning $6MM in the last year of his contract. He considers himself a starting catcher for another two or three years and wants to finish his career with the Giants. However, Molina knows Giants prospect Buster Posey may be ready for the Majors as soon as 2010.
Schulman learned that Molina isn't offended that the Giants haven't discussed an extension with him, but he would like to have a conversation soon. Molina said:
"I'm not afraid of going to free agency. What I've done for this organization, I've left my heart out there every night, day in and day out. All I want is, when the time comes, they come forward and tell me what their plans are."
Molina's gotten a nice chance to bat in the middle of the order in his Giants career, boosting his RBI totals. His high contact approach leads to strong batting averages but low walk totals.
Cafardo’s Latest: Players Out Of Options
Lots of stuff in Nick Cafardo’s column in the Boston Globe to go over.
With around 100 free agents vying for less than 20 remaining roster spots, things become more interesting with 227 players on big-league rosters who are out of options. If a player is out of options and is not rostered, he has to either be traded or designated for assignment. If designated, that player has to clear waivers. This could affect remaining free agent signings. Cafardo makes note of a few who are out of options and may wind up as trade fodder or designated for assignment before the season begins:
Red Sox: George Kottaras
Yankees: Melky Cabrera
Cubs: Chad Gaudin, Rich Hill (possibly heading to Baltimore?)
Brewers: Tony Gwynn Jr.
Indians: Anthony Reyes, Andy Marte
Twins: Boof Bonser, Philip Humber
Rays: Jeff Niemann
Orioles: David Pauley
- With Jason Varitek re-signed, the Red Sox will either have to trade catcher Kottaras or designate him for assignment.
- Cafardo notes Niemann is a former No. 1 pick and the righthander should garner some attention.
- Bonser or Humber could be traded to land a reliever. Cafardo also mentions Delmon Young as a possible trading chip.
A few more bullets from Cafardo’s notebook:
- Scott Boras thinks the World Baseball Classic will showcase Ivan Rodriguez and generate "even more" interest for the 14-time All-Star catcher.
- Cafardo mentioned Manny Ramirez to Omar Minaya and Minaya laughed it off saying, "We’ll look into adding some offense, but only if it makes sense."
- All quiet on the Jake Peavy front.
- Cafardo calls Randy Johnson‘s $8MM deal from the Giants as "a stroke of genius" by his agents.
- In case you missed it, Bobby Kielty signed a minor-league deal with the Mets last week.
Looking Beyond Varitek
According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox. Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers’ guys. Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available. It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases.
On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he’s had no financial discussions with the Red Sox. He expects the matter to be discussed after Thanksgiving. Curt Schilling commented last week about Varitek possibly playing fewer games in 2009, but Boras shot down the idea of a reduced role.