Odds & Ends: Reds, Braves, Cards, Cubs, Red Sox
A few links to start your evening off right…
- Reds CEO Bob Castellini says he believes "we’re not at that point" of selling players yet, according to John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer. The Reds were rumored to be making a move earlier.
- The Braves are "confident that they could stand pat through Friday's Trade Deadline and still have the pieces to continue their run toward the postseason," according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach writes that "John Mozeliak sounded like it's all but certain that the Cardinals will not trade any more prospects before the deadline." He does mention that if they can move Troy Glaus, they will look into it.
- Alfonso Soriano said he doesn't think the Cubs need any big trades, according to Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune. The Cubbies were reportedly looking for a lefty reliever over the weekend.
- Ben Collins of The Boston Globe has an interesting quote from Red Sox manager Terry Francona: “I listen to the talks. I don’t listen to the radio, but I talk to Theo. Some of the people I hear talked about on the radio — you guys have no idea.”
- Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune mentions that Twins starter Kevin Slowey is going to have season ending surgery on his right wrist. The club has been looking for infield help, but this could have them searching a little harder for pitching help.
- SI.com's Cliff Corcoran wrote about the five contenders with the biggest pitching needs and the biggest offensive holes.
- ESPN's David Schoenfield listed the 15 players with the least trade value. Barry Zito and the $89.1MM owed to him through 2013 tops the list.
- ESPN's Howard Bryant penned a long but very interesting piece about Billy Beane and his legacy since Moneyball.
Billy Beane On Deadline, Needs, Geren
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has a nice interview with A's general manager Billy Beane.
When asked about whether he's planning on being active at the deadline, Beane's answer: "We have always managed our budget, and we could quite possibly lose money this year – very likely we will. But we won't have to make trades for financial reasons. If we make any, it will be for baseball reasons."
Slusser asked him "What is the most pressing need?" Beane's answer: "Some of it is pretty obvious. We need to get some position players and some bats… We need to get some core position players in place. The good news is that we have some kids coming that I think will be a part of that. With the injuries, we've had a tendency to rush some of the development and it's not ideal. We want to make sure we do everything to give them a chance. But obviously as we go through the summer, we might want to see if some of these guys are ready for the next level."
Beane also acknowledged Bob Geren has faced his fair share of adversity during his three years with the A's. Is his job safe? Beane says yes.
Olney on Reyes, McLouth, Holliday
ESPN.com's Buster Olney wonders if the currently injured Jose Reyes has already peaked, quoting a scout who says "I don't see a lot of evolution there … Jimmy Rollins struggled early in his career, but then he just kept getting better and better, and I'm not really seeing that in Reyes." Olney likens the situation to Mark Prior's, who seemingly held the Cubs hostage with his potential. Reyes will turn just 26 next week, but Olney says that going forward "the Mets should not assume that Reyes is going to be an unmovable foundation piece," however he is not advocating a trade just yet.
Here's the rest of Olney's rumors:
- Olney heard that the Pirates were concerned about Nate McLouth's defensive abilities, so they moved him now before his trade value diminished.
- Billy Beane will soon have to make a decision about whether or not he should trade Matt Holliday, because other teams will start inquiring soon.
- Olney speculates that the Cardinals could be interested in Holliday, which would satisfy Tony LaRussa's desire for a big bat. He also says that Cards' prospect Brett Wallace would be a good fit for Oakland, but that seems like a hefty price for just three or four months of Holliday.
Odds & Ends: A’s, Hammel, Manny, McPherson
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Yahoo's Tim Brown says there was never a mandate from A's owner Lew Wolff to remake the team into a contender. The strategy this winter was Billy Beane's idea.
- Tyler Hissey of Around The Majors examines the Jason Hammel trade from both sides.
- Manny Ramirez responds to Ken Rosenthal's comments, talking to T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times.
- The SoftBank Hawks seek a foreign third baseman, and Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker suggests Dallas McPherson.
- A look at the slugging percentage leaders of Spring Training 2009.
- In a Wall Street Journal article, Russell Adams and Tim Marchman write about newspapers cutting money spent on the baseball beat.
Odds & Ends: Clement, Schilling, Strasburg
Links for Tuesday…
- RotoAuthority examines A's starter Trevor Cahill from a fantasy baseball perspective.
- Today's chat has been pushed to Wednesday at 2pm CST.
- The Blue Jays demoted Matt Clement, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star. Clement is trying to decide whether to accept the assignment. He allowed 11 runs and 12 walks in 10.3 spring innings.
- WEEI's Alex Speier looks back at the shockingly low price in prospects the Red Sox paid to acquire Curt Schilling from Arizona. The D'Backs were eyeing players such as Jon Lester, Hanley Ramirez, and Kelly Shoppach, but didn't make any of them a requirement.
- Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation has part 2 of his interview with A's GM Billy Beane. Beane notes his great relationship with Scott Boras.
- I spoke to Tyler Hissey and Doug Gray of Minor League Notebook Weekly yesterday.
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post says the Nationals should not draft Stephen Strasburg unless he'll sign in the $9-10MM range of David Price and Mark Prior. ESPN's Rob Neyer explains that many can't-miss pitchers did indeed miss.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle talked to Giants lefty Jack Taschner about the possibility of being traded.
- Bart Given of Inside the Majors says the Blue Jays should keep Travis Snider at Triple A until May 15th so that they'll control him for the 2015 season.
Odds and Ends: Hudson, Twins, Sisco, Dunn
Links for Friday…
- Tim Hudson wants the Braves to pick up his 2010 option for $12MM, though he has the right to void it if they do.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro has no regrets about signing Kerry Wood for $20.5MM in early December.
- Twins CEO Jim Pohlad says the team is not done, in talking to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He believes signing Joe Crede makes sense, but his baseball people have the final decision.
- Michael Fleming of Variety says Brad Pitt continues to "circle" the Moneyball movie, in which he could play Billy Beane.
- Athletics Nation takes a good look at free agent lefty Andy Sisco.
- Austin Kearns commented on his friend Adam Dunn, in talking with Chico Harlan of the Washington Post.
- An amusing "25 facts about 25 random Yankees" from Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- The Rays signed pitcher Winston Abreu to a minor league deal; he spent last year in Japan.
- RotoAuthority ranks the shortstops for fantasy baseball.
- Deals for Jason Varitek, Brad Wilkerson, and Ken Takahashi were finalized today. Jeff Bailey was shuffled to Triple A to make room for Varitek, says Dan Barbarisi.
Odds and Ends: Andruw, Marquis, Coonelly
Links for Monday…
- In his first post for RotoAuthority, David Chase looks at players who were said to have lost weight or gained muscle during Spring Training ’08. How did they perform in ’08?
- The Red Sox inked infielder Nick Green to a minor league deal.
- Murray Chass explains why the New York Times Company’s purchase of a share of the Red Sox was a conflict of interest.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik: "We’ve got an offer out right now for a piece of the puzzle, and I’d hope to hear in the next few days."
- David Laurila talked to new Mariners exec Tony Blengino. One of many interesting quotes (in reference to the Bill Bavasi regime and the ’07 club): "I thought that it was clear going in that, with all due respect, they overrated their team from the last year."
The Yankees will introduce Mark Teixeira tomorrow. He passed his physical today. - River Ave. Blues and Peter Abraham ask whether the Yankees should consider Andruw Jones. Evan Brunell looks at other possible fits.
- The Dodgers talked to the Cubs about Jason Marquis, according to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly joins Mark Attanasio (Brewers) and Drayton McLane (Astros) in supporting a salary cap.
- Jeff Moorad might be aggressive in the draft if he takes over the Padres. Tom Krasovic adds that the Padres have already discussed spending up to $6MM on their #3 pick this June.
- Keith Law likes the Angels’ Brian Fuentes signing, and doesn’t think the Indians gave up much for Mark DeRosa.
- If the Indians are to add another significant player, they’ll have to get creative with contracts.
- RAB and In Mo We Trust discuss Kevin Kernan’s recent suggestion that the Yanks sign Oliver Perez over Andy Pettitte.
- A couple of recent Hot Stove Dailies from Jeff Passan: the Braves and A’s.
- Athletics Nation asks whether Brian Sabean is "out-GMing" Billy Beane this winter.
- Sox Machine on why the Gavin Floyd–Brian Roberts rumor makes no sense.
Odds & Ends: Sabean, Yankees, Reds, Jones
Links for Sunday afternoon…
- Peter Abraham asks if Andruw Jones would be worth a look for the Yankees on a minor league deal… and promptly answers his own question: no. He’d rather see Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner fight it out.
- River Avenue Blues takes a look at why the Yankees and Red Sox saw a drop in the rankings of their farm systems from 2008 to 2009.
- Athletics Nation asks whether or not Brian Sabean is "out-GMing" Billy Beane this offseason with his splashes in the free agent market.
- Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News doesn’t feel like the Reds have done enough to climb out of fifth place. He feels the Cubs, Brewers, Cardinals, and Astros are all still better teams.
Brown’s Latest: Teixeira, Crede, Friedman
Yahoo’s Tim Brown filed a column late last night; let’s take a look.
- Scott Boras doesn’t know of any kind of contingency where the Dodgers would have to unload Andruw Jones‘ contract before signing Manny Ramirez.
- The Angels have not yet made an offer to Mark Teixeira, but they’ll deal with that situation before moving on to other needs. Boras is suggesting Teixeira pays for himself.
- Boras compared Joe Crede to Magglio Ordonez. I think he is implying that he may seek big money for Crede but allow a team to opt out after a year if he hits the DL for back problems.
- Ken Williams spoke up manufacturing runs, while Billy Beane still prefers walks and homers.
- Rays GM Andrew Friedman doesn’t have a contract, but he isn’t concerned.
Odds and Ends: Pitt, Manny, White Sox
Links for Friday…
- The Red Sox claimed pitcher Dewon Day off waivers from the White Sox, and also designated pitcher Chris Smith for assignment.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ponders trading Colby Rasmus to get Jake Peavy and Khalil Greene.
- Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in the Moneyball movie? Beane hopes to add offense this winter.
- J.C. Bradbury estimates Manny Ramirez‘s value at $128MM over the next six years. I think Manny and Boras would happily accept such an offer.
- Dave Cameron laments the lack of respect for Ryan Langerhans.
- South Side Sox presents an offseason plan for the White Sox.
- Jacob Jackson at Athletics Nation predicts destinations for his top 12 free agents. My Top 50 will come out after the World Series. I disagree with a few of Jacob’s picks – Derek Lowe and Jason Giambi re-signing and the Cubs signing Adam Dunn.
- I attempted to find some over/undervalued starting pitchers for fantasy baseball over at RotoAuthority.