By Tim Dierkes | at
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have signed Byung-Hyun Kim. It’s a Major League contract worth $850K, with another $1MM in incentives. He’ll be used only in relief. The Giants had been interested, but Kim didn’t want a minor league deal with them.
The 29 year-old Kim whiffed 107 in 118.1 innings in ’07, winning ten games. But he also posted a 6.07 ERA. He earned $2.5MM for his efforts.
By Tim Dierkes | at
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants offered a minor league deal to free agent Byung-Hyun Kim. Schulman’s source believes Kim is holding out for a big league deal. Gutsy move, for a guy who posted a 6.08 ERA last year.
The following hurlers had to settle for minor league deals: Tony Armas Jr., Kris Benson, Brendan Donnelly, Jorge Julio, Rudy Seanez, and Steve Trachsel. It’s hard to see where Kim is coming from, if the Schulman report is accurate. You’d think Kim would just be anxious to get to camp and start working. In his defense, he is 29 and whiffed 107 in 118.1 innings last year.
By Tim Dierkes | at
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants offered a minor league deal to free agent Byung-Hyun Kim. Schulman’s source believes Kim is holding out for a big league deal. Gutsy move, for a guy who posted a 6.08 ERA last year.
The following hurlers had to settle for minor league deals: Tony Armas Jr., Kris Benson, Brendan Donnelly, Jorge Julio, Rudy Seanez, and Steve Trachsel. It’s hard to see where Kim is coming from, if the Schulman report is accurate. You’d think Kim would just be anxious to get to camp and start working. In his defense, he is 29 and whiffed 107 in 118.1 innings last year.
By Tim Dierkes | at
ESPN’s Jayson Stark dishes some good rumorage in his latest column.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Plenty of new hot stove talk involving the Mets. Let’s get into it.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Not only did the D’Backs snag Jeff Cirillo today, but they brought back an old friend in 28 year-old hurler Byung-Hyun Kim. The Diamondbacks traded Kim to the Red Sox for Shea Hillenbrand back in May of 2003. With Yusmeiro Petit and Micah Owings filling out the back end of the rotation, the Diamondbacks needed to add some depth.
I like that the D’Backs are willing to spend a few bucks to strengthen the back end of their roster. Kim will make approximately another $800,000, and the Marlins were happy to be free of it. Kim’s always posted a nice strikeout rate; maybe the Diamondbacks can help him regain some semblance of control.
I was just talking to a coworker about how the Diamondbacks are in first place with very little star power. Brandon Webb is probably the only player on the roster currently considered elite. Eric Byrnes leads the team with an .871 OPS. Doug Davis is their #2 starter, but they still have the fifth best starting pitching ERA in the league at 4.17. The bullpen’s been about equally as good. They’re about middle-of-the-pack in defensive efficiency. How is this team 10 games over .500?
Some portion of it has to be luck. The Diamondbacks are 60-50 in real life but have a Pythagorean record of just 51-59. They’ve got a 23-15 record in one-run games. This might explain why all of Baseball Prospectus’s playoff odds reports give a better chance to both the Dodgers and Padres.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Jayson Stark has updated his big ol’ rumor post over at ESPN.com. Some highlights:
By Tim Dierkes | at
As you may have heard by now, a couple of down-and-out pitchers were swapped today as the Marlins sent Jorge Julio to the Rockies for Byung-Hyun Kim.
The hurlers have a lot in common – both are free agents after the season, and the Marlins and Rockies were each on the hook for $2.5MM in salary. Plus, both had fallen out of favor with their respective teams.
The Rockies already have a strong duo for the eighth and ninth innings – Manny Corpas and Brian Fuentes. Dan O’Dowd decided to buy low on Julio, a fairly young reliever whose results never seem to match his stuff. From the gist of the MLB.com article, it sounds like O’Dowd worked the phones for months trying to get something interesting for Kim and Julio was the best he could do.
This could be one of those deals that works for both sides, as I’ve considered Kim a bit of a sleeper in recent years. The sidearmer had a decent 7.5 K/9 last year, but still posted a 5.57 ERA in 27 starts. If the Marlins can help him regain the control he had in ’02-03, he could be a pleasant surprise. And what pitcher wouldn’t want to switch from Coors Field to Dolphins Stadium? Coors inflates homers by 12%, while Dolphins Stadium deflates them by 9% (according to the Bill James Handbook). While there are no public plans for it right now, Kim could end up closing for the Fish if current options don’t pan out.
By Tim Dierkes | at
A few small Rockies tidbits from Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post:
By Tim Dierkes | at
An unhappy Byung-Hyun Kim isn’t doing much for the Rockies in their bullpen, and they’d love to unload the sidearmer and his $2.5MM salary. Ken Rosenthal says the Rox could release Kim if they can’t find a taker. That wouldn’t look great for Dan O’Dowd, who made the decision to exercise Kim’s option back in November.
Rosenthal describes "low-level discussions" regarding Kim with the Orioles, A’s, Royals, and Cardinals. The O’s wouldn’t surrender even Todd Williams for Kim. Joe Kennedy had a strong first effort for Oakland, so their interest may be reduced. I originally thought he’d be a good fit for St. Louis, but Cards fans disagreed. Perhaps Chris Carpenter’s condition will heighten their interest.
The Rangers, Pirates, Marlins, and Dodgers have been connected to Kim in the past.
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