Quick Hits: Beltran, Prospects, Cano, Nationals
Chris Carpenter and Ryan Vogelsong will oppose one another at AT&T Park a few hours from now. Here are some links from around MLB to keep you entertained while waiting for the NLCS to resume…
- Giants assistant general manager Bobby Evans told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that the team had approximately a dozen offseason conversations with Carlos Beltran's agent, Dan Lozano. That's a stark contrast from Beltran's statements, who said the two sides never talked. Shea speculates that Lozano didn't convey any of the communication to Beltran, who is of course, squaring off against his former teammates in the NLCS.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a rundown of 10 minor league deals that reaped significant Major League benefits, including Gregor Blanco, Brandon Moss and Quintin Berry.
- Mets 2011 draftee Bradley Marquez will undergo surgery on his left knee after sustaining an injury playing football at Texas Tech, writes ESPN's Adam Rubin. The Mets allowed Marquez to continue playing football in order to facilitate the signing of their 11th-round selection.
- Alex Rodriguez may be in the midst of a disappointing October, but at least he has a long-term contract in place. Robinson Cano, an offseason extension candidate, may have diminished his bargaining power by hitting poorly in the postseason, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Plus, Rodriguez's struggles probably won't make the Yankees over-eager to spend a comparable amount on another struggling player.
- The Nationals are set at every infield position but first base heading into the offseason, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes. Ian Desmond could be in line for an extension this offseason, and Kilgore suggests a six-year, $45MM contract could work for both sides. It sounds as though there's a good chance Adam LaRoche will re-sign in Washington, even if he declines his side of the mutual option on his contract.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean said coaches Ron Wotus and Dave Righetti would be excellent managers given the opportunity, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter). Wotus is the Giants' bench coach and and Righetti is the team's pitching coach.
East Links: Phillies, Beltran, Mets, Bourn
Some links pertaining to MLB's two eastern divisions as Prince Fielder is crowned Home Run Derby champion for the second time…
- Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com writes that Jonathan Papelbon says he and his teammates understand the business side of the game, but that trading Cole Hamels would still not go over well in their clubhouse.
- Carlos Beltran told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca and other reporters that the Blue Jays showed interest in him this offseason, but never made a formal contract offer. Beltran said the Indians and Rays were also interested, but most AL clubs wanted him to spend significant time at DH, and he wanted to play in the field regularly. According to Beltran, he would have considered the Giants, but they never called.
- The Mets are open to adding veteran pieces at the trade deadline this year to strengthen the club, but they won't be trading top prospects like Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Heyman offers speculative lists of relievers and catchers who could interest GM Sandy Alderson.
- Heyman also writes that the Braves are not currently in extension talks with Michael Bourn, and that Bourn will likely be pursued by the Giants this winter when he hits free agency.
Quick Hits: Beltran, Angels, Mercedes, Cruz
The Nationals reinstated Michael Morse from the disabled list today in a move that should help the team score a few more runs. Morse hit 31 homers and posted a .910 OPS last year, so he should help a Nationals offense that ranks 13th out of the 16 NL teams in scoring. Here are today's links…
- Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reconstructs the trade that sent Carlos Beltran to San Francisco for Zack Wheeler in a must-read piece that includes the recollections of the baseball people who helped shape the deal.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests the Giants are more likely to add bullpen or bench help than make a blockbuster move this summer (via Sulia).
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto reflected on the season's first two months with Barry Bloom of MLB.com.
- Edgar Mercedes was arrested in the Dominican Republic on charges of smuggling Cuban players into the D.R., Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. However, a Dominican judge released Mercedes from jail without charges, Listin Diario reports (via Badler). Mercedes is a prominent trainer who represented players such as Yoenis Cespedes.
- The Pirates announced that they've activated Juan Cruz from the restricted list. They placed the right-hander on the restricted list earlier in the week.
NL Central Notes: Rizzo, Pirates, Appel, Cardinals
The Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-6 win over the Cubs this afternoon. Yadier Molina was the hero for St. Louis, delivering a walkoff RBI single to cinch the victory. Here's the latest from around the NL Central…
- Theo Epstein was hesitant to make the trade that brought Anthony Rizzo to the Cubs since Epstein didn't want to give up Andrew Cashner, reports Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. It was Cubs GM Jed Hoyer who "aggressively pushed" for the deal. Levine covers a number of different Cubs (and White Sox) topics in this online chat with readers.
- The Pirates aren't likely to make a trade to address their hitting problems, GM Neal Huntington told reporters (including Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). “There are very, very few trades of substance made in May and there are few trades of substance made in June, so our solutions are going to have to come internally unless we’re willing to be less than intelligent and dramatically overpay. That’s just the way it is," Huntington said. “We’re certainly looking externally, but the extra wild card has made it that much more of a challenge. There are fewer sellers out there, and we’re going to have to be creative.”
- ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required) has released his first 2012 mock draft and he projects the Astros to take Stanford right-hander Mark Appel with the first overall pick. "The general feeling is that they'll take the college arm over the higher-upside, higher-risk outfielder, Byron Buxton," Law writes, though he notes that Houston's decision could also be determined by which player is willing to sign for the lowest price beneath the $7.2MM slot figure for the first pick.
- Carlos Beltran and Rafael Furcal's hot starts have fueled the Cardinals' big offensive numbers, writes Scott Miller for CBS Sports.
Quick Hits: Young, Cook, Dodgers, Cashman, Beltran
It was on this day in 1956 that Frank Robinson hit his first Major League home run, en route to 586 career homers and a legacy as one of baseball's all-time greats. Today, the Orioles are honoring Robinson with a statue at Camden Yards that will be unveiled before tonight's game with the A's.
Some notes from around the Majors…
- The Reds have made it a priority to establish a strong bond with their fans — and hopefully increase attendance — by retaining popular players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips, explains Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- Former Expos/Nationals closer Chad Cordero told reporters, including Bill Ladson of MLB.com, that he'd like to make a comeback next season (Twitter link).
- Delmon Young could be activated from the Tigers' restricted list by Tuesday or possibly even Monday night depending on the outcome of his evaluation by a counselor on Monday, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including Chris Iott of MLive.com. If Young is judged to require treatment for anger management and/or alcohol abuse, however, he would be sidelined for an indeterminate amount of time.
- Bobby Valentine told reporters (including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford) that the Red Sox are considering using Aaron Cook as a reliever. Cook can opt out of his contract if he is not called up to Boston's Major League roster by May 1 and the Sox have no clear spot for Cook in the rotation. Cook has made just one relief appearance in the last eight seasons but recently said he's open to the idea.
- There's no language in Cook's contract that would preclude a trade, notes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, although he adds there's no reason to think the Red Sox would want to do that (via Twitter).
- The sale of the Dodgers to the Magic Johnson/Stan Kasten/Mark Walter ownership group is expected to be closed by Monday, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- "This is a massive decision gone wrong right now," Yankees GM Brian Cashman told ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews in regards to the Michael Pineda/Jesus Montero deal and Pineda's subsequent season-ending shoulder injury. "So all scrutiny is fair….Our fans are right to be upset about this. I'm devastated by it," Cashman said.
- Besides the Cardinals, Carlos Beltran said the Indians pursued him the hardest in the offseason, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter). Beltran said he ultimately chose to sign with St. Louis because he wanted to play for the World Series champions and remain in the National League.
- The Brewers have transferred Chris Narveson to the 60-day DL and called up reliever Vinnie Chulk to take Narveson's spot on the 40-man roster, the team announced via Twitter. Mike McClendon was optioned to Triple-A in another corresponding move. Narveson will undergo shoulder surgery on Tuesday that will sideline him for the rest of the 2012 season.
MLBTR's Dan Mennella contributed to this post.
Red Sox Links: Oswalt, Blanton, Beltran
It was on this day in 2000 that six Boston pitchers (including starter Pedro Martinez) combined to throw a perfect game against the Blue Jays in a Spring Training matchup. While perfect games in the spring obviously aren't nearly as prestigious as those during the regular season, it was still an opportunity for Martinez to finally be involved in a recognized perfecto. Martinez threw nine perfect innings against the Padres on June 3, 1995 but his performance isn't considered a perfect game by MLB rules since (shades of Harvey Haddix) the 0-0 game went into extra innings and Martinez allowed a hit to the first batter of the 10th inning.
Here's the latest from Fenway….
- The Red Sox have "their radar up on Roy Oswalt," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe as part of a reader mailbag. Carfardo thinks if Oswalt wants to pitch for Boston, the club will sign him. Oswalt was reportedly holding out for a team closer to his Mississippi home but recently said he's willing to pitch anywhere, though perhaps not until midseason. Also in Cafardo's piece, he says the Sox aren't going to make a move for a pitcher until they see what they have in Daniel Bard and internal fifth starter candidates like Felix Doubront.
- Scouts from the Red Sox and Orioles have joined the contingent of scouts at Joe Blanton's spring starts, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. The Phillies are reportedly willing to pay up to $2MM of Blanton's $8MM salary as part of a trade, but Boston makes another move, even $6MM might be too much for the Sox, who are trying to keep payroll down to avoid a big luxury tax hit.
- Carlos Beltran was interested in joining the Red Sox this winter, reports Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, but ultimately signed with the Cardinals since Boston's focus was on working out a deal with David Ortiz. "We talked a little bit, and they had interest," Beltran said. "They were trying to get something done first with David. At the end of the day, I wasn't going to wait until they got that done." As MacPherson points out, it may have been a moot point since the Sox wouldn't have been able to afford Beltran once Ortiz accepted salary arbitration.
Central Notes: Beltran, Lopez, Astros
On this day in 2005, Rick Ankiel of the Cardinals collected a base hit in his first Grapefruit League game as a position player after beginning his career as a pitcher. He'd later make it back to the Majors in 2007. On with a few links from MLB's Central divisions …
- Carlos Beltran drew interest from several teams this offseason but ultimately signed with the Cardinals because he wanted to play for a winning team with a grass home ballpark, and because the Redbirds offered him a no-trade clause, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Beltran was conflicted as to which team to sign with, writes Goold, but he ultimately settled on the Cards when his wife urged him to go wherever he'd be happy.
- Indians utility man Jose Lopez is impressing so far in camp and likes his odds of making the big league roster out of Spring Training, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Lopez signed a minor league deal with the Tribe this offseason and had offers from other teams: "A couple teams asked me to sign with them," Lopez said. "Cleveland had more opportunity. … They're giving me a chance, and now I'm fighting for a spot."
- The Astros have two players in camp under the scrutiny of being a Rule 5 picks in Marwin Gonzalez and Rhiner Cruz, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The chances of both players lasting on Houston's 25-man roster all season is pretty slim, something GM Jeff Luhnow touched on: "You lose a lot of flexibility by keeping the Rule 5 guys and that's something you have to put into the equation. … To keep two is something very few teams are able to do."
Giants Notes: Cain, Lincecum, Payroll, Beltran
The Giants made their roster available to the media today, on the eve of the club's annual FanFest event. Here's latest on the 2010 World Champs…
- “We’ve talked … and it’s a process,” said Matt Cain to reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News) when asked about an extension. “We’ll see what’s going to happen. We’re definitely here for this year.”
- The right-hander did stop short of saying he'll give the team a hometown discount. “That’s tough,” he said. “You definitely love being in San Francisco, and we do. We have a year till free agency. That’s something as a player you think about, having that opportunity. It’s hard to say what will happen in these next several months.”
- “Budget won’t be a factor," said GM Brian Sabean when asked about signing both Cain and Tim Lincecum long-term. "We’ll have enough wherewithal in the budget that we won’t have to pick. Whether that happens, I can’t predict. But we have it in the budget to sign both players.”
- Sabean also said that increasing payroll to add players in midseason has "always been possible with our ownership group" according to John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
- The Giants wanted Carlos Beltran back as a left fielder, says Shea (on Twitter). They were willing to give him two years, but not the $26MM the Cardinals gave him.
Blue Jays Notes: Fielder, Beltran, Cash
The Blue Jays held their State of the Franchise event tonight and president Paul Beeston, general manager Alex Anthopoulos and manager John Farrell offered insights into the team’s past moves and future plans. The details:
- Beeston expects the Blue Jays to make the postseason two or three times in the upcoming five seasons, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet Radio FAN 590 tweets.
- Beeston said the Blue Jays did not view Prince Fielder as a fit because of his contract demands, Wilner tweets. Fielder signed for nine years, but the Blue Jays don’t offer players anything more than five.
- Anthopoulos said two free agents turned down more years and more money from the Blue Jays to sign elsewhere this offseason, Wilner tweets.
- Anthopoulos said the following about Carlos Beltran: "some guys don't want to play on turf, no matter how much you pay them. Some guys don't want to DH." (quote via Wilner on Twitter)
- Farrell said former MLB catcher Kevin Cash will be an advance scout for the Blue Jays in 2012, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star tweets. The Blue Jays signed Cash as an amateur free agent in 1999 and he played in Toronto for three years. He last appeared in the Major Leagues in 2010.
NL Central Notes: Pujols, Beltran, Cubs, Aoki
The Reds signed a catcher today and the Pirates avoided arbitration with a pair of pitchers. Here are some more notes from the NL Central…
- Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said this weekend that his team must stay within certain financial limitations to put a competitive team on the field year after year, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The Cardinals would have liked to retain Albert Pujols, but keeping him wasn’t necessarily realistic. “It's how much can I afford to pay one player and put together a team that's going to be competitive? That's the whole jigsaw puzzle that all teams have,” DeWitt said.
- Carlos Beltran said the Indians, Rays and Giants were among the finalists for his services this offseason, MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports. Beltran said another team offered a three-year deal worth less money, B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com tweets.
- Cubs director of scouting and player development Jason McLeod said he's looking forward to meeting with his scouts this week to find ways of drafting more effectively under the new collective bargaining agreement, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
- Tom Haudricourt on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that there's an expectation that the Brewers will sign outfielder Norichika Aoki. They have until 4pm CDT tomorrow to sign Aoki, or else he’ll be returned to the Yakult Swallows and the Brewers will get their $2.5MM posting fee back.