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Chien-Ming Wang

Yankees Notes: Mitre, Gaudin, Wang

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While there is no shortage of talk about the Yankees re-signing their own free agents or making a splash for the likes of John Lackey, the World Series champions also have some decisions to make about the back-end of their rotation.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post took a look at what the Yankees might do with some of the extra pitchers on the staff…

  • New York would like to bring back Sergio Mitre even if they don't pick up his $1.25MM option.  Sherman reports that the team likes Mitre's versatility as either a starter or reliever, and the Yankees feel he will improve on his poor 2009 numbers when he is another season removed from Tommy John surgery.
  • The Yankees also "intend" to re-sign Chad Gaudin, who shared the fifth spot in the New York rotation with Mitre last season.
  • In addition to Mitre, Gaudin and a healthy Ian Kennedy, the Yankees haven't given up on any of the young starters they moved to the bullpen last year.  Sherman says the Yankees will ask Alfredo Aceves, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes "to come to spring ready to be starters." 
  • Sherman doesn't expect the Yankees to tender a contract to Chien-Ming Wang, but noted that New York might be able to re-sign him to a cheaper, incentive-laden contract since Wang's marketing deals in Taiwan may suffer if he pitches for anyone besides the high-profile Yankees.
  • Sherman (via Twitter) reported that Alan Nero, Wang's agent, said that Wang was given the green light by Dr. James Andrews to start throwing by December 15 and that Wang may be able to pitch again by as early as the middle of April.  In a follow-up tweet, Sherman noted that Yankee doctors have yet to examine Wang themselves.

Olney On What’s Facing The Yankees And Phillies

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We haven't had a World Series rematch since the Yankees and Dodgers squared off in 1977 and then again in 1978, but that doesn't stop ESPN's Buster Olney from looking at what stands in the way of another Yanks-Phils Fall Classic in 2010.

Let's round up some hot stove talk…

  • Olney guesses that the Yankees won't tender Chien-Ming Wang a contract, but they may decide to pursue another starter through trade or free agency.
  • Given Brad Lidge's awful year, Olney thinks the Phillies "will be diligent in internally identifying a solid Plan B." He notes that there are plenty of pitchers available this offseason with experience closing games.
  • The Phillies hold a $5MM option for third baseman Pedro Feliz ($500K buyout), so the team must decide what to do there. He mentions that free agent Adrian Beltre "would be a spectacular fit" for Philadelphia.
  • Olney believes it's a lock that the Yankees will offer Andy Pettitte arbitration. Pettitte had just a $5.5MM base salary in 2009, but he brought home over $10MM thanks to incentives. An arbitration case would be based on the actual money earned, so Pettitte could be in line for $12-14MM if he accepts.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Torre, Wang, Wright

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A night without baseball just doesn't feel right…

  • ESPN's Buster Olney wonders if the "legal wrangling" caused by the McCourts' divorce could affect the Dodgers attempt to land a No. 1 starter this offseason. Within the same piece, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus notes that the prospects traded in deals for Casey Blake and George Sherrill have thinned out LA's system, meaning they might not have the ammo to pull off a major trade.
  • Meanwhile, Phil Wood of MASNsports.com writes that a source told him they believe Joe Torre will manage the Dodgers for years to come. "When push comes to shove, he won't want to leave," said the source.
  • Tyler Kepner of The NY Times mentions that Chien-Ming Wang isn't sure if the Yankees will tender him a contract this offseason. “Nothing’s sure,” Wang said. Wang has thrown just 137 IP over the last two seasons due to foot and shoulder injuries.
  • Dave Cameron at FanGraphs looks at the David Wright–Jose Cruz Jr. non-trade, and says that the Blue Jays messed up by not making the deal, but not because Wright developed into an All-Star. He says J.P. Ricciardi did wrong by not getting any return for Cruz Jr. before he left as a free agent in the offseason.

Stark On Free Agent Pitchers

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"I don't think there's one pitcher in this entire group I'd invest a lot of money in. Not one," said one general manager to ESPN's Jayson Stark. This year's collection of free agent pitchers doesn't have the star power that last year's CC Sabathia highlighted crop had, or that next year's group led by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee will have, but there will still be plenty of money thrown around.

As Stark explains, club officials seem to be down on available starters this year, describing them as "risky," "weak," "terrible," and "mediocre" among other things. One AL executive said that "There are some guys in this group who are dependable. Except they're dependable to give you 5.00 ERAs and 180 innings. And that's not what you want to build a staff around."

Regardless, Stark ranks the top ten starting pitching options in this year's free agent class. Here's a roundup of his list, with quotes from various sources…

  1. John Lackey: "He's the best name on the list," one exec said. "But if Anaheim shies away from this guy or doesn't make a serious attempt to sign him, I'd have concerns. They know him better than everyone else. So that would send out some serious red flags for me."
  2. Randy Wolf: He's "durable, dependable and left-handed," one GM said. And he's also "two 190-plus-inning seasons removed from any health issues."
  3. Joel Piniero: One GM said "I'd have interest in Pineiro, but I'd never invest multi-years in that guy. Just too inconsistent a track record."
  4. Jason Marquis: "He's having a great year," said an official of one team. "But I'm just not sure how to look at it. Was this a turning point in his career? Or do you look at it as somebody who turned it up and figured it out when he had the most to gain? I really don't know."
  5. Rich Harden: "I'd be scared to death to commit years to this guy," one AL exec said. "He's been used kind of like Pedro [Martinez] was used in the past, where they're always trying to build in an extra day's rest. And he's just a five-inning guy, in the National League. He might strike out 10, but he'll only go five innings, so he still kills your 'pen. He'll get some money. I just don't see anybody giving him more than a year."
  6. Andy Pettitte: One exec described his situation as "will probably either stay in New York or shut it down."
  7. Jarrod Washburn: One GM said, "he's 35 years old, and [before this year] his last winning season was [2004]."
  8. Jon Garland: "He doesn't have the stuff the other guys on this list have, but he's proven he's durable, and durability counts," said an official of one team. "It's like they say in golf: Most putts that you hit short don't go in. Well, most pitchers that don't make a start don't win. This guy at least makes his starts."
  9. Doug Davis: "Made for the NL West."
  10. Brad Penny: An executive said "He's the kind of guy who, if you give him a multiyear deal, he'll crush your franchise. Is somebody going to sign him for four years and expect 120 starts? Good luck."

Stark also names several players he calls "X-Factors," which are guys who could enter the market with major question marks. Included in this group are Brandon Webb, Erik Bedard, John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, Brett Myers, and Vicente Padilla. We could even add Chien-Ming Wang's name to that list.

Might The Yankees Nontender Chien-Ming Wang?

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In today's Yankee notebook for The Journal News, Peter Abraham writes that there "is virtually no chance the Yankees will offer (Chien-Ming Wang) arbitration before the December deadline." However, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said "That's something we won't even think about until November. Those are issues for another day." The 29-yr old Wang is out for the season with shoulder surgery, the second of his career.

As a Super Two, Wang earned $5MM this season in his second year of arbitration, however he still has two more years of team control ahead of him. Abraham reports that Wang hopes to start playing catch by January and believes he will pitch in the big leagues at some point in 2010. Wang also had his 2008 season cut short due to injury, suffering a foot injury running the bases in interleague play.

If the Yanks do decide to nontender Wang, they could attempt to resign him to a minor league contract. That would keep him in the organization, but remove him from the 40-man roster. He also would not accrue service time while in the minors, likely delaying his free agency. Another club could always step up and offer him a Major League contract with an eye towards having him available for the second half of 2010.

In 42 IP this year, Wang allowed 85 baserunners and 46 runs, but was rock solid for New York from 2005-2007, pitching to a 3.74 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 82 games. What do you guys think, should the Yankees nontender Wang, or should they suck it up and offer him arbitration after the season and hope he can return to form?

Odds & Ends: Strasburg, White Sox, Rangers

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Here's a few links to the get night started right…

  • Ben Goessling of The Washington Times reports that a "club source said managing principal owner Ted Lerner, team president Stan Kasten and acting general manager Mike Rizzo all flew to California last week to visit with (Stephen) Strasburg." It is unknown if Scott Boras was part of the meeting, or if Strasburg took the physical necessary to sign a Major League contract.
  • Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse tweets that Erik Bedard had his "bursa debrided & labrum repaired" when he underwent shoulder surgery. He can resume baseball activity in 4-6 months, right in the middle of his impending free agency.
  • Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune writes about the payroll challenges facing White Sox GM Kenny Williams in 2010. The team has $68.3MM tied up in ten players next year - including the recently acquired Jake Peavy and Alex Rios – and will owe considerable raises to Carlos Quentin and John Danks, both of whom are arbitration eligible for the first time. Gonzales says that "probably means the Sox will listen to offers for closer Bobby Jenks." 
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that Rangers first round pick Matt Purke is in town for a physical, but no deal is imminent. The club just wants to get that part of signing process out of the way because negotiations might go down to the wire. GM Jon Daniels said "They are where you would expect them to be. We still have a gap, a divide, to bridge. That's not unusual three days before the deadline. They have been amicable discussions. He agreed to submit to the physical and get that completed just to get it behind us so we can focus on negotiations. We don't want any hurdles if we negotiate late."
  • In news that involves players who have actually signed, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Rangers have inked 14th rounder Chad Bell to a $450K bonus. He's the third player Texas has signed for more than MLB's recommended $150K maximum after the fifth round.
  • Chad Jennings of The Times Tribune mentions that Josh Towers is expected to return to the Triple-A Scranton rotation next week. The Yankees DFA'd Towers last weekend, but he apparently declined to become a free agent in favor of having a job.

Odds And Ends: Inge, Zumaya, Marlins, Wang

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More links with less than a day until the deadline passes…

Yankees Eyeing Corey Patterson, Josh Anderson

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We already knew of the Yankees' interest in recently-designated outfielder Josh Anderson; Joel Sherman of the New York Post says to add the newly-released Corey Patterson to the list.  Sherman says the goal is to find a fill-in for Brett Gardner, who broke his thumb on Saturday.  Anderson and Patterson both have speed, at least.

In that same blog post, Sherman draws a connection between Chien-Ming Wang and Brandon Webb.  He wonders whether both pitchers could hit the free agent market after this season.  On a related note, we've heard that Webb will have shoulder surgery on Monday; hopefully just a clean-up.

Odds And Ends: Wang, Maine, Scutaro

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Some links to read through as the trading heats up…

Odds And Ends: Nats, Schedule, Wang

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Some links for the afternoon…

  • Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus (via ESPN)  determines that among contenders, the Yankees, Rays and Rangers will have the toughest opposition the rest of the way.
  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer suspects the Pirates extended offers to Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson so they could say they did. Realistically, Neyer says it's hard for the Pirates to pay veteran players fair market value.
  • Count Nationals interim manager Jim Riggleman among those who believe teams will continue to trade well into August, according to Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post.
  • Within the piece, acting GM Mike Rizzo hints that Nick Johnson could return to the Nats next year.
  • Tyler Kepner of the New York Times suggests we shouldn't expect Chien-Ming Wang to return for a while, "if at all." He experienced tenderness playing catch today. 
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