Odds And Ends: Pedro, Milton, Halladay
Some links to check out after a surprisingly quick All-Star Game…
- Pedro Martinez will begin his tenure with the Phillies on the DL, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- The Phillies will announce the signing at 11am CST.
- Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Pedro signing can't be the biggest move the Phillies make this month.
- Dodgers pitcher Eric Milton had back surgery and will likely miss the rest of the season according to ESPN.
- Roy Halladay says the Blue Jays have a lot to look forward to, but he's not sure this is their year, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.
- I preview the offseason outfield market over at NESN.com so check out the Q&A for some thoughts on Johnny Damon, Jason Bay and Carl Crawford.
The Dodgers’ Rotation
They're 15-8, in first place in the NL West, but the Dodgers face questions about a rotation that includes three ERAs of 5.50 or more. Behind Chad Billingsley and Randy Wolf, they have Clayton Kershaw, who hasn't pitched out the the fifth inning his last two starts, James McDonald, who has walked a batter an inning this year, and Eric Stults, who's allowing two baserunners an inning. Yahoo's Tim Brown takes stock of the rotation and how Ned Colletti will progress with it.
- Brown says it's unlikely the Dodgers will add Pedro Martinez, Paul Byrd, Odalis Perez or Freddy Garcia.
- One scout's analysis: "There's plenty of pitching available. None you'd want."
- Brown suggests the Dodgers need a club like the Indians, Reds or Mariners to fall from contention so some quality arms become available.
- If David Price pitches his way into the Rays' rotation, Jeff Niemann could become trade bait.
The Dodgers could rely on pitchers already in the organization. Hiroki Kuroda is rehabbing, though MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports the righty is likely weeks away from a return. Jason Schmidt is rehabbing too, according to Gurnick. Jeff Weaver pitched well against the Padres last night and Eric Milton and Shawn Estes are stashed away in the minors.
Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.
- The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
- Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
- Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
- Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million. He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price. Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
- Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available. The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.
Odds & Ends: Marte, Dodgers, Hoffman
A few links on a slow Monday afternoon in the baseball world…
- According to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, teams will have a chance to claim Andy Marte off waivers over the next few days.
- Baseball America’s Matt Eddy has the latest minor league transactions, including the Pirates’ signing of Ruben Gotay.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about the A’s move toward high school players.
- Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle talked to Ed Wade and Gerry Hunsicker about this year’s free agent market.
- Patrick Newman looks at a couple of amateur Japanese pitchers who are drawing interest from MLB teams.
- Sam Miller of the Orange County Register runs down "The 13 Smartest Baseball Moves" of this offseason, with pictures!
- The Dodgers are hoping to find a gem among their non-roster camp invitees. MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick has the list, which includes Jeff Weaver, Shawn Estes and Eric Milton.
- Trevor Hoffman took out a full-page ad in the San Diego Union-Tribune, thanking fans with a truly heartfelt note.
- ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer likes the Garret Anderson signing.
- Oh, and for you folks that like to Twitter… add MLB Trade Rumors!
Dodgers Sign Milton To Minor League Deal
Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Dodgers have signed left-hander Eric Milton to a minor league contract worth $650K.
Milton, a 10-year MLB veteran, went 0-4 with a 5.17 ERA in six starts for the Reds in ’07 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in June. He hasn’t finished with an earned run average under 5.00 since 2004, when he went 14-6 with the Phillies.
Odds and Ends: Smoltz, Cordero, Colon, Byrd
Links for Thursday…
- John Smoltz told Dan Patrick that the Yankees and Dodgers also courted him.
- KNBR had interviews with Scott Boras and Ned Colletti yesterday.
- The Dodgers are "only monitoring" Kris Benson and Chad Cordero.
- The Phillies have "kept tabs" on Cordero and Eric Milton.
- Baseball America ranked the Rangers’ farm system as the best in baseball.
- Andy MacPhail says the Orioles don’t necessarily have to add a first baseman.
- South Side Sox and Sox Machine on the Bartolo Colon signing.
- Jon Paul Morosi says Jason Isringhausen is a "natural fit" for the Tigers.
- The Red Sox will only get a supplemental pick for Paul Byrd if he signs before the June draft.
- Barry Bloom gathers responses from baseball execs on the salary cap issue.
- Eddie Bajek made a breakthrough in his attempt to crack the Elias code.
- Richard Justice has an interesting story involving new Astro Russ Ortiz.
- Rickey Henderson says he’s still available to play. Asked about the WBC, he responded, ""What is [the WBC], wrestling?"
- Transcript of an interview with Red Sox owner John Henry.
Mets Rotation Plans
12:20pm: MLB.com’s Marty Noble writes:
The possibility of the Mets signing a lesser alternative isn’t precluded, but the club is unlikely to act on picking up another starter until it’s satisfied it has done all that is possible — and financially feasible — to bring in Lowe.
Noble says the Mets sense Lowe’s price tag is $16-17MM per year.
8:37am: Ken Davidoff of Newsday lays out the Mets’ plans for their starting rotation.
For Oliver Perez‘s slot, the Mets want to either re-sign Perez or sign Derek Lowe. Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, and possibly Tim Redding are the backup plans to these two.
The fifth starter job has sparked an internal debate – it could be given to Jon Niese, or the Mets could bring in competition with pitchers like Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, or Eric Milton. This decision will not be made this month.
Mets Interested In Tim Redding
Add another pitcher to the Mets’ list. According to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, the Mets have expressed interest in new free agent Tim Redding. Redding was non-tendered by the Nationals on Friday after they failed to work out a deal with the Rockies.
Ken Davidoff says Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe continue to top the Mets’ list; they’re less enthused with Ben Sheets, Jon Garland, or Randy Wolf. As for Pedro Martinez‘s replacement, Davidoff suggests names like Freddy Garcia or Eric Milton. As for Andy Pettitte, Mark Feinsand says the Mets are not involved.
Latest Yankees Info
Peter Abraham was in on the Brian Cashman briefing; his blog posts can be found here and here.
- Option decisions are due on Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano, and Damaso Marte by November 14th. The only uncertainty is with Marte’s $6MM option. George King reported yesterday that the Yankees are unlikely to exercise it. Abraham says Cashman indicated that Marte could be signed to a new contract if the option is declined. I imagine it’d take multiple years to entice him.
- There have been no conversations between the Yankees and Bobby Abreu‘s agents. Abreu is looking for a three-year deal, so he’ll probably be cashed in for draft picks.
- Center field is not considered a priority; the Yanks like their in-house options.
- Cashman wants to acquire two starters; right now he considers Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain his rotation.
- Eric Milton and Victor Zambrano are free agents again.
Yankees To Sign Eric Milton
Eric Milton, remember him? The AP is reporting that he is set to rejoin the Yankees after working out at the team’s minor league complex. The 33 year-old lefty had Tommy John surgery in June of last year. He’s said to be six weeks away from pitching in games, and the Yankees have 2009 in mind as well.
Milton was a top prospect in the Yankees’ system back in the late nineties before being traded to the Twins in the Chuck Knoblauch deal. He never pitched above Double A in the Yankee organization.