Odds & Ends: Kouzmanoff, Taguchi, Draft
Some links on this frosty Saturday night…
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic spoke to Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes, who took full responsibility for Eric Byrnes' three-year, $30MM contract. Arizona designated Byrnes for assignment on Friday.
- The Rays have four remaining arbitration-eligible players in Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, J.P. Howell, and B.J. Upton. The club will stick with their policy of cutting off negotiations after exchanging figures, which happens at noon on Tuesday, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Tampa Bay does this to try to bring about a settlement and to avoid settling at an artificial midpoint between the two figures.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com isn't terribly upset that the O's weren't the club to land Kevin Kouzmanoff. Kubatko understands frustrations over the Orioles' lack of production at third, but notes that the 28-year-old's offensive production was nothing to write home about in 2009. Kouzmanoff hit .255/.302/.420 with 18 HRs for the Padres last season.
- As we heard earlier today, a committee is being formed to work on changes to the amateur draft. The committee will look into making the draft worldwide and instituting a slotting system. Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues doesn't see any changes being made until after 2011, when the collective bargaining agreement expires.
- The Orix Buffaloes are close to signing So Taguchi, according to a report from Sponichi passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (via Twitter). The 40-year-old emerged with the Cubs at the end of last season, making 12 plate appearances in six games.
Rays Avoid Arb With Jason Bartlett
12:11pm: The noon filing deadline passed without an agreement for Navarro or Aybar, so Marc Topkin anticipates hearings for both.
10:50am: According to Marc Topkin, the Rays avoided arbitration with shortstop Jason Bartlett by signing him at $1.98125MM for ’09. Bartlett is under team control through 2011. The Rays’ other two arb-eligibles are Dioner Navarro and Willy Aybar; they’re making progress with Navarro. The Rays have a policy of not negotiating once figures are exchanged.
Arb Hearings For Aybar, Bartlett, Navarro?
According to Marc Topkin, three Rays players appear headed for February arbitration hearings: Willy Aybar, Jason Bartlett, and Dioner Navarro. The Rays have a policy of ending talks when figures are exchanged, and that happens Tuesday.
Blue Jays Looking At Infielders
According to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, the Blue Jays have discussed Astros third baseman Ty Wigginton and have looked at Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett. The Jays like Wigginton as a third baseman despite Scott Rolen‘s presence. And as you know, J.P. Ricciardi met with Rafael Furcal‘s agent.
Marlins Rumors: Hermida, Pudge, Treanor
Mike Berardino has the latest on the Marlins, in posts here and here.
- The Cubs and Marlins haven’t discussed Jeremy Hermida in quite a while. In general, the Fish may be reluctant to sell low on Hermida. Berardino agrees that the idea of the Marlins acquiring Jason Bartlett doesn’t make sense.
- The Marlins might be planning a "low-wattage run" at Ivan Rodriguez.
- Catcher Matt Treanor is a non-tender candidate, so the Marlins may move him before Friday.
Bartlett Only Available In Major Deal
According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Rays are telling inquiring teams that shortstop Jason Bartlett would only be available in a "major deal." Stark wonders if Jeremy Hermida would qualify. A bit of a tough match in that Hanley Ramirez is entrenched at short in Florida.
Stark is also hearing that the Rays would never take Delmon Young back.
Rays Willing To Trade Bartlett?
Rays Index points us to a Danny Knobler report that indicates the Rays are willing to trade shortstop Jason Bartlett. Not only that, but the Rays had brief talks with the Twins about acquiring Delmon Young or Denard Span.
With Reid Brignac posting a .299 OBP in Triple A and Tim Beckham a year removed from high school, it’d be surprising if the Rays dealt their starting shortstop.
Olney’s Latest: Bruce, Draft Strategies, Young
Here’s Buster Olney’s latest blog entry.
- Olney takes a look back at last winter’s rumored Erik Bedard for Jay Bruce trade. Bruce has been living up to his untouchable tag. The Reds have to be happy with the way their young players are developing, but a rotation of Bedard, Aaron Harang, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey could rival the Braves of the early 90’s. That said, Bruce won’t be traded anytime soon.
- Numerous reports are coming out regarding draft strategies. Here are a few links – Astros, Athletics, Brewers, Pirates, Rangers, Rays and Yankees.
- Olney also touches base on the seemingly lopsided Delmon Young trade from the past offseason between the Rays and Twins. The Rays are in first place and have benefitted since receiving Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett in the deal. Garza is pitching well, while Young is still homerless on the season. Young is only 22-years old and is bound to fulfill at least some of what was once limitless potential.
Posted by Shannon McKeown
Matt Garza Traded For Delmon Young In Blockbuster
UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 9pm: It’s now a done deal. The Twins substituted 21 year-old reliever Eduardo Morlan instead of Rincon.
UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 7:30pm: This thing hasn’t gone through yet because of concerns over Rincon’s elbow. The deal will either be finalized or killed by Thursday, according to Scott Miller. The trade has been in the works for a few days.
UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 4pm: Neal reports that the Twins have interest in Aaron Rowand, which is really surprising given his reported demands. I don’t see it. Neal adds that Craig Monroe may now be non-tendered and the Garza trade will not stop Bill Smith from shopping Johan Santana. By the way, talks for Coco Crisp persist.
FROM 11-28-07 at 2pm:
Wow! That rumor really didn’t die! La Velle E. Neal III says the Twins are close to a multiplayer deal. They’ll send Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Juan Rincon to the Rays for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie. I can’t remember any kind of young player blockbuster like this recently.
It’s exciting to see Bill Smith pull the trigger on a deal to get that possible elite slugger. Will he be more hesitant to trade Johan Santana now? Or maybe it doesn’t matter since he’d require an elite young hurler like Phil Hughes in return. Beyond Young, you also have to applaud Smith for getting Pridie, who immediately becomes the Twins’ center fielder of the future. The 24 year-old came back from injuries this year to rake in Triple A. Just like that, the Twins have an outfield.
Meanwhile the Rays suddenly have an awesome young trio fronting their rotation in Scott Kazmir, Jamie Shields, and Garza. Rincon’s ability is questionable at this point but he could be the setup man the Rays are craving.
I’ll give the advantage to the Twins but I like this deal for both teams.
Odds and Ends: Livan, Bartlett, Willis, Webb
Random pieces of rumorage…
- The Mets have expressed interest in Livan Hernandez, though he appears to be their Plan C or D.
- Jim Bowden and the Nats will be active in the trade market, perhaps finally pulling the trigger on deals for Chad Cordero and/or Jon Rauch.
- The Rays and Twins have had discussions about shortstop Jason Bartlett. Would a 1 for 1 trade for Rocco Baldelli make sense? Buster Olney believes the Rays should consider trading for the Nats’ Cristian Guzman.
- Update on the Rockies’ reliever situation. They’re probably going to pass on Ron Mahay and Jeremy Affeldt, while they should hear Matt Herges‘ decision today. Ron Villone is also in their sights.
- The D’Backs will no longer look at annual payroll. Instead, they have a three-year budget to spend. This may allow for a higher payroll in 2008 than 2009. Jack Magruder guesses the number is around $230-240MM for 2008-10.
- Speaking of Arizona, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic believes some kind of Carlos Gonzalez for Dontrelle Willis swap could make sense. Another D’Back note – they offered an extension to Brandon Webb for 2011-13, but he turned down their offer.
- The Scott Linebrink signing is done, and he gets some kind of no-trade protection.