Odds And Ends: Giambi, Wainwright, Meche
Some more links for the morning…
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes NL teams should consider Jason Giambi next year if they're looking for a powerful, high OBP bat off the bench.
- Olney also hears from a scout who raves about Adam Wainwright. In case you're wondering, he won't become a free agent until after 2012 or 2013 (the Cards hold an option).
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter) that Gil Meche is likely done for the year. Like rotation-mate Brian Bannister, Meche has a tired shoulder. Makes sense for the team to play it safe if there's any doubt, in my opinion.
- Murray Chass points indirectly to this ESPN.com article and argues that some baseball writers rely too much on anonymous sources. Chass believes writers should pass information along to readers without giving too much play to individual biases.
- Joba Chamberlain and Rick Porcello top the list of young pitchers who won't have the luxury of resting their arms during the season's final month, as ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick shows.
Crasnick On Sheffield, Smoltz, Giambi, Pedro
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick presents some of the players, managers and executives who can start earning next year's job by finishing the season strong:
- Gary Sheffield is hitting well, but in the words of one NL official, "he has some explaining to do" if he wants a job next year after last week's drama.
- Barring a September collapse, Jerry Manuel seems likely to return next year.
- John Smoltz is "definitely interested" in pitching next year, according to his agent.
- Jason Giambi can prolong his career if he plays well for the Rockies this month.
- One NL exec believes Pedro Martinez can still contribute.
- Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi says he knows some people want him out of Toronto. However, Crasnick believes the GM has a strong relationship with team president Paul Beeston. Once Beeston hands authority over to a new president, Ricciardi could lose his job.
- Crasnick says managers Eric Wedge (Indians), Jim Riggleman (Nationals), Dave Trembley (Orioles) and Cecil Cooper (Astros) don't have much job security.
Odds And Ends: Halladay, O’Day, Scott, Giambi
Some links for the morning…
- Be here at 2pm CST for this week's chat.
- Jamey Newberg compares Roy Halladay and Derek Holland since July 31st and shows that the Rangers are looking good even though they didn't deal for Doc.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says designating Darren O'Day for assignment was an "under-the-radar mistake" by the Mets.
- MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says the Orioles are trying to evaluate Luke Scott at first base to see if he can play there long-term. No one's hitting him anything, so the O's are having trouble reading his ability.
- Jason Giambi tells Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he has no problem playing in the minors or coming off the bench for the Rockies.
- Curt Schilling said on WEEI in Boston that he's not surprised to hear Billy Wagner is passing up the chance to enter a playoff race.
Odds And Ends: Giambi, Wagner, Oswalt, Snyder
Another round of links…
- Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reports that the Rockies officially announced the signing of Jason Giambi to a minor league deal.
- Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus says some clubs watch Latin American teams in the Little League World Series to establish preliminary lists of interesting players.
- Billy Wagner pitched an inning for the Mets today and Gameday says he hit 95 mph. He threw nine of his 19 pitches for strikes and picked up two strikeouts, walking one without allowing a hit. The Red Sox were surely watching the outing since they have another day to work out a deal with the Mets for Wagner.
- Roy Oswalt tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that time is running out and he wants the Astros to win soon, while he's around with Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman and possibly Miguel Tejada.
- As MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports, Chris Snyder is glad to have signed an extension when he did.
Rockies Sign Jason Giambi
9:30am: The AP is confirming the Rockies have signed Giambi.
Saturday 8:01pm: Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies says that "Giambi is ready to join Triple-A Colorado Springs where he will be given regular at-bats with the idea of being activated by the Rockies when the active rosters expand to 40 players on Sept. 1." He also mentions that the Rockies made a run at Tony Clark earlier in the year, but he balked at the idea of spending time in Triple-A.
6:10pm: Susan Slusser of The SF Chronicle hears that Jason Giambi is "getting close to signing with a contender to be add some bench power, and the team I'm hearing is Colorado." She mentions that the Rockies' interest is unconfirmed. Giambi was released by the Athletics earlier this month while he was on the disabled list, hitting just .193-.332-.364 in 83 games. I would think it's safe to assume he's healthy if teams are interested in signing him.
Not that the sample size is substantial, but Giambi is a career .283-.356-.509 hitter in 59 career plate appearances off the bench. Any team that signs him will only be responsible for the pro-rated minimum.
Odds & Ends: Yankees, Giambi, Smoltz
On this day last year, Brian Giles invoked his no-trade clause in a deal that would have sent him to Boston. Some links:
- Robinson Cano, Brian Bruney, Mark Melancon and David Robertson have all cleared waivers for the Yankees, says George A. King III at the New York Post, and quite a few more names are going through waivers now, including A.J. Burnett and Melky Cabrera. Keep checking out our updated Players Who Have Cleared Waivers post as August progresses.
- Vicente Padilla is "disappointed" in having being designated for assignment and being called a "bad teammate," says T.R. Sullivan at MLB.com, and he wants to pitch again.
- According to George A. King III at the New York Post, the Yankees have no interest in bringing back Jason Giambi, who was released by the A's this week.
- Yahoo Sports' Gordon Edes writes that the failed John Smoltz gamble by the Red Sox proves just how deep the gap is between small and large-market teams.
- Ray Ratto at the San Francisco Chronicle believes that the failed Jason Giambi gamble proves that GM Billy Beane shouldn't continue with one-year deals for older veterans.
Odds And Ends: Prospects, Giambi, Angels
Some links for your Friday afternoon…
- Baseball America lists the hottest prospects in the country. Chris Carter, Pedro Alvarez and Martin Perez are some of the more recognizable players heating up.
- A's prospect Brett Wallace tops Marc Hulet's list of top prospects traded this summer over at FanGraphs.
- Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail hears that the Jays have no interest in Jason Giambi.
- Angels manager Mike Scioscia tells ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian the keys to his club's suddenly unstoppable offense: effective baserunning and contributions from all 13 position players. Kendry Morales has performed well at first in place of Mark Teixeira and the rest of the Angels are all hitting.
- Torii Hunter, who was having a big year before hitting the DL, experienced a setback this week, according to his blog.
- The Angels signed 40th overall pick Tyler Skaggs for an undisclosed amount, according to Ben Bolch of the LA Times.
A’s Release Jason Giambi
The A's released Jason Giambi, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Before the season, the A's signed the 38-year-old slugger to a one-year deal with a club option for a second year. It pays Giambi a base salary of $4MM this year and gave the A's the option of a $1.25MM buyout or a $6.5MM salary in 2010.
Giambi hit .193/.332/.364 in 83 games back with the A's. He hit 11 homers and drew 50 walks, but didn't approach last year's production. Giambi's incentives would have kicked in with about 200 more plate appearances, but he's on the DL for now so he's not approaching that mark.
Odds And Ends: Byrd, Timlin, Giambi
Some links to look through…
- Bobby Abreu tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that it was frustrating to see other players sign big contracts last offseason. Abreu waited and finally settled for a $5MM deal, but now he loves LA.
- The Jason Giambi signing didn't work out nearly as well for the A's. When MLB.com's Mychael Urban asked manager Bob Geren if Giambi will be back next year, Geren avoided the question. Presumably the A's would rather buy the slugger out for $1.25MM than pay him $6MM next year.
- Paul Byrd told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he's in Boston to win a World Series ring.
- Mike Timlin is rehabbing in the Rockies' minor league system to prove he can still pitch, according to Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies.
- Justin Smoak, Martin Perez and Julio Borbon top Jamey Newberg's updated list of top Rangers prospects at MLB.com.
More August Trade Candidates
Nobody's been traded so far in August, but deals are sure to go through. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick considers some trade candidates:
- Doug Davis and Jon Garland
- Heath Bell – An unlikely trade candidate, since he's sure to be claimed, but he could be dealt even if he's claimed (to the NL team with the worst record among all claiming teams).
- Lyle Overbay – He makes $7MM next year, a deterrent for possible suitors.
- Justin Duchscherer – Some health concerns remain, as he hasn't pitched in the majors this year.
- Kevin Millar, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Giambi – Veteran bats for the playoffs.
- Jamey Carroll – Mark Teahen's another utility type, but he's less likely to be dealt than Carroll.
- Carl Pavano – Just don't expect the Yankees to come calling.
- Arthur Rhodes and David Weathers
- Miguel Batista
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times looks into Mariners trade candidates:
- Russell Branyan won't clear waivers, but the Mariners could consider dealing six weeks of Branyan to the claiming team for a decent prospect.
- Like Duchscherer, Erik Bedard has to prove he's healthy before anyone will commit to him.
- Baker expects the Mariners to try to move Adrian Beltre. They won't want to offer him arbitration after the season and risk paying him $14MM or so next year, so now's their chance to get a return for Beltre. They would almost certainly have to pick up salary in the process.