Odds & Ends: Angels, Edmonds, Chapman
More links for Monday, as Ryan Zimmerman does some damage to the Sun Life Stadiu(m) scoreboard…
- Angels GM Tony Reagins told MLB.com's Lyle Spencer that "just about every" Angel has been placed on waivers this month. Naturally, that doesn't mean the team has interest in making more trades.
- Jeremy Bonderman told MLB.com’s Jason Beck that he would like to return to the Tigers in 2011. The Tigers have room for him, as this piece explains.
- Jim Edmonds told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that he's likely to retire after the season. The center fielder, who is now on the DL with a strained oblique, may return to the Reds late in the season.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that the Reds will call up top pitching prospect Aroldis Chapman tomorrow so that the lefty will be eligible for the team's postseason roster.
- Orlando Hernandez decided not to finish his AA season when he heard that the Nationals didn’t intend to call him up, according to Mark Zuckerman of NatsInsider.
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams told reporters that he didn't claim Brian Fuentes because his team doesn't need another left-handed reliever at this point.
Bonderman Considering Retirement
Jeremy Bonderman is seriously considering retiring at age 28 after the season, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Bonderman will be a free agent, and he could hang up the spikes if he doesn't get an acceptable offer to return to the Tigers or sign with a team somewhat near his Pasco, Washington home.
Bonderman says he's saved a lot of money, so he has the ability to retire. He's earned over $40MM in his career, most of it coming from a four-year deal signed in '06. Bonderman should find interest if he decides to continue pitching. He's shown good health, decent peripherals, and flashes of his former velocity this year.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Jeremy Bonderman
In December of 2006, Jeremy Bonderman was 24 years old, coming off the finest season of his career. He debuted at age 20 in '03, but put it all together in '06 by making 34 regular season starts and striking out 202. He added three postseason starts to his resume that year. Bonderman's extension bought out his final two arbitration years for $13MM, and a pair of free agent seasons at $12.5MM apiece.
Unfortunately, injuries set in for Bonderman after he signed the contract. He dealt with a blister and elbow pain in '07, and learned of thoracic outlet syndrome in '08. Shoulder soreness lingered into the '09 season, limiting him to 51.3 pro innings.
Bonderman came to Spring Training pain-free in 2010, and reclaimed a rotation spot when the Tigers traded Nate Robertson. With a 4.43 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 in 40.6 innings, it appears on the surface that Bonderman has regained his '06 form. There are notable differences though. Bonderman is throwing 89.4 mph on average this year, as compared to 93.3 in '06. He's throwing more fastballs and fewer sliders, and he's no longer a groundball pitcher. Manager Jim Leyland explained to MLB.com's Stephen Ellsesser: "He's not the overpowering guy he was. He's adjusting to the pitching style, throwing a split now." It should also be noted that Bonderman's stat line would look a lot worse had a rainout not wiped out a lousy start a few weeks ago.
The 2010 version of Bonderman is still getting it done, but potential free agent bidders will have the luxury of adding his next 20+ starts to the sample. Bonderman's age, 28, will be a number other free agents can't beat. He may be looking at a contract similar to Rich Harden's one-year, $7.5MM deal assuming teams remain intrigued by his upside but wary of his health.
Top Trade Chips: AL Central
Let's continue our look at each club's top trade chips today with the AL Central…
- Indians: The Tribe have dealt their Opening Day starter in each of the last two seasons, and there's a good chance they'll do it again with Jake Westbrook in 2010. The 32-year-old righty will earn $11MM this season, the last one on his contract. After dumping Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez in cost-cutting moves last year, expect them to shop Westbrook around for prospects this summer.
- Royals: All four of Kansas City's outfielders come off the books after this season (assuming some options are bought out for six figures), so Rick Ankiel, David DeJesus, Scott Podsednik, and even Jose Guillen could be moved in a deal for a young player. The team would obviously have to eat a lot of money to move Guillen. The contracts of relievers Juan Cruz and Kyle Farnsworth also expire after the season, so there might be some interest in them.
- Tigers: Detroit isn't going to move any of their young power arms, but if they eat a large chunk of salary like they did with Nate Robertson, there might be interest in Jeremy Bonderman and/or Dontrelle Willis. Young backstop Alex Avila could make Gerald Laird expendable as well. The Tigers have four lefty relievers on their 40-man roster (Phil Coke, Fu-Te Ni, Daniel Schlereth, and Brad Thomas), and that demographic is always in demand.
- Twins: Minnesota has one of the best trade chips in the league, blocked catching prospect Wilson Ramos. Lefty Glen Perkins is pitching in Triple-A and seems to have fallen out of favor with the club after filing a grievance, so he could be made available as well. He has four years of team control left.
- White Sox: GM Kenny Williams isn't shy about emptying out the farm system in a trade for an established big leaguer, which has left him with little minor league ammo. Their best young prospects are catcher Tyler Flowers and starter Daniel Hudson, who would seem to have a future with the club, but I'm not going to put anything past Williams. Flowers could make A.J. Pierzynski or Ramon Castro expendable, ditto Hudson and Freddy Garcia. Gordon Beckham should be untouchable, obviously.
Detroit’s 2011 Payroll Situation
Once the Tigers traded Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson for four pre-arbitration eligible players, the thought was that owner Mike Ilitch was trimming payroll after the recession hit Detroit especially hard. However, he then approved a massive extension for ace Justin Verlander as well as the signing of Johnny Damon, and now his team's Opening Day payroll is expected to be somewhere around $130MM, up from $115MM last year.
Lynn Henning of The Detroit News wrote about the payroll savings GM Dave Dombrowski will enjoy after the season, which are pretty significant. Here's a look at the money the Tigers have coming off the books after the 2010 season…
- Jeremy Bonderman, $12.5MM salary in 2010
- Dontrelle Willis, $12MM
- Nate Robertson, $10MM
- Johnny Damon, $8MM
- Brandon Inge, $6.6MM
- Gerald Laird, $3.95MM
- Bobby Seay, $2.475MM
- Adam Everett, $1.5MM
That's $57.025MM in savings right there, and the team would be wise to avoid letting Magglio Ordonez reach the 540 plate appearances needed for his $15MM option to vest.
Ilitch isn't shy about spending big on the free agent market, and he'll have the money available to add a big bat to complement Miguel Cabrera (Jayson Werth, Aramis Ramirez if he declines his option?) as well as another elite starter to a rotation that already includes Verlander, Rick Porcello, and Max Scherzer (Josh Beckett, Cliff Lee?) after the season. Keep in mind that I was just throwing some names out there off our 2011 free agents list, and that the Tigers have not been linked to any of those players in any rumors we've seen.
The Tigers are already in a position to compete in the AL Central, and once they shed some dead money after the season, they'll have a chance to jump ahead of the pack if they spend wisely.
Odds & Ends: Castillo, Wagner, Pitching
Some links to look through on the day Eric Munson returns to the big leagues…
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post wonders if a Luis Castillo for Jeremy Bonderman or Nate Robertson deal makes sense. Placido Polanco will be a free agent after the season, and both pitchers are expendable to Detroit. Castillo is owed $12MM over the next two years, while Bonderman and Robertson will take in $12.5MM and $10MM, respectively, in the final season of their contracts next year.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the best possibilities for Billy Wagner next year are the Braves, Astros, Cubs, Tigers, and maybe even the Nationals.
- In a piece at ESPN, Baseball Prospectus' Shawn Hoffman looks at who could be the best pitching bargains of the offseason. Carl Pavano, Erik Bedard, and John Smoltz might be the best of the lot. You need Insider to read the article, but it comes recommended.
Odds And Ends: Wang, Maine, Scutaro
Some links to read through as the trading heats up…
- Dr. James Andrews will take a look at John Maine's throwing arm, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
- Dr. Andrews will also evaluate Chien-Ming Wang, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Wang worries that he may need surgery.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if the Yankees and Mets will offer contracts to the pair of pitchers after the season.
- Erik Manning of FanGraphs says the A's are big winners for acquiring Brett Wallace. Jon Heyman calls it a "great deal" for the A's and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus calls it an "outstanding" trade for Oakland.
- Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi told Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Sun that there's been a lot of interest in Marco Scutaro.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Chris Iott of MLive.com that Jeremy Bonderman may pitch out of the bullpen this season.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says it doesn't sound like the Mariners will be big buyers if it means surrendering top prospects.
- The Kansas City Star presents the Royals' 2010 payroll commitments.
Bonderman’s Tests Reveal ‘No Major Issues’
5:59pm: He’s OK, according to Leyland, as told to Jason Beck of MLB.com.
An examination of pitcher Jeremy Bonderman’s sore right shoulder showed no major damage, confirming the Tigers’ expectations that he had nothing more than swelling.
“No problems,” manager Jim Leyland said early Monday evening. “No major issues at all.”
5:36pm: Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland told The Associated Press that starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman has been sent to Detroit for medical testing because of shoulder stiffness.
Leyland said the act is precautionary, and Bonderman, 26, is expected back in Lakeland, Fla., Monday night.
Bonderman has had the trouble since he reported to Spring Training. He went 3-4 with a 4.29 ERA last year, but was on the disabled list from June 7 through the end of the season with a circulatory condition that resulted in numbness in his throwing hand.
Leyland added that the right-hander could be back to a normal routine in a couple of weeks.
Bonderman has been in the mix of names discussed in recent trade rumors.
Tigers Could Make Trade
Lynn Henning of the Detroit News expects the Tigers to make a trade before the regular season, "perhaps a big one." Henning writes that the team could trade away starting pitching if Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis are healthy. Henning also mentions Marcus Thames and Ryan Raburn as possible trade candidates.
Willis and Robertson each have considerable negative trade value, as they’ll both make at least $7MM in 2009 and 2010. Unless the Tigers are willing to pay most of that, they’d have to trade one of their other starters: Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, Armando Galarraga, Edwin Jackson or Zach Miner. Trading one of those starters would leave the Tigers with a thin rotation.
The Tigers don’t have a starting spot for Thames if Gary Sheffield stays healthy.
Tigers Could Deal Pitching?
According to Lynn Henning of the Detroit News, the Tigers could trade a starting pitcher. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski listed off seven Tigers starters and said "trade possibilities come up" involving the team’s pitching.
This doesn’t mean Dombrowski seriously considered dealing pitching. The Tigers go to Spring Training with Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, Armando Galarraga, Edwin Jackson, Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis and Zach Miner. They have more arms than rotation spots, but this is by no means a deep rotation.