Josh Bell

Odds & Ends: Nishioka, Uggla, Soriano, Wigginton

By Tim Dierkes | December 6, 2010 at 1:49pm CDT

The typical Winter Meetings barrage of links…

There's trade interest in newly-blocked third baseman Josh Bell, Orioles manager Buck Showalter told Yahoo's Steve Henson, though Bell can play first (Twitter link).
Tsuyoshi Nishioka's agents are meeting with the Twins today, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. He says the Japanese infielder seeks a three-year deal.
Dan Uggla and the Braves have talked a bit about an extension, tweets Heyman.
The Angels have deflected trade talks about other closers because they're focused on Rafael Soriano, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
Ty Wigginton is the Rockies' top target for a right-handed bench bat, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and they're meeting with his agent today.
MLB.com's Scott Merkin talked to free agent reliever Bobby Jenks, who would like to return to the White Sox if possible. Manager Ozzie Guillen told Merkin that if Jenks does return, he would not be guaranteed the closer job (Twitter link).
Reds manager Dusty Baker told reporters, "Joey Votto told me he wants to stay. He just wasn't ready to say he wants to stay the rest of life."

Orioles Call Up Josh Bell

By Mike Axisa | July 1, 2010 at 3:54pm CDT

3:54pm: MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli spoke to Orioles' president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, who denied that Bell's promotion had anything to do with a pending trade of either Tejada or Ty Wigginton (Twitter link).

3:08pm: With Luke Scott headed to the disabled list, the Orioles have called up top prospect Josh Bell from Triple-A according to a team press release. Bell was acquired from the Dodgers in the George Sherrill trade last year, and he's batting seventh in tonight's lineup.

This is Bell's first time in the big leagues, so the team has already delayed his free agency and arbitration eligibility by one season. The 23-year-old was hitting .266/.311/.455 with 24 doubles and ten homers in 309 Triple-A plate appearances before being called up.

Since Bell is a third baseman, it's reasonable to think that this move is the first step towards a Miguel Tejada trade, with the team getting a look at his replacement before they go ahead and take the plunge. The Phillies, Twins, and Angels could all be suitors for the 2002 AL MVP, who is in tonight's lineup as the designated hitter.

Odds & Ends: Wedge, Nats, Marlins, Webb, Tejada

By Zachary Links | March 6, 2010 at 10:50pm CDT

Some links for Saturday..

Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer hears that Eric Wedge is taking this year off by choice. The former Indians skipper, who is still under contract with the club for one more year, was connected to the Mets' bench coach job for a while.
The strong play of Nats rookie shortstop Ian Desmond could bump Cristian Guzman from the starting lineup, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. However, it will be difficult for Washington will find a taker for Guzman's $8MM salary.
Newly acquired Dodger Garret Anderson knows that he's fighting for a very limited role with club, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. Anderson played in 135 games for the Braves last season, hitting .268/.303/.401 with 13 HRs.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Giants pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim has the right to opt out of his contract on March 15th if he doesn't think he'll make the 25-man roster. The 31-year-old – who last pitched in the majors in 2007 – signed a minor league deal with San Francisco in February.
Bobby Valentine told Marlins beat reporters that he was never spoke with club owner Jeffrey Loria about managing the team, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Bobby V said the speculation was unfair to skipper Fredi Gonzalez, who led guided Florida to 87 wins and a second-place finish in the NL East.
Arizona GM Josh Byrnes said that the club wants to look at internal candidates first if Brandon Webb is unable to start the regular season, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Byrnes added that the club, as always, will keep an eye on the waiver wire as Spring Training winds down (also via Twitter).
Despite the impressive play of Josh Bell, Miguel Tejada will be the Orioles' starting third baseman barring a "dramatic" event, writes Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun. The O's signed Tejada to a one-year, $6MM deal in late January.
Joe Posnanski takes a look at the history of the Rule 5 draft. Fun Fact: The Rule 5 draft goes back more than 100 years.

Orioles Looking “Short-Term” At The Corners

By Mark Polishuk | November 24, 2009 at 5:43pm CDT

The Orioles aren't expected to be major players on the free-agent market this winter, but if the team does make a move, it will likely be to acquire a veteran presence at first and/or third base.

Speaking to MASN Sports' Steve Melewski, Baltimore team president Andy MacPhail said that given the Orioles' young outfield and second-year catcher Matt Wieters, he would "like to put more proven bats" in the lineup to compliment the team's young stars. The O's have prospects Brandon Snyder and Josh Bell in the pipeline at first and third, respectively, but since MacPhail said he doesn't see either making the leap to the majors in 2010, the experienced hitters that MacPhail wants will have to come at the corner infield spots.

Baltimore already has Luke Scott (a team-leading 25 homers in 2009) penciled in at either first base or DH, and utilityman Ty Wigginton is available to play third. Prospect Michael Aubrey (an .826 OPS in 95 plate appearances last season) is also in the 1B mix, possibly in a lefty-righty platoon with Wigginton that would lock Scott into a DH/LF split with Nolan Reimold and would then leave third base open for either a free agent or a player to be acquired in a trade. The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly predicted the O's would sign Pedro Feliz, while there has been some speculation that the Orioles will make a trade with Florida for Dan Uggla and then move Uggla from second to third base.

In his Offseason Outlook series entry about Baltimore, Tim Dierkes listed names like Adrian Beltre, Carlos Delgado and Nick Johnson as possible targets for the Orioles. These players would fit the "short-term" designation that MacPhail mentioned, but since MacPhail didn't rule out the possibility of "the right deal for the right player, even if it was a longer-term deal," would there be any other bigger-name corner infielders that you could realistically see Baltimore signing?

Odds And Ends: Dodgers, Davis, Prospects

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 14, 2009 at 2:23pm CDT

Dodgers Acquire George Sherrill

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 30, 2009 at 3:09pm CDT

3:09: Ed Price confirms that the Dodgers acquired Sherrill. Rosenthal and Morosi do, too. Bell is a well-regarded 22 year-old power prospect, though Baseball America is unsure whether he can stick at third base. BA projects Johnson as "a big league reliever or back-end starter."

2:44pm: MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports that the Dodgers acquired George Sherrill for Josh Bell and righty Steve Johnson.

2:40pm: Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Orioles are "on the verge of trading Sherrill to the Dodgers for Scott Elbert and Josh Bell." Sherrill, 32, is under team control through 2011. He has a 2.40 ERA with 20 saves in 41.3 innings this year. Fantasy leaguers, time to pick up Jim Johnson.

2:03pm: Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse (via Twitter) has a source saying Sherrill's a Dodger, but he is working to confirm the info. ESPN's Jayson Stark's source says there's no agreement, however. The Dodgers are making a push for him this afternoon, but there are at least eight interested clubs.

Stark adds that the Dodgers want two relievers, with Toronto's Jason Frasor on the radar.

THURSDAY, 11:43am: Morosi and Rosenthal say the Dodgers are pursuing both Sherrill and Roy Halladay. They may only be able to acquire one, since some of the same prospects are being discussed in each case. The writers say the O's prefer Josh Bell to Blake DeWitt for Sherrill. Baseball America loves Bell's raw power but wonders if he'll be able to stick at third base.

WEDNESDAY, 7:10pm: Morosi and Rosenthal say that you can count the White Sox in as a team interested in Sherrill, though it's unclear if the teams have made contact. It's speculated that Josh Fields might go to the Orioles in a deal, as they're looking for help at third base pending the departure of Melvin Mora.

2:44pm: As many as eight teams are pursuing George Sherrill, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Two or three of the teams are actively engaging the O's in trade talks.

The Angels are interested, as are the Dodgers, whose prospects appeal to Baltimore. Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Dodgers are focused on trading for Sherrill now that Cliff Lee's off the market.

« Previous Page

Headlines

Josh Bell

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect