Odds & Ends: Lackey, Stanton, Blue Jays, Vazquez
Links for Monday, as Johnny Damon enjoys a little revenge against his former team…
- Mark Teixeira encouraged John Lackey to sign with the Yankees last winter, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
- Marlins prospect Mike Stanton will likely remain in Double A until late May or early June, an MLB source tells MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. That will prevent the young power hitter from gaining Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration. The team would consider promoting Stanton to the majors from Double A at that point if he continues hitting well. Stanton has 15 homers already.
- The Brewers signed shortstop Justin Parker, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). The 23-year-old has a .237/.334/.344 line in 584 plate appearances in the low minors of the D'Backs organization.
- In a recent radio hit with The Big Show, Peter Gammons noted that the Red Sox tried to acquire Javier Vazquez during the offseason. Talking to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, Murray Chass learned that the Sox also had interest in Curtis Granderson.
- Kevin Gregg told Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune he was open for anything regarding a return to the Cubs, but they said no.
- Switching to the future tense, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports names ten players who could hit the trading block – including Victor Martinez, Cliff Lee, Paul Konerko, and Ted Lilly.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis ranks all draft prospects from the last 20 years, based on how they were perceived before their drafts.
Top Trade Chips: AL East
Let's finish off our series with the toughest division in baseball…
- Blue Jays: The Jays already traded away most of their top pieces, but they still have three desirable relievers in Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, and Kevin Gregg. All three can become free agents after the season. There might be some interest in first baseman Lyle Overbay, who will also hit the open market after the season.
- Orioles: Considering how poorly he pitched before landing on the DL, I'm sure a large part of the Baltimore faithful wouldn't mind seeing Mike Gonzalez go. Alas, that won't happen anytime soon. There always seems to be interest in Luke Scott, who still has two more years of team control left. If they decide to sell at mid-season, Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie could find their way onto the block.
- Rays: The Rays are a player development machine, and they have enough young players to get get pretty much anyone they want. They have enough depth that they could trade one of Reid Brignac or Sean Rodriguez plus one of Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, or Jeremy Hellickson and not miss a beat. If they fall out of it and decide to sell, it doesn't get much better than Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, and Carlos Pena. I believe the term is "stacked."
- Red Sox: Boston has held onto Clay Buchholz for this long, but with his name appearing so frequently on the rumor circuit, it really wouldn't be surprising if they moved him for a big time player. They might still be able to find a taker for Mike Lowell, and there would be interest in Manny Delcarmen if he were made available. They did lose a valuable chip when Junichi Tazawa went down with Tommy John surgery.
- Yankees: They seem unwilling to trade either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, so their best chip is the semi-blocked Jesus Montero. Of course, the Yankees have the ability to absorb even the ugliest of contracts, so maybe we should consider that their biggest trade chip.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Gonzalez, Contreras
On this date back in 1983, Dodgers' hurler Fernando Valenzuela became the first player in baseball history to receive a seven-figure award through the arbitration process. During his first two-plus seasons as a big leaguer, Fernandomania had been named the Rookie of the Year, appeared in two All Star Games, and won a Cy Young Award. The arbitration panel awarded him a $1MM salary in his first year of eligibility, nearly tripling his 1982 salary.
As the last few present day arbitration cases wrap up, here are some links to check out from around the baseball blogiverse…
- Mets Paradise reviews the Amazin's offseason, and says they aren't a finished product even if the team believes they are.
- Capitol Avenue Club examines a potential Adrian Gonzalez-to-Atlanta trade, and notes that it's the same situation as the Mark Teixeira swap of 2007.
- Turn Two looks at some AL and NL position battles.
- The Sports Banter tries to find homes for the best remaining free agents.
- Phillies Nation grades the Jose Contreras pickup.
- Gear Up For Blue Jays Baseball breaks down Kevin Gregg and the rest of Toronto's bullpen.
- Tipi Talk wonders if Rafael Perez could contribute to the Indians as a starting pitcher.
- Dodgers Digital answers questions about how the Dodgers' roster decisions will affect their Triple-A affiliate.
- AdamAdkins.net ranks the top five catchers in the game today.
- Brew Crew Ball provides an easy-to-use guide for creating your own Spring Training story.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Baldelli, Gregg, Blockbusters
On this date way back in 1935, the Yankees released an aging slugger by the name of Babe Ruth just one day before his 40th birthday so he could sign with the Boston Braves. The Sultan of Swat hit .288/.448/.537 with 22 homers in his final season in New York, easily his worst full season with the team. He went on to hit just .181/.359/.431 with six homers in 28 games for the Braves before retiring in May. Ruth ended his career as a .342/.474/.690 hitter with a then-record 714 homers.
Here's some links from around the web…
- TYU wants to see the Yankees invite Rocco Baldelli to Spring Training as a non-roster player.
- The Tao of Stieb tries to make sense of the Kevin Gregg addition for the Blue Jays.
- Red Legged, Blue Blooded Boilermaker reviews Cincinnati's offseason and projects their 25-man roster.
- Fantasy Baseball Junkie examines how players perform after being involved in a blockbuster trade, with a fantasy spin.
- More Hardball built a 25-man roster out of players still available on the free agent market.
- Camden Crazies looks at how Miguel Tejada may handle the transition to third base.
- Flushing University says that the Mets have failed to address their biggest needs this offseason.
- MLB News and Rumors compiled prospect lists from all of the different outlets.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Blue Jays Sign Kevin Gregg
The Blue Jays officially signed Kevin Gregg to a one-year $2.75MM deal that includes a pair of club options. The Blue Jays will have ten days after the 2010 World Series to choose between three options:
- Allow Gregg to become a free agent
- Pick up a $4.5MM option for 2011
- Pick up an $8.75MM option for 2011-12
Gregg spent much of 2009 closing for the Cubs, and he managed to trim his walk rate and increase his strikeouts. However, he allowed a disastrous 13 home runs in 68.6 innings. Gregg, who was drawn to Toronto because of the chance to close games, will compete with Scott Downs and Jason Frasor for Toronto's closing job. The Blue Jays have a number of relievers competing for jobs, so some have speculated that the club could deal Downs or Frasor, both free agents after the season.
Agent Dan Horwits told Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun that the Rockies, Padres and Marlins were all interested in Gregg.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the sides were close to a deal. Jon Heyman of SI.com and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweeted details.
Kevin Gregg Narrowing Choices
TUESDAY, 8:16am: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel offers a different take – he says not to look for a Gregg-Marlins reunion. Instead, the righty is close to signing with the Rockies or Blue Jays. According to this tweet from Yahoo's Tim Brown, the Padres are also in the mix.
MONDAY, 9:26pm: According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Kevin Gregg has narrowed his choices down to the Rockies and Marlins.
"I am not overly optimistic, but we have a chance," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd told Renck Monday. "Our job would be as a setup guy." For Gregg, the chance to be second in line to Huston Street isn't as promising as the chance to be behind Leo Nunez, Renck figures. After signing Melvin Mora, the Rockies had about $2MM to offer for Gregg.
Stark On Damon, Bedard, Phillies, Smoltz, Gregg
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com points out that teams aren't handing out long-term contracts as liberally as they were a few years ago. We've seen just eight contracts of three-plus years this offseason, after seeing 13 such contracts in each of the previous two winters. The offseason before that? Players signed 29 contracts of three years or more. Here are Stark's rumors:
- Detroit doesn't seem that interested in Johnny Damon and the Braves haven't spoken with Damon's agent, Scott Boras, in a month and a half. The Rays have checked in, but they have little to spend.
- Erik Bedard and the Orioles have mutual interest in a reunion, Stark hears.
- The Phillies would like to add a veteran left-handed reliever on a minor league deal, but Alan Embree and Ron Mahay are holding out for big league deals at this point, despite the Phillies' interest.
- Kevin Gregg is high on the Rockies' shopping list. They're looking at infield options and hoping to save enough money to shore up their bullpen, too.
- The Blue Jays have told clubs that Scott Downs and Jason Frasor are available. The Cubs have checked in on the pair of relievers.
- The Royals have told teams they're "open minded" about moving Gil Meche or Brian Bannister.
- John Smoltz is in no rush to sign. He's open to waiting for a few months, since he'd like a starting job and some execs question his ability to start for an entire season.
- Ben Sheets will be the first A's pitcher to make $10MM (though some believe Sheets will be traded before the end of the year).
- Mark Prior is throwing off a mound and would like to make a comeback.
Olney’s Latest: Chapman, A’s, Yankees, Marlins
In his blog post this morning, ESPN's Buster Olney notes that evaluators are split on Aroldis Chapman, as some see him as once in a generation talent, while others see extreme risk because of control and makeup concerns. "Where was Randy Johnson when he was that age?" asked one scout, and the answer is in A-ball walking 94 batters in 119.2 innings.
Here's the latest on Chapman, and here are the rest of Olney's rumors…
- Olney hears that if Oakland doesn't commit to a new ballpark for the Athletics, that commissioner Bud Selig will step in and negotiate a lucrative territorial rights deal with the Giants, similar to what happened with the Orioles when the Nationals moved into town. That could result in the A's getting their long desired San Jose stadium.
- The Yankees are in no big rush to sign a righty hitting left fielder, and are content to let the market for guys like Reed Johnson and Jonny Gomes play out. Last night we learned that the team had interest in bringing Jerry Hairston Jr. back.
- The Marlins continue to scour the free agent market for a closer, however Jose Valverde is too expensive and they aren't expected to bring back Kevin Gregg.
Pirates Rumors: Dotel, Ankiel, Iwamura
The Pirates won't spend as much on free agents as their division rivals, the Brewers and Cardinals, but they're still being aggressive. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates are gaining momentum with Octavio Dotel, though talks with Rick Ankiel aren't progressing as well.
The Pirates, who made initial inquiries on Jose Valverde and Kevin Gregg before talks with the two relievers slowed, have offers out to Dotel and other relievers. As Ed Price reported yesterday, the Pirates are interested in Dotel's former teammate, D.J. Carrasco.
The Pirates aren't willing to promise any free agent – including Rick Ankiel – a starting job. The outfielder's agent, Scott Boras, hopes to find a full-time role for his client, so talks aren't developing, though the Pirates are open to signing the one-time pitcher.
Kovacevic also updates us on a couple former Rays. In this article, we hear that Akinori Iwamura has a release clause in his contract that allows him to become a free agent before he has six years of service time. He'll hit the open market after this year year if the Pirates don't lock him up. Also, the Pirates aren't interested in Jonny Gomes.
Pirates Talking To Dotel, Gregg
The Pirates have had conversations with free agent relievers Octavio Dotel and Kevin Gregg, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Earlier tonight, Kovacevic shot down a report that Dotel was offered a deal in the vicinity of $3MM. According to a team source, the club has had conversations with the reliever, but has yet to make an offer. Last year for the White Sox, Dotel posted a 3.32 ERA and 10.8 K/9 in 62 appearances.
Meanwhile, Gregg posted a 4.72 ERA and 9.3 K/9 in 72 games for the Cubs in 2009. The 31-year-old was the team's closer until mid-season, when the mantle was given to Carlos Marmol.