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Mark DeRosa

DeRosa Open To Returning To Cubs

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You can argue that trading Mark DeRosa last offseason set the tone for the Cubs' disappointing season, as they lost not only his .800+ OPS and versatility, but his leadership and influence in the clubhouse as well. The Cubbies might have a chance to rectify that move this winter though, because according to Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times, DeRosa would be willing to return to Chicago's north side.

''I would definitely listen,'' said DeRosa, who was shocked and saddened by his trade to Cleveland on New Year's Eve, six months before the Indians traded him to St. Louis.

''Obviously, my allegiance lies here [in St. Louis], but once the season's over — I have no ill feelings towards anybody over there. I enjoyed my time there. I didn't agree with the move, but I didn't have any control over it.''

DeRosa is set to have offseason wrist surgery, but he told Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune that he wants to be considered a healthy player in free agency. That shouldn't surprise anyone.

"I wanted to be treated as a healthy player, and not a guy who has to go get surgery. Rickie Weeks and all these guys that have had it say it's not a big deal and they come back from it."

The Cardinals have already talked to DeRosa about a contract extension, but Sullivan says the team has decided to hold off until he has the surgery this offseason. DeRosa projects to be a Type-B free agent at the moment, and pulled in a very reasonable $5.5MM this season. Unless the Cards are really concerned about his wrist, there's no reason for them not to offer DeRosa arbitration, ensuring they'll at least walk away with a supplemental first round pick if he heads elsewhere.

Odds & Ends: Buchholz, Burnett, Yanks, Cards

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Some links as the weekend draws closer…

  • Thought the Red Sox were going to deal Clay Buchholz this summer? You're not alone. Buchholz tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford he expected to be traded because of all the rumors.
  • Peter Abraham of the Journal News points out that one of the Yankees' biggest acquisitions of the year, A.J. Burnett, has pitched poorly over the course of his last nine starts. Now Burnett must prove to his teammates that he's ready for the Division Series.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com says the Yankees' plan to add power pitchers to the rotation worked (even if Burnett has struggled lately). It's hard to argue with 94 wins in mid-September, but there's more to the Yanks than their rotation.
  • Verducci notes that some of the best free agent signings happened late last offseason and some of the worst ones were finalized early. Could we see GMs play the waiting game this winter? 
  • Joel Pineiro, Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa will have to wait until the season's over to sign their next contracts. Cards GM John Mozeliak told Bernie Miklasz that the team doesn't expect to negotiate deals with prospective free agents before the season ends.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Schneider, Claggett

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A few links to start the evening off…

  • When asked if the Pirates might pursue a free agent this winter to address their lack of power, Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette said the team has indicated "that they will wait until they see which of the current players might take a step forward, then identifying needs." That sounds like a "no," or at least a "probably not."
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson said he would not be surprised if Brian Schneider returned to the Nationals as a backup catcher next year, but he would have to take a big paycut. Schneider has already said he doesn't expect to return to the Mets next year, and after making $4.9MM this year, he should be prepared to take a big paycut wherever he goes.
  • The Yankees designated reliever Anthony Claggett for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Freddy Guzman, reports Peter Abraham of The Journal News. Claggett was originally acquired in the deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Detroit, and got annihilated in his brief callup (33.75 ERA & 5.62 WHIP in 2.2 IP) this year.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Fielder, Nationals

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Links for Monday…

Perrotto’s Latest: Vazquez, Valverde, DeRosa, Pavano

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In today's column over at Baseball Prospectus, John Perrotto says nobody has been better at making deadline deals in the previous two seasons than Theo Epstein. I might agree but would love to hear some counter arguments.

As usual, Perrotto has his share of rumors from around the league:

  • The Braves need offense and are considering dealing Javier Vazquez to get it.
  • Don't expect Jose Valverde to return to Houston next season. He plans to test free agency and will likely find a better paycheck elsewhere.
  • The White Sox plan to re-sign Freddy Garcia to be their fifth starter.
  • The Cardinals would like to re-sign Mark DeRosa before he reaches free agency at the end of the season.
  • The Twins are planning an attempt to re-sign Carl Pavano, also a to-be free agent at season's end.
  • If the Nationals can acquire a shortstop in the offseason they would like Cristian Guzman to move to second base.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Pitching, Rays, Padres, DeRosa

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Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has for us in his latest Full Count video…

  • The free agent market for starting pitching doesn't look very enticing, but the trade market could be intriguing. Toronto will almost certainly field offers for Roy Halladay again, the Cubs could trade Carlos Zambrano, and the Braves could deal Javier Vazquez if they decide to keep Tim Hudson.
  • The Astros might finally be ready to move ace Roy Oswalt. While he does have a full no-trade clause, Oswalt has told the club in the past that he'd be willing to consider moves to St. Louis, both Chicago teams, Texas, and Atlanta.
  • Tampa Bay moved Scott Kazmir when his value was high, so perhaps it's unlikely they'd move B.J. Upton when his value is low. Regardless, many teams covet the elder Upton brother because at his best he's a righty slugger with superior defense in center field. In his place, the Rays could go in-house with Fernando Perez or Desmond Jennings.
  • Keep in mind that if Tampa were to trade an outfielder, they might prefer to deal Carl Crawford. Upton is three years away from free agency; Crawford just one.
  • The Padres' recent surge has GM Kevin Towers thinking the team could be a surprise contender next year. The question is this: how low will the team's payroll go? The subtraction of Brian Giles would leave the payroll in the mid-$30MM range, but there are some that believe the team will move either Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell and get down into the mid-$20MM range. Ownership has yet to give the front office a firm payroll number for 2010.
  • The Cardinals want to re-sign Mark DeRosa, but his offseason wrist surgery changes the equation. DeRosa is fully expected to be ready by the start of Spring Training, but he'll come with some risk. If he was fully healthy, he would be nearly as coveted as Chone Figgins, but supply and demand will work in DeRosa's favor because there are very few quality third baseman available. Plus, he can also play a ton of other positions.

Olney On Matt Holliday And The Cardinals

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney doesn't expect the Cardinals to spend much differently than usual this offseason, despite their aggressiveness at this year's trade deadline. The Cards took on salary to acquire Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa, but the team may not be able to spend as much this offseason. As Olney points out, the Cardinals have never opened the season with a payroll over $92.1MM. 

The Cards have committed to Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter and others, so they may be unable to retain Holliday without exceeding $100MM. The club could increase its payroll, of course, but recent history suggests the Cardinals will operate on an eight figure budget.

One scout says Holliday was easy to pitch to in the American League, which could limit potential suitors. However, Olney guesses the Angels will ultimately sign the left fielder.

Cardinals Discuss Extension With DeRosa

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WEDNESDAY, 8:34am: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has more quotes from Mozeliak, who admits it'd be easier to re-sign DeRosa before free agency than Matt Holliday.  Strauss says Mozeliak "minimized the potential impact of DeRosa's left wrist injury."

TUESDAY, 9:42pm: The Cardinals have discussed an extension with impending free agent third baseman Mark DeRosa, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach.  But Leach says GM John Mozeliak "emphasized not to over-sell those discussions."  Too late – we dedicated this post to them!

DeRosa, 35 in February, has scuffled to a .244/.313/.425 line for the Cards since coming over in a trade with the Indians on June 27th.  A big factor: he tore a tendon sheath in his wrist a few days after the trade; it will eventually require surgery.  The versatile DeRosa is earning $5.5MM and sits on the borderline of Type A and B status.

Mozeliak also told Leach that the team plans to go year-to-year with Ryan Ludwick rather than lock him up.  Ludwick came back down to Earth this year – his OBP dropped from .375 to .333 and his SLG from .591 to .465.

Odds & Ends: Chapman, Pirates, Westbrook

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Some more links to go along with what's been a slow Sunday thus far:

  • If you haven't already, take a look at Jorge Arangure Jr.'s article on Aroldis Chapman. Arangure covers Chapman's journey and the decisions and sacrifices that he made when he defected from the Cuban national team. There are also two videos (one Insider only) to go along with the story. It's lengthy, but a great read. Peter Abraham offers a cautionary note regarding Chapman: "…keep in mind that the same things were being said about Jose Contreras and he’s just another guy at this point. There’s a lot more to being a great pitcher in the majors than having a good arm."
  • Dejan Kovacevic has some of Pirates general manager Neal Huntington's thoughts on several issues, including the club's recent losses and the need for a left-handed reliever. Jen Langosch has some of Huntington's thoughts as well, on topics including the farm system and newly-acquired Ronny Cedeno. Huntington would rather have a quality arm who can retire both left- and right-handed hitters than just a left-handed specialist.
  • Bad new for Indians fans: Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Jake Westbrook experienced another setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and will see Dr. Lewis Yocum this week. Westbrook isn't sure if the pain is something he should expect and work through, or if there are new issues in his arm. General manager Mark Shapiro has said that if Westbrook is healthy, he'll be Cleveland's opening day starter in 2010.
  • Buster Olney has a new article up, and talks about the Dodgers' shrinking lead on the NL West. Olney wonders if, with a growing need for starting pitching, the Dodgers will call on John Smoltz to try his hand back in the National League. Olney stresses that the Smoltz idea is just his own personal speculation.
  • Joel Sherman's Sunday Hardball column looks at how to fix the Mets for 2010. His solution begins with Mark DeRosa and Chone Figgins.

Indians Acquire Jess Todd To Complete DeRosa Deal

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Derrick Goold reports, via Twitter, that the Indians have acquired Jess Todd as the player to be named later from the Mark DeRosa trade.

According to an official press release, Todd will be added to the 40-man roster and report to Triple-A Columbus.

Todd, 23, entered the season as the Cardinals' #4 prospect. He's pitched very well, posting a 2.20 ERA through 49 innings, allowing just 39 hits and 13 walks while striking out 59 and collecting 24 saves. Opponents are hitting just .214 against Todd this season.

The Indians also acquired Chris Perez in the original trade, back on June 27th.

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