Olney’s Latest: Dodgers, Yankees, Pedro, Strasburg
ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes that it "is said by others" that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is searching for pitching. Olney outlines the heavy workload endured by the Dodgers' bullpen early on, and wonders how it will hold up down the stretch.
Here's some other bits that Olney's heard:
- The Yankees are unlikely to trade Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady when the latter returns from an elbow injury because of the club's needs. Olney also mentions that they wouldn't be able to get full market value for Nady because of his injury.
- The Yanks did discuss Nady with other clubs during the offseason after signing Mark Teixeira.
- Several teams walked away from Pedro Martinez's workout yesterday unimpressed and uninterested in signing him.
- Olney says that several teams would be interested in the future Hall of Famer if he decides to pitch for something close to the pro-rated minimum with incentives, and is willing to work his way back up through the minors.
- Early talks between the Nationals and first overall pick Stephen Strasburg "are off to a sluggish start."
Odds And Ends: Yankees, Cubs, Red Sox
More links for Thursday afternoon…
- Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com says the Yankees could make a "splash" on July 2nd, when the international signing period begins.
- Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe compares Brad Penny and A.J. Burnett. Kilgore says Burnett has an advantage, "but not an 82.5-to-5 edge." That's how much more Burnett signed for last offseason.
- A spokesman for Tom Ricketts says the family's deal to buy the Cubs is still on, according to the AP (via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News has a gut feeling the Phillies will make a deal "in the very near future." He points out that Pat Gillick and scouting director Gordon Lakey are in Philadelphia.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Brewers signed four more picks, including second rounder Cameron Garfield.
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Danny Knobler of CBS Sports heard that the Red Sox front office has wondered the same thing most of us have: how would this season look if Mark Teixeira had landed in Boston?
Odds And Ends: Riske, Peavy, Penny
Links for Tuesday…
- This week's chat will take place today at 2pm CST.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that David Riske is undergoing elbow surgery today. Adam McCalvy says it's Tommy John surgery.
- In a separate article, Haudricourt identifies the Brewers' pitching shortage and says the team will rely on minor leaguers for support.
- Jake Peavy won't discuss his trade preferences until after he pitches against the Phillies tonight, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- In the same article, we hear that Mike Koplove has opted out of his contract and is now a free agent.
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald guesses there's a 50-50 chance that the Red Sox deal Brad Penny once they're able to after June 15th.
- Adam Jones sees his former team, the Mariners, as just another opponent these days, as Amber Theoharis of MASN.com reports.
- Could Cristian Guzman or Jack Wilson help the Royals out at shortstop? The Kansas City Star suggests both could work.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports imagines how different this season would be with Mark Teixeira on the Red Sox.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times passes on a funny remark from Ken Williams: "National League pitchers don't like pitching in the AL. That doesn't make them fearful. It makes them smart."
- Jorge Says No asks why sellers don't insist that buyers take bad contracts along with top talent at the deadline.
Gammons On Indians, Nationals, Mauer
Here are the highlights from Peter Gammons' analysis on Mike and Mike in the Morning. Joe Haggerty of the Boston Metro has the interview transcript on his blog, Hacks with Haggs.
- The Padres will have a hard time dealing Jake Peavy because there aren't many takers who have the resources to acquire him. The Braves don't figure in now that they have enough pitching and the Cardinals aren't a likely fit either.
- "Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee are not on the trade block," according to Gammons.
- The Indians would deal Mark DeRosa for "major league ready pitching."
- Washington would like to deal Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns and some of their "semi-attractive" relievers.
- The Nationals offered Johnson to the Red Sox for Manny Delcarmen.
- Gammons says he believes it's in the best interest of the buyer and the seller to deal earlier, rather than later.
- The Yankees and Red Sox could offer Mark Teixeira money ($180MM) to Joe Mauer if the catcher hits free agency after the 2010 season.
Heyman On Teixeira, Melvin
A couple of hot stove highlights from Jon Heyman's latest…
- Heyman gives props to Rangers GM Jon Daniels for his Mark Teixeira haul from 2007: Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Beau Jones (the Rangers also gave up Ron Mahay). The Braves ended up acquiring Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek from the Angels for Tex and drafting lefty Brett DeVall as a compensation pick for Mahay. Heyman says Daniels also talked to the Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks about Teixeira at the '07 trade deadline.
- Bob Melvin knew for two days he was going to be fired before the D'Backs announced the move publicly. He handled the situation with class. Arizona brass considered John Farrell and Brett Butler before going with A.J. Hinch.
Odds And Ends: Yankees, Pedro, Mets
Links for Saturday morning…
- Some Yankees fans are frustrated by the first month C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira spent in pinstripes, but Torii Hunter would be happy to add them to the Angels, according to Matt Gagne's article in the New York Daily News.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes that the Orioles continue to deny interest in Pedro Martinez.
- MLB.com's Marty Noble reports that Omar Minaya now says the Mets have an "edge".
- Noble adds that Oliver Perez could conceivably be asked to accept a minor league assignment if he pitches poorly today.
- ESPN.com's Peter Gammons discusses teams' recent appreciation for a strong defense.
- Gammons spoke with on GM who suggested we're in a golden era of second basemen in which players like Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Chase Utley, Robinson Cano and Aaron Hill hit well at a "defensive" position.
- ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian asks why the Rangers have always been offense-first.
- Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports that the Blue Jays are scouting high school pitcher Shelby Miller.
Odds & Ends: Nationals, Teixeira, Ligtenberg
Links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority looks at the April offensive stat leaders.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America discussed Jim Bowden's Stephen Strasburg comments. Bowden says the Nationals' decision to draft Strasburg has been made, and predicts they'll sign him for around $15MM minutes before the deadline.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. talked to Nats interim GM Mike Rizzo about their revamped Latin American plan.
- Mark Teixeira talked to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times about his decision to sign with the Yankees.
- Brian Stensaas of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes about Kerry Ligtenberg, who is attempting a comeback with the St. Paul Saints.
- SI.com's Tom Verducci spoke with one GM who points to struggling older teams and says "it's better to be young these days."
- Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Tigers are being patient with pitchers Ryan Perry and Rick Porcello.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock doesn't expect GM Kevin Towers to sit back and watch if the Padres continues to struggle.
- Here's Baseball America's list of the hottest prospects in the minors right now.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law scouts a pair of college players who could turn up on BA's list next year: Tim Wheeler and Drew Storen.
- Twins reliever Juan Morillo cleared waivers, so he'll head to Triple A according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Odds & Ends: Bowden, Owens, Flores
Links for Thursday…
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and ESPN's Jason Churchill say high school catcher Luke Bailey is having Tommy John surgery. He might fall out of the top 20 in the draft, says Churchill.
- Thom Loverro of The Washington Times transcribes all kinds of amusing comments made by former Nationals GM Jim Bowden earlier this month. Bowden touched upon Stephen Strasburg, Mark Teixeira, and Aaron Crow.
- Alex Speier of WEEI notes that free agency hasn't done much for the Red Sox recently, outside of the Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz bargain signings.
- ESPN's Jim Caple talked to pitcher Jeff Zimmerman, who is on the comeback trail with the Mariners.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that White Sox outfielder Jerry Owens may be on the way out. It sounds like Scott Podsednik is coming up, but there will be no roster move today.
- Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says Rockies reliever Randy Flores, currently in Triple A, is debating whether to opt out of his contract.
- Zach Berman of the Washington Post gathered quotes on new Nationals pitcher Logan Kensing.
- Tonight at 10pm CST, Seth Stohs and Twins pitcher Glen Perkins will co-host the MN GameNight radio show.
Cashman Convinced Hal On Teixeira
Kat O'Brien of Newsday writes today about the Yankees' pursuit of Mark Teixeira. In talking to Brian Cashman, O'Brien learned that the GM's persistence finally led to the go-ahead from Hal Steinbrenner; for much of the offseason, Tex wasn't an option. At the time of Cashman's December meeting with Teixeira and Scott Boras, the Yankees were not expecting to sign the slugger. According to Cashman:
"When I met with him, I was doing it more to get leverage on CC. We weren't playing possum on purpose. We were actually out of it."
Cashman was able to convince Hal with this pitch regarding the Red Sox:
"I know you're not interested, but they're going to get this guy. He's going to fall in their lap, and he's so perfect for us."
Mark Teixeira: In His Own Words
Mark Teixeira appeared on New York-based radio station WFAN this morning and spoke, among other things, about why he decided to sign with the Yankees over other interested teams. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times has transcribed a few of the more interesting quotes:
"I always had the Yankees in my sights, and one thing my agent and I had asked every single team is, we're not going to negotiate through the media, and we ask you not to," Teixeira said. "The Yankees were really the only team that did that. The other teams went out and told everybody their offers, told everybody that they talked to me, that they made this call, made that trip. The Yankees kept quiet. We talked all winter. When they were ready to make their final offer, it was a great offer, and my wife and I were excited about going to New York."
Asked specifically about the Red Sox, who made their December 18 visit to his home in Texas public knowledge, Teixeira admitted to being bothered: "I think in the end, it probably worked against them a little bit, because everyone thought the Red Sox were my No. 1 choice. … The Yankees had a leg up all along."