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Odds and Ends: Hendrickson, Soria, Sherrill

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Here’s today’s random collection of links.

  • The Marlins signed Mark Hendrickson as the veteran leadership guy for ’08, at a cost of $1.5MM.  He was knocked around in 15 starts for the Dodgers in ’07 but was solid in the pen.  The Marlins will put him in the rotation, perhaps to tutor fellow southpaws Andrew Miller and Scott Olsen.
  • Craig Brown would like to see the Royals use Joakim Soria as a starter.
  • There is a theory that the Mariners’ signing of Arthur Rhodes will allow them to trade George Sherrill in an Erik Bedard deal.  Seems a half-baked theory, wherever it originated.  I don’t think Sherrill is holding this deal up.
  • An argument for the Nate Robertson extension from Danny Knobler, and one against from J.C. Bradbury.  Also, Peter Abraham thinks Chien Ming-Wang’s agent will use Robertson as a comparable.
  • The White Sox are still considering Bartolo Colon, according to ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine.
  • Pat Burrell would love to re-sign with the Phillies after this season.  Pat, by the way, doesn’t have a computer and owes his second half success to "more hits."
  • Phil Hughes has a computer, and even a new blog.  Not much going on over there yet though.

Odds and Ends: Fukudome, Burrell, Furcal, Rolen

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Two of my favorite local blogs have good hot stove posts for us today as part of Odds and Ends.

Latest Phillies Rumors: Lowell, Rivera, Schilling

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Let’s catch up on the rumors and minor moves involving the Phillies recently.

One offseason objective is, of course, third base.  Abraham Nunez was an easy buyout decision; Pat Gillick will import a new third baseman this winter one way or another.  Phils fans can stop dreaming up A-Rod scenarios; Gillick won’t pursue him.  Mike Lowell is the one free agent 3B on the Phils’ radar.  While Lowell wouldn’t mind playing in Philly, he made it clear yesterday that Boston remains his first choice.  So there’s a good chance Gillick will have to get his man via trade.  Scott Lauber names Garrett Atkins and Joe Crede (free agent after ’08, Boras client) as possible targets.  We all know how Gillick loves dealing with Kenny Williams (and the Sox can use Josh Fields at third base).

Rod Barajas won’t be retained; Chris Coste will serve as the backup to Carlos Ruiz.  A nice, cheap catching tandem.

How about pitching?  Randy Miller has a source saying the Phils are targeting a couple of AL East stalwarts – Curt Schilling and Mariano Rivera.  To sign Rivera at $12MM per and use Brett Myers in setup seems like a misallocation of resources to me.  As for Schilling, Miller says he’s expressed interest in coming back to Philly to finish his career.  I like the fit.

Miller also has some very interesting info on Aaron Rowand – he’s looking for a six-year, $84MM contract!  Does that mean he ends up with a five-year, $60MM deal?  Pretty hefty for a guy coming off a career year.  Miller says the Phils won’t go for big-name replacements like Andruw Jones or Torii Hunter.

Finally, Pat Burrell has surfaced as a solid trading chip.  He’s left with a reasonable one-year, $14MM commitment, albeit with a full-no trade clause that would require more compensation.  How about Burrell to the White Sox for Crede?  Phils kick in a couple mil, the White Sox get much-needed OBP for ’08 plus draft picks when Burrell leaves.

Rosenthal’s Latest Video: Pudge, Bedard, Burrell

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Ken Rosenthal has a new video up; check it out.  Some highlights:

  • Back in April, I made predictions of whether various club options will be exercised for 2008.  My opinion on many of the option decisions has changed since then.  One example is Ivan Rodriguez.  At the time I said his defense and power would justify the $10MM difference between his $13MM option and $3MM buyout.  Currently, Pudge is hitting for his usual decent average but has drawn just five walks in 379 plate appearances.  Rosenthal believes the Tigers might opt for the buyout, especially if Rodriguez tails off as the season wears on.  Maybe so, but at effectively one year, $10MM, they might still go for it.  The other options are limited. 
  • The Orioles’ #1 priority for the offseason is to sign ace Erik Bedard to a long-term contract extension.  But if the two parties aren’t in the same ballpark, they could exact a king’s ransom in a trade.  As I said before, Bedard could be a $20MM+ pitcher if he stays on course through the 2009 season.
  • Pat Burrell cleared waivers, but the Phillies have no intention of trading him given the way he’s been hitting.  Burrell has an absurd .392/.519/.725 line since July 1.  No one has been better in OBP over that time period, and only Hanley Ramirez has a better SLG.  Anyway, I’ve updated the list of players who have cleared waivers.

Molony On Jennings, Slowey

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Jim Molony’s column today at MLB.com has many good trade rumors that I haven’t seen elsewhere.  Let’s discuss.

  • Molony says at least a dozen scouts watched Jason Jennings toss a quality start last night.  He needed it; I was beginning to think he wasn’t right.  Still, the performance probably isn’t enough to cause some team to offer a package for Jennings superior to two draft picks.
  • The Diamondbacks and Pirates had a scouting presence at the Astros-Dodgers game.  Interesting players appearing in the contest included James Loney, Andre Ethier, Wilson Betemit, Mark Loretta, Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, and Brad Lidge. You connect the dots, I have no idea.
  • The Red Sox suggested sending Joel Pineiro to the A’s for Bobby Kielty in a swap of unwanteds; they were rebuffed.
  • The Phillies and Braves watched Matt Morris allow four runs in six innings on Tuesday.  They also may have been monitoring Steve Kline, who also pitched.
  • A Devil Rays scout watched the Twins in Toronto on Tuesday.  Ty Wigginton is thought to be a target for Minnesota.  Perhaps the Rays’ scout fancied Scott Baker, who started for the Twins and went seven innings.  Baker would be a stupendous return for Wiggy, in my opinion.
  • The Phillies had their assistant GM scouting Kevin Slowey’s start on Saturday.  Molony suggests Minnesota might want Pat Burrell.  That would involve a ridiculous amount of salary relief and a lack of Slowey.  Slowey allowed one run in six innings in the game.
  • UPDATE: Just realized that the above pair of bullets seem to have originated from La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  The scout watching the Twins on Tuesday was Lee Elia.  Not sure why Molony didn’t cite this source, but I suppose he may have come across the info independently.

Angels Interested In Garrett Atkins

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Last year, Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins was the second-best hitter at his position, behind only Miguel Cabrera.  Atkins isn’t set to reach free agency until 2011, making him a very valuable commodity.  The Rockies had talks with him this offseason about a deal covering his arbitration years and first year of free agency, but no agreement could be reached.

Now, both the Denver Post and L.A. Times are reporting that the Angels are interested in trading for Atkins.  Troy E. Renck of the Post says Atkins’s name first came up during the Winter Meetings when the two clubs were discussing a Todd Helton deal.  Renck writes that Ervin Santana would be a must in any trade and that the Angels also have interest in Brad Hawpe and Jeff Baker.  He also says Atkins is still considered a core member of the team, so a deal is unlikely.  I wonder if Bill Stoneman is trying to take advantage of a subpar start for Atkins – his defense hasn’t been pretty and his power has been MIA.

From the L.A. side, Mike DiGiovanna adds several players on the Halos’ radar:  Kevin Mench, Jacque Jones, Pat Burrell, Emil Brown, Morgan Ensberg, and Edwin Encarnacion.  DiGiovanna agrees that Santana is the top trading chip.  Santana could really blossom in the National League.  With Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton struggling and Brett Myers in the pen, the Phillies probably have the strongest need.  Starters Joe Saunders and Dustin Moseley could be used if the Angels want to make a smaller deal.

As long as the Angels are making an all-out blitz for a third baseman, let’s speculate on some other possibilities.  Mike Lowell, Chad Tracy, Hank Blalock have all been rumored in the past; the Rangers clearly have the biggest need for a starter.  Santana, however, could be Brandon McCarthy all over again with his flyball tendencies.

Pat Burrell Is Not A Bad Player

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After reading Jerry Crasnick’s article, I felt the need to point that out.

In the NL, the average left fielder hit .277/.359/.478 in 2006.  In the AL it was .280/.347/.449.

Pat Burrell hit .258/.388/.502 this season and .281/.389/.504 in 2005.  The guy posts an .890 OPS.  That’s very good.  It’s comfortably above average for a left fielder.  His OPS was 21st in the NL this year.  That’s better than Scott Rolen, Todd Helton, or Nomar Garciaparra.  Not far behind Alfonso Soriano or Carlos Delgado.

"But Tim!" you’ll say.  "He can’t hit in the clutch!"  Yes, I acknowledge that Burrell hit just .222/.376/.346 with runners in scoring position.  That’s a 153 AB sample.  It means nothing.  Just one year earlier Burrell hit .313./.429/.598 with runners in scoring position. 

This is a solid 5-6 win player.  He may not age well and he’s certainly not worth his salary, but he’s still a good hitter.  Better than most free agents on the market.

Oh, and while I’m on my soapbox – Daisuke Matsuzaka doesn’t throw the gyroball.  We have established this.  Prior to March 13, 2006, it was OK to speculate that perhaps Matsuzaka threw this pitch.  It seemed that way kind of.  But eight months ago, Jeff Passan blew the lid on the whole thing.  Sportswriters should know this by now!  I’ve read two articles in the past two days claiming he throws this pitch. 

Philly Daily News: Burrell/Benitez Swap?

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I think Giants fans have been pondering this trade for a while: Pat Burrell to the Giants for Armando Benitez.  But now Marcus Hayes tells us that Burrell would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to play for San Francisco.  Hayes indicates that Burrell could move back to first base for the Giants.  Benitez would go to the Phillies as "bullpen help."

If it were just a true swap of these two players and their inflated salaries, it’s a big win for the Giants.  They weren’t counting on much from Benitez anyway, so if you subtract his salary you are essentially getting Burrell for two years, $20MM.  As maligned as Burrell is, he’s only 30 and he’s posted an .890 OPS for two years running.  Yes, Burrell was bad with RISP this season (153 AB sample).  Why you shouldn’t read too much into that sample: he hit .313/.429/.598 with RISP in 2005.

Benitez, I don’t think will bounce back.  His top comparables, Scott Sullivan and Jose DeLeon, didn’t make it much past age 34.  Still, if payroll flexibility is what Pat Gillick is after, one year and $7.6MM sounds a lot better than two years and $27MM.

Lieber Rocked In Philly

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In case you forgot, there is an actual baseball game going on today.  Jon Lieber has been taken out of today’s game after just four and two-thirds innings, but not because of an impending deal.  He was yanked because the Marlins destroyed him with eleven hits and nine earned runs.  Looks like Lieber’s staying put.

At this point, if David Dellucci or Pat Burrell is pulled from the game, it may just be to rest them because it’s become a blowout.  With Burrell, I think there’s little sense of urgency because his contract would probably pass through waivers.

UPDATE: My knowledgable colleague Matthew Pouliot of RotoWorld reminds me that Burrell has a no-trade clause, so he has the option of rejecting any waiver claim made on him.  Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer recently discussed this very topic in regards to Burrell and Mike Lieberthal.

Burrell Continues To Sit

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As a friend mentioned to me, Pat Burrell is one expensive bench player at $9.5 mil.  Burrell is out of the lineup tonight for the fourth time in five games.  Definitely seems like the Phils are attempting to showcase David Dellucci, who has a .976 OPS in 128 ABs this season (not including the 0-fer tonight).  Dellucci, a left-handed hitter, had an .879 OPS in 435 ABs last year with the Rangers.  As crazy as it sounds, Dellucci might be every bit as productive as Carlos Lee for the remainder of the season. 

Pat Burrell is doing his thing, with an OBP near .380 and a SLG around .500.  He’s suffered a power outage in July, however, perhaps because of the sporadic PT.  Burrell is one of the few legitimate above average hitters on the market; a team like the Yankees is in perfect position to acquire him without giving up much besides cash.  He’ll make $27MM for 2007-08.  Baseball Prospectus figures him to be worth just $8.5MM during that span.  With the Thome deal as a standard, some team may be able to convince Pat Gillick to take on $10MM of the remaining contract.   

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