Giants Do Not Plan To Release Pat Burrell
11:00pm: The Giants are not releasing Burrell, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
9:37pm: The Giants are expected to release Pat Burrell to create roster space for Carlos Beltran, according to CSNBayArea.com. San Francisco will option Brandon Belt to Triple-A to create space on the active roster for Beltran, who was acquired for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler earlier today.
Burrell, 34, re-signed in San Francisco for $1MM after a strong second half to the 2010 season helped carry the Giants to the World Series. Burrell hit .266/.364/.509 with 18 homers last year, but his production has fallen off in 2011. The former first overall pick has a .233/.342/.419 line with seven homers this season. If the Giants release him, he'll be available for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum, just as he was a year ago.
Giants Notes: Burrell, Rowand, Beltran, Hernandez
Before accepting a trade to San Francisco, Carlos Beltran refused to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Pirates, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Like the Indians, the Pirates made an aggressive push for Beltran before he headed for Northern California. Here’s the latest on the Giants, as they prepare for a run at a second consecutive title…
- Jon Heyman of SI.com suggests that there won't be much room for Pat Burrell and Aaron Rowand in San Francisco (Twitter link). Beltran, Nate Schierholtz, Andres Torres and Cody Ross figure to get most of the playing time in the Giants’ outfield. The Giants are expected to release Burrell to create space on the roster for Beltran.
- The Giants aren't discussing an extension for Beltran, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The switch-hitter hits free agency after the season and cannot be offered arbitration.
- Some Giants people believe the Reds will deal Ramon Hernandez for a pitcher, according to Schulman (on Twitter).
West Notes: Giants, Smoak, Trumbo, D’Backs
There are two intra-divisional matchups between NL and AL West rivals slated for tonight. The Rockies face the Diamondbacks at Chase Field while the Mariners host the Rangers. Here are some tidbits from the western divisions…
- "There is discussion in the [Giants'] executive offices as to how long they can stay with [Miguel] Tejada and Pat Burrell," reports Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle. Jose Reyes has been mentioned as a trade target for the Giants, though Brian Sabean denied his club's interest yesterday.
- Thanks to Justin Smoak's emergence, the Mariners seem to have gotten the best of the three recent Cliff Lee trade packages, writes Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
- If Mark Trumbo keeps hitting and Kendrys Morales is out of action for most of the season, Eric Denton of the LA Angels Insider blog notes that the Angels could face a tough choice this offseason. Denton suggests the Halos could even non-tender Morales, but if they do choose to move the first baseman, surely you'd think the team could find a trade partner.
- We know the Diamondbacks have an interest in UCLA prospect Gerrit Cole with the third pick of the upcoming amateur draft, but Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic adds a couple of other interesting nuggets about the right-hander. Arizona also has the seventh overall pick, but Piecoro notes that since that pick is unprotected, the D'Backs "almost certainly couldn’t risk drafting him" at that spot if they pass on him at #3. Cole is represented by Scott Boras and could be a difficult signing.
- Cole was drafted 28th overall by the Yankees in the 2008 draft but he didn't sign. Piecoro "got the sense from talking with other scouts and executives that there are still some people in the game harboring a grudge toward Cole" since Cole didn't let it be known that he wasn't interested in signing back in 2008.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock profiles A.J. Hinch, the former D'Backs manager who is now the Padres' vice president of professional scouting.
- Julio Borbon welcomes the center field competition of newly-signed Rangers prospect Leonys Martin, reports Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com.
Giants Re-Sign Pat Burrell
The Giants re-signed outfielder Pat Burrell to a one-year, $1MM deal that does not include any incentives. The team announced the deal today.
Burrell, 34, hit .252/.348/.469 with 20 home runs in 437 plate appearances for the Rays and Giants this year. He tallied over 600 innings in left field for San Francisco. The return to the National League, and perhaps the chance to play defense again, resulted in a solid comeback. Burrell isn't known for his glovework, but on the plus side he was the only free agent left fielder to hit 20 home runs in 2010. His agents at Legacy Sports seemingly adhered to his wish to remain in San Francisco rather than shop around for the biggest contract.
Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News was the first to report that a deal may have been struck between the two sides and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reported details on the deal (Twitter links).
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Rosenthal On Lee, Konerko, Huff, Burrell, Hudson
The Yankees’ “lack of tact” in their negotiations with Derek Jeter isn’t helping them, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Here are Rosenthal's latest updates on the Yankees and other teams around the league:
- Even Cliff Lee’s representatives would be surprised if the left-hander received a seven-year offer like C.C. Sabathia did.
- The Rangers were in on Victor Martinez “big,” according to Rosenthal.
- The Rangers are talking to Vladimir Guerrero and showing interest in Paul Konerko. The White Sox offered the first baseman arbitration, so it will cost a top pick to sign him.
- The Dodgers showed serious interest in Aubrey Huff before he re-signed with the Giants, according to Rosenthal.
- The Phillies discussed the idea of bringing Pat Burrell back to Philadelphia, but decided against it.
- Type B free agent Orlando Hudson almost certainly agreed in advance to reject the Twins’ offer of arbitration, Rosenthal says. The Twins agreed not to offer the second baseman arbitration if he was a Type A free agent, so Hudson may have agreed not to accept if he ended up a Type B.
- The Marlins have between $3-8MM to spend, depending on which one of Rosenthal’s sources you ask.
- Eric Hinske is close to deciding between the Braves and Brewers, who have both offered him contracts.
Sabean On Huff, Burrell, Uribe
Giants GM Brian Sabean spoke to reporters today on the Aubrey Huff conference call, and Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has all the details.
- Sabean said he got clearance to match an offer Huff received from another team in making a two-year, $22MM proposal. You might think the Giants overpaid to retain Huff, but at least one other club was willing to offer him big money too.
- Pat Burrell has been informed by Sabean that the club will take care of other business before revisiting his situation.
- Talks with Juan Uribe are active but on a slower track. Sabean feels Uribe will have multiple offers as a shortstop or third baseman in the weak infield market. I expect Uribe to be offered arbitration today.
- The Giants had talks with a free agent shortstop from another club today, says Sabean. I suppose that could mean Orlando Cabrera or Cesar Izturis; there's not much out there. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Giants are not expected to bid on Tsuyoshi Nishioka before today's 4pm central deadline.
- Sabean says he might have to move money around and may not be able to tender contracts to all eight of his arbitration eligible players. The Giants have Andres Torres, Javier Lopez, Jonathan Sanchez, Ramon Ramirez, Mike Fontenot, Santiago Casilla, Cody Ross, and Chris Ray up for arbitration. The non-tender deadline is December 2nd.
Braves Rumors: Burrell, Upton, Jurrjens, Vazquez
The Braves’ main offseason goal is to add at least one outfielder and it seems like they’ll acquire one via trade, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Here’s the latest on the Braves’ search for an outfielder plus other hot stove notes:
- The Braves appear to have shown interest in Pat Burrell, but he may be too expensive for Atlanta. One reason Burrell fits in Atlanta: he’s right-handed and the Braves are looking to complement the team’s lefty-heavy lineup.
- B.J. Upton may be available, but the Braves don’t seem interested in taking a chance on the Rays center fielder.
- The Braves will have a better idea of their spending power once they determine whether they can trade Kenshin Kawakami. Multiple Japanese teams showed interest in the right-hander earlier in the offseason.
- Not surprisingly, the Braves seem reluctant to consider trading Jair Jurrjens.
- Javier Vazquez will become a target if they need to fill a rotation spot. Vazquez excelled in Atlanta in 2009, but the Braves already have Jurrjens, Kawakami, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe and Mike Minor.
Giants Notes: Sandoval, Huff, Uribe, Burrell, Crawford
It's been less than a week since the Giants were crowned World Champions, but GM Brian Sabean has already started to act on his offseason agenda. Here's the latest from San Francisco, courtesy of Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News…
- Sabean was very explicit in saying that Pablo Sandoval will be sent to the minors next year if he doesn't improve his conditioning. Kung Fu Panda will spend the winter with fitness and nutrition experts in San Diego before reporting to Spring Training a month early. He will have benchmarks to meet this offseason.
- Sabean has reached out to the agents for Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe, and although he acknowledged that both players are priorities, he couldn't commit to bringing them back. The market could play out very favorably for those two.
- The team is currently discussing Pat Burrell internally, who would be brought back in a reserve role if anything. Remember that the Giants will have Mark DeRosa and his righty bat back from injury next season.
- Sabean's priority is to get more left-handed, and when asked about Carl Crawford, he responded "We'll see. That's the best answer I can give you."
- Sabean also said that he's still upset about being portrayed as a suitor for CC Sabathia two offseasons ago, claiming he never met with the player or his representatives. "[W]e do not want to be somebody’s fallback or stalking horse to be used as leverage," said the game's longest-tenured GM.
- Baggarly doesn't think the Giants will be serious players for Jayson Werth, and their desire to get more athletic could take them out of Adam Dunn sweepstakes.
- The team's payroll is expected to eclipse the $100MM mark for the first time, and Sabean wouldn't commit to offering arbitration to all eight of his eligible players. He is interested in bringing them all back, however.
- It almost goes without saying, but Sabean is hopeful that the World Series victory will make San Francisco a more desirable landing spot for free agents.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Rangers, Rays, Haren
The Phillies won their second World Series in franchise history two years ago today, beating the Rays in the first suspended game in series history. Game Five started on October 27th, 2008, and the two clubs played to a 2-2 tie through the first five and a half innings before rain forced the suspension. The game didn't resume until October 29th due to the weather, but when it finallly did the Phillies outscored Tampa 2-1 the rest of the way for a 4-3 final score.
There's no weather-related delay for these links; here's the best from around the web this week…
- Capitol Avenue Club provides a primer for the Braves' offseason.
- Pine Tar And Pocket Protectors explains how Mark Teixeira built the AL Champion Rangers.
- The Baseball Opinion re-lives Sandy Alderson's biggest trade.
- DRays Bay compiles Andrew Friedman's offseason to-do list.
- Meanwhile, The Process Report thinks about Nick Johnson as a cheap option for the Rays.
- Drunk Jays Fans reacts to the John Farrell hiring and more.
- Baseball Analytics breaks down Pat Burrell's resurgence.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness wonders if Ivan DeJesus should get a crack at the Dodgers second base job next year.
- Disciples of Uecker says it's time for Josh Butler to put up or shut up. The Brewers acquired Butler for Gabe Gross in 2008.
- Yankeeist wonders what would have happened if the Yankees managed to acquire Dan Haren this summer.
- SPANdemonium compares the Rangers, Rays and Royals.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Loux, Burrell, Dodgers, Trout
On this date six years ago, the Rangers lost Colby Lewis when the Tigers claimed him on waivers. Texas signed Lewis last offseason and the right-hander will take the hill tomorrow as he and the Rangers try to put away the Rays. Here are today's links…
- The Astros are no longer pursuing free agent pitching prospect Barret Loux, GM Ed Wade told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The Marlins, Rangers, Cubs, Twins, Giants, Brewers, Phillies and Mariners have also scouted the 2010 first rounder.
- Padres CEO Jeff Moorad and GM Jed Hoyer told Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune that they wish the team had pursued Pat Burrell more aggressively early in the season.
- Dodgers president Dennis Mannion will leave the organization and owner Frank McCourt will take on a more active role with the team, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- A scout told Jim Callis of Baseball America that comparisons between Mike Trout and Mickey Mantle are "actually pretty good." Trout, one of the game's top prospects, probably hasn't heard that one before (Twitter link).
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti promoted several members of his front office, as Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.