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Pat Burrell

Giants Notes: Burrell, Rowand, Beltran, Hernandez

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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

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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

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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

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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:

 

Sabean On Huff, Burrell, Uribe

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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.

Braves Rumors: Burrell, Upton, Jurrjens, Vazquez

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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

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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

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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…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Loux, Burrell, Dodgers, Trout

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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…

5 Minor League Deals That Shaped The Pennant Race

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Most MLBTR readers said R.A. Dickey was the best minor league signing of the year when we voted earlier in the month, but the Mets fell out of contention long ago, so Dickey didn't have much of an impact on this year's pennant race. The five minor league deals below had lasting effects on the 2010 pennant race:

  • Rays sign Joaquin Benoit – The reliever has a 1.39 ERA in 61 games with 11.1 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9. Amazingly, Benoit has allowed just 28 hits in 58.1 innings.
  • Reds sign Miguel Cairo – There are bigger stars on the Reds, but Cairo has batted .289/.352/.411 and played all four infield positions. Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty deserves credit for this find.
  • Yankees sign Marcus Thames – Thames has hit .287/.352/.500 this year with 12 homers in 227 plate appearances.
  • Giants sign Pat Burrell – GM Brian Sabean bought low on Burrell, who has responded with 17 homers and an .869 OPS in San Francisco. Burrell is playing the way he did in 2008 and without that kind of production, the Giants probably wouldn't be leading the NL West.
  • Padres sign Chris Denorfia – Denorfia has hit .264/.332/.435 in 302 plate appearances for the Padres, who have seen outfielders Tony Gwynn and Kyle Blanks miss significant time with injuries.
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