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Pedro Martinez

Pedro Will Start Throwing, Plans To Pitch

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TUESDAY, 7:06pm: Martinez has been linked to the Mariners, Twins, and Dodgers in recent days, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Cafardo notes that Martinez still harbors bad feelings towards the Dodgers organization.

MONDAY, 2:30pm: Pedro Martinez plans to pitch in 2010 and will start throwing this week, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Pedro will work towards a midseason signing like the one the Phillies added him on last summer. He says he can be ready soon.

“I’m in good shape, real good – it doesn’t take me that long to get ready,’’ he said.

He would prefer to pitch for a contender, on or near the East coast in the National League. Right now, the Phillies sound like a fit, given their interest in pitching. A few days ago, I wrote that Pedro could help somebody in 2010. He pitched well last year, but it wasn't until a month after he signed that Pedro appeared in the majors.

Odds & Ends: Giants, Beckett, DePaula, Aubrey

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Some links on what promises to be one of the best days of the year…

Pedro Martinez In 2010

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Nine years ago today, Pedro Martinez opened Boston's season with a strong seven inning performance in Baltimore against the Orioles. Red Sox fans had no reason to expect anything less from their ace, since he was coming off a two-year stretch over the course of which he struck out nine times as many batters as he walked and kept his ERA under 2.00. 

You won't find Pedro on anyone's Opening Day roster this year and nobody expects the righty to pitch like the ace he was a decade ago, but Pedro still has value, so he should have suitors if he wants to sign mid-season.

Pedro seems more likely to sign with a National League team and the Phillies have been linked to him throughout the offseason. Joe Blanton's oblique injury has the NL Champions looking for pitching, but Pedro wouldn't help them now. It takes a while for any player to get into game shape and Pedro's now 38. Even if he were to sign today, he would presumably need at least a month to prepare himself. The Phillies signed Pedro on July 14th last year and he made his 2009 debut about a month later, on August 12th. 

That means teams like the Phillies and Mariners that need arms now don't have much reason to call on Pedro at this point. But he would be a good fit for a team looking to add second-half depth, mostly because he can still pitch. 

Pedro recovered from an ugly 2008 season and contributed 44.2 solid innings for the Phillies last year, posting a 3.63 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9. The early-season rest seemed to help Pedro out, as his average fastball was 88.5 mph – faster last year than in any season since 2004. The Phillies' investment worked last year, so there's no reason to think Pedro can't help someone out in 2010 – it's just not going to happen soon.

Latin Links: Martinez, Maya, Ramirez, Escobar

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A rumor by any other name smells just as sweet. Links are in Spanish…

  • Pedro Martinez has largely been linked in rumors to National League teams this winter, but Vladimir Guerrero thought recently his former Expo teammate might join him in Arlington. "Early in March, when I reported to Texas' spring training, I heard a fair amount about the possibility that Pedro was going to sign here, but it didn't happen," Guerrero told Juan Mercado at the Dominican paper El Dia. Martinez showed last year he wasn't afraid to pitch the stretch run in a hitter's park, as National League batters actually fared significantly better against Martinez on the road (.322/.362/.517 in 20 IP) than at Citizens Bank Ball Park (.225/.274/.701 in 24 IP) during his two months with the Phillies.
  • The flurry of activity this offseason in regard to Cuban prospects is likely "the tip of the iceberg," Rangers scout Juan Alvarez tells the Nuevo Herald's Jorge Ebro. The latest signings from the island, of pitchers Reinier Roibal by the Giants and Sergio Espinosa by the Rays, were relatively low on fanfare, but Ebro quotes a source saying interest is quickly heating up for 27-year-old Cuban right-hander Yuniesky Maya. Maya has been linked this winter primarily to the Red Sox, who reportedly view him as a starter.
  • In an interview with the Venezuelan paper El Tiempo, Max Ramirez clarifies recent reports that he is focusing on first base as his quickest route to the Rangers' major league roster. While he admits to taking some grounders, "They still consider me as a catcher and I think that's where I have more opportunities now," Ramirez says. Earlier this week the 25-year-old's name popped up once again as a possible trade chip for Mike Lowell, but that window likely closed for the time being when the Rangers claimed Ryan Garko off waivers yesterday. Nevertheless, as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Gil LeBreton recently noted, Ramirez is the odd man out at any position in Texas, especially after the team acquired catcher Matt Treanor from the Brewers.
  • Kelvim Escobar is throwing again and will stay in extended spring training for the Mets, but the team isn't counting on having him in the bullpen any time soon. A day before his previously stated April 1 deadline to decide whether to sit out 2010, Escobar told Lider en Deportes' Carlos Valmore Rodriguez that neither he nor the team are throwing up their hands on his one year, $1.25MM contract. Escobar says of Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel, "They always tell me not to worry, they don't want me in April or May, because that's not when you win the World Series. (They tell me) they need me for a long time, to take my time and not rush myself, to be patient about things."

Cafardo’s Latest: Fielder, Pedro, Gagne, Santos

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In his latest column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe ranks baseball's managers, from first (Bobby Cox) to 30th (rookie skipper Brad Mills). He also shares a few hot stove notes:

  • Contracts like the eight-year pacts signed by Mark Teixeira and Joe Mauer may indicate what it'll take for the Brewers to lock up Prince Fielder long-term. Milwaukee "would like to seal the deal right now," avoiding the drama that will only increase as Fielder approaches free agency.
  • Cafardo wonders if Pedro Martinez could end up pitching for the Dodgers at some point this season.
  • Alex Gonzalez said "forget it" this winter when the Red Sox asked him to wait until they had dealt with Jason Bay. Gonzalez adds: "I was going to get a starting job, and in this market, I'm glad I didn't wait."
  • Eric Gagne believes he can still succeed at the big league level, but he may have trouble catching on anywhere this late in the spring.
  • Sergio Santos would have plenty of teams interested in him if he doesn't break camp with the White Sox. Santos, a former first-round pick as a shortstop, is out of options and competing for a spot in Chicago's bullpen.

Latin Links: Ortiz, Tejada, Mora, Guzman

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Spring draws in baseball writers from around the globe to Arizona and Florida, including plenty of beat writers from players' home countries who are eager for a full-page interview. Links are, you guessed it, in Spanish.

  • David Ortiz comes close to acknowledging that his career may end outside of Boston in an interview with Dionisio Soldevila at the Dominican daily Hoy. He disputes recent reports that he is unhappy the team hasn't preemptively picked up his option for 2011, as they did for Pedro Martinez in 2003, and predicts that the outcome will depend on his performance this season. "Boston will know when they want to approach me to talk about the contract, if they want it," Ortiz says. "I only think about playing baseball, and if I have a good season, they'll make me an offer, but if it's not them it will be another (team)." Terry Francona recently told ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes that other teams' personnel have commented to him that Ortiz looks great this spring.
  • Get used to the idea of Miguel Tejada at third. Tejada tells Soldevila that he, rather than the Orioles, made the choice, and he predicts the change will extend beyond his single-season contract. "I think it was time for me to move," Tejada explains. "I decided to change because I'm not the same age and I don't want it said that I don't have the same range." Tejada has been working with both Cal Ripken and Brooks Robinson during spring training to learn the fine art of the five-hole.
  • At the other end of the position-hopping spectrum, Melvin Mora tells Carlos Valmore Rodriguez at Lider en Deportes that he relishes Rockies manager Jim Tracy's plan to use him all over the infield and outfield, as it gives the 38-year-old "nostalgia for the excitement I used to feel when I arrived in the majors and did everything." Mora says he was in discussion with the Red Sox, Mets, Rangers, Mariners and Blue Jays during the winter but chose the Rockies because he saw there his best opportunity to return to the playoffs.
  • Angel Guzman tells Manuel Lira at Lider that his upcoming shoulder surgery won't spell the end of his career, but not having it would have. "Dr. Andrews told me, this is the same problem we had last year," Guzman says. "I had to stop in September after having rehabilitated for four-and-a-half months, so it made no sense to return to rehabilitation, and the only way to return to baseball is by doing the surgery."

The Latest On The Remaining Free Agent Starters

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There aren't many options for teams looking to sign a dependable starter, but the free agent market isn't completely barren yet. Of all the free agents remaining, only three pitchers logged more than 100 innings last year. Here's the latest on all eight starters to pitch as many as 40 innings last year (or what Roy Halladay logs in an average month):

Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Pedro, Cardinals, Percival

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Links for Monday…

Martinez, Smoltz To Sign In-Season

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Jim Bowden of XM tweets that it appears both Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz will wait until the season has started to sign 2010 contracts.

For Martinez, such a move mirrors his 2009, when he waited until July to sign with the Phillies. He was effective for them, pitching to a 3.63 ERA in regular-season 44 2/3 innings, along with several strong postseason starts.

Smoltz improved greatly as the 2009 season progressed, faltering badly with Boston but pitching to a 4.26 ERA with St. Louis. 

The peripheral numbers for both pitchers suggest that they can help major league teams this season. However, considering that neither one has pitched 200 innings since Smoltz did in 2007, this seems like a wise decision for both of them.

The Phillies’ Search For Pitching Depth

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The Phillies acquired arguably the best pitcher in baseball earlier this offseason. As Spring Training approaches, Roy Halladay starts training every morning at 7 am and his team is considering some less formidable options in an attempt to add depth. Here are the details, from a pair of beat writers:

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