Odds & Ends: Bonds, Armas, Strasburg
Links for Wednesday…
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says the Royals received righty Eric Basurto as the player to be named later in the Ross Gload trade.
- Tom Glavine hopes to pitch in the Majors this month, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
- Back on May 3rd, Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times wrote about the possibility of Barry Bonds signing with the independent league Long Beach Armada (the team already employs Hideki Irabu and Jose Lima). But Bonds' agent Jeff Borris said, "He's not going to do that."
- It appears that Tony Armas Jr. signed a minor league deal with the Braves after the Mets released him.
- Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News says Padres beat writer Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune will be out of a job come August. Sorry to hear it; Krasovic does excellent work.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo talked to Tony Gwynn about Stephen Strasburg.
- Johnny Damon talked about his future again, this time with MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
- Jim Thome would like to return to the White Sox next year, based on his comments to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
Rosenthal On Sheffield, Repko, McPherson
A look at Ken Rosenthal's column from yesterday afternoon…
- The Marlins chose Ross Gload over Frank Catalanotto, but are still considering signing Cat for the minimum now that he's been released.
- The Braves are not interested in bringing back Gary Sheffield. Meanwhile, Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets (as well as the Phillies and Reds) have an eye on Sheffield.
- Sheffield is apparently the only right-handed hitter on the Phillies' radar. Rosenthal learned that the Rockies' asking price for Jeff Baker is high.
- The Braves almost made a deal for Dodgers outfielder Jason Repko, but backed off recently.
- The Yankees will pass on Dallas McPherson, but the Giants may consider him.
- The Yanks don't seem desperate to move Melky Cabrera. They've received multiple calls on him but Rosenthal says "the team will only move him for the right price."
Marlins Acquire Ross Gload; Royals Release Peralta
3:11pm: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star says the Royals also released reliever Joel Peralta, saving about $380K in the process. Peralta, 33, posted a 5.98 ERA, 6.5 K/9 2.4 BB/9 last year in 52.6 innings while allowing 15 home runs.
11:47am: According to a press release, the Royals traded first baseman Ross Gload to the Marlins for a player to be named. Gload, 33 in a few days, hit .273/.317/.348 in 418 plate appearances for the Royals last year. He's owed $1.9MM this year and has a $2.6MM club option for '10. It's surprising to see the thrifty Marlins make this seemingly pointless acquisition. Previously their corner options consisted of Jorge Cantu, Emilio Bonifacio, and Wes Helms.
Odds & Ends: Gload, Pierre, Beimel
Links for Friday…
- The Dodgers designated Justin Orenduff for assignment to make room for Manny Ramirez, according to Tony Jackson.
- The A's contracts with Orlando Cabrera and Nomar Garciaparra are official.
- WEEI's Alex Speier talked to Marlins prospect Mike Stanton and manager Fredi Gonzalez about the near-acquisition of Manny last summer.
- In another column, Speier looks at the players the Red Sox and Yankees have battled for in recent years.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says a bunch of relievers are vying for one bullpen spot for the Cardinals, now that they've signed Dennys Reyes.
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star suggests there's a chance the Royals release first baseman Ross Gload and eat the $1.9MM owed to him in 2009. Rany Jazayerli talks about Gload as well as the chances of the Royals competing this year.
- Tom Tango says Juan Pierre would have to defer his contract for 50 years to be worth acquiring.
- Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies says the Rox offered Joe Beimel more than $1MM but so far he's passed. Beimel's home run prevention trend might be challenged at Coors Field. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says the A's are in on Beimel but "have not yet have substantive talks" with his agent.
- Check out a Giants Spring Training preview from the guys behind El Lefty Malo and McCovey Chronicles.
White Sox Acquire Sisco For Gload
Baseball Digest Daily reports that the White Sox have acquired reliever Andy Sisco for first baseman/outfielder Ross Gload.
Seems like a big win for the Sox. Sisco, a big lefty, turns 24 in January. Since jumping from A ball to the Majors in ’05 as a Rule 5 pick from the Cubs, Sisco has been in over his head. The White Sox could fix him up as a lights out reliever like they did with Matt Thornton, or else switch him back to starting.
How does Gload help the Royals? He’ll turn 31 next season and the club has absolutely no room for another 1B/OF. Shouldn’t Dayton Moore be stockpiling young arms instead of guys like Gload?