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Rangers To Pass On Bonds?

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Here’s an MLB.com article from T.R. Sullivan that I’m just getting around to discussing (hat tip to Joe Siegler of Rangerfans.com).

Sullivan’s article mainly discusses the possibility of bringing Sammy Sosa back as a platoon designated hitter.  Not a terrible idea if Sosa is limited to facing southpaws and perhaps Jose Lima.  But here’s an interesting throwaway line in the article:

Club officials have made it clear they will not be interested in pursuing Barry Bonds as a free agent.

You may recall that the Rangers got some press in June as the "mystery team" that had pursued Bonds the previous winter.  Jon Daniels confirmed the discussions but said no offer was made.  In browsing that USA Today article again, I also noticed that Bonds apparently would’ve retired if he didn’t receive an offer of at least $10MM.  So that might be his bare minimum this winter.

So far the Rangers and Tigers have already distanced themselves from Bonds.

Mets Hunting For Reliever, Second Baseman

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Pretty much the same old story with the Mets, though Joel Sherman and Mark Hale of the New York Post do have some new tidbits.

  • The authors name Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch, Octavio Dotel, and Eric Gagne as relievers on the radar.  However it seems the asking price is too high for Gagne and the Indians have become the frontrunner for Dotel (they may have passed the Dodgers).  Shawn Chacon doesn’t catch the Mets’ eye, and they don’t want Chad Bradford’s three-year commitment.  They had that option with Bradford this winter.  I think that logic is silly – Bradford’s pitched well this year, and acquiring him now would be akin to a two-year contract.  Sometimes it seems GMs pass over certain players because they simply want to add a fresh name.
  • You can add Al Reyes to the mix for the Mets, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
  • The Mets think many of the available starting pitchers could be traded in August – Jose Contreras, Kyle Lohse, and Steve Trachsel for example.  I don’t agree on Lohse – he’ll be traded today or tomorrow.  But Contreras’s contract would probably get through waivers without a claim.
  • The Post reports no substantive talks to the Royals about Mark Grudzielanek.  An inquiry has been made on Mark Loretta. 
  • Meanwhile, Newsday says the Twins are open to trading Luis Castillo but don’t want any of the current Major League Mets.  Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger seems to disagree, citing a Twins scout at Shea yesterday.  Graziano does not believe Castillo would get through waivers unclaimed.  He believes the Twins want Double A starter Kevin Mulvey and then some (perhaps Ruben Gotay).
  • Graziano says a deal for Castillo could be expanded to include 28 year-old righty reliever Juan Rincon.  Rincon had been consistently solid for three years (perhaps aided by steroids) but has seen his strikeout rate and overall performance plummet in 2007.  Rincon is under control next year and will make at least $2MM again.
  • Graziano notes that the Mets have talked to the A’s about Joe Blanton, but Billy Beane wants Lastings Milledge.  The Mets can’t do that without damaging the current team.  The Mets could actually add an outfielder in Jay Payton; the Cubs’ interest has waned.  The Sammy Sosa rumor also has some legs, as the Mets could bring him in to platoon with Shawn Green if they decide they can tolerate the sideshow.

Indians, Brewers Interested In Lofton

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Kenny Lofton is the perfect mercenary.  He’s been with a million different teams, and has 84 games of playoff experience.  Even at age 40, he provides an OBP spark atop the lineup.  He makes $6MM this year for the Rangers, so there’s about $2.6MM left on his contract.  He gets another $100K if he’s traded.

According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Lofton has "drawn significant interest from Cleveland and Milwaukee."  Other teams are checking him out as well.  It’d be fun to see Lofton back with the Tribe, the team he’s best known for.  He actually came up as an Astro though. 

As a Cubs fan I’d welcome Lofton back to Chicago.  After abandoning the Alfonso Soriano experiment, the Cubs have employed Angel Pagan, Jacque Jones, and Felix Pie in center.  None have hit particularly well.  I would’ve signed Lofton this winter, working Pie in carefully. 

Grant’s column also mentions Sammy Sosa, who is drawing a little bit of interest.  With his OBP down to .294, Sosa is being sold as a lefty-masher instead of a regular.  Grant believes the Twins and Yankees might find him useful.   

Stark’s Latest

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Jayson Stark has an assessment of the trade market over at ESPN.com.

  • Aside from the usual Mark Teixeira/Eric Gagne mentions, Stark believes many Rangers may be headed out at the trading deadline.  Specifically, he names Brad Wilkerson, Kenny Lofton, and Sammy Sosa.  Lofton is always a good midseason mercenary.  He’s like a Mike Stanton in that way.
  • Ken Griffey Jr. would approve a trade to Atlanta and might consider certain other teams.  Junior is making $12.5MM this year and next, plus a $4MM buyout for ’09.  Quite a bit of the contract is deferred, also.  $29MM over 2007-08 is still pretty steep, but now would be the right time to trade Griffey. 
  • Nationals – still asking too much for Chad Cordero.  Bowden’s got time to wait around for the right deal, I suppose.
  • Best option for Todd Helton still appears to be the Angels, in Stark’s mind.  That does not seem workable to me, because Casey Kotchman has broken out and Vlad needs access to the DH spot.
  • Speaking of DHs, this might finally be the year Mike Sweeney gets traded and gets to play for a contender.  If he heats up, maybe the Twins could snag him.
  • Michael Bourn could be a trade candidate, if the Phillies decide he’s only a future fourth outfielder.  Probably makes sense to keep him around if Aaron Rowand is going to walk after this season.
  • The Astros are buyers, and they have all sorts of needs.  A young catcher would be nice, but those are always in short supply.
  • Speaking of young catchers, Jarrod Saltalamacchia has received interest but the Braves are not biting.  A lot hinges on Scott Thorman’s performance and, of course, which young player the Braves are offered for Salty.  Most teams would love to have him.

Rosenthal On Slugger Market

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Yesterday’s Ken Rosenthal article does a great job breaking down the market for sluggers this summer.  As usual there are some big names for the taking, and as usual many of them come with hefty salaries or other flaws like injury history or Scott Boras.

A couple of AL West teams, the A’s and Angels, have been particularly powerless this year (both slugging less than .395).  The Twins and White Sox could use some pop too.  Over on the NL side, the Cardinals, Dodgers, Padres, and D’Backs could look to add a power bat.  One of the three NL West teams mentioned could pull away with a major addition.

The most intriguing name in Rosenthal’s article is Sammy Sosa.  He is having a respectable resurgence so far at .268/.331/.512.  While it would be fun to see him back in the NL, his right field defense could prohibit it.  But come on – how funny would it be to see Sosa don Cardinal red?  Another interesting subplot thrown out by Rosenthal would be Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle, something that seems to come up every year if Junior is healthy.

Is Sosa A Mistake For Rangers?

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Josh Lile is a history major at the University of Texas.  I’ve brought him aboard as MLBTR’s Rangers correspondent.  For his first post, Josh weighs in on Sammy Sosa and the consequences of giving him a roster spot.

Sammy Sosa beat out an infield single in today’s game vs. the Cubs. Let me repeat that. Sammy Sosa beat out an infield single. The main point of contention behind Sosa coming to camp is Sammy turning into Juan Gonzalez part deux. Juan Gonzalez, in the minds and hearts of Rangers fans, is remembered as a guy who half-heartedly played the field, walked out infield contact, and barely put any effort into anything. The same reputation was earned in Texas by Alfonso Soriano. Somehow Sammy has been humbled by his year off, and he appears to be hungry enough to make some magic this year.

Sammy, after today’s game vs the Cubs, is hitting .500 in Spring Training games with two homers. His main competition is 26 year-old Jason Botts, a monster who dropped a .980 OPS in AAA Oklahoma last year. The outfield and DH spots are virtually set with Frank Catalanotto, Nelson Cruz, Brad Wilkerson, and Kenny Lofton as the other four.

The last spot will come down to Sosa and Botts. Coming into today Botts was hitting .400, so he isn’t playing himself out of the lineup. So if you have a 38 year-old coming off a year off after steroid rumors, or a 26 year old masher, who do you choose? Personally I think you have to go with Botts or risk him developing into Travis Hafner with another team.  However, Ron Washington seems to be drinking the Sosa Kool-Aid. Ron had this to say in Tom Singer’s article on at MLB.com: "People say he can’t do this or can’t do that, but he hasn’t showed me any of that. He can do anything. It’s his reward for working so hard."

So the question is this: which Sammy shows up if he makes the Opening Day roster? Do we get the slacker Sammy that will do his Juan Gonzalez impersonation, or do we get the hard-working Sammy who will come in and endear himself to Rangers fans? Since 2001 when John Hart blew $100 million on old corner infielders and relievers, the Rangers PR department has failed miserably and alienated many fans. If the hard-working Sammy shows up there is almost no chance Ron Washington keeps him off the roster, and the fans may start to come back.

Sammy!

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The Sammy Sosa signing is official in Texas.  He’ll make $500,000 if he makes the Opening Day roster, and can reach $2.7MM based on incentives.  $200K of that would come from winning Comeback Player of the Year.  To quote Sammy:

"My body is in shape, and I’m ready to go."

Ron Washington has this crazy idea that Sammy can play regularly and hit 30 home runs as the Rangers’ fifth place hitter.  Fine. Maybe there’s a 10% chance he does that, and it costs very little.  However, there is significant risk in this signing.  It is that Sammy takes away ABs from better players.  The Orioles gave him 380 ABs in ’05. If the Rangers stick with him for 200 ABs, a third of a season, and he’s awful, that could cause them to miss the playoffs.  It’d be different if this was the Nationals. 

Sosa Agrees To Deal With Rangers

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UPDATE: MLB.com reports that the Rangers have agreed in principle to an incentive-laden, $500,000 minor league contract with Sosa.

The amusing experiment continues, as the Rangers have offered Sammy Sosa a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.  Plus, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a source who says the two parties are "working toward an agreement."

Judging from Jon Daniels’s positive comments towards Sosa, it appears that an incentive-based deal will get done.  I don’t know.  A part of me wants to see how this turns out.  Will he get his 12 homers? 

Amusingly, Rafael Palmeiro tried to jump onto the train but was shot down.  Somewhere, Juan Gonzalez just shed a tear.

Rangers Give Sammy A Look

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Sammy! Sammy Sosa worked out at Ameriquest today in hopes of securing a gig with Texas, where it all began.  Sosa had some awesome teammates back when he was on the ’89 Rangers as a 20 year old.  Here’s a partial list of his mentors:

Ruben Sierra
Rafael Palmeiro
Julio Franco
Pete Incaviglia
Buddy Bell
Juan Gonzalez
Thad Bosley
Dean Palmer
Wilson Alvarez
Kevin Brown
Charlie Hough
Jamie Moyer
Kenny Rogers
Nolan Ryan

Click here to see what Sammy looked like as a Ranger.

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