Giants Sign Shingo Takatsu
According to Patrick at NPB Tracker, the Giants have signed reliever Shingo Takatsu to a minor league contract. He tried out for the team in May, and will report to Triple-A Fresno once his visa paperwork clears.
Takatsu last pitched in the majors for the Mets in 2005. He finished second in the 2004 AL Rookie of the Year voting with the White Sox thanks to a 2.31 ERA and 19 saves.
Odds And Ends: Padres, Takatsu, Sano
Links for Friday afternoon…
- SI.com's Tom Verducci heard one GM argue that the Padres should trade Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez to re-stock the farm system.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo breaks down what will happen after Stephen Strasburg's drafted by the Nationals. He predicts that eight or nine college arms could go in the first 20 picks, if you count redrafts like Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers.
- According to Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Sun, Travis Snider was sent to Triple A by the Blue Jays. Snider was hitting .242/.292/.394, with 25 strikeouts in 99 at bats.
- According to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker, Shingo Takatsu auditioned in front of the D'Backs and Giants. He threw as hard as 86 mph and impressed scouts with his breaking balls. If the name sounds familiar it's because the 40-year-old sidearmer used to close for the White Sox.
- Steve Melewski of MASN wonders if Nolan Reimold has seen the last of the minor leagues. After a slow start, the left fielder is seven for his last 18, including a homer off Mariano Rviera.
- Via Twitter, Keith Law suggests pitcher Sonny Gray would go in the top three picks of this year's draft if he were eligible.
- Live to Play suggests the list of suitors for Miguel Angel Sano will soon "thin out to the very serious contenders" for the 16-year-old shortstop prospect.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star writes that the ideal trade for the Royals might be Mike Jacobs or Jose Guillen for a "capable shortstop."
Odds and Ends: Gregg, Howard, Shingo, Valentin, Ankiel
Some loose ends and links from today…
- Closer Kevin Gregg is the highest-paid Marlin at $2.5MM. Quick! Trade him!
- Ryan Howard and the Phillies submitted salary figures: Howard wants $10MM, the Phillies want to pay him $7MM. If they can’t meet in the middle then an independent arbitrator will pick one of the two amounts next month. MLB.com has a handy table showing all the figures submitted today by players and teams.
- Fun fact, the Cubs signed Shingo Takatsu. He’s 39 now; he saved 19 games for the ’04 White Sox. He had a 6.17 ERA in 23 innings in Japan last year though. Mr. Zero is the all-time saves leader in Japan.
- Jose Valentin‘s minor league deal was announced today. The free agent market is pretty much barren of middle infielders now.
- The Cardinals and Rick Ankiel agreed on $900K plus another $100K in incentives for ’08. He was an oddball case without comparables given his career progression.
- The Royals appear to be done this offseason.