Odds & Ends: Posey, Maybin, Penny
Links for Wednesday…
- Due to Bengie Molina's injury, the Giants have changed their mind and called up top prospect Buster Posey according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. So Posey's clock starts earlier than planned.
- Speaking of service time, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tells me Cameron Maybin's call-up gives him 129 days of service time after this year. That puts him on the fringe of Super Two status after the 2011 season.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick ranks the impact of trades made by contenders in July. He talked to an exec who thinks Matt Holliday "could make an extra $3MM a year as a free agent this winter because of his strong finish."
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes has his trade deadline winners and losers.
- Ryan Doumit's agent Matt Sosnick shot down recent negativity surrounding his client, while Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gets to the bottom of the catcher's recent benching.
- Brad Penny still hates the Dodgers, a team he'll face twice this month according to Baggarly. Baggarly also has a quote from Penny ripping on the Marlins.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has more from Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, who knows he gained trade value when the team delayed his free agency.
- J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics wonders whether the Braves should pick up Tim Hudson's $12MM option for 2010. Hudson has the right to void that option, not that he would. Back in January Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the Braves "fully intend to exercise it, barring some unexpected turn of events."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs notes that Kendry Morales has matched the production of the Angels' former first baseman, $180MM man Mark Teixeira.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has comments from Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes on the team's Jon Rauch–Kevin Mulvey swap. Piecoro says the D'Backs have about $23MM to work with this winter as they presumably look to add pitching.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times guesses Ken Griffey Jr. will retire after this season.
Odds And Ends: Mahay, Hudson, Wagner
Some links to distract you from the Brad Penny rumors…
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune hears indications that the Twins could consider dealing for Ron Mahay, who the Royals just designated for assignment.
- ESPN passes along an AP report informing us that Tim Hudson will make his 2009 season debut on Monday. It would be a surprise if the Braves turned out to be the team that claimed Rich Harden given their pitching depth.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff points us to an interesting wrinkle in the rulebook. Teams that offer their free agents arbitration don't have to offer them anything close to the salary they made the previous season. So if the Red Sox decide they want to offer Billy Wagner less than $8MM next year, they can do so. This is not the case for players who don't yet have six years of service time.
Odds And Ends: Hudson, D’Backs, Expos, Jays
More links to look through for the evening, including a little history…
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports that Tim Hudson was scratched from his rehab start tonight with a sore groin.
- D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes told MLB.com that he expects a "pretty active" August around the league, trade-wise. It'll be interesting to see if Doug Davis and Jon Garland clear waivers; if they do, the D'Backs could be among the teams making trades.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says Nick Johnson was the last member of the Nationals to play for the Expos.
- Erik Manning of FanGraphs doesn't get the Scott Rolen deal from the Reds' perspective. Neither does Tyler Hissey.
- You thought the Roy Halladay saga was over, but it's merely on hold. J.P. Ricciardi says he'd "have to listen" to offers for his ace after the season, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Next time, the GM hopes the offers are "a little better."
Return of Tim Hudson Scheduled for August
Tim Hudson, recovering from Tommy John surgery, believe he can rejoin the Atlanta Braves sometime in August, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
"I feel really good about where I'm at right now," Hudson said. "I haven't thrown breaking balls, splits or changeups or anything like that. But how I feel right now, it's hard to think that it's going to take me three months to get ready to pitch in a game."
Hudson could encounter a logjam when he returns, between starters Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Jair Jurrjens, not to mention prospects Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen and the old standby Tom Glavine.
But the real question is this: just how well would Hudson have to pitch in the season's final month for the Braves to pick up his $12MM option? Hard to imagine anything short of a Greinke would lead the Braves to do so. They have, as an alternative, a $1MM buyout.
Odds & Ends: Boras, Cordero, NCAA Agents
Some links for your Thursday night viewing pleasure…
- Diamond Leung has some Dodgers notes, including a particularly interesting one regarding Scott Boras. Earlier, Peter Gammons reported that the Dodgers scouting department wouldn’t be touching any Boras clients in the June draft. Leung refutes that, citing Dodgers Assistant General Manager of Scouting Logan White’s statement that the Dodgers will consider Boras clients because "talent comes first."
- The Nationals have been watching Chad Cordero’s auditions, according to Dave Sheinin. Cordero threw 40 pitches "at 70-75 percent effort" the other day. Cordero’s agent, Larry Reynolds, says that he’s on pace to be ready for Opening Day.
- Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News has a good article highlighting Okalahome State University lefty Andy Oliver and his victory in a lawsuit against the NCAA. Oliver challenged the rule that athletes cannot have attorneys participate in direct negotiations with Major League teams prior to being drafted. Oliver was suspended prior to an NCAA Regional in 2008.
- Ringolsby also notes, in the same article, that the Braves have interest in Garret Anderson.
- Tim Hudson got into a heated exchange with a reporter in the clubhouse, regarding the recent Ken Griffey Jr. drama, and had to be separated by a team official, according to the AP.
- Speaking of Griffey, the Mariners will hold a press conference for him this Saturday, Geoff Baker reports.
- Anthony Castrovince reports that Edward Salcedo, a top Dominican prospect who had been tied to the Indians last year, had an investigation launched surrounding his age. There were doubts that he was really 16, which obviously quieted talks.
Odds and Ends: Hudson, Twins, Sisco, Dunn
Links for Friday…
- Tim Hudson wants the Braves to pick up his 2010 option for $12MM, though he has the right to void it if they do.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro has no regrets about signing Kerry Wood for $20.5MM in early December.
- Twins CEO Jim Pohlad says the team is not done, in talking to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He believes signing Joe Crede makes sense, but his baseball people have the final decision.
- Michael Fleming of Variety says Brad Pitt continues to "circle" the Moneyball movie, in which he could play Billy Beane.
- Athletics Nation takes a good look at free agent lefty Andy Sisco.
- Austin Kearns commented on his friend Adam Dunn, in talking with Chico Harlan of the Washington Post.
- An amusing "25 facts about 25 random Yankees" from Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- The Rays signed pitcher Winston Abreu to a minor league deal; he spent last year in Japan.
- RotoAuthority ranks the shortstops for fantasy baseball.
- Deals for Jason Varitek, Brad Wilkerson, and Ken Takahashi were finalized today. Jeff Bailey was shuffled to Triple A to make room for Varitek, says Dan Barbarisi.
Tim Hudson’s Option
TUESDAY: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to Hudson’s agent Paul Cohen today, who said Hudson’s 2010 option is mutual. Hudson can void it if the Braves exercise it (info came via an email from Crasnick).
FRIDAY: David O’Brien fills in readers on Tim Hudson‘s 2010 option:
I asked about Hudson’s option today, and found out it’s not a mutual option, but a club option. Yes, they fully intend to exercise it, barring some unexpected turn of events.
That option is for $12MM with a $1MM buyout. Since Hudson had Tommy John surgery in August of ’08, he could make a second-half impact for the Braves this year.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Fuentes, Sherrill, Nady, Kemp, Guthrie
New Rosenthal. Let’s take a look.
- Rosenthal says the Marlins are in on Brian Fuentes and other top relievers, and they’re more focused on bullpen help than a catcher. The Marlins’ interest in Fuentes was first reported by the Denver Post’s Troy E. Renck on July 9th.
- Sources tell Rosenthal that the Brewers aren’t likely to pay up for a top reliever like George Sherrill. Rosenthal considers the Angels the best fit for Sherrill, but doesn’t say whether they’re actually interested.
- The Braves probably won’t discuss Tim Hudson; they’ll need him for next year.
- Rosenthal wonders whether the Phillies will entertain trades for Brett Myers in the offseason.
- The Phillies inquired on some interesting hitters: Matt Holliday, Xavier Nady, and Matt Kemp.
- The Rockies asked the Orioles about Jeremy Guthrie, but he’s not available.
- The Mets may not consider Casey Blake even of a difference-maker, though Blake is popular on the trade market. The Rays are one team looking at him.
Assorted updates: Alou, Hudson, Garland, Okajima
Earlier today, we found a report that Moises Alou was about to sign with the Mets. Now Rosenthal is saying that it could be a two-year deal. With Carlos Gomez right behind Lastings Milledge, putting two established vets in the outfield through 2008 would seem to make Milledge expendable.
Yesterday, Phil Rogers speculated that Mark Buehrle could be headed to Texas. Rosenthal says it’s Jon Garland, and hints (as Rogers did) that John Danks and Brian Anderson could be part of the package, especially if the deal gets bigger.
And, Buster Olney is reporting chatter about Tim Hudson heading to the Orioles. If, as Olney speculates, the return could include Adam Loewen or Hayden Penn, it would seem to be ideal for Atlanta: free up payroll for Tom Glavine, and get another (cheap) potentially decent starter in the deal as well.
And here’s something out of nowhere: Hideki Okajima, a lefty reliever, may be coming to the states. Okajima, a longtime Yomiuri Giant and recently a Nippon Ham Fighter, had a great 2006 but a mediocre ’05. Sounds like your typical middle-bullpen fodder.
By Jeff Sackmann
Maine Offered To A’s For Hudson?
I was all set to point out that Billy Beane has indeed had previous interest in John Maine, but MetsBlog and a lot of message boards beat me to the punch. That’s what I get for taking the afternoon off.
For what it’s worth, I did find this Peter Gammons article from December of 2004 mentioning that Maine was offered by the Orioles for Tim Hudson along with Erik Bedard and Hayden Penn. Man, why didn’t Billy Beane take that offer? That’s 3/5 of a starting rotation right there.