Glavine Doesn’t Expect To Pitch In 2010
Jim O'Hara of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Tom Glavine expects this season to be his last. When he looks at this year's rotation Glavine says the only "logical spot" is as the fifth starter. With Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami in the rotation, Glavine's probably right.
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: 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.
Odds & Ends: Glavine, Thorman, Sheffield
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- ESPN's Buster Olney talked to Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi, who has no plans to pursue the available free agent pitchers.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman has the latest on Tom Glavine's shoulder rehab. Glavine seems more optimistic than when he last addressed the media.
- Jamey Newberg says the Rangers released first baseman Scott Thorman after 32 Triple A at-bats.
- Steve Lombardi at WasWatching.com did a Q&A with Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- Jorge Says No! creates a roster of the worst free agent contracts of 2000-04.
- Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says the Gary Sheffield-Tigers trade was still a win for the Yankees even though the prospects haven't panned out.
- Over at RotoAuthority, I talked about three pitchers I drafted but already gave up on.
Glavine At Crossroads With Shoulder Injury
Braves starter Tom Glavine had an MRI and examination with Dr. James Andrews recently. That shoulder exam did not reveal a tear, but Glavine now has a two-week timetable to determine whether he'll pitch again. If there is no progress after the two weeks, Glavine implied he'd consider retirement.
Odds & Ends: Gregerson, Hanley, Strasburg
Links for Monday…
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the minor league transactions, including the Dodgers' signing of J.D Durbin.
- Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune says Rays Rule 5 pick Derek Rodriguez, a reliever, has been returned to the White Sox.
- Yahoo's David Brown talked to Carlos Pena about many topics, including his agent Scott Boras.
- According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Padres received pitcher Luke Gregerson as the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene deal. The other player the Padres received, the now-injured Mark Worrell, was also a minor league closer. Given the state of the Padres' pen, Gregerson could reach the Majors this year. UPDATE: Here is Paul DePodesta's take on Gregerson.
- MLB.com's Ken Gurnick noted yesterday that the Dodgers cut pitcher Shawn Estes, and he's yet to decide whether to accept a Triple A assignment. UPDATE: Estes will head to the minors and attempt to reinvent himself as a lefthanded specialist.
- Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald quizzed Hanley Ramirez about Boston's attempt to reacquire him in November.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wonders about Frank Catalanotto's future. Useful player, but the Rangers would have to eat most of his $6MM to move him.
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post talked to Nationals president Stan Kasten about the six-year, $50MM Stephen Strasburg rumor. We all know how Boras works…if he wants $25MM for Strasburg, he starts at $50MM.
- South Side Sox and Sox Machine comment on the Gavin Floyd extension, as well as the offers to John Danks and Carlos Quentin.
- Talking to David Lennon of Newsday, Tom Glavine responded to Pedro Martinez's distaste for signing a "Glavine-like" contract.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun spoke to Aubrey Huff, who "doesn't even understand the concept of a contract push."
- Ivan Rodriguez explained to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez why he didn't sign with the Marlins.
Cafardo’s Latest: Mauer, Red Sox, Glavine
With every Sunday come rumors from the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo:
- Cafardo asks Tom Glavine whether he’d consider another year if 2009 is a success. Glavine didn’t say no: "I’m not prepared right now to say. It would take a lot of good things to happen this year to consider playing next year. Last year, I didn’t think I’d be sitting here this year, so I guess you never know."
- Nomar Garciaparra had placed a call to the Red Sox front office inquiring about their potential interest.
- If he hits free agency, Joe Mauer is expected to receive offers in the $20-25MM range and "The Sox are expected to be front and center." Mauer is signed with the Twins through 2010. He’ll make $10.5MM this year and $12.5MM in 2010.
- Dusty Baker thinks Barry Bonds would still be a top hitter in the league. Says Baker, "He’s one of those guys that will be able to pick up a bat when he’s an old man and still get a hit."
- Andruw Jones is 4 for 18 with 10 strikeouts to start spring training.
- Scouts agree: George Kottaras would clear waivers if designated for assignment, meaning the Red Sox may not have to deal the catching prospect.
- Cafardo would make the Clay Buchholz-Jarrod Saltalamacchia trade right now.
Odds & Ends: Free Agents, Manny, Buchholz
Links for Thursday…
- A confident Sidney Ponson expects his agent to receive a few calls after he pitches in the WBC Saturday, according to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- ESPN’s Rob Neyer looks at the most interesting remaining free agents.
- Jorge Says No! names their 8 Worst Free Agent Contracts of the offseason.
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire weighs in on the Manny Ramirez contract, noting the player’s control over the team’s finances. Check out Manny’s comments made to the AP. Juan Pierre doesn’t have much to say about the signing.
- Baseball America’s Ben Badler talks about the reactions of Latin American scouts to the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal.
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark looks at the top players who are on Spring Training invites.
- Rockies reliever Taylor Buchholz will miss the rest of Spring Training with a sprained elbow.
- Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves made room for Tom Glavine on the 40-man roster by outrighting pitcher Anthony Lerew, who cleared waivers.
Braves, Tom Glavine Reach Agreement
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Braves have come to terms with Tom Glavine on a one-year, $1MM deal potentially worth $4.5MM with incentives. A portion of the money will be deferred. Glavine will slot in as Atlanta’s fifth starter.
Braves Rumors: Griffey, Glavine, Johnson
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and The News Tribune’s Larry LaRue both have a gut feeling that Ken Griffey Jr. will sign with the Braves soon. Atlanta is a better fit for Junior in all kinds of ways.
It’s all speculative right now, but Bowman also wonders if the Braves will announce a Tom Glavine signing alongside Griffey tomorrow. His guess at the two players they’d remove from the 40-man: Anthony Lerew and Gregor Blanco. Ken Rosenthal wrote last night that the Braves were close to re-signing Glavine. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution weighs in via the comments section of his blog:
The Glavine thing is a given at this point, folks. A done deal, save for crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s. Trust me on that one. And I’d say it’s highly likely that Griffey is going to be a Brave. Almost certain he’s going to choose Atlanta. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. But I’d put it at 90 percent or so that he’s picking the Braves.
O’Brien also writes about Kelly Johnson, who hopes to settle before Thursday’s arbitration hearing.