Cafardo On Capps, Clippard, Athletics, Cabrera
There are indications that Cubs owner Tom Ricketts could be considering a management overhaul in Chicago, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe thinks Ricketts would do well to hire as many Red Sox people as possible. Cafardo suggests that Allard Baird, Ben Cherington, and DeMarlo Hale are among the names that should be attractive to the Cubs. Here are some other highlights from the Globe's Sunday Notes:
- Matt Capps should draw plenty of trade interest if the Twins decide to move him. However, the closer likely won't become available until the Twins are absolutely sure they're out of the race, as the defending AL Central champs will be reluctant to give up on their season.
- If the Nationals are willing to deal him, there will be a strong market for setup man Tyler Clippard. Cafardo speculates that Clippard would be a good fit for the Yankees or Phillies.
- An AL GM on the Athletics' decision to replace manager Bob Geren with Bob Melvin: "[GM Billy] Beane made the move now because he thought there was something to salvage. They still have the pitching. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility."
- Any contenders with interest in Orlando Cabrera may be able to acquire him sooner rather than later, after the Indians' promotion of Cord Phelps reduced Cabrera to a part-time role.
- Jason Bay's most recent slump had the Mets' $66MM man out of the lineup this week. "His bat is slow and he’s just not himself," said one veteran scout. "The ballpark [Citi Field] isn’t good for him, but the way he hit his home runs, I never thought that was a big issue."
Close Continues To Represent 12 Former CAA Clients
Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard and Derrek Lee aren’t the only former CAA clients agent Casey Close will continue to represent now that he’s at Excel Sports Management. Close told MLBTR that he still represents Tyler Clippard, Michael Cuddyer, Alex Gordon, Jerry Hairston Jr., Scott Hairston, Casey Kotchman, Ben Sheets, Marcus Thames and Jamey Wright.
Close left CAA Sports in February and recently joined the New York-based agency Excel Sports Management. For the latest on all agencies and players, check out MLBTR’s Agency Database.
NL East Notes: Zimmermann, Marlins, Heyward
Players with zero to three years of service time are under team control and don't have the power to negotiate their salaries. Most of these players agree to terms with their clubs on deals worth $400-500K, but some don't agree to terms and their clubs renew their contracts instead (it doesn't affect the player's timeline for arbitration or free agency). Here's the latest on the NL East, including news on some contract renewals:
- The Nationals announced that they have renewed the contracts of right-handers Tyler Clippard and Jordan Zimmermann.
- The Marlins renewed the contracts of four of their own players, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). The team did not agree to terms with Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez, Mike Stanton or Ryan Webb.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan shows that Jason Heyward is uncharacteristically mature for a 21-year-old. The Braves right fielder tells Passan that he can improve upon his standout rookie season, something that would please new manager Fredi Gonzalez.
Quick Hits: Rockies, Dodgers, McDonald, Clippard
Links for Thursday night..
- While I wondered if the Braves could be a match for the Cardinals as they look for pitching, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests that the Rockies could be a match. A major league source told Rosenthal that the Cards will first explore internal options before looking out-of-house.
- Commissioner Bud Selig has rejected a proposal under which FOX would have loaned about $200MM to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, three people familiar with the talks told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times.
- Ex-Giant Juan Uribe is happy to be aboard with the Dodgers, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Former Dodgers pitcher James McDonald is excited to turn over a new leaf with the Pirates, writes Evan Drellich of MLB.com. McDonald was shipped to Pittsburgh along with Andrew Lambo for Octavio Dotel last season.
- Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard says that he will continue to be represented by agent Casey Close, who is leaving CAA Sports, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- Brewers right-handers Justin James and Shaun Marcum were drafted by Toronto in the same year but took very different paths to wind up in Milwaukee, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. James claimed off waivers by the Brewers from the A's this offseason.
Nationals DFA Kip Wells, Call On Clippard
MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that the Nationals designated reliever Kip Wells for assignment to make room for Tyler Clippard. Wells, a 32-year-old righty, has an ERA of 6.49 in just over 26 innings, with 18 strikeouts and as many walks.
The Nationals’ Bullpen
According to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, "changes are coming" to the Nationals' bullpen if it doesn't improve. The Nats have since DFA'd Mike Hinckley and called up Ron Villone, but they could make more moves:
- The Nats could exchange bad contracts with another team. Trading Austin Kearns ($8MM) for Miguel Batista ($9MM) has been discussed.
- Harlan adds that the trade market for relievers isn't good because many teams have struggling bullpens.
- The Nats' will likely address the bullpen from within the organization. Jason Bergmann and Tyler Clippard are available in the minor leagues.
Tyler Clippard To Nationals For Albaladejo
A source at the Meetings tells me the Yanks are sending Tyler Clippard over to the Nats in a trade for minor league reliever Jonathan Albaladejo. Ah here we go, the Washington Post now has this one.
Clippard, a righthanded starter, turns 23 in February. He’s said to be a "finesse righty with a plus curve." A move to the NL and a rotation spot means things are looking up for him.
Albaladejo is a 25 year-old who did a nice job in relief at Triple A and with Washington last year. The Nats had snagged him as a minor league free agent.
You’ve got to like this move for the Nats, even if it seems small.
Heyman On Eric Gagne
SI.com’s Jon Heyman had a new post in the wee hours of the morning today. The Yankees seem to be the frontrunner for Eric Gagne, while simultaneously trying to unload Kyle Farnsworth.
Gagne would set up Mariano Rivera in New York. Gagne can’t veto this trade, even though working as a setup man would cause him to miss some of his incentives. Heyman talks about the Yankees accomodating this problem, although they are under no obligation to do so.
The Yankees are being very possessive about their pitching prospects. Beyond Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, they’ve deemed Ian Kennedy and Alan Horne off-limits. Jeff Marquez and Tyler Clippard are two who could go to Texas for Gagne. Not bad, but not the big names we’ve been expecting.
The Mets might pay some mind to Gagne, whose price couldn’t be higher than Chad Cordero‘s. The Mets are the other contender to can trade for Gagne without his approval.
As for Farnsworth, we’ve already heard the Tigers and Rockies have some interest. Heyman adds the Dodgers to the mix; they inquired on him as a Plan B if they can’t get Octavio Dotel.