Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Adrian, Howard, Jeter
A year ago today, the Giants renewed reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum's contract for $650K. One year and a second Cy Young later, San Francisco bought out Lincecum's first two years of arbitration eligibility for $23MM. I'm sure they enjoyed paying him just six figures while it lasted.
Let's take a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…
- The Friarhood looks at what some other teams could offer the Padres in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez.
- Crashburn Alley breaks down the possibility of the Phillies trading Ryan Howard so they could re-sign Jayson Werth.
- Meanwhile, TAUNTR thinks it's going to be tough for the Phillies to retain their right fielder.
- Statistician Magician says that letting Derek Jeter walk is an option for the Yankees.
- Mets Paradise takes a look at the Mets' catching situation with Rod Barajas now on board.
- More Hardball constructed a 25-man roster out of players that were signed to minor league contracts this offseason.
- River Ave. Blues wonders what CC Sabathia will do with his opt-out clause following the 2011 season.
- Baseball Bloggers Alliance challenges readers to put together Toronto's 25-man roster.
- The Sports Banter ranks each team's offseason, with two AL East powers leading the way.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Munson, Ranaudo, Sheets
Links for Thursday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets that the Padres signed Eric Munson to a minor league deal. Munson, 32, hit .265/.362/.450 in Triple A last year while catching 73 games.
- Potential high 2010 draft pick Anthony Ranaudo, a righty at LSU, will miss a start Friday due to elbow discomfort according to Baseball America's Aaron Fitt.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick looks at the mentor role Ben Sheets will play for the Oakland pitching staff.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball reports that despite a decrease in attendance, MLB revenue reached a record $6.6 billion in 2009.
- J.D. Drew feels that he's been worth the $42MM he's been paid so far by the Red Sox over the 2007-09 seasons, reports Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald.
No Discount For Adrian Gonzalez
9:04pm: Hayes has an updated story now, and it includes some interesting details. He reports that a Padres source said no teams approached San Diego about a deal for Gonzalez this winter. At last summer's non-waiver trade deadline, the Mariners were close to acquiring Gonzalez in a 6-for-1 trade, but the deal fell through when then-Padres GM Kevin Towers held out for one more player.
2:50pm: Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez isn't interested in a hometown discount, based on this report from Dan Hayes of the North County Times. In reference to his current contract, Gonzalez said, "At the time you take the security…the next one is where I look for what I deserve." I imagine he's expecting to top $100MM once he reaches free agency after the 2011 season. Gonzalez says there have been no extension talks with the Padres.
Gonzalez is sure to continue appearing in trade rumors this summer, but he cautions that "99.9 percent of everything is false."
Cardinals, Others Interested In Felipe Lopez
SATURDAY, 3:53pm: Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter) hears it's highly unlikely that the Padres will make a move on Lopez.
WEDNESDAY, 5:12pm: Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports are reporting that free agent infielder Felipe Lopez has four suitors, two of whom are San Diego and St. Louis.
We've heard about the Cards' interest in Lopez already this winter, and Morosi/Rosenthal note that Brendan Ryan's wrist surgery might be a main reason why St. Louis is keeping an eye on Lopez. For the Padres, Lopez would be essentially a depth signing, though David Eckstein and Everth Cabrera aren't exactly rock-solid everyday options in the middle infield. Cabrera is entering just his second season, and Eckstein has never posted an OPS in any of his nine major league seasons that has come within 50 points of the .810 OPS that Lopez achieved in 680 plate appearances last season..
Padres Sign Josh Barfield
The Padres signed second baseman Josh Barfield to a minor league deal with no Spring Training invite, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock. Barfield, 27, hit .252/.271/.331 in 319 appearances for the Indians' Triple A club in '09 and was outrighted in August.
Barfield came up with the Padres, posting a fine rookie season in '06. Former GM Kevin Towers sold high on him, sending Barfield to Cleveland after the season for Kevin Kouzmanoff and Andrew Brown.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Gonzalez, Contreras
On this date back in 1983, Dodgers' hurler Fernando Valenzuela became the first player in baseball history to receive a seven-figure award through the arbitration process. During his first two-plus seasons as a big leaguer, Fernandomania had been named the Rookie of the Year, appeared in two All Star Games, and won a Cy Young Award. The arbitration panel awarded him a $1MM salary in his first year of eligibility, nearly tripling his 1982 salary.
As the last few present day arbitration cases wrap up, here are some links to check out from around the baseball blogiverse…
- Mets Paradise reviews the Amazin's offseason, and says they aren't a finished product even if the team believes they are.
- Capitol Avenue Club examines a potential Adrian Gonzalez-to-Atlanta trade, and notes that it's the same situation as the Mark Teixeira swap of 2007.
- Turn Two looks at some AL and NL position battles.
- The Sports Banter tries to find homes for the best remaining free agents.
- Phillies Nation grades the Jose Contreras pickup.
- Gear Up For Blue Jays Baseball breaks down Kevin Gregg and the rest of Toronto's bullpen.
- Tipi Talk wonders if Rafael Perez could contribute to the Indians as a starting pitcher.
- Dodgers Digital answers questions about how the Dodgers' roster decisions will affect their Triple-A affiliate.
- AdamAdkins.net ranks the top five catchers in the game today.
- Brew Crew Ball provides an easy-to-use guide for creating your own Spring Training story.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Burnett, Chapman, Reyes
Links for Thursday…
- GM John Mozeliak and manager Tony LaRussa both mentioned to MLB.com's Matthew Leach that the Cardinals are not in a rush to add an infielder despite Brendan Ryan's recent wrist surgery.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels knows that it's far from a foregone conclusion that his team will win 87 games again, according to ESPNDallas.com reporter Richard Durrett.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that Aroldis Chapman has looked "very impressive" so far.
- Jose Reyes tells Kevin Kernan of the New York Post that he wants to finish his career with the Mets. Reyes says he's not thinking about the $11MM option the Mets have for his services in 2011.
- The Nats outrighted Doug Slaten to Triple A, according to the team's Twitter. They designated him for assignment two days ago.
- The Rockies and Mariners offered Mark McGwire hitting coach positions, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Mariners made their offer in 2003; the Rockies made theirs a few years ago.
- Victor Martinez tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he'd "obviously" like to stay in Boston. The catcher says the negotiations are now under the team's control.
- Carlos Zambrano tells Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald that he would have vetoed a trade had the Cubs approached him about one this offseason.
- Andrew Friedman says he and his front office have assembled "the most talented team in Rays history," according to the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter).
- USA Today's Peter Barzilai looks back at some historically good free agent signings.
- Greg Burke cleared waivers, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times. The club placed Burke on unconditional waivers ten days ago.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the club find its fifth starter outside of the organization. "We'd love to have a bona fide No. 5 starter," Colletti said.
- Mariano Rivera tells MLB.com's Brian Hoch that he doesn't know how long he's going to continue playing (Twitter link).
- Rockies manager Jim Tracy told Denver Post readers that he helps Dan O'Dowd make personnel decisions when the GM is looking for input.
- In anticipation of the club's scheduled arbitration hearing with Ryan Theriot, Cubs GM Jim Hendry tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the arbitration process is sometimes unavoidable.
- The Braves signed 17-year-old infield prospect Alejandro Sanchez Martinez to a seven-year contract out of Spain earlier in the winter, according to David Menayo of Marca.com. Thanks to Nick Collias for the translation.
Odds & Ends: Cubs, Lowell, Mauer, Adrian
Links for Wednesday…
- I recently did an Orioles-centric phone interview with Tom Sedlacek of the Bowie Baysox website.
- The Cubs signed 18-year-old Korean righty Kim Jin-yeong for $1.2MM, reports Matt DeWoskin of True Stories Of Korean Baseball. I have heard that this is not official yet, however.
- Ted Lilly would like to remain with the Cubs beyond 2010, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, but the lefty doesn't want to be a distraction.
- WEEI's Rob Bradford chatted with Mike Lowell about his near-trade to the Rangers and his future with the Red Sox.
- Bob Nightengale of USA Today examines the Joe Mauer extension situation, drawing a parallel to Cal Ripken in 1992.
- This time, Padres CEO Jeff Moorad talked about hope and optimism regarding an extension for Adrian Gonzalez (Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reporting).
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Nationals, Reds, and Indians made big league offers to Chien-Ming Wang, while the Dodgers and Rays showed interest but did not make offers.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if the Tigers traded Curtis Granderson because they soured on him as a player.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball has the numbers on the five remaining arbitration cases.
Odds & Ends: Lincecum, Cashman, Orioles, Wang
Links for Tuesday…
- Tim Lincecum passed his physical according to Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Presumably his two-year, $23MM deal is official now.
- Yankees' GM Brian Cashman sat down for an interview with NoMaas.org. He discussed what went into some of their decision making this offseason, among other things.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun projected the Orioles' Opening Day roster.
- Chien-Ming Wang has already passed his physical with the Nationals, reports Chico Harlan of The Washington Post. Given the righty's recent shoulder surgery, it was far from a formality.
- Joe Torre tells Mike Francesa of WFAN that the Dodgers are on the lookout for a fifth starter (audio here). Torre says the Dodgers could find that starter within their organization. He also says he and the Doders are talking about adding a year onto his contract, which expires after this season.
- Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Batter's Box that the Blue Jays will draft the best players available this June. Anthopoulos also said the Jays will be open to dealing from their pitching depth.
- MLB.com's Doug Miller shows that baseball's executives are getting younger as owners take a business-first approach to winning.
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says he'd be willing to guarantee Joe Mauer eight or ten years if that's what it takes to keep the catcher in Minnesota, despite the fact that Mauer would almost certainly be playing another position by the end of a contract that long.
- Padres GM Jed Hoyer tells MLB.com's Corey Brock that he's pleased with his first offseason as a GM and the process that the Padres used this winter.
- Giants officials believe "the day is coming when legions of talented hitters will follow" Pablo Sandoval's path to the majors, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Felipe Lopez would be a "great, great fit" for the Mets.
Odds & Ends: Athletics, Padres, Astros
So much to get to as Thursday winds down:
- CSNBayArea.com's Mychal Urban reflects on the Oakland winter, and writes that Ben Sheets was the most important acquisition of the team's offseason.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock writes that his guess has Adrian Gonzalez staying for 2010 and getting dealt next winter.
- The Padres also hired Randy Johnson as their Minor League Coordinator, but not that Randy Johnson.
- The Astros have offered Willy Taveras a minor league deal, Bernardo Fallas writes in the Houston Chronicle.