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Odds And Ends: Eaton, Balfour, McAnulty

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Couple of minor notes for this Friday afternoon:

  • Paul McAnulty, who is out of options, is going to make the Padres 25-man roster. With Scott Hairston filling in for injured Jim Edmonds in center, McAnulty could get a fair share of playing time in left. The other candidate for playing time is Jody Gerut.
  • It appears the Rays have decided on their final bullpen spot, giving the job to Scott Dohmann. The loser in this deal is Grant Balfour, who is out of options. The Australian reliever has some promise, and I would imagine will be claimed on waivers.
  • Not that it’s a trade rumor, but there are whispers that Adam Eaton may have pitched his way out of the Phillies five slot. There isn’t mention of a replacement, but it could be Chad Durbin.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.

Padres Acquire Justin Huber

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According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, the Padres have acquired Justin Huber from the Royals for a player to be named later.  He’s a good candidate to see time in left field for San Diego since he’s out of options.  Backing up Adrian Gonzalez at first probably isn’t an option given Tony Clark’s presence.

The 25 year-old gets a .255/.322/.420 projection from PECOTA and .279/.334/.437 from ZiPS.  Baseball America spoke of a team official who compared Huber to Matt Diaz.  It’s a decent low-risk acquisition for Kevin Towers once again.

Padres, Rays Interested In Jeremy Reed

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According to John Hickey of the Seattle PI, the Padres and Rays are eyeing Mariners center fielder Jeremy Reed.  Hickey notes that the Padres have renewed interest and have liked him for quite a while.  And he wonders whether Rays would surrender a young pitcher.  Hickey believes Reed might still be on the Ms’ roster as a showcase.  The 26 year-old does have options left, though. 

The White Sox drafted Reed in the second round back in ’02.  He made it to Double A as a 22 year-old in ’03 and hit over .400 in a half season.

Reed injured his wrist playing for Team USA that November, but said it wasn’t the cause of his poor spring with the Sox in ’04.  Instead, a partial shoulder dislocation may have been to blame.  Reed wasn’t terribly impressive in his first stint at Triple A, but he was young for his level (and still made the Futures Game).

Days after that game Kenny Williams shipped Reed to Seattle as the centerpiece of the Freddy Garcia trade.  Reed hit better at Triple A as a member of Rainiers.  Then he posted a tiny-sample .397 average in a September cup of coffee.

Reed displaced Randy Winn as the Mariners’ starting center fielder to begin the ’05 season.  He hit poorly in all months outside of May, however.  He had two injuries on the year – a concussion in July and a season-ending torn left wrist ligament in September.

Reed was a hot commodity in the 2005-06 offseason, with the Red Sox offering Matt Clement or Bronson Arroyo. The Ms added Matt Lawton in December but Reed stayed put.

In Spring Training of ’06, Reed injured his right wrist.  It was originally diagnosed as broken but turned out to be a 12-18 year-old fracture.  He was ready for Opening Day, but hit his way out of the lineup by May.  Reed then broke his thumb in July, a season-ending injury.  Reed was healthy by spring ’07 but didn’t make the team.  He posted an .806 OPS at Triple A and earned a September call-up.  In 22 ABs this spring, Reed’s hit .318/.407/.364.   

Reed looks like a decent buy-low pickup, but his star has faded from all the injuries.  His destiny may be as a fourth outfielder.  He’s got two years of service time, so he could be arbitration-eligible after this season.

Odds and Ends: Giles, Crisp, A-Rod

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Nothing huge cooking this morning, so here are some odds and ends.

  • Doesn’t look like the Dodgers will acquire Marcus Giles.
  • Rany Jazayerli writes about how Kansas City is home to many of the country’s best baseball journalists.  On a related note, the Star’s Sam Mellinger has a chat with Brian Bannister on his blog.
  • Coco Crisp rattles off the trade rumors he’s heard: Cubs, Sox, A’s, Padres.  No deal appears imminent, though Crisp was healthy enough to pinch-run this morning.
  • John Harper snags an exclusive with Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod admitted he chose the Rangers over the Mets for money and feared he was going down that road again this past winter.
  • Roch Kubatko writes that Brian Roberts was pulled from the lineup today for back pain, hoping to nip trade speculation in the bud.
  • The Phillies have to make a decision on Kris Benson today.
  • Aaron Gleeman weighs in on the Joe Nathan extension.  Buster Olney talked to baseball execs who felt the Twins should’ve added Nathan’s money to their Johan offer.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Reed, Aardsma, Cueto

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Rumor king Ken Rosenthal has the latest at FOXSports.com.

  • Looks like the Padres will give near-regular playing time to Jody Gerut, at least until Jim Edmonds returns.  If Gerut performs, Kevin Towers may be able to stop his outfielder search.  Still, Rosenthal notes the Padres’ interest in Seattle’s Jeremy Reed.  Reed has two options left, by the way.
  • Rosenthal names three Boston players who are out of options and probably available for little: David Aardsma, Bryan Corey, and Kyle Snyder.  The O’s are known to be eyeing Corey.  You can check out our running out of options list here.
  • The A’s wanted spring sensation/top pitching prospect Johnny Cueto from the Reds for Joe Blanton – no deal.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Crisp, Capuano, Lohse

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Does anybody else think that Brian Roberts’ agent fuels 90% of these rumors just so his client’s name is kept in the news? Me neither…Now that we have gotten the obligatory Roberts reference out of the way, let’s move on to some trades/signings that might actually happen in the near future. The biggest of course is the recent news that talks may be heating up with the Red Sox to move Coco Crisp. So far we know that the Sox are not interested in Jason Marquis or Sam Fuld and the Padres may only be having internal discussions at this point (although one writer does not see the Padres as serious suitors). Let’s take a look at what is being written about Crisp and a few others in the Blogosphere…

If there is a topic you would like to see covered in "Baseball Blogs Weigh In" please let me know HERE.

  • Red Sox News doesn’t like the rumored offer of Jason Marquis and Sam Fuld for Crisp. More likely they believe a package of Josh Donaldson and either Bobby Howry or Carmen Pignatiello could be accepted by the Sox.
  • Boston Sports Buzz sees Crisp as a nice solution for the Padres, since they currently employ one utility player and two injuries-waiting-to-happen in the outfield while lacking a legitimate leadoff hitter.
  • El Guapo’s Ghost also sees the Padres as the logical destination for Crisp, noting that prospect Kyle Blanks may be expendable for the Pads and fill the vacancy of power-hitting prospects in the Red Sox organization.
  • Hire Jim Essian is not too keen on Crisp, so they are rooting hard for Felix Pie to play well and keep "punching the baseball in its stupid face."
  • Goat Riders is not crazy about Crisp playing center for the Cubbies, but prefer him to the alternatives.
  • Right Field Bleachers notes that the Brewers may trade Chris Capuano before Opening Day as he needs a change of scenery and he still has some value on the market. They do not see the Red Sox as a good match since the Brew Crew does not need a center fielder (i.e. Crisp).
  • Rockin’ the Red laments the loss of another starting pitcher and acknowledges that it is time to look outside the organization for help. They would rather the Cardinals sign Kyle Lohse as opposed to Jeff Weaver.
  • Viva El Birdos would also prefer Lohse to any other outside options, and would opt for in-house options if Lohse is not signed.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Perrotto’s Latest: Giles, Crisp, Wells

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John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus has some hot stove tidbits to consider in his Sunday column.

  • Perrotto notes that Jeff Baker’s success this spring for the Rockies could lead to a trade of Marcus Giles.  Baker is hitting .316/.350/.579 in a 19 AB sample.  Giles is at .385/.500/.615 in 13 ABs (yes, it seems silly to be talking about these stats).  Giles hasn’t hit much since ’05, so I doubt he’d bring anything in return.
  • Perrotto says the Padres are "considering trying to trade for Coco Crisp."  However, Tom Krasovic wrote on Friday that the Padres pursuing Crisp was doubtful for many reasons.  Who knows; at the least, Theo Epstein and Kevin Towers get along.
  • David Wells is still kicking around wanting to play, and could have to wait and serve as a midseason reinforcement.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Crede, Willits, Rivera, Belliard

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Ken Rosenthal checks in with all kinds of hot stove info.

  • Continuing on yesterday’s post regarding Joe Crede and the Dodgers , Rosenthal reports that a source close to Dodgers management explained that the team trading for a third baseman like Crede or Brandon Inge is "all about the budget and whether [owner Frank] McCourt will allow them to add money."  Rosenthal continues to point out that Crede is a better deal than Inge in terms of their contracts, and that Crede could also be more attractive to Dodgers management because the White Sox might be willing to trade for prospects, while the Tigers are looking for immediate bullpen help.
  • The Mariners had been in the market for a veteran right-handed hitting outfielder, but have opted instead for in-house options.  It seems Coco Crisp could have filled a need.  Sure, he’s a switch-hitter, but his splits suggest it could have made some sense.  If they didn’t have to part with too much, it might have worked.
  • The Angels have a surplus in the outfield — Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits — and Rosenthal reports that Willits is now untouchable according to the Angels (two teams have inquired after him recently).  The two are blocked by Vladimir Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, Torii Hunter, and Gary Matthews Jr.  While it sounds as if they’d prefer to move Rivera (a free agent at season’s end), it’s hard to imagine that they’d send Willits to the minors (he has options remaining) if they don’t find a good match for Rivera (Umpbump Coley suggested the Padres or Mets yesterday).  As Coley pointed out, the Angels have numerous banged up pitchers, and there are a number of teams out there who are going to be starting center fielders with inferior skill sets compared to Willits (as Tim pointed out a few days ago).
  • The Nationals are dealing with a surplus at second base, and Rosenthal believes that Ron Belliard is the most logical piece to move, what with his $1.6MM salary this season, and his $1.9MM for next.  Rosenthal pinpoints the Rockies (perhaps too little range on the right side with Jeff Baker and Todd Helton), Cardinals, Twins, and White Sox as potential trade partners.

Posted by Matt Birt

Crumbling Edmonds Makes Pads Think Trade

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The Jim Edmonds Implosion Watch is on in San Diego. The centerfielder is on the shelf until the end of the month with a strained calf muscle, suffered in Thursday’s spring game.

Just a little more impetus for the Pads to get a deal done for an outfielder. Kevin Towers, though, says not so fast.  He’ll wait a week or so to see how Edmonds is progressing before pulling the trigger on any trades.  Edmonds, who’s in the last year of a two-year deal he signed with the Cardinals, will make $8MM this season. He’s missed 97 games over the last two years with a variety of aches and pains.

The strain may be worse than the one Edmonds suffered in 2003, causing him to miss significant playing time. Towers and Theo Epstein chatted yesterday over email, though Coco Crisp is seen as a long shot. Towers says Boston can’t have either Chase Headley or Matt Antonelli.

By Big Mike Glab

San Diego: Pitchers’ Haven

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Tom Krasovic pens an interesting article today on the pitchers’ haven that is San Diego.  Free agent pitchers love signing with the Padres.  Why?

  • Petco is tough on offense.  According to the Bill James Handbook, the park has reduced runs by 19% over the last couple of seasons.
  • The weather is fantastic – no 35 degree Chicago Opening Days.
  • Manager Bud Black was a pitcher, as was GM Kevin Towers.
  • Krasovic cites Mark Prior and Randy Wolf as two pitchers who spurned bigger offers to pitch in San Diego.
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