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Giants Notes: Melvin Mora, Orlando Hudson

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The Giants signed Brad Penny to a minor league contract last night, bringing the right-hander back as possible bullpen help. Here is the latest news out of San Francisco…

  • The Giants had one text conversation with Melvin Mora's agent according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter), but there was "absolutely no offer made." Mora recently told a Venezuelan newspaper that he had received offers from both the Giants and Reds.
  • Baggarly says (on Twitter) there is no consensus within the organization about signing the recently released Orlando Hudson. The Giants infield is short at the moment, but Pablo Sandoval will return soon and the club expects to get Freddy Sanchez back from his shoulder problems at some point.

Giants Sign Brad Penny

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SATURDAY: Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com reports that Penny will make the pro-rated portion of a $500K salary while with the big league team (Twitter links). He says the contract language is open-ended, but the target date to have Penny on the roster is May 30th.

FRIDAY: The Giants have signed Brad Penny to a minor league contract reports John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The Legacy Sports Group client will head to Extended Spring Training next week and is considered a bullpen candidate.

Penny, 33, threw for GM Brian Sabean, manager Bruce Bochy, and pitching coach Dave Righetti today according to Shea (on Twitter). The right-hander started the year with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks but requested his release after just one start. Penny pitched to a 5.30 ERA in 31 starts for the Tigers last season and spent the second half of 2009 with the Giants, posting a 2.59 ERA in six starts.

Stark On Myers, Phillies, Wang, Giants, Appel

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There will be interleague games throughout most of the season, starting next year, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports.  MLB will limit the number of interleague contests during the last five weeks of the season to ensure that most teams play within their own league down the stretch. Here are more of Stark’s rumors…

  • Brett Myers told Stark he doesn’t want to be traded, but realizes it’s beyond his control. Though Myers doesn’t have a no-trade clause, he obtains a $500K bonus if dealt.
  • The Phillies have “zero” interest in trading Cole Hamels or Shane Victorino, according to an executive who looked into the possibility of trading for the free agents to be. "They'd have to be really out of it to trade anybody,” the exec said.
  • Some teams have expressed interest in rehabbing right-hander Chien-Ming Wang. The Nationals don’t seem interested in trading him, however.
  • The Giants are sending signals that they’re in the market for a corner outfield bat, Stark reports. The Giants, who are also monitoring the infield market, may not have much selection since few power bats seem to be available.
  • Rival teams believe the Astros are leaning toward selecting Stanford right-hander Mark Appel with the first overall selection in this June’s amateur draft. One person said Astros GM Jeff Luhnow seems to want to select someone close to the Major Leagues.
  • The loss of pitching coach Dave Duncan entered into the Cardinals' thinking when they extended Yadier Molina earlier in the year, GM John Mozeliak told Stark. "With the fact that Dunc was gone, it was a subtle way of still keeping that same presence on our staff,” he said.

Giants Monitoring Infield Market

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The Giants have “put out feelers” for players on the trade market, VP Bobby Evans told Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com. Baggarly suggests the Giants will take a hard look at Orlando Hudson, who will be a free agent once he clears release waivers.

The Padres released Hudson yesterday and despite his declining defensive and offensive skills, the switch-hitter could be a fit for the short-handed Giants. Emmanuel Burriss, Brandon Crawford, Joaquin Arias and Charlie Culberson are currently contributing for San Francisco with Freddy Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval and Ryan Theriot on the disabled list.

NL Links: Giants, Diamondbacks, Mets, DeWitt

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The Padres placed Orlando Hudson on release waivers earlier today, and the veteran second baseman figures to draw some interest once he clears and becomes a free agent. Here's the latest from around the so-called Senior Circuit…

  • Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com hears from a source that available infield options are "not great" and the Giants must remain patient with Charlie Culberson (Twitter link). Hudson could make sense for San Francisco, though that is just my speculation.
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has spent the last few days with his staff looking over ways to improve his club, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. "I can't tell you if there's going to a move or not," said the GM. "Maybe none, but we just kind of want to re-evaluate where we're at, and if there are any other options out there that might make us better and kind of spark the club a little bit."
  • "The bullpen has been a frustration. There's no question about that," said Mets GM Sandy Alderson to reporters (including MLB.com's Spencer Fordin and Ethan Asofsky) after designating D.J. Carrasco for assignment last night. "At some point, you have to start making changes, and [this] was a step in that direction. It's not that we have outstanding candidates in the minor league system at this point. We've got some good candidates, but like a number of our other prospects, perhaps they're not ready to pitch at this level."
  • Blake DeWitt accepted his outright assignment and will head to Triple-A tomorrow, reports Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago. The Cubs designated DeWitt for assignment then outrighted him off the 40-man roster, but he could have refused the assignment and elected free agency.

Quick Hits: Reds, Youkilis, Angels, Beltran, Orioles

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Links from around baseball as Wednesday becomes Thursday..

  • The Reds are not seeking outside help at third base with Scott Rolen on the disabled list, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Inquirer.  General Manager Walt Jocketty also said that he hasn't had discussions with the Red Sox, shooting down any speculation that the club might have interest in Kevin Youkilis.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia wouldn't go into much detail about the firing of hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, but it clearly wasn't his choice, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.  "Obviously the GM’s position is to try to make changes, whether it’s personnel or staffing, that he believes is going to help us [get] better, and we have to respect that," said the skipper.
  • Carlos Beltran didn't feel that the Giants made a strong effort to re-sign him last season even though the club knew that he liked playing in San Francisco, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links).  However, the team did talk with agent Dan Lozano in generalities, Schulman tweets.
  • Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun hopes that the Orioles will spend the money necessary to keep Matt Wieters and Adam Jones in the fold despite the team's bad luck with hefty contracts in the past.
  • In a piece for Deadspin, Craig Fehrman gives an inside look at the Atlantic League's Bridgeport Bluefish.

NL West Notes: Padres, Bartlett, Hudson, Giants

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Items out of the National League West..

Extension Candidate: Melky Cabrera

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Even though Melky Cabrera enjoyed a surprisingly productive 2011 campaign, it's safe to say that the outfielder has been a surprise this season as well, as few (outside of the Giants front office, that is) expected Cabrera to top himself. 

Melky Cabrera - Giants (PW)

Cabrera broke out with a .305/.339/.470 slash line with the Royals last year, a performance that moved the Giants to acquire him in exchange for a promising young left-hander in Jonathan Sanchez.  It seemed like a risky deal at the time given that Cabrera had just one quality season under his belt, but while Sanchez has struggled in Kansas City, Cabrera has excelled in his return to the National League.  Cabrera carried a .338/.386/.490 line into Tuesday's action and his hot bat has been a blessing for a San Francisco lineup that was struggling to score runs even before Pablo Sandoval's hand injury.

Giants GM Brian Sabean told Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle that the team was open to discussing a contract extension with Cabrera.  The club usually prefers to not negotiate during the season but, with Cabrera scheduled to hit free agency after this season, the Giants could get a head start on locking up the outfielder before he reaches the open market.  For his part, Cabrera has said he enjoys playing in San Francisco, so appears to be some interest on both sides to get a deal done.

Cabrera avoided arbitration for the third time by signing a $6MM contract with the Giants in January — a nice step up from the $1.25MM free agent deal he signed with the Royals after being non-tendered by the Braves following the 2010 season.  Cabrera is a unique case when it comes to comparables, as shown by a quick look at the MLBTR Extension Tracker.  The ACES client turns 28 in August, will have over six years of service time once this season is complete and, of course, has just one above-average Major League season to his credit plus what he's done thus far in 2012. 

Cabrera has a .376 BABIP, which is a sign that his numbers are soon due to come down to earth.  It might be a wise move for the Giants to wait out the season to make sure Cabrera can keep hitting, as while waiting might cost the team a few extra dollars to re-sign him in the offseason, they'd have more peace of mind that they're making a solid investment. 

If the Giants were to jump the gun and extend Cabrera now, something like a three-year/$24MM contract would be fair for both sides.  If the Giants wait and Cabrera still has an .876 OPS by season's end, his price tag will rise to the $9-$10MM per season range on the open market.  It seems expensive given Cabrera's spotty career history but, given how big bats are becoming hard to find in free agency, several teams will show interest in a corner outfielder in his prime years who managed big numbers in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park.

As MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently pointed out in his look at the Giants' 2013 contract issues, the team has already committed $80MM to next year's payroll.  The Giants are also looking to extend Tim Lincecum and may look into an extension for Buster Posey to cover their franchise catcher's arbitration years, so there might be relatively little money left over to extend Cabrera as well.  This could be an added reason for the team to move now and sign Cabrera at more of a bargain price, but since this is also the team that has spent unwisely on several veterans (i.e. Miguel Tejada, Aubrey Huff, Edgar Renteria, Mark DeRosa), a bit of caution could be prudent.      

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Quick Hits: Hatcher, Wright, Giants, Duffy, Draft

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The Angels announced that Mickey Hatcher has been removed from his job as the team's hitting coach.  Hatcher will be replaced by Jim Eppard, who had been the hitting coach at Triple-A Salt Lake City.  This was Hatcher's 13th year as the Angels' hitting coach, and his firing is surely a response to the club's overall lack of offense this season, particularly from Albert Pujols.  (Ironically, Pujols hit three singles in today's 4-0 win over the A's.)  Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times thinks this move came from owner Arte Moreno and is another sign that GM Jerry Dipoto is in charge of the team, not Mike Scioscia (both Twitter links).

Here are some items from around the majors…

  • David Wright told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York that he hasn't been approached by the Mets about a contract extension and he hasn't thought about the possibility of in-season negotiations.  We heard on Sunday that the Mets will likely offer Wright a multiyear contract, possibly sometime this summer.
  • Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan, both free agents after the season, told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that they'd be open to midseason contract talks with the Giants but are both just focused on baseball for now.
  • Danny Duffy's Tommy John surgery is just the latest blow in what has been a hard-luck season for the Royals, writes Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star.  The Royals will essentially lose a year of control over Duffy (who will accumulate service time while on the DL) and "the pressure on the Royals…to sign a frontline starting pitcher this winter just intensified," said Mellinger.
    Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/14/3610785/royals-pain-continues-with-duffys.html#storylink=cpy
  • High school outfielder Byron Buxton holds the top spot in Baseball America's ranking of the top 100 prospects in the June amateur draft.  The Astros hold the #1 overall selection.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney looks at ten starting pitchers who could be trade candidates this summer.
  • The early results of last offseason's trades are evaluated by MLB.com's Joey Nowak.
  • Marlins Park is proving to be very pitcher-friendly, but Marlins president David Samson told reporters (including Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post) that the team wasn't planning to move in the fences after the season.

Athletics Claim Travis Blackley

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The Athletics announced that they claimed left-hander Travis Blackley off of waivers from the Giants. The A's moved Joey Devine to the 60-day disabled list to free up a 40-man roster spot in a corresponding move. The team will announce a corresponding 25-man roster move once Blackley reports to his new club.

Blackley, 29, allowed seven hits and five earned runs in five innings for the Giants before getting designated for assignment two days ago. He has a 3.98 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in ten minor league seasons.

This marks the third time this year the Athletics have claimed an Australian-born player, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows. They claimed Rich Thompson from the Angels and Luke Hughes from the Twins back in April.

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