West Links: Myers, Wilson, Luebke
A few items of note to share out of MLB's West divisions …
- Things don't look good for Giants closer Brian Wilson, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters, including Steve Kroner of the SFGate.com. The Beard has "structural issues" in his right elbow and could be facing surgery.
- The news on Wilson prompted Bob Nightengale of USA Today to wonder whether the Giants would check in with the Astros on closer Brett Myers, whom Houston has been shopping for the past few months, if Wilson is in fact out for the season's balance or a substantial period of time (Twitter link).
- Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson doesn't hold a grudge against the Yankees for not attempting to sign him this offseason, according to Richard Justice of MLB.com, though the lefty intimates that it bothered him at the time: "Everybody has different constraints. There's not one way to build a team. They obviously went after a couple of pitchers. Obviously, both those guys did really good last year. You can't hold a grudge forever. You move on. I'm here. I'm an Angel. That's it."
- Padres lefty Cory Luebke discussed how last month's multiyear extension came to pass with Jeff Rickard and Jeff Nelson of MLB Network Radio's "Home Plate" on SiriusXM (audio link): "It wasn't something I expected, by any means. I was pretty surprised when they asked me if it was something I'd be willing to do. … There's a little peace of a mind, but I think we get more peace of mind when we're winning ballgames than dealing with the financial side of it, but it does offer a little security."
Pat Burrell Retires
APRIL 12th: The Phillies have announced that Burrell will sign a one-day minor league contract and retire with the club that originally drafted him. The retirement ceremony will be held on May 19th.
JAN. 30th: Pat Burrell is retiring, MLBTR has learned. We last heard from Pat the Bat in November, when the 35-year-old told the AP, "I have not decided yet, but I don't think I can play anymore [due to a chronic foot injury]. It hurts me to say that."
Burrell was drafted first overall by the Phillies in 1998 as a third baseman out of the University of Miami, but spent the bulk of his career as a left fielder. In nine seasons with the Phillies, he hit .257/.367/.485 with 251 home runs. His home run total ranks fourth all-time for the Phillies, behind only Del Ennis, Ryan Howard, and Mike Schmidt. He finished fourth in the 2000 Rookie of the Year voting, and received MVP votes in '02 and '05. Burrell had stints with the Rays and Giants to finish his career, during which he earned approximately $71MM in big league salary and scored a pair of World Series rings.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Quick Hits: Padres, Berkman, Giants, Rays, Royals
Here's the latest from around the league, on the night Yu Darvish made his MLB debut…
- Padres owner John Moore has retained investment banker Steve Greenberg to broker a sale of the club, reports Dan Hayes of The North County Times. Hayes says the club could fetch up to $700MM after the Dodgers sold for $2 billion last month.
- "If I could go back in time, I would have explored free agency earlier in my career," Lance Berkman told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The veteran missed the boat on truly massive contracts for first basemen, but he's still earned upwards of $100MM over the course of his career. Berkman, 36, is earning $12MM this year from the Cardinals.
- Giants owner Charles Johnson told Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle that he plans to stay out of the club's day-to-day operations. The billionaire upped his stake in the club in September 2011, making him the team's top shareholder.
- In his latest mailbag, MLB.com's Bill Chastain says that he wouldn't be so sure that Rays fans have seen the last of Wade Davis as a starter. James Shields will make $12MM in 2013 and it's not clear if the Rays will bring him back at that number or deal him. If that were to happen then Davis would likely return to the rotation.
- Many writers scoffed when the Royals handed the closer’s role to Jonathan Broxton this spring, but so far it looks like he might be ready to return to form, writes J.P. Breen of Fangraphs. The 27-year-old's deal is worth $4MM plus $1MM in incentives based on games pitched.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Rosenthal On Hamels, Greinke, Cain, Kinsler
The season is underway and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link) is back with Full Count..
- Cole Hamels didn't set an Opening Day deadline in his contract talks, but if the Phillies want to hammer out a deal mid-season they'll have to make him a bold and aggressive offer. Otherwise, the pitcher likely wouldn't listen midseason. Matt Cain's new deal is the baseline for Hamels and unless they'll venture into Cliff Lee territory (five-years, $120MM), they probably shouldn't bother restarting the talks.
- The Cain deal also puts the Brewers in a tough spot with Zack Greinke. Cain has been much more consistent than Greinke in the last five years but he's seen a bit of a drop over the last two seasons. The Brewers might want to wait to see more before offering $100MM+ plus, though his second-half last season was a sign of great things to come.
- For the Giants, the Cain signing is a buffer against potentially losing Tim Lincecum. Lincecum could cost the Giants upwards of $25MM a year, but Rosenthal says to keep two factors in mind. First, the contracts of Aaron Rowand and Barry Zito will be off the books by the time Lincecum's next deal begins. Secondly, the club's annual debt payments on AT&T Park – roughly $20MM a year – end after the 2017 season.
- The Rangers have discussed four- and five- year deals with Ian Kinsler but aren't eager to give him free agent money when he's under control for two more years. The danger for Texas is that the Yankees could potentially sign Robinson Cano to a monster deal, effectively raising Kinsler's price. Both players are eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
West Links: Lincecum, Giants, Rangers, Moyer, Angels
Yoenis Cespedes of the Athletics is the current MLB home run leader with … two. He hit this mammoth shot against Jason Vargas and the Mariners last night. Here's the latest from baseball's two West divisions…
- The Giants’ ability to hold on to Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner down the line depends largely on having prospects work out as low-cost, high-impact players, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels expressed some concern about his team's bench when speaking to Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas yesterday. "Listen, no club is flawless," he said, "and not to suggest that's our only one, [but] we got some guys on the bench that have some ability … if it's something we need to address we've shown in the past we will."
- Jamie Moyer will start for the Rockies today, but GM Dan O'Dowd told Troy Renck of The Denver Post that having the 49-year-old left-hander on the roster is about more than on-field production. "He brings a set of intangibles that will really benefit our club and our pitching staff. He loves to share information," said the GM.
- The Angels could make the playoffs without Albert Pujols, says Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. He says the club has enough talent "that even a slow start by their superstar won’t doom them."
NL West Notes: Giants, Villalona, Padres, Dodgers
After getting caught up on the details of the Dodgers sale earlier this evening, let's take a look at other news out of the National League West..
- Giants Vice President Bobby Evans says that Angel Villalona is once again on the restricted list, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter). This leaves San Fran with 39 player on the 40-man roster, making things easier if they need to purchase Joaquin Arias' contract or tack on a pitcher (Twitter link). Villalona, 21, is facing legal issues in his native Dominican Republic.
- A source familiar with negotiations told Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter) that the Padres' stake in FOX Sports San Diego is 20%, not the 51% figure that has been previously reported. A deal will likely be announced next week between Tuesday and Thursday.
- Scouts have told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link) throughout Spring Training that the Dodgers are a sleeper team in 2012. With new ownership, many believe that they'll be able to address their team needs with a deal prior to the trade deadline. Rosenthal also gives the Giants a thumbs-up for their extension of Matt Cain.
NL West Notes: Padres, Dodgers, Phelps
Three NL West teams — the Giants, Diamondbacks and Rockies — open their seasons today. Here are some links from the NL West…
- The Padres' 20-year TV deal with FOX Sports San Diego is "all but finalized" and should be announced within one or two days, Dan Hayes of the North County Times reports. The deal could be worth $1 billion or more. "Life is good and I'll leave it at that," Padres majority owner John Moores said.
- MLB officials are concerned that the winning bidders for the Dodgers have been slow to produce details about themselves and their bid, Tom Verducci of SI.com reports. Some owners are questioning why the group fronted by Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten hasn't filed a more detailed Purchase and Sale Agreement.
- Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports that the terms of the Dodgers’ sale are scheduled to be filed in court today.
- The Giants originally requested right-hander David Phelps from the Yankees for catcher Chris Stewart, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. The Yankees ultimately sent right-hander George Kontos to San Francisco.
Giants, Yanks Swap Chris Stewart For George Kontos
2:32pm: The Yankees have acquired Stewart in exchange for right-hander George Kontos, reports MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter).
Kontos, 26, allowed two runs in six innings for New York last September, his big league debut. He pitched to a 2.62 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 89 1/3 Triple-A innings.
2:13pm: Shea hears that Stewart is being traded to the Yankees, but it is not official and the team hasn't announced anything yet (Twitter link).
1:53pm: The Giants will trade Chris Stewart according to John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The deal is pending at the moment. The backstop is out of options.
Stewart, 30, hit .204/.283/.309 in 183 plate appearances with the Giants last season after Buster Posey's injury. A release from the team says the trade will be announced later today. The details are unknown.
Quick Hits: Oswalt, Cain, Soria, Votto, McCourt
We're less than 24 hours away from the first official game at Marlins Park, as the Fish show off their new ballpark in their season opener against the World Series champion Cardinals. Here are some news bits to tide us over in the meantime…
- The Giants' extension with Matt Cain is "a sound deal," several non-San Francisco team executives tell ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
- Roy Oswalt will likely need around 60 days of preparation time to be ready to pitch, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). This fits with Oswalt's previous statement about looking at a midseason return.
- Royals closer Joakim Soria underwent Tommy John surgery today and the medical team "couldn't have been more pleased" with the procedure, a club source tells MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. Soria will miss the entire 2012 season recovering from the surgery.
- Joey Votto's 10-year, $225MM extension with the Reds is "one of the crazier seeming contracts in baseball history," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Heyman talks to several anonymous team executives about the contract, with theories ranging from the Reds being worried about the Dodgers' aggressive new ownership to the Reds being able to afford Votto thanks to several years of collecting luxury tax payments. Then again, one competing GM says simply, "The Reds look like they have no plan."
- Attorneys for Major League Baseball made a court filing arguing that the Dodgers shouldn't be allowed to emerge from bankruptcy until the team pays back $8.3MM worth of bills from the league, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at how some recent big contracts around baseball could impact the Cardinals. Miklasz thinks that Cain's deal will make Adam Wainwright's next contract even more expensive, but I don't agree, given that Wainwright is three years older and has a more checkered injury history.
- Several Padres players, as well as several players from the entire NL West and AL West, are discussed by opposing scouts in a chat with Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres.
NL East Notes: Lannan, Johnson, Hamels
With Jonathon Niese closing in on a contract extension with the Mets, let's look at some other news from around the NL East…
- The Nationals announced they were optioning John Lannan to the minors, (a move first reported by Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post), which will make Ross Detwiler the club's fifth starter. In a separate item, Kilgore examines the move and concludes "the Nationals quite clearly put financial interest last and what they believed to be the best baseball decision first."
- The move is sure to spur on more rumors that the Nationals could trade Lannan, though GM Mike Rizzo told reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington) that Detwiler won the job and that Lannan has drawn only "mild interest" on the trade market. MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that the Nats were asking a high price for Lannan, and other teams weren't willing to part with a starting position player in exchange for the southpaw. (Both links are to Twitter.)
- Josh Johnson hasn't given any thought to how Matt Cain's extension with the Giants may impact any possible new deal between himself and the Marlins, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Johnson signed a four-year, $39MM extension with Miami that runs through the 2013 season. Even if Johnson pitches up to form over the next two seasons, you'd have to figure that his injury history will limit the size and value of a contract extension.
- The Phillies offered Cole Hamels an extension worth "Jered Weaver money" (five years, $85MM) late last season, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Hamels now has a strong case for an extension worth at least as much as Cain's deal, Heyman notes. The Giants' initial offer to Cain, Heyman says, was reportedly worth less than $65MM.
- From earlier today, Chad Durbin switched NL East teams, signing with the Braves after being released by the Nationals.