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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Jays, Bell, Davis, Dunn

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On this date in 2002, the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network launched. Although the regional network barely broke even that year, YES has gone on to generate millions in revenue, much of which goes right into the Yankees' pockets. As recently as 2008, there was talk that the network was worth more than the team itself.

After you wrap your head around that, here are some links to check out from around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Giants Return Johnson To Orioles

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The Giants returned Rule 5 pick Steve Johnson to the Orioles, tweets Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. Baltimore will pay $25K for the transaction.

Johnson, 22, was part of the trade that sent George Sherrill to the Dodgers last July, and posted a 3.41 ERA with a 9.5 K/9 and a 3.8 BB/9 in 145.1 innings split between the two organizations in 2009. Baseball America ranked Johnson as San Francisco's 20th best prospect coming into the season, saying he profiles best as a back-end starter or middle reliever.

The 15th pick in the Rule 5 Draft walked six batters and allowed five hits in 4.2 innings this spring. 

Execs Name Best, Worst Moves Of The Offseason

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Recently MLBTR spoke to several MLB executives to gather their nominations for the best and worst moves of the offseason.

Free agent signings that received mention for the best moves: Felipe Lopez, Adrian Beltre, Adam LaRoche, Chone Figgins, Hideki Matsui, and Aroldis Chapman.  Said one exec on Chapman: "He might truly live up to the hype."  It's hard not to praise the Cards for getting Lopez on a one-year, $1MM deal.

Three trades came up as choices for the best moves of the offseason: the Mariners' acquisition of Cliff Lee, the Royals' trade of Mark Teahen, and the Rangers' trade of Kevin Millwood.  One exec noted that the Mariners "didn't trade anyone that can hurt them in the next couple of years" for Lee, while another believed that "trading Lee and Kyle Drabek in the Roy Halladay deal will hurt [the Phillies] in the long run."  The Royals received props for "getting some value for Teahen," while the Rangers' increased payroll flexibility from the Millwood deal was noted.

Nominated for the worst moves: free agent deals for Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Brandon Lyon, Jason Kendall, Aubrey Huff, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and Garrett Atkins.  All the execs polled mentioned Holliday's seven year, $120MM deal when choosing their worst deals of the winter.  Said one: "The fear that he would sign a one-year deal elsewhere and take his chances a year from now — that just doesn't make sense to me."

Aside from Kendall and Huff, there was a vibe of "like the player, hate the contract" with the panned free agent signings.  One exec felt the Royals downgraded behind the plate with Kendall.  Huff was nominated as a small-scale misstep, in that the exec felt that "Hank Blalock is better and he couldn't get half that salary on a non-roster deal."

Odds & Ends: Ortiz, Smoltz, Sandoval, Westmoreland

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Some links to browse, as teams continue to make spring cuts….

  • Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes (via Twitter) that the Red Sox will not pick up David Ortiz's $12.5MM option for 2011 regardless of what he does this season.
  • Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas reports that the Rangers have kept in contact with Khalil Greene, even after voiding his contract last month, though assistant GM Thad Levine says "there were no overtures about coming back and playing."
  • Murray Chass interviewed John Smoltz about his future, and the result is an interesting read. "I don't know if I’m going to pitch, but I haven't ruled it out," Smoltz said. "I have a lot of options, and I don't want the options to rule me." Smoltz adds that he laughs at all the "rumors and speculation that’s out there." We won't take it personally.
  • In his ESPN Insider blog, Buster Olney expands on a couple tweets he made yesterday, about the Twins' closer situation and the possible appeal of Smoltz.
  • John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Giants haven't entered into any long-term contract negotiations with Pablo Sandoval yet, since he's still a couple years away from being arbitration-eligible.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says that "money has nothing to do with who's going to play and who's not going to play," according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. This stance is relevant not only for Stephen Strasburg's ETA in the majors, but also for determining Ian Desmond's role. Rizzo suggested that Desmond "is in the running to be an everyday guy."
  • Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland will undergo brain surgery, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Best of luck to Westmoreland.

Escobar To Decide About 2010 On April 1

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The R-word has been swirling around Kelvim Escobar lately, amidst reports that the 33-year-old Mets reliever may need shoulder surgery again after managing just one start in two seasons. Escobar answers some of these concerns in an interview with Rafael Tejera at the Venezuelan paper El Nacional (link in Spanish), telling Tejera, "If I wanted to retire, I would have done it already."

As for the 2010 season, Escobar insists he hasn't given up on it yet, but he will only make his final decision after picking up a ball again. "In the coming weeks, I'll simply work to strengthen my shoulder, and then it will be April 1 when I return to throwing," he says. "If I feel the same pain that day, I'll have to make the decision I have been considering since I was with the Angels: to rest for a full year and recover."

Other links from the Spanish language beat:

  • With Cuban prospect Leslie Anderson's foot now planted in the door to the tune of $3.75MM for four years with the Rays, the question becomes: When and at what position will he play? A source close to the negotiations tells the Nuevo Herald's Jorge Ebro that the Rays want to see the 27-year-old "wearing the uniform as quickly as possible," while Marc Topkin at the St. Petersburg Times notes that Anderson is widely expected to start off in the minors. Neither brings up the subject of positions, although Anderson's agent Jaime Torres tells Topkin that Anderson will head to Rays camp later this month ready to fight for a spot on the big league roster at first base and all three outfield positions.
  • Another high-average hitter from the Cuban Serie Nacional, shortstop Yadil Mujica, has been cleared as a free agent, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. In the same day, Mujica switched agents to Legacy Sports, also the new home of Jose Julio Ruiz. A scouting report on Mujica can be found here.
  • Jesus Guzman tells Lider en Deportes' Carlos Rodriguez that he has received no guarantee of making the Giants' opening day roster, but he has received another sort of guarantee from manager Bruce Bochy: Whatever chance he has will be in the outfield, as opposed to the infield, where Guzman has almost exclusively played in the past. After three brief callups in 2009, the Giants designated the 26-year-old Venezuelan for assignment to make room for Bengie Molina this offseason, then invited him back to spring training. Last season at Triple A Fresno, Guzman put up a .321/.379/.507 line in 500 PA while playing mostly first base.

Urban On Lewis, Dye, Calero, Suzuki

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CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban had his weekly A's and Giants-centric chat with fans on Tuesday, and here are the hot stove highlights…

  • Urban thinks Giants outfielder Fred Lewis will be "cut loose near the end of camp."  Lewis is one of several players who are out of options for 2010.
  • Jermaine Dye isn't an option for the Giants.  Urban says the veteran slugger turned down an offer of $2MM from an unnamed team, and San Francisco wouldn't offer Dye anything more than that.  We already heard that Dye turned down a $3MM offer from the Cubs earlier this winter, so you have to wonder what kind of deal Dye thinks is still out there for him.
  • Urban predicts the Giants and Athletics will eventually settle their territorial rights dispute over San Jose and "the San Jose A's will exist within the next 5-10 years."  He also wonders why Sacramento has never been seriously considered as a possible new home for the A's.
  • The Giants made an offer to Kiko Calero over the winter but Calero signed with the Mets last week.  Urban agrees with a commenter that "the Giants did miss the boat" on not locking up the veteran reliever who posted a 1.95 ERA in 2009.

In a separate piece about Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki, Urban said that Suzuki and the A's have had "preliminary talks" about a contract extension.  Suzuki is under control through 2013, and will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season.  Urban quotes an anonymous AL West executive who says, "Billy [Beane] is way too smart to not lock him up at least through his arbitration years.”  The deal might not run futher than that, however, since Urban points out that catching prospect Max Stassi could be ready to take over behind the plate by the time Suzuki is ready to hit free agency.

Minor League Transactions: Orvella, Hennessey, Sisco

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As always, Matt Eddy's minor league transactions post at Baseball America contains a few interesting names.

  • The Angels signed reliever Chad Orvella.  The 29-year-old spent '09 with the Royals' Double A club and the Rays' Triple A team.  Once considered the Rays' closer of the future, Orvella had shoulder surgery in May of '08.
  • The Twins signed pitcher Brad Hennessey.  Hennessey soaked up 360.6 big league innings for the Giants in his career, but the former first-rounder sat out the '09 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
  • The Giants signed lefty Andy Sisco.  The towering 27-year-old southpaw missed the last two seasons due to April '08 Tommy John surgery.  The Giants also inked Pablo Sandoval's older brother Michael out of the Atlantic League.

2011 Vesting Options

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Vesting options are always fun for hot stove junkies to follow during the season.  Last year we had Kevin Millwood's $12 Million Out and the Tigers allowing Magglio Ordonez's pricey option to vest.  2011 vesting options to watch this year:

  • Brian Fuentes, Angels: $9MM option vests with 55 games finished.  Fuentes has finished 55+ three times in his career, last year included.  Fernando Rodney will be lurking.
  • Billy Wagner, Braves: $6.5MM option vests with 50 games finished.
  • Trever Miller, Cardinals: $2MM option vests with 45 games, but reverts to a club option with a left arm or shoulder injury.
  • Matt Cain, Giants: $6.25MM option vests with 182.3 innings or 27 starts.  The Giants will exercise this even if it doesn't vest, as the alternative will be going to arbitration with Cain and potentially paying him more.
  • Kerry Wood, Indians: $11MM option vests with 55 games finished.  A trade into a non-closing job could affect Wood's bank account.  That's three closers whose GF totals we'll be monitoring. 
  • Alex Cora, Mets: $2MM option vests with 80 starts.
  • Darren Oliver, Rangers: $3.25MM option vests with 59 appearances.
  • Ramon Hernandez, Reds: $3.25MM option vests with 120 games played.
  • Magglio Ordonez, Tigers: $15MM option vests with 135 starts or 540 plate appearances.
  • Note that a game finished is given to the last non-starting pitcher of record.  Also, thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

No Multi-Year Talks For Sandoval

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The Giants are not currently looking to give Pablo Sandoval a multi-year contract, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Team official Bobby Evans told Schulman that the club is negotiating a one-year deal with the 23-year-old, as is their custom for players with less than two years of major league service time.  Sandoval has just over one year of service time to his credit.

Finding precedent for a player like Sandoval could prove to be difficult.  This past season Kung Fu Panda hit .330/.387/.556 with 25 HRs in 633 plate appearances.  Last spring, the Giants and Tim Lincecum agreed to a $650K deal, though Tiny Tim had a bit more service time under his belt than Sandoval. 

Schulman suggests Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard as comparisons, as they also had brilliant campaigns in their first full seasons.  Fielder was renewed for $415K while Howard was given $900K, a record salary for a one-plus player.

Odds & Ends: Wedge, Nats, Marlins, Webb, Tejada

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Some links for Saturday..

  • Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer hears that Eric Wedge is taking this year off by choice.  The former Indians skipper, who is still under contract with the club for one more year, was connected to the Mets' bench coach job for a while.
  • The strong play of Nats rookie shortstop Ian Desmond could bump Cristian Guzman from the starting lineup, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  However, it  will be difficult for Washington will find a taker for Guzman's $8MM salary.
  • Newly acquired Dodger Garret Anderson knows that he's fighting for a very limited role with club, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  Anderson played in 135 games for the Braves last season, hitting .268/.303/.401 with 13 HRs.
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Giants pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim has the right to opt out of his contract on March 15th if he doesn't think he'll make the 25-man roster.  The 31-year-old – who last pitched in the majors in 2007 – signed a minor league deal with San Francisco in February.
  • Bobby Valentine told Marlins beat reporters that he was never spoke with club owner Jeffrey Loria about managing the team, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.  Bobby V said the speculation was unfair to skipper Fredi Gonzalez, who led guided Florida to 87 wins and a second-place finish in the NL East.
  • Arizona GM Josh Byrnes said that the club wants to look at internal candidates first if Brandon Webb is unable to start the regular season, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.  Byrnes added that the club, as always, will keep an eye on the waiver wire as Spring Training winds down (also via Twitter).
  • Despite the impressive play of Josh Bell, Miguel Tejada will be the Orioles' starting third baseman barring a "dramatic" event, writes Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun.  The O's signed Tejada to a one-year, $6MM deal in late January.
  • Joe Posnanski takes a look at the history of the Rule 5 draft.  Fun Fact: The Rule 5 draft goes back more than 100 years.
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