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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Twins, Beltre, Giants

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On New Year's Day 49 years ago, the stadium on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull Boulevard in Detroit was officially renamed Tiger Stadium. The then 49-year-old park had previously been known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium. Tiger Stadium would serve as the home of Detroit's ball club until the 2000 season, and was demolished completely in 2009.

Here's a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…

  • Bucco Fans takes a look at what could have happened if the Pirates had kept their 2008 roster together.
  • Twins Overlook runs down Minnesota's top seven prospects, led by outfielder Aaron Hicks.
  • Meanwhile, Nick's Twins Blog examines the current state of the Twinkies' starting rotation.
  • The Bottom Line looks at how signing Adrian Beltre could affect the big picture in Boston.
  • DRaysBay compares Matt Joyce to Matt LaPorta, and finds that the gap between the two may not be as big as you think.
  • Jorge Says No! looks at the potential risk and reward of the Mark DeRosa signing.
  • El Lefty Malo guesses that the Giants will wait to see how Jonathan Sanchez's arbitration case turns out before deciding on whether or not to move a starter for a bat. 
  • Pinstripes Published suggests David DeJesus as a possible left field solution for the Yankees. 

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

Odds & Ends: Bay, Byrd, Liriano, Duchscherer

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Some links on the last day of a year we'll remember for Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols and the World Series Champion New York Yankees…

  • Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother Brandon Laird, a prospect in the Yankees farm system, were arrested following a brawl at the Celtics-Suns NBA game in Phoenix, Arizona, according to the Associated Press.  Gerald lives in Arizona during the offseason while Brandon played in the Arizona Fall League this past year.
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via his newly minted Twitter account) that Chan Ho Park's name has come up in the Giants' front office.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com hears that Jason Bay was indeed interested in joining the Mets. The two sides didn't go longer than a day without talking once negotiations got started. An interesting note: Speier hears that the Mets never offered Bay a guaranteed five-year deal.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs considers Marlon Byrd an average player, but likes the Cubs' decision to sign him.
  • Cameron tweets that the Mariners are "kicking the tires" on Francisco Liriano.
  • Mike Lowell's thumb surgery was a success, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Lowell appears to be available, but health concerns may prevent the Red Sox from dealing the third baseman and some of his $12MM salary (the D'Backs face a similar challenge with Chris Snyder). 
  • Just because Lowell's still in Boston doesn't mean the Red Sox won't consider other third basemen. Adrian Beltre is one option and R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs doesn't think $10-15MM is an unfair asking price for the Scott Boras client. 
  • Justin Duchscherer tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he returned to the A's because he's comfortable in Oakland and appreciates the club's support through his struggles with depression. Slusser also has details on the incentives in the righty's contract. 
  • Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues wants the Yankees to stay away from free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd. 
  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates' failure to sign Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano was one of the club's low points this year. As Kovacevic says, "not every signing can be an absolute steal."  

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Gomes, Holliday, Bay

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Links for Wednesday…

Giants Notes: DeRosa, Free Agent Targets

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Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has Giants notes after a conference call with Brian Sabean and newly-signed Mark DeRosa.

  • DeRosa explained that he was "tired of being a lot of teams' Plan B."
  • Sabean hopes to add another hitter, and has free agent offers on the table.  One offer is to Juan Uribe, while Baggarly speculates that another might be to Adam LaRoche.  There are plenty of first basemen and corner outfielders still available, if you'd also like to speculate.
  • Sabean reiterated that Matt Holliday is too expensive for the Giants, while Baggarly added that the Giants are not in on Adrian Beltre.
  • Sabean mentioned that he hasn't yet beefed up efforts to acquire a fifth starter or catcher.  We did hear the Giants linked to many catchers earlier this winter, however.

Giants Sign Mark DeRosa

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The Giants signed Mark DeRosa to a two-year, $12MM deal today.  SI's Jon Heyman tweeted news of the offer on December 23rd, and ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that day that DeRosa was leaning toward accepting.  Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said a two-year deal was close.  Following that, Heyman tweeted that an agreement had been reached.

Rosenthal says DeRosa will fill a third base/super-utility role for the Giants.  He reminds us that the Giants are also close to re-signing Juan Uribe, which would make for a "very versatile roster" and would push Pablo Sandoval to first base. Rosenthal tweeted that DeRosa will give $7.5K per season to charity. He gets $200K if the Giants trade him

$6MM a year is big bucks for DeRosa, as he turns 35 in February and had wrist surgery in November.  The Cardinals will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.  The Cards never made a formal offer to DeRosa, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Odds & Ends: Zambrano, Cabrera, Molina

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Links for Monday…

  • Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs gave his thoughts on the Orioles' "enviable outfield logjam."  In his Offseason Outlook for the club, Tim suggested that Luke Scott could make sense as a trade candidate.
  • A week ago, we heard conflicting reports about whether or not the Yankees had talked to the Cubs about acquiring Carlos Zambrano. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports, via Twitter, that the Yankees "definitely" inquired, and speculates that Zambrano is "eminently available."
  • In a piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, David O'Brien suggested in passing that the Braves could potentially use Melky Cabrera as a trade chip. Heyman tweets that the Cubs would be very interested, if the Braves were to make Cabrera available.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says Bengie Molina "might be willing to consider" a two-year deal.  So far the Mets are at one year with an option.
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik must retain at least one of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez long-term.
  • Derek Zumsteg of U.S.S. Mariner gives us a Milton Bradley chronology.
  • CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban tweets that he's heard a whisper connecting the Giants to free agent reliever Kiko Calero.
  • WEEI's Alex Speier examines the differences between the contracts of John Lackey and A.J. Burnett.  In case you missed it, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe revealed on Wednesday that Lackey must play for the league minimum in 2015 "if an old elbow injury forced him to miss significant time with surgery any time during the deal."
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says statheads and scouts are mostly in agreement these days, and Moneyball would be a very different book if Michael Lewis wrote it today.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Beltre, Morrow

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Some Saturday afternoon links..

  • The Dodgers should have offered salary arbitration to Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudsonto allow themselves the opportunity to receive draft picks, writes Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times.  Weisman argues that the worst case scenario of being stuck with one or both players at a slightly inflated price for one season wouldn't have been so bad.  It's hard to dispute this point as we have yet to see the Dodgers do much of anything this winter.
  • Not only are the Athletics talking to free agent Adrian Beltre, they may be the only serious bidder at the moment, according to an item on ESPN's MLB rumor page.  The piece also notes that if Beltre's asking price - believed to be north of $10MM per season – drops into Oakland's price range, the Giants, Cardinals, and Tigers could get in the mix.
  • Seattle's poor decisions stunted the development of Brandon Morrow, writes Ryan Divish of The News Tribune.  While he never had the same ceiling as Tim Lincecum, who was drafted five spots later in the 2006 draft, things could have worked out differently for Morrow if he were given adequate time to develop in the minors. 
  • Shi Davidi of the Associated Presspraises new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and his plan to rebuild the franchise.  Davidi writes that Anthopoulos has the support of ownership in a way that J.P. Ricciardi never did.
  • A few free agents left on the market might want to consider lowering their asking price, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Adam LaRoche seeking $30MM over three years might be the most wishful of the bunch.

Discussion: Pat Burrell

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Pat Burrell's move to the American League did not go as smoothly as he or the Rays hoped.  Burrell left the World Series-winning Phillies to sign a two-year, $16MM free agent contract with Tampa Bay last January, and then suffered through a season's worth of injuries and inconsistency to finish with a career-worst .682 OPS (.221/.315/.367) in 476 plate appearances.

With $9MM due to Burrell in 2010, the Rays have been openly shopping the slugger this winter.  Rumors of a deal of Burrell-for-Milton Bradley swirled for months before the Cubs dealt Bradley to Seattle last week.  With seemingly their best trade option gone, it appears as if Tampa Bay will go into next season with Burrell back in the DH spot — which, if 2009 was just an aberration, might not be a bad option given Burrell's 251 homers and .852 OPS over his first nine years in Philadelphia.

If the Rays still want to move Burrell and save some cash, however, here are a few of the clubs that are in need of a DH/LF type and might have the payroll flexibility to absorb some or all of Burrell's contract.

  • The Mets.  Should they give up on signing Jason Bay (or lose him to the Red Sox), New York would still have a hole to fill in left field.  The downside of Burrell going to a National League team, however, is his glove.  He played just two games in the outfield last season, and according to Fangraphs, his defense ranged from mediocre to terrible (a -25.2 UZR/150 in 2007) over his last four years in Philadelphia.
  • The Cardinals.  Just as Burrell is a backup plan for the Mets if they don't sign Bay, he can also be a backup plan for St. Louis if they don't sign Matt Holliday.
  • The Braves.  Atlanta's biggest offseason need was a right-handed power hitter.  While they are close to a deal with Troy Glaus, Glaus made just 32 plate appearances in 2009 after undergoing shoulder surgery last January.  Burrell is perhaps a more reliable option, and may regain his batting stroke back in the NL East.  
  • The White Sox.  Ozzie Guillen likes the idea of a rotating designated hitter, but GM Kenny Williams didn't close the door on the possibility of picking up an everyday DH if the right opportunity presented itself.
  • The Giants.  Mark DeRosa may be coming in as San Francisco's new left fielder, but Burrell could be an interesting alternative should DeRosa not accept the Giants' offer.  Or, the power-starved Giants could acquire Burrell to play in left, and then sign DeRosa to play third base, thus moving Pablo Sandoval over to first.  (Or, Sandoval plays 1B, DeRosa plays 2B and Freddy Sanchez moves over to 3B.)  If the Rays pay some of Burrell's contract, then he is a much cheaper option for San Francisco than Johnny Damon.

Mark DeRosa Leaning Toward Giants

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THURSDAY, 12:17pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets that DeRosa seems to be leaning toward accepting the Giants' offer, though no deal is in place yet.

WEDNESDAY, 1:30pm: The San Francisco Giants have offered Mark DeRosa a two-year deal worth $12MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter).

Heyman wonders if DeRosa, a New Jersey product who has previously played in Atlanta, is hoping for the Yankees, Mets, and Braves to enter the mix more aggressively. We heard earlier this week that the Braves and Yankees are both interested in DeRosa, though Atlanta's agreement with Troy Glaus would create one less opening in their lineup for DeRosa.

As for the Yankees, there has been some speculation that they only have about $4MM to spend on a left fielder. Given the Giants' offer of $6MM per season, DeRosa may be a little out of the Yanks' price range, but certainly the club has a history of working around apparent payroll restrictions.

Giants Closing In On Juan Uribe

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Juan Uribe is close to returning to the San Francisco Giants, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The potential deal would be for one year, with a team option for 2011.

Uribe enjoyed one of the better seasons of his career in 2009 with the Giants, before hitting the open market this offseason. The 30-year-old hit .289/.329/.495, belting 16 homers in 432 plate appearances.

We haven't heard an update connecting Uribe and the Giants for some time. A couple weeks back, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reported that Uribe could revisit a one-year offer the Giants had made, but that the veteran infielder was looking for an everyday job elsewhere. Rosenthal notes that San Francisco is still hoping to add a regular corner infielder, which would likely relegate Uribe to the "super-utility" role he excelled in last year.

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