Odds & Ends: Posey, Jamey Wright, Lugo, Hart
Let's take a look at a few more assorted Friday links….
- After seeing Mike Leake earn a spot in the Reds' rotation without pitching in the minors, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon lists the other 20 drafted players who once made the leap straight to the show.
- The Giants officially optioned Buster Posey to Triple A Fresno, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Earlier today, we looked at a potential timeline for when we could see Posey in the majors.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that the Indians will pay $900K to purchase Jamey Wright's minor league contract. Wright had a provision in his deal that allowed him to opt out if he wasn't on the big league roster by today.
- Julio Lugo expects to see a good deal of playing time in Baltimore, according to the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas says that the Rangers anticipate a "continued improvement" from Scott Feldman over the course of the contract they signed him to today. In a separate piece, MacMahon notes that recent addition Ryan Garko will have his playing time dictated, to a certain extent, by how Chris Davis fares early on against lefties.
- Corey Hart doesn't intend to let recent trade rumors involving him become a distraction, according to Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Odds & Ends: Rays, Reds, Pettitte, Robertson
Here are some links for the day…
- Rays GM Andrew Friedman told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he "doesn't expect" to go outside of the organization for bullpen help (Twitter link). The Rays already added Virgil Vasquez today.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that the team could make a midseason deal or two.
- Andy Pettitte hinted to the YES Network's Jack Curry that this may be his last season. The lefty says he wants to spend more time with his family.
- Nate Robertson tells Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald that he's glad to be back in Florida, especially since he's surrounded by a number of former Tigers.
- Jayson Werth says he isn't thinking about his upcoming contract year, but Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson told Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that it can become a distraction for lots of players.
- Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle says Buster Posey will likely start the year in the minors, partly because the Giants wouldn't mind slowing down the catcher's service time clock.
- Johnny Damon tells the Associated Press that he has been impressed with the Tigers this spring.
- Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team's front office has been a "pleasant surprise" so far.
Calling Up Buster Posey
There's a good chance Buster Posey goes to Triple A Fresno soon – at least for now. But the 23-year-old catcher is one of the best prospects in the game, so the Giants figure to call on him at some point, even if he doesn't make the team. That would be determined, in part, by Posey's play in the minors, but performance wouldn't be the only consideration for the Giants.
If they keep Posey, who has 33 days of major league service time, in Fresno until May 20th or later, he can pick up a maximum of 136 days of service time this year. That would keep his service time total under the 172 threshold days players need for a full season. This means the Giants can call on Posey in late May and be confident that he won't have 172 days after the season. That would postpone his free agency until after the 2016 season. Bottom line: the Giants can delay Posey's free agency by a year if they call him up in late May.
If the Giants are happy with Bengie Molina's production at the end of May, they could keep Posey in the minors for another month and prevent him from becoming a Super Two player. If the Giants call on Posey at the beginning of July, he won't have 130 days of service time at the end of the season. Bottom line: the Giants can save themselves money in arbitration if they call Posey up at the beginning of July.
This isn't to say that the Giants will make roster any decisions based on Posey's service time clock, but the options above figure to be a consideration for the team, as they would be for most clubs in this situation.
Giants Acquire Edwin Escobar From Rangers
The Rangers have completed a trade for Ben Snyder by sending Edwin Escobar to the Giants, according to a team press release.
Snyder was selected from San Francisco by the Orioles in last year's Rule 5 draft, then immediately dealt to the Rangers as part of the Kevin Millwood–Chris Ray trade. Snyder did not make Texas' opening day roster and was offered back to the Giants, but the Rangers had hoped to work out a deal that would allow them to retain the left-hander. The two sides completed the transaction by sending Escobar, another lefty, from Texas to San Francisco.
The 24-year-old Snyder posted a 2.88 ERA in 97 innings for the Giants' Double A affiliate in 2009, and has been assigned outright to the Rangers' Double A affiliate.
Escobar, meanwhile, turns 18 this month, and has yet to pitch above rookie ball. The Venezuelan left-hander, a relative of Alcides Escobar and Kelvim Escobar, was signed by the Rangers in 2008.
Giants, Rays Sign Cuban Pitchers
The Giants and Rays signed Cuban pitchers Reinier Roibal and Sergio Espinosa, respectively, tweets Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald.
Roibal, a 20-year-old righty throws in the mid-90s according to Cuban Ball Players. Ebro tweets that Espinosa, a 23-year-old southpaw, will be used mostly as a reliever by the Rays.
Odds & Ends: Lowell, Redding, Brantley, Wilson
Some news items as we say goodbye to March and hello to another great baseball-filled April…
- ESPN's Rob Neyer thinks the Rangers should just go ahead and acquire Mike Lowell, since the reported $3MM gap between Texas and Boston is a small price to pay for solidifying the Rangers' first base platoon. Given the number of conflicting reports about the deal, it's hard to say if a Lowell-to-Texas trade is imminent or a longshot at this point.
- Tim Redding talks to The Denver Post's Jim Armstrong about being assigned to Colorado's Triple-A team. Four days ago, Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies pointed out that Redding has an opt-out clause he can use if he finds a spot on another team's 25-man roster. That's unlikely; Ringolsby says the Mariners scouted Redding but came away unimpressed.
- The Indians were hoping to hold up Michael Brantley's service clock, but his strong Spring Training and Russell Branyan's injury forced the club's hand, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. Brantley will now be Cleveland's starting left fielder on Opening Day.
- Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times takes a look at Angels catcher Bobby Wilson, who is out of options and faces a tough task in finding a roster spot given the Mike Napoli–Jeff Mathis combo behind the plate in Los Angeles. If the Angels are forced to put Wilson on waivers, you'd figure that several teams would be interested in a catcher who has a solid .283/.338/.423 line in 2642 minor league plate appearances.
- Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com chatted with fans about a number of A's and Giants-related topics, including Urban's belief that the extensions for Matt Cain, Brian Wilson and Jeremy Affeldt may have been inspired by San Francisco's confidence in their upcoming crop of position players.
- In another online chat, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentioned that the Cardinals are interested in acquiring a left-handed power bat for the bench. Strauss noted the club's "history of eleventh-hour spring training moves."
Odds & Ends: Offenses, Ben Snyder, Kelly Johnson
Action-packed links for Wednesday…
- NL offense rankings are up at RotoAuthority, courtesy of CHONE projections and the Baseball Musings lineup analysis tool. The Rockies are on top and the Padres bring up the rear, but plenty will change as the season unfolds.
- Two closers were named in recent days, and our Twitter account @CloserNews passed along the info instantly to allow you to make the winning fantasy pickups.
- The Rangers are attempting to work out a trade with the Giants that will allow them to retain Rule 5 lefty Ben Snyder, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Snyder already cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Sullivan also notes that Matt Treanor chose not to exercise his out clause; he's headed to Triple A.
- WEEI's Rob Bradford writes that although the Rangers are scouting Mike Lowell today and they're more interested in him than any other club, a deal is unlikely now and the Rangers would want the Red Sox to pay almost all of his salary. Bradford also notes that earlier this offseason, the Rangers expressed interest in Jed Lowrie.
- Free agent Kevin Millar hopes to continue his playing career, he explained on ESPN's Waddle & Silvy show.
- Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson strongly considered offers from the Blue Jays, Pirates, and Indians, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- The A's feel that out of options players Eric Patterson and Jake Fox would not clear waivers, so they're likely to send Landon Powell and Adam Rosales down (Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reporting).
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy offers analysis and predictions for seven out of options pitchers.
- The Orioles are looking for a suitor for catcher Chad Moeller, who is "shocked and disappointed" about not making the team according to Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltmore Sun. Peter Schmuck feels that Moeller was a better choice than Craig Tatum.
- Jeff Suppan explained to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that he's not dealing with a phantom neck injury, despite the convenient timing.
- Though they could've saved $750K, the Nationals chose not to cut Scott Olsen according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs knows the Mariners, and he analyzes the organization's health in this article.
Offseason In Review: San Francisco Giants
Last but not least, the Giants conclude our Offseason In Review series.
Major League Signings
- Mark DeRosa, IF/OF: two years, $12MM.
- Freddy Sanchez, 2B: two years, $12MM.
- Bengie Molina, C: one year, $4.5MM.
- Juan Uribe, IF: one year, $3.25MM.
- Aubrey Huff, 1B: one year, $3MM.
- Total spend: $34.75MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Extensions
- Matt Cain, SP: three years, $27.25MM.
- Tim Lincecum, SP: two years, $23MM.
- Brian Wilson, RP: two years, $15MM.
- Jeremy Affeldt, RP: two years, $9.5MM. Includes $5MM club option for 2012 with a $500K buyout.
Trades and Claims
- Claimed Rule 5 P Steven Johnson from Orioles; returned 3/16/10
- Acquired cash considerations from Blue Jays for P Merkin Valdez
- Acquired a player to be named later or cash from Red Sox for IF Kevin Frandsen
Notable Losses
- Randy Winn, Rich Aurilia, Randy Johnson, Bob Howry, Justin Miller, Brad Penny, Brian Bocock, Merkin Valdez, Noah Lowry
Summary
Giants GM Brian Sabean signed five position players to free agent contracts and extended four of his own pitchers. Let's evaluate.
Sabean spent $34.75MM to secure DeRosa, Sanchez, Molina, Uribe, and Huff. These five players combined for an offensive line of .266/.313/.431 in 2009. Sabean has crafted a lineup with only one dangerous hitter in Pablo Sandoval; CHONE projections indicate that the Giants will again have one of the four worst offenses in the league. The Uribe signing was defensible. Molina wasn't terribly overpriced, though a combination of Buster Posey and a cheaper veteran would've offered more upside. DeRosa, Sanchez, and Huff will need to stay healthy and exceed their '09 production to justify the signings.
Pitching should again be a strong suit. Wellemeyer and Mota were decent minor league pickups. Sabean did well to secure Lincecum through 2011 and avoid an arbitration hearing. The Cain extension saved the Giants a little money in the short term, guaranteed his 2011 salary, and bought out one free agent year, potentially a win for both sides. Sabean exchanged risk for cost certainty on Wilson, and can retain Affeldt for an extra year or two. All four extensions made sense, and the Giants have a clearer picture of their payroll for the next few years.
As much as I like the Giants' pitching, I don't think it will be enough to carry them past the Rockies and Dodgers to the playoffs. The Giants haven't scored 700 runs in a season since Barry Bonds, Ray Durham, and Moises Alou led the way in '06. Sabean's offseason tinkering doesn't convince me they'll reach that modest level in 2010.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Giants, Lo Duca, Stults
Tuesday night linkage..
- The Dodgers' ownership issue won't be resolved until the end of the season, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The trial to determine the owner of the club will begin on August 30th.
- Sergio Santos – formerly a shortstop in the Diamondbacks organization – has made it to the major leagues as a pitcher for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
- Todd Wellemeyer isn't sure that the Giants' rotation is better than the Cardinals starting five that he was a part of, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. While it has yet to be announced, Wellemeyer will likely be crowned the fifth starter in San Francisco's rotation.
- Rockies catcher Paul Lo Duca will accept his reassignment to the minors, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times supports the Dodgers' sale of Eric Stults to the Hiroshima Carp. This year marked Stults' ninth with the organization.
- Dontrelle Willis is sad to see Nate Robertson go to Florida, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Willis' inclusion in Detroit's rotation was a big reason why the Tigers were able to part with Robertson.
Rosenthal On Lowell, Cain, Cristian Guzman
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports supplies his latest hot stove buzz…
- Rosenthal's source says the Rangers' interest in Mike Lowell is "light," and the Red Sox don't expect any team to make a suitable offer. Yesterday, ESPN's Jim Reeves said the Rangers keep coming back to Lowell in their search for a right-handed hitting role player. Rosenthal notes that the Red Sox will not release Lowell, who is owed $12MM.
- With Matt Cain locked up, Rosenthal sees a weak 2012 free agent class for starting pitching. Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson, and Wandy Rodriguez appear to head the group, though C.C. Sabathia has the option of electing free agency and voiding the remaining four years and $92MM on his Yankees contract. Of course, a lot can change in two seasons. The larger point: there's a better selection of free agent starters after the 2010 season than after 2011.
- The Rangers looked into trading for Washington's Cristian Guzman before acquiring Andres Blanco from the Cubs. Guzman is currently projected to serve as an $8MM utility man for the Nationals.