Odds and Ends: Alfonzo, Hill, Kline, Reitsma
Time for a link roundup.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Mets have talked with Edgardo Alfonzo. Alfonzo, 34, came up a Met and snagged MVP votes in 2000 with a .967 OPS.
- Seems like Aaron Hill‘s contract extension may wait until after the season, when his offensive value is more clearly established.
- No interest in Steve Kline yet…teams will probably wait the Giants out so they don’t have to pay his $1.75MM salary.
- If Chris Reitsma doesn’t make a decision soon about heading to Triple A, the Ms could place him on the restricted list.
- Dejan Kovacevic hasn’t heard anything about Adam LaRoche as a trade candidate, even though extension talks fizzled.
- Kevin Goldstein believes shortstop Tim Beckham is the "top talent in the draft."
Giants May Draft A Pitcher With Fifth Pick
The Giants have the fifth overall pick in the June draft. It’s a shame teams can’t trade picks, because the San Francisco’s needs don’t really match up with the likely best available talent.
Jim Callis provided interesting speculation in issue 0808 of Baseball America‘s print magazine. Callis suggested that the Giants may lean toward pitching in June even though the best available talent will be at first base. This is because top prospect Angel Villalona is moving from third to first and the Giants may not want to create a future logjam.
Callis tossed out three possible pitchers for the Giants for the fifth pick: Tim Melville, Christian Friedrich, and Tanner Scheppers.
Odds and Ends: Cashman, Matsuo, Durham
Some random links to ponder today…
- Peter Abraham submitted nine reader questions to Yankees GM Brian Cashman. I liked reading about how Cashman deals with agents who lie to him.
- The Red Sox signed free agent Terumasa Matsuo, who was pitching in a Japanese independent league. I have no idea what the 26 year-old pitcher is capable of.
- Tracy Ringolsby says the Giants really want to move Ray Durham and Dave Roberts, and will pick up some salary to do so. Durham makes $7.5MM in ’08. Roberts gets $6.5MM in each of the ’08 and ’09 seasons.
- The Big Lead interviewed ESPN’s Keith Law.
Odds And Ends: Quintero, Rios, Pierre
A few random notes from around the MLBiverse…
- Henry Schulman says the Giants are in need of a backup catcher and a logical choice may be Astros backup Humberto Quintero, whom Bruce Bochy is familiar with from his days with the Padres. He also notes that the Rays have two experienced catchers that were just reassigned to the minor leagues in Josh Paul and Mike DiFelice.
- The Jays and Alex Rios are closer today to an agreement on a long-term extension than they were yesterday. That according to Rios’ agent, Paul Kinzer. Yesterday it was reported that the Jays had offered a six-year, $65MM deal. No word yet on what any new offers might look like. Kinzer reasserted that a deal needs to be done by tonight or negotiations will be put off until after the season.
- Bobby Kielty initially accepted his demotion to Pawtucket, but he is now having second-thoughts and will wait a few days to see if any other teams are interested in a switch-hitting outfielder. With all the rumors swirling recently about teams in need of outfield help, I have to believe that Kielty will land a major league gig. PECOTA projects a line of .253/.331/.418 based on 159 plate appearances and Kielty can play all three outfield spots.
- The Dodgers made it official today, giving Andre Ethier the left field job. This puts one more nail in the coffin of one of the worst free agent signings in recent memory. The move means that Juan Pierre will be a reserve, one year after signing a five-year, $44MM deal. The Dodgers will certainly look to trade Pierre, but will have to swallow a good portion of the $36.5MM remaining on the deal.
- A couple of big names have made major league rosters after only earning non-roster spring training invites prior to spring training. The Rockies have given a job to Scott Podsednik, while the Rays did the same with former Rookie-of-the-Year Eric Hinske. In fact, Hinske will start on Opening Day and will be the Rays’ right fielder against right handers to begin the season.
- Phil Sheriden notes that Adam Eaton was named the Phillies’ fifth starter, but that may not last long as Pat Gillick will certainly be looking for a better option. Sheriden feels that Gillick is much better at making moves in-season than during the offseason.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Giants Designate Steve Kline
Chris Haft at MLB.com reports the Giants have designated lefty reliever Steve Kline for assignment. Adds Haft,
"Dropping Kline… was not completely unexpected. Kline, 35, is coming off his worst season since his rookie year of 1997, having posted a 4.70 ERA and more walks than strikeouts last year. He also allowed left-handed batters to hit .318 off him. This spring, Kline owned a 5.40 ERA in 11 appearances and had yielded 17 hits in 11 2/3 innings."
Lefties who can’t get lefties out aren’t well sought after. Still, somebody will probably take a flier on Kline. Any ideas as to who could use him?
By Nat Boyle
MLB Investigating Salcedo’s Birthdate
Baseball America’s Ben Badler has the latest on 16 year-old Dominican shortstop Edward Salcedo. He says MLB is currently investigating Salcedo’s birthdate (not an uncommon practice). Scott Boras and Co. represent the kid, but they’re not talking. There were rumors he’d signed with the Tribe, but the Indians said two weeks ago that it wasn’t true. Badler adds that Salcedo rejected a $2.5MM offer from the Giants and the D’Backs may be interested. Badler also writes:
Adding to the intrigue is Major League Baseball’s recent firing of three investigators in the Dominican, including one who was working on Salcedo’s case.
MLB’s Latin operations manager says the firings are unrelated to the Salcedo case.
Phils Talking To Giants, Reds About Helms?
THURSDAY: Jim Salisbury says the Helms for Kline idea has fallen through, and Hal McCoy nixes the Helms for Stanton possibility.
WEDNESDAY: The Phillies would like to conclude their offseason by swapping third baseman Wes Helms and the $2.9MM owed to him for a lefty reliever. According to Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Phils are talking to the Giants and Reds about Helms. Steve Kline ($1.75MM) or Mike Stanton ($3.5MM) are the targets. The Reds may deem Stanton too pricey to cut.
The Giants recently picked up Jose Castillo, but they also lost Kevin Frandsen. Moving Kline would make sense, because then they could fit both Merkin Valdez and Erick Threets. The Reds have Jolbert Cabrera and Andy Phillips battling for a bench spot, and don’t seem to have a place for Helms.
Odds and Ends: Papelbon, Darvish, Crisp
Let’s round up some morning links.
- McCovey Chronicles feels that the Jose Castillo signing reduces the Joe Crede threat level for the Giants.
- Jonathan Papelbon wants to drive the market for closers upward.
- Keith Law discusses J.P. Ricciardi’s decision to overrule scouting advisers and draft Ricky Romero over Troy Tulowitzki for the Blue Jays back in ’05.
- If Yu Darvish is posted after this season, will it cost $75MM just to negotiate with him?
- From Buster Olney on Sunday: "Rival teams are not entirely sure if the Red Sox are devoted to the idea of trading Coco Crisp."
- Pedro Martinez will not worry about his next contract until after the season.
Giants Claim Jose Castillo
According to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Giants claimed infielder Jose Castillo off waivers and the Marlins didn’t pull him back. I believe the Marlins can now either work out a trade with the Giants or just let them have him and his $650K salary. One of today’s writers, Alejandro, noted that Castillo is already on the Giants’ 40-man roster on MLB.com.
Pure speculation, but this may be a signal that the Giants are done considering trade options such as Wes Helms, Brandon Inge, and Joe Crede. Giving up something decent for Inge or Crede never made sense for this team anyway. Castillo probably won’t do much for the Giants, but at least he doesn’t cost anything.
Market For Crede Dries Up
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says the market for Joe Crede has "dried up," as the Dodgers and Giants have little interest. Tough luck for Josh Fields, who seems headed back to Triple A. Ozzie Guillen’s explanation for the lack of Crede interest:
This game has gotten to be a bunch of political, a bunch of [expletive] budget, a bunch of [expletive]. They forgot about the talent.
I’m not sure what Ozzie means by that. Perhaps the "political" comment has something to do with Scott Boras, who represents Crede. SI.com’s Jon Heyman offers an alternative explanation, quoting a scout who says Crede still looks hurt.