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Rosenthal On Hammel, Pirates, Tigers, Gomez

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that Jason Hammel has outperformed Jeremy Guthrie so far this season. The right-handers were traded for one another this offseason (with Matt Lindstrom also going to the Orioles) and Hammel has pitched well for Baltimore, while Guthrie is on Colorado’s disabled list. Here are more notes from Rosenthal:

  • Some considered Hammel a “passive competitor,” but Dan Duquette and the Orioles viewed him as a dependable innings eater. Hammel, 29, has a 1.73 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 through 26 innings for his new team.
  • Though Yankees GM Brian Cashman says his team did more background work than ever before acquiring Michael Pineda from Seattle, one rival executive says his club grew concerned. The right-hander showed diminished velocity in his final start of the 2011 season after struggling in the second half. Pineda will miss the 2012 season with a shoulder injury.
  • The Pirates aren’t scoring many runs, but rival executives like the trio of Alex Presley, Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen at the top of Pittsburgh's order, Rosenthal writes.
  • Tigers starters other than Justin Verlander and Drew Smyly have struggled so far this year, and rival executives expect Detroit to make a strong push for rotation help by the July trade deadline.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Rosenthal that Carlos Gomez would generate approximately as much interest as Yoenis Cespedes if you put him in a tryout camp. Gomez, who is two months younger than Cespedes, could be a late-bloomer, Melvin said.

Cafardo On Balfour, Hanrahan, Angels, Twins, Myers

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Older ballplayers are showing a lot of life so far this season, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Veterans Paul Konerko, Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, and Jamie Moyer have all looked sharp in the month of April.  Ortiz lost 25 pounds to get himself into shape for this season and plans to keep up the hard work as he hopes to play for another two seasons.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • The Angels have inquired on A’s pitcher Grant Balfour and he is becoming one of the more sought-after bullpen pieces.  The Halos have also shown interest in Joel Hanrahan of the Pirates and the Mariners' Brandon League, but Balfour seems the most logical.
  • If the Twins don’t turn things around by the trade deadline, Carl Pavano will be a highly sought-after pitcher.  The right-hander is earning $8.5MM in the final year of his contract and has limited no-trade protection. Jason Marquis, Matt Capps, and Francisco Liriano could also be used as chips to land prospects.
  • Teams probably have their eye on Astros right-hander Brett Myers.  Many teams, such as the Angels and Red Sox, could use the 31-year-old’s arm right now.  He has also shown that he can pitch in a big market with his time in Philadelphia.
  • If Tigers outfielder Delmon Young is convicted of a hate crime, it will be interesting to see whether the the club void his contract. They would be within their rights to do so under the collective bargaining agreement.  The 26-year-old earns $6.75MM this year and can become a free agent after the season.
  • The A's are a good bet to land Brandon Inge.
  • Most baseball people feel there’s no way the Red Sox let Aaron Cook hit the open market by not calling him up May 1.  The 33-year-old will earn the prorated portion of $1.5MM if he is called up to the majors.

Minor Moves: Pettit, Hester, Miner

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We'll keep track of the day's minor (and Miner) moves right here…

  • The Mariners have signed outfielder Chris Pettit to a minor league deal, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnicktweets. Pettit, who has MLB experience with the Angels, was released by the Dodgers at the end of Spring Training.
  • The Orioles released minor league catcher John Hester, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com tweets. Baltimore’s Norfolk affiliate let Hester go to create roster space for the recently claimed Luis Exposito.
  • The Tigers have acquired right-hander Zach Miner from the Royals, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweets. The Royals confirmed the deal, noting that they'll obtain cash for Miner (Twitter link). The 30-year-old pitched in the Royals' minor league system last year after pitching for the Tigers from 2006-09. Miner has a 4.24 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 as a big leaguer, but posted a 5.26 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 as a minor leaguer in 2011.

Mariners To Sign Hersin Martinez

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The Mariners have agreed to sign Dominican outfielder Hersin Martinez to a deal worth $1.1MM, the Dominican Prospect League announced. The prospect has “tremendous plus raw power and a high projection ceiling,” according to the league release. 

Martinez won the inaugural DPL power showcase with an impressive showing that included one 507-foot homer. He's a below average runner but can play the outfield and has a solid-average arm, the release states.

Quick Hits: Royals, Teixeira, Wright, Rockies, Royals

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On this day in 2000, the (Devil) Rays purchased Dwight Gooden from the Astros.  Doc made eight starts with Tampa Bay before being released in May, allowing him to finish out his career in New York with the Yankees.  Gooden obviously didn't replicate the numbers of his prime in this final season but did post a 4.71 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 for the three teams.  Here's a look at tonight's links..

  • The Royals have hope for the first time in a long time but they'll have to ramp up the spending to truly contend, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
  • Teams continue to sign first basemen to long, expensive agreements despite mounting evidence that such deals are not very good ideas, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.  It looks as though Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is in decline in the middle of his monster deal and even Todd Helton's team-friendly pact with the Rockies wound up looking like an overpay.
  • In a piece for CapitalNewYork.com, Howard Megdal wonders if the Mets might be laying the PR groundwork to let David Wright walk at the end of this season.  The Mets hold a $16MM option on the third baseman for 2013.
  • Mike Fontenot could replace Pete Orr on the Phillies' bench as the utility man, but don't expect him to replace Freddy Galvis, writes David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.  The Phillies signed the 31-year-old infielder to a minor league deal earlier today.
  • Mike Cameron signed a one-day deal with the Mariners today in order to retire with the club and though he may look to be a coach or instructor he vowed to never pursue a managerial career, tweets John Hickey of SportsPressNW.com.

Latest On Michael Wuertz

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1:35pm: The Mariners were close to signing Wuertz, but opted against it, Baker tweets. As he points out, this is an indication they're seeking relief help.

10:49am: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times hears that the Mariners will not be signing Wuertz (Twitter link). Heyman confirms that there's no agreement in place (Twitter link).

10:22am: The Mariners have agreed to sign free agent reliever Michael Wuertz, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Beverly Hills Sports Council represents the right-hander.

Wuertz, 33, posted a 6.68 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 7.0 BB/9 in 33 2/3 innings for the A's in 2011, just two seasons after emerging as one of the league's dominant setup men. He battled hamstring and thumb injuries last year, which limited him to 39 appearances. Wuertz throws his slider approximately 60% of the time, according to FanGraphs.

Quick Hits: Lawrie, Pujols, Hanley

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Some links to tide you over until tonight's first pitch…

  • The Mariners would have traded Michael Pineda to the Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie and another prospect,Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports. One executive tells Elliott that “Toronto said no at Lawrie.”
  • Angels first baseman Albert Pujols told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that he's not going to lose his edge, even after signing a massive free agent contract. "I always have that chip on my shoulder, no matter what kind of success I've had," Pujols said. He added that he wouldn't be hurt if the Cardinals assigned his former number 5 to another player.
  • Major League Baseball is on the cusp of a new era, Tom Verducci of SI.com writes. The sport is doing well thanks to extended labor peace and growing TV revenues.
  • Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen expects big things from his third baseman, Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post writes. "Hanley Ramirez has a chance to be MVP in this league," Guillen said.

Mariners Release Aaron Heilman

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The Mariners have released Aaron Heilman from their minor league camp, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (on Twitter).

Heilman, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Mariners this past January after posting a 6.88 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and 2.8 BB/9 in 35 1/3 innings for the Diamondbacks last season. He struggled to keep the ball on the ground, with a 38.5% groundball rate, which resulted in a whopping eight homers allowed.

The FrontLine Sports client has a career 4.40 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and 43.1% groundball rate in 630 innings as both a starter and reliever for the Mets, Cubs, and Diamondbacks.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Sonnanstine, Jimenez

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Keeping track of the latest outright assignments…

  • The Cubs announced that they outrighted right-hander Andy Sonnanstine to Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs now have 39 players on their 40-man roster. Sonnanstine signed with the Cubs in December after posting a 5.55 ERA with as many walks as strikeouts (12) in 35 2/3 innings for the Rays in 2011.
  • The Mariners announced that they outrighted left-hander Cesar Jimenez to Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners, who had placed the reliever on waivers earlier this week, now have three open spots on their 40-man roster. Jimenez, 27, pitched briefly with the Mariners last year and spent most of the season in the bullpen at Tacoma. He has missed considerable time with injuries in recent years.

Offseason In Review: Seattle Mariners

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Desperately in need of offense, the Mariners sent promising right-hander Michael Pineda to New York for Jesus Montero in a move that defined the 2011-12 offseason for GM Jack Zduriencik.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Carlos Guillen, Brian Sweeney, Kevin Millwood, Oliver Perez, Aaron Heilman, Munenori Kawasaki, Luis Rodriguez, Matt Fox, Guillermo Quiroz, Sean Henn.

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

The Mariners couldn’t do without offense any longer, even though it meant trading away one of their most valuable assets: 23-year-old right-hander Michael Pineda. The 6'5" rookie had more strikeouts than innings pitched last year and remains under team control through 2016. Naturally, the Mariners were reluctant to give him up.

“I think a lot of clubs really try to hang onto the young players,” GM Jack Zduriencik said in January after the trade was announced. “They realize how good those players are for an organization.”

But Seattle, which finished last in the American League in runs scored in 2010 and 2011, had the opportunity to acquire Jesus Montero. Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he's never traded a better player and scouts and prospect analysts agree that Montero will handle MLB pitching. Zduriencik said spacious Safeco Field won’t be an issue for the 22-year-old, who has an .867 OPS as a minor leaguer.

The trade between Zduriencik and Cashman highlighted a Mariners offseason that began tragically when 24-year-old outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death in November. Halman joined the Mariners' organization as a 16-year-old and appeared in the Major Leagues in 2010 and 2011.

Zduriencik spent cautiously this winter, committing less than $4MM to players on guaranteed contracts. That didn’t stop the Mariners from obtaining veteran rotation depth in the form of Kevin Millwood and Japanese starter Hisashi Iwakuma (though the latter will begin the season in the 'pen). Seattle's front office believes newcomer Hector Noesi can start at the MLB level and he'll begin his Mariners career in the rotation. Even after trading Pineda, the Mariners have top pitching prospects Danny Hultzen, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker working their way through the minor leagues. For now, however, the Mariners' rotation looks average, even with Hernandez leading the way.

The Mariners released David Aardsma this offseason and saw Jamey Wright sign with the Dodgers, but they added left-hander George Sherrill and right-handers Shawn Camp and Aaron Heilman, among others. Seattle’s bullpen doesn’t figure to dominate in 2012, especially if Brandon League gets traded this summer. But spending big on middle relievers doesn’t make sense for a non-contending club looking to lower payroll, so I like Zduriencik’s decision to add upside affordably.

The Mariners deflected the usual inquiries on Felix Hernandez — Zduriencik must have the script memorized by now — and League, but they did complete one trade besides the headliner, acquiring catcher John Jaso from the Rays for reliever Josh Lueke. Jaso’s left-handed swing, control of the strike zone and above-average on-base skills should complement Miguel Olivo nicely. Jaso’s presence also allows Montero to focus on his offense. The Mariners figure to ask him to catch here and there, but he’ll be in Eric Wedge’s lineup as the DH most days.

Bounce-back seasons from Ichiro, first baseman Justin Smoak and center fielder Franklin Gutierrez would help Seattle improve on last year’s 67-95 mark. But Gutierrez is out with a right pectoral injury and Ichiro won’t be leading off for the first time since 2001. The 38-year-old enters the final year of his contract with the knowledge that he’ll be removed from the leadoff spot, where he has played 1722 of his 1749 MLB games.

The Angels added the best player in baseball and the Rangers are arguably better on paper than they were in 2010 or 2011, so the Mariners don’t figure to contend in 2012. Their offense, while improved, still projects as below average. The 2009 Mariners won with tremendous run prevention and a weak offense, but don't count on a repeat performance from this year's team. Even though Zduriencik successfully added depth to the pitching staff plus a controllable young bat, the most likely outcome for the 2012 Mariners seems to be 70-75 wins and a third or fourth-place finish.

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