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Quick Hits: Forbes, Padres, Felix, Athletics

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Forbes Magazine calculates the Yankees (unsurprisingly) as the most valuable franchise in baseball, worth an estimated $1.85 billion.  The second-place team on the list are (somewhat surprisingly) the Dodgers at $1.4 billion, up nearly 75% in value from last year as Forbes predicts the team's forthcoming sale and new TV contract will return it to top-tier status.  The Forbes list also reveals which teams lost value from last year and which didn't turn a profit in 2011, as well as looking at how cable TV deals are changing the economics of the game.

Some other news from around the majors…

  • Yasmani Grandal is happy that Padres teammate and fellow catcher Nick Hundley received a contract extension but isn't worried that Hundley's deal impacts his own future with the club, reports Dan Hayes of the North County Times.  "It doesn't matter if somebody got a deal or not. You never know what could happen," Grandal said.  "They could get traded or you could get traded. I'm not only playing for one organization. I'm playing for the 29 others that are out there. That's one way I see it, and if it's not meant to be it's not meant to be. If I don't make it to the big leagues with this club I can make it with any other team."
  • Hundley's reasonable contract could make him a strong trade candidate, opines Dave Cameron of Fangraphs, who the Padres could deal this summer if Grandal has a strong first half at Triple-A.
  • Felix Hernandez says he is asked about his future with the Mariners in almost every interview, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, and joked he might hang a banner reading "I'm not going anywhere" over his locker.
  • The Athletics are thus far very pleased with the four prospects (Tom Milone, Brad Peacock, A.J. Cole and Derek Norris) they received from the Nationals in the Gio Gonzalez trade, reports Jeff Fletcher for the Washington Times.
  • Matthew Eddy of Baseball America recaps the week's minor league transactions.
  • Vernon Wells thinks the Blue Jays could make "exceptions" to their policy of not offering contracts longer than five years, reports Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  Ironically, Wells' seven-year, $126MM deal with Toronto in 2006 is no doubt a major reason why the current Jays management team has adopted this policy.
  • Some newly-hired bench bosses make FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal's annual list of managers on the hot seat, including Ozzie Guillen and Bobby Valentine.

AL Central Links: Lillibridge, Guerra, Indians, Inge

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It was on this day in 1968 that the Royals officially became the Royals, as the new expansion franchise officially announced its name a year before taking the field.  The name was inspired by both the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League and Kansas City's annual "American Royal" horse show. 

Here's the latest from the AL Central…

Mariners Release Shawn Camp

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The Mariners announced that they have released reliever Shawn Camp. The 36-year-old Dave Meier client had signed a Major League deal worth $750K in February. Seattle now has 38 players on its 40-man roster.

Camp spent the last four seasons with the Blue Jays, and posted a 4.21 ERA with 4.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 53.5% groundball rate in 66 1/3 innings a year ago. The Blue Jays did not offer the right-hander arbitration after the season despite his Type B status. Greg Johns of MLB.com first reported the news.

Mariners Waive Cesar Jimenez

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The Mariners have placed Cesar Jimenez on waivers, reports Dave Cameron of FanGraphs (on Twitter). The left-hander is one of Seattle's four out of options players.

Jimenez, 27, has dealt with a number of arm problems during his career. He missed all of 2009 and part of 2010 with shoulder surgery, and also missed most of 2007 with a stress fracture in his elbow. Jimenez has appeared in 43 games with the Mariners over the years, pitching to a 5.40 ERA in 48 1/3 innings. He's the second lefty reliever Seattle has taken off the 40-man roster this week, joining Hong-Chih Kuo.

AL West Notes: Crisp, Martin, Kuo, Luetge

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Mike Napoli could bring a bit of added intensity to the plate when he faces C.J. Wilson this season.  Wilson recently posted Napoli's phone number on Twitter, a response to an alleged comment made by Napoli about how he was looking forward to homering off of Wilson this season.  Napoli was not amused by the joke and, though he didn't recall making the initial statement, vowed to indeed try and take Wilson yard.  Eighty years after Babe Ruth hit his famous "called shot" in the World Series, if Napoli does indeed homer off of Wilson this season, can we call it the Prank Called Shot?

Some (more serious) news from around the AL West…

  • Coco Crisp said he wouldn't have re-signed with the Athletics had he known he was going to be moved to left field, reports USA Today's Bob Nightengale.  Yoenis Cespedes will start the year as Oakland's center fielder, and Crisp said the promise of the center field job was one of the reasons he signed with the A's over the Rays, who couldn't promise Crisp regular time in center due to B.J. Upton's presence.  Crisp did say that he was glad to be back with the A's and, in regards to the position switch, says he has to "go out here and just accept it."
  • The Rangers feel Leonys Martin needs more development and are "concerned about [his] lack of instincts," tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, though the club still recognizes his talent.  The Cuban outfielder signed a five-year, $15.5MM deal with Texas last May and hit .295/.362/.421 in 343 minor league PAs, going all the way from rookie ball to an eight-plate appearance cup of coffee with the Rangers in September.
  • Hong-Chih Kuo was released earlier today by the Mariners, though if the southpaw clears waivers, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times believes the M's could re-sign Kuo to a minor league contract.
  • Also from Condotta, the Mariners are still figuring out what to do with Lucas Luetge, a left-handed reliever taken from the Brewers in last winter's Rule 5 draft.  Kuo's release could help Luetge find a spot in the Mariners' bullpen, though the M's also have Charlie Furbush, Cesar Jimenez and George Sherrill competing for roles as left-handed relief options.
  • For some news about the Angels, check this compilation of Los Angeles Notes from earlier tonight on MLBTR.

Mariners Release Hong-Chih Kuo

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The Mariners announced that they released left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo. Seattle has 39 players on its 40-man roster after cutting Kuo, who signed a Major League deal in February.

Kuo struggled through 40 appearances in 2011, posting a 9.00 ERA with 12.0 K/9 and 7.7 BB/9 and missing time with an anxiety disorder. His results were much better before last year; he had a 3.19 career ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 entering the 2011 season. The 30-year-old underwent his fifth career elbow surgery in October and the Dodgers non-tendered him two months later. Kuo, an Octagon client, signed for $500K in guaranteed money and would have earned an additional $500K plus incentives on the active roster.

Poll: Best Trade Package For A Young Pitcher

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When the offseason started, we figured it would be headlined by a pair of MVP caliber bats (Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder) and a Japanese import (Yu Darvish). While those three certainly garnered their fair share of attention, the winter was mostly dominated by trades involving young, high-upside pitchers with multiple years of team control remaining.

The Doug Fister trade seemed to get it all started. The Mariners sent him and David Pauley to the Tigers for Francisco Martinez, Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, and Chance Ruffin at the trade deadline. Four similar young, high-upside starters with multiple years of contractual control remaining were traded this offseason. Here are those deals, presented chronologically…

Each trade involved multiple young players going the other way, including at least one top 100 prospect according to Baseball America. Which team got the best return for their young hurler?

Which team received the best return for their young pitcher?
Padres for Latos 43.84% (8,892 votes)
Mariners for Pineda 29.81% (6,046 votes)
Athletics for Gonzalez 20.16% (4,090 votes)
Athletics for Cahill 6.19% (1,255 votes)
Total Votes: 20,283

Olney On Diamondbacks, Ackley, Cardinals

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Some GMs believe the White Sox have set an extraordinarily high asking price for right-hander Gavin Floyd, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported last night. Olney passes on more rumors in today’s Insider-only column; here they are:

  • Stephen Drew will likely miss Opening Day as he recovers from last summer’s ankle injury, and the Diamondbacks have started evaluating other long-term solutions at short. They’ve scouted Ian Desmond of the Nationals and could have interest in Cliff Pennington of the Athletics. Drew’s contract includes a $10MM mutual option for 2013, so replacing him isn’t a top priority just yet.
  • Scouts say Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley looks “exceptional” this spring.
  • The Cardinals could pursue free agent right-hander Roy Oswalt aggressively if Chris Carpenter isn’t ready for Opening Day.

Quick Hits: Twins, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners, Mitre

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Tuesday night linkage..

  • Free agent reliever Michael Wuertz says his tryout will be early next week with plans to be finalized in the next day, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Minneapolis.  The Twins are expected to attend.
  • Signing closer Joe Nathan allowed the Rangers to move Neftali Feliz into the rotation while keeping skipper Ron Washington comfortable by continuing to have an established closer, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Nathan inked a two-year, $14.75MM deal with Texas last November, though the club typically doesn't give multi-year deals to relievers.
  • There were at least 40 scouts on hand to watch the Orioles today, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun.
  • The Mariners reported a financial loss for a fiscal year with a $7.3MM deficit for 2011, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  This marks just the second time since the opening of Safeco Field that the M's find themselves in the red.
  • The bidding groups for the Dodgers appear to have been whittled down to five from seven tonight, a person familiar with the meetings tells Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com.  The highest bid was $1.6 billion from Magic Johnson and former baseball exec Stan Kasten, whose purchase would be partially financed by private equity.  The lowest bid from the five groups was $1.3 billion.
  • Looking at at future payroll commitments, major league assets, farm systems, ownership status, and front office strategies, ESPN.com's Keith Law (Insider sub. req'd) tries to hash out when clubs such as the Mets, Cubs, and Astros will be able to contend.
  • The biggest area of uncertainty for the Nationals, outside of their surplus of starting pitchers, seems to be their bench, writes Amanda Comak of The Washington Times. 
  • Free agent Sergio Mitre will work out for teams in March or April and expects to play in the majors this year, according to Tim (via Twitter).

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Buxton, Cohen

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It was on this day in 1921 that Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis imposed lifetime bans from baseball on eight members of the 1919 White Sox for their alleged role in throwing that year's World Series.  The most famous of the eight "Black Sox" is one of the game's all-time greats, Shoeless Joe Jackson, whose participation in the game-fixing scandal has been disputed for years (he hit .375/.394/.563 in the eight Series games).

Some news as we wrap up a busy Monday in the majors…

  • Major League Baseball did not invite real estate developer Alan Casden to a meeting of competing groups bidding to buy the Dodgers, effectively removing Casden from the process, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  Casden's rejection means that the list of potential new Dodgers ownership groups has been narrowed to six.
  • The Orioles held a workout for high school outfielder Byron Buxton, reports Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.  Buxton is projected to be one of the top picks in this summer's amateur draft and could be taken by the O's with the fourth overall pick, though Schmuck says "there's a lot of buzz" that the Mariners could draft Buxton third overall.  According to Baseball America's Conor Glassey, Buxton's "explosive athleticism and five-tool potential has already led some scouts to compare [him] to a hybrid of the Upton brothers."
  • Steve Cohen is "the most important man in Major League Baseball right now," writes Mike Ozanian of Forbes Magazine, for offering to buy partial ownership of the financially-struggling Mets and for his ability to present a "simple" bid to buy the Dodgers.
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