Washburn Turns Down “Small Offer” From Seattle
THURSDAY, 6:23pm: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star notes that Royals officials have yet to substantiate rumors of the team's interest in Washburn. Dutton adds that one club official said Kansas City's major league payroll is already $1.5MM over budget.
12:22pm: SI's Jon Heyman says the Royals are "believed to be offering significantly more money" to Washburn than the Mariners, but the lefty prefers Seattle.
WEDNESDAY, 5:16pm: AOL Fanhouse's John Hickey reports that the Mariners made a "small offer" to Jarrod Washburn that the left-hander has already turned down. Hickey says the offer was less than the one-year, $1.5MM deal that the team made with Erik Bedard in February.
Given Seattle's need for starting pitching (especially in the wake of Cliff Lee's injury), Washburn and agent Scott Boras must feel they can get more out of the M's. We know that Washburn turned down a $5MM offer from Minnesota over the winter, so it's likely the Mariners will have to at least offer something closer to that mark.
Offseason Questions For The AL West
With all the offseason reviews completed, we're asking a few questions of every team. The AL West is on the hot seat this time.
- Did the Angels overpay Bobby Abreu and Fernando Rodney? Can Joel Pineiro adequately replace John Lackey?
- The A's guaranteed $17.5MM to three players who barely played last year in Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer, and Coco Crisp. Were these signings too risky? Will left-side infield Plan Bs Kevin Kouzmanoff and Cliff Pennington provide sufficient production, after Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro chose to sign elsewhere?
- Could the $5.8MM the Mariners spent on Ken Griffey Jr. and Casey Kotchman have gone toward a more productive bat or two? Did the Ms sell high on Brandon Morrow, and should they have added another veteran starter?
- Similar to the A's, the Rangers committed $19MM to three high-variance players in Rich Harden, Vladimir Guerrero, and Colby Lewis. Will at least two of the three play to their upside?
Rangers Claim Ryan Garko
The Rangers claimed first baseman Ryan Garko off waivers from the Mariners, according to a team press release.
The Giants non-tendered Garko in December, and the Mariners signed him in February for $550K with plans for a platoon with Casey Kotchman. Instead Garko will be paired with Chris Davis in Texas, given the former's ability to crush lefties. The move ends the Mike Lowell trade talk for now, which was never too serious during the spring anyway.
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."
Corey Patterson Opts Out Of Mariners Contract
According to Kirby Arnold of the Everett Herald, Corey Patterson has opted out of his contract with the Mariners and is now a free agent. Arnold writes that with Eric Byrnes looking to have won the M's backup outfield spot, Patterson decided to look elsewhere for employment.
Patterson signed a minor-league deal with Seattle last December. The 30-year-old had just 30 plate appearances last season (15 with Milwaukee, 15 with Washington) and managed only a .207 OPS, but he did hit 292/.333/.478 in 418 Triple-A plate appearances in 2009. If another club picks up Patterson, though, it will be for his glove, not his bat. Fangraphs lists Patterson as having a career UZR/150 of 8.9 in the outfield, though his defense was barely above average in 2007 and 2008, his last two years of regular playing time.
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.
Mariners Waive Ryan Garko, Will Keep Sweeney
7:19pm: Mike Sweeney has made the Mariners' Opening Day roster, writes Morosi. The 36-year-old was set to retire if he didn't make a team's Opening Day squad. Sweeney will be in a designated hitter platoon with Ken Griffey Jr.
Meanwhile, a source tells Morosi that the Rangers' current interest level in Garko isn't high.
5:10pm: The Mariners have put Ryan Garko on waivers, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Seattle signed the first baseman to a one-year, $550K deal roughly two months ago. The 29-year-old still has options remaining.
Morosi points out that the Rangers are in search of a right-handed bat, though he is unsure if they are interested in Garko. Texas is in search of a backup corner infielder and although manager Ron Washington seems willing to give middle infielder Andres Blanco a chance at third, it is unlikely that Garko is up to the task. Before he landed with the M's, the Rangers were said to be interested in Garko's services.
In 40 games (127 plate appearances) for the Giants last season, Garko hit .235/.307/.330 with 2 HRs.
Odds & Ends: Gaudin, Stairs, Lowell, Darvish
Links for Monday…
- FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi spoke to one executive who thinks the lack of open 40-man roster spots is inhibiting trades. There are only 28 open spots across the league, and more than half of the teams are maxed out.
- Chad Gaudin said he considered "a couple" of other teams before deciding to rejoin the A's, reports MLB.com's Jane Lee.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock reminds us that the Padres will have to remove someone from their 40-man roster before Opening Day to make room for Matt Stairs.
- The Rangers have a scout on hand to watch Mike Lowell play third base tonight, tweets ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes. This deal has to get done eventually, right?
- The Braves were concerned the Marlins would take Jason Heyward at #12 in the 2007 draft, writes Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
- Yu Darvish hinted for the first time that he might be willing to come to MLB, says Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Newman passes along a Sponichi report in which Darvish said, "Well, I’m planning on climbing the ladder, step by step," when asked about moving to MLB one day. Newman notes that Darvish isn't close to free agency, so the Nippon Ham Fighters would have to post him.
- SI's Jon Heyman writes that the Mariners and Jarrod Washburn "are believed to remain apart on the dollars for a new deal."
- Brian Cashman and Johnny Damon met in person for the first time since Damon left the Yankees, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons names six clubs that might be better than you think.
Mariners Strongly Considering Adding Starter
SUNDAY, 11:50am: The Mariners have intensified their search for starting pitching, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The duo names Nate Robertson, Brian Tallet, and Manny Parra as a few left-handers who may be available while the M's wait for their own lefties (Lee and Erik Bedard) to return from injuries. FOX's Tracy Ringolsby adds (via Twitter) that the team had a scout on hand to watch Tim Redding pitch yesterday.
SATURDAY, 4:16pm: Fanhouse's Ed Price tweets that the Mariners are now strongly considering adding a starting pitcher due to Lee's injury. Price suggests that the addition would be a free agent or someone who was released from another organization.
THURSDAY, 12:12pm: The Mariners are "now again seriously considering Jarrod Washburn," tweets SI's Jon Heyman, even though he says the team is hoping to have Cliff Lee back by the third week of the season.
On Sunday, Washburn told ESPN's Mike Salk there have been "no recent conversations" between the Mariners and his agent Scott Boras. The added wrinkle is that Salk feels Washburn would need about four weeks to be game-ready.
Rosenthal’s Latest: D’Backs, Robertson, Pirates
Some notes from Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com…
- The Diamondbacks continue to pursue a number three or four starter in the wake of Brandon Webb's setback. A club official acknowledged that such a pickup was possible, but “I don’t think any team will be willing to give up that kind of pitcher at the start of the season.”
- Rosenthal says the team has infield depth to use in a trade, and reiterated that they'd love to move Chris Snyder and the $11.25MM left on his contract. The Rangers and Red Sox are said to be looking for infielders, and the Mariners could join them following Jack Hannahan's injury.
- The Tigers are shopping Nate Robertson, but Arizona doesn't consider him enough of an upgrade. Zach Duke and Paul Maholm are not available.
- The best available starter may be Chad Gaudin, who was released by the Yankees on Thursday.
- The Brewers considered a Jeff Suppan for Snyder trade, but didn't want to take on Snyder's 2011 salary. Suppan will earn $12.5MM this season, the final one on his contract.
- The Cubs do not expect to make a trade for a reliever before Opening Day, but they've scouted Jason Frasor and Scott Downs, plus Luke Gregerson of the Padres.
- Nick Green has an out clause in his minor league contract, but the Dodgers may add him to the roster to serve as the backup shortstop.