Ben Sheets To Throw For Teams Tuesday
SATURDAY, 8:31pm: The Mets will be in attendance when Sheets throws on Tuesday, according to Ed Price of Fanhouse.com (via Twitter).
Earlier today, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak confirmed to fans and reporters that the club will be in Monroe, Louisiana to watch Sheets as well.
FRIDAY, 4:36pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Brewers will watch Sheets next week. Haudricourt suggests the Brewers are just being dilligent.
1:33pm: The Dodgers will watch Sheets pitch, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (via Twitter).
11:42am: The Angels could use Sheets, but will they watch him throw? "Not at this time," GM Tony Reagins tells Bill Shaikin of the LA Times.
8:40am: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat that the Cards will "likely" watch Sheets throw.
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian adds the Blue Jays to the list of interested teams.
THURSDAY, 1:52pm: The Rangers will be in attendance on Tuesday, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Sheets and Rich Harden would be a high-upside, high-injury risk pair of rotation additions.
Odds & Ends: Hairston, Brewers, Reds, Salazar
Some links for Friday…
- In an interview with 619 Sports out of San Diego, Scott Hairston said he found out he got traded back to the Padres by reading MLBTR. Cool!
- The Brewers will wait until next month before they consider making an offer to Mark Mulder, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer runs down the Reds' arbitration history.
- The Orioles have signed outfielder Jeff Salazar to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
- The Brewers are still in touch with Mark Mulder and Doug Davis, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- The Yankees offered Jesus Montero straight up for Roy Halladay, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (Hat Tip: River Ave. Blues).
- The Rockies watched Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- The Nationals are still in the mix to sign Orlando Hudson, who hopes to sign soon (MLB.com's Bill Ladson reporting).
- Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com hears of some mutual interest between the Yankees and Rocco Baldelli.
- The Rangers avoided arbitration with Brandon McCarthy, agreeing to a $1.32MM deal for 2010, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels tells Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas that he'd like to add a catcher, but he's not about to rush. "We have some time," the GM said.
- Ryan Theriot tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that he'd like the Cubs to sign Ben Sheets.
- The Mets signed Jolbert Cabrera to a minor league deal, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter).
- Writing for FanGraphs, Patrick Newman explains what the Rangers can expect from new signing Colby Lewis.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted last night that the Mets contacted Jerry Hairston Jr..
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says some people within the Mets organization believe Omar Minaya will be fired the first time his club slumps badly.
- Olney also notes that Adam LaRoche will be up against a crop of free agent first basemen that could include Carlos Pena, Lance Berkman and Derrek Lee after the season.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Giants, Padres, Rangers and Mariners have all called about Yorvit Torrealba.
- The Pirates aren't close to agreeing to terms with Zach Duke on his 2010 salary, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Duke made $2.2MM last year in his first season as an arbitration-eligible player.
- The Cardinals will watch Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
- The Cards signed knuckleballer Charlie Zink to a minor league deal, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. After eight years in the Red Sox organization, the 30-year-old will try to break camp with St. Louis.
- Bill James tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he's curious to see how much better the Red Sox are on defense this season.
Discussion: Next Young Pitcher To Be Extended
One of the game's best young pitchers signed a contract extension yesterday that will take him to his 30th birthday, as the Marlins finally locked up Josh Johnson to a four-year deal worth $39MM. The extension mirrors the deal Kansas City gave Zack Greinke before last season, and is just the latest example of a club willing to assume the risk of a breakdown in exchange for cost certainty.
Paul Maholm, Scott Baker, Ubaldo Jimenez, Adam Wainwright, Matt Cain, Jon Lester, and James Shields are other young arms who have sacrificed the superior earning power of the arbitration process for financial security in recent years. Who do the readers of MLBTR think the next young pitcher to agree to an extension could be?
Leaving aside the big names like Tim Lincecum, Justin Verlander, and Felix Hernandez, here's a few pitchers who already have, or will soon enter into their arbitration years…
- Yovani Gallardo – the Brewers' young ace struck out 204 batters and allowed just 150 hits in 185.2 innings last season, and will be arb eligible following the 2010 season.
- Matt Garza – one of Tampa's many young power arms, Garza has struck out 7.3 batters per nine innings in his career, and has made 62 starts over the last two years. He's arb eligible as a Super Two this offseason.
- Jair Jurrjens – perhaps the best pitcher no one talks about, Jurrjens led the NL in starts last year and owns a 3.21 career ERA. He'll be up for arbitration after the 2010 season.
- Wandy Rodriguez – his breakthrough season last year included a 3.06 K/BB ratio and 193 strikeouts in 205.2 innings. Wandy is arb eligible for the second time this offseason after earning $2.6MM in 2009.
M’s, Felix Make “A Bit” Of Progress On Deal
The Mariners and Felix Hernandez made "a bit" of progress on a five or six-year deal, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. The two sides will work towards a one-year deal first before resuming talks on a deal that would buy out some of Felix's free agent years.
Hernandez, 24 in April, will likely become a free agent after the 2011 season. A five-year deal would buy three free agent years out and a six-year deal would buy four of them out. Josh Johnson just agreed to a deal that will pay him $13.75MM for each of his first two free agent years, but Hernandez would presumably be looking for more, since he has more major league success to his name at a younger age.
Mariners Claim Tommy Everidge From A’s
The Mariners have claimed Tommy Everidge off waivers from the A's, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea. The A's designated the 26-year-old for assignment last week to make room for Jack Cust. Everidge had a .667 OPS in 97 major league plate appearances last year, but posted a .958 OPS in the upper minors. Everidge has played some third base, but has spent most of his time at first.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rolen, Sweeney, Twins
On this date in 1990, the Tigers signed free agent Cecil Fielder after he hit 38 homers as a member of the Hanshin Tigers the year before. Fielder went on to lead the league with 130 HR and 389 RBI over the next three years, landing a five-year, $36MM contract that made him the then-second-highest paid player in baseball history behind Barry Bonds. Believe it or not, Prince is already more than halfway to his father's career total of 319 homers despite having fewer than half as many plate appearances.
Let's see what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…
- The Phrontiersman goes back in time to see how things would have played out for the Phillies if Scott Rolen signed a contract extension and was never traded away.
- DRays Bay wonders if Matt Sweeney could take over first base for the Rays if Carlos Pena leaves as a free agent after 2010. Sweeney was acquired in the Scott Kazmir trade.
- Fack Youk compares Vladimir Guerrero to Hideki Matsui to Nick Johnson, the three biggest DH signings of the offseason.
- Lookout Landing says the Mariners did just fine to acquire Casey Kotchman, even though Adam LaRoche agreed to a relatively cheap deal yesterday.
- Meanwhile, Jorge Says No! thinks the Mets may have made a mistake by not signing LaRoche.
- Nick's Twins Blog wonders if Michael Cuddyer or Joe Nathan could be expendable as Minnesota's estimated payroll will approach nine-figures in 2011.
- AdamAdkins.net thinks the Tigers will regret signing Jose Valverde.
- Pinstripes Published takes a look at the market for Johnny Damon, or lack thereof.
- TurnTwo looks at all the movement going on with the Giants' defensive alignment.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Russell Branyan Moving On From Seattle
Russell Branyan is reluctantly moving on from the Mariners, reports MLB.com's Jim Street. After hearing the Ms acquired Casey Kotchman, Branyan called GM Jack Zduriencik to thank him for the opportunity. Street says Branyan has no hard feelings, though the slugger indicated talks with the Mariners ended rather abruptly after the Winter Meetings.
Branyan says he has a couple of interested teams, and he expects a Major League deal. He came into the offseason aiming for two years, but the Mariners would only offer one year and a club option. Branyan says he feels great despite back woes marring the second half of his season. He still managed 31 home runs, second only to Jason Bay among free agents this offseason.
Assuming Branyan is open to a DH job, the White Sox, Tigers, or Royals could be a fit. The Orioles, A's, or Mets could consider him at first base. Branyan, 34, earned $1.75MM in '09.
Mariners Re-Sign Brad Nelson
The Mariners re-signed first baseman/outfielder Brad Nelson to a minor league deal, according to a team press release. Nelson began the '09 season with the Brewers, and joined the Ms as a minor league free agent in May after refusing an outright assignment. Nelson, 27, hit .247/.322/.451 in Triple A – his fifth stint at the level.
Odds & Ends: Valverde, Gardner, Wells
Rounding up some news from around the majors on this Tuesday night….
- MLB.com's Jason Beck cites a report from an unnamed radio station which states the Tigers' offer to Jose Valverde is for two years. In another piece, Beck calls Detroit "the most logical destination" for Valverde.
- Brett Gardner has two backers (sort of) in Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News and ESPN's Keith Law. McCarron would like to see the Yankees acquire a "get-the-uniform-dirty type" but thinks Gardner should get "a real chance" to play every day. Law would let Gardner start the season because he feels that potential signings Reed Johnson or Xavier Nady are "marginal improvements that may not justify the cost."
- Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says the Blue Jays aren't thinking of moving Vernon Wells to a corner outfield spot in spite of Wells' declining UZR numbers in center. One factor might be that the Jays don't really have any other solid CF options, especially with Alex Rios no longer on the roster.
- C.J. Wilson is not a candidate to be traded despite the Rangers' signing of Darren Oliver, reports Ben Rogers of ESPNDallas.com.
- MLB.com's Jim Street says Miguel Tejada's asking price is too high for the Mariners to make a play for the free-agent infielder.
- Brian McTaggart of MLB.com passes along a report from Houston's KRIV-TV that Great Court Capital is the investment company negotiating to buy the Astros from Drayton McLane.
- Eric Hinske tells David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Atlanta "really seemed like the best situation" out of the clubs who made him offers.
- Doug Miller of MLB.com provides a quick round-up of some of the remaining free agents on the market.
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Chapman, Royals, Padres
Links for Tuesday…
- Talking to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Rays manager Joe Maddon indicated he'd like to bring in additional players to compete at second base and in the bullpen.
- Derek Lowe told David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the Braves' failed attempt to trade him is now an "absolute non-issue."
- According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, MLB and the players' union expressed concern that the Marlins "have not been spending proceeds from revenue sharing on payroll as required in the Basic Agreement." Look for a slight payroll increase in 2010, and a much bigger one in 2012 when the new ballpark opens.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer passes along Aroldis Chapman contract details from the AP. There are scenarios where Chapman can choose to go to arbitration if he's eligible after the 2012 or 2013 seasons. Meanwhile, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon chronicles the Reds' involvement on Chapman dating back to March.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Mariners have thought about Jonny Gomes this winter, though he's no longer a great fit.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets/passes along an XX 1090 appearance by Padres GM Jed Hoyer. Hoyer said he has offers out to three free agents.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy says Mark Mulder's sit-down with the Brewers is scheduled for Thursday. A minor league agreement is possible.
- Jack Moore of FanGraphs says Aubrey Huff is not an upgrade for the Giants.