Odds & Ends: Beckham, Bedard, Bonds, Mulder
Lots of high profile players in today’s Odds & Ends:
- The Rays have opened contract discussions with first overall pick Tim Beckham, says Marc Topkin.
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Sports Tribune suggests we add Erik Bedard to the list of starting pitchers who may be available at the trade deadline. More appropriately, Rogers also notes the M’s will most likely hold on to Bedard through 2009, a far more likely outcome.
- Also in the longshot rumor department, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle speculates on Barry Bonds playing for the Red Sox. Personally, I would predict there’s a 0.0% chance Bonds plays in Boston.
- In that same piece by John Shea, Mark Mulder could be done. He’s rejecting the idea of a third surgery and attempting to alter his delivery to remain effective and pain free.
- Will Carroll reports Jeremy Bonderman has undergone surgery to overcome Thoracic Outlet Syndrome – as I understand it, a pinched vein causing a blood clot – and will need a minimum of 6 months to a year of recovery time. This should keep Armando Gallaraga and Dontrelle Willis in the rotation.
By Nat Boyle
Crasnick On Griffey And Dunn
Jerry Crasnick comments today on the Reds new youth movement and what that might mean for Ken Griffey Jr and Adam Dunn.
Crasnick notes that it will be difficult to replace Dunn’s production, but wonders if he just needs a change of scenery. Dunn does not appear to have any desire to enter negotiations on an extension and still seems to be harboring some bad feelings towards the club…Although Crasnick doesn’t specifically speculate, it sounds as if the Reds would be best served trading Dunn.
As for Griffey, Crasnick believes that Griffey might be willing to renegotiate his $16.5MM ’09 option if the team is willing to add a second year on to the deal. However, Crasnick is not sure the Reds are willing to keep Griffey around until he is 40. Crasnick does speculate that even though the Mariners poor start eliminates the possibility of a trade during the season, the M’s may be willing to bring Griffey back in ’09 as a free agent to play first base, especially with Richie Sexson’s contract set to expire.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here .
Yanks, Cashman To Talk Extension
According to Ed Price of the Newark Star-Ledger, Hank Steinbrenner will discuss an extension with GM Brian Cashman this week (hat tip to River Avenue Blues). Steinbrenner’s "impression" is that both sides want to continue the relationship.
Possibilities if Cashman wants a change: the opening in Philadelphia, and Seattle if the Mariners fire Bill Bavasi. Bavasi blames himself for putting together the last-place Ms.
Draft Day Roundup
The draft is just four hours away. We’ll be live-blogging it here at MLBTR. Here are today’s draft links.
- Baseball America’s brand new top 30 projections.
- According to Keith Law, Mariners doctors gave the thumbs up on Tanner Scheppers and the team could take him at #20.
- Law says the Nationals seem to be debating between Kyle Skipworth and Aaron Crow at #9.
- Law adds that first baseman Yonder Alonso has an $8MM rumored asking price, which could cause him to drop. Alonso is roughly the 11th-best player in the draft, combining various expert rankings.
- Speaking of huge demands, Buster Posey‘s people are floating $12MM. Perhaps for that reason, the Rays will go with Tim Beckham.
- The Pirates seem a near-lock to take Pedro Alvarez at #2.
- Jonathan Mayo is "fairly certain" the Reds will take Gordon Beckham at #7.
- Nick Piecoro tosses out some possibilities for the D’Backs at #26.
- Tom Haudricourt has three names for the Brewers at #16.
Speculating on Sexson, Hatteberg
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times writes of "mounting speculation" about Richie Sexson‘s situation with the Mariners and "a growing call among fans" for Seattle to acquire recently DFA’d Scott Hatteberg from the Reds to replace him. The Mets are reportedly also in the mix for Hatteberg, who was designated on May 27. Hatteberg is 38 and hitting .173. He did, however, hit .310 last year.
Sexson, only 33, is struggling to clear the Mendoza line at present. The struggle began last year when he hit .205 in 121 games. However, of his 31 hits this year, nine have been homers. It’s also worth noting that his average has been much better (.333) against lefties, though of course, it’s a piteously small sample size (36 plate appearances). Even so, he wouldn’t be very useful as a role player considering that he has been a DH/1B since 2000. He’s in the last year of his contract, he’s not fragile, and yet I can’t think of a single team who would sign him if Seattle does release him. Possibly the Indians? The Rangers? Any other ideas?
Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro. She can be reached here.
Stark’s Latest: Braves, Robertson, Igawa
Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings column up. Let’s take a look.
- While Greg Maddux is not out of the question, the Braves are more interested in a younger starter they can control for multiple years.
- One possibly available starter who hasn’t gotten much buzz: Nate Robertson. The 30 year-old southpaw hasn’t pitched well since ’06, and he’s signed through 2010.
- The Mariners will probably talk about Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn, but not Erik Bedard. No big surprise there. Both Batista and Washburn are signed through ’09.
- Stark rattles off a bunch of available relievers. Mostly names you’d expect, but click through and take a look.
- Kei Igawa, signed through 2011, asked the Yankees if they could find a way to ship him back to Japan during the winter. They couldn’t find a way to make it work.
Mets, Mariners Interested In Hatteberg
THURSDAY: MLB.com’s Marty Noble says the Mets have already discussed Hatteberg internally. They could move quickly to sign him after he clears waivers, but Marlon Anderson‘s injury is a factor here.
Additionally, the Mariners are "actively pursuing" Hatteberg. The Ms actually started Miguel Cairo at first last night.
WEDNESDAY: According to Ken Davidoff of Newsday, "the Mets have some, but only some" interest in recently-designated first baseman Scott Hatteberg. Davidoff says the Mets will wait until Hatteberg clears waivers and then perhaps see if Hatteberg is open to a minor league deal.
Hatteberg is a left-handed hitter who succeeds against righties (as is often the case). Carlos Delgado hasn’t succeeded against anyone this year, but previously he had the same splits as Hatteberg. The two don’t match up for a platoon, but it’d make sense for the Mets to keep Hatteberg at Triple A until they decide whether to cut Delgado (.215/.294/.387 in 204 PAs).
Gammons On Available Pitchers
ESPN’s Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months. We’ll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series.
Gammons’ trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood. Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season. Sowers and Duke are the kids. Harden is the oft-injured ace. Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts.
Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios. He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.
Padres Acquire Baek
The Padres and Mariners worked out a minor trade, as they have many times in the past. The Padres acquired Cha Seung Baek for Jared Wells. Baek was in the 10-day limbo period after being designated for assignment. Paul DePodesta explains that the Padres have been eyeing Baek for some time.
Baek, 28, has a 4.96 ERA in 168.2 career innings for the Mariners. His best asset has been respectable control. The Ms signed Baek out of Korea for $1.3MM in ’98. Baseball America said back in ’05 that Baek succeeds by locating a full five-pitch repertoire. He had Tommy John surgery back in ’01.
Wells, 26, was shifted to relief at Triple A last year and picked up nine saves. His numbers have been ugly – tons of hits, poor control, mediocre strikeout rate. Baseball America notes his average slider and decent two-seam fastball.
Bill Bavasi’s Job Secure
Yesterday, Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said the team had no discussions about bringing in a new GM or manager. For now, Bill Bavasi and John McLaren’s jobs are secure despite the team owning the worst record in baseball. John Hickey says Bavasi will explore the trade market but doesn’t expect much. Reds beat writer Hal McCoy again made the point yesterday that Ken Griffey Jr. won’t be dealt.
A summary of Bavasi’s offseason moves:
- Selected R.A. Dickey in the Rule 5 draft.
- Sent Ben Broussard to Texas for Tug Hulett.
- Signed Carlos Silva to a four-year deal.
- Signed Miguel Cairo, Chris Reitsma, Arthur Rhodes, Horacio Ramirez, Greg Norton, and Brad Wilkerson.
- Traded Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio, and Tony Butler for Erik Bedard.
The much-criticized Silva signing looked fine in April, terrible in May. Bedard’s injury and ineffectiveness couldn’t have been predicted. Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista weren’t supposed to be this bad. Aside from a slow start by Kenji Johjima, the hitters have played to expectations.
The player most likely to be traded a month or two from now is Raul Ibanez. He’s earning $5.5MM this year, his last before free agency.