Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wells, Griffey, Olney, Tavarez, Edmonds
A lot of links today, so let’s get to what is being said about some trade and signing possibilities in the Blogosphere…
- The Darth Boss George Brigade wants Hank Steinbrenner to sign David Wells to prove that Hank is indeed his father’s son.
- River Ave. Blues says the Yankees are too smart to sign Wells and then goes on to list about 87 pitchers that should be given a shot in the Highlanders’ rotation before Wells.
- Redlegs Rant feels that Ken Griffey Jr. is behind the recent stories that speculate on him being traded.
- Mariners Central speculates on some of the names that it might take to land Ken Griffey Jr., noting that the M’s are not likely to part with either of their top two prospects, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.
- The Tribe Time Report sees plenty of holes in Buster Olney’s recent theory that Garret Atkins would be a good fit for the Indians.
- Brewers Nation agrees with Olney that the Brewers should trade Ben Sheets.
- Sox & Pinstripes doesn’t want to just give away Julian Tavarez but they also note that the bullpen needs help and Tavarez isn’t the answer.
- Batter’s Box says Brad Wilkerson should fit in well with the rest of the Jays lineup, which also lacks the ability to hit for average or power.
- One writer at Fanhouse doesn’t understand why Kevin Towers is so disappointed in the play of Jim Edmonds. They feel it was pretty obvious that the Pads were getting a player well past his prime.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Heyman On Teixeira
Jon Heyman’s latest column does a fine job analyzing Mark Teixeira‘s future. To sum it up:
- Heyman’s source expects the asking price to be around ten years and $200MM. Personally, I don’t see him getting a term nearly that long.
- Heyman and his sources do not see the Braves re-signing Tex.
- The suitors, in order of likelihood: Yankees, Mets, Orioles, Mariners, Braves, Red Sox, Giants. A battle of the New York powers is a reasonable prediction – both clubs should have first base open and the market for the position is otherwise poor.
- In a February MLBTR poll, the Yankees were picked as Tex’s most likely future club.
The Griffey Situation
WEDNESDAY: Armstrong, through a spokesman, clarified that his comments about Griffey were meant in a broad, rather than impending, context. It doesn’t sound like any trade talks have occurred at this point. I’m sure we’ll be revisiting this topic though.
TUESDAY: Bob Nightengale spoke to Ken Griffey Jr. recently. Junior’s comments were not surprising or new – if the Reds decide to trade him he wants to play for a contender. Nightengale also has a comment from Mariners President Chuck Armstrong, who admitted he’d like Griffey to retire a Mariner.
Griffey makes $12.5MM this year and has a $16.5MM option for ’09 with a $4MM buyout (much of the money is deferred). It’s unknown whether Griffey would require that the ’09 option be exercised in the event of a trade, but that wouldn’t be surprising. Reds GM Walt Jocketty has yet to engage in trade discussions about Griffey.
Peter Gammons suggested the Cubs might be a fit, but they won’t pick up the option and that figures to be a problem. The Mariners could certainly make room at DH and right field. Griffey could help the Indians, Braves, and Padres as well.
Trading Junior makes more sense than trading Adam Dunn. While Griffey might be able to maintain Type A status when the Elias rankings come out this winter, the Reds would not get draft pick compensation for him unless they offer arbitration. That’d be a risky move.
Pie-Greene Rumor Denied
MAY 7th: Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald discussed the Pie-Greene rumor with Cubs officials, and it was "emphatically shot down."
APRIL 30th: Yesterday Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote of Kevin Towers’ pursuit of a long-term center field option. Jim Edmonds remains a question mark, and his contract is up after ’08 anyway.
Krasovic says the Cubs "have kept tabs" on shortstop Khalil Greene, while the Padres are still eyeing Felix Pie. The Cubs’ win-now approach could lead to that move, as Reed Johnson is doing fine in center field so far. Greene is signed through the ’09 season. Trading Greene would leave a gaping hole at the position for the Padres though. Another point is that the Cubs have gotten fine production at shortstop so far this year.
Krasovic notes past center field considerations for the Padres such as Jeremy Reed and Tony Gwynn Jr. Reed doesn’t seem to have a future in Seattle. As for Coco Crisp, Towers balked at Theo Epstein’s asking price of Chase Headley.
Odds and Ends: Doue, Furcal, Kuroda
Here are today’s links.
- Dave Cameron notes Nelson Cruz‘s video game numbers in Triple A and suggests he deserves another shot.
- Japanese catcher Hayato Doue was expected to join the Red Sox organization, but visa problems have gotten in the way.
- Buster Olney notes that Rafael Furcal will test free agency if he can’t hammer out an extension with the Dodgers by midseason.
- Shigetoshi Hasegawa denies the notion that he pushed Hiroki Kuroda toward the Dodgers.
- Athletics Nation sees Billy Beane targeting pitcher Tanner Scheppers if he’s available with the 12th pick. Also, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has an overall look at the ’08 draft class.
Wilkerson, Norton Designated
3:28pm: Greg Norton was the other player designated. Starting Balentien and Clement regularly should be a nice offensive upgrade for the Mariners.
3:04pm: According to Ryan Divish of the News Tribune, Brad Wilkerson‘s locker has been cleared out. Divish speculates that Wilkerson has been designated for assignment. He expects the Ms to make one other move to accomodate for callups of Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.
Wilkerson, 30, hit .232/.348/.304 for the Mariners in 56 ABs. He makes $3MM this year, plus up to $2MM in plate appearance bonuses.
Odds And Ends: Thomas, Jays, Myers, Nomo
Expect another one of these today. There’s lots of little stuff, but not much in the way of substantive rumors.
- The Mariners were one of four teams contacted by Frank Thomas’s agent. The A’s were obviously another. So who were the other two?
- With 24-year-old backstop Robinzon Diaz mashing in AAA, the Jays might look to spin off either Gregg Zaun or Rod Barajas come July.
- 39-year-old southpaw Mike Myers requested and was granted his unconditional release from the Dodgers.
- After DFAing him on Sunday, the Royals have placed Hideo Nomo on release waivers. If unclaimed by noon on Tuesday, he’ll become a free agent.
- Curtis Granderson says his allergies are killing him. I can empathize. Fret not, Curtis. If you’re like me, you’ll be in the clear next week.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.
Kenji Johjima Signs Extension
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Mariners will give catcher Kenji Johjima a three-year extension. That’d keep him with the team through 2011, his age 35 season. It’s worth three years and $24MM – no kind of discount.
I didn’t see this coming; I thought the Ms would hand catching duties over to Jeff Clement in ’09 despite questionable defense. Instead, they’ll apparently use him as a DH/1B or trade him. He’s hitting .375/.500/.688 in 19 Triple A games.
Here’s a look at the remaining free agent catchers after this season. Ivan Rodriguez and Jason Varitek head the class.
Frank Thomas Suitors
The Blue Jays are on the hook for the rest of Frank Thomas‘ salary this year, making him a fine bargain for a team looking for a DH. It seems that the signing team will not be liable for his 2009 vesting option. As an injury-prone DH with clubhouse concerns, Thomas has similarities to Barry Bonds. The Big Hurt will come more cheaply, offering less production but no steroid baggage. As far as suitors:
- Mariners GM Bill Bavasi will talk to his scouts about Thomas. Question for Mariners fans: does Thomas offer more at DH than Jeff Clement, who is raking at Triple A?
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels didn’t rule Thomas out but seems to be leaning away from it. The Rangers have plenty of DHs on hand already.
- The A’s will at least have an internal discussion about Thomas, but they aren’t tipping their hand.
- Rays manager Joe Maddon was noncommital when asked about Thomas. They did just add Dan Johnson.
- Could the Mets follow suit and release Carlos Delgado?
Recently DFA’d: Corey, Bazardo, Jimerson
Anyone looking for a relief pitcher or an outfielder? The Red Sox, Tigers, and Mariners designated a few for assignment yesterday. Let’s see what they’re leaving on the table.
- Yorman Bazardo, a 23-year-old who actually pitched pretty well last year, was curiously designated by Detroit.
- The Red Sox designated 34-year-old reliever Bryan Corey to make room for Mike Timlin, who got the loss last night in his first appearance since coming off the DL. You’d figure Bazardo would get a lot more interest than Corey.
- Finally, the Mariners have designated 28-year-old OF Charlton Jimerson after just one plate appearance. It was just the ninth of his career. It seems his .901 OPS in the minors last year, mostly with AA, was an outlier.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski