Baseball Blogs Weigh In
Bunch of random topics so let’s just get to it and see what it being said in the Blogosphere…
- Big League Stew talks to Bless You Boys about the idea of Barry Bonds signing with the Tigers. BYB argues against signing Bonds noting that the Tigers already have a bunch of slow players (base cloggers?) and what they really need is some more speed in the lineup…Although we keep hearing about collusion and have not heard any numbers bandied about, Bonds has always made it very clear how much he values the almighty dollar. Does anybody else think that Bonds would already be in uniform if he had come out said he would play 2008 for $3-5MM plus incentives? The baggage is what it is, but teams might find it easier to deal with it at a price Bonds is not likely to accept.
- Rockin’ The Red takes a look at the five Cardinals that are most likely to be traded during the season…Chris Duncan is an interesting name on the list. With all the outfielders that the Cards have, Duncan is a solid bat that is likely to be a Super-2 at the end of the year.
- The Yankees: Minors to Majors looks at the pending free agents for the Yankees and concludes that there is plenty of compensation picks to be had giving the Yankees plenty of flexibility to sign a high-end free agent like C.C. Sabathia…Of course, that is assuming the Yankees would let something like draft pick compensation stand in the way of signing a free agent. Not likely.
- Wrigleyville23 has had enough of the Brian Roberts-to-the-Cubs media reports…Who?
- The Bronx Zoo would love to see Nick Johnson back in a Yankees’ uniform but notes that Dmitri Young may not be a dependable replacement for the Nats.
- Mets Fever notes that eight players have moved among the Brewers, Mets and Nats since this offseason…Let’s just say that the Brewers did not get the best of that "three-way trade".
- One writer at DRays Bay is hoping the Rays and M’s can re-engage talks for Edwin Jackson…The M’s may be interested once again after being two-hit by Jackson yesterday, but maybe the price just went up.
- One name that kept popping up recently as a possible trade piece in the near future was Rich Harden. Well, Harden has once again found himself on the DL and Athletics Nation is not taking it well.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Harden, Bonds, Ramon Hernandez
Time to round up today’s linkage.
- Susan Slusser believes Rich Harden and Joe Blanton will both be traded this season. She sees the Yankees and Mets as suitors for Harden, though he’s already having a start pushed back.
- Jim Caple recently made his case for the Mariners to sign Barry Bonds; his logic is sound.
- Our Brian Bannister Q&A got a mention in the KC Star. Nice!
- RotoAuthority has the fantasy take on K-Rod’s ailing ankles.
- Pure speculation, but Ken Rosenthal thinks Ramon Hernandez would be a good fit for the Reds. Not sure if the Reds were looking at Michael Barrett, but that option’s off the table now.
- Who said you can’t go home again? Craig Wilson is back with the Bucs.
- We’ll be doing our third MLBTR chat here at 2pm CST; don’t miss it!
Felix Hernandez’s Extension Talks
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times says the Mariners are "believed to be exploring" a long-term deal with young ace Felix Hernandez. I’m wondering whether these talks have stagnated. The Mariners made an initial offer to Felix over a month ago.
It’s crazy to see that the Mariners first spotted Hernandez when he was 14. They eventually beat out the Braves, Yankees, Astros, Dodgers, and Rockies to get him. Felix turns 22 tomorrow; he’s already got 480 big league innings under his belt. He’s begun the ’08 season with 15 scoreless innings, which is reminiscent of his start a year ago.
The Mariners have to be slightly concerned that Hernandez will have a breakout ’08 and change his mind about giving up his three arbitration years at a reasonable price of $14-15MM. After all, Ryan Howard got $10MM for his first arb year alone.
Odds and Ends: Putz, Byrdak, Graves
Today’s linkage.
- J.J. Putz is out for at least a few weeks; the fantasy baseball world reacts.
- The Astros inked Tim Byrdak, selling him on an easy path to the big leagues. The 34 year-old southpaw had a 3.20 ERA last year, albeit with poor control.
- The Twins added former closer Danny Graves to their Triple A club. He’s also 34. His peripherals weren’t too impressive last year for the Long Island Ducks despite 33 saves.
- I did a Q&A with Dexter Sports.
- Unfortunately Corey Koskie doesn’t seem anywhere close to coming back.
- Joe Sports Fan looks at baseball’s "bespectacled heroes."
- Correcting an SI.com report from yesterday, MetsBlog says there’s been no contact between the Mets and Edgardo Alfonzo.
Odds and Ends: Alfonzo, Hill, Kline, Reitsma
Time for a link roundup.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Mets have talked with Edgardo Alfonzo. Alfonzo, 34, came up a Met and snagged MVP votes in 2000 with a .967 OPS.
- Seems like Aaron Hill‘s contract extension may wait until after the season, when his offensive value is more clearly established.
- No interest in Steve Kline yet…teams will probably wait the Giants out so they don’t have to pay his $1.75MM salary.
- If Chris Reitsma doesn’t make a decision soon about heading to Triple A, the Ms could place him on the restricted list.
- Dejan Kovacevic hasn’t heard anything about Adam LaRoche as a trade candidate, even though extension talks fizzled.
- Kevin Goldstein believes shortstop Tim Beckham is the "top talent in the draft."
Rosenthal’s Latest: DeWitt, Murton, Vargas, Hatteberg, Pena, Baek, Piazza
Ken Rosenthal has his latest column up at FoxSports.com. As usual he is not shy about stirring up rumors. Let’s take a look at what the rumor-guru has to say:
- Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers will go with Blake DeWitt at third base who has never played a game above AA. This comes after the Dodgers failed to acquire either the Astros’ Mark Loretta, who was unavailable and the Royals’ Esteban German, who was too expensive. The Royals were asking for the Dodgers’ third best prospect, shortstop Chin-Lung Hu.
- He indicates that the Padres and the Rays are pursuing Matt Murton but the Cubs are holding out for a top pitching prospect in return, knowing Murton will be a starter on another club. Rosenthal quotes one GM as saying that the price "is way too high as of now". As many as five teams have shown interest in Murton.
- The Mets are among a dozen teams that have inquired about Brewers pitcher Claudio Vargas, who will not be in the rotation to begin the season. [Update: Sorry about this one. I had forgotten that the Brewers released Vargas earlier this week]
- The Reds have put Ryan Freel on the market, but more teams appear to be interested in Scott Hatteberg. However, Rosenthal indicates that it is unlikely for the Red to trade Hatteberg even if Joey Votto is named the starter.
- The Tigers, Reds and Orioles all tried to acquire backup catcher Brayan Pena from the Braves, but the Braves do not appear interested in letting him go
- Rosenthal says that Pat Gillick’s history in Seattle may have played a part in the Phillies inability to land M’s reliever Cha Seung Baek, who is out of options but made the roster as a reliever.
- Finally, Rosenthal notes that Mike Piazza is still working out with hopes of landing a gig at some point in ’08. Rosenthal thinks that Piazza may have to come to the realization soon that his career may be over.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Mariners Keep Dickey
The Mariners have sent Minor League catcher Jair Fernandez to the Twins, allowing them to keep Rule 5 Draft pick R.A. Dickey, who Seattle acquired from Minnesota in the Major League portion of December’s Rule 5 Draft.
Dickey had a hot spring. The knuckleballer went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in seven spring contests for the Mariners. Now he’s headed for AAA Tacoma.
Fernandez, 21, hit .260 with two home runs and 13 RBIs in 52 games at Class A Wisconsin of the Midwest League last year.
Dickey cleared waivers before the Mariners and Twins worked out the deal, which allowed Seattle to send Dickey to the Minors.
The Seattle Times Mariners Blog explains the transaction, sparing none of the gory details.
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. You can contact him here.
Reitsma Mulling Options
30 year-old reliever Chris Reitsma is on a minor league contract with the Mariners, and they don’t feel he’s ready for the big league roster quite yet. John Hickey says Reitsma can retire, go to the minors as requested, or ask the Mariners for his release (they’d have no obligation to grant it). Reitsma has yet to throw on back-to-back days, and he doesn’t offer the upside of Mark Lowe.
Reitsma had a fifth elbow surgery in July of ’07. The Mariners declined his $2.7MM option for ’08 but re-signed him to a minor league deal. He’s healthy now, but hasn’t been useful since ’05.
Padres, Rays Interested In Jeremy Reed
According to John Hickey of the Seattle PI, the Padres and Rays are eyeing Mariners center fielder Jeremy Reed. Hickey notes that the Padres have renewed interest and have liked him for quite a while. And he wonders whether Rays would surrender a young pitcher. Hickey believes Reed might still be on the Ms’ roster as a showcase. The 26 year-old does have options left, though.
The White Sox drafted Reed in the second round back in ’02. He made it to Double A as a 22 year-old in ’03 and hit over .400 in a half season.
Reed injured his wrist playing for Team USA that November, but said it wasn’t the cause of his poor spring with the Sox in ’04. Instead, a partial shoulder dislocation may have been to blame. Reed wasn’t terribly impressive in his first stint at Triple A, but he was young for his level (and still made the Futures Game).
Days after that game Kenny Williams shipped Reed to Seattle as the centerpiece of the Freddy Garcia trade. Reed hit better at Triple A as a member of Rainiers. Then he posted a tiny-sample .397 average in a September cup of coffee.
Reed displaced Randy Winn as the Mariners’ starting center fielder to begin the ’05 season. He hit poorly in all months outside of May, however. He had two injuries on the year – a concussion in July and a season-ending torn left wrist ligament in September.
Reed was a hot commodity in the 2005-06 offseason, with the Red Sox offering Matt Clement or Bronson Arroyo. The Ms added Matt Lawton in December but Reed stayed put.
In Spring Training of ’06, Reed injured his right wrist. It was originally diagnosed as broken but turned out to be a 12-18 year-old fracture. He was ready for Opening Day, but hit his way out of the lineup by May. Reed then broke his thumb in July, a season-ending injury. Reed was healthy by spring ’07 but didn’t make the team. He posted an .806 OPS at Triple A and earned a September call-up. In 22 ABs this spring, Reed’s hit .318/.407/.364.
Reed looks like a decent buy-low pickup, but his star has faded from all the injuries. His destiny may be as a fourth outfielder. He’s got two years of service time, so he could be arbitration-eligible after this season.
Mariners Looking To Deal Out Of Options Players?
As the Mariners set their roster for the regular season, options become an important consideration. Earlier this month, Seattle Times reporter Geoff Baker answered some Rumor Royalty questions for MLBTR. Baker highlighted two of those players, Mike Morse and Cha Seung Baek, as likely to make the team or find work elsewhere.
M’s manager John McLaren said he’d like to have his squad set before breaking camp and leaving for their San Francisco-Las Vegas swing.
And this morning, while speaking with Baker’s colleague, Ryan Divish, McLaren hinted at possibly going the trade route with the team’s "out of options" personnel:
Unless there’s something going on with one of these guys – Dickey, the Rule 5 guy, if we’ve got a deal going for one of our guys who’s out of options. That may push us back, but I’d like to be set when we hit that plane. I don’t know that we can do that, but that would be my goal.
Any team interested in Morse has to be willing to forgive and forget as he was suspended in 2005 for violating MLB’s drug policy (Morse has said it all stemmed from an "enormous mistake" he made in 2003). Other than Morse and Baek the Mariners’ other "OOO" (how’s that for an acronym!) player is Charlton Jimerson. Check out MLBTR’s full Out of Options list here.
Alejandro Leal writes for umpbump.com. He can be reached here.