NL Central Links: Taveras, Profar, Lohse, Tabata
Perhaps no player in the game brings as much focus and preparation to his at-bats as Joey Votto, ESPN's Buster Olney details in this must-read profile of the Reds first baseman (Insider subscription required). "It's all about reframing the challenge," Votto said. "I've stopped caring about runs and RBIs. I care more about how high a percentage of productive at-bats I can have, how consistently tough and competitive I can be for the opposing pitcher. That's my goal every single time I go up there."
Here's the latest from around the NL Central…
- A swap of Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar for Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras "has not been discussed," one of the involved GMs tells Peter Gammons of the MLB Network (Twitter link). Needless to say, such a deal would be a blockbuster; Profar and Taveras rank first and third, respectively, on Baseball America's preseason ranking of the sport's 100 best prospects. Gammons wonders if Profar-for-Taveras would be on the table "if [Scott] Boras didn't represent [Elvis] Andrus," thus making it uncertain if Andrus would sign an extension to remain in Texas.
- Few teams would benefit from signing Kyle Lohse as much as the Brewers, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel opines. The Brewers have been adamant about going with younger pitchers and not spending big on veteran starters, but Haudricourt wonders if Lohse could be an option given how some of Milwaukee's current rotation members have struggled during Spring Training.
- Mark Rogers, one of those struggling pitchers, is out of options and the Brewers are looking at several different ways to avoid losing him on waivers, Haudricourt writes.
- Jose Tabata needs to produce to remain with the Pirates, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette outlines how Tabata is out of options and, if he doesn't make the roster, could be a good trade chip due to his team-friendly contract. Click here for a full list of every player who is out of options this spring.
- From earlier today, the Cardinals released Ronny Cedeno and we heard the Tigers weren't interested in Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol.
Cardinals Release Ronny Cedeno
The Cardinals released shortstop Ronny Cedeno, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (Twitter links). Cedeno signed a non-guaranteed deal worth $1.2MM before Spring Training.
Cedeno played for the Mets last year, appearing in 78 games, mostly as a middle infielder. The 30-year-old posted a .259/.332/.410 batting line in 186 plate appearances with New York. He earned $1.2MM in 2012 and drew interest from multiple teams this past offseason.
Matt Adams has an excellent chance of making the Cardinals' bench now, as Goold notes. Daniel Descalso figures to back up Pete Kozma at shortstop and Ty Wigginton will provide depth at the corner positions.
Quick Hits: Theriot, Carpenter, Yankees
The Indians have told Daisuke Matsuzaka and Matt Capps that they'd like to keep them in the organization, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Neither pitcher will make the team's Opening Day roster, but Matsuzaka said he intends to remain with the Indians, Hoynes reports. Meanwhile, Capps has yet to decide whether he’ll stay with the Indians or elect free agency.
Here are some more links for Monday…
- Free agent infielder Ryan Theriot is considering a new career path, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). Schulman hears that the 33-year-old is thinking of becoming an agent.
- Chris Carpenter doesn’t sound optimistic about pitching at the MLB level again, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports (on Twitter). "I want to, but I don't think I can," Carpenter said, adding that he still feels numbness and weakness. His contract with the Cardinals expires after the 2013 season, and he’s not expected to pitch again.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Dan Martin of the New York Post that he's open to the possibility of acquiring another player before the regular season begins. Cashman also said that he considers the Brennan Boesch deal a low-risk, high-reward signing. "The only downside is wasting time and a small amount of money … Nothing’s been promised to him at all.”
Minor Moves: Evans, Castro, De La Cruz
We’ll track the latest minor moves here…
- The Dodgers released Nick Evans, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports (on Twitter). The utility player last played at the MLB level with the 2011 Mets. Evans spent the 2012 season playing in the Pirates' minor league system.
- The Dodgers released catcher Ramon Castro, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The 37-year-old last appeared at the MLB level in 2011, when he played in 23 games for the White Sox. The Dodgers signed Castro to a minor league deal this past offseason.
- The Cardinals released corner infielder Robert De La Cruz, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. As Goold explains, the De La Cruz deal was significant for the St. Louis organization. When the Cardinals signed the prospect for $1.1MM in 2008, they stated their intention of increasing their presence in Latin America and pursuing international prospects more seriously. While the team has signed top prospects such as Carlos Martinez and Oscar Taveras, the De La Cruz deal didn’t work out. The 21-year-old posted a .196/.216/.301 batting line in 297 plate appearances for two Class A teams in 2012, when he spent most of the season at first base. De La Cruz, who also has considerable experience at third base, hit 16 home runs in 2011.
Rosenthal On Lohse, Royals, Porcello, Dodgers
Kyle Lohse is starting to get "antsy" about not yet having a contract, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Much of Rosenthal's item on Lohse focuses, however, on the possibility that the Cardinals won't get a compensation pick for Lohse, which would happen if Lohse doesn't sign with a new team before the draft in June. Rosenthal writes that Lohse's situation might encourage MLB to allow sign-and-trades, which would give teams who don't wish to lose draft choices more flexibility to sign players who have declined qualifying offers. Here's more from Rosenthal …
- Rosenthal reports that the Royals are looking for an outfielder they can use in place of Jeff Francoeur against good right-handed pitching.
- The Padres like Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello, Rosenthal notes, but are unwilling to part with a "top reliever." The Angels might make sense as a destination for Porcello, but the Angels are currently more concerned with finding a backup catcher and a relief pitcher.
- The Dodgers still appear likely to deal either Chris Capuano or Aaron Harang.
- Chris Snyder of the Nationals is almost certain to be dealt before the season begins, Rosenthal says.
Cafardo On Chamberlain, Cishek, Royals, Rangers
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe ranks all 30 managers in the major leagues. In Cafardo's view, you're doing something right if you're managing in MLB, so there are no negative comments for any of the skippers. Buck Showalter takes third place for his work with the surprise Orioles last season. Rays manager Joe Maddon takes second for his innovative ways. The top spot, however, goes to the Giants' Bruce Bochy. Here's more from Cafardo..
- We learned last week that the Rangers are scouting Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees and one AL scout believes that the Bombers believe they have gone as far as they can with the right-hander. “They would deal him in a heartbeat and then fill in with one of their starters in the bullpen,” said the scout. “If Texas would give up Mike Olt, a deal could get done there.”
- The Marlins' Steve Cishek is drawing considerable interest from teams looking for a reliever. One scout says that the side-arming sinker baller is likely on most wishlists around baseball.
- The Royals are open to moving Luke Hochevar (albeit, for a higher-than-expected price) but they're also willing to trade projected No. 5 starter Bruce Chen.
- The Phillies' Yuniesky Betancourt has improved his visibility and it wouldn't be shocking to see a team deal for him before Opening Day. The shortstop has a March 24th opt out date and he is on the Cardinals' list as they look to replace Rafael Furcal.
- Cafardo believes that there is an obvious trade to be made involving Tigers right-hander Rick Porcello and the Red Sox's Andrew Bailey. However, Boston's rotation is full right now and they already have Allen Webster waiting in the wings.
- One National League GM says that teams will be kicking themselves for missing out on Kyle Lohse, despite the draft pick compensation that he will cost. “That’s the way it’s going to go,” said the GM, “but you also don’t want to overpay for a pitcher who has been hanging around that long. If you can’t get him at your price, then you look foolish paying what he was asking two months ago.” In Cafardo's view, the Rangers are still the most logical destination.
- Manny Acta, who is now serving as an analyst for ESPN, has said that he hopes to get back into managing. However, he says that he's not interested in becoming a GM.
Central Notes: Cardinals, Lohse, Royals, Hochevar
Earlier today, we learned that the Cardinals are interested Astros pitchers Lucas Harrell and Bud Norris while also shopping for available shortstops. The Cards were somewhat expected into looking at help at shortstop but their interest in pitching is a fairly new development. Here's more out of St. Louis and other notes out of the Central divisions..
- It would be a curious move for the Cardinals to trade from their surplus of young upside pitching to acquire more experienced pitching when their more obvious need is at shortstop, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, it's not surprising to Goold (Twitter link), that the Cards would go bargain hunting with a call to the Astros.
- More from Goold, who notes that if the Cardinals really saw a need for starting pitching, they could re-engage Kyle Lohse (Twitter link). Lohse, of course, would only require money and not the forfeiture of prospects. Goold doesn't see Lohse settling for a one-year deal yet, however.
- In a Q&A, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star writes that the talk of the Royals asking for a lot to part with Luke Hochevar is more than a rumor. The Royals appear to want a guy who could help the big-league club or a legitimate prospect and don’t want to eat a lot of his $4.56MM salary.
- When asked about an extra right-handed hitting outfielder, Tigers manager Jim Leyland responded "We want one. You can take that to the bank. It's 99.9 percent (sure) we'll have one," according to Tom Gage of the Detroit News (on Twitter).
Cardinals Interested In Harrell, Norris
In addition to "asking about" available shortstops, the Cardinals are "interested in Lucas Harrell and Bud Norris of [the] Astros," reports MLB Network's Peter Gammons (on Twitter). While the Cards' interest in help up the middle is unsurprising (in spite of GM John Mozeliak's recent statements), St. Louis was not expected to be in on starting pitching.
As MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith detailed at the start of the offseason, the Cardinals already "feature[] an effective starting rotation with a combination of established veterans and powerful young arms." And as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently explained, the team was thought at this point to be narrowing its choice between Joe Kelly and Shelby Miller for the team's fifth starter spot. Of course, the Cardinals have already allowed Kyle Lohse to test the free agent waters for quite some time after the veteran turned down his qualifying offer.
Meanwhile, Harrell and Norris (both righties) are coming off of solid, if unspectacular, 2012 campaigns. Harrell, 27, threw 193 2/3 innings of 3.76 ERA baseball in his first full big league season. Norris, in turn, is entering his age 28 season after posting a 4.65 ERA over 168 1/3 innings last year, and features a longer history of performance at the highest level. Certainly, St. Louis is well-positioned to add either pitcher if it so chooses, as it possesses the kind of farm depth that would appeal to an Astros team that has been aggressively cutting payroll and adding young, unproven talent.
Minor Moves: Cortes, Reifer, Flacco
We'll track the latest minor moves here…
- Righty Dan Cortes has signed with the Diamondbacks, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. The one-time top-100 prospect last pitched in 2011 for the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate, tossing 39 innings and logging a 5.08 ERA, before he sat out the 2012 season.
- The Cardinals have released right-handed relief pitcher Adam Reifer after previously outrighting him off of the team's 40-man roster, Eddy further tweets. Reifer, 26, spent the last two seasons at Triple-A Memphis and last year posted a 4.90 ERA over 64 1/3 innings.
- The Red Sox acquired minor league first baseman Mike Flacco from the Orioles for cash considerations, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). The Orioles could get a player to be named instead of cash, Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com reports (on Twitter). Flacco, the brother of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, spent the 2012 season at Class A and Double-A. The 26-year-old posted a .214/.284/.330 batting line with eight home runs in 396 total plate appearances last year. The Orioles originally selected him in the 31st round of the 2009 draft.
National League Notes: Cedeno, Diamondbacks, Mets
Three years ago this time a memorable rumor made its way onto the pages of MLBTR, as ESPN reported the possibility of a Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols swap. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. quickly dismissed the report that the Phillies had talked internally about the idea, saying "I don't know who you're talking to, but that's a lie." It’s rare for such an exciting rumor to circulate during Spring Training, so it generated lots of discussion. Ultimately the rumors quieted down and the deal never materialized. Here are some National League notes for Friday morning…
- It's possible the Cardinals will release Ronny Cedeno and keep Matt Adams on the Opening Day roster, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes. Keeping Cedeno would give the Cardinals a backup shortstop, but they could instead choose to rely on Daniel Descalso.
- GM Kevin Towers is optimistic that the Diamondbacks' young starters will pitch better in 2013 after obtaining some MLB experience in 2012, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Towers also expects the addition of Brandon McCarthy and the strength of the team's bullpen will help the rotation.
- Some MLB evaluators aren’t fully convinced that Mets catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud warrants the attention he’s getting, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports. “He’s 24 and hasn’t played in the big leagues yet,” one executive said. “Where was Yadi at 24? Where was Buster Posey at 24?” The Mets acquired d’Arnaud for R.A. Dickey in December.