Quick Hits: Balfour, A’s, Twins, Plouffe, Cardinals
Links as the weekend comes to a close..
- A's reliever Grant Balfour is less than thrilled about losing his job as closer, writes Jeff Fletcher for MLB.com. Balfour has drawn considerable interest from teams around baseball this season and Ben Nicholson-Smith recently looked at what Balfour could net Oakland in a trade.
- Twins utility man Trevor Plouffe has been struggling as of late and could wind up as a roster casualty if things do not pick up, writes Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com. Chris Parmelee is also struggling at the plate but has minor league options remaining, unlike Plouffe.
- Alyson Footer of the Astros (via Twitter) felt that the Cardinals dodged a financial bullet when Albert Pujols signed with the Angels.
Quick Hits: Weaver, Komatsu, Sandoval
On this date last year, Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano no-hit the White Sox. Here are some links for Thursday afternoon, starting with a note on Jered Weaver, who no-hit Liriano's Twins last night…
- Weaver pitched a no-hitter for his hometown team in front of his fans and family last night and as Scott Miller of CBSSports.com writes, it's for days like yesterday that the right-hander signed a long-term deal with the Angels. Weaver signed a five-year, $85MM contract last summer instead of testing the open market, where he likely would have obtained a larger guarantee. So far this deal seems to be working well for both sides.
- Outfielder Erik Komatsu expects to learn if he has a new team by tomorrow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The Cardinals designated the Rule 5 pick for assignment earlier in the week and other MLB teams now have the chance to claim him off of waivers.
- Pablo Sandoval is expected to miss four to six weeks with a fractured hamate bone, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported (on Twitter). The Giants are calling up Conor Gillaspie for now, and it appears they'll rely on their internal options while Sandoval's out.
Cardinals Designate Erik Komatsu For Assignment
The Cardinals designated outfielder Erik Komatsu for assignment, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports. The move creates 25-man roster space for Allen Craig, who's returning from the disabled list.
The Cardinals selected Komatsu from the Nationals in last winter's Rule 5 draft. St. Louis now has ten days to determine the 24-year-old's fate. The Cardinals could work out a trade with the Nationals that would allow them to keep Komatsu, they could return him to Washington, or he could be claimed by a third team. Komatsu appeared in 15 games for the Cardinals, playing all three outfield positions. He has a .302/.389/.434 line in four seasons as a minor leaguer.
Quick Hits: Cardinals, Seager, Harper
Hank Aaron joined Babe Ruth and Willie Mays in the 600 home run club with a round tripper against the Giants on this date in 1971. Here are today's links…
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak joined Todd Hollandsworth and Jim Memolo on MLB Network Radio and said his team's starting pitching has been better than expected. Kyle Lohse, Jake Westbrook and Lance Lynn have pitched well for the Cardinals in the early going, so the team hasn't had to seek external reinforcements even with Chris Carpenter sidelined.
- High school shortstop Corey Seager, the younger brother of Mariners infielder Kyle Seager, is now seen as a likely first round pick in the upcoming amateur draft, ESPN.com's Keith Law reports. Law won't be surprised if Seager's a top-20 pick this year, though he may have to change positions eventually.
- J.J. Cooper of Baseball America points out that Bryce Harper will be more than two years younger than the next youngest Major Leaguer when he debuts tomorrow. The Nationals are calling up the 19-year-old Harper, who's considerably younger than Erasmo Ramirez of the Mariners and Jose Altuve of the Astros.
Quick Hits: Trout, Avila, Cardinals
On this date two years ago the Phillies signed Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125MM extension. Right away, critics of the deal wondered why the Phillies would commit nine figures for Howard's age 32-36 seasons when he doesn't play a premium position. Their questions persist two years later since Howard's on the disabled list and his power numbers are in decline. Here are today's links…
- The Angels don't have immediate plans to call top prospect Mike Trout up from Triple-A despite his hot start and the Angels' offensive troubles, Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reports. "But when you play at the level Mike is playing at now, you become more of a focal point of fans, the media and the organization," manager Mike Scioscia acknowledged.
- Jim Bowden of ESPN.com says teams would do well to lock up stars such as Andre Ethier, Starlin Castro and Alex Avila to extensions.
- Lance Lynn's emergence means the Cardinals don't need to add Roy Oswalt or another starter to the rotation, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. The Cardinals' rotation seemed thin when Chris Carpenter hit the disabled list this spring, but GM John Mozeliak's patience is paying off so far.
Sherman On Cardinals, Mets, Hughes
The Cardinals are defending their World Series title without Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan, but they’re off to an 11-7 start nonetheless. One general manager recently went out of his way to note that “the Cardinals are a good organization” in a conversation with Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here’s more from Sherman, starting in St. Louis:
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says successful organizations can’t rely on one particular person. “To have sustained success, it is about being deep in all areas,” Mozeliak told Sherman. “So you are not reliant on any one person or one area of strength.”
- Sherman wonders if the Mets might be able to spend on a long-term extension for David Wright since they didn’t re-sign Jose Reyes and the contracts of Johan Santana and Jason Bay will expire following the 2013 season (the Mets hold club options for 2014). The Mets have ignored overall organizational depth for too long, Sherman writes.
- When asked about Phil Hughes’ slow start, Yankees GM Brian Cashman pointed out that pitchers such as Tim Lincecum, Adam Wainwright and Jon Lester have also struggled early on. “Based on the list, [Hughes] is in pretty good company,” Cashman said. “I think his stuff has been better than the results.” Cashman doesn’t sound interested in demoting the right-hander to the minors or moving him to the bullpen.
Rosenthal On Oswalt, Cardinals, White Sox, Rays
Highlights from the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- Teams are again reaching out to Roy Oswalt, including the Red Sox and Cardinals. The Red Sox's needs are obvious and the Cardinals' needs can grow depending on whether Chris Carpenter returns and if they decide to move Lance Lynn back to the bullpen. Oswalt, according to a source, is throwing bullpen sessions every other day.
- The White Sox might look at the trade deadline differently than they have in the past. The extra wild card could dissuade them from moving veterans but the new CBA could make them more inclined to trade potential free agents such as A.J. Pierzynski. It's extremely doubtful that they would extend the qualifying offer to the catcher in order to receive draft pick compensation as it could cost them $12MM. The Rays and Dodgers could both be potential landing spots for the veteran.
- The Rays spent the entire winter trying to upgrade their catching situation and it remains a work in progress. However, Tampa Bay was able to win 91 games without major production from the position last year and the club believes that they are better all-around than in 2011.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Galarraga, Rays, Rodriguez
Here's the latest from around the majors as the Rangers and Tigers start a four-game set in Detroit..
- The agent of right-hander Armando Galarraga recently reached out to Marlins skipper Ozzie Guillen to see if the club might have interest in signing him, writes Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald. "I've passed [the request] up the ladder," Guillen said. "We'll see what happens." Galarraga, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Orioles this spring, but was released after just four appearances.
- Rays skipper Joe Maddon is excited about the club's additon of outfielder/first baseman Brandon Allen, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Allen, 26, was claimed off of waivers from the A's earlier today.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo doesn't have any openings for Ivan Rodriguez to join the club as a coach but gave the retired catcher a ringing endorsement, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter) that a roster move may be necessary due to Jon Jay's shoulder injury.
Minor Moves: Pendleton, Stange, Main, Canham
Here are the most recent minor moves, via Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus and Matt Eddy of Baseball America…
- The Rays have signed right-hander Lance Pendleton, reports Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune (on Twitter). The 28-year-old posted a 6.75 ERA in 18 2/3 innings split between the Yankees and Astros last season.
- The Diamondbacks released right-hander Daniel Stange, Goldstein tweets. Stange, who pitched in the Majors in 2010, owns a 4.36 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in seven minor league seasons. Goldstein considered the 2006 seventh rounder a sleeper early on in his minor league career.
- The Marlins signed Michael Main, Goldstein tweets. Miami has listed the 2007 first rounder as an outfielder, though the Rangers drafted him as a right-handed pitcher. Main posted a 4.95 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 305 innings in the minor league systems of the Rangers and Giants.
- The Cardinals signed catcher Mitch Canham, Goldstein tweets. The Padres selected Canham in the supplemental first round back in 2007.
- The Orioles released former minor league closer Winston Abreu, Eddy tweets. The right-hander signed with the Mexico City Red Devils.
Rosenthal On Lannan, Greinke, Cardinals, McCann
Highlights from the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- The Nationals continue to look for a taker for John Lannan but his $5MM salary is only part of the problem. A rival exec points out that any team that gets Lannan might prefer to let him go this offseason rather than go to arbitration with him, further diminishing his value.
- A rival executive says that Joey Votto's ten-year, $225MM contract with the Reds could affect Zack Greinke's talks with the Brewers. In the past, a team like Milwaukee could claim that a small market team could never afford such a deal, but that no longer seems like a fair argument.
- The Cardinals talked about trading Kyle Lohse or Jake Westbrook to free up space for Albert Pujols but it now looks like they made the right decision to hang on to both. While the two pitchers will earn a combined $20MM+ this season, both reported in excellent condition this season and are off to strong early starts.
- The Braves are locked into their local TV deal for the next 20 years – a deal that could soon become the worst in the sport. Meanwhile, their payroll is stagnant and while the farm system is deep in pitchers and shortstops, it's not terribly deep in other areas. Rosenthal can't imagine that the future looks promising for catcher Brian McCann as he is two years away from free agency.