Odds & Ends: Boone, Smoltz, Benson
Links for Tuesday…
- SI's Tom Verducci lists his 13 most interesting non-roster invitees.
- Aaron Boone has officially retired and joined ESPN as an analyst. USA Today's Bob Nightengale first reported in October that Boone was likely to hang up the spikes.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that John Smoltz currently prefers to start, but he'll be more open to relieving if he signs midseason. The Cardinals apparently do not have the funds to re-sign Smoltz.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that Kris Benson is no longer talking to the Nationals, despite the pitcher's assertion yesterday.
- WEEI's Alex Speier tweets that the Red Sox released southpaw Jose Capellan.
- MLB.com's transactions page says Boston also released righty Edwin Moreno, who they signed to a minor league deal a month ago. Augusto Cardenas first tweeted of the move on Thursday, saying that Moreno will play in Mexico instead.
- Speier also has an article about David Ortiz reaching a career crossroads. Speier finds it unlikely that the Sox exercise Ortiz's $12.5MM club option for 2011.
Cardinals Unlikely To Sign Shortstop
The "window is closed" on the idea of the St. Louis Cardinals signing a free-agent shortstop, according to GM John Mozeliak. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that if the team needs to add a fallback option for the rehabbing Brendan Ryan, they'll explore the trade market rather than signing a free agent.
Given the lack of shortstops left available on the free agent market, we can assume that the GM's comments refer primarily to the team's interest in Felipe Lopez. Last we heard, the Cardinals were one of a handful of teams interested in the infielder, but Mozeliak's comments suggest that the club isn't likely to bring Lopez back to St. Louis. In 43 games for the Cardinals in 2008, Lopez hit a scorching .385/.426/.538.
Mozeliak added that the club should know more about Ryan's health by "the first or second week of March when he truly tests some things." We know that the Cards have a little money to spare, but it sounds like they might wait for more details on Ryan's recovery before deciding how to spend it.
Cardinals, Others Interested In Felipe Lopez
SATURDAY, 3:53pm: Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter) hears it's highly unlikely that the Padres will make a move on Lopez.
WEDNESDAY, 5:12pm: Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports are reporting that free agent infielder Felipe Lopez has four suitors, two of whom are San Diego and St. Louis.
We've heard about the Cards' interest in Lopez already this winter, and Morosi/Rosenthal note that Brendan Ryan's wrist surgery might be a main reason why St. Louis is keeping an eye on Lopez. For the Padres, Lopez would be essentially a depth signing, though David Eckstein and Everth Cabrera aren't exactly rock-solid everyday options in the middle infield. Cabrera is entering just his second season, and Eckstein has never posted an OPS in any of his nine major league seasons that has come within 50 points of the .810 OPS that Lopez achieved in 680 plate appearances last season..
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Burnett, Chapman, Reyes
Links for Thursday…
- GM John Mozeliak and manager Tony LaRussa both mentioned to MLB.com's Matthew Leach that the Cardinals are not in a rush to add an infielder despite Brendan Ryan's recent wrist surgery.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels knows that it's far from a foregone conclusion that his team will win 87 games again, according to ESPNDallas.com reporter Richard Durrett.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that Aroldis Chapman has looked "very impressive" so far.
- Jose Reyes tells Kevin Kernan of the New York Post that he wants to finish his career with the Mets. Reyes says he's not thinking about the $11MM option the Mets have for his services in 2011.
- The Nats outrighted Doug Slaten to Triple A, according to the team's Twitter. They designated him for assignment two days ago.
- The Rockies and Mariners offered Mark McGwire hitting coach positions, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Mariners made their offer in 2003; the Rockies made theirs a few years ago.
- Victor Martinez tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he'd "obviously" like to stay in Boston. The catcher says the negotiations are now under the team's control.
- Carlos Zambrano tells Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald that he would have vetoed a trade had the Cubs approached him about one this offseason.
- Andrew Friedman says he and his front office have assembled "the most talented team in Rays history," according to the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter).
- USA Today's Peter Barzilai looks back at some historically good free agent signings.
- Greg Burke cleared waivers, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times. The club placed Burke on unconditional waivers ten days ago.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the club find its fifth starter outside of the organization. "We'd love to have a bona fide No. 5 starter," Colletti said.
- Mariano Rivera tells MLB.com's Brian Hoch that he doesn't know how long he's going to continue playing (Twitter link).
- Rockies manager Jim Tracy told Denver Post readers that he helps Dan O'Dowd make personnel decisions when the GM is looking for input.
- In anticipation of the club's scheduled arbitration hearing with Ryan Theriot, Cubs GM Jim Hendry tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the arbitration process is sometimes unavoidable.
- The Braves signed 17-year-old infield prospect Alejandro Sanchez Martinez to a seven-year contract out of Spain earlier in the winter, according to David Menayo of Marca.com. Thanks to Nick Collias for the translation.
Cards Could Spend, Waiting For Now
Mark Mulder Not Ready To Retire
8:58pm: Mulder told Slusser that even though he is going to "shut [his arm] down from throwing," he is not calling it quits just yet.
1:14pm: Mulder's agent Gregg Clifton told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that reports of his client retiring are not accurate, as Mulder hasn't made a decision. However, Mulder's former teammate Eric Chavez told MLB.com's Jane Lee the pitcher is "done."
8:45am: Lefty Mark Mulder is retiring, according to television reports from Today's TMJ4 of Milwaukee. The 32-year-old has been unable to contribute in the big leagues after having rotator cuff surgery in September of '06.
Mulder would finish with a 4.18 ERA and 103 wins in nine seasons for the Athletics and Cardinals spanning 1,314 innings. 88 of those wins came from 2001-05. He won three postseason games, with a 2.34 ERA in 42.3 innings. Mulder finished second in the Cy Young voting in his sophomore season, and made two All-Star teams. According to Baseball-Reference, Mulder banked about $33MM in his career.
Odds & Ends: Franklin, Red Sox, Cardinals, Mauer
Some links for Sunday…
- As A's were unable to land Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro this offseason, GM Billy Beane says that the club had to work harder than ever to fill their holes, writes MLB.com's Jane Lee.
- Cody Ross' arbitration hearing with the Marlins will take place tomorrow morning at 10:00, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Ross – who is one of seven remaining players who has an arbitration hearing scheduled – is seeking $4.45MM while the Marlins are countering with $4.2MM.
- Maury Brown of Biz of Baseball brings us the record of each club in arbitration hearings since the process was first put into place in 1974. In this span, the A's have had the most hearings with 35.
- Brady Gardiner of Sirius XM Radio tweets that Ryan Franklin's agent said that in 2007, his client turned down a more lucrative offer from Toronto to sign with the Cardinals in order to play for Dave Duncan. Franklin signed a one-year, $1MM deal with St. Louis in January of '07.
- Dustin Pedroia takes exception to those who question Boston's offense in 2010, writes WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. Pedroia feels the Red Sox lineup can score more runs than the 2009 club. He also voices high praise for Josh Beckett and says he wants Beckett around "for a long time."
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Dispatch answers 10 questions for Cardinals fans, and notes that Russ Springer would take a marked-down contract to return to St. Louis. St. Louis stands to enter camp with rougly a $92,625,000 payroll
- Sid Hartman of The Minneapolis Star Tribune says that Twins' owner Jim Pohlad may have to change his policy of not deferring money if they want to re-sign Joe Mauer. Hartman says Mauer would save millions in income tax by deferring some payments until after he retires.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post names his winners and losers of the offseason. Roy Halladay and the Twins head the winners, while the Dodgers and Royals highlight the losers.
- Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe runs down each team's offseason, and looks at what lies ahead for each during the 2010 season.
Odds & Ends: Rangers, Wang, Indians
A few links to pass along….
- Jon Daniels says "it's less than 50-50" that the Rangers make any more moves before spring training, reports Jeff Wilson of The Dallas Morning News. Wilson adds that Rod Barajas and Rocco Baldelli have been connected to Texas this winter, and the Rangers might also be interested in a platoon partner for Chris Davis.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals are out of the Chien-Ming Wang sweepstakes. We've already learned that the Nationals are the favorites to sign the right-hander.
- Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer answers some reader mail that covers such topics as a possible Grady Sizemore trade and Omar Vizquel's somewhat surprising criteria for picking a new city.
- Orlando Cabrera and Aaron Miles aren't exactly the first two names that leap to mind when you're thinking about October baseball, but Reds GM Walt Jocketty said that the duo's playoff experience was a factor in their acquisition, reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- Larry Stone of the Seattle Times provides a general recap of the 2009-10 offseason.
Cardinals Open To Another Spring Signing
MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that St. Louis has between $6MM and $7MM worth of "wiggle room" in their payroll that may have to last the club through the rest of the season. But, as Leach notes, "the Cardinals aren't holding onto money for a midseason trade as much as they are for an acquisition during camp."
St. Louis GM John Mozeliak hinted that he may make another move during Spring Training if none of the team's young players step up to adequately fill the Cards' problem areas: "As we move forward and get into spring, we should have a better idea of what that [greatest need] might be. It may be nothing. But it usually is always something and more than something."
Matt Holliday dominated the headlines in St. Louis over the winter, but aside from that major re-signing, the Cardinals were fairly quiet in the offseason; only Brad Penny and possibly Rich Hill could be considered major additions to the club. As Leach pointed out, however, the Cards have signed two free agents over the last two springs (Kyle Lohse and Dennys Reyes) and are still looking for backup outfielders, a left-handed pinch-hitting option and possibly another reliever or two.
Odds & Ends: Startup, Rays, Reds, Dye, Mauer
A few links for Monday night…
- Morosi reports (via Twitter) that the Orioles have signed lefty reliever Will Startup to a minor league contract. The 25-year-old missed all of 2008 and most of 2009 with injuries, though prior to that he had a 2.56 ERA and held lefties to a .206 batting average in 175.2 career minor league innings. He spend last season in the Padres' system.
- Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times passes along some quotes Rays' vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman made during his appearance on 620-AM this evening. He basically said the team is keeping an eye on the market, though it's difficult to say if they'll be able to act on anything given their current financial situation.
- After losing out on Erik Bedard, the Orioles are still looking to add an arm according to Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com (via Twitter).
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon lists the Reds' players who are out of options. Wladimir Balentien appears to be the biggest question mark.
- Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets that the Braves are not interested in Jermaine Dye, but they could still make another addition if Johnny Damon's (or another free agent's) price falls.
- Unsurprisingly, Twins' CEO Jim Pohlad declined to talk about contract negotiations with Joe Mauer, though he did say that they try to stay away from deferred compensation.
- In a mailbag, MLB.com's Matthew Leach says the Cardinals are likely done spending until Spring Training.