Cardinals Rumors

Odds And Ends: O’s, Phillies, Braun, DeRosa

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 7, 2009 at 12:45pm CDT

Miguel Angel Sano Rumors: Monday

By | July 6, 2009 at 9:25pm CDT

9:25pm: Arangure also notes that the Aroldis Chapman defection could have a major impact on Sano's negotiations. As he tweets,

"Certain teams will save money for run at Aroldis. Last minute offer (for) Sano less likely now."

9:04pm: Seeking more information, I asked Arangure whether the Twins and Pirates also see Sano as a guy not worth a $4MM signing bonus. He was kind enough to respond:

"For me, the Twins aren't real contenders anymore. The Pirates won't give record money because they won't have to."

8:58pm: ESPN's Jorge Arangure, who's been on the ball since the international signing period began on July 2, just rattled off a couple of interesting "tweets" involving 16-year-old shortstop Miguel Angel Sano:

"Am convinced Sano will not get record money. Orioles see him as late-first-round talent, which does not equal $4 million. More like $1-$1.5."

"Those who think Orioles will give record $ for Sano remember: They gave $3.2m to No. 4 pick [Brian] Matusz last year. Gave [Matt] Hobgood $2.4 this yr."

"There's no way Orioles are giving more to Sano than they gave Matusz and Hobgood."

If Arangure is correct, and the other teams tracking Sano follow suit, Wagner Mateo, singed July 2 by the Cardinals for $3.1MM, will go down as the highest-paid international prospect from 2009. Sano has been courted this summer by the Twins, Pirates and O's, who are awaiting the results of an MLB investigation into his age and identification.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Pirates, Papelbon, Rivera

By Cork Gaines | July 3, 2009 at 12:47pm CDT

On this date 42 years ago, Brian Cashman was born. Cashman has been the General Manager of the Yankees since 1998 and is signed through 2011. With four weeks until the trade deadline, Cashman will certainly be active in the trade market. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

The Guttridge-Wang Trade Model attempts to quantify all aspects of a trade.
MLB Notebook looks at how teams that are willing to spend will control this year's trade market.
Mets Geek evaluates some buy-low trade targets for the Mets.
Sully Baseball recommends that the Mets not make any trades.
Around the Majors takes a closer look at the two deals the Pirates pulled off this week.
The Basball Opinion dissects the Pirates moves and what they could mean for the team's future.
Rockin' the Red takes a look at what the Mark DeRosa trade means for the Cardinals.
Statistician Magician makes a case for trading Jonathan Papelbon.
River Ave. Blues looks back at the deal that almost sent Mariano Rivera out of the Bronx.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

International Free Agent Update: Friday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 3, 2009 at 11:48am CDT

Some updates on teams' moves and strategies as the international signings continue:

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the A's are focusing on Venezuela, rather than the Dominican Republic this year, since they believe prices are too high in the Dominican.
In Derrick Goold's St. Louis Post Dispatch article, Cards GM John Mozeliak admits there's risk in signing a 16-year-old like Wagner Mateo to a bonus of $3.1MM, but says he's serious about being "more aggressive" in Latin America because the payoff can be huge.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus says Yankees signee Gary Sanchez will start his pro career this year, unlike most international prospects.
ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. reports that the Astros signed lefty Kirby Pena for $350k.
Arangure Jr. reports that the Red Sox signed a second player named Alcantara, this time it's righty Mario Alcantara. He receives a $350k bonus.

Cardinals Sign Wagner Mateo

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 2, 2009 at 11:17am CDT

Baseball America's Ben Badler reports that the Cardinals signed 16-year-old outfielder Wagner Mateo, as expected. His bonus hasn't officially been announced, but we heard last week that it will be about $3.1MM. Along with Miguel Angel Sano, Mateo was considered one of the top prospects to become available this summer.

Stark On Dodgers, Giants, Brewers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 1, 2009 at 4:44pm CDT

In this ESPN Radio segment, Jayson Stark says the Dodgers will go after the best starting pitcher they can find. There's no elite starting pitching out there now, but Ned Colletti is looking to turn some up. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:

The Giants need an impact hitter and they're "in on every bat out there."
Matt Holliday is not a likely fit for the Cardinals.
Stark says Doug Davis is a good fit in Milwaukee.
The Mets are more interested in left-handed first basemen, so Nick Johnson still looks like a good fit for them.
The Tigers are looking for a bat, The White Sox could add pitching and the Twins want relievers.

Odds And Ends: Pirates, Glaus, Melvin

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 1, 2009 at 9:59am CDT

Happy Canada Day to all of our Canadian readers from our Canadian writer! Now for some links…

This week's chat will take place today at 2pm CST.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says Omar Minaya has been negligent when it comes to filling out his roster with talented role players.
Troy Glaus is ready to start rehabbing, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. There's been speculation that the Cards could trade Glaus when he returns, but they could use his bat, too.
The Pirates signed another Taiwanese high schooler, Hsu Chi-wei, according to East Windup Chronicle.
Former D'Backs and Mariners manager Bob Melvin will accept an unspecified job with the Padres, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.
Jorge Says No! takes a closer look at the Atlantic League to determine which players could make an impact oh a big league roster.

DeRosa Has A Shot At Type A Status

By Tim Dierkes | June 30, 2009 at 10:37am CDT

When we last checked, Mark DeRosa was ranked as a Type B free agent as a member of the Indians. At that time, he was grouped with the American League second basemen, third basemen, and shortstops. His 61.7 score put him about ten points below the lowest Type A in the group, Melvin Mora.

Now a Cardinal, DeRosa will be ranked with the NL 2B/3B/SSs by Elias after the season. I just ran the numbers with DeRosa as part of this group, and his score jumped to 67.9. He's still a Type B, but is now only three points from the lowest Type A in the group (Troy Tulowitzki at 70.9). The seven stats that go into DeRosa's ranking: plate appearances, batting average, on-base percentage, home runs, runs batted in, fielding percentage, and total chances at his designated position.

So the Cardinals may have received more than just three months of DeRosa; they also could end up with one or two draft picks as free agent compensation. For that to happen they'd need to offer him arbitration, then see him decline and sign elsewhere. Offering arbitration means the Cards would risk DeRosa accepting and landing a one-year contract for 2010 north of his current $5.5MM salary. As Ken Rosenthal alluded to today, some teams might prefer certain free agents ranked as Type Bs so that there would be no deterrent for another club to sign them.

Cardinals Now Have Limited Payroll Flexibility

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 29, 2009 at 2:43pm CDT

ESPN.com's Buster Olney heard that the Cardinals have limited payroll flexibility now that they've added Mark DeRosa. Since he makes $5.5MM in total this year, the Cards are on the hook for about $2.75MM of DeRosa's contract.

Before the DeRosa dealm, they were considering Matt Holliday, who makes $4MM more than DeRosa between now and the end of the season. They appeared willing to take on his $13.5MM contract. Could the Cards add $4MM to their payroll for the right player?

Odds And Ends: Snell, DeRosa, Kearns

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 29, 2009 at 10:45am CDT

Some links to start the week off…

East Windup Chronicle reports that the Pirates signed a Taiwanese high schooler to a minor league deal. Chi Ping-hong is small and speedy with good range.
Ian Snell faced 24 batters in his first Triple A start this year and struck out 17 of them, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Neal Huntington says the Pirates are trying to "salvage some value" from Snell, who has $5.75MM remaining on his contract.
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gathered some of the Cardinals' responses to the Mark DeRosa deal and they all agree the move shows the Cards are built to win now.
Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the Indians' "summer garage sale" shows the best and worst sides of the club.
Ben Goessling of the Washington Times wonders whether the Nats will trade Austin Kearns, release him, or simply buy him out for $1MM after the season.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Cardinals Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect