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Quick Hits: Vazquez, Mets, Brewers, Rays, O’s

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Here are some items of note for Sunday. On this day in 1941, 70 years ago, Joe DiMaggio began his Major League-record 56-game hitting streak, a mark that still stands today and has been largely unchallenged, as Jayson Stark of ESPN.com writes.

  • It doesn't sound like the Marlins are ready to give up on Javier Vazquez, writes Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post. The Fish are paying Vazquez $7MM this year, but he allowed six runs in four innings today to raise his season ERA to 7.55.
  • The New York Post's Brad Hamilton reminds us that on July 1, the Mets will begin paying Bobby Bonilla $1.2MM each year for the next 25 years. New York struck that deal in 1999 to avoid paying the $5.9MM remaining on his contract when they released him.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes that despite the offensive woes of Carlos Gomez and Yuniesky Betancourt, the Brewers are sticking with them for the time being.
  • Operating on a tight budget has its advantages for teams like the Rays, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Without extra cash to commit to pricey free agents, clubs like Tampa are rarely encumbered by poorly producing, highly compensated veterans, Sherman explains.
  • Meanwhile, the Orioles would like to emulate the Rays' formula for success, writes Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com.
  • Should the Yankees come to part ways with Jorge Posada in the wake of Saturday's incident, they could use the DH spot to rest veterans like Alex Rodriguez, or they could pursue a new DH like Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (subcription needed). Beltran is off to a great start with the Mets this season and could draw interest on the trade market, although Matt Klaassen of FanGraphs recently speculated that Beltran wouldn't yield much more than salary relief for the Mets.
  • Pete Rose is still seeking a second chance to manage, and he thinks it's hypocritical that players and coaches who have used PEDs, abused alcohol and been involved in domestic-violence incidents remain in the game, according to an Associated Press report (via ESPN.com).

Checking In On Former Rays Relievers

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Six prominent Rays relievers hit free agency and signed elsewhere for a total of $67.65MM last offseason (for reference, the Rays’ payroll has surpassed that figure exactly once since 2000). We know how the Rays' new 'pen is working out (pretty well, so far) but let’s check in on last year’s relievers:

  • Rafael Soriano – three years/$35MM, Yankees – After allowing 12 earned runs and 14 walks in 62 1/3 innings last year, Soriano has allowed 9 earned runs and 9 walks in 14 innings this year. His ERA is approaching 6.00, his strikeout rate is down and his walk rate is up. What's more, he underwent an MRI on his right elbow this week. It doesn't appear that he'll need DL time, as there's only mild inflammation. Still, Brian Cashman must be shaking his head over this one.
  • Joaquin Benoit – three years/$16.5MM, Tigers – Benoit has already allowed more earned runs (10) in 2011 than he did all of last year (9). After allowing just 30 hits in 60-plus innings last year, he has allowed 17 hits in 13 2/3 frames for his new club. The spike in hit rate is no doubt related to the fact that opponents had an improbably low average on balls in play against Benoit last year (.192) that has since risen to an unusually high level (.356). His strikeout (7.2 K/9) and walk (2.6 BB/9) numbers have fallen off, though they're still strong. 
  • Grant Balfour - two years/$8.1MM, Athletics – Balfour's walks are up, but he is still striking out over a batter per inning and his ERA is under 2.00.
  • Dan Wheeler – one year/$3MM, Red Sox – Wheeler, currently on the DL, has an 11.32 ERA for the Red Sox despite an 8K/1BB ratio through 11 appearances. Wheeler appears to be unlucky in terms of opponents' batting average on balls in play (.389) and home run per fly ball rate (21%).
  • Chad Qualls - one year/$2.55MM, Padres – Qualls has replaced Ryan Webb in the Padres' 'pen and has already pitched 20 2/3 innings. The results are good so far despite a drop in Ks, as Qualls has limited baserunners and been considerably more fortunate than he was in 2010.
  • Randy Choate – two years/$2.5MM, Marlins – Choate has been excellent so far; the lefty specialist has an 11K/2BB ratio and a 1.50 ERA in his first 14 appearances as a Marlin.

The early results are disappointing, as Wheeler and Soriano are dealing with injuries and Benoit hasn’t come close to replicating his 2010 performance. The results will likely improve for Wheeler and Benoit, who have been unlucky so far. But this group probably won’t reproduce the 2010 performances that helped the Rays win the AL East. Reliever performance is simply volatile, even for pitchers who appear to be safe investments.

AL East Notes: Rupe, Bautista, Red Sox, Rays

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Ten years ago today, Marlins starter A.J. Burnett pitched a no-hitter against the Padres despite walking nine batters. Now a member of the Yankees' rotation, Burnett is off to a strong start after a disappointing 2010 season. Here's the latest on the Yankees' division rivals…

Gammons On A’s, Pirates, Royals, Rays

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Starting pitching is one of the most valuable assets in the game and, as Peter Gammons explains at MLB.com, small-market teams usually have to rely on the draft to obtain it. Here are Gammons’ latest notes from around the league…

  • A's GM Billy Beane says his current rotation, a group that’s more or less untouchable, could be as good as Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito were. Trevor Cahill has “become one of the best pitchers in the game,” according to Beane.
  • "Let's face it, no small-market team can afford to go into the market to get starting pitching,"  Beane told Gammons. "To survive and compete, you have to draft and develop pitching, or go out and get it before it's on the Major League radar screen."
  • Gammons reports that some expect the Pirates to take Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen with the first overall pick this June. Click here for MLBTR's Q&A with Hultzen.
  • Georgia Tech Lefty Jed Bradley will likely disappear within the first ten picks of the draft, and Connecticut righty Matt Barnes will likely be a top-15 selection.
  • The Royals are looking for a college starter who can arrive in the Major Leagues and make an impact in the rotation soon.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore agrees that you need pitching to go along with premium position players. “They're not going to win if we don't find young, affordable pitching," Moore said.
  • The D’Backs, who hold two of the first seven picks this year (#3, #7), will take at least one arm early on and the Rays are also likely to take a number of pitchers with some of their many high picks.

Unusual Early Results For The Rays’ Remade Bullpen

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Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit, Dan Wheeler, Randy Choate, Grant Balfour and Chad Qualls all hit free agency last offseason, which created lots of uncertainty and a shortage of relievers for the low-budget Rays. Executive VP of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman acknowledged from the beginning of the offseason that adding "a meaningful number of bullpen arms" was a top priority for the winter.

One fifth of the way through the season, the Rays' bullpen has been effective, while relievers such as Soriano and Benoit have struggled for their respective new clubs. Led by Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta, Juan Cruz and Adam Russell, newcomers have accounted for 78% of the bullpen's innings this year. Now that Jake McGee is back in the minor leagues, Andy Sonnanstine is the lone member of Joe Maddon's 'pen that pitched for the 2010 team that won the AL East.

Low-risk, low-budget free agents (Farnsworth, Peralta and Cruz) the spoils of the Jason Bartlett trade (Russell, Cesar Ramos and Brandon Gomes) and a waiver claim (Rob Delaney) have combined with two holdovers (Sonnanstine and McGee) to post a 2.69 ERA through 87 innings of work. That bullpen ERA is good for third-best in baseball, as is the .582 OPS allowed by the 'pen so far. No bullpen has allowed fewer walks than the Rays (34) and only the Mariners (3) have allowed fewer homers than Tampa (4).

But there are indications that the Rays shouldn't expect these results from their new 'pen all season. Their relievers are last in the majors with 51 Ks and 5.3 K/9 and they're second-last in innings pitched (87) and BABIP (.215). Perhaps most telling of all is their 4.41 xFIP (also second-last in the majors), which is nearly two runs higher than their ERA.

Outstanding production isn't sustainable with some of the worst peripherals in the league, so it appears likely that the group's performance will drop off. But given the losses the Rays sustained last winter, it's impressive that Friedman's new collection of relievers has been this effective 20% of the way through another season.

Felipe Lopez Clears Waivers

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THURSDAY: Lopez cleared waivers and accepted an assignment at Triple-A, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.

TUESDAY: The Rays designated infielder Felipe Lopez for assignment to make room on the active roster for Evan Longoria, tweets the Tampa Tribune.

The Rays had signed Lopez to a minor league deal in February, and his contract was purchased on April 3rd when Longoria hit the DL.  Lopez hit .222/.263/.347 in 76 plate appearances and further frustrated the Rays by not running out multiple grounders.  The 30-year-old has been used all over the infield in his 11 big league seasons.

Olney On Rays, Baldelli, Dodgers

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The Rays have 11 of the first 75 selections in the upcoming June draft, which means they could infuse their highly-regarded farm system with another group of top prospects. "If they hit it right on just half of those picks," a rival executive told ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, "then this draft will set them up for years to come." Here’s the latest on the Rays’ draft and more from around the majors:

  • Rocco Baldelli and former Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland are scouting players for the Rays in anticipation of the draft, according to Olney.
  • The Rays will take the best players available when they select, instead of entering the draft with a pre-determined approach (for example, loading up on college arms).
  • Olney hears that Frank McCourt’s financial problem is “serious and it is immediate.” The Dodgers owner has reached a “tipping point," according to Olney and is close to “rock-bottom.”

Draft Notes: D’Backs, Rays, Rendon, Bauer

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A year ago, everybody knew Bryce Harper was going to be the first overall pick in the draft. The year before that, Stephen Strasburg was the clearcut favorite to be the top selection. This time, there's no obvious candidate to go first overall. Here's the latest on the draft, with five weeks to go until the big day:

  • ESPN.com's Keith Law hears that D’Backs GM Kevin Towers is seeing Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Dylan Bundy, Trevor Bauer, Bubba Starling and Danny Hultzen in anticipation of the draft (Twitter link). Arizona selects third and seventh overall this year, so it's not surprising that Towers is scouting the top available players.
  • Rays scouting director R.J. Harrison told Joe Lemire of SI.com that he hadn't had any extra picks to work with before last year. A bevy of ranked free agents left the Rays for other teams last offseason, which means that Tampa Bay has 11 of the first 75 selections this June. "We're not going to get up all wound up and create something out of this, other than to stick with our process and evaluate our players properly," Harrison said.
  • Cole, high school shortstop Francisco Lindor, Hultzen and Rendon top the list Jon Heyman of SI.com creates with the help of a number of scouting directors.
  • Heyman hears that UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer is "shooting up the board" and could become a top-five pick, along with his rotation mate, Cole.
  • Check out my interview with Rendon from last week for his thoughts on the upcoming draft. Here's our series of Draft Prospect Q&As.

Rosenthal On Mariners, Bautista, Machado, Rays

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The depth of the Indians’ rotation is their biggest question, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Now that Carlos Carrasco and Mitch Talbot are on the disabled list, the Tribe’s other options are being tested. Here’s Rosenthal’s latest from around the league:

  • The Mariners have the resources to bring in additional veterans when they want to, according to Rosenthal.
  • Jose Bautista, one of the top players in the game right now, is impressing just about everyone, including his own skipper. “His game awareness is as good as you’re going to get,” manager John Farrell told Rosenthal. “His ability in that regard takes him to another level."
  • A scout told Rosenthal that Manny Machado “looks like a man playing with little boys.” The Orioles selected the 18-year-old shortstop prospect with the third overall pick in last year’s draft and he has a 1.090 OPS in Class A.
  • The Rays may need to upgrade over Casey Kotchman at first base, but a definitive improvement may be difficult to find. The Brewers are likely to keep Prince Fielder, as Rosenthal points out.

East Notes: Braves, Rays

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Some links pertaining to a few Eastern division teams for your Sunday reading:

  • MLB has suspended Braves' pitching coach Roger McDowell for two weeks without pay and fined him following his controversial interactions with a fan on April 23, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
  • The Rays' 10 picks in the first 60 of this year's draft are the most since Montreal had 11 of 84 in 1990, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Tampa is currently in the midst of a massive scouting effort to prepare for their unprecedented amount of draft picks. Hopefully their picks turn out better than the Expos' — Rondell White was the most notable player of the bunch.
  • In a separate article, Topkin examines the slow starts of several former Rays including Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Rafael Soriano, and Joaquin Benoit. 
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