Rays Rumors

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rays, Lackey, Peavy, Cano

By Mike Axisa | May 7, 2010 at 8:44am CDT

On this date 11 years ago, Hideki Irabu of the Yankees and Mac Suzuki of the Mariners faced off in the first match up of Japanese starting pitchers in Major League history. Irabu allowed one run over seven innings as the Yanks defeated Seattle by the score of 10-1.

Here are some links from around the baseball blogosphere…

Rays Index tries to figure out which starting pitcher Tampa Bay will trade after the season.
At Home Plate thinks John Lackey was off-base with his recent comments about the Angels.
The Friarhood wonders if the Padres can already be declared the winner of the Jake Peavy trade.
Nick's Twins Blog says that trading Wilson Ramos is a no-brainer.
More Hardball looks at some players who are performing well in the big leagues after signing minor league deals this offseason.
Yankeeist revisits the old Robinson Cano for Matt Kemp trade rumor.
Mets Paradise wonders how long Frank Catalanotto and Fernando Tatis will keep their jobs.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Pena, Jeter, Angels, Prior

By Zachary Links | May 6, 2010 at 5:20pm CDT

Links for Thursday..

The Marlins will likely need bullpen help before the trade deadline, writes Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
Until closer Huston Street returns, the Rockies' late-inning relievers need improvement, writes Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post.
After Carl Crawford was quoted as saying that he and Carlos Pena would not be returning to the Rays, Pena reiterated his desire to remain in Tampa Bay, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders how long of a contract the Yankees should offer Derek Jeter this offseason. Mr. November will celebrate his 36th birthday in June.
The Angels will try to turn things around with the pieces that they have, writes Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Chris Jenkins of the Union Tribune spoke to Mark Prior, who sees similarities between himself and Stephen Strasburg,
Baseball's highest-ranking executives are absurdly underpaid, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Most general managers earn between $500K and $2MM annually.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa called the late Robin Roberts a "real gentleman" and a "great man", writes MLB.com's Zach Schonbrun. The legendary Phillies pitcher passed away at the age of 83.

Odds & Ends: Crawford, Raynor, Lackey, Strasburg

By Tim Dierkes | May 4, 2010 at 8:48pm CDT

Links for Tuesday, as Tim Lincecum reclaims the MLB strikeout lead…

Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times spoke to Crawford, who said he was misquoted in the upcoming Sports Illustrated piece mentioned below. "Nothing's changed, no decisions," he said. "I don't know what Carlos [Pena] is doing.''
Pirates' GM Neil Huntington told Chuck Finder of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette that he tried to made a deal with the Marlins that would allow Rule 5 pick John Raynor to remain with the Pirates, but to no avail. Raynor was returned to Florida today.
John Lackey said he wasn't surprised when the Angels let him depart as a free agent given their trade record with letting home grown players leave, according to Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles. "It's different," said Lackey. "The way they preach the team game and giving it up for the team. That's a little suspect. You're supposed to give it up for the team. When the time comes, they might not want to give it up for you. But I totally knew that was a possibility. I was prepared for that. That's the nature of the game today."
Stephen Strasburg has been promoted and will make his Triple A debut Friday against Freddie Freeman and the Gwinnett Braves, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. ESPN's Rob Neyer notes that Strasburg seems to be on the Mark Prior path to the bigs, perhaps delayed a few weeks for cost savings.
MASN's Ben Goessling says Nats 2006 first-round pick Colton Willems has decided to retire. The team has the pitcher on the restricted list in case he changes his mind.
An upcoming Sports lllustrated piece on Carlos Pena features this quote from Carl Crawford: "This core group is going to still be together, me and Carlos are the only two guys that are going to be leaving."
The Royals granted reliever Roman Colon his release so he can sign with the Kia Tigers of Korea, according to the team. Just three months ago, Colon and Juan Cruz were in the mix to be Joakim Soria's primary setup man. The Royals' bullpen sports an AL-worst 5.56 ERA in 81 innings.
White Sox GM Kenny Williams wouldn't rule out a fire sale at a later date, but said the team's aggressive nature will probably prevent it (Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reporting).
ESPN's Buster Olney explains that his Saturday story about Cliff Lee being likely to reach free agency was prompted by a call Olney made to Lee's agent.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Blue Jays attempted to sign Kelly Johnson to play left field during the offseason, offering more than the $2.35MM Johnson received from Arizona. Johnson told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic in March that he strongly considered offers from the Blue Jays, Pirates, and Indians.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out that the upon acquiring Javier Vazquez, the Yankees considered two 2011 draft picks part of the deal. Already, Vazquez's Type A status and arbitration offer are in question. We'll be able to give you Vazquez's exact Elias standing later this month, when Eddie Bajek makes his first pass at 2009-10 rankings.
Dejan Kovacevic's latest article for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests the Pirates were overly optimistic about Akinori Iwamura, currently their highest-paid player.
Click here to listen to my radio appearance on KFNS St. Louis from earlier today.

2011 Contract Issues: Tampa Bay Rays

By Tim Dierkes | May 3, 2010 at 8:50am CDT

The Rays face two contractual options after the season:

Reliever Dan Wheeler has a $4MM club option with a $1MM buyout. Wheeler is homer-prone, but he's somehow kept hits off the board in his best years. He's also struggled against lefties at times. The Rays may have better ways of spending the $3MM net price.
Infielder Willy Aybar has a $2.2MM club option with a $275K buyout. For the Rays this is a matter of determining what Aybar would otherwise earn as a member of the third-time arbitration class.

The Rays have a huge slate of important free agents, headlined by Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, Pat Burrell, and Rafael Soriano. Grant Balfour, Gabe Kapler, and Randy Choate will also be eligible. The group earns about $40.4MM this year, more than half the Rays' payroll. If Wheeler departs, $43.4MM will come off the books.

Increases to players under contract check in around $7.9MM, led by Ben Zobrist. The total increase would reach $8.7MM if Aybar's option is exercised. The Rays arbitration-eligibles include Andy Sonnanstine as a first-timer and Matt Garza, B.J. Upton, and J.P. Howell as big-name second-timers. Jason Bartlett and Dioner Navarro would go for a third time, Lance Cormier a fourth. The Rays may be inclined to lock up Garza. They could potentially tack on $10MM retaining their key arbitration-eligibles.

Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said in February payroll will drop back under $60MM next year, from this year's $72.8MM range. Holding payroll steady would've given the Rays over $20MM to fill vacancies from Crawford, Pena, or Soriano, or retain one or two of them. Most of that free cash could disappear with a payroll cut, leading the Rays to turn to their deep farm system for the next wave of cheap talent.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Odds & Ends: Royals, Byrnes, Colon, Twins

By Luke Adams 2 | May 2, 2010 at 7:00pm CDT

A few links to browse, as we prepare for the Mets' third consecutive appearance on Sunday Night Baseball….

R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs weighed in on the Royals' demotion of Alex Gordon.
Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner (via Twitter) has a gut feeling that the M's will release Eric Byrnes tomorrow. Heading into today's game, Byrnes had a slash line of .107/.265/.179 in 34 plate appearances.
Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweets that reports of the Royals selling Ramon Colon to Korea's Kia Tigers appear to be premature. However, the deal for the righty should happen sometime mid-week.
In a guest piece at Minorleagueball.com, Twins' prospect guru Seth Stohs tells readers about five Twins prospects that you might not know, but probably should.
ESPN New York's Ian O'Connor spoke with Omar Minaya about several Mets-related issues, including his early impression of Ike Davis and Jerry Manuel's contract status. Minaya offers praise for Manuel, but says he won't be approached about an extension until season's end.
The New York Post's Joel Sherman writes that the Rays' front office will continue to keep their club competitive, regardless of how many fans are in the stands. He also opines that the presence of Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson in Triple-A Durham gives the team the flexibility to make a trade that would help them both immediately and in the long-term.
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times examines how the Dodgers' cost cutting has affected their scouting and player development.
J.D. Durbin has signed a one-year deal with NPB's Softbank Hawks, according to Kyodo News. The 28-year-old right-hander last pitched in the majors in 2007 for the Phillies.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Howard, Prince, Konerko

By Mike Axisa | April 29, 2010 at 9:13pm CDT

On this date five years ago, Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux faced off in the first matchup of 300-game winners since Don Sutton and Steve Carlton in 1987. Maddux's Cubs topped Clemens' Astros by the score of 3-2.

Let's look at what's being written around the blogosphere, with a heavy dose of Ryan Howard contract reactions…

Crashburn Alley breaks down the massive contract the Phillies gave their first baseman.
More Hardball comes up with a few reasons to dislike the deal.
Sports Are Involved… takes a look at the price of greatness.
Disciples of Uecker examines what Howard's deal means for Prince Fielder.
The Pale Hose Pariah wonders if the White Sox should look to sign Paul Konerko to an extension.
1 Blue Jays Way interviewed Jays' prospect Zach Stewart, part of last summer's Scott Rolen trade.
The Baseball Opinion reviews the trade that sent Ben Zobrist from the Astros to Tampa Bay.
Camden Depot looks at the trade value of draft picks, not that MLB allows such things.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

The Latest On The Unsigned Position Players

By Luke Adams 2 | April 28, 2010 at 8:42pm CDT

After recapping the most recent news on some remaining free agent starting pitchers yesterday, let's focus on the bats today. Here are the latest updates on a few of the notable unsigned position players:

Jermaine Dye: Dye had the Mariners on his wish list, but Seattle didn't have much interest in the 36-year-old. Another team out west, the Giants, also had no interest in signing Dye. Washington was in the mix for the right-handed slugger at one point, though they've since backed off. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe thinks Dye will sign somewhere soon, and an American League club where Dye could DH would make sense. Like Jarrod Washburn though, he'll likely need to reduce his asking price.
Gary Sheffield: Cafardo also believes Sheffield should sign soon, and tweeted that the veteran had "something on the table" a couple weeks ago. The Nationals also had discussions with Sheff, but the club seems happy with their current selection of outfielders for now. Even though he's 41, Sheffield could have value to a National League team as a pinch-hitter and part-time player, like he did for the Mets last year (.276/.372/.451 in 312 PAs).
Carlos Delgado: Delgado might end up being the offensive equivalent of Pedro Martinez: a hired gun that could contribute to a contending team in the second half of the season. The Mets were considered a possibility prior to their promotion of Ike Davis. Before Delgado catches on with any club, the 37-year-old will have to show that he's fully healthy following his second hip surgery in February.
Joe Crede: Considering Crede is a Scott Boras client, it's somewhat surprising that we've heard next to nothing regarding his status. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported in early March that Crede was hitting and throwing while he waited for an offer, but there has been very little news since then. Crede has homered 32 times over the past two seasons and plays an above-average third base, so it may be health questions that are keeping him on the free agent market. As MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith suggested earlier this month, a healthy Crede "could become an attractive mid-season option for risk-taking GMs."
Elijah Dukes: Shortly after Dukes' surprising release by the Nationals, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweeted that a few teams were interested in the 25-year-old. Since then though, we haven't heard anything concrete. Perhaps clubs are still hesitant to invest in Dukes, given his off-field history.
Rocco Baldelli: There was some speculation earlier in April that Baldelli could be an option for the Rays if they gave up on Pat Burrell, since Baldelli has been working out at Tropicana Field and wants to play. Burrell has played better since that point, hitting .275/.318/.500 in his last 11 games, silencing those rumors somewhat. For the time being, Baldelli will continue to serve as a special assistant for the Rays.

Check out our full list of available hitters here.

Odds & Ends: Paul, Embree, Zobrist, Wakefield

By Tim Dierkes | April 26, 2010 at 9:35pm CDT

Links for Monday, as we digest Ryan Howard's $125MM extension…

Since the Dodgers called Xavier Paul up from the minors, he should be getting regular playing time with Manny Ramirez out, reasons Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
Alan Embree told Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal that he won't be extending his contract deadline again. He hopes to be called up by the Red Sox by April 30th.
The AP has details on Ben Zobrist's $18MM extension with the Rays.
Though the knuckleballer doesn't say it, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says "it's obvious [Tim Wakefield] isn't keen on his new [bullpen] assignment."
Jim Callis of Baseball America explores what might happen if MLB allows trading draft picks.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders how long Javier Vazquez will be given to get on track.
With tongue firmly in cheek, Grant of the McCovey Chronicles predicts free agent-to-be Jayson Werth will sign with the Giants next winter.
ESPN's Keith Law shares his rankings of the top 100 prospects for the June amateur draft. (ESPN Insider subscription required.)
Speaking of young players, MLB.com's Jane Lee talks to Athletics director of player personnel Keith Leippman about some of the top prospects in Oakland's farm system.
ESPN.com's Eric Karabell says that if Matt Capps can keep up his strong start, the right-hander will be a good trade chip for Washington over the summer. Karabell also notes that if Capps is dealt, it will likely be to a team looking for set-up help, not a closer.
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times says it's a close call between Derek Jeter or Manny Ramirez for the title of "best big contract in baseball history."

Odds & Ends: Tigers, Zobrist, Posey, Crisp

By Zachary Links | April 25, 2010 at 10:24pm CDT

Sunday night linkage..

The Tigers could use another arm in the bullpen, though they can likely find one in Triple-A Toledo, writes Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times likes the Ben Zobrist contract extension for both parties. Zobrist officially agreed to a three-year extension with the Rays on Friday.
Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter) says it's time for the Giants to call up a certain young right-handed slugger who can fill in at catcher and first base.
We should see Coco Crisp's Oakland A's debut in about two weeks, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com. Billy Beane & Co. signed the outfielder to a one-year, $5.5MM deal in December of last year.
Jim Bowden of FOXSports.com breaks down his favorite offseason moves. Bowden praises the Angels' acquisitions of Joel Pineiro, Hideki Matsui, and Fernando Rodney.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Garza, Pierzynski, Padres

By Mike Axisa | April 23, 2010 at 3:59pm CDT

Eleven years ago today, Fernando Tatis became the first and only player in baseball history to hit two grand slams in one inning. Amazingly, both came off Chan Ho Park, who allowed 11 runs while recording eight outs. Tatis went on to hit .298/.404/.553 with 34 homeruns for the Cardinals that season, easily the best of the big league career.

Here are a handful of links from around the blogosphere…

Maddon's Mission wonders if the Rays' handling of Matt Garza tells us about their plans for him in the future.
The Pale Hose Pariah concludes that A.J. Pierzynski is worth a grade-B position player prospect for a couple of grade-C pitching prospects in a trade.
Pittsburgh Lumber Co. notes that Lastings Milledge has shown improved on-field maturity since joining the Pirates.
The Friarhood says the Padres recent winning streak puts any trade talks on hold.
And Counting makes the case for Carlos Zambrano and Alfonso Soriano being underpaid.
Capitol Avenue Club visualizes the Braves' proverbial five-year plan.
Around The Basepath thinks an worldwide draft is a great idea.
Crashburn Alley takes stock of the Phillies' roster.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

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