Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bruney, Cooper
Let's kick it off today with some odds and ends.
- RotoAuthority discusses responding to lame trade offers in your fantasy league.
- Reliever Mike MacDougal will join the Nationals tomorrow, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Who knows, he could be closing for them by next week.
- Talking to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, Cubs GM Jim Hendry defended the Mark DeRosa trade. Here is my problem with it: it was a financially-motivated deal made by a big-market team, and did not bring back players who could help in 2009.
- According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the White Sox acquired journeyman minor league infielder Anderson Machado from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
- Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains the Jody Gerut for Tony Gwynn Jr. swap. DePodesta's third bullet point, money, had to be the overriding factor given Gwynn's negligible value around the league.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Bobby Crosby as perhaps a more pressing trade situation for the A's than Matt Holliday.
- Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage in Brian Bruney's elbow, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Given the uncertainty, though, a bullpen acquisition would still make sense.
- It looks like the writing is on the wall for Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle lists his offenses.
- Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is skeptical the Cardinals will make a big move.
- Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus agrees that the Pirates are the favorite for Dominican talent Miguel Angel Sano, and says the Rays, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rangers, and Twins are also after him. It's speculated by McDaniel and elsewhere that the Pirates could budget less toward their fourth overall pick in June to compensate for Sano. John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports says they like Kyle Gibson, Aaron Crow, Bobby Borchering, and Wil Myers. Tanner Scheppers did not give the Bucs permission to redraft him.
Edes On Francoeur, Nick Johnson, Valverde
8:10pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the Red Sox-Francoeur rumor:
Talked to someone in Braves organization who sort of dismissed the Red Sox rumor. Said he hadn’t heard one thing about them having any serious interest in Francoeur or scouting him recently.
9:01am: Yahoo's Gordon Edes wrote about many different trade scenarios in his column last night.
- Edes seconds Ken Rosenthal's rumor that the Red Sox have been scouting Jeff Francoeur.
- The Nationals have been scouting the Mets' Triple and Double A teams, trying to figure out a possible return for Nick Johnson. Names of interest for Washington: Jon Niese, Mike Antonini, Eddie Kunz, and big leaguer Bobby Parnell. The Red Sox also had interest in Johnson, but not for the price of Michael Bowden. Back to the Mets – Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a list of available players they could consider aside from Johnson, including Jermaine Dye, Ben Francisco, Adam LaRoche, and Eric Hinske.
- Edes likes the fit of Jose Valverde with the Rays, but speculates that the Astros could ask for Wade Davis in return. Six years of Davis would be a huge price to pay for a few months of Valverde plus possible draft picks. Edes also likes Mark DeRosa for Tampa Bay, but they seem well-equipped to handle Akinori Iwamura's injury with internal options.
- Edes names the Phillies, Brewers, Royals, and Twins as possible suitors for Brad Penny. Edes adds that the Phillies "are already making plans for life without Brett Myers" after this season.
- The shortstop market includes Jack Wilson and perhaps John McDonald, but could become more interesting for a team like Boston if the Indians make Jhonny Peralta available.
Rosenthal On Rockies, Cain, Pirates
Another column from Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports? Sure, why not.
- The Rockies, 12 games out in the NL West, "appear headed for a selloff." Garrett Atkins isn't popular (although deep in today's chat, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggested there could be a match with the Cardinals), and Todd Helton is too pricey. But Brad Hawpe, who has $12MM coming to him from now through 2010, could be an appealing trade chip. Hawpe has a 2011 club option for $10MM, but he can void it if traded. Rosenthal likes the Rays; the Braves would also be a nice fit for Hawpe in my opinion.
- Rosenthal believes it would be hard for the Giants to find a young slugger who would be equal value for Matt Cain, who can be controlled cheaply through 2011. We learned earlier this week that Cain is not being dangled.
- The Pirates have no financial need to dump veteran contracts, an idea we've read in the past. They're getting calls on Jack Wilson, but teams are reluctant to take on all the $5.8MM he still has coming. They have the same problem for Adam LaRoche. And Rosenthal says the Bucs are "philosophically opposed to the idea of a low-revenue team sending money to a high-revenue team to secure better prospects in a trade, the way the Indians did last season when they moved third baseman Casey Blake to the Dodgers."
Odds & Ends: MacDougal, Maddon, Brazell
Memorial Day linkage…
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson says it's decision time for Mike MacDougal and the Nationals.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune transcribed comments made by White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to ESPN 1000's Chuck Swirsky. Reinsdorf said the Sox are moving on from the Jake Peavy deal and also implied that no one is untouchable.
- Joe Maddon's three-year extension with the Rays is official.
- Craig Brazell agreed to a deal with the Hanshin Tigers, according to reports gathered by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Brazell had been playing for the St. Paul Saints after nothing materialized from an Orioles spring training invite.
- Murray Chass talks about Jeff Moorad's path to becoming part-owner of the Padres.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes about the D'Backs, who have seven of the first 64 draft picks.
- Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has an interesting article about minor league free agents.
Odds & Ends: Peavy, Gomes, Nolasco, Price
Your Saturday afternoon links, with more to come…
- JorgeSaysNo! reiterates that the Brewers are a "perfect fit" for Jake Peavy, and Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com's "Circling The Bases" believes Milwaukee will need to move quickly in order to land him.
- As Mark Sheldon of MLB.com points out, Jonny Gomes is set to make his debut with the Reds this evening. He showed good faith in the club when he accepted an assignment to Triple-A at the end of spring training, and that faith has now been rewarded.
- Ricky Nolasco was demoted to Triple-A New Orleans this morning after beginning the season with a 9.07 ERA, 1.81 WHIP and 2-5 record. R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs examines what the 26-year-old has been doing wrong.
- David Price finally got the call. He'll start Monday against the Indians and R.J. Anderson of DRaysBay highlights a few things to monitor.
- Athletics Nation asks the question: "Where will the A's find greatness?"
- As Tim noted earlier this week, there are now several ways to keep up with the action here on MLBTR. You can join the Facebook fan page, follow us on Twitter, sign up for the RSS feed, and even get updates on your mobile phone.
Odds And Ends: Beltre, Rusch, Percival, Price
Links for Friday evening…
- As Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times explains, Adrian Beltre's trade value is diminishing because teams are no longer confident that he'll be a Type A free agent. This means the team that trades for Beltre can't expect two compensation picks for losing the third baseman to free agency.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman argues that the Braves need to make an immediate change to their outfield and says there's an "indication that we'll begin to see it in the near future." He says the Braves must consider dealing the powerless Jeff Francoeur, or at least finding a more productive outfielder.
- According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post Glendon Rusch is staying at home instead of reporting to Triple A Colorado Springs. The Rockies are expected to put him on the restricted list.
- Via Twitter, Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune reports that Troy Percival, who was just placed on the DL, has gone home to ponder a future "which could be in doubt." Joe Maddon has said he "wouldn't be surprised" to see Percival hang it up, according to Marc Lancaster.
- Another piece of Rays news from the same Lancaster report – With Scott Kazmir headed to the DL, it's likely that David Price will make his long-awaited season debut in Kazmir's place on Monday.
- As MLB.com's Brian Hoch reports, Chien-Ming Wang is returning to the Yankees as a long reliever because of the team's depleted bullpen.
Rays To Sign Joe Maddon To Three-Year Extension
3:56pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays and Maddon have agreed to a three-year extension, to be announced soon.
10:54am: According to MLB.com's Noah Coslov, the Rays are discussing a multiyear extension with manager Joe Maddon. Coslov says Maddon is on good terms with Executive VP of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and the talks shouldn't linger much longer. Ken Rosenthal wondered what the Rays are waiting for, in his column yesterday.
Rosenthal On Blue Jays, Maddon, Nix
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal praises Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi for all the successful home-grown pitching this year. Surprisingly, the Jays are second in the AL with a 3.85 ERA despite losing most of last year's rotation.
- Why no extension for Rays manager Joe Maddon? He's unsigned beyond this year.
- Rosenthal gives props to Reds left fielder Laynce Nix, one of the best minor league signees so far.
- The Around The Horn section of the column is packed with amusing tidbits; be sure to check it out.
Odds & Ends: Rays, Gorzelanny
Links for Sunday…
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburgh Times says the Rays are lacking the "joie de vivre" that perpetuated their success last season. Is this from the Rays offseason personnel changes and loss of clubhouse guys like Cliff Floyd, Eric Hinske, or Jonny Gomes? Gabe Kapler was supposed to help fill this void. Maybe the Rays need to begin winning consistently before they look like they're having fun, not the other way around?
- Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny has been recalled, according to Dejan Kovacevic. Tyler Yates was put on the 15-day disabled list due to right elbow inflammation, making room for Gorzelanny.
Odds & Ends: Isringhausen, Sturtze, Molina
Some Sunday morning Odds & Ends:
- So, whatever happened to Tanyon Sturtze? Sturtze never caught on with the Dodgers and was granted his release on May Day last week. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says he is now considering retirement to spend time with his kids.
- In the same piece, Cafardo reports Giants catching prospect Buster Posey has busted five homeruns and notched 22 RBI already in Single A San Jose, putting him on "a fast track to the big leagues." With Bengie Molina entering free agency, the Giants will not feel forced to re-sign him. According to Cafardo, the team would love to retain Molina to act as a mentor for Posey but for the fact that "Molina isn't ready for the mentoring role." Molina told reporters he'll seek a starting job. Finding one should be no trouble whatsoever.
- Also in that same piece, former player Troy O'Leary is developing a baseball reality TV show…
- According to Marc Lancaster, Jason Isringhausen is healthy. His rehab assignment is up May 19 but the Rays seem hesitant to call him up until then. With 10 days to determine what to do with him, it's expected Izzy will slot into the bullpen for Triple-A Durham until the Rays have to make a decision.
- Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com says Luis Vizcaino will join the Indians bullpen this week rather than go through a minor league stint in Triple-A Columbus. Vizcaino hasn't pitched in a game since April 21, right before the Cubs designated him for assignment and released him. Who gets sent down instead? Jensen Lewis or Tony Sipp both have options. Masa Kobayashi is a candidate to be released altogether, says Castrovince.