Rays Rumors

Odds and Ends: LaRoche, Bradley, Burnett

By Tim Dierkes | September 15, 2008 at 7:20pm CDT

Digging into today’s random links…

Joel Sherman looks at what went wrong for the Yankees this year. Did they fall too in love with their farm system?
At least six teams have called the Pirates about third baseman Andy LaRoche in recent weeks. If LaRoche pans out and Pedro Alvarez comes aboard, the Bucs could have a surplus at some point.
Craig Harris examines the rise of D’Backs GM Josh Byrnes.
Eddie Bajek updated the Elias rankings for the AL 1B/OF/DH category. They’re fluctuating wildly. Eddie also did catchers for both leagues; Ivan Rodriguez is headed into Type B territory. Gregg Zaun lost Type B status.
Mike Hindman conducted a roundtable asking what kind of contract the Rangers should offer Milton Bradley.
29 teams passed on Rays reliever Grant Balfour last spring. Now he has a 1.62 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 50 innings. Balfour’s been through a lot.
Joe McDonald and Sean McAdam don’t see the Red Sox signing A.J. Burnett (or any big-name free agent starter).
Padres CEO Sandy Alderson scoffed at the idea of a $40MM payroll for ’09. I never heard that figure tossed around; Buster Olney suggested the $50MM range.
Maury Brown heard a rumor that Thomas Ricketts won the bid for the Cubs.

Perrotto’s Latest: Royals, Ibanez, Rauch, Gregg

By Steve Adams | September 14, 2008 at 5:51pm CDT

It’s Sunday, which means that John Perrotto has his Every Given Sunday column up over at Baseball Prospectus. Here’s the highlights…

Royals GM Dayton Moore will likely make a big splash in the free agent market once again. Two years ago, he signed Gil Meche to a five-year, $55MM deal. Last year, he signed Jose Guillen to a three-year, $36MM contract. This year, his big target appears to be Rafael Furcal, which would allow the Royals to move Mike Aviles to second base. Moore is also believed to be willing to trade anyone on the team with the exceptions of Meche, Zack Greinke, and Joakim Soria.
Raul Ibanez isn’t likely to be back with the Mariners as a free agent next season. Perrotto feels that Ibanez is a good bet to become the Rays’ designated hitter for 2009.
The Diamondbacks originally wanted to use Jon Rauch as their closer for 2009 and let Brandon Lyon leave through free agency. Rauch’s recent string of rough outings has them reconsidering that train of thought.
The Marlins will try to trade Kevin Gregg this offseason, and will likely non-tender him if they don’t find match.
The Braves are looking to add two starters for the 2009 campaign. General manager Frank Wren has traveled overseas to scout Japanese pitchers Koji Uehara and Kenshin Kawakami already this year.
The Nationals have a crowded situation at first base with both Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young under contract, but they’ll still be looking to improve at the position in the offseason.

Odds And Ends: Thomas, Garland, Cabrera

By Alejandro Leal | September 13, 2008 at 10:43am CDT

Some links to get the thread going. I’ll add more if anything interesting hits the wires:

Frank Thomas’ quadriceps injury is not as severe as previously thought, and he plans to play in 2009. Thomas, 40, is tied with Willie McCovey and Ted Williams for 18th place in the all-time home run list, with 521.
Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com takes a look back at the Jon Garland for Orlando Cabrera deal and concludes that, what seemed like an unnecessary move for the Halos then, looks more like a "stroke of genius by general manager Tony Reagins."
Rays pitching phenom David Price will join the team’s bullpen today.

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Comments? Rumors? Ideas? alexo05 (at) umpbump (dot) com.

Joel Guzman Clears Waivers

By Tim Dierkes | September 12, 2008 at 5:30pm CDT

FRIDAY: No takers for Guzman; he cleared waivers.

TUESDAY: According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays designated Joel Guzman for assignment today. Guzman was once very highly regarded – Baseball America ranked him as the 5th best prospect in the game in ’05 and 26th in ’06.

The Dodgers signed Guzman as a 16 year-old for $2.25MM in ’01. He played shortstop and received the team’s minor league player of the year honor in ’04. He was moved to left field to start ’06, and Ned Colletti traded him to Tampa Bay in July for Julio Lugo. The Rays had him play first and third, and let him dabble at second. Guzman, 23 now, posted a .248/.276/.438 line in Triple A. He’s never shown an ability to draw walks, and his much-heralded power hasn’t shown up.

Guzman’s tale exemplifies the uncertainty of prospects; BA had him above Scott Kazmir, Hanley Ramirez, Matt Cain, Prince Fielder, Chad Billingsley, and Carlos Quentin in ’05.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rasmus, Tazawa, Manny

By Cork Gaines | September 12, 2008 at 12:10pm CDT

Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

Cardinals Diaspora reads between the lines and feels the Cards will shop their top prospect, Colby Rasmus, this winter.
The Detroit Tigers Weblog would like to see the Tigers go after Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa.
East Windup Chronicle looks at the Japanese free agent crop.
River Ave. Blues thinks the Yankees and Manny Ramirez would be a "perfect fit" despite those that say it won’t happen.
Drunk Jays Fans thinks the Mets should inquire with the Jays about the availability of B.J. Ryan.
Rays Index takes a look at the Rays’ ’09 roster and sees too many starting pitchers and not enough chairs, which could lead to one or two being traded this off-season.
McCovey Chronicles projects the Giants’ ’09 roster and sees all positions spoken for except possibly third base, but still wonders if Brian Sabean will feel the need to sign an impact free agent.
Lone Star Ball takes a look at the Rangers’ ’09 40-man roster.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Ellis, Patterson, Sweeney

By Tim Dierkes | September 12, 2008 at 9:47am CDT

Rounding up today’s links…

Willie Bloomquist may have played his last game with the Mariners.
The Rays feel they can be consistent contenders with a new stadium, as they could raise their payroll to the $80MM range.
Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire takes a look at the free agent market.
Athletics Nation notes the price on second baseman Mark Ellis has dropped.
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman explains the Braves’ working agreement with the Hanshin Tigers. The Tigers don’t have any of the big name free agents, but Frank Wren could still consider adding Koji Uehara or Kenshin Kawakami to his rotation.
The Padres added pitcher Scott Patterson, formerly of the Yankees. Paul DePodesta weighs in on Patterson and Charlie Haeger.
Mike Sweeney hopes to sign with another club for the final few weeks of the season.
Andrew Baggarly would be surprised to see the Giants trade Randy Winn this winter.
Mike Hindman on Michael Young’s huge contract extension, which kicks in next year. Click here to see the reaction from MLBTR readers at the time of the signing.

Rockies May Consider Trading Holliday, Atkins

By Tim Dierkes | September 12, 2008 at 8:58am CDT

Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News thinks the Rockies are primed for a major shakeup this winter. Specifically, GM Dan O’Dowd could move two star players in Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins.

Ringolsby figures the Phillies, Angels, Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox will be the main suitors for Holliday. The 28 year-old is hitting .311/.403/.492 on the road this year, suggesting he could be a .900 OPS masher in any park. I’m not seeing the fit for the Red Sox, while the Yanks could work Holliday in if they let Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu leave. The other three teams also make sense in certain scenarios. But do the Phillies have the top-level pitching needed to acquire Holliday? It’s been suggested in the past that dark horses such as the Royals or Nationals could enter the mix for the slugger.

Atkins, 28, is hitting .235/.281/.386 away from Coors. His road OPS was under .800 last year as well, so suitors will be wary. Ringolsby suggests the Angels, Twins, Red Sox, and Yankees here. Again I don’t see the fit for Boston. The Twins would need faith in Atkins’ ability to play third base. Unlike Holliday, Atkins is under team control through 2010.

Molony’s Latest: K-Rod, Helms, Valverde

By Tim Dierkes | September 9, 2008 at 12:54pm CDT

Let’s dig into the latest blog post from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.

Molony believes the Mets, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers, Indians, and Cubs are considering signing Francisco Rodriguez this winter. I think K-Rod’s demands could cause a nice ripple effect for Brian Fuentes, the second-best closer on the market. Regarding Molony’s six teams, a strong case can be made against several of them signing Rodriguez. The Rays and Indians will probably take a careful approach to free agency, while the Tigers may not have room in the budget. The Cubs seem likely to bring Kerry Wood back.
Also on the topic of K-Rod, ESPN’s Andrew Marchand (via MetsBlog) quotes the pitcher’s agent naming the Cardinals, Tigers, Dodgers, Angels, and Mets as the five likely serious suitors. They’re looking for 5/75.
Wes Helms would like to return to the Marlins next year. Molony believes the Marlins may want to retain Helms or Luis Gonzalez but perhaps not both.
The Astros would prefer an extension for closer Jose Valverde rather than a likely eight figure arbitration reward. Valverde, 29, could reasonably demand more than $50MM in a multiyear extension.

Odds and Ends: Pujols, Isringhausen, K-Rod

By Tim Dierkes | September 9, 2008 at 11:15am CDT

I am going to toss up some links as I come across them, so check back on this post.

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has an excellent piece on the Pedro Alvarez situation, including quotes from Scott Boras and Max Scherzer. The grievance will be heard tomorrow, but the entire process could take months.
The big news of the day is not hot stove related. Albert Pujols is considering offseason Tommy John surgery, which would require seven to nine months of recovery time. It could cause him to miss April of ’09. UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal’s sources say Pujols does not intend to have the surgery this offseason.
In the same article, reliever Jason Isringhausen says he hopes to be ready for spring training after elbow surgery. He spoke of getting "an incentive-based deal with someone."
Joel Sherman doesn’t buy into the speculation that the Mets will be aggressive in pursuing Francisco Rodriguez due to Billy Wagner’s injury. K-Rod has had 61 save opportunities this year, 14 more than anyone else. No other pitcher has reached 60 opps this decade. Rodriguez may pursue a five-year, $75MM deal.
SI.com’s Tom Verducci looks at the dumbing down of bullpen roles.
Andrew Baggarly offers a possible explanation for Conor Gillaspie’s call-up: a "predraft understanding." Gillaspie signed for slot as the 37th overall pick. Adding him to the 40-man roster now is less than ideal.
RotoWorld’s Matthew Pouliot predicts destinations and contracts for free agent pitchers. His article also includes non-tender candidates.
Cork Gaines gives a rundown of the Rays’ 2009 commitments.
This week’s chat has been moved to Wednesday at 2pm CST.

Kurt Birkins Released

By Cork Gaines | August 31, 2008 at 9:19am CDT

Joe Smith of the St. Pete Times is reporting that the Rays have released lefty reliever Kurt Birkins. The move was made to open a spot on the 40-man roster in preparation for the September roster expansion.

Birkins made six appearances for the Rays earlier in the year and spent parts of the last two seasons with the Orioles, including two starts in ’07. He posted a 7.52 ERA in 40.2 innings with 29 strikeouts and 28 walks for Durham.

Given the demand for lefty relievers, look for Birkins to land a job in a contender’s bullpen for the final month of the season.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

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