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Odds And Ends: Quintero, Rios, Pierre

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A few random notes from around the MLBiverse…

  • Henry Schulman says the Giants are in need of a backup catcher and a logical choice may be Astros backup Humberto Quintero, whom Bruce Bochy is familiar with from his days with the Padres. He also notes that the Rays have two experienced catchers that were just reassigned to the minor leagues in Josh Paul and Mike DiFelice.
  • The Jays and Alex Rios are closer today to an agreement on a long-term extension than they were yesterday. That according to Rios’ agent, Paul Kinzer. Yesterday it was reported that the Jays had offered a six-year, $65MM deal. No word yet on what any new offers might look like. Kinzer reasserted that a deal needs to be done by tonight or negotiations will be put off until after the season.
  • Bobby Kielty initially accepted his demotion to Pawtucket, but he is now having second-thoughts and will wait a few days to see if any other teams are interested in a switch-hitting outfielder. With all the rumors swirling recently about teams in need of outfield help, I have to believe that Kielty will land a major league gig. PECOTA projects a line of .253/.331/.418 based on 159 plate appearances and Kielty can play all three outfield spots.
  • The Dodgers made it official today, giving Andre Ethier the left field job.   This puts one more nail in the coffin of one of the worst free agent signings in recent memory. The move means that Juan Pierre will be a reserve, one year after signing a five-year, $44MM deal. The Dodgers will certainly look to trade Pierre, but will have to swallow a good portion of the $36.5MM remaining on the deal.
  • A couple of big names have made major league rosters after only earning non-roster spring training invites prior to spring training. The Rockies have given a job to Scott Podsednik, while the Rays did the same with former Rookie-of-the-Year Eric Hinske. In fact, Hinske will start on Opening Day and will be the Rays’ right fielder against right handers to begin the season.
  • Phil Sheriden notes that Adam Eaton was named the Phillies’ fifth starter, but that may not last long as Pat Gillick will certainly be looking for a better option. Sheriden feels that Gillick is much better at making moves in-season than during the offseason.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Rosenthal’s Latest: DeWitt, Murton, Vargas, Hatteberg, Pena, Baek, Piazza

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Ken Rosenthal has his latest column up at FoxSports.com. As usual he is not shy about stirring up rumors. Let’s take a look at what the rumor-guru has to say:

  • Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers will go with Blake DeWitt at third base who has never played a game above AA. This comes after the Dodgers failed to acquire either the Astros’ Mark Loretta, who was unavailable and the Royals’ Esteban German, who was too expensive. The Royals were asking for the Dodgers’ third best prospect, shortstop Chin-Lung Hu.
  • He indicates that the Padres and the Rays are pursuing Matt Murton but the Cubs are holding out for a top pitching prospect in return, knowing Murton will be a starter on another club. Rosenthal quotes one GM as saying that the price "is way too high as of now". As many as five teams have shown interest in Murton.
  • The Mets are among a dozen teams that have inquired about Brewers pitcher Claudio Vargas, who will not be in the rotation to begin the season. [Update: Sorry about this one. I had forgotten that the Brewers released Vargas earlier this week]
  • The Reds have put Ryan Freel on the market, but more teams appear to be interested in Scott Hatteberg. However, Rosenthal indicates that it is unlikely for the Red to trade Hatteberg even if Joey Votto is named the starter.
  • The Tigers, Reds and Orioles all tried to acquire backup catcher Brayan Pena from the Braves, but the Braves do not appear interested in letting him go
  • Rosenthal says that Pat Gillick’s history in Seattle may have played a part in the Phillies inability to land M’s reliever Cha Seung Baek, who is out of options but made the roster as a reliever.
  • Finally, Rosenthal notes that Mike Piazza is still working out with hopes of landing a gig at some point in ’08. Rosenthal thinks that Piazza may have to come to the realization soon that his career may be over.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

A Look At Nathan Haynes

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As you know, the Rays snagged outfielder Nathan Haynes off waivers yesterday from the Angels.  I liked this move; let’s take a closer look at the 28 year-old outfielder.

MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer speaks of Haynes’ "sprinter’s speed" and defensive talents at all three outfield positions.  Haynes’ prospect status expired years ago, but he seems equally as valuable as many free agents signed for millions in the last few years.  I think there’s still a lot of talented late-20s players who just need a chance, guys like Haynes, Marcus Thames, and Jack Cust.  Haynes’ path has been slowed by many knee and hernia issues.

PECOTA has Haynes hitting .265/.334/.405 this year; ZiPS is far less optimistic.  I’ll be curious to see how this no-risk move pans out.

June Draft Order

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Baseball America’s Jim Callis has the June ’08 draft order, with supplemental and compensation picks accounted for. The Rays have another #1 pick – who’s it going to be?  Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein expects the Rays to pick corner infielder Pedro Alvarez, shortstop Tim Beckham, or starter Aaron Crow.  Here’s a scouting perspective on Crow, by the way.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Matt Murton

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Yesterday, Tim asked the question, "Who Wants Matt Murton?" As we await the answer to that question, only one thing is clear, the Cubs don’t. Surprising for a player that is only 26 and PECOTA projects to have an .821 OPS, 19.8 VORP and 2.4 WARP in 2008 assuming he can find a team that will give him big league at bats. With only two years of service time, Murton is still a year from arbitration and four years from free agency, so he should be able to command a solid relief pitcher in return. Let’s take a look at what is being said about Murton in the Blogophere.

  • Hire Jim Essian wonders how Murton ended up in this position and finds it hard to believe that Jim Hendry hasn’t been able to swing a deal yet if they knew that Murton was not part of the equation.
  • Cobra Brigade sees the way the Cubs have handled Murton as just another example of how the Cubs don’t know how to handle pretty much anything. They believe that Murton could be a solid contributor with an AL club as an everyday left fielder.
  • Snobs vs Slobs is not really sure why the Cubs essentially dropped Murton for Reed Johnson, noting that Johnson is an average defensive outfielder and not nearly the bat of Murton.
  • Mets Fever feels that Aaron Heilman is too big a price for Murton.
  • Talking Chop believes that Murton could be a nice addition to the Braves, filling the need for an experienced bat with pop off the bench.
  • DRays Bay acknowledges that the Rays would prefer a switch-hitting center fielder, but doesn’t think they could find one that hits as well as Murton.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: Gotay, Register, Haynes

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A couple of minor pickups this afternoon:

  • The Rays have claimed left-hand-hitting Nathan Haynes off waivers from the Angels. Rocco Baldelli will be moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man. Marc Lancaster speculates that Haynes, who is out of options, will take a roster spot that was presumed to be Eric Hinske’s.
  • The Mets have given up trying to trade for Rule V pick Steven Register, and are letting him go back to Colorado. He’ll report to Triple A.
  • Ruben Gotay, who had been DFA’d by the Mets, has been picked up by the Braves. Adam Rubin also notes that Anderson Hernandez has been optioned to AAA. UPDATE: To make room for Gotay on the 25-man, the Braves have asked for waivers on Scott Thorman. He has cleared, and will report to Triple A Richmond.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski

Odds And Ends: Eaton, Balfour, McAnulty

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Couple of minor notes for this Friday afternoon:

  • Paul McAnulty, who is out of options, is going to make the Padres 25-man roster. With Scott Hairston filling in for injured Jim Edmonds in center, McAnulty could get a fair share of playing time in left. The other candidate for playing time is Jody Gerut.
  • It appears the Rays have decided on their final bullpen spot, giving the job to Scott Dohmann. The loser in this deal is Grant Balfour, who is out of options. The Australian reliever has some promise, and I would imagine will be claimed on waivers.
  • Not that it’s a trade rumor, but there are whispers that Adam Eaton may have pitched his way out of the Phillies five slot. There isn’t mention of a replacement, but it could be Chad Durbin.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.

Rays Looking To Deal Jackson Or Hammel?

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We’re getting towards rosters becoming finalized, and that means making a number of decisions on guys who are out of options. The Rays have a bit of a good problem. WIth James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, and eventually Scott Kazmir in their rotation, there is only room for one of Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel. With Kazmir slated to start the season on the DL, they could have room for both temporarily. But they’ll eventually have to cut back.

This could coincide with GM Andrew Friedman’s desire to acquire an outfielder. He’s said that they’ll "be aggressive if something presents itself." I could go on and list the potentially available outfielders, but I think this is a perfect scenario for the Cubs to unload Matt Murton.

Maybe I’m personally a bit high on Murton, but I think he provides a better alternative for the Rays than in-house option Eric Hinske. The Cubs should be looking to unload him now that they’ve acquired Reed Johnson. I’m not quite sure how well the two teams match up, though. The Cubs already have a rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Hill, Ryan Dempster, and Jason Marquis. However, who knows how long Dempster and Marquis will last? They do have Jon Lieber around, as well as Sean Marshall.

So the question is, why would they be interested in Hammel or Jackson? All I can really offer on that front is that they’re really just trying to unload Murton.

I suppose this could be an option for the Reds to unload Ryan Freel, too. The Royals also have a surplus of outfielders, with David DeJesus, Joey Gathright, Mark Teahen, and Jose Guillen. They could use the pitching, I suppose (seriously, Brett Tomko?).

Any other possible matches you can think of?

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski. Please, mail me rumors today.

Rays Trade Talks To Pick Up?

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Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays’ trade talks for an outfielder "should intensify in the next couple days."  Smith suggests the Mariners, Dodgers, and Angels as teams with outfielders to spare.  He believes the Rays might part with an out of options pitcher like Edwin Jackson or Jason Hammel.  Hat tip to DRays Bay, which speculates on Andre Ethier, Delwyn Young, Reggie Willits, Juan Rivera, and Jeremy Reed as possibities.  The Halos seem like a pretty good match.

Additional outfielders the Rays could consider: Matt Murton, Gabe Gross, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, Jay Payton, Coco Crisp, Shin-Soo Choo, David Dellucci, Randy Winn, Dave Roberts, Kevin Mench, Nathan Haynes, Nelson Cruz, and Ryan Freel.  Whew.

Padres, Rays Interested In Jeremy Reed

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According to John Hickey of the Seattle PI, the Padres and Rays are eyeing Mariners center fielder Jeremy Reed.  Hickey notes that the Padres have renewed interest and have liked him for quite a while.  And he wonders whether Rays would surrender a young pitcher.  Hickey believes Reed might still be on the Ms’ roster as a showcase.  The 26 year-old does have options left, though. 

The White Sox drafted Reed in the second round back in ’02.  He made it to Double A as a 22 year-old in ’03 and hit over .400 in a half season.

Reed injured his wrist playing for Team USA that November, but said it wasn’t the cause of his poor spring with the Sox in ’04.  Instead, a partial shoulder dislocation may have been to blame.  Reed wasn’t terribly impressive in his first stint at Triple A, but he was young for his level (and still made the Futures Game).

Days after that game Kenny Williams shipped Reed to Seattle as the centerpiece of the Freddy Garcia trade.  Reed hit better at Triple A as a member of Rainiers.  Then he posted a tiny-sample .397 average in a September cup of coffee.

Reed displaced Randy Winn as the Mariners’ starting center fielder to begin the ’05 season.  He hit poorly in all months outside of May, however.  He had two injuries on the year – a concussion in July and a season-ending torn left wrist ligament in September.

Reed was a hot commodity in the 2005-06 offseason, with the Red Sox offering Matt Clement or Bronson Arroyo. The Ms added Matt Lawton in December but Reed stayed put.

In Spring Training of ’06, Reed injured his right wrist.  It was originally diagnosed as broken but turned out to be a 12-18 year-old fracture.  He was ready for Opening Day, but hit his way out of the lineup by May.  Reed then broke his thumb in July, a season-ending injury.  Reed was healthy by spring ’07 but didn’t make the team.  He posted an .806 OPS at Triple A and earned a September call-up.  In 22 ABs this spring, Reed’s hit .318/.407/.364.   

Reed looks like a decent buy-low pickup, but his star has faded from all the injuries.  His destiny may be as a fourth outfielder.  He’s got two years of service time, so he could be arbitration-eligible after this season.

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