Odds And Ends: Rangers, Brewers, O’Dowd
A few links for Saturday morning…
- Nolan Ryan could buy into the Texas Rangers according to this MLB.com article by T.R. Sullivan.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out that the Rangers have the resources to "out-bid others for the likes of Erik Bedard" if they decide to trade for pitching help.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin said once again that he's not looking outside the organization for second base help, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Melvin said he's happy with Craig Counsell at second in the absence of Rickie Weeks.
- Now that the Phillies hope to acquire an impact pitcher, Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.com wonders whether the Mets might decide to get in the Phillies' way and go after an arm, too.
- As Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports, the Red Sox aren't about to implement a six-man rotation. The Sox will still have arms to spare so we'll continue to hear Brad Penny's name in trade rumors.
- Dave Krieger of the Denver Post says the next four months will be a "referendum" on Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd and his front office.
- As MLB.com's John Schlegel reports Stephen Strasburg struck out 15 in his most recent start, walking no one and allowing two earned runs on eight hits.
- Check out a discussion I had about the Jays and other MLB teams on TorontoSportsMedia.com.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff likes the Lance Broadway–Ramon Castro swap for the Mets.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle takes a look at Ed Wade's Kaz Matsui signing and doesn't like what he sees.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Rangers, Feliz
Another collection of random links…
- A fresh fantasy baseball mailbag over at RotoAuthority, where I address David Ortiz, Francisco Liriano, and more.
- The Orioles claimed pitcher Dave Davidson off waivers from the Marlins and sent him to Triple A, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.
- Matt Belisle cleared waivers and accepted his Triple A assignment, according to Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo predicts the top 20 picks in the June draft. Mike Minor to the Padres, Aaron Crow to the Pirates?
- Rangers owner Tom Hicks might be willing to sell his controlling interest in the team, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- Scott Lauber of The News Journal thinks Pedro Feliz is changing the Phillies' mind about his $5MM option for 2010 with his .307/.373/.433 start. His 10% walk rate is a career best.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues discusses the Mark DeRosa-Yankees rumor.
- Alexei Ramirez is being sued for $20MM in the Dominican Republic "for allegedly violating a contract he signed with local talent scouts before inking a major league contract." Not sure how they arrived at that figure.
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.
Rangers, Dodgers Eyeing Yusei Kikuchi
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a Nikkan Sports article indicating the Rangers sent two scouts to watch high school lefty Yusei Kikuchi. Newman notes that the Dodgers had Logan White watch Kikuchi practice back in March.
Kikuchi is highly regarded, but how does he compare to Junichi Tazawa? Newman told me:
The way I look at it is, Kikuchi is younger, taller, and lefthanded, whereas Tazawa was a older, more polished and had faced better competition. Kikuchi appears to have similar velocity to Tazawa. Tazawa was definitely closer to the big leagues; you wouldn't sign Kikuchi and have him start the season opener in AA. But Kikuchi is a better prospect than Tazawa was when he was 18. So Kikuchi may have a little more upside, but I don't think he would command the same kind of offers Tazawa got. A key difference is that Tazawa had basically made up his mind to come to America by the time I started writing about him. We don't know what Kikuchi's plans are.
Odds & Ends: Giles, Vlad, Bay
Links for your Memorial Day weekend…
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Giants should concede the division to the Dodgers and build for the future.
- Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle shows that Nolan Ryan's presence has strengthened the Rangers by making it easier for them to recruit the coaches and executives they need.
- As Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, Brian Giles says he's "not even close" to being done. The right fielder's making $9MM this year and hitting .161 so far.
- Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports that the Angels would like to have Vladimir Guerrero back next year, at the right price. One executive said Vlad could be looking at a contract worth $5-7MM per year, for no more than two years when he becomes a free agent after this season.
- As Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald notes, Jason Bay is "driving up his value almost daily." McAdam says there are indications the Red Sox could re-start extension talks during the All-Star Break.
- Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks back at the deal that would have sent Andy Pettitte to the Phillies a decade ago.
- In an article for ESPN.com, John Perrotto argues that the Pirates have no one to blame but themselves for their futility.
Heyman On Peavy, Pedro, Blalock
Jon Heyman of SI.com has a number of rumors in his latest column:
- He believes the Cubs and Brewers have the best shot at acquiring Jake Peavy, because of the pitcher's preference for the National League and his desire to play in "middle America." Heyman believes Peavy would accept a deal to either team, but there are never guarantees with a no-trade clause.
- The Yankees and Indians both say they cannot add payroll.
- One AL executive believes Pedro Martinez would sign for $3MM plus incentives at this point.
- The Rangers would listen to offers for Hank Blalock and ask for relief help in return.
Odds & Ends: Boras, Francoeur, Cubs
Links for Tuesday…
- This week's chat will be held tomorrow at 2pm CST.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo discusses the Scott Boras effect on this year's draft, while Baseball America's John Manuel provides a draft overview.
- SI's Tom Verducci explains why the Rangers are for real. At 23-14, they're in first place (4 games ahead of the Angels).
- Andrew Beaton of Hot Foot provides a rebuttal to The Jonathan Sanchez Paradox: Oliver Perez.
- Padres exec Paul DePodesta talks about recently acquired shortstop Josh Wilson.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman writes about the Jeff Francoeur situation.
- According to Ameet Sachdev of the Chicago Tribune, actors Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, and John Cusack have met separately with Tom Ricketts about investing in the Cubs.
- RotoAuthority looks at the groundball rate leaderboard…did you know Gil Meche is second?
Discussion: What Should The Rangers Do?
We're only a quarter the way through the season but with an improved defense and their usual offensive attack the Texas Rangers are 8 games over .500 for the first time since June 2005. At 22-14, they are leading the AL West, 3.5 games ahead of the Angels. They're currently on a 6 game win streak without the relief of Frank Francisco. And they've accomplished this without much help from Josh Hamilton.
Can they sustain this? What can they do to improve their chances? Should they wait it out and assess their needs at the deadline? Or go for broke and make whatever moves necessary to widen the gap with the Angels? What would you do in G.M. Jon Daniels' shoes?
- Sign Ben Sheets? Rangers pitchers are 17th in the majors with a 4.66 team ERA. Sheets has been sighted at The Ballpark in Arlington with Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux as recently as May 15. The Rangers are considered the favorites to land the ace who had flexor tendon elbow surgery on February 13th and hopes to begin a throwing program soon. Could he provide a valuable late season boost?
- Sign Pedro Martinez? Or stay with internal options such as Derek Holland or Neftali Feliz?
- Shop Kevin Millwood, who is in a contract year and needs 180 innings for a $12MM guaranteed salary for next season? Millwood is currently third in innings pitched with 58.1, behind only Roy Halladay and Zack Greinke. He's sporting a 2.93 ERA, their only starter with an ERA below 4.
- Shop Marlon Byrd? In 64 AB, Andruw Jones has a 1.035 OPS giving the Rangers four everyday outfielders. Byrd is in a contract year making $3.06MM this season. Could he be a valuable trade chip?
Are the Rangers legit? What should Jon Daniels do?
Verducci: “It’s A Young Man’s Game”
SI.com's Tom Verducci links two of the year's most-discussed trends: the demand for young players and the demand for good defense, writing that "the renewed emphasis on defense hasn't helped the value of older players." As a result, teams are reluctant to sign older free agents like Frank Thomas and Jim Edmonds. Many of the older players who signed contracts this offseason are struggling; Verducci mentions Edgar Renteria and Orlando Cabrera among others. Of course it's too early in the season to make sweeping generalizations, but Verducci concludes that baseball's "a young man's game."
Ben Sheets Sighting
We have a Ben Sheets sighting, courtesy of MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Sheets appeared at The Ballpark In Arlington today to visit with Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux. The free agent pitcher spoke of an upcoming meeting with Dr. James Andrews after which he hopes to be cleared to begin a throwing program (he had flexor tendon elbow surgery on February 13th).
The Rangers are the obvious favorites to sign Sheets later this year, especially if they remain in contention. But Sheets says he hasn't started worrying about where he'll sign yet.