Odds & Ends: Pedro, Boras, Bonds, Fielding
Links for Friday…
- Which players have the biggest differences in fantasy draft position, comparing Yahoo and ESPN?
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram does not find it likely that the Rangers will release Frank Catalanotto and eat the $6MM owed to him.
- Gil LeBreton of the Star-Telegram suggests Rangers GM Jon Daniels will have some tough trade decisions to make as the team inches closer to contention.
- Amy Martinez of the Seattle Times examines the economic impact of Ken Griffey Jr.
- Jose Reyes says Pedro Martinez would like to pitch for the Mets, talking to MLB.com’s Marty Noble.
- Amusing article about Scott Boras by Matt Taibbi in Men’s Journal.
- The Twins again made it clear they’ll pass on Barry Bonds. Three other teams have also publicly rejected his agent’s advances.
- Fielding Bible guru John Dewan says defense is worth roughly half as much as offense.
- Hat tip to Baseball Think Factory’s excellent Baseball Newsstand for several of today’s links.
- Sorry about the three double-posts on the site. I am still waiting for TypePad to fix the issue.
Milton Bradley Comments
Milton Bradley‘s comments to Gil Lebreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram are causing a mini-stir. He spoke about how the Rangers wouldn’t commit to him:
"My agent was saying that Jon Daniels was telling him, ‘There are days when he doesn’t want to play because of his health.’ Well, you can get a healthy guy to go out there and play 162 games, but he won’t do what I did in 120."
As Lebreton said, the comment was "crudely self-serving" but "mostly right" given his production last year. Worse, though, Bradley seemed to admit to prioritizing his stats:
"If I’m being paid, and I’ve got the commitment to me that I give to them, you make more of an effort to be out there every day. When you’re on one-year deals constantly, you’ve got to put up as good numbers as you can. When you have days where you’re not feeling like you can contribute, you’re not going to go out there, because you’re not going to want your numbers to suck. So, if you’re in a situation like I am now, if they want me to go out there when I’m feeling a little banged up, I’ve got no problem doing that because they’ve made the commitment to me."
Sheets Rehabbing In Texas
According to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, free agent righty Ben Sheets is rehabbing in Arlington, Texas at a facility owned by the Rangers’ team doctor Keith Meister. While the Rangers remain interested in Sheets, GM Jon Daniels cautioned that he did not advise Sheets to work with Meister and said "There’s not a connection there." Sheets had surgery on a torn flexor tendon in his elbow on February 13th and will probably return after the All-Star break.
Odds & Ends: Crosby, Vizcaino, Andruw
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- RotoAuthority sums up the stats you should target in each category for your fantasy league.
- The Braves released pitcher Anthony Lerew, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Rany Jazayerli says the Royals will be better just by subtracting Ross Gload, Tony Pena Jr., and Joey Gathright. Here’s my Offseason In Review for the club, if you’re interested.
- A’s manager Bob Geren "chuckled and said no" when asked if Bobby Crosby is being showcased at third base for the Yankees, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Crosby is learning third in part because Eric Chavez is injured again.
- Speaking of Crosby, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune wonders if the Cubs could work out a deal involving reliever Luis Vizcaino. Despite the $4MM owed to Vizcaino, he’s not a lock for the Cubs’ bullpen. We learned last week that the Cubs do not appear interested in Crosby.
- Slusser also has an article about young A’s pitcher Michael Ynoa, who believes he can be in the Majors in two years at age 19.
- Andruw Jones apologized to Dodgers fans in this Bill Plaschke article.
- Talking to Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel sees Jayson Werth missing no more than 15-20 games this year. Geoff Jenkins, with $8MM left on his contract, looks like the odd man out.
Padres Looking For Pitching
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes about the Padres’ intention to add pitching to the organization. He learned that the Nationals inquired about Padres first base prospect Kyle Blanks, but were not willing to trade their own top prospect Jordan Zimmermann. Would’ve been interesting to see.
Krasovic says the Padres are focused on out of options pitchers, and in particular inquired on Arizona’s Juan Gutierrez. Krasovic tosses out names of other out of options hurlers on the D’Backs and Angels: Jason Bulger, Shane Loux, Dustin Moseley, Yusmeiro Petit, and Travis Blackley. Two more possibilities: Giants Rule 5 pick Luis Perdomo and Rangers veteran Jason Jennings. I don’t know whether the Padres are interested, but a few more out of options pitchers include David Pauley, Hayden Penn, Dustin Nippert, Jeff Niemann, and Jason Hammel.
According to Krasovic, GM Kevin Towers is focused exclusively on pitching this month. Krasovic adds:
Some Padres evaluators have become dismayed, according to other clubs, by a perceived dearth of power arms high in the organization and are wondering if the club’s four-year emphasis on “pitchability” got overdone.
Heyman On Pudge, Pedro, Catalanotto
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up; let’s take a look.
- Heyman says Oakland’s "win now" mandate this winter came from owner Lewis Wolff.
- The Astros and Marlins are interested in Ivan Rodriguez, "no matter what they say publicly."
- Heyman says Pedro Martinez is "talking up a Dodgers reunion." So far, there’s been no indication the Dodgers are entertaining it.
- Edgar Renteria‘s agent was initially asking for a three or four-year deal.
- It’s no surprise that Frank Catalanotto is available, but the $6MM owed to him is an obvious impediment.
- According to Heyman, Andruw Jones told Rangers brass he’s flexible on the March 20th decision date in his contract.
- Heyman describes the Josh Hamilton extension talks as "just getting going" and believe the John Lackey discussions have only been preliminary.
Chad Cordero To Audition Again
As reported by Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, free agent Chad Cordero will hold another workout for interested teams on Friday.
The Rangers will be in attendance. You can bet the Twins will also be there. The Marlins, Royals and Brewers are also likely to send scouts. Cordero, who will turn 27 in March, missed most of the 2008 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He racked up 113 saves for the Nationals between 2005 and 2007.
Rangers Sign Hamilton, Eight Others
According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers signed all nine of their pre-arbitration players Wednesday.
Josh Hamilton, who will become eligible for arbitration after the 2009 season, is the most notable name on the list. He inked a one-year deal worth $555K. The club is still expected to explore a long-term deal with the 27-year-old slugger later this spring.
Rangers, Hamilton Planning Extension Talks
According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers plan to embark on long-term contract discussions with Josh Hamilton‘s agents later this spring.
Tim suggested last week that Dustin Pedroia‘s six-year, $40.5MM extension could be a model for the Rangers and Hamilton’s representatives, as both players have two years of MLB service time. Hamilton, 27, went nuts last season, finishing with a line of .304/.371/.530. He also blasted 32 home runs and racked up 130 RBI.
Rangers Sign Kris Benson
SATURDAY, 10:56am: According to Jon Heyman of SI.com Benson signed with the Rangers.
FRIDAY: According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers are expected to sign righty Kris Benson to a minor league deal soon. Benson, 34, had rotator cuff surgery in March of ’07 and wasn’t able to make it back to the bigs last year.