Free Agent Stock Watch: Milton Bradley
In December, Milton Bradley signed a one-year deal with the Rangers for $5.25MM guaranteed. He can earn up to $2.75MM more based on playing time incentives. The Padres didn’t offer him arbitration; they were afraid of a possible award nearing $10MM.
Bradley was available at an affordable price and term mainly because of his injury history – he hasn’t played 100 games in a season since 2004. His ’07 season ended with an ACL tear in a bizarre incident (his manager tackled him to keep him away from an umpire who had provoked him). That Bradley was ready for Opening Day was remarkable.
Since Bradley was traded to the Padres on June 29th of last year, he’s been an elite hitter: a .981 OPS in 263 at-bats. In that period his OBP ranks 7th in the game (.419) and his SLG ranks 15th (.563). Bradley could be called the Rich Harden of hitters – oft-injured, but elite when he plays. Bradley might be a hot trade commodity this July. He won’t come cheap, since he has a decent chance of Type A status.
The smart move for Bradley in ’09 will be to choose a team with an open DH spot. If he can remain relatively healthy and incident-free for the rest of ’08, he could ask for a $12MM salary. He could even get multiple guaranteed years (after all, Frank Thomas did). The Yankees, Rays, Jays, Royals, and Mariners could be possibilities if the Rangers don’t re-sign him. Of course, we can’t rule out the NL – Bradley nearly re-signed with the Padres.
Odds and Ends: Millwood, Posey, Igawa
Here’s the latest link collection.
- Former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta is now blogging for the public. He currently works for the Padres as Special Assistant for Baseball Operations.
- In his words, Kevin Millwood felt a stabbing pain even though he hadn’t been stabbed. He’s on the shelf with a groin injury, taking him off the trade market temporarily.
- Rays Index had some quality draft links yesterday about the Rays and their #1 pick. Jim Callis of Baseball America says catcher Buster Posey is "the current favorite."
- Joel Sherman wonders what might’ve been if the Yankees had signed Ted Lilly instead of Kei Igawa.
- Ken Davidoff reminds us of the Padres’ past claim on Igawa, and also notes Boston’s interest.
- Giants owner Peter Magowan may move on.
- This email exchange between Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger and Carlos Delgado‘s agent David Sloane is entertaining.
- Here’s a valuable free agent to consider: Leo Mazzone.
Jays Acquire Kevin Mench, Brad Wilkerson
3:03pm: The Wilkerson signing is also official now. Both are pretty much no-risk moves.
2:48pm: According to the Newberg Report mailing list, the Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Kevin Mench from the Rangers for cash considerations.
The Brad Wilkerson acquisition may still be in the works, but Mench is a better match as a lefty-masher. He has a career line of .305/.361/.563 against them. It’s only been 34 Triple A ABs but Mench is hitting .412/.500/.706 against southpaws this year.
Broussard Designated
THURSDAY: According to Jamey Newberg, Broussard has been designated for assignment.
WEDNESDAY: Evan Grant’s article from late last night implies that the Rangers could designate first baseman Ben Broussard when Marlon Byrd returns from the DL next week. Broussard has been pushed to the bench following 89 ugly plate appearances. He’s earning $3.85MM this year. Grant has wondered whether a Broussard release would be paired with a Ron Washington firing.
Broussard, 31, was last effective in 2006 when he hit righties well. Still, for the minimum salary he’s a low-risk bench addition. Broussard could be the first of many Rangers vets to depart. Grant suggests Frank Catalanotto and Gerald Laird would be nice fits for the Yankees. They probably wouldn’t mind having Kevin Millwood, either.
Odds and Ends: Botts, Red Sox, McLouth
Roundup of links!
- According to Jamey Newberg, Jason Botts has cleared waivers. He probably won’t get another chance with the Rangers though.
- Gordon Edes notes that the Red Sox have five picks in the first three rounds of the June draft. Even though they don’t start until the 30th pick, the Sox have had much success in recent years.
- No extension talks have begun with Nate McLouth, but Dejan Kovacevic does expect it to happen.
- I updated the fantasy baseball closers depth chart over at RotoAuthority.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Freddy Garcia is "progressing nicely" in rehab and will throw off a mound about a week from now.
- Marc Topkin wonders if the Rays should consider Jason Michaels (among others) if they aren’t satisfied with their current right field options.
Rockies Looking For Starting Pitching
7:22pm: Walt Jocketty did not deny the Fogg-Rockies rumor when asked. Maybe he’ll be a little more loose with the rumors than Krivsky was.
9:18am: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has details on the Rockies’ pursuit of starting pitching. Their search includes some familiar names.
- Josh Fogg seems like the most likely acquisition; he’s a DFA candidate for the Reds. Fogg received an early one-year offer from the Rockies this winter that was later pulled back.
- Julian Tavarez, another former Rockie, is on the radar again. The Red Sox don’t seem to have much use for him.
- Kevin Millwood figures to be a popular name in the coming months. Renck says the Rangers want "the right players in return, not salary relief." Millwood makes $8.5MM in ’08, $11MM in ’09, and $12MM in ’10 (if he reaches certain innings incentives). He also has a limited no-trade clause.
- Rich Harden may come off the DL soon, but he’d have to remain healthy for probably a month before teams become seriously interested.
- Renck says Joe Blanton is "currently not available." The A’s are the current Wild Card leader, after all.
Odds and Ends: Doue, Furcal, Kuroda
Here are today’s links.
- Dave Cameron notes Nelson Cruz‘s video game numbers in Triple A and suggests he deserves another shot.
- Japanese catcher Hayato Doue was expected to join the Red Sox organization, but visa problems have gotten in the way.
- Buster Olney notes that Rafael Furcal will test free agency if he can’t hammer out an extension with the Dodgers by midseason.
- Shigetoshi Hasegawa denies the notion that he pushed Hiroki Kuroda toward the Dodgers.
- Athletics Nation sees Billy Beane targeting pitcher Tanner Scheppers if he’s available with the 12th pick. Also, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has an overall look at the ’08 draft class.
Gammons’ Latest: Bradley, Griffey, Padilla
ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog post to discuss.
- Gammons says Cubs manager Lou Piniella would like to add a left-handed hitting right or center fielder to bat fifth. Milton Bradley and Ken Griffey Jr. seem like long shots though. It’s odd that the Rangers wouldn’t want to move Bradley.
- Gammons notes that the Rangers wanted Mike Pelfrey, Aaron Heilman, and Deolis Guerra for Vicente Padilla in the offseason. Even as a negotiation starting point, that’s a ton for Padilla.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Hudson, Turnbow, Laird, Kershaw
Rumorland Ambassador Ken Rosenthal has posted yet another Full Count video. Let’s get sifting:
- Rosenthal thinks Orlando Hudson could be shown the money this offseason if he opts to explore free agency. Hudson most likely won’t be offered market value by the Dbacks. Rosenthal posits the Orioles, Cards, Dodgers, and Mariners as potential buyers.
- 4 unnamed teams are interested in Derrick Turnbow, who is making $3.2MM this year. According to KR, the Brewers would need to throw money in a deal or get a comparable salary in return – as the saying goes, you trade contracts, not players. Turnbow needs a fresh start and middle relief is always in demand; however, a lot of teams have better internal options and could see Turnbow as a project for better or worse.
- Gerald Laird update: Reds, Yankees, and Brewers all passed. But Rosenthal still expects Laird to end up somewhere and notes that whoever gets him has him through 2010.
- The Dodgers are planning on "integrating" Clayton Kershaw soon to throw a limit of 150 IP; however this doesn’t (yet) make Esteban Loaiza expendable as they would alternate the two in the rotation, Kershaw starting twice, and then Loaiza twice, and so on. I say "(yet)" because Rosenthal doesn’t mention that the rotation will get crowded if/when Jason Schmidt returns in early June. I would expect they’ll explore options, but be content using Loaiza out of the bullpen. By the way, Kershaw has a 1.40 ERA with 31 K in 25.2 IP for Double-A Jacksonville.
By Nat Boyle
Rangers Not Interested In Turnbow
Deep within this Dallas Morning News piece, Evan Grant writes that the Texas Rangers are not very interested in acquiring Derrick Turnbow, the reliever who was DFAed yesterday by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Texas GM Jon Daniels said that the team would "do some due diligence" but it doesn’t appear that they plan on pursuing the righty reliever.
Aside from the anomaly that was 2005, Turnbow’s problem has always been his inability to find the plate. His terrible start in 2008 was compounded by the fact that the strikeouts, which has been Turnbow’s calling card throughout his career, became infrequent.
Posted by Paul Moro