According to Kyodo News, former Yankees, Expos, and Rangers pitcher Hideki Irabu has unretired to pitch for the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League. He last pitched in 2004, for the Hanshin Tigers. He'll be 40 years old when he makes his debut for the Armada. One of Irabu's rotation-mates will be Jose Lima.
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Hiroshima Carp Sign Scott McClain
According to Kyodo News, third baseman Scott McClain agreed to a one-year, 20 million yen (about $207K) deal with the Hiroshima Carp. He's played in Japan before, spending four years with the Seibu Lions.
McClain, 37 in May, had his longest Major League stint last year with the Giants (38 plate appearances, 14 games). Aside from the Lions stint he's bounced around with the Orioles, Yankees, Rays, Rockies, Cubs, A's, and Giants.
Discussion: Cy Young Predictions
This thread serves as the home for your official Cy Young predictions. These are basically preseason picks; I'm not asking you to base your decision on regular season stats. Some of the contenders:
American League: Jon Lester, Roy Halladay, Zack Greinke, John Danks, Matt Garza, Erik Bedard, C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Felix Hernandez, Gil Meche, Josh Beckett, Mark Buehrle, Jeremy Guthrie, Justin Verlander, Joe Saunders, Cliff Lee, Armando Galarraga, Kevin Millwood, Daisuke Matsuzaka
National League: Josh Johnson, Johan Santana, Yovani Gallardo, Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang, Clayton Kershaw, Dan Haren, Brandon Webb, Derek Lowe, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Chad Billingsley, Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Adam Wainwright, Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, Ricky Nolasco, Edinson Volquez, Roy Oswalt, Randy Johnson, Javier Vazquez, Brett Myers, Kyle Lohse, Paul Maholm
Feel free to pick someone not on the list!
Discussion: Rookie of the Year Picks
Time to open up the floor for your Rookie of the Year picks. Some of the contenders:
American League: Matt Wieters, David Price, Koji Uehara, Ricky Romero, Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Ryan Perry, Rick Porcello, Derek Holland, Neftali Feliz, Matt LaPorta, Wade Davis, Brett Cecil, Gordon Beckham, Michael Bowden, Austin Jackson, Travis Snider, Elvis Andrus, Dayan Viciedo, Aaron Poreda, Taylor Teagarden, Max Ramirez
National League: Jordan Zimmermann, Jordan Schafer, Kenshin Kawakami, Colby Rasmus, Tommy Hanson, Cameron Maybin, Carlos Carrasco, James McDonald, Chris Perez, Jeff Samardzija, Dexter Fowler, Alcides Escobar, Brett Wallace, Mat Gamel, Jason Donald, Jonathon Niese, Andrew McCutchen
Discussion: Best Free Agent Signing
Today's discussion topic: what was the best free agent signing of the 2008-09 offseason? Here's ESPN's list ranked by total dollars. A few contenders for the title might include Orlando Hudson at $3.8MM, Bobby Abreu at $5MM, and Orlando Cabrera at $4MM. Or maybe it's a stealth minor league signing like Carlos Pena in February of '07? Pick one free agent signing and make your case! (Note: we are not asking you to use the week of '09 regular season data to make your prediction).
Free Agent Lineup
An attempt at crafting a lineup out of current free agents…
C – Javier Valentin
1B – Frank Catalanotto
2B – Ray Durham
SS – Damion Easley
3B – Mike Lamb
LF – Wily Mo Pena
CF – Jim Edmonds
RF – Geoff Jenkins
DH – Frank Thomas
Baseball Musings' lineup analysis tool says the batting order should be:
1. Frank Catalanotto
2. Frank Thomas
3. Ray Durham
4. Wily Mo Pena
5. Mike Lamb
6. Geoff Jenkins
7. Jim Edmonds
8. Damion Easley
9. Javier Valentin
That tool plus CHONE project this American League lineup at 4.562 runs per game. That would've ranked 11th in the AL last year, ahead of the Blue Jays, Royals, Mariners, and A's. One problem…this may be the worst defensive fake team ever assembled.
Discussion: Midseason Trade Candidates
A popular question in our live chats: who will be on the trading block this summer? I will kick off this discussion by throwing out a bunch of names. Sound off in the comments about whether they'll be traded and possible destinations.
- Jake Peavy
- Roy Halladay
- Erik Bedard (looking great so far)
- Rick Ankiel
- Adam LaRoche
- Miguel Tejada
- Adrian Beltre
- Matt Holliday
- Jermaine Dye
- Brian Giles
- Aubrey Huff
- Kevin Millwood
- Magglio Ordonez
- Vernon Wells
- Dan Uggla
Looking Back At April 2008
April's not nearly as busy as December or July for rumors, but we should have plenty of player movement to keep us entertained before the end of the month if last year is any indication. A look through MLBTR's archives turns up some of the more noteworthy trades, signings and releases that happened between this time last year and the end of April '08.
- The Rays signed Evan Longoria to a deal that could be worth up to $44MM over nine years.
- The Mariners signed Kenji Johjima to an extension too, but at $24MM over three years it's far from the bargain Longoria's deal appears to be. Even at the time, Tim noted that the deal was a surprise and "no kind of discount" for the Mariners.
- The Blue Jays released Frank Thomas and he was picked up by the A's.
- The Pirates released Matt Morris, who retired.
- The Reds fired then-GM Wayne Krivsky despite his solid track record during a short tenure in that role.
- The Barry Bonds watch was in full swing a year ago.
- And there were other deals, too: Jeff Weaver to the Brewers, Jason Grilli to the Rockies and Gabe Gross to the Rays to name a few.
Discussion: The Next $200MM Contract
In Major League Baseball, only Alex Rodriguez has reached the lofty height of a $200MM+ contract. Mark Teixeira had a shot last winter, perhaps with the Nationals.
Let's hear your thoughts. Which player will be the first to join A-Rod in the $200MM club? Matt Holliday in the 2009-10 offseason? Albert Pujols, when he signs his next deal? Jose Reyes, whose contract runs through 2010? Someone else?
14 Teams Cut Payroll
According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, 14 of the 30 MLB teams cut Opening Day payroll this year compared to last year. He adds that 10 of the 14 sliced the budget by at least $10MM. The Yankees' spending spree still led to an $8MM payroll cut. The Cubs had the largest bump at $16.5MM (despite cost-cutting moves such as not offering arbitration to Kerry Wood and trading Mark DeRosa). The Padres had the biggest reduction at almost $20MM.
