NL East Notes: Nationals, Mets, Rodriguez
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's always looking to upgrade, but don't expect Washington to trade long-term assets for a short-term piece. “We’re never going to do a knee-jerk reaction to win now," Rizzo said. The GM added that he's comfortable with his team's bullpen and lineup. Here are the latest NL East notes…
- One prominent Mets player told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that the team could use a right-handed bat. “We can’t hit lefties,” the player said. The NL East features some elite left-handed pitchers so a hitter like Carlos Quentin might appeal to Mets GM Sandy Alderson.
- Martino hears the Mets won’t trade their best prospects for a bat or a reliever.
- One veteran player suggested to Martino that the Mets should stay away from Francisco Rodriguez because the reliever has “too much baggage.” The Mets traded Rodriguez to the Brewers last year and appear to have some interest in bringing him back to Queens.
Morosi On Nationals, Angels, Pirates, White Sox
The Nationals will win the NL East this year, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports writes. Bryce Harper appears to have solved the team's center field dilemma in the short term and the team's run prevention has been tremendous. General manager Mike Rizzo says his team's first half success isn't a fluke. “I’m very pleased with it — don’t get me wrong — but I’m not shocked by it," he told Morosi. Here are more of Morosi’s notes from around MLB:
- Peter Bourjos would likely intrigue the Phillies if the Angels ask about Cole Hamels, Morosi tweets. The Angels could explore the market for starting pitching depth given Ervin Santana’s first half struggles.
- There was once talk of the Pirates listening to offers on Kevin Correia, but it’s hard to see that happening now that Pittsburgh leads the NL Central, Morosi tweets.
- The Cubs will listen on Bryan LaHair, but their asking price remains high at the moment, Morosi tweets. Here’s more detail on LaHair and other potentially available first basemen.
- A rival executive expects the White Sox to look hard at possible relief help, Morosi tweets. Deunte Heath, Brian Omogrosso, Leyson Septimo, Hector Santiago, Nate Jones and Addison Reed join Matt Thornton in Chicago’s relatively inexperienced ‘pen.
Olney’s Latest: NL Trade Market, Darvish
In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney compares the current state of the trade market to shopping at an airport, where priced are designed to gouge customers. Buyers want more sellers and sellers want more buyers. Olney also previewed the NL trade market, so let's dive in…
- The Mets are among teams looking for bullpen help and are waiting for the market develop. The division-rival Nationals are also in the market for relief help but do have Drew Storen on the mend. Olney wonders if they'll look for a starter given Stephen Strasburg's inning limit.
- Executives expect the Padres to deal Carlos Quentin and Huston Street, plus they continue to get calls about Chase Headley. Olney speculates that the Reds could be a fit for Quentin.
- The Braves are looking to add a veteran starting pitcher, but Olney says they're unlikely to swing a trade for Zack Greinke without having some kind of long-term contract agreement in place.
- Olney wonders if the Diamondbacks could become surprise buyers for pitching help given Joe Saunders' injury and Trevor Bauer's early struggles. The Cardinals figure to jump into the pitching market given Chris Carpenter's season-ending shoulder surgery.
- The Cubs, Astros, and Rockies are among the clubs in sell mode. The Brewers will wait a little longer before deciding to sell, and while Greinke, Shaun Marcum, and others could be on the block, Corey Hart will not.
- Olney says the Blue Jays actually finished third in the bidding for Yu Darvish behind the Rangers and Cubs. No bid was within $35MM of the $51.7MM Texas submitted.
Cafardo On Yankees, Ichiro, Greinke, Orioles
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders why other clubs weren't more aggressive in their pursuit of third baseman Kevin Youkilis. The veteran, he argues, would have been a perfect fit in Cleveland where Travis Hafner was sidelined for a time. The Pirates and Dodgers also could have used a boost at first base, but ultimately backed away when the talks got serious. At the end of the day, White Sox GM Ken Williams got his man at the deadline and Cafardo praises him for it. Here's more from today's column..
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman wants to find starters in place of CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte from within, but if that’s not possible, he’ll look outside. One National League GM said that while the Astros' Wandy Rodriguez would be a good fit, he doesn’t believe he is of particular interest to them. Cashman is more likely to gravitate toward Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, and even Zack Greinke.
- It wouldn’t be shocking to see Ichiro Suzuki get another contract from the Mariners if he wants it. The outfielder's abilities have declined but ownership may stick with him for the sake of reputation.
- If the Brewers entertain a deal for Greinke, the Orioles are a team to watch. The notion that Greinke needs a smaller market because of his past anxiety issues is still very much in play.
- A team like the Dodgers, Indians, or Pirates would likely take on Vernon Wells if the Angels picked up the majority of the $53MM remaining on his deal.
- The Nationals and Marlins will have interest in Scott Podsednik once he is healthy.
Brad Lidge May Not Return In 2012
Reliever Brad Lidge has yet to decide if he will try to come back and pitch for another team in 2012, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. The veteran was released by the Nationals earlier this week.
Lidge has returned home to his native Colorado since being cut and said he is happy spending time with his family. Meanwhile, he has instructed his agents to take calls from interested teams.
Lidge, 35, came to the Nats on a $1MM deal in January but was sidelined by sports hernia surgery in late April and struggled in his return earlier this month. "Lights Out" had a 9.64 ERA with ten strikeouts and eleven walks in 11 appearances for Washington this year. For his career, Lidge owns an ERA of 3.54 with 11.9 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 for the Astros, Phillies, and Nats.
NL East Notes: Phillies, Marlins, Harper
Last year's Phillies team comfortably led the Major Leagues in run prevention by allowing just 3.27 runs per game. It's been a different story so far in 2012. Just seven teams surrender more runs than the last-place Phillies, who are averaging 4.46 runs allowed per game. Here's the latest from the NL East…
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney considers some possible fits for Jim Thome, who's being shopped to American League teams.
- There hasn't been any progress in the Phillies' contract talks with Cole Hamels, Olney writes. Hamels' contract expires after the 2012 season.
- GM Ruben Amaro Jr. must address the Phillies' bullpen issues relatively soon, Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. It's "pretty damn difficult" to develop inexperienced pitchers and win simultaneously, manager Charlie Manuel noted.
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told Greg Cote of the Miami Herald that he believes the 35-40 Marlins have a spectacular club. “It’s a playoff-caliber team, absolutely,” Loria said. “We’re going to have our run."
- D.C. is starting to feel like home for Bryce Harper, and he'd like to continue playing for the Nationals for a long time, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes. “You look at Cal Ripken. You look at Derek Jeter. You look at all the greats that played for one team their whole career,” Harper has said. “I want to be like that. I’ve always wanted to be like that. I’ve always wanted to play with that same team.”
Checking In On The Latest $100MM Contracts
Every year a few players join baseball’s exclusive $100MM club with free agent deals and mega-extensions. Last offseason was no different — eight players signed nine figure deals. The contracts were all for five years or more, so it’s far too early to call them successes or failures. As the season approaches its halfway point, let’s check in on baseball’s newest $100MM contracts:
- Albert Pujols, ten-year, $240MM contract - Pujols had a painfully slow start, but he has raised his batting line to a respectable .270/.332/.461. His last 40 games have been legitimately Pujols-like: 11 home runs and an OPS over 1.000.
- Joey Votto, ten-year, $225MM extension - It's impossible to have a complete discussion about baseball's best hitters without considering Votto. The 28-year-old leads the National League in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, walks, doubles and wOBA, so this deal couldn't be going any better for the Reds.
- Prince Fielder, nine-year, $214MM contract - Fielder continues to hit at an All-Star level, though he has a relatively modest total of 12 home runs. Unfortunately for Tigers fans Mike Ilitch's bold investment hasn't been enough to keep the team above .500.
- Matt Kemp, eight-year, $160MM extension - Hamstring issues have sidelined Kemp, who was the best hitter in the National League for the first month of the season.
- C.C. Sabathia, five-year, $122MM extension - Sabathia, now on the disabled list with a strained groin, is in the midst of yet another tremendous season. He has a 3.45 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 107 innings.
- Matt Cain, five-year, $112.5MM extension - Cain's enjoying his best season as a Major Leaguer. He has a career-best ERA (2.27), strikeout rate (9.0 K/9) and walk rate (1.9 BB/9) through 107 innings. The Giants' decision to invest in Cain still looks like a good one.
- Jose Reyes, six-year, $106MM extension - Reyes' offensive numbers have dropped off across the board this year, no thanks to a 60 point dip in batting average on balls in play.
- Ryan Zimmerman, six-year, $100MM extension - Zimmerman's off to a slow start at the plate despite two home runs in his past three games. He missed two weeks with shoulder soreness earlier in the year and has just a .235/.297/.350 batting line.
Zack Greinke Rumors: Thursday
Zack Greinke picked up his ninth win of the season last night, allowing two runs in six innings of work during the Brewers' 8-4 win over the Reds. Here's the latest hot stove chatter on the Milwaukee ace…
- "A couple of teams," including the Yankees, feel that Greinke may not be suited for pitching in a large market, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Greinke did tell the Yankees he would pitch for them when he was in the process of being dealt from the Royals to the Brewers.
- At the time Greinke turned down a trade to the Nationals, as he felt the Brewers were in better position to immediately contend. As Washington has since acquired Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson, the Nats are unlikely to be looking for pitching at the trade deadline.
- Heyman says that the Brewers were looking to offer Greinke an extension similar to Jered Weaver's deal with the Angels (five years, $85MM) but talks between Greinke and the Brewers broke off in April just after Matt Cain's five-year, $112.5MM deal contract with the Giants re-shaped the market.
- The Braves would only be interested in trading for Greinke if they could sign him to a new long-term contract, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman. The Braves could, as rumored, use some of the money budgeted for their 2013 payroll to accommodate adding Greinke or another pitcher. As Bowman points out, the Braves will have almost $36MM (Chipper Jones, Derek Lowe and Michael Bourn's contract) coming off the books this winter, though the club will need some of those funds to re-sign Bourn or spend on another outfielder.
- Besides Greinke, Bowman lists Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster and Edinson Volquez as "potential targets" for Atlanta.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports added some more news about Greinke earlier today.
Quick Hits: Dodgers, Puig, Qualls, Harper
The Mets and Athletics could match up for a potential trade involving Grant Balfour, ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggests (on Twitter). Balfour, a midseason trade candidate, is pitching well and the Mets could use bullpen help. Here are today's links…
- Olney runs through some of the available and potentially available trade candidates for Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, explaining that the options out there are less than perfect. The Dodgers have started calling around the league about potential offensive upgrades, but players like Jeff Francoeur, Vernon Wells and Alfonso Soriano have their shortcomings.
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law suggests the Dodgers’ investment in Cuban outfielder Yasel Puig “is a bizarre overreaction to the upcoming international spending cap.” The Dodgers and the outfielder agreed to terms on a seven-year, $42MM contract earlier today.
- Chad Qualls, who was designated for assignment this morning, has asked Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. to trade him, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports (on Twitter).
- The Nationals have been relying on Bryce Harper in center field, but they’re still telling teams they’re looking for a long-term answer at the position, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).
Draft Signings: Fontana, Benincasa, Amaral, Foody
Let's keep track of the day's non-first and supplemental first round signings here…
- The Astros have signed second rounder Nolan Fontana, the team announced. Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter) that he signed for $875K, slightly above the $844K slot for the 61st overall pick.
- The Nationals have signed seventh rounder Robert Benincasa, the team announced (on Twitter). The right-hander from Florida State was slotted for approximately $145K.
- The Reds have signed seventh rounder Beau Amaral according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Slot money for the pick is $146K.
- The Cardinals have agreed to terms with 12th rounder Max Foody on an above slot $385K bonus according to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The high school left-hander hails from Florida.
- The Orioles have signed 26th rounder Lucas Herbst, reports Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Baltimore has signed 23 draft picks all together.