East Notes: Beato, Ibanez, Emaus, Hulett
Here are some items of note and musings coming out of the East divisions as Phillies interim closer Jose Contreras hits the DL …
- Mets reliever Pedro Beato, a Rule 5 draftee this offseason, is pitching well, writes Thomas Boorstein of MLB.com. "I've been impressed ever since he walked into camp," Mets manager Terry Collins said. Earlier this week, the Mets returned second baseman Brad Emaus – their other Rule 5 pick – to the Blue Jays, who flipped him in turn to the Rockies, but it looks like Beato has a good shot of sticking with the Mets throughout the season.
- Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez is struggling, as is Philly's lineup on the whole, and David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News wonders how long the Phils will continue to start Ibanez. Should the Phils choose to divvy up starts between John Mayberry Jr., Ben Francisco and Domonic Brown, it would be interesting to see whether they would look into trading the 39-year-old. Ibanez is past his prime, sure, but he posted a triple-slash of .272/.347/.552 as recently as two years ago, and his contract expires at season's end, so he could draw interest at a cheap price. However, he does have no-trade protection.
- The Blue Jays will place second baseman Aaron Hill on the DL, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. We'll never know the answer, but I wonder whether the Jays would have held onto Emaus to fill in briefly with Hill, Jayson Nix, and Edwin Encarnacion being banged up. Of course, it seems pretty clear that the Jays had made the decision that Emaus didn't factor into their plans, but they are stretched thin now, as John McDonald and Mike McCoy started at third and second base, respectively, on Sunday.
- The Nationals signed infielder Tug Hulett to a minor league contract, according to NBC Sports. Hulett last appeared in the big leagues with the Royals in 2009. He was with the Rockies earlier this season but was let go after Colorado acquired Emaus.
Quick Hits: Dodgers, Brewers, Sampson, Yankees
Some links for Sunday afternoon..
- The Dodgers have become an embarrassment to the sport of baseball, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
- Brewers right fielder Corey Hart is set to return on Tuesday and the club will have to clear a roster spot, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, both Erick Almonte and the recently-promoted Brandon Boggs are out of options.
- Although Chris Sampson was somewhat shocked on April 1st when he learned that the Rockies would be releasing him, he was optimisitic that opportunities would likely fall into his lap toward the end of April, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com. Sampson signed a minor-league deal with the Marlins yesterday.
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald sees Jarrod Saltalamacchia's coronation as the Red Sox's starting catcher as being indicative of the lack of catching depth in the majors.
- Cutter Dykstra isn't exactly expected to accomplish what his father did, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 21-year-old was recently shipped to the Nationals from the Brewers.
- The Yankees no longer have the largest payroll of any sports team on the planet as a pair of soccer teams have unseated them, according to Nick Harris of Sporting Intelligence.
Cafardo On Dodgers, Upton, Doumit, Red Sox
Do not expect Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to go quietly into the night, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The McCourt-Bud Selig saga could turn out to be one of the great sports legal battles of the 21st century. While he's been silent publicly, major league sources close to McCourt indicate he is flabbergasted by Selig’s actions, and that he has not been able to discuss the issues with the commissioner face-to-face. Here's more from Cafardo's Sunday column..
- A couple of major league evaluators say the Rays could explore moving B.J. Upton if they fall out of contention, or even if they’re in contention. They’d like to make a deal similar to the Matt Garza trade, in which they received good talent, including Sam Fuld.
- The Pirates received calls on catcher Ryan Doumit this winter but the talks eventually petered out. The Red Sox could be in the market for a backstop, but one talent evaluator says that Doumit isn't a great receiver and the club is better off sticking with Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Pittsburgh’s Chris Snyder, who is off to a hot start, could also be available.
- The Nationals are thought to be in the market for a center fielder and/or someone who can add give a boost to the Nats offense.
- The White Sox lead the majors with six blown saves, but one club exec stands by the team's decision to let Bobby Jenks go. Even though Jenks may do very well with Boston, it was the right decision, even if it doesn't look like it right now.
- Cafardo was surprised to see BoSox chariman Tom Werner issue a statement that he wasn’t interested in pursuing ownership of the Dodgers. Werner has Los Angeles roots and was once the owner of the Padres. The chairman himself pointed out that his business and personal relationships with John Henry are too good to walk away from.
Quick Hits: Figueroa, Mock, Martin, Mets
Links for Saturday night, after Jose Bautista extended his on-base streak to ten consecutive plate appearances…
- The Brewers formally announced their minor league contract with infielder Luis Figueroa, reports MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (on Twitter). The deal was first agreed to last weekend.
- Left-hander Lee Hyde was designated for assignment by the Nationals earlier today, but Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post reports that Garrett Mock was also a candidate to get the axe. He was spared and instead placed on the disabled list.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand that the Yankees tried to acquire Russell Martin via trade in each of the last three seasons (Twitter link). Cashman got his man this winter, signing him as a free agent after the Dodgers non-tendered him.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson indicated to Andy Martino of The New York Daily News that there just aren’t any moves to be made right now. “In this situation, there’s not a lot that someone in my situation can do,” said Alderson. “It’s almost organic. [If any moves] happen, if it’s going to happen from within.”
Nationals Designate Lee Hyde For Assignment
The Nationals designated left-handed reliever Lee Hyde for assignment, according to a team press release. The move was made in order to create a roster spot for Brian Bixler, whose contract was recently purchased from Triple-A Syracuse.
This was Hyde's first season with the Nats after spending the previous five in the Braves organization. The left-hander has performed well in Double-A but has struggled at the Triple-A level. In 29 Triple-A appearances, the 26-year-old owns a 5.64 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 7.1 BB/9.
East Notes: Wright, Salty, Bixler, A-Rod
Rainfall on the East Coast has already postponed a couple games on Friday night, but here's some items of note to hold you over …
- Mets third baseman David Wright's days in New York may be winding down, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The Mets, who may be in full-on rebuild mode as soon as midseason, could opt to trade Wright because he is signed to team-favorable terms through 2013 and would therefore yield a better haul in a trade than Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran or Francisco Rodriguez, writes Rubin. That the Mets could entertain this is indicative of how far they've fallen the past couple years; it once seemed likely Wright would spend his entire career in Queens.
- Red Sox catchers Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek have struggled so far this season, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com, but with underwhelming and unready in-house options and limited trade or free-agent targets out there, a move is not imminent. Bengie Molina, 36, is still unsigned, but as Speier points out, would he be much of an improvement?
- The Nationals have purchased the contract of infielder Brian Bixler from Triple-A Syracuse, tweets Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com. A corresponding move on the 40-man roster was to be announced. Bixler, a second-round pick of the Pirates in 2004 out of Eastern Michigan, last appeared in the bigs in 2009. In 166 career plate appearances, he has a .178/.238/.237 line.
- Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has hired Steve Loy of Gaylord Sports Management to handle his marketing. As our Agency Tracker shows, A-Rod has not officially announced an agent since parting ways with Scott Boras, and he may not need one for a while considering he's signed through age 42. For a complete list of Scott Boras clients, click here.
Stark On Mets, Fielder, Nationals
The latest from ESPN's Jayson Stark…
- People all over baseball predict that Commissioner Bud Selig will eventually have to act on the Mets' situation, perhaps engineering a "soft landing" that would allow Fred Wilpon a graceful exit.
- A couple executives Stark spoke to don't feel that Adrian Gonzalez's seven-year, $154MM extension with the Red Sox will affect Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder. I imagine there are some teams that will try to say Fielder doesn't deserve significantly more than Gonzalez, but Gonzalez's contract wasn't signed on the open market and he's not represented by Scott Boras. Stark says the "early buzz" is that Boras seeks $200MM over eight years for Fielder. Of course, the early buzz around Boras clients is often way above what the player actually signs for. A few candidates to sign Fielder, in the eyes of SI's Jon Heyman: the Cubs, Mariners, Rangers, Orioles, and Dodgers.
- Though the Nationals could probably afford Pujols or Fielder, one source who has talked with them extensively told Stark they're more likely to spread their money around.
Mets Notes: Bay, Elvin Ramirez, Loan
Jason Bay makes his season debut for the Mets tonight, and hopefully he can inject some offense into an offense that ranks 12th in the NL with 4.00 runs per game. The latest links involving the team:
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post talks about the Mets' need for Bay to add some life to the club, with the team's clubhouse already giving out a mathematically-eliminated vibe.
- Elvin Ramirez, the 23-year-old reliever taken by the Nationals from the Mets in the December Rule 5 draft, received a cortisone injection in his shoulder last week according to this tweet from Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. ESPN's Adam Rubin attempts to decipher the situation, tweeting that Ramirez "must spend 90 non-September says active on 25-man roster to become Nats property."
- Commissioner Bud Selig said the $25MM the Mets borrowed from MLB is due back before the end of the season, and he's confident the team will make the payment, according to this tweet from Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal.
2012 Contract Issues: Washington Nationals
The Nationals are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series. Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:
Eligible For Free Agency (11)
- If you're wondering what type of starters will should be available in trade this summer, Jason Marquis is a good example. Trading him around the deadline would save the Nationals $2.5MM, but if they're still in the .500 range they might prefer to keep him.
- Ivan Rodriguez hopes to remain with the Nationals beyond 2011, but they have the catching depth to trade him during the season or let him go as a free agent.
- The Nationals will also have a cast of role players and backend starters up for free agency: Jerry Hairston Jr., Rick Ankiel, Todd Coffey, Livan Hernandez, Chien-Ming Wang, Alex Cora, Chad Gaudin, Matt Stairs, and Laynce Nix.
Contract Options (0)
Arbitration Eligible (7)
- First time: Tyler Clippard, Jordan Zimmermann
- Second time: John Lannan, Mike Morse, Doug Slaten
- Third time: Tom Gorzelanny, Jesus Flores
A few others, such as Craig Stammen and Roger Bernadina, could reach the requisite amount of service time if they're called up. Zimmermann's shortened 2010 and '11 seasons will limit his career numbers and his arbitration payday, but he could still reach $2MM. Lannan and Gorzelanny could be in the $4MM range. Overall I could see the team's arbitration eligibles getting about $16MM total, but that's just a rough April estimate.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Nationals' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is $44.596MM. My arbitration estimate puts them around $61MM, $7MM short of this year's payroll. Still, I expect the team to have the flexibility to add starting pitching, relief help, and outfielders as needed during the 2011-12 offseason.
Nationals Scouted Upton; Haven’t Talked Trade
The Nationals have scouted B.J. Upton, but aren’t interested in acquiring him now and haven’t discussed a possible trade with the Rays, according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. Ladson’s source says the Nationals scouted Upton on routine assignments.
The Nationals are eyeing center field help around the league, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. However, they’re happy with the play of Rick Ankiel, who has become the everyday center fielder since the Nationals sent Nyjer Morgan to Milwaukee.
GM Mike Rizzo is a supporter of Ankiel’s because he can handle right-handers (.778 career OPS) and plays strong defense, though he struggles to hit left-handers and always has (.658 career OPS). Jerry Hairston Jr. and Roger Bernadina are other internal options for the Nationals to consider.