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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Strasburg, Collusion, Cain

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On this day ten years ago, Indians' starter Chuck Finley struck out Tom Evans, Royce Clayton, Chad Curtis, and Rafael Palmeiro in the same inning after Curtis reached base on a passed ball. There have been 50 instances in baseball history where a pitcher struck out four men in one inning, but Finley did it three times, the only guy to do it more than once. Scot Shields is the last pitcher to strike out four in one frame, doing it less than a week after Scott Baker accomplished the same feat in June of 2008.

Let's take a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Stark On Bell, Nathan, Oswalt, Dunn

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Let's check in on the Rumblings and Grumblings of ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • One exec Stark spoke to implied the Padres may not be motivated to trade closer Heath Bell because he's under team control through 2011 and signed at $4MM for 2010.  Bell's salary could double in '11, though, and I'm not convinced the Padres will want to pay it.
  • Stark talked to a GM who thinks Bell makes sense for the Twins as a backup plan in case Joe Nathan needs a 16-month Tommy John recovery period to get back to normal.  Stark learned that a significant part of Nathan's salary this year is insured, so that frees up some money this year.  But again, will the Twins want to pay nearly $20MM to two relievers in 2011?
  • Should Houston's troubles continue, Stark wonders if Roy Oswalt would consider waiving his no-trade clause.  He says a friend of Oswalt believes the pitcher's preferred destinations are Atlanta, St. Louis, and Texas.  It's hard to see those clubs making a play for Oswalt, especially with his large salaries for '10 and '11.
  • Stark guesses the Nationals are more likely to trade Adam Dunn before the deadline than sign him to an extension.  Last we heard, ESPN's Buster Olney said there were no ongoing extension talks.
  • Twins catching prospect Wilson Ramos has been labeled as one of the game's best trade chips, but assistant GM Rob Antony says that "right now, we'd lean toward keeping him."
  • If he can't find a big league job, Kevin Millar could sign with the St. Paul Saints, where his pro career began.  Millar was released by the Cubs on March 30th. 

Jason Bergmann Designated For Assignment

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The Nationals designated pitcher Jason Bergmann for assignment to make room for Scott Olsen, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  Ladson says the Nats were planning to demote Jesse English, but Bergmann's one-inning, two earned run performance yesterday against the Phillies changed their mind.  GM Mike Rizzo will attempt to trade Bergmann, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.

Bergmann, 28, posted a 4.50 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 4.7 BB/9 in 48 relief innings last year, allowing seven home runs.  He posted a 1.16 ERA in 23.3 minor league frames, though his peripherals were unimpressive.  Bergmann's flyball tendencies have proven problematic, and he's also bounced between starting and relieving a few times.  In their '05 Handbook, Baseball America noted then-Nationals scouting director Dana Brown's familiarity with Bergmann.  Brown now works under Alex Anthopoulos in Toronto, so maybe the Blue Jays will take a look.

Odds & Ends: Antonetti, Harper, Embree

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Links for Wednesday…

Nationals Plan To Draft Bryce Harper?

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3:11pm: Asked about drafting Harper, Nationals Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Kline told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, "I don't think that's etched in stone."  The Nationals are down to a list of five candidates, with GM Mike Rizzo scheduled to see Harper in person for the first time in May.

7:56am: The Nationals plan to draft Bryce Harper first overall in June "barring an injury or drastic change," writes MASN's Ben Goessling.  However, MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets his disagreement.  The 17-year-old phenom, currently raking junior college pitching and playing catcher, is considered by the Nats to be "as surefire a talent as Jason Heyward" according to Goessling.  Scott Boras is "advising" Harper, ensuring Harper's massive bonus will be fiercely negotiated.

Harper isn't viewed on the same level as Justin Upton or Alex Rodriguez, but there still aren't many players approaching his talent or ceiling in the upcoming draft.  ESPN's Keith Law, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, and Baseball America's Aaron Fitt have scouting reports.

Willingham Hopes For Multiyear Deal

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Josh Willingham hopes to sign a multiyear deal with the Nationals, agent Matt Sosnick told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link).  Sosnick and the Nats agreed on a $4.6MM salary for 2010 back in January; this marks the second of three arbitration years for Willingham.  He's under team control through the 2011 season.

Willingham, 31, has a career line of .266/.364/.481 in 2,181 plate appearances.  He's been consistent, as he's had a similar line in each of his four full seasons.  UZR suggests his left field defense has been slightly below-average.  FanGraphs' Dave Cameron made a case that Willingham is a very similar player to Jason Bay, aside from their health records.

Will the Nationals commit to Willingham?  Back in January GM Mike Rizzo admitted he had been close on a couple of deals, presumably for young starters, but added, "we're in no hurry to trade Willingham."  

Nationals Made Offer To Jermaine Dye

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11:01pm: One Ladson source theorized that the Nationals considered $4MM a fair price for Dye, though the amount of their actual offer is unknown.  Dye told Ladson that he's received offers in the $1MM range, which is "a negative in itself, no matter what."

1:26pm: The Nationals made an offer to free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (via Twitter), however it wasn't enough for him to uproot his family. Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com says the two sides haven't had any discussions in some time, while Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post says that any future conversations appear unlikely.

We've seen Dye connected to the Nats before, but apparently the team is content with it's Willy Taveras–Willie Harris platoon. The Brewers have also expressed interest in the 36-year-old recently.

Tim took a look at why Dye was still a free agent a few weeks ago, as well as what he could do to change that.

Top Trade Chips: NL East

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Let's continue our top trade chips series today with the NL East…

  • Braves: The Braves aren't going to move Tommy Hanson and/or Jason Heyward, and they already traded away their top piece of bait this winter when they sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees. What Atlanta does have is cache of big time pitching prospects in 20-year-old Randall Delgado,19-year-old Julio Teheran, and 19-year-old Arodys Vizcaino that they could dip into if needed.
  • Marlins: Florida has been reduced to flipping players before they get expensive through arbitration, nevermind get close to free agency. Dan Uggla is the team's highest paid player and also one of its most productive, but he's perpetually on the block because he's owed $7.8MM this season and will make even more in 2011 through arbitration. The Marlins could trade him, put Chris Coghlan back at second (his natural position), and call up super-prospect Mike Stanton to fill the vacant outfield spot.
  • Mets: Even though Carlos Beltran's knee is problematic and Jeff Francoeur is a perennial non-tender candidate, the team's best piece of trade bait is 21-year-old outfielder Fernando Martinez. Lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano could be used as trade fodder, but if ownership decides to part ways with GM Omar Minaya, then they could be in for a full blown firesale. Everyone not named David Wright would be available.
  • Nationals: Forget Stephen Strasburg, it's obviously not happening. However, GM Mike Rizzo has a valuable piece in Josh Willingham, who is no stranger to the trade rumor circuit. He is under team control through 2011, and his production isn't far off from Bay's. Relievers Matt Capps and Brian Bruney could be dealt as well.
  • Phillies: Philadelphia unloaded most of their top prospects to acquire Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay in the last nine months, so the cupboard is pretty bare. They could shop hard-throwing and oft-injured reliever Scott Mathieson, but the doomsday scenario could find Jayson Werth on the block if the Phils don't think they can re-sign him after the season. Of course that's highly unlikely, he's only the second or third best player on the top team in the league.

Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Guillen, Marlins, Posey

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Some links as the first week of baseball comes to a close…

  • Stephen Strasburg, who struck out eight over five innings of work in his pro debut today, will be limited to about 100 innings this year, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons (via Twitter). Gammons says Scott Boras negotiated that condition into the righty's deal with the Nationals last summer. However, Nationals farm director Doug Harris told MASN.com's Ben Goessling that a 100 inning cap for Strasburg "doesn't hold water" (Twitter link). Harris says 150-160 innings would be reasonable for Strasburg (Twitter link).
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck explains that Carlos Guillen nearly became an Indian six years ago.
  • Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post wonders how long the Marlins will let Cameron Maybin struggle before calling on top prospect Mike Stanton.
  • Buster Posey had a huge opening week in Triple A, so Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News wonders (via Twitter) how long the Giants can keep him in the minors. The timing of Posey's call up matters a great deal to the Giants, as I explained here.

Odds & Ends: Lowell, Paulino, Cardinals, Nationals

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Links for Sunday….

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