Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Zambrano, Johnson, Fielder, Felix, Braves
On this date 39 years ago, the Mets purchased the contract of Dean Chance from the Indians. At the time, the Mets were 1.5 games back in the NL East. The former Cy Young winner would make only three relief appearances down the stretch and the Mets finished six games back in third place. Chance would subsequently be traded in the off-season and play just one more season. With only two weeks remaining before the start of most team's off-season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse feels the reports that Carlos Zambrano is largely responsible for the Cubs' failures this season are just PR by the Cubs to make it easier to move Zambrano this off-season.
- Fangraphs makes a case that Nick Johnson's injury history could increase the number of teams that are interested in his services this off-season.
- Dodgers Rumors wonders if Ned Colletti will be back next season as the Dodgers' GM and whether he deserves to be.
- MLB Notebook breaks down the possibility of Prince Fielder being traded this off-season.
- Jorge Says No! writes about the Mariners' inability to sign Felix Hernandez to an extension.
- DC Sports Plus looks at some free agent starting pitchers that could help the Nationals next season, with John Lackey, Jason Marquis and Joel Pineiro at the top of the wishlist.
- The Ghost of Midnight Graham suggests that teams avoid Pineiro this winter.
- UmpBump takes a look at who might be playing first base for the Braves next season.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Mariners Trade Jamie Burke To Nationals
According to a press release, the Mariners have traded catcher Jamie Burke to the Nationals for cash. Burke has appeared in 184 games in parts of seven big league seasons. He was originally drafted in the ninth round of the '93 draft by the Angels. The Nationals will be his fifth organization.
Odds & Ends: Nationals’ Catcher, Brewers’ GM, Uggla
Some food for thought, even though you shouldn't be snacking so close to bed…
- With Jesus Flores undergoing surgery for a torn labrum, putting his 2010 start date into question, Washington manager Jim Riggleman said the Nationals may have to seek another catcher. According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, Rod Barajas may be a good fit, "because he is an excellent handler of pitchers." Barajas also has a bit of power, and would be a decent fit. Phil Wood of MASN speculates that Brian Schneider could return to Washington, noting that Schneider is "just 32, and would likely have multiple offers", though anyone who has seen Schneider hit this season would assume those offers won't be to play baseball. A shame, since Schneider is one of the best clubhouse guys in the game, has been a tremendous mentor to the younger Mets' players, and will be a tremendous manager if he pursues it.
- Brewers' owner Mark Attanasio strongly denied that General Manager Doug Melvin's job is in jeopardy. "It seems like a cop-out to me to blow everything up and start from scratch," Attanasio told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. "We've built this team around a good core of players now for five years and we took a step back [this year]. We'd like to take two steps forward next year."
- Dan Uggla is sad that the Marlins are likely going to trade him this offseason.
- Carl Crawford and Pat Burrell "had words" in Tampa Bay clubhouse, and not polite ones like "please" or "thank you."
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Ranaudo, Fielder
A few links for the evening….
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post notes one name that stands out on the Washington Nationals' roster for the Florida Instructional League: Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg is expected to pitch in the Instructional League that runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 13.
- Keith Law of ESPN.com reports that LSU righty Anthony Ranaudo has chosen Scott Boras as his adviser for the 2010 draft. Ranaudo projects to be one of the top college pitchers next year and a potential top-five pick in the June draft, assuming Boras' presence doesn't scare teams away.
- BP's Eric Seidman at ESPN.com follows up on the Prince Fielder to San Francisco speculation by discussing what the Giants would have to give up to net the slugging first baseman. Seidman is doubtful that Giants GM Brian Sabean would want to part with any blue-chip prospects like Buster Posey or Madison Bumgarner, but suggests that of their major league talent, only the front-line starters (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez) would interest the Brewers. Seidman writes that to even consider a trade, the Giants would have to be confident they could sign Fielder to a long-term deal.
Odds & Ends: Morneau, Nats, Pirates
Some links for Tuesday…
- Justin Morneau will miss the rest of the season because of a stress fracture in his lower back, according to ESPN.com's Jim Caple.
- Ian Desmond, who could figure into the Nationals' middle infield plans next year, has taken some good-natured heat from his teammates for wearing these around, writes Chico Harlan of the Washington Post. Desmond has reached base in nine of his 14 major league plate appearances, but the Nats may look for a free agent shortstop after the season.
- Doug Mientkiewicz tells Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates have made the right decisions this year, as difficult as some of them have been for the fans.
- Neither Kevin Millwood nor Rangers manager Ron Washington is expressing concern over Millwood's 2010 option, according to Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News. Millwood, who is less than 5.0 innings away from guaranteeing himself a $12MM payday next year, could start as soon as Friday.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Schneider, Claggett
A few links to start the evening off…
- When asked if the Pirates might pursue a free agent this winter to address their lack of power, Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette said the team has indicated "that they will wait until they see which of the current players might take a step forward, then identifying needs." That sounds like a "no," or at least a "probably not."
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson said he would not be surprised if Brian Schneider returned to the Nationals as a backup catcher next year, but he would have to take a big paycut. Schneider has already said he doesn't expect to return to the Mets next year, and after making $4.9MM this year, he should be prepared to take a big paycut wherever he goes.
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Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09257/997985-63.stm?cmpid=pirates.xml#ixzz0R7cZcwUs
- The Yankees designated reliever Anthony Claggett for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Freddy Guzman, reports Peter Abraham of The Journal News. Claggett was originally acquired in the deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Detroit, and got annihilated in his brief callup (33.75 ERA & 5.62 WHIP in 2.2 IP) this year.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Fielder, Nationals
Links for Monday…
- The Pirates have not approached any players about extensions, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic guesses Zach Duke is the likeliest extension candidate. Also in that article, Kovacevic notes "no new exchanges" between the Bucs and Miguel Angel Sano.
- ESPN's Buster Olney speculates that Prince Fielder will be traded to the Red Sox this winter. Thoughts?
- Mark Zuckerman of the Washington Times runs through possible free agent targets for the Nationals. He figures they can spend nearly $20MM without increasing payroll.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis weighs in on the returns in the two Mark DeRosa trades this year.
- Hideki Irabu was granted his release from his independent league team in Japan, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.
- MLB.com's Jim Street addresses the future of Felix Hernandez and Adrian Beltre in his latest Mariners mailbag.
Perrotto’s Latest: Vazquez, Valverde, DeRosa, Pavano
In today's column over at Baseball Prospectus, John Perrotto says nobody has been better at making deadline deals in the previous two seasons than Theo Epstein. I might agree but would love to hear some counter arguments.
As usual, Perrotto has his share of rumors from around the league:
- The Braves need offense and are considering dealing Javier Vazquez to get it.
- Don't expect Jose Valverde to return to Houston next season. He plans to test free agency and will likely find a better paycheck elsewhere.
- The White Sox plan to re-sign Freddy Garcia to be their fifth starter.
- The Cardinals would like to re-sign Mark DeRosa before he reaches free agency at the end of the season.
- The Twins are planning an attempt to re-sign Carl Pavano, also a to-be free agent at season's end.
- If the Nationals can acquire a shortstop in the offseason they would like Cristian Guzman to move to second base.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Papelbon, Jeter, Jurrjens, Braves, Nats
On this date 11 years ago, the Dodgers hired Kevin Malone to be their General Manager, replacing Tommy Lasorda. Three months later, the "new sheriff in town" signed Kevin Brown to a 7-year/$105MM contract, making Brown the first $100MM player in baseball history. The deal would cover Brown's age 34-40 seasons. Malone also avoided salary arbitration with Carlos Perez that off-season, giving him a 3-year/$15.5MM deal. Perez would spend the final year of the deal in Triple-A and never signed another big league contract. As most teams start looking to the off-season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Jorge Says No! revisits the worst contract extensions from the past off-season.
- Fire Brand of the American League takes a look at what it would mean to the Red Sox if they traded Jonathan Papelbon.
- River Ave. Blues takes a look at what it will take to re-sign Derek Jeter.
- MLB Notebook can see Jason Bay signing with the Mariners this off-season, but suggests it is not a good fit.
- Talking Chop argues that trading Jair Jurrjens this off-season would be more beneficial for the Braves than trading Javier Vazquez or Tim Hudson.
- Capitol Ave. Club previews the Braves' free agent class.
- DC Sports Plus projects the Nationals' roster for next season, including the addition of Aki Iwamura.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds & Ends: Castillo, Wagner, Pitching
Some links to look through on the day Eric Munson returns to the big leagues…
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post wonders if a Luis Castillo for Jeremy Bonderman or Nate Robertson deal makes sense. Placido Polanco will be a free agent after the season, and both pitchers are expendable to Detroit. Castillo is owed $12MM over the next two years, while Bonderman and Robertson will take in $12.5MM and $10MM, respectively, in the final season of their contracts next year.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the best possibilities for Billy Wagner next year are the Braves, Astros, Cubs, Tigers, and maybe even the Nationals.
- In a piece at ESPN, Baseball Prospectus' Shawn Hoffman looks at who could be the best pitching bargains of the offseason. Carl Pavano, Erik Bedard, and John Smoltz might be the best of the lot. You need Insider to read the article, but it comes recommended.