Odds & Ends: Bonifacio, Jimenez, Darvish
Links for Friday…
- Royals third baseman Alex Gordon is out 10-12 weeks due to hip surgery. Mark Teahen will slide over to take his place.
- Ken Rosenthal examines the Indians.
- I did a Q&A with But The Game Is On.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post gets into the Emilio Bonifacio trade.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. writes about how the Yankees' signing of D'Angelo Jimenez changed everything.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker has a Yu Darvish velocity chart.
- The Big Lead talked to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Paul DePodesta explains the Padres' decision to expose Travis Denker to waivers.
Odds & Ends: Milledge, Draft Order, Cubs
Links for Tuesday…
- The Nationals issued a press release regarding Lastings Milledge's demotion to Triple A. Seems like they're hoping it's a wake-up call.
- Scott Boras spoke to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle about matching his client Dallas McPherson with the Giants.
- Baseball America has the 2009 June draft order.
- According to a Reuters article, one source suggested the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family may drag on past May.
- Bart Given of Inside The Majors says the Indians are an exception in terms of providing nutritious meals to minor leaguers.
- This week's chat will take place tomorrow at 2pm CST.
Nationals Sign Ron Villone
According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, the Nationals signed lefty Ron Villone to a minor league deal. Villone is fourth on the depth chart in terms of southpaw relievers; he'll report to Triple A. He wasn't able to stick with the Mets earlier this spring.
Ladson adds that the Nats are in on free agent Chad Gaudin, but only for a minor league deal.
Stark On Olsen, Willingham, Millwood, Peavy
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new column up.
- Stark looks at a few trades that didn't happen. Aside from the Angels' run at Aaron Harang at the end of Spring Training, they also talked to the Nationals about Scott Olsen. Stark says Dustin Moseley, Shane Loux, and Jason Bulger were three names kicked around in the Olsen talks.
- Earlier this spring, the Rays inquired on Washington's Josh Willingham, apparently dangling Jason Hammel. Willingham is currently unhappy about being on the Nationals' bench, a situation that probably would not have improved in Tampa Bay.
- Kevin Millwood could be attractive midseason trade bait, if his Opening Day start was any indication. Millwood's contract allows the club to decline his $12MM 2010 option unless he pitches 180 innings this year. He also has a limited no-trade clause.
- Stark talked to an executive of a team that has Jake Peavy on its radar. This exec noted that teams did not overpay in deals for Rich Harden and Johan Santana, so the Padres may not be able to demand a ridiculous bounty for Peavy.
Zimmerman Talks On Hold
MONDAY: Extension talks for Zimmerman are indeed on hold until after the season, according to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post. Zimmerman does not seem concerned, noting that "it's come a long way" and expressing relief to have entered the arbitration system.
SATURDAY: According to the Associated Press, via the Miami Herald, Ryan Zimmerman wants long-term contract negotiations to cease once the regular season starts. The Nationals have been working toward a multi-year extension with their 23-year-old third baseman since spring training began.
Zimmerman tells The Associated Press on Saturday that if there isn't something in place by Monday's first game, he wants a break in negotiations. He says the last thing he needs is to be worrying about something other than trying to help the Nationals win.
Odds & Ends: Bergmann, Maddux, Red Sox
Some Odds & Ends to round out this Sunday morning's news:
- Right-hander Jason Bergmann, who has an option left, is not happy that the Nationals have sent him to Triple-A, says Pete McElroy of masnsports.com. In nine games, Bergmann didn't give up a run. He had 6 K and 2 BB in 11 1/3 innings.
- Not a rumor, but a headline of importance: Unsurprisingly, the Braves are going to retire Greg Maddux's number in July.
- Daniel Barbarisi of the Providence Journal praises the Red Sox shrewdness by improving their ballclub while reducing their payroll by $13MM, from fourth highest to sixth. Back-loaded extensions to key players could mean the Sox could add payroll if a marquee player becomes available this summer.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star has a short but interesting article up noting that paying for a free agent pitcher does not usually work out. It would be interesting to actually see the numbers on this. Mellinger writes,
"The results are brutal: Thirty pitchers regressed after signing, and only 13 improved. Four contracts were close enough to be judged either way. That’s a fail ratio of 2:1."
Wily Mo Pena Released
According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, the Nationals released Wily Mo Pena today. Pena refused his assignment to the minors after opposing teams chose not to claim him off waivers. Now that the Nationals are on the hook for his $2MM salary, he might be able to find a job somewhere.
Pena, 27, came to the Nationals in August of 2007 from Boston for Chris Carter. He had a nice initial stint with Washington, and signed a contract in December of that year. But 2008 was a lost year due to shoulder problems.
Heyman On Strasburg, Lackey, Pedro
SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column up.
- In talking to club execs who have spoken with Scott Boras about Stephen Strasburg, Heyman believes Boras does have $50MM in mind. Boras allegedly likened Strasburg to fictional pitcher Sidd Finch, with the plan being to shatter previous draft pick bonuses by using Daisuke Matsuzaka's contract as a model. One Nationals person told Heyman, "We'll pay the $10 million, and we'll get him signed." This much is clear: we'll have something off the field to talk about in August. For more Strasburg Mania, check out this article by Steve Henson at Yahoo.
- Heyman learned from Nationals sources that Stan Kasten and team ownership, not Jim Bowden, cut off the Aaron Crow negotiations at $3.3MM. Kasten's had many applicants for Bowden's GM job, but Heyman's sources expect Mike Rizzo to retain the gig.
- A Heyman source estimated that the Angels offered John Lackey four years and around $50MM. Talks are on hold given Lackey's elbow injury. He didn't want to negotiate during the season anyway. The latest report on Lackey's injury is pretty good.
- Pedro Martinez still wants $5MM, and is "willing to wait well into the season." Heyman believes the Dodgers, Indians, Pirates, Astros, and Mets are possibilities now.
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Yankees, Young, Barfield
Your Saturday night links, with more to come…
- Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com takes a look at the Cardinals' third base race. Brian Barden appears doubtful to win the job, however temporary it may be, despite a .344 spring record.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi could decide to start the season without a designated long reliever, according to Peter Abraham of The Journal News. Alfredo Aceves, Dan Giese and Brett Tomko would be the casualties of that decision.
- Dmitri Young told Chico Harlan of the Washington Post that he plans to be on the Nationals' 25-man roster when the team heads north.
- Josh Barfield has claimed the Indians' final roster spot. His versatility apparently won him the job.
- Can't get enough of MLBTR? Follow the action on Twitter. And if you're feeling really adventurous, why not add me, your good friend Drew Silva?
Mark Teixeira: In His Own Words
Mark Teixeira appeared on New York-based radio station WFAN this morning and spoke, among other things, about why he decided to sign with the Yankees over other interested teams. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times has transcribed a few of the more interesting quotes:
"I always had the Yankees in my sights, and one thing my agent and I had asked every single team is, we're not going to negotiate through the media, and we ask you not to," Teixeira said. "The Yankees were really the only team that did that. The other teams went out and told everybody their offers, told everybody that they talked to me, that they made this call, made that trip. The Yankees kept quiet. We talked all winter. When they were ready to make their final offer, it was a great offer, and my wife and I were excited about going to New York."
Asked specifically about the Red Sox, who made their December 18 visit to his home in Texas public knowledge, Teixeira admitted to being bothered: "I think in the end, it probably worked against them a little bit, because everyone thought the Red Sox were my No. 1 choice. … The Yankees had a leg up all along."