Odds & Ends: Manny, Papelbon, Pudge, Peavy
Links for Thursday…
- The Nationals remain interested in Duaner Sanchez, says Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan talked to Mark Prior.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post heard Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras consider the contract with the Dodgers a one-year deal with a safety net. Sherman wonders if the Yankees and/or Mets could get involved depending on how Manny’s 2009 season plays out.
- Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon commented about Manny to Chris Jones in the April issue of Esquire. It’s a good article and there’s a lot more to it than the Manny comments.
- Free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez is working out at first base, according to Will Gonzalez of MLB.com.
- The Padres have the third pick in the June draft. Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune asks whether they’ll finally take a player with big upside.
- Jake Peavy‘s agent Barry Axelrod seems to be writing off the Padres, in comments to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune: "It’s tough with the Padres’ situation. They are not very good and it looks like it is going to be another long year for them."
- Marlins shortstop Robert Andino is out of options, so Mike Phillips of the Miami Herald says this is his audition.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney says Mark Mulder‘s audition is drawing closer and he’s throwing well. Olney also says Luis Gonzalez is waiting by the phone. For a look at the other remaining free agents, click here.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Pedro, A’s, Padres
Links for Wednesday…
- Orioles president Andy MacPhail doesn’t seem interested, but Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun quizzed various players on the team about the possibility of signing Pedro Martinez.
- MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone says Pedro was hitting 92 yesterday and his fastball had the old-school tail on it.
- The AP reports that MLB is investigating the ages of 42 Dominican prospects.
- RotoAuthority names 20 undervalued hitters for 2009 fantasy drafts.
- Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo spoke highly of Stephen Strasburg, talking to Ben Goessling of the Washington Times.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney learned that the A’s are open-minded to Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, and/or Vin Mazzaro cracking the Opening Day rotation. Jerry Crasnick has more on Oakland’s next Big Three.
- Olney also says the Padres will be "scouring the earth for pitching" over the next few weeks. This jives with Tom Krasovic’s recent article.
Nationals Sign Kip Wells
According to Pete McElroy of MASN, the Nationals signed righty Kip Wells to a minor league deal. Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post says he can earn $500K if he makes the team. Wells, 32 in April, posted a 6.21 ERA, 7.41 K/9, and 7.17 BB/9 in 37.2 innings for the Royals and Rockies last year while earning $3.1MM. He also tossed 25 innings in the minors for Colorado. He dealt with blood clots in his pitching hand during the season.
No Starting Job For Willingham?
Nationals outfielder Josh Willingham hit a respectable .254/.364/.470 last year, which is very similar to his career line. His defense isn’t too bad, either. FanGraphs suggests he was worth $10.3MM last year, and he’ll earn $2.95MM in ’09. All in all, pretty good player. So how come he doesn’t have a starting job?
According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, Willingham may be the odd man out in the Nationals outfield if everyone is healthy. They’re set to employ an Adam Dunn/Lastings Milledge/Elijah Dukes starting outfield, with Willie Harris and Austin Kearns also looking for playing time out there.
Willingham thinks the situation will work itself out, and he’s smart not to get worked up. Maybe Mike Rizzo can move Nick Johnson and open up first base. Failing that, someone figures to hit the DL sooner or later.
Rosenthal On Pedro, A-Rod, Beimel, Ohman
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- One executive tells Rosenthal Pedro Martinez seeks a contract similar to the one John Smoltz received (a $5.5MM base plus $5.5MM incentives). Rosenthal’s speculative candidates for Pedro include the Dodgers, Marlins, Indians, and Mets. He says the A’s, Orioles, Nationals, and Brewers are out.
- Rosenthal does not expect a major acquisition by the Yankees to cover for Alex Rodriguez. He adds that the Yanks will not collect insurance on A-Rod’s salary.
- In addition to Orlando Cabrera, Manny Ramirez has a clause in his contract prohibiting his team from offering arbitration if he’s a Type A free agent after the season. Orlando Hudson and Bobby Abreu do not have such clauses.
- Two GMs told Rosenthal Joe Beimel wants a one-year, $2.5MM deal, but the pitcher’s agent Joe Sroba says they have’t gotten that specific. Sroba says new teams are in the mix for Beimel and he’s waiting for one to be "aggressive and sincere in their pursuit."
- The White Sox and Dodgers are two teams in on free agent lefty Will Ohman.
Duaner Sanchez Released
According to David Lennon of Newsday, Mets GM Omar Minaya announced that reliever Duaner Sanchez has been released. The Mets did not feel Sanchez could be effective in the Majors. I believe the Mets only have to pay him about $281K now since his contract was not guaranteed. Sanchez, 29, posted a 4.32 ERA in 58.1 innings last year. His fastball was down about 3.5 mph from 2005-06 levels.
Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post says the Nationals may have interest in Sanchez.
Padres Looking For Pitching
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes about the Padres’ intention to add pitching to the organization. He learned that the Nationals inquired about Padres first base prospect Kyle Blanks, but were not willing to trade their own top prospect Jordan Zimmermann. Would’ve been interesting to see.
Krasovic says the Padres are focused on out of options pitchers, and in particular inquired on Arizona’s Juan Gutierrez. Krasovic tosses out names of other out of options hurlers on the D’Backs and Angels: Jason Bulger, Shane Loux, Dustin Moseley, Yusmeiro Petit, and Travis Blackley. Two more possibilities: Giants Rule 5 pick Luis Perdomo and Rangers veteran Jason Jennings. I don’t know whether the Padres are interested, but a few more out of options pitchers include David Pauley, Hayden Penn, Dustin Nippert, Jeff Niemann, and Jason Hammel.
According to Krasovic, GM Kevin Towers is focused exclusively on pitching this month. Krasovic adds:
Some Padres evaluators have become dismayed, according to other clubs, by a perceived dearth of power arms high in the organization and are wondering if the club’s four-year emphasis on “pitchability” got overdone.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Lester, Pudge
Links for Monday…
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel talked to Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who said the Yankees have yet to contact him regarding their possible third base need.
- ESPN’s Rob Neyer says the Mets don’t need Pedro Martinez.
- The scouts Buster Olney talked to absolutely adore Stephen Strasburg. One of them said, "Right now, he’s better than A.J. Burnett." There’s no way the Nationals can pass on a talent like this.
- WEEI’s Alex Speier compares Jon Lester‘s record-breaking contract to others given to young pitchers.
- Jim Baumbach of Newsday talked to Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado, who promoted Ivan Rodriguez and noted that assistant GM Tony Bernazard observed the catcher’s four-hit, two home run performance in Puerto Rico Saturday.
- ESPN’s Peter Gammons notes the affordability of Boston’s pitching staff.
Odds & Ends: Bowden, Stanton, Baker
Sunday night linkage…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Dodgers "will not restructure Juan Pierre's contract to make him go away."
- Murray Chass likes Jim Bowden, while Hal McCoy has a negative recollection.
- ESPN's Peter Gammons wrote about teams clamoring for Marlins prospect Michael Stanton last July.
- Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News talked to Baseball-Reference mastermind Sean Forman.
- Aaron Gleeman analyzes Scott Baker's new extension with the Twins.
- RotoAuthority recently looked at catcher tiers for fantasy baseball drafts.
Jim Bowden – GM Trade History
By our count, Jim Bowden made over 168 trades as GM of the Reds and Nationals over the years. MLBTR contributor Brendan Bianowicz compiled all of Bowden’s deals in this spreadsheet. Click here to see the other entries in the GM Trade History series.