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Odds and Ends: Dotel, Valverde, Wilkerson

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Some Saturday odds and ends to mull over…

  • The Yankees considered bringing Octavio Dotel back, but wouldn’t go two years on him.
  • Richard Justice thinks Astros GM Ed Wade is making a mistake by setting a deadline and going to arbitration hearings with Jose Valverde and Mark Loretta.  I doubt the Astros wanted Loretta to accept their offer of arbitration in the first place, but they took the $4-5MM gamble hoping to get a draft pick.  But they actively sought out Valverde, and this might not bode well for him staying past 2009.
  • Can’t promise anything, but my source is saying Brad Wilkerson is likely to become a Mariner on a one-year deal.  Put this in the unconfirmed category for now.
  • Did the Rangers DFA Armando Galarraga in anticipation of including him in a trade?
  • Troy Tulowitzki explanation: he can opt out of his $15MM club option for 2014 if he’s traded. Tracy Ringolsby also reports that Garrett Atkins had unfruitful extension talks with the Rox last year and would still like to stay.
  • "No substantive negotiations" on a multiyear deal for Ryan Zimmerman.
  • Casey Blake’s agent put in a counteroffer but hasn’t heard back from the Indians yet; the two sides are $1.5MM apart on his ’08 salary.

Odds and Ends: Zimmerman, Tulo, Hawpe, Wang

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Some bits and pieces from today…

Nick Johnson Readying For Spring Training

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There’s quite a feature in yesterday’s Washington Post regarding Nick Johnson’s return to action. It’s one of those feel-good pieces that documents his hardships and the tenacity with which he faced them. But apparently he has no remaining physical limitations, so he’ll get his shot in Spring Training.

How is this a trade rumor? Well, he’ll be competing with Dmitri Young for the starting first base gig. Both are signed through 2009, with roughly the same salaries. But there isn’t room for both of them on the Nats roster. Each has his pitfalls, making a trade difficult.

So what do you do if you’re Jim Bowden? Johnson is the team’s second highest-paid player, and Young is just a tick behind. Do you really let one of your top five highest paid players languish on the bench? A platoon doesn’t seem the answer. Young hit righties a ton last year, to the tune of a .903 OPS, while managing a .784 mark against lefties. This trend follows through his career. Johnson tends to destroy lefties and righties equally.

It’s hard not to give Johnson every shot to win the gig. He’s younger and has incredible plate discipline. We’re talking about one of the few guys in the league who can walk more than he strikes out. He was also a monster in his latest season, 2006, hitting .290/.428/.520 in 628 plate appearances. He walked 110 times that year, which is just an insane number.

But then where does that leave Young? This will definitely be a story to follow through Spring Training.

-Joe

The Mark Prior Derby

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Let’s do a recap on the Mark Prior Derby, which is getting more confusing each day.  Jerry Crasnick has added some good info this afternoon.  Prior wants a one-year deal and hopes to be on a big league mound before the end of May.

  • Yankees – They’ll probably pass, per Hank Steinbrenner.
  • Red Sox – Named only by Jayson Stark.
  • White Sox – Named only by Stark.
  • Mariners – Named by Stark, denied by Jim Street.
  • Mets – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Ken Rosenthal, Ed Price
  • Cardinals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Rosenthal, Matthew Leach
  • Padres – Named by many, made an offer according to Crasnick. Prior went to USC but would have to take less money to play in San Diego
  • Astros – Named by many, made an offer according to Alyson Footer
  • Giants – Named only by Stark
  • Reds – Named by Stark, Crasnick. Prior previously played under Dusty Baker
  • Nationals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Bill Ladson
  • Rangers – Named by Crasnick but not Stark, aggressively pursuing according to Rosenthal
  • Marlins – Named only by Crasnick
  • Indians – Named only by Crasnick

One more and we’re at half of all baseball teams linked at some point.  The Phillies and Pirates are not interested, and it’s probably safe to count the Cubs out.

Stark’s Latest: Prior, Lofton, Otsuka

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark dishes some good rumorage in his latest column.

  • Stark dug around to find all the Mark Prior suitors and came up with this list: Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Mets, Cardinals, Padres, Astros, Giants, Reds, Nationals (11 teams).  Let’s compare notes.  MLBTR readers have seen the Yankees, Mets, Cards, Padres, Astros, Reds, and Nats linked to Prior already.  So Stark has added the Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, and Giants.  The idea of the Mariners runs contrary to this MLB.com article.  Stark did not name the Rangers, who are said to be aggressively pursuing Prior.  Prior is dead set on a one-year deal and would take a big league mound in May in the best case.
  • The Phils are focused on Geoff Jenkins and Mike Cameron, offering two year deals to each.  They might just take the first one to accept.  Stark says Kenny Lofton could be an option if both decline.  Lofton batted a career-best .335 for the Phils in ’05.
  • Stark rattles off a laundry list of pitchers the Phillies are interested in: Akinori Otsuka, Byung-Hyun Kim, Roberto Hernandez, Kris Benson, John Parrish, Sidney Ponson, Chad Durbin, Kyle Lohse, and Jeremy Affeldt.  Given Stark’s 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I imagine he has a connection or two.  Most of those are new names besides Benson, Lohse, Ponson, and Affeldt.
  • A source of Stark picks the Yankees as the favorite for Johan, but it should be noted that they’re having internal debates about pulling Phil Hughes off the table.
  • For all the crazy Cubs fans we’ve got here: Stark says they’ve talked to the Orioles about both Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard, but couldn’t pull off a deal for both.  They favor Roberts even though they need Bedard much more.

About Nine Teams Watch Benson

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UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 11:07am: The Braves were in attendance, according to a source of mine. 

UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 8:42am: The Giants were in attendance, so we know eight of the nine teams that watched Benson.  Is it normal for each team to send three scouts, by the way?  It’s been said that 25 of them watched.

UPDATE, 12-18-07 at 1:39pm: The Yankees, Mets, Astros, and Phillies definitely attended.  I also received an email about a radio report indicating the Cards were there. That’s seven of the nine.

FROM 12-18-07 at 10:40am:

According to Todd Zolecki, about nine teams watched free agent Kris Benson throw 60 pitches yesterday.  The Phillies and Nationals were definitely present.

Feel free to guess at the other seven teams.  The Astros were probably there, and some of the Yankees, Cardinals, Royals, Marlins, Rockies, and Dodgers were probably on hand as well.

Benson had surgery in March to repair a partially torn rotator cuff.  Before that he’d usually been good for 180 nearly league average innings.

Nats, Mets, Yanks Interested In Prior

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UPDATE, 12-15-07 at 12:47pm: The Phillies are one team that does not have interest in Prior.

UPDATE, 12-15-07 at 8:48am: Ed Price adds that the Yankees and Mets have both shown preliminary interest in Prior.  Apparently he is throwing on flat ground and could be ready by May.  Translation: he may return by the second half. Price believes roughly a dozen clubs are interested in Prior.

FROM 12-14-07 at 11:53pm:

The Nationals are looking in the bargain bin for a veteran starting pitcher.  Two options they’re considering are Mark Prior and Jason Jennings, according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson.  The Nats first touched base with Jennings’ agent around November 6th.  Prior is a new name for them though.

Jennings has the Royals, Rangers, Rockies, and Mets on his trail as well.  As for Prior, the Astros, Reds, Rangers, Phillies, and Padres may be the most interested clubs.

Today’s Non-tenders: Towers, Prior, Everett, Durbin

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Tim’s out for the night, so we’ve got a fresh post started for the non-tenders.  MLB.com has a running list as well.

These guys are the officials as of now:

  • As expected, the Marlins non-tendered catcher Miguel Olivo.  Johnny Estrada was another casualty; these two make up the market for starting catchers.
  • The Blue Jays non-tendered Josh Towers, a surprising move.  Some NL team could offer him two years and get league average work out of him.
  • Mark Prior has been non-tendered.  Honestly if I were the Cubs, I would’ve tossed the $3.5MM his way just to see.
  • Aaron Miles is now a free agent.
  • The A’s cut Kiko Calero loose.
  • The Padres have non-tendered four: Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, and pitchers Jack Cassell and Ryan Ketchner. RotoWorld speculates that the latter two, not arbitration eligible, could be offered minor league deals.
  • The Royals cut the cord on Emil Brown.  He turns 33 soon; he hit an ugly .257/.300/.347 in 2007.  Brown earned $3.45MM in ’07.
  • The Tigers non-tendered Chad Durbin, toss him into the free agent pool.  Guess those trade talks with the Bucs didn’t work out.
  • The Twins have let go Jason Tyner.
  • The Nats have cut bait with Nook Logan and LHP Michael O’Connor.
  • The Dodgers wave goodbye to Mark Hendrickson.
  • The White Sox have non-tendered Andy Gonzalez and LHP Heath Phillips. Joe Crede sticks with the Pale Hose for now.
  • Adam Everett has lost his job with the Astros. It’d be kind of funny if the Orioles signed him.
  • Per RotoWorld, the Angels have non-tendered Dallas McPherson. He’s full of potential, but he’s never come through. He’s only 27, though, so he could still catch on somewhere. Unless, RotoWorld notes, he has an agreement in place with the Angels.
  • The Braves have non-tendered Willie Harris, though he had already been DFA’d.

–Joe and Tim

Odds And Ends: Nats, Dodgers, Cardinals

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Couple of small signings and rumors on non-tender night:

  • The Nats have agreed with John Patterson, Ryan Wagner, and Luis Ayala to one-year deals. Wagner is coming off labrum surgery, and is expected to compete for a spot in the bullpen in Spring Training. Ayala tossed 42 decent innings after coming back from Tommy John surgery in June. After showing flashes of his potential in 2005, Patterson has hardly worked out over the past two years, but will get another shot this spring.
  • The Dodgers have signed 11 players to minor league deals with invitations to Spring Training: RHP Tanyon Sturtze, RHP Mike Koplove, RHP Brian Falkenborg, RHP Rick
    Asadoorian    , RHP Fernando Desgue, RHP Greg Jones, LHP Brian Shackelford,
    OF John-Ford Griffin, 1B John Lindsey, IF Angel Chavez and C Danny
    Ardoin    . The addition of Sturtze, coupled with the presence of Scott Proctor, gives Joe Torre two of his favorite abuse cases over the past few years.
  • The Cardinals have signed former Athletic Ron Flores to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. He throws left-handed, hence will probably get a shot for the next three or four years, even if his performance is spotty. C Mark Johnson, RHP Hugo Castellanos and 3B Rico Washington have also been signed and extended an invite.

–Joe

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