Knizner, 29, signed with the Rangers in the offseason after being non-tendered by the Cardinals. Texas gave him a one-year deal with a $1.825MM salary, knowing that he could be retained via arbitration beyond this season as well.

Unfortunately, the club has been struggling to get much production from the catcher position this year. Jonah Heim hit .258/.317/.438 last year for a 103 wRC+ but he has dropped to a line of .232/.277/.346 and a 73 wRC+ this year. The falloff from Knizner has been even more drastic as he slashed .241/.288/.424 with the Cards last year for a 92 wRC+ but he is hitting .167/.183/.211 this year for a wRC+ of 4.

Perhaps some of that can be attributed to a .206 batting average on balls in play but Knizner has also drawn walks at a paltry 1.1% clip and hit just one home run in his 93 plate appearances, compared to the ten he hit in 241 trips to the plate last year. The Rangers fortified their catching corps by acquiring Carson Kelly from the Tigers prior to the deadline and then optioned Knizner to Triple-A, though he has now been bumped off the 40-man roster altogether.

With the trade deadline now passed, the Rangers will have to put Knizner on waivers in the coming days. Despite his rough season, he could perhaps garner interest based on his past performance and contract status.

He has one option left and therefore a claiming club wouldn’t need to give him an active roster spot right away, though he would be out of options next year in that scenario. He has not yet spent 20 days on optional assignment this year, so it’s possible he could retain that option next year if he either doesn’t get claimed or is kept in the majors by some other club. He also came into this season with four years and 21 days of service time, putting him just shy of the five-year mark at present. If any club felt especially bullish about Knizner’s future, they could claim him, keep him on optional assignment for the rest of the year and then control him via arbitration for two more years.

As for Mahle, he will be taking the mound for the first time in over a year. He required Tommy John surgery in May of last year, just a few months from free agency. The Rangers signed him to a two-year, $22MM deal with the knowledge that they would have to wait for his arrival.

With Mahle and Jacob deGrom both on their way back from surgeries last year, the club felt good enough about their rotation depth to deal Michael Lorenzen to the Royals prior to the deadline. But both Jon Gray and Max Scherzer recently landed on the IL, thinning the group out further. As of right now, the group consists of Mahle, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, José Ureña and Cody Bradford, with Dane Dunning in a long-relief role in the bullpen.

Beliveau, 26, posted a 3.89 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and 0.82 HR/9 in 44 relief innings for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate last year, making his big league debut in July.

Ethier’s hearing is currently scheduled for Tuesday, February 17.  He requested $3.75MM and the Dodgers countered with a $2.65MM bid back when figures were due.  Jackson notes that the Dodgers have won their last two arbitration cases, with Eric Gagne in 2004 and Joe Beimel in 2007.

• Heyman thinks its peculiar that Rafael Furcal passed up his last offer of 4 years, $35-40MM, especially while the shortstop market is thinning out. The Giants signed Edgar Renteria. The Cubs want a lefty-bat. The Braves need to deal Yunel Escobar before they’ll be interested in Furcal. Again, Buster Olney noted today that Furcal was asking 4 years, $52MM.
• Can the Giants afford CC Sabathia? They’ve already signed Renteria, Jeremy Affeldt, and Bobby Howry. And he would be the team’s second $100MM contract having already made the mistake of overpaying Barry Zito. They admit they need a bat more than another arm. And while Sabathia would like to play in San Francisco, would he like to make less than Zito’s $18MM on the same team?
• No surprise that Francisco Rodriguez is sitting atop the Mets closer wish-list. According to Heyman, he’s followed by Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, and then a combination of Trevor Hoffman and Huston Street, who would need to be dealt from the Rockies. Heyman doesn’t complete the list beyond those 4 options and notes that the Hoffman/Street option is a popular idea in the organization. For K-Rod, 3-4 years would be the Mets threshold.

• Olney’s Speculation: Will the Red Sox will express interest in Khalil Greene with Julio Lugo on the DL for 4-6 weeks? Olney also wonders if the Dodgers will seek Huston Street if Takashi Saito is seriously hurt.
• Scout Speculation:  Huston Street and Matt Murton to the Rays for prospects? 
• Bobby Kielty was granted release by the Red Sox.
• Richie Sexson could decide where to go based on greatest offered playing time.  I’d say that’s expected for a veteran starter.
• Olney says that requests for Max Scherzer are keeping the Dbacks from making any moves, such as for Raul Ibanez.
• David Ortiz is slated to return to the lineup on July 25th, which leaves the Red Sox less than a week to evaluate him and make a move if necessary.  Olney details some options:
  • Acquire a hitter during the waiver period after the deadline.  This would rule out comparable replacements such as Matt Holliday or Mark Teixeira.
  • Make a "preemptive strike" for Holliday or Teixeira costing them "at least one of their best prospects".
  • Target a "second or third tier bat" such as Ibanez or Xavier Nady.
  • Continue on with or without an effective Ortiz, hoping their offense is good enough.

• The Hardball Times has an interview with Pirates GM Neal Huntington. It’s plenty long. He talks about the dynamics in dealing with his former team, the Cleveland Indians.
• Steve Trachsel might be on his way out with the Orioles. Tough to argue against that move. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the O’s are in the cellar, and might not climb out for the rest of 2008.
• Chris Duncan down, Joe Mather up. Could Mather be the piece that rounds out a powerful outfield? Or could he be trade bait to bring back, say, a second baseman?
• Glendon Rusch is back in the majors, having been recalled by the Rockies.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog, and can be reached here.

Silverman adds that the Red Sox won’t go nuts trying to replace Lowell with a big name if things don’t work out.  They figure that if Kevin Youkilis can win a Gold Glove at first, he might be adequate at third base.  They peeked their head in on Miguel Cabrera and balked at the price of Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz.  Joe Crede might be someone for the Sox to consider. 

The Yankees, Angels, and Phillies will be in on Lowell if he can’t come to an agreement with Boston.  However, Phils GM Pat Gillick has stated his focus is pitching rather than third base.

11. B.J. Ryan – Phillies/Blue Jays.  I definitely underestimated just how much cash the Jays were willing to toss around.  I figured that the Phils would have room in the budget for a closer once Wagner defected and would go after the best available one in Ryan.  They did have some interest in him as their Plan B.

12.  Johnny Damon – Red Sox/Yankees.  I said he’d stay with the Sox but didn’t like the idea as outlined here.  Turns out New York was more willing to take on huge sunk costs than Boston was.  As a result, Andy Marte is an Indian. 

13. Ramon Hernandez – Mets/Orioles.  Definitely didn’t see this one coming with Javy Lopez already on the team and the free-spending Mets showing interest.  The Mets went with Paul Lo Duca instead.  If they miss the playoffs by one game, this decision will loom large.

14.  Paul Byrd – Red Sox/Indians.  I figured David Wells would have his request accomodated, and no one saw the Beckett deal coming.  Byrd looked like he’d be a value signing at something like 2/$12MM, but that didn’t happen.

15.  Erubiel Durazo – White Sox/Rangers. One of my bigger blunders, in that I don’t think I realized Durazo had undergone Tommy John surgery in the summer of ’05.  He obviously was not considered the 15th best free agent by any team.  I really liked the fit with the Sox, but that Thome guy is doing OK so far.

16. Kenji Johjima – Mariners/Mariners.  I said the Japanese star could be a bargain, and he was at $5MM annually.

17.  Tom Gordon – Marlins/Phillies.  Oops!  Keep in mind that this was before any sign of a fire sale and Gordon is a Florida native.  I thought he’d take a two-year deal when I was trying to decide how the available closers would get shuffled around.

18.  Jeff Weaver – Blue Jays/Angels.  The Jays were thinking much bigger than Weaver, opting for the riskier, higher upside of A.J. Burnett.  Weaver for one year was a fantastic move by the Angels.

19.  Jarrod Washburn – Brewers/Mariners.  Figured Doug Melvin would make a play for the Wisconsin native.  But at that price it would not have made sense for the Brew Crew.  Not that it made sense for Seattle.

20.  Bill Mueller – Brewers/Dodgers.  I figured Bill Hall would be used in a utility role again, but the Brewers went in a different direction with Koskie.

1.  Roger Clemens – Astros/Undecided.  The Rocket has been holding up this entire review for quite some time.  He’ll probably come back to Houston, so this one will be a win.  But does anyone really think he’d play anywhere else?

2.  Daisuke Matsuzaka – Mariners/Lions.  Back before Japan’s best pitcher made a splash in the WBC, it looked like his team might post him and allow the Mariners, Yankees, Athletics, and Red Sox to compete for his services.  He would’ve probably been a more valuable commodity than A.J. Burnett if he’d come over.  Alas, Seibu’s manager said that it was obvious that his 2005 season record (2.30 ERA, 9.4 K/9) was "not convincing enough" for the team to post him. Keep an eye on this one for the 2006-07 offseason.   

3.  Paul Konerko – White Sox/White Sox.  I had a feeling it would be impossible for the Sox to let him walk even with the demand for a five-year deal.  The Angels and Orioles were deeply involved, with the Orioles even topping Chicago’s offer.  In the end, Paulie stayed put.  You have to respect that.

4.  A.J. Burnett – Nationals/Blue Jays.  I figured the team would have an owner by December and that the new regime would open up the checkbook for the best available starting pitcher.  Burnett and Washington had mutual interest, but Toronto simply outbid everyone else.   

5.  Brian Giles – Cardinals/Padres. We’ll probably never really know how amenable Giles was to leaving San Diego.  He certainly could’ve gotten more than three years and $30MM.  Giles has the type of skills that age well, and he was the best available outfielder by far.  Maybe the Cardinals never could’ve signed Giles even if they wanted to.  But the difference between Juan Encarnacion and Giles is probably four full wins in 2006, so keep that in mind at the end of the season.  Same goes for the Cubs, who went with Jacque Jones.

6.  Rafael Furcal – Cubs/Dodgers.  The Cubs really needed to overpay to get Furcal.  I like Ronny Cedeno, I really do.  But the 2006 difference in value is something close to three wins.  Those three wins might’ve pushed the Cubs over the hump for a division title.  The Dodgers swooped in with a shorter contract offer with a high annual average salary.  If L.A. eventually uses Cesar Izturis at second base, Derek Lowe will really reap the benefits of his new middle infield.

7.  Nomar Garciaparra – Dodgers/Dodgers.  I figured they’d employ him on the left side of the infield – Nomar doesn’t really have the bat for first base anymore.  For one year at a price of $6-10MM, it’s a low risk investment for a major market team.  Still, I’m not sure if he’ll be measurably better than Hee Seop Choi, who was waived.  But c’mon, it’s No-mah!

8.  Hideki Matsui – Yankees/Yankees.  This was a gimme, he didn’t really consider signing elsewhere.  He’ll continue to rack up the RBIs.

9.  Kevin Millwood – Orioles/Rangers.  Sosa and Palmeiro off the books, and the chance to reunite Millwood with Leo Mazzone?  Peter Angelos passed, as he often does on health risks.  Baltimore instead settled for a host of lamer moves: acquiring Kris Benson, Corey Patterson, and LaTroy Hawkins, signing Ramon Hernandez despite the presence of Javy Lopez, and signing Kevin Millar and Jeff Conine for veterany goodness.  All that for fourth place?  Hell, the D-Rays are a starter or two away from making the O’s a last place club.  With Burnett off the market, Texas went with the best available starter.

10.  Billy Wagner – Mets/Mets.  The Phillies swung and missed, and instead signed up for three years of Tom Gordon and his creaky elbow.  Mets fans can rest easy in the ninth inning, as Braden Looper is somewhere far, far away (St. Louis).

I realized that 50 is a lot of players, so I’ll break this into a five-part series.