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Archives for February 2007

One More Minor Move

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The Athletics have claimed lefty swingman Lenny DiNardo off of waivers from the Red Sox.  The Red Sox were going to have to part with somebody, and DiNardo seemed the most likely lefty to go, especially after Boston signed J.C. Romero. 

DiNardo wasn’t going to have any chance of contributing in Boston and won’t be much of a factor in Oakland either, but may have a shot if/when injuries strike the A’s.  Especially with Joe Kennedy in the rotation mix, the A’s don’t have a lot of good lefty options if Alan Embree goes down…and Embree is old. 

By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com

Relievers Find Homes (or not)

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More minor league deals:

Cliff Politte has signed with the Indians.  I would imagine he’ll start the year in Triple-A, but as veteran insurance for a 11th or 12th pitcher goes, teams could do a lot worse.

Kerry Lightenberg has signed with the Reds.  He’ll also probably end up in Triple-A, and he’s an example of how teams could do worse than Politte.

Dustin Hermanson tried out for several teams, but the Phillies were unimpressed.  That leaves the Reds.  If you want to do worse than Politte or Lightenberg…well, here’s your man.  Wayne Krivsky, get on the phone!

By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com

Relievers Find Homes (or not)

By | at

More minor league deals:

Cliff Politte has signed with the Indians.  I would imagine he’ll start the year in Triple-A, but as veteran insurance for a 11th or 12th pitcher goes, teams could do a lot worse.

Kerry Lightenberg has signed with the Reds.  He’ll also probably end up in Triple-A, and he’s an example of how teams could do worse than Politte.

Dustin Hermanson tried out for several teams, but the Phillies were unimpressed.  That leaves the Reds.  If you want to do worse than Politte or Lightenberg…well, here’s your man.  Wayne Krivsky, get on the phone!

By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com

Dmitri Young may become a Nat

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Dmitri Young is close to signing a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.  The Nats already have Travis Lee around to play first while Nick Johnson recovers, but Young would certainly give them more pop while they wait.

Young struggled in limited time last year, but has always been a consistent source of power, and is only a few years removed from a sparkling .297/.372/.537 campaign back in ’03 in Detroit.  I would’ve expect Young would find an AL home before he landed with an NL team, but Jim Bowden seems to like guys like this, as he signed Matt LeCroy last offseason.

UPDATE: Tony Batista has signed a minor league deal with the Nats, too.  He must not have gotten any good offers at all, because there are few teams likely to have less playing time for Batista than the Nats, unless Batista thinks he can sell himself as a shortstop.

By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com

Dmitri Young may become a Nat

By | at

Dmitri Young is close to signing a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.  The Nats already have Travis Lee around to play first while Nick Johnson recovers, but Young would certainly give them more pop while they wait.

Young struggled in limited time last year, but has always been a consistent source of power, and is only a few years removed from a sparkling .297/.372/.537 campaign back in ’03 in Detroit.  I would’ve expect Young would find an AL home before he landed with an NL team, but Jim Bowden seems to like guys like this, as he signed Matt LeCroy last offseason.

UPDATE: Tony Batista has signed a minor league deal with the Nats, too.  He must not have gotten any good offers at all, because there are few teams likely to have less playing time for Batista than the Nats, unless Batista thinks he can sell himself as a shortstop.

By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com

Long Term Deal for Cordero?

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The Nationals and Chad Cordero are discussing a multi-year deal to avoid their upcoming arbitration hearing.  The two sides aren’t that far apart, but since they have a consistent, young pitcher on their hands, I’m sure the Nats would like to work something out.

Cordero wasn’t as good last year as he was in his eye-popping 2005, but he did manage a 3.19 ERA and a K:BB of better than 3:1.  He may not have been the best closer in the NL named Cordero, but he still remains one of the best relievers in the league.  It’s tough to see the Nats going more than three years (with an option for a fourth) for a young reliever, but such a deal would not only work nicely for Washington, but would make Chad an even more valuable trade commodity in the 07-08 offseason.

By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com

Long Term Deal for Cordero?

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The Nationals and Chad Cordero are discussing a multi-year deal to avoid their upcoming arbitration hearing.  The two sides aren’t that far apart, but since they have a consistent, young pitcher on their hands, I’m sure the Nats would like to work something out.

Cordero wasn’t as good last year as he was in his eye-popping 2005, but he did manage a 3.19 ERA and a K:BB of better than 3:1.  He may not have been the best closer in the NL named Cordero, but he still remains one of the best relievers in the league.  It’s tough to see the Nats going more than three years (with an option for a fourth) for a young reliever, but such a deal would not only work nicely for Washington, but would make Chad an even more valuable trade commodity in the 07-08 offseason.

By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com

Devil Rays Acquire Jae-Kuk Ryu

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The Devil Rays acquired 23 year-old righty Korean pitching prospect Jae-Kuk Ryu today for a couple of minor leaguers. 

Ryu was pretty solid at Triple A last year, but the Cubs had to make some room on the roster for new acquisitions.  The projection reflects the NL Central, but PECOTA had him posting a 4.71 ERA in 121 innings in 2007.  Ryu’s top comparable is pre-surgery Wade Miller, not a bad thing.

The interesting angle to this acquisition, though, is that the D-Rays have added to their stable of villains.  Ryu is best known for intentionally throwing a baseball at Ozzy the Osprey back in 2003.  The bird, team mascot of the Daytona Cubs, died several days after Ryu nailed it.  And this wasn’t a Randy Johnson/Dave Winfield type deal – Ryu tried repeatedly to intentionally peg this thing (click on Johnson’s name to watch his incident).  One source even indicates that Ryu was trying to hit the osprey all year long.  Ryu sparked quite a bit of outrage.  You can click here to read Jeff Merron’s definitive work on athletes abusing animals, including Kevin Mitchell beheading a cat.

Devil Rays Acquire Jae-Kuk Ryu

By | at

The Devil Rays acquired 23 year-old righty Korean pitching prospect Jae-Kuk Ryu today for a couple of minor leaguers. 

Ryu was pretty solid at Triple A last year, but the Cubs had to make some room on the roster for new acquisitions.  The projection reflects the NL Central, but PECOTA had him posting a 4.71 ERA in 121 innings in 2007.  Ryu’s top comparable is pre-surgery Wade Miller, not a bad thing.

The interesting angle to this acquisition, though, is that the D-Rays have added to their stable of villains.  Ryu is best known for intentionally throwing a baseball at Ozzy the Osprey back in 2003.  The bird, team mascot of the Daytona Cubs, died several days after Ryu nailed it.  And this wasn’t a Randy Johnson/Dave Winfield type deal – Ryu tried repeatedly to intentionally peg this thing (click on Johnson’s name to watch his incident).  One source even indicates that Ryu was trying to hit the osprey all year long.  Ryu sparked quite a bit of outrage.  You can click here to read Jeff Merron’s definitive work on athletes abusing animals, including Kevin Mitchell beheading a cat.

Would Mariano Rivera Move On?

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It wasn’t much of a story six days ago, stuck at the bottom of a Bergen Record article from Pete Caldera.  The New York press was much more interested in Alex Rodriguez’s book signing.  But yesterday Mariano Rivera gave eager reporters some scary quotes and the story resulted in six different newspaper articles.  The key quote from the impending free agent:

"I definitely want to finish my career here, but if they don’t give me the respect that I deserve…I’m not going to stay at my house crying. I have to move on."

That led various NY papers to create the possibility that Mo could jump over to the Red Sox in 2008.  Mass pandemonium.  But as many of the articles stated, the Yankees have leverage here and baseball is a business.  Rivera likely wants to stay, but he needs to prove himself for the first time.  The Bernie Williams situation is not exactly a parallel, since Rivera has retained his skills well.  But it’s clear that the Yankees won’t make decisions based on nostalgia.

Brian Cashman and Co. will wait to see if Rivera’s elbow holds up this season.  If they can get him for two years and $24MM after that, as Ken Davidoff suggests, he’ll finish his career as a Yankee.  If he gets injured this year or demands a three-year deal, there’s a good chance the team turns to its numerous internal options.

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