Links for Wednesday…
- The Rays signed 16-year-old lefty Stepan Havlicek out of the Czech Republic, according to a press release. He is "believed to be the first ever signed by the Rays out of Europe."
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports takes a look at the significance of Tim Lincecum's arbitration case. SI's Jon Heyman believes a two-year, $24MM deal would work for both sides.
- Heyman also notes that the Rays, Marlins, and Nationals have a policy not to compromise after figures are filed.
- In another article, Morosi says Adam Kennedy is down to three teams, two of which would use him as an everyday second baseman.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram informs us about Colby Lewis, the newest member of the Rangers' rotation.
- WEEI's Alex Speier tells you everything you ever wanted to know (and then some) about the Red Sox and their efforts to minimize their competitive balance tax.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker says 34-year-old screwballing lefty Hisanori Takahashi may have a big league offer. The Orioles are one interested party, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners appear to have about $10MM left to spend.
Wow, 10mm still left to spend. That’s a lot for a team that’s already made MAJOR improvements! I wonder what they’ll do with it…
Johnny Damon?
Fans in Seattle dislike Damon and REALLY hope he doesn’t go there.
Edit
you bet.
Russell Braynan.. I have no idea who will be there DH but they need a power bat badly.
I think it would be neat if they signed Ben Sheets…would bolster their rotation past the 1 and 2 spots, RRS could be more safely put in the #4 spot, and then they’ve got a lot of #5 slot possibilities. Yes, they don’t have a power bat…but I have faith they can win anyway. š Besides, Branyan is okay but he’s an injury risk, plus, and I don’t know his numbers well, isn’t he only a 20-25 home run guy anyway? Sure, more power than the rest of their lineup combined, but I think it would be exciting if they can pull it off without power. I think that they might not have power, but they do have decent hitters, even if their strengths are in different areas of hitting.
EDIT: Also, with their pitcher-friendly ballpark, maybe they’ve just decided that trying to find a power-hitter, who will see his numbers drop anyway, isn’t the best option. Looks like they’re trying to find a lineup that works well in their ballpark; fantastic defense, plus gap hitters.
yeah that is! thats really surprising to see.
I hope Jack Z can continue to excite us…If they sign Cliff Lee to an extension…They can give him 10MM in 2010 13MM in 2011 15MM in 2012 20MM in 2013 21MM in 2014 24MM in 2015 and so on…Just as an example though…whatever deal they sign him to (if they do) they can backload it until they are at the backloading limit if there is such a thing. Adam Kennedy to the Twins possibly? Shift Punto to third…The Indians possibly?
The Twins dont have any better options at third?
Backloading a pitcher’s contract to the point where you’re paying $24MM for his age 37 season is never a good idea. Ever.
Kennedy at second for the Twins… ugh. Please go to Washington, Chicago, or Detroit…
yeah but I think Cliff Lee is a priority…The Nats would be a good fit for Kennedy…Good point.
They gave up NOTHING for him, if he leaves they get two picks. Not bad at all..
Just don’t get hooked on the idea of him signing an extension with the Mariners. If he wasn’t willing to do it with the Phillies, the chances of him doing it with the Mariners aren’t any better.
No, he wasn’t willing to take a home town discount from the Phillies. He was certainly willing to sign an extension.
He told the Phillies it was his intent to test free agency, I thought?
Better than anything else you have read, right?
i would really like to see the giants lock up lincecum for more than 4 years which won’t happen.
It could happen, but he’ll likely go the free agency route
if he does it wont be for a few years. hes under our control for the next 4 years or so.
Teams possibly in on Kennedy:
Tampa Bay? (if they move Zobrist to RF)
Indians?
Tigers?
Twins
Nationals
Cubs?
Dodgers?
Just guessing…
Rays don’t need Kennedy.
We have Zobrist & Sean Rodriguez at 2B / Matt Joyce & Zobrist in RF
Giants just need to look at Felix Hernandez contract and bump it up a little… 5yr 85/90
Tim Lin a FA in two years? Holy god..
Hello Yankees!
The day that happens is when I stop watching MLB.
wont happen. lincecum will be a giant his whole career.
Serious question-Has he ever said that?
If not, then i doubt that. As long as Sabean is the Giants GM, he’ll probably never be in a situation to play in the playoffs, unless the Rockies and Dodgers fall apart.
true.
yes he has. he said that he loves playing for the giants, he doesn’t want to play in another uniform and he wants to spend his career as a giant.
Which is why hes going year to year?
we have him under control for the next 3-4 years i think. him going year to year is so that he knows he’s getting paid what he’s supposed to get paid.
Ok, thanks for the info =)
Even if he signed a 2 year deal, Giants would still own his rights for arbitration for another 2 still so he wont be a free agent unless (and it would never happen) he was released. He is a super 2 so Giants get 4 years of arbitration with him total.
Either way, I still don’t think 2 years at 24 mil would be enough. He is asking for 13 mil this year and what if he actually happened to win another cy young, his third in three seasons? He would be able to ask for 16 mil next year and probably win.
dodgers get in on kennedy
No thanks
Mariners have $10 mil. and will use it on Ben Sheets 1 Yr $8.25 mil with incentives and a mutual op. for 2011.
I doubt it…More like Washburn and another bat.
What’s the deal with this Hisanori Takahashi guy? I guess he’s not all that great if he “may have” one offer, but I’ll take him over Gagne any day in the Phils pen. Lol
I just looked his stats up and he had a 2.94 ERA, his career second best era. He also had a nice 126k’s from 25 games. I could see him being a started with a 3.75ERA his first season and that progressively drop to about 3.30.
A bit of a scouting report on the guy:
His fastball sits around 94 mph with some movement (he occasionally throws two-seam), and like to use the screwball as a strikeout pitch. He’s also got a 12/6 curve, slider, shuuto (kind of like a slider that breaks away from righties and in on lefties), and mixes in a forkball on rare occasions.
He very prone to giving up big flies, reaching double-digits in homers allowed every year he has played as a pro.
I can see him as a lefty specialist coming out of the bullpen, or as a stop-gap option to start. At 34, he’s not going to show sudden improvement.
Kennedy an everyday 2nd baseman? Ugh… Makes me even more glad the Bucs traded for Iwamura.
The Giant’s have got to start thinking about Cain and Sandoval’s contracts soon, as well as Lincecums. I guess they’ll handle it as it comes… I just hope they budget well for it.