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Archives for March 2010

Minor League Signings: Van Benschoten, Bourgeois

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Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the latest minor league transactions.  A few highlights:

  • The Yankees signed pitcher John Van Benschoten, former eighth overall pick by the Pirates in '01.  JvB posted a 6.35 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, and tons of hits allowed in 78 innings for the White Sox Triple A club last year.
  • The Astros signed 28-year-old outfielder Jason Bourgeois, who they claimed off waivers from the Brewers in October but designated for assignment later to make room for Brett Myers.  Bourgeois hit .316/.354/.401 in Triple A last year while playing all three outfield positions.
  • The Rockies added a few familiar names in first baseman Brad Eldred and third baseman Travis Metcalf.  Eldred, 29, has made five stops at Triple A, last year with the Nationals' affiliate.  Metcalf, 27, has 242 big league plate appearances with the Rangers under his belt but has yet to master Triple A.
  • The Dodgers signed Robin Yount's son Dustin, formerly of the Tucson Toros.
  • The Rangers signed corner infielder Wes Bankston.  The 26-year-old hasn't done much in his four Triple A stints.

Latin Links: Anderson, Cuba, Venezeula

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All the noticias de beisbol fit to imprimir…

  • Jorge Ebro at Nuevo Herald spoke to Leslie Anderson’s agent Jaime Torres, who repeated the familiar refrain that Anderson is “about to sign.” Anderson is currently playing for the Tigers of Quintana Roo in the Mexican League, and he has said he is willing to continue playing in Mexico if he doesn’t find the right offer in the majors.
  • In the same article, Ebro outlines how an increasing number of defections is affecting the level of play in the historically prestigious Cuban Serie Nacional. According to his sources, more than 300 players at various levels have left the island in recent years. Kendry Morales and Yunel Escobar tell Ebro that the league has greatly diminished since when they played in it.
  • This season, only the US and the Dominican Republic will have more representation on major league rosters than Venezuela. But more South Americans will be playing stateside soon, now that the Venezuelan Baseball Federation has signed a three-year affiliation with the independent Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League. According to the press release, the agreement is intended to showcase not only players, but also coaches and trainers to major league organizations.
  • Fresh from being bumped to DH and part-time left fielder duties by Johnny Damon, Carlos Guillen spoke with Carlos Valmore Rodriguez at the Venezuelan newspaper La Lider about his career as a position-hopping “Bedouin of baseball.” He lauds the Venezuelan winter leagues for forcing prospects to become more versatile, and passes along the advice he received from journeyman Stan Javier upon starting out with the Mariners: “Work hard in any position, because you know where you start but not where you end up.”

Discussion: Yonder Alonso

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Cincinnati has a long tradition of National League baseball, but the Yonder Alonso situation must make Reds fans wish for the designated hitter rule.  Reds manager Dusty Baker and GM Walt Jocketty both spoke about Alonso's future at the team's spring camp in Arizona today, and MLB.com's Mark Sheldon sums up the situation within a larger piece about Alonso's development.

The basic problem is that Alonso, the top prospect in Cincinnati's system, is blocked at his natural first base position by the Reds' best player, Joey Votto.  As John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer points out, Alonso will be out of options after the 2011 season since he signed a major league contract for five years and worth $4.55MM after being taken seventh overall in the 2008 June Amateur Draft.

At one point it seemed as if Votto, who has some experience playing in left, would move back to the outfield when Alonso was ready for the majors.  But as Fay notes, Votto "doesn’t want to move and he’s worked hard at first base."  Fangraphs lists Votto as having an above-average 3.8 UZR/150 rating at first base, though it's taken from a sample size of just 291 games.

As Sheldon and Fay both report, Alonso has been worked out this spring as a corner outfielder and at third base, where he would presumably serve as the heir apparent to Scott Rolen if all things worked out perfectly for the Reds.  There has even been some talk of trying out Alonso at catcher.

Provided that Alonso doesn't sink to Incaviglia-esque depths in left or right field, he should be able to handle life away from first.  But if the position switch doesn't take or, even worse, affects Alonso's bat, then the Reds have a real issue on their hands.  Alonso's name popped up in the Rolen trade talks with Toronto last summer, and there would be no shortage of teams that would be interested in acquiring the young slugger if he were put on the market. 

The other alternative, albeit the more unlikely one, is that Votto would be traded.  Votto is eligible for arbitration after 2010 and is under team control through 2013; combine that with his proven major league production and the Reds could net a gold mine of players and prospects in a deal.  But, Votto's big league track record is exactly the reason why it's far more probable that Cincinnati would hold onto him and move Alonso if it came to a choice between the two.

Odds & Ends: Hernandez, Zito, Mateo

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Some news items from around the majors on this Monday night…

California Notes: Headley, Angels, Weaver

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Someone alert Dr. Dre and the Beach Boys, since here's a rundown of news from the Golden State…

  • The Padres are so high on Chase Headley that MLB.com's Corey Brock says the team once turned down a deal with Pittsburgh that would've brought Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady to San Diego.
  • MLB.com's Lyle Spencer reports that the Angels will pay their five regular infielders a total of $8.05MM in 2010 — or, almost $1MM less than Chone Figgins by himself will make in Seattle.
  • Tony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles talks to Jeff Weaver, whose minor league contract with the Dodgers allows him to opt out and become a free agent if he doesn't make the club out of spring training.  Weaver said the escape clause allows him to stay out of the minors: "I am here to make this team. If it doesn't work out…then I don't really want to do the Triple-A thing again."
  • As part of a reader mailbag, Jackson said it's unlikely that Jamie McCourt's claim of half-ownership of the Dodgers will hold up in court.  But if it does, then Jackson predicts Frank McCourt "probably will be forced to sell, whether it's to Jamie and the group she allegedly has lined up to buy the club or to someone else."  One would think that if this divorce halves McCourt's fortune as many predict it will, he may have to sell the team regardless of the result of his ex-wife's claim.
  • Scout X (who may or may not be ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski) previews the 2010 season.  One of the more interesting tidbits in the piece is that Scout X would take Matt Cain over Tim Lincecum if he had to choose between the two Giants aces because "Cain pitches with such ease." 

Indians Notes: Brantley, Branyan, Choo, Sizemore

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Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com discusses some Tribe topics in a fan mailbag…

  • Castrovince thinks Michael Brantley will be in Cleveland by midseason, as the Russell Branyan signing was made with an eye towards postponing Brantley's major league service clock.  A strong first half of the season for Branyan could get the veteran traded, thus creating regular playing time for Brantley in left field and Matt LaPorta moving to first.
  • Speaking of veterans being dealt, Castrovince says "it's hard to imagine Jake Westbrook, Kerry Wood and Branyan remaining with this club beyond the 2010 season, and Jhonny Peralta's future here is also in question."
  • We've heard about Shin-Soo Choo's looming conflict with his South Korean military service and how it may affect his playing career.  Castrovince argues that a compromise (such as Choo postponing his service until after his career is over) would work best for both the player and the government.  Castrovince notes that the South Korean government might not want to be seen as forcing one of the country's sporting heroes away from playing major league baseball.
  • In the wake of Choo switching agents from Alan Nero to Scott Boras, Castrovince reported in a separate blog post that another Nero client in Cleveland (Asdrubal Cabrera) "has no plans" to change his representation.  Castrovince also notes that Boras has his eye on Indians prospect Carlos Santana and is "pursuing him hard."
  • In another article, Castrovince discusses Grady Sizemore's future with the Tribe.  He believes that Sizemore's contract is structured well enough that "the Indians find it difficult to imagine a scenario in which they'd be compelled to deal him to another club in either of the next two years."

Peavy Has Spoken To White Sox About Acquiring Adrian Gonzalez

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MONDAY, 6:08pm: Gonzalez said he is "flattered" by Peavy's campaigning on his behalf, reports Knobler.  But Gonzalez unsurprisingly re-asserted his commitment to the Padres and said he hasn't made any trade demands himself:  "I don't have any control about it. If [the Padres] trade me, they'll let me know after it happens. I don't even want to hear that they're talking about it."

SUNDAY, 5:58pm: GM Kenny Williams first spoke to Peavy about Gonzalez in January, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Peavy gave his stamp of approval, but the "feeling around 35th and Shields" was that it would take a package including Gordon Beckham to land the first baseman, and the White Sox weren't willing to go there.

1:58pm: Mark Gonzales at Chicagobreakingsports.com spoke with Peavy about his campaigning for Gonzalez earlier today. Peavy confirmed that he's spoken with Williams about the big first baseman. "I went into recruiting mode," Peavy said.

Peavy speaks highly of Gonzalez as both a player and a person, and says that while Gonzalez loves San Diego, he wants to win and would go anywhere for a chance to do so.

SATURDAY: Jake Peavy has already spoken to White Sox GM Kenny Williams about the idea of acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Williams didn't need to hear it from Peavy, because Knobler says he plans to be first in line whenever Gonzalez is made available.

"That's really what we need, a big left-handed hitter," one Sox person said. "They're saying Kenny would give anything to get him, maybe even [Gordon]  Beckham."

Although Chicago's lineup already features the lefty bats of Juan Pierre, A.J. Pierzynski, and Mark Teahen, none of them really qualify as a power bat. Gonzalez would certain rectify that, and since incumbent first baseman Paul Konerko may not be back next season, there's a natural fit. 

If the White Sox offer a package centered around Beckham, it's difficult to see any other team interested in the Padres' first baseman topping it. 

Rangers Looking For Reserve Infield Help

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When the Rangers voided the contract of Khalil Greene last week, it appeared as if the club would look within their system for a replacement.  Indeed, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan was told by Texas officials that there was a "100 percent probability" that this would be the case (via Twitter).

A week later, however, Sullivan reports that the team is changing its tune.  Greene provided both infield depth and a right-handed corner infield bat, and now the Rangers "are re-assessing the situation and early confidence that the roles could be filled from within may be eroding."  The team hopes that prospect Max Ramirez or former Angel Matt Brown can handle the corner infield job, but several options exist outside the Rangers organization for the utility infield spot.  Sulllivan noted the Dodgers have some extra infielders in camp and listed a few other specific names as options…

  • Julio Lugo.  He may be the odd man out in St. Louis given the Cardinals' recent signing of Felipe Lopez.  Sullivan noted the irony of Lugo possibly again being acquired to replace Greene, given that St. Louis did the same thing last summer.  Sullivan also said Lugo "is somebody [the Rangers] have talked about internally."
  • Augie Ojeda.  We heard last winter that Texas had some interest in the Diamondbacks infielder.
  • Ramon Vazquez.  Sullivan said "the Pirates may be willing to talk about" dealing the former Ranger.

Offseason In Review: Minnesota Twins

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Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Twins.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

Summary

For about $20MM and Carlos Gomez, Twins GM Bill Smith revamped his middle infield, retained a mid-rotation starter, added an excellent bench bat, and signed a groundballing middle reliever.  On paper, Smith improved his team at a reasonable cost.

In Hardy, Smith traded for two seasons of the offseason's best available shortstop.  Hudson should easily earn his salary, and might be able to top last year's Twins second base offensive output (.209/.302/.267) batting blindfolded.  Pavano's '09 peripherals suggest he deserved an ERA around 4.00 as opposed to his actual 5.10 mark.  Thome should come in handy; he hit .262/.383/.498 against righties last year.

The Twins' rotation looks respectable, with Kevin Slowey and Francisco Liriano likely to provide much more than last year's 227.3 innings of 5.42 ball.  Does the lineup pack enough punch?  CHONE projections suggest the Twins will score 850 runs.  That's optimistic, since injuries are inevitable for all teams.  Still, it's all relative, and the Twins' offense projects as the best in the division.  Thanks to Smith's fine winter, the Twins are my AL Central favorite.

Mariners Sign Wes Littleton

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The Mariners signed righty Wes Littleton to a minor league deal, tweets ESPN's Shannon Drayer.  Littleton, 27, spent '09 with the Brewers' Double A and Triple A clubs after being claimed off waivers from the Red Sox.  It was a rough year, as he posted an overall 6.50 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 7.7 BB/9. 

Littleton has 102.3 innings of big league experience with the Rangers from 2006-08.  Even after a useful '07 season, Baseball America noted that "the possibility exists that major leaguers will adjust to his funky motion and start to hit him."

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