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Archives for April 2010

Odds & Ends: Washburn, Bell, Padres, Angels

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A few notes from around the majors to end the work week….

  • Tom Krasovic of the Inside The Padres blog passes along word (via Twitter) from Scott Boras that Jarrod Washburn has "turned down offers from multiple clubs" and the money isn't the top issue for the veteran left-hander.  We've heard about the Mariners, Royals, Diamondbacks and Indians all having some degree of interest in Washburn.
  • Scott Miller of CBSSports.com reports that the Twins "had what they viewed as a workable deal" for Heath Bell in March, but backed off due to worries about Bell's "character issues."
  • In response to a reader's mailbag question about whether Jon Garland or Chris Young is more likely to be dealt this summer, MLB.com's Corey Brock instead said (unsurprisingly) that San Diego will get the most calls about Bell if teams want a Padre pitcher.  In regards to the Garland/Young choice, you'd have to think that Garland would be the preferred choice of teams looking for a starter.  Garland has been a proven innings-eater for a decade, whereas Young has battled injuries for the last two seasons and is currently on San Diego's DL.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks the Angels might have a tough time sustaining their domination of the AL West.  Should the club win the division again, Rosenthal says "it’s difficult to imagine them advancing in the playoffs unless they make a trade or two."  He notes the Halos might need a right-handed reliever or a slugging third baseman if Scot Shields and/or Brandon Wood, respectively, continue to struggle.
  • R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs can't figure out why the Royals released Juan Cruz.

Gammons On Snyder, Ramos, Martinez, Ortiz

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Peter Gammons made his weekly appearance on WEEI’s Big Show today, and as always, dished about some possible Red Sox moves.  Ethan Landy has the full transcript available, but here are some of the more interesting tidbits…

  • In regards to the Chris Snyder trade rumors, Gammons said the Sox would be hesitant about paying the catcher the rest of the $4.75MM he’s owed for this season and the $5.75MM owed for 2011.  Gammons said the Red Sox would prefer to spend that money on “a big piece” at the trade deadline.
  • Gammons tabs Minnesota prospect Wilson Ramos as “probably the best [catcher] in the minor leagues that might be traded,” though he thinks a deal is a longshot since the Twins would ask for Daniel Bard or Clay Buchholz in return. A few weeks ago, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes looked at what the Twins might do with Ramos.
  • Should Boston pick up another catcher, of course, that would leave Victor Martinez out of a position what with Kevin Youkilis at first and Adrian Beltre at third.  Gammons points out that the Sox would face a tough decision about what to do with “three DH’s on the roster,” counting Martinez along with David Ortiz and Mike Lowell. 
  • Gammons reiterated a past point about how catching prospect Mark Wagner may have more value to Boston than Ortiz at this stage, given Wagner’s defensive skills and Ortiz’s struggles at the plate.  Though, as Gammons notes, “they set this team up to get offense out of catcher and DH, so that is a tough change in direction without a real answer.”

Could The Braves Join Adrian Gonzalez Sweepstakes?

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We've been hearing the Adrian Gonzalez-to-Boston rumors for months now, though there have been whispers that Boston may not have the minor league package necessary to extract Gonzalez from San Diego, the Padres might just keep Gonzalez if they don't find a deal to their liking, and that other teams will be taking just as hard a look at the slugging first baseman.

FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi suggests that Atlanta may be one of those other teams.  Morosi spoke to an unnamed scout who said that the Braves "may have the greatest need" for a hitter of Gonzalez's caliber given Atlanta's team-wide struggles at the plate.  The Braves entered Friday's action with a .229 team batting average, tied with the Mets for sixth-lowest in baseball.

Going into the offseason, Atlanta's greatest need was to add a big bat to give more support to one of baseball's strongest starting rotations.  The Braves instead made several small moves to add the likes of Eric Hinske, Melky Cabrera and Troy Glaus rather than splurging on a high-priced free agent.  While it's still too early in the season to fully judge how these moves will pan out, Glaus (as Morosi points out) has particularly struggled at first base, posting a .524 OPS in 58 plate appearances.  Given that Glaus is on a one-year, $1.75MM contract, the Braves would have no hesitations about benching, trading or even releasing Glaus if the right opportunity at Gonzalez came along.

In picking up Gonzalez, Morosi notes that the Braves would be blocking the progress of slugging first base prospect Freddie Freeman.  However, since this is Bobby Cox's final season, could the team be in an all-out "win now" mode?  If the Braves find themselves fighting for a playoff spot in July, Freeman's future promise might be considered a necessary sacrifice for Cox's last postseason push.  Also, Freeman would be a logical addition to the hypothetical package to San Diego. 

Of course, adding a star first baseman is no golden ticket to the playoffs.  The Braves know this all too well — they sent Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Beau Jones to Texas at the 2007 trade deadline for Mark Teixeira.  While Teixeira hit well for Atlanta, the Braves only finished third in the NL East in 2007 and wound up trading Teixeira themselves the next July.  No doubt this recent deal will make the Braves think twice before offering up another big group of prospects for what might end up being a short-term rental of a player.

Dodgers Sign Mike Rivera

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In his latest wrap-up of minor league transactions, Baseball America's Matt Eddy reports that the Dodgers signed catcher Mike Rivera to a minor-league deal last week.  The veteran backstop spent the last four seasons in Milwaukee, hitting .260/.333/.423 in 374 plate appearances.  Rivera was non-tendered over the winter and signed by New York, but was released by the Yankees on April 3.

We heard last week that the Dodgers weren't going to acquire a veteran catcher in the wake of the injury to regular backup Brad Ausmus, but perhaps the club wanted a bit of cover in case rookie A.J. Ellis wasn't up to the task of backing up Russell Martin.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Garza, Pierzynski, Padres

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Eleven years ago today, Fernando Tatis became the first and only player in baseball history to hit two grand slams in one inning. Amazingly, both came off Chan Ho Park, who allowed 11 runs while recording eight outs. Tatis went on to hit .298/.404/.553 with 34 homeruns for the Cardinals that season, easily the best of the big league career. 

 Here are a handful of links from around the blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Royals Release Juan Cruz, DFA Luis Mendoza

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The Royals have released Juan Cruz and designated Luis Mendoza for assignment, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. The moves shake up the team's bullpen and open up roster spots for Brad Thompson and Bruce Chen.

The 31-year-old Cruz has not lived up to expectations since signing a two year, $6MM contract last offseason, posting a 5.50 ERA with a 7.3 K/9 in 55.2 innings for the team. Kansas City still owes him the rest of his $3.25MM salary for this season, plus the $500K buyout for his 2011 option.

Mendoza, 26, was acquired from the Rangers for cash considerations earlier this month. He had allowed 14 baserunners and ten runs in four innings this season. Both Thompson and Chen were signed to minor league deals this offseason and were pitching reasonably well for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate.

Odds & Ends: Zobrist, Pierzynski, Lowe, Padres

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Links for Friday…

Jason Bergmann Clears Waivers, Outrighted To Triple-A

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12:48pm: Bergmann has cleared waivers and will head to Triple-A Syracuse, according to a Ladson tweet.

FRIDAY, 10:28am: The Nationals had a few teams interested in trading for Bergmann, but couldn't find an offer they liked, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Resolution on the right-hander should come later today.

THURSDAY, 7:12pm: Ladson tweets that Bergmann has been placed on waivers, meaning he could be outrighted, become a free agent, or be claimed by another team by tomorrow.

MONDAY, 7:20pm: Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com reports that Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo acknowledged fielding calls for Bergmann. 

"We've taken a few calls. We're still in the inquiry stage," said Rizzo. "We still have a few days to do something. Nothing to announce."

The Nats have until Thursday to waive Bergmann, and until Saturday to trade or release him.   

SUNDAY, 11:37am:The Blue Jays have expressed interest in Jason Bergmann, who was designated for assignment by the Nationals on Thursday, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com. In a second tweet, Ladson adds that if they acquired Bergmann, the Jays probably wouldn't need him until mid-season.

At the time of Bergmann's DFA, MLBTR speculated that the Jays could take a look at the right-hander, given former Nats' scouting director Dana Brown's familiarity with the 28-year-old. Brown now works on Alex Anthopoulos's staff in Toronto.

The Nationals have a ten-day window, as of Thursday's roster move, to attempt to finalize a trade involving Bergmann.

Could Cubs Attempt To Trade Gorzelanny?

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Carlos Zambrano's move to the Cubs' bullpen likely ranks as baseball's most surprising roster decision so far this season. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports opines that the only way out of this "desperation" move for the North Siders is to pull off a trade for a setup man.

Rosenthal suggests that dealing Tom Gorzelanny could kill two birds with one stone for the Cubs: It would clear a spot in the rotation for Zambrano, and the team could potentially acquire a setup man in exchange for the left-hander, who is under club control through 2012.

Despite recording a 5.55 ERA in 47 innings in 2009, Gorzelanny had strong peripherals, including rates of 9.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. The 27-year-old is off to a solid start this year, with a 2.40 ERA through three outings, and could interest some teams who don't possess the same excess of left-handed arms as Chicago. The Cubs' left-heavy bullpen, which features John Grabow, Sean Marshall, and James Russell, was one reason Gorzelanny remained in the rotation over Zambrano.

As Rosenthal notes, Gorzelanny and Carlos Silva "hardly are locks to continue their early-season success," meaning Zambrano may eventually work his way back into the rotation with or without a trade. Rosenthal also names Andrew Cashner and Jay Jackson as two minor leaguers who could contribute to the Cubs' staff this year, if the team decides not to make a deal. For now, expect the Cubs to give the Zambrano experiment some time. If it doesn't work out like they're hoping, we should expect to hear trade rumblings grow louder.

Rays Sign Ben Zobrist To Extension

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The Rays officially signed Ben Zobrist to a three-year contract extension that includes two club options today. The deal buys out Zobrist's three arbitration seasons for $14.5MM, and the options would pay him $7MM in 2014 ($2.5MM buyout) and $7.5MM in 2015 ($500K buyout), his first two years of free agent eligibility. The extension also includes a signing bonus of just under $562K, bringing his 2010 salary to an even $1MM and the total value of the contract up to nearly $30MM, if both options are exercised.

The 28-year-old switch-hitter enjoyed an MVP-caliber season in 2009, hitting .297/.405/.543 while playing nearly every position on the diamond — and playing them well, according to UZR/150. He would have earned about $438K this year before hitting arbitration for the first time in 2011.

As a point of comparison, teammate Evan Longoria will earn $12.5MM in his first three arbitration seasons and has club options that total $22.5MM in his first two years of free agency. Longoria's contract is widely considered one of the most team-friendly deals in the league, but if Zobrist continues to perform like he did in 2009, he'll be a bargain as well. Very good job of locking up a core player by the Rays.

Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times first reported the agreement, while Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune later tweeted the contract details.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

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