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Archives for June 2010

Berkman’s Preferred Destinations

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Despite all the rumors surrounding him and Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman told Yahoo's Jeff Passan that he doesn't expect to be traded. Berkman has at least $10.6MM remaining on his contract when you include his 2011 buyout, and he realizes that figure scares teams off, especially in this market.

"Teams value their prospects more than they ever have," Berkman said. "I’m 34. I’m not having a great year."

Berkman, who is hitting .238/.340/.392 with six homers, has a no-trade clause, so like Oswalt, he controls his future to an extent. The Angels have a clear need for a first baseman, but Berkman says the Angels "wouldn't be an automatic yes." Berkman would rather go east than west, though that's not his number one consideration.

"There is absolutely no way I would consent to going somewhere that didn’t have a good chance not just to get to the playoffs, but to win the whole thing," he said.

Berkman realizes the Astros are probably not going to pick up his $15MM option for 2011 at this point. Earlier in the month, Jon Heyman of SI.com reported that Berkman would approve a trade if the acquiring team picked up his option. 

Maybin Still Part Of Marlins’ Plans

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Mike Stanton's getting all the attention and at least Cody Ross and Chris Coghlan are getting playing time. Cameron Maybin's getting benched, but Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald that Maybin is a "big time" part of the team's future.

"I'm not sure that's going to happen right now," Beinfest said. "But definitely in the future [Maybin figures in]."

Now, Maybin is struggling. He has a .225/.290/.341 line in 201 plate appearances this year, with five homers. Maybin, who was considered a top-ten prospect by Baseball America leading up to 2007, 2008 and 2009, has the potential to do considerably more on offense. To his credit, his defense has been above-average in about 1000 major league innings.

Beinfest told Navarro that he doesn't believe Maybin deserves a demotion to the minors. Maybin is on track to be a borderline super two candidate after 2011, so the cost-conscious Marlins could prevent him from obtaining super two status by demoting him for a few weeks now.

It seems like Maybin has been in the majors for ages, but like the man he was traded for (Miguel Cabrera) he reached the majors at an extremely young age. Maybin, 23, is younger than prospects like Desmond Jennings and Pedro Alvarez, so he has plenty of time to realize his potential and it's no surprise that Beinfest expects that to happen in a Marlins uniform.

D’Backs Seem Likely To Keep Trading

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Now that the D'Backs have started trading, they don't seem likely to stop. That doesn't necessarily mean they are going to rebuild completely, but as GM Josh Byrnes told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the club could be making more deals this summer. 

"There's a good chance, yeah," Byrnes said. "We aren't where we need to be in the standings and as far as sort of the things we'd like to do to adjust the roster, there's also payroll considerations as we try to sort of get ready for next year."

The sooner Arizona trades players, the more money the team can save. The club, which has $44.5MM committed to its 2011 payroll according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, could potentially use savings to spend more aggressively for 2011.

As Dan Haren explained to Piecoro, the D'Backs have "a tremendous amount of talent" and don't need to start over, so he doesn't necessarily want to be traded. However, Jon Heyman reported last week that the D'Backs would listen on Haren and every other player not named Justin Upton or Ian Kennedy.

Click here to vote on which one of the D'Backs will be traded next. 

Minnesota’s Trade Deadline Wish List

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La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star Tribune examined the Twins' biggest needs (starting pitching, third base, bullpen) and threw out a few names that the current AL Central leaders are known to be looking at, or could potentially look at as the calendar turns to July.  Let's examine the likelihood of some of Neal's possibilities…

  • Roy Oswalt.  Thanks to Target Field, the Twins have raised their payroll to account for such big moves as Joe Mauer's extension.  Absorbing the rest of Oswalt's contract, however, could be a bit much for the club.  He is owed a little more than $9MM over the rest of this season, $16MM in 2011, and $16MM in 2012 with a club option for a $2MM buyout.  As noted over the weekend, Oswalt could demand that that option year be automatically picked up in any trade, making it an even bigger financial pill for the Twins to swallow.
  • Cliff Lee.  Neal notes that acquiring Lee will come at a hefty cost, given the two compensatory draft picks that the soon-to-be free agent could bring back in the winter.  Neal raises the possibility that Lee might be enough to entice Minnesota into swapping touted (and Mauer-blocked) prospect Wilson Ramos.
  • Rich Harden, Dan Haren, Ben Sheets.  Neal doesn't delve into detail about these three, probably because Harden and Sheets don't fit the profile of the "big workload" ace that Neal thinks the Twins need to complement Francisco Liriano.  Haren has a cleaner injury history than the other two, but he's struggled this year and is due to earn $25.5MM in 2011-12 (plus a $3.5MM buyout of his $15.5MM club option for 2013).
  • Mike Lowell.  We heard about Minnesota's interest in Lowell over the weekend, and how Twins management had obvious concerns about Lowell's health and his big salary.  Boston's catch-22 with Lowell seems to be that teams will want to know he's healthy before dealing for him, but the Red Sox can't find a way to showcase him without taking a hot player like Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz or Kevin Youkilis out of the lineup.
  • Michael Wuertz.  The Austin, Minnesota native was pursued by the Twins last summer, and we heard last week that the Twins were looking for bullpen help.  Neal points out that the Twins' bullpen is pitching well already and they have some good relievers in the minors, so Wuertz would strictly be a depth pick-up.  Also, if Oakland remains in the AL West hunt, the A's may not be willing to swap the right-hander.

Pedro Alvarez Called Up By Pirates

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9:24pm: Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Alvarez has been officially called up.  The prospect got the news after Indianapolis' game on Tuesday night.  ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Alvarez will be in the lineup against Chicago on Wednesday.

6:55pm: Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that Pedro Alvarez, the No.2 overall pick in the 2008 Amateur Draft, could make his major league debut for Pittsburgh before the end of the week.  Langosch reports that Alvarez is in the lineup tonight for Triple-A Indianapolis, and could be called up as soon as Wednesday for that evening's White Sox/Pirates game.  One might think the Bucs might announce Alvarez's first game in advance to sell a few extra tickets either against the Sox or when the Indians come to town for a weekend series.

Alvarez will play every day at third base for the Pirates, thus making current baseman Andy LaRoche into a backup or utilityman; Langosch notes that LaRoche has already been taking grounders at second base in preparation for his new role.  With Neil Walker locked into the second base job, LaRoche (who was a well-regarded prospect him not too long ago) could be made available to a team looking for an infield backup.  The Bucs would certainly have an easier time moving LaRoche than they would dealing Akinori Iwamura's big contract.

Odds & Ends: LaRoche, Lee, Nationals, Simpson

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It was on this day in 1938 that Reds lefthander Johnny Vander Meer became a baseball immortal by throwing his second consecutive no-hitter.  What better way to commemorate the Vanderversary than with some news items? 

Is Kelly Johnson The Next D’Back To Be Traded?

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Conor Jackson's trade to Oakland may be the first of several moves in what could be a big shake-up in Arizona.  The only remaining question is what other players will soon be leaving the desert.  Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com (via Twitter) hears from a source that moving second baseman Kelly Johnson may be next on the list for Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes.  Tony Abreu's activation from the disabled list today could be the first step towards Abreu taking over at second base should Johnson be on the move.

Johnson has put up an All-Star caliber slash line this season (.282/.383/.546) and seems to be heating up again after posting a .769 OPS in May.  His contract is reasonable enough for any contending team to take on — a one-year, $2.35MM contract signed last December after he was non-tendered by Atlanta.  Johnson would be a major upgrade over, for instance, Skip Schumaker in St. Louis, Luis Castillo in New York or Clint Barmes in Colorado.

Josh Anderson Signs Minor-League Deal With Atlanta

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Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Braves have signed outfielder Josh Anderson to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Triple-A.  This is Anderson's second go-around in Atlanta, having played 40 games for the Braves in 2008.

Anderson has a .272/.313/.352 line in 519 major league plate appearances with the Royals, Tigers, Braves and Astros from 2007-09.  Since being non-tendered by Kansas City over the winter, Anderson played in the Reds and Brewers' minor league systems this season.  Milwaukee released him last Friday.

Red Sox Agree To Sign First Rounder Kolbrin Vitek

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TUESDAY, 7:07pm: Vitek has passed his physical and will probably sign his contract on Wednesday, Speier reports. Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that Vitek will receive a $1.36MM bonus, as expected.

FRIDAY, 12:21pm: The Red Sox have reached an agreement with first round pick Kolbrin Vitek, pending a physical, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (via Twitter). Immediately after Monday night's draft, Vitek told reporters that he had reached a "verbal agreement" with the Red Sox and Alex Speier of WEEI.com reported at the time that the deal would be for slot money. That likely means a bonus worth about $1.36MM for the 20th overall pick, who said Monday that he didn't want to spend much time negotiating.

“I expect to sign right away and get playing and start my career right away,” Vitek said.

The Red Sox spoke to Vitek, a two-way player at Ball State, about playing third base and that's where he expects to play. The 21-year-old Ohio native stands 6'3".

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