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Archives for August 2010

Manny Ramirez Likely To Hit Waivers This Week

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There’s a good chance Manny Ramirez will be placed on waivers early this week and traded later this month, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Ramirez, who was not placed on waivers today, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, would have to approve any trade or waiver claim because he has a full no-trade clause.

About three quarters of Ramirez’s salary is deferred, so he makes just $1.1MM between now and the end of the season despite his hefty $20MM salary. Ramirez earns the remaining $3.4MM in deferred payments, which would presumably make his salary easier to absorb.

The Dodgers are now 8.0 games out of a playoff spot, so they would likely be open to trading Ramirez, who recently returned from the disabled list. The Rays, White Sox and Rangers are among the teams that could have interest in the slugger, though all National League teams would have to let Ramirez through waivers for an American League team to have a shot at him.

Tigers Designate Enrique Gonzalez For Assignment

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The Tigers designated righty Enrique Gonzalez for assignment to make room for outfielder Casper Wells, according to the team.

Gonzalez, 28, posted a 3.81 ERA, 4.5 K/9, and 5.9 BB/9 with four home runs allowed in 26 relief innings for the Tigers this year.  He was signed to a minor league deal in January and made 11 decent Triple A starts before getting the call in June.  Gonzalez has logged time with four organizations in the last four years, pitching for the Tigers, Red Sox, Padres, and Diamondbacks.

Odds & Ends: Draft, Pirates, Betemit

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Links for Monday, as the Yankees' Ivan Nova prepares for his first big league start in Toronto…

Brewers Release David Riske

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The Brewers released reliever David Riske, according to the team's Twitter feed.  Riske has about $1MM remaining in 2010 salary, plus a $250K buyout for 2011.  The Brewers will be on the hook for that minus the prorated league minimum if Riske signs elsewhere.

Riske was activated from the disabled list in June and has posted a 5.01 ERA, 6.2 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 with two home runs allowed in 23.3 innings.  He had Tommy John surgery in June of '09.  Riske has dealt with elbow issues for the duration of his Brewers career.  He was signed by GM Doug Melvin in December of '07 to a three-year, $13MM deal.  The Royals were the winners in that deal, as they chose Mike Montgomery with the supplemental pick received when they let Riske leave.

What’s Next For Wandy Rodriguez?

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The Twins, Reds, Mets, Dodgers, and Blue Jays tried to acquire lefty Wandy Rodriguez on July 31st, wrote ESPN's Jayson Stark, but the Astros "never seriously entertained trading him."  Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle wrote yesterday that Rodriguez, the longest-tenured Astro, had his representatives sit down with GM Ed Wade over the weekend to discuss his future.  Wandy hopes to remain with the Astros, but Wade will wait on specific discussions until the offseason.

The Astros have Rodriguez for 2011, as he'll be arbitration-eligible one last time.  The team's victory over the pitcher in a February arbitration hearing will continue to benefit them, as his raise will be added to a $5MM salary rather than a $7MM base. 

If Rodriguez seeks an extension that buys out free agent years, Joe Blanton's deal might be an apt comparison.  Blanton, entering his final arbitration year, signed a three-year, $24MM deal with the Phillies in January of 2010.  Aside from strikeouts, their numbers stack up quite well.  Check out Wandy's projected career numbers through 2010 (with ZiPS projecting the rest of the season) and Blanton's through 2009:

  • Innings pitched: 1026.6 for Blanton, 983.6 for Rodriguez
  • ERA: 4.21 for Blanton, 4.25 for Rodriguez
  • Wins: 63 for Blanton, 63 for Rodriguez
  • Strikeouts: 643 for Blanton, 826 for Rodriguez 

One other point in Rodriguez's favor is that his ERA in his last three seasons should be around 3.50 while Blanton's was 4.22.  Wandy has really turned it around recently after a rough start to the 2010 season.  He had a 6.09 ERA as recently as June 19th, but has allowed five earned runs over his last six starts to drop his season ERA to 4.00.

Rodriguez turns 32 in January, so he qualifies as a late bloomer.  His agent Barry Praver might suggest that as a southpaw who does not depend on velocity, Wandy figures to age well.

Arbitration Eligibles: Baltimore Orioles

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A look at the Orioles players who will arbitration-eligible after the season…

Albers could be a non-tender candidate, in that his 2010 numbers are nothing special.  On the other hand he's earning only $680K this year.

Last November Jones was on the losing side of a three-way tiebreaker to determine whether he'd receive Super Two status.  He'll get his first big payday this winter, perhaps $3MM or so.

Guthrie, 31, and Scott, 32, are a couple of late bloomers.  I expected the Orioles to shop them this summer, but there hasn't been much in the way of rumors.

Non-Tender Candidate: Clint Barmes

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Rockies second baseman Clint Barmes will be eligible for arbitration one last time this winter.  He's already earning $3.325MM this year; will the team tender a contract and potentially give him a raise for 2011?

Barmes, 31, lost most of his power this year en route to a .241/.307/.360 line through 400 plate appearances.  By measure of UZR Barmes has played average defense at second base the last few years and as a bonus he has significant experience at shortstop.

The Rockies flirted with the idea of acquiring Dan Uggla as far back as the offseason, reportedly discussing offering Barmes and a prospect with the Marlins.  Nonetheless, the Rockies made a multiyear offer to Barmes that would've guaranteed his 2010-11 salaries and included a club option for 2012.  Instead, the Rockies now have the flexibility to cut him.  Sometimes the looming possibility of a non-tender can kill offseason trade value, as in the case of Matt Capps last winter.  If the Rockies don't intend to retain Barmes, it may make sense to move him now.  Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post wrote on Thursday that a handful of teams are waiting for the Rockies to put Barmes on waivers. 

If Uggla can't be had in the offseason, the Rockies could consider free agents such as Orlando Hudson or Juan Uribe to play second base.  Internal options may include Jonathan Herrera, Eric Young Jr., and Chris Nelson.

Less than a year ago Barmes was coming off a 23 home run season and the Rockies wanted to lock him up.  Assuming Barmes does not change teams this month, they must decide whether to even tender a contract for 2011.  Click here to predict the Rockies' decision, and here to see the results.

Giants Designate Matt Downs For Assignment

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The Giants designated infielder Matt Downs for assignment to make room for Cody Ross, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.

Downs, 26, struggled in the bigs over 148 career plate appearances in 2009-10.  He played second base in the Majors, but has minor league experience at shortstop, third base, and the outfielder corners too.  This year marked his third Triple A stint; his power slipped as he posted a .254/.348/.416 line in a half-season.  Downs was still considered a prospect heading into the 2009 season, when Baseball America ranked him 24th on their Giants list and published praise from GM Brian Sabean.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Ross, Lee, White Sox, Dodgers

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Sunday night linkage..

  • The Nats still expect to see Yunesky Maya pitch for them before the end of the year, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
  • The Pirates opened up their books to the media and Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the goods.
  • Florida held on to Cody Ross until August because they had hoped to reassert themselves in the playoff chase, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
  • It doesn't sound as though Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (via Twitter) likes the Mets chances of landing Cliff Lee this offseason.
  • Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that Ken Williams isn't on the road with the White Sox but he doesn't know if the GM is going after someone on the waiver wire.
  • Dodgers skipper Joe Torre thinks that late season callups can create an unfair advantage, writes MLB.com's Evan Drellich.

Poll: Austin Kearns’ Future

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Over at River Ave. Blues, contributor Steve H wonders if the Yankees will retain Austin Kearns in 2011.  Has Kearns, he asked, done enough to warrant a large raise or a chance to hook on somewhere as a starter?  If the answer to one of those questions is "yes" (particularly the first question), then the odds of him playing elsewhere next season increase.

The slugger has certainly impressed so far in New York, hitting .351/.415/.514 with 1 home run in 13 games.  When combined with his time in Cleveland, his slash line reads .281/.360/.429 with nine homers in 97 games.  Those numbers aren't too shabby for a guy making $750K this season.  In fact, using his Wins Above Replacement metric, Fangraphs estimates that he would make $6.2MM in free agency with his play this year.  No one would make the case for Kearns to command that kind of money on the open market this year, but the point remains that he has produced more than your average sub-$1MM player.

So, the question is..

Will Austin Kearns re-sign with the Yankees or go elsewhere?

Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.

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