Links for Friday, exactly one year after the Cubs signed John Grabow and traded Aaron Heilman to Arizona…
- Vladimir Guerrero is talking to the Rangers and three other AL teams, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Heyman reports that Bengie Molina wants to play another year (Twitter link).
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. suggested that Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth are comparable hitters, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. That's probably not the first comparison agent Scott Boras would make about Werth.
- An AL executive explained to Sherman that he believes the Royals will trade Zack Greinke sooner rather than later for two reasons: the demand for ace-level starters is high and the Royals don’t want to see a personal or physical issue reduce Greinke’s value.
- Boras tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Magglio Ordonez has finished rehabilitating his fractured right ankle and "returned to full workout routines"
- Rays president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman tells Cork Gaines of Rays Index that he's likely to hold onto his starting pitching because it's so hard to come by.
The more I think about it, the more I really want the Rangers to just serve up the prospects for Grienke. Then either A, they’ll have an ace in the hole in case Lee leaves, or B, they get to have a rotation w/ Lee/Grienke/CJ Wilson/Colby Lewis next year. Both situations are nice to think about
Martin Perez, Wilmer Font, Engel Beltre, Max Ramirez and Pedro Strop for Grienke. Get it done, JD
Don’t seee it… I think the Royals are looking to get one or two top piching prospects and one or two top hitting prospects back for Greienke… Rangers just dont fit IMO…
You are absolutley right
It should be Derek Holland/Martin Perez/Jurrickson Profar/Engel Beltre…That will get it done.
I may be alone among Rangers fans in this regard, but I’m really uneasy about giving up Holland r/n. I really think the reason he hasn’t taken off yet has been b/c he was rushed last year by the team…big time. He looked like he had a much better feel for pitching this year when he was healthy, and I have a suspicion that he could have a breakout year next year if they made him the 5th starter. But that’s just my take…I seem to be in the minority on that one
Profar I can deal w/ giving up…how about subbing Robbie Ross for Holland though? Or Tanner Scheppers?
I look at it this way… The Rangers gave up their best prospect last year in Smoak… I dont care for the Rangers Farm System but that’s just me…
Then you must not know the system that well.
I look at it this way… The Rangers gave up their best prospect last year in Smoak… I dont care for the Rangers Farm System but that’s just me…
Cubs make a good fit in my opinion…
Brett Jackson/Chris Archer/Andrew Cashner/Hak-Ju Lee.
I still want a third team involved… or for Grienke to give up his NTC so we can ship him to Boston…
It would be very interesting if the Red Sox pulled off a deal for Upton centered around Buchholz and saved their prospects to make a deal for Greinke to replace Buchholz. The Red Sox won’t do it, but it would make an exciting offseason to say the least.
It would be very interesting if the Red Sox pulled off a deal for Upton centered around Buchholz and saved their prospects to make a deal for Greinke to replace Buchholz. The Red Sox won’t do it, but it would make an exciting offseason to say the least.
Or NY. The Yanks could give us some awesome prospects. Montero/Betances/Joba/Adams
Go Royals!
Or NY. The Yanks could give us some awesome prospects. Montero/Betances/Joba/Adams
Go Royals!
That’s a lot to give up for something that isn’t a pressing need, especially for a team that is in competitive and financial purgatory.
Ibanez and Werth are comparable? In what sense? They both have a pulse and swing a piece of wood?
An attempt at justifying not signing him I’m guessing.
Obviously. It’s just a ridiculous statement. Who does Amaro think he’s fooling?
Phillies fans
Probably the same people Boras is trying to fool by saying that Werth should get Holliday money.
Don’t forget that they are both male.
what other piece of wood do you think he was talking about?
I know, right? Jayson Werth’s tools are much more comparable to Mickey Mantle
I have prayed for 5 hours that this comment was sarcastic.
Just another reason why Amaro is a joke of a GM. I don’t care if you didn’t sign the guy and are trying to rationalize why. How about “there’s no way we could afford him without handcuffing the franchise for the next 4-5 years” instead of BS statements like that.
Did you ever think its not about signing Werth but unloading Raul?? When I read the article not just the headline this is clear that Amaro is just trying to get Raul trade value up. To call him a joke for one statement and him trying to do his job speaks volumes about you. This is the same GM who traded for Lee and Halladay, granted trading Lee was not that smart. At least he admitted his mistake and made up for it by trading for Oswalt. I guess GMs that are jokes trade for 3 legit aces, granted he has given some questionable contracts but GMs that are jokes are people Omar Minaya
It isn’t hard to trade for aces when you are trading prospects another GM gave you.
If it makes you feel any better, I think he is a joke for the multiple bad contracts he has given out, not this statement.
The comments about Werth and Ibanez are pretty ridiculous, but Amaro is no joke of a GM. Maybe he is a little bitter that Werth, arguably the Phills best position player, is leaving. Think Amaro’s a joke? Ill trade you for Ned Colletti any day!
haha loveit!
The comments about Werth and Ibanez are pretty ridiculous, but Amaro is no joke of a GM. Maybe he is a little bitter that Werth, arguably the Phills best position player, is leaving. Think Amaro’s a joke? Ill trade you for Ned Colletti any day!
well, I agree with you…
but, if you compare the 2009 hitting stats (HR, RBI, AVG, OPS), and not SBs they are very similar…
although Ibanez got a lot worse this year… and he’s not getting any better…
and plus Werth is better at every other aspect of baseball, and always has been.
They are in no way comparable. At all. In the least bit.
Werth: .921 OPS, Plus defender, good speed
Ibanez: .793 OPS, Godawful defender, speed best described as “not”
Seriously? Why are you commenting on my post?I said their 2009 (NOT THIS YEAR)… HITTING (not defensive, running, or anything else) numbers were comparable.Both I and Amaro were only comparing hitting for one thing… Not everything elseAnd I even said, only their 2009 numbers were comparable, not their current abilities/stats”although Ibanez got a lot worse this year… and he’s not getting any better… and plus Werth is better at every other aspect of baseball, and always has been. ”
I could not have been more clear.
They are in no way comparable. At all. In the least bit.
Werth: .921 OPS, Plus defender, good speed
Ibanez: .793 OPS, Godawful defender, speed best described as “not”
I just hope that when GMDM deals Zack that he will rape the farm.
Why am I thinking of Deliverance?
Because Progressives always think like that. You cant help it, its the way you are wired.
AA – all i want for christmas is a zach grienke
Pirates fans ask that every single day before they go to bed.
Then I guess I’m not a Pirate fan.
Comparable in the sense that their numbers are very similar? Check out their 162 game average lines. Only a few points plus or minus off in almost every stat. Ibanez appears to be in decline though, so there’s that.
Factoring in data that includes Ibanez’s best years from half a decade ago and Werth’s time where he was bombarded with injuries early in his career doesn’t work.
Werth posted an OBP 40 points higher this year and slugged 90 points higher. He’s light years beyond Ibanez at this point.
So is Pedro Martinez comparable to Roy Halladay at this point?
I’m pretty sure the demand for ace-level starters is always high
I wish Jeter would sign his new contract, if only to stop the tortured metaphors the writers are churning out.
You’re not really one to talk, Mr. Carry a Big Stick.
Read ‘The Naval War of 1812’ and tell me where the metaphors are.
Bill Madden is just the other jokes in the media. They all want Yankees to give him 5years/100m, then in 3 years they’ll be killing the Yankees for not knowing when to say good-bye to players.
I say Greinke is gone by the trading deadline for sure, if not the start of the season.
Glad to hear Magg’s is doing good…hope the Tiggy’s can get him to agree to a reasonable contract. There is still some pop left in that bat.
Amaro’s quote compares their RBI totals and extra base hits, which actually aren’t as far off as you would think. I think it’s obvious that he is either a) trying to build up Ibanez to increase trade value. b) deminish Werth’s value.
I find it ridiculous to criticize him for a conversation he had, when you don’t know the thought process, or the inner workings of his agenda. Kind of extreme to write Amaro off as “a joke of a GM”. Sounds to me like someone just read the headline, and didn’t actually view the article which details his quotes
The fact that Amaro is using RBI to compare them is laughable in itself. This isn’t 1965.
I also like that he made a blanket statement as ridiculous as “Obviously Werth had a better OBP and stuff…” but then followed that up by saying “their offensive production wasn’t that different” because Ibanez hit 37 doubles and 5 triples.
Werth slugged almost ONE HUNDRED POINTS higher and got on base a full 4% more than Ibanez. Those numbers are enormous.
Right…what kind of GM talks about RBI totals lol. I just hope he doesn’t actually believe this crap.
I always find it a bit far fetched to think a major league GM can verbally increase a players worth with other organizations. All 29 other teams have major league scouts. They know what the players can and can’t do. Some GMs jut don’t ever learn when to talk to the media and when to just keep quiet.
Did someone up there just compare Werth to Mickey Mantle? So that’s why lawmakers are banning Four Loko!
Forgive me if this is a stupid question: but does the fact that Ordonez is actually healthy and partaking in full workouts affect what he gets on the open market?
It might help him get 2 years instead of 1.
I would guess somewhere in the range of 2 years at 8-10M/yr
Ruben Amaro is the Dan Synder of baseball. Can Gillick please take his job back from bat boy already! Amaro loves handing out multi-year deals to aging players.
Yeah I mean the Phils are a joke right? I mean we all know the Redskins have as much success as the Phillies.
Philadelphia is still riding the success of previous GMs. Amaro is quickly destroying it. He hasn’t been in control that long, but can you point to a positive signing he’s made? When Placido Polanco is the closest thing, you’re in trouble.
What has he done to destroy the team? And please, don’t give me the crap about the Ryan Howard contract, which was largely on the behalf of ownership as well. It’s hard to say that a team that drafts well while putting a championship caliber team on the field at the major league level is being “quickly destroyed.”
Yeah the Phillies are the dregs on the NL now, dontchaknow.
Roy Halladay trade+extend wasn’t positive? Picking up Valdez for nothing who was indispensable when Rollins went down? Contreras? Even Ibanez has earned his paycheck these last two years. The only miss is Baez, and if a middle reliever is your biggest mistake you arent doing too bad.
That the Halladay trade resulted in moving Cliff Lee for nothing is a negative. Two year deals for Brian Schneider, Greg Dobbs, Danys Baez? Joe Blanton’s $24M extension? Going three years on a 34-year-old second baseman and asking him to switch to third? It’s worked out for one year, but so did the Ibanez contract, which was also dreadful. Contreras’ contract is another unnecessary risk, and yes, the Howard contract is probably now the worst contract in baseball.
The Phillies are fine in 2010, but they’re also old and full of probably immovable contracts. Look around the diamond. Aside from right field, who’s younger than 30? Victorino for another two weeks?
Just because the franchise hasn’t collapsed yet doesn’t mean the warning signs aren’t there. Amaro loves to give out multiple years, and he loves his aging veterans. That’s a bad combo for any team.
He’s traded for Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, signed Polanco… Ibanez’s second half helped put the Phillies in first, Contreras was dominant for us… etc.
The Yankees should simply replace Derek Jeter with a statue of Derek Jeter. They’d get the same personality, and defensive performance.
The statue wouldn’t have Derek’s INTANGIBLES. Come on. You should know better.
By intangibles do you mean herpes? Because yes you would be correct, it would be impossible for Derek Jeter to give his herpes to a statue.
and you can put an actual gold glove on the statue. brilliant. i love it
When I first read that article from David Murphy, I thought Ruben Amaro was an idiot, and I still do. However, his comments aren’t as ridiculous as people are making them. If you read the article, he does elaborate and say that he knows that Werth’s numbers (OBP, etc.) are better, but if you look at some of their numbers with runners in scoring position, Ibanez was at least as productive, if not more productive, than Werth.
Ibanez: .301 AVG / .405 OBP / .507 SLG / 9.12 OPS; 45 H (14 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR) 30 BB, 30 SO, and 64 RBI
Werth: .186 AVG / .353 OBP / .314 SLG / .667 OPS; 26 H (6 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR) 38 BB, 42 SO, and 51 RBI
It’s easy to concede to the fact that, overall, Jayson Werth is the superior hitter, but with runners in scoring position, Raul Ibanez was far more productive than Werth. Amaro’s comments could be seen in a couple of different ways (easing Werth’s departure, trying to build Ibanez’s value, expressing confidence in Ibanez), but I don’t think they’re that far off.
If people would read the actual article instead of just taking the sound bite that the headline gives, they’d know what they were talking about, or what the article even said. Both players had major holes in their offensive games in 2010.
I’d imagine Mark Cuban and Co. are the favorite to buy the Astros.
The Rangers, the cubs and everybody else. I don’t think the man is cut out to run an MLB team.
Same here, but you figure he’s gonna get one eventually. Lmao
Same here, but you figure he’s gonna get one eventually. Lmao
Mark Cuban wasn’t successful at purchasing the Texas Rangers because he didn’t have enough liquidity in his finances. Mark Cuban was NEVER the favorite to buy the Rangers anyways, just the dark horse. And when he tried to buy the Cubs, he was rejected by the “Good Ol’ Boys” clause. Next time around, however, might be a bit different.
I’d imagine Mark Cuban and Co. are the favorite to buy the Astros.
Greinke for Upton!
The Royals are filled with guys at the corner positions though. How great is Upton down the middle?
Sounds like Friedman is driving up the price for his extra starters by saying they’re not available. Smart move.
I hope you’re right. The talk of sending Hellickson back to triple-A nauseates me. That could end up costing the kid around ten million dollars by pushing back his arbitration and free agency clock and depriving him of a MLB salary for a year. If I’m Hellickson, I would do anything to get myself traded if they are going to treat him like that.
The Pirates need starting pitching and, assuming Rafael Soriano signs elsewhere, the Rays need a closer. I could see the Pirates offering Joel Hanrahan to the Rays for a starting pitcher. Also, the Bucs could use a competent SS and I think the Rays would rather part with Jason Bartlett than pay him $4M+ next season. If the Pirates add one or two more players to the mix, there could be a deal.
Just trade Ibanez, eat the remaining salary, sign Werth, insert Brown into RF & move Werth over to LF. Its that simple.