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Archives for February 2011

Mets Sign Dale Thayer

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The Mets have signed right-hander Dale Thayer to a minor league contract, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, and the deal does not include an invitation to Major League camp in Spring Training.

Thayer, 30, pitched in one game for the Rays in 2010, and has a career ERA of 7.47 in the big leagues in 12 appearances.

Thayer was signed by the Padres as an amateur free agent in 2002 and dealt to the Rays in September 2006 as part of the swap that sent Russell Branyan from Tampa Bay to San Diego.

Rockies Out Of Michael Young Trade Talks

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The Rockies are no longer among the potential trade partners to land the Rangers' Michael Young, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.

A potential deal between the Rockies and Rangers was hampered not necessarily by money, blogs Renck, but by the Rangers' need to acquire a "bigger name player" than Eric Young Jr., whom they had targeted earlier this offseason. Further complicating matters was Vladimir Guerrero's recent agreement on a contract with the Orioles, Renck notes, leaving Texas less inclined to compromise on its financial or prospect demands in a Young swap without a suitable replacement to handle their DH duties (Twitter links). The Rangers' plan was, Renck notes, to spend the money they saved on Michael Young's offloaded contract on a DH type, but that option has dried up.

Potential suitors for Young seem to be dwindling, and one has to wonder whether a deal will get done as this situation grows increasingly tricky, as Renck tweets. It may simply come down to how hard the Rangers try to honor Young's request of a trade, tweets Buster Olney.

New York Notes: Aceves, C.C., Emaus, Martin

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Alfredo Aceves' signing seems like just the latest wrinkle in a long line of them in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, but the Mets had a stake in that deal, too. Here's more on that and some other items of note coming out of the Big Apple on Tuesday …

  • The Mets, like the Red Sox, offered Aceves a Major League contract, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the right-hander preferred to play for Boston. The Mets were disappointed to miss out on Aceves, Heyman tweets, and understandably so, as Aceves would have been another decent addition for a team that entered the offseason on a tight budget. Interestingly, Aceves is reportedly throwing in bullpen sessions, which is further along than the Yankees anticipated he'd be at this juncture, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. One has to wonder whether the new timetable would have influenced the Yanks' decision to non-tender Aceves in December.
  • Yankees ace C.C.  Sabathia has shed 30 pounds this offseason in an effort to reduce the load on his surgically repaired right knee, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Typically, we don't get too excited over this sort of Spring Training cliche, as we're bound to hear quite a bit about who's in shape and who's not over the next couple weeks, but 30 pounds is a lot of weight, and we're especially mindful of the opt-out clause in Sabathia's contract after the 2011 campaign. If he's healthy and has a big season, Sabathia could be in for another big payday next offseason.
  • Mets second baseman Brad Emaus, a Rule 5 draftee, has a good chance of making the Mets' Opening Day roster as either their starting second baseman or in a platoon/utility role with Daniel Murphy, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. To that end, Rubin notes it's now "widely expected" that Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo will both be "jettisoned" before Opening Day.
  • Yankees catcher Russell Martin is not 100 percent recovered from the right knee surgery he underwent in December, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, but the Bombers' backstop expects to be ready by Opening Day. The Yankees are known to have exceptional depth at catcher with Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, so they probably won't have to range outside the organization in the event that Martin isn't fully healthy after Spring Training.
  • Mets shortstop Jose Reyes feels sorry for the Wilpons on account of their financial plight, tweets Peter Botte of the New York Daily News, but he's not concerned about his contract status and is ready to "play baseball and see what happens." Reyes, a free agent after this season, also said that he feels as good as he's felt in the past two years and is expecting a big season, tweets Botte.

Angels, Weaver Set For Wednesday Hearing

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The Angels and right-hander Jered Weaver are scheduled to have their arbitration hearing on Wednesday, blogs Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

The Halos' and Weaver's arbitration hearing would be the second of the 2010-11 offseason after the Pirates and Ross Ohlendorf got that ball rolling on Tuesday, although the sides could still avoid the hearing by settling beforehand. Weaver is seeking $8.80MM, while the Angels are offering $7.37MM, rendering a midpoint of $8.08MM, as shown on our Arbitration Tracker.

Weaver, coming off a fine 2010 in which he posted a 3.01 ERA with a 9.3 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9, is in his second year of arbitration eligibility. A first-round draft pick in 2004, Weaver, 28, is represented by Scott Boras.

Blue Jays Interested In Trading Juan Rivera

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The Blue Jays would like to trade Juan Rivera, whom they acquired from the Angels in the Vernon Wells swap, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.

Rivera, 33 in July, is scheduled to be a free agent after the 2011 season and does not factor into the Blue Jays' long-term plans, according to Rosenthal. Rivera projects as a reserve for the Jays if they field an outfield of Travis Snider, Rajai Davis and Jose Bautista, but he could start in the outfield if Bautista is moved to third base.

The Blue Jays didn't especially want Rivera from the Halos, according to Rosenthal, but rather took him on and the $5.25MM he's owed in 2011 to rid themselves of Wells' hefty contract. It's unlikely the Jays will be able to trade Rivera before the beginning of Spring Training, writes Rosenthal, when teams begin developing needs on account of injuries and ineffectiveness.

In 10 seasons with the Yankees, Expos and Angels, Rivera has posted a line of .280/.328/.461.

Quick Hits: NL Central Grades, J. Upton, Salazar

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Here are some items of note for Feb. 8. On this day in 1999, the Red Sox's arbitration hearing with Midre Cummings was decided by Elizabeth Neumeier, marking the first time a woman had decided an arbitration case since its adoption by MLB in 1974. The preceeding 409 cases had all been decided by men.

  • With Spring Training nearly upon us and most teams merely making a few roster tweaks here and there, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com hands out his grades for the best and worst offseasons among the residents of the NL Central. The Brewers, on the strength of bolstering their rotation with Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, fared the best, writes Stark. The Cubs did well to retool a bit with the additions of Matt Garza and Carlos Pena, while the Pirates and Reds got so-so marks for their modest changes. The rebuilding Astros are pulling up the rear, and the jury is still out on the Cardinals, who have an outstanding issue to tend to with respect to a potential extension for Albert Pujols.
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers was never really interested in dealing Justin Upton this offseason, writes Tom Verducci of SI.com, but he felt it prudent to gauge other teams' interest. No offers were of particular interest to Towers, according to Verducci. Towers is interested in seeing what Upton can do under the tutelage of new hitting coach Don Baylor, under whom one-time uberprospect Carlos Gonzalez realized his full potential with the Rockies in 2010.
  • Padres infielder Oscar Salazar has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment, has accepted his minor league assignment and will be in Major League camp, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.

Pirates, Ohlendorf Go To Arbitration

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The Pirates and pitcher Ross Ohlendorf had their arbitration hearing Tuesday, tweets Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and a decision is expected on Wednesday.

Ohlendorf is seeking $2.02MM while the club is offering $1.4MM, as our Arbitration Tracker shows, leaving a midpoint of $1.71MM. The hearing marks the first of the 2010-11 offseason and the Pirates' first since Jack Wilson in 2004, blogs Rob Biertempfel of TribLIVE.com.

Ohlendorf, 28, has started 50 games over the past two seasons with the Bucs, and has a career ERA of 4.40 in his four-year career spent with Pittsburgh and the Yankees. He earned $439K last season, when he went 1-11 and posted a 4.07 ERA in 21 starts.

In addition to Ohlendorf, 12 other arbitration-eligible players have not yet settled their 2011 salaries: Carlos Marmol, Delmon Young, Hunter Pence, James Loney, Jered Weaver, Jeremy Guthrie, Jose Bautista, Josh Hamilton, Kelly Johnson, Luke Scott, Rickie Weeks and Shaun Marcum.

Of course, they could have hearings or avoid hearings by settling on one- or multiyear deals.

Nationals Sign Alex Cintron

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The Nationals have signed infielder Alex Cintron to a minor league deal, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com.

Cintron, 32, last appeared in the Major Leagues with Washington in 2009. The utility infielder spent last season in the Mets organization, playing in 20 games with Triple-A Buffalo.

The Nationals plan to give rookie Danny Espinosa a shot at the second-base job this season, but he is inexperienced and coming off hand surgery, so Cintron was presumably added for the sake of organizational depth in the event Espinosa is not ready to go by Opening Day.

Cintron broke into the big leagues with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and remained with Arizona through 2005. He's bounced around since then, spending time in a handful of organizations.

Delgado Working Out, Return Date Unknown

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There's a simple reason Carlos Delgado doesn't have any contract offers in hand. Delgado, who is working to return from a series of hip operations, hasn't given his agent the go-ahead to solicit offers from clubs. Once Delgado's ready, he'll let his agent know and work toward a deal.

"He's working out to get himself in physical shape to play," agent David Sloane told MLBTR.

Once Delgado's in shape, he'll notify Sloane, who will contact clubs. At this point, Delgado hasn't discussed his preferences with his agent, but he does want to play in 2011 (as he explained to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez this weekend). The first baseman signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox last year, but didn't make it back to the majors because of his left hip.

Delgado has 473 career home runs, thanks to a decade-long stretch of seasons with 30-plus homers from 1997-2006. He last played in the majors for the 2009 Mets.

February 16th Deadline For Pujols Extension

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The deadline for an extension between the Cardinals and Albert Pujols is earlier than anticipated. The first baseman had been scheduled to arrive in Spring Training on February 19th, but he is now expected to report on February 16th, according to ESPN. That will reduce the sides' negotiating window by three days.

The Cardinals have until Spring Training to work out a deal with Pujols’ agent, Dan Lozano, or the three-time MVP will hit free agency after the season. Earlier today, we heard that the Cardinals had yet to make Pujols a formal offer as of last weekend.

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