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Archives for February 2011

Not Much Progress Apparent For Cardinals, Pujols

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Spring Training is just a week away, so the Cardinals don't have much time to lock Albert Pujols up, but if the sides are making progress it's not noticeable. Yahoo's Tim Brown reports that the Cardinals hadn't made a concrete offer as of this weekend.

By this point, the sides surely know the framework of the discussions and it's clear that Pujols is well-positioned for a nine-figure deal. According to Brown, Pujols is thought to be looking for a deal like the one Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees after the 2007 season (A-Rod got $275MM guaranteed and his record deal allows him to make more through bonuses). One prominent agent says Pujols is worth $36MM per year, because “now, it’s brand related. Pujols is a brand.”

Pujols, who is set to hit free agency after the season, has set a Spring Training deadline for negotiations with the Cardinals.

Michael Young Rumors: Tuesday

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The Rangers announced yesterday that Michael Young has had a change of heart and requested a trade. That's not quite the way Young sees it though. He told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he has been "misled and manipulated and [has grown] sick of it." Here's the latest on Young, who can veto deals to teams other than the Cardinals, Yankees, Twins, Astros, Rockies, Dodgers, Angels and Padres, but would consider other destinations:

  • The Cardinals haven't heard from the Rangers about a possible trade and don't plan to initiate discussions, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. GM John Mozeliak didn't mention Young by name, but says his roster is set at this point and that he doesn't expect "any major additions at this point." The Cardinals have discussed Young before, according to Strauss.
  • It's time to forget the idea of Young going to the Astros, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The Astros like his tools, but not his contract. GM Ed Wade declined to comment on his club's interest.
  • The Rangers are increasing their asking price for Young, since it's harder to find offense now that Vladimir Guerrero has agreed to terms with the Orioles, according to Rosenthal (Twitter link).
  • The Twins have discussed trading for Young in previous years, but there's "zero chance" a deal happens now, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
  • The Mariners will "probably stay the course," GM Jack Zduriencik tells Morosi (Twitter link).
  • Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Tigers are "set" at second base (Twitter link). Detroit is also set at third and short, so Young isn't a fit.
  • A Carlos Lee for Michael Young trade is a longshot, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Lee, a former Ranger, can veto deals to 14 teams, including Texas.
  • The Dodgers have had preliminary talks about acquiring Young, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. However, it's "a very long shot" that the sides agree to a deal, according to a baseball source.
  • There is no imminent deal with the Rockies, though Colorado has shown the most interest in Young, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.

Yankees Notes: Delgado, Washburn, Pavano

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The latest on the Yankees from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, as the Bronx Bombers trickle down to Florida for the start of another Spring Training…

  • The Yankees have zero interest in Carlos Delgado. The longtime Blue Jays slugger wants to play in 2011, but hasn’t been getting much interest so far.
  • The Yankees checked in on Jarrod Washburn earlier in the winter, but talks did not progress much. However, the Yankees would consider Washburn if he’s willing to accept a minor league deal like Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon did.
  • The Yankees had interest in Carl Pavano but didn’t want to surrender a draft pick for the former Yankee, so they discussed a scenario that would have seen the Diamondbacks sign Pavano and trade him to New York for prospects. The Yankees could have kept their draft picks and worked out a deal with Arizona GM Kevin Towers, who worked for the Yankees last year and knows their farm system well. The D’Backs would have lost their second-round pick (63rd overall) to the Twins had they signed Pavano.

Rays Designate Leslie Anderson For Assignment

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The Rays designated Leslie Anderson for assignment to create roster space for Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter). The Rays designated outfielder Justin Ruggiano for assignment in a related move earlier today.

The Rays officially signed Anderson, a Cuban defector, to a four-year, $1.725MM contract in April. At the time, Rays director of international operations Carlos Alfonso said the 28-year-old was appealing “because of his athleticism, and the fact that he can play all three outfield positions, as well as first base.”

Anderson reached Triple-A last year, hitting .302/.359/.442 with 31 extra base hits across three levels. The left-handed hitter split his time between first base and left field.

Michael Young Reactions & Analysis

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You've heard the Rangers' side: Michael Young requested a trade. You've heard Young's side: Texas "misled and manipulated" him. By now, you've heard the latest rumors, too. In case that's not enough, we have assembled some reactions and analysis on the situation…

MLB Teams Sign Six Dominican League Prospects

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The Dominican Prospect League announced that Major League organizations have signed six of its top prospects. Here are the details on the deals:

  • The Yankees signed 20-year-old center fielder Freiter Marte for $100K. Marte had been selected to play in the DPL All-Star Game.
  • Elvis Rubio, who was also chosen to play in the All-Star Game, signed with the Brewers for $95K. Rubio is a 17-year-old corner outfielder.
  • If you think Rubio is young, look at who the Rays signed. Tampa Bay signed 16-year-old left-hander Luis Cepeda for $60K. The Rays get another DPL All-Star in Cepeda.
  • The Cardinals signed Fernando Gonzalez, a 16-year old right-hander, for $66K. Gonzalez has drawn comparisons to a young Leo Nunez, according to the league.
  • The Indians signed Kevin Calderon for $80K. The 16-year old made this year's All-Star team and is considered a top defensive catcher.
  • The Pirates signed Leandro Rodriguez, a 17-year-old right-hander with a loose arm, for $80K. 

Rays Designate Justin Ruggiano For Assignment

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Justin Ruggiano told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he's being designated for assignment (Twitter link). The 28-year-old outfielder loses his roster spot since the Rays had to create space for new acquisitions Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon.

Ruggiano, who played for the Rays in 2007 and 2008, spent last year at Triple-A Durham. He hit 15 homers for the second consecutive season and posted a .287/.357/.453 line. The 25th-rounder has a .561 OPS in 96 big league plate appearances.

Molina Talking To Teams, Unsure About 2011

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Bengie Molina is talking to “a couple of” teams, but hasn’t decided whether he’ll play in 2011, according to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff. The catcher told Davidoff that he has “no idea” whether he’ll sign with one of the interested teams.

“They're not offering what we want, for sure. I don’t know right now what’s going to happen," Molina said.

Molina is looking for significant playing time and a payday of $4MM or so, according to Davidoff. Last month, Jon Heyman of SI.com reported that Molina could return for a special opportunity. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a team like the Rockies or Royals (my speculation) express interest in Molina as a backup, but it will be a challenge for him to find regular playing time at this point in the offseason.

In 118 games for the Giants and Rangers last year, Molina hit .249/.297/.326. He hit at least 15 homers each season from 2005-09, before hitting just five long balls in 2010. The 36-year-old has played for the Angels, Giants, Rangers and Blue Jays in 13 Major League seasons.

Michael Young Requests Trade

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TUESDAY, 12:10am: Young feels a breach of trust occurred with the Rangers in part because they told him they were not trying to trade him when they actually were, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.  Stark adds that Young would be willing to consider expanding his eight-team list on a "case-to-case basis."

MONDAY, 10:34pm: MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has the list of eight teams Young is willing to accept a trade to: Cardinals, Yankees, Twins, Astros, Rockies, Dodgers, Angels, and Padres. The team has said they are dealing with just those eight teams right now.

9:45pm: Grant passes along some strong words from Young…

"I've kept a low profile out of respect for the team, the coaching staff, my family and the fans because I didn't want to put anybody on an unnecessary roller-coaster. Now, I think it's important to address the inaccurate portrayal that is being painted. The suggestion that I've simply had a change of heart and asked for a trade is a manipulation of the truth."

"I want to be traded because I've been misled and manipulated and I'm sick of it."

Young wouldn't elaborate when asked how he was "misled and manipulated," instead saying it "would be unproductive for everybody, particularly my teammates and coaches. I know the truth and Jon Daniels knows the truth and I will sleep well."

9:16pm: Jeff Wilson of The Star Telegram hears that the Rangers would be willing to trade Young within the AL West as long as it helps improve the team. He reminds us that Texas traded high-end prospects to a division rival for Cliff Lee just last summer.

5:06pm: Michael Young has officially requested a trade according to Rangers GM Jon Daniels, reports Anthony Andro of The Star Telegram (Twitter links). The request came about a week ago, though Daniels said "nothing's imminent" according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter).

"It's not our first choice," said Daniels. "We'd like to go to camp with him … If we can accomodate his request and upgrade the club he would like to do that."

Those quotes come courtesy of Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News and Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter links). Team president Nolan Ryan said they're "going to do what’s in the best interest of the ballclub" according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Ryan would not speculate about whether the team would eat some of Young's salary, and he said he expects "proper compensation" for his third baseman according to Andro and Renck (Twitter links).

This is not the first time Young has requested a trade from the Rangers. He did so before the 2009 season, after the club asked him to play third base in deference to Elvis Andrus. Obviously nothing came of that, but Young still had a clearly defined role with the team back then. Now he's expected to be a part-time infielder and part-time DH with Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli on board.

Young, 34, has been mentioned in trade talk all winter, most notably with the Rockies. He was said to have "grown disillusioned about his diminished role" over the weekend, and we heard that Colorado would need Texas to eat about $20MM of the $48MM left on Young's salary to make a deal happen.

Young has a limited no-trade clause that allows him to block deals to all but eight teams, however Colorado is one of the eight. Ryan says that Young will not expand the list of teams he's willing to go to even though some of the clubs on the no-trade list have expressed interest in acquiring him according to Renck and Andro (all Twitter links). Daniels would not specify which teams have inquired about Young.

If Texas was willing to trade within the division, they might find suitors in the Angels and Athletics, though that is speculation on my part. Both clubs whiffed on Beltre and are known to be seeking upgrades at the hot corner. Colorado would use Young at second base full-time.

D’Backs Notes: Johnson, Rodriguez, Stange, Sweeney

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Earlier tonight we learned that the Diamondbacks signed Robby Hammock to a minor league contract, but Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has some more news from the desert…

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