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Archives for March 2011

Cubs Notes: Cashner, Silva, Szczur

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The latest on the Cubs, who confirmed that Randy Wells will be their fourth starter…

  • An executive from another team told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Andrew Cashner will be in the Cubs' rotation, which means Carlos Silva won't be a starter for Chicago. The Cubs will eat a considerable amount of Silva's $11.5MM salary to make him go away, according to Sherman (on Twitter).
  • However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that trade interest in Silva did not pick up after his last outing (Twitter link). Rosenthal says the Cubs could release Silva if they don't want him in their bullpen.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America explains that prospect Matt Szczur will be eligible for this winter's Rule 5 if he's not on the Cubs' 40-man roster because of a technicality.

Yankees Sign Kevin Millwood

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The Yankees signed Kevin Millwood to a minor league contract, the team announced. The deal is contingent on the right-hander passing a physical. Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork reports that the contract is for a pro-rated $1.5MM with incentives and that Millwood has to be on the 25-man roster by May 1st or the deal is void.

Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon will still start the season as the Yankees' No. 5 starter behind C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and, it seems certain, Ivan Nova. Agent Scott Boras represents Millwood.

Millwood turned down a minor league offer from the Yankees in February and they made him another minor league offer last week. He was looking for a guaranteed contract in the $4MM range, but the Yankees offered a contract in the low seven-figure range.

Millwood allowed 30 homers last year and posted a 5.10 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. Despite the ERA, homers allowed and career-high fly ball rate, the 36-year-old started 31 games and logged 190 2/3 innings. He has averaged 31 starts per season since 1998, though reaching those marks will be particularly challenging this year given his late deal.

Jon Heyman of SI.com first reported the deal (on Twitter).

Pirates Notes: Doumit, Bowker, Rodriguez, McCutchen

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The Pirates optioned Daniel McCutchen to Triple-A and reassigned Sean Gallagher, Tyler Yates, Wyatt Toregas and Josh Fields to minor league camp today. Here are more updates on the Pirates from Florida…

  • Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review hears that the Pirates will not release Ryan Doumit if they can't work out a trade (Twitter link). Though Doumit will earn $5.1MM this year, the Pirates like his bat.
  • GM Neal Huntington told Pat Lackey of Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke that the Pirates haven't focused on pitching in recent drafts, even though it might appear that way. The Pirates have just been selecting the players at the top of their draft board, according to Huntington. Pittsburgh picks first overall in 2011.
  • In a separate post, Lackey points out that John Bowker's strong spring has likely assured that Rule 5 selection Josh Rodriguez will be returned to the Indians. 
  • Huntington told reporters this morning that the goal for McCutchen at the Major League level would be for him to pitch multiple innings as a reliever. The right-hander may return to the Triple-A rotation.

Brewers Acquire Sergio Mitre

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The Brewers have acquired Sergio Mitre from the Yankees for Chris Dickerson. The move provides the Brewers with the pitching depth they coveted and opens up a spot in the Yankees bullpen, possibly for Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon.

The Brewers have been considering adding pitching since they learned that Zack Greinke will miss some time to recover from a cracked rib. Their need for depth became more pronounced when Mark Rogers (shoulder) and Manny Parra (back) also encountered health issues.

It's not clear whether the Brewers will use Mitre as a long man, as the Yankees did, or insert him into the rotation over internal starting candidates such as Marco Estrada. Mitre has started games in every one of his seven major league seasons, but has only been a full-time starter once, for the 2007 Marlins. Last year, the 30-year-old right-hander posted a 3.33 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 54 innings as a swingman. Mitre, a veteran of Tommy John surgery, missed 49 days with an oblique strain in 2010.

The Yankees appear set to open the season with a rotation of C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova and Colon or Garcia. If the Yankees, who just signed Kevin Millwood, insert Colon into the rotation, they could take Garcia up on his offer to become a long reliever and use him to replace Mitre.

The Brewers acquired Dickerson last summer in the trade that sent Jim Edmonds to Cincinnati. Dickerson hit .206/.250/.268 for the Brewers and Reds last year, but he showed more pop in 2009 when he posted a .743 OPS. The 28-year-old has played all three outfield positions in the majors and will provide the Yankees with some welcome depth.

ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first reported the move (on Twitter) and both teams have since confirmed it.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Perez, Morgan, Belt, Royals

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Three years ago today, the Tigers signed Miguel Cabrera to an eight-year, $152.3MM contract extension less than four months after acquiring him from the Marlins. It was the fifth largest contract in baseball history at the time, and it bought out two arbitration years plus six years of free agency. Despite some off-the-field trouble, Cabrera has more than held up his end of the bargain, hitting .314/.388/.567 with 109 homers since signing the deal.

Here is the latest baseball talk from around the web…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Nationals Sign Oliver Perez

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The Nationals signed Oliver Perez to a minor league deal and assigned him to minor league camp, the team announced (on Twitter). This marks the second time this week that an NL East rival has picked up a discarded Mets veteran; the Phillies signed Luis Castillo Monday.

The Nationals will be responsible for the Major League minimum salary if Perez makes the team and the Mets will assume the rest of his $12MM salary. Southpaws Sean Burnett and Doug Slaten figure to pitch at the major league level, while Perez works in the minors. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter) that Perez will begin the season at Triple-A.

The Nationals signed Perez on the recommendation of Spin Williams, a pitching coordinator who knows Perez, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Perez will report to minor league camp and work with Williams, according to Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter).

As MLBTR's Agency Database shows, the Nationals already have eight Scott Boras clients: Rick Ankiel, Alex Cora, Danny Espinosa, Alberto Gonzalez, Bryce Harper, Ivan Rodriguez, Stephen Strasburg and Jayson Werth. Boras appears to have a strong working relationship with Nationals GM Mike Rizzo.

Yahoo's Tim Brown first reported the deal.

Red Sox Seek Rotation Depth

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The Red Sox have five proven starters and a handful of viable alternatives, but that’s not stopping GM Theo Epstein from looking for more possibilities for the rotation, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox are looking for starting pitching depth and would love to add a veteran who’s open to pitching at Triple-A until he’s needed.

“We’ve learned that we can never have enough starting pitching, but we like the depth provided by [Tim] Wakefield, [Alfredo] Aceves, and [Felix] Doubront," Epstein said.

Wakefield, Aceves and Doubront are the team’s primary alternatives to the starting five of Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka. It also appears that the Red Sox will start Andrew Miller at Triple-A and stretch him out as a starter in the minors.

Though some starting pitching is available, none of it appears to be a logical fit for the Red Sox. The $16MM remaining on Joe Blanton’s contract makes him an unattractive option; it seems doubtful that the Red Sox would meet the Twins' asking price for Kevin Slowey only to stash him in the minors and the Red Sox don’t appear to have much interest in Jeremy Bonderman.

I listed a number of potentially available starters earlier in the week.

Quick Hits: Santiago, Eric Young, Giants

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We're officially less than a week away from the start of the 2011 season!  Here are some news items to tide you over as we start the countdown to another great year of baseball…

  • Ramon Santiago "is available in the right deal," an anonymous scout tells Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.  The long-time Tigers middle infielder started 78 games last season, posting a .662 OPS in 367 plate appearances.  Santiago's competition for the utility job, Danny Worth, "has made a great impression on Jim Leyland," Kornacki writes.
  • Troy Renck of the Denver Post isn't hearing much "trade buzz" (Twitter link) from scouts about Jose Lopez, contrary to a Ken Rosenthal report from earlier today.  Renck reiterated his item from earlier this month about how Eric Young Jr. would draw interest if the Rockies wanted to put him on the trade market.
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy rounds up the week's minor league transactions.
  • The Giants "might be the deepest team in baseball," but Dave Cameron of Fangraphs thinks their "big flaw" is Miguel Tejada and Mike Fontenot at short.  Cameron suggests San Francisco should try to move one of their excess outfielders for "a real Major League shortstop." 

Red Sox Notes: Stanton, Okajima, Lineup

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With apologies to the Dropkick Murphys, let's ship up to Boston for some news from the (presumptive) AL East favorites…

  • Mike Stanton hit two homers and drove in seven runs against the Red Sox today in Grapefruit League play, prompting WEEI.com's Alex Speier to recall how the Sox pursued Stanton two seasons ago.  When the Red Sox were trying to deal Manny Ramirez in 2008, they attempted to arrange a multi-team trade that would have seen both Stanton and Jason Bay end up in Boston.  The Marlins, however, weren't interested in dealing their young slugger.
  • Hideki Okajima isn't used to having to fight for a bullpen job, but the Japanese left-hander is determined to stay on the roster, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.
  • Boston's regular lineup is heavy with left-handed hitters, but Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com thinks the offense will be potent enough to overcome the lefty-righty disparity.
  • Speaking of Edes, he took part in a fan chat on ESPN Boston today discussing such topics as Lars Anderson's trade value, whether the Red Sox may try to acquire a catcher, and the futures of both David Ortiz and Terry Francona in Boston.

Alderson On Perez, Castillo, Beato, Emaus, Reyes

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Mets GM Sandy Alderson held a blogger conference call today, and Metsblog.com's Michael Baron has the transcript.  Here are some of the hot stove-related notes…

  • Fan sentiment "came into play" in Luis Castillo's release, Alderson said.  The Mets "became aware about the sentiment in New York for [Castillo and Oliver Perez]….It's difficult to overcome that, so you evaluate player performance against presumption in the minds of the fans."  In Perez's case, Alderson said the southpaw just didn't pitch well enough to make the roster, so the fans' thoughts were moot.
  • Alderson says if the Mets are in contention, the club will have the money available to add a player if necessary.
  • Alderson thinks his team's farm system is underrated but he says the Mets "need to be more aggressive and successful in developing players out of the draft."
  • "There is a very good possibility we will keep both our Rule 5 picks" Alderson said, in regards to Pedro Beato and Brad Emaus.  The GM said that Emaus' Rule 5 status was a major reason the team gave him every chance to win the second base job this spring.  "If he was not a Rule 5 draftee, he wouldn’t have presented the immediacy that he does," Alderson said.  "If he’s not the starting second baseman, I’m not sure how much he helps us in a bench role. At least at the outset, you’re going to give him every opportunity."
  • If the Mets have a reduced payroll next season, they should still be able to re-sign Jose Reyes if they wish, given the number of contracts the team has coming off the books this winter.

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