Archives for March 2011

Yankees Close To Signing Kevin Millwood

By Mark Polishuk | March 24, 2011 at 2:00pm CDT

The Yankees are close to signing Kevin Millwood to an "incentive-laden" minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Millwood is represented by Scott Boras.

The free agent right-hander has been linked to the Yankees at several points this winter, and turned down a minor league offer from the club last month. We heard last week that the Yankees offered another minor league deal in the low seven-figure range after watching Millwood in a throwing session, but the veteran was still hoping for a Major League contract in the neighborhood of $4MM.

Though New York has been looking for pitching all winter, the timing of this signing is a bit ironic since it seemed as if the questions about the back of the Yankees' rotation had largely been answered during Spring Training. Ivan Nova has reportedly locked up the No. 4 spot behind C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett, while either Freddy Garcia or a resurgent Bartolo Colon would be the fifth starter. Of course, neither Nova, Garcia or Colon are sure things, so it helps the Yankees to have a proven innings-eater like Millwood on the roster. As Heyman notes in a follow-up tweet, Garcia or Colon will begin the season as the No. 5 starter while Millwood gets into pitching form.

The Yankess will be Millwood's sixth franchise in his 15-year Major League career. The 36-year-old has thrown at least 168 2/3 innings and made at least 29 starts in all but three of those seasons. Millwood is coming off a rough year with Baltimore in 2010, when he posted a career-high fly ball rate, a career-low ground ball rate and a 5.10 ERA in 31 starts with the O's.

Rangers Keep Neftali Feliz In The Bullpen

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 24, 2011 at 1:30pm CDT

The Rangers will open the season with a rotation of C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Tommy Hunter, Derek Holland and Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz will return to the bullpen after an extended spring stint as a starter, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (on Twitter). The decision provides manager Ron Washington with the proven closer he sought and lessens the chances that the Rangers have to look outside of the organization for relief help.

The Rangers considered moving Feliz to the rotation because of his potential to be a shutdown starter. He won last year's AL Rookie of the Year as the Rangers' closer, saving 40 games and posting a 2.73 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 69 1/3 innings. Last week, 55% of 6,681 MLBTR readers said they would return the 22-year-old to the bullpen.

The Marlins’ Third Base Options

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 24, 2011 at 12:10pm CDT

The Marlins demoted third baseman Matt Dominguez today, so the slick-fielding prospect will start the season in the minor leagues, where he can work to improve his offense. The move opens up competition at third base and suggests the Marlins could look outside the organization for temporary help at the hot corner. Here's the latest:

A team source tells MLB.com's Joe Frisaro that the Marlins are not initiating trade talk about third base options with other clubs. Frisaro hears that the Marlins don't have any interest in Michael Young, though they did explore a possible deal earlier in the winter.
Manager Edwin Rodriguez repeated that Omar Infante will remain at second base, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Donnie Murphy and Emilio Bonifacio will get the most playing time at third, though Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs also have experience there.
The Marlins aren't sure that Royals third baseman Pedro Feliz is an upgrade over their internal options, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Marlins can absorb Feliz's $800K salary, according to Rosenthal.
The Marlins have not contacted the Royals about Feliz, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
Felipe Lopez, Eric Chavez and free agent Garrett Atkins are also potential options, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported last night that the Marlins are one of the teams monitoring Young, though they can't afford his annual salary of $16MM.

MLBTR’s Agency Database

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 24, 2011 at 11:30am CDT

If you're wondering who represents your favorite player or which agency has the most players on your favorite team, check out MLBTR's new Agency Database. Accessible through the Tools tab on the navigation bar, the database allows you to sort by player, team and agency.

For example, if you wanted to determine which Orioles are with Beverly Hills Sports Council, you'd be able to find out the answer after a few clicks. The database is free, constantly updated and unlike anything else on the web. Check it out.

You can send questions or corrections to mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Red Sox Notes: Albers, Reyes, Westmoreland

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 24, 2011 at 10:27am CDT

Some Red Sox links for Thursday, as Clay Buchholz looks to continue his dominant spring against the Marlins…

Matt Albers told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he hasn't talked to any Japanese teams and doesn't know why a report yesterday had him going to Japan. “Don’t know where that came from,” Albers said.
Dennys Reyes agreed to extend the opt-out date in his contract by one day from Saturday to Sunday, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. The left-hander is battling for a spot in Boston's bullpen.
As Speier explains in a piece for Baseball America, Ryan Westmoreland, who underwent brain surgery last March, is continuing his attempt to return to the majors. The former top prospect has made impressive strides in his recovery, though his vision hasn't returned completely and he's still working on some fine motor skills. Best of luck to Westmoreland as he recovers.

Olney On Harang, McClellan, Feliz

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 24, 2011 at 8:40am CDT

As Spring Training winds down and teams make their final roster cuts, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney has the latest from around the majors…

Aaron Harang signed with the Padres because he has family ties to San Diego, but there’s another reason the right-hander’s a good fit for his new club. Olney and Scott Regan estimate that 13 of the 43 home runs Harang gave up in Cincinnati from 2008-10 would not have been home runs in San Diego. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes identified the Padres as a good match for Harang last October.
The Cardinals like what they’ve seen from Kyle McClellan in the rotation. "It's what we would've expected," GM John Mozeliak said. "He has a strong repertoire of pitches. The big challenge for him is going to be going through a lineup multiple times." For more on McClellan's new role, click here.
Olney reports that the Rangers will probably decide whether to use Neftali Feliz as a starter or as a closer by the weekend. A week ago, 55% of 6,670 MLBTR readers said Feliz belongs in the ‘pen for 2011.

Mets Notes: Emaus, Alderson, Isringhausen

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 24, 2011 at 8:16am CDT

On this date in 2002, the Mets traded for Jason Bay and Jimmy Serrano, sending Lou Collier to the Expos. Here's the latest on New York's National Leaguers, one year into Bay's second tenure with the organization…

Though it appears that the Mets are strongly considering Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus for their second base job, the position is up for grabs as the Mets evaluate Emaus and others, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle remembers that Mets GM Sandy Alderson was an outside-the-box thinker back in 1982, when he was an Oakland A's executive.
Alderson tells Steve Popper of the Bergen Record that he'd like to have veteran reliever Jason Isringhausen on the team. The right-hander heard a pop in his elbow last week and says if he can't pitch he'll play softball, like he did last summer.

So Far, So Good For Lester, Gallardo, Romero

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 23, 2011 at 11:04pm CDT

If a team signs a pitcher to an extension and he becomes an Opening Day starter, the club has an indication that the deal is going well. It’s too early on in the extensions for Jon Lester, Yovani Gallardo and Ricky Romero to call them successes or failures, because none of the extensions expire before 2013. But all three starters will pitch this Opening Day, a sign that the deals are going well for the teams so far.

The three extensions, signed within 18 months of one another between March, 2009 and August, 2010, are all for five years with a club option for a sixth year and are all valued within the narrow $30-30.1MM range.

The pitchers signed similar extensions because they were on statistically similar career paths before finalizing the deals. And fortunately for the Red Sox, Brewers and Blue Jays, the pitchers have performed just as well – maybe even better – since accepting their clubs’ multi-million dollar offers.

Lester, the first to sign, has been one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game since 2009 (WAR says Cliff Lee is the only lefty who pitched better in ’09-’10). In 411 1/3 innings (64 starts) since signing, Lester has posted a 3.33 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9.

Gallardo, the lone right-hander in the group, signed last April, a year after the Red Sox locked Lester up. Since the ink dried on his deal with Milwaukee, Gallardo (pictured) has logged 178 innings (30 starts) and posted a 3.84 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9.

Romero broke out last year, posting a 3.73 ERA in 210 innings. That prompted the Blue Jays to lock him up in August, so he has made just nine starts since signing his deal. The 26-year-old posted respectable numbers over the final month and a half of the season: a 4.26 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9.

The trio has stayed healthy and effective so far, but with three to five years remaining on the deals, there’s ample time for the extensions to backfire. All three teams were willing to take that risk when they offered tens of millions to the promising pitchers and, at least so far, the investments have paid off.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Minor Deals: Raynor, Ortegano, McCulloch

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 23, 2011 at 9:37pm CDT

The Nationals claimed Lee Hyde off of waivers from the Braves earlier today. Here are the rest of the day's minor moves…

John Raynor requested his release and the Marlins granted it, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The outfielder posted a .722 OPS in 41 Triple-A contests last year
The Braves lost a second player on waivers today, when the Yankees claimed left-hander Jose Ortegano. The Yankees optioned the 23-year-old to Triple-A, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter). In 131 minor league innings spent mostly at Triple-A last year, Ortegano posted a 5.98 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 as a starter.
The Reds acquired right-hander Kyle McCulloch from the White Sox for cash considerations, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The 2006 first rounder spent last year in the upper minors, where he posted a 5.77 ERA with 3.7 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 as a swingman.

Quick Hits: Fielder, Braves, Mauer, Astros, Albers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 23, 2011 at 8:19pm CDT

Links for Wednesday as the MLBPA announces that the jerseys for three rookies – Jason Heyward, Stephen Strasburg and Buster Posey – were among the top 20 sellers in 2010…

Prince Fielder tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that he has "eliminated" distractions about his upcoming free agency, since he realizes it's just baseball and nothing he needs to get nervous about.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he would like to add a right-handed hitting backup to complement Eric Hinske, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Back in December, I considered some options that fit that description.
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wonders what might have happened if the Twins hadn’t signed Joe Mauer to a $184MM extension last spring and MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes helps identify some teams that would have been bidding on Mauer as a free agent.
When the Astros front office constructs its Opening Day roster, options are a factor, GM Ed Wade told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. For a complete list of out of options players, click here.
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald suggests we should "check back often" on Matt Albers (Twitter link). Earlier tonight, the Red Sox shot down a report suggesting that the right-hander is Japan-bound.

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