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Archives for September 2011

Twins Claim Esmerling Vasquez

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The Twins announced that they have claimed right-hander Esmerling Vasquez off of waivers from the Diamondbacks. Minnesota transferred Alexi Casilla to the 60-day disabled list in a corresponding move that creates 40-man roster space for the club's new acquisition.

The D'Backs designated Vasquez for assignment on Friday, when they obtained Mike Zagurski from the Phillies for a player to be named. Vasquez, 27, appeared in 31 games for Arizona this year, posting a 4.15 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 35.5% ground ball rate in 30 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old Dominican appeared in 50-plus games for the D'Backs in 2009 and 2010, when he posted higher strikeout rates, walk rates and ERAs than he did in 2011.

Mets Notes: Harris, Hairston, Alderson, Davis

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The 76-84 Mets have assured themselves of a protected first round pick in next year's draft. They can sign another team's Type A free agent over the winter without losing a first rounder in 2012. The latest on the Mets before they host the Reds in the second-last game of the season…

  • Willie Harris told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that the Mets are his "first choice" when he hits free agency this offseason. The Mets could have interest in Harris and Scott Hairston after the season, but they intend to consider all free agent bench players before deciding whether to pursue their own players, according to Martino. It would be a while until Harris and Hairston are aware of the Mets' level of interest.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson reflected on his first year on the job with Newsday's Ken Davidoff in a Q&A that's well worth your time. Alderson says the Wilpons' financial situation hasn't been the obstacle that most people perceive it to be and confirmed that the Mets' 2012 payroll will sit in the $110-120MM range.
  • Alderson says he's not disappointed with the Mets' medical practices and doctors, despite the injuries his team has sustained.
  • The Mets would like to have more certainty with Ike Davis' health, but they're "increasingly confident" in his ability to play in 2012.

Cubs Rumors: Epstein, Zambrano, Sandberg

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ESPN's Wayne Drehs has the story of Pat Looney, the man who almost became a scapegoat for Cubs fans in 2003 instead of Steve Bartman.  ESPN's Bartman film airs tonight at 7pm central time.  The latest on the Cubs:

Athletics Acquire Kila Ka’aihue

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The Athletics acquired first baseman Kila Ka'aihue from the Royals for minor league pitcher Ethan Hollingsworth, according to press releases from the teams.  The A's recalled and transferred Joey Devine to the 60-day DL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Ka'aihue.

Ka'aihue was designated for assignment by the Royals last Wednesday.  The 27-year-old had a crack at the Royals' first base job coming into the season but was benched before the end of April.  In four separate Triple-A stints, Ka'aihue has proven his ability to draw a walk in 15-20% of his plate appearances.  His power has seemed to come and go, however.  The A's had penciled in another walk-happy first baseman before the season in Daric Barton, but he was optioned to Triple-A in June and went down with a torn labrum the following month.

Hollingsworth, 24, posted a 3.76 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 105 1/3 innings this year between Double and Triple-A.  The A's had acquired him in January from Colorado for Clayton Mortensen.

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star first reported the trade on Twitter.

White Sox Rumors: Cora, La Russa, Buehrle, Quentin

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It's time for the White Sox to prepare for life without Ozzie Guillen.  The drama continued today, with Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reporting that the Sox dismissed Joey Cora via text this morning, in lieu of Cora managing the team's final two games.  Cora is expected to join Ozzie in Miami, with pitching coach Don Cooper managing the club today and tomorrow.

  • Tony La Russa isn't interested in managing the White Sox with Kenny Williams as GM, a source tells Cowley.  Cowley says the rumored candidates to replace Guillen are Buddy Bell, Joe McEwing, and Sandy Alomar Jr.  MLB.com's Scott Merkin expects Rays bench coach Dave Martinez to be in the mix as well.  Back in May, Bell told Mark Primiano of South Side Sox he did not want to manage again.  At any rate, Williams says he's already cut the list down to "a few select candidates."
  • Mark Buehrle is making what could be his final start in a White Sox uniform tonight against the Blue Jays, since he's a free agent after the season.  The lefty told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune he'd like to play two or three more years.
  • "Some people with the White Sox think it's definite" that right fielder Carlos Quentin is traded this winter, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  Quentin would be appealing given his .254/.340/.499 line this year and the thin market for bats.

Ozzie Guillen Links

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New Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen tweeted today that it's "weird to be in Miami," but he's very happy and ready to go.  Today's Ozzie-related links…

  • Guillen's contract with the Marlins is expected to run through 2015, according to ESPNChicago's Bruce Levine.  In that same article, Jayson Stark explains how Ozzie's farewell blog post last night was erroneously published at MLB.com.
  • Guillen didn't give it his all in 2011, explains Jim Margalus of South Side Sox, becoming disengaged with setting his lineups.
  • Ozzie is worth the risk for Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, writes Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
  • The parting of ways "needed to be done on both sides," White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Many of the Sox's number crunchers avoided the dugout during batting practice due to Guillen's dislike of sabermetrics, notes Gonzales.
  • The Marlins "immediately become far more exciting" by landing Guillen, writes Scott Miller of CBS Sports.

Arbitration Eligibles: Philadelphia Phillies

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The Phillies won their hundredth game last night, and with two games remaining against Atlanta they have a hand in determining who they'll play when the NLDS begins Saturday.  But for the moment, let's look ahead to their arbitration class as the next entry in our arbitration eligibles series.

There is a case for non-tendering Valdez and Orr, though neither player would earn even $1MM in 2012.  Francisco and Kendrick seem useful enough at $1.5MM and $3.3MM, respectively.

Pence and Hamels are the big-money cases.  Pence projects at $11MM, a $4.1MM raise after he won his arbitration hearing in February for $6.9MM.  Hamels signed a three-year extension in January of '09, but smartly left his final arbitration year open.  With a $9.5MM salary this year, he's in line for more than $14MM in 2012.  The Phillies plan to give Hamels a couple of relief innings tomorrow, with an eye on possibly getting him his 15th win.  Matt Swartz tweets that the gesture would cost them an extra $200K in arbitration if successful, according to our model.

Retaining Kendrick, Francisco, Pence, and Hamels could cost about $30MM for 2012.  Including Roy Oswalt's buyout, the Phillies project to have about $143MM in 2012 commitments before accounting for minimum salary players.  That's about $23MM less than this year's Opening Day payroll.

Matt Swartz contributed to this post.

Pohlad Talks About Twins’ Future

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Twins owner Jim Pohlad spoke to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about the future of the team.  A few highlights:

  • Smith blames the Twins' disastrous 2011 season on "the perfect storm of injuries" as well as players failing to match their 2010 performances.  He also admitted there were fundamental issues with players called up from the minors.
  • Manager Ron Gardenhire and GM Bill Smith will be back in 2012, with Pohlad noting that the Twins are not a "knee-jerk reaction organization."
  • Told about the potential $40MM+ the Twins have coming off the books, Pohlad said, "Well if what you just said, if that's true, that gives us tons of flexibility."  The owner also said, "My guess is we're probably going to have to do more than one impact player."
  • Pohlad was noncommittal on bringing back Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, and gave a non-answer regarding the team renewing their interest in Hisashi Iwakuma.  Said Pohlad, "I think probably everybody is on our radar."
  • Pohlad says the team's $115MM payroll is "going to come down naturally" but it won't be slashed and will be "right up there."
  • Based on our arbitration estimates, a $105MM payroll could give the Twins about $30MM to spend in 2012 salaries.

Colletti: Dodgers Can Afford Long-Term Deals For Key Players

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T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times talked to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti; here's the latest:

  • Simers writes that "Frank McCourt has told Colletti that he will have the money needed to sign Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier to long-term contracts this off-season as well as the money required to compete in the free-agent market."  Simers suggests one way to pull this off would be to engineer lower 2012 salaries for the players, but that'd happen naturally since all three are arbitration eligible.  If they go through the arbitration process, Matt Swartz's work for MLBTR suggests salaries of $15.1MM for Kemp, $7.7MM for Kershaw if he wins the Cy Young, and $11.8MM for Ethier.
  • Colletti told Simers James Loney has eased his concerns, but the team needs another bat.  Strong work in the season's final two months has pushed Loney to a .287/.339/.412 line, which could lead to the Dodgers tendering him a contract.  Earlier this month, Colletti talked about improving the Dodgers' offense in the "most dramatic way."
  • Colletti hopes to add a veteran reliever, but not a closer.  He expects to go with a combination of Kenley Jansen and Javy Guerra for the ninth inning next year.  For all the latest on closing situations, be sure to check out CloserNews.com.

Athletics Rumors: Crisp, DeJesus, Harden

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The Athletics currently project for the ninth pick in next year's draft, though that could change by the end of Wednesday.  The latest A's info, courtesy of Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:

  • Coco Crisp's agent Steve Comte agreed with Matt Sosnick's comments about the Athletics' offseason spending hinging on MLB's decision on the team's new stadium.  Comte hasn't spoken to A's GM Billy Beane recently, but noted the long-term impact of the stadium issue was apparent back in Spring Training.  Nonetheless, Crisp and his agent will keep an open mind and "see what the market brings."  Crisp, 31, has a .267/.317/.384 line in 575 plate appearances, with 48 steals in 57 tries.  It's been Crisp's healthiest year since '07, but he's posted his worst walk rate since '06.  UZR suggests his defense was slightly below-average this year, but Crisp's ability to simply play a passable center field regularly makes him valuable.  Given the state of the free agent market at the position, I think a two-year deal is probable.  Slusser's sources expect the Giants to be interested.
  • Signing Brandon McCarthy for a $1MM base salary was one of the best moves of the offseason, and the 28-year-old righty considers his season a successful comeback.  For less than $2MM in total, he's provided a 3.32 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, 0.58 HR/9, and 46.7% groundball rate in 170 2/3 innings.  His ERA ranks 13th in the American League and his five complete games tie him for second.  The cherry on top: McCarthy is arbitration eligible for 2012 and should be affordable again.
  • Slusser talked to A's outfielder David DeJesus, who said, "This year wasn't me.  I want to break things down and understand what went wrong."  DeJesus, 31, slipped to .237/.321/.374 in 502 plate appearances and may have been affected by losing his status as an everyday player.  Slusser expects the Padres to be in the mix for the bounceback candidate, who will become a free agent shortly.
  • Righty Rich Harden said he'd "definitely be open" to returning to the A's in 2012.  The 29-year-old made all his starts since his July 1st season debut, posting a 5.12 ERA, 9.9 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 1.85 HR/9, and 31.5% groundball rate in 82 2/3 innings.
  • Hideki Matsui is not really proud of his numbers this year, the designated hitter told Joe Stiglich of the San Jose Mercury News through a translator.  Matsui, 37, hit .251/.321/.376 in 576 plate appearances.
  • In our latest Elias Rankings projections, Crisp, Harden, and Matsui projected for neither Type A nor B status, while DeJesus projected for Type B.

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