The latest on various NL West clubs…
- Heath Bell told MLB.com's Corey Brock he never heard from new Padres GM Josh Byrnes. Bell noted that he passed on offers of a little more money to take a three-year, $27MM deal from the Marlins.
- The Padres' goal is to fix the eighth and ninth innings this offseason, manager Bud Black told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio.
- The Dodgers are closing in on a minor league deal with reliever Alberto Castillo, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. The 36-year-old spent most of the year at Triple-A, posting a 1.91 ERA and 8.1 K/9 in 42 1/3 innings there.
- The Giants are believed to have scheduled a meeting today with Ryan Ludwick's agent Dan Horwits, reports MLB.com's Chris Haft. Ludwick, 33, hit .237/.310/.363 with 13 home runs in 553 plate appearances for the Padres and Pirates this year.
- Phillies senior advisor and former GM Pat Gillick would consider a position as the Dodgers' new president of baseball operations, he told Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.
- The Padres are getting hits on Chase Headley, Jason Bartlett, and Orlando Hudson, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, who expects one of them to be dealt by spring training. Hudson, who is owed $7.5MM through 2012, would be a pure salary dump, tweets Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.
- The Rockies are lukewarm at best on Hudson, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, who wonders if the Giants' Jeff Keppinger could be a fit. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News says the Giants are looking to get creative on the trade front for outfield and infield help.
- Non-tender candidate Joe Saunders told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert he'd like to return to the Diamondbacks, but the decision is up to the team. About a week ago, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that Saunders has a very good chance of returning to the D'Backs on a two-year deal.
I would like to see the Brewers make a play for both Headley and Bartlett.
Maybe Taylor Green, Thornburg, McGahee, and Manzanillo
I am not sure that matches up with what the Padres would be looking for. The Padres system is already really deep in mid rotation arms and corner infielders. They lack true upside talent in the terms of up the middle players and high end pitching, both of which are also lacking in the Brewers system.
Bartlett could be had for cheap without a doubt, but Headley is an above average player who isn’t coming to come cheap, and to be honest the Padres have little reason to move him unless the return makes too much sense for the future. That deal doesn’t.
Not saying there isn’t value in that package, just not the type that the Padres would be looking for, especially for Headley. Manzanillo is personally interuging to me, simply due to his fastball, but he isn’t going to be enough not with his other struggles.
agree there’s no way headley gets moved this offseason unless the padres get a legit ace or a can’t-miss middle infield prospect. if Gyorko continues to rake next season, it could be headley’s last. its not like headley’s value is gonna drop precipitously.
Dodgers look to be in good hands going forward
Agreed. Seems like lots of people want to jump back on board after the last few years. The franchise will be a mess going forward for a bit, but stable, smart ownership and management should right the ship.
Can’t go wrong with Gillick. Will have them back in no time.
please bring in gillick to handcuff colleti
Bring O-Dawg back to Toronto! A-yo!
I wouldnt mind moving any of those players. McGahee hits for much better power then Headley, and O´Dog was not the player the Padres thought he would be when the brought him in…I say get rid of those 3 and get a good return for them.
The numbers Saunders put up last year are due to regress towards what he normally puts up. While his 3.69 ERA looked great on paper, his xFIP at 4.38 is closer to what is expected of him over time. Instead of putting pressure on their young pitchers, the DBacks should non-tender Saunders while signing Kuroda to a one year deal with a player option that rounds out to around $24 million. That way he is a short term answer, while also being an upgrade over Saunders.
can the Diamondbacks afford him?
Saunders himself would cost around $8.5 million, so their budget may be able to afford the extra $4 million per year. With the arbitration projection added in for Saunders, the Dbacks were sitting around $65 million in payroll and could grow a little more. There was an article posted that also talked about how Kuroda might give a discount if the contact includes a player option.
Thank you, appreciate it!
It still makes me upset as a fan of one of the other 29 teams in the league that the D-Backs were stupid enough to trade DAN FREAKIN HAREN for JOE NOBODY SAUNDERS
ANY TEAM COULD HAVE HAD HIM AT THAT PRICE!
ANY TEAM!
The Dbacks also got Patrick Corbin, who was solid for AA-Mobile, and Tyler Skaggs (9-6, 2.96 ERA, 11.3 K/9) in that deal. Saunders was just another piece in the package and turned out to be a great addition for 1.5 years of time.
I would love Saunders back in an Angels’ uniform. It would make my bobble head of him relevant again and be a nice 4th starter in the rotation that needs a steady lefty to change things up.
Wouldn’t mind the Rays picking up Bartlett again if he came relatively cheap. He was halfway decent for us and he is certainly better than Reid Brignac/Elliot Johnson.
Thought the same thing….Rays system is so deep…..would be a great match for the Pads also
Luckwick? WTF?
I also like how they say we might consider trading keppinger for “infield help”
…derpderp.
maybe ludwick can manage. we know he can’t hit.
Ludwick isn’t a dream FA but I wouldn’t be too disappointed with him since he could have a bounce back year for cheap (like Aubrey Huff… the first time), except that it would leave one spot in the OF between Nate and Belt.
Also Keppinger would be too expensive to keep as a plan B if Sanchez isn’t 100% or gets injured again (I wouldn’t be surprised), and he doesn’t have the range or arm to play SS.
Has anyone heard why Manny Burriss hasn’t been discussed as an option at short? He hit .280 in his rookie year and has had bad luck with injuries since, but he could be a cheap option with speed, a decent bat and passable defense at short.
Burriss is a disaster at SS. Hes very error prone.
I can understand not holding on to Cody Ross. Heck, I’d understand if the Giants jettisoned the entire OF (Torres, Burrell, etc.), but to do so when you’re looking at replacements like Ludwick? What’s the logic here? “We lack offense and our hitters are all crappy! What we need is even crappier players!”
If the Padres are getting hits on Hudson, which surprises me, then he should definately be the one they deal first. Headley and Bartlett add something to a team, other than payroll.
i don’t believe that for a second, it’s bait and switch using headley as the bait and once they call they try to sell the other team on a salary dump of o-dawg or bartlett. All you have to do is look at the padres roster and realize they are the only two players left that $$$ for ’12 and ’13 (they don’t want to have to pay the 2013 buyouts).
Ludwick is most definitely not the offensive answer for the Giants.
ffs, wrong Castillo, make sure you post the right links.
baseball-reference.com/players/c/castial02.shtml
Or, to put it more politely- admins, please fix the link. The Castillo link points to a 41-year old catcher, not a 36-year old pitcher. Understandable that mistakes happen, though. And not that a 41-year-old catcher that hasn’t played since 2007 is out of the question for the Dodgers the way their off-season has been going so far ;<)
ugh ludwick? Go for willingham at least
Ryan Ludwick, what a joke.