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Archives for January 2012

Rockies Acquire Marco Scutaro

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The Rockies have acquired Marco Scutaro from the Red Sox in exchange for Clayton Mortensen, the teams announced. Scutaro is the second shortstop the Sox have traded this winter, following the deal that sent Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland to the Astros for Mark Melancon.

Icon_13085738Scutaro, 36, fills the Rockies' need for a second baseman, as the veteran will return to the position after primarily playing shortstop over the last three seasons. He hit .299/.358/.423 in 445 plate appearances with Boston in 2011, and is returning to the NL for the first time since he broke into the Majors with the Mets in 2002-03. Renck says Colorado earmarked Scutaro as a target when the offseason began.

Mortensen, 26, was a supplemental first-round pick (36th overall) for the Cardinals in the 2007 draft. The right-hander was part of the trade package the Cardinals sent to the A's in July 2009 in exchange for Matt Holliday. Mortensen has a 5.12 ERA, a 4.7 K/9 rate and a 3.7 BB/9 rate in 24 Major League games (13 of them starts) with the Rockies, A's and Cardinals. His 51.3% ground ball rate helps offset the lack of strikeouts.

Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says (on Twitter) that the Red Sox will platoon Mike Aviles and Nick Punto at shortstop. The deal relieves the team of Scutaro's $6MM salary, giving the club some more money to use towards a starting pitcher. Mortensen is still in his pre-arbitration years.

Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN first reported the agreement (on Twitter) while Troy Renck of The Denver Post said the two sides were finishing up the trade earlier today. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Quick Hits: Rizzo, Rangers, Garza, Johnson

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It was one year ago today that the Angels and Blue Jays pulled off the huge trade that sent Vernon Wells to Anaheim in exchange for Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli.  The Jays were considered immediate winners for getting Wells' huge contract off their payroll and the swap looks even better for Toronto given Wells' .218/.248/.412 season in 2011.

Some news from around the majors…

  • New Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo holds the top spot on this list of baseball's top 10 first base prospects from MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
  • Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine acknowledged that there are "active discussions internally" about improving the team when speaking with Todd Hollandsworth and Jim Memolo on MLB Network Radio (mp3 link), but it's unlikely the Rangers will make another significant move. "It won't be from a lack of creativity," he said.
  • Matt Garza told Hollandsworth and Memolo that he's "definitely open" to signing an extension with the Cubs (mp3 link).
  • Josh Johnson tells Glenn Geffner of the Marlins Insider 790 AM radio show (and passed on by Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post) that he will begin throwing off a mound next week, the first time the Marlins ace has done so since September.  Johnson was limited to nine starts last season due to shoulder injuries.
  • Yoenis Cespedes is still not an established resident of the Dominican Republic, which is holding up his free agency, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.
  • Kyle Blanks may only realize his potential if he leaves the Padres, opines Fangraphs' Paul Swydan.
  • Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune is back with his weekly online chat about the Padres.
  • The Tigers, Indians and the "sleeper choice" Brewers are all possible fits for Derrek Lee, writes Tony Andracki of CSNChicago.com.

MLBTR's Mike Axisa also contributed to this post

(Not A) Trade Candidate: Gerardo Parra

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The Diamondbacks' signing of Jason Kubel to a two-year contract was met with surprise and even some confusion from pundits.  Dave Cameron of Fangraphs described the move as "weird," arguing that Kubel was potentially only a minor upgrade over incumbent left fielder Gerardo Parra at the plate, and a major downgrade in terms of defense and baserunning.  Moreoever, it minimized Parra, whose Gold Glove-winning defense and steady bat played a key role in Arizona's 2011 NL West title.

So with Kubel, Chris Young and Justin Upton locked in as the D'Backs' starting outfield, does this mean Parra could be expendable?  Not at all; there's still reason to believe Parra will be a valuable player for Arizona both in 2012 and potentially for years to come.

Through three seasons in the Majors, Parra has provided both excellent defense (a career +9.5 UZR/150) all over the outfield and a solid bat against right-handed pitching (a .289/.337/.420 career line against righties).  In both 2010 and 2011, the left-handed hitting Parra posted a higher OPS against lefties than he did against righties, albeit in roughly a quarter of the plate appearances.

This progress against southpaws notwithstanding, the vast majority of Parra's 2012 at-bats will come against right-handers.  D'Backs GM Kevin Towers has already stated that Parra see action against certain tough right-handers spelling Upton and Young.  I'd say Parra is far more likely to spell the latter than the former, since Upton may be the cusp of superstardom and Young has more significant flaws in his game. 

After delivering stable splits (an .826 OPS vs. lefties, .781 vs. righties) in 2010 as part of a career-best .793 OPS season across the board, it seemed as if Young was finally finding some consistency to match his big power, speed and increasingly impressive glove.  Unfortunately for Young, he reverted to his old tricks in 2011 — he hit just .222/.312/.382 against right-handers, as compared to a mammoth .285/.392/.546 against lefties.  Arizona doesn't lose anything defensively or speed-wise by playing Parra over Young in what could develop into a regular center field platoon.

Parra doesn't turn 25 until May 6 and is under team control through 2015, which means he could be coming into his prime just as Young and Kubel's contracts are expiring.  Young is set to earn $15.5MM over the next two seasons, with a club option worth $11MM for 2014 (with a $1.5MM buyout), while Kubel's deal pays him $16MM over the next two seasons with a $7.5MM mutual option for 2014 ($1MM buyout).  Of the two, Young is the likelier to remain a D'Back since quality defensive center fielders with 30-homer power are a much rarer commodity than what Kubel brings to the table, but the presence of Parra and prospect A.J. Pollock gives the team lots of outfield flexibility in two years' time.  

The Diamondbacks' surprising playoff berth last season turned what was seemingly a rebuilding team into a win-now operation, as evidenced by Kubel's signing and the trade for Trevor Cahill.  While the club doesn't have the resources to just eat a $16MM contract if Kubel struggles, the D'Backs at least have a quality backup (or more) in Parra who provides too much value to trade.

Dodgers Notes: Ellison, TV Networks, Bullpen

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Here's the latest on the Dodgers….

  • Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has told friends he will not bid for the club, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).  Estimated to be the third-richest man in America by Forbes Magazine, Ellison's sports connections include an America's Cup-winning yacht team, tennis tournament sponsorships and a failed attempt to buy the NBA's Golden State Warriors in 2010.
  • Also from Nightengale, he predicts the Dodgers will be sold for $1.73 billion, roughly $1.3 billion more than Frank McCourt originally paid for the team in 2004.
  • The Fox and Time Warner media outlets are both considering bidding for full or partial ownership of the Dodgers, reports Ramona Shelburne for ESPN Los Angeles.  A stake in the team would help the winner avoid what is expected to be a "fierce" battle between the two companies for the Dodgers' media rights once their current deal expires after the 2013 season.
  • The Dodgers may still have a need for another left-handed reliever, writes Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times.

Giants, Lincecum, $4MM Apart On New Contract

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The Giants have offered Tim Lincecum a two-year, $40MM contract and the pitcher's representatives have countered with a two-year, $44MM offer, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).  The small gap between the two offers leads Brown to believe that an agreement will be reached.

Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reported yesterday that "significant progress" had been made between the two sides since they filed their arbitration figures (Lincecum for $21.5MM, the Giants for $17MM).  A two-year contract would cover both of Lincecum's remaining arbitration years and also fit Lincecum's stated preference for short-term deals, though the Giants had also explored an eight-year extension with the two-time Cy Young Award winner earlier this winter.

AL Central Notes: Eldred, Gordon, Carmona

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It was on this day in 1993 that Tigers legend Charlie Gehringer passed away at the age of 89.  Gehringer spent his entire 19-year career in Detroit, finishing with a .320/.404/.480 career line, the 1937 AL MVP Award, a 1935 World Series championship and induction into the Baseball Hall Of Fame.  Gehringer is still among the Tigers' franchise leaders in virtually every offensive category and is widely regarded as one of the game's greatest second basemen.

Some items from Detroit and elsewhere in the AL Central…

  • The Tigers signed first baseman Brad Eldred to a minor league contract that doesn't include an invitation to the team's Major League Spring Training camp.  Eldred, 31, has an .870 OPS and 227 homers over 10 minor league seasons but has seen just 282 plate appearances in the bigs, his most recent cup of coffee coming with the Rockies in 2010.  Eldred hit .278/.351/.536 for the Giants' Triple-A affiliate last season.
  • The Royals shouldn't wait to sign Alex Gordon to an extension, argues Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star.  Mellinger thinks Michael Cuddyer's three-year, $31.5MM pact with the Rockies could be "the general framework" for a new Gordon deal, and both Gordon and Cuddyer are represented by agent Casey Close.  Mellinger thinks a four-year, $35MM contract would fair to both sides; that's about $5MM higher than what MLBTR's Tim Dierkes guessed a Gordon extension would look like last August.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com thinks the Indians should release Roberto Hernandez Heredia (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) and use the saved salary on an available pitcher like Roy Oswalt, Edwin Jackson or Livan Hernandez.
  • Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated looks at how teams pay much larger median bonuses to 16-year-old Latin American prospects, when a much smaller percentage of those young prospects actually reach the majors.  While players like Carmona have knowingly committed age and identity fraud, Segura argues that "by placing such high premiums on 16-year-olds, teams are fooling themselves."

Orioles Notes: Fielder, Arbitration-Eligibles, Jones

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Orioles GM Dan Duquette spoke to fans and the media at Orioles FanFest today, so let's round up the latest news (all links go to Twitter)…

Rangers Co-Owner Prefers Hamilton To Fielder

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With the Yu Darvish contract all wrapped up, the Rangers have found themselves in the middle of the Prince Fielder rumormill whether they like it or not. Team co-owner Bob Simpson told Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News that the slugging first baseman is likely not an option for them at his asking price, and that he'd prefer to re-sign his own star player.

"I think he's, given our set of cards, too pricey," said Simpson. "And if that were to change, I guess they would look at that harder. But right now I think he's priced himself out of what we could do."

"We've got guys, frankly, like Josh Hamilton I would love to see re-signed. And frankly, my personal preference at this moment would be to re-sign him instead of helping Fielder. We (the ownership group) could all debate that."

Simpson said yesterday that the team is operating at a deficit and will continue to do so until their new television deal starts in 2015. Extension talks with Hamilton were put on hold until Darvish and the club's arbitration-eligible players were signed, though assistant GM Thad Levine told Todd Hollandsworth and Jim Memolo on MLB Network Radio that the two sides were "in active discussions" yesterday (mp3 here).

Rockies “Remain Strongly Interested” In Justin Turner

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With their pitching needs generally satisfied following the Seth Smith trade, the Rockies have turned their attention to adding another second baseman. They had talks with the Red Sox about Marco Scutaro, and Troy Renck of The Denver Post says they "remain strongly interested" in Justin Turner.

Last month we heard that the Mets have interest in Eric Young Jr., and that the two sides could potentially work out a trade with Turner going to Colorado. At the moment, the Rockies have DJ LeMahieu, Chris Nelson, and Jonathan Herrera penciled in at second base. The 27-year-old Turner hit .260/.334/.356 with four homers and seven steals in 487 plate appearances for he Mets last season, spending most of his time at second while also playing third and a little bit of shortstop.

Quick Hits: Lincecum, Red Sox, Gordon, Francis

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Friday night links..

  • The Giants and the agent for Tim Lincecum have made significant progress since exchanging arbitration figures and both sides are confident that a resolution can be reached before a hearing would be scheduled, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News.
  • The Reds could look to land an infielder via trade, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
  • It appears that talks between the Rockies and Red Sox regarding Marco Scutaro are dormant, but Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes that Boston's possible motivation for a move involving Scutaro would be to free up payroll.  The club has reportedly expressed interest in White Sox starter Gavin Floyd and free agent outfielder Cody Ross, but neither move could be made unless a trade was made to offer budgetary relief according to a source.
  • The Royals and Alex Gordon aren't particularly close on a deal but talks remain cordial and both sides want to get something done, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
  • Left-hander Jeff Francis is starting to attract more interest from teams in the market for a starting pitcher including the Mariners, Reds, Blue Jays, and Mets, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter links)
  • Jesus Montero has dealt with his visa issue and is scheduled to travel from Florida to Seattle today for his Mariners physical, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
  • Braves GM Frank Wren doesn't believe that his club has a major personnel need, writes Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Wren also believes that this year's bullpen figures to be even deeper that last year's.
  • Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post (via Twitter) is told that the Marlins have no interest in bringing Ivan Rodriguez back.

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