Thursday night linkage..
- Mark Bowman of MLB.com believes that both Martin Prado and Jair Jurrjens will be with the Braves at the start of the season.
- The Nationals are still talking with Rick Ankiel, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. If he returns, it would be in a platoon/fourth outfielder role, with a chance to earn more playing time.
- As a fan, losing shortsop Jose Reyes to the Marlins was difficult for Mets owner Fred Wilpon, writes Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal.
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan told reporters that he expects the club to sign Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish by the 3pm Wednesday deadline, writes Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram. Ryan also believes that the negotiations will go down to the wire.
- Both Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel remain possibilities for the Reds, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. GM Walt Jocketty is familiar with both outfielders from his time in St. Louis.
- A person familiar with the Yankees' thinking told Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger that "January brings shifts" and it's possible that the club will add to their payroll in order to satisfy their pitching need. The Bombers are still in contact with Hiroki Kuroda and Roy Oswalt and are considering Edwin Jackson.
- From a negotiation standpoint, it doesn't make sense for Yoenis Cespedes to play in the Dominican Winter League, opines Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- Right-hander Brian Gordon, whose rights were sold by the Yankees to the SK Wyverns of the Korean Professional League over the summer, will remain with in the KBL after signing with the Samsung Lions, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
would be nice to see the yanks add to their payroll just a bit. sign Oswalt for a year, and sign Ejax for 3 yrs at 30 or 35 million
Only to Yankees fans is 20-25 million “just a bit” of payroll.
I hope the Rangers can still add just a bit of Payroll after Darvish and get Fielder too…
That big of payroll would be better used extending our core…
that i agree with. why sign fielder wehn you already have the offense. offense was never the issue for the rangers in the playoffs its been their bullpen.
Thats a silly way to think about it. If Fielder is a 3-4 WAR gain over the at bats Moreland, Torrealba and co. would lose then hes a 3-4 WAR gain. It doesn’t matter at all if the overall offense is strong without him if his addition would still be a significant improvement. Which it would.
Its not like there are glaring weaknesses that need to be addressed first, 1b is one of their most obvious holes. They don’t have anyone on the roster or in their farm system that projects to be an above average 1b. If they extended Napoli and you projected him to play more and more 1b the next few years Fielder would be less of a fit, but the Rangers made an attempt to extend him and have since said there will be no extension this offseason so obviously you can’t count on Napoli being here.
As for if it would be better spent on extending the core… well he would be part of the core and that depends. Would it be better to extend Hamilton and Cruz, incredibly injury prone aging outfielders leaving their prime? It could easily be argued that signing Fielder is a better investment. Obviously some players need to be extended within the next year or two (Kinsler please), but signing Fielder wouldn’t mean they cant extend anyone.
by core you mean holland kinsler and napoli right? Hamilton I would wait on to see if he is healthy/ how he performs. Kinsler I agree NEEDS to be extended asap like 5-60 maybe 5-70…Holland I would wait on as he has a few more years of team controll before FA…Napoli NEEDS to be extended now, I dont see a need in signing fielder when they can have Napoli play 1st and go out and sign a legit Catcher next season
I consider Hamilton part of our core but he’s a wildcard. He JD can get him to sign to a reasonable deal now that works for both sides, do it. If not, then see how it plays out next December. I’d hate to lose Hamilton but there are a ton of quality OF’s Texas can replace him with if Hamilton chooses to go elsewhere. And it’s not too crazy to imagine Kinsler moving to OF when Profar comes up either. His speed and glove would tradition well out there.
considering they will make that and probably more on opening day ticket sales alone i agree
Big difference between adding a bit of payroll for one year (with 60-70 million coming off over the next two seasons) and signing two guys long-term for 30+ annually (combined).
Let’s get this done JD.
And what Nolan wants, Nolan gets.
Imagine how good Darvish could be with Nolan and the Maddux brothers guiding him.
Except World Series rings, right?
Please stay away from E Jax, he’s incredibly mediocre, and will be the reason we can’t go for Hamels/Cain next year.
thats only sayin if Cain and hamels dont sign extensions before the seasons over. theres no guarentee those guys will be available.
I would rather take a chance on getting the right guy then lose that chance by going with the impulse move
11.2 fWAR in the last 3 seasons is anything but mediocre.
Maybe mediocre wasn’t the perfect word. My complaints are as follows. He’s a not a strike out pitcher, and also doesn’t get a lot of ground balls. While pitching against top lineups, and small ballparks in YS3 half his starts, a move to the AL East would mean at best a 4 FIP.
More importantly, with the yankees supposedly shrinking payroll, getting Jackson would likely hamper the yankees getting one of the two pitchers that they would really want next off season: Hamels or Cain.
Fair enough. I doubt Cain or Hamels hit free agency, however. I’d say Hamels gets extended by the Phillies, and Cain gets extended by whatever team he gets traded to, which I suppose could be the Yankees.
Why would Cain be traded? Right now, he is a vital part for the Giants and are more than anything trying to extend him. Without Cain, the Giants don’t have nearly as good of a chance to contend.
I think Lincecum is more likely to be traded, and maybe as soon as this deadline. If they don’t agree on a contract, he could make over 50million through arbitration the next 2 years.
Lincecum is not going to be traded either. I dunno why so many people are saying that one will be traded. The Giants will be in the race this year, barring injuries of course, and Lincecum is still considered the face of the franchise. You could argue that they would get a good package for him, but without Lincecum, it makes it that much harder to contend for years to come. The fact that they would be dealing from their strengths would put them back into a .500 club. The D’Backs may have added to their club this offseason, but don’t count the Giants out. If anything they will be in it all season, especially with a healthy Posey and Sanchez coming in along with the additions of Pagan and Cabrera.
its the yankees there is never a reason they cant go after someone….jackson is a solid #3…I think a 3-35 maybe 3-40 deal gets it done and is not too horrible for any team dont forget swishers 10 mill is off the books next season
No it won’t be, there’s no reason to drop swisher, the need a RF, noone will be ready from the minors at this time next season.
yes it will..the only way he comes back after this season is on a cheap contract. Even if they dont sign a pitcher. The amount of outfielders that will more than likely hit the market is insane…Hamilton(could argue the rangers shouldnt resign him) B.J Upton, Victorino, Sizemore(if he puts up a solid year he is an upgrade), Bourne, Hunter, Ichiro, Quentin…all are upgrades over Swisher(quentin might be a push) and at least half those guys will hit the market
Right, the outfield market will be huge, but Hunter, old Ichiro, Quentin, and BJ are all downgrades, or not enough to make up for the amount of money they’re going to cost. But going back to the original point: Jackson being the reason they can’t get
Hamels/Cain. Since they’re shedding payroll, there’s no way they can get E Jax, Hamels/Cain, and another expensive outfielder.
It’s your opinion that Jackson is a number 3, and a 2 on some teams – fair enough. But from a yankee fan perspective, this time next year, I don’t want to hear that the yankees can’t go up the extra 5 million per year, or extra year, because they added Jackson the year before. Not only that, but I don’t think he’s a good fit on this team. He’s a not a strike out pitcher, and also doesn’t get a lot of ground balls. While pitching against top lineups, and small ballparks in YS3 half his starts, a move to the AL East would mean at best a 4 FIP. Which is shown in his past SIERAS and and expected SIERA.
Upton, Sizemore, Bourn, Hunter, Ichiro, and Quentin are all upgrades over Swisher? Shut up. I might give you Quentin. MAYBE. But not any of those other guys.
The Yanks might offer Jackson one year 11 million, or Kuroda one year 12 million.
I don’t think there’s any chance Jackson accepts that. Which I’m okay with, as a Yankee fan, because I think he’s remarkably mediocre. He doesn’t miss enough bats.
i dont see how he is mediocre as you say. he is an innings eater. is he worth what hes wanting? no hes not, but sorry i think i rather have him as a 3rd or 4th starter instead of burnett. and sign oswalt to a 1 year deal will give the yankees a decent a rotation 1 through 5. throw garcia or hughes and burnett in the pen and use them as long relief to eat up innings when needed.
Yea, but you can’t just lose the burnett contract, if his contract didn’t count, or we could trade all of it, I would be more than pleased with going after E Jax, but, since that’s not an option, i’m against him.
didnt cashman say recently they are willing to eat some portion of his contract to trade him? I think it was a stupid amount like 3 mill a season if they ate 1/2 his contract they would find some serious takes…probably the marlins
I could be wrong but I think it was like 8 million in total, not enough to make a difference really.
but if they are going to eat his contract why not just keep him? He may be mediocre but can pitch 200 innings which is good when you already got nova, hughes, and garcia in the rotation. It doesn’t make sense to eat it because then they would have to sign another starter and burnett’s stats are similiar to ejax’s earlier in career, edwin is just someone i wouldnt want to sign for a long contract.
way to judge a pitcher by missing bats. He has raised his groundball rate every year to a very respectable rate. He is an ACE? no…is he a 1-2? on most staffs no on some yes, is he a #3 yes at worst he is a #4…a rotation of CC-nova-hughes-Jackson-burnett isnt bad at all
Except that isn’t their rotation. Sabathia, Nova, Garcia, Burnett, Hughes as of right now. If they sign Jackson, it will be: Sabathia, Jackson, Nova, Garcia, Hughes. Burnett will be traded to a team with the Yankees eating a lot of money.
Will agree with that and also why he is still around. Not to mention both Kuroda and oswalt would/will top jackson on any 1 year deal which would stick another dagger into the terrible Boras off season that has been unfolding already.
Nice of Cespedes to display the fact that he can’t hit a breaking ball before any team makes a mistake and offers him the contract he has been asking for…
big cuban slugger that can’t hit a curveball…why does that sound familiar?
&$^# You Jo-Bu…. I change careers.
Love it!
big cuban slugger that can’t hit a curveball…why does that sound familiar?
I’m really glad to hear the Rangers are getting a deal done with Yu. I’m pretty darn excited to see him pitch in the MLB.
I’m pretty darn excited to see him learn for Nolan and the Maddux brothers.
the wyverns has to be the coolest name i’ve heard from any asian baseball team. 10x better than nippon-ham fighters.
I actually think Nippon-Ham Fighters is probably the coolest team name in the history of team names.
It’s Fred’s own fault.
this.
fully agree about Cepedes. Its going to be a huge hit or miss for him. If he comes to the Dominican and Proves he can play(some players in the winter league are legit big leaguers getting extra work) then he will get his contract he wants, the 5 year 60 mill i think is what he is looking for. IF he fails, and to fail in the winter league is bad news bears he may have to settle for a minor league deal. HUGE Gamble but considering his true market was down to what the Marlins, whitesox, yankees, tigers maybe one MYSTERY TEAM(que creepy weird music) he has no choice
I hope Ankiel accepts the 4th outfielder role in DC…if he gets a chance to compete and is healthy he will probably get a lot of playing time. I still think there is a starting job out there for him or a two year super reserve role out there. As a nat fan I hope he stays.
Out of all the trades having to do with Jurrjens and Prado this offseason , the Braves would be better off to just keep them . Smith (Rockies) is a good platoon player and nothing more . Young (Tigers) would be a downgrade from what we already have in Prado . Jones (O’s) was suppose to be this great player that never panned out . Although the O’s FO still percieves him as this great player , Prado is still as good a hitter and plays 3 other positions .
I stil wouldn’t put it past Wren and a trade before spring training . It was quiet last year as well when all of a sudden we heard about a trade for Uggla .
Adam Jones is good, but not any more than that. He’s no better than let’s say, Mike Cameron off the top of my head. I’m glad we didn’t go after him with that insane asking price.
I’m glad too . It would have been a trade of actual negative value for the Braves to trade JUST Prado alone to the O’s for Jones based on prior seasonal WAR .
Adam Jones is a very good CFer. And he’s ten times better than Mike Cameron, unless you’re talking about when Cameron was younger. If Jones was in your OF, he’d be your best OFer. The price is too high, but he’s very young and a very good outfielder.
“he’d be your best Ofer”
Yea except, you know, that Bourn and Heyward are better than Jones, sure.
Bourn the guy who is the career worse hitter? Or Heyward, the guy who didn’t even bat his weight last year and barely got on base?
During an injury filled, bad year, Heyward’s OBP was exactly the same last year as the Great Adam Jones in 2011 and for his career.
If you’re basing just your opinion that HR’s make a hitter better , then yes you’re right .
Dont think so, i think wren is holding pat until 2013. We know we are a broke franchise, no major moves until 2013. Bourn will be gone by the all star break, if we are not in the mix come july, look for hanson, JJ, prado all to be gone also. We will retool in 2013.
Why would Hanson not be a part of the Braves plans past 2012?
Hanson should be traded when his value is highest. I see no way he signs with the Braves as a FA, and I think he’s overvalued. He’s a great trade chip.
You could get a really nice haul of young talent for Hanson, and the drop off from Hanson to say Minor or Delgado isn’t that much.
You might want to recheck Hanson’s career stats if you think he is “overvalued”. When healthy he is one of the best young pitchers in baseball.
Jurrjens is the overvalued one.
Dont think so, i think wren is holding pat until 2013. We know we are a broke franchise, no major moves until 2013. Bourn will be gone by the all star break, if we are not in the mix come july, look for hanson, JJ, prado all to be gone also. We will retool in 2013.
This is a site about trade news. Sometimes the best trade news is no trade news.
I’d like to see both JJ and Prado locked up long term. Prado will play somewhere (most likely 3B after Chipper, I’m not sold on Terdo yet and can’t see Pastornicky at 3B) , and JJ could take over Hudson’s role in 2013 (or 2014 if you take Hudson’s option)
Both really heady, really hard-working players who can be the glue guys on a championship team.
Yea just like Ryan said the Rangers were going to win the WS in 6…. :o)
i think yu really wants to come play in the mlb and prove his ability…if nolan can’t get a deal done…its his own damn vault
depends, yu has front-line starter potential, he should be getting 15, not 10 or 11.
hes good, i don’t think he’ll be that good, an average 2, teriffic 3
if Wilpon wanted the Mets to keep Reyes so badly, why didn’t he sell the team to someone with enough money to pay the man?
if Wilpon wanted the Mets to keep Reyes so badly, why didn’t he sell the team to someone with enough money to pay the man?
Samsung has a team?? Wow and we call American teams sell outs.
In Japan and Korea teams are named after the company that own them. Yu Darvish play for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters named after the food processing company that owns the team and play at Hokkaido. Usually the team´s name does not include the name of the city or place where they play
I read something a couple weeks ago that said Frank Wren sees JJ and Prado on the team but still wants an outfielder…hmmmmmmmmmm
I think wren is playing for 2013, 2012 will be used to get our young pitcher’s some innings, and we will have some money relief in 2013. Atlanta is a broke franchise.
$85mil payroll isn’t broke, but Chipper’s contract is becoming a millstone.
I’d be ok with retooling while trying to contend next year though.
When you can’t spend anymore money no matter how high your payroll is, you’re broke.
I think wren is playing for 2013, 2012 will be used to get our young pitcher’s some innings, and we will have some money relief in 2013. Atlanta is a broke franchise.
Looks like the braves are going for a push in 2012, getting the 4 horsemen some playing time, then make a splash in the FA in 2013. Wren is going to give the pastor alot of playing time and all the kids will have 1 full season under their belts. Look for bourn,JJ, Hanson,Hudson,chipper,Oflarity,prado,diaz,hinske all to be gone starting 2013. We will be going young in 2012,2013 as the braves are broke. I think its going to be a long boring season in 2012.
You’ve made several posts in this thread about 2013 and you keep repeating that Hanson will be among the Braves who will be gone by then. What makes you think that he isn’t a part of the Braves future? Young pitchers with ace potential with years of team control left don’t grow on trees.
They seem to in Atlanta.
Teheran, Beachy. (yeah Beachy, he has a chance to be special)
Delgado, Minor have chance of being #2-type starters. Zeke Spruill down in AA looks impressive. Vizcaino has ace potential if he stays healthy.
JJ still has a couple years control left and he’s a #2, and undervalued.
I think it’s the right move by Wren. Let them start the season, and see if they can increase their value. Then trade them if you feel it will help the team. If JJ has the same first half as last year, he may get that Greinke-like return come July. I also think Prado will bounce back at the plate, while also being an insurance policy for multiple defensive positions.
I hope the Reds look more into Ankiel than Ludwick, though both would be a pretty awesome addition.
Even with Jurrjens with the team, I’d like to see them keep either Teheran or Delgado on the roster and pitch regularly. To keep everyone fresh and to provide more experience for when JJ is moved…which will probably be at the deadline.
“As a fan, losing shortsop Jose Reyes to the Marlins was difficult for Mets owner Fred Wilpon”
As a fan, it makes me sick that Fred Wilpon is our owner. It makes being a fan of baseball far less pleasurable let alone difficult.