We've already published one batch of AL East Notes today, but there's plenty more happening in the division….
- "I think it's safe to say that he's not going to play for us on the field," Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman said in regards to Matt Bush. Speaking to media (including The Tampa Tribune's Roger Mooney) for the first time since Bush was charged with a DUI with bodily injury for his alleged role in a car accident, Friedman said he was surprised at the incident given how well the troubled Bush had performed in his battle with alcholism. Bush, the first overall pick of the 2004 draft, signed a minor league deal with the Rays in 2010 and has yet to reach the Major Leagues in his pro career.
- Travis Snider is becoming the kind of "devalued asset" that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos usually tries to acquire from other teams, writes Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi. Even if the Jays feel Snider won't be able to perform for them, dealing him for fair value will be difficult given that Snider's trade value is at a low point.
- Brian Roberts tells reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) that the Orioles will put him on the 15-day disabled list to start the season as he continues to recover from concussion symptoms. The fact that it's the 15-day DL and not the 60-day DL is a positive sign for Roberts' chances of returning to playing.
- Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine told reporters (including Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston) that he was satisfied with his roster and didn't think the club needed any new acquisitions before Opening Day. Valentine also denied rumors of a "potential rift" between he and general manager Ben Cherington.
- Ben Badler of Baseball America runs down each AL East team's international signings of the past year.
- In case you missed it earlier today, the Blue Jays signed Dustin McGowan to a contract extension.
Matt Bush is bringing a whole new meaning to “Bush League”…
Travis Snider maybe is someone the Orioles should look at instead of Johnny Damon. Or maybe the Orioles could trade Jake Arrieta to the Royals for Billy Butler. The still really don’t have a consistent/clutch hitter anywhere on the roster and the Royals starting rotation is underwhelming. If the Yankees and Mariners can dance (Pineda and Montero). “Why Not” the Orioles and Royals?
Valentine also denied rumors of a “potential rift” between he and general manager Ben Cherington. You know I don’t care, as far as I am concerned they both deserve each other.
As for Brian Roberts the man is 34 years old, what do the O’s really expect from him in 2012? Besides he moved like a statue in 2011 even before the concussion.
o’s n jays don’t really mesh up well in a trade.
The Orioles and Royals won’t dance to that tune because Billy Butler is worth much more than Jake Arrieta.
I wouldn’t say much more.
.853, .857, .822. Butler’s OPS the last three years. I’d say he’s worth a lot more than a meh starter.
The bottom line is the Orioles need a good hitter.
When watching the game online last night, Adam Jones struck out with bases loaded for the thrid out.
I mean that’s no good, you need at the very least to make contact at that point. So, therefore we need a good hitter whomever it may be.
if Butler was a defensive asset, that would be pretty good..
I mean if he could play SS even league average, he’d be a top player in the league..
but he can’t. His value is very limited. .
good for 55th, 28th, and 52nd. 43rd overall during those 3 years. he has a good bat, but no defensive value and he’s absolutely brutal on the basepaths. at about 2 WAR per year, he’s an average player (81st in baseball)
worth more than arrieta, for sure, but not by all that much
He has been worth 3.7 and 2.4 WAR the last 2 years and is entering his 26 year old season so it is reasonable to expect he is entering his prime. Moving forward he is much more valuable than Arrieta. He’s a legit middle of the order bat.
no he hasn’t and no he isn’t
splitting the difference between rWAR and fWAR he has been worth 3.3 and 2.1 WAR the last two seasons, for a weighted average of 2.5. adding in the third year to make the projection more reliable, it comes out to 2.1. an average major league starter is a 2 WAR player
he is no more a ‘legit middle of the order bat’ than david wright, the player he’s even with in wRC+ of the past 3 seasons. are nick swisher and ben zobrist legit middle of the order bats? because they’ve been better
Butler is a pretty good hitter but for everyone saying he is for sure worth more than Arrieta, I find that questionable. While his stats may not be great at this point in his career, he certainly passes the eye test so to speak. He is a gamer who can be a top quality pitcher by simply reducing his amount of walks. He doesn’t have terrible control so he is very capable of that. I personally would hate to see the O’s make that trade.
It appears you need a subscription to BA to read Ben’s story.
The team that needs to dial up Anthopolous and talk to him about Travis Snider is Atlanta.
The reality is the braves are not going to pay good value for Snider, in which case its better to keep him.
2 years ago Snider would have been worth one of the braves top pitching prospects. now… not so much. .
Yeah, I would love for the Braves to get Snider. The Blue Jays should owe the Braves a good deal after the Escobar fleecing from a couple of years ago 🙂 !!
The problem with Snider is that he is yet another lefty, something the Braves don’t need this season. A bigger problem is that the Braves farm system also isn’t particularly strong right now. They have the untouchables of Delgado and Teheran, but not much else after that. Christhian Bethancourt wouldn’t bring back Snider (and the Jays have a better catching prospect anyway). Vizcaino for Snider would have been a solid possibility had Viz not torn his UCL. The rest of the Braves top ten prospects are meh kind of players. I don’t see these two teams matching up.
I say Jed & Theo swoop in and grab him (Snider). He could go to the minors with Rizzo & Jackson and take over in left when Soriano is traded.
There is no reason for Bobby V. to deny something that never was. This was a set up. The story was originally published by a Yankee troll, Nick Carfado, because he had a publication deadline to meet and nothing of substance to write about…
The only guy in the Red Sox management corps who has the ability to impose his judgement on who, among players, should stay or go is John Henry. He is the team owner. Everyone else has to be collaborative in how they go about expressing their opinions and judgements about personnel. Any jerk with an ounce of baseball smarts knows this.
I think teams interested in outfielders should focus on Eric Thames. I think one way of interpreting Anthopolous’ comments on the Snider demotion is that they want Thames to perform reasonably well for a couple of months, then deal him and bring up Snider permanently. If that happens, Thames is likely to bring a bit more than Snider in a trade IMO.
In any case, I don’t think they’re going to trade Snider, unless the offer blows their minds, which isn’t likely at the moment.