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Archives for March 2012

Angels Looking For Starting Pitching Depth

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Despite having a strong front four of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, C.J. Wilson, and Ervin Santana, the Angels are looking for starting pitching depth according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They are focusing on out of options or non-roster players in camp with other clubs, not bigger names like John Lannan.

Garrett Richards, Brad Mills, and Jerome Williams are currently competing for the fifth starter's job, though Williams is battling a hamstring problem. As our out of options list shows, there aren't many teams out there with extra starters who could match up for a trade.

Starting Pitchers 35 Or Older

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At any given moment, there are 150 Major League rotation spots, give or take. Injuries and unconventional alignments lead to fluctuations in the number of spots, but we’re essentially dealing with five per team. Each one of those spots is highly coveted, because starters pitch more innings and generally earn more money, whether through arbitration or free agency. 18 of the pitchers in projected rotations around MLB are at least 35 years of age or will turn 35 at some point in 2012. Here’s the complete list, sorted by age:

Projected rosters via MLBDepthCharts.com.

Orioles Shopping Kevin Gregg, Mark Reynolds

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The Orioles are shopping right-handed reliever Kevin Gregg and corner infielder Mark Reynolds, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets. Both players are under contract for 2012 with club options for 2013.

Gregg, 33, posted a 4.37 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 59 2/3 innings of work last year, his first season in Baltimore. He'll earn $5.8MM in 2012 and his contract includes a $6MM club option for 2013. I'd be surprised if a team took on more than $2MM of his salary in a trade.

Reynolds, 28, hit 37 homers and posted a .221/.323/.483 line last year, while playing first and third base. He led the league in strikeouts for the fourth consecutive season, striking out in approximately one third of his 620 plate appearances. He'll earn $7.5MM in 2012 and his contract includes a $11MM club option for 2013 ($500K buyout).

Chipper Jones To Retire Following 2012 Season

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Chipper Jones' 19th season in the Major Leagues will also be the final one of his career. The Braves announced that their 39-year-old third baseman will retire following the 2012 campaign.

Chipper Jones - Braves

Larry Wayne 'Chipper' Jones has been a fixture in the Braves' organization ever since then-GM Bobby Cox selected him first overall in the 1990 draft. He leads all active players in service with one club, and it sounds as though he'll remain involved with the Braves after he stops playing. The Braves and Jones have expressed mutual interest in continuing to work together in future years. 

Jones' credentials are worthy of the Hall of Fame. The seven-time All-Star won the 1999 National League MVP Award and the 2008 NL batting title. He also has 454 home runs, 1561 RBI, more walks (1455) than strikeouts (1358), and a .304/.402/.533 career batting line. Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504) are the only switch hitters with more career home runs.

Jones' contract included a 2013 club option for $7MM that would have become guaranteed at $9MM if Jones had played 123 games in 2012. The BB Abbott client earned upwards of $155MM as a Major Leaguer, according to Baseball-Reference.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Red Sox Monitoring Mike Gonzalez Market

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The Red Sox are monitoring the market for left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. The Scott Boras client remains a free agent and intends to play in 2012.

The Indians and White Sox have been linked to Gonzalez this month, but the Athletics no longer seem interested and the 33-year-old turned down a minor league offer from the Rangers. “In these markets, sometimes late doesn't mean demand, it just means choice," Boras told Tim Dierkes three weeks ago.

Gonzalez posted a 4.39 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings for the Orioles and Rangers in 2011. Franklin Morales, Rich Hill, Felix Doubront and Andrew Miller are among Boston's left-handed options, but the latter two southpaws have been in the mix for rotation spots.

Offseason In Review: Seattle Mariners

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Desperately in need of offense, the Mariners sent promising right-hander Michael Pineda to New York for Jesus Montero in a move that defined the 2011-12 offseason for GM Jack Zduriencik.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Carlos Guillen, Brian Sweeney, Kevin Millwood, Oliver Perez, Aaron Heilman, Munenori Kawasaki, Luis Rodriguez, Matt Fox, Guillermo Quiroz, Sean Henn.

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

The Mariners couldn’t do without offense any longer, even though it meant trading away one of their most valuable assets: 23-year-old right-hander Michael Pineda. The 6'5" rookie had more strikeouts than innings pitched last year and remains under team control through 2016. Naturally, the Mariners were reluctant to give him up.

“I think a lot of clubs really try to hang onto the young players,” GM Jack Zduriencik said in January after the trade was announced. “They realize how good those players are for an organization.”

But Seattle, which finished last in the American League in runs scored in 2010 and 2011, had the opportunity to acquire Jesus Montero. Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he's never traded a better player and scouts and prospect analysts agree that Montero will handle MLB pitching. Zduriencik said spacious Safeco Field won’t be an issue for the 22-year-old, who has an .867 OPS as a minor leaguer.

The trade between Zduriencik and Cashman highlighted a Mariners offseason that began tragically when 24-year-old outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death in November. Halman joined the Mariners' organization as a 16-year-old and appeared in the Major Leagues in 2010 and 2011.

Zduriencik spent cautiously this winter, committing less than $4MM to players on guaranteed contracts. That didn’t stop the Mariners from obtaining veteran rotation depth in the form of Kevin Millwood and Japanese starter Hisashi Iwakuma (though the latter will begin the season in the 'pen). Seattle's front office believes newcomer Hector Noesi can start at the MLB level and he'll begin his Mariners career in the rotation. Even after trading Pineda, the Mariners have top pitching prospects Danny Hultzen, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker working their way through the minor leagues. For now, however, the Mariners' rotation looks average, even with Hernandez leading the way.

The Mariners released David Aardsma this offseason and saw Jamey Wright sign with the Dodgers, but they added left-hander George Sherrill and right-handers Shawn Camp and Aaron Heilman, among others. Seattle’s bullpen doesn’t figure to dominate in 2012, especially if Brandon League gets traded this summer. But spending big on middle relievers doesn’t make sense for a non-contending club looking to lower payroll, so I like Zduriencik’s decision to add upside affordably.

The Mariners deflected the usual inquiries on Felix Hernandez — Zduriencik must have the script memorized by now — and League, but they did complete one trade besides the headliner, acquiring catcher John Jaso from the Rays for reliever Josh Lueke. Jaso’s left-handed swing, control of the strike zone and above-average on-base skills should complement Miguel Olivo nicely. Jaso’s presence also allows Montero to focus on his offense. The Mariners figure to ask him to catch here and there, but he’ll be in Eric Wedge’s lineup as the DH most days.

Bounce-back seasons from Ichiro, first baseman Justin Smoak and center fielder Franklin Gutierrez would help Seattle improve on last year’s 67-95 mark. But Gutierrez is out with a right pectoral injury and Ichiro won’t be leading off for the first time since 2001. The 38-year-old enters the final year of his contract with the knowledge that he’ll be removed from the leadoff spot, where he has played 1722 of his 1749 MLB games.

The Angels added the best player in baseball and the Rangers are arguably better on paper than they were in 2010 or 2011, so the Mariners don’t figure to contend in 2012. Their offense, while improved, still projects as below average. The 2009 Mariners won with tremendous run prevention and a weak offense, but don't count on a repeat performance from this year's team. Even though Zduriencik successfully added depth to the pitching staff plus a controllable young bat, the most likely outcome for the 2012 Mariners seems to be 70-75 wins and a third or fourth-place finish.

Quick Hits: Forbes, Padres, Felix, Athletics

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Forbes Magazine calculates the Yankees (unsurprisingly) as the most valuable franchise in baseball, worth an estimated $1.85 billion.  The second-place team on the list are (somewhat surprisingly) the Dodgers at $1.4 billion, up nearly 75% in value from last year as Forbes predicts the team's forthcoming sale and new TV contract will return it to top-tier status.  The Forbes list also reveals which teams lost value from last year and which didn't turn a profit in 2011, as well as looking at how cable TV deals are changing the economics of the game.

Some other news from around the majors…

  • Yasmani Grandal is happy that Padres teammate and fellow catcher Nick Hundley received a contract extension but isn't worried that Hundley's deal impacts his own future with the club, reports Dan Hayes of the North County Times.  "It doesn't matter if somebody got a deal or not. You never know what could happen," Grandal said.  "They could get traded or you could get traded. I'm not only playing for one organization. I'm playing for the 29 others that are out there. That's one way I see it, and if it's not meant to be it's not meant to be. If I don't make it to the big leagues with this club I can make it with any other team."
  • Hundley's reasonable contract could make him a strong trade candidate, opines Dave Cameron of Fangraphs, who the Padres could deal this summer if Grandal has a strong first half at Triple-A.
  • Felix Hernandez says he is asked about his future with the Mariners in almost every interview, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, and joked he might hang a banner reading "I'm not going anywhere" over his locker.
  • The Athletics are thus far very pleased with the four prospects (Tom Milone, Brad Peacock, A.J. Cole and Derek Norris) they received from the Nationals in the Gio Gonzalez trade, reports Jeff Fletcher for the Washington Times.
  • Matthew Eddy of Baseball America recaps the week's minor league transactions.
  • Vernon Wells thinks the Blue Jays could make "exceptions" to their policy of not offering contracts longer than five years, reports Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  Ironically, Wells' seven-year, $126MM deal with Toronto in 2006 is no doubt a major reason why the current Jays management team has adopted this policy.
  • Some newly-hired bench bosses make FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal's annual list of managers on the hot seat, including Ozzie Guillen and Bobby Valentine.

NL East Notes: Pelfrey, Parra, Nats, Valdez, Phillies

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On this date last year the Mets released Oliver Perez with one year and $12MM remaining on his contract. Perez, now a member of the Mariners organization, hasn't appeared in the Major Leagues since. Here are some links from his former division…

  • After talking to a Mets official, "it doesn't seem" like the team has talked about cutting Mike Pelfrey, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).  However, the Mets are "well aware of the fact" that Pelfrey's contract is non-guaranteed and, if the right-hander is cut, the Mets will only have to pay a portion of his $5.68MM salary.  Pelfrey has had a very rough Spring Training, posting a 14.90 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work.
  • The Diamondbacks aren't going to trade Gerardo Parra to the Nationals, a D'Backs source tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter).
  • The Phillies are looking for infield help but it's "doubtful" they would try to re-acquire Wilson Valdez, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  The Phils dealt Valdez to the Reds in January since the Phillies felt they were already set for utility infield options — somewhat ironic given their current position.
  • David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News argues that the Phillies need to add a veteran infielder give the questionable health of their projected starters. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Placido Polanco and Michael Martinez are all currently dealing with injuries.
  • ESPN.com’s Buster Olney gets the sense that the Braves’ on-field personnel prefer Andrelton Simmons for the starting shortstop job, while the front office favors Tyler Pastornicky. Such divergences of opinion are common and not necessarily problematic, as Olney notes.
  • Olney hears from talent evaluators who say Jair Jurrjens has struggled to command his fastball and that Jason Heyward is "still thinking about his mechanics" at the plate.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

AL Central Links: Lillibridge, Guerra, Indians, Inge

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It was on this day in 1968 that the Royals officially became the Royals, as the new expansion franchise officially announced its name a year before taking the field.  The name was inspired by both the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League and Kansas City's annual "American Royal" horse show. 

Here's the latest from the AL Central…

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Conrad, Pirates, Francisco

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The Brewers will honor Bob Uecker with a statue that will be unveiled on August 31.  The legendary broadcaster joins Bud Selig, Robin Yount and Henry Aaron as other Milwaukee baseball heroes who are immortalized in statue form at Miller Park.  At least, that's the intended location, as Uecker joked, "It's not going to be at (Miller) Park. Robin and Henry wanted their statues moved if mine was put there."

Some more news from the Brewers and elsewhere in the NL Central…

  • The Brewers are looking for middle infield help but GM Doug Melvin said that it's a tough market since many other teams are looking for the same thing, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  The Phillies, Athletics and Twins are just a few of the clubs known to be hunting for infielders.  McCalvy also covers several other Brewers-related topics as part of this fan chat. 
  • Brooks Conrad is one internal infield option that the Brewers seem likely to keep on the roster, reports McCalvy.  Conrad is in camp on a minor league deal and manager Ron Roenicke noted the value of Conrad's ability to play several positions and switch-hit.  If Conrad is kept on the Major League roster, he will earn $510K.  Conrad can play second, so the Brewers would probably focus on finding a shortstop if they do acquire another infielder.
  • The Pirates' projected $52MM payroll makes sense for the team right now, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, as there weren't any clear opportunities to spend last winter and the Bucs need to save their money for key long-term pieces (like Andrew McCutchen and his new six-year contract extension).
  • Juan Francisco's failure to come to camp in shape and with a calf injury properly rehabiliated, not to mention his poor performance this spring, has turned him from a "near-lock" to make the Reds roster into a question mark, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.  Francisco is out of options, as is Wilson Valdez, another contender for a spot on Cincinnati's bench.
  • Also from Sheldon (via Twitter), he shoots down internet rumors linking the Reds and Phillies in a Brandon Phillips-for-Cole Hamels deal.  No surprise that rumor is "false," it doesn't make sense for either team.  
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tries to predict the Astros' Opening Day roster.
  • Here are some Cardinals and Cubs news items from earlier today on MLBTR.

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