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Archives for March 2012

Phillies Notes: Trades, Pierre, Willis, Playoffs

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The Phillies won a franchise-record 102 games last season, but were denied a World Series berth by the now-champion Cardinals. This offseason, they re-signed Jimmy Rollins, extended Kyle Kendrick, and added Jonathan Papelbon, Jim Thome, Laynce Nix, and Dontrelle Willis to bolster their bench and bullpen. Here's the latest on the defending NL East Champions…

  • GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and assistant GM Benny Looper are well aware that trades they've made to acquire Roy Halladay, Hunter Pence, and others will eventually be painful, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Amaro and Looper both discuss how difficult it was to part ways with players like Travis d'Arnaud and Anthony Gose. Amaro didn't deny the November report that he attempted to re-acquire D'Arnaud.
  • The Phillies are the only team who reached out to Juan Pierre this offseason, the outfielder told the Miami Herald's Manny Navarro. Pierre inked a minor league deal back in January.
  • In the same piece, Navarro writes that Willis and Pierre are happy to be in camp together. The pair won a World Series together with the Marlins in 2003, and have remained very close friends since. Pierre is the godfather of all three of Willis' daughters, and the two refer to each other as "brothers." Willis also noted that the Marlins have shown interest in him again since trading him.
  • Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Halladay isn't a big fan of the extended playoffs. Halladay doesn't like the concept of opening a five-game series with two road games, nor does he like the thought of a 162-game season coming down to one game.
  • Freddy Galvis is working out at second base and third base with the hopes of making the big league team as a utility infielder now that Rollins has re-signed, according to the Inquirer's Matt Gelb.

Central Notes: Luhnow, Hart, Braun, Zumaya

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Some links from baseball's Central Divisions for your Sunday reading…

  • New Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has the right outlook, but very few pieces to work with, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. One scout told Heyman that aside from Carlos Lee, only two players in the Astros' projected lineup have a chance to be even league-average hitters: Jason Castro and Chris Johnson.
  • Corey Hart has torn cartilage in his knee that will require arthroscopic surgery and sideline him for three-to-four weeks, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said they won't rush Hart back like they did from an oblique injury that cost him his 2011 Spring Training, and that Hart will likely open the season on the disabled list.
  • MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner told Haudricourt that the leak in Ryan Braun's positive drug test was an isolated, case-specific incident and that the process doesn't have a confidentiality problem.
  • Joel Zumaya has opted for Tommy John surgery, writes MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Dr James Andrews will perform the operation at the end of March, and the Twins have yet to decide if they'll place Zumaya on the 60-day DL or release him, assistant GM Rob Antony told Bollinger.

West Notes: Cespedes, Cain, Beras, Murphy, Villalona

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On this day in 2009, the Dodgers agreed to re-sign Manny Ramirez to a two-year, $45MM contract.  Ramirez's time in Los Angeles came to an end in August of 2010 when he was claimed off of waivers by the White Sox.  As a Dodger, the slugger hit .322/.433/.580 with 44 homers in 223 games.  Here's a look at some items out of the AL and NL West..

  • Yoenis Cespedes was warmly welcomed by Manny, writes Yahoo's Steve Henson. Ramirez discussed hitting extensively with his new friend, and ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Cespedes says it's an "honor" to play with Ramirez. (Twitter link). 
  • There was a belief around baseball that Matt Cain was going to be an easy sign for the Giants, but that now seems less certain, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Word was that the hurler might even be prepared to sign back with the Giants for less than $100MM but that seems far less likely.
  • If the league upholds Jairo Beras' contract with the Rangers, sources with several teams have said that they will be furious, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America.  MLB has granted some players leniency in the past if they willingly came forward with a new age or a new identity, but that does not appear to be the case in this situation.
  • Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels says that multiple teams have inquired on David Murphy, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Even though Murphy is slated to come off of the bench, Daniels says that the outfielder is a huge part of the club.  The Twins inquired on Murphy back in December but Texas was unwilling to compromise their outfield depth.
  • Angel Villalona's name plate has been removed from his locker and that's a sign that his visa issue isn't close to being resolved, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.  The Giants first baseman is facing legal trouble in his native Dominican Republic.
  • The Athletics formally introduced Cespedes today and the outfielder said that Miguel Tejada told him that Oakland was a good organization to grow up in, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

MLBTR Originals: 2/26/12 – 3/3/12

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As Spring Training picks up steam, let's take a look back at the original content and scoops provided by the MLBTR writing team this past week:

  • Tim Dierkes attended the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston, and had the opportunity to get some thoughts from Scott Boras on Edwin Jackson, Johnny Damon, and Mike Gonzalez. Boras said he feels a one-year deal benefits Jackson, because his agency's metrics lead him to believe that evolution as a pitcher is still coming.
  • Tim also had the opportunity to ask new Astros GM Jeff Luhnow a few questions after he participated in a panel at the event. Luhnow spoke about the decision to move Brett Myers to the bullpen, the importance of the first overall pick, and his implementation of more advanced statistical analysis in the Houston front office.
  • Happy belated Leap Day! Howard Megdal's latest work takes a look at the history of the rare February 29 transaction.
  • Mike Axisa gave us an idea of what to expect this month when he ran down the transactions from March of 2011.
  • Ben Nicholson-Smith examined Salvador Perez's surprising contract extension, noting that there's significant upside for the Royals.
  • Ryan Zimmerman became the newest $100MM man in baseball, leading Ben to look at $100MM contracts in history by players' age.
  • The new Collective Bargaining Agreement will have significant impact on trading strategies this year, and Ben examined what changes we can expect when he looked at the new trade market.
  • Ben examined John Axford as an extension candidate and concluded that a four-year, $17MM deal would be fitting for the man with Milwaukee's most notable mustache.
  • That wasn't the only situation Ben analyzed; he took a look at Mike Minor as a trade candidate following some candid comments from the Braves young lefty last week.
  • Ben gave a fantastic preview of service time considerations for Baseball America's Top 100 prospects. Ben's piece sheds light on how long players like Bryce Harper and Shelby Miller will have to be in the minors to give their clubs extra service time.
  • Tim provides an extensive list of starting pitchers who could hear their name on the trading block whis summer.
  • Tim also published MLBTR's list of 2014 free agents, and in a separate piece, looked at the top names available at each position in that free agent class.
  • On a related note, Tim also checked in with players who would be entering contract years, were it not for contract extensions they signed.
  • The Offseason in Review series is back, and Tim kicked off by looking at the Atlanta Braves.
  • In a pair of polls, Ben and Zach asked readers which 90-win team will disappoint (with the Brewers getting the most votes) and which NL team will have the biggest turnaround (the Nationals won the voting), respectively.
  • WIth Scott Sizemore going down for the season, Tim looked at some third base alternatives for the Athletics.
  • As he does each and every week, Mike provided readers with a window into the best of the baseball blogosphere with this week's edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
  • Tim manned the helm for this week's MLBTR Chat.
  • MLBTR is seeking comment moderators, so be sure to apply if you're interested in helping out!
  • As usual, there's plenty of new fantasy baseball content over at the newly re-launched RotoAuthority.com. Here's a look at the latest.
  • MLBTR was the first to learn that the Orioles signed minor league catcher Josh Johnson.

Week In Review: 2/26/12 – 3/3/12

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It's time to take a look back at the week that was here at MLBTR..

Orioles Release Dennys Reyes

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The Orioles have released pitcher Dennys Reyes for failure to report to camp, according to Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com (via Twitter).  The 34-year-old agreed to a minor league deal with the O's back in January.

The left-hander briefly appeared in the Major Leagues last season with the Red Sox.  Prior to that, Reyes spent two seasons with the Cardinals where he posted a 3.42 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9.

AL East Notes: Rays, Howell, Yankees, Hendry

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Here's a look at some items out of the AL East..

  • The Rays believe that J.P. Howell is worth their investment after an up-and-down 2011 campaign, writes Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune.  The Rays avoided arbitration with Howell this winter, agreeing to a $1.35MM deal for 2012.
  • Looking back on it, Rays pitcher Joel Peralta has no regrets about lying about his age to land a contract from a major league team, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  In 1996, the Dominican pitcher told scouts that he was 16-years-old rather than 20.
  • Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger spoke with Jim Hendry who is now with the Yankees as a special assignment scout.  The former Cubs General Manager says that he hasn't put much thought into whether he'd want to serve as a GM again and doesn't plan to leave the Yanks job after one year.
  • Hiroki Kuroda will have to make adjustments with the Yankees but the pitcher already showed an ability to adapt by finding success in MLB, Carig writes.
  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter said this week that he’s used the Rays recent success as proof that Baltimore can compete in the AL East with a limited payroll, writes Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun.

Mike Gonzalez Declines Rangers Offer

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Free agent reliever Mike Gonzalez turned down a non-roster offer from the Rangers, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  The Rangers made the offer to the Scott Boras client last week.

Gonzalez registered a posted a 4.39 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 56 games for the Orioles and Rangers last season.  On Friday, Boras told Tim Dierkes that a lot of teams are still in play for the left-hander and his availability late in the offseason doesn't reflect a lack of interest.

Texas might have freed a spot for Gonzalez with a trade of Koji Uehara, but GM Jon Daniels recently said that there were no deals in the works involving him.

Cafardo On Jones, Nationals, Floyd, Indians, Red Sox

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Agent Scott Boras told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he expects trade deadline activity to decrease because the superpowers in baseball are going to save money on the luxury tax and can’t spend it in the draft.  Boras was in attendance for the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston and our own Tim Dierkes sat down for an interview with the super agent.  Here's more from Cafardo's Sunday column..

  • The Orioles' Adam Jones keeps popping up in trade discussions with the Nationals, but O's sources indicate that there’s very little chance he'll be dealt.  The Nats are trying to figure out center field, and for the moment they’re content with using Jayson Werth, Roger Bernadina, and Rick Ankiel.  However, they will be scouting Michael Bourn, B.J. Upton, Gerardo Parra, and Peter Bourjos in spring training.
  • White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd could be in play for the Blue Jays or Red Sox.  The White Sox don’t appear eager to move Floyd, but GM Kenny Williams wouldn’t be shy if it brought him a decent bounty in return.
  • The Indians will try to fill in for Grady Sizemore with Michael Brantley, but their scouts are looking for a center field option in the trade market.
  • Free agent Adonis Garcia is drawing interest from several teams, but the Red Sox aren’t overly enamored, according to a team source.
  • Roy Oswalt is still in play and later in camp the Red Sox could put on a full-court press for him.
  • The Rays are looking for a catcher to back up Jose Molina and Boras may look to put Ivan Rodriguez in that spot.
  • There seems to be concern that the Astros are shooting themselves in the foot by moving starter Brett Myers into the closer role as he is one of the veterans they have been trying to deal.  Teams typically need innings-eaters over late-inning relievers.
  • Cafardo wonders aloud if Terry Francona will land with the Mets when he resumes his managerial career.

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