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Archives for May 2012

NL East Notes: Nationals, Wang, Braves, Bourn

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A look at items out of the National League East..

  • The Nationals have a scout in Boston with an eye on the Red Sox's catchers, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).  The Nats will be without starting catcher Wilson Ramos for most, if not all, of the 2012 season.
  • Nationals pitcher Chien-Ming Wang is probably physically ready to return from his rehab stint but the club will wait the full 30 days before making a difficult decision regarding their rotation's logjam, writes Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider.  The Nats could use their pitching surplus to improve elsewhere as they're set to have Wang and Ross Detwiler on the major league roster with John Lannan in Triple-A.
  • Michael Bourn is off to a red-hot start in his walk year, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Agent Scott Boras confirmed that he has had contract talks with the Braves and O'Brien opines that the centerfielder is unlikely to sign for less than $50MM.

Cardinals Release Amaury Cazana

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The Cardinals have released Amaury Cazana, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch (via Twitter).  The news was first reported by Brian Walton of The Cardinal Nation (via Twitter).  In parts of six seasons at the Triple-A level, the corner outfielder owns a .338/.408/.528 slash line. 

The Cuban was loaned out to the Triple-A Mexican league for the last two years but was with Triple-A Memphis this season, where he hit .238/.297/.327 in 30 games.  Cazana, whose birth year has been reported to be somewhere between 1974 and 1978, developed a good deal of buzz amongst Cardinals fans over the years but never appeared in the majors.

Dodgers Designate Trent Oeltjen For Assignment

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The Dodgers have designated outfielder Trent Oeltjen for assignment, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).  The club also promoted utility man Elian Herrera from Triple-A and placed Juan Uribe on the disabled list.

Oeltjen, 29, appeared in 61 games for the Dodgers in 2011.  The Australian owns a slash line of .301/.360/.473 across parts of six Triple-A seasons with the Twins, D'Backs, Brewers, and Dodgers.

Angels Place Torii Hunter On Restricted List

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The Angels have placed outfielder Torii Hunter on the restricted list due to personal reasons and plan to select the contract of Ryan Langerhans from Triple-A Salt Lake, according to Tim Mead of the Angels (via Twitter).  Hunter's Texas-based son was charged with a crime earlier today, according to a report from NBC Dallas Fort Worth.

Hunter, 37 in July, is in the final year of a five-year, $90MM pact.  So far this year, the outfielder is hitting .256/.328/.413 with five homers in 33 games.  Players on the restricted list do not count toward a team's 25-man or 40-man roster. 

2013 Contract Issues: Pittsburgh Pirates

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The Pirates are next in MLBTR’s 2013 Contract Issues series:

Eligible For Free Agency (5)

  • Erik Bedard - Bedard was starting to look like an appealing midseason trade candidate, but he left his most recent start with back spasms. There's no guarantee he'll finish this season in Pittsburgh, so it'd be premature to assume he'll play on next year's Pirates team.
  • Juan Cruz - Cruz owns a respectable 11K/6BB ratio and has allowed just one run in 14 innings. He'll be looking at a one-year deal this offseason and won't necessarily obtain a guaranteed roster spot, so the Pirates may try to re-sign him to a low-risk contract.
  • Jason Grilli - Grilli has 23 strikeouts and a 2.77 ERA after 13 innings. The Pirates may well want to retain him for another year as well.
  • Nate McLouth - McLouth has struggled in his return to Pittsburgh, but in theory he could be a solid extra outfielder.
  • Kevin Correia - The Pirates figure to be looking for starting pitching depth this offseason. Correia could be a fit, but it seems unlikely the Pirates would choose to make him a major commitment given that his fastball velocity and strikeout rate have dropped off so far in 2012. None of the players above figure to see qualifying offers from the Pirates when they hit free agency.

Contract Options (2)

  • Rod Barajas: $3.5MM club option with no buyout becomes a mutual option after a trade. Walk-off home runs aside, it's been a slow start at the plate for Barajas, who has a .472 OPS so far in 2012. It's still early enough for the veteran catcher to make that $3.5MM figure seem reasonable, however.
  • Pedro Alvarez: $700K club option. Exercising Alvarez's option figures to be a formality, especially if he continues to hit for power.

Arbitration Eligible (9)

The Pirates are up against a relatively large and expensive projected arbitration class. McDonald and Walker are on track for salaries north of $2MM as first-time eligible players and the rest are on track for raises. However, this group could be thinned out in the coming months. McGehee and Jones could be on the non-tender bubble by December's deadline and Hanrahan is a trade candidate who might be playing elsewhere a few months from now. If the Pirates keep everyone this arbitration class could get expensive quickly, since every player but Meek and Resop will be in line for at least $2MM in 2013.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The Pirates' payroll is up to $52MM this year, but it remains one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. They have committed $19.375MM to next year's team, so GM Neal Huntington should have payroll flexibility this coming offseason, assuming some arbitration eligible players don't return.

Trade Candidate: Jose Mijares

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There’s a market for left-handed relief pitching every summer, and the 13-20 Royals are once again expected to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline, so Jose Mijares could interest general managers around the league if his rebound season continues in the coming weeks.

Jose Mijares - Royals (PW)

The Twins non-tendered Mijares last offseason following a difficult 2011 campaign in which his average fastball velocity dropped and he walked as many batters as he struck out (30). The 27-year-old signed a one-year, $925K contract with the Royals in December and the results have been promising to this point. He has a 2.45 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 14 2/3 innings, an indication that last year’s struggles may be behind him.

Mijares has returned to his career norms so far in 2012 and his fastball has regained its zip (90.9 mph on average). Against left-handed hitters he has impressive career rates of 8.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. When lefty hitters face Mijares fewer fly balls become home runs and fewer batted balls become hits or line drives.

But he is a true ‘loogy’ in that his managers need to limit his exposure to right-handed hitters (they hit .271/.357/.434 against him). He’s best used as a specialist, and his managers know it. He has averaged less than one inning per appearance and faced nearly as many left-handers as right-handers in his five MLB seasons. 

The Royals aren’t under pressure to move Mijares, who’s affordable and under team control through 2014. But GM Dayton Moore won’t necessarily need Mijares for the next three seasons, as Tim Collins can neutralize tough left-handed hitters and the Royals have other potentially useful left-handed relievers in the minors. If the Royals can obtain a reasonably interesting prospect for Mijares while his value remains high, his tenure in Kansas City may be brief. 

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Heyman On Myers, Lee, Wright, Rangers

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The latest notes and rumors from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com:

  • Astros people say they aren't thinking about trading their veteran players at this point, according to Heyman. One non-Astros executive likes Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers as midsummer trade candidates. 
  • However, the executive said it won't be easy to move Carlos Lee and his $18MM salary. Lee can block trades to 14 teams and badly wants to stay in Houston. A possible trade to the Brewers fell through months ago, Heyman reports.
  • High-level Mets people such as COO Jeff Wilpon generally support David Wright, Heyman reports. The Mets won't trade Wright this summer and will try to lock him up before long, Heyman writes. It would take something "extraordinary'' for Wright to be traded this year, GM Sandy Alderson confirmed to Heyman. If the Mets were to trade Wright this summer, he would obtain the right to void a $16MM club option for 2013 and become a free agent this offseason. Mets people view Wright as a more reliable player than Jose Reyes, Heyman writes.
  • Heyman also points out that Josh Hamilton's performance is going to make re-signing him that much more complex for the Rangers.

2013 Contract Issues: St. Louis Cardinals

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The Cardinals are next in MLBTR’s 2013 Contract Issues series:

Eligible For Free Agency (3)

  • Kyle Lohse - Lohse is limiting walks, hits and home runs so far this year, so the Cardinals could have interest in extending their relationship with the right-hander. If pitching prospects Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez don't seem ready for MLB hitters, Lohse could round out the St. Louis rotation for another year.
  • Lance Berkman - Berkman, 36, has appeared in just eight games this year due to an extended stint on the disabled list. If the switch-hitter replicates his 2011 production from here on it'll be hard for the Cardinals to let him go. If not, they can allocate his $12MM salary elsewhere.
  • Scott Linebrink - Linebrink, now on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, hasn't thrown a pitch for the Cardinals. The 35-year-old has been an effective reliever in recent years, but his stock has fallen in 2012.

Contract Options (1)

  • Jake Westbrook: $8.5MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout if the club declines. Westbrook has pitched well, though not quite as well as his 1.76 ERA suggests. The right-hander will have turned 35 by the time the season ends, so the Cardinals could decline their side of the option if they believe the net cost of $7.5MM is too much for a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Arbitration Eligible (5)

The Cardinals face a relatively small class of arbitration eligible players this offseason. The group figures to cost $10-15MM to retain for 2013.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The Cardinals have already committed approximately $84.5MM to next year's payroll. They've spent $110MM or so in each of the past two seasons, so they should be able to round out their rotation without raising payroll after accounting for arbitration eligible players and other upcoming raises.

Trade Candidate: Cole Hamels

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The Phillies aren't accustomed to losing more than they win, but if their early-season struggles continue and they're out of contention by the July 31st trade deadline, they could become sellers. Teams are already asking about Cole Hamels and the inquiries will become more frequent if the Phillies don't re-enter the NL East race within the next two months.

Cole Hamels - Phillies (PW)

Hamels has been the 12th-most valuable pitcher in baseball since he first broke in to the Major Leagues in 2006, according to FanGraphs' version of the wins above replacement metric. He's off to another tremendous start, with a 2.28 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 41.3% ground ball rate through 47 1/3 innings in 2012. He'll be the best pitcher available if the Phillies decide they're serious about selling.

Yet two factors will limit Hamels' value for potentially interested teams. He’ll be a free agent in a few months and there's no indication he's willing to sign an extension at a discount, especially this close to the open market. Secondly, any team that acquires him can’t get a compensatory pick if he signs elsewhere. Under baseball's new collective bargaining agreement teams don't obtain future draft picks for losing players they acquired midseason. Interested teams would be looking at a two or three-month rental.

Recent midseason deals involving elite left-handed pitchers haven’t worked out particularly well for the teams obtaining prospects. Hamels’ teammate Cliff Lee was traded for Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson in 2009 then dealt for Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Justin Smoak the following season. The Brewers acquired C.C. Sabathia for Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson and Zach Jackson in 2008. 

The Indians and Mariners haven’t obtained the elite performers they were hoping for, but Knapp, Carrasco, Smoak and LaPorta were considered top prospects when they were dealt. There’s no reason for the Phillies to expect less than an elite prospect plus secondary pieces for Hamels. They may even aim to obtain multiple top prospects for the left-hander. If no team meets their asking price, they can hold onto Hamels, tender him a one-year contract this offseason and obtain draft pick compensation assuming he declines the offer and signs elsewhere. 

Though Hamels' contract expires after the season, he has the potential to become the primary attraction of this summer's trade market. The Blue Jays have reportedly checked in on him and it's easy to envision teams such as the Red Sox, Tigers and Dodgers expressing interest if Hamels does become available. Other clubs will surely lose starting pitchers to the disabled list in the coming ten weeks, so new interest will emerge.

Ruben Amaro Jr. has successfully navigated the midseason trade deadline as a buyer, trading for front-of-the-rotation starters Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt. The GM could face a new challenge this summer if the last-place Phillies don't improve on their 16-19 record. Amaro would have leverage, since Hamels would generate considerable interest and the Phillies could always keep him and obtain draft pick compensation in 2013 if interested teams propose one-sided trades.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Cardinals Release J.C. Romero

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The Cardinals announced that they've released left-handed reliever J.C. Romero (Twitter link). The team activated right-hander Eduardo Sanchez in a related move. MDR Sports Management represents Romero, a veteran of 14 MLB seasons.

The Cardinals signed Romero to a one-year deal worth $750K plus incentives back in December. The 35-year-old appeared in 11 games this year, allowing 14 runs and nine earned runs in eight innings of work. He spent the 2011 season with the Phillies and Rockies, posting a 4.01 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 5.5 BB/9 and a 54.4% ground ball rate in 24 2/3 innings.

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