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Archives for May 2012

Mets Intend To Offer Wright Extension During Season

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WEDNESDAY: Mets CEO Jeff Wilpon spoke to ESPN New York's Adam Rubin and backed up Alderson's statement, though he didn't make it sound like getting a contract worked out with Wright is an urgent matter.

"As Sandy said I think last night, [Wright is] under contract this year," said Wilpon. "We have an option for next year. There's no gun to anybody's head. So let it just play out. And at the right time Sandy and I will discuss it and it'll move on."

TUESDAY: Earlier this month we heard that the Mets were likely to offer David Wright a long-term contract, and today GM Sandy Alderson confirmed to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that an offer will be made during the season. He would not disclose the size of the offer or when the superstar third baseman could expect it.

"I would expect sometime before the season's over, we will have a conversation," said Alderson. "I'm hopeful he'll be here a long time."

Wright, 29, is making $15MM this season and has a club option for 2013 worth $16MM. He came into the day hitting .373/.474/.578 with five homers and more walks (32) than strikeouts (29). Ryan Zimmerman's six-year, $100MM extension with the Nationals seems like just a starting point for a new Wright deal given his superior performance record and durability.

Poll: What’s Next For Jamie Moyer?

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Jamie Moyer opened the season as a feel-good story following his return from Tommy John surgery at age 49, but he lasted just ten starts with the Rockies before being designated for assignment this afternoon. The veteran southpaw posted a 5.70 ERA in 53 2/3 innings for Colorado.

At his age, it’s easy to assume Moyer will finally hang up the spikes. He’s shown tremendous perseverance by continuing his career after elbow reconstruction though, so it would be an unsafe assumption at best. That said, it takes two to tango. Moyer has to find a club willing to sign him so he can keep playing.

Rockies Designate Jamie Moyer For Assignment

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The Rockies designated 49-year-old left-hander Jamie Moyer for assignment, Tracy Ringolsby of Root Sports reports (Twitter link). The move creates space on Colorado's 25 and 40-man rosters.

Moyer, who turns 50 this fall, started ten games for the Rockies after signing a minor league deal with the team in January. He posted a 5.70 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 53 2/3 innings in his return from Tommy John surgery. Remarkably, Moyer's average fastball checked in at just 78.6 mph, according to FanGraphs.

Halladay Injury Will Not Impact Talks With Hamels

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The Phillies lost ace right-hander Roy Halladay for 6-8 weeks with a lat strain yesterday, but GM Ruben Amaro told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the injury will not impact contract talks with Cole Hamels (all Twitter links). The team wants to retain Hamels but their urgency hasn’t increased.

“We’ve expressed this enough to Cole,” said Amaro. “He remains a very important part of it regardless of what happens with Roy or any other player. He is still every bit as important to us.”

Hamels, 28, is pitching to career bests in ERA (2.43), strikeout rate (9.2 K/9), and walk rate (1.8 BB/9) this season. He’ll be the most coveted free agent on the market after the season (if he makes it that far), with Johan Santana’s six-year, $137.5MM contract serving as a reasonable reference point in talks.

Amaro has previously said that if the Phillies do not climb back into the race, they could become sellers at the trade deadline. Teams have already inquired about the Hamels’ availability.

Draft Notes: Cubs, Gausman, Orioles, Rockies

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Here are some notes on this year's amateur draft, which is now less than a week away…

  • The Cubs will hold a workout for shortstop prospect Carlos Correa at Wrigley Field today, Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports. The Cubs select sixth overall in Monday's draft.
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America previewed the Orioles' draft with MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski, explaining why he expects Baltimore to select a college pitcher such as LSU's Kevin Gausman. The Orioles select fourth overall. 
  • Jonathan Mayo introduces his readers to Gausman in a piece at MLB.com.
  • Conor Glassey of Baseball America lists ten future scouting directors, including Rockies assistant scouting director Danny Montgomery.

2013 Payroll Commitments

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While some MLB teams have already assured themselves nine-figure payrolls in 2013, others have barely made $10MM in commitments for next year. MLBTR's recent contract issues series detailed teams' 2013 payroll commitments using data at Cot's Baseball Contracts. I've compiled a team by team breakdown of the 2013 payroll commitments around MLB. Keep in mind that these figures don't include club or vesting options or figures for players whose salaries will be determined via the arbitration process. Here's the list, starting with the largest commitments:

The mean commitment for 2013 is $58.7MM.

Trade Candidate: Matt Capps

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The Twins are off to a 17-32 start, which gives them a projected 0.0% chance of claiming a postseason berth this year, according to Baseball Prospectus’ playoff odds report. Expect general manager Terry Ryan to field his share of calls this summer, when buyers survey the rosters of second division teams for late-season depth.

Matt Capps - Twins (PW)

Matt Capps figures to draw interest, as contending teams are always looking for relief help. Yet he isn’t your typical closer. Just three MLB relievers with as many innings as Capps (19) have a lower strikeout rate so far this year: Alex Burnett, Rafael Dolis and Jon Rauch. Capps strikes out just 4.7 batters per nine innings and doesn’t induce a noteworthy number of ground balls or swings and misses. It’ll be enough to make some general managers wonder how long he can keep his ERA below 4.00.

But the Twins can point to Capps’ many positives in summer trade talks. The 28-year-old limits walks (1.4 BB/9) and has averaged 68 appearances per year since his first full season in 2006. He throws hard — his average fastball checks in at 92.5 mph — and owns a relatively low ERA (3.79) to go along with lots of saves (10 this year, 124 in the Major Leagues). He’s earning $4.5MM in 2012, which makes him affordable for most buyers. 

Capps was a ranked free agent last offseason, meaning the Twins had a chance at obtaining draft pick compensation for losing the right-hander. But under baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement, teams must be prepared to offer players a salary in the $12-13MM range if they expect compensatory picks. There’s no way Capps is worth that kind of money, and his $6MM club option ($250K buyout) is hardly team friendly either. In essence, the Twins must make a trade if they intend to obtain an asset for the future.

When the Twins acquired Capps midway through the 2010 season they gave up a promising young catching prospect who has since become an MLB regular: Wilson Ramos. It’d be a coup for Ryan if he can convert Capps into an equally promising MLB-ready prospect. But Capps’ trade value isn’t as high as it was two summers ago, when he induced more strikeouts and had a year of team control remaining. This time the Twins seem more likely to obtain secondary prospects if they trade the closer.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Quick Hits: Oswalt, Marlins, Hunter, Draft

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Free agent left-hander Joe Beimel underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this month, and Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports (on Twitter) that the 35-year-old plans to resume his career once healthy. Brown says Beimel pitched with the torn elbow ligament for 3-4 years. Here's the latest from around the league…

  • The Angels were very close to signing Roy Oswalt at one point according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, but the right-hander had reservations about leaving his family for an extended period of time. The Rangers signed Oswalt earlier today.
  • The Red Sox remained in contact with Oswalt during the season but did not make him an offer, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. They did make him in offer prior to the season.
  • “There are always things that can be done," said Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest to reporters (including Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun-Sentinel) when asked if the club can add pieces this summer. "There’s still room for improvement here. Whether that means changes or not, I don’t know. It’s still May."
  • Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times reports (on Twitter) that the Angels have reinstated Torii Hunter from the restricted list. The outfielder spent time away from the team to deal with his son's legal issue.
  • In his latest mock draft, ESPN's Keith Law projects the Astros to take Stanford right-hander Mark Appel with the first overall pick in next Monday's draft. "The Astros intend to take whomever they believe is the best player, not the best player for the price," wrote Law.

Phil Dumatrait Retires

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Phil Dumatrait has voluntarily retired and been released by a Twins, reports Tyler Mason of FOXSportsNorth.com (on Twitter). The team has confirmed the move.

Dumatrait, 30, had a 1.15 ERA in 15 2/3 innings for Minnesota's Triple-A affiliate this season. He owns a 6.20 ERA in 151 career big league innings spread across 17 starts and 70 relief appearances for the Reds, Pirates, and Twins.

Tigers Not Expecting To Pursue A Starting Pitcher

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Despite inconsistent performances from Rick Porcello (5.21 ERA) and Max Scherzer (5.67), the Tigers do not expect to pursue a starting pitcher via trade this season according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Detroit likes its current rotation and has prospects Jacob Turner and Casey Crosby in the minors.

The Tigers' rotation currently owns a 3.98 ERA, which ranks as the fifth best in the American League. Rookie left-hander Drew Smyly (3.14 ERA) has settled in nicely in nine starts, and Doug Fister (3.15 ERA) recently returned from a stint on the disabled list. It's worth noting that only two other AL teams have gotten fewer innings out of their starters than Detroit (275 1/3 innings) despite Justin Verlander's streak of 53 consecutive starts of at least six innings.

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