Links from around baseball as Wednesday becomes Thursday..
- The Reds are not seeking outside help at third base with Scott Rolen on the disabled list, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Inquirer. General Manager Walt Jocketty also said that he hasn't had discussions with the Red Sox, shooting down any speculation that the club might have interest in Kevin Youkilis.
- Angels manager Mike Scioscia wouldn't go into much detail about the firing of hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, but it clearly wasn't his choice, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. "Obviously the GM’s position is to try to make changes, whether it’s personnel or staffing, that he believes is going to help us [get] better, and we have to respect that," said the skipper.
- Carlos Beltran didn't feel that the Giants made a strong effort to re-sign him last season even though the club knew that he liked playing in San Francisco, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). However, the team did talk with agent Dan Lozano in generalities, Schulman tweets.
- Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun hopes that the Orioles will spend the money necessary to keep Matt Wieters and Adam Jones in the fold despite the team's bad luck with hefty contracts in the past.
- In a piece for Deadspin, Craig Fehrman gives an inside look at the Atlantic League's Bridgeport Bluefish.
Here we go.. Youk plays in his 1st rehab game with the PawSox, gets a hit and the rumor mill starts heating up. Cincy on day 1. Who will it be on day 2?
The Youk to Cincy rumors didn’t just start today. It’s been talked about in Cincy ever since the Reds passed on Youk in the draft years ago. He is from Cincinnati and was outraged when the Reds passed on him for what turned out to be some nobody. In recent years he has said those feelings has passed over and he would love to play for Cincy one day just to say he played for the team he rooted for as a child – and I bet it will end up happening via trade or free agency in the coming years with Scott Rolen at the end of his career.
Understand it’s been hit on a couple times (Youk to Cincy) of late, just here we go again with the same old rumor, right after he begins his rehab on day1 was the point..
For what it’s worth.. Also think he’ll end up back in Cincy either this season via trade, or as a FA if for some reason Boston hangs onto him. For a couple of reasons.. It’s his home and Cincy plays in a field many of his current doubles would be home runs.. Youk is one of those guys Fenway hurts as well as helps with him being a flyball hitter and pulling the ball as he does.
I hope he does at least end up there and this season would be fine, though it would have to be for prospects.
I think Youk’s in Boston at least until the All Star Break. If I’m the Red Sox front office, I gamble that he can get hot and I deal him when his value is at its highest.
I agree. Youkilis is still a darn good player. All the stuff about him being washed up and over the hill is just nonsense. What he needs to do is get healthy and play. One thing for sure, he won’t come cheap. No one should think that they’re going to steal him for a minor league scrub or a MLB bench fodder.
He is not producing and makes 13 million. He is not going to comand a Kings Ransom thats for sure. Maybe a prospect or reliever. Jose Arronado for Youk and they eat lets say 7 mil.
Arredondo is worth more than you give him credit for. Youk at this time would fetch less than that unless he lights it up when he returns. You don’t weaken a bullpen to make a run at the playoffs. It would be a minor leaguer, maybe Donnie Joseph
Also, the Reds took all the risk when they signed Arrendono knowing he needed TJ. Arredondo is under team control for this year + 3 more years at the cheap, which is invaluable to a small to mid market team like the Reds.
If I had to guess, my money would still be on Youkilis being in Boston all season. When he’s healthy he’s still a better player than Middlebrooks, especially since Middlebrooks still looks overmatched against good breaking stuff (and I think teams are finally starting to exploit that). Plus, a guy with Youkilis’ talent (and team friendly contract) should be able to bring back some pretty good talent, but with the way he started the season and now the injury I don’t think he brings back enough to make it worth trading him. And if he comes back and hits the way that would bring his value up to where it should be I don’t think anyone is going to want to trade him.
The only way I really see a Youkilis trade happening is if it is in a deal to acquire a good starting pitcher; at that point you would be fine with whatever production Middlebrooks gave you from 3B because the team as a whole gets better.
I think you’d have to consider if given the lack of quality third baseman around the league. If he’s hitting what he’s capable of and they believe Middlebrooks is ready (not sure about it myself as I haven’t seen him play yet… only highlights, and you said he’s getting overmatched against breaking stuff) Boston could take advantage of positional weakness and either flip him for elite prospects or a pitcher (like Cole Hamels, although I’m not 100% convinced he’s not going to resign).
Sure, if they could trade him for pitching I think they’d do it even if they aren’t convinced Middlebrooks is completely ready.
If and when Youkilis gets healthy, he will be a perfect fit with the Reds and GABP. Slide him into the 4 hole between Votto and Bruce, then move Phillips back to the lead off spot and our line up becomes extremely balanced. If Walt can get Boston to eat some salary and not take any elite prospects, I am good with that. Or we might wait till after the year and try and get Youk to take a hometown discount on a 2 or 3 year deal as a FA. Youk WANTS to come to Cincinnati. If healthy, he’d be more than welcome here. Our lineup would look like this:
Phillips
Cozart
Votto
Youkilis
Bruce
Heisey
Stubbs
Mesoraco
Adam Jones!!! Bet Braves fans feel dumb now! Yadda, yadda, yadda
its not like the fans had anything to do with the trade not going through
Problem is he is not an ex-Card and Walt only seems to like ex-Cards to pick up on their downside of their careers. He is just become obtuse when it comes to Rolen. Rolen is not going to magically get better at his age….he has guessed wrong now for the 2nd year in a row and now they have to depend on Frazier to do something there. I have confidence Frazier can hit better than Rolen…but that post and LF….have been holes for the last 2 years and Walt seems to be stuck in inertia doing something about it…..and the Bench in general. Knowing how Baker likes using his bench…to give him Willie Harris, Valdez and Cairo..is about as impotent as it can get. They keep expecting Cairo to keep putting up career numbers ay his age again? Valdez can hit no better than Janish and Harris is now gone.
I agree on Willie Harris but Cairo and Valdez are decent bench options. Valdez can play multiple spots well and he has a winning background being the utility player for the phillies when they were good. Cairo does more than stats can measure. He’s good to have around as a mentor and he is still serviceable when only used in the fill-in role.
Youk for Ondrusek. Doesn’t immediately sound like a good deal for the Red Sox, but as of now with Ells, CC, and Bailey coming back soon (hopefully) that will fill a need for the Sox, and get Youk out of town.
The bullpen has been outstanding since the implosion against the Yankees – to the point where they don’t even have room to bring Melancon back up from AAA where he has been about as good as you can possibly be (15 K/9, 0 BB/9, 0.00 ERA, and 0.37 FIP in 12 appearances). And there’s no reason to want to “get Youk out of town.”
Get an above average 3B out of town? Surely, you jest.
I’m sorry, but Youk RIGHT NOW with his lack of production and high salary does not make him anywhere close to a reliever like Ondrusek. Ondrusek has pitched around 14 innings this year and hasn’t even given up a run. He has been as effective and as reliable and Chapman all year, and is under team control for multiple years. Some people even think he’ll become the closer if Marshall falters.
Walt isn’t going to pay for Youk’s past production with Ondrusek’s current production. If anything, the trade would be for maybe a B+ or A- prospect.
The Youkilis situation in Boston is getting more complicated by the day. Middlebrooks is proving himself to not be ready to take over his job any time soon. Will still needs a year or so of AAA minor league ball under his belt to hone is defensive weaknesses and improve his ability to hit major league curve balls. So, if Youk comes back next Tuesday and continues to be an in/out item in the lineup, 3B is going to be a headache all season long. If Kevin comes back strong, all will be well, at least until 2013.
If worse comes to worst, perhaps moving Aviles to 3rd and bringing up Iglaises for look see at SS might present an alternative solution. The problem is Boston is still without some of their offensive standouts and Gonzo continues to slump. How many weak hitters can they put in the lineup at the same time? Bobby V. is gonna have to juggle to resolve this dilemma if Youkilis is physically on a slide to early retirement.
I don’t think it’s really all that complicated as far as the team is concerned. The media has talked all about “what do they do with Youkilis,” but the team (front office, manager, coaches…) have said repeatedly and consistently that Youkilis is going to play 3B once he comes back; the fact that Middlebrooks is coming back down to earth doesn’t change anything (and should have been expected). For anyone who has been following Middlebrooks it was just a matter of time before his holes started to show, he’s simply not ready – he’s at the point where being in the majors wouldn’t be detrimental, but he’s still got things he could work on in AAA.
I’ll wager a non-alcoholic beverage that Youkilis doesn’t last 2 weeks, once off the DL, before he is on the bench with back and/or leg problems again. Its the same thing with him, back, legs and/or hips, time and again. So what is management to do? Let Middlebrooks ride the pine and serve as a fill-in when Youk has to sit? The guy, Middlebrooks, needs to play every day to hone his skills. I think the Sox will send Middlebrooks back to Pawtucket for more seasoning. They will play Youkilis, hoping he can stay healthy. And if not, use Punto and Aviles as fill-ins. I cannot see a trade involving Youkilis because his trade value is nil if he is injured. The only way he leaves the club in a trade is if there are multiple players from each side exchanging uniforms and he is taken to make a major deal work.