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Archives for August 2012

Cafardo On Ellsbury, Bourn, Ross, Cook, Millwood

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that despite the perception that Jacoby Ellsbury would like to leave Boston down the line, a source says that he would actually like to stay if at all possible.  Neither side has asked the other to consider a long-term deal, but that could certainly change in the offseason.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • In last week's column, Cafardo wrote that Braves officials thought Michael Bourn would not re-sign when he becomes a free agent due to a less-than-stellar track record with Scott Boras clients.  However, Boras told Cafardo that he has had an excellent relationship with General Manager Frank Wren and the club as a whole.  The agent says he is not ruling out Atlanta at all and added that Bourn enjoys playing there.
  • The Red Sox are very interested in pursuing a new deal with Cody Ross, who will be coming off of a one-year, $3MM pact this winter.  With many teams in need of a righthanded bat, he could likely net a Josh Willingham-type three-year, $21MM deal. 
  • The Orioles, Nationals, and Dodgers may be among teams looking at Red Sox pitcher Aaron Cook now that he is on trade waivers.
  • Mariners pitcher Kevin Millwood has not been placed on trade waivers yet but he could be one of the more sought-after pitchers once he is.  “He’s got ice water in his veins and he knows how to get big outs,” said a veteran scout. “A guy like that isn’t going to do the Mariners any good going forward but he could solidify a rotation.”
  • Cubs personnel are disappointed that Alfonso Soriano won’t waive his 10-and-5 rights to go to the Giants.  The outfielder doesn't want to play in a colder climate that could adversely affect his hitting.

Astros Fire Brad Mills

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The Astros have fired manager Brad Mills, the team announced. Hitting coach Mike Barnett and first base coach Bobby Meacham have also been relieved of their duties. The club will announce interim replacements on Sunday.

Mills, 55, was hired by Houston prior to the 2010 season. They finished fourth in the NL Central that season (76-86) but finished with the worst record in baseball last year (56-106) and are on pace to do it again in 2012 (39-82). Mills was hired by owner Drayton McClane and GM Ed Wade, but Jim Crane has since purchased the team and Jeff Luhnow has replaced Wade. Overall, the team went 171-274 under Mills.

The Astros are in the middle of a drastic overhaul and the beginning of the rebuilding period under Luhnow, who will now bring in his own on-field management people. Last month we heard that Mills will likely to be replaced this coming offseason. He was under contract through the end of the season with a club option for next year.

Marlins Designate Gil Velazquez For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated Gil Velazquez for assignment, reports Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald (on Twitter). In related moves, Miami optioned Scott Cousins to Triple-A and activated Emilio Bonifacio and Donnie Murphy off the DL.

Velazquez, 32, had one single in eight plate appearances with the Marlins since being called up earlier this week. The middle infielder hit .314/.392/.383 with three homers in 421 Triple-A appearances before coming up to the show. Velazquez has also seen big league time with the Red Sox and Angels in his career.

Non-Tender Candidate: Mark Reynolds

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Four years ago, Mark Reynolds appeared to be on his way towards establishing himself as one of the very best power hitters in the game by slugging 44 homers for the 2009 Diamondbacks. That effort earned him a three-year, $14.5MM contract the following Spring Training despite his record-setting 223 strikeouts. A 25-year-old third baseman with that kind of power is worth locking up.

Uspw_6489748Reynolds, now 29, has since been traded to the Orioles because new D'Backs GM Kevin Towers made an effort to cut down on his offense's swings and misses. He can still hit for power (37 homers just last season), but his performance has otherwise declined and coming into Saturday he was a .218/.332/.409 hitter (101 OPS+) for manager Buck Showalter this year. Reynolds' glovework has forced him across the diamond to first base on a nearly full-time basis.

This season is the final guaranteed year of that three-year pact, which covered Reynolds' final pre-arbitration season and his first two years of arbitration-eligibility. That deal includes an $11MM club option ($500K buyout) for 2013, but because he won't have six full seasons of service time, Reynolds will not be eligible for free agency should Baltimore decide to decline the option. He'll remain under team control as an arbitration-eligible player. The O's could try to sign Reynolds to a cheaper deal – he's earning $7.5MM this season, a reasonably low base salary – or cut ties all together and non-tender him.

Power, especially right-handed power, is becoming increasingly hard to find these days. Reynolds is a one-dimensional player though, someone who will hit in the low-.200s and thus keep his on-base percentage relatively low. He's led the league in strikeouts in each of the last four seasons and has shown no signs of improving his contact skills with decreased playing time this summer. The Orioles are on the cusp of contention this season and $11MM is not chump change. They could decide to bolster their chances next year by saving cash, finding a more well-rounded player, and cutting the man with the eighth-most homers since 2008 loose.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Quick Hits: Isringhausen, Mets, Francis, Brewers

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"One of a GM's biggest tasks is to have the understanding and power to manage up (his ownership) as well as manage down (his manager)," said a GM to MLB.com's Peter Gammons (Twitter link). Here is the latest from around the league…

  • Jason Isringhausen told reporters (including MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez) that he won't accept an assignment to Triple-A if he loses his roster spot when Jordan Walden returns from the DL (Twitter link). The 39-year-old has pitched to a 4.02 ERA in 40 1/3 innings for the Angels this year.
  • A former Mets executive told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) he believes the club will nontender Andres Torres in December.  The 34-year-old, who is earning $2.7MM this year, is hitting .234/.343/.337 with two homers in 309 plate appearances.
  • There are "strong indications" that the Rockies will make a push to re-sign Jeff Francis after the season, reports Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. The 31-year-old southpaw has pitched to a 6.07 ERA in 15 starts since returning to Colorado earlier this year.
  • "Nothing happens quick in the off-season," said Brewers GM Doug Melvin to Todd Rosiak of The Journal Sentinel. "You wait until the GM meetings, the winter meetings. The only free agents that sign early are the ones who get overpaid … We'll determine what level of involvement we'll have with free agents. I don't know that we'll be that heavily involved. I know the list that's out there."
  • Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News argues that the Reds should pick up the team's $5MM club option for outfielder Ryan Ludwick next season. The 34-year-old has hit .271/.339/.568 with 23 homers for Cincinnati this season.

Rosenthal On Andrus, Headley, Ichiro, Victorino

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link) has posted his latest edition of Full Count, so let's dive in..

  • The Rangers likely promotion of top prospect Jurickson Profar doesn't necessarily mean that they'll trade Elvis Andrus this offseason, but its possible. Profar is 19-years-old with many years of club control ahead of him while Andrus has only two years left on his contract after this season. Andrus is a Scott Boras client, making an extension unlikely.
  • The Padres want one more piece for their rotation to support Clayton Richard and Edinson Volquez and Chase Headley could be the piece to help them make that happen. San Diego didn't get the prospect package that they wanted for Headley before the deadline but they could get a solid big league pitcher for him this winter.
  • The Giants made a serious run at Ichiro Suzuki at the deadline before he wound up with the Yankees. GM Brian Sabean instead went for Hunter Pence as he felt the lineup needed more power. Rosenthal wouldn't be surprised if the Giants pursue Ichiro in free agency, depending on how they feel about re-signing Melky Cabrera.
  • A source told Rosenthal that the Pirates could have gotten Shane Victorino from the Phillies before the deadline for Brad Lincoln. Of course, Pittsburgh instead sent Lincoln to the Blue Jays for Travis Snider.

Red Sox Notes: Blue Jays, Farrell, Varitek

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Here's a look at the latest on the Red Sox as they get set to take on the Yankees in the Bronx..

  • There has been a great deal of speculation that the Red Sox could look to lure back Blue Jays skipper John Farrell should they choose to part ways with Bobby Valentine, but Farrell shot down the talk, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.  Farrell reminded reporters that he is still under contract in Toronto while General Manager Alex Anthopoulos noted that the club's policy only allows for departures in the event of a promotion.
  • Farrell's contract runs through next season but it may make sense for both Toronto and Boston to work out a deal, opines Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd).  Olney adds that the Red Sox came close to reaching an agreement with Toronto last fall.  The Blue Jays, he writes, should present Farrell with an extension offer beyond 2013, and should look to trade him to Boston should he decline. 
  • While many people have opined that former Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek would make sense as the club's next manager, WEEI.com's Kirk Minihane argues that Boston needs an outsider as its skipper.

Non-Tender Candidate: Dallas Braden

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Two years and three months ago, Dallas Braden was on top of the baseball world. He had just thrown 19th perfect game in baseball history on Mother's Day with his grandmother in the stands. The left-hander finished the season with a 3.50 ERA in 30 starts and 192 2/3 innings, further cementing his place in the Athletics' rotation.

Uspw_4690664Braden, now 29, has made just three starts since the end of that season. He allowed seven runs in 18 innings across three starts last April, and has been on the shelf with shoulder problems ever since. Braden had surgery to repair a torn capsule one year and one week after his perfect game, and was expected to be ready in time to return to the team early this season.

Instead, the shoulder continues to give Braden problems and as Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported, he will have another procedure soon. This one will be exploratory but will cost him the rest of the season nonetheless. Fellow starting pitchers like Chien-Ming Wang, Johan Santana, and Brandon Webb have had shoulder capsule surgery in recent years with mixed comeback results.

Unlike those three, Braden is not a power pitcher. Even before the surgery his fastball averaged a little less than 88 mph, the 15th lowest average fastball velocity among the 156 pitchers who threw at least 400 innings from 2007-2011. Braden was a classic finesse left-hander who relied on his fastball and changeup to keep hitters off balance, so perhaps a potential loss of velocity due to the surgeries will have minimal impact on his effectiveness going forward.

Either way, the Athletics have to decide if their 24th round pick in the 2004 draft is worth the investment post-surgery very soon. Braden will earn $3.35MM without throwing a pitch this season, and will be eligible for arbitration for the third and final time this winter. He doesn't figure to get any kind of raise – he didn't a raise from 2011-2012 – however that remains a hefty investment for low-budget A's.

Oakland has enviable rotation depth going forward with Tommy Milone, Jarrod Parker, and Dan Straily all in their pre-arbitration years, plus Brett Anderson potentially under contract through 2014. They could decide that sinking more money into Braden isn't a wise investment considering the potential for zero return, so a non-tender in December looks like a very real possibility for the southpaw.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Abreu, Ekstrom, Igarashi

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Here are the latest outright assignments, courtesy of the MLB.com transactions page…

  • The Blue Jays have outrighted right-hander Juan Abreu to Triple-A. Toronto claimed the 27-year-old off waivers from the Astros earlier this week. He's pitched to a 7.04 ERA in 46 Triple-A relief innings this year.
  • The Rockies have outrighted right-hander Mike Ekstrom to Triple-A. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment earlier this week after allowing 11 runs in 15 2/3 relief innings for Colorado this season.
  • The Yankees have outrighted right-hander Ryota Igarashi to Triple-A. New York claimed the 33-year-old off waivers from the Blue Jays earlier this season, and he's allowed four runs during his three innings in pinstripes.
  • The Twins have outrighted outfielder Rene Tosoni to Triple-A. The 26-year-old hit .218/.299/.314 in 293 plate appearances at various levels of Minnesota's farm system this year.

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