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Odds And Ends: Eaton, Balfour, McAnulty

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Couple of minor notes for this Friday afternoon:

  • Paul McAnulty, who is out of options, is going to make the Padres 25-man roster. With Scott Hairston filling in for injured Jim Edmonds in center, McAnulty could get a fair share of playing time in left. The other candidate for playing time is Jody Gerut.
  • It appears the Rays have decided on their final bullpen spot, giving the job to Scott Dohmann. The loser in this deal is Grant Balfour, who is out of options. The Australian reliever has some promise, and I would imagine will be claimed on waivers.
  • Not that it’s a trade rumor, but there are whispers that Adam Eaton may have pitched his way out of the Phillies five slot. There isn’t mention of a replacement, but it could be Chad Durbin.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.

Rays Looking To Deal Jackson Or Hammel?

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We’re getting towards rosters becoming finalized, and that means making a number of decisions on guys who are out of options. The Rays have a bit of a good problem. WIth James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, and eventually Scott Kazmir in their rotation, there is only room for one of Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel. With Kazmir slated to start the season on the DL, they could have room for both temporarily. But they’ll eventually have to cut back.

This could coincide with GM Andrew Friedman’s desire to acquire an outfielder. He’s said that they’ll "be aggressive if something presents itself." I could go on and list the potentially available outfielders, but I think this is a perfect scenario for the Cubs to unload Matt Murton.

Maybe I’m personally a bit high on Murton, but I think he provides a better alternative for the Rays than in-house option Eric Hinske. The Cubs should be looking to unload him now that they’ve acquired Reed Johnson. I’m not quite sure how well the two teams match up, though. The Cubs already have a rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Hill, Ryan Dempster, and Jason Marquis. However, who knows how long Dempster and Marquis will last? They do have Jon Lieber around, as well as Sean Marshall.

So the question is, why would they be interested in Hammel or Jackson? All I can really offer on that front is that they’re really just trying to unload Murton.

I suppose this could be an option for the Reds to unload Ryan Freel, too. The Royals also have a surplus of outfielders, with David DeJesus, Joey Gathright, Mark Teahen, and Jose Guillen. They could use the pitching, I suppose (seriously, Brett Tomko?).

Any other possible matches you can think of?

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski. Please, mail me rumors today.

Reds Shopping Freel?

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John Fay, writing on his Reds Insider blog, notes that the reason for the lack of cuts in Reds camp is that they might be looking to move Ryan Freel. He didn’t elaborate much, other than to say he heard talks of Philadelphia, Minnesota, "and others."

Freel is pretty versatile, having handled all three outfield positions, as well as second and third base. The Twins could use his bat in the lineup. But where would he play? Second? Displace recently-acquired Carlos Gomez in center field temporarily? Or just a utility role?

The same situation appears to be in place in Philly. They just signed Pedro Feliz to play third, and have a full infield beyond that. In the outfield, they signed Geoff Jenkins over the off-season to go with Shane Victorino and Pat Burrell. So it appears he’d be headed for a utility role there, too.

The question, then, becomes: What will the Reds do about their outfield? Do they really plan to start Norris Hopper in center? Or does this signal that Jay Bruce could be back soon? Lots of questions to be asked surrounding this rumor.

(Of course, less than three hours after Fay noted the lack of cuts, the Reds re-assigned Andy Phillips, optioned Bill Bray, and returned Jose Capellan to the Red Sox.)

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski

White Sox Not Happy With Crede Offers

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We knew that Joe Crede’s name would be an oft-mentioned this spring. Further, we knew that he’d be connected with the Giants, who have infield needs. It appears the two teams have been discussing possible swaps, but the Sox are less than impressed with what’s been offered thus far.

According to Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune, the Giants have been offering up the likes of recently-cut Scott Williamson, recently-optioned Randy Messenger, and outfielder Dave Roberts, though not all in the same package. On the other end, GM Ken Williams is looking for "one of the Giants’ top prospects and a serviceable young reliever."

The Sox don’t have to trade Crede, since Josh Fields still has options. However, Crede hasn’t looked so hot this spring — or at least that’s the story his batting average tells, as he’s hitting .081. Of course, numbers mean little at this time of year. The White Sox asked about left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, but given the injury to Noah Lowry, that appears less than likely.

The Dodgers are another team mentioned in connection with Crede, as they sent a scout to watch him earlier this week. However, they do have Nomar Garciaparra at the hot corner, with recently-injured Andy LaRoche scheduled to return sometime in May or June.

Posted by Joe, who you can email here, or visit his Yanks blog

Rivera Agrees To Deal With Yanks

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UPDATE: Kat O’Brien’s sources also indicate that Rivera has accepted the offer.  We can close the book on this one.

Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record has the scoop: Mariano Rivera has agreed to the Yankees three-year, $45 million offer. Caldera’s source is a friend who spoke to Rivera today, so I suppose it’s not official official.

Caldera also reports that the friend said, "He would have taken two years and an option." Wonderful. So not only did the Yankees overpay, but now it’s rubbed in their faces.

This will surely somehow factor into the deal for Francisco Cordero, now the best closer option on the market. Maybe moreso, it could affect the Joe Nathan negotiations, scheduled to begin about a year from now.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

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