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Brady Clark

Odds & Ends: Penn, Veras, Beimel, Mientkiewicz

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Links for Friday…

Red Sox Sign Brady Clark

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The Red Sox just signed outfielder Brady Clark, per WEEI.  That probably puts them out of the Bobby Kielty sweepstakes.  Excitement!  Clark, a righthanded hitter, might be able to draw a few walks and play all three outfield positions.

Slightly more interesting is that this may portend a trade of Wily Mo Pena soon.  Pirates, White Sox, somewhere else?

Healey’s Latest

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Mark Healey at Gotham Baseball has long been a solid, underappreciated source of inside information.  He’s got another Rumor Mill up at his site.  My summary follows.

  • The Yankees have an eye on big-name 1Bs like Mark Teixeira and Todd Helton.  But more realistically, they’re looking at Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena.  He’s got the defense, so even if he regresses to a 20 HR bat it’s a nice pickup.  Healey’s source believes Tyler Clippard is too much but the Rays like Sean Henn.  The Yanks have also inquired about the versatile Ty Wigginton.
  • The Reds, Rockies, and others have been scouting the Yankees’ Double A Trenton affiliate.  Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, and Brett Gardner are probably the most desirable players on that roster.  Gotham Baseball has previously connected the Yankees to Brian Fuentes and David Weathers.  Another reliever the Yankees like is Chad Bradford, though the O’s price may be too high.
  • Gotham quotes an NL scout who doesn’t believe the Mets will acquire a starter by trading Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, or Fernando Martinez.  That scout believes the return of Pedro will supply the needed boost.  Personally, I can see Milledge going.
  • Some former Mets on the radar: Brady Clark, Jay Payton, and David Weathers.
  • Healey says the Mets sent scouts to look at Randy Winn this weekend.  They must not be pleased with Moises Alou’s progress.  As I mentioned earlier, Winn is signed through 2009.  He has a full no-trade clause this year.  For 2008-09 he can block deals to ten teams.
  • The Pirates have some vets to trade, and have contacted the Mets regarding Shawn Chacon and Damaso Marte.  Marte is quietly having a fine season with a 1.21 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.  Marte earns $2.45MM this year, and $2MM in ’08 with an odd $6MM club option for 2009.  He can also earn incentives based on games finished.

Brewers, Dodgers Swap Clark and Dessens

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According to Baseball Digest Daily, the Brewers have sent Brady Clark and cash considerations to the Dodgers for reliever Elmer Dessens.

Clark, 34, can play all three outfield positions.  Perhaps the Jason Repko injury inspired this trade.  Clark had a nice year leading off for the Brewers in ’05, but his power fell off last year.  He did manage to increase his walk rate though.  Clark makes $3.8MM this season in the last year of his contract.  This enables Gabe Gross to make the Brewers, though they could stand to unload Kevin Mench or Geoff Jenkins.

Dessens is 35; he earns $1.7MM this year.  However, the Royals are paying all of that.  He has decent control and can eat some innings at the back of the bullpen. 

Brewers Interested In Mackowiak

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According to the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales, the Brewers have an interest in White Sox utility man Rob Mackowiak.  The White Sox don’t have a lot of room in the outfield for the 30 year-old Oak Lawn native.

Gonzales writes that the Brew Crew would use Mackowiak mainly as a backup at second and third, and may be offering Brady Clark.  Clark doesn’t constitute an upgrade for the Sox, so the clubs would have to keep working to find a fit.  GMs Doug Melvin and Kenny Williams pulled off a major deal in December of 2004 in the Carlos Lee/Scott Podsednik swap.

The Brewers have a fantastic long-term solution at third base in Ryan Braun, if he can only learn to play credible defense.   

Red Sox Scouting Turnbow?

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My apologies for the lack of posts today; I had an all-day fantasy draft.  Back to trade rumors: Adam McCalvy of MLB.com had several Brewers ones in today’s article.

To begin with, 26 year-old righty starter Ben Hendrickson cleared waivers and was sent to Triple A.  He was angry about it, perhaps because he had a 2.45 ERA in five appearances this spring.  Apparently the Nationals and Padres are interested, and both the Brewers and Hendrickson look forward to a trade.  According to Baseball America, Hendrickson has a plus curve and an 88-91 fastball.  He may be a Quad-A type player; PECOTA sees a 5.00 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 109 innings.

The Red Sox had a scout watching Derrick Turnbow on Friday, though Doug Melvin says he’s not shopping the reliever.  Maybe Sox pitching coach John Farrell can fix Turnbow’s walk problem, but it’s a long shot.  Turnbow has two years and $5.5MM left on his contract.  While that extension was ill-advised, it’s not nearly as bad as the Cubs giving Ryan Dempster three years and $15.5MM.  In both cases, fairly small samples of decent control were taken as permanent and rewarded.

McCalvy also mentioned a "lunchroom rumor" that had the Padres looking at Brady Clark. Melvin said he hasn’t heard from the club.  The Crew would love to shed Clark’s $3.8MM salary.      

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