Rays right-hander Jason Isringhausen was placed on the 60-day disabled list Sunday morning with an injury to his surgically-repaired right elbow, leading some in the media, including the St. Petersburg Times' Joe Smith, to speculate that the 36-year-old former closer may soon call it a career.
Jason Isringhausen
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Giants, Rays, M’s, Lidge, Beltre
On this date seven years ago, the A's traded Jeremy Giambi to the Phillies for John Mabry. At the time of the deal, Giambi was hitting .274/.390/.471 with 8 home runs and Mabry was essentially a pinch-hitter. Giambi would go on to hit 12 more home runs for the Phils but would play only one more season in the big leagues. As rumors start to fly in the '09 season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Fire Ned Colletti Now would be happy to see a team other than the Dodgers trade for Jake Peavy.
- Jorge Says No! says the Brewers should look into trading for Jake Peavy.
- McCovey Chronicles takes a look at some deadline deal possibilities for the Giants, including Matt Holliday, Carl Crawford and Ichiro.
- The Rays Party notes that Jason Isringhausen makes for a crowded bullpen which may indicate that the Devil Rays ($29) are about to make a deal.
- Phlavio's Corner takes a look at some options to replace Carlos Delgado.
- Around the Majors takes a look back at the Brad Lidge extension and wonders if it was a mistake.
- Bleeding Blue and Teal would like to see the Mariners make a deal for Ben Zobrist.
- The Detroit Tigers Weblog now admits that the Edwin Jackson-Matt Joyce trade may have been good for the Tigers.
- MLB Notebook sees a few possible trade destinations for Adrian Beltre including both Chicago franchises.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and on Twitter here.
Odds & Ends: Isringhausen, Sturtze, Molina
Some Sunday morning Odds & Ends:
- So, whatever happened to Tanyon Sturtze? Sturtze never caught on with the Dodgers and was granted his release on May Day last week. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says he is now considering retirement to spend time with his kids.
- In the same piece, Cafardo reports Giants catching prospect Buster Posey has busted five homeruns and notched 22 RBI already in Single A San Jose, putting him on "a fast track to the big leagues." With Bengie Molina entering free agency, the Giants will not feel forced to re-sign him. According to Cafardo, the team would love to retain Molina to act as a mentor for Posey but for the fact that "Molina isn't ready for the mentoring role." Molina told reporters he'll seek a starting job. Finding one should be no trouble whatsoever.
- Also in that same piece, former player Troy O'Leary is developing a baseball reality TV show…
- According to Marc Lancaster, Jason Isringhausen is healthy. His rehab assignment is up May 19 but the Rays seem hesitant to call him up until then. With 10 days to determine what to do with him, it's expected Izzy will slot into the bullpen for Triple-A Durham until the Rays have to make a decision.
- Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com says Luis Vizcaino will join the Indians bullpen this week rather than go through a minor league stint in Triple-A Columbus. Vizcaino hasn't pitched in a game since April 21, right before the Cubs designated him for assignment and released him. Who gets sent down instead? Jensen Lewis or Tony Sipp both have options. Masa Kobayashi is a candidate to be released altogether, says Castrovince.
Odds & Ends: McPherson, Izzy, Hammel
Happy April Fools, or something. Here are your Wednesday night links…
- Mike Axisa over at River Ave. Blues believes the Yankees should take a long look at former top prospect Dallas McPherson.
- Sam A. Miller of the Orange County Register presents some best-case scenario projections for the 2009 Angels.
- Jason Isringhausen is going to stick it out with the Rays. He'll be placed on the disabled list to start the season, but could be pitching for Tampa by mid-May.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus discusses some of the Rays' offseason moves with RaysProspects.com. He also touches on Jason Hammel's trade value.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly hosted a chat with fans at MLB.com on Wednesday.
- Mariners Rule 5 pick Jose Lugo, a reliever, has been returned to the Twins.
- Another Rule 5 pick, catcher James Skelton, has been waived by the Diamondbacks.
- If you missed it, take a look at Tim's Tuesday chat.
- Join the fun! Add MLBTR to your Twitter following tonight. And hey, while you're at it, why not check out your (attention craving) friend Drew Silva as well?
Odds & Ends: Colletti, Youkilis, Turnbow
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Rays info from Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times: they're trying to figure out a way to keep Jason Isringhausen, and they've released pitcher Chuck Tiffany (part of the Danys Baez trade in '06).
- In talking to Ramona Shelburne of the L.A. Daily News, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti explained his success reading the market this offseason. He also said, "I believe there will be some players available on July 31st that normally would never be available."
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday reminds us of past trade discussions involving Kevin Youkilis, before he was highly regarded.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis notes that the Cubs released "three of their top picks from the last six drafts this spring: outfielder Ryan Harvey, the sixth overall pick in 2003; righthander Grant Johnson, a second-rounder in 2004; and lefty Mark Pawelek, the 20th overall choice in 2005."
- According to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, Rangers reliever Derrick Turnbow's opt-out date is Thursday. He's talking to his agent about whether he should head to Triple A Oklahoma.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince says lefty reliever Juan Lara signed a minor league deal with the Indians – "just 16 months after a car accident nearly took his life."
Rays Sign Isringhausen To Minor-League Deal
According to Mark Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays have signed veteran reliever Jason Isringhausen to a minor-league deal.
Once one of the league’s premier closers, Isringhausen is coming off arguably his worst season in ten years. After posting a 5.70 ERA in 42.2 innings, he had surgery Sept. 12 to repair a torn flexor tendon. He lives in the Tampa Bay area.
Orlando Hudson Rumors: Thursday
Yesterday we learned from MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has ongoing talks for free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson. Today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Dodgers appear to be the front-runner for Hudson. Signing him wouldn’t affect their chances of locking up Manny Ramirez. MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick says Colletti has also not ruled out relief help from guys like Joe Beimel, Dennys Reyes, or Jason Isringhausen.
Even as divisional rivals the D’Backs may be rooting for the Dodgers to sign Hudson, since they’d receive L.A.’s #17 pick in the June draft as part of the compensation. Rosenthal says the Royals and other unknown clubs remain in the mix for him, with the White Sox, Cardinals, Yankees, and Mets seemingly not seriously involved. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star discusses the Royals angle in a column today.
Brewers Not Interested In Izzy
According to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, the Brewers are not interested in free agent reliever Jason Isringhausen.
That could have something to do with their signing of Eric Gagne earlier today. At the start of this week, the Cardinals, Brewers and Dodgers were the only teams known to have interest in the 36-year-old former closer. With the Cards and Brew Crew out, let’s see what the Dodgers do now.
Isringhausen Could Return To Cards?
MONDAY, 5:12pm: MLB.com’s Matthew Leach spoke to Cardinals officials Monday, and it doesn’t sound like the club wants Izzy back for another season.
"I think the attitude for most of the winter has been for him to find a situation someplace that wasn’t us," manager Tony La Russa said. "And if that doesn’t work, it’s [already] the third day here. Not that it doesn’t ever happen — it does happen sometimes — but you don’t like guys missing the first three days. I don’t know. We talk about him, and it’s a complicated situation."
3:18pm: Strauss spoke to Isringhausen, who is still interested in signing a minor league deal with the Cards if they’ll have him. The Dodgers and Brewers are known to have interest, if that doesn’t work out.
SATURDAY: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said in a radio interview on the Team 1380 that the Cardinals have spoken with Jason Isringhausen’s representatives and could still sign him. The Cardinals are keeping their options open and they could strike a deal if Izzy doesn’t yet have a job in a few weeks.
The Isringhausen discussion comes up near the end of the chat.
Tigers Interested In Isringhausen, Lyon
The Tigers are interested in Jason Isringhausen and Brandon Lyon, according to MLB.com’s Jason Beck.
Four teams with closer needs are considering Isringhausen, according to his agent, Dan Horwits. Isringhausen could make a decision by next week. Ken Rosenthal had a similar report yesterday that suggested the Cardinals could be interested and the Dodgers aren’t.
Beck writes that Lyon’s on a "similar timetable." Lyon’s agent, Barry Meister, says his client has drawn interest from four or five teams. Some teams view him as a setup man and others can see him pitching in the eighth and ninth innings. The Tigers have talked with Meister about Lyon recently.