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Jeremy Guthrie

Guthrie, Not Millwood, May Be Orioles’ Most Tradable Pitcher

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Baltimore acquired Kevin Millwood last December so he could provide some veteran leadership to their young staff, but even at the time of the trade, there were whispers that Millwood could soon be on the move again.  It made sense that a rebuilding team like the Orioles might try to flip Millwood in a midseason deal for prospects, and Baltimore's poor start to the season has made the right-hander even more expendable.

As FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal points out, however, Millwood might not even be the most attractive trade asset on Baltimore's staff.  Jeremy Guthrie has a lower ERA (3.71 to Millwood's 4.64), a lower WHIP (1.13 to 1.44) and is very close to Millwood in K-BB ratio (2.41 to Millwood's 2.65).  Perhaps more importantly for interested teams, Guthrie isn't a free agent until after the 2012 season and has about $1.9MM left to earn of his $3MM salary for this season.  A team that deals for Millwood, on the other hand, will owe him approximately $7.57MM remaining on his $12MM 2010 salary.  (Texas paid Baltimore $3MM of that salary when trading Millwood over the winter, but it's unknown if the O's would send a representative portion of that money to a trade partner.)  Millwood is also a free agent after this season.

More and more contending teams are shying away from acquiring older rent-a-players at the cost of valuable prospects, and thus Millwood may not be able to pull in the young talent that the Orioles want.  Guthrie's younger age (31), pedigree (he was a first-round pick for the Indians in the 2002 draft) and potential upside might convince a team to part with a decent prospect or two.  Rosenthal notes that Guthrie's situation makes him more attractive to the O's too, but given Baltimore's struggles, it's hard to see them turning down a good offer on any veteran player.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Orioles, Cliff Lee

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Links for Wednesday, as the Pirates' Brad Lincoln hopes to capture just a small slice of Stephen Strasburg's success in his MLB debut…

Players Who Were Once Designated For Assignment

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We see it all the time. Most weeks a handful of players are designated for assignment and more often than not casual fans barely notice. A DFA indicates that a team is willing to part with a player – sometimes for nothing. But sometimes those players come back from DFAs to become stars in the major leagues. Here's a list of some current players who have been designated for assignment:

  • David Aardsma – The Red Sox acquired Aardsma after the White Sox designated him for assignment in 2008. A year later, the Mariners traded for Aardsma, who became the team's closer and posted impressive rates of 10.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.
  • Mike Adams – Adams was designated for assignment in 2006, before he posted absurdly low ERAs and regularly struck out more than a batter per inning.
  • Milton Bradley – The Padres acquired Bradley from the A's after Bradley was designated for assignment in 2007. Bradley hit .313/.414/.590 for the Padres and led them to a one game playoff with the Rockies for the Wild Card spot. Of course Bradley didn't play in game 163, since he tore his ACL while manager Bud Black restrained him during an on-field argument earlier in the month.
  • Russell Branyan – No one claimed Branyan after his 2006 DFA, but the Cardinals traded for him when the Phillies designated him for assignment the next year. He didn't do much for the Cards in his 39 plate appearances in 2007, but Branyan rebounded to hit 31 homers for the Mariners in 2009.
  • Marlon Byrd – The Nationals designated Byrd for assignment in 2006 without losing him and the Rangers did the same in 2007. Byrd recovered from his '07 demotion to post three consecutive productive seasons in Texas.
  • Nelson Cruz – The Rangers designated Cruz for assignment at the beginning of the 2008 season –  usually a good time to sneak players through waivers. The Rangers must be thrilled no one claimed Cruz, who hit 37 homers in the minors that year and added 33 in the majors the following season.
  • Rajai Davis – The A's claimed the outfielder off of waivers from their Bay Area rivals in 2008. Davis was hitting .056/.105/.056 at the time, though he had batted just 19 times. He has gone on to become a useful player, hitting .305/.360/.423 last year with 41 steals and above average defense, according to UZR.
  • Jorge de la Rosa – The Royals designated de la Rosa for assignment in March of 2008, but it wasn't until a month later that the Rockies traded for him. The 29-year-old free agent-to-be has been a productive starter in Colorado since.
  • Ryan Franklin – The Reds acquired Franklin from the Phillies in 2006 after a poor start to the season. Franklin didn't do much better with the Reds, but he has been productive for three-plus seasons in St. Louis since.
  • Jeremy Guthrie – The Orioles claimed the former first round pick from the Indians early in 2007, when Guthrie had just 37 big league innings and a 6.08 ERA to his name. Since, the righty has posted a 4.19 ERA in 610.1 innings.
  • LaTroy Hawkins – The Yankees designated the reliever for assignment in 2008 and traded him to Houston, where Hawkins dominated for 24 appearances. He posted a 0.43 ERA along with 10.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.
  • Bobby Jenks – He has fallen out of favor with the White Sox now, but they deserve credit for picking him up after the 2004 season. Jenks has struck out three times as many batters as he has walked in 301 innings with the White Sox.
  • Ryan Ludwick – The slugger started the 2005 season hitting just .154/.267/.385 so the Indians designated him for assignment. No one claimed Ludwick then, but the Cardinals made a shrewd pickup when they later signed him.
  • Brandon Phillips – The Reds claimed Phillips after the Indians designated him for assignment in 2006. He had just a .206/.246/.310 big league line at the time, but he has averaged 22 homers and 26 steals in his four full seasons with the Reds. UZR rates the 28-year-old as an above average defender at second base, too.
  • Joel Pineiro – The Red Sox designated Pineiro for assignment in 2007 when he had a 5.03 ERA and just 20 strikeouts to go along with 14 walks. Later that summer, the Cardinals acquired Pineiro and he went on to post 426.1 solid innings for the Cards. Under the tutelage of pitching coach Dave Duncan, Pineiro posted a walk rate of 1.6 BB/9 in a Cardinals uniform.
  • Grant Balfour, Ryan Church, Jack Cust, Matt Diaz, Jerry Hairston Jr., Joel Hanrahan, Livan Hernandez, Mike Jacobs, Colby Lewis, Julio Lugo, Mike MacDougal, Evan Meek, Vicente Padilla, Scott Podsednik, J.C. Romero, David Ross, Brian Tallet, Todd Wellemeyer and Randy Wells are among the many big leaguers who have been designated for assignment.

It's worth noting that this group does not include a superstar (Cruz might be the closest thing to one). Teams designate many talented players for assignment because of roster constraints, but few enjoy as much success as the group above.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the information.

Top Trade Chips: AL East

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Let's finish off our series with the toughest division in baseball…

  • Blue Jays: The Jays already traded away most of their top pieces, but they still have three desirable relievers in Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, and Kevin Gregg. All three can become free agents after the season. There might be some interest in first baseman Lyle Overbay, who will also hit the open market after the season. 
  • Orioles: Considering how poorly he pitched before landing on the DL, I'm sure a large part of the Baltimore faithful wouldn't mind seeing Mike Gonzalez go. Alas, that won't happen anytime soon. There always seems to be interest in Luke Scott, who still has two more years of team control left. If they decide to sell at mid-season, Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie could find their way onto the block. 
  • Rays: The Rays are a player development machine, and they have enough young players to get get pretty much anyone they want. They have enough depth that they could trade one of Reid Brignac or Sean Rodriguez plus one of Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, or Jeremy Hellickson and not miss a beat. If they fall out of it and decide to sell, it doesn't get much better than Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, and Carlos Pena. I believe the term is "stacked."
  • Red Sox: Boston has held onto Clay Buchholz for this long, but with his name appearing so frequently on the rumor circuit, it really wouldn't be surprising if they moved him for a big time player. They might still be able to find a taker for Mike Lowell, and there would be interest in Manny Delcarmen if he were made available. They did lose a valuable chip when Junichi Tazawa went down with Tommy John surgery. 
  • Yankees: They seem unwilling to trade either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, so their best chip is the semi-blocked Jesus Montero. Of course, the Yankees have the ability to absorb even the ugliest of contracts, so maybe we should consider that their biggest trade chip.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday

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We'll keep track of any players that avoid arbitration today here…

  • The Orioles and Jeremy Guthrie have agreed to a one-year $3MM deal, according to Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Guthrie receives $100K for winning the Cy Young Award. He also earns $50K for finishing second or third in the Cy Young voting and the same amount for making the All Star team, winning World Series MVP, ALCS MVP or a Gold Golve

Odds & Ends: Mauer, Turnbow, Loaiza

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Links for Monday…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if the convergence of Joe Mauer, Ron Shapiro, and Bill Smith in St. Paul Wednesday for a Rick Reilly program will accelerate extension talks.
  • The Rockies "remain firmly in the mix" for free agent reliever Derrick Turnbow, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Turnbow could make a choice by Wednesday.
  • In his latest MLB.com mailbag, Jordan Bastian notes that Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan is out of options.
  • MLBTR's resident translator, Nick Collias, passes along this Esteban Loaiza interview with Hector Linares from the Mexican newspaper Excelsior.  Loaiza says he's doing everything possible to make it back to the big leagues, and has received a few calls from teams.  He last pitched for the White Sox in June of '08.
  • Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News explains why the Phillies' Cliff Lee trade was the right move.  He says fans don't understand, and the Phils needed the prospects. 
  • Aaron Gleeman wouldn't mind seeing Delmon Young benched and Jim Thome added by the Twins to platoon at DH.
  • RotoAuthority assesses David Wright's fantasy prospects for 2010.
  • Baseball America's Ben Badler says MLB voided the seven-figure contract Dominican third baseman Duanel Jones had with San Francisco.  ESPN's Jorge Arangure says (via Twitter) the move was prompted by Jones failing a drug test administered by the Giants.
  • Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie told MASN's Steve Melewski that his $120K pay cut from 2008 to 2009 did not affect his '09 performance.

Orioles Offseason Gameplan

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The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec looks at five key questions for the Orioles as they head into this year's Winter Meetings. He's also got some quotes from Andy MacPhail talking about the Orioles' views on this year's free agent market. Let's go over some highlights:

  • MacPhail states that the O's will be less active at the Winter Meetings than they were in 2008, when they signed Cesar Izturis, traded Ramon Hernandez, and offered a $140MM contract to Mark Teixeira. He does, however, state that when the offseason is said and done, Baltimore will likely have been more active than it was overall last year.
  • Don't expect a major move from Baltimore this week. They don't have a free agent target singled out and will likely wait to see how the market takes shape as time progresses.
  • While they'd like to add an impact hitter, the Orioles are unlikely to pursue names like Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, and MacPhail isn't big on the idea of trading his top prospects for short-term fixes. So far, the O's aren't thought to be bidders for veteran outfield/DH types like Jermaine Dye, Hideki Matsui, and Vladimir Guerrero.
  • Luke Scott is likely Baltimore's biggest trade chip. Moving Scott would allow Nolan Reimold to DH while recovering from surgery, and improve defense by getting Felix Pie more at-bats in left field.
  • Ty Wigginton is also mentioned as a trade chip. Zrebiec says the Orioles would have to be overwhelmed by an offer to move Jeremy Guthrie, and have a way to secure two veteran arms to replace him as well.
  • MacPhail would prefer not to sign a closer that will cost their second-round pick, such as Jose Valverde, Mike Gonzalez, or Rafael Soriano. Zrebiec mentions Kevin Gregg as a possibility.
  • The Orioles have had talks with John Lackey's agent, but aren't expected to be serious bidders for the former Halos ace. They'll look at names like Ben Sheets, Rich Harden, and Erik Bedard instead.
  • After Radhames Liz was claimed by the Padres, Baltimore found themselves with an open spot on its 40-man roster. MacPhail would prefer to give a homegrown player a shot rather than make a Rule 5 selection, unless he's convinced that the Rule 5 Draft offers something that their minor league clubs currently don't have.

Angels Notes: Guerrero, Lackey, Oliver

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MLB.com's Lyle Spencer answered a pile of fans' questions about the Angels' free agents, possible new signings and trade options.  Here are some of the highlights…

  • Spencer "has his doubts" that Los Angeles will re-sign any of its big three free agents (Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero and John Lackey).  He thinks the other three AL West teams would be smart to sign Guerrero given that the outfielder is "a prideful man who would have something to prove to his former employer." 
  • If the Angels do dip into the free-agent market, it would be for a starting pitcher.  Spencer lists Randy Wolf and former Angel Jon Garland as possible targets, and also says the Halos could wait until midseason to pick up another arm a la their trade for Scott Kazmir last season.
  • The Angels would "love to keep" free agent reliever Darren Oliver.  Spencer thinks Oliver's Type A status will give L.A. the edge in re-signing him since other teams won't want to give up a first-round draft pick for a 38-year-old setup man.
  • Spencer would re-sign Kelvim Escobar to "an incentives-laden contract" because he thinks the right-hander could have a big season if healthy.
  • Utilityman Robb Quinlan will likely not be back in Anaheim, and seems to be a better fit in the National League.
  • Spencer shoots down two suggested trades that would send Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, respectively, to Los Angeles.  He doesn't think San Diego will move Gonzalez for attendance reasons, and thinks Tampa Bay might ask for too much in return for Crawford.
  • However, a fan-suggested trade of Brandon Wood for Jeremy Guthrie might be mutually beneficial for both the Halos and Orioles.  Spencer also calls a proposed Milton Bradley-for-Gary Matthews Jr. swap "an intriguing suggestion," but notes that Matthews still provides more benefit to Los Angeles than Bradley would.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Yankees, Brewers

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A few links to browse while you recover from last night's 13-inning marathon in the Bronx….

  • The New York Post's Joel Sherman has a plan for the Mets' rotation: take advantage of spacious Citi Field by pursuing fly ball pitchers instead of the ground ball pitchers that everyone else will covet. Sherman's ideas include Jeremy Guthrie, Gil Meche, and Ervin Santana.
  • Adam Rubin at the New York Daily News hears that the Mets want to acquire a right-handed first baseman to complement Daniel Murphy in 2010. Rubin anticipates that the team's bigger move will be adding a power-hitting outfielder though.
  • Bill Madden of the New York Daily News expects the Yankees to re-sign either Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui as the team's regular DH, letting the other player go. Brian Cashman could then use that money to sign a left fielder who wouldn't be a defensive liability.
  • After the Cincinnati Reds hired Bryan Price as their pitching coach, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel becomes more confident than ever that Rick Peterson is headed for the Brewers' open pitching coach position.

Teams Inquiring On Guthrie

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Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi are saying that multiple teams have put in calls for Orioles RHP Jeremy Guthrie. However, their source says that the Orioles are "unlikely" to move him, and the Orioles would likely have to be overwhelmed to make a deal.

Guthrie, a former Scott Boras client, makes only $650k this season. He's been a bit disappointing, though, putting up a 5.21 ERA.

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