Mariano Rivera

Quick Hits: Willingham, Rivera, Royals, Wilson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 21, 2011 at 9:06pm CDT

Links for Wednesday, as the Cardinals, Rays and Angels try to make improbable surges into the playoffs with some late-season magic…

It appeared that Manny Ramirez was going to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic, but he is ineligible to play there because he has "unresolved drug program violations" with MLB, which is an affiliate of the Dominican League, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
Josh Willingham, a free agent after the season, told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that manager Bob Melvin's extension helps make Oakland an appealing destination (Twitter link).
Joel Sherman of the New York Post chronicles the obstacles that Mariano Rivera had to overcome before throwing a single MLB pitch. The Yankees left Rivera unprotected in the 1992 expansion draft and nearly traded him in 1995.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney predicts that a wide variety of teams including the Marlins and Nationals will be interested in C.J. Wilson this offseason (Twitter link). We heard earlier today that the Nationals are scouting the Rangers left-hander.
The Royals intend to trade for a starting pitcher this winter, but they don’t intend to trade Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas or Danny Duffy and probably won’t part with Jake Odorizzi or Mike Montgomery, either, Jon Heyman writes at SI.com. They are one of the many teams with interest in Wilson.

Quick Hits: Epstein, Ozzie, Beltran

By Tim Dierkes | September 20, 2011 at 1:52pm CDT

Links for Tuesday, as the Red Sox and Braves try to fend off several wild card challengers…

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein failed to accumulate the necessary pitching depth, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Epstein has become a popular target this month, but the criticism holds more water for me if the author was pointing out the team's depth issues before the season or in July. Morosi, to his credit, questioned Boston's rotation in April.
On a similar note, the John Lackey contract looks ugly right now. But it wasn't regarded that way when Lackey signed in December of 2009. In fact, ESPN's Jayson Stark did a poll of "20 wise baseball men" prior to the 2010 season, and Lackey's contract was voted the best signing of the offseason (right before Chone Figgins).
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen hopes to learn about his future before leaving for a trip to Spain in early October, he told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Guillen has a year left on his contract, so the White Sox don't necessarily have to follow that timeline.
Scott Boras will have lunch with the Giants' Carlos Beltran today to determine the right fielder's free agency goals, he told the Associated Press yesterday at the Moneyball premiere.
ESPN's Buster Olney tells stories of how Padres GM Randy Smith came to acquire Trevor Hoffman from the Marlins, and how the Yankees considered trading Mariano Rivera before they realized what they had.

Rosenthal On Papelbon, Yankees, Fielder, Pujols

By Zachary Links | September 3, 2011 at 4:27pm CDT

A Marlins shakeup is looming and the focus is on the team's minor league system, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in this week's edition of Full Count. Jim Fleming, the vice president of player development and scouting, has informed his staff that he will be reassigned. The club's revenues will grow once they move into their new stadium but they still need to do a better job of producing homegrown talent. Let's take a look at some more highlights from Full Count..

The Red Sox are reluctant to give lucrative long-term contracts to closers, but with Jonathan Papelbon they might not be able to resist. Papelbon will want an increase from his $12MM salary, perhaps something closer to Mariano Rivera's $15MM average yearly pay. It's possible that no team will want to go there but Rivera has just one year left on his deal and Rafael Soriano hardly looks like the heir to Mo's throne. Rosenthal wonders aloud if the Yankees would jump in and offer Papelbon a backloaded deal to take over as closer.
The Rangers would seem to be an obvious suitor for Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols, especially in light of Mitch Moreland's recent struggles. Texas will have to spend on pitching if they lose C.J. Wilson in free agency and they might prefer to keep both their payroll and roster flexible. Josh Hamilton is only one year away from free agency and Ian Kinsler is only two years away.
The sale of the Astros to Jim Crane is not yet official and some in baseball believe that he will not be approved as owner. Others, however, view a deal as inevitable. Current owner Drayton McLane wants out and Crane is offering a fair price for the club. Perhaps most importantly, there does not appear to be any other bidders. McLane has been loyal to the commissioner's office and he will want to see that loyalty reciprocated.

Oldest Current MLB Players

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 20, 2011 at 10:34am CDT

Generally speaking, young players tend to have athleticism, upside and a salary right around the MLB minimum. It’s no wonder that teams tend to gravitate to those players when constructing their rosters. There’s not much demand for aging, positionless sluggers in this era, yet a small group of older players are contributing to winning teams. In honor of Jason Giambi’s three-homer game, here’s a comprehensive list of every 40-plus player to don an MLB uniform in 2011:

Tim Wakefield (44) – The knuckleballer is once again a member of Boston's rotation. He has a 5.40 ERA with 4.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 23 1/3 innings this year.
Omar Vizquel (44) – The active leader in games played is showing few signs of age. Vizquel isn't on this list for his bat, but his .327/.358/.388 line is excellent. The 11-time Gold Glove winner has played second, short and third this year.
Matt Stairs (43) – Stairs, who figures to DH in interleague play this weekend, needs to turn his season around. The New Brunswick native has just two hits and six walks in 28 plate appearances. Give Stairs credit for staying in the majors this long; Bryce Harper wasn’t even born when Stairs made his MLB debut with the ’92 Expos.
Takashi Saito (41) – Before hitting the disabled list with a left hamstring injury, Saito appeared in just two games for the Brewers.
Mariano Rivera (41) – How is Rivera this effective at 41? He leads the league in saves (13) and has a 1.80 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9. His average fastball still checks in at over 91 mph.
Arthur Rhodes (41) – Rhodes hasn't quite matched his 2010 performance so far, but a 3.97 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 isn't bad at any age.
Craig Counsell (40) – The 16-year veteran has a .234/.321/.255 line in 55 plate appearances at second, third, short and left field. Consider that the average MLB shortstop has a .254/.312/.361 line and Counsell's numbers look a little better.
Jason Giambi (40) – Giambi has an unusual .194/.306/.581 line after his three-homer game.
Miguel Batista (40) – Batista has a 1.69 ERA through 16 innings despite having an equal number of walks and strikeouts (9).
Darren Oliver (40) – Oliver has a 2.95 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 1.0 BB/9 in 18 1/3 innings of relief. He and Rhodes provide the Rangers with a pair of dependable lefty relievers.
Jim Thome (40) – After a tremendous 2010 season, Thome's numbers have fallen off and he has spent time on the disabled list. He hit a pair of homers and posted a .214/.333/.375 line before hitting the DL with an oblique strain.

Cafardo’s Latest: Papelbon, Beltre, Pavano, Kapler

By Luke Adams 2 | December 19, 2010 at 12:06pm CDT

After a morning of headlines involving Zack Greinke, let's not forget that there are still plenty of trade targets and free agents remaining on the market. Nick Cafardo has the latest updates on a few of them in his newest piece for the Boston Globe….

The Red Sox have been listening to offers for Jonathan Papelbon. When the team made a three-year, $51MM offer to Mariano Rivera, the assumption was that, on the off chance Rivera accepted, Papelbon wouldn't be back next season.
Even if Papelbon remains a Red Sox through 2011, there's an understanding that he'll explore the free agent market. Boston only expects to re-sign him if he agrees to a team-friendly deal like those signed by Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and Jon Lester.
The article names the Rangers and Angels as a couple teams who could have interest in trading for Papelbon, though it appears to be mostly speculation on Cafardo's part.
While the Rangers and Halos also appear to be the two leading suitors for Adrian Beltre, Cafardo wonders if a mystery team could be involved, given the silence surrounding the third baseman lately. As we learned during the Cliff Lee derby, you can never entirely rule out those ever-looming mystery teams.
Cafardo writes that Carl Pavano likely won't sign until at least later this week, unless a team ponies up and makes him an offer in the ballpark of $36MM over three years. Of course, at the time Cafardo's column was published, the Brewers' acquisition of Greinke wasn't confirmed. With Greinke off the table, teams who missed out on the Royals' ace may feel a greater sense of urgency to get something done with Pavano. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports suggests that a reunion with the Twins appears likely for Pavano, following the Greinke trade.
The Red Sox have tried to re-acquire Justin Masterson from the Indians, but have been denied so far.
Gabe Kapler would like to keep playing, and is "waiting for the right situation."

Odds & Ends: Rauch, Rays, Jenks, Rockies, Rangers

By Mike Axisa | December 18, 2010 at 10:04pm CDT

On this date in 1997, the Red Sox traded Tony Armas Jr. and Carl Pavano to the Expos for reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez. A case can be made that Pedro's 1999 and 2000 seasons were the two best pitching seasons in baseball history, in which he held batters to a .186/.231/.274 batting line with 597 strikeouts in 430.1 innings.

It's highly unlikely that we'll see a pitcher of Pedro's caliber traded anytime soon, but that Zack Greinke kid is pretty good in his own right. Here are today's links…

Two days ago we heard that the Rockies had interest in David Aardsma, Grant Balfour, and Todd Coffey, and now Troy Renck of The Denver post throws Jon Rauch's name into the mix.
Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times has some quotes from Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg, who called the size of free agent contracts being handed out this winter "discouraging." He also commented (briefly) on the team's 2011 payroll.
Bobby Jenks will take his physical on Monday, tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. It was originally scheduled for today but was pushed back, and it's necessary to finalize his contract with the Red Sox.
Renck also has the goods (Twitter links) on two recent Rockies signings. Ty Wigginton took less money to sign in Colorado, earning $3.5MM in 2011, $4MM in '12, and a club option for $4MM in '13 ($500k buyout). Meanwhile, pitcher Eric Stults has an out in his $435k minor league deal that will allow him to sign with the Hiroshima Carp if he does not make the big league roster.
Richard Durrett of ESPN.com applauds the Rangers' efforts to bolster their starting depth.
Dan Wheeler is happy to be a member of Boston's improved bullpen, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Seth McClung's deal with the Rangers will pay him $700K if he makes the team. There are another $700K available in bonuses tied to the number of starts he makes.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report (via Twitter) indicating that Hideki Matsui's contract with the A's has a limited no-trade clause preventing trades to the Mariners, Orioles, Twins, Blue Jays, Indians, and Royals.
Mariano Rivera told Erik Boland of Newsday that he plans to give long-time teammate Andy Pettitte a call to try to convince the lefty to come back for another season.
Finding a left-handed bat off the bench is one of the last remaining items on the Marlins offseason agenda, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says they might already have that guy on their roster. Catcher John Baker, who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, said he would be up for the job until he's cleared to catch again.
Former Mets GM Omar Minaya told Ian Begley of ESPN New York that he plans to sit down with new GM Sandy Alderson after the holidays to discuss a potential new role with the team. Minaya said he has several offers on the table, including interest from the Diamondbacks.
Hey iPhone users, do you have the MLBTR app yet? Jason Bartlett does, and that's how he found out his trade to the Padres was in the works.

Yankees Rumors: Soriano, Hall, Garcia, Joba

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 16, 2010 at 6:46pm CDT

We found out lots about the Bronx Bombers' search for pitching yesterday: it seems likely that Andy Pettitte will return to the Yankees, they don't like Brandon Webb that much and they're looking at left-handed relievers. We've since learned that they're making progress with Pedro Feliciano and that deals for Carlos Zambrano or Felix Hernandez seem unlikely at best. Here's the latest on their pitching hunt, plus news on a position player:

The Yankees are not in on Rafael Soriano, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). They aren't anxious to pay closer money for a pitcher who will set up for Mariano Rivera. ESPN.com's Buster Olney agrees that the Yankees are not in on Soriano (Twitter link).
The Yankees and Dodgers are the "most aggressive" of the four teams interested in Bill Hall, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. We heard about the Yankees' interest in Hall last month, and the Astros and Pirates are probably the other two clubs in the hunt.
The Yanks have asked for the medicals on Freddy Garcia, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
In spite of the club's lack of rotation depth, Brian Cashman tells MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez that Joba Chamberlain will remain in the bullpen.
In another piece from Alden Gonzalez, Mariano Rivera says that the Red Sox did pursue him this offseason, but he can't really imagine pitching for Boston.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Yankees Re-Sign Mariano Rivera

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 14, 2010 at 4:25pm CDT

The Yankees re-signed Mariano Rivera to a two-year deal, the team announced today. The contract will pay Rivera $30MM, according to Christian Red of the New York Daily News.

Now 41, Rivera is coming off yet another dominant season. He posted a 1.80 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 60 innings of work. It's logical to assume that Rivera will slow down at some point, but recent history suggests Rivera can still be an effective late-inning reliever. He has a 1.64 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 1.3 BB/9 and three All-Star selections since 2008.

Rivera received competitive offers from rival teams, including the Red Sox, but wanted to stay in pinstripes. Agent Fernando Cuza confirmed that interested teams other than the Yankees called about Rivera and Jon Heyman of SI.com reported that the Red Sox and Angels were two of three teams that offered the closer three-year deals (all Twitter links).

Odds & Ends: Rivera, Mets, Bruce, Orioles, Dodgers

By Luke Adams 2 | December 12, 2010 at 10:19pm CDT

Links for Sunday….

WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that Mariano Rivera's representatives initiated contact with the Red Sox, who eventually offered the closer a contract. Boston was never inclined to non-tender Jonathan Papelbon had they signed Rivera; they valued him at the back of their bullpen in the short-term, and the draft picks that would come their way if he signs elsewhere as a free agent in the long-term.
SI.com's Jon Heyman has the scoop on the Mets new coaching staff (Twitter link). Dave Hudgens will be the hitting coach, Jon Debus the bullpen coach, Ken Oberkfell the bench coach, and Mookie Wilson the first base coach.
Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News thinks the Jay Bruce extension is an excellent message.
Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun speculates that the Orioles could still sign two more relievers even after Koji Uehara's deal becomes official, and he wouldn't be against them signing a designated hitter type either.
Seth Livingstone of USA Today looks at what Cliff Lee would mean to both the Yankees and the Rangers.
Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) breaks down the details of Jay Gibbons' contract with the Dodgers. $400K of Gibbons' $650K salary is guaranteed, and he could earn as much as $800K with incentives based on plate appearances (Twitter link).
Hernandez's colleague at the L.A. Times, T.J. Simers, isn't a fan of the Dodgers' recent moves.
Trading for Zack Greinke is still a possibility for the Brewers, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Speaking to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Andrew Friedman said the Rays are targeting "under-the-radar type guys that we feel fit us well and have a lot of upside."
The Pirates haven't approached Andrew McCutchen about a long-term extension, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggests Jay Bruce's deal would be a good comparable if the two sides discuss anything.
Clint Hurdle tells Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his preference is for the Pirates to add two left-handed relievers.
The Rockies agreed to minor league deals with a pair of players, including former Yankee first round pick Eric Duncan, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding.

Odds & Ends: Paulino, Beltre, Werth, Thome

By Zachary Links | December 5, 2010 at 10:43pm CDT

Some links on what has been a very busy day in baseball..

Ronny Paulino is on the Rockies' radar after being non-tendered by the Marlins, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
Don't expect Adrian Beltre in Baltimore, GM Andy MacPhail told Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.
GM Ruben Amaro says the Phillies offered Jayson Werth a significant contract, writes David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
The Nationals' offer for Werth was so far beyond what everyone else was offering that agent Scott Boras didn't bother to ask other teams if they wanted to match, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.
Not only does Jim Thome plan on coming back in 2011, he wants to play for two more seasons, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Mariano Rivera's new deal with the Yanks is for exactly $30MM but deferred payments make it worth $14.7MM per year, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
The Carl Pavano market should become a little more transparent this week, says Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter). Earlier we learned that the Nats are in the mix for the veteran pitcher.

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