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Neftali Feliz

Feliz Likely To Close; Texas To Pursue Relievers Later

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It would be a "huge" upset if the Rangers put Neftali Feliz into their rotation, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links). However, the Rangers are aware that next year's free agent class is loaded with top relievers, so they'll likely move Feliz to the rotation for the 2012 season. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that trading for a closer at this point in the spring is difficult and argues that Feliz belongs in the bullpen.

Rangers manager Ron Washington said earlier in the week that he wants an experienced closer. Feliz, though still 22, closed for Texas last year when the Rangers made it to the World Series, so he qualifies. Other established closers like Heath Bell and Joakim Soria don't appear to be available.

Bell, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Capps, Francisco Cordero, Brad Lidge, Joe Nathan, Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Rodriguez, Rafael Soriano, Jose Valverde and other top relievers could hit free agency after the 2011 season, at which point the Rangers would have many more options than they do now.

Quick Hits: Choice, Royals, Feliz, Posey, Lawrie

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If you're a fan of top prospects and rookies, then this Quick Hits post is for you. Here are today's links…

  • Oakland's 2010 first rounder, Michael Choice, is wowing scouts in Arizona, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Peter Gammons of MLB Network hears from a trusted scout that Choice has the bat speed, strength and athleticism to become a "monster" (Twitter link). Baseball America ranked the 21-year-old third among Oakland's prospects heading into the season.
  • One GM says the Royals are so deep in talent that they can still be in it in 2013 if a couple of their top prospects miss, according to Gammons (on Twitter).
  • Neftali Feliz has said he's most comfortable closing games, but Rangers GM Jon Daniels says he'll continue stretching the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year out to see if he can make it as a starter, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram (on Twitter).
  • The Giants and last year's NL Rookie of the Year, Buster Posey, agreed to a one-year deal, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  He tweets that the deal is worth $575K.  That's about $150K more than the Giants had to give him.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos tells Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi that Brett Lawrie has looked “very good.” The Blue Jays, who acquired Lawrie for Shaun Marcum over the winter, like the infielder’s work ethic, tools and drive.

Quick Hits: Richard, Crawford, Feliz, Castro

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Links for Friday as Jake Peavy prepares for his first game action since last July. Peavy faces the Angels in Arizona this afternoon…

  • Chris Richard, an outfielder/first baseman who spent parts of five seasons in the majors with the Orioles, Rays, Rockies and Cardinals, has announced his retirement, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter).
  • The Angels offered Carl Crawford $108MM with an $18MM option, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). No wonder the outfielder accepted Boston's $142MM offer.
  • Vernon Wells would have accepted a trade to the Yankees, not just to the Rangers or Angels, according to Heyman (on Twitter).
  • Rangers higher-ups want Neftali Feliz to make the team's rotation, according to Heyman (on Twitter).
  • Astros catcher Jason Castro could miss the entire season, after tearing his right ACL, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.

Quick Hits: Hall, Young, Feliz, Burnett, Buck

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Links for Wednesday night..

  • Longtime major leaguer Juan Castro told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that he never considered retirement at any point this winter.  The 38-year-old is trying to hook on with the Dodgers in 2011 for what would be his fourth stint with the club.
  • Earlier today, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told versatile Astros veteran Bill Hall that the club was "this close" to signing him, tweets Jack Curry of the YES Network.
  • A source close to the Rockies told Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated that the Rangers sought a "very good player" for Michael Young, but didn't elaborate on who that player might be.
  • Some in the Rangers front office feel that Neftali Feliz could develop into the type of starter that would otherwise cost a bundle in a trade, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
  • Yankees fans have been hard on A.J. Burnett, who is set to earn $16.5MM annually through 2013.  However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that Burnett's career numbers are not all that different from Boston's Josh Beckett.
  • Outfielder Travis Buck views his arrival in the Indians locker room as a fresh start, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.

Rangers To Discuss Extending C.J. Wilson, Others

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The Rangers are looking to discuss a contract extension with left-hander C.J. Wilson in the coming weeks, reports FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi.  Wilson, 30, avoided arbitration with Texas by agreeing to a one-year, $7MM pact last month and will be a free agent after the 2011 season.

Wilson was drafted as a starting pitcher in 2001, but made just six Major League starts in his 2005 rookie season before being converted to a reliever.  He pitched well enough out of the bullpen that the Rangers stretched him out and gave him a rotation spot last spring, and Wilson delivered in spades.  Wilson posted a 3.35 ERA and a 1.83 K/BB ratio, though he also allowed a league-leading 93 walks.  With Cliff Lee once again a Phillie, Wilson is ostensibly the ace of the Texas staff.

In addition to Wilson, Rangers GM Jon Daniels says the team is also looking at signing other "core players" to multiyear deals.  Daniels didn't name names, but Morosi cites Elvis Andrus and Neftali Feliz as extension candidates.  Andrus will be arbitration-eligible for the first time next winter, while Feliz is just finishing his first full season in the majors. 

Feliz, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, could have more in common with Wilson than just a contract extension.  The Rangers plan to try Feliz out as a starter this spring, so if the transition goes smoothly, Texas could save itself a lot of future arbitration dollars on a future ace by locking Feliz up right now.

Cafardo On Loney, Papelbon, Pavano, Feliz

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tackles the subject of arbitration hearings in his latest column, pointing out that teams are far more willing to settle on salaries with their players than they used to be. After speaking to Astros president Tal Smith, who says hearings don't involve as much "mud-slinging" as you'd think, Cafardo wonders why more clubs aren't inclined to fight to keep their payroll down. Here are the rest of his notes:

  • James Loney won't be traded for now, but the Nationals made a "good push" for him earlier this winter, before they signed Adam LaRoche.
  • According to one of Cafardo's Red Sox sources, Jonathan Papelbon will be available throughout the season, regardless of where the Sox are in the standings.
  • Cafardo indicates that before Carl Pavano agreed to a two-year deal with the Twins, the Yankees offered the right-hander a one-year pact worth $7MM.
  • Ron Washington offers the latest on the Rangers' plan for Neftali Feliz, who could get a chance to start this year after winning Rookie of the Year honors as a closer: "We’re going to bring [Feliz] into camp and give him an opportunity to stretch himself out. And if he shows us he’s better fitted with our ball club to start, then we’ll go in that direction. If not, we know he can close ballgames and we’re very happy with that."
  • Joaquin Benoit discussed former teammates Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano with Cafardo, opining that Red Sox pitchers will love having Crawford behind them, and expressing some surprise that Soriano won't be closing in 2011. He also told Cafardo that he was "getting a lot of phone calls" this winter from fellow relievers who felt Benoit helped them by signing early to his three-year deal.

Cafardo On Gonzalez, V-Mart, Rangers, Nishioka

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Let's take a look at the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe….

  • Cafardo suggests the money the Red Sox could have spent on Victor Martinez may be used to make a bigger splash. He speculates that splash could involve trading for Adrian Gonzalez and signing him to an extension, but ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only link) still expects the Padres to begin the 2011 season with Gonzalez on their roster.
  • One National League GM on Boston deciding not to match the Tigers' offer for Martinez: "He really rakes lefthanded pitching. That was the strange thing about the Red Sox for me — that in a division where there are so many good lefthanded pitchers, Martinez hit them at a .400 clip [in 2010]. Big, big loss for the Red Sox."
  • One option the Rangers are discussing internally, in the event they can't sign Cliff Lee, is moving Neftali Feliz to the rotation and signing a closer such as Rafael Soriano.
  • Olney reported earlier this week that rival executives view the Rangers as the team with the best shot at acquiring Zack Greinke. Cafardo hears the same thing, noting that Engel Beltre is "often mentioned as trade bait."
  • As we heard when the Twins won the bidding for Tsuyoshi Nishioka, the Red Sox were also involved. According to Cafardo, Boston's bid was about $2.3MM, and their interest in the Japanese shortstop was "marginal." With Jed Lowrie and Jose Iglesias already in the organization, Nishioka didn't make a ton of sense for the club.
  • Cafardo expects the Padres, Red Sox, or Indians to hire Josh Byrnes in the near future.

Latin Links: Tejada, Uribe, Feliz, Cuban Players

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Links from Spanish-language news sources…

  • Sources close to Miguel Tejada and Juan Uribe said the infielders will wait and see what kind of contract Derek Jeter signs before committing to anything on their own, according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas. Neither player is aspiring to Jeter-like money, Rojas writes, but they think Jeter will "establish the market value of veteran shortstops" and give their own respective values a boost. The Cardinals are supposedly interested in both players.
  • Neftali Feliz told Jose Caceres of Hoy he's heard rumors about the Rangers planning to move him to the rotation, but on the team's end, "Nobody has said anything to me." SI's Jon Heyman tweeted earlier today that the team would consider the move if they can't sign Cliff Lee.
  • Victor Mesa, a former Cuban National Team manager and one of the all-time greats of Cuban baseball, told the official government newspaper Trabajadores that the time has finally come for those in power to allow Cuban players to sign with foreign teams, conveys Diario de Cuba. "I think there could be incorporation [into foreign teams], so that they could spend eight years playing in our National Series and [sign] with our involvement, not independently," Mesa said. The most recent prominent player to flee the country is a speedy teenaged outfielder in the mold of Mesa himself: 17-year-old centerfielder Yasiel Balaguer, who arrived in Nicaragua a few days ago.

Buster Posey, Neftali Feliz Win ROY Honors

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Giants catcher Buster Posey took home the National League Rookie of the Year award today, while Rangers closer Neftali Feliz won it in the AL.

After Posey, Jason Heyward, Jaime Garcia, Gaby Sanchez, Neil Walker, Starlin Castro, Ike Davis, Jose Tabata, and Jonny Venters received votes in the NL.  After Feliz it was Austin Jackson, Danny Valencia, Wade Davis, John Jaso, Brennan Boesch, and Brian Matusz in the AL.  Click here to see the full voting results.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Gillies, Oswalt, Hart, Lilly

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On this date ten years ago, a 36-year-old Barry Larkin signed a three-year contract extension with the Reds worth $27MM. This came a day after Larkin invoked his ten-and-five rights to block a trade to the Mets, who agreed to send then-top prospect Alex Escobar and two others to Cincinnati. New York dealt Melvin Mora and three other players to Baltimore for Mike Bordick five days later, filling their shortstop hole. Larkin, the first 30-30 shortstop in baseball history, hit just .257/.328/.372 during the life of the extension.

Here are some links with the trade deadline seemingly right around the corner…

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