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AL East Notes: Yankees, Big Papi, Markakis, Red Sox

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Yesterday, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com surveyed two National League executives on Robinson Cano and his value as he inches closer to hitting the open market.  Both supported the Yankees spending big on the second baseman and one even said that he has a legitimate case for a $200MM extension.  Here's more on the Yankees and other AL East items..

  • David Ortiz told reporters, including the Boston Herald's Scott Lauber, that he may not play again for the Red Sox this year because of his strained right Achilles. "To be honest with you, what I’m looking for right now is to make sure I heal up the right way," Ortiz said. "I pushed it once. Didn’t work. So I’m not going to push it again." Ortiz, who has played only once since July 16, received a platelet-rich plasma injection nearly two weeks ago that has left him feeling “totally different.” But, he is still wearing a protective boot on his right foot and won’t attempt any baseball activities until at least Tuesday when he’s expected to have it removed. 
  • The Orioles' Nick Markakis is expected to undergo surgery tomorrow to insert a plate into his broken left thumb, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.com. The surgery could speed up the recovery process, so the Orioles remain optimistic Markakis could return if they go deep into the playoffs, writes Kubatko.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks at five personnel decisions that backfired on the Yankees this season.  Sherman writes that the trade of Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda was among the club's biggest mistakes.  Although Pineda could bounce back from injury and fulfill his potential, Montero could have been a long-term answer for the Yankees in the event that Russell Martin leaves via free agency.
  • Theo Epstein only deserves some of the blame for the situation that the Red Sox are in and not all of it, opines John Tomase of the Boston Herald.  While Epstein made the big money deals that tied up the club's payroll, owners John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino had final say over all of them. 
  • Daisuke Matsuzaka's next start with the Red Sox could be his last with the club, writes Michael Vega of the Boston Globe.  "Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll be wearing this Red Sox uniform next year," Matsuzaka said through his interpreter, Jeff Cutler. "As I’ve said before, it’s an honor to be able to wear this Red Sox uniform, but it hasn’t been an added stress for me."
  • Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine told NESN's Tom Caron that the criticism that has been directed at him stems from personal gripes, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.  Valentine believes that he has always received unfair criticism and anticipated more of it when he arrived in Boston.

Edward Creech also contributed to this post.

Orioles Notes: Hardy, Markakis, Uehara, Johnson

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Some news tidbits from Charm City…

  • Teams have contacted the Orioles about J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Mark Reynolds, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  Jones would seemingly be untouchable and (as Heyman notes) Hardy and the Orioles are working out an extension, though Hardy would be a strong trade chip if negotiations fall apart.  Reynolds and Markakis are also probably unlikely to be dealt unless Baltimore is having second thoughts about paying Markakis over $47MM between now and the end of the 2014 season.
  • In a radio interview with 105.7 The Fan's Ken Weinman and Vinny Cerrato, ESPN's Keith Law thinks the team "should go out and deal any veteran player who is not likely to be part of the next good Orioles team. That’s anyone who is not under contract for 2013 or beyond. You’ve got to trade them for prospects, even if it’s a mid-level prospect. Trust your scouts. Go out and add the depth to your farm system. Sometimes you get lucky.”  Matt Vensel of the Baltimore Sun has transcribed some of the interview's highlights, plus a link to the audio of the full interview.
  • Koji Uehara "has drawn tepid interest" on the trade market due to his injury history and his age, reports MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.  There is more interest in Jim Johnson, but the O's are considering making Johnson a starter next season and have told other teams that Johnson isn't for sale.
  • Andy MacPhail tells Ghiroli that the pitching staff is "definitely something we are looking at to try to augment" at the trade deadline.  To this end, if Jeremy Guthrie is traded, Baltimore would want at least one Major League-ready pitcher in return to eat Guthrie's innings.
  • Also from Ghiroli, MacPhail didn't comment on his own status with the club.  MacPhail's contract as Baltimore's president of baseball operations is up after this season.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Hoffman, Bay, Markakis

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On this date back in 2004, Alex Rodriguez returned to Texas to play the Rangers for the first time since being traded (along with $71MM) to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias. He was booed loudly just like every other road game of his career, though he silenced the home crowd – at least temporarily – with a two-run homer in the first inning. 

 Here are a few links from around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Discussion: What’s Next For Baltimore?

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The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly details the questions facing a Baltimore team with some young offensive talent, some terrific young pitching on the way, and a lot of extra cash.

Connolly writes that while the 64-98 record Baltimore had in 2009 was the third-worst in team history, "there is a sense that the future has promise because of the emergence of young starting pitchers Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen, catcher Matt Wieters and outfielders Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie."

Left unsaid, of course, is the emergence of Adam Jones and Nick Markakis continuing to be a tremendous player.

The good news? The Orioles, according to Connolly, went from roughly $77MM owed in payroll at the start of the 2009 season-including $9MM to Jay Gibbons and Ramon Hernandez– to a $30MM commitment for 2010, not including raises through arbitration.

The bad news is that there aren't many marquee free agents (though there is Jason Marquis), and those that do qualify- Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, John Lackey– aren't great fits, particularly Bay and Holliday in an overcrowded outfield.

Connolly captures the problem of desires vs. realistic options perfectly here:

"The preference is to find a right-handed or switch-hitting first baseman in his prime, like the New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira. But there's no one who fits that profile in this year's class. The best free-agent options might be left-handed-hitting first basemen Russell Branyan and Hank Blalock or right-handed do-it-all Mark DeRosa."

So what's an Oriole to do?

Odds & Ends: Reynolds, Gammons, Orioles

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Some late night links after Jake Peavy allowed three runs in five innings in his first start for the White Sox…

  • Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic notes that Mark Reynolds is likely to fall short of qualifying as a Super Two, meaning he'll have to wait until after 2010 to become arbitration eligible. He also says that it "does not appear there have been any discussions about a long-term deal with Reynolds, but the club does not seem averse to the idea of an extension."
  • ESPN's Peter Gammons writes about how great Victor Martinez has been for the Red Sox since being acquired at the trade deadline. He also praises Casey Kotchman, but I think I'd rather have Adam LaRoche, who has a 1.053 OPS since the trade.
  • Orioles Manager Dave Trembley indicated that the team needs someone to hit behind Nick Markakis until some younger players like Matt Wieters and Adam Jones are ready to do it, according to MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko. 
  • If you aren't already, make sure you follow MLBTR on Twitter.

Odds And Ends: O’s, Phillies, Braun, DeRosa

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More links for the afternoon…

Odds And Ends: Orioles, Bowden, Nathan

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A few links for Sunday afternoon…

  • According to MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin the Orioles used "number crunching and statistical analysis" to compare Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis to similar past and present players before locking them up to deals worth $40MM and $66MM, respectively.
  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that Joe Nathan’s happy to see Jonathan Papelbon making lots of money this year ($6.25MM) because it’s good for closers in general.
  • Jayson Stark of ESPN.com points out the absurdity of the Manny Ramirez negotiations and suggests the structure of a deal that could work for both sides. It’s been nearly four months since the Dodgers made their initial offer of two years and $45MM.
  • Pete McElroy of MASN Sports reports that Dmitri Young’s "shocked" to see Jim Bowden resign. Young, who first dealt with Bowden on the Reds, spoke glowingly of his former GM.
  • According to MLB.com’s Jason Beck Jim Leyland confirmed that the Tigers had some offseason discussions about Juan Cruz.
  • The draft’s still three months away, but Keith Law of ESPN.com is already putting together scouting reports about some top amateur players.
  • MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer dreams up a deal that sends Adrian Gonzalez and Jake Peavy to the Angels for 10 players.

Arbitration Awards Increase By Record Amount in 2009

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While the value of most free agents plummeted this offseason, players in salary arbitration did quite well for themselves. Writing for the Associated Press, Ronald Blum reports that the 111 players in salary arbitration received an average pay increase of 172 percent this year.

That figure is up from 120 percent last year. The previous record of 169 percent was set in 1999.

The big winners this year were Nick Markakis and Ervin Santana, whose salaries rose 24-fold and 16-fold, respectively.

Writing for MLB.com, Fred Claire argues that the arbitration process is "a far greater escalator of salaries than free agency." He quotes a veteran baseball executive who says of the arbitration process, "mediocrity is handsomely rewarded and excellence goes out of sight."

Brian Roberts Addresses Contract Situation

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On MASN’s weekly Brian Roberts segment, the Orioles’ second baseman touched on his contract situation, as well as teammate Nick Markakis’ new deal. In regard to his own contract, Roberts made it clear that though he’s focused on Opening Day, he believes that there’s time to make a deal before spring training:

"It is going to come to a point where we have to make a decision one way or the other," he said. "I don’t want this to drag out once we get into kind of midway through spring training as I start getting ready to play for the season. I think there will be sufficient time up until then to get this worked out if we can. And if not, then we’ll see what happens at the end of the year. We’re not at that point yet."

Ken Rosenthal reported previously that Roberts wants a four-year extension to stay in Baltimore. The Orioles made Roberts an offer earlier this month, which was believed to be for $10MM per season, but only for three years.

Odds And Ends: Varitek, Markakis, Johnson

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Links for Thursday night…

  • Curt Schilling thinks the Red Sox need Jason Varitek.
  • Buster Olney writes that some executives think Type A free agents like Varitek, Orlando Cabrera and Juan Cruz should sign soon instead of waiting until the season starts.
  • Ken Rosenthal proposes a ’Juan Cruz rule’ so that players like Cruz aren’t the ones hurt by the compensation system.
  • Andy MacPhail provides some of the reasons he wanted to lock up Nick Markakis. He has plenty of good ones to choose from.
  • Chico Harlan of the Washington Post spoke with Nick Johnson, who "expressed no particular desire" to play in his home state of California.
  • Kobe Bryant jokingly suggested that he could play left for the Dodgers instead of Manny Ramirez.
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