Mariners Not Adding Third Baseman Yet
Larry Stone sat down with Jack Zduriencik following the Ryan Langerhans acquisition today, to ask if anything else was on the horizon in the wake of Adrian Beltre's injury. Zduriencik said that for the time being, nothing is in the works:
Zduriencik has not received any calls offering a third baseman yet, and says the Langerhans acquisition is more related to the loss of Endy Chavez than to Beltre's surgery.
Stone also reports that Zduriencik sat with Scott Boras in the first row behind home plate at Dodger Stadium. The two discussed Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, and Dustin Ackley, but nothing too formal on any of the three.
Nats Swap Langerhans For Mike Morse
Pete McElroy informs us that the Nationals have sent Ryan Langerhans to the Mariners in exchange for Mike Morse.
Morse, 27, was a third-round pick by the White Sox in the 2000 draft. He was off to a fine .312/.370/.481 start in the Pacific Coast League this season, and has managed a .300 batting average in 107 career major league games.
Langerhans, 29, has been posting a nice season at the Triple-A level as well, hitting .278/.371/.488 with 9 home runs on the year.
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times confirms the deal and says that Langerhans will likely be a part of the big league club starting this Tuesday.
Interestingly, during a chat that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik held with fans a few days ago, one reader suggested making a move to acquire Langerhans. Zduriencik's reply: "Good suggestion."
Odds and Ends: Pitt, Manny, White Sox
Links for Friday…
- The Red Sox claimed pitcher Dewon Day off waivers from the White Sox, and also designated pitcher Chris Smith for assignment.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ponders trading Colby Rasmus to get Jake Peavy and Khalil Greene.
- Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in the Moneyball movie? Beane hopes to add offense this winter.
- J.C. Bradbury estimates Manny Ramirez‘s value at $128MM over the next six years. I think Manny and Boras would happily accept such an offer.
- Dave Cameron laments the lack of respect for Ryan Langerhans.
- South Side Sox presents an offseason plan for the White Sox.
- Jacob Jackson at Athletics Nation predicts destinations for his top 12 free agents. My Top 50 will come out after the World Series. I disagree with a few of Jacob’s picks – Derek Lowe and Jason Giambi re-signing and the Cubs signing Adam Dunn.
- I attempted to find some over/undervalued starting pitchers for fantasy baseball over at RotoAuthority.
Nats Extend Wily Mo Pena, Sign Aaron Boone
UPDATE, 12-8-07 at 12:21pm: The Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford says Wily Mo could’ve gotten more guaranteed money if he’d stuck with his previous agent, Josh Zeide.
FROM 12-6-07 at 11:20am:
The Nats made a couple of moves today.
- The rumored extension to Wily Mo Pena is done. He gets $2MM in ’08, plus a mutual option for ’09. The club can exercise it for $5MM, and if they decline Pena can take it for $2MM.
- Aaron Boone signed a one-year, $1MM deal with incentives. Boone, who turns 35 in March, hit a respectable .286/.388/.423 in part-time duty with the Marlins this year.
- The Nats re-signed Ryan Langerhans to a minor-league deal.
A’s Acquire Snelling For Langerhans
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the A’s have acquired Chris Snelling from the Nationals for the just-received Ryan Langerhans. I hope neither guy bought a condo.
Pretty interesting swap between Billy Beane and Jim Bowden. Snelling, aka Doyle (his middle name) in U.S.S. Mariner world, was a cult favorite for many Mariners fans. His inclusion in the Jose Vidro deal this winter was met with great disdain. Oddly, Langerhans shows up as his fifth most comparable player according to Baseball Prospectus.
Langerhans is a little older, and has done a better job staying healthy. Both players can handle multiple outfield positions (well, not at once) and know how to draw a walk. They’ve got eerily similar PECOTA projections, so maybe it was just a matter of each GM preferring to bet on the other guy’s outfielder. I think the best case scenario is that one of these guys develops into Jeromy Burnitz.
Check out Chris Needham’s take on the trade over at Capitol Punishment.
A’s Acquire Ryan Langerhans
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the A’s acquired outfielder Ryan Langerhans from the Braves for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Given the recent trade for Chris Denorfia, the A’s will have decent outfield depth in 2008. Perhaps this means they won’t be re-signing Milton Bradley.
Langerhans, 27, was off to a 2 for 41 start this year. The trade should leave Matt Diaz and Craig Wilson with some extra playing time for Atlanta. It could also make Scott Thorman a full-timer.
Langerhans posted an excellent 13.7% walk rate last year, but he’s still well below average offensively for a left fielder. His defense is his main asset. The Indians had expressed interest in Langerhans in the past.