Rumors for March, 2010
Dodgers release INF Angel Berroa
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the Los Angeles Dodgers have released infielder Angel Berroa. The release will allow Berroa to seek opportunities with other teams.
Berroa, 32, hit is a lifetime .258/.303/.374 hitter in 9 seasons with the Royals, Dodgers, Yankees and Mets. You can see Berroa’s career statistics here.
Blue Jays Trade Rumors: What they want for Frasor and Downs
Posted by: | CommentsThe Cubs, Mets, Rays and Twins are in desperate need of relief pitching and the Toronto Blue Jays would like to accommodate their demand with their supply of Jason Frasor and/or Scott Downs.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports suggests that the Blue Jays want at least the equivalent of a 2011 sandwich pick between the first and second rounds, and probably more. Fraso and Downs project as Type B and possibly Type A free agents meaning the Blue Jays will receive at least one draft pick and possibly two picks for each pitcher if they offered them arbitration and lost them as free agents. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is not afraid of the risks associated with offering arbitration to players. The worst case is that the player accepts and you’ll be forced to pay them a large salary for the next year.
Rosenthal says that the Blue Jays will not settle for “fringe prospects” in return for either Frasor or Downs.
Brewers trade C Matt Treanor for Rangers INF Ray Olmedo
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to Tom Haudricourt of the Journal-Sentinel, the Milwaukee Brewers have traded catcher Matt Treanor to the Texas Rangers for Minor Legue infielder Ray Olmedo. Olmedo has been sent to the Brewer’s Minor League camp.
| Team | Acquires |
| Brewers | INF Ray Olmedo |
| Rangers | C Matt Treanor |
Treanor, 34, has a lifetime, .232/.318/.311. He spent 5 seasons with the Florida Marlins organization and he played four games for the 2009 Detroit Tigers. You can see Treanor’s contract details and statistics here.
Olmedo, 28, last played in the Major Leagues in 2007 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He is a lifetime .230/.280/.293 hitter. You can see Omedo’s career statistics here.
Gary Sheffield Rumors: To the Nationals or Giants?
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, free agent Gary Sheffield is talking to a National League club, but Rosenthal has not been able to identify them.
Rosenthal suggests that Sheffield is not on the Nationals’ radar despite their release of right fielder Elijah Dukes. The Giants could use another right-handed bat, but the team is need of a speedier outfielder since the team’s current outfielders in Aaron Rowand and Mark DeRosa aren’t that fast.
Sheffield, 41, has been associated with the Nationals and Diamondbacks this winter, and was also rumored to consider retirement. He hit .276 with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs in 2009 with the Mets. You can see Sheffield’s contract history and statistics here.
Carl Crawford Rumors: Not thinking about other teams
Posted by: | CommentsWhen told that the New York Yankees covet him, Tampa Bay Rays star Carl Crawford says, “I don’t think about other teams. I’m only concerned with what goes on with the Rays.”
Last week, Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times said that the New York Yankees are expected to be big players when Crawford becomes a free agent after the 2010 season. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated quotes one competing executive saying, “The Yankees absolutely love Crawford.”
In late February, the Rays and Crawford tabled their contract extension talks. Crawford is looking for market value, which would be in the $13-16 million per season range. One person familiar with their talks said the sides “never got close” and were “too far apart to ever gain traction.”
Rays’ owner Stuart Sternberg said at the time that the team’s payroll will be under $60 million next year, so at the time it was hard to believe that the team was going to dedicate over 25% of their payroll to one player.
Crawford, 28, hit .305 with 15 home runs, 68 RBIs and had 60 stolen bases in 2009 with the Rays. This is Crawford’s final season of a six-year $33.5 million contract. You can see Crawford’s contract history and statistics here.
Bobby Jenks Trade Rumors: Could the 270 pound reliever be on his way out of Chicago?
Posted by: | CommentsBarry Rozner of the Daily Herald says that White Sox closer Bobby Jenks who is signed for $7.5 million this year and is signed through 2011, could be a trade candidate if he doesn’t do too well this year.
There were rumors in the off-season that Jenks could be on his way out of Chicago, but it could have been an internal ploy by the White Sox organization to get him in better shape and work harder in the winter. Jenks is listed at 270 pounds.
ESPN Insider The says that 2010 will be Jenks’ audition to stay with the team long term or it could be used to show the rest of the league what he has to offer. The 29 year-old pitcher was 3-4 with a 29 saves and a 3.71 ERA in 52 appearances with the White Sox in 2009. You can see Jenks’ statistics here.
Pro Rumors: Scott Elarton Shopping for Teams
Posted by: | CommentsBob Dutton of the Kansas City Star is reporting that former Kansas City Royals pitcher Scott Elarton is interested in getting back into baseball and is looking for a team to take chance on him.
“I don’t know if there’s anybody that dumb,” Elarton said. “My problem is I can’t get (this shoulder) to blow out completely.”
Elarton, 34, has a career era of 5.29 in 12 seasons in the majors and last pitched in 2008 for the Cleveland Indians where he appeared in 8 games. Elarton was spotted watching Royals starter Zack Greinke pitching for AAA affiliate Omaha on Sunday.
Roy Oswalt Rumors: Oswalt Debates Retirement After 2011
Posted by: | CommentsIn an interview with USA Today’s Seth Livingstone, Houston Astro’s Ace Roy Oswalt was asked about the possibility of an early retirement. Oswalt’s current contract expires at the end of the 2011 season.
“Next year — I’ll try to play that year out. Of course, the first thing is to get through this year.” Oswalt said “But my thing is if you’re not going to play at the level that you come in at, there’s no sense in going out there and just trying to add up numbers. Now, if I’m producing and a team wants me, I may play (beyond this contract), But if I’m not, I won’t.”
Oswalt , who is 32, has a career 3.23 ERA and has won 137 games in 9 seasons with the Houston Astros. He is set to make $15 million in 2010 and $16 million in 2011 with a club option for 2012.
PRO Rumors: Mauer, Mejia, Wellemeyer, Bumgarner, Wood, Davies
Posted by: | CommentsGood morning! Here are your Monday morning PRO Rumors:
- The Twins have another catching prospect in Wilson Ramos who is likely going to start in Triple-A this year. Ramos gives the Twins the flexibility to preserve their All Star catcher Joe Mauer by moving him to first base, third base or DH and giving Ramos the starting backstop job. Otherwise, if the Twins keep Mauer behind the plate, Ramos could be expendable on the trade market. (Joel Sherman, New York Post)
- The Mets are currently deciding on the future of pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia. Mark Hale of the New York Post says that Mejia could wind up on the big league team in the bullpen. Alex Cora said that Mejia “brings a lot of positive energy” to the clubhouse. If Mejia goes down to the Minors, he will probably work there as a starter.
- Todd Wellemeyer of the San Francisco Giants probably sealed the deal on the number 5 job with five shutout innings on Saturday. This likely means that pitching prospect Madison Bumgarner will start the year in the Minors. (Henry Schulman, San Francisco Chronicle)
- Bud Selig was in the Phoenix area over the weekend to meet with the A’s ownership and GM Billy Beane. The A’s are in need of a new stadium with San Jose, CA the best spot for the team. However, the San Francisco Giants own territory rights to the city and will probably put up a fight if the A’s attempt to move there. (Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle)
- Kerry Wood’s injury may be a blessing in disguise for the Cleveland Indians. The Indians now have an opportunity to test right-handed pitcher Chris Perez in the closer role. Additionally, Wood has a trigger on his contract that will guarantee his 2011 option if he finishes 55 games. Now that he’s going to miss the first two month of the season, he will unlikely trigger the option. (ESPN Insider)
- Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star says that Kyle Davies is the likely number 5 starter for the Royals.
Heath Bell Trade Rumors: Twins have scouts watching Padres reliever
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune (via ESPN’s SportsCenter), the Minnesota Twins have had a couple of scouts watching San Diego Padres’ closer Heath Bell. This is a follow-up to last week’s report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today who said the Twins were “extensively scouting” the reliever. Bell is apparently on the Twins’ short list of candidates to replace the injured Joe Nathan who is out for the year due to Tommy John surgery.
Neal says that the Twins will first search from within the organization with Jon Rauch (career 356 appearances, 3.79 ERA, 26 saves with 17 of them with the 2008 Nationals) and Matt Guerrier (career 319 appearances, 3.41 ERA, 4 saves). If those don’t work out, Francisco Liriano (27 relief appearances, 4.16 ERA with 1 career save) may assume the closer role. The team will experiment with the pitchers in the first few weeks of the season because Spring Training won’t give any of them the simulation of closing in a regular season game.
Bell, 32, was 6-4 with a 2.71 ERA with 42 saves with the Padres in 2009. You can see Bell’s contract history and statistics here.
