Rumors for March, 2010
Hank Blalock is close to agreement with Tampa Bay Rays
Posted by: | Comments03/08 14:09: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated says, “the Rays were working on some final details with Hank Blalock on a complicated deal that will enable him to opt out if he’s not in the majors. The sides are still expected to come to an agreement.
03/08 09:07: According to Roger Mooney of TBO.com, Rays’ manager Joe Maddon said, ““I anticipate it’s going to be done relatively soon.”
03/07 19:45: Hank Blalock is close to signing a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Topkin also noted that the deal could be completed as early as tonight or early tomorrow.
03/06 20:55: According to Jon Hayman of Sports Illustrated, free agent Hank Blalock and the Tampa Bay Rays are close to an agreement.
Blalock, 29, hit 25 home runs in 2009 for the Texas Rangers, but had a .277 on-base percentage. You can see Blalock’s contract history and statistics here.
Here are your mid-day PRO Rumors:
- KansasCity.com says that the Kansas City Royals are showing little inclination to bid for Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. In early February, the Los Angeles Angels were known to be interested in the shortstop. It is believed that Hechavarria could land a contract that tops $8 million.
- Bill Sanders of the Atlanta Journal Constitution talks about the pressures of Atlanta Braves’ prospect Jason Heyward. He’s being compared to players like Dave Winfield, Fred McGriff and Willie Mays. Heyward is in a good environment to thrive especially and he’s playing for a manager where he can be comfortable.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com suggest that Cleveland Indians’ infielder Jhonny Peralta could be trade bait come mid-season. Peralta, 27, could become a free agent after this season if the Indians decline his $7 million option. His current $4.6 million salary is affordable enough to easily unload him to a contending team that needs right-handed batting and infield help.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talks about the Pirates strategy to sign Andrew McCutchen to a long-term deal. Teams will sign players early in their career at a discount in exchange for the player getting guaranteed money. The team runs the risk that the player could get injured or not reach expectations. The Pirates handed these situations on a case-by-case basis according to team president, Frank Coonelly.
- There are have been talks between the Cleveland Indians and outfielder Shin-Soo Choo according to Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer. Choo has reviewed several multi year contracts with his agent Scott Boras. If any deal is reached, Choo wants to have it completed before the season begins.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says that the Giants are not ready to buy out any of Pablo Sandoval’s future arbitration years. Sandoval has less than two years of Major League service time so he’s at the mercy of what the Giants want to pay him. Currently Sandoval’s agent and the team are negotiating a contract for this year as formality. In these situations, there may be a slight raise, but in reality it’s sets the tone for future negotiations when it comes to earn the bigger dollars.
Jermaine Dye Rumors: Could Yankees be interested?
Posted by: | CommentsPhil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune asks if the New York Yankees could develop a late interest in free agent DH and outfielder Jermaine Dye. Rogers said that the Yankees signed Nick Johnson as a designated hitter this off-season to replace the departed Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, but Johnson is prone to injury, so signing Dye could be insurance for the team.
Dye is believed to be holding out for a one-year deal in the $4-5 million range. The free agent has rejected offers from the Cubs, Angels and Toronto.
Dye, 35, hit 27 home runs and drove in 81 RBIs in 2009. You can see Dye’s contract history and statistics here.
Sandy Alderson hired to prevent drug use, age and ID fraud in Dominican
Posted by: | CommentsFormer MLB vice president of operations, Sandy Alderson, has been hired by Major League Baseball to prevent age, identity fraud and performance-enhancing drug use in the Dominican, according to Jorge Arangure Jr of ESPN.
In addition to his vice president role, Alderson was a well-respected baseball executive with the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. Alderson was asked by MLB to deliver a report about possible solutions to the problems in the Dominican Republic. It is expected that he will implement those solutions in his new role.
Edward Salcedo, now with the Atlanta Braves, had a $2.3 million agreement with the Cleveland Indians in 2007. That deal was nullified when suspicions were raised on his date of birth. It’s through the efforts of Alderson, that situations like this can be prevented.
Having the case of the Mondays? Let PRO Rumors help you get through that.
- Oakland Athletics’ manager Bob Geren is not optimistics that pitcher Justin Duchscherer will be ready by Opening Day according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chornicle. Duchscherer was surprised by Geren’s comments saying, “That’s what Bob said? That’s news to me.” Duchscherer is returning from a procedure that burned the nerve endings around his sacroiliac joint.
- Mets manager Jerry Manuel could see newly acquired left-handed pitcher Hisanori Takahashi making the Opening Day roster. “If we were to speak today, and not having much history with [Takahashi], he would be definitely one of the 11 or 12 pitchers that we take,” Manuel said. Mike Puma of the New York Post suggests that the Mets could use Takahashi as a long reliever, lefty specialist and spot starter.
- Pat Burrell of the Tampa Bay Rays is ready to dust off his glove and play right field for the team, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. “Well, there really isn’t a rightfielder as far as I know, so I told them if they need me to play, I’d like to play. That’s really about it,” Burrell said.
- Buster Olney of ESPN says (via ESPN Insider) that the schedules should be set according to the teams’ finishes in the standings. Olney says, “The four teams in each league that make the playoffs should be scheduled against one another the next season. Then, for example, the AL teams whose records rank from fifth through ninth should be another group, and teams ranked 10th to 14th should play a preponderance of games against one another. This would help ease the fading hope that teams such as the Jays must deal with yearly, because they get stuck facing the big-money Yankees and Red Sox 38 times every summer.”
- Aramis Ramirez of the Chicago Cubs is focused on winning a World Series ring. ”The main thing is to just win that ring. I haven’t done that. I’ve been in the playoffs many times, but I haven’t won yet. So that’s the goal for me.” (Gordon Wittenmyer, Chicago Sun-Times)
- Tom Gage of The Detroit News talks about Orioles’ Triple-A hitting coach Richie Hebner and how dug 5,000 graves in his career after playing.
- Joe Lapoint of The New York Times says that pitcher Kei Igawa of the New York Yankees is trying to live up to his five-year, $20 million contract that he signed in 2007. The Yankees also paid a $26 million posting fee to the Hashin Tigers to get the rights to sign Igawa. Igawa is 2-4 in 16 Major League games.
PRO Rumors: Russell Martin injury, Angel Guman injury and Joe Nathan injury
Posted by: | Comments3/7 09:40: After talking to manager Joe Torre, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times is reporting (via Twitter) that Russell Martin will be out 4-6 weeks. After hearing Martins opinion of his injury and now hearing what manager Joe Torre is saying, it sounds like the Dodgers are going to play it very conservatively with Martin. Martin has been a work horse his entire career and has never missed any significant time. It won’t hurt to play it safe and have Martin miss most of spring training games and only a handful of games that actually count to ensure he is healthy in the long run.
3/7 07:30: Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times is reporting (via twitter) that Russell Martin said “It’s not anything major”, when asked for an injury update. He also added the MRI exam showed he had a “little strain” in the lower abdominal/groin area. Expect Martin to miss a handful of games to rest and allow time for the strain to completely heal before the season starts.
3/7 06:54: Good morning. Here are your Sunday morning PRO Rumors infirmary report:
- Dodgers’ catcher Russell Martin left the team’s Cactus League game on Friday due to issues with his groin. In the event that Martin’s injury is serious, the team will probably go with prospect A.J. Ellis for their everyday duties. The Dodgers also have Brad Ausmus but at 41 he he not be able to handle every day duties. (Dylan Hernandez, Los Angeles Times)
- Right-handed pitcher Angel Guzman of the Chicago Cubs tore a ligament in his throwing shoulder. Guzman’s choices are to either elect to have surgery or try to build the muscles around the tear and continue to pitch. GM Jim Hendry says that surgery will be the last result. This injury is related to an injury that force Guzman to be shut down last September. (Bruce Levine, ESPNChicago.com)
- According to ESPN Insider, Jon Rauch and Jesse Crain will be the Twins’ options to replace Joe Nathan in the event that the closer cannot start the regular season. Nathan is experiencing discomfort in his elbow. He had arthroscopic surgery on that elbow over the winter. Joe Christiansen of the Star Tribune adds that Nathan is headed back to Minnesota to get an MRI on his elbow.
Nick Blakburn reaches 4yr. agreement with Twins
Posted by: | CommentsKelly Thesier of MLB.com just reported (via Twitter) that the Twins have signed Nick Blackburn to a 4 year $18 million agreement with an $8 million dollar club option for 2014. Blackburn’s numbers in his first two full big league seasons were nearly identical (2009 11-11, 4.03 ERA 200 + innings). Blackburn simply doesn’t strike many batters out, but he’s able to pick apart strong lineups with his command.
Josh Beckett Contract Rumors: Optimistic deal will get done
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to Nick Cafardo of Boston Globe, one Major League source says taht there is more optimism that the Red Sox and right-handed pitcher Josh Beckett will reach a contract this season.
Cafardo says, the “Sox could insist on medical language similar to what’s included in the deals of John Lackey and J.D. Drew. Jason Bay wouldn’t bite on the language, but Beckett may consider it just to stay in Boston, where he has already forged a great relationship with Lackey and continues to build one with Jon Lester.”
