Rumors for February, 2011
Miguel Cabrera to undergo treatment
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27-year-old Miguel Cabrera arrived at Spring Training for the first time today. He was arrested last week on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence, and according to The Associated Press, Cabrera will undergo treatment set up by doctors administered by management and its players’ union.
Cabrera also spoke with reporters and apologized for his actions.
“I am very sorry for what I have done,” Cabrera said through a translator. “I have worked hard for a period of time and I hope everyone forgives me. All I ask for is forgiveness.”
“I have it under control,” Cabrera said. “It was just a bad decision. I plan to continue with treatment. I made a mistake this time, and all I can do is continue treatment.”
The infielder is also set to speak with his teammates.
“There won’t be a big meeting,” Cabrera said. “I want to meet with everyone face to face over the next few days. I’ve learned a lot of lessons in my life, and this was a tough one.”
Cabrera is set to be arraigned on his charges on March 16, and it’s expected that he’ll be in uniform with the team opens their season on March 31.
Reds prospect Yonder Alonso hires Dan Lozano as new agent
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Reds’ top pick in 2008 Yonder Alonso, has hired Dan Lozano as his new agent according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
Alonso was represented by Legacy Sports, but he switched to Lozano “about a month ago” adds Crasnick.
The 23-year old debuted in the Majors in 2010. He hit .207/.207/.276 with 3 RBI’s in 29 AB’s last season.
Cubs could use Carlos Silva as a trade chip
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According to Henry Roldan of LiderEnDeportes.com, the Chicago Cubs could use right-handed pitcher Carlos Silva as a trade chip to help replenish their farm system.
Roldan says that the Cubs lost faith in Silva after his disappointing second half last season. They could go with Randy Wells as their fourth starter and youngsters Casey Coleman, James Russell or Andrew Cashner could compete for the fifth spot in the Cubs’ rotation.
Silva will earn $11.5 million in 2011 and $12 million in 2012, and the fact that he has not payed off as the Cubs expected could motivate the team to move him. But lets be honest, the Cubs are probably very happy to have Silva performing poorly then having Milton Bradley performing poorly and creating headaches for the team’s brass.
The Venezuela native began the season going 8-0 in his first 11 starts, but after the All-Star break he was 1-3 with a 11.12 ERA. He finished the 2010 season with a 11-6 record and a 4.22 ERA in 113 innings throughout 21 starts.
What could Buster Posey earn long-term?
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While there’s no evidence that 2010 National League Rookie of the Year Buster Posey and the San Francisco Giants are talking about a long-term deal, it wouldn’t be surprising if Posey’s representatives are at least thinking about what could happen. Posey is not eligible for aribitration until the after the 2012 season, and if he continues his career like 2010, then he should expect a nice paycheck.
Jason A. Churchill of ESPN says that Posey can look at Kurt Suzuki’s four-year, $16.25 million contract as a starting point. Suzuki was two years away from arbitration when he took the deal. Others deals that Posey can leverage are Braves’ catcher Brian McCann and his six-year, $26.8 million deal and four-year, $33 million deal that Joe Mauer received from the Twins. Both McCann and Mauer received those deals in 2007.
Earlier this week, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reported that Posey is looking to earn a little more than the league minimum of $414,000, and both sides are currently negotiating a deal.
Cardinals looking to fill Wainwright’s void from within the organization
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Right handed pitcher Adam Wainwright will be out for an extended period of time due to an elbow injury. Yesterday, we learned that Wainwright may need Tommy John surgery, but that he was seeking a second opinion regarding his situation before electing to have surgery.
Today, Cardinals GM, John Mozeliak has confirmed that Wainwright will indeed need Tommy John surgery (via team’s official Twitter account).
The team now is tasked with finding a suitable replacement for their co-ace. It was speculated that Kevin Millwood could be a possibility for the Cardinals, but manager Tony LaRussa said that there are six or seven internal candidates for Wainwright’s spot, so the team is not looking to go outside the organization to fill that void (via FOXSports’ Ken Rosenthal).
Scott Miller of CBSSports says that Kyle McClellan and Miguel Batista are among those internal candidates.
Losing Wainwright is a hard blow to the Cardinals aspirations for this season. The right hander ranked second and third in the Cy Young Award race the past two seasons.
Kiko Calero will tryout for the Cardinals
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According to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, veteran righty Kiko Calero will be throwing for the St. Louis Cardinals although they have not specified the time.
Calero signed a Minor League deal with the Mets last spring but didn’t make the team. He signed another Minor League deal in June with the Dodgers, but was released in late July.
The right handed pitcher last played in the Majors in 2009 with the Marlins. He was 2-2 with a 1.95 ERA in 60 innings throughout 67 games.
Mark Buehrle could waive his no-trade clause
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Left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle is entering his final year of his four-year, $56 million deal with the White Sox. Even though the team is not looking to move any starter from their rotation right now, they could consider doing so if they fail early in the season.
Scott Merkin of MLB.com says that Buehrle could be among those “veteran salaries” that the White Sox could be willing to move, but the lefty has a full no-trade clause given his 10-and-5 rights. If that happens, Buehrle could be willing to waive his no-trade clause as long as the deal helps the White Sox.
“There are teams, if it came down to it and I didn’t want to play for them, I would not waive it,” said Buehrle, asked about his no-trade thought process before the Wainwright injury. “But if it came down to it, I would do it for [White Sox chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] and the team because they have done enough for me.”
“I’m sure if we play bad in the first half and there’s no way of getting back into it and they don’t think there’s a chance and they are starting to trade away guys, I would probably be one of the first guys to go. With my contract expiring, they could dump money and get prospects. But I don’t want to think about it and hope it doesn’t get close to that point.”
On occassion, players would waive their no-trade clause if there is financial gain such as an automatically vested option or a contract extension. With Buehrle’s contract coming to an end, he could leverage that fact and have his new employer give him a contract extension in order for him to waive the no-trade clause.
Joe Blanton most likely won’t be traded before Opening Day
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Right-handed pitcher Joe Blanton has been subject to a lot of rumors since the Phillies decided to sign Cliff Lee. At first, rumors indicated that the Phillies were trying to move Blanton in order to get money for Lee, but all the interested teams were asking the Phillies to eat a considerable portion of Blanton’s contract.
Back in January, we learned that the Phillies didn’t have any intentions to move the righty before Opening Day, and today, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Phillies GM, Ruben Amaro Jr., said that Blanton is sticking around.
“Blanton is starting for us April 7,” Amaro said.
Despite Amaro’s proclamation, it wouldn’t be surprising if a team calls. It’s possible an injury could happen between now and Opening Day, and if a team is desperate enough for starting pitching, they may make an offer that Amaro can’t refuse.
The right hander was 9-6 with a 4.82 ERA and 134 SO in 175.2 innings throughout 29 games, 29 starts.
Giants and Buster Posey working on one-year deal
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National League Rookie of the Year, Buster Posey, is looking to make a little more than the league minimum of $414,000. According to the San Jose Mercury News’ Andrew Baggarly, Posey’s representatives and the San Francisco Giants are working on a one-year deal that will likely pay him more than $500,000.
Players with less than three years of Major League service can be paid the league minimum. Posey is in a good position because the Giants don’t want to upset him when it comes time to sign the high-dollar contract, so the team is laying out the ground work in anticipation of that event.
“We try to go through negotiations so both sides can come to a reasonable conclusion,” assistant GM Bobby Evans said. “We have a process and I don’t anticipate any problems.”
Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves signed a one-year, $496,500 contract this week, so given Posey’s award and his World Series contribution, it’s likely his agent will start well above that number.
Could MLB contract the Athletics and Rays?
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There are rumblings, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, that certain big-market teams want to contract the Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays, but it’s a long-shot from happening. Large market teams are motivated to contract in order to keep their money from being distributed to a larger pool via revenue-share, while the players union does not favor the shrinkage because they will lose at least 50 well-paying jobs.
“At some point, if you don’t want to worry about teams in minor markets, don’t put teams in minor markets or leave teams in minor markets,” New York Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner recently said.
Rosenthal points out that Steinbrenner did not specifically say that word “contraction”, but he definitely meant it or at least indirectly suggested the relocation of small market teams to larger markets.
Several years ago, baseball attempted to contract the Montreal Expos and the Minnesota Twins. While the Twins are still around (and have built a new ballpark), the Expos were forced into Puerto Rico for a few home games and then eventually renamed the Washington Nationals. It wouldn’t be uncommon for a team like the A’s or the Rays to be moved to a different market such as Portland, Oregon, Las Vegas, Nevada or San Jose, California. Rosenthal suggest the best economic solution would be adding a third team in New York or a second team in New England, but with the existing powerhouses of the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox, it seems unlikely.
The current labor contract expires on December 11, 2011, so it wouldn’t be surprising if contraction comes up during the negotiation process.
