Rumors for March, 2011
Royals return Robert Fish to the Angels
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The Kansas City Royals have returned Rule 5 pick left handed pitcher Robert Fish to the Los Angeles Angels reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
Fish has a career record of 20-20 with a 5.05 ERA in 365.2 innings in five Minor League seasons with the Angels.
Chicago White Sox place Jeff Marquez on waivers
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The White Sox have placed right-handed pitcher Jeff Marquez on waivers reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.
Marquez who was originally drafted by the Yankees in the 2004 draft, came to the Sox via the Nick Swisher trade. Marquez has only seen one inning (2010) when he allowed 2 runs.
This Spring, Marquez has thrown 17 1/3 innings and allowed seven earned runs with 16 strikeouts.
Four teams interested in INF Alberto Gonzalez
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According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, he has learned that the Oakland Athletics, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves have serious interest in Washington Nationals’ infielder Alberto Gonzalez.
This isn’t the first time we heard about the Padres’ interest in Gonzalez. Last week,t he team was said to have the 27-year-old infielder on their radar.
Gonzalez hit .247/.277/.301 in 114 games for the Nationals last season. He’s out of options, so the Nationals would be motivated to move him if they have no intention to keep him on the 25-man roster. Washington currently have utility depth with Jerry Hairston and Alex Cora.
Astros return RHP Lance Pendleton to Yankees
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The Houston Astros have returned Rule 5 draft pick Lance Pendleton to the New York Yankees, Alyson Footer of the Houston Astros reports. The Yankees will assign the right-handed pitcher to their Minor League camp, Footer adds.
The 27-year-old was originally a fourth-round draft pick by the Yankees in the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft. In five Minor League seasons he has a 32-22 record in 102 appearances 88 starts with a 3.39 ERA.
Players chosen in the Rule 5 draft must be kept on the selecting team’s 25-man roster for the entire season or he has to be offered back to the original team.
Astros acquire Joe Inglett for PTBNL
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The Houston Astros have acquired Joe Inglett from the Tampa Bay Rays for a a player to be named later or cash, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
The 32-year-old Inglett was signed to a Minor League deal by the Rays in mid-February. He played in 102 games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010. His versatility allows him to play multiple outfield and infield positions. He has a career .286/.345/.397 in four seasons with the Brewers, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays.
Chicago Cubs release Carlos Silva
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The Cubs have released right-handed pitcher Carlos Silva, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
Yesterday, the Cubs named Andrew Cashner as the last member of the team’s rotation and Marcos Mateo as the last member of the bullpen. That left Silva without a spot on the team.
The team told Silva they would try and trade him but had asked him to go down to the minors to work on his game. But Silva the team player he is said no. He didn’t leave it at just “no”, he took a parting shot at Cubs pitching coach Mark Riggins as he left the building for the last time.
The Venezuela native began the 2010 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.
Though he allowed 21 runs in 17.1 innings this Spring, a team in need of pitching may take a fly on Silva as he can be had for the league minimum with the Cubs and Mariners on the hook for the rest of his salary.
Milwaukee Brewers acquire Nyjer Morgan
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The Brewers have acquired Nyjer Morgan from the Nationals in exchange for Cutter Dykstra reports Jon Morosi of FOXSports.
On Friday, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Brewers were expressing interest in acquiring Morgan since they traded away their fourth outfielder Chris Dickerson to the Yankees for Sergio Mitre.
The interest was quickly shot down by GM Doug Melvin who said they planned to use Brandon Boggs and Jeremy Reed as their extra outfielders.
Obviously that wasn’t the case as the Melvin did in fact pull the trigger on Morgan. With Morgan, the Brewers acquire a talented but hot headed outfielder who brings baggage.
Morgan is a lifetime .283/.344/.360 hitter in five Major League seasons. However, 2010 was his first seasons where he spent most of his time with the big league club (136 games).
Cutter, the son of Lenny Dykstra was drafted by the Brewers in the second round of the 2008 draft. The 21-year-old hit .312 in 353 at bats in Class-A. A scout recently told Ken Rosenthal that he (Cutter) “Lacks a position, marginal prospect.”
Red Sox could trade a pitcher before Opening Day
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The Boston Red Sox have several pitching personnel decisions to make before finalizing their 25-man roster for Opening Day. It could be possible that they could trade one of their pitchers. According to a source close to Alex Speier of WEEI, the Sox have received interest in some of their pitchers.
The team has Matt Albers and Dennys Reyes on the 40-man roster, but they aren’t guaranteed to be on the 25-man roster. However, neither of them could be sent to the Minors without sending them through waivers because they do not have options. The Red Sox would like to keep both, but they would likely lose one if they were exposed to the waiver wire. If the team decides that their bullpen is better off without Albers or Reyes, then they could deal one of them.
Speier says the Sox have the front five of their bullpen fixed with Jonathan Papelbon, Bobby Jenks, Daniel Bard, Dan Wheeler and Tim Wakefield. Other candidates for the final two bullpen spots (assuming the Sox carry a 12-man pitching staff: five starters and seven relievers) include Hideki Okajima and Alfredo Aceves in addition to Albers and Reyes.
One thing to note, a team source said that he would be surprised if the Sox added a pitcher in the coming days, while another said that there “nothing imminent” in regards to adding a pitcher.
Nick Cafardo on predictions, Cashman, Papelbon, Silva
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Here’s the latest from The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo:
– Cafardo picks the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics to win their divisions in the American League. He picks the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants to win their division in the National League. The New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies are his Wild Card picks and he predicts the Boston Red Sox will beat the Atlanta Braves in the World Series.
– A new basic agreement could be set before the 2011 season is done. Among the topics that are on the table include revenue-sharing changes, more wild cards, international draft and salary slotting for the draft. Nobody seems to worry about these subjects being an issue.
– Brian Cashman’s contract is set to expire after the season and Cafardo says that there has been a belief that a GM like Cashman would love the opportunity to go to a small market team to prove that they don’t need a lot of money to be successful.
– There was speculation about the Texas Rangers acquiring Jonathan Papelbon, but a deal never materialized.
– The Cincinnati Reds could have interest in the disgruntled Carlos Silva of the Chicago Cubs.
– The Minnesota Twins may not be in a hurry to move Kevin Slowey. “He’s throwing too well for them to deal him,” the scout said. There have been previous rumors that the Twins are making him available.
New York Mets lower asking price to sell team
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The New York Mets have lowered their asking price, a source close to one of the bidding groups said via The New York Post.
“The price [on the team] is dropping,” the source said.
The valuation of the team has dropped from the $1-1.3 billion that a banker had previously told bidders the team was worth.
In Forbes’ annual list of MLB franchise valuations, they ranked the Mets the fifth most valuable franchise at $747 million which was a 13% decline from 2010. The team has reportedly been trying to sell up to 25% of the team to raise cash to keep the club running.
The potential bidders are said to be interested in only buying a majority stake in the club, and the current owners Fred Wilpon, Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz said they will not do that.
The team is projected to lose in excess of $50 million this season, according to the New York Times in addition to a pending $1 billion lawsuit from a trustee involved in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme scandal.
