Rumors for March, 2011
Is Tim Wakefield hurting the Red Sox by not retiring?
Posted by: | Comments
In an article by Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, he wonders how long the Boston Red Sox must keep 45-year-old Tim Wakefield around before they decide he’s doing more harm than good.
The longest tenured member of the Sox has been around since 1995, so there’s sentimental value in keeping him around. Additionally, he’s 13 wins short of tying Cy Young and Roger Clemens for the most wins in a Boston uniform, 192. However, by keeping him on the roster for the sake of keeping him around is keeping one of the younger pitchers from making the team and is limiting the team on in-game situations where a fireballer may be more effective than a knuckleballer.
Wakefield will open this season as a long reliever if he makes the team in addition to the spot start here and there. Rosenthal says that by keeping Wakefield on the roster prevents the team from having younger pitchers such as Scott Atchison or Matt Albers in the bullpen.
When camp breaks, it’s likely that Wakefield will make the trip up north, so the question will turn to – how long? If he struggles early, will the Red Sox force him into early retirement or just release him? The knuckleballer has said that he wants to pitch in 2012 and beyond, so while his time in Boston may be coming to an end, the Wakefield show may not be done yet.
Cesar Carrillo clears waivers – outrighted to Triple-A
Posted by: | Comments
In a Tweet by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, he reports that Cesar Carrillo has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Astros signed Carrillo to a one-year, $414,000 deal in late February. It was more a technicality at the time since Carrillo is not eligible for salary arbitration.
The 26-year-old Carrillo last pitched in the Majors with the San Diego Padres. He has a lifetime 1-2 record in three starts with a 13.06 ERA over 10 1/3 innings pitched.
Braves trying to deal Rodrigo Lopez
Posted by: | Comments
The Atlanta Braves are trying to swing a deal that involves Rodrigo Lopez reports ESPN’s Buster Olney. The right hander signed a Minor League deal with an invitation to Spring Training back in January.
Yesterday, we learned that the team is also trying to deal right hander Kenshin Kawakami. He is trying to remain focused on his preparation despite the trade rumors.
The 35-year-old Lopez spent 2010 with the Diamondbacks where he went 7-16 with a 5.00 ERA in 33 starts. In addition to the Braves, he had been pursued by the Colorado Rockies (a team he last pitched for in 2007) and the New York Mets.
Former Giants’ Jeffrey Leonard wants to be in ABC’s Dancing with the Stars
Posted by: | Comments
Former 1980 NLCS MVP Jeffrey Leonard has changed his baseball cleats for a pair of dancing shoes as he hopes to be a part of next season’s “Dancing with the Starts” according to Tim Daly of News 10.
Leonard said he was driven to dance by his wife about three years ago. “At the beginning I was a little embarrassed and intimidated,” he said.
His step daughter encouraged him to take the challenge to become the next retired athlete to be featured on the show.
“I’m basically the same guy. The same things that drove me to be a good baseball player, is driving me to be good at dance,” he added.
Currently, Leonard is preparing to compete with his wife in West Coast swing dancing.
The right handed hitter is a lifetime .266/.312/.411 hitter with 144 HR’s and 723 RBI’s in 14 Major League seasons with the Dodgers, Astros, Giants, Brewers and Mariners.
Jensen Lewis has been outrighted to Triple-A
Posted by: | Comments
Right handed pitcher Jensen Lewis has cleared waivers and he has been sent outright to Triple-A Columbus according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
The team previously committed $650,000 for the pitcher. The right-hander had a 14.29 ERA this spring which could have prompted the team to give up on him.
In 2010, Lewis was 4-2 with a 2.97 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings throughout 37 games.
Nate Schierholtz and Travis Ishikawa are possible trade candidates for the Giants
Posted by: | Comments
The reigning World Champions, San Francisco Giants, have been trying to shop outfielder Aaron Rowand lately, but apparently nobody is interested. Today, Andrew Baggarly of Mercury News notes that either Nate Schierholtz or Travis Ishikawa or maybe both maybe traded if Brandon Belt finally makes the team out of Spring Training.
“If Belt forces his way on, it would have to be legitimate, and we’re all agreed he would be the seventh hitter,” GM Brian Sabean said. “The caveat is, there are high expectations and we certainly hope he’ll be in a winning situation immediately. There’s more pressure associated with that.”
Resting on the Belt decision are the futures of Rowand, Schierholtz and Ishikawa. The latter two do not have any Minor League options left, and Rowand carries a large contract with two years left on it.
Sources close to Baggarly tells him that Schierholtz could be the easiest and most likely to be dealt, and possibly soon. Last week, we learned that some teams were looking at Schierholtz because of his left-handed bat, arm and outfield defense.
If Belt makes the Major League roster and the Giants can’t unload any of the other players, you may see a phantom injury in order to keep them all on the team.
Heath Bell willing to take discount to stay with Padres
Posted by: | Comments
San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell said that his agents, Seth and Sam Levinson, and general manager Jed Hoyer had a productive meeting about a contract extension last week. The closer also said, according to Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com that he wants to re-sign with the Padres and he’ll be happy to take a discount to stay in Southern California.
“My biggest thing is that I’d like three years,” said Bell. “That’s my biggest thing. If it means taking less money, then that’s something I’ll do to make sure I’m here for the next three years or more.”
Bell is eligible for free agency after the season, and Hoyer said that he would have to see how things go this season on the field and how the Padres do financially before he can commit to keeping his closer long-term.
“It was a good meeting,” Hoyer said. “I’ve had a good relationship with [the agents] for a long time and done a lot of different deals with them through the years. As far as what we talked about, I think Heath described it pretty well, but I’m not going to comment on any of the parameters. I don’t think that’s appropriate.”
Bell avoided arbitration this winter by signing a $7.5 million contract in January.
“I know from the business part that makes the most sense for this team,” Bell said. “I know that Jed’s doing the right thing for this organization. We knew that he wasn’t going to keep Adrian [Gonzalez], but I think he’s got a good plan for this organization. What it boils down to is that if we do well and the fans show up we’ll be fine. But we could do well and if the fans don’t show up there’s no money to sign guys long term.”
As of February, Bell was surprised that he was still apart of the Padres, especially since there were many trade rumors that involved the closer.
“To be honest with you, I am a little surprised I’m here,” Bell said last month. “Last year, at the end of the year, I wasn’t sure if I had thrown my last pitch for the Pads. But I’m really glad to be back here.”
“We certainly appreciate the way he feels about the city of San Diego and wanting to stay with the Padres,” Hoyer said. “We certainly appreciate that he hasn’t put any limit on things. It hasn’t gone unnoticed how much he likes it and how much he’s done for the community. I’m not going to talk about negotiations, but I really appreciate the way he’s described the city and the organization. I’m glad he’s done that.”
If the Padres determine that they cannot re-sign him, then they will be motivated to move their closer before the July trade deadline.
Houston Astros may trade LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith
Posted by: | Comments
28-year-old Ryan Rowland-Smith was aiming to find a spot on the Houston Astros’ rotation, but according to Stephen Goff of Examiner.com, one of two scenarios could play out: he gets a a bullpen spot or he gets traded.
Goff says that finding a bullpen spot will be difficult for Rowland-Smith given the high number of left-handed reliever on the Astros’ roster – Fernando Abad, Gustavo Chacin and Wesley Wright.
There is a strong possibility, Goff says, that general manager Ed Wade will look into trading Rowland-Smith in acquire a mid-level prospect.
The Astros signed Rowland-Smith to a one-year, $725,000 deal plus incentives back in December 2010. Given his affordable contract and his lack of Major League service time (he’ll be under team control until 2013), Goff speculates that Rowland-Smith won’t be too hard to move.
In 115 appearances for the Seattle Mariners, Rowland-Smith has a 12-17 record with a 4.57 ERA.
Kenshin Kawakami ignores trade rumors
Posted by: | Comments
Right-handed pitcher Kenshin Kawakami of the Atlanta Braves has pitched well, Jason A. Churchill of ESPN reports, but it doesn’t look like he’ll crack the team’s starting rotation. With that said, he may either end up in the bullpen or he may finally get traded.
Kawakami is trying to remain focused on his preparation despite the trade rumors. He’s trying not to worry about where he’ll end up pitching, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
“That question actually has been difficult because I don’t know how to answer it correctly,” Kawakami said through his interpreter. “It’s not about showing people what I have. It’s about myself and how I can perform at the Major League level.”
Since at least December the Braves have been trying to trade Kawakami, who went 1-10 with a 5.15 ERA in 2010. The team has reportedly turned down offers from other MLB teams that were willing to pay over $2 million of the $6.7 million that is owed to the pitcher.
The Braves and the Pirates were supposedly close to a deal that may have involved left-handed pitcher Paul Maholm.
Rangers have no interest in Giants Aaron Rowand
Posted by: | Comments
When the Texas Rangers contacted the San Francisco Giants about their interest in disgruntled infielder Michael Young, the Rangers told them, “Don’t even bother bringing up [Aaron] Rowand’s name,” Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Rowand is at best a player to come off the bench for the defending World Series champions, and it’s unlikely the Giants will cut him since he is guaranteed $12 million in each of the next two seasons.
The Giants will have roster issues when camp breaks in a few days since rookie Brandon Belt is inching closer to making the big league team, so incumbent Aubrey Huff will be pushed to the already crowded outfield that includes Mark DeRosa, Andres Torres, Nate Schierholtz, Aaron Rowand, Pat Burrell, Darren Ford and Cody Ross. Baggarly expects that either Schierholtz or backup first baseman Travis Ishikawa will be off the team if Belt is upgraded to the starting first base position, and sources tell him that Schierholtz will be the easiest to move.
Last week Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle said that more teams are looking at Schierholtz because of his left-handed bat, arm and outfield defense, but the Giants may want to keep him.
