Rumors for March, 2011
Barry Zito taken to hospital after traffic accident
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Left-handed pitcher Barry Zito was taken to the hospital with unknown injuries after being involved in a traffic accident Wednesday night, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. It doesn’t appear that he was seriously injured since he was released from the hospital, but fire personnel had to assist him in getting out of his car.
The veteran pitcher was involved in a two-vehicle accident near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Sunset Plaza Drive – not too far from Zito’s Hollywood HIlls home. The police report did not deem him to be at fault.
The Giants are in Southern California to open up their season against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday evening. Zito is not scheduled to pitch until Sunday evening versus the Dodgers.
Rangers offered last-minute extention to C.J. Wilson
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In a radio interview with KESN-FM (via The Dallas Morning News), left-handed pitcher C.J. Wilson revealed that the Texas Rangers offered him a last-minute contract extension, but he ultimately decided not to take their first offer.
“Well, maybe if you guys had made that offer in January, then we would have had time to work it out,” Wilson said.
Assistant GM Thad Levine spoke with Wilson during the team’s plane ride home from Arizona to Dallas this week to chat with the 30-year-old about a contract. Wilson had previously said that he doesn’t want to negotiate a contract during the regular season, so without his agent present on the flight Wilson did not want to get serious about contract talks.
Wilson was converted to a starting pitcher in 2010 and went 15-8 with a 3.35 ERA while eating up 204 innings. He will be a free agent for the first time after the 2011 season after making $7 million this season. Although Wilson is a little older, he could use the contract that Chad Billingsley recently signed (three-year, ~$35 million) as a baseline for his negotiation talks. 2012 will be a key year to establish Wilson’s value since he only has one year of starting experience.
Nationals release Bisenius, Wood and Van Every
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The Washington Nationals have released right handed pitcher Joe Bisenius, right handed pitcher Tim Wood and outfielder Jonathan Van Every according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
Bisenius appeared in five games for the Nationals in 2010, and he had a 9.64 ERA in 4.2 innings. Wood was 0-1 with a 5.53 ERA and 10 SO in 27.2 innings throughout 26 games with the Marlins in 2010. Van Every hit .211/.286/.421 with 1 HR and 1 RBI in 19 AB’s with the Red Sox in 2010.
Red Sox trade Bubba Bell to Indians for cash
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The Boston Red Sox have traded Triple-A outfielder Bubba Bell to the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.
In other Minor League news, the Red Sox also released several Minor Leaguers: left-handed pitcher Lenny DiNardo, third baseman Jorge Jimenez, outfielder Bryan Peterson, right-hander Ryne Miller and right-hander Eric Curtis.
Rockies make Jose Lopez available
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Hours before the season is set to begin, the Rockies have started to listen to trade offers involving their starting second baseman, Jose Lopez reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Lopez became expendable after Jonathan Herrera’s strong spring in which he hit .371 and played solid defense.
But before the Rockies pull the trigger on any potential deal, they want to see if Lopez can hit at Coors Field. If Lopez fails to live up to the expectations that came along with him when the Rockies acquired him in December for RHP Chaz Roe then he may be on his way out pretty soon or on the bench.
Tampa Bay Rays extend contract of RHP Wade Davis
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The Tampa Bay Rays and Wade Davis have agreed to a seven-year contract extension, the team announced.
The contract is for four-years guaranteed (2011-2014) for $12.6 million, but it includes three team options (2015, 2016, 2017) that could make the dea
Davis, 25, just wrapped up his first full season in the Majors in 2010 when he went 12-10 with a 4.07 ERA in 29 starts. He wouldn’t have been eligible for salary arbitration until 2013, so his new contract buys out his remaining arbitration years and possibly his first two years of free agency in 2016 and 2017.
PRO Rumors: Postseason Predictions
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Here are the PRO Rumors take it to the bank playoff predictions.
If you missed our American League standings and award predictions or our National League standings and award predictions make sure you check them out!
| Writer | AL Pennant Predictions |
| Allan | Red Sox |
| Ryan | Red Sox |
| Juan | Yankees |
| Writer | NL Pennant Predictions |
| Allan | Phillies |
| Ryan | Phillies |
| Juan | Brewers |
| Writer | World Series Champs |
| Allan | Phillies |
| Ryan | Red Sox |
| Juan | Yankess |
Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment and we will pull out the predictions come November and see who was right!
Happy Opening Day from the PRO Rumors team!
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It’s been almost five whole months since baseball counted, but the wait is over and we’re finally here. Opening Day! Yay!
2011 is a big year for PRO Rumors and we want you to come along for the ride. Since the beginning, we have had one goal in mind: Easily deliver baseball news that you care about directly to your computer, inbox, SMS or iPhone – no B.S…. just the important info that matters to you.
Our team works 365 days of the year to bring you trade chatter, injury fodder and the lighter side of baseball. We make it easy and fun through technology such as the PRO Rumors Dashboard, Instant Action Email and Text Alerts and our award winning iPhone app.
Our ginormous database of players old and new is updated daily. Find out hitting and pitching stats through our easy-to-use interface. Check out their contracts to see which players are provided access to a massage therapist or other unique perks. Go ahead and do it now! Enter a player in the search box above.
We have been featured on FOX Sports, ESPN’s Sports Nation, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, and Sporting News, to name a few, and we’re very proud of that accomplishment. It’s through readers like you that have made us who we are today. We pride ourselves on being at the cutting edge of technology and we work hard to find new ways to bring you the baseball information that you want. If you have any ideas or feedback for a new feature, please send us email. We promise to write you back.
– Allan, Ryan, Juan, Ito, Ted & Padmé
Minority share of Mets will cost you $200 million
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The New York Mets’ asking for a minority share of the team is priced at $200 million, according to a source close to the the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir and David Waldstein. How much of the team you will own for $200 million is not public right now, but the Times thinks that it could be as much as 40 percent.
The cash strapped Mets are looking to sell a portion of the team to raise cash in order to keep the club running. Forbes recently valuated the $747 million, so a $200 price tag would yield a 26.8 percent share of the team. Keep in mind that Forbes does not have access to the team’s books so their valuation is based on external factors. The team has previously been valuated in the $1-1.3 billion range, but that number has since dropped.
A $200 million purchase will not include a future pathway for the shareholder to acquire additional ownership of the team. Owners Fred Wilpon and his son Jeff will retain control, the Times adds.
There have been eight or nine bidders approved by Major League Baseball to bid on the team and some big names include David Heller (executive of Goldman Sachs) and James McCann (founder of 1-800-Flowers.com).
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.
Travis Ishikawa designated for assignment by Giants
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San Francisco Giants first baseman Travis Ishikawa was designated for assignment by the team, Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News reports.
The 27-year-old infielder was made expendable when the team promoted rookie Brandon Belt to the 25-man roster. At best, Ishikawa would have backed up Aubrey Huff to begin the season and he would eventually be designated when the Giants promoted Belt.
In four seasons with the Giants, Ishikawa hit .265/.327/.400 with 15 career home runs and 80 RBIs.
