Rumors for April, 2011
Will Adrian Gonzalez sign a contract extension?
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We are several days into the new season and there hasn’t been any word about Adrian Gonzalez signing an contract extension with the Boston Red Sox. Many speculated that a deal (rumored to be in the range of seven-years for $154 million) would be signed after the season started to defer luxury taxes. It’s been over a week since we last heard from the parties involved.
Everything went really well,’’ Gonzalez’s agent John Boggs said about a recent meeting with the Red Sox. “What we’re on schedule to do is hopefully get something resolved at some point in April and move from there. Our meeting really consisted in catching up with them on particulars we left off in December and try to advance those. I’m sure we made pretty good strides there.”
The Red Sox have their first baseman under contract for 2011 at an affordable $5.5 million, but they wouldn’t have made a trade for him unless they knew they could keep him for the long-run.
At seven-years for $154 million it would come down to an average annual value of $22 million. This is below the $25 million annual salary that Ryan Howard will be paid from 2012-2016.
Free agent-to-be Albert Pujols will also be keeping a close eye on Gonzalez’s deal since it will likely be used as leverage in his contract negotiations this Winter.
5 Big League managers I would like to see come back
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It’s still early in April, and most managers are not on the hot seat yet. However, it’s only a matter of time before we start hearing rumors of replacements.
Many of the replacement managers are usually a coach on the team or an internal manager from one of the franchise’s Minor League teams. I assume it’s because ownership wants to disrupt the team as little possible during the season, so they’ll temporarily name an interim manager and then do the whole interview thing as soon as October roles around.
While there are many capable coaches and managers in the Minors, there are a few skippers that may have left the game too early. Here are my top 5 managers (that are still living) that I would like to see make a comeback – even if it’s on an interim basis only.
– Tommy Lasorda: He won two World Series championships with the Dodgers as well as being named the National League Manager of the Year twice. He was a media favorite and the arch enemy of the Phillie Phanatic. At 83-years-young he still has some juice left in him.
– Tom Kelly: The only American League manager on my list. He led the small market Minnesota Twins to two World Series Titles in 1987 and 1991. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since he last managed the Twins (time flies by quick). The 61-year-old is still a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Twins.
– Roger Craig: Hummm Baby as Giant’s fans used to know him. The 81-year-0ld stepped down from his job as Giant’s manager in 1992, but only after leading his team to a National League West title in 1987 and a National League Pennant during the 1989 Earthquake World Series.
– Davey Johnson: Johnson’s name has floated around anytime a high profile managerial job comes up such as the vacancy with his former employer, the New York Mets, last fall. He may be best remembered for leading the 1986 New York Mets to an improbably World Series title. He hasn’t been too far away from the game since he stopped being a Major League manager. Johnson was the manager for Team USA and the Netherlands’ National team. He has also been involved as a Senior Adviser to the Washington Nationals.
– Bobby Valentine: We almost got Bobby back last year when the Marlins were close to hiring him. He’s currently an analyst for ESPN, but my gut tells me he’s ready to jump at the opportunity to get back into the dugout. He’s still looking for a World Series title, so if a big name team comes calling where he can have creative control, then expect him to turn in his resignation letter to ESPN.
What do you think? Who else should be on this list?
Why do some converted starting pitchers fail as relievers?
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Today, I went for my daily run and coincidentally ran into one of my baseball teammates and former professional right-handed pitcher Luis Torres. After running for awhile, we went to a public park and started to work out.
As you can all imagine, we were talking about baseball. He asked me about Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia. I told him that Colon pitched four innings coming out of the bullpen and was charged with four earned runs in his first outing with the Yankees this season. He told me that sometimes a pitcher can’t get the job done while coming out of the bullpen, but as starters they are successful.
He didn’t say that this was always the case though, but he told me that when he was playing for the Nationals organization, the same thing happened to him. He told me that as a starter, in the first two, three innings, his fastball sat at 87-88 MPH, and around the seventh inning his fastball sat at 93-94 MPH.
I wasn’t surprised at all when he told me that, mostly because that happens to me too, although I just thought I was a lousy pitcher. He told me he used to feel more loose as the game went by, and that’s why he felt he could work better. After the 2002 season he underwent shoulder surgery and was moved to the bullpen.
According to my friend, he had some good outings from the pen, but most of them were the opposite of good. He told me some of his managers had faith in him, but some of them didn’t, and that’s why he was given his unconditional release after the 2003 season. That year, he finished with a 0-4 record with a 4.80 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 15 innings in 11 relieving appearances for the Nationals’ Double-A team.
I believe that Joba Chamberlain has struggled the past two seasons because he was moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation and then back to the bullpen again. The inverse occurred as well with Joaquin Benoit, who was a great reliever but was an unsuccessful starter.
There are some pitchers that can be successful in both roles such as John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley, to name a few, but sometimes that’s not the case. Only time will tell if Colon can be successful coming out of the bullpen.
David Wright hopes Mets sign Jose Reyes to extension
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The left-side of the Mets infield may come to an end after the season, but according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, third baseman David Wright is hoping that shortstop Jose Reyes can make the team think twice before giving up on him.
“I’m a big Jose Reyes fan,” Wright said. “He makes everybody around him better, including me. So I hope he goes out there and has a great year and kind of forces the hand of the front office so they lock him up to whatever kind of extension. I hope that’s the case.”
Reyes is in the final year of a four-year plus team option contract that he signed in 2007. The deal paid him about $35.25 million, and many have speculated that Reyes is a candidate for a $100+ contract this Winter. Given that the Mets are going through financial issues, it may be difficult for the team to re-sign Reyes especially if he has a good year. It would be to their best interest to trade him as soon as possible to get more highly valued prospects in return.
One place that Reyes could wind up is in San Francisco. Buster Olney of ESPN speculated in March that if incumbent shortstop, Miguel Tejada, fails, the Giants could go after Reyes. The only problem is that San Francisco is not hitter-friendly, so unless there’s a dump truck full of cash then don’t expect Reyes to pick the city by the Bay as his long-term residence.
Injury updates: Peavy, Greinke, Padilla, Jimenez
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Here is a running list of injury updates regarding some starting pitchers around the Majors:
– Jake Peavy will make his first rehabilitation start in Double-A Birmingham on Friday reports Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune. The right hander said he felt better after throwing four innings and 59 pitches in a simulated game in Glendale, Arizona, where he is rehabbing his rotator cuff tendinitis.
– Brewers ace Zack Greinke is expected to throw from the mound later this week as he continues to recover from a cracked rib according to the Associated Press.
– Right handed pitcher Vicente Padilla is still making progress from his forearm surgery. He threw four innings and 60 pitches in Minor League camp reports Joe Haakenson of the Daily News.
– Ubaldo Jimenez, who left his Opening Day start with a problem on his right thumb cuticle, must pitch a side session with proper mechanics Tuesday or Wednesday to make his next start on Friday reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
Feliciano responds to ‘abusive’ workload from Mets
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Over the weekend, New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman called out his New York counterparts and said that the team’s use of left-handed pitcher Pedro Feliciano was “abusive”.
“He was abused,” Cashman said. “It’s a thin market when you’re looking for lefties, and he’s one of the better ones out there. But you don’t typically go after a guy who’s been used like that.
“The use pattern was abusive.”
The evidence was clear in that Feliciano pitched in 86, 88 and 92 games respectively over the past three seasons.
According to Jim Baumbach of Newsday, Feliciano responded to the “abusive” remarks. “sometimes they left me in when there was no reason.” He added, “92 games is a lot for a lefty specialist”
The Yankees signed Feliciano to a two-year contract with a club option for 2013 over the Winter. The deal is reportedly for $8 million over the two guarateed years.
In 2010, Feliciano was 3-6 in 92 relief appearances over 62 2/3 innings pitched. He made $2.9 million last year.
Ryan Rowland-Smith clears waivers, elects free agency
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Left handed pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith has cleared waivers and has elected free agency according to Alyson Footer, the Astros Sr. Director of Social Media. The team re-signed the lefty to a Minor League deal adds Footer.
The 28-year-old was hoping to find a spot in the team’s rotation, but as of last week the team was looking to trade the pitcher. The Astros signed Rowland-Smith to a one-year, $725,000 deal plus incentives back in December 2010.
In 115 appearances for the Seattle Mariners, Rowland-Smith has a 12-17 record with a 4.57 ERA.
Will the Angels and Scott Kazmir part ways?
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Is Scott Kazmir’s time with the Los Angeles Angels about to come to an end? In his first start of the year, Kazmir did not make a compelling case to keep his job when he pitched 1 2/3 innings against the Kansas City Royals over the weekend. The five outs that he managed happened to be his shortest out of his career.
When Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia was asked about the situation, he said, “We’re going to have to sort some things out.”
“The guys we need to throw the ball well, who are going to be important to us, are not throwing the ball well right now,” Scioscia said, according to Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. “And we’re going to have to look at that.”
There was speculation last month that the team could release Kazmir after his horrid Spring where he had a 7.79 ERA over 17 1/3 innings pitched.
Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times said in March that if Kazmir continued to struggle, the Angels may have no choice but to release the lefty. They would eat the $14.5 million left on his contract ($12 million for 2011 and a $2.5 million buyout for 2012’s team option).
Kazmir was 9-15 with a 5.94 ERA and 93 strike outs over 150 innings and 28 starts in 2010.
Yankees have highest 2011 Opening Day payroll
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To no one’s surprise, the New York Yankees and their $202,689,028 have opened the 2011 season with the highest Opening Day payroll of the 30 Major League teams, according to USA Today. The Phillies, Red Sox, Angels and White Sox round out the top five.
The defending World Champion Giants ranked 8th while the financially troubled Mets were 7th with a $118.8 million payroll.
At the bottom are the Kansas City Royals and their $36,126,000 payroll. Here’s the rest of the list:
| Team | Opening Day Payroll |
| Yankees | $ 202,689,028 |
| Phillies | $172,976,379 |
| Red Sox | $161,762,475 |
| Angels | $138,543,166 |
| White Sox | $127,789,000 |
| Cubs | $125,047,329 |
| Mets | $118,87,309 |
| Giants | 118,198,333 |
| Twins | $112,737,000 |
| Tigers | $105,700,231 |
| Cardinals | $105,433,572 |
| Dodgers | $104,188,999 |
| Rangers | $92,299,264 |
| Rockies | $88,148,071 |
| Braves | $87,002,692 |
| Mariners | $86,824,600 |
| Brewers | $85,497,333 |
| Orioles | $85,304,038 |
| Reds | $75,947,134 |
| Astros | $70,694,000 |
| Athletics | $66,536,500 |
| Nationals | $63,856,928 |
| Blue Jays | $62,567,800 |
| Marlins | $56,944,000 |
| Diamondbacks | $53,639,833 |
| Indians | $49,190,566 |
| Padres | $45,869,140 |
| Pirates | $45,047,000 |
| Rays | $41,053,571 |
| Royals | $36,126,000 |
Is a Michael Young for Francisco Rodriguez trade a possibility?
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Infielder Michael Young, who asked to be traded from the Rangers hasn’t created a lot of noise as of late. Rangers GM, Jon Daniels met twice with Young recently to discuss their differences.
Daniels acknowledged that the situation involving Young could have been handled a different way. The Rangers tried to trade Young, but the $48 million left on his contract likely prevented him from being moved. It was reported that the Rangers would assume half of the balance due to the infielder, but nothing more than rumors surfaced.
Yesterday, we learned that the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets were possible landing spots for Young. We also heard that one scout suggested that the Mets could trade Francisco Rodriguez for the infielder.
This could be a possibility given the fact that the Mets could use Young as their everyday second baseman and the Rangers could use Rodriguez as their closer and move Neftali Feliz to the starting rotation.
Rodriguez on the other hand has a $17,500,00 option for 2012 that will become guaranteed if he finishes 55 games this season. Earlier today, I heard on a local T.V. show in Venezuela, that the Mets are planning to use Rodriguez only when there’s an opportunity to save the game. Given the Mets’ expectation for this season, Rodriguez’s appearances could be limited making it difficult for him not to reach the 55 games finished that he needs to make his 2012 option vest.
Another positive point for this trade is Rodriguez’s experience in the AL West. The Venezuela native pitched for the Angels for seven seasons where he set the single season saves record for MLB with 62 saved games in 2008.
Rodriguez was 4-2 with a 2.20 ERA and 25 saves in 57.1 innings with the Mets in 2010. He was also involved in legal issues after fighting his father-in-law at Citi Field.
