Rumors for May, 2011
Injury updates: Soriano, Heyward, Soto, Wells and Chen
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Here’s a running list of injury updates around the Major Leagues:
– Yankees setup man Rafael Soriano will have a precautionary MRI tomorrow according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Manager Joe Girardi says Soriano came in today and said his elbow was “a little bit tender”.
– Jason Heyward will also have an MRI for his right shoulder according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Heyward says his shoulder has bothered him since Spring Training.
– According to Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com, catcher Geovany Soto left tonight’s game in the first inning with a left groin strain.
– Vernon Wells has been placed on the 15-day Disabled List with a strain groin according to Matthew Pouliot of NBCSports.com.
– Royals’ left handed pitcher Bruce Chen has been placed on the 15-day Disabled list with a left lat strain reports Pouliot. He was 4-1 with a 3.59 ERA in seven start with the Royals so far.
The story of Angels’ Alexi Amarista
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A couple of weeks ago, the Angels called up a young infielder named Alexi Amarista who grew up in Venezuela. Amarista is listed at 5′8″, but according to the scout who found him in Venezuela his height may be fudged a bit as he is more like 5′5″ (via Ignacio Serrano of El Nacional).
The story of this little guy with great ambition is truly amazing. Dennis Suarez, the scout that found Amarista remembered seeing Amarista play when he was a kid. “I saw him for the first time when he was 12 years old playing Little Leagues,” he said. “He was a small boy, doing wonders. That’s it. A 6′2″ prospect calls your attention. A little boy with his conditions was something out of this world.”
“I saw him again in a Junior State Championship at Puerto Piritu (Venezuela),” Suarez said. “He caught a ground ball between third and short stop, jumped and threw to first a la Omar Vizquel. ‘He has conditions,’ I said to myself, but that’s it. He wasn’t big or strong, as the MLB organizations look for.”
Suarez got the chance to see Amarista play one more time. When Amarista finally turned 16, he decided to take him to Clay Daniel, the Angels’ scout coordinator in Venezuela. Suarez was the only one who thought that Amarista was going to succeed in the Majors.
“Why would you bring me this small kid?,” asked Daniel. “He’s an alien,” replied Suarez. “He can hit 400-feet homers.”
At that moment Suarez’s journey to get Amarista signed started. “I used to tell my boss that if we signed Alberto Callaspo, we would have to sign Amarista too,” Suarez said. “He told me: ‘Do you really think he is like Callaspo?. And I would reply: ‘Exactly the same, but with more power’. I used to name him all the small players that played in the Majors: Callaspo, Dustin Pedroia, Chone Figgins, Rafael Furcal. ‘Dennis, but all of them are taller than him’ he told me, but I kept pushing.”
After two years of Suarez trying to get him signed, Amarista decided to quit baseball and take a scholarship to play softball. When Amarista was 18 and among the home run leaders in a softball league, Suarez decided to make one last effort to get the little guy signed.
“I told him I was going to intercede for him,” Suarez added. “He kept telling me that he didn’t want to lose his scholarship. ‘I don’t know what am I going to do with that guy, but we’re going to get you signed’.”
“I even told Daniel: ‘take $1000 from my salary and give that to him as the signing bonus.’ That day I finally convinced him. ‘You’re making me crazy with this little guy. Go ahead, sign him.’ Nobody has cost me so much, and with nobody I wasn’t that sure he was gonna make it.”
Amarista hit .400 in his first year with one of the Minors affiliate in the Venezuelan Winter League. He then debuted in the Venezuelan Winter League and finished second for the Rookie of the Year Award, and the next year he came a few votes short of the MVP Award.
In his first Major League season Amarista is hitting .143/.188/.214 with 1 double and 3 RBI’s in 14 AB’s.
Image by El Universal photo archive.
Edmonton Capitals sign INF Willy Aybar
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According to Director of Baseball Operations Gord Gerlach (via the North American Baseball League website), the Edmonton Capitals have infielder Willy Ayber for the 2011 season.
“One important thing about Willy is that he is a versatile player who can play all three base positions, and play them well. “ said Gerlach. “He is also a switch hitter and has the power and capability to hit in the middle of the lineup. This is also an important signing for the Capitals because our starting third baseman from last season, Alex Prieto, is doubtful to check in at training camp this year, and by signing Willy we are filling a significant gap in the roster with a talented player.”
The Capitals will attend training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona from May 13-24 with the season officially beginning on May 26th.
The Tampa Bay Rays declined their $4 million team option on Aybar after the 2010 season.
In 100 games for the Rays in 2010, Aybar hit .230/.309/.344 with six home runs and 43 RBIs.
Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License
Marlins place Javier Vazquez on the bereavement list
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According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, the Florida Marlins have placed Javier Vazquez on the Bereavement List. Vazquez will be available to return on Friday.
The right handed pitcher went home in Puerto Rico on Tuesday due to a death in the family on his wife’s side. Manager Edwin Rodriguez says he will be on time for his start on Sunday against the Nationals in Washington.
Vazquez is 2-3 with a 6.88 ERA in 35.1 innings throughout 7 starts with the Marlins in 2011.
Pirates insisting on at least 5 year deal with McCutchen
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In a Tweet by Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, he reports the Pittsburgh Pirates are in talks with Andrew McCutchen about a contract extension but the team is insisting on at least a five-year deal.
“I’m willing to be here for my whole career,” McCutchen said in early May. “I really love it in Pittsburgh. I love playing there. I love the city. I love how things are starting to turn around for us. That’s one of the things I feel that they know, and they have the same feeling I do. We’re very open to working something out, but we just want to make sure it’s something we want. That’s basically what we’re looking at right now.”
The 24-year-old is under team control through the 2015 season, so any long-term deal will likely buy out his arbitration-eligible years plus a year or two of his free agent years. Players tend to sacrifice big money in their free agent years if they can lock in financial security early in their career.
Image by Patrick Reddick under the Creative Commons License.
Orioles designate Josh Rupe for assignment
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The Baltimore Orioles have designated right handed pitcher Josh Rupe for assignment according to Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.
Rupe was designated for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster for J.J. Hardy who was activated from the Disabled List.
In 9 games in 2011 with the Orioles, Rupe posted a 5.65 ERA in 14.1 innings and allowing 5 HR’s.
Imagie by Stacey Huggins under the Creative Commons license.
Astros sign Max Ramirez to Minor League deal
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The Houston Astros have signed catcher Max Ramirez to a Minor League deal, Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The Chicago Cubs have released Ramirez earlier this month. Chicago claimed Ramirez off of waivers from the Boston Red Sox in early January 2011. He was previously designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers on January 3.
The 26-year-old has a lifetime .217/.343/.357 in 115 career at bats for the Rangers over the 2008 and 2010 seasons.
Image by William Holtkamp under the Creative Commons License.
Jim Crane’s deal to buy the Astros is almost complete
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According to Bob Allen of KTRK TV, Jim Crane’s deal to buy the Houston Astros is neraly complete. Allen adds that all that’s left is “the dotting of I’s and crossing of T’s and the team will be sold.”
The reported sale should be around $680 million. The soon-to-be former owner, Drayton McLane, purchased the team in late 1992 for $117 million in 1993.
Image by D.L. under the Creative Commons license.
Injury updates: Peavy, Young, Hardy, Scott, Mejia and Wells
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Here’s a running list of injury updates around the Major Leagues:
– Right handed pitcher Jake Peavy will make his 2011 debut on Wednesday according to Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune. This will be Peavy’s first start since last July.
– According to Kevin Burkhardt of SNY, Mets starter Chris Young has a tear of the anterior capsule in his shoulder. It’s still uncertain if Young will require surgery, but either way this is not good news for the Mets.
– Short stop J.J. Hardy will rejoin the Orioles in time for tomorrow’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Hardy has been sidelined since April 10 with a strained left oblique.
– Zrebiec tweets that outfielder Luke Scott has a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Scott will play through the injury, but Zrebiec says he may need surgery in the offseason.
– Mets prospect Jenry Mejia will require Tommy John surgery according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
–Vernon Wells of the Angels was placed on the DL after tonight’s game with a groin strain reports Bill Plunkett of the OC Register. The team will make a roster move on Tuesday.
Image by r SD Dirk under the Creative Commons license.
Selig supports the Mets and supports a new Dodger owner
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Today on in an interview with “The Mike Lupica Show” on ESPN New York 1050 (via Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com) MLB commissioner Bud Selig spoke about the two troubled franchises in the Dodgers and Mets. Selig said he is monitoring the Dodgers very closely which is obvious by the hiring of Tom Schieffer to oversee anything that has to do with money. The Mets on the other hand are being viewed by the commissioner in a different light. Selig thinks Fred Wilpon is doing the right thing as he searches for a minority owner which would eventually help with the financial situation the club is in.
Selig denied knowledge of the Dodgers immediate payroll situation and if they will even be able to pay the bills come the beginning of June. “I don’t know that right now, I know that story has been written a lot, but the fact is I don’t know.”
Selig was also put questioned as to why he would allow McCourt to purchase the Dodgers in the first place when they had very little liquid cash. “I’ll tell you what happened. There’s a lot of history here, which a lot of people don’t seem to understand,” Selig said. “There were two other bidders. Fox was anxious to get rid of the team. They were all really anxious. I’ll tell you what happened. There were a couple of groups: A group led by Dave Checketts and another group. And for whatever reason, they weren’t around at the end, so Fox sold the club to the McCourts and presented them to us. So this idea that we ought to examine ourselves, there was nobody else. We have a long relationship with Fox. There were no other bidders.”
Selig though views the Mets situation completely different.“To compare one situation to the other is factually incorrect. I’ve talked to Fred a lot about it, and I feel very comfortable that we’re gonna have a very reasoned economic solution to that problem as opposed to another. They’re approaching it the way I would’ve approached it. They’re looking to add equity and I don’t doubt that’s gonna work out. The Madoff situation? That’s well in the future. But in this case, to solve the immediate problem, they’re doing it.”
If anything, the interview sheds some light on both clubs. Selig and MLB will stand behind and support Wilpon and the Mets til the end, and the Dodgers……well good luck Frank because you are on your own.
Image by FoxKat under the Creative Commons license
