Players Mov'in the news

Mike Lamb-3B-Brewers Dec. 8 5:38 pm et

The Brewers are working to re-sign free agent Mike Lamb, MLB.com reports.

Lamb barely played after joining the Brewers on Sept. 5, going 3-for-11 the rest of the way, so it's something of a surprise that Milwaukee wants him back. Because Lamb is already getting $3 million in 2009 after the Twins cut him in the first year of a two-year deal, finding a team that will give him playing time should be his priority. In Milwaukee, he'd stand to compete with Bill Hall for starts at third.
Source: Hot Stove Blog


Erik Bedard-S-Mariners Dec. 8 5:34 pm et

Erik Bedard (shoulder) received the green light to begin a throwing program, MLB.com reports.

The favorable report should be enough to ensure that Bedard is tendered a contract before the Friday deadline. The Mariners could actually have an excess of pitching if Bedard is ready for the season. They have Brandon Morrow, Jarrod Washburn, Carlos Silva, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Miguel Batista to go along with Felix Hernandez and Bedard.
Source: Mariners.mlb.com


A.J. Burnett-S-Blue Jays Dec. 8 5:30 pm et

According to ESPN's Steve Phillips, indications are that the Braves and A.J. Burnett are moving closer to a deal.

Peter Gammons seems to think the same thing, though there are no quotes anywhere to back it up. The Cardinals' reported interest has failed to materialize, and it looks like Atlanta's four-year offer with a vesting option for a fifth year is the best proposal on the table.
Source: ESPN.com


Jerome Williams-S-Athletics Dec. 8 5:28 pm et

Athletics signed RHP Jerome Williams to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

Williams got off to a really nice start in Puerto Rico this winter, but he had struggled over his last three starts and is now 1-3 with a 5.04 ERA and just 14 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings. He had a 3.25 ERA in five starts and eight relief appearances in the Dodger system last season. He'll probably be a part of Triple-A Sacramento's rotation.

J.J. Putz-R-Mariners Dec. 8 5:19 pm et

Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times believes a J.J. Putz-to-Detroit deal could get done.

The Tigers are pretty short on talent to trade for someone who would be as sought after as Putz would be if put on the open market Baker believes the Mariners would have interest in Jeff Larish, but he's more of a No. 2 player in a Putz-type deal. Seattle would need to get a bigger talent along with Larish. The Indians have more to offer, and at $5.5 million for 2009, Putz is cheap enough that a team like the Red Sox or Yankees could potentially target him as a setup man.
Source: Seattle Times



CC Sabathia-S-Brewers Dec. 8 5:06 pm et

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said it's "a possibility" the Dodgers could make an offer to free agent CC Sabathia.

Sabathia reportedly told Colletti he "wants to be a Dodger" in a chance meeting Sunday night. The speculation has long been that he'd prefer to join the Dodgers or Giants if the money is there.
Source: Hot Stove Blog


David Eckstein-SS-Diamondbacks Dec. 8 5:03 pm et

According to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, free agent David Eckstein is drawing interest from five teams, most of which want him as a second baseman.

He doesn't name the teams, though he speculates that Baltimore and San Diego have openings at shortstop for him. The Orioles are known to prefer Cesar Izturis.
Source: FOXSports.com

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Players Future

August 28, 2008
Future Shock
by Kevin Goldstein

It really was the statement heard 'round the world, as from the time of its release until the end of the day, my phone has been burning in non-stop discussions with teams, agents, players, and other members of the media all looking to talk about the Pedro Alvarez situation. The statement issued by the Pirates is very strong in tone, and tells us quite a bit in only 575 words. We all know that Pittsburgh team president Frank Coonelly has a close relationship with the commissioner's office, and the document almost sounds as if it came straight from New York. Let's take a word by word look at it, and talk about what is actually known, what is merely rumored, and what may eventually happen.

At the Pirates' request, the Office of the Commissioner today placed Pedro Alvarez on Major League Baseball's Restricted List. The Pirates were forced to request that Pedro be placed on the Restricted List because we were informed by his agent, Scott Boras, that Pedro will not sign the contract to which he agreed on August 15. Boras further informed us that Pedro will not report to the Club unless we renegotiate his contract and agree to pay him more than the $6 million signing bonus to which he agreed

The first sentence simply describes a legal maneuver meant to protect the Pirates' best interests. It's important to note here that Pedro Alvarez has not signed a contract. That's not unique. As we get to the final hours of the deadline, teams are in one place, agents in another, and players are often in a third. All a team has to do is to notify the Commissioner's Office that the terms to a deal have been reached. This is an important point that we'll get back to later on, when we attempt to figure out what Scott Boras is trying to achieve. Having Alvarez put on the restricted list is the way that the Pirates make a claim to their control of the player; it prevents anyone else from talking to him, and also gives them a legal leg to stand on should the Alvarez camp try going the independent-ball route. This is also the first of several mentions that Boras wants to renegotiate the deal, and it's one of the main sticking points here. If one follows the letter of the rule, Alvarez has either signed and is a Pirate, or he hasn't signed and the deadline has passed, which now forces him to wait a year to re-enter the draft. But that's not what Boras is looking for—he's looking for a renegotiation, and believe it or not, these aren't totally uncharted waters.

The Major League Rules provide that a player who refuses to sign a Uniform Player Contract to which he has agreed and report to the signing Club shall, upon a report of the signing Club, be placed on the Restricted List until he signs a contract reflecting the terms to which he has agreed. Such a player may not sign a contract with or play for any other Club. While demanding that we renegotiate his contract and pay Pedro more than the $6 million signing bonus to which Pedro agreed, Mr. Boras has contended that the contract we reached with Pedro was consummated after the August 15 deadline. This claim was not raised on the evening of the 15th when we informed Mr. Boras that Major League Baseball had confirmed that the contract was submitted in a timely fashion. Mr. Boras asserted this claim several days later, after all of the draft signings had become publicized

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Need Help Check The Waiver Wires

by Eric Ferguson

Players for '09 and beyond:

1. Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pirates. Whether he stays at third or moves to first, Pedro's got the bat to hold down a big-league job. He was hurt for most of his junior season at Vanderbilt, but there's 30-homer potential here with a good average to go with it.
2. Aaron Crow, SP, Nationals. OK, so he's a little bit of a homer pick, but this Mizzou stud struck out 127 batters in 107.1 innings on his way to a Golden Spikes Award. It's not like the Nats' rotation is particularly tough to crack at the moment, either.
3. Jemile Weeks, 2B, Athletics. I have a fever, and the only cure for it is more fantasy-worthy middle infielders. Rickie's little brother doesn't quite have his power, but Jemile will hit for average and a little pop. His calling card, though, will be stealing more than his fair share of bases.
Burning Questions for AL-only owners
Is Nick Swisher really this bad? I'll freely admit Nick Swisher is a charter member of the Eric Ferguson Man-Crush Society, but even I have gotten a little fed up with the Swish Dawg and his .221 average and fistful of homers. But fear not: There is reason for optimism. Swisher's BABIP stood at .256 before Sunday's action, nearly 30 points below his career average. It's odd that this run of bad luck has coincided with a career-high line drive percentage, but the dice are bound to tumble in his favor eventually. Given that Swisher had a good weekend, the comeback might already be underway.
I want to add J.P. Howell, but I'm worried that others might make fun of me. Is he worth the ridicule? You bet he is, partner. Truth fact: I have him in a mixed league. Checking in at No. 70 in the latest RP rankings, Howell has actually been a top-12 AL reliever in Roto points. Now that he seems to have found his niche in the bullpen, Howell is in line for some vulture wins along with decent K, ERA, and WHIP contributions. His fielding-independent ERA (FIP) is 3.69, so it's not like he's pitching way over his head.
Take Your Pick, Young Catcher Edition: Kurt Suzuki or Jarrod Saltalamacchia? Suz-y and Salty entered Sunday's action with identical .257 averages; Suzuki had a homer and a steal, Salty had three homers and no steals. Upon closer inspection, neither of them had particularly noteworthy BABIP's, so making the call came down to two words: "po" and "tential." Salty's bat is the one more likely to hit 12 to 15 homers, and it's only a matter of time before the Rangers find a way to get him in the lineup more often (even with less than half as many at-bats, Salty has produced nearly as much Roto value as Suzuki). Throw in Suzuki's home/road splits (he's hitting .207 on the road), and the choice gets even easier.
Burning Questions for NL-only owners
Tom Gorzelanny has put together two non-terrible starts in a row. Is this the start of a trend? As much as I loved T-Gor last season, that's how much he grinds my gears now. Even allowing that he didn't pitch well enough to deserve a sub-4.00 ERA in '07 (or '06 for that matter), he was still above-average. This year, not so much. His 29/43 K/BB ratio is second-worst among pitchers with at least 50 innings, and he has a 6.83 ERA despite a below-average .281 opponents BABIP. And let's not forget that he had a 5.01 ERA second-half ERA last year. Bottom line: He's been terrible for a while now. So, no, two OK starts in a row do not a resurgence make.
Let's talk about another Pirate (because everyone wants to talk about the Pirates). Freddy Sanchez is hitting .241. If he's not giving me batting average ballast, what's the point? Indeed. The prototypical high-average middle infielder, Sanchez has run afoul of the baseball gods with a .267 BABIP, 60 points below his career average. With neither power nor speed to fall back on, Sanchez's value languishes in non-starter territory in a 12-team NL-only league. Even when he hit .304 with a homer spike (11) in '07, he was only the 13th-most productive 2B in the majors. That's why I like to avoid guys like Sanchez, who hang their hat on being able to hit .300. He'll bounce back and probably hit .280-.290, but average isn't everything -- especially when it's your only thing.
Ryan Zimmerman's injury has me up a creek without a paddle. Is this Kory Casto fellow the solution to my problem? Depending on what your league's waiver wire looks like, he's worth a shot. Casto came into '07 as one of the Nats' top offensive prospects, but that didn't result in much: a 325 OPS in 54 at-bats and a whole bunch of time spent in Columbus. After hitting .315 with three homers in 89 at-bats for Columbus this season, he has made five straight starts at third for the Nats with Aaron Boone at first, so he should continue to get chances to play during Zimmerman's absence (the length of which has yet to be determined). Best-case scenario is Casto hits for a decent average and provides a handful of homers, maybe moving to the outfield on a part-time basis when Zimmerman returns. This year's Ryan Braun he ain't.

Eric Ferguson is a freelance writer for Sporting News

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Up coming Prospects

Tim Williams - AccuScore Analyst
Prospect Watch

1. Jay Bruce – I was willing to offer Carlos Beltran for Jay Bruce in my NL only league when he got the call, and the owner of Bruce actually declined. Smart move on his part, as Bruce has been on fire, hitting .577 with a homer in his last three games. I predicted a 20/20/.300 season for Bruce when he first got the call. Current AccuScore forecasts have him going 21/20/.340 for the remainder of the season. Bruce is this year’s Ryan Braun.

2. Chase Headley – You may be surprised to see that I’m ranking a guy who has yet to get the call at number two. Headley has been tearing up AAA, with a .306 average and 10 homers. Scott Hairston and Jody Gerut aren’t cutting it in the outfield, and I think Headley gets the call very soon. I can see Headley batting .300 with 20 homers for the remainder of the season.

3. Carlos Gonzalez – He’s the consolation prize if you missed out on Jay Bruce. Gonzalez has shown some potential in his first weekend, with two multi-hit games. He showed 20 home run potential in the minors, and a decent amount of speed. I said in my blog that I expected a 15/15/.280 line for him for the remainder of the season.

4. Clayton Kershaw – I rank rookie pitchers lower than the hitters because of the struggles they can go through. Based on his start against the Mets, Kershaw is not immune to those struggles. I expect numbers similar to Tim Lincecum from last season: 4.00 ERA, six wins, and a 9.0 K/9 ratio.

5. Evan Longoria – The killer for Longoria this year has been his average, which at the time doesn’t make him any more valuable than a guy like Adrian Beltre, unless you are in a keeper league. AccuScore forecasts have Longoria going 15/7/.238 for the remainder of the season, which is far from the hype he came up with to start the year.

6. Max Scherzer – He’s in the bullpen, but I still stand by my prediction that he gets the call back to the rotation at some point, either due to injury or poor performance to either Doug Davis or Randy Johnson. I actually like Scherzer better than Kershaw, because Scherzer doesn’t come with limitations. However, I rank Scherzer lower due to his current relief status.

7. Johnny Cueto – I’m throwing Cueto on this list because he hasn’t exactly been Mr. Consistency, and sports a 5.11 ERA. Despite the high ERA, Cueto has a 1.29 WHIP, an 8.13 K/9 ratio, and a 2.62 BB/9 ratio, showing that his control is no issue. The problem with Cueto is the amount of home runs he allows, currently 14 in 12 starts. Cueto can give you solid strikeout numbers, and he will keep your WHIP low, but until he gets the home run issue fixed, he will be a 4.50 ERA pitcher.

8. Ian Stewart – Stewart is the top hitting prospect for the Rockies, and with all of the current injuries to the team, will see plenty of playing time. He is currently gaining eligibility at second base, which would expand his value even more. There is talk that Colorado may trade Matt Holliday, which would keep Stewart up for the remainder of the season, and give him more eligibility, this time in the outfield. Before getting the call, Stewart hit 12 homers in 171 at bats at AAA.

9. Andrew McCutchen – The top prospect for the Pirates is batting .287 with seven homers and 17 steals at AAA. I actually rank him up there with Bruce and Gonzalez, but his situation will see limited playing time. I think either Jason Bay or Xavier Nady will get traded by the deadline, which will open up a hole for McCutchen. If this article was written at the end of July, I’d have McCutchen in my top three, simply because of his power/speed combo.

10. Brandon Wood – Wood has been absolutely horrible in his call up, although you can’t blame the top power hitter in the Angels’ farm system. He’s not getting regular playing time, having just 50 at bats since April 28th. Due to his power potential, I am keeping an eye on him, just incase he starts to turn it around in the power department. ”>Technorati”>Digg&title=”>Del.icio.us&title=” >reddit

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FANTASY BASEBALL NEWS

05/29/2008

BY Aaron Gleeman

LATEST FANTASY BASEBALL HEADLINES

Sure, Carlos Guillen will make $10 million this year and gets to play baseball for a living, but he also has a job that encourages his boss to literally alert the media when "he's got hemorrhoids so bad." That was my favorite part of manager Jim Leyland's quote Tuesday when explaining why Guillen was limited to designated hitter duties, and he added that the Tigers' third baseman "has been playing with hemorrhoids that probably need to be lanced" and "can hardly move."Guillen was a popular topic across all forms of media Wednesday and was then absent from the Tigers' lineup against the Angels, guaranteeing another batch of hemorrhoid-related updates from the local newspaper scribes. Aside from professional athlete, is there another job where having medical problems like hemorrhoids (Guillen) or anal fissures (Kaz Matsui) more or less requires a person's boss to give daily updates to reporters? If so, hopefully they're making $10 million too. While the world learns far more than it wanted to know about Guillen, here are some other notes from around baseball .* Pedro Martinez had a successful minor-league rehab start Wednesday at Single-A, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out six, walking none, and giving up four hits. Martinez threw 82 pitches, so barring a setback he appears to be on track to rejoin the Mets' rotation with a start Tuesday against the Giants. "I'm really excited," Martinez said. "I know the team really needs a little bit of a pat on the back and I hope my presence will make a difference for them."* With Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada on the disabled list Jesus Flores has made the most of his first real chance at regular playing time behind the plate in Washington. After holding his own while playing sparingly as a Rule 5 pickup last season, Flores is now staking claim to the starting job even once Lo Duca returns next month. He went 2-for-4 with a grand slam Wednesday and is hitting .344/.420/.590 with 11 extra-base hits and 14 RBIs through 20 games.General manager Jim Bowden hinted earlier this month that Flores may keep the gig regardless of Lo Duca's health status, and by going 9-for-23 (.391) with a homer, three doubles, and seven RBIs over the past week he's improved his stock even further. Flores hit .266/.335/.487 with 21 homers at high Single-A as a 21-year-old in 2006 before his timetable was rushed by the Rule 5 selection and a 23-year-old catcher with a .757 OPS in 98 big-league games has a nice future.* Travis Hafner saw his OPS drop 260 points last season and has hit just .217/.326/.360 this year, so Wednesday's news that he's received two cortisone shots for a sore shoulder made plenty of sense. Hafner revealed that he's been playing through soreness and weakness in the shoulder all season, which helps explain his lack of power and overall struggles. He hasn't played since Sunday, so a trip to the disabled list seems likely and would open up at-bats for Michael Aubrey.* Left for dead after hitting just .236/.356/.433 last season while being limited to 83 games, Jason Giambi is quietly putting together a strong comeback. He smacked his 11th! homer o f the season Wednesday and is now hitting .244/.393/.556 through 44 games. A .244 batting average limits Giambi's fantasy value, but his .949 OPS ranks fourth in the league behind only Milton Bradley, Carlos Quentin, and Josh Hamilton, and he's on pace for 40 homers, 100 RBIs, and 85 runs.* One thing that has separated Rich Harden from Mark Prior throughout their similarly lengthy injury histories is that Harden has always pitched well whenever he's healthy enough to take the mound. Prior went 1-6 with a! 7.21 ERA in 2006, but Harden has never ceased being a dominant pitcher between trips to the disabled list. He held the Blue Jays to one run over seven innings in a tough-luck no-decision Wednesday, giving him a 2.60 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 34.2 innings.* Adam Miller emerged as an elite prospect in 2006, posting a 2.75 ERA and 157-to-43 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 154 innings at Double-A as a 21-year-old. Unfortunately, he was limited to 65.1 innings last year because of finger and elbow injuries, and recently underwent surgery to reattach the flexor tendon in the middle finger of his right hand. The bad news is that Miller will likely miss the remainder of the season. The good news is that he'll still be just 24 years old next season. AL Quick Hits: Daisuke Matsuzaka (shoulder) has avoided the disabled list so far, but will most likely miss at least one start and is scheduled to undergo an MRI . Manager John McLaren said Wednesday that Brandon Morrow is unlikely to move into the rotation this season . Boof Bonser is 6-17 with a 6.02 ERA over his last 30 starts and looks bullpen bound once Scott Baker (groin) comes back next week . With Gregg Zaun (elbow) heading to the DL, Rod Barajas will get most of Toronto's starts behind the plate for at least two weeks . Jake Westbrook (ribs) started Wednesday against the White Sox after sitting out more than a month, allowing three runs over five innings . Rocco Baldelli (leg) worked out prior to Tuesday's game and said afterward that he's still hoping to play this season . Erik Bedard shut out the Red Sox for seven innings Wednesday in his best start since joining the Mariners . Andy Marte is receiving increased playing time so that the Indians can evaluate him in preparation for the roster crunch created by Shin-Soo Choo's (shoulder) impending return.NL Quick Hits: Rafael Soriano (shoulder) returned from the disabled list Wednesday, potentially giving him a brief window for saves until John Smoltz (shoulder) comes off the shelf . Jake Peavy (elbow) said Tuesday that he hopes to rejoin the Padres' rotation this weekend, but that looks unlikely given that he hasn't even thrown off a mound yet . Jay Bruce followed up his huge debut with another impressive effort Wednesday and has four walks in two games after coaxing a total of eight non-intentional walks in 49 games at Triple-A . Meanwhile, perhaps fearing that manager Dusty Baker would be tempted to start him over Bruce, the Reds sent Corey Patterson to the minors Wednesday . Matt Holliday (hamstring) said Tuesday that he's hoping to return from the DL when eligible on June 10 . Carlos Zambrano tossed eight innings of one-run ball Wednesday versus the Dodgers, but threw 130 pitches . Tom Gorzelanny couldn't make it out of the first inning Wednesday, coughing up six runs to the Reds while his ERA ballooned to 7.38.

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