MLB 2009-2010 Offseason Rumors and News

[Smokedawg]

Originally Posted by gsro

we're tanking season for Bryce

a little late for that....he's going number 1 to the nats this june i believe....

[gsro]

Originally Posted by Smokedawg

a little late for that....he's going number 1 to the nats this june i believe....

damn for some reason I thought draft was done; blahhhhh

[Smokedawg]

Phils signed Oscar Villereal....

[Yanks27Sox7]

Hudson to the twinkies. Good 1 year deal.

Bedard back to the M's?

[gsro]

Jays Acquire Dan Eveland

[Yanks27Sox7]

Bedard back to SEA for another year is official. Gonna be a helluva run thru Cliff Lee, King Felix, and Bedard...once healthy.

Tillman supposedly competing for the 5th spot in the O's rotation. If that's more then simply motivational, that's stupid.
Should go Millwood, Matusz, Tillman, Bergeson, and Guthrie plus whoever in the 5 hole. At least until Arrieta's ready, if not Britton too.
But Matusz and Tillman shouldn't leave that rotation...short of an injury, or a prolonged sophomore slump.

Hisanori Takahashi is the latest Japanese LH pitcher being sought after. Mutts, Friars, Dodgers, BoSox, Bucs, Gaints are all in on him.

Nats signed Shawn Estes, lol.

Looks like Dye will be signing w/ an AL club soon...which will again push Damon down the totem pole.

Lincecum/SF arby hearing is coming...and personally, i can't believe it's come to that. SF should've locked him up.
King Felix for 5/78, Verlander got 5/80...so the bar has been set. Get it done, SF.

branyan, like damon, can't find work. happens when you over-play your hand.

Rockies signed Melvin Mora to a 1 year deal.

Madison Bumgarner is going into ST as SF's #5 SP. And SF will also be looking at Buster Posey @ various positions other then catcher, lol.

Friars inked Torrealba to a 1 year deal.

Nats inked Adam Kennedy to a 1 year deal.

BJs inked Kevin Gregg to a 1 year deal.

Bravos are looking @ Jason Heyward beginning the season in the bigs. Right choice.

Washburn may just retire now.

[MrMulligan]

The New York Yankees today announced they have signed outfielder Marcus Thames to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League spring training.

Thames, 32, was originally selected by the Yankees in the 30th round of the 1996 First-Year Player Draft. He owns a .243 career batting average with 75 doubles, 101 home runs and 261 RBI in 522 Major League games over parts of eight seasons with the Yankees, Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers. Since 2006, he has averaged one home run every 14.52 at-bats, marking the fourth-lowest ratio in the American League over the stretch (min. 1,100 AB). Thames batted .252 with 11 doubles, 13 home runs and 36 RBI in 87 games with the Tigers in 2009, missing nearly two months (April 19-June 7) on the disabled list with a left rib cage strain.

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2010/02/0...oster-players/

[D-Woww]

yanks bergeson is terrible...dont think he did anything to deserve a spot in the rotation this year

[Administrator]

^^^ d-woww


as for Thames, what i found funny is the official Winn info today.

basically Cash told damon & others that he had 2 million to spend for 1 year. thought he gave that to Winn...but in reality, if Thames makes it, he gave it to both of them.
1.1 million to Winn and 900K to Thames.

not going to re-hash my other posts on LF somewhere above...but now LF in 2010 looks like it'll be a 3-way between Gardner, Winn, & Thames...at least for a while, lol.

[D-Woww]

its so wierd bc those three are soooo different:

gardner: zero power, great speed, gritty player
thames: zero anything but power...will hit hrs tho
winn: mediocre across the board but no real plus

[Smokedawg]

interesting:

Foot surgery to limit Cliff Lee


Comment Email Print Share
Associated Press

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners say left-hander Cliff Lee is recovering from minor left foot surgery and will be limited when pitchers and catchers report to spring training this month.


Lee
The team announced Monday that its biggest offseason acquisition had surgery Friday in his native Arkansas to remove a bone spur that broke loose and was floating in his left foot.
Lee was acquired from Philadelphia this winter in a complicated four-team deal. His injured foot is not in a cast, and he is continuing his upper-body exercise program. The Mariners says the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner will "gradually return to all normal baseball activities" over the next two to three weeks.
Seattle's first workout for pitchers and catchers is Feb. 18.

[Yanks27Sox7]

wow. hope Lee's 100% by the end of ST. (i sound like a M's fan, lol)

Originally Posted by D-Woww

its so wierd bc those three are soooo different:

gardner: zero power, great speed, gritty player
thames: zero anything but power...will hit hrs tho
winn: mediocre across the board but no real plus

yep. they're just buying time until a LFer they'd want is available. which will prolly be in the next offseason.

[D-Woww]

yanks u think their long term LF could be montero?

[Smokedawg]

Originally Posted by Yanks27Sox7

wow. hope Lee's 100% by the end of ST. (i sound like a M's fan, lol)

Screw that. I hope he misses the whole season. Then maybe I can begin to justify the trade......

[E.T.G.]

Originally Posted by D-Woww

yanks u think their long term LF could be montero?

yanks knows a hell of a lot more bout Montero than I but Ive read conflicting things on his ability to play LF. Since there is no chance he will play 1B or 3B for us, it looks like C-DH-LF in that order.

I just cant wait to insert him into our lineup

[MrMulligan]

Originally Posted by E.T.G.

yanks knows a hell of a lot more bout Montero than I but Ive read conflicting things on his ability to play LF. Since there is no chance he will play 1B or 3B for us, it looks like C-DH-LF in that order.

I just cant wait to insert him into our lineup

Montero has improved his catching @ every level...believe in 2011 he'll be platooning @ C/DH with Posada. He may be in NYC by July/Aug depending on AAA/Posada's health/Cervelli's performance.........

Something to think about...Yanks have to be the deepest in MLB @ Catcher.

[MrMulligan]

State of the Yankees: Catcher
For the Yankees, there is no single position with more organizational depth than catcher. Four catchers made the Yankees top 8 prospects according to Baseball America, and likely big league backup Francisco Cervelli wasn’t one of them. Jorge Posada hit 22 home runs last year, Jesus Montero is one of the top hitters in the minor leagues and Gary Sanchez is very quickly opening eyes in the lower level. The state of the Yankees catchers is very good, and might be getting better.
Starter: Jorge Posada
Backup: Francisco Cervelli
Veteran insurance: Mike Rivera
Almost ready: Jesus Montero
Low rising: Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez, J.R. Murphy
A quick snapshot of the organizational depth shows Montero one step away from the big leagues. What it doesn’t show is that Romine is only a step behind. It also doesn’t leave much room for names like P.J. Pilittere (upper-level depth) and Kyle Higashioka (more lower-level talent). Unless the Yankees make a late signing, Cervelli will go into spring training as a heavy favorite to open on the big league bench, while Rivera will provide experience in Triple-A. He could be useful if the Yankees need a short-term place-filler like Kevin Cash was last season.
Worst-case scenario: Pretty much every worst-case scenario involves Posada breaking down because of age and Montero taking a step back defensively. That said, Posada hit very well and stayed pretty healthy last year (except for that May breakdown). Montero seems to be improving, not declining, behind the plate. If something were to happen to Posada early in the year, the Yankees who would probably have to lean on Cervelli and Rivera (or a new addition) to get them through until Montero is ready for the big leagues. That wouldn’t inspire a lot of confidence.
Best-case scenario: Posada repeats last year’s numbers. Cervelli plays like Jose Molina, but with a better bat. Montero is screaming for a call-up by mid-June. Romine emerges as one of the top five catching prospects in baseball. Sanchez is compared to Montero, but Murphy is fighting him for playing time. With this many names and this much talent, the best-case scenario is pretty mouth watering.
The future: Posada is signed through 2011. He’ll certainly be the regular catcher this season, and how much time he gets at designated hitter in 2011 might depend on Montero’s development. By the time Posada’s contract expires, the Yankees could have both Montero and Romine ready to play every day at the big league level.
An attempt at the complete depth chart
An educated guess, but just a guess
New York: Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli
Scranton: Jesus Montero, Mike Rivera, P.J. Pilittere
Trenton: Austin Romine, Kyle Anson
Tampa: Mitch Abeita, Jose Gil
Charleston: Kyle Higashioka, (maybe Jeff Farnham, I actually have no idea)
Extended: Gary Sanchez, J.R. Murphy
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2010/02/0...nkees-catcher/

[P-Unit]

Twins signed Jaque Jones to a minor league deal today. He was drafted by the Twins a long time ago and was out of baseball last year.

That should about wrap up the AL Central for my twinkies, don't you think?

[orangemonk]

word is illitch approved a 2 year 14 mil offer for damon

i would assume he takes it. and i would love this signing. we need a lefty bat and a high OBP% guy. this makes the valverde signing a bit better since we are actually a contender

[E.T.G.]

Johnny Damon's $10 million mistake?

By Marc Carig/The Star-Ledger

February 11, 2010, 10:52AM

Associated PressJohnny Damon appears to be approaching a landing spot.
UPDATE 5:52 p.m.: Well, maybe not...

NEW YORK -- Here's a question I've been hearing a lot lately: In the fallout of his messy divorce with the Yankees, and the subsequent butchering of the situation by agent Scott Boras, how much money has Johnny Damon cost himself?
Well, we're not going to know an exact amount until Damon finally signs. But as his offseason fiasco nears its long-overdue conclusion, we've got enough to paint a pretty clear picture.
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times tweeted on Wednesday that the Braves are offering Damon a one-year contract at $2 million this season and another $2 million deferred. Meanwhile, Mark Bowman of mlb.com tweeted that even with deferred money included, the Braves' offer to Damon is for less than $4 million.
The Braves' reported offer is nowhere close to the one that Damon shot down in December, a proposed two-year, $14 million contract from the Yankees. It's a miscalculation that appears may cost Damon around $10 million. Ouch.
***
The initial (and popular reaction) is to blame Boras. The superagent has been taking a beating lately and perhaps rightfully so. It's clear that he badly misread the market. But Damon himself should share in the blame.
During the 2009 season, Damon's defense suffered. His 36-year-old body took a 143-game pounding. His offensive numbers spiked in a friendly environment. That said, Damon finished hitting .282/.365/.489 while tying a career-high with 24 homers. It couldn't have all been the ballpark.
It was perfectly reasonable for Damon to believe that he deserved to be compensated well. But it was unreasonable for him to hold a hard line.
A few weeks ago, I asked Damon in a text message if the criticism directed at Boras was fair. As you'd expect, he backed his agent. "Not at all," he said. Then, he reiterated that $14 million over two years was not going to be enough to keep him.
I came away from that exchange convinced that Damon was calling the shots, and his decision was to hold firm, a course of action that carried with it a lot of risk.
***
How poorly have things gone this offseason?
Xavier Nady missed virtually all of last season with an elbow injury. Yet, Nady (another Boras client) signed a contract with the Cubs that will pay him $3.3 million, with another $2.2 million possible in incentives. He could be making more than Damon.
Hideki Matsui is essentially the same type of aging, defensively deficient player that the market devalued this offseason. He signed a one-year $6.5 million deal with the Angels in December. He too will almost certainly make more than Damon.
***
Spring training is less than a week away and Damon remains unsigned. But according to some published reports, Damon still harbors seemingly unrealistic hopes for a two-year deal. As astounding as this may seem, his apparent belief that he could attract such an offer only reinforces what we've seen thus far.
By not seriously considering the Yankees' two-year, $14 million offer, Damon made it clear that he simply wouldn't budge from his own self-evaluation. Surely there are many reasons (some of them complex) that led Damon to this position. But it seems that many of those issues stem from a simple unwillingness to reevaluate -- a mistake made even more costly in light of a market that didn't behave as expected.
And for that, he will pay a steep price.

[MrMulligan]

Originally Posted by orangemonk

word is illitch approved a 2 year 14 mil offer for damon

i would assume he takes it. and i would love this signing. we need a lefty bat and a high OBP% guy. this makes the valverde signing a bit better since we are actually a contender

Will Detroit play Damon @ DH? He is a very, very, very weak LF is why I ask...terrible arm and takes bad angles. Without that short porch in RF quite a few of Damon's HRs become long flies, too.
Now, this has to be balanced against his perceived "dissing" by MLB this off-season...could motivate his old ass into another solid year @ the plate......
IMO, Detroit's biggest worry has to be rushing AJax to the bigs...Yanks were not sure he was ready...if the kid is overmatched and has to be sent down does this kill his confidence?
Love the signing of Verlander...

[E.T.G.]

no matter how motivated he is, the 12 yr olds i coached last yr have stronger arms then him.

[MrMulligan]

Originally Posted by E.T.G.

no matter how motivated he is, the 12 yr olds i coached last yr have stronger arms then him.

Never seen so many 1st-3rds or scores from 2nd on "humpback" liners taken on a LF...JD needs to be a full-time DH.

[Seabass]

IMO DET should not bother with Damon, don't think his bat translates well to that field

[E.T.G.]

Originally Posted by MrMulligan

Never seen so many 1st-3rds or scores from 2nd on "humpback" liners taken on a LF...JD needs to be a full-time DH.

Anytime there was a man on 2nd and the ball was hit to LF on any kind of line drive/ ground ball, the run automatically scored. That should not happen in the major leagues and Im not talking gap shots either, Im talking balls hit right fuken to him.

[MrMulligan]

Originally Posted by E.T.G.

Anytime there was a man on 2nd and the ball was hit to LF on any kind of line drive/ ground ball, the run automatically scored. That should not happen in the major leagues and Im not talking gap shots either, Im talking balls hit right fuken to him.

Yanks pitchers probably (secretly) popped a few champagne bottles when they realized JD wouldn't be resigned...

[E.T.G.]

im not going to trash him too much. he came through big at the plate when it mattered most and he was good for the clubhouse and i wouldn't of minded to see him DH this yr but not for $10 milly. gl to johnny where ever he may land

[MrMulligan]

Originally Posted by E.T.G.

im not going to trash him too much. he came through big at the plate when it mattered most and he was good for the clubhouse and i wouldn't of minded to see him DH this yr but not for $10 milly. gl to johnny where ever he may land

JD was everything you mentioned and more (taking 3B in the WS was $$$$) but he was a horrendous LF and only brought one ring to the Bronx in his 4 yrs.....

[orangemonk]

Originally Posted by Seabass

IMO DET should not bother with Damon, don't think his bat translates well to that field

damon is like a .340 career hitter at comerica park through ~160 at bats.....

the tigers dont have a lefty and his high obp will help.
tigers will play him at left mostly and let guillen DH. guillen is just as big of a liability if not more than damon would be.

[Seabass]

Originally Posted by orangemonk

damon is like a .340 career hitter at comerica park through ~160 at bats.....

the tigers dont have a lefty and his high obp will help.
tigers will play him at left mostly and let guillen DH. guillen is just as big of a liability if not more than damon would be.

If they are planning on putting both Damon and Maggs in the outfield at the same time, I take back my words on Scherzer loving his new team.

[orangemonk]

damon > guillen so i dont see the big deal. at least damon has knees

[gsro]

LMFAO, was reading insider and came across this

Late last season, right-handed reliever Kyle Farnsworth began throwing two fastballs -- two-seam and four-seam -- along with his two breaking balls, his slider and a curve that he hasn't thrown a ton of in his big league career.

He's also turned the heat down a notch, which could conceivably help his control and command, and with an arsenal like that, may have a starter's repertoire, and he will get a shot to break into the Kansas City Royals' rotation this spring.

Royals pitching coach Bob McClure thinks that Farnsworth, even at 33, is a better candidate to make the transition than Yankees righty Joba Chamberlain, saying "Chamberlain is still in that mode where he's learning, so he's pitching like his hair's on fire, and it seems to me he's a little more suited for the 'pen at this point," McClure said. "Farnsworth, to me, just went the opposite. He was able to start throwing 92, 93 [mph] and use some two-seamers to where we think it may be something to look at."

Farnsworth figures to battle Brian Bannister and Kyle Davies for one of the final two spots in the starting five, and potentially Luke Hochevar as well. Should Farnsworth win a spot, the odd man out would likely start the year in the bullpen

[MrMulligan]

Originally Posted by gsro

LMFAO, was reading insider and came across this

Late last season, right-handed reliever Kyle Farnsworth began throwing two fastballs -- two-seam and four-seam -- along with his two breaking balls, his slider and a curve that he hasn't thrown a ton of in his big league career.

He's also turned the heat down a notch, which could conceivably help his control and command, and with an arsenal like that, may have a starter's repertoire, and he will get a shot to break into the Kansas City Royals' rotation this spring.

Royals pitching coach Bob McClure thinks that Farnsworth, even at 33, is a better candidate to make the transition than Yankees righty Joba Chamberlain, saying "Chamberlain is still in that mode where he's learning, so he's pitching like his hair's on fire, and it seems to me he's a little more suited for the 'pen at this point," McClure said. "Farnsworth, to me, just went the opposite. He was able to start throwing 92, 93 [mph] and use some two-seamers to where we think it may be something to look at."

Farnsworth figures to battle Brian Bannister and Kyle Davies for one of the final two spots in the starting five, and potentially Luke Hochevar as well. Should Farnsworth win a spot, the odd man out would likely start the year in the bullpen

PLEASE do not bring up Kyle Farnsworth in the company of NYY fans...

[MrMulligan]

Originally Posted by orangemonk

damon > guillen so i dont see the big deal. at least damon has knees

Bro, Damon isn't > Cecil Fielder in LF.......................

[gsro]

Originally Posted by MrMulligan

PLEASE do not bring up Kyle Farnsworth in the company of NYY fans...

ahh no sweat you're still the champs =p this should be some comic relief if anything

[CapTwo]

Mentioning farnsworth and "command" in the same sentence is laughable.
Guy just loves to serve up flat fastballs to be driven out of the park.

[MrMulligan]

Too much farnsy talk...Time to reflect on the careers of two true professionals and (IMO) auto-HOF's:

Next stop, Cooperstown

Frank Thomas was a .301/.419/.555 hitter for his career. He got on base 4,222 times, which is 250 more than Tony Gwynn, 400 more than Mike Schmidt, 800 more than Ernie Banks and a thousand more than Willie Stargell. He was top 10 in RBI nine times, led the league in walks four times and never finished top 10 in strikeouts.
Tom Glavine won 305 games in his career. He won 20 five times, and finished with double-digit wins in 18 of 19 seasons, the only exception being a nine-win season in 2003. He was a Cy Young winner at age 25, an all-star at age 40 and had a 2.16 ERA in eight World Series starts, three of them complete games.
Glavine retired today, accepting a role in the Braves front office. Thomas also made his retirement official, fittingly while getting a lifetime achievement award in Chicago. Two of the best players of the past two decades. We’ll see them in the Hall of Fame in a few years.

[Yanks27Sox7]

Originally Posted by E.T.G.

yanks knows a hell of a lot more bout Montero than I but Ive read conflicting things on his ability to play LF. Since there is no chance he will play 1B or 3B for us, it looks like C-DH-LF in that order.

I just cant wait to insert him into our lineup

report that Montero was working out at 1B.
all he's done is play catcher, really...so it's a work in progress. i'm sure they'll try lots of things, as his bat is too big to not get into the lineup.

Originally Posted by MrMulligan

Montero has improved his catching @ every level...believe in 2011 he'll be platooning @ C/DH with Posada. He may be in NYC by July/Aug depending on AAA/Posada's health/Cervelli's performance.........

Something to think about...Yanks have to be the deepest in MLB @ Catcher.

agree. whatever the montero experiments, i think he ends up platooning w/ posada at C...and w/ whoever @ DH...in 2011.
but we will see his bat in NY @ some point late this season.

the bats big enough to live w/ defensice deficiencies. it's not like posada's a great defensive catcher either.

the infield is out for montero, except to give someone a day off. and LF will be taken by a FA next year...it's why cash is only doing 1 yr deals...those FA classes the next 2 should be phenomenal.

[Yanks27Sox7]

lol @ farnsworth. feel bad for kc...

but the most laughable thing of the week was that Milwaukee is going to erect a statue of Bug Selig in front of their park.
now THAT'S a joke


wish damon well, wherever he lands. did get a ring...but also glad he's moving on. if you're not improving, you're getting worse...

[MrMulligan]

CMW looks like he's headed to the Nats...wish him well. Wang was an immensely underrated (regular season) SP for the Yanks.

• It’s looking like Wang might be going to the Nationals. The Dodgers are reportedly out of the running — or at least, they aren’t offering what Wang and his agent want — and that seems to leave Washington as the front runner. Our old friend, and good friend, Pete Abraham reported this morning that Wang had already decided on the Nationals, and frankly, Pete is pretty well sourced in Wang’s camp.