DODGERS AROUND the MLB Thread

heard pretty much the same
except people tell me to pattern myself after you chris
drives the bkitches wild

 

:drool: :rubhands:

Royals Appear Unlikely To Extend James Shields​

By Jeff Todd [March 4 at 3:18pm CST]​

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The Royals are not engaged in extension negotiations with top starter James Shields and have no plans to do so at present, reports ESPN.com's Jim Bowden (Twitter links). Meanwhile, Shields himself is not interested in holding talks during the season.​

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In the aggregate, then, it appears quite likely that Shields will reach free agency when his deal expires after the 2014 season. As Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star opines, Shields could cost the Royals more to lock up now than he might ultimately achieve on the open market. Though his current deal proved quite favorable to his employers, he has earned nearly $40MM in his career and is not under financial pressure to settle for less this time around. And Shields is nearly certain to come with draft pick compensation attached; while the effect on his market figures to be small relative to his overall value, that could change with a down year. While the team is not ruling out an eventual re-signing, says McCullough, it appears that any such attempt would come after the current season.​

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Entering his age-32 campaign, Shields has continued to be a top-level workhorse since joining the Royals last year. Though Kansas City paid a dear price to bring him in -- shipping out top prospects Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi in the deal -- the club appears content to let him reach the open market. Part of that fact relates to Shields' cost, of course. KC may also prefer both to see how Shields ages and how its own young arms mature.​

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D'fags Sign Oliver Perez​

By Steve Adams [March 9 at 2:58pm CST]​

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SUNDAY: Perez passed his physical and the deal is now official, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.​

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FRIDAY: The Diamondbacks have reached an agreement with left-hander Oliver Perez on a two-year, $4.25MM deal, pending physical. Perez, a client of Scott Boras, will earn $1.75MM for the coming year and $2.5MM in 2015.​

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Perez, 32, has revitalized his career over the past two seasons as a reliever with the Mariners. He has tallied a 3.16 ERA with 10.7 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 31.8 percent ground-ball rate in 82 2/3 innings in that time. Opposing left-handers have batted .254/.346/.316 against him in that time, while righties have had a tougher time getting on base but slugged at a higher clip with a .237/.309/.411 batting line.​

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Prior to the 2009 season, Perez famously signed an ill-fated three-year, $36MM contract to remain with the Mets coming off a pair of solid seasons in New York. He would go on to pitch just 112 1/3 innings over the life of that contract, yielding a 6.81 ERA with more walks (100) than strikeouts (99). He didn't pitch in the Major Leagues at all in 2011 before his resurgence with Seattle the following year.​

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Left-handed relief was an area of need for the D'Backs throughout much of the 2013 campaign and was one of the factors that led Arizona GM Kevin Towers to make an intra-division trade that sent Ian Kennedy to the Padres in exchange for lefty Joe Thatcher, relief prospect Matt Stites and a compensation round B draft choice. However, Thatcher struggled mightily in Arizona, pitching to a 6.75 ERA in 9 1/3 innings for the Snakes.​

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Towers has done quite a bit of wheeling and dealing in regards to his bullpen this season, as he dealt Heath Bell (and most of his salary) to the Rays in a three-team deal that also included the Reds and also flipped blocked third base prospect Matt Davidson to the White Sox for closer Addison Reed. Additionally, Arizona claimed lefty Santos Rodriguez off waivers from the White Sox and locked up right-handers Brad Ziegler and Josh Collmenter with a two-year contract extensions.​

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Perez was the final unsigned left-handed reliever to have seen significant big league action in 2013. Peers such as Boone Logan, Javier Lopez, Matt Thornton, Scott Downs, Manny Parra and J.P. Howell also signed multi-year deals on the open market.​

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and right on cue...

• David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears from a person connected to the Royals that the Braves may now be making a run at Ervin Santana (Twitter link). In addition to Medlen's injury, Brandon Beachy left today's Spring Training start with biceps tightness.

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not looking good for the bravos...

Kris Medlen Believed To Have Ligament Damage​

By Steve Adams [March 11 at 10:43am CST]​

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Braves right-hander Kris Medlen received his MRI results Tuesday and consulted with team doctors before GM Frank Wren addressed the media. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was on-hand as Wren revealed to the public that the MRI showed "some involvement in the ligament." However, MRIs on patients that have already undergone Tommy John surgery are difficult to read, and Medlen will therefore undergo further tests and meet with Dr. James Andrews to get another opinion before determining if surgery is required.​

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While Wren wouldn't comment on specific names, he admitted that the team is exploring the starting pitching market for additional help. O'Brien reports that the Braves have definitely reached out to Ervin Santana as one possibility. Wren called the Braves' mounting pitching injuries "worrisome," though the team believes Brandon Beachy's biceps tightness to be routine for players who have undergone elbow surgeries in the past (per O'Brien's Twitter).​

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Santana threw a two-inning simulated game yesterday and may wait a day or two before signing, Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reported last night. In that report, he added that financial concern is the main deterrent for the Braves, whose primary competition is the Orioles and Blue Jays. Baltimore has offered a one-year, $13MM deal plus incentives, while Toronto is offering one year and $14MM without incentives. The Twins have offered a three-year deal reported to be in the $30-33MM range, but Santana's preference is a one-year deal, as he could essentially guarantee himself roughly that amount over two years by signing for roughly $14MM for this season and getting a qualifying offer next offseason.​

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The potential loss of Medlen would be a devastating blow for a Braves rotation that already lost Tim Hudson to free agency and could be without Mike Minor for the early portion of April. Atlanta was projected to have a rotation of Medlen, Minor, Beachy, Julio Teheran and Alex Wood to open the season, with Gavin Floyd eventually slotting in once recovered from Tommy John surgery. Now, they may have to turn to Freddy Garcia, David Hale and other internal candidates, which would be less than ideal for a team expecting to contend in 2014.​

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because of this...

Braves right-hander Kris Medlen told reporters, including MLB.com's Mark Bowman (Twitter link), that he has spent the past two days preparing himself for a second Tommy John surgery. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says there is a "high likelihood" that Medlen will need Tommy John. O'Brien relays that Medlen was "angry and in denial" after injuring his arm on Sunday; he threw two more pitches before exiting the game (Twitter links).​

this...

Braves Sign Ervin Santana​

By Steve Adams [March 12 at 7:49am CST]​

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Having seen their rotation come into question due to a host of injuries, the Braves made what would have been a relatively shocking move just one week ago; Atlanta announced this morning that they have signed right-hander Ervin Santana to a one-year deal that is reportedly worth $14.1MM -- the exact amount of the qualifying offer he rejected back in November.​

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It's been a rocky offseason for Santana to say the least. Coming off one of the finest seasons of his career, the 31-year-old entered free agency with his eyes on a large multi-year contract, but like fellow free agents Matt Garza and Ubaldo Jimenez, found that teams preferred to wait out the Masahiro Tanaka signing before turning to that trio of top MLB free agents.​

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Jimenez and Santana, in particular, found suitors difficult to come by due to the compensatory draft picks attached to their names after rejecting qualifying offers. When Jimenez eventually struck a four-year deal worth $50MM (the same amount Garza was guaranteed), Santana was left as the odd man out on the free agent market. He held out for his four-year deal shortly but ultimately set a new course and targeted a one-year deal with an eye toward signing as quickly as possible. That new goal came with the news that he was splitting from agent Bean Stringfellow of Proformance. However, Santana (and Jose Bautista) stuck with agent Jay Alou, who resigned from Proformance shortly after the news.​

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Santana posted a 3.24 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a career-best 46.2 percent ground-ball rate in 211 innings for the Royals last year -- his lone season with Kansas City. Royals GM Dayton Moore acquired him from the Angels last offseason in what amounted to a salary dump after Santana posted an ERA north of 5.00 in 2012 and was rewarded for his faith in a bounce-back campaign. Santana now has a sub-4.00 ERA in three of his past four seasons and has seen his ability to produce ground-balls steadily increase since 2011.​

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The Braves didn't look like a team that needed a great deal of pitching after a 2013 season in which their starters finished sixth in the Majors with a combined 3.51 ERA, tied for sixth with a 3.58 FIP and also tied for sixth with a 3.65 xFIP. However, the team saw Tim Hudson depart via free agency and sign with the Giants, and more recently, they've been beset by injuries in their rotation. Kris Medlen left his Sunday start and is believed to have ligament damage in his right elbow that could require surgery. Brandon Beachy is experiencing tightness in his biceps after undergoing a pair of elbow surgeries (one of which was Tommy John) in the past two years, and Mike Minor could miss a couple of weeks to open the season after urinary tract surgery this offseason.​

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By making this signing, the Braves are sacrificing their No. 26 overall selection in the draft, though that loss is lessened somewhat by the fact that they will have the No. 32 overall pick after losing Brian McCann to the Yankees as a free agent. The signing also means that Royals will now gain the No. 28 selection in the 2014 draft, as Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweeted over the weekend. That will give Kansas City four of the first 58 picks in this year's draft.​

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Santana also drew heavy interest from the Blue Jays, Orioles (even after the Jimenez signing) and the Twins late in his free agency. Minnesota even offered a three-year deal believed to be worth $30-33MM, but Santana held firm to his desire for a one-year deal, believing himself capable of posting a big season and re-entering the free agent market next offseason. Santana, of course, could find himself in the same situation next year, but the value of next year's qualifying offer could be north of $15MM. As such, he's likely to earn at least $29MM over the next two seasons anyway, meaning Minnesota's offer is just $1-4MM greater over one more year.​

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Beyond that, the Braves have a tight payroll and had to make a clear exception to sign Santana this season; they may not be able to afford the risk of extending a qualifying offer, even after a solid season. Finally, another strong year would give Santana back-to-back seasons of well above-average performance and four seasons of a sub-4.00 ERA in five tries. That could be enough to persuade teams that were wary of his rough 2012 and/or the medical reports on his elbow to show interest.​

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any deal should be contingent on them taking that piece of league

 

• Longtime starting pitcher Livan Hernandez will file his official retirement papers tomorrow, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Hernandez said that he had been waiting for "the right time" to make his final decision.

meanwhile, overheard in the front office of dodger stadium...

"Hey Stan, I've found a legitimate starter we could add for 3 years/$30MM. What do you think?!!!..."

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• Manny Ramirez last saw MLB action with the Rays (briefly), and of course will always be associated with the Red Sox. As he continues to look for another chance at the bigs, the slugger spoke with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, acknowledging and expressing contrition for his prior PED use. Ramirez says he could play a role similar to that of Raul Ibanez on the field and in the clubhouse.

paraphrasing the band supertramp...

"...dreamer, you stupid fucken dreamer
you had to shoot some roids in your butt, oh no
i said, far out... what a day, a year, a life it was
too bad… you fucken had it coming to you
now there's nothing left you can do..."

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more ignorant than racist
although the two often go hand-in-hand ...

Mets' Pitching Coach apologize for racial slur​

Associated Press | 3 hours ago AP​

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) -- Dan Warthen and the Mets apologized after the team's pitching coach used a racial slur in describing the translator for New York pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.​

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''I apologize for the thoughtless remarks that I made yesterday in the clubhouse,'' Warthen said in statement released by the team Wednesday. ''They were a poor attempt at humor but were wrong and inappropriate in any setting. I am very sorry.''​

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Warthen approached translator Jeff Cutler, a Japanese-American, on Monday and apologized for jokingly calling him a ''Chinaman'' the previous day, The Wall Street Journal reported.​

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Warthen's conversation with Cutler occurred in front of Journal reporter Stu Woo, who is Chinese-American. Woo spoke with Cutler on Tuesday and asked the Mets to respond, and Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Woo should meet with Warthen and Horwitz on Wednesday. Horwitz told Woo on Wednesday that Warthen would not comment.​

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The Mets released apologies from Warthen and general manager Sandy Alderson shortly after the Journal posted its story Wednesday.​

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The 61-year-old Warthen pitched in the major leagues from 1975-78. He has been the Mets' pitching coach since 2008.​

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''On behalf of the entire organization, I apologize for the insensitive remarks made by of one of our staff members,'' Alderson said in his statement. ''The remarks were offensive and inappropriate and the organization is very sorry.''​

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Warthen made the trip to Viera on Thursday for the Mets' game against Washington. Alderson declined to say whether Warthen would face punishment.​

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''I issued the statement. I put out the apology,'' Warthen said Thursday. ''I'm sticking by the statement. I already made the apologies to all the appropriate people. I don't think there's any ill feelings by any of the people in this room. I made a mistake. I live up to it. It will not happen again.''​

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Royals To Sign Brett Tomko​

By Steve Adams [March 13 at 5:33pm CST]​

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The Royals and right-hander Brett Tomko have agreed to a minor league contract, according to a tweet from Tomko's brother, Scott. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (via Twitter) that Tomko will earn $510K if he makes the big league club. Tomko is represented by Full Circle Sports Management. Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets that Tomko, who was clocked as high as 93 mph in a bullpen session today, is willing to pitch at Triple-A and did not receive any opt-out clauses in his deal.​

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• The Tigers have brought back lefty Nate Robertson on a minor league deal, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com (via Twitter). Now 36, Robertson spent five years as a mainstay in the Detroit rotation between 2004-08, but has not pitched in the bigs since 2010. Last year, in 50 1/3 Triple-A innings with the Rangers organization, Robertson put up a 3.04 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.

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