Monthly Archives: October 2005
In The Sporting News, Ken Rosenthal writes that the Nationals plan to spend heavily on pitching this off-season, targeting LHP Jarrod Washburn, RHP A.J. Burnett, Matt Morris and Kevin Millwood…
…i read this note in the sporting news to say the nats plan to get all four pitchers, which is highly unlikely…i’m guessing rosenthal means these four pitchers are who the nats plan to pursue and they’ll settle on signing one or two…
Rosenthal also mentions that the Nationals could pursue a trade for Marlins OF Juan Pierre…
…if pierre is made available, as many suspect he will be, the yankees will most certainly get involved, as may the red sox depending on what happens with johnny damon…
…people familiar with arizona’s off-season plan say it is very likely one of Chad Tracy, Conor Jackson or Carlos Quentin will be traded for a top pitching prospect…
Spanning 503 at-bats in 2005, the 26–year-old Tracy hit .308 with 27 HR with a .359 OBP…
In the Daily News, Bill Madden suggests that the Yankees could look to trade Carl Pavano…
…easy come, easy go…
…this is a luxury small market teams most definitely do not have…
The Boston Herald writes that the Red Sox have expressed interest in acquiring D’Backs 1B-3B Chad Tracy…
…the buzz out of phoenix is that the d’backs may be looking to cut roughly ten percent off their payroll…leaving it nearly impossible for them to entertain acquiring manny ramirez, as some have speculated they could look to do…
…so, why trade a younger like tracy…
The 25–year-old Tracy hit .308 this season with 27 HR and 78 strike outs compared to 35 walks…
He is entering his third year of Major League service, meaning he will be eligible for arbitration at the end of next season…
…therefore, in a market where offense is thin, it probably makes more sense to move him now, when the d’backs can get solid prospects, as opposed to later when teams will be getting tracy and salary…
In the New York Post, Joel Sherman writes that Bobby Valentine could be a candidate for the managerial job available with the Dodgers, assuming Orel Hershiser is named the team’s new General Manager…
The Atlanta Braves named former Mets RHP Roger McDowell their pitching coach on Saturday, replacing Leo Mazzone…
McDowell was pitching coach of the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate at Las Vegas the past two seasons…
…i can’t wait until he gives bobby cox a hot foot…
According to the New York Post’s George King, the Mets have informed both Tom Gordon and Trevor Hoffman that the team will be interested in their services when each player hits the open market next month…
…speaking
as a mets fan…i like all of this, i just hope the team doesn’t go
over-board on the amount of years they lock up in these types of
relievers…when was the last time a team constructed a bullpen from the
free agent market and it worked…
Negotiations between the Yankees and Hideki Matsui are expected to begin next week, writes the Star-Ledger…
…i’m not sure there is anyone who thinks matsui will not be a yankee next year…
The Boston Globe writes that the agents for Manny Ramirez have told the Red Sox that their client wants to be traded, and that he will not report to spring training unless he is dealt…
…wow…
…wow…wow…
…seeing as manny has ten-and-five rights, he is more or less in the driver’s seat of this discussion…
…he’s been heard to have said he doesn’t want to play for the mets, though remember, that was back during the season, when the mets were stumbling around contention…i have not read anywhere that he feels this way about the mets now…
Ramirez is signed for three more seasons at a total of $57 million…
…few teams will be able to take that on…of the bunch, you figure the mets, angels and yankees are the only ones the sox can seriously talk with…
Tom G writes…
“I keep reading that Steve Trachsel’s option is worth $7 million, but others have said it is $2 million. Which is it?”
First off, keep in mind, the actual information written in a player’s contract is private, and unless he chooses to make it public, what we see in print is always leaked information from a source, typically from management, the player’s agent or a payroll department, to the media…
…that being said…from what i can gather…
The team option held by the Mets on Steve Trachsel’s contract is initially worth $2.5 million, which is a figure you often see reported…
However, if he reaches 220 innings pitched, he will earn $4.5 million in bonus money bringing the total to $7 million, which is a figure you also see reported…
…though i don’t see it in print any place, i believe trachsel also has a $2 million player option, but would never pick it up because he could certainly get more from the mets and on the open market…
