Jan 1st 2009 4:15PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
It’s no secret that the Giants need offensive help. They’ve finished 15th in the National League in scoring two years running. It’s also become abundantly clear that they’re gearing up for a run at the NL West crown in 2009, having signed Randy Johnson, Edgar Renteria, Jeremy Affeldt and Bobby Howry this offseason.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise then, that San Francisco is making a run at the biggest and best bat still available.
The Giants, the NL West’s most active team this winter, are quietly making an aggressive play for free agent Manny Ramirez, according to a major-league source.Acquiring Ramirez would come with a number of headaches — from simply having the mercurial slugger on their roster to likely having to trade one of their incumbent outfielders (Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, Dave Roberts). But all in all, he’d probably be worth it for a team that isn’t all that far from seriously contending. They play in a soft division where 85 wins could easily equal a playoff berth.

That’s especially true when you consider three factors: (1) the market for Ramirez is severely depressed because of the number of all-hit, no-field corner bats on the market, (2) signing him would simultaneously improve the Giants’ offense and weaken the rival Dodgers and (3) it would save GM Brian Sabean from having to engineer a complex trade for a bat that would cost him one of his top young pitchers like Jonathan Sanchez.

Sign Manny? Sure, why not? It’s not like folks in San Francisco aren’t used to having a sometimes-surly, Hall of Fame slugger prowling around in left field after all.

Jan 1st 2009 7:20PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
In an attempt to buy some credibility after a 102-loss season, the Nationals made a very serious run at Mark Teixeira, becoming one of the final three bidders for the slugger before ultimately losing out on him because they couldn’t offer a chance to win right away.

That doesn’t mean they’re through trying to improve though, as MLB.com’s Bill Ladson writes. Not only are the Nationals in serious pursuit of Milton Bradley — who seems destined to sign with the Cubs sooner or later — but they’re in on second baseman Orlando Hudson and first baseman/outfielder Adam Dunn.

It seems unlikely that the Nats will be able to secure all three players, and the interest in Bradley doesn’t seem to make a ton of sense since their outfield is already pretty full, but it doesn’t seem all that crazy that they’d come away with two of the three.

It’s clear that Washington has money to spend, and in a cautious market like this, that makes them awfully powerful. Put Hudson and Dunn on the right side of the Nationals’ infield and suddenly there’s a semblance of respectable offense in the nation’s capital. It wouldn’t be enough to take them seriously as a contender — not with such a lousy pitching staff — but at least they wouldn’t be a laughingstock.

Jan 1st 2009 9:30PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
When we last heard from home run king Barry Bonds, he was telling a pesky reporter from TMZ that he wasn’t retired outside a of Los Angeles restaurant.

Well Bonds hasn’t let go of his desire to play again, according to John Shea of the , but there’s now a complicating factor — the slugger recently had surgery on his hip. He underwent the procedure so that he’d be able to play in 2009, but it could negatively affect his chances to actually make a timely comeback.
A source familiar with the operation said it was conducted by Dr. Arthur Ting and that Bonds won’t be 100 percent before spring training but that he could be recovered by Opening Day.Barry Bonds is not retired in the same way that I’m not retired. We’ll both put on a uniform for any team that wants to pay us, but no one’s actually calling. To be clear, I think Bonds got a raw deal last year. He should have gotten a chance to keep playing somewhere. But he’s another year older. He actually is going to go on trial this March. And now you can add a serious health ailment to the list of concerns that come with offering him a contract.

Bonds is nothing, if not defiant until the very end, but even for him, it’s probably time to put to bed the idea of him ever donning a major league uniform again.

Dec 31st 2008 1:50PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
When the offseason opened, Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes were the best free-agent closers on the market. K-Rod left Anaheim for Flushing and $37 million in Met money, so the Angels just dropped down to No. 2 on the list and signed Fuentes.

It’s a two-year deal with a club option for a third for Fuentes. He posted 30 saves, his third time notching at least that many, to go with a 2.73 ERA in Colorado last season and converted his final 17 opportunities of the season. Fuentes stands 6-foot-4 and throws left-handed, which means the ninth inning will have a very different look than it did when Rodriguez was setting the single-season saves record.

The financial details haven’t been released, but this is a bit of a head-scratcher for the Halos. Fuentes is a fine pitcher, but they have more pressing needs in the lineup now that Mark Teixeira has also left town for the bright lights of the Big Apple. Scot Shields or Jose Arrendondo could have filled the closer role for less money than Fuentes. If the desire for a brand-name closer exists and Fuentes’ money winds up approaching $12 million per, why not just re-sign K-Rod?

That said, the bullpen in Anaheim is looking sound as a pound. The question now is if the lineup and rotation can hand them enough leads to make it worthwhile.
Buster Olney reports it is a two-year, $17.5 million deal with a $9 million option. At those prices Fuentes is a true bargain and the deal looks much better for the Angels.

Dec 31st 2008 2:20PM by Jacob Wheatley-Schaller (author feed)
The Indians finally filled the gaping hole in their infield on Thursday, acquiring second baseman Mark DeRosa from the Cubs in exchange for minor league pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer, and John Gaub.

Where DeRosa fits in on Cleveland’s infield isn’t entirely clear, but he’ll be an upgrade regardless of how it shakes out. It’s possible that Jhonny Peralta will be moved to third base, allowing defensive wizard Asdrubal Cabrera to slide over to short, and DeRosa to play second. The idea that Peralta, a very poor defender at shortstop, could move down the defensive spectrum has been rumored for a few years now, and this deal may finally give the Indians the opportunity to actually do it.

The Indians also may choose to keep their two middle infielders at their current positions and have DeRosa play third, where he’s played sparingly throughout his career. Either way, they’re likely going to need to find a replacement for him after 2009, as he’s on the last year of a three year, $13 million deal that pays him $5.5 million this coming season.

In Stevens, the Cubs get a power bullpen arm who struck out 81 batters in just 58.1 innings last year, split between Double-A and Triple-A. The 24-year old should slide right into their major league ‘pen. Archer and Gaub are both in the low minors. Archer didn’t have a very good year with Lake County, but he just recently turned 20; Gaub has better numbers, but at 23 is very old for A-ball.

Dec 31st 2008 3:12PM by Jon Bois (author feed)
Don’t believe me? Read the headline, chumps!
Here’s the formidable Opening Night talent roster: studio hosts Greg Amsinger, Victor Rojas and Matt Vasgersian, reporters Trenni Kusnierek and Hazel Mae, insider Jon Heyman and studio analysts Barry Larkin, Al Leiter, Joe Magrane, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds and Mitch Williams.
Yep. Jon Heyman. If you’re not familiar with Mr. Heyman, this should fill you in.

This afternoon’s Dugout is after the jump.Continue Reading

Dec 31st 2008 4:00PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
The Baltimore Orioles have a hole at first base, but plugging it with an albatross doesn’t seem like the best choice. Apparently they disagree with that sentiment, because they’ve reportedly had some discussion with the agent of Richie Sexson. Hey, I can see that … you just lost out on Mark Teixeira so you go out and please the fans by bringing in a guy the Mariners cut last season. That’s really like the same player, no? The Orioles fans should be .

After a promising beginning to his career — where he was a stud for five seasons — Sexson has virtually evaporated over the past two seasons. He even — according to several reports — became a bad clubhouse guy in his last days in Seattle. We’re talking about a guy who went .221/.321/.382 last season in stints with the Mariners and Yankees. He was 33 years old. I guess I could see a lowly team like the O’s signing him to a cheap, incredibly incentive-laden contract with the desperate hope that he returns to his 45-homer form.

Still, going into the season with Richie Sexson as your starting first baseman is like waving a white flag, especially when you are competing with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays.Continue Reading

Dec 31st 2008 4:15PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)

Salary Cap. There’s not a more controversial phrase in baseball economics. The prospect of one hung over the strike of 1994 and 1995 before the owners and players managed to settle without implementing a true cap. Since then, baseball has instituted a luxury tax that acts as a sort of soft cap, but it’s set high enough that it only really affects the Yankees annually, and they regard it in the same manner that a rhinoceros regards a mosquito.

For the most part, a salary cap hasn’t been part of the conversation in baseball for several years. The Yankees ridiculous spending spree this winter, however, has changed things. In the days and weeks since their signings of CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and Astros owner Drayton McLane have once again begun to call for a salary cap. They’re the only two owners to have spoken directly on this issue, but it’s hard to think they’re alone.

A salary cap in baseball is not a simple thing. In most sports, there’s only one line in labor negotiations: the line between the players and the owners. In baseball, there’s actually a three-way divide between the players, the “big-market” owners (for lack of a better term), and the “small-market” owners. The MLBPA isn’t the only thing that stands in the way of a cap. Some of the owners (think John Henry, the Steinbrenners, naturally, the Wilpons, Frank McCourt, Arte Moreno) would likely be opposed to one as well. After the jump, we’ll look at all the obstacles and problems with implementing a cap.Continue Reading

Dec 31st 2008 4:46PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
In the past 24 hours the Cubs have traded Mark DeRosa and Jason Marquis, while acquiring a handful of prospects and a versatile, switch-hitting, super-sub in Aaron Miles.

So the Cubs are shedding payroll and stockpiling prospects. Is this a team that doesn’t think it can compete this year, or is this a team in desperate economic shape needing to save money? I’d answer neither, which means these moves are not the end of Jim Hendry’s offseason activity. Obviously, the next move on the docket is a left-handed power hitter to play right field — speculation continues to center around Milton Bradley.

Diving deeper, however, makes me start to get my hopes up for Jake Peavy again. What were the problems during the winter meetings on the Cubs not landing Peavy? Payroll and the lack of trading chips. Check and check. Adding Miles gives the Cubs someone who can back up infielders Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Theriot, and Mike Fontenot — who I’m guessing gets the everyday gig at second base. With this in mind, Ronny Cedeno is free to be dealt to the Padres as a shortstop replacement for Khalil Greene.Continue Reading

Dec 31st 2008 10:00PM by B (author feed)
The New Years Eve edition of the Dugout could’ve very easily been Delmon and Dmitri Young choking the hell out of a Baby New Year, but I wanted to see the “Roger Clemens Implicated In The Mitchell Report” graphic one more time before the ball dropped. Hello again, old friend.

For the next rotted rung on the Roger Clemens Ladder to Hell, a Houston area hospital has decided to remove Roger’s name from the sports medicine institute he paid for. You couldn’t remove Roger’s name from that report to the right? You couldn’t remove it from Mindy McCready’s (assumedly) gigantic 80s looking Zack Morris cell phone?

The last Dugout of the year is after the jump.Continue Reading