Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Marlins "are being very aggressive" on Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reported Friday that the Marlins might not pursue Cespedes as hard as originally thought, but Cafardo evidently is hearing differently. Cafardo adds that the Nationals are "right behind" the Marlins, the Phillies "are always sneaky" and the Cubs, Red Sox, and Yankees "appear intrigued by his tools." Cespedes is expected to be granted free agency in the early part of January.
12:$10M, 13:$10M, 14:$16M, 15:$22M, 16:$22M, 17:$22M, 18:$22M club option - Do you see what I see? The Marlins are paying him a fraction of what the contract is worth over the next two years when they’re likely to get the best production from Reyes at age 29-30; then the salary jumps significantly to $16 million, then to $22 million for three straight years. This is eerily similar to the backloaded contract they gave to Carlos Delgado in the winter of 2004-2005. The Marlins only paid Delgado $4 million in 2005. They didn’t win and without a no-trade clause, Delgado was traded to the Mets—the team he’d spurned as a free agent the prior winter—and said negative things (there should be a club for this) about the way he was approached by Mets assistant Tony Bernazard. The Mets were on the hook for the remaining guarantee of $41 million after the Marlins kicked in $7 million in the trade. http://paullebowitz.com.previewyoursite.com/blog/?p=3299
Morosi lists the Cubs as a possible destination for Prince Fielder but doesn't think the Cubs will get too heavily involved because they aren't desperate to win a World Series in 2012 and could focus on prospect Mike Rizzo instead. Personally, I prefer a long-term solution like Rizzo who should be at his peak at about the same time the Cubs should (will) be peaking. The only question with Rizzo is finding a match with the Padres in terms of teams of dealing players that makes sense for both sides. http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2011/12/re-heating-the-cubs-hot-stove-rizzo-lahair-marmol-garza-cespedes
Anthony Rizzo has long been on the prospect radar, having been selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 6th round and 205th overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft. Rizzo should have gotten a full season of professional ball in 2008 to begin his career, but that was cut short after only 87 plate appearances and 21 games. He was diagnosed and began treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma in April of 2008. After undergoing chemotherapy, Rizzo was determined to be cancer free and was able to resume his baseball career in 2009. Upon returning to baseball, Rizzo began to show promise very quickly. His 2009 season demonstrated that he could make decent contact posting a commendable .297 batting average. Additionally, he showed good patience at the plate with 50 free passes and a nice bb/k ratio of 50/99. In 2010, his offensive game began to change by showing a sharp increase in power production. The home run total of 12 in 2009 jumped to 25 in 2010. Likewise the 2009 rbi total of 66 was then dramatically increased to 100 rbi’s in the 2010 season. That power production came at the expense of a drop in batting average to .260 and a sharp increase in 132 strikeouts from the previous years 99. The success of 2010 caused the prospect world to take notice and we put him at #46 on our 2011 top prospect list . http://baseballinstinct.com/2011/12/26/prospect-instinct-anthony-rizzo-1b-san-diego-padres/#more-16927
The Texas Rangers have released LHP Kasey Kiker, according to ESPN's Richard Durrett. He was Texas' first-round pick, 12th overall in 2006. Kiker had impressive seasons from 2007-2009 as he ascended from the Class-A Midwest League to Double-A, but the wheels then fell off and he's posted an ERA over 7 in two consecutive seasons pitching mainly out of the bullpen. His command completely deserted him, as he walked more batters than he struck out over his last two seasons. Another team will likely take a chance on the pedigree and hope they can solve his command issues. He was a Double-A midseason All-Star in 2009, and one can only think there might be some health issues that have contributed to Kiker's demise. http://www.mlbprospectportal.com
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