Hot Stove – LA Angels, Andrew Bailey, Miles Head, Matt Garza

The Angels system has thinned out a little from last year but there remain a number of impact talents at the top. Mike Trout is an emerging 5 tool, center field star. Trout does everything well and he does it with enthusiasm. Jean Segura is another prospect with electric tools - though obviously not on Trout's level. Segura has a very potent bat for a middle infielder. Lots of bat speed here and the ball comes off his bat well. His body type is a little stocky and thick for a shortstop, but he's a fast twitch athlete with enough arm for the position. Keeping his weight down and avoiding further hamstring woes will determine if Segura can stick at SS. If he ends up back at second base he's an impact defender there anyway, so it wouldn't hurt his stock all that much. Garrett Richards has some front line stuff and velocity. The problem is his mechanics aren't smooth or consistent and his arm action isn't pretty. This leads to poor command, inconsistent release points and pitches left up. I've seen a lot of questions about why Richards isn't striking out more guys... a lot of it goes back to his mechanics and delivery. His command and execution of his pitches isn't quite there but hitters are still unable to do much because his raw stuff is just so good. If Richards can clean up his flaws the sky is the ceiling, but he could still be an effective starter even if he doesn't. If he really falls apart he could be a late inning reliever. I'm a big fan of Kaleb Cowart. Cowart is a fast twitch athlete with standout athleticism for a 3B and a plus plus arm. He's a switch hitter with a good looking swing and plus power but he needs to improve his approach and pitch recognition. Cowart has the potential to be a star at the hot corner if he can make the adjustments. He showed flashes of that in a dominant start to his pro debut before tiring and cooling off. I thought Florida Gators reliever Nick Maronde was a steal in the 3rd round. I like his chances to stick as a starter with a three pitch mix. Reports from his Pioneer League debut were very impressive. http://bullpenbanter.com/

Andrew Bailey, 27, is under team control through the 2014 season, so the Red Sox won’t be lavishing an eight-figure annual salary on a free agent closer anytime soon. In three seasons, Bailey has struck out a batter per inning, walked 2.53 per nine, surrendered 0.57 HR/9 and posted a 2.74 FIP. Bailey’s ERA (2.07) is much lower than his FIP, but that’s due mostly to absurdly low BABIP totals and sky-high strand rates in 2009 and 2010.  He’ll also be going to a much less pitcher-friendly park. The Coliseum decreases offense by five percent compared to a neutral venue for left-handed hitters and six percent for righties, according to StatCorner. Fenway, meanwhile, has a 104 park factor for lefties and a 107 park factor for right-handers. If healthy, Bailey figures to post a high-twos to low-threes ERA. I’d put him in the same tier as guys like Joakim Soria and Carlos Marmol. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/andrew-bailey-bostons-new-closer/

…Miles Head can hit a baseball. The 20-year-old first baseman proved that last summer, bashing his way to one of the best seasons of anyone in the Red Sox system. Splitting the year between low-A Greenville and high-A Salem, he emerged as a legitimate prospect by hitting .299/.372/.515, with 37 doubles and 22 home runs. Most people didn’t realize he was that good. The native of Brooks, Georgia had been drafted in 2009, in the 26th round, and prior to last year he was just another fresh-faced kid trying to figure out professional pitching. His 2010 season in short-season Lowell yielded just a .240 average and only one home run. Apparently, he was only getting his feet wet. According to Ben Crockett, Boston’s director of player development, the breakthrough was less of a surprise than it was a matter of maturation. “Miles is a lot like Brandon Jacobs,” said Crockett, comparing Head to one of the most-highly-regarded players in the Red Sox system. “They followed a very similar path from 2010 to 2011. He was kind of a raw high-school hitter who took the steps forward last year that were envisioned when he was drafted, much like Jacobs. He’s physically not going to be in the mold of your traditional body that scouts love — he’s not going to win any beauty contests — but the guy can hit. He can get the barrel to the baseball.” http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/miles-head-oakland-bound-prospect/

Despite the newly minted Cubs brass duo of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer — or Hoystein (see what I did there?) — claiming that Matt Garza is the “type of player you want to build an organization around,” they may have been doing so to remind other teams just how good the 28-year-old spark plug actually is. According to David Kaplan, an analyst on Comcast Sports Chicago, the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays are all interested. The Yankees and Red Sox had obvious pitching holes last season (say what you want about Beer and Chickengate 2k11, pitching really hurt the Red Sox). The Blue Jays are slowly adding the pieces to regularly compete in the AL East which we might need to rename the Showstopper Division if all teams are at their best. http://www.throughthefencebaseball.com/garza-talks-heating-up-on-the-hot-stove/15655/

Hot Stove: - Andrew Bailey, Yasmani Grandal, Prince Fielder, J C Romero, Michael Cuddyer

ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Red Sox are still pursuing other relievers, including Andrew Bailey of the Athletics. The Red Sox acquired right-hander Mark Melancon from the Astros on Wednesday, but they could still go in another direction for the ninth inning. While a trade for Bailey is still a possibility, it's not known whether they still have interest in signing Ryan Madson. The Red Sox have also been linked to left-hander Darren Oliver in recent days, though he would pitch in the middle innings. http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/346959/baseball-headlines?r=1

It’s only mid-December. Opening Day is 3½ months away. A number of quality starting pitchers – Gio Gonzalez, Wade Davis and John Danks in the AL; Matt Garza, Jair Jurrjens and Wandy Rodriguez in the NL – remain available in trade. The Reds can dangle two especially attractive prospects, first baseman Yonder Alonso and catcher Yasmani Grandal, and they’ve got other chips as well. Jocketty, while acknowledging that other teams like his players, added, “They just want too many of ’em.” No question, trading for pitching isn’t easy. But Towers just did it, and his perspective on the Diamondbacks’ competitive position is similar to what the Reds’ view should be of their own chances

According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Cubs are "not major players" for Prince Fielder. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported on Thursday afternoon that the Cubs were "increasing the intensity of their pursuit" for the 27-year-old first baseman. But Cafardo is now hearing something completely different. Fielder has also drawn interest from the Mariners, Rangers, Blue Jays, Nationals and Dodgers, so he should have no trouble finding a monster deal even without the involvement of the Cubs. He owns a .929 career OPS and slugged 38 home runs in 2011  http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/346989/baseball-headlines?r=1

Cardinals signed LHP J.C. Romero to a one-year contract. No word yet on the financial terms of the deal. Romero posted a rough 4.01 ERA and 19/15 K/BB ratio in 24 2/3 overall innings this past year for the Phillies and Rockies, but he's still dominant against left-handed hitters and should fit nicely into the St. Louis bullpen. http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/346987/baseball-headlines?r=1

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Rockies have reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Michael Cuddyer. The specifics of the deal aren't available yet, but previous reports have indicated that the Rockies offered Cuddyer a three-year, $27 million contract. If that number is accurate, it's a little surprising that he would wind up signing for just a couple million more than the Twins offered. The 32-year-old corner outfielder batted .284/.346/.459 with 20 home runs and 70 RBI over 584 plate appearances this past year for Minnesota. http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/347002/baseball-headlines?r=1

Danny Muno, Lucas Duda, Bobby V, Andrew Bailey, Josh Thole

11-23-11: -  http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.js p?ymd=20111110&content_id=25949502&fext=.j sp&vkey=news_milb&partnerId=rss_nym -   Shortstop -- Danny Muno, Brooklyn (59 games): Embarking on his first pro season, Muno led all Mets farmhands with at least 200 at-bats in hitting (.355) and was in Ted Williams territory with his torrid second half (.396). The New York-Penn League midseason All-Star also impressed with a 43-39 walk-to-strikeout ratio, while his .466 on-base percentage led the league. "I don't think many players had a better year than Danny Muno. He did everything," DePodesta said, adding that Muno has a chance to continue his career at shortstop.

Lucas Duda should be helped out by the Mets’ decision to move in the fences at Citi Field. While he hit his homers, like Davis, deep enough that the right-field wall might not have been a problem, his ability to hit to the opposite field will likely allow him to keep his swing intact and hit more homers. He also noted that with his limited speed, the fences moving in could help him as much defensively as offensively. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=teamreports-2011-mlb-nym

So the only question becomes, "can he win?" Provided he's learned from his previous experiences with the Mets and is able to make adjustments to how he relates to upper management and to star players, without changing the essence of who he is and how he does things in the room, then he can absolutely win. The good thing about Bobby Valentine's reputation with veteran players is that having been out of the league for ten years, a lot of those veteran players like Cliff Floyd and Tom Glavine who made no bones about how they feel about Bobby are out of the league. So just as the current Mets gave Terry Collins a clean slate coming in and paid little to no attention to his past, the current Red Sox roster will give Valentine a clean slate as well. If Valentine's relationships with star players stay positive and don't deteriorate to the level that it did with Hundley, the Sox will be fine. That's up to both player(s) and manager to work out. Seeing that the reason Valentine's here is to clean out any real or perceived nonsense, it will be up to the players a little bit more. It'll certainly be a culture shock for these players, but if they didn't need it, Valentine wouldn't be here. http://www.metstradamusblog.com/2011-articles/november/eye-black-is-back.html

The Mets are among the at least half-dozen teams that have inquired seriously about Oakland closer Andrew Bailey, a person familiar with those talks told The Post. However, the A’s are selling high on the righty and currently do not believe the Mets have the necessary pieces to obtain Bailey, a two-time All-Star and the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year. The Reds, Rangers and Blue Jays are among the teams that are pursuing Bailey, a New Jersey native who went to college at Wagner. Oakland has made it clear it wants bats, preferably outfield bats, for Bailey, who has 75 saves and a 2.07 ERA over three seasons. In Lucas Duda, Fernando Martinez and Kirk Nieuwenhuis, the Mets have some potential fits. But Martinez’s value has decreased with his continuing inability to stay healthy. Scouts from opposing teams see Nieuwenhuis as either a complementary starter or fourth outfielder. And, for now, Duda is the Mets’ starting right fielder and probably too valuable to them to include in a trade for a closer.  http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/mets_eye_bailey_qvOvEnSpPlng8QgrlN9x0I#ixzz1fHs8OdB4

Barring injury, Josh Thole is almost certainly going to catch more often than any other Met in 2012. There are few everyday catchers available as free agents and fewer available in a trade the Mets would make. It could be a good thing; in a perfect world, Thole will get better and better the more he plays. But I’m concerned that he’s already taken his athleticism as far as possible with the old school receiving techniques that the Mets organization taught him; he might improve using different mechanics, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll have the opportunity to learn them. Further, Thole may not have the typical, strong personality of a backstop. While he works hard, plays hard, can handle the physicality of the position, and isn’t afraid to get dirty, his body language and actions display him more as a “follower” rather than a leader, and he seems to lack confidence; in fact, he’s borderline meek. Catchers usually have a more “type A” personality — one who takes charge and commands respect. That’s generally not something that can be learned — you either have it, or you don’t. http://www.metstoday.com/7234/11-12-offseason/2011-evaluation-josh-thole