The Cincinnati Reds are
close to signing left handed pitcher Jeff Francis to
a minor league deal, according to Ken Rosenthal. Jon Heyman is now reporting
the deal is official. Numbers have not been released yet. Francis, 31, enters
his 8th season with a career 4.78 ERA. He spent his first six seasons with the
Colorado Rockies, but was out for the entire 2009 season following a surgery on
his left shoulder (that's the important one!). While he's no Edwin Jackson,
he's good for 180+ innings when healthy -- striking out 6 and walking 3 per
game. He spent 2011 with the Kansas City Royals, going 6-16 with a 4.82 ERA. http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2012/1/25/2735489/cincinnati-reds-to-sign-jeff-francis
Here's a look at Wilson
Valdez' numbers from the past two seasons with the Phillies: 2010 - 20 GIDP -
363 PA (5.5% of all plate appearances ended in 2 outs.) 2011 - 13 GIDP - 300 PA
(4.3%) During those two years, Baseball's top GIDP victims were Billy Butler
(32 in 2010) and Albert Pujols (29 in 2011). Had Wilson Valdez reached the same
plateau of PAs in each season, in 2010 he would have set a new Major League
Baseball record for GIDPs in a season with 37.35. We're talking about a sport
that's been around for 140+ years and Wilson Valdez would have been the all
time season leader in grounding into DPs had he been an every day player! In
2011, had he reached Pujols' PA numbers he would have been a close second in
all of baseball with 28.21. Unfortunately, Valdez can't support his GIDP
numbers with the same OPS numbers that Pujols puts up! http://www.droppedstrikethree.com/2012/01/saying-goodbye-to-double-play-machine.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
I think Jesus Montero could struggle at the major league level
in 2012, particularly if he continues to tinker with his setup and swing
mechanics, as finding consistency and rhythm is vital to execution at that
level; advanced arms can feast on hitters who are out of sync; hitters who are
constantly altering their stance or setup. I think he’s capable of making
adjustments, and his gifts with the bat (bat control, hand-eye coordination,
etc.) should keep his head above water even in the event of mechanical setback.
The end result will please fans of the Mariners for years to come, and Yankees
fans can pine for their former flame from afar while they erect shrines to
Michael Pineda, a pitcher so promising that I would consider having his
children as well http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15916
The Yankees settled
their final salary arbitration case, agreeing with left-hander Boone Logan on a one-year contract worth $1,875,000. The
agreement Thursday was just below the midpoint between the $2.1 million he had
asked for last week in arbitration and the $1.7 million New York had offered.
But Logan can earn a $25,000 bonus if he appears in 55 games this season. Logan
was 5-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 64 games last year and earned $1.2 million http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/01/26/boone-logan-and-yankees-agree-at-1875000/
Jameson Taillon, Pirates: Taillon was the No. 2
overall pick in the 2010 Draft for good reason -- he was a big, strong high
school right-hander with outstanding stuff and a better feel for pitching than
many prepsters. While the Pirates maintained a strict innings limit on Taillon
in his first season, nothing happened to dampen the excitement for his future.
He has the potential to have four above-average or plus pitches -- fastball,
curve, slider and changeup -- and can throw all of them for strikes. He'll move
up a level in 2012, and with the gloves coming off a bit, could start pushing
his way up the ladder more quickly. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120112&content_id=26330142&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26330142
I thought
that most in the scouting world agreed that Montero would never have the
stuff to catch every day in the big leagues. But it turns out I was wrong. I
know, shocking. But in an informal survey I did of some high-level scouts, most
actually thought he’d eventually be OK behind the plate. No one was ready to
etch his name on Gold Gloves, but those I talked to made comparisons to Javy
Lopez (he came up several times), Jorge Posada and, of course, Mike Piazza
(Yes, many think Montero’s bat could be THAT good). Here’s some of what they
had to say: “There are a bunch of ex-catchers that made their mark with their
bats and figured out the catching position the more they played. Remember, this
kid is 22 years old and he can really throw. That’s a good start for his
continued development.” http://minors.mlblogs.com/2012/01/17/thoughts-on-the-montero-deal-and-much-much-more/
The Yankees avoided arbitration with the
right-hander Phil Hughes on Monday by agreeing
on a one-year, $3.2 million contract, with performance bonuses, for the 2012
season. But that may not be the final transaction for Hughes this year. Hughes had a disappointing 2011 season, going
5-5 with a 5.79 earned run average, after winning 18 games in 2010. His spot in
the rotation is now in doubt after the Yankees signed Hiroki Kuroda and traded
for Michael Pineda, both right-handers who will be in the rotation http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/
In Colorado, Seth Smith was largely limited to a platoon role,
but it was one he filled quite well. In three seasons and change, he managed a
.275/.348/.485. Even with the lift provided by Coors Field, Smith was a clearly
above-average hitter, sporting a 113 wRC+. Although his fantasy numbers will
certainly take a hit on the move from Colorado to pitcher-friendly Oakland, the
characteristics that made him an above-average hitter — good (not great) power
and slightly above-average contact and walk rates — shouldn’t disappear. The
bigger question will be how Smith handles everyday at-bats should the Athletics
commit to him in a full-time role in left field. The Rockeis were careful to
limit his exposure to left-handed pitching — of his 1449 career plate
appearances, 1209 (83.4%) have come against right-handers, as opposed to the
league average of 70.4%. Smith’s splits show this was done for good reason — in
his 240 plate appearances against righties, Smith only owns a .202/.269/.319
line. Although the split is likely exaggerated due to sample size, the split is
so huge — 115 points of wOBA — it isn’t difficult to envision Smith struggling
mightily against right-handers in an expanded role. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/oakland-finishes-outfield-with-seth-smith/
1. I hope 1B Ike Davis made the right decision. He’s decided to work out for a few more days, rest for a month, and avoid surgery. If his decision was wrong, he’s lost for opening day. It’s imperative that the lefty bats of Davis and Duda are in the same lineup next spring, sandwiching David Wright.
2. The Mets need to start the best defensive outfielder they have in the system in centerfield next spring. Right now that’s Jason Bay. Lucas Duda’s bat has to be in the lineup and he needs as much help as he can out there. I played third. My shortstop was Paul Altruda. Paul knew I moved better to my left, so I hugged the line. He covered that by playing a little deeper and closer to second base. I would go out and get myself a $3-4mil/yr. defensive specialist in free agency, put him in center until Matt den Dekker matures, leave Bay in LF.
3. My four year man-love with Jesus Montero looks like it has come to an end. There’s no way in hell that the Yankees are going to trade him after hitting two home runs on Labor Day. This is probably your future Yankee DH for the next five years minimum.
4. Not only did pitcher Phil Humber throw seven scoreless innings on Monday, but he threw it against Minnesota, the team that traded Johan Santana to the Mets for a package that included Humber. That’s cold. Humber is a perfect example of never giving up too early on a pitcher having control problems. As long as he has his velo and sickness, he can still be worked with.
5. OF Alex Escobar turned 33 on Tuesday.
