| William Ladson from MLB.com reported on Twitter that Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg said his elbow is getting stronger. Strasburg plans to visit Dr. Lewis Yocum after the holidays for a checkup. The hope is Dr. Yocum will be able to give Strasburg an idea about when he may be able to resume baseball related activities.
Strasburg is still expected to miss the entire 2011 season. You can be sure the Nationals are going to be very careful with Strasburg. The hope is he will be able to resume his career in 2012. |
Strasburg Says Elbow Getting Stronger
December 20, 2010Indians Sign Austin Kearns to 1 Year 1.3 Million Deal
December 20, 2010Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports the Indians have signed Austion Kearns to a 1 year deal. Deal is reported to be 1.3 million plus incentives.
Kearns has never developed into the player many thought he would. He will likely fall into the role of a 4th outfielder unless he can earn more playing time.
Royals Getting Inquires on Joakim Soria
December 20, 2010Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting the Royals have received calls regarding the availability of Joakim Soria. The Royals are reportedly not interested in moving Soria.
They hold club options through 2014. Soria has quickly developed into one of the best closers in the game. If the Royals were to make him available you have to think there would be a dozen teams interested.
Nationals Sign Rick Ankiel to 1 Year Deal for 1.5 Million
December 20, 2010| Jon Heyman of SI reported on Twitter that the Nationals have signed Rick Ankiel to 1 year deal for 1.5 million with 1.25 million in performance bonuses. |
Brewers Sign Craig Counsell to 1 Year Deal
December 20, 2010| Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting the Brewers have signed Craig Counsell to a 1 year deal.
Terms of the deal were not announced. At this point in his career Counsell is strictly a utility player. |
Orioles Offer to Adam LaRoche Reported to be 3 Years 21 Million
December 20, 2010| Jen Royle of MASN had reported last Friday that the Orioles had offered Adam LaRoche a deal in the area of 3 years 18 million.
This morning she is reporting that the Orioles are upping the offer to around 3 years 21 million. This would still seem to be a bargain in the current economic landscape of baseball. |
Giants Sign Guillermo Mota to Minor League Deal
December 19, 2010Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes is reporting the Giants have signed Guilermo Mota to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
Mota had a decent year in 2010 for the Giants posting a 4.33 ERA and 1.315 WHIP in 56 appearances. If he makes the team his role would probably be limited to an innings eating middle reliever.
The Rays also had reportedly expressed interest in Mota.
Edgar Renteria is Offended by Giants 1 Million Offer?
December 19, 2010For the past couple days there have been conflicting reports about comments Edgar Renteria may have made about the Giants 1 year, 1 million dollar offer.
Josh Alper of the FanHouse reported on Friday that Renteria called the Giants offer “total disrespect”.
Renteria’s agent Barry Mesiter reportedly called the Giants on Friday to smooth things out. Meister said Renteria’s comments “weren’t necessarily an accurate characterization”. This is curious since they were on ESPN Deportes. I find it hard to believe EPSN Deports would misquote Renteria or have some sort of ax to grind.
Renteria signed a two year 18.5 million dollar contract before the 2009 season. And it is an understatement to say Giants fans have not been pleased by Renteria’s paltry production during his two seasons in San Francisco.
Renteria battled injuries in 2010 but played well at times. And played extremely well in the World Series earning the series MVP.
Renteria obviously sees the money Juan Uribe and Miguel Tejada got this off season and thinks he is in their class. That was true when he was an everyday player but he has not been an effective everyday player since 2008.
The offers for Renteria aside form the Giants must be pretty limited if any? Otherwise why even mention the Giants if you have better offers on the table? Renteria is no longer a 9 million dollar a season player and he has to come to grips with that fact. Yes he can still show flashes of the player he was in the past but to think he can do it for a full season is a big reach.
Renteria would be a valuable addition to the Giants as a backup infielder for 1-2 million. But any more than that would probably prove an unwise signing.
Marlins to Sign Ricky Nalasco to 3 Year 27 Million Deal
December 19, 2010Joe Frisaro at MLB.com is reporting the Marlins will sign Ricky Nolasco to a 3 year 27 million dollar contract extension. Speculation was that Nolasco may be traded. The signing of the extension likely puts an end to trade speculation.
Nolasco was shut down in September with a torn meniscus. He had successful knee surgery and is expected to report to spring training at full strength.
In my opinion 9 million dollars per season is an overpay for a 28 year old pitcher that has only had an ERA under 4.50 one time and is coming off of knee surgery.
One has to wonder what Josh Johnson will think of this signing after signing a 4 year 39 million dollar extension in January of 2010?
The Brewers Are Going for it in 2011
December 19, 2010The Brewers are making a statement.
With the acquisition of Zack Greinke they are telling the rest of the National League they are a team to be reckoned with in 2011.
With Prince Fielder being a free agent after the 2011 season the team could look a lot different in 2012. So why not go for it? Outside of the Bronx, Boston and now seemingly Philadelphia getting a chance to assemble a team to make a serious run does not happen every year. Especially in Milwaukee where the Brewers have been to the postseason only once since their World Series appearance in 1982.
The Brewers have assembled a modern day version of Harvey’s Wallbangers with Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Casey McGhee, Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. But current baseball economics will probably make this the last season to have this core of five hitters together.
The animosity between Fielder and the Brewers was well publicized when the Brewers signed Ryan Braun to a long term extension in 2008 after denying Fielder an extension. When Fielder hits the free agent market following the 2011 season his Agent Scott Boras figures to be looking for a deal in the Ryan Howard range. Howard signed a five year 125 million extension in April of 2010. The Brewers will obviously not pay that type of money and Fielder is definitely not going to be offering them a “hometown discount”
The addition of Greinke definitely gives the Brewers a starting staff the potential to be formidable in 2011. The big question is how effective will they be? At 27 Greinke will be entering his prime years very motivated. There is no argument he has number one stuff. But he has to prove he has the mental makeup to be a consistent number one for a playoff caliber team.
Yovani Gallardo should feel less pressure in 2011 by not having to be the number one. He has had a nice start to his career and at just 25 years old going into 2011 still looks to have upside.
Shaun Marcum has quietly had three very respectable years in Toronto. His ERA the past two years has been under 3.65 and his WHIP has been under 1.20. That is very impressive when you consider the number of games the Blue Jays play against the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees If he adjusts to the National League he could be a huge addition to the Brewers rotation.
With Randy Wolf you know you are probably going to get, 30 starts and 200 innings. If he can keep his ERA around 4.00 and get decent run support there is no reason to think he won’t beat last years win total of 13.
The fifth spot in the rotation looks to be Chris Narverson. But Manny Parra could force his way in with a good Spring. If the Brewers top four pitch near expectations anything out of the fifth spot would be a bonus.
The key for the Brewers is to find a way to get to the playoffs in a National Central that has a resurgent Reds team. An always dangerous Cardinals team, A Cubs team that will spend year in and year out to try to contend. And an Astros team that has a chance to surprise people in 2011.
With Greinke at the top of the rotation and a lineup that has the potential to score runs off of anybody the Brewers are definitely a team you would not want to see in a short series.
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