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Re: The MLB Thread
Phillies sign RHP Chad Qualls
by AP
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Right-hander Chad Qualls has signed a one-year, $1.15 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The deal, announced on Tuesday, includes performance and awards bonuses. The 33-year-old Qualls went 6-8 with a 3.51 ERA in 77 games for San Diego last season.
Since 2005, Qualls has made more appearances (512) than any other pitcher and ranks second in relief wins (34), trailing only Jesse Crain (38).
Qualls has a career record of 38-34 with 51 saves and a 3.78 ERA in 537 games for Houston, Arizona, Tampa Bay Rays and the Padres. He joins a revamped bullpen led by new closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Re: The MLB Thread
GREAT... CHEAP... pickup by the Phillies.
They just get stronger and stronger. Thome is gonna take over for Howard for a period of time, Howard is expected back by may, that rotation looks solid.
Braves didn't really make the moves, the Mets are in financial and farm-system ruin for years to come, Marlins are overrated without Pujols/Fielder...
The Phillies will DOMINATE the NL East again this year, with suprisingly the Nationals being the thorn in their ass imo. Nats might end up being a Wild Card option this year. Depends on how the Giants & Rockies do in the NL West. NL Central is gonna be weak as hell imo.
Re: The MLB Thread
Tim Hudson: Out until May?
by Mark Bowman / MLB.com
ATLANTA -- Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell is confident that both Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson will be at full strength when Spring Training begins. But he is also approaching this year's camp with the understanding that Tim Hudson might be a little behind schedule.
Hudson has made steady progress since undergoing back surgery in late November to repair a herniated disk. Still, while there is a chance that the 36-year-old right-hander could be ready for the start of the regular season, the Braves are not going to rush his return.
In other words, there is a chance Hudson could be a few weeks behind this year and in line to make his regular-season debut during the second half of April or early May.
"We'll progress as the doctors say he can progress," McDowell said. "Whether it's the middle of April or first of May, we'll probably be a little more cautious so that we can have him at the end. There's no reason to rush things and then have a setback."
Hudson was not at Turner Field on Monday morning for the start of the club's voluntary early throwing program. In fact, the most experienced pitcher to make an appearance was Brandon Beachy, who entered the 2011 season with a total of three Major League appearances.
Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado were young wide-eyed Minor Leaguers when they visited Turner Field to participate in a rookie development program last January. They looked much more comfortable and confident when they returned Monday as two highly regarded prospects who have already been tested in high-stress situations at the Major League level.
"They came up and did some outstanding jobs in the heat of a pennant race," McDowell said. "What they were able to accomplish last year, I think gives them an idea of what they need to do to prepare for a season in which maybe we count on them a little bit more."
With lingering health-related questions surrounding Hudson, Hanson and Jurrjens, there is a good chance that at least one of these promising prospects -- Teheran or Delgado -- will begin the upcoming season in Atlanta's starting rotation.
While Hudson might need a little more time to strengthen his back, Jurrjens and Hanson will come to camp looking to prove they have distanced themselves from the physical ailments that essentially rendered them useless after last year's All-Star break.
Jurrjens' troublesome right knee reacted well to a knee brace he started wearing in September, and he actually completed five strong innings in an instructional league game one day after the Braves ended the regular season in disastrous fashion. Had the club reached the playoffs, he would have started Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
"I thought it was good for him from a mental standpoint to be able to do that -- to go into the offseason knowing that he was able to do that," McDowell said in reference to Jurrjens' instructional league start.
After spending most of last year dealing with right shoulder discomfort, Hanson has found optimism this winter, as he has focused on strengthening the back muscles that were seemingly placing extra strain on his shoulder. McDowell said the 25-year-old hurler seemed excited when he stopped by Turner Field to work out last week.
"J.J. says he's ready to go and Tommy says he's ready to go," McDowell said. "So we'll just prepare and get ready as if they're 100 percent healthy."
If all the candidates prove to be unrestricted through Spring Training, the Braves could begin the season with Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens, Beachy and Mike Minor in their starting rotation.
Coming off an impressive rookie season, Beachy enters this season surrounded by far fewer questions than the other candidates. His improbable rise to the Major League level became a little more unbelievable last summer, when he set a Braves modern day rookie record with 169 strikeouts.
"I'm comfortable," Beachy said. "I know what I want to do and I think I know what I need to do to accomplish that."
Most of the comfort Beachy possessed entering Spring Training last year was a product of the three late-season starts he was forced to make in 2010. Delgado and Teheran had similar experiences when they were thrown into the fire earlier than expected last year.
This experience could prove quite valuable if one or both of these prospects is needed to fill a spot during the early portion of this year in Atlanta's starting rotation.
"We tend to put years on them," McDowell said. "Whether they're ready or not, they're still young in their craft. The experience they gained last year was really a tremendous asset."
Although he is widely regarded as one of the game's top prospects, Teheran did not seem nearly as impressive or poised as Delgado during their Major League starts last year.
Teheran lasted fewer than five innings twice in May and made just one more big league start, a victorious one against the Mets on Sept. 8. Delgado showed some potential when he made his Major League debut against the Rangers' vaunted lineup in June. But few could have predicted that he would post a 2.32 ERA in the six other starts he made in August and September.
"The experience was very good, and I think I learned a lot," Delgado said. "I took some things I can put to use this year."
Re: The MLB Thread
Livan Hernandez, Astros agree to minor league / spring invite deal
by AP
HOUSTON (AP)—The Houston Astros have agreed to a minor league contract with former World Series MVP Livan Hernandez.
The 36-year-old pitcher was invited to major league spring training. Hernandez was the opening day starter for Washington last season and started 29 games for the Nationals, going 8-13 with a 4.47 ERA.
Hernandez has pitched at least 200 innings in 10 of his 15 major league seasons. He last reached the mark in 2010 when he went 10-12 with a 3.66 ERA for the Nationals.
The two-time All-Star, who led the Marlins to the 1997 championship, is 174-176 with a 4.39 ERA in a career that also includes time with the Giants, Expos, Diamondbacks, Twins, Rockies and Mets.
He has appeared in 12 playoff games with a 7-3 record and 3.97 ERA.
Re: The MLB Thread
Former Cubs GM Jim Hendry hired to scout by Yankees
by AP
NEW YORK (AP)—Former Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry was hired Tuesday to be a special assignment scout for the New York Yankees.
Hendry spent 17 seasons with the Cubs and was GM from July 2002 until he was fired on Aug. 18, unable to help the team win the World Series for the first time since 1908.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he believes Hendry will be an invaluable resource.
“He can scout amateur players; he scouts pro players for us,” he said. “He’s as connected in the game as you can possibly be. Everybody loves this man.”
New York also promoted Steve Donahue to head athletic trainer on Tuesday. He succeeds Gene Monahan, who retired after 39 seasons as head trainer and 49 with the Yankees overall. Mark Littlefield, who had been the Yankees’ head minor league athletic trainer, becomes assistant athletic trainer with the big league team.
Assistant general manager Jean Afterman was given the additional title of senior vice president
Billy Eppler was promoted from senior director of professional personnel to an assistant GM and Will Kuntz becomes manager of pro scouting, promoted from pro scouting assistant.
Re: The MLB Thread
Theo Epstein, Brian Cashman happy they can now do business
by Pat Eaton-Robb / AP
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP)—Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein said that after years of being on opposite sides of baseball’s most bitter rivalry, they are looking forward to being able to make deals with one another.
The Yankees general manager and the former general manager of the Red Sox appeared together at a forum Tuesday night at Sacred Heart University.
Now president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, the 38-year-old Epstein says he spent a lot of sleepless nights thinking that Cashman was up making a deal that would put the Yankees in a better position than the Red Sox.
“I was never able to totally relax because I felt like he was always lurking,” Epstein said. “He had a great sense of the marketplace.”
Cashman said Epstein’s pure objective decision making forced the Yankees to rethink how they did business.
“I found the Red Sox were constantly making the right choice, not the popular choice,” Cashman said. “That helped us reset our button a little bit by watching how they went about their business.”
Both said that because of the extreme nature of the rivalry, they never had any serious trade talks during the last decade. But they told reporters backstage they expect that to change now.
“We just had a few brief talks this winter, but it will be nice to take each other seriously again,” Epstein said.
“Yeah, instead of fake talking, we can actually do something,” Cashman added.
The two spent a lot of time Tuesday trading old stories.
There was the time in 2002 when Epstein had his Latin American scouting director buy up every room in the small hotel in Nicaragua where then free agent Jose Contreras was staying while negotiating with the Red Sox and Yankees as a free agent.
“We were smoking cigars with Contreras and drinking rum until about 4 o’clock in the morning,” Epstein said. “He told us he always wanted to be a Red Sox, and then the next morning the Yankees offered him about $10 million more.”
Cashman said the hotel move made George Steinbrenner angry.
“The Boss, that was something that was a one up on us when they did that, it was a shrewd move, and he (Steinbrenner) was not going to be denied,” Cashman said.
Epstein also relayed how Jed Hoyer, his assistant in Boston and now the Cubs General manager, got food poisoning after the famous Thanksgiving dinner he and Epstein shared in 2003 at Curt Shilling’s home, a meal that sealed the trade bringing Shilling to Boston.
“I remember walking around the (hotel) room, I felt so bad for the maid, I was throwing $20 bills everywhere that Jed got sick,” he said.
But both Epstein and Cashman said it was the attention to smaller deals, the draft and building their organizations that helped them create consistent winners. And Epstein cautioned Cubs fans that he will not be able to do the same thing in Chicago in just one offseason.
“Any opportunity to win is sacred,” he said. “But the bigger picture for us is the long-term climb.”
Cashman did address one current trade rumor after being asked by a young fan if he was comfortable sticking with A.J. Burnett given all the Yankees new pitching options.
“We signed him to have more success than he is having,” Cashman said. “But, it’s a competitive industry. As long as he’s not going to give up on himself, I’m going to have his back the entire way.”
But Cashman added that while he was comfortable with Burnett, the Yankees have a lot of potential starting pitchers and “we’ll see how it all shakes out, who plays in what role.”
