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| Keith Foulke ended his retirement and returned to the A's on Friday, agreeing to a $700,000, one-year contract that allows him to earn $2.5 million more in bonuses, according to the AP. "I decided I was not ready to leave baseball," Foulke said. "I started throwing again last November. It didn't take long to figure out I needed to give my knees a year. It was December before I could throw pain-free with my mechanics." There's a chance that Foulke, who missed all of last season due to elbow surgery, could get a chance to close games again if the A's ongoing fire sale claims Huston Street. |
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| The Giants and Kevin Correia avoided salary arbitration Friday by agreeing to a $1,075,000 contract for 2008. Correia is slated to be the team's fifth starter this season after going 3-1 with a 2.54 ERA in eight starts over the final six weeks of last season. He started the season in the bullpen, and went 4-7 with a 3.45 ERA in 101 2-3 innings overall. |
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| Mike Maroth, P, Kansas City Royals | Friday 2/8, 7:16 PM CT |
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| The Royals signed Mike Maroth to a minor league contract on Friday, according to the AP. Maroth, who split the 2007 season with the Tigers and Cardinals, will be invited to the Royals' major league camp. He was awful last year, holding a 6.89 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP in 116 1/3 innings. |
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| Yankees GM Brian Cashman told LoHud.com that no decision has been made about how to use Joba Chamberlain at the start of the season. It will depend largely on how Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy look this spring. Cashman stated the obvious by saying that Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina will be in the rotation for sure. |
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| The Yankees and Chien-Ming Wang seem headed for arbitration, according to LoHud.com. “I expect there will be a hearing,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. “There have been talks but they haven’t been productive.” The Yankees submitted $4 million while Wang and agent Alan Nero countered with $4.6 million. Coming off back-to-back 19-win seasons, Wang is likely to get the higher number. |
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| Brian McNamee told congressional investigators Thursday that Roger Clemens' wife took human growth hormone before she appeared with the pitcher in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue in 2003, according to the New York Daily News. McNamee testified that he injected Debbie Clemens at Roger Clemens' direction, according to a source. McNamee was speaking under oath before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which will hold a hearing on the Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball Wednesday. |
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| The AP reports that the Yankees signed Chris Woodward to a minor-league contract on Friday to add some veteran infield depth. Woodward played in 92 games for the Braves last season and batted .199 with one home run and eight RBI in 136 at-bats. If he makes the Yankees' opening day roster, Woodward will see very little playing time. |
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| The Indians signed right-hander Scott Elarton to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training on Friday, according to the AP. Elarton had previous stints with the Indians in 2004 and 2005 and inked a minor-league deal with them last August. In nine starts with the Royals last year, Elarton was 2-4 with a 10.46 ERA and 2.00 WHIP. We didn't mistype there, he was really that bad. |
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| The Reds signed Kent Mercker to a minor league contract on Friday, according to the AP. Mercker missed all of last season following elbow surgery, but he'll get a chance to earn a roster spot with the Reds this spring. |
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| The Orioles picked up Kameron Mickolio from the Mariners in the Bedard trade Friday. Mickolio had a nice 2007 campaign, posting a combined 2.68 ERA and 55/22 K/BB rate over 53 2/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A. He has some command issues to iron out, but assuming he can do so, he could be in the O's pen at some point in '08. |
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| Keith Foulke is getting close to inking a one-year contract with the A's, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A's pitching coach Curt Young said that Foulke looked like his old self when he worked out for several teams in January. Foulke missed all of last season due to elbow surgery, but if he passes a physical, the deal should be done later today. Obviously, the contract will be laden with incentives. |
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| Tony Butler, P, Baltimore Orioles | Friday 2/8, 3:49 PM CT |
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| Tony Butler was obtained by Baltimore from Seattle as part of the Bedard trade. Butler held a 4.75 ERA and 73/46 K/BB rate over 85 1/3 innings at Low-A last year. He's just 20 years old and has some upside, but he's obviously a ways away from the big leagues. |
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| The Orioles acquired Chris Tillman from the Mariners as part of the Bedard deal Friday. Tillman posted a combined ERA of 4.84 with 139 strikeouts in 135 2/3 innings between Low- and High-A. He won't turn 20 until April and was arguably Seattle's top pitching prospect. |
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| Curt Schilling will receive a cortisone shot in his injured right shoulder today, according to the Boston Globe. It will be the first step of a conservative program that will give Schilling a shot at pitching later in the season. Repairing the partially torn rotator cuff in the joint likely would force him to miss the upcoming season and, probably, call it a career. However, Dr. Craig Morgan, who performed surgery on Schilling's shoulder twice, believes the non-surgical approach is a waste of time and doomed to fail, so it's clear that Schilling's future is completely uncertain. |
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| The Orioles acquired George Sherrill, outfielder Adam Jones and pitching prospects Chris Tillman, Tony Butler and Kam Mickolio from the Mariners Friday in exchange for Erik Bedard. Sherrill posted a nifty 2.36 ERA and 0.99 WHIP to go along with an 11.04 K/9 rate in 73 games last year for the M's. He should be given a chance to compete for the O's closer gig. |
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| Adam Jones, CF, Baltimore Orioles | Friday 2/8, 2:02 PM CT |
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| The Orioles acquired Adam Jones, left-handed reliever George Sherrill and pitching prospects Chris Tillman, Tony Butler and Kam Mickolio from the Mariners Friday in exchange for Erik Bedard. Jones was the M's top prospect and will compete for a starting job in the outfield. |
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| Erik Bedard is finally Seattle-bound. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the swap between the Orioles and M's has became official. Baltimore will receive outfielder Adam Jones, left-handed reliever George Sherrill and pitching prospects Chris Tillman, Tony Butler and Kam Mickolio in the deal. Bedard gives the Mariners a pretty nice 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation along with Felix Hernandez. |
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| Shawn Estes, P, San Diego Padres | Friday 2/8, 10:55 AM CT |
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| Shawn Estes will enter spring training with a clean bill of health, Padres GM Kevin Towers told the San Diego Union-Tribune. Estes hasn't pitched since undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery in June of 2006. He'll attempt to win a spot in the Padres rotation. |
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| Mark Prior, P, San Diego Padres | Friday 2/8, 10:51 AM CT |
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| Padres GM Kevin Towers said that favorable reports from Mark Prior's recent mound sessions led the GM to believe that the right-hander could complete a rehab assignment by early May. Towers said previously that Prior, who is coming back from shoulder surgery, wouldn't be available before June or perhaps July. "He's looking good," Towers told the San Diego Union-Tribune. |
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| Count the Pirates among the teams watching Bartolo Colon pitch in the Caribbean World Series, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Apparently, the free agent hasn't looked very good. "For two innings, he looked great," one scout said yesterday from the Dominican. "There wasn't much after that, but you're still talking about Bartolo Colon here. This is someone who knows how to pitch." Along with the Pirates, who appear to be only slightly interested in Colon's serviced, the Astros, Royals, Indians and White Sox are teams that have shown some form of interest in Colon this offseason. |
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| Anibal Sanchez will have his surgically repaired right shoulder examined by Dr. James Andrews on Monday, at which time he hopes to have a better idea of when he might be ready for game action, according to the Miami Herald. "Maybe by the All-Star break," Sanchez said Thursday. "I feel good so far, but I'm taking it really, really slow." He's been testing the joint by throwing from 90 feet every other day, but he hopes to be cleared to step up his rehab following Monday's exam. He had a torn labrum repaired in the shoulder in June. |
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| Mark Teahen, LF, Kansas City Royals | Friday 2/8, 6:54 AM CT |
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| The Royals avoided going to arbitration with Mark Teahen by signing him to a one-year contract on Thursday afternoon, according to the KC Star. "It’s good for both sides to avoid that process," Teahen said. "The way I understand it, the team has to go in and convince an arbitrator that you’re not worth what you’re asking for, and you have to prove that you are." Teahan will earn about $2.3 million in 2008. |
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| On Thursday afternoon, the Royals locked up Zack Greinke to a one-year contract, according to the KC Star. Greinke avoided going to arbitration by agreeing to the deal and will make $1.4 million this coming season. |
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| The Mets avoided going to arbitration with Ryan Church by signing him to a one-year deal on Thursday afternoon, according to the New York Daily News. Acquired from the Nats in late November, Church will make $2 million next season. |
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| A video of Pedro Martinez and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal at a cockfight in the Dominican Republic appeared on YouTube last week. "I understand that people are upset. This is part of our Dominican culture and is legal in the Dominican Republic," Martinez said in a statement. "I was invited by my idol Juan Marichal to attend the event as a spectator, not as a participant." Cockfighting is illegal in 48 states in this country, and Louisiana will make it illegal by August. It will be interesting to see how MLB handles this, because even though cockfighting is legal in the Dominican Republic, this will be a P.R. mess for both baseball and Pedro. |
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| Josh Fields, 3B, Chicago White Sox | Friday 2/8, 6:18 AM CT |
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| Josh Fields rejected a report that he told a group that he considered retiring from baseball after last season, according to the Chicago Tribune. "I said the struggles and ups and downs start to make you wonder if I’m in the right profession," Fields said. "I never said the word ‘retirement.’" Field added that he had a tough time dealing with the demands of professional sports. "However, I prayed about it and realized there is nowhere I could have more influence right now than in that clubhouse." If the White Sox ever trade Joe Crede, Fields should step in as the everyday third baseman, though he might begin this season in the minors if Crede remains on the roster. |
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