Baseball Rumor News

- Scott Munter is back with the Giants after signing a minor league deal. Munter, now 28, was recently released by the Rays Triple-A affiliate. In 2005, Munter was a solid performer for the Giants, coming away with a 2.56 ERA.

- A partial tear of a tendon sheath in his left wrist will sideline Bostons DH, David Ortiz, for a minimum of 2 weeks, according to USA Today. This should create more playing time for Jacoby Ellsbury and Coco Crisp, who have been splitting OF time. It could also result in Manny spending time at the DH spot.

- OK, this one happened a few days ago, but I missed it and decided to put it in anyway…The Daily Herald reports that Jim Brower was sent to the Cubs from the Reds for cash considerations. Its not really a big deal, but the journeyman reliever has pitched for 8 teams throughout his career and had some success in the majors at a few points. With a very overworked bullpen in Chicago, Brower may only be an injury or two away from a shot at the big league team.

- The New York Yankees Kei Igawa is homesick. Igawa asked the Yankees if they could send him back to Japan, but they couldn’t find any takers. He has not performed since coming to America and probably misses succeeding, but for now, he’s stuck in New York while the Yankees are stuck paying him $11 million.

Jonathan Mayo now has his predictions for the upcoming draft for picks 1-30. Some have changed, but for those of you that haven’t been keeping up with the predictions here is a list:

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt
3. Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.
4. Baltimore Orioles: Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri
5. San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey, C, Florida State
6. Florida Marlins: Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego
7. Cincinnati Reds: Yonder Alonso, 1B, University of Miami
8. Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham, SS, University of Georgia
9. Washington Nationals: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.
10. Houston Astros: Justin Smoak, 1B, University of South Carolina
11. Texas Rangers: Andrew Cashner, RHP, Texas Christian
12. Oakland A’s: Aaron Hicks, OF/RHP, Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, Calif.
13. St. Louis Cardinals: Ryan Perry, RHP, University of Arizona
14. Minnesota Twins: Christian Friedrich, LHP, Eastern Kentucky
15. Los Angeles Dodgers: Zach Collier, OF, Chino Hills HS, Calif.
16. Milwaukee Brewers: Brett Lawrie, C/3B, Brookswood SS, Langley, B.C.
17. Toronto Blue Jays: Brett Wallace, 1B/3B, Arizona State
18. New York Mets: Ike Davis, OF, Arizona State
19. Chicago Cubs: Casey Kelly, SS, Sarasota HS, Fla.
20. Seattle Mariners: Shooter Hunt, RHP, Tulane
21. Detroit Tigers: Ethan Martin, RHP, Stephens County HS, Toccoa, Ga.
22. New York Mets: Jason Castro, C, Stanford
23. San Diego Padres: Daniel Schlereth, LHP, University of Arizona
24. Philadelphia Phillies: Anthony Hewitt, SS, Salisbury School, Conn
25. Colorado Rockies: Jake Odorizzi, RHP, Highland HS, Ill.
26. Arizona Diamondbacks: Josh Fields, RHP, University of Georgia
27. Minnesota Twins: Brett DeVall, LHP, Niceville HS, Fla.
28. New York Yankees: Brett Hunter, RHP, Pepperdine University
29. Cleveland Indians: Jemile Weeks, 2B, University of Miami
30. Boston Red Sox: Lance Lynn, RHP, University of Mississippi

Those are the predictions, but we’ll find out for sure in two days.

According to The Mercury News, the Giants are interested in trading several of their relievers. Tyler Walker, Jack Taschner, Vinnie Chulk, Erick Threets and Brad Hennessey are all thought to be guys that the Giants are more than willing to part with. While nobody seemed that enthused about picking up the Giants aging position players, at least a few of these guys should draw ample attention. As the season progresses, there will be several teams on the cusp of playoff contention that may feel fattening up their bullpens is just what they need to make the playoffs.

The recent development of available relievers in San Francisco stems from the success many of the clubs younger relievers are having (either on the big league club or in the minors). While closer Brian Wilson has solidified himself at the back end of the pen, others have stepped up to bridge the gap from the rotation. Alex Hinshaw and Billy Sadler have been very successful in the majors and there are others in the minors that seem ready to make the jump to the big leagues: Sergio Romo, Kelvin Pichardo and Osiris Matos. To add to all these possibilities, Merkin Valdez will soon return from the disabled list and likely take over as the teams primary setup man.

All of these young arms make the Giants veteran relievers very available. With all the smaller trades happening already this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see at least a few of these guys get moved sooner than later.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that San Francisco Giants Managing partner Peter Magowan is ready to step down. Magowan was involved in the day-to-day decision making for the club for over 15 years. It is expected that Magowan will offer up his shares (estimated to be around $70 million) to other members of the ownership group, one of whom may step into a revised version of the role he has served the team.

Magowan was responsible for the signing of Barry Bonds in 1993, which was a great move for the franchise, but also the Barry Zito signing recently, which doesn’t seem to be as fruitful. New decision making from the top down could be exactly what this team needs. One thing is for sure though, whoever steps in now has years and years to deal with the large contracts recently signed by the Giants eg. Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand.

Even though the MLB First Year Player Draft isn’t until June 5th, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has some early predictions for the top 10 picks. He admits that the order is basically a stab in the dark, but this gives a good look at who will be around the first to go.

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Buster Posey, C, Florida State
2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt
3. Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.
4. Baltimore Orioles: Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego
5. San Francisco Giants: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.
6. Florida Marlins: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.
7. Cincinnati Reds: Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri
8. Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham, SS, University of Georgia
9. Washington Nationals: Justin Smoak, 1B, University of South Carolina
10. Houston Astros: Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Fresno State

He also lists a couple wildcards that should be somewhere near the top: Stanford catcher Jason Castro and Casey Kelly, son of Reds coach Pat Kelly.

Is there anybody you think he missed?

Just a little disclaimer, these standout picks are a little bit behind schedule so they are really ‘April+the beginning of may’ standouts.

- The Giants have sent Brad Hennessey down to Triple-A. This in response to his performance of late, 23 earned runs and 38 hits allowed in 16 innings with an ERA of 12.94…ouch. Taking Hennessey’s spot will be Billy Sadler who was called up to replace him in the pen.

- MLB.com reports that the Phillies have picked up lefty reliever Stephen Randolph from the Astros. In return the Astros will get a player to be named later. Perhaps Randolph will be the lefty that the Phillies have been looking for. After Steve Kline didn’t work out, they were forced to continue looking outside the organization.

- Derrick Turnbow has been placed on waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers. There were a few trade possibilities that came up, but nobody wanted to pay Turnbow’s the $2.5 million owed to him. Now any team that wants him won’t have to give up players in exchange, but there is still the issue of that salary…

Update: Barry Zito has been moved to the pen. He will be replaced by Pat Misch in the Giants rotation. I’m not sure how this fixes anything, but I also am not sure this is a fixable situation for the Giants.

Original Post: According to The San Jose Mercury News, Barry Zito might be on his way out of the starting rotation in San Francisco.

“We’ve got to do something,” said Bochy, after Zito allowed a six-run first inning. “We can’t keep doing what we’re doing and getting what we’re getting.”

One thing is for sure, they need to do something with Zito now that they have committed $126 million to him. I’m not sure that he will be anymore effective out of the pen than he has been as a starter. He can’t locate his pitches, so maybe he’ll give up less runs if he throws less of them. Maybe the Giants would be best suited to pull him out for a while and figure out why he isn’t performing. If anyone in the world still has Zito on their fantasy team (you never should have to begin with) I’d say its time to get rid of him.

- The Padres claimed Josh Banks on waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. It is possible that Banks will move into the Padres bullpen. Last season, the 25 year old Banks posted a 12-10 record with a 4.63 ERA in 27 starts at Triple-A Syracuse. San Diego is looking to solidify a shaky bullpen that led the majors last year.

- The Oakland Athletics made a couple moves worth noting yesterday. First, they claimed Rajai Davis on waivers from the Giants.
On Davis:
“He plays left, center and right,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “He’s a good runner. Having a speed guy is something that’s a nice addition.”

- Also, the Giants designated pitcher Kirk Saarloos for assignment. They have to make a move with him in the next 10 days, or they will have to put him on waivers.

According to MLB.com, lefty reliever Steve Kline has signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia. It had come out a few weeks ago that the Phillies were considering signing the 35 year old veteran, but once the Giants released him at the end of spring training, he became a free agent. Now the Phillies got him without having to give anyone up in exchange…not that it would have required much as Kline didn’t have any real trade value.

Kline has had a few good years in the past, but last year he was pretty much awful. The Phillies don’t have much as far as left handed relief pitchers go, so it is possible that he could get called up somewhere down the road if the need arises, but I would consider it a long shot.