Alex ‘first ever MLB player busted for roids’ Gonzalez has signed a deal with the Boston Red Sox to play SS.
details to come
Archive for January, 2006
Alex Gonzalez Signs with Red Sox to play SS
Tuesday, January 31st, 2006Mike Piazza to Padres
Sunday, January 29th, 2006Piazza, 37, initially sought to sign with an American League team, intending to become a designated hitter. He chose the Padres over the Phillies when no such opportunity became available.
The Padres are expected to use Piazza as their cleanup hitter and No. 1 catcher. They were preparing to go to spring training with two career backups, Doug Mirabelli and David Ross, splitting time at the position.
Piazza hit 18 home runs in 371 at-bats for the Mets last season, a rate second only to the Rangers’ Rod Barajas among catchers who had enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. He also finished with a .785 on-base/slugging percentage, seventh among major-league catchers.
Throwing out base stealers is Piazza’s primary deficiency as a catcher. Opponents were 82-for-92 (89.1 percent) against him last season, the highest percentage against any major-league catcher.
It’s official: Crisp bound for Boston in multi-player deal
Saturday, January 28th, 2006Crisp is bound for Boston after being traded Friday by the Cleveland Indians to the Red Sox, finally giving them a replacement for Johnny Damon in center field and at the leadoff spot in the batting order.
Along with Crisp, Cleveland sent reliever David Riske and backup catcher Josh Bard to Boston for reliever Guillermo Mota, third base prospect Andy Marte, catcher Kelly Shoppach, a player to be named and cash.
Marte spent most of last season at Triple-A Richmond before Atlanta dealt him to the Red Sox for shortstop Edgar Renteria last month. He batted .275 with 20 homers and 74 RBI in 109 games last season. Marte is expected to spend this season in Cleveland’s minor leagues, but he finally gives the Indians a potential everyday player at what has been a problematic position for the club in recent years.
Red Sox, Tribe close to completing Crisp trade
Friday, January 27th, 2006The Indians agreed Friday to send left-hander Arthur Rhodes to the Phillies for outfielder Jason Michaels, pending physicals, according to the Associated Press. That trade is necessary for the Indians only if they trade Crisp, who likely will be replaced by a platoon of Michaels and Todd Hollandsworth.
The completion of the Crisp trade also is expected to result in the Red Sox’s signing of free-agent shortstop Alex Gonzalez. The Sox might have pursued a trade for Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo had they failed to acquire Crisp.
In recent days, the Red Sox and Indians revived three-way discussions with the Reds about a deal that would have sent Crisp to the Red Sox, outfielder Austin Kearns to the Indians and Red Sox right-hander Matt Clement to the Reds, but those talks proved fruitless.
Red Sox close to deal with Indians for CF
Sunday, January 22nd, 2006The Boston Red Sox are nearing completion on deals that would bring them Cleveland Indians outfielder Coco Crisp and free agent shortstop Alex Gonzalez. The Indians would get third-base prospect Andy Marte, who was acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the Edgar Renteria trade, as well as relief pitcher Guillermo Mota.
The Herald reported the deal hinged on the Indians’ ability to acquire another outfielder, possibly in a trade for the Phillies’ Jason Michaels or through signing free agent Jeff DaVanon, formerly of the Angels. In turn, the Indians reportedly would send either left-hander Arthur Rhodes or righth-ander Rafael Betancourt to Philadelphia.
Mets Trade right-hander Kris Benson to the Orioles for reliever Jorge Julio and right-hander John Maine
Saturday, January 21st, 2006The trade with the Orioles will give right-hander Aaron Heilman a chance to become the Mets’ No. 5 starter.
Benson will join a rotation that includes left-hander Erik Bedard, and right-handers Daniel Cabrera and Rodrigo Lopez.
Benson finished the 2005 season with a 10-8 record, with a 4.13 earned run average and 95 strikeouts over 174.1 innings pitched. Julio appeared in 67 games for the Orioles in 2005, recording 58 strikeouts over 71.2 innings with a 5.90 earned run average.
Dodgers get Danys Baez and Lance Carter from Devil Rays
Sunday, January 15th, 2006Los Angeles Dodgers acquired All-Star relievers Danys Baez and Lance Carter from Tampa Bay for two pitching prospects Saturday, strengthening their bullpen as they wait for closer Eric Gagne to return from elbow surgery.
The Dodgers sent right-hander Edwin Jackson and minor league lefty Chuck Tiffany to the Devil Rays in the deal. Los Angeles also gets a minor league player to be named.
Baez went 5-4 with a 2.86 ERA and a career-best 41 saves last season, earning a spot on the AL All-Star team. He has 96 saves over the past three seasons.
Kevin Millar leaves Boston for Baltimore
Thursday, January 12th, 2006First baseman Kevin Millar agreed to a $2.1 million, one-year contract Thursday with the Baltimore Orioles.
The 34-year-old Millar, who can make an additional $2.6 million in performance bonuses, hit .276 with 25 home runs and 96 RBIs with Boston in 2003, then batted .297 with 18 homers and 74 RBIs for the World Series champions in 2004.
His production dropped last year, when he hit .272 with nine homers and 50 RBIs. But he remained a leader in the Boston clubhouse.
Millar is a career .289 batter over 932 games and exactly 3,000 at-bats. He has 111 homers and 471 RBIs.
Padres sign Shawn Estes
Wednesday, January 11th, 2006Estes was sidelined for two months last season with an ankle injury that limited him to 21 starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He went 7-8 with a 4.80 ERA.
Estes is the only lefty in the Padres’ rotation, although they’re known to still be interested in reacquiring David Wells from the Boston Red Sox.
The 32-year-old Estes is 99-89 with a 4.71 ERA in 11 major league seasons. He also has pitched for San Francisco, the New York Mets, Cincinnati, the Chicago Cubs and Colorado. His best season was 1997, when he went 19-5 with a 3.18 ERA for the Giants.
Phillies after Tejada
Friday, January 6th, 2006The Phillies have proposed an Abreu-for-Tejada exchange with the intention of playing Tejada at third base. The Orioles want pitching in addition to Abreu, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
Abreu, who turns 32 in March, is not as accomplished a hitter as Ramirez, but he’s less expensive, less controversial and two years younger. In addition, the Orioles almost certainly would prefer to trade Tejada to a club outside of their division rather than the Red Sox.
For the Phillies, Tejada would represent a major upgrade at third over David Bell, who is signed for next season at $4.5 million and perhaps could be traded for a comparably priced outfielder. Tejada, who turns 30 on May 25, has only played shortstop during his nine-year major-league career. However, Tejada is pushing for a trade to a contender