Minor Stuff

Dave · July 28, 2005 at 8:05 am · Filed Under Mariners 

A few notes from the minor leagues this morning.

Kudos to Corey Brock of the News Tribune for being the only writer to get Jeff Clement’s signing bonus-$3.4 million-in the paper. Clement signed a standard minor league contract, so he won’t need to be added to the 40 man roster until after 2007. He also singled in his professional debut in Everett last night, and will DH again tonight before starting a game behind the dish.

The News Tribune also is the only paper that made it public that Felix Hernandez is going to start for the Rainiers on Saturday, after working out of the bullpen in scheduled relief appearances since his return from his bout with “bursitis”. Saturday is Bobby Livingston’s turn in the rotation, but he was assigned to Everett’s roster to make room for Jorge Campillo, who made his return to Tacoma yesterday.

Now, it may be a bit confusing as to why Livingston got sent to Everett, but its an on-paper move only, a way to clear a roster spot for a few days. A roster spot will reopen for Livingston this weekend when Felix Hernandez is recalled from Tacoma and joins the Mariner bulllpen. Saturday’s start is Felix’s last with Tacoma. He’ll go back to pitching scheduled relief appearances for the M’s during August, and then make several starts in September.

By the way, for everyone who was so upset about Rene Rivera getting sent down to Double-A, his season line for the Missions is now .258/.283/.354 after another 0-3 last night. If he carves out a career for himself in the majors, it will be as a no-hit backup.

Comments

68 Responses to “Minor Stuff”

  1. Lokiforever on July 28th, 2005 11:18 am

    “bursitis” – we hope is not a cover sotry for something more serious

  2. Chief on July 28th, 2005 11:19 am

    WOT- Twins are playing the Yankees this afternoon. Boone who is hitting .170 since going to the Twins has been given the day off today.

  3. Jon Wells on July 28th, 2005 11:31 am

    Jayson Stark, in an ESPN chat today, says that the Cardinals may be in on Randy Winn. Dave, what does St. Louis have that we’d want (and what could we get from them) in a Winn deal?

    “Jayson Stark: The latest name I’ve heard with the Cardinals, actually, is Randy Winn. It’s easier to deal for that kind of guy right now than any impact player. The impact bats just aren’t out there.”

  4. J.R. on July 28th, 2005 12:27 pm

    man, Randy is really looking under valued by some of the comments these guys are saying.

  5. AK1984 on July 28th, 2005 12:28 pm

    Re. #38 & #49:

    Hmm . . . Joel Pineiro for Ryan Howard doesn’t seem like that bad of an idea — though, Raul Ibanez is performing fairly well, so the M’s have no real need for a designated hitter.

    By the way, regarding Jim Thome: he’s done. Even worse for the Phillies, however, is Thome’s contract, which is worth roughly $53.5 million through 2009!.

    Also, in other news, Jorge Campillo looked good last night for the Tacoma Rainiers in his first start back from Peoria.

  6. Dave on July 28th, 2005 12:35 pm

    The Cardinals farm system isn’t in great shape, but it’s not totally depleted. We’re obviously not getting one of their top guys (Reyes, Wainwright, Lambert) for Winn, so I’d aim for a nifty role player or a low-level guy with some upside.

    Brennan Ryan would be the guy I would ask for, but I doubt St. Louis would give him up for Winn. He’s 23, a 7th round pick in 2003 out of Lewis-Clark State college, and a polished shortstop with solid across the board skills. He might end up at second base, because his arm isn’t great, but he’s an intriguing player.

    John Nelson is one of my favorite underrated prospects. He’s already 26, and he was available in the Rule 5 draft for anyone to take last year, but I think he could make a nice reserve middle infielder. He’s a converted CF now playing shortstop with a little bit of juice in his bat and decent abilities to play all over the plate. Willie Bloomquist with a better stick, basically.

    Jim Journell could be useful out of the pen if he can ever stay healthy. He’s got a good arm, but has a long history of injury problems.

  7. Adam S on July 28th, 2005 12:55 pm

    These comments sound like some of the guys I used to play fantasy baseball with — “Randy Winn sucks. So why don’t you trade him to me.”

    Despite his flaws, the Cubs, Cardinals, and Yankees — three teams aiming for the playoffs — all seem interesting in acquiring him and putting him in their starting lineup.

    I think that says a lot.

  8. J.R. on July 28th, 2005 12:57 pm

    Adam – word!

  9. Typical Idiot Fan on July 28th, 2005 1:19 pm

    Dave said:
    Believe it or not, I’ve actually heard rumors of the M’s and Phils talking about deals that did include Howard. I don’t think it’s going to happen, but I cringed when I heard it. He’s my personal anti-white whale.

    But isn’t Ryan Howard black?

    G’NITE EVERYBODY!

  10. David J Corcoran on July 28th, 2005 1:22 pm

    58: I thought that was the point. With that said, I don’t get it.

  11. Dave on July 28th, 2005 1:25 pm

    Read Moby Dick, DJC.

  12. Kirk on July 28th, 2005 1:28 pm

    #54: “Hmm . . . Joel Pineiro for Ryan Howard doesn’t seem like that bad of an idea — though, Raul Ibanez is performing fairly well, so the M’s have no real need for a designated hitter.”

    If we could acquire Ryan Howard, I’d do it and turn around and either play Raul in LF (and deal Winn obviously) or see what we could get for him in a trade.

    The problem is it’s highly unlikely the Phillies are dumb enough to deal Howard for any of our starters. Why would the Phillies, already stuck with Thome’s bad contract, want to deal one of their better prospects for a guy in Pineiro that’s gotten worse every year, has seen his fastball decrease alarmingly this year, is coming off of injury, and is scheduled to make, what, $6+ M next year? Maybe they’d consider Meche for Howard, but I’m skeptical, and as maddeningly inconsistent as Meche has been, given our rotation situation going into next year I’d rather hang on to Meche than acquire another DH.

  13. dw on July 28th, 2005 1:57 pm

    Read Moby Dick, DJC.

    Now, three to three, ye stand. Commend the murderous 20-80 scoring system! Bestow them, ye who are now made parties to this indissoluble team…. Drink, ye commenters! drink and swear, ye bathrobe-wearing nimrods that man the deathful USS Mariner’s bow — Death to Ryan Howard! God DFA us all, if we do not hypothetically acquire Ryan Howard to his death!

  14. msb on July 28th, 2005 2:07 pm

    Kirk said:”The problem is it’s highly unlikely the Phillies are dumb enough to deal Howard for any of our starters. Why would the Phillies, already stuck with Thome’s bad contract”

    and esp. as it seems likely that Thome isn’t coming off the DL any time soon…

  15. jtopps on July 28th, 2005 3:16 pm

    There’s been some mention of Ryan Madson being converted to a starter. Is that really a possibility? I know he has been pretty lights-out as a reliever/set-up man.

    Also is there a history of good relievers who became good starters? I know a lot of guys have done the reverse and succeeded, but off the top of my head, I don’t know any that have more than just spot-starters.

  16. Kirk on July 28th, 2005 3:47 pm

    #64

    Madson has been a starter througout his minor league career (and was reasonably successful), so returning him to the rotation at the MLB level isn’t quite the same thing as taking a guy that’s always been a reliever and converting him to start.

    I’m not sure it happens as much anymore, but in past years some managers had a policy of having most of their pitching prospects break in the bigs out of the bullpen before going into the rotation. Not sure if that was the plan with Madson or if there were some questions as to whether he had a varied enough repertoire to succeed as a starter in the majors.

  17. jtopps on July 28th, 2005 3:58 pm

    #65-
    Yeah- I checked it out. He only became a reliever really last year with the Phillies. In 26 starts at Triple A Scranton he put up 12-8 record, 3.50 ERA, and a 3.29 K/BB ratio. That was 138 K’s in 157 innings. A Mariner’s pitcher who could strike guys out? What would that be like?

  18. jtopps on July 28th, 2005 3:59 pm

    For the record, those stats are from 2003…