SB Nation - J.J. Putz

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:18:55 -0000

by Jim Prisching - AP

Craig Counsell is expected to re-sign today.

Some things to read while John Tesh rocks the NBA on NBC theme (h/t Amy K. Nelson).

Randy Wolf is expected to undergo a physical this morning and once he does, expect his contract to become official sometime later today. That might not be today's only announcement, though: the Brewers are also expected to finalize a deal with Craig Counsell today. With Counsell, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Alcides Escobar, Mat Gamel and Casey McGehee all on the roster, the Brewers' Opening Day infield is probably set, barring injury or trade.

Meanwhile, Mike Rivera is surprised to be looking for work after being non-tendered over the weekend. He thought the decision not to retain Jason Kendall would give him an edge as the only returning catcher familiar with the Brewer pitching staff.

As of this writing, roughly 4% of voters in the poll on your right listed the decision to offer Dave bush a 2010 contract as the one Brewer move from this weekend they would change. That's not exactly a large chunk of the fanbase, but In-Between Hops is taking on that vocal minority, making the case that the Brewers made the right move by giving Bush another shot.

If you missed Morineko's Weekend Mug, follow the link over to it for full coverage of the Brewers' arbitration decisions, and a link to this list of all the non-tenders leaguewide.

Looking back at last week, Jon Heyman ranked the Brewers among the Winter Meeting winners. Meanwhile, Marc Hulet of The Baseball Analysts listed Rule 5 selection Chuck Lofgren in the "Why Bother?" category.

The more I think about it, the more I think Lofgren will have a tough task ahead of him if he's going to make the team out of spring training. With Trevor Hoffman, LaTroy Hawkins, Todd Coffey, Claudio Vargas and Mitch Stetter back, there's only two bullpen spots left that are potentially available (barring injury), and Chris Smith, John Axford, Chris Narveson, Zach Braddock and now Lofgren fighting for them. I like Lofgren's potential and hope the Brewers will get an opportunity to realize it, but right now he might be the third or fourth best lefty in the bullpen competition.

If you have a vague interest in Brewer baseball, but wish there was less analysis and more profanity on this site, then Miller Park Drunk's RUNNING series might be just the ticket for you. Follow these links for bad Prince Fielder jokes, some fan fiction involving Ryan Braun trying to rap, and a vague musical reference to Rickie Weeks.

In the minors: Baseball Intellect has video footage of some at bats featuring Cameron Garfield, Cutter Dykstra and Josh Prince from a Pioneer League game back in July. They're pay-only, but there are worse ways to spend $2.95.

If you were gone this weekend, you didn't miss the opportunity to help select a center fielder and catcher for the BCB All Decade Team. Voting closes at 4 pm today for center fielders and 4 pm tomorrow for catchers. We'll open the voting for the final starting outfield spot later today.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Signed catcher John Buck to a one-year deal worth $2 million, signed Joey Gathright to a minor league deal,
Braves: Signed Matt Diaz to a one year, $2.55 million deal, avoiding arbitration.
D-Backs: Re-signed infielder Augie Ojeda to a one year deal, and avoided arbitration with Blaine Boyer.
Dodgers: Signed pitcher Josh Towers to a minor league deal.
Giants: Signed shortstop-turned-pitcher Tony Pena Jr. to a minor league deal.
Indians: Re-signed pitchers Adam Miller and Anthony Reyes to minor league deals.
Marlins: Signed catcher Ronny Paulino to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Nationals: Re-signed Scott Olsen to a one year deal. Also signed pitcher Ryan Speier to a minor league deal.
Padres: Signed pitcher Kevin Correia to a one year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Pirates: Signed Ronny Cedeno to a one year, $1.125 million deal, avoiding arbitration.
Rangers: Signed infielder Esteban German to a one year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Rays: Avoided arbitration with catcher Dioner Navarro and pitchers Grant Balfour, Rafael Soriano, Lance Cormier and Randy Choate.
Royals: Avoided arbitration with pitchers Brian Bannister and Kyle Davies. They also signed pitcher Bruce Chen and catcher Vance Wilson to minor league deals.
White Sox: Signed J.J. Putz to a one year deal.

Meanwhile, the market heated up immediately for Yankees non-tender Chien-Ming Wang, with Ken Rosenthal reporting that six teams have already expressed interest. He doesn't list the teams, but I wouldn't be surprised to discover the Brewers are one of them.

I promise, I'm not going to mention it every time someone says something new about Jason Kendall. In fact, I might try to go the rest of the week without mentioning him at all. With that said, I thought these three links about him were interesting:

Joe Posnanski has a look at the potential Opening Day lineup for the 2010 Royals, now including Kendall.
He also compares Kendall to a superball on the field at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Reminding us all how far and how fast Kendall has fallen, Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? named Kendall the Pirate Catcher of the Decade.

Weeks ago I linked to a post from minor league veteran Garrett Broshuis, mentioning the challenges in finding quality, healthy food in minor league clubhouses. It looks like that problem may be on its way to being resolved: After discussing it at the Winter Meetings, several teams are making an effort to provide healthier options, and remove the constant flow of junk.

If you're a fan of sabermetrics, or just want to learn more about them, I've got two links for you today:

TangoTiger has a look at OPS+, and some minor adjustments that could be made to it to make it more useful than some other advanced metrics.
That post links to this one, Big League Stew's beginner's guide to wOBA. I learned a fair amount by reading that one.

Gorman Thomas celebrated a birthday over the weekend, and while this probably isn't what he had in mind for a gift, David Chalk of Seventh Inning 'Stache has inducted him into the MLB Mustache Hall of Fame.

On this day in 1998, the Brewers acquired Alex Ochoa from the Twins for a minor leaguer named Darrell Nicholas. Ochoa spent one season as a Brewer, hitting .300/.404/.466 before being traded to the Reds for Mark Sweeney after the season.

Happy birthday today to:

Former Seattle Pilot and 1970 Brewer Greg Goossen, who turns 64.
Dave Nilsson, who appeared in 837 games as a Brewer and turns 40.
Marcus Jensen, who appeared in 18 games over two tours as a Brewer and turns 37.

Sean Forman, founder of Baseball Reference, is also celebrating his birthday today. You can help him celebrate by sponsoring a page. I know someone around here will want this one.

Drink up.

D.J. Carrasco: Nay

larry — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:51:50 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Goodbye, everybody.

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D.J. Carrasco, arguably the White Sox' second most valuable reliever last season, is rumored to be a non-tender candidate. With a bullpen that already appears to be getting full with Bobby Jenks, Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz, Scott Linebrink, Tony Pena and a LOOGY to be named later (currently Raaaaaaaaaandy Williams), the team could decide that the $500K or so raise Carrasco is likely to seek in arbitration could be better spent elsewhere. Daniel Hudson in particular is a candidate for a multi-inning role, or perhaps a Clevelan Santeliz or Jhonny Nunez - all at half the cost. Then again, it's only $500K and, if the White Sox decide to go in a different direction in Spring Training or before, they may only owe Carrasco 30-45 days of termination pay instead of the entire contract.

What say you?

Edit: Of course, the only vote that counts is KW, and he voted 'Nay'.

Carrasco was kind enough to address the 88% of White Sox fans who wanted him to return: "One of the reasons I'm going to miss Chicago is the passion and knowledge of the White Sox fans," said Carrasco, when asked if he had heard of fans' disappointment over his departure. "It holds a special place in my heart that they wanted me back."

Poll

Offer Carrasco arbitration?

Yea

319 votes

Nay

43 votes

362 votes | Poll has closed

J.J. Putz to White Sox, Brings a Little Less Velocity

Harry Pavlidis — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:39:33 -0000

The White Sox just signed J.J. Putz for 2010 at $3 million. They're getting closer turned set-up man. Putz had some elbow clean-up done recently, but I gather there were no structural issues.

Putz used to throw in the upper 90s, which complemented a nasty splitter. And not only were those fastballs very fast (they still are), but he mixed two- and four-seamers. A hot riser and a hard sinker. Niiice. Putz also throws a hard slider (upper 80s) and a slow-ish curve (mid-upper 70s), but not very often -- particularly the curve.

Take a look at his speed charts, going back to 2007 (seasons divided by vertical white lines).

You can see the lack of curveballs at the lowest end of his speed range(s). While Putz did regain some velocity during his abbreviated 2009 season, he has not shown the type of speed he was known for in his prime. Still a hard thrower, still has that effective, bat missing, ground ball inducing spliiter.

Today's Game: Who's! The! Closer?

Ian Casselberry — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:00:28 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

Brandon Lyon will be patting another catcher's head next season, as he's agreed to a three-year deal with the Houston Astros.

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If you didn't already grasp the idea that the 2010 Detroit Tigers baseball club would look different from the 2009 edition, further evidence of that came last night with the news that Brandon Lyon was set to sign with the Houston Astros.

Earlier in the evening, there were rumblings that Lyon was looking for a two-year, $9 million contract, in light of the two-year, $7.5 million deal LaTroy Hawkins signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. And that probably would've been too rich for the Tigers.

So when Lyon ends up agreeing to a three-year, $15 million contract, it's probably safe to say Detroit was never really in the running to re-sign him. Unfortunately, this is the guy the Tigers were presumably hoping would be their closer in 2010. Now, they probably have to go to "Plan B."

But if "Plan B" was Fernando Rodney, he might not be available, either. (I'm thinking Rodney wasn't the Tigers' Plan B, however.) Dave Dombrowski called it "a long shot." And now that the Phillies have lost out on Lyon, they might be targeting Rodney. The buzz around Rodney has almost been non-existent during the offseason, though there were rumblings in early November that the Phillies were interested.

(via The Detroit Tigers Weblog)

Even a lower-cost veteran reliever like J.J. Putz, which seemed like a near-ideal fit for the Tigers, might be out of reach. Reports out of Chicago have the White Sox nearing an agreement with him.

These developments might leave Detroit with no other choice but to go with an in-house option. And considering the investment this team has made in young relievers over the past three years (including the two just acquired in the Curtis Granderson-Edwin Jackson trade), maybe that's a direction the Tigers should've gone in anyway.

Could Joel Zumaya be the first candidate for the closer job? Dombrowski said the team feels he's ready. That might make a lot of fans cringe, given his recent injury. (And surely, the Tigers are nervous about that, as well.) But if he is healthy - and that's been such a big "if" over the past three years - he may be the best choice.

Zumaya has four seasons of experience (not four full seasons, mind you), and if you're a believer that a closer needs to have a certain mindset, being "the man" for the ninth inning appears to be a role he relishes. Plus - and this is not an unimportant point - Jim Leyland seems to trust him.

If Zumaya ends up being the favorite, however, the Tigers need an insurance policy. That's where the depth of young relievers comes in.

Should Ryan Perry be next in line? Zach Miner? (Leyland seems to prefer that sinker for groundball situations, though.) Casey Fien didn't impress all that much in his first two major league stints, but he did save 14 games for the Mud Hens. Is Cody Satterwhite (12 saves with Double-A Erie this year) ready for the big leagues? Robbie Weinhardt? What about Daniel Schlereth?

Who else would you like to see get a shot?

Tigers Among Six Teams Chasing J.J. Putz

Ian Casselberry — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:45:08 -0000

Jon Paul Morosi reported late last night (early this morning) that the Tigers were among six teams that have expressed interest in reliever J.J. Putz. Putz recently threw for scouts, and must have looked pretty good to attract this kind of attention.

Putz might look more appealing after Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney declined arbitration yesterday (presumably in hopes for longer-term contracts). Of course, Detroit can still pursue Lyon and Rodney. And depending on how the free agent market develops, maybe the Tigers could even sign one of those guys for less than they would've gotten through the arbitration process.

This year with the Mets, Putz pitched in only 29 games, due to a sore elbow that eventually required surgery to remove bone spurs. He's two years removed from a 40-save season with the Mariners.

Afternoon Prowl: No Pursuit of J.J. Putz, Scott Sizemore's Leg, and Jason Grilli Returns

Ian Casselberry — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:00:21 -0000

Are the Tigers not interested in reliever J.J. Putz, or might they be waiting until next week's Winter Meetings to talk to him? If so, Detroit might find a few other teams ahead of them in line. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported that the Phillies, Astros, Pirates, and Rangers have each checked in on Putz.

Jason Beck confirmed that the Tigers haven't had any discussions with Putz as of this week.

Now that Placido Polanco has moved on, will his successor at second base be ready for next season? Scott Sizemore spoke with Lynn Henning, saying that his broken leg appears to be "coming along pretty good." Sizemore is scheduled to meet with doctors today, but his progress seems to indicate that he'll be ready for Spring Training.

Talking to the Freep's George Sipple, Sizemore did express some concern that he's lost time in the weight room due to the injury.

At Motor City Bengals, Joe Dexter wonders if Billy Wagner's $7 million deal with the Braves has now priced Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney out of the Tigers' budget. If so, will Detroit be able to sign anyone capable of being their closer? Or will they have to give the job to one of the in-house candidates? (Joel Zumaya, Ryan Perry, etc.)

Speaking of Zumaya, his rehab is just about completed, according to Beck. With that, Zumaya can begin focusing on strength and conditioning. Apparently, that gives him a head start over the last couple of offseasons, where he was still rehabbing before Spring Training.

The Cleveland Indians' bullpen will have a familiar face next season, as Jason Grilli returns to the AL Central. Grilli apparently signed last week, but the official announcement was made yesterday. He agreed to a minor league deal, with a chance to win a job in Spring Training. Grilli chose the Indians over six other teams that had expressed interest.

River Avenue Blues wants the Yankees to steer of Lyon for their bullpen, believing he would be a "fringe reliever" in the AL East due to a low strikeout rate and "unsustainably low" BABIP. Lyon's desire for a multi-year deal also raises eyebrows, considering the Yankees' past misfortunes with relievers such as Kyle Farnsworth.

(via MLB Trade Rumors)

Did we know that the Tigers had been interested in Mike Cameron? Both Beck and Jon Heyman have mentioned that Detroit had pursued him "last summer" as a centerfield option versus left-handed pitching. (I'm assuming that means Summer 2009, not 2008.) I'm pretty sure I was here, and don't remember those rumors popping up very much.

The inference is that the Tigers might go after Cameron as a free agent, if they trade Curtis Granderson. As we said on Tuesday, however, it's unclear how that would help Detroit save money, as Cameron made $10 million last year and would surely cost more than Granderson is owed for 2010. (Still, I think Cameron would look great in left field for Detroit.)

Over in the FanPosts, Andy Seiler posted an excerpt to his review of the Tigers' 2009 draft. You can read his thoughts to Detroit's first five picks, including Jacob Turner, Andrew Oliver, and Wade Gaynor.

Astros Hot Stove Rumors

davoag — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:57:40 -0000

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

Have you seen this man? He's a possible closer, maybe a starter...

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Since it seems all the rage to link the Houston Astros to all sorts of guys in the rumor mill this offseason, how about we do a quick recap of what exactly is going on and how those guys potentially fit with the team.

Brett Myers -- DyingQuail has done a good job of tracking down whether Myers would be viewed as a starter or a reliever. He got a tweet response from Alyson Footer that said Wade is considering Myers as a starter foremost, but his versatility as a reliever is also a plus. The Astros realistically have one spot open in the rotation, unless they bump Moehler to long relief. Myers is coming off a season where he earned 12 million in the last year of a three-year, 25.75M deal. Safe to say he doesn't get that this offseason. [I'm pretty sure that the owner who cuts Julio Lugo days after he is charged with spousal battery yet brings in Myers loses all moral high ground in perpetuity]

J.J. Putz - Putz was a legitimately great reliever in 2007, a good one in 2008 and a injury-ridden one in 2009. Ed Wade's most recent comments to Brian McTaggart suggest that the Astros interest is at just a 'checking-in' phase. Putz could fill in nicely as a back of the bullpen guy, though it's too soon to tell whether his struggles last season were because of injury or because he couldn't move back into a setup role.

Placido Polanco - Reportedly, Polanco has signed a three-year deal with the Phillies. That seems a tad too long for me and probably wouldn't have fit the Astros long-term plans. Still, a player who can hit for a high average would look good at the top of the Astros order. Looks like that's what Philadelphia gets instead.

Joe Crede - Again, the Crede speculation won't go away. We've discussed him numerous times before, but it seems that a third baseman with his glove could really help the team, though the flashing 'Back Injury!' sign that accompanies him does prove problematic. I don't see a Crede signing swinging the 2010 season for the Astros, but he might prove useful if he's healthy.

Random group of closers (Fernando Rodney, Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Kevin Gregg) - No one here jumps out as a great replacement for Valverde, though they all should be fairly cheap. Ed Wade has expressed interest in this group as possibilities in case they don't re-sign their own guys, but I honestly don't forsee anyone in this group really holding down a closer's job reliably next season.

Thursday Morning Astros, etc. Round Up

DyingQuail — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:29:43 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Brett Myers throws in the first inning of a baseball game with the Florida Marlins, Wednesday, May 27, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

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I'm saddened by the fact that yesterday was, historically, the hottest day of the hot stove and the only news the Astros announced was signing Casey Diagle to a minor league contract and offering him an invite to spring training. The plus side to this, is that anyone who does attend Spring Training is likely to get a lot of Jennie Finch sightings (does Diagle resent the fact that his wife has about 100x more success than he does or does she resent him for having a legitimate professional league?).

The derth of meaningful transactions didn't mean that there weren't rumors swirling around what Ed Wade will do with his allowance. Although davoag posted to this link yesterday, the distinction I'd like to draw from the Brett Myers rumors is that the Astros want to sign him as a relief pitcher (see the emphasized portion of the photo caption). Since the Charlie Brown Christmas Special was on TV the other night, I have only this to say: Good Grief. What does it say about your team and your relationship with it, when even in rumors, that apparently have no substantiation, they manage to annoy you? Oh yeah, and we're also giving J.J. Putz the once over.

In exciting things to hear about, the Astros are seriously considering Placido Polanco as a candidate to solve our infield woes. Even more exciting, is that RJ Anderson broke Palanco down and deemed him one of the most interesting-under-the-radar free agents of the offseason.

Remember when we did that whole community projection project thing last year? I do because it ate through hours of my life. Well FanGraphs is raising the bar with their version of community projections this year. The more participation, the cooler this will be...(I just pushed my glasses back up my schnoz, inadvertently, but perfectly timed).

Also, while we're talking projections, every system has it's reputation. Bill James is too hitter friendly, PECOTA hates pitchers, etc. The gentlemen at Walk-off Walk indulge our fascination with projections, but poke fun at both the systems and ourselves. As a disclaimer, if you laugh at this, you're a giant baseball-nerd too.

I know that there are an disproportionate amount of lawyers, law students, former laywers/law students in the audience, so this legal analysis of how booth reviews are systemically structured in sports should appeal to you.

Put these links on your list of "I will reference these often as we discuss free agents this offseason":

Ok, you're properly armed.

Wednesday Afternoon Astros Hot Stove Links

davoag — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:34:06 -0000

More photos » by George Nikitin - AP

The rumor mill just keeps on churnin'...

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What's weird about the past couple of days is there have been a TON of baseball-related stories, but not a whole lot going on. Sure, Kelly Shoppach gets traded for a PTBNL and Billy Wagner signs a one-year deal with the Braves. Other than that? Just a bunch of clubs offering arbitration. Does that mean we won't bring you all these links, though? Not in the least.

Rumors swirled this afternoon that the Astros were in on Brett Myers and J.J. Putz. Brian McTaggart talked with Ed Wade and finds out...nothing? Is there any GM that plays the offseason closer to the vest than Wade? In case you missed it, Wade will be on Astroline tonight at 6 p.m. Send your questions to Alyson Footer on twitter and she'll ask Wade about them tonight.

Richard Justice says the Astros will be just fine with not re-signing any of their free agents. I have nothing of value to say about this other than to check back tomorrow; his opinion will have changed again.

Here is Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors take on the Astros arbitration choices. Very similar to most of the analysis on here, though it could just be that we're all grasping at straws to understand what this front office does.

Here's an interesting article about Michael Bourn. Sure, it's about fantasy baseball but hey, any national pub for the Astros is a good thing, right? I didn't draft Bourn for my team this season, but I did pick him up in April. I don't expect him to be available in April next season.

Craig Calcaterra's take on the news that Dennis Gilbert may be the new owner of the Texas Rangers. Sounds like Gilbert should be an easy choice by the rest of MLB, but the real benefit for the Astros is that Nolan Ryan won't be part of the new ownership group. That means it's unlikely Round Rock becomes a Rangers affiliate after their deal with the Astros expires after 2010.

This is a story about the Yankees managerial hiring process in 2008. Really interesting part about what Cashman asked the managers to do re: the lineups. I wonder if Wade and Tal Smith did something similar...

So, let me get this straight...the Twins, a small market team if there every was one, offered Carl Pavano arbitration even though he had a 5.00 ERA last season? But the Astros couldn't afford to offer Hawkins or Tejada?

Is this the natural progression after amphetamines were banned? Because I'm sure none of those players share their medication with the other guys in the locker room...I know college kids will buy stuff like Adderol to study for exams, so we're sure the MLB players are following the straight and true path with this? I'm just sayin'...

Finally, Project Prospect's Top 15 Catchers...nice to see Castro so highly placed and it's interesting that he's the top rated catcher who's also solid defensively. I can live with line drive power if he hits for average and is great behind the plate.

J.J. Putz would consider set-up role

Eli Greenspan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:30:03 -0000

More photos » by George Nikitin - AP

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Free agent reliever J.J. Putz's agent told reporters that the former closer is healthy and throwing well, and would be willing to listen to offers to be a set-up man.

"He has a preference to be a closer, but absolutely will not rule out an eighth-inning job depending upon many factors," Landis said.

Putz missed the majority of the season dealing with an elbow injury, but is just looking for another job and several teams already have interest in him.

The Tigers, Cubs, Phillies, and Braves have varying degrees of interest in the right-hander.