SB Nation - Chris Carter

Braves Sign Billy Wagner, Sox Nab 20th Pick

Ben Buchanan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:08:50 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

3 months ago: Boston Red Sox pitcher Billy Wagner delivers to Tampa Bay Rays' Carl Crawford during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Wagner struck Crawford out. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Billy Wagner has reached a preliminary agreement to sign with the Braves.

For Sox fans, this is the end of a fairly lengthy drama involving Elias rankings, arbitration, and draft picks. At first it looked like the Sox would have to agree to forgo arbitration and give up the draft picks to finalize the Wagner trade. Then it looked like Wagner might accept arbitration if it was offered.

Things seem to have worked out well for Boston now, though, as Wagner's signing would secure the Sox the Braves' first round pick (number 20) and a supplementary pick between the first 2 rounds. The first rounder is not a sure thing, as the Sox would have to settle for a second rounder if the Braves signed a higher ranked free agent, but they have yet to be linked to any other, bigger names. Essentially, the Sox bought a few late-season innings of Wagner, and turned Chris Carter and Eddie Lora--two prospects entirely unlikely to contribute to the Sox--into first round picks. Not a bad deal.

The Red Sox have acquired quite a bit of talent thanks to compensatory picks over the last 5 years, including Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Jed Lowrie, Michael Bowden, and Nick Hagadone.

Billy Wagner Signs With The Braves, Mets Look Really Dumb

Sam Page — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:43:46 -0000

The Braves just signed Billy Wagner to a one-year, $7 million dollar deal with a vesting option. Besides the obvious pain of the Braves improving by adding a player that was very good for the Mets, the Red Sox now get the 20th pick in the draft and a supplemental first round pick, both of which the Mets would have received if they had just hung onto Wagner until the end of the season. Instead, the Mets got two non-prospect minor leaguers, Chris Carter in Eddie Lora, who I seriously doubt will ever be useful to a major league team, especially in the National League.

Defenders of the trade said that Wagner would not decline arbitration (wrong) and that the Mets saved ~3.5MM as part of the deal. Great, the Mets opted for 3.5MM dollars instead of two first-round draft choices. Hey, guess what Alex Cora and Chris Coste are going to make combined next season? Basically, just imagine a crappy political cartoon showing a bunch of office-drones with shovels next to two pits, one that is just a bonfire and the other that is labeled "major league talent," and they're shoveling all the money into the fire pit. That's the Mets front office in a nutshell.

A Guide To Some Relevant Minor League Free Agents

Sam Page — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:00:27 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

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In 2009, the Mets were bereft of minor league depth. It was painfully obvious looking at Buffalo's performance and it became a major issue when injuries struck. Despite what some claim, however, developing prospects is not the only way to build good farm systems. Often those fringe players that never quite breakthrough to the show are the most integral parts of a successful minor league team. So going off this list, here's some MiFA of interest:

RHP Phil Humber: I actually think Humber is a pretty bad pitcher, but need to mention him before everyone gets nostalgic. Humber was, of course, the former Mets top prospect out of Rice that was supposed to join Mike Pelfrey at the top of the Mets rotation eventually--that was, before he had Tommy John Surgery. Somehow included in the Johan Santana deal, Humber pitched really poorly for the Twins in AAA. The only real reason to bring him back would be a show of goodwill and sympathy from the Mets. Don't hold out hope for that lost potential.

IF/OF Wilson Betemit: The top-prospect-turned-super-sub Betemit probably has his best days behind him, even at age 28. He comes from the Mark DeRosa mold in that he has experience at virtually every position, but is good at none of them. And while he hasn't hit very well of late, his interesting blend of power and plate discipline and major-league track record could make him worth a flier at AAA. Personally, I might opt for better infield defense behind the Mets young developing pitchers, but few others on that list can claim being an average major league hitter over their career.

RHP Bryan Bullington: One of many infamous first round busts in the Pirate's recent draft history, this first-overall pick has some upside as a reliever. In 38 relief innings for Las Vegas last season, Bullington had a 43:7 K:BB ratio in 38.1 innings pitched. He also can be as a serviceable AAA starter, but any chance of him making the bigs is as a part of the bullpen. A good guy to have around.

LHP Brian Burres: A long-time Baltimore farm hand, Burres has the stuff to be a mid-rotation AAA guy and a #7 or 8 on an organizational depth chart. Sub-par control and a horrible 2008 with the Orioles will likely prevent him from ever earning another extended stay in the majors.

RHP R.A. Dickey:

Pros:

Went to my high school
throws the knuckleball
the only article I ever wrote for my high school newspaper was about him

Cons:

not as good as Tim Wakefield

Dickey is the rare pitcher who is seemingly improving with age. He started using the knuckleball full-time in 2007, a season in which he was the Pacific Coast League MVP. Last year he had modest success as a reliever with the Twins. Knuckleball pitchers are great because they can pitch a million innings without getting tired and because they throw the knuckleball.

3B/OF Joe Dillon: At age 33, Joe's showing some signs of decline, but with the way he's been jerked around between the majors and minors recently, I wonder whether it's genuine slowing down or just not getting settled in one place. He is one of those AAAA sluggers that makes minor league baseball fun to watch--three times in his minor league career he's had a 1000+ OPS. He's a pretty decent fielding thirdbaseman to boot. This year he was the "last man" on the Rays bench, and he could easily reprise that role with the Mets, or be big boost to the Bisons.

RHP Geoff Geary: Geary is a control-specialist reliever who has had some major league PT recently with the Astros and Phillies. He's not someone I want in the Mets bullpen, but Buffalo could use him.

OF Mitch Jones: .354, .320. Those two numbers are Mitch Jones' Isolated Power in the past two seasons. Sure, he played in a friendly home ballpark in Albuquerque, but a .651 SLG% travels. You could make an argument that Jones is better suited for a starting job on the Mets than Daniel Murphy or Jeff Francoeur.

LHP Royce Ring: Ya'll know Royce. Lefty with the funky motion. I'd take him back on a minor league deal, considering the state of the Mets' bullpen.

LHP Jon Switzer: He pitched pretty well for Buffalo out of the bullpen this year (3.85 tRA). He would be a solid re-sign.

1B Chris Shelton: Like a right-handed Chris Carter, Chris Shelton is another AAAA slugger the Bison's stagnant offense could certainly use. Last year with Tacoma, he OPSed .905 at age 29. With Chris Carter already here, however, he may be "blocked." And as you've probably suspected, I'd gladly platoon him with Murphy, Carter, or Ike Davis, if given the chance.

LHP R.J. Swindle: Of all the pitchers I've talked about so far, Swindle is easily the most desirable. He'll be just 26 next season and has fantastic minor league peripherals 9.0 K/9, 1.8 BB/9. He's got forgettable stuff: a low 80s fastball and curveball that is basically an eephus, but he's always put up great numbers and killed lefties. Chad Bradford II?

RHP Joe Nelson: The Rays signed Joe for $1MM after a fantastic '08 with the Marlins. He proved a bad investment with horrible command, but might be served well by a return to the NL East. The Mets were reportedly interested in him as a Major League piece last year, and at the very least would be a great AAA option.

C Guillermo Quiroz: A former top-50 prospect, Quiroz has evolved into a minor league catcher with a sterling defensive reputation, good pop, and poor on-base skills. Basically, he's Omir Santos. I am not even sure Omir Santos is even better than him. In fact, Omir Santos was the Orioles' AAA catcher when Quiroz was their Major League backup. That says more about how poor and ill-equipped for a starting gig Santos is, than how good Quiroz is. But if you're going to entrust Omir Santos with a roster spot, might as well keep his clone as a backup in AAA.

Red Sox and Mets Complete Billy Wagner Deal

Brendan Scolari — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:58:52 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

3 months ago: Boston Red Sox pitcher Billy Wagner winds up during his first appearance for the Red Sox in their 7-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. Wagner pitched one scoreless inning with three strikeouts and one hit. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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According to a report from CBSSports.com the Red Sox and Mets have completed their deal that sent Billy Wagner to Boston. The Red Sox sent the Mets minor leaguers Chris Carter and Eddie Lora.

According to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post the Mets thought they were going to get Carter in September but the Yankees claimed him off of waivers so they had to wait until after the season to complete the deal. Carter has since been added to the Mets 40 man roster. Carter, a 26 year old outfielder, hit .294/.358/.465 in 478 PA's with Triple-A Pawtucket this season.

Lora is a 20 year old switch hitting first baseman. Lora only played in 34 games this season (all for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox) and hit .222/.287/.414 in 108 PA's.

Mets Get Chris Carter, Eddie Lora From Red Sox For Billy Wagner

Eric Simon — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:50:22 -0000

I guess it's official now.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:54:34 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Prince Fielder could be on the move this offseason after all.

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Some things to read while moving the Wingnut to F3.

Two weeks ago, Mark Attanasio told Telly Hughes the Brewers don't need a major overhaul and he didn't see any major moves on the horizon this offseason. Apparently a lot can happen in two weeks, because Attanasio has changed his tune and now says the Brewers will "explore every avenue" this offseason, including the possibility of trading Prince Fielder.

There would likely be howls of protest if this deal went through: The Baseball Opinion speculates that the Brewers could trade Fielder to the Braves for Javier Vazquez. Vazquez would be a one-year rental for the Crew, and his $11.5 million salary would mean the Brewers would actually be spending more than they'd spend to keep Fielder, who is due $10.5 million.

Elsewhere on the market, Brewers Daily has a list of potential free agent pitchers this offseason, and looks at which ones might be candidates for the Brewers. If the Brewers, or any other team, are planning on signing a free agent pitcher to save them, they should read this post at FanGraphs which notes that just three of the top 30 starting pitchers in baseball were acquired via free agency. Eleven were acquired by trade, and 13 were drafted.

By the way, Jason Marquis is another name that will likely come up at some point. Jorge Says No! thinks he'll get 3 years, $24 million.

For many Brewers, the day off yesterday gave them an opportunity to take a break and refocus before opening tonight's series in Colorado. For Mat Gamel, though, it was more of the same: He got zero at bats yesterday, the same number he's been given most days in September. Adam McCalvy takes a look at the season that was for one of the Brewers' top prospects, and Gord Ash steps in to stick up for the kid a bit.

No, Rickie Weeks is not moving to center field. Repeat it as many times as required to make it sink in.

In the minors, Jake Odorizzi (#2), Eric Arnett (#10) and Nick Bucci (#17) cracked Baseball America's list of the top 20 prospects in the Pioneer League (FanShot). One can probably expect all three of them to open the season in Wisconsin next spring.

The Brewers dropped one spot to 18th in The Sporting News' Power Rankings.

Around baseball:

Red Sox: Designated outfielder Chris Carter for assignment.

There haven't been as many complaints about it this year, but it's a pretty good year to be a large market team. Unless the Twins or Braves make a late charge and unseat the Tigers or Phillies, six of the top eight 2009 payrolls will be represented in the postseason. The Mets and Cubs are the only top-8 teams missing out.

The Ghost of Moonlight Graham recently visited Miller Park for the first time, and has a relatively quick review. Not to be outdone, Babes Love Baseball has an even quicker review of Robinade.

Happy birthday today to Ken Macha. Would you have guessed he's only 59? Also, happy birthday to Rob Deer, who turns 49.

That's all I have for you today, unless you're looking for panoramic views of Israel set to Ryan Braun home run calls.

Drink up.

Bloody Sox Laundry - 9/12/09

bs.uf15bosox9bears23 — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 09:00:36 -0000

by Winslow Townson - AP

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The rain actually helped us this time - kinda cool. Anyways, with the rotation getting shifted a little, guess who's getting a shot?

Matsuzaka to start Tuesday - Extra Bases

The rest of the rotation's immediate schedule's in there too.

Rapid fire links now:

Buchholz masters changeup - The Boston Globe

Pedroia good, but not like ’08 - Telegram.com
I'm starting to think there's a reason why this isn't a famous news source.

Players of the Month of August/September: Chris Carter & Jose Alvarez - SoxProspects.com

Josh Reddick’s dad happy to see this day - BostonHerald.com

Parade of crossdressing Red Sox rookies set to begin - Red Sox Monster
ALWAYS weird.

Lots of baseball to played this weekend - feel free to discuss whatever news breaks or any links you want to share or comment on.

Bloody Sox Laundry - 8/29/09

bs.uf15bosox9bears23 — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

DENIED!!!!

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This has been a weird season - some of us are rooting for the MFY to help us in the Wild Card race, while others are hoping for some of our key players to fail. We're arguing about the roster for next year and beyond, when there's issues with it right now (more on that later). Sometimes, we need to look to our enemies for a better perspective.

The Difference Between Boston and Tampa Bay - DRaysBay
Disclaimer: there's a lot of very weird stuff that is talked about regularly in the comments over there. The post itself is what I'm linking to, but I'm going to give fair warning for the possibly offensive comments. That said, I completely agree with what RJ says - the extra money and fan pressure make the situations harder to compare, but the Sox really do need to find a way to keep a hold on guys who are likely to regress.

Another semi-related link from the same author, but at another blog (RJ's a hard working blogger):

A Quiz - FanGraphs Baseball
This help any of you anti-Smoltz guys get what we're trying to say?

After the jump, we try to figure out the motives for the MFY-Chris Carter claim and plan Nick Green's next adventure.

New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox rivalry reaches waiver wire - ESPN

But the Yankees, sources said, placed a claim on Carter -- perhaps to create some 40-man roster discomfort for the Red Sox. In order to complete the Wagner trade, the Red Sox are now pulling Carter back from waivers, and for the rest of the year they must carry him on their 40-man roster.

And now we have another excuse to call them the MFY.

Martinez's Presence Bringing Out the Best in Big Papi - NESN.com
The logic at the beginning of this article makes me want to throw stuff, but hey, whatever works.

Q+A with 'untouchable' prospect Ryan Westmoreland - Fire Brand of the American League

USG, when are you going to start getting these? Wonder what he'd think of our nickname for him.

Green's your man in a pinch - Extra Bases

With last night’s outing on the mound, Green has now played all but one position: catcher. And it’s not like that thought hasn’t crossed his mind.

I'd suggest that Green could be the solution to our baserunner holding issues, but after Tek's awesome block last night (see pic), I'm back on the "keep Tek" wagon - unless he wants to become the catching coach.

Find links, post them, try not to get banned if you visit blogs of other teams. Hurray weekend!

Kicking the Red Sox when they are down

Ed Valentine — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:07:29 -0000

As Travis mentioned earlier, the Yankees tweaked the Red Sox by claiming Chris Carter and putting a snag in the Billy Wagner trade.

Well, now comes a report that the Bronx Bombers are interested in Brad Penny, whom Boston recently released.

I love it. Beating the Red Sox on the field, and making their lives miserable off of it. Doesn't get much better than that.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:00:55 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Mike Cameron dives into third for a triple during the 12th inning Tuesday.

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Some things to read while not sleeping.

After staying up to catch the end of last night's game, I didn't get much sleep and for some reason all I can think of is breakfast. At least one Brewer blogger isn't having this problem, as Miller Park Drunk left the game early.

Felipe Lopez also left early last night, but the news might not be as bad as you'd think. Initial reports were that Lopez had aggravated a hamstring injury, but Adam McCalvy says he actually injured the arch of his foot rounding third base in the ninth inning last night. Lopez was checked out by a doctor but declined an X-ray and is expected to be reevaluated today.

One would think Lopez would want to do everything he can to get back in the lineup for the next couple of days: The Reds have announced Kip Wells as tonight's starter, and will start former Brewer Justin Lehr tomorrow. Lehr has made five starts for the Reds this season, his first major league appearances since posting an 8.62 ERA for the Brewers in 2006.

With last night's loss, the Brewers dropped to eleven games back of the Cardinals, their largest deficit of the season. Doug Melvin says he's not inclined to trade veterans at this point, but Ken Rosenthal is reporting that six Brewers were placed on trade waivers yesterday, including Felipe Lopez, Braden Looper and Mike Cameron.

What should the Brewers do with Prince Fielder? Dave Cameron of FanGraphs thinks the Brewers should trade him this offseason before he gets too expensive and patch some of the other holes in the roster. Meanwhile, David Pinto of Baseball Musings thinks the Brewers should offer Prince $20 million per season to buy out some of his free agent years. Either way, it's a tough spot for the Brewers: Fielder's incredible season means he could be worth significantly more than they can afford when he's eligible for arbitration again after next season, but it also makes him very difficult to trade, as few teams have and are willing to part with pieces that be worth fair market value for one of the NL's most productive hitters.

Jody Gerut went 0-for-1 last night, but is still hitting .345/.406/.552 since July 26, raising his season OPS by 51 points. Tony Gwynn, for whatever it's worth, is hitting .225/.317/.270 over the same time frame. Casa de Machado is willing to admit that Gerut might not be "complete trash."

Before the season it was almost an afterthought, but re-signing Craig Counsell might be one of the best moves Doug Melvin made this offseason. Sky Andrecheck of Baseball Analysts included Counsell as Best Team a Reasonable Amount of Money Can Buy.

Amidst everything else that's been going on the last few weeks, we haven't talked much about Corey Hart or Seth McClung, who are both getting closer to healthy. Hart hopes to head out on a rehab assignment next week, but the Brewers are taking things a little slower with Seth McClung's elbow. McClung has already had Tommy John surgery once.

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this one: Jason Kendall has a six game hitting streak going, is hitting .340/.415/.457 since August 4 and is among the leaders in Plunk Everyone's new BACON and Beans statistic.

In the minors:

Mike Jones had one of the biggest nights of his career last night, rebounding from a rough debut by allowing just one earned run in 7.2 innings in Nashville's 4-1 win over Albuquerque. Jones allowed four hits and three walks while striking out seven, and threw 108 pitches while earning his first AAA victory.
The Brewers have added two outfielders to the roster in AAA, signing Tike Redman and Jon Knott.
Hernan Iribarren will join them in AAA sometime in the next few days. He was optioned to make room for Jeff Suppan.

If you've got nothing else going on this afternoon and want to spend more time discussing Brewer minor leaguers, then you might be interested in The Official Site's chat with Amateur Scouting Director Bruce Seid at 1 pm. I have a date with some yard work, so I'll be unable to attend.

Here's an interesting note from Lookout Landing: Carlos Villanueva and Mark DiFelice are among the unluckiest pitchers in baseball when it comes to getting strikes called on pitches in the zone, and the Brewers are the unluckiest team in baseball in the same category.

Following last night's loss, CoolStandings dropped the Brewers' playoff chances to .6%.

I usually do my best to avoid the restrooms at Miller Park, but if you must use them, Casa de Machado has a guide to etiquette that you should read first.

Around baseball:

Giants: Placed Freddy Sanchez on the DL with a shoulder strain.
Nationals: Signed Livan Hernandez and will start him today.
Rangers: Placed Andruw Jones on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Red Sox: Acquired Billy Wagner from the Mets for two PTBNL, one of which is rumored to be AAA slugger Chris Carter.
Reds: Signed Lew Ford to a minor league deal.
Rockies: Placed Dexter Fowler on the DL with swelling in his knee.

How much of being a good manager is simply perception? Rays manager Joe Maddon said this on Twitter yesterday:

On the road Ive asked guys 2 think about doing better by talking about playing better Has 2 begin w/ mental effort b4 it shows up physically

If Ned Yost had said something like that, we might have mocked it mercilessly. But when Joe Maddon said it, it somehow seems less nonsensical.

The Brewers officially named eight players to the Arizona Fall League yesterday, with Mark Rogers, Omar Aguilar, Zach Braddock, Josh Butler, Rob Wooten, Jonathan Lucroy, Taylor Green and Lorenzo Cain getting the call (FanShot). This year's AFL will have some significant star power as Stephen Strasburg will make his professional debut in the league, and will be joined by Mariners #1 pick Dustin Ackley, Giants pitcher Joe Martinez and catcher Buster Posey, Pirates outfielder Jose Tabata and Reds infielder Yonder Alonso, among others.

It's been at least a few days since the last time I had to mention an umpiring incident, but there's another one to report today: Several Rockies players complained that umpire Bill Miller called catcher Yorvit Torrealba a derogatory name in the late innings of a game Monday.

Ever wonder what it's like inside Bud Selig's office? Hal McCoy spent half an hour there yesterday and details much of the furniture, including a couch made entirely of baseball bats. (h/t Dear Ken Macha)

Do you enjoy Chuck Norris Facts? If so, you might be incredibly disappointed by these Ed Sprague Factoids, but you might enjoy these Rollie Fingers pictures.

On this day in 1987, Paul Molitor's 39-game hit streak came to an end as he was standing on deck when Rick Manning hit a walk-off single to beat the Indians 1-0 in ten innings. On this day in 1998, Phil Garner became the first Brewer manager to record 500 wins as the Brewers beat the Rockies 6-5.

Happy birthday today to Ricky Bottalico, who made 40 appearances as a Brewer in his final major league season in 2005, and turns 40 today. Alex Sanchez, first ballot "Don't Be That Guy" Hall of Famer, also turns 33.

Oh, and if you're a pro wrestling fan looking for a place to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors, SBNation has a blog for you.

Drink up.