SB Nation - Kelly Johnson

Braves Re-Acquire Jeff Francoeur... in the form of Melky Cabrera

gondeee — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:32:36 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

For better or worse, Melky Cabrera is now a member of the Atlanta Braves.

This is going to be a trade that's talked about for some time, along with the moves the Braves have made over the past year. If there is one constant in the moves the Braves have made in the past year, it is all about trimming money from the payroll.

In today's deal the Braves sent Javier Vazquez and his one-year $11.5 million salary to the Yankees along with Boone Logan and his $1.5 million likely arbitration figure. In return they get a rookie left-handed pitcher in Mike Dunn, an A-ball prospect in Arodys Vizcaino (two no-cost players), and outfielder Melky Cabrera, who will likely make around $3 million in arbitration. Ryan Church was scheduled to make around $4 million in arbitration, but by most accounts he's a better player than Cabrera. He's certainly not as highly thought of, but when healthy he hits for much more power than Cabrera likely ever will.

This begs the question, "did we trade away Jeff Francoeur (.743 career OPS) last year to acquire the better Ryan Church (.787 career OPS), only to release Church, and trade for Melky Cabrera (.716 career OPS), who is likely not as good as Francoeur?" Seems to me that the Braves end up on the short end of that outcome. Of course Cabrera is probably still "projectable" as a major leaguer, but how long did we say that about Francoeur?

There are two ways in which this trade will look good. First is in the money we will save and have available to potentially get a free agent bat that we've been needing. A rough total of the Braves salaries for next season currently comes to around $80 million (we only have one arbitration eligible player left, that's Peter Moylan). That would leave us with around $15 million to spend on a big bat... a nice sum, which should get us a good bat. The second way this trade will look good is if Arodys Vizcaino pulls his own version of Neftali Feliz in two or three years. We could also use him to acquire that big bat via trade, that would be an alternate way in which the trade would look good.

As it stands now, the Braves pattern the past year has been to strip salary. Kelly Johnson and Ryan Church were non-tendered, instead of being paid around $4 million a piece. Boone Logan was swapped for the cheaper Mike Dunn. Tim Hudson was re-signed at a more affordable salary than the now-traded Javier Vazquez. Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito will make less than Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez.

All of this salary conservation has led up to this final purge from the books, and now the team must make a move that brings a big bat here, and they should have the salary room to do so. Perhaps with $15 million to spend, they can aim higher than Johnny Damon or Xavier Nady, and zero in on Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. For some fans, that's the only way the team will win them back after another tumultuous off-season of questionable moves.

The Real Problem With The Mets (and why Mark DeRosa may be part of the solution)

Sam Page — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

The sassy attitude of a winner.

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These days, it seems fashionable to point out "the Mets only focus on last years problems!" and then turn around to talk about the need for a starting pitcher ceaselessly without the slightest hint of irony. Maybe I'm a contrarian, but the Mets have other, arguably bigger, problems than the rotation. The middle infield is being manned by two players with serious red flags on all four legs; one, while "healthy," was a -10 run defensive secondbaseman, the other hasn't ran full-speed in nearly 8 months. At two offense-premium positions are players with a recent track record of having their bats disappear for months at a time. And most, obviously, the Mets have no catcher or leftfielder. Ah, but that core. Here's my rough win projection for the incomplete squad:

So assuming better health, the Mets are 10 wins better, but certainly not contenders. Bengie Molina and Jason Bay add 4-6 wins, depending on how you project each player's controversial defense. That brings the Mets into the 85-range, a swing of good luck from the wild card, but not going to march over the NL East into the playoffs. So where is the room for improvement?

The rotation, certainly, but to what extent? Santana and Pelfrey occupy 2 of the 5 spots. Some assortment of Maine and Niese will be at the back end, with the potential of Niese being the second best-pitcher on the staff. So that leaves Perez's spot, and probably another. Call me crazy, but I'm not totally ruling Perez out, although a responsible team would. After he lost the life on his fastball, he's spent the offseason at the training facility famous for conditioning Huston Street's pitching arm.

Regardless, knowing the Mets, this team is one average (or worse) pitcher away from calling it a rotation. That, combined with a little blind faith they'll pull in Bay, makes the left side of the infield the most suspect part of the roster. Luis Castillo is a decent hitter, but a totally unacceptable fielder. Really, the difference between the Mets getting good or poor production from Pelfrey and some second-tier, contact-heavy free agent like Joel Pineiro is just accepting Luis Castillo is a bench player and signing a new secondbaseman. A glut of unwanted secondbaseman remains on the market, most of them pretty decent fielders. Orlando Hudson. Felipe Lopez. Miguel Tejada... Mark DeRosa?

For these reasons, though, I'm not totally opposed to signing Mark DeRosa. Yes, he is a glorified bench player looking for a multi-year contract with starter money. At this point, however, just resign yourself to the fact the team is taking the video game approach to the offseason. In their eyes, they've found the best utility-infielder, back-up catcher, leftfielder, and catcher, and offered them all the most money in hopes of improving the team by brute force. Value be damned, if Mark DeRosa is the best bench player out there, the Mets will pay.

In fact, the bench might be a good place to add some wins. Most projection systems are hammering DeRosa's offense, but he's a late bloomer, coming off a laundry list of nagging and more serious injuries. Interestingly, the fans at fangraphs have projected him well above the usually optimistic Bill James projections. It's especially surprising because he's a free agent who has played for several teams recently, making me wonder which fanbase so fervently supports Mark DeRosa. Still, I like ~.340 wOBA as an offensive projection for the healthy DeRosa. Defensively, he is about a -7 defender at second, not good, but passable and better than Luis Castillo. Remember, Joel Pineiro survived with a similar player in Skip Schumaker at second last year.

To make it really work, I'd pair DeRosa with his left-handed clone, Kelly Johnson. Each could be used as a plus-defense back-up outfielder with infield experience and the upside of a starter's bat. Writing Castillo out of the picture completely, I would arrange the lineups like so:

It's a 3-position, 3-person platoon that optimizes defensive specialties and platoon splits!

Now you think I'm playing fantasy baseball, but if the Mets sign DeRosa, I could see a very similar situation. It would be characteristic of management to use DeRosa versus lefties in the ever-baffling Murphy-platoon idea, and Jerry would be eager to rest Castillo for a better hitter (he even tried Tatis there last season). And I haven't yet mentioned his grit and playoff beard!

The New AZ Kids Arrive, D-backs Rumor Central (and not the Prospect Report)

Jim McLennan — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Ian Kennedy, right, and Edwin Jackson are introduced as new Arizona Diamondbacks baseball players during a news conference yesterday in Phoenix.

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No prospect report today, as finals and other pressures on time have left Zephon and IHSB short on a chance to get the scheduled installment quite completed in time. That'll therefore be held over until next week, and instead gives me a chance to throw up some random links and other stuff of potential interest. However, I'm pretty much phoning this one in though, since I got my HDMI cables, and so have been happily plugging them into anything within reach. The dogs have learned to stay away.

Let's start with the conference pictured above, where new Arizona starters Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy were introduced to the press at Chase Field yesterday. The pair spoke about their pitching arsenal and what they need to do to be successful. For Jackson, "It's big for me to come out throwing strikes early, set the tone early with the fastball. That way I can mix my offspeed into the equation to keep them off balance and help put them away." Kennedy's approach was a little different: "I have to throw a lot of strikes... I'm still going to throw a lot of fastballs even at 90, and I'm incorporating my two-seamer a lot more and try to keep you off balance mainly."

With both starters coming from the American League, they're going to have to get used to taking their hacks at the plate. Jackson - originally drafted as an outfielder - seemed to be looking forward to that a good deal more, saying "They've kind of thrown that on me that I had better be able to hit. It's a lot of fun being able to help yourself out." Contrast Kennedy's reaction: "I haven't gotten an at-bat since high school, so it's going to be a little challenging for me." Jackson has had only ten major-league at-bats since leaving Los Angeles in 2005, but in 2004 went 8-for-21 with three home-runs for Triple-A Las Vegas. Kennedy is right: he has yet to go to the plate in pro ball, so I wouldn't be expecting too much there.

Josh Byrnes made it clear that keeping a solid rotation was an important priority. Said Byrnes, "It's been a strength of ours. We've been among the leaders in major league baseball in innings and ERA from our rotation for several years running, so with Brandon Webb returning to health and the excellence of Dan Haren, we felt like we needed to keep paying attention to it." Byrnes feels that Webb's performance will be key. "If we're going to be good enough to win 90 games and make the playoffs like we did a couple of years ago, probably a few things are going to have to happen in 2010 that didn't happen in 2009. The first item is probably Brandon Webb returning to be an effective starting pitcher. I don't think there's any scenario where it doesn't go well for him and we're able to overcome that." Fox Sports Arizona also has interviews with both Jackson and Kennedy.

Over the weekend, Ken Kendrick discussed the 2010 budget for the team, which is currently sitting around the $70 million mark, depending on exactly what happens with regard to the arbitration-eligible players. The estimated salary available is around the mid-70's, but Kendrick said, "The number is not a hard number. There's not $10 million more. But $2 million to $3 million above our baseline to do something that we really find attractive? We could probably do that." There's still no certainty where the remaining budget might go: Nick Piecoro reports we asked about Jose Valverde, but his demands were too high. Kelly Johnson seems to be the main focus of attention: reliever Matt Capps is another possibility, but with half the teams in the majors interested, seems less likely.

Steve Gilbert mentions that outfielder Randy Winn "definitely is a guy on the Arizona radar," which seems somewhat perplexing to me. Sure, Winn can play all three outfield positions, but it seems difficult to work out how he could be fitted on to the roster while Eric Byrnes remains with the team. Certainly, Winn will not be expecting to get paid anything like the $9.6 million he earned from the Giants last year, and he has monster numbers at Chase, but one does wonder what exactly he would bring to the team. Gilbert says, "One of the pieces the D-backs were looking for this offseason was a veteran player, who could provide some leadership in the clubhouse."

What, is Tony Clark not available? Oops. Did I say that out loud? The reason for such cynicism is that of late, "veteran presence" has become a synonym in Arizona for "geriatric suck". In the past four seasons, the Diamondbacks has given 50+ at-bats to eight position players aged 34 or older: the mean OPS+ produced by these veterans is only 80.6. Admittedly, four of those were from Tony Clark, who has likely done more to damage the reputation of senior citizens in the state, than anyone not named Joe Arpaio. As a fan, it's far preferable to have a young player failing, since there's always the hope they'll improve down the road. In their mid-30s...not so much.

Random link dump paragraph. In the absence of a prospect report, here an independent evaluation of the Diamondbacks' prospects. Be interested to see what our resident gurus think of the rankings - such as the evaluation of Pedro Ciriaco as only a grade C prospect. Meanwhile, over at Bleacher Report, Joel Reuter posted his list of the top ten players in D-backs franchise history: plenty of food for thought there [does Eric Byrnes really merit an honorable mention?]. And to follow up on the Yanks/salary cap piece, Andrew Marks has a new project relating the Yanks to Veruca Salt: GoldenCC.com

I was sorry to hear of the demise of the MVN network of blogs, which was home to the worthy Baby Backs: The Next Generation and Out in the Desert Arizona sites. I've removed them off the side-bar: let's have a moment of silence as the herd of Diamondbacks sites is thinned. Oh, and finally, if you want to get in early on those personalized jerseys Steve Gilbert tweets the following numbers for the new arrivals on the team: Jackson #36, Heilman #48, Abreu #13, Kennedy #31.

Evening Prowl: Still Roaring, D-Town Baseball, Kelly Johnson, and Those in Favor of the Grandy Trade

Ian Casselberry — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:00:18 -0000

With the demise of MVN, many have wondered what will happen to Roar of the Tigers, Samara Pearlstein's fantastically illustrated blog. Thankfully for us all, Sam will keep on trucking, and has moved RotT to a Wordpress site. You can find the new address here, and check out the Floating Head Raft of Tigers.

(I also feel the need to point out - whether Sam would prefer me to or not - that her self-portrait is less than flattering. I always admire an illustrator/cartoonist willing to portray themselves as flawed, but Sam isn't being fair to herself, as funny as the image may be.)

As the smoke still clears from last week's roster upheaval, Tiger Tales' Lee Panas looks at where the Detroit lineup, rotation, and bullpen stand right now. Left and center field are question marks, as are the final two spots in the rotation.

Whenever the Tigers make a deal involving Edwin Jackson, D-Town Baseball is on it. After a year-long absence from the Tigersosphere (since the Tigers acquired Jackson from the Rays), Eric Jackson (no relation, I assume) posted some thoughts on the big deal. Eric's in favor of the trade, and lists four reasons why.

Kelly Johnson is one of the non-tendered players that's drawn much interest among Tigers fans. Dan Wade took a look at him for Baseball Digest Daily, and expects his batting average to bounce back in 2010. His walk rate and defense are concerns, however.

(Hat tip to The Detroit Tigers Weblog)

Tigers Tracks' "By the Numbers" series has reached Number 9. And with that comes the first current Tiger on John Parent's list. Next year's presumed left fielder, Carlos Guillen, gets profiled.

Also liking the Granderson-Jackson trade is Blake VandeBunte of The Spot Starters. While Blake thinks Dave Dombrowski has some more work to do, he likes that Brandon Lyon was let go and that most of the roster has been shopped around this offseason.

It kind of snuck out there over the weekend, but the Tigers are apparently not going to be making a serious bid (perhaps we can assume that means no bid at all) on Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman.

One more in favor of the Grandy trade: Rogo at DesigNate Robertson wonders if the Tigers got some value for a player on the decline while he was still marketable.

It's almost a week old now, but if you missed it, The Dugout responds to Jim Leyland's expressed belief that managers and players shouldn't be able to argue out-safe calls at first base. Who would've guessed that Magglio Ordonez was such a skilled debater?

Astros show interest in Kelly Johnson, Gustavo Chacin and Jason Michaels sign on the dotted line

HighLeveragePerformer — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:29 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

How does "Kelly Johnson, Houston Astro" sound?

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After second baseman Kelly Johnson was non-tendered by the Atlanta Braves, a number of teams have expressed interest in him. That link notes that the D-Backs are on record that their hat has been thrown in the KJ ring, but Tim Dierkes said Monday on his site that three NL Central clubs: the Pirates, Cardinals and Astros desire his services to various extents.

Johnson's non-tendering came as a surprise to many, including clack, and his bat would be welcome in Houston, assuming he returns to his normal self after a down 2009. Take Bill James' optimistic projection and the fan's projections off FanGraphs, and you can get a pretty good idea of what is expected out of the middle infielder in 2010.

This wouldn't be an offseason-defining signing by Ed Wade, but if the Astros could get Johnson, the team would be much improved. The Diamondacks are in a position where they would trade another one of their backup infielders in order to create space for Johnson. Neither the Cards or Buccos have the greatest infields in the world, and while Pittsburgh signed Bobby Crosby to bolster theirs, it's not as if Kelly Johnson wouldn't be able to get significant playing time in Pittsburgh. St. Louis may not get Troy Glaus back, which leaves them with Skip Schumaker, David Freese, and Joe Thurston at 2B/3B entering spring training. Not exactly household names.

Pedro Feliz is an upgrade for Houston over Geoff Blum, but it's no guarantee that Feliz will be even a win better than Blummers. Kaz Matsui is injury-prone at second, is coming off a disappointing season and his backup, Edwin Maysonet, does not project to be anything special. Cost is something to focus on, as KJ made $2.8 million in 2009 and should demand a contract worth more than that in 2010. A deal in the mid-3 millions for one season maybe a gamble worth taking, especially if Wade cannot sign a starting pitcher or convert Jason Bourgeois to a second baseman as some have hypothesized.

Just when we thought we were getting rid of him...he pulls us back in. Or rather, we pull him back in. That's right: Jason Michaels has been re-signed to an $800,000 contract. Again, not a disaster, but the money could have been better allocated elsewhere. I would still like to see the team make a move for Ryan Church, if their budget allows for it. Bottom line, as with most of the Astros' moves, this won't be the difference between a postseason berth and another Astro-less October. Michaels wasn't near as bad as I thought he was in 2009, but I would have liked to have seen Wade think a little more out of the box. Reggie Abercrombie, and the aforementioned Bourgeois and Church could be in the running for the fifth and assumedly final outfield reserve spot.

Alyson Footer also tweets that Gustavo Chacin has been signed to a minor league deal and given an invite to Spring Training. Chacin hasn't pitched in the majors since 2007 and hasn't pitched a full season since 2005, so let's not hold our breath on anything happening for him with the Astros. His experience working with pitching coach Brad Arnsberg in Toronto most likely has a lot to do with his being given a shot. Think of him as Russ Ortiz with perhaps a bit more upside.

2010 in Arizona: Second-base

Jim McLennan — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:07:42 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

In this scene, taken from the upcoming FOX special, When Herbivores Attack, Diamondbacks' second-baseman Ryan Roberts nearly avoids being gored by an angry panda, after accientally coming between it and the buffet-table. Miggy stands ready to run in with the Sedona red cape.

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Somewhat later than usual, the earlier part of the day having been spent in putting together our early Christmas present to each other: a new TV set. I think we have the basics sorted now: it's attached to a stand, sitting on a table and the cable-box has been reconnected, but further action on that front has been suspended pending the arrival of the HDMI cables. Those should have arrived today, but instead we got a terse note from the Post Office stating, "Dogs Out". They clearly do not know our canines.

Anyway, no point engaging in further cabliciousness until those arrive, so we just watched the first thing on the new box: let the record show that it was The Breakfast Club, which I had never actually seen. American high-school angst: not normally my thing, but this was pretty good, sharply written and well-acted, so better than I expected. And speaking of a disparate group of individuals, thrown together by fate for a common purpose, brings me neatly to second-base in Arizona. After the jump, we'll review what happened last season, and take a look at what options we might have at the spot for the coming year.

2009 Performance
1. Felipe Lopez - 80 starts .301/.364/.412
2. Ryan Roberts - 45 starts .279/.367/.416
3. Augie Ojeda - 27 starts .246/.340/.345
4. Rusty Ryal - 10 starts .271/.353/.593

It was generally thought fairly certain, even before Opening Day, that Felipe Lopez would be, at most, a one-season wonder at the position. If he was as good as he had been with the Cardinals, he'd be too expensive for us to re-sign as a free agent; if he was as bad as his time in Washington, we wouldn't want to re-sign him. In the end, he did pretty well for the Diamondbacks, but was traded to the Brewers just after the All-Star break, for prospects Cole Gillespie and Roque Mercedes [Lopez did even better in Milwaukee, batting .320, and as the best-hitting 2B on the free-agent market, looks set for a good payday as a result].

Following his departure, it was mostly Roberts who took over in the role of heavily-tattooed second-baseman. He had been the 25th man named to the roster in spring, but good work with both the glove and bat pushed him into contention, and he took full advantage of the chance provided by Lopez's departure. After that point, Roberts hit a solid .290/.374/.465, for a solid .839 OPS in the second-half, giving himself a solid chance to be the everyday starter in 2010. Defensive help was provided by the always-reliable Ojeda, and August call-up Ryal made a good impression in his major-league debut.

Top Free Agents
Name	Age	2009 Sal.	2009 OPS+
Orlando Hudson	32	$8m	109
Felipe Lopez	29	$3.5m	111
Ronnie Belliard	34	$1.9m	105
Adam Kennedy	34	$400k	101
Kelly Johnson	28	$2.825m	83
Chance of AZ free-agent activity: medium.

2010 Depth-chart and Projections

Ryan Roberts .250/.333/.379
Tony Abreu .285/.330/.416
Augie Ojeda .250/.332/.336

The team does have a variety of options at second-base, though none of them are perhaps exactly sure-fire things. Roberts did play well when he replaced Lopez, but does he have what it takes to be an Opening Day starter for the first time in his career? One note of hope is that his good post-ASB performance was not BABIP inflated: his number there, at .313, was actuallylower than his pre-break BABIP of .333, even though hit batting average was 33 points better. However, we probably shouldn't expect Roberts to sustain the power surge which saw him hit seven homers in 200 at-bats during the second-half.

In the event of Roberts faltering, waiting in the wings will be Abreu, who came over from Los Angeles in the trade for Jon Garland. He spent most of the year in Triple-A with Albequerque, having missed the entire 2008 season with a groin injury. However, he continued where he left off, hitting .353 in 54 games, almost the same numbers Abreu posted in 2007 at Triple-A (.355 in 54 games), so seems to have fully recovered. [Though it should be noted, Albuquerque, where he played 2009, is higher than both Reno and Denver] It seems likely Abreu is being groomed to be Arizona's second-baseman of the future; however, at an age of only 25, if 2010 was not the start of his full-time incumbency, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Abreu's role may depend on whether the Diamondbacks pick up Kelly Johnson. Nick Piecoro has confirmed that Arizona are interested in the former Braves' starter, who was recently non-tendered by Atlanta. At about this time last year, there had been discussions of a Conor Jackson for Johnson swap: given neither player exactly had a 2009 they will want to remember, it's probably for the best those talks came to nothing, but it does show Johnson has been on the team's radar for a bit. If this were to come to fruition, Piecoro reckons that it would lead to the trading away of Augie Ojeda, with Abreu being used as the infield backup instead.

However, if the team doesn't get Johnson, I don't get the feeling the Diamondbacks will be too concerned. The team should still be relatively happy to go into 2010, with Roberts as the starter and Abreu in the wings, and see how things shake out as the year progresses.

Bargain Hunting Dodger Style

Phil Gurnee — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:45:13 -0000

MLBTR has updated their 2010 Free Agent List with the recent non - tenders who have not signed. Not surprisingly the Dodgers do not appear tied to anyone at the moment. Over a month ago we looked at the 2010 Free Agent class not really knowing what direction the Dodgers would be going in. Now I'd say we know they are not spending much money and how much may depend on how or if they are able to move Pierre. It will be bargain basement hunting. Some of those Free Agents in Nov are now gone but the list has been padded with many non - tenders from Saturday. That is not to say the list has been added with very much talent. There is usually a good reason why someone has been non - tendered, however some players look interesting. Kelly Johnson for sure but I doubt we can afford him or even if Ned is interested.

So which of those names can the Dodgers afford now, or will some of them be available come Feb when they become desperate to find a team?

Wang has been mentioned because of Torre but I've yet to see an ex-Yankee show up on in the Dodger clubhouse so that relationship seems over used whenever a Yankee appears available. They couldn't get rid of Procter fast enough.

Our roster needs are minimal in the key positions other then 2nd base and a starting pitcher. We need a backup catcher and there are plenty of candidates there besides our own AJ Ellis. 2nd base is where the Dodger action will be focused. Maybe a utility infielder who is better than Hu. That should not be hard to find. A bat off the bench to replace Mientkiewicz or it may be Mientkiewicz again. If Pierre is dealt then a back up outfielder better than Repko or Paul.

Pitchers galore but are the ones we can afford any better then the in house options? To be honest I don't know what the price of Padilla is, but if we can get him for $4 Million on a one year deal I'd be all over that. Eric rightly said the Dodgers should run away from Padillia but he did add at the end of that article:

Unless the offer is a one-year contract for a few million bucks, perhaps with some incentives built in, the Dodgers should stay away from the Vicente Padilla sweepstakes. Otherwise, he is a bad gamble.

Back then (a month ago) we didn't know how much the Dodgers needed to gamble. Given the alternatives it might be the best gamble if the price is right. I'll probably find that someone just offered him $10 Million after saying we should do $4 Million but at $4 Million do you think it would be a bad gamble? No health issues, plenty of innings, and we all look better when standing next to him.

We don't need any rants about how McCourt sucks because we are bargain hunting. Work with what we have not with what we'd like to have if our budget was 2008 not 2009.

Washington Nationals' 2010 Middle Infield Update.

Ed Chigliak — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:00:23 -0000

by Tony Dejak - AP

What are the chances that the Nationals could get free agent infielder Mark DeRosa to make the same decision Pudge Rodriguez did? (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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• After Saturday's midnight non-tender deadline there were 266 free agents on the market, with just 22 middle infielders amongst them. Here's the current list, (according to MLB Trade Rumors.com):

2nd - Ronnie Belliard (Type B - Not offerred arbitration), Jamey Carroll, Craig Counsell, Mark DeRosa (Type B, Offered arbitration), Nick Green, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Orlando Hudson (Type A), Kelly Johnson, Adam Kennedy, Felipe Lopez (Type B - Not offered arbitration), Mark Loretta, Pablo Ozuna, Juan Uribe.

SS - Alfredo Amezaga, Eric Bruntlett, Orlando Cabrera (Type A - Can't be offered arbitration), Craig Counsell, Chris Gomez, Nick Green, Khalil Greene, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Miguel Tejada (Type A - Not offered arbitration).

• The last word from DC GM Mike Rizzo was in a Washington Post article by Chico Harlan entitled, "Rizzo Day III Briefing", where Mr. Harlan wrote that in Mr. Rizzo's opinion, he saw, "...the signing/acquisition of a 2B as being more likely," since, as he was quoted stating, "I think there's certainly more second baseman available of interest than there are shortstops of interest," on the free agent market.

Which infielder should the Rizzo regime sign?

• As a Type B free agent who wasn't offered arbitration, Ronnie Belliard would cost the Nationals nothing if he were brought back, and since they were reportedly considering Orlando Hudson at times this winter, why not get the guy who beat Hudson out for the starting spot at second after he joined the Dodgers late last season in a trade. The Nationals expressed interest in Mark DeRosa earlier this offseason according to two of MLB.com's Bill Ladson's baseball sources, who were cited in an article entitled, "Nats show interest in DeRosa, Gonzalez", where Mr. Ladson wrote that the Nationals, "...mostly likely see DeRosa as a second baseman and right fielder." (ed. note - "Playing second and backing up Dukes in right...can DC overpay DeRosa like Pudge?") Giving up a 2nd round pick for the aforementioned Orlando Hudson doesn't make much sense for a team committed to building through the draft. Kelly Johnson, we discussed last night...Felipe Lop...next...Anyone else on the list the Nationals should consider?

Santana In Venezuela Applesauce - Chapman To Throw, Non-Tender-Palooza and Kendall Tweets

James Kannengieser — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:02:40 -0000

A slow weekend means abbreviated Applesauce.

Meet the Mets

Johan Santana made a trip home to Venezuela to hold his annual Cy Youngazo ("Great Cy Young") event, where he hands out Christmas presents and organizes baseball and soccer tournaments. A nice read on this Monday.

Aroldis Chapman will throw a side session for teams on Tuesday.

Jason Bay's agent says his client has moved on from the Red Sox and at least one team has offered more than four years to the slugging left fielder.

Metsmerized interviews Brian McRae, a good guy whose greatest contribution to the Mets was being traded for surprisingly productive Darryl Hamilton.

Around the NL East

Braves blogs Talking Chop and Capitol Avenue Club provide input on the Kelly Johnson non-tendering.

The Nationals brought back Scott Olsen after non-tendering him.

The Good Phight looks at some low-risk, high-reward free agent targets.

Around MLB

Brew Crew Ball links to some of the funnier Tweets about the Jason Kendall signing.

Garrett Atkins celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday by being non-tendered. No word if the Rockies will offer him a membership to the Jelly-Of-The-Month Club as a parting gift.

McCovey Chronicles is incredulous about the possibility of the Giants signing Scott Podsednik. The first two paragraphs are gold.

The Atlanta Braves Weekly Wrap

gondeee — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:11:17 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

This week turned out to be all about Rafael Soriano for the Atlanta Braves.

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Here's a look at the major stories in the world of the Atlanta Braves for the week ending on December 13th:

In the Press...

There were early rumors, then more rumors, and finally Rafael Soriano decided to accept arbitration from the Braves.
Soriano was quickly traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for another bullpen arm, Jesse Chavez.
There were early reports at the Winter Meetings that Kelly Johnson was in high demand on the trade market, but apparently that was not the case as the Braves non-tendered Johnson yesterday.
Ryan Church was initially DFA'ed to make room for Soriano on the roster, and then he was non-tendered later in the week.
The Braves have shown some interest in free agent Xavier Nady.
Matt Diaz was re-signed for the 2010 season by the Braves.

At Talking Chop...

For a complete and detailed recap of the Braves happenings at the Winter Meetings, click here.
I penned a post hoping that the Braves stay away from Mike Cameron.
CB previewed the Rule 5 draft, and correctly called that Edgar Osuna would be the guy off the Braves roster who was selected. He was selected by, surprise, the Royals. Those Royals also signed two other ex-Braves players.
Talking Chop got the exclusive scoop on all the Braves minor league and international free agent signings.

Notable FanPosts and FanShots...

jdunk asks the if trading Derek Lowe will make the Braves better.
Meanwhile, JKowalek thinks the Braves and Cubs should make a swap involving Lowe.
And AndrewWK wants the Braves to swap Lowe for a speedster.

Coming up tomorrow on Talking Chop, the combined community top-25 Braves prospects.