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• Orioles waited too long to move Guthrie

  February 06, 2012 by KenRosenthal

  The Baltimore Orioles should have traded right-hander Jeremy Guthrie at the non-waiver deadline last season, or even before. His value was higher when he was further away from free agency, under greater club control.

  Instead, the Orioles made a deal that is all too typical of them. They waited too long to move Guthrie and received too little in return. They need prospects, genuine prospects, and they did not get one in the deal that they completed with the Colorado Rockies on Monday.

  Guthrie for right-handed starter Jason Hammel and reliever Matt Lindstrom makes sense in a vacuum. The combined salaries of Hammel and Lindstrom in 2012 will be in the range of Guthrie’s. And the Orioles will trumpet that they acquired a combined four years of control for one.

  Problem is, Hammel, 29, and Lindstrom, 31, will not be part of the Orioles’ next contending team. They likely will not even help the Orioles advance toward contention. They are mediocre veterans — Lindstrom may be a little better than that — while Guthrie, 32, is a pitcher who had actual value.

  The word “had” is applicable not because of Guthrie’s performance — he pitched gallantly as a No. 1 starter in the American League East, averaging nearly 200 innings and compiling an ERA-plus of 106 during the past five seasons. But the formula for trades is always the same: The higher a player’s salary, the closer he is to free agency, the less a team gets in return.

  New Orioles general manager Dan Duquette inherited the situation. His predecessor, Andy MacPhail, was the executive who steadfastly held on to Guthrie. Perhaps Duquette could have made a better deal earlier in the off-eason, involving a greater number of suitors. But, heck, the Orioles didn’t hire Duquette until Nov. 6.

  So, welcome to another episode of, “As the Orioles churn.”

  Hammel, who has a career ERA-plus of 92, will fit somewhere in the O's rotation, but don’t expect anything close to Guthrie. Lindstrom has been traded three straight offseasons, acquiring the reputation of a reliever who is not entirely trustworthy.

  Guthrie, on the other hand, will be the Rockies’ No. 1 starter. That enables the Rockies to ask less of their 25-and-under rotation candidates: right-handers Jhoulys Chacin, Juan Nicasio and Alex White; lefty Drew Pomeranz; etc.

  The Rockies believe Guthrie will benefit from pitching for a better club and benefit from joining an organization that doesn’t change pitching coaches seemingly every year. Their bullpen, bolstered by the additions of several youngsters in offseason trades, should be deep enough to withstand the loss of Lindstrom.

  And guess what?

  If the Rockies fail to contend, they can flip Guthrie at the deadline. The Toronto Blue Jays would be one team with interest, sources said. The Jays might not contend, either, but could acquire Guthrie with the idea of signing him long term.

  Guthrie might be the best starting pitcher available in July. His value would spike even though he would be only two months from free agency. And here’s the final dagger from the Orioles’ perspective:

  The Rockies probably could make a better deal for him than the O’s just did.

  — Ken Rosenthal

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• Cuddyer Allows Rockies to Shop Smith for Starting Pitcher

  December 16, 2011 by TracyRingolsby

  The Rockies working to finalize the contract with free-agent outfielder Michael Cuddyer on Friday was the latest in what figures to be a continuing series of moves by the team that are inter-related with the idea of improving multiple areas of the team without a major payroll increase.

  It’s all part of a plan the Rockies drew up in September and has slowly unfolded this offseason, allowing fans to start to understand the moves that were made in the last month.

  The right-handed-hitting Cuddyer is expected to primarily play right field, having a strong enough arm that the Rockies can afford to move Carlos Gonzalez back to left-field, where his excellent range is a key factor in the open left field space at Coors Field. Cuddyer also provides a right-handed-hitting back up at first base, and could move into the first base role in the final part of a three-year contract. Todd Helton has one year remaining on his deal.

  With Cuddyer in right and Gonzalez in left, the Rockies could have a major offseason move remaining by shopping Seth Smith for a starting pitcher. Mets lefty Jonathan Niese is believed to be available in a package built around Smith.

  The signing of Cuddyer was made possible because of earlier moves the Rockies made this offseason to free up payroll. Huston Street, replaced as the closer in the final months of 2011 by Rafael Betancourt, was dealt to San Diego, which picked up $7 million of Street’s $7.5 million 2012 salary.

  The Rockies shipped Ian Stewart, who made $2.4 million last year, to the Chicago Cubs for second baseman D.J. LeMahieu and outfielder Tyler Colvin. LeMahieu could claim the starting second base job, and Colvin gives the Rockies a potential left-handed-hitting fourth outfielder.

  They also sent Ty Wigginton to Philadelphia, which picked up $2 million of Wigginton’s $4 million 2012 salary.

  The Rockies cleared $11.4 million of payroll with those moves.

  They also dealt catcher Chris Iannetta to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for right-handed pitcher Tyler Chatwood, who is not arbitration eligible. Iannetta, who will make $3.5 million in 2012, was replaced by signing free agent Ramon Hernandez to a two-year, $6.4 million deal.

  The Rockies rotation is a major question mark, which is why they picked up Kevin Slowey from Minnesota and signed him to a $2.75 million deal for 2012, and why they want another veteran pitcher, such as Niese.

  Jhoulys Chacin and Jason Hammel are the only healthy pitchers projected for the rotation. Juan Nicasio has looked strong during bullpen sessions in the Dominican this winter, but he is coming back from a broken neck suffered when he was hit in the face by a line drive last season, and has yet to face a hitter. If all goes well he could be in the Opening Day rotation.

  Jorge De La Rosa is recovering from Tommy John surgery, but most likely won’t be ready to pitch in the big leagues until June 1.

  The Rockies do have a hand full of promising arms, including Alex White and Drew Pomeranz, acquired last July from Cleveland for Ubaldo Jimenez, but it isn’t realistic to count on more than one of them being ready to step into the rotation at the start of the season.

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• Notes from spring training

  March 17, 2011 by KenRosenthal

  • The Rockies are beginning to look like they might have decent rotation depth — perhaps even enough to trade right-hander Aaron Cook once he is healthy.
  
  Start with right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, lefty Jorge De La Rosa and righties Jason Hammel and Jhoulys Chacin — a formidable front four.
  
  Right-hander Esmil Rogers also is throwing well, and the Rockies believe that righties John Maine and Greg Reynolds will contribute at some point as well.

  

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  Cook, set to earn $9.25 million this season, began the spring with right shoulder tightness, then suffered a broken right ring finger. He would be difficult to move, but at least the Rockies are in a position in which they do not need to rely on him.
  
  • Talk about a roster crunch. By the end of spring training, the Mariners could bid farewell to five members of their 40-man roster, or 16 percent.
  
  The M’s invited 23 non-roster players to spring training, and at least five stand reasonable chances of making the team — catcher Josh Bard, infielder Adam Kennedy, right-handers Jamey Wright and Chris Ray and one of two outfielders, Ryan Langerhans or Gabe Gross.
  
  The Mariners currently are at the maximum 40. Left-hander Garrett Olson already is on waivers, according to a major-league source.
  
  • Another issue for the M’s: Their bullpen.
  
  “It starts with (Brandon) League,” one scout says. “Try to name the next guy.”
  
  The M’s might need lots of “next guys” if they open with rookie right-hander Michael Pineda and lefty Erik Bedard in their rotation. Neither is likely to work deep into games, at least initially.
  
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers, who spent last season scouting with the Yankees, offers yet another ringing endorsement for the Yanks’ top pitching prospects — and actually likes right-hander Dellin Betances even better than lefty Manny Banuelos.
  
  Betances, 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, “might be King Felix," Towers says.
  
  Banuelos?
  
  “Teddy Higuera in his prime,” Towers says, “but with a better arm.”

  • New Dodgers first base coach Davey Lopes raves about the work ethic of shortstop prospect Dee Gordon, who is the son of former major-league pitcher Tom Gordon.
  
  Lopes says that Gordon is inquisitive about the game and absorbs information like a sponge.
  
  “His dad taught him right,” Lopes says.
  
  • Finally, check out my video interview with the Dodgers’ Andre Ethier, who tells an amusing story about working out last offseason with the Red Sox’s Dustin Pedroia at a rehabilitation center in Gilbert, Ariz.
  
  “He’s into yelling at other patients,” Ethier says. “It’s a public place where anyone comes in to work out. You had some old retirees to young kids battling stuff. He’s in there mixing it up with all of them, asking them what’s going on, challenging them or trying to outdo them in an exercise.
  
  “It was pretty comical for me, and I bet for those patients in there getting a chance to have some little crazy guy yelling at them every day.”

  — Ken Rosenthal

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