Baseball Trade Rumors and Notes for March 12th

    1. Piniella and Cubs parting ways?

   2. Mets turning to Double-A shortstop

   3. Yankees favorite to sign Cuban shortstop

   4. Diamondbacks' Webb won't be ready

   5. Hunter: I'm not talking anymore

   6. Ramirez no longer the face of the Dodgers

   7. More on Mauer Trade Specutation

   8. Tiger Talk: Catcher Alex Avila has classic swing, but will he stick this spring?

1. Piniella and Cubs parting ways?

   The Chicago Tribune is reporting Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella's contract is up at the end of this year and he apparently hasn't decided whether he wants to sign on again or not, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The 66-year-old may be in luck. It could be that the Cubs don't want him back, either.

"If he feels well and wants to keep going, we'll have an interesting conversation," Cubs president Crane Kenney told the Tribune Thursday. "He's done a great job. He's raised the bar and that's a little bit of the burden we all carry now.

Piniella says he is totally healthy and has no ongoing issues to worry about. "Last time I checked, I'm not on life support," he said, laughing. He did say that last year was "trying" and he was tired once the season was over, but who wouldn't have been after all that Milton Bradley(notes) nonsense?

   To read more..

   http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/03/both-cubs-and-piniella-unsure-of-2011-managerial-plans.html

   2. Mets turning to Double-A shortstop

   The Ny Daily News is reporting With New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes expected to be on the disabled list for an overactive thyroid when the season gets underway, it appears that the team will use 20-year-old Ruben Tejada, who played in Double-A last year, in his place, according to the New York Daily News.

He batted .289 last year and knocked out five homers in 488 at-bats down in the minors, but claims he'll be ready to play in the bigs. "It's baseball," Tejada told the Daily News. "Everywhere I play the game normal. I'm ready for everything."

The team cold also use Alex Cora(notes) but Manager Jerry Manuel seems to prefer Tejada.

   To read more..

   http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2010/03/12/2010-03-12_ruben_tejada_could_be_new_york_mets_shortstop_on_opening_day_in_jose_reyes_absen.html

   3. Yankees favorite to sign Cuban shortstop

   The Ny Post is reporting Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria defected from his home country back in July and has apparently gotten a ton of attention from the New York Yankees, according to the New York Post.

So the Yanks are considered the frontrunners for the young man but there are at leas three other teams in the hunt as well: the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Hechevarria has apparently worked out for teams in the Dominican Republic and visited the Yankees complex there last week. One scout compared the shortstop's body to Alfonso Soriano's.(notes)

Hechevarria supposedly would like to get around what fellow Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias got from the Boston Red Sox: $8 million.

If the Yankees sign him, he may become the replacement for Robinson Cano(notes) at second base. Cano's contract runs out at the end of 2011, though there is a $14 million option for 2012 and a $15 million option for 2013.

   To read more..

   http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/yankeesblog/yankees_favorite_among_five_teams_EXzJ4zfvHNtXofCIw2DuYM

   4. Diamondbacks' Webb won't be ready

   The AZ Republic is reporting Arizona Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick spent the winter that getting Brandon Webb(notes) back into the rotation would basically be like making a major free-agent signing. And hurler Dan Haren(notes) told the Arizona Republic last month that the team "will probably go as far as (Webb) takes us" this season.

Well, it's not looking like the man who won 22 games in 2008 will be taking them very far. He's apparently still not recovered from the shoulder surgery he had back in August and it isn't clear when he'll fully be ready to take the field, according to the Republic.

The prediction is that he won't be ready for Opening Day and the team is hoping he won't miss too much of the season.

The best guy the D'Backs have in the minors is Jarrod Parker(notes), but he's going to miss the season after Tommy John surgery. When it rains, it pours.

   To read more..

   http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/2010/03/11/20100311arizona-diamondbacks-brandon-webb-rotation.html

   5. Hunter: I'm not talking anymore

   The LA Times is reporting Torii Hunter is vowing to be silent from now on. Well, at least to a degree. "If it's not about baseball, I'm not going to talk about it," said Hunter, heavily criticized Wednesday for remarks in a USA Today article examining the declining percentage of African American players in the game. "I know what I am. Don't always believe what you read." Hunter said his comments about dark-skinned players from the Dominican Republic being "imposters" because they are perceived by some as being African American were "distorted and taken out of context." He tried to set the record straight in a blog on the team's website.

   TO read more..

   http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-angels-fyi-20100312,0,5814104.story

   6. Ramirez no longer the face of the Dodgers

   The LA Times is reporting Manny Ramirez's image may be taking a blow in Los Angeles. He may not even be the face of the franchise anymore. Manny Ramirez? He was signed to a two-year, $45-million contact last spring to be a headlining act in a star-driven city -- only to be exposed as a drug cheat, slump miserably and return four months later promptly predicting that this season would be his last with the Dodgers. So who's on deck? Before Ramirez put himself under a gag order this spring, he encouraged reporters to spend less time talking to him and more time talking to the players he considered the cornerstones of the franchise: Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp.

   To read more..

   http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers-marketing-20100312,0,7683855.story


   7. More on Mauer Trade Specutation

   The NY POSt is reporting "With an expected contract extension still not signed, the Twins may have to trade AL MVP Joe Mauer, a Minnesota columnist speculates.

Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune writes, "Mauer's hesitancy to accept a record-setting contract offer from his hometown team has made his signing less than a sure thing and raised this previously unthinkable question: 'Won't the Twins have to trade him if he refuses their best offer?' "

Souhan does continue to say a deal "is still more likely than not, and at any moment Mauer's agent, Ron Shapiro, could call the team and make it happen."

However, Souhan says without a new contract, and Mauer in the last year of his current deal, "a combination of modern baseball logic and Twins history suggests that if the Twins' decision-makers can't sign Mauer, they will be obligated to trade him.""

   To read more..

   http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/yankeesblog/could_twins_trade_mauer_Rrl5Qvlu0tjrdzzjnbIzjL

   8. Tiger Talk: Catcher Alex Avila has classic swing, but will he stick this spring?

   Mlive is reporting Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila has a short, compact swing that is downright graceful. His swing is controlled and yet fluid.

“The swing I have is totally based on hitting off a tee,” Avila said. “I put the ball on the inside part of the plate, the outside part of the plate and move it around. I pretend a pitcher’s out there and track the ball.”

It was a ritual that began in his Florida backyard and continued in a Michigan garage. His father, Tigers assistant general manager Al Avila, came to Detroit from the Florida Marlins when he was a teenager.

“Albert Pujols hits off a tee every day,” Avila said. “You can tell if guys hit off tees a lot. They are a whole lot more consistent, and they stay on the ball longer.”

He explained the benefits of tee hitting:

“It’s muscle memory. I see the pitch and react to it.”

Avila benefited from watching major leaguers ever since he can remember. Marlins players Cliff Floyd and Mark Kotsay worked with him on hitting, and then Tigers coaches Lloyd McClendon and Gene Lamont tutored him on catching when he moved from third base just three years ago at the University of Alabama.

Avila made a splash when the Tigers called him up in 2009. He hit a run-scoring double in his first at-bat Aug. 6 and connected for his first home run the next day. He hit .279 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 61 at-bats

   To read more..

   http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2010/03/tigers_catcher_alex_avila_has.html


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