MLB: Catcher Paulino traded again

Cleveland Indians

General manager Mark Shapiro would not comment Saturday on reports that he told AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee he wouldn’t negotiate a contract extension for the lefthander.

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer in Cleveland reported Friday that Shapiro had told Lee the Indians wouldn’t negotiate an extension because of the country’s uncertain economic conditions.

Lee will be paid $5.75 million this season and the Indians hold a club option at $9 million for 2010.

Lee’s agent Darek Braunecker said he does not anticipate any negotiations during the coming season.

Florida Marlins

Catcher Ronny Paulino was traded for the second time in 24 hours and the third time since December, and he’s now with the Marlins. The San Francisco Giants sent Paulino to Florida for minor league righthander Hector Correa. The deal was announced Saturday after Paulino was traded Friday night to the Giants from the Philadelphia Phillies for lefthanded pitcher Jack Taschner.

Los Angeles Angels

Ace John Lackey received a cortisone shot in his right elbow in an attempt to relieve the pain in his ailing arm. It’s uncertain when he’ll pitch again.

Lackey experienced discomfort after last weekend’s start against Kansas City because of tightness in his forearm near the elbow. He continued to feel uncomfortable Thursday and was given an MRI.

New York Yankees

Derek Jeter bruised a knuckle on his left pinkie during a collision at first base in the first inning of the game against Atlanta on Saturday, but remained in the game.

He played three innings in the field, and the team said Jeter is fine. Yankees manager Joe Girardi expects Jeter to play in today’s game against Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The team reduced its spring training roster to 37 players by optioning outfielder Steve Pearce and catcher Robinzon Diaz to Class AAA Indianapolis and assigning infielder Anderson Machado to their minor league camp.

Diaz was sent down after the Pirates settled on Jason Jaramillo as catcher Ryan Doumit’s backup. Jaramillo was acquired during the offseason from the Phillies for former Pirates starting catcher Ronny Paulino, was dealt by Philadelphia to San Francisco on Friday for reliever Jack Taschner.

Jaramillo is a better defensive catcher than Diaz, although Diaz was a much better hitter this spring with a .423 average to Jaramillo’s .143.

Pearce was unable to break into a crowded outfield that added Eric Hinske and Craig Monroe during the offseason and is expected to play first base at Indianapolis. Pearce hit .212 this spring with no homers and three RBIs.

Washington Nationals

Shairon Martis and Jordan Zimmermann have won the last two spots in the Washington Nationals’ starting rotation. Martis will start the year on the big league roster, but Zimmermann will start the year in the minors before his first start against Florida on April 19.

The Nationals also placed outfielder Wily Mo Pena on waivers, and reassigned infielder Jose Castillo and outfielder Corey Patterson to minor league camp.

Catcher Javier Valentin also was reassigned, but opted out to become a free agent. Pitcher Collin Balester also was reassigned to AAA Syracuse.

The Nationals will carry only four starters to begin the year because of the spacing of three off days on April 5, 9 and 14.

Source: chron.com

The San Francisco Giants' Quandary at Third Base

Here are a few evaluations that the Giants have already made this spring

1) Nate Schierholtz isn’t capable of playing first base or center field, so he is stuck as a backup at corner outfield.

Ugh. What does this guy have to do to get in the lineup?

2) Fred Lewis and Randy Winn will only play corner outfield.

I don’t really understand why Lewis doesn’t see more time in center field.

3) Eugenio Velez could share time with Aaron Rowand in center field.

My guess is that Velez will occasionally substitute against right-handed pitchers.

4) Emmanuel Burriss is the Giants' backup shortstop.

Last year, Burriss did a solid job defensively at shortstop. Edgar Renteria has been terrible against right-handed pitchers, so I think this could really add to Burriss’ at-bat totals. This is great news for Burriss’ fantasy value, and you can realistically expect at least 25 stolen bases from Burriss this season.

5) Kevin Frandsen will see a lot of time at second base.

I wouldn’t call Frandsen the starter because he is splitting time with Burriss and Velez. The fact that the Giants are finding other positions for those two means more playing time for Frandsen.

6) Travis Ishikawa is the Giants' first baseman.

Sabean’s quote about Ishikawa:

"Ishikawa has played enough now that you can see that he's going to be the first baseman, and it will remain to be seen how much latitude he'll be given against left-handed pitching...we've got time to find that out, too. He's very determined, and we're all impressed by how he's handled things."

My response: Sounds pretty definitive. Why is it so hard to evaluate Sandoval again? Oh right, you have, and it’s not looking very good.

My translation of Sabean’s comments on Sandoval: Sandoval is all we have at third base right now, and we need to stall until we get a real third baseman.

Third Basemen that the San Francisco Giants could be targeting

Garrett Atkins, Colorado Rockies

Details: Age 29; one year, $7.05 million remaining contract

Defense: Atkins is subpar defensively, but he probably isn’t bad enough to be called a liability.

Hitting: Over the last three years Atkins has hit 80 points higher at home than on the road (.346 BA at home, .266 BA on the road).

Availability: The Rockies traded Matt Holliday to Oakland, have serious problems with their pitching, and are dropping payroll. Atkins looks very available.

Interest: The Giants probably won’t be interested due to his stats away from Coors.

Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners

Details: Age 30 in April; one year, $12 million

Defense: Great defensively.

Hitting: Consistent 25 home run power, about a .270 hitter, contract year = production.

Availability: Seattle’s ’08 payroll ($117 million) was up $30 million from ’06 ($87 million). The Mariners can compete this year, but if they don’t, they will need to dump payroll, and Beltre seems like a great option to trade.

Interest: Beltre is a very attractive midseason addition.

Jorge Cantu, Florida Marlins

Details: Age 27; one year, $3.5 million

Defense: Cantu is similar to Atkins defensively—subpar but not terrible.

Hitting: .280 BA and 30 home runs is attainable.

Availability: The Marlins seem to be constantly rebuilding, and their ‘08 payroll was under $22 million. Why wouldn’t the Marlins trade Cantu for a couple of minor league players? He’s available.

Interest: Cantu’s solid offense outweighs his poor defense. He’s cheap and not old. There could be interest here.

Edwin Encarnacion, Cincinnati Reds

Details: Age 26; two years, $7.6 million

Defense: His defense is average (but better than Atkins or Cantu).

Hitting: Trades power for average, either 25 HR with a .260 BA or 18 HR with a .280 BA.

Availability: He’s cheap and signed for two years. He’s probably not very available, but I don’t see the Reds doing much damage this year. He could be dealt.

Interest: The Giants could be interested in Encarnacion.

Melvin Mora, Baltimore Orioles

Details: Age 37; one year, $9 million

Defense: He’s a defensive liability at third.

Hitting: 20+ home run power, .280 BA.

Availability: Sell, sell, sell. He’s available.

Interest: He’s probably worse than Sandoval at third. I see no interest, especially with that contract.

What will the Giants do with Sandoval if they do acquire a third baseman?

Both Ishikawa and Sandoval are better hitters against right-handed pitchers than they are against left-handed pitchers, so they can't be platooned in the traditional sense.

Sandoval is a switch hitter, and could be vastly superior against left-handed pitchers compared to Ishikawa. With Ishikawa’s defensive prowess, he will earn a decent share of time against right-handed pitchers.

Even if the Giants do trade for a third baseman, Sandoval could still see time there.

I suppose it's possible that San Francisco trades Sandoval or benches him so that he can work on his defense, but his offensive contributions seem necessary at any expense right now.