Wednesday, May 30, 2007 |
Bart To The DL? And Other Roster Notes
- Headlining this post is the possibility that Bartolo Colon's triceps tightness may force a DL stint. Joe Saunders will be the likely callup, though the Angels might give a spot start to Dustin Moseley.
- Garret Anderson will start a rehab stint at Rancho tonight, and will likely be there through the weekend.
- Justin Speier will start a rehab assignment at Rancho on Thursday.
- Update: With the Yankees' Jason Giambi scuffling by his standards (.262/.385/.441 on 7 HR), rumors have spread that the Yanks are considering voiding his contract. Here's a follow-on piece by Allen Barra in the Village Voice about the Angels' possible role there:
The only grounds for voiding Giambi's contract would be steroid use after the drug policy went into effect in 2003, for which there is no evidence. Giambi's contract may well contain clauses that specify other drug-related reasons for termination, including pre-2003 use, but as a source close to the Players Association points out, "It makes no difference what's in [Giambi's] contract if it violates what's in the Basic Agreement."
Not Nick Adenhart, and I doubt any other team in baseball gives up much to get Jason, either, especially considering his absurd contract.What then, is likely to happen? We don't know, but an intriguing subplot may have emerged at precisely the moment the Los Angeles Angels came to town last weekend. Though he claims to have no knowledge of how the rumor of a Giambi-to-Angels trade got started, it's obvious that no team would be a more perfect fit for Giambi. Since he's a lousy fielder and must DH, Giambi would have to play in the American League. There are three American League teams on the West Coast, and Giambi is hugely unpopular with the fans of one of them: his old team, the Oakland A's. This leaves the Seattle Mariners and the Angels, and the Angels have two big advantages: They're a contender, currently leading the Western Division by four games; and they play their home games close to where Giambi grew up. And the West Coast is far enough away for a player who wants to escape the brutal scrutiny of the New York media.
Giambi has a no-trade clause in his contract and can steer a deal in any direction he wants. In other words, if the Yankees want to get rid of him badly enough, Giambi is in a position to force them to negotiate with the Angels. From the Yankees' perspective, it wouldn't be as good as terminating his contract, but at least in a trade they'd get something of value.
- Chad Billingsley will most likely not start on Saturday for the Dodgers. Hong-Chih Kuo is a possibility, but he got slammed in his most recent appearance for Las Vegas. D.J. Houlton did well, but would be pitching on short rest and has a troubling history of inconsistency (less of a problem lately, though).
- Takashi Saito complained of a sore arm and asked out of Sunday's game.
- Justin Duchscherer has had a setback with his hip injury and will not return on schedule.
- Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia sent scouts to watch Troy Percival pitch.
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