Atomic RoadRunners | Andrew Flynn’s High-Energy Fantasy Baseball

The Tigers have shown some initial interest in Lyon, the MLB.com Hot Stove Blog reports. The Tigers have also shown interest in former Nationals closer Chad Cordero as well. The Tigers are looking for some short term bullpen help as the team has 2008 first-round draft pick Ryan Perry as their closer of the future, and Joel Zumaya could work his way back in to the running for the closing gig if he can stay healthy. (Rotowire)

Agent Jonathan Maurer said Wednesday that he expects the Diamondbacks to re-initiate contract talks with Brandon Webb this offseason. However, Maurer said that the $54 million extension Arizona previously had on the table “wouldn’t work today.” He also suggested that the Diamondbacks may look to trade Webb if they can’t work out a deal, but the two sides were on the verge of an agreement just a few months ago and he’s under the team’s control through 2010. No reason was given for the last-minute change of course during the season, but Webb could win his second Cy Young award in three years after an excellent 2008 season. Webb’s productivity over the last three seasons could command an annual salary in the $18-20 million range, ultimately pricing him out of the D-Backs’ plans given the number of young players they’ll eventually need to commit to. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

The Reds activated Phillips (finger) from the 60-day DL on Friday. He should be fine for spring training and is expected to serve as the Reds’ starting second baseman in 2009. (Rotowire)

Here’s a rundown of Roadrunner rumors during this week’s General Manager Meetings in Dana Point, CA.:

• Brandon Lyon is open to pitching in Colorado.

• According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks haven’t talked contract with Brandon Webb’s agent, Jonathan Maurer, since the team pulled out of a June near-agreement for three years and $54MM. Maurer expects to hear from the D’Backs this winter, but the price has gone up. Webb isn’t looking to set any records, but he’s well under-compensated on his current deal (which runs through 2010). ESPN’s Buster Olney heard a four-year, $80MM extension would probably suffice, but it’s not known whether the D’Backs will do that. Maurer wonders if they’ll look to trade Webb if contract talks break down.

• According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Nationals are preparing to make a significant offer to Mark Teixeira. Olney believes the Angels will make an offer in the $100-120MM range, but that offer will expire soon. If and when Scott Boras passes on that proposal, it might be the Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals, and Orioles competing for Tex.

• GM Ruben Amaro Jr. had an informal five-minute talk with Casey Close, who represents Ryan Howard and Joe Blanton.
• Larry LaRue says the Angels are hinting they can afford both Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia.  The Yankees could afford it, too.
• The Angels have not yet made an offer to Mark Teixeira, but they’ll deal with that situation before moving on to other needs.  Boras is suggesting Teixeira pays for himself.
• Ken Rosenthal has an Angels update: If they are to sign Mark Teixeira, the Angels would like to do it quickly.  However, it’s Scott Boras’ custom to let the market develop until late December or so.  It’s possible the Angels change gears on November 14th.  There are other big names to pursue, though none fit as perfectly as Tex.

• MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert talked to Brandon Lyon’s agent Barry Meister, who said his client would be open to closing or an eighth inning role.  Lyon would be thrilled to return to the D’Backs, but they don’t figure to match a multiyear offer.  More likely, they offer arbitration but let him leave. Lyon, 29, posted a 4.70 ERA in 59.1 innings this year.  His command was strong, possibly indicating better times ahead.

• In the Cubs’ scramble to land Jake Peavy via trade and to re-sign Ryan Dempster, Ken Rosenthal reports that several players may have to be traded to reduce payroll, including Jason Marquis.
• The Rangers may look at outside options for third base, and they’ve been in touch with Casey Blake’s agent.

The National League Roster for the Gold Glove team was announced yesterday, and it included two Roadrunners. Second baseman Brandon Phillips and center fielder Shane Victorino were each honored with their first career award.

Victorino . . . strives to be a well-rounded player. Philadelphia pitchers had a sense of comfort with Victorino roaming the outfield.

“Of course, you want to do well offensively, but I always take pride in my defense,” Victorino said.

Cincinnati’s Phillips led NL second basemen in fielding percentage, committing just seven errors in 706 total chances. He had a 78-game errorless streak from April 10 through July 8.

Phillips becomes the first Reds player to win a Gold Glove since second baseman Pokey Reese in 2000.

The Full Squad:
C: Yadier Molina, STL
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2B: Brandon Phillips, CIN
3B: David Wright, NYM
SS: Jimmy Rollins, PHI
OF: Nate McLouth, PIT
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF: Shane Victorino, PHI
P: Greg Maddux, LAD (his 18th gold glove!)

Noah Lowry is confident he can be a key member of the Giants’ rotation next season, even though the left-hander didn’t throw a pitch in 2008. Lowry underwent arthroscopic surgery after the season on the back of his pitching elbow to remove bone spurs. That came after the 28-year-old spent the entire season rehabilitating from a March 7 operation to repair a rare nerve problem in his forearm called exertional compartment syndrome. He has been rehabbing his elbow five days a week in Arizona and is optimistic he will finally be healthy soon — and ready to pick up where he left off in 2007. “As far as my arm and what’s been going on, I am doing great,” Lowry said. “I am on schedule to start my normal offseason throwing routine sometime around the first week of December, so everything has been going well. I think that with a normal recovery time and normal rehab work I should be right on pace to be ready for the year and back to my old self.”

Before the latest procedure, performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum, Lowry had been on a throwing program and was close to pitching in the Arizona instructional league. He also had been scheduled to pitch in winter ball. Lowry had hoped to return in mid-April from his forearm procedure, but was still experiencing tingling in his pitching arm. He led the Giants with 14 wins in 2007 and has a 40-31 record with a 4.03 ERA in 106 career games. Lowry was a first-round draft pick by the Giants (30th overall) in 2001. He is signed through next year with a club option for 2010. “We’re being optimistic that we can count on him and that the surgery will clear up everything and give him peace of mind,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Hopefully, it’s the last step to getting him recovered so we can count on him in the rotation.” Even with a clean bill of healthy — a risky proposition — Lowry is nothing more than a lower-end Fantasy option on the non-contender Giants at this point. (CBS Sports)

Baseball Prospectus recently released the results of the 17th Annual Internet Baseball Awards. Blake Dewitt finished ninth in the balloting. Below are the results:

Rnk Name                        1      2      3       B       P
  1. Geovany Soto             1178     63     17    1258    6096
  2. Joey Votto                 74    618    242     934    2466
  3. Jair Jurrjens              26    302    324     652    1360
  4. Jay Bruce                  21    105    131     257     551
  5. Hiroki Kuroda               8     93    111     212     430
  6. Kosuke Fukudome            10     23     31      64     150
  7. Clayton Kershaw             5     26     31      62     134
  8. Johnny Cueto                0     25     33      58     108
  9. Blake Dewitt                1     11     16      28      54
 10. John Lannan                 0     11     20      31      53

 14. Jorge Campillo              1      5     12      18      32
 14. Chase Headley               1      5     12      18      32
 18. Pablo Sandoval              1      4      6      11      23
 25. Gregor Blanco               0      2      1       3       7
 29. Brandon Moss                1      0      0       1       5
 33. Manny Acosta                0      1      0       1       3
 33. Chris Dickerson             0      0      3       3       3
 33. Greg Reynolds               0      0      3       3       3

Baseball Prospectus recently released the results of the 17th Annual Internet Baseball Awards, and Chipper Jones finished sixth in the balloting for National League MVP. 2008 IBA Cy Young Tim Lincecum placed ninth overall. Below are the results:

Rnk Name                   1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10       B       P
  1. Albert Pujols       1233   97   38   17    5    7    4    2    2    1    1406   18650
  2. Hanley Ramirez        26  454  191  164  105   76   46   38   14   15    1129    8477
  3. Lance Berkman         14  223  195  167  159   89   74   46   31   26    1024    6853
  4. Chase Utley           21  105  196  155  149  101   85   54   45   16     927    5899
  5. David Wright          10   93  163  152  171  118  104   63   50   28     952    5694
  6. Chipper Jones         14   70  131  128  133  115   81   68   47   28     815    4793
  7. Ryan Howard           53  116   75   80   64   44   38   28   35   24     557    3880
  8. Manny Ramirez         32   63   72   65   79   50   40   42   49   51     543    3205
  9. Tim Lincecum           5   33   61   77   94   61   70   50   44   22     517    2803
 10. Ryan Braun             7   49   61   94   55   53   56   44   37   22     478    2732

 12. Jose Reyes             3   12   35   38   63   68   59   72   58   45     453    2027
 23. Prince Fielder         0    1    5    7    9    9   10    7    4    2      54     268
 24. Brandon Webb           0    1    2    4    6    5    7    8    8    6      47     188
 39. Mark Teixeira          0    0    0    3    1    1    0    0    1    1       7      35
 42. Shane Victorino        0    1    0    1    0    3    0    0    1    0       6      33
 62. Brandon Phillips       0    0    0    0    0    1    1    0    1    2       5      13
 74. Corey Hart             0    0    0    0    1    0    0    0    1    0       2       8
 88. Chris Iannetta         0    0    0    0    0    1    0    0    0    0       1       5
 95. Brandon Lyon           0    0    0    0    0    0    1    0    0    0       1       4
104. Ryan Theriot           0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    1       1       1

It seems that I may have placed the vote for Theriot . . .

Tim Lincecum was named the Cy Young Award winner in the 17th Annual Internet Baseball Awards. 2006 winner and 2007 runner-up Brandon Webb finished fourth in the voting. Below are the results:

Rnk Name                        1      2      3      4      5       B       P
  1. Tim Lincecum              955    335     56     15      4    1365   12224
  2. Johan Santana             273    619    184     71     22    1169    8218
  3. C.C. Sabathia             122    155    281    159    128     845    4315
  4. Brandon Webb               47    189    318    193    106     853    4068
  5. Cole Hamels                 5     42    212    214    130     603    2176
  6. Brad Lidge                  9     18     94    109     83     313    1096
  7. Ryan Dempster               5     16     86    101    124     332    1019
  8. Dan Haren                   1     10     47     83     98     239     662
  9. Edinson Volquez             0      6     33     42     55     136     388
 10. Jake Peavy                  2     11     23     38     34     108     360

 24. John Maine                  1      0      0      1      0       2      13
 26. Brandon Lyon                1      0      0      0      0       1      10
 34. Brian Wilson                0      0      1      0      1       2       6
 41. Josh Johnson                0      0      0      1      0       1       3
 41. Todd Wellemeyer             0      0      0      1      0       1       3
 50. Matt Lindstrom              0      0      0      0      1       1       1

Blake DeWitt - 3B Dodgers - Age 23
Projection: .260/.298/.384, 2 HR, 9 R, 9 RBI, 0 SB in 73 AB
2008 stats: .264/.344/.383, 9 HR, 45 R, 52 RBI, 3 SB in 368 AB

From Rotoworld:

With Nomar Garciaparra, Andy LaRoche and Tony Abreu all down, DeWitt, who was supposed to begin the season at Double-A, was the Dodgers’ Opening Day third baseman. Garciaparra’s return took him out of the lineup after a couple of weeks and he was actually sent down to Triple-A for a day in April, but he moved back into the lineup and hit .322 with five homers in May. A June slump followed and he was demoted again when Casey Blake was acquired, but the Dodgers stuck him at second base in place of Jeff Kent in September and he hit his other four homers that month. DeWitt has a line-drive swing that should produce solid batting averages in the majors. However, his power potential is still in question. He’d be a fine regular if he could last at second base, but he lacks range there. He’s going to have to deliver 35 doubles and 15 homers per year if he wants to make it at third. The Dodgers will probably pencil him in at one of the two spots next year. He could hit .280 and drove in 70-80 runs.

John Bowker - 1B/OF Giants - Age 25
Projection: .270/.312/.420, 3 HR, 11 R, 11 RBI, 1 SB in 100 AB
2008 stats: .255/.300/.408, 10 HR, 31 R, 43 RBI, 1 SB in 326 AB

From Rotoworld: (and yes, Bowker was released earlier in the season, but he was a Rookie Roadrunner.)

Bowker was an underrated prospect after hitting a very impressive .307/.363/.523 in a great environment for pitchers at Double-A Connecticut in 2007, but it was still a surprise to see him come up in the first half of April after he was one of the Giants’ early cuts in spring training and go 4-for-6 with two homers and seven RBI in his first two games. He went into a slump soon thereafter, but he entered the All-Star break at .274/.317/.449, making him one of the Giants’ top hitters. Unfortunately, another slump followed, resulting his demotion. When he came back in September, he found himself on the bench behind Travis Ishikawa. He made just three starts, but he went 5-for-13 with a homer in those games. Bowker lacks huge upside, but he’s just as good of a bet as any other Giants holdover to post an 800 OPS next year (none of the club’s regulars got there in 2008). While he’s also an option in the outfield corners, his chances of being in the Opening Day lineup will hinge on what happens with the club’s pursuit of a first baseman.

Gregor Blanco - OF Braves - Age 25
Projection: .265/.343/.333, 0 HR, 23 R, 13 RBI, 6 SB in 162 AB
2008 stats: .251/.366/.309, 1 HR, 52 R, 38 RBI, 13 SB in 430 AB

From Rotoworld:

The Braves and Bobby Cox in particular had little confidence in Blanco entering last season, which is a big reason the team went and traded for a remarkably similar player in Josh Anderson, but Blanco turned in a great spring and ended up beating out Anderson for a bench job. A fast start followed, and Blanco was a regular for about four months before taking a backseat to Anderson in September. Along the way, he made it pretty clear that he could be a useful major leaguer, but more so in a role that would net him about 250 at-bats per year. Blanco’s assets are his speed and patience at the plate. He had a .371 OBP in 234 at-bats as a leadoff man last year. Unfortunately, he has no power at all and he’s not a very good basestealer for such a fast runner. Anderson appears to be ahead of him on the depth chart again now, so a trade is a possibility. The Braves won’t want to carry both players.

Brandon Lyon and his agent told the D-Backs that he hasn’t ruled out a return to Arizona, the team’s official site reports. “Brandon would be thrilled to come back to Arizona,” Lyon’s agent Barry Meister said. “We’re going to get some sense of the market and come back to Arizona and have a meeting of the minds. I don’t think it would be surprising if he got some multi-year offers from teams.” The D-Backs have pretty good depth already in their bullpen, so it may come down to possibility of adding a low-cost alternative and hoping that a couple of their younger arms step up and contribute significant late innings in 2009. (Rotowire)

Free agent Casey Blake is looking for a three-year deal this winter. He’s viewed as the top third baseman available, though he’s not as good as a healthy Joe Crede. We keep hearing that he came up big for the Dodgers, but he had a .313 OBP and a mere 23 RBI in 58 games for the club. Also, he is 35, and while he’s kept himself in very good shape, he’s a below average defensive third baseman. He may have to settle for something like $14 million for two years. The Indians and Dodgers are interested in having him back. (Rotoworld)

However, general manager Mark Shapiro said Monday that the Indians “have definite interest” in free agent Casey Blake. Cleveland traded Blake to Los Angeles in late July, and Shapiro explained that “we know what he does as a teammate and athlete” despite his not being “at the top of our list.” Blake’s agent said Monday that the Dodgers are also interested in re-signing Blake. (Rotoworld)

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Angels “will not engage in protracted negotiations with” Mark Teixeira and “might go in a completely different direction” if they can’t re-sign him by next Thursday. Unfortunately, agent Scott Boras is unlikely to make it a quick process. “In any situation, you get to a point where you have to make a decision and move the business forward,” general manager Tony Reagins said. “In any negotiation, there always comes that point where you have to say, you’re in or you’re out.” (Rotoworld)

“Mark is a priority, and we have a high level of interest,” general manager Tony Reagins said. “He’s a talented ballplayer. The way he goes about his business was impressive. Being able to see him every day was eye-opening, really, and we think he adds to what we want to do.” Teixeira hit .358 with 13 home runs in 193 at-bats with the Angels. His monster numbers after his trade from Atlanta probably have more to do with him historically playing well in the second half than anything else. No matter where he signs, he’ll enter 2009 as a top-three Fantasy 1B and a likely third-round draft pick. (CBS Sports)