Duchscherer could miss next start
MINNEAPOLIS -- Back at the team's downtown hotel after Monday's 3-2 victory over the Twins, Justin Duchscherer didn't look any more at ease with his immediate future than he did hours earlier in the visitors' clubhouse at the Metrodome.
Having pulled himself from the opener of a three-game series after 2 2/3 shutout innings with pain in his surgically repaired right hip, Duchscherer was heading upstairs to pack for his Tuesday flight back to the Bay Area when he was asked if he had a gut feeling about his impending prognosis.
"That's hard to answer," he said. "I'm still kind of dealing with the fact that this is an issue again. You think it's over and done with when you get surgery to fix something -- especially when everything felt so great for more than a year, from the time I got it fixed.
"But for now, I'm just hoping [the A's athletic trainers] are right and it's just a little inflammation that we can shoot up and work through."
Duchscherer had season-ending surgery on the same hip last June and said the pain he's feeling now is similar, but that last year's pain increased more gradually.
"Last year, it built slowly. It was there, then it would kind of die down, then it was there, and back and forth like that until it got really bad and we had to shut it down," he explained. "This time it was just there one day, in my last start [Aug. 13], and I pitched through it. But then it just got so bad [Monday] that I just couldn't pitch anymore. This time it all happened a lot faster."
If it's discovered that his hip can be dealt with through treatment and anti-inflammatories, Duchscherer will likely miss at least one start; the A's have been extremely cautious with even minor injuries this season.
"I don't want to miss any starts at all," Duchscherer said. "I want to prove I can pitch a whole season."
After Oakland's 13-2 loss Tuesday, A's manager Bob Geren said Duchscherer's visit with team orthopedist Dr. John Frazier included X-rays, which came back "clean," but Duchscherer will be sent for an MRI on Wednesday.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Cubs to go with Marshall on Sunday
ATLANTA -- Sean Marshall will start Sunday for the Cubs against the Florida Marlins and not Jeff Samardzija.
Chicago manager Lou Piniella made the announcement after the second game of Wednesday's day-night doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves, which the Cubs swept by scores of 10-2 and 8-0.
Before the first game, Piniella said Samardzija was one of the options. The rookie right-hander has not started since July 20, when he went six innings for Triple-A Iowa.
Rich Harden's Tuesday start was postponed by rain, and he was originally scheduled to go Sunday in the series finale against the Florida Marlins. He started Wednesday's night game and threw 92 pitches over five innings.
"I can't bring Harden back on short rest, but I can bring [Jason] Marquis back possibly," Piniella said about his options for Sunday. "By [Marquis] pitching the day game, it gives him a little longer time. If not, we'll either pitch Samardzija or pitch Marshall."
Marquis was willing to work on short rest.
"I would love to go Sunday," Marquis said. "I've done it numerous times in my career. I feel comfortable doing that. I work hard between starts, so I'll be able to do stuff like that."
Instead, it's Marshall, who did pitch one inning in relief on Wednesday. The left-hander has made three starts for the Cubs this year and is the long man in the bullpen.
Samardzija's longest outing so far is 2 1/3 innings against Pittsburgh on Aug. 3, which also was the most pitches he's thrown (40) in his eight outings so far with the big league team. In his last appearance on Sunday, he threw eight pitches.
"Like I said when I first got here, I just want to come in and throw whenever they want to give me a shot and take it as far as I can take it," said Samardzija, when told before Wednesday's twin bill that he had a shot at a start. "I'll just try to throw a lot of strikes and get some early action. Obviously, with the doubleheader, someone's going to have to fill in. ... I'm ready for anything. My arm feels good and has felt good ever since I've been here."
Because he has thrown almost every other day, Samardzija said his arm is still strong.
"You're still using your arm as much as if you're starting," he said. "As long as there's rest, I think it'll be fine."
If Samardzija had gotten the call, he would be rid of the pink backpack, at least for one day. The reliever with the least amount of service time carries it to the bullpen for each game.
"That would be a big plus," Samardzija said, laughing. "I've grown to hate it more and more every day, but it's all for fun. It does serve a great purpose -- there's a lot of good snacks and Red Bull. But it's an ugly backpack."
As far as hazing goes, it's pretty minimal.
"I'm sure [if I was in the NFL], I'd be tied to a goalpost and I'm sure this [hair] wouldn't be here," he said.
He's gotten plenty of attention from national media as he makes the conversion from All-America record-setting wide receiver at Notre Dame to Major League pitcher.
"When I don't have to answer football questions any more, I'll be a happy dude," he said. "That's what I'm working on now. Every inning I go out there -- every quick inning that I get outs and get back in the dugout will help."
It's been quite a ride for the right-hander, who began this season at Double-A Tennessee.
"I'm just trying to go with it, talking to guys as much as possible, soaking up as much as I can," he said. "I think we'll look back on it when the season's over. We'll worry about this right now and then take a deep breath, and when the season is over say, 'Wow, this was pretty crazy.'"
Copyright 2008 Sporting Life UK Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Pudge OK after collision at plate
ARLINGTON -- After Wednesday's game against the Rangers, a small statue of a baseball player was knocked over on manager Joe Girardi's desk in the visiting manager's office at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
The statue fell to the ground, breaking off one of its legs.
"That's what happened to Pudge!" Girardi exclaimed, referring to the injury Ivan Rodriguez suffered in the second inning of Wednesday's game.
However, Girardi was a little off on his diagnosis. While the statue came way with a dismembered left leg, Rodriguez suffered a deep bruise to his right knee. The Yankees' starting catcher is listed as day-to-day.
"He's got a little bruise above the right knee, but I don't expect it to be a problem," Girardi said. "Pudge could start tomorrow if he needs to."
According to Rodriguez, he should be back behind the plate by Friday in Los Angeles at the latest.
"I should miss just a couple of days," Rodriguez said. "This one got me good."
The injury occurred in the bottom of the second inning while Rodriguez was behind the plate.
With David Murphy on second base, Ian Kinsler singled to right field. Bobby Abreu fielded the ball and threw home as Murphy rounded third. Abreu's throw beat Murphy to the plate and Murphy slid feet first into Rodriguez's shin guards.
"He couldn't do anything," Rodriguez said. "I was blocking the plate."
Rodriguez held onto the ball for the final out in the inning, but both players remained on the ground for some time before they were able to walk under their own power.
Murphy stayed in the game for an inning, but Rodriguez was not able to bat the next inning when his spot came up in the order. Jose Molina took his place in the lineup. Rodriguez was seen limping from the dugout toward the tunnel to the visiting clubhouse.
"I was a little bit concerned," Rodriguez said. "To be honest, I don't know how I ran to the dugout. When I sat down on the bench, I couldn't stand up. I thought it was bad when I couldn't stand up."
But Rodriguez actually came away in better shape than Murphy. While Rodriguez may be back in the lineup as soon as Thursday, Murphy is headed to the disabled list with a strained posterior cruciate ligament -- plus a black eye he took from the collision.
Still, Rodriguez said this was one of the harder hits he's taken at the plate during his 18-year career.
"To put myself out of the game, it's got to be painful," Rodriguez said. "I had no strength. My knee was weak. I've been hit harder, but it was a hard hit to the knee with his knee, so it was knee on knee."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Cutting bait: Sox trade Manny for Bay
BOSTON -- It was almost done. Then it was dead. All of a sudden, a new deal with a similar result was back on. Then, in the one of the most dramatic non-waiver Trade Deadline deals in club history, the Red Sox sent superstar slugger Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way deal that brought Pirates left fielder Jason Bay to Boston on Thursday afternoon.
The deal has already been announced by the Dodgers and Pirates, but the Red Sox still hadn't issued a press release or conducted media availability with general manager Theo Epstein. The club would only make the inevitable blockbuster official once all the paperwork was completed.
"The Red Sox will have no announcement tonight," Red Sox spokesman John Blake said via e-mail at midnight ET. "There are still issues to be finalized."
Once those issues are settled, the Red Sox will have dealt Ramirez, a centerpiece of their team since 2001 and a core member of two World Series championship teams.
Wearing a green T-shirt, shorts and a white doo rag over his head, Ramirez went to Fenway Park early Thursday evening and cleaned out his locker, declining to speak with several camera crews who were staking out the scene.
Ramirez returned to the park later Thursday night, went into the clubhouse and then left in a silver Mercedes with tinted windows. He declined to speak to reporters before driving onto Yawkey Way.
Bay, 29, appeared to be the only bat on the market who had comparable numbers to Ramirez this season. The right-handed-hitting Bay has a .282 average with 22 homers, 64 RBIs and a .519 slugging percentage. The 36-year-old Ramirez, who is having what is basically a par year by his standards, is hitting .299 with 20 homers and 68 RBIs.
As part of the swap, Red Sox reliever Craig Hansen and Triple-A outfielder Brandon Moss were both sent to Pittsburgh.
Hansen has yet to live up to his potential since being taken by Boston in the first round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft. He is 1-3 with a 5.58 ERA in 32 appearances this season. Moss made several stints with the Red Sox and hit a dramatic, game-tying homer in the top of the ninth inning of the 2008 season opener at Tokyo Dome against the Athletics. In 78 at-bats for the Sox this season, the left-handed-hitting Moss was hitting .295 with two homers and eight RBIs.
According to SI.com, the Red Sox will pay the $7 million remaining on Ramirez's $20 million salary for this year. The Dodgers agreed not to pick up Ramirez's two $20 million club options for 2009 and '10, allowing him to become a free agent in November.
Though some players had privately gotten tired of Ramirez's unpredictability in recent weeks, others were sad to see him go.
"From a personal standpoint, I'm sad because I got to know Manny," said Red Sox shortstop Alex Cora. "But at the same time, I feel it's the best, not only for him, but for us as a team. Compare it with the Mets' situation earlier in the season [with then-manager Willie Randolph]. Like Manny said, 'Let's turn the page and move on.' We are a good team and we are still capable of winning and we know what it takes to bring another ring for the city."
The blockbuster move literally came down to the buzzer, just like it did in 2004, when the Sox traded Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs. That time, Boston won the World Series despite trading an icon. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has never been afraid to be bold, as he once again demonstrated on Thursday.
Ramirez had become increasingly disenchanted in recent weeks as his relations with club executives had soured. When the season started, it seemed as if he was never happier.
That made his recently erratic behavior harder to understand for members of the team.
"The hard part for me was this derailed into a train wreck so quick, so fast, and so oddly," Red Sox right-hander Curt Schilling, who hasn't pitched this season because of injury, told WEEI-850 AM on Thursday. "You had the Buddha Zen Master guy in Spring Training, reading and [saying] 'Life is good; don't worry, be happy,' and it just looked like he was poised to have a monster season. Physically, he worked his butt off."
Things started to turn ugly on June 28, when Ramirez put traveling secretary Jack McCormick, who is 64 years old, to the floor during a pregame spat over tickets. The club didn't announce discipline for Ramirez, but it's believed he received a substantial fine, which went to a charitable organization.
More recently, Ramirez asked out of the lineup before the finale of a road trip in Seattle and then the opener against the Yankees because of right knee soreness. There was some dispute about the severity of the injury, and the Red Sox reportedly plotted disciplinary action against Ramirez if he was again unavailable on July 26 against the Yankees. But Ramirez returned that day, which is when rumors of a trade first surfaced.
Once Ramirez let it be known he would waive his no-trade rights, the Red Sox started working the phones, as they've often done in previous years.
This time, they found a taker.
Initially, the Red Sox had spoken to the Marlins and Pirates about a three-way deal that would have sent Ramirez to Florida, Bay to Boston and Jeremy Hermida to Pittsburgh. That deal fell apart in the early afternoon hours of Thursday.
But the Dodgers swooped in, and the Pirates stayed in the mix with Bay, enabling the Sox to move Ramirez.
"It really wasn't many hours at all," Colletti said of how quickly the deal developed. "Theo reached out to me in midmorning and wanted to gauge our interest, and I said, `You know what? We have an interest.' Then, we probably spent the next two-plus hours hammering it out. This wasn't on the board for very long."
A fixture in the middle of the Red Sox's batting order since 2001 and a core member of two World Series championship teams, Ramirez ended his near eight-year run with the Red Sox by going 0-for-3 in Wednesday's loss to the Angels.
The deal reunites Ramirez with former teammates Derek Lowe and Garciaparra.
"It's nice to see we've done something like this, to make a push for the next two months," Garciaparra said. "I think he'll be just fine. Manny is really a simple person. He works extremely hard. He just wants to play baseball and go home and be with his family. How can you not respect and love a guy like that?"
Ultimately, the Red Sox decided their best chance to repeat as World Series champions was to part ways with Ramirez.
The team has struggled since the All-Star break, going 4-8.
The Sox will play their first game without Ramirez -- and presumably their first with Bay -- on Friday night at Fenway when the Oakland Athletics come to town.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Braves mulling Francoeur move
ATLANTA -- Next Monday will mark the third anniversary of Jeff Francoeur's Major League debut. All indications are that he'll still be in the Majors at that time.
But as his offensive struggles have continued, he's given Braves management more reason to at least continue evaluating the potential circumstances of sending him back to the Minor Leagues.
Because the National League East first-place Phillies sent Brett Myers back to the Minors on Tuesday with the hope that he'd regain his successful pitching form, there was at least some talk at Turner Field on Wednesday regarding the possibility of Francoeur encountering the same fate.
While a team official at least confirmed there has been discussion about sending Francoeur to the Minors to rediscover his lost swing, there was no indication that this was an imminent possibility.
One primary reason that the Braves haven't shipped Francoeur back to the Minors is the potential backlash they might receive from their fans, who have remained faithful to No. 7, despite the fact that he entered Wednesday night's game against the Phillies hitting just .239 with a .294 on-base percentage and .383 slugging percentage.
"I'd like to see a little more of the enthusiasm he showed early in his career," Chipper Jones said. "He's really down on himself right now and I think he'll come out of it a little faster if he doesn't take the game as seriously as he is."
Even before he homered in his Major League debut on July 7, 2005, Francoeur was a favorite among Braves fans. Growing up in suburban Atlanta, he was named the high school Player of the Year for Georgia in both football and baseball.
"This is really the first time he's ever struggled," said Braves All-Star catcher Brian McCann, who has been Francouer's best friend since they were 12 years old. The only three qualified NL outfielders with a lower OPS (on-base plus-slugging-percentage) than Francoeur's mark of .677 are Houston's Michael Bourn, Los Angeles' Juan Pierre and Colorado's Willy Taveras, who are all known primarily for their speed.
"Everybody goes through slumps," McCann said. "You have to try to catch what you're doing wrong mechanically before it snowballs. That's why this game, to me, is the toughest sport to play. It's every day."
After hitting .293 last year, Francoeur entered this season hoping to keep that consistency, while improving his power and bidding for a third consecutive season with at least 100 RBIs.
But in his past 72 games entering Wednesday, the 24-year-old outfielder had hit .229 with a .291 on-base percentage and a .351 slugging percentage. There was some hope that he was turning the corner when he recorded consecutive multihit games on June 12-13.
But over the next 16 games, Francoeur hit .138 with a .206 on-base percentage and a .155 slugging percentage.
"It's tough to see him go through it," McCann said. "But you see what kind of guy you are when you are struggling, and he's still trying to stay upbeat. Everybody around here knows that he's working as hard as he can. It would be one thing if he wasn't at least trying."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
New approach sends Jays past Reds
TORONTO -- One of the reasons the Blue Jays brought in Cito Gaston to manage the team was to shake up their dormant offense. It's been a broken record for most of the year, but the fact remains that while the pitching staff has been carrying Toronto, the offense has dragged the team to the bottom of the division standings.
Following a recent loss, Gaston said he would make a point to speak to his hitters about their collective approach at the plate. The Jays manager made true on his promise prior to Thursday's game against the Reds, holding a brief meeting with his offensive players.
Whatever was said in the meeting seemed to work, as the Blue Jays came out in full force to defeat the Reds, 7-1, at Rogers Centre. Toronto hitters provided ample support for starter Jesse Litsch, who stifled Cincinnati on his way to delivering a masterful performance.
"He's been talking pretty much every day since he's been here," said Vernon Wells of Gaston. "Just relax, go up there and get your pitch, and take your chances. Treat the situations -- that there's runners on third with less than two outs -- the same as you would any other situation. Don't try to do anything more or anything less. Just go out and try to have a good at-bat, and whatever happens after that, happens."
For the Blue Jays (38-42) to apply such an approach on Thursday seemed a tough enough task with Reds starter Edinson Volquez toeing the rubber. Volquez (10-3) entered the game leading the Major Leagues in ERA and strikeouts and placing second in the National League in wins.
"We were watching the tapes [of Volquez] before the game," said Jays catcher Gregg Zaun. "And everybody was like, 'Ooh and ahh and wow,' watching the velocity and movement on his pitches.
"But give our hitters a lot of credit -- guys came out ready to swing the bats. We've been a little more aggressive lately."
Wells, who had two RBIs in the game, had similar thoughts.
"He's one of the best starters in the National League this year," said Wells. "It's just a matter of having a plan and executing it. The guys were putting balls in play. And that's the thing, when you have a guy who's pretty much leading baseball in strikeouts, you've got to go up there and try not to do too much. The guys did their jobs when they needed to."
Against Volquez, Toronto jumped out to an early lead in the second inning, when Scott Rolen launched a 1-1 changeup deep into the left-center-field stands for a two-run home run.
Perhaps a more important hit, though, came in the third inning, when Lyle Overbay came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. Overbay had faced the same situation a night before, but he grounded into an inning-ending double play.
On Thursday, however, the results were different. Overbay scorched a single into right field that plated two runs and gave the Jays a commanding 5-0 lead.
"With that hit there, that kind of put the nail in the coffin. And those add-on runs are huge, especially in situations like that," said Wells. "That's something that we obviously haven't done throughout the year. It seems like things are getting better, and we have to continue to have good at-bats in those situations."
The beneficiary of the Toronto runs was Litsch (8-4), although for most of the night it looked as though the right-hander didn't need much. Litsch, who now is tied with Roy Halladay for the team lead in wins, induced 12 groundouts and allowed just one run on three hits over eight innings. He walked one while striking out six.
Litsch's performance was a reversal of fortune from his previous four starts. Over that span, dating back to June 4, he was 0-3 with a 6.46 ERA. The righty had allowed a total of 17 earned runs in just 23 2/3 innings during the stretch, with opponents hitting .330 off him.
"It's been a battle up until now," Litsch said. "Me and [pitching coach Brad Arnsberg] worked heavily during my last bullpen session. [We] just worked on getting over top of the ball and making everything down in the zone."
On Thursday, Zaun, who was behind the plate, saw the version of Litsch that had gone 5-0 with a 1.96 ERA over seven games from late April to the end of May.
"He threw strike one," Zaun said. "He threw strike one all night long with a lot of different pitches. Another thing about it is that he had every single pitch in his arsenal working and was throwing all for strikes tonight."
Following the game, Reds (36-44) manager Dusty Baker also marveled at the Toronto starter's dominance.
"He was masterful," Baker said. "He's probably the best No. 5 starter we've seen. He mixed breaking balls, cutters, changeups, and then when he catches you looking for that, he could throw the fastball by us. The young man threw a great game on their side."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Locking' em up young
In a deal that provided financial security for the player and some cost certainty for the low revenue club, 2004 American League Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby signed a contract extension with the A's during the 2005 season.
It locked up the then-25-year-old shortstop through his arbitration years and will pay him a reported $12.75 million through 2009, and it continued a trend that Oakland general manager Billy Beane has been out in front of for years.
Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, Eric Chavez and Rich Harden have received similar deals, helping the A's stay competitive despite a bottom-third payroll.
Beane certainly didn't start the trend, and the more forward thinking -- and, in most cases, cash-strapped -- GMs have been doing the same thing for quite some time. It's been a way of life for many clubs of late.
"In our case, these were no-brainers," Beane said. "We knew that when you're in our position, you're unlikely to be able to hold onto a lot of players once they hit free agency, so you need to find a way to keep them as long as possible until that day comes."
Now, however, teams and players are agreeing to stay together earlier and longer into the players' careers, sometimes well into free agency. The Rays gave rookie third baseman Evan Longoria a six-year deal worth a reported $17.5 million, with three additional option years, less than a week after Longoria was called up to the Majors, and Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez just signed a six-year, $70 million extension.
"It's kind of like taking out an [insurance] policy with Lloyd of London's," Beane said. "The premium is high, but the reward -- if the player ends up being what you think he's going to be -- has the potential to really dwarf the risk."
The growing trend also has the potential to stifle the trade market in big league ball for years to come. Some GMs say that day already has arrived.
"The value of young players and prospects has never been higher with the cost of free agents," says Pirates GM Neal Huntington. "And the difference of putting your player on the field for the Major League minimum and not having to pay the millions and millions that free agents are asking for has slowed down the trade market. It has also decreased the tolerance of trading prospects."
"It takes more prospects or young Major Leaguers to get the few [impact veteran players] available," adds Dodgers GM Ned Colletti. "It's supply-and-demand. And there's a premium on keeping young players because of payroll."
Like Beane, Indians GM Mark Shapiro has a history of locking up his younger stallions, with C.C. Sabathia perhaps his biggest horse kept in the stable long term.
"I feel in the right situation, not without caution, where it balances the risk for both the player and the team, that it makes sense," Shapiro said. "What it comes down to is an equation where you share risk. The player benefits by getting decent security. The team benefits from the ability to control costs and more strategically plan. We'll probably see it more and more, with more and more guys being tied up.
"When C.C. got tied up, guys weren't giving up free agency. Now they are."
Guys like Ramirez, who would have been a first-time free agent after the 2011 season. Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest got Ramirez and his reps to sign on through 2014.
"It's a lot of what-ifs, and it changes from player to player," Beinfest said. "Some players you'd like to go year to year. [Ramirez] is young enough [24] where he can still have this contract and still be a would-be free agent at 30 years old. There is value in that as well for him.
"If a player meets the criteria, we wouldn't hesitate bringing that to [team owner Jeffrey Loria], and then take it from there. You have to look at everything. You have to look at the salary allocation of that player, if we were to lock him up. What the future of the team is going to look like with him on it. Is the player healthy? Is he performing? Is the trend line going up? All those things. All of those things go into it. We'll look at everybody. But this is the one player now we felt comfortable with going to ownership."
Beinfest won't say it, but the next Marlin in line for such a deal is Dan Uggla, a second baseman who hit 27 homers as a rookie in 2006, 31 in 2007, and a club-record 12 in May.
"Over the past five years, we've seen clubs put a real high value on young talent," says Braves GM Frank Wren. "No longer are they going to give up their best young talent for a rental player. I think what we're seeing is a return to teams putting an emphasis on player development and scouting. Even the teams on top realize that scouting and development are the way to go."
Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman echoed Beinfest's thoughts on Ramirez when discussing his club's decision to secure Longoria for the long-term, adding that the realities of Tampa Bay's financial situation made the risk easier to swallow.
"I think it's one of those situations where we're extremely confident in his abilities and what we believe he's going to be able to do," Friedman said. "We think in other markets, it's easy to wait and see how things play out. We don't necessarily have that luxury. It was also a situation where Evan knew he wanted to be here, so it was just a good fit in an unusual situation that I'm not sure will necessarily present itself again.
"It might. But it's not necessarily something that we're going to look aggressively to continue to do. It's just something that really fell perfectly and both sides thought it was the thing to do."
There aren't many executives who don't think it's the right thing to do these days, but it's not always possible when top agents are involved.
"The so-called super agents hate this trend," said one GM who requested anonymity on the topic. "It's good for the player and good for the club, but it's not so great for the super agent who wants that third house on Lake Cuomo after his guy hits paydirt in free agency."
As for what impact the trend has on the trade market, there are a handful of GMs who don't see it as much of an obstacle.
"They're not the kind of guys you're going to trade, anyways," said Doug Melvin of the Brewers, who recently added Ryan Braun to their collection of locked-down young stars. "I don't see that affecting anything."
Interestingly, Beane himself said, "I don't really see how it relates to the trade market, but I guess time will tell."
Besides, Beane added, having a young player locked up doesn't always mean the club is locked into that player.
Braun got some no-trade language built into his new deal, but Ramirez and Longoria did not. And without such language, GMs are free to trade their valuable cost-certainty trading chips for piles of players that might get flipped under similar circumstances down the road.
Beane, for instance, signed Dan Haren and Nick Swisher to multi-year deals designed to take them through arbitration with Oakland. But over the winter, Beane traded them in separate deals that netted the A's packages of six and three top prospects.
"Being contracted," Beane said, "at times can make it easier to move a player."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
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