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Rule 5 Draft Picks: First Round

The Rule 5 Draft was held today.  Here are the first round picks. Draft picks are listed by the team making the selection, player name and the team he was selected from.

As a reminder, players selected in the Rule 5 draft must remain on the 25-man roster the entire subsequent season or they are returned to the team from which they were taken.

  1. New York Yankees* (from Washington): Jamie Hoffmann, Dodgers
  2. Pittsburgh: John Raynor, Marlins
  3. Texas^ (from Baltimore): Benjamin Snyder, Giants
  4. Kansas City: Edgar Osuna, Braves
  5. Cleveland: Hector Ambriz, Diamondbacks
  6. Arizona: Zach Kroenke, Yankees
  7. New York Mets: Carlos Monasterios, Phillies
  8. Florida# (from Houston): Jorge Jiminez, Red Sox
  9. San Diego: pass
  10. Oakland: Bobby Cassevah, Angels
  11. Toronto: Zech Zinicola, Nationals
  12. Chicago White Sox: pass
  13. Milwaukee: Chuck Lofgren, Indians
  14. Chicago Cubs: Mike Parisi, Cardinals
  15. Tampa Bay: Armando Zerpa, Red Sox
  16. Seattle: Kanekoa Texeira, Yankees
  17. Texas: pass
  18. Florida: pass
  19. San Francisco: Steve Johnson, Orioles
  20. St. Louis: Ben Jukich, Reds
  21. Colorado: pass
  22. Philadelphia: Ken Herndon, Angels
  23. Los Angeles Dodgers: pass
  24. Boston: pass
  25. Los Angeles Angels: pass
  26. New York Yankees: pass

* Acquired from Nationals as part of Brian Bruney trade
^ Acquired from Baltimore as part of Kevin Millwood trade
# Acquired from Houston as part of Matt Lindstrom trade

The Tigers, Twins, Braves and Reds did not have picks because their 40 man roster was full.

Jamie Hoffmann In The Sun

The number 1 pick of the 2009 Rule 5 Draft, Jamie Hoffmann will now play all of 2010 on the Yankees 25-man roster

News and Notes From Stark, 11/20: Closers, Manny, Teixeira, Varitek

After the demand for espn.com's Jayson Stark's most recent article, let's not delay and get to his next one:

  • The list of available closers is long and can be broken down into tiers. Tier 1: Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Trevor Hoffman, Kerry Wood. Teir II: Jason Isringhausen, Brandon Lyon, Eric Gagne, Juan Cruz and Chad Cordero. Tier III (not really a tier, but those available via trade): JJ Putz, Bobby Jenks, George Sherrill, Huston Street, Jose Valverde and Matt Capps.
  • The list of teams interested in closers, however, is short: Mets, Indians, Brewers, Rangers, Tigers and possibly the Cardinals.
  • Many teams have filled their closer rolls already: Rockies: Manny Corpas, Marlins, Matt Lindstrom, Cubs: Carlos Marmol, Padres: Heath Bell.
  • Jose Arredondo could wind up the closer to replace K-Rod in Los Angeles.
  • Rumors are that the Mets will sign K-Rod to a four year deal around $50-$55M, but Stark doesn't think the years make sense for the Mets.
  • However, if the Mariners would part with Putz, the Mets may consider trading for him rather than signing any free agent.
  • JP Riccardi continued to quell rumors that the Blue Jays are interested in Manny Ramirez.
  • While the Angeles remain an unlikely suitor for Jake Peavy, if the team signs Mark Teixeira, they won't have a lot of money left to sign a free agent pitcher and may wind up pursuing the trade route.
  • Because of concerns about Russell Martin's health, the Dodgers inquired about how much it would take to sign Jason Varitek.
  • There are at least a dozen teams interested in Raul Ibanez: Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers (pending Milton Bradley), Angels (pending Garrett Anderson), and Mariners.

Florida Marlins Face A Challenging Off-Season...Again?

Way back on August 26th, Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinal wrote an article about the decisions the Marlins have to make with so many of their young players due for raises in arbitration. We covered it here, linking to Mike's insightful article to give credit.

Yesterday, Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post, wrote an obviously similar article (which you can find here) a little more than a week after Berardino's article. Not only was the topic of the article almost identical, much of Capozzi's language is very similar, if not identical.

The similarities go beyond just figures. Take a look for yourself:

1. Berardino writes:

[Kevin] Gregg figures to land in the $4.5 million range, which makes him a likely trade candidate as the Marlins make room for understudy Matt Lindstrom, who won't be eligible for arbitration for at least another year.

Capozzi writes:

Gregg could be in line for about $4 million, despite his recent struggles. But the team might try to trade him, too, and give Matt Lindstrom a shot at the closer's role.

2. Berardino writes:

Lefty Scott Olsen ($2.6 million projected) could wind up making a bit more than [Ricky] Nolasco based on his durability during the two-year period that will be evaluated.

Capozzi writes:

...and Olsen, whose durability could net him $2.5 million.

3. Berardino writes:

Josh Johnson, making a successful return from Tommy John surgery, should experience a more modest pay increase, but he still should reach seven figures for the first time.

Capozzi writes:

Right-hander Josh Johnson could get $1 million through arbitration

4. Berardino writes:

Current Marlins under team control for next season include franchise shortstop Hanley Ramirez ($5.5 million); starters Andrew Miller ($1.575 million), Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad...Sanchez and Volstad should make close to $400,000...Olsen would be a logical trade candidate in that scenario.

Capozzi writes:

Three starting pitchers are under team control next year: left-hander Andrew Miller ($1.57 million) and right-handers Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad (each projected to get around $400,000)...That means Olsen could be trade bait.

5. Berardino writes:

Five Marlins can become free agents: reserve outfielder Luis Gonzalez, infielder Wes Helms, backup catcher Paul Lo Duca and lefties Arthur Rhodes and Mark Hendrickson.

Capozzi writes:

Then there are five Marlins who can become free agents: reserve outfielder Luis Gonzalez, backup catcher Paul Lo Duca, infielder Wes Helms, and lefties Arthur Rhodes and Mark Hendrickson.

6. Berardino writes:

[Mike] Jacobs, whose salary could approach $2.5 million off an overall disappointing year, is a trade candidate as the Marlins seek to improve their defense while balancing their books. Corner infielder Jorge Cantu, a second-time arbitration qualifier, is a candidate to replace Jacobs at first, but only if his salary doesn't rise too quickly off this comeback season. If Cantu moves off third, that could open the door for Triple-A third baseman Dallas McPherson, who leads the minors with 40 homers.

Capozzi writes:

The team could move Cantu to first base and give Dallas McPherson a shot at third base, making Jacobs expendable.