Not Much Going On Sunday Morning . . . Or Monday Morning

by Russ Oates on Jan 8, 2007 9:09 AM MST in Rockpile

Luis Gonzalez is all but heading to the Yomiuri Giants. Once he passes a physical his ~$1M contract will be official.

We also find out that the Padres and Mariners have offered Brian Lawrence a contract and the Rockies have not. However, Lawrence and his agent appear to be focused on the Rockies since they are anticipating an offer. He'll throw on Monday and the Rockies should offer a contract if all goes well.

Around the NL West:

The Padres signed ex-Giant, ex-Met, ex-Red, ex-Cub, ex-Rockie and ex-D'Back Shawn Estes. Estes made one start last season for the Padres (in April) and didn't pitch again. He had Tommy John Surgery in June.

The D'Backs agreed to a 1-year extension with Randy Johnson, so the trade needs only to be announced officially.

Update [2007-1-8 11:9:2 by Russ in NY]: Karim Garcia will sign a minor league contract with either the Phillies or the Rockies, probably today.

Javy Lopez's contract has one of those nifty clauses that allows him to be a free agent if he doesn't make the team at the close of Spring Training.

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Lopez

BOS: Lopez to sign with Rockies Monday
Javy Lopez (C)
1/6: Javy Lopez is expected to ink a deal with the Rockies on Monday, according to the Denver Post. Lopez would receive a 40-man roster spot, but only a portion of his contract would be guaranteed as he competes with rookie Chris Iannetta and Yorvit Torrealba in spring training.

by BassGuiFloyd on Jan 7, 2007 9:21 PM MST reply actions

Signing

Does Javy's signing indicate Iannetta begins in the minors, Torrealba isn't healthy or is he just coming in to puch those two and land a job with another club?

Fake Teams - a fellow SBNation blog!

by Fake Teams @ Purple Row on Jan 8, 2007 10:53 AM MST reply actions

A little of each

Iannetta looks like he's going to be the guy, but the Rockies are hedging their bets a little. Just in case he regresses some. They also don't want to throw him to the wolves and watch him get ruined like what happened to JD Closser.

So they want a veteran backup/co-catcher. Torrealba's shoulder was really torn up if you read the reports. He's making good progress, and should be ready for Spring Training and this year....but he really tore his shoulder up, and there's no quarentees with a catcher that's been a career back-up that just tore up his shoulder good.

Lopez will get good spring training time with the Rockies. We have Colvina who is bound for AAA. We have Geranimo Gil who will get some reps, but barring a mircale will also be assigned to AAA. So the Rocks catching rotation is fairly thin and Lopez should be able to get plenty of looks/exposure for other teams if he doesn't make the Rockies.

by Redhawk on Jan 8, 2007 11:03 AM MST up reply actions

Agreed....

Ianetta is in the majors.

I think the Lopez signing is more to "hedge their bet" with Torrealba's shoulder than anything else. Granted, Ianetta still needs to perform in Spring Training....but its his job to lose.

I'm guessing it will be Torrealba and Lopez battling it out for the backup spot.

by sg8335aa on Jan 8, 2007 11:17 AM MST up reply actions

It's up in the air...

On the team site this week, Hurdle says that Torrealba shouldn't lose the job due to an injury. That sounds like it's Yorvit's job to lose.

Hurdle also mentions that Iannetta needs to catch two or three times a week. Unfortunately, that doesn't sound like Chris is the front runner. Three or four times a week would make him the number one catcher.

As a Sox fan, I saw too much of Lopez last year. He was horrible both at and behind the plate. Boston had only Ken Huckaby and Corky Miller in AAA and still dropped Lopez. One thing that doesn't show up in his stats is the lack of confidence the pitching staff had in him. Guys were getting whiplash from shaking him off.

My money is still on Iannetta. He started off a little slow, but hit the ball well the last nine games or so. Chris also did very well in AAA, with Cockrell as his hitting coach. I don't think .300 is out of his range.

by 4thturn on Jan 8, 2007 5:16 PM MST reply actions