The "target date" is still May 15, but -- according to Heyman's sources -- both A-Rod and the team are very hopeful he'll be back on the field "sometime in the first week of May." This coming Friday is May 1.
FanHouse completes its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the New York Yankees.
When they signed A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira for a combined $423.5 million in December, the Yankees opened the door to criticism that they were just trying to use their revenue advantage to bludgeon the opposition. The team did use a heavy hand, but they aren't deserving of criticism.
With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.
- The Blue Jays are back above the .500 mark and might not even be willing to deal right-handed pitcher A.J. Burnett at this point, but if they decide to move him, the Cardinals remain the most likely destination. Burnett, an Arkansas native, grew up rooting for St. Louis and Tony La Russa's club could use a pitching upgrade, particularly following Milwaukee's acquisition of CC Sabathia and Chicago's acquisition of Rich Harden.
A.J. Burnett, Blue Jays Buzz: With the Blue Jays back over the .500 mark, Toronto might decide to hold on to Burnett and re-work his contract. The Cardinals remain the leading contender for his services, should the Jays decide to deal him.
Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images
Jason Bay, Pirates Buzz: With Pittsburgh's asking price for Bay high, the market around the outfielder seems to have cooled. The Braves were reportedly on the verge of a deal this weekend for the outfielder, but it was nixed by Pirates ownership.
Nick Laham, Getty Images
Manny Ramirez, Red Sox Buzz: Boston is exploring possible deals for the slugger, but it remains unlikely he'll be moved before the deadline. The Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Phillies and Mets are believed to be the teams interested in the slugger.
Christian Petersen, Getty Images
Jarrod Washburn, Mariners Buzz: The Yankees are stuck in a holding pattern as they try to acquire Washburn. New York is interested in him as a salary dump, but Seattle would prefer quality prospects. With the remaining money on his deal, the southpaw could sneak through waivers in an August trade.
Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images
Mark Teixeira, Braves Buzz: Though Atlanta has denied a willingness to trade Teixeira over the last few weeks, the club appears to be moving toward becoming a seller. The Braves are looking for an immediate replacement for the slugger at first base, with Boston's Kevin Youkilis and Arizona's Conor Jackson among the names to come up.
Jeff Zelevansky, Getty Images
Brian Giles, Padres Buzz: Giles is an on-base machine and a solid defender who could give a contender looking for a corner bat a boost. The Mets are one of the teams that may have interest in the outfielder.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
Raul Ibanez, Mariners Buzz: Many teams that are unwilling to spring for one of the star bats on the block see Ibanez as the bargain option on the corner bat market. The Mets are reportedly honing in on Ibanez to fill their outfield void.
Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images
Brian Fuentes, Rockies Buzz: The closer has reportedly been scouted by seven different clubs over the last few days, but Colorado's asking price -- rumored to be a top pitching prospect -- might be scaring potential suitors off. The Rockies also aren't certain that they are going to be sellers as they hang close in the NL West.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
Arthur Rhodes, Mariners Buzz: With Damaso Marte on the move and Brian Fuentes possibly off the market, Rhodes' stock could be rising. Milwaukee is a possible destination for the left-handed reliever.
Jim McIsaac, Getty Images
Felipe Lopez, Nationals Buzz: With the acquisition of second base prospect Emilio Bonifacio from Arizona, Lopez's days in Washington are numbered. The Nationals could move him in the next few days.
Greg Fiume, Getty Images
For now, GM John Mozeliak appears resolved to wait and see what the rehabbing Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter can provide and pursue relief help. Still, it's hard not to wonder about Burnett, particularly as the Cardinals muse about converting Wainwright back to relief for the remainder of the season. Wouldn't St. Louis look a lot tougher to beat if on Aug. 1 Burnett was in the rotation and Wainwright was closing out games as he did when the Cardinals won the World Series in 2006?
- Other than the Rockies, the Braves have been the toughest team to figure out over the last few weeks as they vacillate between punting the season and going for it in the NL East. Even as they move closer and closer to dumping Mark Teixeira, the team has apparently been working on a deal for Pittsburgh's Jason Bay, which was only nixed when Pirates' ownership stepped into the fray. Bay has long been thought to be the Bucs' best trade chip, but that's made the price tag too steep for many clubs. Still, Atlanta was close to dealing a package of four prospects, including Brent Lillibridge and Brandon Jones, for the left fielder. For a team like the Braves, with little hope of contending this year, that might seem strange, but Atlanta expects to be back in the hunt in 2009 and Bay is already under contract for next season.
The seemingly endless Rafael Furcal recovery process took another hit. And no, not the trade for Angel Berroa. Furcal's time for return was pegged for June 17, well over a month since stepped foot on the diamond.
"I think that's reasonable," Torre said.
Furcal, who last played May 5, resumed taking grounders at short Thursday and reported that his strained lower back felt fine the next day.
The Dodgers pretty clearly need Furcal in the lineup in order to make their offensive squad the most effective. They are still only four games out of the Diamondbacks though, with both teams having gone 3-7 in their last 10 games.
I'm still going to be a little skeptical about Furcal's return until I actually see him on the field after all the setbacks, but at least we have a timetable now.
Fantasy Spin: Furcal should still occupy a bench spot or a DL slot depending on your league options, at least until the week following his return. Now's a pretty good time to take a step at trade for the wrecking ball
We recently passed the one-year anniversary of Angel Berroa's last game played in the major leagues. How did the Royals celebrate? By finally finding a team willing to not only trade for him, but provide him with a chance to get back to the major leagues, as Berroa is now a proud member of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the low low price of Juan Rivera ... an A-ball .241 hitting shortstop.
"It's a fresh start for Angel," general manager Dayton Moore said. "We felt as an organization that we needed to get him a fresh start." (...)
"I'm as proud to be associated with Angel Berroa as any player I've known," Moore said. "We all know his struggles. But he continued to go about his business every day by working hard and having fun."
The Dodgers needed a shortstop with Rafael Furcal injured, and were looking for one on the cheap. They don't come much cheaper than the 30-year-old Berroa did, who has actually hit close to .300 during his recent time in the minor leagues. That the 2003 Rookie of the Year even has recent time in the minor leagues, and close to a year of it at that, shows you how far Berroa has fallen (that ... and the fact that he was traded for an A-baller who can't crack .250). And you just found out how desperate the Dodgers were for a shortstop with some major league experience.
Of course, that doesn't mean that Berroa's days as a Royal are over. The chances of another team picking him up off of the waiver wire are slim to none. There just aren't many teams in the market for a $7.5 million shortstop who can't hit or field.
When Berroa clears waivers, he can opt out of his contract and become a free agent, but that's not going to happen either. So at the end of the day, he'll still be in the Royals organization, playing shortstop in Omaha.
"There's nothing to gain," Moore said, "by walking away from Angel Berroa right now. He still has the tools to play shortstop in the major leagues."
What Moore meant to say was, "There's no way in hell we're going to cut the guy and pay him $7.5 million anyway." The part about the tools to play in the Majors was just an outright lie.
Alex Gordon was supposed to be the second coming of George Brett for the Royals, but he hasn't exactly lived up to any of the hype this season. He's currently mired in an 0-for-19 slump, and got Tuesday off against C.C. Sabathia and the Cleveland Indians.
The slump has dropped his average to .172 on the season, but when you consider it's never been higher than .195, it's not saying much.
So the debate has begun. Should the Royals send Alex Gordon back down to Omaha to get his act together? Buddy Bell doesn't think so.
"I still feel the same way about him," manager Buddy Bell said. "I'm really not interested in his numbers. I just want to see him get better. There was a stretch for about three weeks when he was hitting the ball hard and not getting much reward for it
"I saw a lot of progress. The last week, he's kind of reverted to the way he was early in the year. I'm hoping that doesn't continue for very long."
Arguments can be made for both sides. In the last few years, the Royals have sent Mark Teahen and David DeJesus down to Omaha when they struggled, and both came back better than ever. The downside of sending Gordon down, is that the Royals don't have many options at third base.
Mark Teahen is a full-time first baseman right-fielder now, so asking him to switch back to third wouldn't be very fair. That means Esteban German would have to move to third base full time. That's not a bad thing, but it would result in something horrific.
If German moves to third base, Angel Berroa would get more time at shortstop, and nobody wants that. I don't even think Berroa thinks that's a good idea.
The Royals had to place Ross Gload on the disabled list with a sore quadriceps muscle, and in his place they have recalled the one, the only, Angel Berroa.
I know, you can hardly contain your excitement. Kansas City Royals baseball just hasn't seemed the same without getting to watch Berroa flail wildly at pitches, and throw balls away. You may remember how the Royals optioned Angel to Triple-A Omaha after trading for Tony Pena Jr in March.
Apparently he's performed well enough in the minors to warrant this call up. In thirty games with Omaha, Berroa is hitting .303 with 15 RBI, 17 strikeouts, and 4 walks. He's also committed five errors, which seems par for the course, but the Royals are hoping he can continue hitting.
Berroa will not be starting for the Royals, rather he'll just be backing up Pena and Alex Gordon at third base. I have to wonder if this move is nothing more than one last gasp by the Royals in hopes that Berroa will perform well enough that some other team will be dumb enough to trade for him.
Kansas City isn't exactly deep in the pockets, and paying a guy $8.5 million to play for their Triple-A team is not the kind of cost effective building Dayton Moore wants to do. If I'm Moore, I give up Berroa for just about anything and try to find a team that's willing to pay at least some of his salary.
General Manager Dayton Moore wasn't pulling any punches when asked to explain the move, either.
"The decision speaks for itself. We just felt it was in his best interest to do it at this time and in the best interest of the organization."
Berroa will not starve while in Omaha as he's still going to be paid the $8.5 million still remaining on his contract with the Royals. Berroa sensed it was coming after the trade, and was officially informed Saturday afternoon as the team prepared to head to a game against the Mariners.
I'm guessing the scene went like this.
Buddy Bell walks into the clubhouse.
"Everybody who's on this team and is getting on the bus, stand up. Ooh, no, sorry Angel. Sit down."
"I've been working," Berroa said. "That's not the problem. If I wasn't working hard, that would be one thing. They've got me trying to do some different things (as a hitter), and it's taken time to adjust."
Berroa is right, it's not that he hasn't been working hard, it's that the results have just been horrible. As for whether or not Berroa will make it back to KC when he does adjust, there's this little nugget from Buster Olney's blog.
"...it would not be surprising if [Berroa] didn't have a regular job in the big leagues again. Spoke with executives of two teams in recent days and they said the reports they were getting on Berroa were off-the-charts bad."
Quite a fall for a guy who only three seasons ago was winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
As I reported here yesterday, the Royals were actively searching for a backup plan at shortstop to replace the natural disaster that is Angel Berroa. Well, general manager Dayton Moore called in a few favors, and he's found his man.
The Royals traded for Tony Peña Jr, whom they got from the Atlanta Braves, where Moore had spent the last several years as an assistant to John Schuerholz. If you recognize the name Tony Peña Jr, it's because he's the son of former Royals manager, and Major League catcher, Tony Peña.
"We've seen [Peña Jr.] several times and [our scouts] are raving about his play," Moore said. "He is having an exceptional spring. He's a very instinctive, heady player. He's very sure-handed and a rangy-type shortstop. He can really play shortstop. He's very charismatic and humble. The fans in Kansas City are going to love him."
Of course, neither Moore or manager Buddy Bell are ready to admit that Berroa's days are done.
"We feel obviously the acquisition of Tony Pena Jr. strengthens our shortstop position," Moore said. "He's on our club, which naturally brings up, what do we do with the other shortstop? We're going to evaluate it the final 10 days of Spring Training."
Moore then immediately pointed out that Berroa still has options left and could be sent to the minor leagues, which can't be a good sign if you are Angel Berroa.
As the New York Yankees struggle with the almighty Cody Ransom-Ramiro Pena-Angel Berroa trio at third base, Alex Rodriguez has been busting his butt to get back on the field. According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, he's going to get on the major league field earlier than his original May 15 target date. 
The seemingly endless 
We recently passed the one-year anniversary of 
Yesterday I wrote that one of the reasons the Royals 
Alex Gordon
As I've been 
