A's, Duchscherer agree on one-year deal

Free agent Justin Duchscherer will be returning for a seventh season with the Athletics, officially agreeing on a one-year deal.

No details of the contract were released, but it was reported last week that it is worth $5.5 million if he reaches his incentives.

"I know the people, the coaching staff and the organization well. It creates a comfortable environment for me to come back to," said Duchscherer on why he returned to the Athletics. "All in all, I like playing in Oakland. I like the ballpark, I like the team, I like the people who work there. I'm just excited to get back out there."

Duchscherer, 32, missed the entire 2009 season after undergoing elbow surgery and treatment for clinical depression. He arrived at Spring Training recovering from 2008 hip surgery, but did not pitch in a Major League spring game before having arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow March 31.

During the offseason, the Athletics offered Duchscherer arbitration, but he didn't accept the offer because he hoped to move closer to his son, who lives in Philadelphia. Duchscherer went through a divorce and acknowledged he needed to take care of business off the field.

Duchscherer also credited the A's for not putting any pressure on him to go back on the field this past season. They gave him the understanding that life outside of baseball is just as important as his life inside the game.

"I wanted to see my opportunity possibly over on the East Coast with some teams before I make a final decision," Duchscherer said. "I know some people were like, 'He didn't want to come back.' And when I signed back, I surprised some people. But I always wanted to stay with the A's. I enjoyed my career there. I look forward to next year coming back.

"As far as last season, I went through personal stuff with my divorce and being away from my son -- not really being able to handle all the stress and pressure at one time. I needed some help. I spoke to the A's sports psychologist. I got the help I needed. I sorted out a lot of things that needed to be dealt with. I feel a lot better. I'm ready to go."

The right-hander made the move from the bullpen to the starting rotation in 2008 and put up dominant numbers. He finished with a 10-8 record and a 2.54 ERA over 22 starts, giving up just 107 hits and 34 walks over 141 2/3 innings, while striking out 95.

Duchscherer is currently working out in Phoenix and said his elbow is 100 percent. He is looking forward to helping the young pitchers on the staff.

"I have a good program going and I feel great. There's not a concern about that," Duchscherer said.

To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the A's designated left-handed pitcher Jay Marshall for assignment.

Marshall was 5-3 with a 3.20 ERA and seven saves in 50 games at Triple-A Sacramento last year before he was selected by Oakland on Aug. 9. He had two losses and a 14.73 ERA in 10 relief appearances with the A's and is 1-4 with a 7.66 ERA in 61 career relief appearances over two seasons with Oakland.

D-backs secure infielder Johnson

PHOENIX -- Kelly Johnson is finally an Arizona Diamondback.

On Wednesday, the free agent inked a one-year deal with the D-backs that will pay him $2.35 million in 2010.

The D-backs had been involved in on-again, off-again trade discussions with the Braves about Johnson since Josh Byrnes became Arizona's GM in October 2005.

"They made it known to me that they had tried to acquire me a few different times, and they've always liked me," Johnson said.

Apparently, the feeling was mutual.

"It's just a place I've always liked," Johnson said of the Phoenix area. "As far as the city goes, it's one of the top for me. Just with the team, we've got guys all over the field that are young, athletic, tons of talent. It's one of the places that you come in and you did not want to face the guys that were on the mound."

While he said that more than 10 teams were interested in him, Johnson was drawn to the D-backs because of the opportunity to play second base as well as the club's potential to rebound from a poor 2009.

"I know last year was a down year and guys were hurt," Johnson said. "[Brandon] Webb was hurt, and that goes a long ways. The promise going up and going forward in 2010 is huge. I certainly want to get back on track myself. It was just a perfect fit for me."

Johnson hit .224 with eight homers and 29 RBIs in 106 games for the Braves last season and was not offered arbitration earlier this month, becoming a free agent.

Tendinitis in his right wrist bothered Johnson last year and forced him to the disabled list from July 3-23.

"The wrist thing definitely hampered me," Johnson said. "Looking back, I started developing some bad habits, mechanically doing some things that were keeping me from being the best I could be and being the guy I was a couple of years before that. I think I'm addressing them now in the offseason. I think I've got a good plan."

The D-backs are counting on Johnson being more like the player he was in 2007 and '08, when he had an OPS+ (on-base plus slugging adjusted for ballpark) of 116 and 109, with 100 being league average.

"We believe Kelly will return to form after a down 2009 season," Byrnes said. "He has a strong track record of hitting. He will help lengthen our lineup."

Advanced metrics like batting average on balls put in play indicate there's reason to believe Johnson is an excellent candidate for a rebound season after struggling last year.

"For sure, I look at it like a minor stumble and not anything that is deteriorating or going down," Johnson said of his 2009 season. "I'm very confident that I'm going to bounce back and be right where I want to be."

If Johnson gets the starting nod at second, which seems likely, the D-backs could shift Tony Abreu into a utility-infield role. That would make infielder Augie Ojeda expendable. The team learned during the Winter Meetings that there is interest in Ojeda, so moving him would probably not be a problem.

The D-backs could also elect to keep Ojeda initially and give Abreu more seasoning at the Triple-A level.

"I have a lot of confidence," Johnson said. "I know I had a tough year, but the player I see myself as and where I see myself as the best fit on a club is second base. I know I'm more of an offensive player, despite the year that I had, and I think I'm most valuable there. What I think I can bring to the Diamondbacks is offense, and I'm going to get better defensively."

The signing of Johnson appears to put the D-backs at the budget they set going into the offseason, with an expected payroll north of $75 million when all is said and done. The club could wind up with some wiggle room if it was able to trade Chris Snyder and the $4.75 million he is owed next season. The D-backs had agreed to trade Snyder to Toronto earlier this offseason in exchange for first baseman Lyle Overbay, but the Blue Jays backed out of the deal due to concerns about Snyder's surgically repaired back.

The D-backs will also continue to monitor the free-agent market to see if the price falls for a player who might interest them as Spring Training approaches. In that case, they may be willing to exceed their budget.

Mets hope Bay deal leads to more

NEW YORK -- By any and all indications, the Mets were moving at a Bengie Molina pace as they pursued power for their unplugged batting order. All around them, clubs -- the Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Braves and even the Nationals -- had fortified themselves for 2010. And the Mets had added merely understudy catchers, an untested reliever from Japan and a pitcher who spent most of the past two seasons where too many Mets spent their 2009 summer -- on the disabled list.

The patrons of Citi Field clamored for a reason to be encouraged. If not Moilina, they said, give us Barajas. Some beseeched the Mets to bring Yorvit Torrealba to Queens. And, of course, the pie-in-the-skiers and drive-time alarmists wanted Adrian Gonzalez, John Lackey, Orlando Hudson, Jason Marquis, Joel Pineiro, a trade for Roy Halladay and a promise to acquire Joe Mauer.

They'd demonstrate patience and wait a year for Mauer. But if the others weren't on the roster by New Year's Eve, it would be the Mets who had dropped the ball, and their 2010 would be the aftershock of the 2009 quake. Time was running out. The window was closing.

Turns out the window was a Bay Window, one with all sorts of sunshine streaming through it. It's a brighter day in Queens.

The Mets have said nothing thus far to indicate a deal has been struck with Jason Bay, the 31-year-old slugger from Canada. They want to be certain his shoulders -- they intend to burden both of them -- are strong, healthy and durable. But if their own embargo were not in place, the Mets would say this -- 2009, the year of the plague, is over. Happy 2010. Or at least happier.

Now, a player dressed in white -- or whatever off-white garments the Mets will wear in the new decade -- hitting a baseball into the seats of Citi Field promises to be a less isolated event. Now, the Mets have a better chance of putting some mileage in the center-field Apple and some crooked numbers on Citi's many boards.

The Phillies remain a superior team, and for what it's worth, so do the teams from the Boston Fens and the Bronx. But the Mets have taken their first meaningful step in what they hope will be a round tripper. If and when the results of the physical clear Bay for signing the four-year, $66 million contract that has been negotiated, the Mets will have reached first base.

Adding Molina would put them on second. Perhaps the improvement represented by Bay's acquisition will move the immovable catcher to bring his game from the West Coast. But as the Mets of 2009 repeatedly demonstrated, reaching scoring position doesn't get it done.

The addition of a starting pitcher would serve as a ground ball to second base and advance the 2010 Mets to third. Perhaps Pineiro will reduce his asking price and make it more commensurate with what he has accomplished in his career, allowing the Mets to add him, too.

And once they're on third ... well, there are lots of ways to advance 90 feet from that point. Finding a taker for Luis Castillo -- no simple task -- and signing Hudson are the moves the Mets have in mind.

And then wait for February to arrive and the refurbished Mets to arrive in Port St. Lucie. The work of GM Omar Minaya and his staff is far from done. The lower levels of the organization require refurbishing, too. But what the Mets have almost accomplished now not only will enhance the batting order, but it will also provide their other players and their public a mental health day.

Sidelined stars hope for healthy 2010

D-backs general manager Josh Byrnes counted on at least 200 innings from Brandon Webb in 2009 and wasn't going to be surprised if the staff ace reached the 225 mark.

Expectations were not met. The surprise was a bad one.

A bad shoulder limited Webb to four innings all season, and the D-backs finished 22 games under .500.

In Texas, the Rangers entered the 2009 season feeling confident about their chances in the American League West, in large part because of Josh Hamilton's offensive production the previous season. Hamilton's power combined with effective pitching, the club believed, could push the Rangers past the Angels and into the postseason.

Hamilton played in only 89 games because of various injuries in 2009. The Rangers finished in second place, six games behind the Angels in the division.

Ouch.

Count Webb and Hamilton among a large group of key players that had their 2009 seasons cut short because of injuries but will look to rebound in 2010. For these players and their teams, the focus is on the future, a healthy future.

"Josh is a big part of our offense," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He is a presence in the middle of the order and he takes the pressure off a lot of guys. We missed him. We need him back."

In 2008, Hamilton had a breakout year, hitting .304 with 32 home runs and 130 RBIs. A year later, he hit .268 with 10 home runs and 54 RBIs. His absence combined with inconsistent pitching proved to be too much for the Rangers to overcome down the stretch.

For the D-backs, a healthy Webb not only helps in the win column, he's also good for morale. Webb, the National League Cy Young Award winner in 2006, is 87-62 with 3.27 ERA for his career and is a team leader.

Led by Webb, the D-backs last qualified for the postseason in 2007.

"Losing Webby was big," Byrnes said. "But it's not just replacing what he does on the field, there's also a psychological impact of him going down. In this day and age, to go to playoffs after having a losing record, we have to believe we can do it. Losing Brandon hurt that belief to a degree."

Webb didn't pitch again after what turned out to be his season debut and finale on April 6. A tumultuous season in Phoenix followed. The team's struggles eventually led to a managerial change from Bob Melvin to A.J. Hinch, a last-place finish in the NL West, and one of the most difficult years in franchise history. In addition to Webb, the team was also without outfielder Conor Jackson for the season because of valley fever. Like Webb, Jackson is expected to be back in 2010.

Their return, combined with the additions of pitchers Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy to the starting rotation, will give the D-backs a new healthy look in 2010.

"Listen, losing is not fun. It's frustrating," Byrnes said. "We worked really hard with this younger group to set an example of winning and contending. That is our standard and we fell so far short. For the most part, Phoenix has had winning teams and folks were understandably upset. But I think it's time to learn from what happened in 2009 and not carry with us."

If any team can relate to the D-backs' plight in 2009, it's the Mets. Last season, the team was without Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, Alex Cora, Oliver Perez, Fernando Martinez, Jon Niese and Fernando Nieve for extended periods during the season because of injury, and the result was a less-than-stellar fourth-place finish in the NL East. All of the players, possibly including Delgado, a free agent, are expected to bounce back and help the club compete for a division title in 2010.

Several teams in the Central divisions are also set to receive boosts in 2010.

The reigning AL Central champion Twins missed Justin Morneau, who was out with the back injury for the final three weeks, and pitcher Kevin Slowey, who missed the entire second half following wrist surgery, but both players are expected back in 2010.

In Detroit, the Tigers are elated at the prospect of having pitchers Joel Zumaya, Jeremy Bonderman and Dontrelle Willis along with Carlos Guillen back on a full-time basis after injuries ruined their 2009 campaign. In Cleveland, center fielder Grady Sizemore, who had season-ending elbow and abdominal surgeries in September, will be back on the field, as will pitcher Jake Westbrook, who missed the entire 2009 season after Tommy John elbow surgery.

In Kansas City, the Royals were without shortstop Mike Aviles, who had Tommy John surgery, and right fielder Jose Guillen, who had ankle surgery in September, but both are expected to be key contributors in 2010.

In the NL Central, the Reds expect pitcher Edinson Volquez back in the rotation sometime in 2010 after Tommy John surgery in 2009. In Milwaukee, second baseman Rickie Weeks missed most of 2009 after wrist surgery but is expected back as the Brewers' second baseman and leadoff man in 2010.

Other key players expected to be back after injury in 2009 are Tampa Bay's Carlos Pena, Oakland's Eric Chavez, Baltimore's Adam Jones, Florida's Anibal Sanchez and Toronto starter Shaun Marcum.

"There are only so major injuries you can overcome and hopefully we used all of the bad outcomes last year," Byrnes said. "You want to go to Spring Training with a few things going as hoped or as planned."

Brach locked down TinCaps' season

If the Fort Wayne TinCaps, MLB.com's winner of the MiLBY for Minor League team of the year, were the Minors' version of the New York Yankees, then Brad Brach was their Mariano Rivera.

Fort Wayne's closer for all of the club's magical 2009 season was pretty much unhittable all year long, being a true stopper as the TinCaps won the Midwest League title. It's for that reason he's being honored with the MiLBY for Class A Reliever of the Year.

Brach easily led the Midwest League with 33 saves (and three more in the playoffs), but that's almost the least of his statistical accomplishments in 2009. The right-hander out of Monmouth University in New Jersey had a 1.27 ERA in 60 regular-season outings. He gave up just 36 hits and 11 walks while striking out 82 in 63 2/3 innings. That translates to a .164 batting average-against, a 0.74 WHIP and an 11.6 K/9 ratio.

"His numbers were pretty sick," said Mike Wickham, the Padres director of Minor League operations. "He was automatic. I think he blew one or two saves and we were even shocked at that. He was like Mariano Rivera, lights-out this season."

And he was pretty much that way all season. The right-hander didn't give up a run until May 6, in his 12th outing. He only allowed one baserunner in April. The Midwest League All-Star finished as well as he started, allowing just one run in 13 games in August and September -- his second-half ERA was 0.85.

"When I first got to Fort Wayne, I was kind of in a zone and ran with it from there," said Brach, a Freehold, N.J. native. "I felt good in Spring Training and wanted to keep going. I just followed through with my plan. I was pretty much locked in, so I kept going with it. I made the minor adjustments everyone has to make, but things were going well, so I didn't change anything major all year."

Brach pitched so well, in fact, it begs the question: Why was he in Fort Wayne all year and not bumped up to Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore in the Padres' system? One of the main reasons was room and opportunity. Yes, Brach earned a promotion with his performance, but the Padres had Bryan Oland racking up 28 saves in Lake Elsinore and Evan Scribner doing a nice job closing with Double-A San Antonio.

"The way he was anchoring the 'pen, the run they were on, we wanted to keep him there," Wickham said. "He probably would've gone to Elsinore and had the same kind of success."

Not that Brach is complaining. Fort Wayne went on to win a total of 101 games, including the playoffs, as well as the Midwest League title. Having that kind of success certainly helped Brach accept the fact he wouldn't have any upward mobility in 2009.

"Obviously, you want to move up for your career, but everyone wanted to finish what we started," Brach said. "I was kind of glad to stay there from beginning to end to see it the whole way through. It helped me not worry about not getting moved up.

"It was my first full season and it could be the best one I'll ever have. It was kind of a dream season."

He'll undoubtedly get the chance to show what he can do at higher levels in 2010 and some might say he's already exceeded expectations. After all, Monmouth University is not exactly a baseball powerhouse and he was a senior sign, taken in the 42nd round of the 2008 Draft. That type of player is not usually thought to be a fast-tracker heading in, so the fact he forced the organization to consider promoting him at all means he's ahead of the game.

"He was a pleasant surprise for a senior sign out of the 42nd round," Wickham said. "That's the kind of senior sign you're looking for. He competed well and threw strikes all year. We'll see how it goes from here."

Cales caps whirlwind year with MiLBY

Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, in the shadow of Comiskey Park, David Cales admits he was a White Sox fan growing up. When he was taken in the 24th round of the 2008 Draft by that other team in the Windy City, he quickly learned how to adjust.

It was in the Cubs system that he went 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA and 14 saves in 37 games for Daytona in the Florida State League, numbers that made him the choice for a MiLBY as the Class A Advanced Reliever of the Year.

"As I became older, I loved Chicago sports all together," Cales said. "It's an honor to play for the city of Chicago, even in the Minors. I couldn't be happier playing for the Cubs. I'm just a Chicago fan. It's an absolute privilege playing for a Chicago team."

In his first summer as a pro, Cales split time between the rookie-level Arizona League and short-season Northwest League, so he was a little surprised when he made the leap right up to Class A Advanced Daytona to start this season. He nearly fell over when he got nudged up to Double-A in May, even though that didn't go so well. But he earned his way back up there, and even got a one-appearance taste of Triple-A, late in the season.

"It was a shock to go up to Double-A," Cales admitted. "Then to give me another chance at the end of the year, I don't think I could've asked for anything better. I didn't believe much of it was happening because it was happening so fast."

The promotion was well earned, in both cases. The right-hander gave up just one earned run in April and was only scored upon four times in 37 games with Daytona. Over 46 innings, he allowed just 29 hits (.187 batting average against) and 11 walks while striking out 43 batters. His ERA was 0.00 in both June and August.

"The kid throws strikes and he throws from a different angle," said Oneri Fleita, the Cubs' vice president of player personnel. "He goes right after hitters. He's fearless and he's aggressive.

"He's got an unorthodox delivery. He was as reliable as anyone we had in the organization all year."

"My whole mentality was to go out there, throw strikes and see what happens," Cales said. "Don't force anything. Go right at hitters, try to be fearless. See if they can hit you, pretty much."

A simple enough philosophy, but how many young pitchers struggle with throwing strike one? Cales thinks that perhaps some of it comes from his previous life as a hitter. Throughout his college career, he was an infielder as well as a reliever. It wasn't until the Cubs drafted him that he felt he had a future on the mound. Needless to say, he's embraced the new role.

"I took it and ran with it. I love what I do," Cales said. "There was a time for hitting and that time has passed. This is a new beginning."

Cales remembers what caused him trouble as a hitter, and that was falling behind. Whenever he was in a pitcher's count, he was in trouble and he's maintained that perspective even though the tables have turned.

"If you throw a lot of strikes, you're putting the pressure on the hitter," Cales said. "You keep throwing strikes, they're going to have put the ball in play. I have to get it in my favor. I'll have better results if I'm in control of the situation."

One thing he may not have control over is when his family gets together. His mother has worked in ticket sales for the White Sox for nearly two decades, so there's been that team's merchandise everywhere over the years. Cales is happy to report, though, that he's seen some blue being worn in the past year.

"A lot of them did," Cales said of the switch. "I see the Cubs stuff on. That wouldn't have happened if I didn't get drafted by them. To see them wearing Cubs apparel, that's very nice that they're supporting me."

Lots of zeros made Smyth a hero

It's a challenge for every team's player development staff to familiarize itself with its draft class each year, handle the influx of players into camp, evaluate them and assign them to the appropriate affiliates -- all within a matter of days.

In the case of Paul Smyth, the Athletics' 35th-round pick in 2009 out of Kansas, that transition was made a little easier by the fact that player development director Keith Lieppman already had been following the right-hander's career.

That's because Lieppman, like Smyth, was a Jayhawk.

"He went to my alma mater, so I already had interest in him because you don't see a whole lot of kids come out of Kansas," said Lieppman, the 2009 winner of the Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award, given annually by Minor League Baseball to someone with distinguished service in player development. "I was told he was a competitor who throws strikes, has a good sinker with tremendous deception, and an outstanding kid to have on the ballclub."

Nobody predicted, however, that Smyth, a senior signee who already had his diploma, would not allow a run in his professional debut, a span of 36 1/3 innings over 25 games between short-season Vancouver and Class A Kane County. He limited opponents to a .114 average and walked only four while striking out 44.

As a result of his 0.00 ERA over 29 1/3 innings at Vancouver -- where he walked four, struck out 37 and scattered 12 hits -- Smyth was a no-brainer when it came time to hand out the MiLBY for Best Short-Season Reliever.

With literally hundreds of player reports streaming in nightly from managers and coaches, Lieppman remembers how the dispatches from Vancouver manager Rick Magnante and pitching coach Craig Lefferts started coming together on this late-round sleeper.

"First, they started mentioning things like, 'He's solid, he likes to get the ball.' Then you start getting more embellishments about how he's unafraid in tough situations, how he pounds the lower half of the strike zone," Lieppman said. "Then they start saying how great he is off the field, how he's fluent in Spanish and helps with our Latino players, and he starts taking on this whole air, personality-wise."

At that point, Lieppman got to watch Smyth in action and saw even more reasons why the scoreless streak kept going.

"He gets swings and misses, he's getting flinches from right-handed hitters," said Lieppman, explaining why he felt comfortable moving Smyth up to a full-season club that needed a closer down the stretch. "We think we got a steal in the 35th round."

A northern California native who grew up rooting for Oakland, Smyth jokes that he thinks part of the reason he got the initial assignment to Vancouver -- the higher of the A's two short-season clubs -- was that he happened to have his paperwork in order.

"I went hoping I'd go to Vancouver but not sure how it would be decided," he said. "But a few people didn't get to go there because they didn't have their passport ready yet. I had my passport ready."

A reliever throughout his college career, Smyth knew he'd remain in the bullpen but wasn't sure what his role would be, especially since the Athletics have a policy under which they won't tweak a player's mechanics for the first month unless the player specifically requests it.

But success, obviously, came quickly, something Smyth attributes partly to the Athletics' coaching drills, which he took to immediately.

"I felt like I was doing things right and that the drills we'd been working on were paying off," he said. "I was developing comfort in my delivery and buying into everything they were teaching us."

Still, a streak like Smyth's is treated a little differently than, say, a pitcher who is throwing a no-hitter.

"I think pitchers throwing a no-hitter have it easy because no one talks for about three, four hours, whereas for me -- since it lasted for a couple of months -- people wanted to talk about it," he said. "I try not to look at stats, but this is a stats game. It definitely got brought up a lot. I tried to see how many jinxes I could get past. One time, our pitching coach introduced me to a whole group of school kids as 'The guy who hasn't given up a run yet this season,' and everyone was like, 'Well, that was nice while it lasted.'"

Not surprisingly, comparisons have been made between the side-arming Smyth and his scoreless streak and A's side-arming reliever Brad Ziegler, who set a record in 2008 when he opened his big league career with 39 shutout innings.

While neither is a prototypical over-the-top pitcher, Ziegler made the transformation from three-quarters to underhand; Smyth has been a side-armer for as long as he can remember. He also throws harder than Ziegler and probably has better "stuff" to work with.

"He's a fastball/slider guy who mainly relies on a two-seam sinking fastball but started showing the ability to pop a four-seam fastball at the letters to change the eye level for the hitter," Lieppman said. "But they both can exploit right-handed hitters and have deception in their deliveries."