Gorkys Hernandez Rumors
Cox, Hernandez, Maine Clear Waivers
WEDNESDAY: Cox, Hernandez and Maine have all cleared waivers, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Reed, on the other hand, was claimed by the Tigers and optioned to Triple-A Toledo earlier today.
SUNDAY: The Marlins have designated Zack Cox, Gorkys Hernandez, Scott Maine, and Evan Reed for assignment, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel (on Twitter). In a related move, Jose Fernandez will make the club's Opening Day roster and start next Sunday vs. the Mets, tweets Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.
Fernandez, 20, will make the leap directly from High-A ball to the majors to start the 2013 season. While clubs often delay the debuts of their most promising prospects, the Marlins will put Fernandez on the major league roster despite not being in a position to contend. In 25 Single-A and Advanced-A games last year, the right-hander posted a 1.75 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.
We heard last week that the Marlins were exploring a trade for the out-of-options Hernandez, but it appears that they were unable to find a deal. The 25-year-old didn't do much in his 173-plate appearance big league debut with the Pirates and Marlins last season. In Triple-A, he hit .257/.353/.346 in 281 Triple-A plate appearances, playing mostly left field.
The Marlins acquired Cox last July from the Cardinals in exchange for Edward Mujica. In 108 games for the Cards' Triple-A affiliate and the Marlins' Double-A affiliate, the 25-year-old hit .254 /.301/.409 with ten homers.
Maine, 28, made 30 relief appearances for the Indians and Cubs in 2012, posting a 6.08 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9. Reed, 27, split time between the Marlins' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates last season, posting a 4.68 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Marlins To Explore Trading Gorkys Hernandez
The Marlins will explore trade options for outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Hernandez is out of options, and has been told he did not make the Opening Day roster. If a trade partner cannot be found, Hernandez will be released.
Hernandez, 25, struggled in his 173-plate appearance big league debut in 2012 with the Pirates and Marlins. He hit .257/.353/.346 in 281 Triple-A plate appearances, playing mostly left field. Prior to the 2012 season, Baseball America ranked Hernandez 20th among Pirates prospects, praising his center field defense but questioning his offense. Signed by the Tigers out of Venezuela in 2005, Hernandez joined Jair Jurrjens in the 2007 deal with the Braves that brought Edgar Renteria to Detroit. In June 2009 he went to Pittsburgh with Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton for Nate McLouth. Finally, the Bucs traded him to Miami at last year's trade deadline with a draft pick for Gaby Sanchez and Kyle Kaminska.
Pirates Acquire Gaby Sanchez
2:28pm: The Pirates obtained right-handed reliever Kyle Kaminska in the deal, Peter Gammons of MLB Network reports (on Twitter). The 23-year-old has a 5.20 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 53 2/3 innings of work for the Marlins' top two affiliates this year. He was selected in the 25th round of the 2007 draft.
2:08pm: The Pirates have acquired first baseman Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins for outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and a competitive balance pick, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Sanchez, 28, hit 19 homers in both 2010 and 2011 and entered the 2012 season with a career batting line of .269/.346/.440. However, he posted a .202/.250/.306 batting line in 196 plate appearances with Miami this year, and the Marlins optioned him to the minor leagues on July 5th.
Hernandez, 24, appeared in 25 games for the Pirates this year, playing all three outfield positions and collecting his first two hits as a Major Leaguer. The former top prospect has a .281/.343/.377 batting line in seven minor league seasons. Hernandez was traded to Pittsburgh along with Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton three years ago in the Nate McLouth trade.
The Marlins are tentatively going to obtain the 33rd overall pick in the draft from Pittsburgh, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter). MLB recommended a bonus of $1.525MM for the 33rd overall selection this year.
Photo courtesy of US Presswire.
Pirates Close To Acquiring Gaby Sanchez
The Pirates are close to acquiring first baseman Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins for outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and a competitive balance pick, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Pirates Designate Two For Assignment
Friday was the deadline for teams to set their 40-man roster for next month's Rule 5 Draft, and MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that the Pirates cleared up two spots for prospects by designating Robinzon Diaz and Justin Thomas for assignment. They also designated Jeff Karstens for assignment yesterday.
Diaz, a 26-year-old catcher, hit .279/.307/.357 in 138 plate appearances for Pittsburgh in 2009. Thomas, a 25-year-old lefty reliever, had a 4.48 ERA in 60.1 innings with Seattle's Triple-A affiliate.
Among the players the Pirates added to the 40-man roster were righthanders Brad Lincoln and Bryan Morris, as well as outfielder Gorkys Hernandez. Lincoln was the 4th overall pick in the 2006 draft, while Morris was acquired in the Manny Ramirez/Jason Bay trade, and Hernandez in last summer's Nate McLouth deal.
Reactions To McLouth Deal, Glavine's Release
The Braves caught our attention yesterday with two major moves. They released Tom Glavine and then traded for Nate McLouth an hour later. Here's an assortment of reactions from around the majors:
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post talked to one executive who believes the Pirates sent a mixed message by signing McLouth to an extension and dealing him soon after. One team official says the Pirates never shopped McLouth, which suggests they were impressed by the Braves' offer.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says he usually loves deals like this for the team acquiring young talent. In this case, he doesn't believe the Pirates got enough. For the Braves, however, it's a "brilliant" move.
- MLB.com's Adam Rosenberg reports that McLouth will arrive in Atlanta today.
- MLB.com's Jen Langosch sees both sides of the deal for the Pirates: It's possible Neal Huntington could have traded McLouth for more, but the three players he obtained are good ones.
- In spite of all the analysis, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says we won't really know who won this deal for months or even years.
- Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the fan reaciton has been "mostly negative."
- John Smoltz's reaction to the Braves' decision to release his former teammate: "That's not how you treat people." Smoltz disagrees openly with the move in the rest of his discussion with Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Glavine can prove the Braves wrong by pitching well for another team.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan believes it took a "healthy dose of emotional detachment" to cut Glavine, one that signaled "a clean break from the Braves' old identity."
Why The Braves-Peavy Trade Fell Apart
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune had an article yesterday involving a couple of failed Padres trades.
Krasovic says the Padres and Braves were discussing a 4-for-1 Jake Peavy deal in November. Yunel Escobar and Gorkys Hernadez were agreed upon. The conflict came as the Padres wanted Charlie Morton over Jo-Jo Reyes as well as Jeff Locke or Tyler Flowers over Blaine Boyer. To me that gap looks pretty sizeable, so maybe the trade was never close. At this point it seems like the Braves could end up with Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami as their rotation upgrades. They've reportedly made Escobar unavailable, leading Dan Hayes of the North County Times to suggest the Braves would have to remove Tommy Hanson's apparent "untouchable" tag to get Peavy. Everything I've read about Hanson has said the Braves are adamant about keeping him.
Krasovic also says the Giants made a run at shortstop Khalil Greene before he was dealt to the Cardinals.
Braves Near Peavy Deal?
According to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com, the Padres are expected to request Jake Peavy waive his no-trade clause to go to the Braves. The deal being discussed: Yunel Escobar, Gorkys Hernandez, Charlie Morton or Jo-Jo Reyes, and Blaine Boyer or one of two minor league southpaws. Miller says the Padres are leaning toward Morton and Boyer.
The Braves want an answer by Friday, so they can figure out their free agent needs. Peavy is said to prefer the Cubs, but we'll see what happens if the Padres approach him to waive the no-trade for Atlanta. It hasn't happened yet.
Rosenthal's Latest: Hardy, Flowers, Wolf
Another day, another column from Ken Rosenthal.
- With multiple vacancies in the rotation and bullpen, the Brewers may need to see what kind of pitching Mike Cameron and/or J.J. Hardy can bring in return. GM Doug Melvin is not ready to shop Hardy. He's received interest, but most teams have not given names (one team suggested swapping him for a pitcher Melvin termed, "a fifth starter.")
- The Padres have asked the Braves to substitute catcher Tyler Flowers for center fielder Gorkys Hernandez in their Jake Peavy offer. Dave O'Brien sees this as unlikely.
- If they can't sign Mark Teixeira, the Angels are ready to shift gears to C.C. Sabathia, Francisco Rodriguez, or other players. The idea of a Manny Ramirez pursuit was "tabled rather quickly."
- The Cardinals plan to add one or two lefthanded relievers, probably free agents.
- In his quest for righthanded power, Reds GM Walt Jocketty inquired on Matt Holliday and Josh Willingham before they were traded. Purely speculative - Jermaine Dye could be a nice fit.
- At least half a dozen teams have expressed interest in free agent starter Randy Wolf.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Tuesday
12:14pm: Dave O'Brien agrees that the Braves are growing frustrated waiting on Kevin Towers, with the free agent open season creeping up.
10:21am: ESPN's Buster Olney has the latest on the Jake Peavy trade talks.
Olney says the Braves and Padres are making progress, despite Ken Rosenthal's report of Atlanta's frustration. Olney says the Braves would send Yunel Escobar and Gorkys Hernandez to the Padres, plus Charlie Morton or Jo-Jo Reyes. They're haggling over one last player, with the Padres eyeing southpaw Jeff Locke.
The Cubs are still in the mix, and a third team would be included to flip pitching to San Diego. One way or another, the Cubs would give up Josh Vitters and others.
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