Roberto Hernandez Rumors
AL Central Notes: Liriano, Hernandez, Tigers
As Tigers left-hander Phil Coke celebrates his 30th birthday, here's are a few rumors from around the AL Central...
- The Twins are looking for pitching in exchange for Francisco Liriano and in any deadline deal, reports Scott Miller of CBS Sports.
- Indians right-hander Roberto Hernandez is expected to soon receive a new visa that would allow him to return to the United States, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Hernandez has been training in the Dominican Republic but would require some minor league starts before returning to the Tribe and may yet face a suspension for using his false "Fausto Carmona" identity, though the Indians don't think a suspension is likely.
- James Schmehl of MLive.com suggests the Tigers could trade the extra draft pick they were awarded in yesterday's inaugural competitive balance lottery. The Tigers will get a compensation pick after the second round and, unlike other MLB draft picks, these competitive balance picks are allowed to be dealt.
Central Links: Liriano, Carpenter, Hernandez
On this date in 1999, the Royals tore off a 10-run eighth inning en route to an 11-7 win over the Indians, according to Baseball-Reference. Kansas City's only homer in the barrage was a two-out solo shot by Johnny Damon, now of the Indians. On with the Central Links:
- The Twins will see "robust interest" in left-hander Francisco Liriano as the trade deadline nears, a club official tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com (Twitter link). Liriano has pitched better of late after a terrible start to the season, though his ERA sits at 5.30 and his SIERA at 4.10.
- The Cardinals' pursuits leading up to the trade deadline will largely be shaped by Chris Carpenter's attempt to return from a shoulder injury, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. GM John Mozeliak is targeting July 1 as a yardstick for Carpenter's progress, although the right-hander recently suffered a setback. The Redbirds plan to seek a starting pitcher.
- Indians pitcher Roberto Hernandez, formerly known as Fausto Carmona, likely won't have to serve an eight-week suspension similar to the one being served by the Marlins' Juan Carlos Oviedo for playing under a false identity, GM Chris Antonetti told reporters, including Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. Hernandez will probably be excused from the suspension because he restructured his contract this offseason.
Quick Hits: Hamels, Hernandez, Bourn, Jurrjens
It was on this day in 1869 that professional baseball had its first rainout, as a game between the Red Stockings and the Antioch Nine was postponed due to poor weather. While some teams can guarantee games will always be played thanks to retractable roofs or domed stadiums, the rainout is still a common element of baseball, welcomed by nobody except fans of the 1948 Boston Braves.
Some news from around the majors as we head into June...
- The Phillies and Cole Hamels haven't made any progress in contract negotiations, reports ESPN's Buster Olney. Some baseball executives expect Hamels to hit free agency this winter, with one NL official telling Olney, "Unless the Phillies give him one of the top deals in history, why wouldn't he test [the market]? He's so close to free agency."
- Roberto Hernandez could be back in the Major Leagues by the All-Star Break, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Hernandez, a.k.a. Fausto Carmona, isn't expected to receive an eight-week suspension for identity fraud like Juan Carlos Oviedo, as his restructured contract with the Indians is expected to be seen as sufficient penalty.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) predicts Braves outfielder Michael Bourn will look for a five- or six-year contract with an average annual value of around $15MM when he hits free agency after this season. The Braves were known to be looking for young center field talent last winter since they weren't keen on paying Bourn such a large contract, though his strong performance thus far in 2012 could change the team's mind.
- Jair Jurrjens "is a guy that other clubs need to get back on," says a scout who has seen Jurrjens pitch in Triple-A, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. The Braves dangled Jurrjens as trade bait during the offseason, though if he really was back on form, you would think Atlanta would want him to help its own struggling pitching rotation. Jurrjens has a 4.85 ERA and a 2.63 K/BB ratio in six minor league starts this season, pitching very well in four outings but getting rocked in two others.
- "There might be no team further away from success than the Minnesota Twins," writes Jonah Keri for Grantland in a piece that outlines how the Twins have become one of baseball's worst clubs.
- Ernesto Frieri has been a boon to the Angels' bullpen, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Since being acquired from the Padres four weeks ago, Frieri has yet to allow a run or even a hit in 12 innings for the Angels, though he has recorded 10 walks.
Quick Hits: Indians, Hernandez, Hamilton, Dodgers
On this day four years ago, the Padres released Jim Edmonds after he hit just .178/.265/.233 through 26 games. On May 14th, the Cubs picked up the veteran for the prorated portion of the league minimum. Edmonds proved to be a fantastic bargain as he hit .256/.369/.568 with 19 homers across 85 games. Here's a look at tonight's linkage..
- Indians manager Manny Acta said that Roberto Hernandez's camp initially believed that his visa issues would've been resolved by now, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Hernandez remains in the Dominican Republic.
- Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton doesn't believe that his past troubles will make his free agency "complicated," writes Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated. The soon-to-be 31-year-old added that his relationship with the club his deep and one that he hopes to extend.
- In order to keep the Dodgers fan base on board, Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times implores the new ownership group to be forthcoming from this point forward. Dilbeck notes that while Magic Johnson's ownership stake is known to be roughly 3%, the rest of the breakdown is still under wraps.
Indians, Roberto Hernandez Restructure Contract
4:09pm: Hernandez switched agencies and is now represented by Jorge Brito, a one-time employee of Hernandez's former agency, Proformance, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
11:57am: The Indians and Roberto Hernandez (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) have restructured the right-hander's contract, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). His 2012 salary will now be "far less" than the $7MM he was scheduled to earn, and an option year in his contract has been eliminated.
The contract originally included a $9MM option for 2013 and a $12MM option for 2014. The Indians exercised Hernandez's $7MM option for 2012 last fall, before issues surrounding his age and identity emerged.
Stark's Latest: Prior, Lofton, Otsuka
ESPN's Jayson Stark dishes some good rumorage in his latest column.
- Stark dug around to find all the Mark Prior suitors and came up with this list: Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Mets, Cardinals, Padres, Astros, Giants, Reds, Nationals (11 teams). Let's compare notes. MLBTR readers have seen the Yankees, Mets, Cards, Padres, Astros, Reds, and Nats linked to Prior already. So Stark has added the Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, and Giants. The idea of the Mariners runs contrary to this MLB.com article. Stark did not name the Rangers, who are said to be aggressively pursuing Prior. Prior is dead set on a one-year deal and would take a big league mound in May in the best case.
- The Phils are focused on Geoff Jenkins and Mike Cameron, offering two year deals to each. They might just take the first one to accept. Stark says Kenny Lofton could be an option if both decline. Lofton batted a career-best .335 for the Phils in '05.
- Stark rattles off a laundry list of pitchers the Phillies are interested in: Akinori Otsuka, Byung-Hyun Kim, Roberto Hernandez, Kris Benson, John Parrish, Sidney Ponson, Chad Durbin, Kyle Lohse, and Jeremy Affeldt. Given Stark's 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I imagine he has a connection or two. Most of those are new names besides Benson, Lohse, Ponson, and Affeldt.
- A source of Stark picks the Yankees as the favorite for Johan, but it should be noted that they're having internal debates about pulling Phil Hughes off the table.
- For all the crazy Cubs fans we've got here: Stark says they've talked to the Orioles about both Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard, but couldn't pull off a deal for both. They favor Roberts even though they need Bedard much more.
Indians Sign Roberto Hernandez, Aaron Fultz
The Tribe signed a pair of relievers today, Roberto Hernandez and Aaron Fultz.
Hernandez turned 42 last month. He posted a 2.93 ERA last year, but the 1.63 WHIP and 1.38 K/BB ratio are less than inspiring.
Fultz, a southpaw, turned 33 in September. After posting a sparkling 2.24 ERA in 2005, he regressed to a 4.54 mark this year. Fultz's control slipped a bit, but the main difference was his hits per nine innings moving from a miniscule 5.9 to a batting practice-like 10.1. I suppose we could partially blame his BABIP shooting from .212 to .349.
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Stark: Mets To Get Roberto Hernandez, Oliver Perez
According to ESPN's Jayson Stark:
"Mets are closing in on a big deal with the Pirates, for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez. Still haggling about the rest of that deal."
The Mets have been interested in these guys for a while; first I heard of it was back when Jeff Keppinger was dealt.
SI.com now reports that Xavier Nady goes to Pittsburgh in the deal. I'm told that the Mets also have coveted Edwin Jackson as a project for Rick Peterson, but that interest may be on hold with this acquisition.
UPDATE: Word via Scott Miller of CBS Sportsline is that the Mets could spin Perez along with Heath Bell to the Padres for Scott Linebrink. Perez, of course, began his career with San Diego.
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Pirates Trade Rumors
Let's run down all the possible trades Dave Littlefield and the Pirates have brewing.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review still has Oakland as the favorite for Sean Casey, a move that makes little sense to me.
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentions a possible swap of John Grabow for Ryan Shealy. That sounds reasonable.
Dejan Kovacevic's article also indicates that the Mets and Yankees are leading the charge for Kip Wells. The Yankees also want Craig Wilson and Roberto Hernandez. Wilson and Wells seem unlikely at this point, though, as the Abreu deal looks close.
Yanks Set Sights On Roberto Hernandez
Though relievers are always a hot deadline commodity, this year seems different. To hear Buster Olney tell it:
"The value of middle relievers (or set-up men, or whatever you want to call them) is increasing, like oil stock."
That's no excuse for what Wayne Krivsky did, but bashing him isn't productive. What is productive is cranking out the trade rumors like there's no tomorrow.
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According to Gotham Baseball, Roberto Hernandez is "the guy the Yankees would like to get." The 41 year-old righty signed a $2.75MM contract with the Bucs this winter. He has somehow managed a 3.10 ERA this season despite allowing more than 1.6 baserunners per inning. Last season with the Mets was Hernandez's one decent season since 2000.
If Dave Littlefield can spin Hernandez into anything useful, we may see more of this trend. Non-contenders will snap up free agents like Aaron Fultz, Kent Mercker, Darren Oliver, LaTroy Hawkins, and Brian Meadows for a few million bucks and then peddle them come July. Maybe the Cubs should consider trading Bob Howry and Scott Eyre? If there's another Austin Kearns to be had it'd be foolish not to.
The Gotham report also contains a rundown of various starters on the block and their chances at being dealt.
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