Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for August 2006

Red Sox Pursuing Javy Lopez

By | at

Newspapers from both Boston and Baltimore are confirming that the Red Sox have contacted the Orioles about catcher Javy Lopez.  The 35 year-old Lopez has only caught twenty games this season, but he could certainly provide acceptable offense for the rest of the month until Jason Varitek comes back.

The Boston Herald indicates that Lopez could clear waivers today.  A source tells me that the Red Sox may part with 23 year-old southpaw starter Abe Alvarez.  Alvarez is the guy who wears his hat crooked to compensate for being legally blind in one eye.  He’s proven quite hittable in Triple A this year.  Back in June, the Red Sox offered Alvarez for Ryan Shealy.  Alvarez seems to get mentioned in a lot of trade rumors.

The Yankees wouldn’t be able to block a claim of Lopez, as they have a slight lead in the standings today.  It’s hard to picture another American League team blocking the claim, but you never know.  Should Lopez fall through, here are some other options the Red Sox might consider.  Among those, a couple of Philly papers have already indicated that the Sox aren’t interested in Mike Lieberthal.   

Thursday Morning Reading

By | at

So what do you think of the new banner thing?  MLBTradeRumors is really going places now.

Entertaining story over at Sportsblah.

Tom Gordon has a few things to say about Cory Lidle.

I like the new Boston Globe blog.  Red Sox fans – bookmark it.  And also Seth Mnookin’s blog is a good read.  I’m going to read his new book as soon as I finish Buster Olney’s.  I’m only two years behind.

Ranger Fan?  You should check out RangerFans.com.  And also my good friend Baseball Mike. 

RotoAuthority assesses the new National Leaguers for you fantasy baseball nerds.

Waiver Trade Candidate: Ryan Klesko

By | at

Let’s assess Ryan Klesko’s situation and background.  He could be a  candidate for a waiver trade this month.

When he has been on the field, the 35 year-old Klesko has recently been seen in left field.  Last year, he dealt with back soreness/spasms, a fever, a pinched nerve in his neck, and a strained shoulder.  He got into 137 games despite all of that, but slugged just .418. 

The Padres planned to move him to first base and the #2 slot this year, but a cortisone shot didn’t solve his shoulder problem.  By April he’d decided to have surgery.  Currently he’s about a week away from playing in rehab games.  Some team might want his left-handed bat, and if his shoulder’s better some power could return. 

Klesko makes $8MM in the final year of his deal; Kevin Towers has already mentioned that he won’t exercise Klesko’s 2007 option.  As a 10 and 5 player, he the ability to reject any waiver claim.  He’s said he’s willing to waive that right if there’s a chance to play full-time for a contender.  Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .303/.346/.519 as Klesko’s replacement.

Earlier in July, the Red Sox expressed a little bit of interest in Klesko.  While any trade would involve a contending team, it’s unlikely Klesko would be a starter.  The Twins and Angels could have interest as well. 

Red Sox Need A Catcher

By | at

Jason Varitek needs knee surgery, and WEEI in Boston is saying he may be out 4-6 weeks.  I’m sure Will Carroll will have the definitive word on this Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, the Red Sox are scrambling for a catcher who can hit above the Mendoza line.  They’re going to have to shop for the high-salary, waiver-passing guys.  Who’s available?

Javy Lopez is the first name that comes to mind.  Lopez wants a flat-out release, but the Orioles won’t do that.  According to the Baltimore Sun, the team would like to pass him through waivers and cover some, but not all, of his salary in a trade.  He’s only caught 20 games this year.  There’s always the possibility the Yankees put in a claim on Lopez just to thwart the Sox.  Lopez has worked with current Yankees Jaret Wright and Sidney Ponson before.

Bengie Molina was a name thrown out by Jerry Crasnick today as a possible waiver trade candidate.  Molina makes $5MM on the season and the Jays are 6.5 games back (3-7 in their last ten games).

Mike Lieberthal is in the last year of a huge contract with the Phillies.  Liebs has experience catching Mike Timlin and Curt Schilling.  As a 10 and 5 player he can reject any waiver claim.

Jason LaRue is a player the Reds wouldn’t mind sending off.  He makes $3.9MM this year and $5.2MM in ’07.  LaRue is not happy as Dave Ross’s backup.

Rod Barajas is being pushed aside in Texas, and he’ll hit free agency after the season.  He was a teammate of Curt Schilling’s for several years in Arizona.

UPDATE:  According to Will Carroll, Varitek’s procedure is minor and should keep him out about three weeks.

Chicago Tribune Takes Izturis Propaganda Too Far

By | at

As you probably know, the Tribune Company owns both a Chicago newspaper and the Cubs.  Sometimes, this conflict of interest gets out of hand.  A perfect example would be today’s analysis of the Cubs’ acquisition of Cesar Izturis.  Let’s break down the work of the three guilty sportswriters (their writing in bold).

Phil Rogers: In Izturis, the Cubs have landed themselves an excellent all-around player.

Shouldn’t an all-around player not be among the worst hitters in baseball?

He won a Gold Glove in 2004 and began ’05 as one of baseball’s best hitters, collecting 75 hits through May—the first Dodger to do that in the era of divisional play.

This is the first of several times the sportswriters mention Izturis’s good two months among the 2364 at-bats of his career as a sign that he can hit.  How selective is that stat?  How about the rest of 2005, when Izturis hit .173/.218/.222?

Mike Downey: A year ago or so, Izturis looked like the best shortstop in the National League, period.

This is misleading, since the NL didn’t have much shortstop depth in 2005.  Still, what about Felipe Lopez, Rafael Furcal, and Jimmy Rollins?

Dave van Dyck: But all of them predict he will be a perfect No. 2 hitter behind Juan Pierre.

What makes a good No. 2 hitter?  Probably the ability to get on base in front of the big guys, right?  Izturis has a truly awful career OBP of .295.  That’s worse than Neifi Perez, for those scoring at home.  This guy is a professional outmaker.  But hey, at least he makes good contact.  Just like Neifi and Placido Polanco.  Truth is, the words "on-base percentage" are never uttered in today’s Tribune in reference to Izturis.  In fact, they left it out of his career stats.

Somebody needs to start a petition or something to get the Cubs to acknowledge on-base percentage.  This is no longer some stat-nerd movement.  This is a fairly obvious problem that even the casual fan understands.  The Cubs’ team OBP of .319 is by far the worst in the league.  The Cubs could actually field a lineup soon featuring Izturis (.302), Ronny Cedeno (.280), Jacque Jones (.315), Juan Pierre (.323), and Phil Nevin (.309).  That has to be some sort of record.  Maybe Neifi can get in the lineup at third base.  Somebody get Jeff Francoeur and Angel Berroa on the phone – history is being made!

CubDumb said it best:

"What the Sox and their fans can really enjoy is the greatest baseball con ever executed in this city:

THEY MADE THE CUBS BELIEVE THAT CRUSTY-OLD-SCHOOL-GRINDER-LIL’-BALL IS WHAT WINS YOU A WORLD SERIES.

What they saw was a justification to keep running the organization the way they always had: Collecting and developing speed, for instance. And ignoring, or quite possibly holding in contempt, the ability to get walked."

As a lifelong Cubs fan, I can honestly say that I hate this team. 

Waiver Trade Candidate: Randy Wolf

By | at

Phillies’ southpaw starter Randy Wolf makes $9MM this year in the last of a four-year deal.  This makes him an ideal candidate for a waiver trade before August 31st.

Wolf turns 30 this month.  He made his first start since June 12, 2005 last Sunday due to Tommy John surgery.  His return was also delayed a bit because of a broken hand bone from a line drive.  As you would expect with a recent Tommy John guy, Wolf’s control was lacking in his ’06 debut.  He probably won’t get his walks down to below 3 per nine innings until 2007.  For what it’s worth, Wolf says his arm feels "incredible" now.  His velocity still hasn’t fully returned despite 25 rehab innings.

Still, like Kip Wells, Wolf could be a helpful addition as a fifth starter for a contender.  His next few starts (against the Mets and Braves) will be crucial in building up some trade value.  Teams like the Red Sox, A’s, Braves, and Reds could have interest in Wolf assuming they are still in contention in a few weeks.

Waiver Trade Rules

By | at

I found a helpful old Steve Phillips article explaining the whole August waiver trade thing.  If you don’t feel like checking that out, here’s a summary:

Any player can be put on waivers by his team, and the player does not need to be informed.

Other teams have the chance to make a claim on the player during a 47 hour window.

If the player is claimed, the team that placed him on waivers has the option of pulling him back.  If the team pulls him back they can’t trade him for 30 days.

If his team decides not to pull him back:

Option 1:  His team can work out a trade with the team that claimed him.  Any player involved in the trade who is on a 40 man roster must go through waivers first.

Option 2:  His team can just dump him and his salary on the team that claimed him, getting no player in return.

Option 3:  No one claims him, and his team is free to trade him to any team.

If more than one team places a claim on a player, the winning claim is awarded based on worst record or the league the claiming team is in.   

Makes sense?  I’m sure I’ll be writing a lot this month about waiver trade possibilities.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top