Indians Acquire Fasano
The Indians, looking for an experienced backup for Kelly Shoppach, acquired Sal Fasano from the Braves yesterday. Victor Martinez may be out until August with arthroscopic elbow surgery. Fasano is your typical veteran backup, though he has a cult following based on his mustache.
Stark’s Latest: Sabathia, Bedard, Phillies, Freel
It’s Thursday, and you know what that means. Time for another installment of Jayson Stark’s Rumblings and Grumblings at ESPN.com.
- Stark runs through a laundry list of candidates for the Mariners’ and Mets’ manager and GM vacancies.
- The Indians will not be giving a negotiation window for a team hoping to sign C.C. Sabathia while acquiring him.
- Erik Bedard is "now officially on the market." Bedard’s value has diminished since the Mariners acquired him, however.
- The Phillies have already inquired on Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Jarrod Washburn. Stark sees Bedard joining that group, but believes it’d require Carlos Carrasco and Antonio Bastardo.
- Ryan Freel is drawing strong interest; Stark names the Phillies, Braves, Mets, and Marlins as suitors.
- Ken Griffey Jr. apparently still wants to finish his career in Seattle.
- Stark agrees with Ken Rosenthal – Mark Teixeira is not available. Nor is Ben Sheets, by the way.
- The Marlins are looking for center field, catcher, and bullpen help. Stark believes they’d be willing to give up a near-arb Josh Willingham type for players with less service time.
- The Yankees seem open to bringing back Jason Giambi next year, after they buy out his option. Giambi is currently third in the AL in OPS at .979.
Padres Would Not Allow Mariners To Interview Towers
XX Sports Radio recently interviewed Padres CEO Sandy Alderson. The hosts asked whether the Padres would give the Mariners permission to interview Kevin Towers for their GM vacancy. Alderson stressed that the Mariners have not asked and he doesn’t expect them to. He added that if they did ask, the Padres would not grant permission.
Towers is signed through 2010, but Jayson Stark recently heard rumblings that he "might be willing to listen to inquiries from a place like Seattle" because he’s lost clout. Sounds like a moot point, given Alderson’s comments.
Crisp-Cubs Chatter Debunked
THURSDAY: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times talked to a Cubs insider who says the team has had no talks with Boston about Crisp since spring training. By the way – Crisp recently strained a muscle in his hand, but it’s not considered serious.
WEDNESDAY: It’s been suggested that trade showcasing is a misconception. Nonetheless, Cubs beat writer Paul Sullivan believes they may be doing just that with Matt Murton right now. Murton was hitting .298/.397/.382 in Triple A, showing much less power than he had in the Majors. He did pick it up to a .495 SLG in May though. He has a chance to play left field regularly for the Cubs with Alfonso Soriano out.
Sullivan says the Cubs sent Special Assistant to the GM Ken Kravec to scout the Red Sox recently, perhaps with an eye on Coco Crisp. He says the Cubs might be willing to trade Boston native Rich Hill in a deal. Center field does not seem an immediate concern for the Cubs, as Jim Edmonds is hitting .309/.351/.515 in 68 plate appearances for them.
Rays Sign First Round Pick Beckham
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Rays have signed their #1 overall pick, high school shortstop Tim Beckham, for $6.15MM. With Beckham setting the stage, perhaps more top picks will get deals done soon.
The Rays just have an embarrassment of riches at this point. They are positioned for a long, long run of excellence.
Mariners Fire McLaren
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the Mariners have fired manager John McLaren. Former Padres and Cubs manager Jim Riggleman will step in.
Molony’s Latest: Minaya, Oswalt, Arroyo, Redding
MLB.com’s Jim Molony tackles the hot stove in today’s article.
- Molony says Omar Minaya is on the hot seat, though others feel his job is relatively safe.
- Roy Oswalt is not available, but he was recently scouted by the Angels, Braves, Mets, and Phillies.
- The Yanks have scouted C.C. Sabathia and Bronson Arroyo but haven’t made any offers. I just don’t see how Arroyo could be effective back in the American League.
- The Phillies are still looking for a lefty reliever. Looking at my Trade Market post, Alan Embree, George Sherrill, Brian Fuentes, Eddie Guardado, Damaso Marte, John Grabow, Ron Mahay, or Jeremy Affeldt could fit the bill. It still doesn’t seem like a pressing need to me, though.
- Molony speculates that Tim Redding could be a popular name on the trade market. Redding has a 4.10 ERA, but it’s propped up by a .258 BABIP (as a team, the Nationals have a .307 BABIP).
Odds and Ends: Bernazard, Sexson, Rangers
Time for another link roundup.
- I hadn’t realized this – the Royals offered Billy Butler for Yuniesky Betancourt a few years back.
- The Jays acquired pitcher Jonah Bayliss for a player to be named later.
- Buster Olney heard that Brian Sabean doesn’t like the idea of the Giants bringing in Rick Peterson. Wouldn’t be fair to Dave Righetti.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday says Mets VP of Development Tony Bernazard has a bad reputation.
- David Andriesen of the Seattle PI has a source saying the Mariners are not ready to pull the trigger Richie Sexson‘s release. Still seems likely though.
- I did a Q&A on the Rangers with Uwe Blog.
- Speaking of the Rangers, I’m high on Chris Davis as a fantasy baseball pickup.
Julian Tavarez Designated
Julian Tavarez‘s time in Milwaukee is up; he was designated for assignment to make room for David Riske. He pitched in seven games for the Brewers and was knocked around in three of those outings.
Rockies Sign First Round Pick Friedrich
The Rockies signed their first round pick, Christian Friedrich, for $1.35MM yesterday.
Friedrich, a college lefty, was considered roughly the 13th-ranked talent by experts heading into the draft. The Rockies had to have been surprised to see him available at #25.