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Archives for August 2008

Mets Acquire Luis Ayala

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The Washington Times is reporting that the Nationals have traded relief pitcher Luis Ayala to the Mets for Anderson Hernandez.

Ayala, who will be a eligible for free agency for the first time this offseason, has a 5.77 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 22 walks in 57.2 innings this season. He is making $1.7MM.  The Mets will have to try to fix him quickly; his control worsened this year.  The Phillies and Marlins chose not to make a claim on Ayala, apparently.  The reliever had been requesting a trade throughout the year.

Hernandez, a middle infielder, is hitting .203/.262/.307 in Triple A.  He has limited big league experience, having appeared in 35 games for the Mets.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .

Marlins Could Be Set For Another Fire Sale

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Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the Marlins will be forced to trade away some of their arbitration-eligible players this offseason unless management is willing to double their payroll into the $50MM range.

Jackson takes a closer look at which players may be on the move…

  • Two scouts and a GM told Jackson that the Marlins will likely explore the market for Mike Jacobs, noting they have other options at first base.
  • Jackson feels the Marlins won’t want to give Dan Uggla a long-term deal and will look to trade him.
  • With Cameron Maybin ready to take over, Jackson sees one or two of the starting outfielders, Cody Ross, Josh Willingham and Jeremy Hermida, being traded.
  • Closer Kevin Gregg will be gone if Matt Lindstrom shows he can handle the job.
  • Of the pitchers in the rotation, Scott Olsen seems the most likely to be traded. One scout told Jackson the Marlins could "get a lot" for Olsen and they have Andrew Miller who could take his spot.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Cafardo’s Latest: Ausmus, Towles, Mariners, Giants, Sheffield, Salty

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a few items in his Sunday column…

  • Cafardo says that the Red Sox, despite being in the market for a catcher, are not interested in Brad Ausmus.  They did inquire with the Astros about J.R. Towles, who is currently in Triple A, but were told he is unavailable.
  • One executive told Cafardo that the Mariners continue to demand other teams take entire contracts and give up prospects for players like Raul Ibanez, Jarrod Washburn and Adrian Beltre.  In the cases of Ibanez and Beltre, that position is defensible.
  • Cafardo interviewed Brian Sabean about several topics: 1) When asked about trading veteran players, Sabean responded "There’s still time"; 2) When asked whether the Giants would "go young"  or target free agents in the offseason, Sabean was noncommital but said they will look for free agents and trade pieces to fix problems, specifically mentioning the bullpen and first base; 3) When asked if he was tempted to sign Barry Bonds, Sabean would not answer.
  • Cafardo was just musing on a few players, but feels that Gary Sheffield could help the Rays, but only if the Tigers pay some of the salary. He also thinks Jarrod Saltalamacchia would be a nice fit in Boston next season.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .

Yonder Alonso Contract Details

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Dayton Daily News reporter Hal McCoy checks in with some great details about the contract signed by Reds’ first round draft choice Yonder Alonso, which is reportedly worth a little more than $4.55 million, with incentives:

  • "For his last three college semesters, the Reds will contribute $78,000 – that’s $60,000 in tuition and $18,000 in books and board."
  • "A trip for his immediate family will be paid for by the Reds for his first major-league game."
  • Alonso "gets $25,000 if he is Rookie of the Year, $100 if he is MVP and $100,000 if he is MVP of the World Series (for what team?)."

I assume McCoy made a mistake and that Alonso gets $100K if he is MVP, because $100 doesn’t seem like much of an incentive.

Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. You can reach him here.

More Washburn Non-Trade Notes

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Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has a pretty good round-up of press reports out of Seattle on the Mariners-Twins negotiations for Jarrod Washburn and the eventual non-trade:

  • Washburn thought it "ideal" to pitch for the Twins.
  • Contrary to what he heard, the Mariners did not turn down Boof Bonser for Washburn, confirming what we heard and contradicting what had originally been reported.
  • Apparently, the Mariners were willing to pay part of Washburn’s salary as part of a deal that netted them a better player.

He concludes: "Bottom line: By placing that waiver claim this week, the Twins were willing to take on Washburn’s entire contract — $13 million through the end of 2009 for a 34-year-old lefty who is 5-12 with a 4.58 ERA — and the M’s walked away from the chance."

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? alexo05 (at) umpbump (dot) com.

Odds And Ends: Hunter, Hissey, Westmoreland, Minaya

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Some links on a post-signing-draft-picks-deadline Saturday:

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? alexo05 (at) umpbump (dot) com.

Pirates Sign Pedro Alvarez

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11:43pm: Great news for Pirates fans – they’ve signed Alvarez to a $6MM minor league deal.  So much for Boras demanding $10MM.

11:41pm: The Bucs failed to sign pitcher Tanner Scheppers, who slipped to the second round due to a shoulder injury.  Scheppers was looking for $2MM, and his audition wasn’t great.  GM Neal Huntington issued a statement on the Scheppers situation.

4:59pm: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette weighs in on the Pedro Alvarez negotiations.  He believes the Pirates have an offer on the table, and are open to a Major League deal.  However, Kovacevic says there is no chance of the Pirates approaching a $10MM Mark Teixeira-like contract.  The Pirates and Scott Boras have six hours to find a compromise.

Reds Sign Yonder Alonso, Yorman Rodriguez

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11:30pm: The Reds also inked Venezuelan outfielder Yorman Rodriguez, according to a press release.

11:09pm: MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says Alonso signed for $4.5MM.  John Manuel adds details: "$2MM bonus, $4.55MM guarantee" on a Major League deal.

10:40pm: Baseball America’s Jim Callis says the Reds have signed Alonso, most likely to a big league deal.  Terms are not yet known.

6:09pm: According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Reds GM Walt Jocketty has made his final offer to first-round pick Yonder Alonso.  Jocketty says Alonso backed down slightly for the first time today, so there is hope.

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