Sheffield Clears Waivers
THURSDAY: Unsurprisingly, Sheffield cleared waivers today.
WEDNESDAY: Sheffield’s agent noted that he has not asked for a trade, but might be willing to waive his no-trade clause under the right conditions (perhaps the chance to play the outfield every day). Sheffield is expected to clear waivers tomorrow afternoon. It’s often been said that Sheff thrives on controversy, and he bashed two home runs last night.
TUESDAY: According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Tigers placed Gary Sheffield on waivers today. Sheffield recently expressed displeasure with his playing time. The 39 year-old DH is hitting .219/.321/.371 in 278 plate appearances this year while dealing with oblique and shoulder woes. Peter Gammons recently wrote that the Tigers shopped Sheffield to the Rays but they had no interest.
Sheffield is owed an additional $3.8MM this year plus $14MM in ’09. He also has a limited no-trade clause. His last good full month was July of ’07. A waiver claim on Sheffield seems unlikely. If a contender needs a DH, why not pursue Aubrey Huff instead?
Stark’s Latest: Manny, Fuentes, Livan, Dunn
ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings column up.
- Some teams won’t go anywhere near Manny Ramirez given the way he exited Boston. Opinions range on whether he’ll get two, three, or four years this winter. Will he turn it off again after signing a long-term deal? And will other players use the same strategy to escape their contracts?
- The Rays are likely to stand pat, despite recent injuries.
- Rockies players haven’t hit the waiver wire yet; Dan O’Dowd plans to wait until month’s end. Stark wonders whether the Cards could win a claim on Brian Fuentes. Not likely, given the contenders in front of them in waiver order.
- All kinds of near-deals in the final minutes on deadline day – John Grabow to the Phillies, Ian Snell to the Rockies, and Jason Bay to the Rays.
- Livan Hernandez‘s incentives get expensive in a hurry once he hits 160 innings, and the Twins are on the hook for those.
- Stark talked to officials from two teams who didn’t think the Reds would’ve offered Adam Dunn arbitration.
Vernon Wells, John McDonald Placed On Waivers
According to Sportsnet.ca, the Blue Jays have placed Vernon Wells and John McDonald on waivers. Keep in mind that many players on placed on waivers every year even when the team has no intent of making a trade.
Wells stands a good chance of clearing waivers, though a trade is unlikely. He has a complicated, massive backloaded contract. From 2009-14 he will earn $100MM in salary, plus another $17MM as part of his signing bonus. He has a full no-trade clause and opt-out clause after ’11.
McDonald, a defensive whiz at shortstop, is signed for ’09 at $1.9MM. He probably will be claimed.
Odds and Ends: Heyman, Vidro, Glavine, Falkenborg
Let’s round up today’s links.
- Great interview with SI.com’s Jon Heyman at The Big Lead. He talks about scoops, Buster Olney, and his wife helping him do his job, among other things.
- Aaron Gleeman doesn’t understand why the Twins claimed Alan Embree but not Chad Bradford.
- Unsurprisingly, the Mariners weren’t able to find a trade partner for Jose Vidro.
- Richard Justice on what he’d have done as Astros GM.
- Tom Glavine‘s next six weeks will determine whether he’ll pitch in ’09.
- The Padres claimed reliever Brian Falkenborg from the Dodgers. Paul DePodesta likes his stuff.
- Danny Knobler writes about the Tigers’ numerous offseason needs.
- Tim Marchman doesn’t think the Yankees will have the money for multiple big-time free agent signings.
- The White Sox have signed seventh round OF Jordan Danks, brother of lefty pitcher John. Jordan hit .321/.444/.564 for the Texas Longhorns this year. The bonus is reportedly just north of $500K.
Draft Roundup: Dykstra, Smoak, Alonso
Here’s a collection of links involving unsigned first rounders.
- Kevin Towers expects talks to Allan Dykstra to go down to Friday. The Padres nearly had a deal, buy Dykstra’s physical revealed a hip problem.
- Justin Smoak reportedly wants a big league contract from the Rangers.
- The Reds want to do a minor league deal with Yonder Alonso, which has caused a stalemate. John Fay thinks he wants $7MM. Hal McCoy says the Reds are offering a $2.5MM minor league deal. Fay talked to Alonso, who may join an independent league and move in with Alex Rodriguez if need be.
MLB Trade Rumors In The Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Pasternak spent eight hours watching me blog trade deadline day. Click here to read the article.
Rockies Sign Villarreal
According to Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News, the Rockies signed reliever Oscar Villarreal to a minor league deal today. The Rox will have Villarreal under contract for ’09, mostly paid for by the Astros. I hadn’t realized Villarreal signed with the Mariners after being designated by Houston. He opted out of that contract when the Ms didn’t bring him to the Majors by August 8th.
Villarreal’s strikeout and groundball rates slipped this year, leading to a 5.02 ERA in 37.2 innings. He’s been worked pretty hard at times in his career.
Pirates Unlikely To Offer Major League Deal To Alvarez
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates still have not offered top draft pick Pedro Alvarez a Major League contract. Kovacevic does not expect the Bucs to do so but won’t rule it out. It’s rumored that Giants’ top pick Buster Posey will get a big league deal, while #1 pick Tim Beckham signed a minor league contract. Of course, Posey was a college player while Beckham signed out of high school.
Despite that possible issue, Kovacevic speaks of "palpable optimism" for a deal on the Pirates side. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan writes about the turnabout for Frank Coonelly, who now gets to deal with Scott Boras’ over-slot demands firsthand.
Dunn Denies $100MM Rumor
THURSDAY: This is not terribly surprising. Dunn said Arroyo’s statements about his future contract demands are "false information." Hal McCoy believes Dunn.
TUESDAY: Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo spoke about the Adam Dunn trade today:
"He was going to be moved no matter what. I don’t know if he told (the media) but he made it was no secret to us that he was looking for $100 to $120 million contract. I don’t think this franchise is going to give out that kind of contract."
Could Dunn get $100MM in free agency? It’s not out of the question, with left fielders Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee scoring nine-figure contracts before the ’06 season. Other free agent sluggers this winter include Mark Teixeira, Pat Burrell, Milton Bradley, Raul Ibanez, Manny Ramirez, Jason Giambi, Frank Thomas, and maybe Jim Thome. Teixeira may be the only one to top $100MM.
Waiver Trade Possibilities For Red Sox, Rays
The Red Sox, three games behind the Rays in the standings, have the advantage when it comes to waiver claims. Both teams are dealing with injured third basemen for the next few weeks, and may choose to bring in some veteran assistance.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe names four players who may be of interest to the Red Sox and Rays: Rich Aurilia, Mark Loretta, Gary Sheffield, and Kevin Millar.
Even after he clears waivers, a deal for Sheffield seems unlikely. The Rays have already expressed their disinterest. Sheffield doesn’t expect a deal, noting that he’s been put on waivers many times. Cafardo says the Rays do have interest in Aurilia, while the other names are speculation for both teams.