Felipe Lopez Signs With Cardinals
The Cardinals announced yesterday evening that they have signed infielder Felipe Lopez for the remainder of the season. The Nationals released him on Thursday. The Cardinals will use Lopez as a utility infielder and occasional outfielder.
Lopez, 28, hit .234/.305/.314 this year in 363 plate appearances. He had a similar season in ’07. He banged out 23 home runs in ’05, which apparently was his career year. The Scott Boras client is earning $4.9MM this year, most of which the Nationals will cover.
Haren Signs Extension With D’Backs
According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks have extended Dan Haren‘s contract for an additional two years while adding an option year after that. The old contract is nullified. Here’s a look at his contract now:
- 2009: $7.5MM
- 2010: $8.25MM
- 2011: $12.75MM
- 2012: $12.75MM
- 2013: $15.5MM option
Haren turns 28 in September; he reliably provides 220 innings with an ERA below 4.00 (this year, below 3.00).
Brewers Sign First Round Pick Lawrie
As expected, the Brewers inked their first-round pick Brett Lawrie. According to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo, the bonus is $1.7MM. The Brewers will give him a shot to stick at catcher.
11 days remain before the deadline to sign this year’s draft picks. A list of unsigned first-rounders can be found here. Five of the 11 unsigned first-rounders are represented by Scott Boras (Pedro Alvarez, Eric Hosmer, Joshua Fields, Allan Dykstra, and Gerritt Cole).
Waiver Trade Candidates: National League
Yesterday, we wrote about waiver trade candidates for the American League. Despite the post title, I tried to be more comprehensive and list all of the players who I think might clear waivers. That’s why players such as Derek Jeter and Michael Young were named. I know they won’t be traded this month, but they could still go unclaimed if placed on waivers given their large contracts.
Also, as one reader pointed out yesterday, a player does not have to clear waivers to be traded. He can be traded to or dumped upon the team that wins the claim, if there is one.
Here are the NL players who might clear waivers this month, generally excluding injured players.
- Phillies: Brett Myers, Adam Eaton, Tom Gordon, Geoff Jenkins, So Taguchi. Maybe Taguchi could go in a minor deal. Myers makes $12MM next year, but the Phillies would probably prefer to keep him and get him back on track.
- Marlins: Wes Helms, Mark Hendrickson. It wouldn’t be surprising to see one of these two guys moved.
- Mets: Johan Santana, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Pedro Martinez, Luis Castillo. We know the stars aren’t going anywhere. Pedro and Castillo are especially likely to clear but aren’t coveted players.
- Braves: Mike Hampton, Mark Kotsay. The Braves would have to eat all of the remaining $4.6MM to move Hampton.
- Nationals: Austin Kearns, Dmitri Young. Both are signed through ’09, and teams won’t want to take that on.
- Cubs: Alfonso Soriano, Jason Marquis, Bob Howry, Scott Eyre, Jon Lieber. Marquis still has $11.8MM coming to him through ’09.
- Brewers: Eric Gagne, Jeff Suppan, Ray Durham, Bill Hall, David Riske, Guillermo Mota. The Brewers have some undesirable contracts on the books.
- Cardinals: Chris Carpenter, Jason Isringhausen, Adam Kennedy, Cesar Izturis. In general, most contenders probably won’t be shipping off veterans.
- Astros: Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee, Kaz Matsui, Randy Wolf, Jose Valverde, LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Loretta, Brad Ausmus. Multiple candidates to clear waivers, though the Astros still have their eye on the prize.
- Reds: Adam Dunn, Francisco Cordero, Bronson Arroyo, Jeremy Affeldt, Corey Patterson, Javier Valentin, Matt Belisle, Josh Fogg. I’d be surprised to see Dunn get through waivers unclaimed, even though the Reds still owe him $3.9MM. Keeping him now makes the most sense anyway.
- Pirates: Freddy Sanchez, Jason Michaels, Jose Bautista, Chris Gomez, Doug Mientkiewicz. The Pirates don’t have any massive, ugly contracts on the books. Sanchez’s remaining $7.9MM through ’09 is the worst.
- Diamondbacks: Randy Johnson. Nothing too ugly on the books here aside from the Eric Byrnes contract, which runs through 2010.
- Dodgers: Manny Ramirez, Andruw Jones, Jason Schmidt, Rafael Furcal, Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, Juan Pierre, Angel Berroa, Pablo Ozuna. I’m sure the Dodgers wouldn’t mind unloading Jones or Pierre to clear up the outfield a bit.
- Rockies: Todd Helton, Kip Wells, Yorvit Torrealba, Willy Taveras, Cory Sullivan, Glendon Rusch. Helton’s back is still bothering him, not that there’d be interest anyway.
- Giants: Barry Zito, Randy Winn, Dave Roberts, Omar Vizquel, Rich Aurilia, Brad Hennessey, Kevin Correia, Tyler Walker. Brian Sabean should be active in trying to unload a few of these contracts.
- Padres: Greg Maddux, Trevor Hoffman, Tadahito Iguchi, Brett Tomko, Wil Ledezma. If the Dodgers do try to acquire Maddux, it’s possible another team could claim him just to block the trade.
Odds and Ends: Livan, Maddux, Meredith, Fielder
Here are today’s links.
- Live chat today here at 2pm CST.
- MiLB.com is holding a charity auction with all kinds of memorabilia. Check it out.
- NPB Tracker takes a look at Japanese closer Hitoki Iwase, who should draw plenty of interest from MLB teams this winter.
- Trading Greg Maddux to the Dodgers is still possible, though unlikely. There’s also word that the Padres "tested the trade value" of Cla Meredith last week.
- Livan Hernandez is expected to clear waivers today. We know the Rockies have discussed him internally, and Buster Olney speculates the Mets might be interested. The D’Backs are not likely to bring him back.
- The Tigers reportedly asked for Matt Lindstrom from the Marlins for Ivan Rodriguez.
- I did a Q&A with Philly Sports 101.
- Tom Haudricourt has details on Prince Fielder‘s dugout shoves of teammate Manny Parra.
- Joba Chamberlain is experiencing shoulder stiffness and will probably end up on the DL. It appears his labrum and rotator cuff are OK, at least.
Renck’s Mailbag: Snell, Helton, Holliday
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post published a mailbag today with some good rumors.
- The Pirates wanted Franklin Morales, Esmil Rogers, and Chris Nelson for Ian Snell. Can’t blame ’em for asking.
- Last winter, the A’s asked for Ubaldo Jimenez in a deal for Dan Haren. As good as Haren’s been, the Rockies still have to be happy they passed.
- Renck doesn’t see the Rox picking up Shawn Chacon – reportedly he has not been working out over the past month.
- Renck reveals that Todd Helton asked the Rockies upon signing his megadeal that money not be deferred. Nonetheless it’d be an intriguing way to free up cash to use on Matt Holliday. Renck feels the Rockies might offer Holliday five years, while he’ll seek seven.
Waiver Trade Candidates: American League
5:33pm: I noticed that Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe rattled off a slew of possibilities to clear waivers this month, including Kevin Millar, Rafael Betancourt, Bobby Crosby, Mark Ellis, Alan Embree, and Raul Ibanez.
9:19am: Today let’s take a swing through the American League and identify players who could clear waivers this month. If a player clears waivers he can be traded to any team for another such player or a prospect not on the 40-man roster.
- Rays: Trever Miller, Jonny Gomes. Gomes is already earning $1.275MM this year; he might be a non-tender candidate after the season. Miller is earning $2MM. Both are having poor seasons.
- Red Sox: Jason Varitek, Julio Lugo, Mike Timlin, Alex Cora. These players should pass through waivers unclaimed, but no one will want to trade for them. Lugo has $20.8MM remaining on his contract.
- Yankees: Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, Ivan Rodriguez, Carl Pavano. Many of the Yanks’ high-priced stars could clear waivers, but trading them wouldn’t make sense. Pavano could be moved in the right situation.
- Blue Jays: Scott Rolen, Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, Gregg Zaun. The Jays don’t seem likely to attempt to unload any of these contracts, except maybe Zaun. Jon Heyman believes A.J. Burnett could also slip through waivers.
- Orioles: Aubrey Huff, Melvin Mora, Ramon Hernandez, Jay Payton, Jamie Walker. It’s not hard to envision most of these guys clearing waivers, and maybe a few salary dump deals can be worked out. Huff’s .912 OPS ranks 10th in the AL, and he has about $10.5MM left on his contract through ’09. I could see a team claiming him.
- Twins: Michael Cuddyer, Mike Lamb, Adam Everett. These players should all clear waivers. Lamb and Everett could become DFA candidates.
- White Sox: Jim Thome, Ken Griffey Jr., Paul Konerko, Jose Contreras, A.J. Pierzynski, Juan Uribe, Mike MacDougal. The Sox have plenty of high-priced vets who could make it through waivers. Konerko would be tough to move given his poor performance and 10-and-5 rights.
- Tigers: Gary Sheffield, Edgar Renteria, Kenny Rogers, Todd Jones, Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson. The Tigers are seven games out in the AL Central; a few weeks from now they might look to get some money off the books.
- Royals: Jose Guillen, Jimmy Gobble, Ross Gload. Gobble and Gload don’t seem likely to help a contender, while the Royals apparently want to keep Guillen. Jon Heyman believes Mark Grudzielanek would clear.
- Indians: Paul Byrd, David Dellucci, Jamey Carroll. Byrd has almost $2.5MM left on his deal, but we could still see a team put in a claim. Jon Heyman thinks Byrd will clear waivers.
- Angels: Garret Anderson, Gary Matthews Jr., Justin Speier. The Halos have some questionable contracts, but trades are not expected.
- Rangers: Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Michael Young, Frank Catalanotto, Marlon Byrd. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Catalanotto and/or Byrd moved this month. Padilla is owed more than $17MM through ’09. If a team claims that contract maybe the Rangers should let him go.
- Athletics: Eric Chavez, Emil Brown. An August deal seems unlikely for the A’s.
- Mariners: Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, Jose Vidro, Kenji Johjima, Miguel Cairo. All kinds of bad money here. Washburn has another $13.45MM coming through ’09, but he might be claimed. Jon Heyman believes Adrian Beltre would also clear waivers.
MLBTR Reader Geography
I received a couple of emails asking where MLBTR readers come from. 94.9% of the traffic comes from readers in the United States, with Canada next at 2.5%.
Within the U.S., here’s the breakdown:
| State | % |
| New York | 11.8% |
| California | 10.9% |
| Illinois | 10.8% |
| Pennsylvania | 6.4% |
| New Jersey | 5.4% |
| Massachusetts | 4.6% |
| Texas | 3.9% |
| Ohio | 3.9% |
| Florida | 3.7% |
| Missouri | 3.3% |
| Georgia | 2.6% |
| Virginia | 2.3% |
| Connecticut | 2.3% |
| Wisconsin | 2.2% |
| Washington | 2.1% |
| Maryland | 1.9% |
| Minnesota | 1.9% |
| Indiana | 1.7% |
| North Carolina | 1.6% |
| Michigan | 1.3% |
| Kentucky | 1.2% |
| Arizona | 1.2% |
| Iowa | 1.1% |
| Tennessee | 1.1% |
| Kansas | 0.9% |
| Colorado | 0.9% |
| DC | 0.7% |
| South Carolina | 0.7% |
| Alabama | 0.7% |
| New Hampshire | 0.6% |
| Maine | 0.6% |
| Rhode Island | 0.6% |
| Oregon | 0.6% |
| Nevada | 0.5% |
| Oklahoma | 0.5% |
| Nebraska | 0.4% |
| Arkansas | 0.4% |
| Louisiana | 0.4% |
| Delaware | 0.3% |
| West Virginia | 0.3% |
| South Dakota | 0.2% |
| Mississippi | 0.2% |
| Vermont | 0.2% |
| Utah | 0.2% |
| North Dakota | 0.2% |
| Hawaii | 0.2% |
| Idaho | 0.2% |
| New Mexico | 0.2% |
| Montana | 0.1% |
| Alaska | 0.1% |
| Wyoming | 0.1% |
Ellis Still Talking Extension With A’s
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:
Mark Ellis said that his agent, Jamie Murphy, has had more talks with the A’s recently about a possible multiyear contract.
We last heard about these talks on June 25th. Ellis would like to reach an agreement before the season ends. The A’s already have a wealth of second base prospects – Jemile Weeks, Adrian Cardenas, and Eric Patterson.
Draft Update: Crow, Alvarez, Matusz
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reminds us of baseball’s next deadline: this year’s draft picks must be signed by end of day August 15th. Mayo provides links updating progress on unsigned top ten picks Pedro Alvarez, Eric Hosmer, Yonder Alonso, and Aaron Crow. No news on Gordon Beckham.
- Roch Kubatko says both the Orioles and Brian Matusz remain confident a deal will be done. No hard feelings on either side regarding the delay.
- Based on this Q&A with Nationals GM Jim Bowden, talks with Crow apparently haven’t gotten too far.
- As for Alvarez, the Pirates have a dollar figure they’d prefer not to exceed.