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Pirates Add Two Prospects

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According to George Von Benko of MLB.com, the Pirates have acquired outfielder Jeff Corsaletti from the Red Sox and pitcher Randy Newsom from the Indians, both for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Both prospects will be assigned to Double-A Altoona. Benko writes,

"The 26-year old Corsaletti was batting .128 at Triple-A Pawtucket. In 13 games, the left-handed-hitting outfielder had no home runs and one RBI. Newsom, a 27-year old sidearming right-hander, was 2-0 at Double-A Akron with a 2.45 ERA and one save in eight appearances."

Odds & Ends: Rays, Gorzelanny

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Links for Sunday…

  • Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburgh Times says the Rays are lacking the "joie de vivre" that perpetuated their success last season. Is this from the Rays offseason personnel changes and loss of clubhouse guys like Cliff Floyd, Eric Hinske, or Jonny Gomes? Gabe Kapler was supposed to help fill this void. Maybe the Rays need to begin winning consistently before they look like they're having fun, not the other way around?
  • Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny has been recalled, according to Dejan Kovacevic. Tyler Yates was put on the 15-day disabled list due to right elbow inflammation, making room for Gorzelanny.

Discussion: What Should The Rangers Do?

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We're only a quarter the way through the season but with an improved defense and their usual offensive attack the Texas Rangers are 8 games over .500 for the first time since June 2005. At 22-14, they are leading the AL West, 3.5 games ahead of the Angels. They're currently on a 6 game win streak without the relief of Frank Francisco. And they've accomplished this without much help from Josh Hamilton.

Can they sustain this? What can they do to improve their chances? Should they wait it out and assess their needs at the deadline? Or go for broke and make whatever moves necessary to widen the gap with the Angels? What would you do in G.M. Jon Daniels' shoes?

  • Sign Ben Sheets? Rangers pitchers are 17th in the majors with a 4.66 team ERA. Sheets has been sighted at The Ballpark in Arlington with Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux as recently as May 15. The Rangers are considered the favorites to land the ace who had flexor tendon elbow surgery on February 13th and hopes to begin a throwing program soon. Could he provide a valuable late season boost?
  • Sign Pedro Martinez? Or stay with internal options such as Derek Holland or Neftali Feliz?
  • Shop Kevin Millwood, who is in a contract year and needs 180 innings for a $12MM guaranteed salary for next season? Millwood is currently third in innings pitched with 58.1, behind only Roy Halladay and Zack Greinke. He's sporting a 2.93 ERA, their only starter with an ERA below 4.
  • Shop Marlon Byrd? In 64 AB, Andruw Jones has a 1.035 OPS giving the Rangers four everyday outfielders. Byrd is in a contract year making $3.06MM this season. Could he be a valuable trade chip?

Are the Rangers legit? What should Jon Daniels do?

Masahide Kobayashi Sent Down

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10:19am: Castrovince says Kobayashi has accepted an assignment to Triple-A Columbus. Reliever Tony Sipp was also optioned to Columbus. The Indians also purchased the contract of reliever Greg Aquino who will join the ballclub today. To make room for Aquino, Scott Lewis was moved from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.

SATURDAY, 8:08pm: According to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, Indians reliever Masahide Kobayashi will be removed from the 40-man roster tomorrow to make room for David Huff.   Castrovince says it's unclear how this will be done – Kobayashi could be optioned to Triple A if he consents.  He wants to stay here rather than go back to Japan.

The Indians signed Kobayashi to a two-year, $6.25MM deal in November of 2007.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but he posted a 5.10 ERA and 5.4 K/9 in 65.3 innings in his Tribe career.

Damon Doesn’t Expect To Be Back

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With the future in his sights, Johnny Damon is on pace for a big contract year. Columnist Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News says Damon, who has spent time on four different clubs despite years of consistent production, is not sure he'll be brought back in pinstripes next year. Harrington provides Damon's quote:

"I don't think it will be too much of a surprise if they don't bring me back," Damon said. "I would love to be able to say I'll be back. This would definitely be the best place for me. I feel like this could be my last chance to be on a winner. I understand the free agent game, how it is. I know they have a bunch of young outfielders coming up."

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com says Damon's aiming to play for 5 more seasons and retire at 40. He has played in at least 140 games in 13 straight seasons. He could join Paul Molitor, Rickey Henderson, and Craig Biggio as the only players to have 200 homeruns, 400 stolen bases, 1,000 RBI, 1,500 runs and 3,000 hits.

Signing Sano Risky For Pirates

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We've been keeping a watch on Dominican top prospect Miguel Angel Sano recently. The 16 year-old is reportedly coveted by all 30 teams and expected to land a signing bonus over $3MM when the international signing period begins July 2. The Pirates are reported as having the inside track but Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the signing is "fraught with risk."

According to Kovacevic, dealings between Major League Baseball and Latin American systems are done "mostly through unwritten, unspoken agreements" and the Pirates would be throwing out an established pay scale. Further, the Pirates have never committed anything close to $4MM in a bonus for a Dominican player, and to do so for a 16 year-old carries obvious risk. Lastly, Kovacevic notes the Pirates spent $9.8MM on last year's draft. If they continue to spend more, they'll risk damaging their draft class.

On the other hand, not signing Sano could result in dispirited talent evaluators "effusive in their praise of Sano's potential," as well as a loss of participation in "special tryouts" in the D.R. should the Pirates come off as unserious buyers.

Gammons On Ackley, Red Sox, Relievers

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ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.  Let's take a look.

  • Gammons writes in praise of North Carolina's Dustin Ackley, who is likely to be chosen by the Mariners at #2 in June.  Ackley may wind up at center field or second base.
  • The Red Sox don't appear willing to trade young pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Nick Hagadone.  The Sox have looked at bats such as Colorado's Matt Murton and Ryan Spilborghs, but for now aren't desperate enough to trade pitching.  Gammons wonders if, for the right bat, Boston would part with Manny Delcarmen.  He believes Delcarmen could close in the NL.
  • Gammons says the Mets think they could have Carlos Delgado back by August if he has hip surgery, allowing them to stay in-house for his replacements.
  • The Dodgers, Indians, Yankees, and Twins are looking for relief help.  Gammon names Jose Valverde, Huston Street, Danys Baez, Russ Springer, and John Grabow as future trade candidates.

Javier Lopez Clears Waivers

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According to Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal, Javier Lopez has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket.  The left-hander was DFA'd last week in order to clear roster space for Daniel Bard.  Lopez, who had posted a 9.26 ERA through 11 2/3 innings in the bigs, hopes to work his way back to Boston this season.

"It's a long season and it's early," Lopez said Saturday. "Things didn't work out the way I wanted them to up there.  It's a special club and if you're not getting the job done they're going to get people up there [who can].  It's not a division you can really slack off in, so that's all the motivation I need."

Discussion: The Tribe And Cliff Lee

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At 14-22 entering Saturday's full slate of action, the Indians are in last place in the American League Central.  They have the talent to contend in that division, but it's simply not clicking right now.  Staff ace and 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee has a $9MM option for 2010.  That's a cheap price tag, but are the Indians better off dealing him this summer, or even this offseason, for a crop of young prospects?  He may not bring on a Matt LaPorta-caliber player, as C.C. Sabathia did last season, but the Tribe could definitely load up on some fresh talent.

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal addressed the issue recently, and his logic makes sense.

"High-revenue teams surely are intrigued by the possibility that the Indians might trade left-hander Cliff Lee.  The Indians are less enthralled by the idea.  Lee's contract — $5.75 million this season with an $8 million club option for 2010 — remains a bargain.  And club officials are not ready to give up on this season, much less the next.

If the Indians wished to move Lee, they might get a better return this offseason — when the free-agent market for starting pitching will be thin — than they would before the July 31 non-waiver deadline."  

"Right now, such a deal is not even under consideration," Rosenthal concludes.  Will it be a possibility this offseason?  What could the Tribe demand in return, and what club looks to be a good fit?

Pirates Acquire Hacker For Sanchez

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2:21pm: According to MLB.com's Noah Coslov, the Yankees will receive right-handed reliever Romulo Sanchez.  The 25-year-old was one of the Pirates' first cuts this spring.  As of Friday, he had a 4.38 ERA and 15/5 K/BB ratio in 12 1/3 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis. 

1:17pm: According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic, the Pirates have acquired minor league right-hander Eric Hacker from the Yankees.  It's not yet clear who, or what, the Yanks were given in return.

Hacker, 26, was designated for assignment by the Yankees last Saturday.  He posted a 2.43 ERA and a 115/37 K/BB ratio in 144 1/3 innings last season between Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton.  He was tried at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season and had a disappointing 7.88 ERA in three starts, prompting his departure.

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