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Archives for July 2009

Odds And Ends: Kepler, Rangers, Hairston

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More links for the afternoon…

  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports that the Twins awarded Max Kepler a bonus of about $800k. That's close to the record for a European player.
  • Ben Klayman of Reuters reports that the Rangers are likely to make financial information available to potential buyers. Owner Tom Hicks would like to see bids for the team by mid-August, but negotiations won't necessarily be complete by the end of the season.
  • Byron Kerr of MASN.com argues that the Nyjer Morgan acquisition shows why the Nats need to award Mike Rizzo the permanent GM job.
  • Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that the Rockies signed five international players, including Dominican shortstop Rosell Herrera.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Scott Hairston deal was an "easy win" for the A's.
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock says the move could work for the Padres in the future. 

Trade Candidates: Catchers

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The market for catchers has been silent this year, as many contenders are set behind the plate. It’s partially a coincidence, but still noteworthy that so many of baseball’s best teams have catchers performing well. Here are a few backstops who could be available this month:

  • Ramon Hernandez – Likely expendable because of Ryan Hanigan's emergence, Hernandez has hit .252/.333/.368 with five homers and more walks than strikeouts this year. He doesn't come cheap though, as he makes $8MM.
  • Yorvit Torrealba - The Rockies have Chris Iannetta, so Torrealba and his career OPS of .700 are expendable. He'll earn $3.5MM this year and there's a mutual option for 2010 on his contract.  
  • Ivan Rodriguez – The Astros aren't selling now, but Rodriguez, who was dealt at last year's deadline, could become trade bait if Houston falls out of it. He makes from $1.5-3MM this year, depending on incentives.
  • Javier Valentin – This free agent hit relatively well with the Reds as recently as last year.

Trade Candidates: Corner Infielders

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We’ve heard about Garrett Atkins and Aubrey Huff all year, but plenty of other corner infielders could be trade bait, too. Here’s the list of corner infield trade candidates, ranked from highest 2009 salary to lowest:

  • Troy Glaus – The priciest trade candidate on this list has yet to play in 2009. There have been suggestions that the Cards could move Glaus if he can't play third upon his return.
  • Melvin Mora – With a $9MM salary and a no-trade clause, Mora will be tough to move. 
  • Aubrey Huff – He's not hitting as well as he did last year, but has hit well enough. He makes $8MM this year.
  • Adam Dunn – He makes the same amount as Huff, and has $12MM more coming his way in 2010. With 22 homers already, Dunn would be a nice addition a team like the Giants.
  • Adam LaRoche – He earns $7.05MM this year before becoming a free agent.  
  • Garrett Atkins – He'll earn $7.05MM as well, a sum that looks more affordable every day, since Atkins is hitting .306/.386/.468 since the beginning of June.
  • Nick Johnson – An affordable option at $5.5MM, this free agent-to-be has an injury history to go along with his .800 OPS.
  • Chad Tracy – The combination of his $4.75MM salary and .354 slugging percentage won't make him appealing to many teams, if any.
  • Jason Giambi – He earns $4MM this year and his team will have to pay him $1.25MM after the season or take on his $6.5MM salary next year. Giambi's been a disappointment at the plate.
  • Jorge Cantu – The Marlins remain just one game behind the Phillies for the division lead, but there have been hints that they would move Cantu if they fall out of it. He makes $3.5MM this year.  
  • Russell Branyan – The Mariners are just 3.5 games back of the division lead, but Branyan would be an appealing candidate if he hits the market, especially since he makes just $1.4MM this year.  
  • Kevin Kouzmanoff – He makes under $500k this year, but he's hitting poorly and you can't even blame Petco Park, as his OPS is 40 points lower on the road. The Mariners recently had interest.

The Red Sox, Mets, Giants, Reds and Mariners could all look for a boost at one of the corner infield positions.

Heyman On Street, Indians, Pedro, Davis

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Jon Heyman of SI.com lists his mid-season award winners, led by Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:

  • Huston Street alone is worth more on the trade market than Matt Holliday. Dan O'Dowd must be happy with his return, which also included Carlos Gonzalez.
  • Jhonny Peralta, Kerry Wood and Carl Pavano are all available.  
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro believes he can still get a fair return for Cliff Lee if he deals him a year from now, a few months before the lefty is scheduled to become free agent.
  • One executive says the Royals are "pushing" Brian Bannister as a trade candidate. However, they're reluctant to deal Gil Meche and Joakim Soria.  
  • Pedro Martinez intends to sign soon. We know the Phillies are scouting him. Could there be a match in Philly?  The Rays are "thought to be in the mix," while the Yankees are not, even with Chien-Ming Wang's injury.
  • There's apparently been "little progress" between the Brewers and D'Backs regarding Doug Davis. 
  • Nolan Ryan is part of one group trying to buy the Rangers.  

Blue Jays “Have To Be Open To Anything”

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Playing in the same division as three of the best teams in baseball is a challenge in itself, but 39 of the Blue Jays' remaining 79 games come against the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays. As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports, Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi says he has to be "open to anything" as the trade deadline approaches. The Jays could still contend, but they would listen to offers for their players.

"We have to see what makes us better," Ricciardi said. "Obviously, if people have interest in Roy Halladay, they'd better realize there's a steep price that's going to come with it."

The Jays can contend next year, when Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and eventually Jesse Litsch could join a rotation that will include the emerging Ricky Romero and possibly youngsters Brett Cecil and Marc Rzepczynski. Halladay, who's under contract for 2010, figures to lead the rotation, so teams would presumably have to make startlingly good offers to pry him away.

Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday

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Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Indians GM Mark Shapiro would not specifically discuss possible trades involving Cliff Lee or Victor Martinez. Instead, Shapiro repeated that the Indians seek pitching in any deals, particularly young, controllable pitchers who are close-to-major-league-ready.  

The Rangers have a number of talented young pitchers, but don't expect them to dangle Neftali Feliz or Derek Holland to make a play for Lee. Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News doesn't anticipate the cash-strapped Rangers will be active at the trade deadline.

Odds And Ends: Escobar, Sanchez, Beimel

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Some odds and ends to start the week off…

A’s Acquire Scott Hairston

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10:08pm: Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports reports that Hairston was not acquired to be flipped to another club and has been on the As' radar since he was traded from the Diamondbacks in 2007. Rosenthal notes that Hairston is cheap this season at $1.5MM and under control through 2011, and that the Mets, Phillies and Giants also expressed interest. He says the PTBNL will be revealed probably at the end of this month.

Corey Brock of MLB.com tells us that Padres GM Kevin Towers "sounded excited" about the player to be named later, who will be one of two pitchers in the A's organization. One of these unnamed players reportedly has Major League service time.

8:55pm: Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com says the new Padres pitchers are RHP Ryan Webb and high-A RHP Craig Italiano. Corey Brock at MLB.com tells us that Webb will join the Padres in Phoenix tomorrow, while Italiano will likely head to the Pads' Class-A affiliate Lake Elsinore.

Keith Law of ESPN says this about Italiano: "Great arm, bad delivery. Stick him in the pen and watch him go." The 22-year-old was a second-round draft choice for the A's in 2005. Webb, 23, was drafted in the fourth round in 2004 and has worked his way through the minors, putting up a 4.34 ERA and 39/15 K/BB ratio in 45.2 innings for Triple-A Sacramento this season. Hairston is expected to join the A's in Boston on Monday.

8:28pm: According to Corey Brock of MLB.com, the Padres have traded Scott Hairston to the A's for two minor league pitchers and a PTBNL.

Hairston, 29, has put up a solid .307/.364/.547 line in 210 plate appearances while manning outfield for the Padres this year. We'll update you with more information as it comes.

Rangers Ink More International FA’s

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We learned yesterday that the Rangers signed two top international free agents, and MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has a few more for us that were made official today. In addition to Venezuelan SS Luis Sardinas and SS Jurickson Profar of Curacao, the Rangers added LHP Daniel De La Torre of Mexico, outfielder Chris Garia of Curacao and shortstop Luis Mendez of Venezuela.

Sullivan tells us Garia is speedster who was clocked in at 6.2 seconds for the 60-yard dash, but "not a big prospect." There's some video of Profar here. Both of the Curacao natives played in an international tournament hosted by fellow native and Rangers OF Andruw Jones, says Daniel Paulling at MLB.com.

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