Brewers DFA Bill Hall
The Brewers continue to revamp the team after demoting J.J. Hardy and firing their pitching coach this morning, designating Bill Hall for assignment, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Hall is hitting .201/.265/.341 with six homers just three years after clubbing 35 long balls and OPSing .899. His strikeout to walk ratio has never been good, but it's degenerated this year; he's walked 19 times and struck out 72 times. To his credit, Hall continues to play above-average defense at third base. He makes $6.8MM this year, $8.4MM next year and his contract includes a $9.25MM club option for 2011.
It's a lot of money, but as GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "it's not the last contract a team will have to absorb." A couple teams are apparently interested in Hall.
Brewers Rumors: Hardy, Escobar, Sheets
Lots of Brewers news this Wednesday morning. Here's the latest:
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers fired pitching coach Bill Castro and demoted J.J. Hardy to Triple A. The Alcides Escobar era begins in Milwaukee.
- In a different article, McCalvy writes that the Brewers are still looking for a starter on the waiver wire, though no top arms are available.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin has not heard from Casey Close, who represents Ben Sheets and wonders if the agent's silence means Sheets won't pitch this year: "I think he would call clubs if [Sheets] were going to pitch, wouldn't he?"
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel files the team's moves under the "What Have We Got to Lose?" category.
Indians GM On The Rebuilding Process
Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the Indians plan to rebuild in "mini cycles" and could contend again soon:
- Some of the Indians' deadline deals were "financially motivated," but Shapiro distinguishes them from pure salary dumps like the Alex Rios deal.
- Shapiro doesn't see any of the Indians' division rivals becomining dominant forces in the near future.
- He expects to be the team's GM next year despite rumblings that he could ascend to another front office role. He says he has "unfinished business" as GM, but he acknowledges that he could move on to a different position later on.
- It's hard to say how much the Indians will spend on free agents, but Shapiro says he could sign one or two this offseason, something that would not have been possible with Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez around.
- He knows he overpaid for last year's free agent signing, Kerry Wood, but expects this year's market to be depressed.
- Why didn't the Indians acquire Kyle Drabek or Clay Buchholz? Young talent's at a premium and sometimes the Indians don't value players as much as other teams, scouts or analysts do.
- Carlos Carrasco is close to contributing to the Indians and will compete for a rotation spot next year.
Rosenthal On Angels, Rangers, Rockies
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Angels are looking for rotation upgrades and have no budget limitations. GM Tony Reagins says he's constantly evaluating the benefits of adding an expensive piece to the team. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- The Rangers have claimed several cheap bats off waivers, but have yet to acquire any of them.
- At least one GM expects the Rockies to win the NL West and the Cards to win the World Series.
- The Rockies are still looking for a reliever and a bench bat.
- Rosenthal says the Tigers have no choice but to keep playing Magglio Ordonez, even though his expensive 2010 option will vest after 90 more trips to the plate.
Odds And Ends: Milledge, Tate, Royals
Links for the morning…
- As much as Nyjer Morgan has helped the Nationals, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Lastings Milledge has been a complete pro so far with the Pirates.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock hears that the Padres are "making progress" towards signing first rounder Donavan Tate.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports that the D'Backs are making progress with first rounder Bobby Borchering.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wonders how much the Royals would improve with a cast of strong fielders.
- We heard on Sunday that Troy Percival was leaning towards retirement. Now, as MLB.com's Bill Chastain reports, Percival says he's done unless something "miraculous" happens.
Marlins Sign Esteban Yan
More than three full years after he last pitched in a major league game, Esteban Yan signed with the Florida Marlins, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The 34-year-old veteran of 11 major league seasons had been pitching in the independent Atlantic League before the Marlins signed him. Yan was starting, but it's unclear whether the Marlins will have him work as a starter or a reliever once he reports to Triple A. In nearly 500 appearances over the course of a decade-plus, Yan started just 23 MLB games.
Angels Release Justin Speier
According to the AP via ESPN, the Angels have released RHP Justin Speier. The 35-year-old has put up a 5.18 ERA and 39/15 K/BB ratio in 40.0 innings this season.
Speier is in the third year of a four-year deal worth $18MM and he's set to earn $5.25MM in 2010. With his past success, you can bet he'll find work somewhere else.
Odds & Ends: Sheffield, Indians, Draft
Some more links as everyone reels from the bench-clearing madness:
- Count in Mets manager Jerry Manuel as a proponent of bringing back Gary Sheffield next year, says Bart Hubbuch at the New York Post. We learned earlier today Sheffield would prefer not to be traded.
- The Diamondbacks signed a couple notable draft picks today, reports Nick Piecoro at the Arizona Republic–no. 41 overall selection SS Chris Owings was given a $950k bonus, while 13th-round LHP Patrick Schuster was given an above-slot sum of $450k.
- Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi hasn't signed any of the team's first five selections, but "they will eventually sign," he believes, says MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- The Brewers signed fifth-rounder and two-sport athlete D'Vontrey Richardson, says Jim Callis at Baseball America, for a bonus of $400k.
- Callis also reports that the Giants have come to terms with fifth-rounder Matthew Graham to the tune of $500k.
- Anthony Castrovince at MLB.com says the Indians are "maintaining dialogue" with their top pick, Alex White.
D’Backs Release Tom Gordon
According to Nick Piecoro at the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks have released veteran reliever Tom Gordon. Flash, now 41, went on the DL in May with a hamstring injury after pitching only 1.2 innings on the year. He had begun a minor-league rehab assignment on July 13th.
Hardy Not Placed On Waivers
Tom Haudricourt at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel talked to Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who dismisses rumors that J.J. Hardy might have been claimed by the Red Sox, and says in fact Hardy was not placed on waivers at all.
Buster Olney at ESPN had reported yesterday that Hardy had "not passed through waivers yet," but suggested the Sox could have interest should Hardy be put on waivers. It's unclear where rumors that Hardy had been claimed stem from. Earlier today, Melvin indicated that he might be open to exploring deals for Hardy this offseason, however.
Melvin goes on to say that he hasn't found a starter to his liking on the waiver wire. He's not interested in John Smoltz, Mark Mulder, or Vicente Padilla.