Indians Release Matt Herges
The Indians released reliever Matt Herges, according to a team press release. They designated him for assignment ten days ago to make room for Winston Abreu. Herges allowed fewer hits than innings pitched in his 25.1 innings, for an ERA of 3.55. Now we'll see if a team looking for relievers, like the Angels or Marlins, picks him up.
Odds And Ends: Nats, Bruce, Padres, Halladay
Congrats to All-Star Game starters Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum. What a matchup. Here are some more links to look through…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Nationals "will remain an embarrassment" unless they give Mike Rizzo and Stan Kasten more power.
- Jay Bruce will miss 6-8 weeks, according to Brian Kollars of the Dayton Daily News, but the young outfielder didn't suffer any ligament or tendon damage in his right wrist.
- One talent evaluator told Tom Krasovic that it will be five years before the Padres are good again, so Krasovic creates a blueprint for the team.
- Some of his suggestions: Make the most of every dollar, go after high upside pitching, find out how much Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell would bring in a trade.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier reports that Roy Halladay does not have a list of teams he would accept trades to. Last week Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal reported that Halladay had such a list, but it is not the case.
MLB To Complete Sano Investigation This Week
Miguel Angel Sano was one of the top players to become available when the international signing period began at the beginning of the month, perhaps the best one of all. Now, ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. hears that MLB will complete its investigation into Sano's age later this week.
Odds And Ends: Acta, Cubs, Halladay
Some links to start the week off…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn't believe the Mets would fire Jerry Manuel and call on Manny Acta.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says Acta's firing reflects worse on the Nats than it does on Acta.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says Acta will get another managerial job somewhere.
- Brandon Inge told Chris Iott of MLive.com that the Tigers haven't played their best, even though they're in first place.
- John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies have a much better chance at repeating as World Series champions if they acquire Roy Halladay.
- Sherman points out that the Mets would have to play .640 ball the rest of the way to win 90 games. Doesn't seem likely.
- Bloomberg.com reports that the Cubs could file for bankruptcy to complete the sale of the team.
- Check out the first part of an ongoing series at NESN.com in which I discuss hot rumors around the majors. Click the link for thoughts on Roy Halladay, the Red Sox and the Yankee rotation and check back tomorrow for more.
Freddy Sanchez Rumors: Monday
The Pirates are not close to dealing Freddy Sanchez, and no deal has ever been imminent, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Teams have approached the Pirates about Sanchez, but the Pirates aren't "pushing hard" to trade him, as it appeared last week.
Jim Riggleman Will Manage The Nationals
Jim Riggleman will replace recently-fired Manny Acta as manager of the Nationals, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The news comes as no surprise, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first said Riggleman was the Nats' choice to replace Acta a month ago.
PTBNL In Scott Hairston Deal: Sean Gallagher
Sean Gallagher is headed to the Padres as part of the Scott Hairston deal, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gallagher was the player to be named later, eight days after we learned the Padres acquired pitchers Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano for Hairston.
A year ago, Gallagher was regarded as the centerpiece of the package the Cubs sent to Oakland for Rich Harden. However, Gallagher's stock dropped shortly thereafter when a shoulder injury surfaced. He still has upside.
Nationals Fire Manny Acta
Nationals manager Manny Acta got the boot tonight, based on comments Acta made to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes:
"I thank the Nationals for giving me this opportunity and I'm sorry that things didn't work out as expected. It's normal for the manager to pay the price when the team is not doing well," Acta said.
The writing was on the wall in mid-June, when Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports learned of the team's plan to replace Acta with bench coach Jim Riggleman. That this information leaked a month early reflects poorly on the organization, as Acta was left twisting in the wind. Maybe Rosenthal's report caused the Nationals to delay the move as an attempt to save face. Talk about mixed messages – on June 26th team president Stan Kasten talked about hoping Acta could serve as the club's long-term manager (Chico Harlan and Mark Viera of the Washington Post reporting).
Let's hear it from the Nationals fans – was this the right move? The expectations are different for the manager of a rebuilding club. How did Acta perform in young player development?
D’Backs Release Tony Clark
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the D'Backs released Tony Clark. The 37-year-old first baseman was hitting .182 with four homers in 66 at bats. Piecoro suggests the D'Backs wanted to create room for Josh Whitesell and give him the chance to play regularly.
Elias Rankings
At the end of each season, The Elias Sports Bureau ranks all MLB players numerically based on a bunch of stats. Every player is categorized in one of five position groups and by league. The rankings cover a two-year time period. They are used to determine whether free agents are Type A, Type B, or neither. If you'd like a reminder on how draft pick compensation works, read up here.
Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts reverse-engineered the Elias Rankings last year. Eddie's incredible work was made possible in large part due to information provided by ESPN's Keith Law. Eddie is now providing the rankings exclusively to MLB Trade Rumors. Today's snapshot covers the beginning of the 2008 season through July 11th of 2009. So the rankings will obviously change over the next few months.
Click here to see the latest Elias Rankings.