What To Do With Hanrahan?
Pete McElroy of MASN Sports thinks the Nationals should consider moving Joel Hanrahan. Since Hanrahan is out of options, this would mean either designating him for assignment or outright releasing him.
McElroy sees Hanrahan without confidence on the mound. Despite a more than a strikeout per inning, the former Dodgers top pitching prospect has a 7.71 ERA and lost the closers gig twice in '09 and shown no improvement. Perhaps a change of scenery would be best?
Discussion: Jarrod Washburn
Jarrod Washburn is having a bit of a resurgence this season, sporting a 3.22 ERA, with a 2.37 ERA over his previous six games. Slight improvement in his strikeout rate plus increased success against left-handed hitters (.162 against) have the 34 year old seeming a decent commodity.
Peter Gammons said Washburn could be had. The Dodgers have reportedly been eyeing the veteran lefty; however a Juan Pierre for Washburn swap would not work because of Pierre's contract. Washburn has around $5.9MM left on his contract, as well as no-trade protection.
Greg Johns at the Seattle Post Intelligencer thinks the Mariners should not sell high, even as Washburn's value peaks with every good outing. Barring a good package of prospects, Johns feels that Seattle "will want to continue riding Washburn's strong season and see how far they can go." After all, they're only 2.5 games behind the first place Rangers, and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Johns also notes Washburn's balky left knee causes him discomfort every pitch. Mike Sweeney is quoted in the piece saying, "He can barely walk the four days between starts. His knee is killing him, he's got a bad back. Yet every fifth day he goes out and pitches with all his heart."
If the standings don't change dramatically before the July 31st trade deadline, would the Mariners be better suited to sell high on Jarrod Washburn?
Shapiro Discusses Wedge Speculation
MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince says Indians general manager Mark Shapiro is taking the heat off Eric Wedge, and spreading the blame evenly for the Indians underwhelming 30-44 record, 12 games back in the AL Central. Castrovince quotes Shapiro:
Jon Heyman adds via Twitter that "Shapiro sounded committed to Wedge" on the phone earlier today.
Nady’s Season Over
UPDATE 7:17pm: The New York Post's George A. King III says Nady needs Tommy John surgery and is done for the season. King adds,
"Quietly the Yankees were hoping to have Nady's right-handed bat to help out in right field, where switch-hitter Nick Swisher is playing every day. Now that won't happen. And though GM Brian Cashman said this week 'a bat isn't needed,' knowing that Nady isn't returning might change the Yankees' mind."
6:07pm: During an International league game in Syracuse, Xavier Nady reported "significant discomfort" in his right arm after completing two throws from the outfield. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com says Nady could be done for the season which, if true, would snuff out any flickering speculation that the Yankees would or should consider dealing him or Nick Swisher upon Nady's return.
Benjamin Kabak at River Ave. Blues has more. Buster Olney recently noted the Yankees were not looking to deal either Nady or Swisher.
Jamie Burke DFA’d Again
According to Larry LaRue of the Seattle News Tribune, reserve Jamie Burke was designated for assignment by the Marines today to make room for Kenji Johjima. This marks the third time this season that the veteran catcher has been DFA'd. Says LaRue,
Over the next 10 days, Burke, 37, will either be traded, claimed by another team or offered a minor league deal. LaRue writes,
Option Years
Teams use options to shuttle players on their 40-man roster to and from the minor leagues risk-free. Here are a few specifics to round out this MLBTR Glossary entry:
- Once a player is on his team's 40-man roster, his club has three separate seasons over the course of which it can promote and demote the player without exposing him to other teams.
- Minor leaguers on the 40-man roster are on an optional assignment.
- They can be promoted and demoted an unlimited number of times within an option year.
- Once a player's three option years are up, he must clear waivers before going to the minors.
- Options aren't used on players who spend less than 20 days in the minors.
- Players with five years of service time can't be optioned to the minors without consent.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts.
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 June 25th of 2009. So the rankings will obviously change over the next few months.
Click here to see the latest Elias Rankings.
Odds And Ends: Sano, Rays, Mateo
More links for your Friday afternoon…
- The Orioles' director of player development told Steve Melewski of MASN.com that Miguel Angel Sano is the best Dominican prospect he's ever seen.
- The Orioles haven't begun negotiating with Sano, as there are some lingering questions about his age.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says he'd find room for David Price in the crowded Rays 'pen instead of bumping Andy Sonnanstine from the rotation.
- White Sox scouting director Doug Laumann says Josh Phegley and Kyle Bellamy could move quickly through the minors.
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure believes the $3.1MM Wagner Mateo agreed to is impressive in this economy.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Harper, A-Rod, Dice-K, A’s
On this date 45 years ago, in the final year before Major League Baseball instituted the amateur draft, Rick Reichardt was signed by the Los Angeles Angels for $200K. At the time, it was the largest signing bonus ever given to an amateur baseball player. Reichardt would only play 57 minor league games before making his big league debut later that year. He would go on to play 11 seasons with four franchises. With this year's draft class starting to sign their first contracts, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Jorge Says No! says MLB should consider moving the trade deadline since the introduction of the wild card leaves more teams in contention in July.
- Sully Baseball says it is hypocritical to criticize Bryce Harper for wanting to turn pro at age 16.
- River Ave. Blues suggests that if the Yankees could have one contract absorbed by MLB it would be Alex Rodriguez's.
- Around the Majors takes a look at Scott Boras' upcoming free agent class, which includes Eric Gagne, who has been converted back to a starter.
- MLB Notebook wonders who the A's can trade outside of Matt Holliday.
- Fire Brand of the American League looks at whether Daisuke Matsuzaka has been worth the contract he signed.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Heyman On Tigers, Lee, Holliday
Jon Heyman of SI.com says Joe Girardi and Jim Tracy have no guarantees beyond this year. Manny Acta and Eric Wedge, who have both been on the hot seat lately, have no guarantees either. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:
- The Tigers could acquire a pitcher, a hitter, or both. For now, GM Dave Dombrowski says they're "monitoring" the market.
- Heyman applauds the Tigers for drafting Rick Porcello and trading for Edwin Jackson.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro on the chances he deals Cliff Lee: "unlikely to almost impossible."
- The Rangers and Phillies are two contenders who could overwhelm the Indians with a prospect-rich offer for Lee.
- Matt Holliday, who Heyman calls "the most likely star to be traded," makes $13.5MM this year, so the A's may have to pick up some salary if they deal him, especially if they want to receive top prospects in return.
- The Mets deserve credit for finding Fernando Nieve on the Astros' scrap heap.