Nationals To Fire Manny Acta
7:31pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman has confirmed that Rosenthal's report is indeed true. Acta will be let go, perhaps as soon as Monday.
5:17pm: Ben Goessling of The Washington Times spoke to team president Stan Kasten about Rosenthal's report. Kasten addressed the report but did not refute it, giving Acta the dreaded vote of confidence:
"We always support everyone here, and we always will. We're all in this together, trying to win everyday, trying to turn it around, and we're going to continue to try it. We know the future is bright, but we're not going to wait for the future to get here. We're going to do everything we can to speed it up. We've done that with kind of a frenetic movement of personnel pieces in the early part of the season. We're going to keep searching for the solution until we find it."
3:23pm: As a couple of commenters have pointed out, Acta is not actually the "youngest active manager in the majors." The Diamondbacks' A.J. Hinch is 35. Our readers are the best.
3:07pm: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Nationals are expected to fire manager Manny Acta as soon as Monday. Bench coach Jim Riggleman will replace him. As Rosenthal reports,
Acta, who at 40 is the youngest active manager in the majors, was hired by the Nats in November of 2006. He's gone 147-231 in two and a half seasons. The Nats have the league's worst record this season at 15-42.
Riggleman has managed for the Padres, Cubs and Mariners, and carries a 522-652 career managerial record. He worked as the interim skipper for the M's last season after John McLaren was dumped.
Donald To Have Surgery, Phils Lose A Trade Chip
6:49pm: The Morning Call's article has been updated to say Donald will miss three to four weeks. which matches Zolecki's report. This would give the Phillies a few weeks before the deadline to showcase a healthy Donald.
5:42pm: MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports that Phillies' infield prospect Jason Donald will have surgery on Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The Morning Call says that he could miss up to six weeks, which means he could be on the shelf until the trade deadline.
Donald was hitting just .230-.293-.324 in 226 plate appearances for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year, but he's considered one of Philadelphia's best prosects. Just last week we heard rumors of a Brad Penny for Donald swap, but any trade talks involving the 24-yr old shortstop will have to be put on hold now.
Peavy Could Miss Three Months
Scott Miller at CBSsports.com spoke to Padres' head trainer Todd Hutcheson, who said Jake Peavy could be out 8-12 weeks "if things don't come along as fast as we'd like them to." That means Peavy could be out until after the trade deadline, a major blow to a Padres team looking to retool and shed payroll.
It was originally reported that Peavy could miss up to a month, however Miller says that is the best case scenario right now.
Yankees In On Sano?
You've heard the name plenty around these parts over the past few weeks. Miguel Angel Sano, a 16-year-old infield prospect from the Dominican Republic, has been linked to the Pirates, Indians, Orioles and Twins.
Now it appears the Yankees have jumped into the bidding. As ESPN The Magazine's Jorge Arangure reported through his Twitter account this afternoon, Brian Cashman and Co. believe they have a "50/50" chance of landing the phenom.
Discussion: Veterans In Triple-A
One year ago today, the Mets swung a deal for veteran outfielder Trot Nixon, who at the time was hitting .309-.437-.558 for Triple-A Tuscon. While Nixon wasn't much of a boost to the Mets' offense, teams could still look to patch up holes without breaking the bank by acquiring veterans stuck in the minors. Let's take at some guys who have been performing well down in Triple-A and could possibly offer a big league team help off the bench or out of the bullpen. First, the position players:
- Andy Marte: .321-.351-.530 in 171 PA while playing first and third for Cleveland's AAA affiliate.
- Shelley Duncan: .310-.379-.670 in 227 PA, leading the International League in homers and RBI, and not by a small margin either. He's played the corner outfield spots and first base for the AAA Scranton Yankees.
- Hector Luna: .351-.413-.655 in 218 PA, playing first, second and third base for the Dodgers' top minor league club.
Marte has certainly gotten his fair share of big league opportunities, as has Luna. Both could possibly offer infield depth to a team beset by injuries. Duncan has had a tremendous offensive season (not quite a Jake Fox season, though), but swings from the right side, so he's not an ideal pinch hitter for an NL club. Here's some pitchers:
- Lenny DiNardo: 3.48 ERA, 52-13 K/BB in 64.2 IP, mostly out of the rotation in the Royals' organization.
- Elmer Dessens: 1.15 ERA, 26-7 K/BB in 31.1 IP, working exclusively out of the bullpen for the Mets' AAA affiliate.
- Brendan Donnelly: 2.04 ERA, 16-5 K/BB in 17.2 IP, all as a reliever with Houston's top minor league team.
None of these three are strangers to the big leagues. DiNardo could be particularly attractive to a team looking to add another lefty to their relief corps, especially since he could spot start as well. Donnelly has playoff and World Series experience, which has value to some.
Do you see any teams that could be possible fits for these guys? Are there any other veteran players down in Triple-A that could help someone?
Odds & Ends: Sano, Jones, Draft, Fukumori
A bevy of links for your Saturday morning…
- Dennis Manoloff reports that the Indians intend to make an offer to uberprospect Miguel Angel Sano.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure tweets that the "Yankees have made it very clear that catcher Gary Sanchez is their top choice" on the international market. Last night we noted that the Yanks were going to work Sano out at their Dominican academy next week.
- Andruw Jones says he asked out of Dodger Blue because of the way owner Frank McCourt treated him, according to Dylan Hernandez.
- Frank Seravalli reports that Phillies are set to sign second round pick Kyle Dugan today. Dugan was Philadelphia's first selection in the draft after they forfeited their first rounder to sign Raul Ibanez.
- Kevin Goldstein wonders why Stephen Strasburg's impending megadeal is such a big deal. Meanwhile Michael Wilbon says "No way in the world I'd have taken Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 pick in the draft," citing the risk. Show me a draft pick without risk, and I'll show you the three bridges in New York I have for sale.
- Patrick at NPB Tracker notes that the recently released Kazuo Fukumori is set to audition for his former team, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League.
Red Sox, Bay Yet To Resume Extension Talks
The Boston Globe's Adam Kilgore reports that the Red Sox have yet to resume talks about a contract extension with outfielder Jason Bay.
"There's nothing new," Bay said yesterday. "There's really nothing to say about it. It's been a hot topic. I understand that. Until there's something to say, there's nothing to say."
"There's still a lot of time left, plus there was some real bad timing with the draft, all the time leading up to it," Bay said. "I understand whether it happens or not, but now is not a great time. Maybe when things settle down. But like I said, there's nothing exciting."
The two sides ended negotiations back in March, and since then all we've heard is that they still haven't talked. Bay is enjoying a tremendous season at the perfect time, hitting .280-.402-.587 in 264 plate appearances.
Orioles Closing In On Deal With First Round Pick
Dan Connolly and Mike Klingaman of The Baltimore Sun are reporting that California high school RHP Matt Hobgood, the fifth overall pick in last week's amateur draft, is expected to take a physical in Baltimore in two weeks.
"That's the plan. We've pretty much got [the contract] set," said Hobgood, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound right-handed pitcher from Norco High in suburban Los Angeles. "Nothing is final, but [the Orioles] presented us a deal and we'll work something out. I'll for sure sign on that Saturday."
"We don't have anything finalized yet. We're going to have to get him into town; we never sign any of these kids without a complete physical," Orioles director of amateur scouting Joe Jordan said. "We are getting close, but we have a few things to get settled first."
The recommended slot bonus for the fifth overall pick is expected to be around $2.25MM after MLB reduced their recommendations 10% across the board.
Discussion: Best Minor League Contracts
One of the staples of the Hot Stove League is the minor league contract. Teams hand them out to aging veterans, players coming off injuries, guys looking for one last shot to extend their careers, stuff like that. Now that we're just over one-third of the way through the season, let's discuss some players who've made the most of their opportunity.
Here's some notable performances:
- Livan Hernandez: 3.88 ERA in 11 starts coming into tonight for the Mets.
- Omar Vizquel: .345-.379-.455 in 60 plate appearances while playing short, second, and even some third for the Rangers.
- Juan Uribe: .296-.317-.435 in 121 plate appearance for the Giants. He's played all over the infield.
- Adam Kennedy: .328-.406-.525 in 140 plate appeances for the A's after signing with the Rays.
Who do you think has been the best player after signing a minor league deal this past offseason? Anyone I miss?
Odds & Ends: Betemit, Greene, Sano, Draft
How do you guys feel about interleague play? I understand the problems in creates in terms of the unbalanced schedule, but the fan in me still loves it. Anyway, here's some evening links as rivalry weekend kicks off…
- Wilson Betemit has been outrighted to Triple-A according to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune. Betemit had been designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Gordon Beckham last week.
- Khalil Greene has returned to St. Louis not to play, but to "have his status re-evaluated" according to Derrick Goold. The Cards have been looking for middle infield help, and most recently have been connected to Miguel Tejada.
- Tyler Kepner notes that prospect Miguel Angel Sano will work out for the Yankees at their Dominican academy next Thursday. Here's the money quote from Sano's agent Rob Plummer: "I would say he has a Hanley Ramirez body and the possible upside of an Albert Pujols-type bat." Oh, is that all?
- Maury Brown notes that this week's amateur draft shattered MLB.com's traffic records.
- MLB.com's Todd Willis reports that the Rangers have signed six draft picks including Ruben Sierra Jr.
- The Blue Jays inked a nostalgic draft pick of their own, agreeing to terms with Tony Fernandez's son Jonathan according to Erika Gilbert.