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Archives for July 2010

Rays Pursuing Luke Scott

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2:21pm: Teams haven't been too aggressive on Scott, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  The Orioles would want a solid return since Scott is under team control for two more seasons beyond this one.

2:08pm: Scott is getting play but not from the Dodgers, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.

1:55pm: The Dodgers are making a push for Scott and the Rays are in the mix, tweets Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse.

1:02pm: The Rays and Orioles are in trade talks, tweets Ed Price of AOL FanHouse.  He wonders if Luke Scott or Will Ohman would be the Rays' target.  However, MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli tweets that an Orioles trade before the deadline is highly unlikely.

Brett Myers Rumors: Saturday

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Brett Myers would be one of the better available starters, and the Astros reportedly became more open to moving him recently.  Myers has a 3.10 ERA and has gone at least six innings in every start this year.  The latest:

Multiple Teams Eyeing Brandon League

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2:06pm: Aside from the Dodgers and Rays, add the Marlins to the mix for League according to Stark.  Not a big surprise.

1:51pm: The Rays are unlikely to make a deal today, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.

1:41pm: The Dodgers are also in on League, tweets Ken Rosenthal.

1:13pm: The Rays are interested in Scott Downs and Brandon League, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links). Tampa Bay added Chad Qualls this morning, but lost Grant Balfour to the DL for 4-6 weeks with an intercostal strain (Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reporting on Twitter). 

Downs and his former teammate, League, will not come cheap, according to Sherman, but the Rays continue looking for relief help despite a thin, highly-priced market. The Giants may be in serious talks with the Blue Jays regarding Downs and reportedly have interest in League, too.

Astros Expected To Keep Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers

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1:33pm: The Astros will not trade Rodriguez or Myers, tweets Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. 

8:18am: The Astros became more open late Friday to the possibility of trading veteran starter Brett Myers, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Now, Morosi's colleague Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Astros are fielding offers for Wandy Rodriguez too, though they're not that motivated.

Rodriguez, a 31-year-old southpaw, has a 4.80 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 3.4 BB/9 on the season in 114.3 innings.  He's under team control through next year.  His 2011 salary will be kept lower in part because the Astros beat him in arbitration for 2010, getting him for $5MM instead of $7MM.  The sample is small, but Rodriguez's July numbers are reminiscent of his breakout 2009 campaign.  He'd be a solid pickup for a team seeking more than a rental, and the Astros shouldn't be afraid to move him.  I wouldn't expect the price to be too different from that of Edwin Jackson.

Dodgers Acquire Lilly, Theriot For DeWitt

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The Dodgers acquired veteran lefty Ted Lilly, infielder Ryan Theriot, and $2.5MM from the Cubs for second baseman Blake DeWitt and minor league pitchers Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit today.  Lilly has $4.24MM remaining on his contract, while Theriot has $918K.  The Cubs are picking up about half of the tab on the players they're sending. 

Lilly set himself apart from the many brutal pitching signings made in the 2006-07 offseason by making 113 starts for the Cubs with a 3.70 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 over the four-year deal.  Though he began this season on the disabled list due to November shoulder surgery, Lilly sports similar numbers in 2010.  He serves as proof that velocity isn't everything, with the sixth-slowest average fastball velocity in baseball at 86.1 mph.  Lilly currently projects as a Type A free agent, though the Dodgers' recent history suggests they will not offer him arbitration and therefore will not receive draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere.

Theriot, 30, has a .284/.320/.327 line on the season.  He'd been the Cubs' starting shortstop for a few years, but moved to second base when they promoted Starlin Castro in May.  Theriot's walk rate reached 11.0% in 2008, but is down to 4.6% this year.  He's under team control through 2012, if the Dodgers want to tender a contract two more times.

DeWitt, 25 next month, is having a better season than Theriot at .270/.352/.371.  He's under team control through 2014, so the Cubs acquired a long-term asset for second base.  Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein calls his the "prettiest swing you'll see never turned into results," calling DeWitt a "constant source of disappointment" for the Dodgers.

Wallach, son of former big leaguer Tim, was a third-round pick of the Dodgers last year.  Baseball America ranked him 20th among Dodgers prospects heading into the season, saying he could blossom into a No. 3 in time.  He's currently in Low A.  Smit, a reliever, spent most of this year in High A ball where he posted a 2.49 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and 1.8 BB/9 in 50.6 innings.  He's now in Double A.

Jayson Stark, Ken Rosenthal, Joel Sherman, and Tim Brown reported on the trade as it developed.

Jose Bautista Rumors: Saturday

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The latest on MLB home run leader Jose Bautista, as he plays against the Indians…

Cardinals, Padres, Indians Complete Deal Involving Westbrook, Ludwick

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The Cardinals, Padres, and Indians completed a complicated three-team deal today.  Starter Jake Westbrook and Padres prospect Nick Greenwood go to the Cardinals, the Padres get Ryan Ludwick, and the Indians get prospect Corey Kluber.  The Indians will send cash to the Cardinals and some cash to the Padres, but they still save money in the deal, according to Indians vice president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti. The trade needed union approval, as Westbrook reduced the $2MM trade bonus in his contract. Westbrook has yet to pocket about $3.9MM of his $11MM salary for 2010.

The Cardinals' interest in Westbrook had been known for a while, as they've been dealing with injuries to Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse.  Westbrook has a 4.65 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 53.3% groundball rate this season.  He had Tommy John surgery in June of '08, and wasn't healthy until this year.

The Indians discussed the deal late into the night, partly because of Westbrook’s trade assignment bonus. The right-hander co-operated with the Indians when it came to the bonus, partly because he missed time with injuries.

“I didn’t really feel like I honored the contract as much as I would have liked to have,” Westbrook said.

The Cardinals should have their new starter in short order, as Westbrook will now head to St. Louis. He would be open to returning to the Indians after the season, when he becomes a free agent. For now, he says he’s looking forward to joining a team in the pennant race.

“I’m excited to go to a club contending for a playoff spot and pitch in some meaningful ballgames,” Westbrook said.

Ludwick was not known to be available, but perhaps the strong play of Jon Jay swayed the Cardinals.  The 32-year-old Ludwick has settled at a level between his stellar '08 and disappointing '09 seasons.  He's under team control for next year, so the Padres will step up and pay his potential $8MM salary for 2011.  The Padres designated recently-acquired Quintin Berry for assignment to make room for Ludwick.

Kluber, 24, has a 3.45 ERA in AA with 10.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. The Padres selected the right-hander in the fourth round of the 2007 draft and have eased him through the minor leagues. In 122.2 innings this season, the 6'4" starter has allowed just 121 hits. Antonetti says the Indians like Kluber's four pitch mix and low-90s fastball, but he doesn't like trading away veteran players.

“We don’t like doing these deals," Antonetti said. "We want to be on the other end of them.”

The Padres selected Greenwood in the 14th round of last year's draft and he's now pitching at A ball. The 22-year-old lefty has a 4.15 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 as a starter in the Midwest League.

Tom Krasovic of AOLFanHouse, Joel Sherman of the New York Post, ESPN.com's Buster Olney, Dan Hayes of the North County Times, Jon Heyman of SI.com and Bob Nightengale of USA Today all contributed to the story as it broke on Twitter. MLBTR gathered all the above quotes.

Pirates Acquire Chris Snyder In Five-Player Deal

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Diamondbacks interim GM Jerry Dipoto further dismantled his team today, sending catcher Chris Snyder, Triple A shortstop Pedro Ciriaco, and $3MM to the Pirates for reliever D.J. Carrasco, infielder Bobby Crosby, and outfielder Ryan Church.  Snyder has about $8.18MM remaining through 2011, assuming his '12 option is declined, while Carrasco, Crosby and Church have roughly $1.2MM remaining.

Snyder signed his extension under previous GM Josh Byrnes in December of '08, coming off a fine .237/.348/.452 performance.  However, he hit the disabled list in June of last year with a back injury and had surgery in September.  Miguel Montero took over as the starter and hit .319/.364/.523 the rest of that season.  The D'Backs shopped Snyder in the offseason and nearly dealt him to the Blue Jays until concerns over his back scuttled the deal.  Snyder was able to prove his health this year when Montero missed two months due to knee surgery.  Current Pirate Ryan Doumit, whose contract might have been the model for Snyder's, is on the disabled list due to a concussion.

Carrasco, Crosby, and Church were signed cheaply as free agents by the Pirates last winter, but only Carrasco has panned out.  On the season he has a 3.88 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 3.6 BB/9 in 55.6 innings with only four home runs allowed.  Carrasco probably will be tendered a contract by the D'Backs, and he's under team control through 2012.  Church is technically arbitration-eligible after the season, but he's highly likely to be non-tendered.  

Ciriaco, 24, ranked 27th among D'Backs prospects heading into the season according to Baseball America.  They praised him for his defense and speed, suggesting a possible utilityman future.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first broke news of the trade talks, with Nick Piecoro, Jack Magruder, Steve Gilbert, Dejan Kovacevic, and Jenifer Langosch also contributing to the story.

Giants In Talks For Kelly Johnson

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The Giants are in talks for Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  He says the Giants like that Johnson can also play left field.  I imagine they're also keen on the fact that he's under team control for 2011.  SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Diamondbacks rejected an offer of Joe Martinez plus another player for Johnson.

Giants, Blue Jays In Serious Talks For Downs Or Frasor?

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The Giants and Blue Jays are in serious talks for either Scott Downs or Jason Frasor, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports disagees, saying the Giants have no interest in Frasor and can't find common ground on Downs.

ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that the Blue Jays have lowered the price on Frasor, but not on Downs or Jose Bautista.

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