Teams Scouting John Buck?
A slew of scouts attended last night's Blue Jays-Royals game in Kansas City, reports Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. The Tigers, Red Sox, Yankees, Twins, and Phillies were represented. The Reds and Mets scouted the Jays over the weekend. Clearly some of this scouting extends beyond normal coverage. Toronto's roster is littered with trade candidates: Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor, Jose Bautista, and Lyle Overbay. But several of the aforementioned teams need catching and may have been on hand to observe All-Star catcher John Buck.
Buck had a pair of doubles in the contest, bringing his line to .278/.309/.504 through 265 plate appearances. He's flashed power before, but in this season he's slugged at least .462 in every month. Buck recently turned 30 and will be a free agent after the season. He just sneaks in as a Type B right now. It's not difficult to imagine Buck receiving and turning down an arbitration offer, so his status boosts his trade value. Asher Wojciechowski (Blue Jays) and Drew Vettleson (Rays) were compensation picks at #41 and #42 overall this year, so GM Alex Anthopoulos will presumably aim for a player or package he likes more than that level of draft pick.
Elliott feels that the Tigers, Red Sox, and Reds are teams that might have interest in Buck.
George Sherrill Clears Waivers
TUESDAY, 8:01am: Sherrill cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's Evan Drellich. If the Dodgers attempt to send him to the minors, he can consent, reject the assignment, or declare free agency. Said manager Joe Torre recently, "Sherrill doesn't have a situation. He's still in our bullpen. I think he's throwing the ball better."
WEDNESDAY, 5:01pm: The Dodgers put George Sherrill on outright waivers, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. Price suggests Sherrill, who makes $4.5MM this season, will clear waivers, which would enable the Dodgers to option the reliever to the minor leagues. The 33-year-old lefty has a 7.32 ERA and nearly as many walks (16 BB) as innings (19.2 IP) so far in 2010.
Outright waivers are not revocable, so the Dodgers won't be able to pull Sherrill back if a rival team claims him. A claim seems unlikely, given his salary, performance so far in 2010 and early-season back tightness. If Sherrill clears waivers, the Dodgers will have an open 40-man roster spot.
Sherrill pitched well for the Dodgers after they acquired him from Baltimore last summer, though not quite as well as his 0.65 Dodgers ERA suggests. Sherrill did strike out twice as many batters as he walked and allowed less than one hit per inning pitched last year. The Dodgers paid a steep price for two quality months of Sherrill: Josh Bell and Steve Johnson.
Johnson is struggling with command at AA, but Bell, who entered the season as Baseball America's second-ranked Orioles prospect, was just called up to the majors. The 23-year-old posted a .765 OPS this year in his first stint at Triple A.
Red Sox Rumors: Relievers, Beltre
Red Sox rumors from those covering the team…
- GM Theo Epstein said he isn't close to any trades, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo lists Scott Downs, Kerry Wood, Kyle Farnsworth, and David Aardsma as potentially available relievers, but says "the Sox aren’t crazy about bringing Aardsma back unless they could do so cheaply." Cafardo lists familiar names on the outfield front in David DeJesus and Cody Ross, while noting that Corey Hart "is likely out of Boston's range." Cafardo does not see the Sox pursuing a starting pitcher.
- MLB Network's Peter Gammons chimes in on Downs, tweeting, "before [the Yunel] Escobar deal, [the Blue Jays] wanted [Jose] Iglesias for Downs." That gives you an idea of the Jays' initial asking price for one of the best available relievers; the Dodgers, Yankees, and Phillies are also known to be interested.
- Gammons also tweets that the Rockies turned down an offer of Jed Lowrie for Chris Iannetta. We learned last night that the Sox are not currently pursuing Iannetta, however.
- Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald confirms yesterday's report that the Sox are interested in Florida's Leo Nunez. However, Lauber writes that, "they believe the Marlins will require a hefty return" for the righty reliever.
- Adrian Beltre is not thinking about his next contract yet, learned WEEI's Alex Speier.
Dodgers Interested In Many Pitchers
The Dodgers are interested in a variety of starters and relievers, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown. They are calling to inquire about Roy Oswalt, Ted Lilly, Dan Haren, Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona. At one point, when Josh Byrnes was running the D’Backs, the Dodgers were discussing a deal for Haren, but those talks are no longer active.
The Dodgers have also expressed interest in available Blue Jays relievers such as Kevin Gregg, Scott Downs and Jason Frasor. GM Ned Colletti is attempting to improve his team’s bullpen, since the Dodgers are within striking distance of the NL West lead, though they currently trail the Padres, Rockies and Giants.
Poll: The Tigers’ Biggest Need
Brandon Inge will miss at least a month with a broken bone in his hand, so the left side of the Tigers' infield is looking a lot different than it did on Opening Day. Back on April 5th, Inge suited up alongside Adam Everett. The Tigers have since released Everett and have expressed interest in other shortstops. Now that Inge is hurt, the Tigers could call up Scott Sizemore (.905 OPS in Triple A), hope for continued production from Ramon Santiago and move the versatile Carlos Guillen to third, but it wouldn't be surprising to see them express interest in infielders.
The Tigers could also use help in the rotation (they've inquired on Ted Lilly) and in the bullpen (they're interested in relievers).
What is the Tigers' biggest need?
Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.
Mariners Sign Three International Free Agents
The Mariners announced the signings of Dominican righty Rigoberto Garcia and Venezuelan lefties Erick Gomez and Luis Pina today. The team also confirmed the signings of three other international prospects.
Vice president of international operations Bob Engle describes Garcia as “a tall young man who has strong arm and all the makings to become a true power pitcher.” Engle cites Garcia’s solid fastball and compares the 16-year-old to Mariners prospect Michael Pineda.
Gomez, 17, is a “poised young projection pitcher,” Engle says. Pina, 17 in December, has a “good feel for pitching,” though Engle expects him to have to adjust his delivery. The Mariners say they will continue to sign international prospects throughout the year.
Red Sox Not Discussing Iannetta With Rockies
The Red Sox are not discussing Chris Iannetta with the Rockies, though they do like him and did inquire about him earlier in the season. Red Sox officials tell Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal that the Red Sox are not currently pursuing the catcher, though Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported earlier today that talks were on again.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the banged-up Red Sox are now looking for catching help, relievers and outfield depth (Twitter link). There aren't a ton of catchers available, but Chris Snyder and John Buck make at least some sense.
Iannetta is under team control through 2013 on an affordable deal, but the Rockies can entertain the idea of trading the 27-year-old, since they hold a $2.5MM option for Miguel Olivo (and his .922 OPS) in 2011.
The 2011 Rays And Carl Crawford
The Rays are willing to spend this season, but they're lowering payroll under $60MM for 2011. The upcoming payroll drop means next year's team will look much different than the one that's off to a 55-36 start this season. And as any Rays fan will tell you, prospective free agents Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Rafael Soriano could all be playing elsewhere a year from now.
The Rays can buy out the options for Dan Wheeler and Willy Aybar after the season to create some flexibility for 2011. They can let Grant Balfour and Randy Choate walk as free agents. And they can also non-tender or trade Jason Bartlett (who could earn $5-6MM in his final arbitration season) and Dioner Navarro (who could earn $3MM or so through arbitration). Even if all six of those players are on different teams in 2011, the Rays won't have much wiggle room unless owner Stuart Sternberg decides to spend more.
Now that Pat Burrell's gone, the Rays aren't stuck with any bad contracts, but GM Andrew Friedman won't likely have much spending power this offseason. B.J. Upton, Matt Garza, J.P. Howell, Lance Cormier and Andy Sonnanstine will get raises through arbitration. When you combine their salaries and the aforementioned buyouts with guarantees to Ben Zobrist ($4.6MM), James Shields ($4.25MM), Kelly Shoppach ($3MM), David Price ($2.2MM) and Evan Longoria ($2MM), you reach $32MM or so in a hurry.
That leaves the Rays with about $25MM to fill out their bullpen, add a first baseman and a DH and complete their roster with cheap players already in the organization like Wade Davis and Sean Rodriguez. When you consider that the Crawford-Pena-Soriano trio makes $27.5MM this year, $25MM doesn't seem like so much money.
It wouldn't be a surprise to see Crawford demand $17MM per season on the open market, as Matt Holliday did last winter. The list of potential suitors for the Rays' left fielder is a long one and it includes big spenders like the Yankees and Angels. It would take a lot of maneuvering for the Rays to pay Crawford market value and keep their payroll below $60MM.
Admittedly, this analysis tells us something we already knew (keeping Crawford will be tricky) and reminds us that there are still many unknowns. Anything could happen, since the offseason is months away. Crawford could stop playing like an MVP candidate and the team could trade B.J. Upton or decide to raise payroll. As painful as it would be, the Rays could even trade Crawford.
There are many variables, but we know this: as long as Crawford keeps playing excellent defense and hitting better than ever, his free agent value will be sky-high and it will be difficult for the Rays to keep their star left fielder in Tampa without leaving substantial holes on next year's team.
Odds & Ends: Inge, Reds, Parker, Brewers
Another round of links for Monday, as Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are finally in the Mets' starting lineup together…
- Brandon Inge will miss a month or more with a broken bone in his hand, according to the Tigers (via Twitter). Here are some third basemen the team could consider. Players who can play third and short like Miguel Tejada or Jhonny Peralta could appeal to the Tigers.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman chatted with Chad Jennings of the Journal News and summed up the current trade market in these six words: "limited options and high price tags."
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon something similar. Jocketty says the Reds are watching Jason Isringhausen partly because "there's not a lot available on the market."
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post talked to a Rockies official who says talks between the team and 2010 first rounder Kyle Parker are "pretty quiet" at this point (Twitter link).
- Corey Hart and Prince Fielder tell Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that they're doing their best to ignore trade rumors.
- Those two Brewers have something in common with Josh Willingham, who tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson that he doesn't worry about the rumors surrounding him.
- Ryan Theriot is aware of the rumors, but he told ESPNChicago that he doesn't want the Cubs to trade him.
Padres To Sign Wily Mo Pena
The Padres will sign Wily Mo Pena to a minor league deal and assign the former big leaguer to Triple A Portland, according to Mario Rojas of Candela Deportiva. The team has not confirmed the agreement, but Dan Hayes of the North County Times has (via Twitter).
Pena, 28, has been playing for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League since late May and was in tonight's starting lineup, according to a Bluefish public relations official. Nothing is official now, but the Padres appear to be moving towards a deal with Pena.
In parts of seven major league seasons, Pena has a .253/.307/.447 line. He hasn't played in the majors since 2008, but he did hit 26 homers on the 2004 Reds. Padres outfielders have combined to hit 26 homers (one more than Jose Bautista) in 1007 at bats this season, so they may hope Pena can return to the majors and add pop to an unintimidating lineup.