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Archives for July 2010

Padres Interested In Tejada, Not Targeting Guthrie

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The Padres have scored fewer runs than any winning team in the major leagues, so their need for offense is clear. Reports have connected the Padres to a number of outfielders, but they also have interest in Miguel Tejada, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter). 

The former AL MVP has a .275/.314/.372 line, for his lowest OPS since 1998. That's still better than the marks middle infielders David Eckstein and Jerry Hairston Jr. have posted, but not by much. Perhaps the Padres believe Tejada can hit like he did a year ago, when he posted a .795 OPS and made the NL All-Star team, or perhaps they view him as a capable backup.

Tejada is playing third in Baltimore, though he spent more than a decade as an everyday shortstop before the 2010 season. The Phillies have been linked to Tejada on and off, though their need for an infielder is less acute now that Placido Polanco is healthy.

Meanwhile, the Padres are not targeting Tejada's teammate, Jeremy Guthrie, according to Brock. The Padres have discussed Guthrie and would like to add pitching depth, but Brock's report suggests the team would prefer to add other starters.

Rangers Interested In Lefty Reliever, Righty Bat

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The Rangers have already acquired one of the most highly-coveted trade chips in baseball, but they may not have finished their summer shopping yet. Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reports that they would like to add a left-handed reliever and a right-handed bat.

Few effective left-handers appear to be available, but GM Jon Daniels could inquire on Scott Downs, Will Ohman or Bruce Chen. Downs is drawing interest from the Yankees and Red Sox, but Ohman, who makes $560K between now and the end of the season, could be a fit for Texas.

The Rangers have interest in Jorge Cantu, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. That report, plus the team’s continued interest in Mike Lowell, suggests the Rangers would like to add a veteran who can play each corner infield position, perhaps as insurance in case Chris Davis falters.

Tigers Inquired On Ted Lilly

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The Tigers inquired about Ted Lilly, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. Buster Olney reports that the sides haven’t discussed a deal in over a week, though the left-hander would be a good fit for the Tigers.

The ESPN reporters say the Cubs are communicating with a number of teams about Lilly, who is “very available.” ESPN.com’s Bruce Levine reported yesterday that teams such as the Tigers were pursuing Lilly.

The 34-year-old has a 4.07 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 this season and projects as a Type A free agent. The Tigers could use that kind of arm, since they have had inconsistent production from starters other than Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman. At 48-42 the Tigers are tied for second in the AL Central, but like the White Sox and Twins, they could use depth in their rotation.

The Tigers, who would consider adding a shortstop, have had interest in Ryan Theriot before and could inquire about him as well. Last year, the Tigers added left-hander Jarrod Washburn for the stretch run, though he didn't pitch as well as they would have hoped (7.33 ERA in Detroit).

Odds & Ends: Guthrie, Ross, Ranaudo

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A year ago today, the Brewers acquired Felipe Lopez from the Diamondbacks for prospects Roque Mercedes and Cole Gillespie.  Lopez raked after the trade, but was not offered arbitration by the Brewers.  Gillespie and Mercedes ranked among Arizona's top 30 prospects heading into the season according to Baseball America, with the former now playing for the big league club.  On to today's links…

Red Sox, Yankees Interested In Scott Downs

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The Red Sox and Yankees have "big-time" interest in Blue Jays reliever Scott Downs, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse.  Downs, a free agent after the season, has a 2.56 ERA, 7.0 K/9, and 1.9 BB/9 in 38.6 innings this year.

Neither team's interest comes as a surprise.  The Red Sox have been linked to Downs since this July 6th report from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  The Yankees are known to be seeking relief help.  The Phillies are also said to be interested in Downs.  Last week on WEEI's The Big Show, former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi praised Downs as a potential Red Sox acquisition but had harsh words for Jason Frasor and Kevin Gregg.

ESPN's Buster Olney had an interesting series of tweets today on Downs, where he explained that the lefty might be hurt by Type A designation if he is offered and turns down arbitration after the season.  Perhaps Downs' agent at CAA will advise the pitcher to accept if offered.  A look at our latest Elias Rankings projections shows that Matt Guerrier, Frank Francisco, Dan Wheeler, Arthur Rhodes, and Pedro Feliciano might be in the same boat as Type As, though I imagine many will not be offered arbitration.

Rosenthal On Iannetta, Athletics, Bautista

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports kicks off his latest column with a look at Alex Rodriguez's $30MM worth of home run incentives.  The chase isn't generating the buzz the Yankees anticipated when they re-signed A-Rod.  On to Rosenthal's rumors…

  • Talks are on again between the Red Sox and Rockies regarding catcher Chris Iannetta.  The Rockies would want to improve their big league club with an in-season deal, so perhaps we'll hear heightened Iannetta buzz during the offseason if Miguel Olivo is retained.
  • The Nationals do not seem to have chosen a course with Adam Dunn in terms of trading or extending him now.
  • The Athletics have no intention of trading Coco Crisp or Mark Ellis, as both players have club options for 2011.
  • Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli is "a frequent trade target of rival clubs," but the team likes having depth at the catcher position.
  • As part of the Yunel Escobar–Alex Gonzalez talks, the Braves and Blue Jays discussed Jose Bautista.  For now, the Braves still have time to evaluate Nate McLouth's recovery from a concussion.  MLB.com's Mark Bowman wrote today that the Braves have considered David DeJesus, Cody Ross, Corey Hart, and Josh Willingham as potential trade targets. 

Rays Sign Baldelli To Minor League Contract

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12:46pm: Baldelli has officially been signed to a minor league deal, according to a Rays press release.

12:09pm: Rocco Baldelli is expected to sign a minor league contract with the Rays this afternoon, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.  Topkin says Baldelli is set to DH tonight for the team's High A club, the Charlotte Stone Crabs.  The Crabs boast familiar names such as Tim Beckham, Matt Moore, and Matt Bush.  Baldelli is transitioning from a special assistant role and trying to come back from a shoulder injury.  He hit .253/.311/.433 in 164 plate appearances for the Red Sox last year.

Yankees Prioritizing Bench, Bullpen Help

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ESPN's Buster Olney tweets the Yankees' trade deadline priorities:

"Even in the aftermath of Andy Pettitte's injury, the Yankees' focus is not on adding a starting pitcher; rather, the clear priority is improving the bench, and in order of importance, adding a reliever is priority No. 2."

On the bullpen front, the Yankees have been very loosely connected to five righties in recent weeks: Michael Wuertz, Leo Nunez, Joakim Soria, Kevin Gregg, and Jason Isringhausen.  Gregg is the most viable option there, but it's likely the Yanks have inquired on a few more of these potentially available relievers.  Olney tweets that one talent evaluator feels the trade market for relievers is "absolutely terrible."

The Yankees signed Chad Tracy to a minor league deal, and have also been connected to Wes Helms and Ty Wigginton as possible bench bats.  The market features plenty more, like perhaps Willie Bloomquist, Russell Branyan, Adam Kennedy, Willie Harris, Xavier Nady, Jason Michaels, Craig Counsell, Jim Edmonds, Bobby Crosby, Andy LaRoche, Austin Kearns, Hank Blalock, and Augie Ojeda.  All of those names are speculation on my part.

The Dan Haren Market

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Diamondbacks interim GM Jerry Dipoto recently told CBS' Scott Miller, "We're not to the point right now where we're aggressively seeking [a Dan Haren trade]."  Still, it's time for us to summarize the Haren situation.

Contract

Haren signed a four-year, $44.75MM extension in August of 2008 under previous GM Josh Byrnes.  He has $3.45MM left this year, $12.75MM in 2011, $12.75MM in '12, and a $15.5MM club option for '13 with a $3.5MM buyout. In other words, Haren is guaranteed $32.45MM through 2012.  If Haren had never signed the extension and hit free agency after this year at age 30, would he top two years, $29MM plus a club option?  His next dozen starts are a factor, and maybe in this cautious time he wouldn't reach John Lackey money.  But I still view the contract as a bargain relative to the free agent market.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported this weekend that Haren's no-trade clause allows him to block trades to a dozen teams, including the Reds.  Rosenthal's source did not feel that Haren's no-trade list would be a factor, however.

Performance

Home runs and hits allowed are up this year for Haren, who has a 4.60 ERA through 20 starts.  Though Haren's groundball rate is down a touch, his continually strong strikeout and walk rates suggest a pitcher capable of a sub-4.00 ERA from here on out.  Since 2006, Haren has posted significantly higher ERAs in the second half.  Is this a reliable trend?  Haren's home run per flyball rate seems to jump every August.  This could be a fluke – the Sabermetrics Library says home run per flyball rates "have little predictive value" year to year.  It doesn't help that Chase Field inflates home runs by about 7%, according to The Bill James Handbook.

Asking Price/Availability

We have no trade history for Dipoto, as he's been a GM for less than a month.  He told Miller he's not sure if trading Haren is smart business, but "what we do know is what value Dan brings to this team and what value he should hold in the market."  All things considered, Haren is probably the best available starting pitcher.  SI's Jon Heyman talked to one GM who described Dipoto's asking price as "two starters plus bullpen help."  Earlier this month, Rosenthal and Bob Nightengale of USA Today both said the D'Backs would need to be "overwhelmed" or "blown away" to trade Haren.  Dipoto was upfront to Miller about his reservations, saying "you might bite off your nose to spite your face" by trading the ace.

Interested Teams

  • Tigers: Miller says they "appeared to be the only club with a scout dispatched solely to bird-dog Haren" Friday night.  Back in May I noted that the Tigers should have over $50MM to play with for 2011 if they hold payroll steady, so they could afford Haren.  The Tigers have plenty of young starters that would appeal to the D'Backs.
  • Cardinals: Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cards have interest in bringing Haren back and do have payroll capacity.  Still, they'd be committing half their payroll to the rotation in 2011.
  • Rockies: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post doesn't feel that they'd overpay for Haren.
  • Yankees: A case could be made for the Yanks adding Haren.  However, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that their top two priorities are improving the bench and adding a reliever.
  • Phillies: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick said they have Haren on the radar, though David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News wondered if they'd even have the prospects to pull it off. 
  • Nationals: MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported on June 30th that they had expressed interest.  GM Mike Rizzo craves "premier, front-line starting pitching."  With Haren, the Nats would have a fearsome rotation in short order.
  • Angels: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times finds Haren to be "a natural trade target" for the Halos.
  • I imagine other clubs would be interested.  In my opinion, the White Sox, Brewers, Twins, Mets, and Padres could be fits, though the field becomes limited when you consider Arizona's asking price. 

Padres Extend Bud Black

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11:02am: GM Jed Hoyer officially announced Black's extension, according to a team press release.

7:27am: The Padres will announce a three-year extension for manager Bud Black today, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock.  The deal also includes club options for 2014 and '15.

This is Black's fourth season managing the team, and many labeled it a rebuilding year after the '09 Jake Peavy trade.  Instead, the Padres have the best record in the National League and are buyers at the trade deadline.

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