Phillies Designate Carrillo For Assignment
The Phillies designated Cesar Carrillo for assignment, according to the MLB.com transactions page. It's the second time this month that Carrillo has been designated for assignment; the Padres cut the right-hander on September 1st only to see the Phillies claim him.
Carrillo, a 2005 first rounder, debuted on the 2009 Padres, but has not yet returned to the major leagues. In 27 Triple A starts this year, the 26-year-old has a 5.60 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.
MLBTR Originals
Here at MLBTradeRumors, we're about a lot more than supplying you with up-to-the-minute hot stove news. Here's a look back at some of our original work this week..
- I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the 2011 Rotations series is complete and has come to a close. The good news is that you can check out every team's preview right here.
- This week MLBTR readers voted on the NL West, the best minor league deal, and Manny Ramirez's next contract.
- The Blue Jays have a lot of options when it comes to Kevin Gregg, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith.
- We continued to examine non-tender candidates this week with looks at Matt Diaz of the Braves and Willy Aybar of the Rays.
- On Thursday we brought you the latest installment of Eddie Bajek's Elias Rankings.
- Luke Adams brought us a look at Carlos Pena's stock as he heads into free agency.
- Check out the transcript of Ben's chat right here.
- Mike Axisa brought us another round up of the best from the baseball blogosphere with Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Geovany Soto is an extension candidate after a fantastic year at the plate.
Week In Review: 9/5/10 – 9/11/10
I've been waiting all day for Sunday night, because that's when we take a look back at the week that was on MLBTR..
- Waves were made on Sunday when Cards skipper Tony La Russa confirmed that Colby Rasmus had demanded a trade earlier in the season. La Russa also said that the youngster made a similar request in 2009. Rasmus later denied making such a request this year.
- We learned on Wednesday that the Red Sox offered Victor Martinez a two-year contract extension. However, he turned that proposal down and his agent Alan Nero says that Martinez is seeking a long-term commitment.
- Meanwhile, Boston is prepared to pick up David Ortiz's option. Big Papi's option calls for him to earn $12.5MM in 2011.
- Boston veteran Mike Lowell put all speculation to rest this week when he announced that he will retire after this season.
- Surprisingly, Aramis Ramirez says that he may not exercise his 2011 option worth $14.6MM.
- The Nats likely won't pick up Adam Kennedy's option for 2011.
- After DFA'ing Akinori Iwamura and Erik Kratz early in the week, the Bucs chose to release Iwamura and outright Kratz to Triple-A.
- It appears that Kevin Towers is the frontrunner for the Diamondbacks GM job.
- Speaking of Towers, the Padres DFA'd Steve Garrison and Towers convinced his current employers, the Yankees, to pick him up. The Yankees designated Wilkin De La Rosa for assignment in order to make room for the pitcher.
- The Dodgers designated infielder Ronnie Belliard for assignment.
- Reliever Taylor Buchholz landed with Toronto after being DFA'd by Colorado on Tuesday.
- Pat Knows. The Royals signed former Dolphins and West Virginia quarterback Pat White to a minor-league deal.
- The Phillies gave Nate Robertson his walking papers and claimed Cesar Carrillo from the Padres.
- The Angels released reliever Brian Stokes, whom they acquired last winter from the Mets. Utility player Robb Quinlan was also released by the Halos.
- Arizona acquired Matt Gorgen from the Rays to complete the July 31st Chad Qualls deal.
Oakland To Sign Iwamura
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Pirates, Cubs
Links for Sunday night as the Braves get ready to host the Cardinals..
- Both Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre are mashing as they head into free agency, writes ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes.
- As he evaluates players and prepares for what could be a busy offseason, Bucs GM Neal Huntington says he's happy with what he sees, says Jeff Wallner for MLB.com.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald writes that while Cubs interim manager Mike Quade doesn't identify himself as a sabermetrician, he does believe in using numbers to help him make informed decisions.
- Marc Hulet of Fangraphs reviewed the top prospects in the NL Central.
Angels Notes: Reagins, Scioscia, Matsui
Let's take a look at some Angels-related tidbits..
- Angels GM Tony Reagins blames himself for the team's underachievement this year, writes Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. Reagins says that he will evaluate the club from the top to the bottom in an effort to turn things around this winter. He also stood behind his acquisition of Dan Haren, saying that the pitcher will help the club beyond this season. Haren's contracts calls for him to earn $25.5MM in the next two seasons and has a $15.5MM club option ($3.5MM buyout) for 2013.
- Meanwhile, Halos skipper Mike Scioscia says that the club needs only minor changes, and not a complete overhaul, heading into 2011, according to MLB.com's Evan Drellich. Scioscia believes that the return of missing pieces from this year such as Kendry Morales will provide a major spark for the Angels next season.
- Scioscia would not go into depth about next season's plans and would not directly address the potential return of Hideki Matsui. The veteran, who has hit .268/.358/.448 with 19 homers in 2010, will be a free agent after the season.
Poll: Should The Cubs Keep Zambrano?
Since returning to the starting rotation on August 9th, Carlos Zambrano has shown flashes of what made him one of baseball's elite pitchers. In seven starts, Big Z has an ERA of 1.60 with 7.8 K/9, though two walk-heavy games have left him with a 5.0 BB/9 rate in that stretch. Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com was in the locker room after his latest strong outing on Friday against Milwaukee when Zambrano was asked about the possibility of being traded this winter.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” the 29-year-old said. “I feel happy, I love this team and I want to stay here. I want to stay here the rest of my contract. No more trade talk.”
The righthander is owed almost $36MM over the next two seasons and has a vesting player option worth $19.25MM for 2013. Even though the Cubs have been hoping that Zambrano would restore his value so that they can dump his contract, they obviously can't expect much in return for him.
Should the Cubs keep Zambrano?
White Sox Want To Keep Konerko
White Sox GM Kenny Williams wants to keep veteran Paul Konerko beyond this season, writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com. While Williams says that he "would love" to have the slugger retire with the organization, the club may not be able to find space on the payroll to make that happen.
"That's pretty much all I'm going to say on it, because I don't know what the future holds," said Williams. "I don't know how we are going to finish. We are driven by the revenue stream that comes in. People might not like it but it is what it is. We have to at least be able to be a break-even operation, and try to win at the same time."
This could be a very active offseason for the White Sox as Mark Buehrle may be left as the only member of the 2005 World Series team still with the club. A.J. Pierzynski and Freddy Garcia will hit the open market and Bobby Jenks is arbitration-eligible.
The 34-year-old Konerko has had a great season at the plate in 2010, hitting .318/.397/.584 with 34 homers.
Odds & Ends: Sandberg, Werth, Mets, Drabek, Dunn
Links for Sunday, as Chris Volstad goes for his fifth win vs. the Nationals this season….
- The Mariners "quietly have interest" in Ryne Sandberg, writes Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post.
- Jayson Werth is looking for an agency willing to charge a lower commission than the usual 5%, reports Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Davidoff provides an update on Werth's search for representation and examines the chances of the Yankees pursuing the outfielder this offseason.
- In a separate piece, Davidoff looks at some options for the Mets' next manager and GM.
- There are hints that Tony La Russa is leaning toward managing the Cardinals in 2011, as Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.
- The Blue Jays will call up top prospect Kyle Drabek to make his major league debut Wednesday in Baltimore, according to the team (Twitter link).
- Ronny Cedeno is on his way to locking up the Pirates' 2011 shortstop job, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas points out that Darren Oliver needs to make just one more appearance to guarantee his option for next season.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo tells MASN (Twitter link) that the team is still "in conversations" to keep Adam Dunn in Washington.
Olney On Johnson, La Russa, D’Backs, Mets
Here are the latest notes from ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only link)….
- The Diamondbacks "fully intend" to bring back Kelly Johnson next season. The 28-year-old will be entering his final arbitration year, and should earn a significant raise on this year's $2.35MM salary, but the D'Backs don't have plans to move him this winter.
- Some "early speculation" around baseball suggests that if Tony La Russa doesn't return to St. Louis next year, Seattle could be a potential destination for him.
- The D'Backs are considering installing a humidor at their Triple-A park in Reno, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Olney supports the idea, noting that it should help the development of Arizona's young pitchers, who would be less reluctant to pitch to contact.
- Olney also agrees with Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who argues that the Mets should consider trading some of their young talent if they think it could improve the team.