Yankees Acquire Kerry Wood
The Yankees may have found their new setup man. They acquired Kerry Wood from the Indians today for a player to be named later and cash. The Indians also picked up $2.17MM of the $3.67MM Wood has left on his contract, but Cleveland will receive an additional $200K from the Yankees if Wood stays healthy. The former phenom was just activated from the DL today after dealing with a blister. In 20 innings this season, the 33-year-old righty has a 6.30 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 5.0 BB/9.
Wood doesn't know what role he'll have in Joe Girardi's bullpen, but he's excited to be joining a team that has a chance to win the World Series.
"That’s why we all play the game," he said.
Indians manager Manny Acta explained that Chris Perez will now be the team's permanent closer. And though Acta would rather be buying than selling, he's glad to see his former players join contending teams.
"It’s good for those guys to get an opportunity to go somewhere where they have a chance to win," Acta said.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark and Joel Sherman of the New York Post contributed to the story on Twitter as it broke. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed the quotes.
Adam Dunn Not Traded
The latest on slugger Adam Dunn, who we learned yesterday is comfortable serving as a designated hitter for two months…
- Dunn was not traded, according to many reports.
- Rosenthal tweets that Dunn to the White Sox for Jackson and others is "far from over."
- Edwin Jackson for Dunn is still possible, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, but the Nationals want another player or two.
- One Nationals source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports he thinks Dunn is staying.
- The Giants are still checking in on Dunn but the Nationals still want Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The Nationals are getting late interest in Dunn from new teams and longshots are being explored, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The odds of a Dunn trade are less than 50-50, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. He adds that the Rays are not pursuing any bat aggressively.
Giants Still Active
2:56pm: It doesn't look like anything will happen with the Giants and Hart, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
2:28pm: Lots of familiar names still in play for the Giants, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, including perhaps Corey Hart again.
2:17pm: The Diamondbacks, Giants, and Blue Jays have discussed a three-way deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. For the moment I'll leave the speculation to the commenters, but we know the Giants like Kelly Johnson from Arizona as well as Jays relievers and Jose Bautista. The Jays have had interest in Johnson as well.
Rays Pursuing Luke Scott
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
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:
- The Astros are working on signing Myers beyond this year, tweets Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle.
- The Astros still want to be overwhelmed in an offer for Myers, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
- SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the price is high for Myers – the Astros asked the Mets for Bobby Parnell and Josh Thole and were turned down.
Multiple Teams Eyeing Brandon League
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
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
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
The latest on MLB home run leader Jose Bautista, as he plays against the Indians…
- The Blue Jays are more likely to keep Bautista than trade him, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Jays want "something big" for him. Jon Heyman of SI agrees, saying the Jays require legitimate Major Leaguers like Jonathan Sanchez.
Cardinals, Padres, Indians Complete Deal Involving Westbrook, Ludwick
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.