Pirates Acquire Chris Snyder In Five-Player Deal
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
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?
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.
Blue Jays Haven’t Approached Overbay About Deals
The Blue Jays are considering many deals, but as of 10am CST, they have not approached Lyle Overbay about any trades. The first baseman points out that the Brett Wallace trade changed the landscape for the Jays, but realizes he’s not the hottest commodity at this year’s deadline.
“The market for a first baseman hitting .250 is not out there,” Overbay told MLBTR. “It just seems like the teams that need them haven’t really done anything or they’ve gone a different way."
The 34-year-old is hitting .251/.326/.421 with 12 homers this season and has a no-trade clause, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. It seemed likely that Wallace would play first for Toronto in 2011. With the prospect now in the Astros organization, Overbay won’t rule out a return to the Blue Jays.
“That’s something I’m open to,” Overbay said. “I’m open to anything. Being a free agent is for me and my family so I can make the decision according to that.”
But that decision is months away. For now, Overbay is looking ahead to game time.
“After the game starts you don’t really think about [trades] unless you get a guy coming in for you for pinch running like Austin Kearns,” he said.
Cody Ross Unlikely To Be Traded
SATURDAY, 9:21am: The Marlins are unlikely to trade Ross, reports Rosenthal, as they can't find the right deal.
FRIDAY, 5:05pm: Executives of one team heard that they could acquire Ross for the right offer, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Braves and Red Sox have interest in Ross and could acquire the outfielder for the right price, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
3:39pm: Cody Ross is "off the table," according to Frankie Piliere of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter). The Braves and other clubs are now looking in different directions. It appears that Chris Coghlan's injury made the Marlins more inclined to keep Ross, though MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says Ross was off the table before Coghlan's ill-fated celebration (Twitter link).
Earlier today, it appeared that the Braves were one of three teams “coming hard” after Ross, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney and Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that a number of teams were pursuing Ross (Twitter links only).
Dodgers Acquire Lilly, Theriot For DeWitt
1:15pm: Stark tweets that the pitching prospects going to the Cubs are Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit.
1:09pm: The Cubs will get DeWitt and two minor league pitchers for Lilly, Theriot, and $2.5MM tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
1:03pm: Lilly and Theriot for DeWitt is done, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
12:53pm: Stark tweets that the Dodgers and Cubs are on the verge of a deal that would send Lilly and Theriot to L.A. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times agrees.
12:34pm: Blake DeWitt and at least one other player would go to the Cubs as part of a Lilly-Theriot deal if the sides can reach an agreement, tweets Rosenthal. The inclusion of Theriot will seal the deal from the Cubs' point of view, tweets Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times. Lilly doesn't appear to have many suitors aside from the Dodgers.
11:39am: The latest on Cubs southpaw Ted Lilly…
- The Cubs are likely to send Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.
- The Dodgers are growing more optimistic about acquiring Lilly, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
- The Yankees are not pursuing Lilly, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, unless the Cubs "put him on a platter and give him away."
- The Dodgers, Twins, Tigers, and Yankees have varying degrees of interest in Lilly, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. A deal with the Dodgers seemed fairly close last night.
Zambrano Would Accept A Trade
SATURDAY, 8:40am: The Cubs rejected an offer of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo for Zambrano, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Zambrano has $17.83MM more remaining on his contract than they do, so I'm assuming the Mets wanted cash in the deal. Heyman says the Cubs did not want to take Castillo.
FRIDAY, 5:39pm: Carlos Zambrano told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he would accept a trade if the Cubs approach him with one (Twitter link). Despite Zambrano's willingness to waive his no-trade clause, there's no reason to expect a deal. Zambrano says he wants to stay in Chicago and the Cubs don't believe they will be able to trade him this season, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link).
Big Z earns $6.4MM between now and the end of the season, plus $17.9MM next year, $18MM in 2012 and possibly $19.25MM in 2013. That's a lot of money for a pitcher who just came off the restricted list and has a 5.66 ERA. The 29-year-old is walking (4.0 BB/9) and striking out (8.6 K/9) lots of batters, as usual.
Rays Acquire Chad Qualls
The unloading of veteran Diamondbacks continues, as they've shipped reliever Chad Qualls to the Rays for a player to be named later. The Rays will pay the entire $1.48MM remaining on Qualls' contract, keeping interim GM Jerry Dipoto's streak alive of not sending cash in his transactions.
Qualls, 31, began the season as Arizona's closer but lost the gig by mid-June. He has an 8.29 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 3.6 BB/9 in 38 innings on the season with five home runs allowed. Silver lining: he tossed a scoreless inning last night and there's almost no way his batting average on balls in play remains at .434. The Rays' pen is in good shape, especially from the right side, so Qualls is something of a luxury for the wild card leaders.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal first reported the Rays' serious interest in Qualls, with MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reporting the agreement.
Odds & Ends: Padres, Oswalt, Farnsworth, Theriot
We here at MLBTR really appreciate everyone staying up past their respective bedtimes to keep up on all of the latest rumors. Here's some news from around the web..
- The Padres prospect drawing the most interest from other clubs is Double-A starter Cory Luebke, writes Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres.
- The Dodgers had a chance to land Roy Oswalt from the Astros, but it would have cost them Chad Billingsley, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
- Plenty of major leaguers read MLBTR, but it doesn't sound like Kyle Farnsworth is one of them in this article by Dick Kaegel and Samuel Zuba of MLB.com.
- ESPN's Buster Olney (in these three tweets) says that the Red Sox, who have found the market for outfielders and relievers to be shallow, might make a smaller deal before the deadline or make their moves in the August waiver period.
- The Diamondbacks offered second baseman Kelly Johnson to the Cubs for Ryan Theriot and lefty James Russell in return, writes ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine.
- Brad Hawpe says that he isn't concerned about being involved in a deadline deal, writes MLB.com's Thomas Harding. Based on news from earlier today, it sounds like Hawpe doesn't have anything to worry about.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets that the Cubs could move Ryan Theriot to the Diamondbacks for Kelly Johnson.
- The Phillies may be done trading and are telling teams that they are out of money and prospects, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.
- The Tigers and Jays are talking, and John Buck may be an even better fit for Detroit than the relievers, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
White Sox, Twins Exploring Deal For Brett Myers
SATURDAY, 2:53am: The Twins are in the mix to land Myers, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. He says the Astros became more open to trading Myers in recent hours.
FRIDAY, 1:37pm: The White Sox are including Jackson in their offer for Adam Dunn, tweets Nightengale. If they pull that off, they'll try for Myers.
10:56am: We know the White Sox are seeking a mid-rotation starter and might pull off a deal for Edwin Jackson. But GM Kenny Williams is also quietly exploring acquiring Brett Myers from the Astros, tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale. Myers is thought to be mostly unavailable, as the Astros hope to re-sign him and perhaps would prefer not to decimate their rotation for the rest of this year. The Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley cautions not to get too excited about the White Sox-Myers talk (Twitter link).
Williams might be burning up the phone lines with Ed Wade for multiple players, as AOL FanHouse's Ed Price tweets that there's buzz about the Sox going after Lance Berkman. It certainly seems that the White Sox will make some noise in the 28 hours leading up to the trade deadline.