Boras Vs. Olney
An amusing back-and-forth is emerging between agent Scott Boras and ESPN's Buster Olney, with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel trying to be the objective party while relaying Boras' comments.
The discussion began Monday when Boras expounded to Haudricourt on the virtues of his client, Prince Fielder. Boras drew a comparison to another of his clients, Mark Teixeira, who received an eight-year, $180MM contract before the 2009 season.
The following day, Olney posted a blog with anonymous quotes from multiple baseball executives, including GMs, who were concerned by Fielder's hefty body type on a long-term deal. Olney suggested that even now, Fielder is regarded as "one of the worst first basemen in the majors."
Boras was not able to let Olney's comments slide, and Haudricourt has more from the agent in a new blog post today. Boras cited error totals to defend Fielder's defense, and also railed against the use of unnamed sources. Boras added that he's "tired of pundits broadcasting their forecasts of free agent markets in July," and said that Olney's predictions for many of his clients have ended up being low. It'd be interesting to put numbers behind the claim.
Potentially Available First Basemen
Several contenders might be looking for help at first base, including the Rockies, Angels, Giants, and Rangers. Potentially available players:
- Prince Fielder, Brewers. The Brewers are listening on Fielder, though we haven't heard much about interested parties. Fielder is under team control through 2011, after which point he'll pursue an extension worth well over $100MM.
- Adam Dunn, Nationals. Dunn is losing patience with the Nationals due to their lack of urgency about an extension, reports ESPN's Buster Olney. The White Sox have interest in Dunn, who might be forced to fill a designated hitter role for them. Dunn profiles as a Type A free agent, at least in the National League.
- Lance Berkman, Astros. Like Dunn, Berkman could technically play outfield for a few months. Berkman has a full no-trade clause and $8.46MM left on his contract. He's up to .255/.369/.459 on the season.
- Derrek Lee, Cubs. The Cubs should probably consider trying to clear some of the $5.79MM still owed to Lee. The problem: he's yet to slug .400 in any month this season, and his strikeout rate is his highest in a long time.
- Adam LaRoche, Diamondbacks. LaRoche is more affordable than those listed before him ($3.51MM remaining), but he hasn't hit much since May. He's consistently posted big second halves.
- Jorge Cantu, Marlins. Aside from the 52 RBIs, Cantu isn't having an impressive season. Even if ownership doesn't require it, clearing his $2.67MM salary is a solid baseball move.
- Ty Wigginton, Orioles. Wiggy made the All-Star team with a strong April and May, and he'll be a useful piece for a contender.
- Mike Lowell, Red Sox. As we wrote yesterday, Lowell hasn't played the field much and the Red Sox would have to pay his entire salary.
- Xavier Nady, Cubs. The Rangers have strong interest in Nady, reported Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago a few days ago. Nady hasn't done anything offensively this year, but he hasn't played regularly either. He's got $1.47MM remaining plus performance bonuses.
- Kila Ka'aihue, Royals. Ka'aihue, 26, already has 77 walks for the Royals' Triple A club (and a .463 OBP). Certainly there are teams out there that would like to see how much of that skill translates to the Majors.
- Russell Branyan, Mariners. It was an odd acquisition, but maybe Jack Zduriencik feels that he can trade Branyan again for more than he gave up.
- Casey Kotchman, Mariners. The Mariners would have to eat most of his remaining $1.57MM to move him now, as Kotchman is a probable non-tender after the season.
- Lyle Overbay, Blue Jays. If you like Derrek Lee, you should like Overbay more. Overbay is having a better year, especially lately, and has $3.12MM remaining.
- Recently MLBTR also profiled the market for catchers, second basemen, shortstops, and third basemen.
Remembering The 1996 Trade Deadline
We remember 1996. Keep in mind, as you hear all the names of yesteryear exchanged- this was the last year the National League won the All-Star Game before last night. That's right, the previous time the NL won, the following players were active: Andre Dawson, Rick Honeycutt, Tony Pena, Rob Deer, Alan Trammell, Otis Nixon and Frank Viola.
Meanwhile, these were the hot deals during the summer of 1996…
- It's not well-remembered, but the San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers made a five-player deal on June 18 that helped propel the Padres to the NL West title. John Flaherty and Chris Gomez went to San Diego, while Brad Ausmus, Andujar Cedeno and Russ Spear headed to Detroit. All Flaherty did was hit .303/.327/.451 after taking over as the regular catcher. Gomez was solid at shortstop, while Ausmus and Cedeno did little with Detroit. This was a key trade.
- An unorthodox signing took place on July 4, George Steinbrenner's birthday, incidentally. The Yankees inked a power hitter who was hitting .435 with 18 home runs for the Northern League's St. Paul Saints: Darryl Strawberry. Straw hit .262/.359/.490 to help the Yankees win their first World Series since 1978.
- In a trade that would haunt the Mets for years, New York shipped Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino to Cleveland for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinosa on July 29. Baerga was just 27, but his best days were behind him. Meanwhile, Kent, dealt to San Francisco after the 1996 season in a deal for Matt Williams, had his best years still to come. How bad was this deal? Consider that the sum of the home runs Baerga hit before joining the Mets and the home runs Kent hit after leaving the Mets is 406. The two had a total of 85 home runs for the Mets.
- In a deadline deal that had delayed benefits, the San Diego Padres acquired Greg Vaughn (along with Gerald Parent) from Milwaukee for Bryce Florie, Marc Newfield and Ron Villone. None of the three players San Diego gave up became stars (though Villone is still around), and Vaughn hit just .206 with 10 home runs after the trade in 1996. But after slumping through 1997, Vaughn went on to hit .272/.363/.597 with 50 home runs the following season. Vaughn credits Tony Gwynn with helping him, according to his son Cory, who played for San Diego State and is now in the New York Mets system and making me feel old.
- In a massive overpay, the Texas Rangers acquired John Burkett on August 8 for then-prospect Ryan Dempster and Rick Helling. The deal isn't massively upsetting to Rangers fans, since Helling was re-acquired for Ed Vosberg before Helling's 20-win season. Burkett was fine for Texas, posting a 4.06 ERA in 68.2 innings, but the Rangers lost in the playoffs anyway, as was their destiny at the time.
- The Pirates horribly mis-timed a pair of pitchers in an August 28 deal. Pittsburgh traded Denny Neagle to the Braves for Ron Wright, Corey Pointer and Jason Schmidt. One year after the Pirates traded him, Neagle went 20-5 with a 2.97 ERA for Atlanta. Schmidt pitched to a 4.39 ERA over six seasons with the Pirates, but he posted a 3.36 ERA with the Giants after Pittsburgh traded him during the 2001 season.
- Finally, on August 31, the Seattle Mariners acquired veteran infielder Dave Hollins from Minnesota for a player to be named later who turned out to be David Ortiz. Big Papi managed a .266/.348/.461 line over five seasons in Minnesota, playing sparingly. His line after Boston picked him up via free agency? .287/.388/.577.
- BONUS! by popular demand, we must include the acquisition of Cecil Fielder on July 31 by the Yankees. New York sent Matt Drews and Ruben Sierra to Detroit. Fielder was a classic Yankee stretch-run addition, hitting .260/.342/.495 in 228 plate appearances. And, as befits the Yankees, Sierra eventually returned, providing a power bat off the bench in 2003-2005.
Elias Rankings At The Break
After the season the Elias Sports Bureau will take all players over the 2009-10 period, divide them into five groups for each league, and rank them based on various statistics. Then each player will be labeled a Type A, B, or none. Those designations and the possible accompanying arbitration offers determine draft pick compensation (click here for a refresher).
Eddie Bajek has reverse-engineered the Elias rankings, and he's providing that information exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors. Here's a look at how the players rank for the period beginning with the 2009 season running through July 11th, 2010. The Google spreadsheet below has separate tabs for each position group. The players have about three more months to change these rankings. You can also go directly to the Google spreadsheet here.
The Brewers’ Asking Price For Corey Hart
The Brewers asked the Giants for Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner in exchange for Corey Hart, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Giants GM Brian Sabean is understandably hesitant to deal either pitcher.
The Brewers appear willing to deal Hart, though the right fielder has been red-hot since the middle of May. The Giants, Rays, Padres and Braves are among the teams interested in the 28-year-old. Hart has a .288/.349/.569 line with 21 homers this season after a disappointing 2009 campaign. He earns $4.8MM this year and doesn't become a free agent until after 2011.
Sanchez has a 3.47 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 this season. The Giants control the 27-year-old's rights through 2012. Baseball America ranked Bumgarner second among Giants prospects before the season (after Buster Posey). So far in 2010, the 20-year-old left-hander has started four games and posted a 2.57 ERA.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Brewers, Harper, Ortiz
Links for Tuesday, as the National League wins an All-Star Game for the first time since Fred McGriff was their cleanup hitter…
- The Pirates signed 16-year-old Belarusian right-hander Aleksey Lukashevich, according to Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As Finder explains, the Pirates have gone all over the world to sign international free agents recently.
- MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the players' association will consider changes to the revenue sharing process when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2011 season.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he isn't actively shopping his players and won't dismiss manager Ken Macha tomorrow.
- Bryce Harper won the Golden Spikes award as the country's top amateur player, writes MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
- David Ortiz told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he expects to return to Boston next year. The Red Sox have a $12.5MM option for the Home Run Derby champion, but we know that Big Papi would like to sign a multi-year deal.
- Not only does Torii Hunter want a power bat, he is gently encouraging Carl Crawford to sign in Anaheim after the season, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs continues ranking baseball's best trade chips, including Miguel Montero (found among the 41st-45th most valuable players) and Josh Hamilton (found among the 36th-40th most valuable players).
Potentially Available Second Basemen
The Phillies, Red Sox, Rockies and Mets could consider adding a second baseman sometime this month. Here are some of the names that may come up in conversation for those teams, sorted from highest 2010 salary to lowest:
- Dan Uggla, $7.8MM (free agent after 2011) – The Marlins haven't officially made him available yet, but the Rockies are interested. Uggla produces every season and 2010 is no exception; he has a .285/.369/.483 line.
- Mark Ellis, $5.5MM ($6MM option for 2011) – There's a good chance the A's keep Ellis, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. If they decide to part with the 33-year-old, his .278/.347/.356 line and reputation as a solid defender should intrigue teams, though his salary is substantial.
- Ty Wigginton, $3.5MM (free agent after 2010) – Wigginton struggled mightily in June (.594 OPS) and July (.477 OPS), but he does have 14 homers on the season. He has split time between second and first, and can also play third.
- Ryan Theriot, $2.6MM (free agent after 2012) - We have yet to see a clear indication that the Cubs are shopping Theriot and his .278/.317/.313 line.
- Kelly Johnson, $2.35MM (free agent after 2011) – Johnson is hitting .276/.374/.497 with 14 homers. Trade rumors have dogged the 28-year-old all season long, partly because he has hit so well and partly because the 34-55 D'Backs have played so poorly.
- Jose Lopez, $2.3MM ($5MM option for 2011) – Lopez moved to third base this year, but didn't bring his bat along with him. His OPS has dropped 150 points to .610 and he has just six homers.
- Adam Kennedy, $1.25MM ($2MM option for 2011) – Kennedy and Cristian Guzman are reportedly drawing interest, though that probably has more to do with Kennedy's experience and versatility than his .643 OPS.
- Jeff Keppinger, $1.15MM (free agent after 2012) – Keppinger, 30, is hitting .284/.335/.385 and has a solid glove, according to UZR.
- Jamey Carroll, $1.05MM ($1.8MM in 2011) – Playing both middle infield positions and more for the Dodgers, Carroll has a sparkling .391 OBP. The Dodgers could move Carroll, but it'd leave them thin in shortstop depth.
- Cristian Guzman, Mike Aviles, Alberto Callaspo, Jeff Baker and Andy LaRoche have played some second base this year.
- Free agent Mark Grudzielanek is available.
- Rickie Weeks is not available now, but it's not hard to imagine the Brewers changing their stance.
We looked at potentially available shortstops, third basemen and catchers earlier in the week.
Poll: Who Will Win The All-Star Game?
About 14% of MLBTR readers correctly predicted that David Ortiz would win the Home Run Derby. Today's question is a little simpler. Will the AL continue its dominance? Will the NL win for the first time since 1996? You tell us:
Who will win the 2010 All-Star Game?
Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.
Reunion Seems Unlikely For Pedro, Phillies
Pedro Martinez has yet to throw off a mound this year, so the chances that he signs with the Phillies for a second consecutive year appear to be dwindling. MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. spoke to Pedro’s agent, Fernando Cuza, and determined that things have changed since last year.
“They're different circumstances,” Amaro said, pointing out that Pedro pitched in last year’s World Baseball Classic. “He hasn't gotten on a mound [in 2010]. Only Pedro could say when he'd be ready. I'm sure he knows, but I couldn't tell you."
Amaro didn’t rule out a reunion, but Zolecki suggests the Phillies will not bring Pedro back. J.A. Happ is pitching at Triple A and could return soon, but the Phillies are considering help outside the organization.
Pedro posted 7.5 K/9 with 1.6 BB/9 last year, along with a 3.63 ERA. He didn’t throw much (just 44.2 innings), but he provided the Phils with a late-season boost. This year, Amaro could turn to Dan Haren (a player the Phillies have interest in) or other potentially available arms like Fausto Carmona and former Phillie Brett Myers.
Braves Interested In Cody Ross
Add Cody Ross to the list of right-handed hitting outfielders the Braves are eyeing. ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that the Braves are interested in Ross as they look to improve upon their NL-best record in the second half of the season (Twitter link).
The Braves also have interest in Corey Hart, Josh Willingham and Jose Bautista, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Like those outfielders, Ross is under team control through 2011, but unlike them he is not having a career year and he can play center field.
Ross, who earns $4.45MM in 2010, is hitting .282/.332/.415 this year with seven homers. That's respectable production, but the 29-year-old usually shows more power. He has split time between right and center field and appears to be an average defender (according to UZR).
The Padres, Giants and Red Sox may look to add outfielders before the trade deadline. San Diego and San Francisco prefer players who aren't about to hit free agency, so the Braves will have competition for Ross's services if they are intent on getting more production than Nate McLouth, Melky Cabrera and Matt Diaz can provide.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported yesterday that Ross and Jorge Cantu are available and Olney adds Nate Robertson's name to the list of players the Marlins would deal.