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Roman Colon Clears Waivers

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WEDNESDAY, 12:42pm: Colon cleared waivers and accepted a Triple A assignment, tweets Dutton.

FRIDAY, 11:20am: The Royals have designated reliever Roman Colon for assignment, tweets Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. The move frees up a roster spot for righty Josh Rupe, who was summoned from Triple-A.

The 30-year-old Colon appeared in five games this year, allowing five hits and four runs in two innings pitched. He walked two and struck out just one. In 179.1 career innings, he has a 5.12 ERA and just a 5.9 K/9. Colon's minor league stats (3.93 ERA, 6.2 K/9) are a little more encouraging. 

Heyman, Rosenthal On Cubs, Rays, Giants

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SI's Jon Heyman and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal posted new columns this morning.  A few hot stove highlights…

  • Heyman received indications that Tom Gorzelanny will remain in the Cubs' rotation when Ted Lilly returns Saturday.  That would mean Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, or Carlos Silva heads to the bullpen.  Given his past experience in the Cubs' pen, Heyman finds Dempster the most logical choice.  I respectfully disagree, as Dempster is the Cubs' best starter.  I'd make Silva the long man and continue to scour the trade and free agent markets for relief help.  Promoting Andrew Cashner merits consideration, if the Cubs don't think a temporary move back to relief would stunt his development.  UPDATE: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets that Zambrano will go to the pen. 
  • Rosenthal finds a Rays sell-off unlikely, instead envisioning them as bullpen buyers.  He notes that the Rays have attempted to trade for various star players the last two Julys.
  • Rosenthal believes the Giants' biggest need is "a strong two-way threat in right field."  He says potentially available players like David DeJesus and Corey Hart don't quite fit the mold.  I'm just throwing it out there…could Elijah Dukes be a fit? 

Starting Pitching Trade Candidates

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As usual, starting pitching questions abound for many teams.  The Dodgers, for example, have to be concerned about the majority of their rotation.  Here's a look at starting pitchers who may be available a few months from now.

  • The Orioles are already nine games out.  Kevin Millwood has a brilliant K/BB ratio so far, and may prove an unnecessary luxury for the O's.  Jeremy Guthrie is more interesting, since he's under team control through 2012.  The question is how comfortable the Orioles would be downgrading their rotation in the short-term.
  • We touched on the White Sox yesterday.  Freddy Garcia could potentially be available this summer, or earlier if the Sox remain in contention but prefer Dan Hudson as the fifth starter.
  • The Rays could probably spare Andy Sonnanstine now.  He'll move further down their depth chart once Jeremy Hellickson is deemed ready.
  • The Royals' Gil Meche would have to prove he's healthy before a deal could occur.  Brian Bannister, under team control through '12, is more attractive.  There's no real reason for the Royals to move him, though.
  • The Indians' Jake Westbrook is still shaking off the rust of Tommy John surgery.  The Tribe probably wouldn't mind shedding some of his $11MM salary.
  • The Mariners' Ian Snell could be expendable if Doug Fister and Jason Vargas continue to perform well.
  • Like the Orioles, the Pirates probably prefer not to weaken their rotation further.  GM Neal Huntington does hold two attractive pieces in Zach Duke and Paul Maholm, though.
  • The Reds have a pair of well-paid veteran starters in Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang.  Harang is basically owed $15MM if traded, so he'd need to go on a strong run to be marketable.
  • The Padres are enjoying a first-place tie, but they do have three veteran starters in contract years: Jon Garland, Kevin Correia, and Chris Young.
  • Teams looking for aces have to hope the Mariners, Rockies, Cubs, Athletics, Astros, or Diamondbacks fall out of contention.  That might make Cliff Lee, Jorge de la Rosa, Ted Lilly, Ben Sheets, Roy Oswalt, and Brandon Webb available as rentals.  Wandy Rodriguez, under team control through '11, could be a hot commodity if the Astros commit to a rebuild (which would admittedly be out of character).  On a related note, WFAN's Mike Francesa says the Mets "have been sniffing around" Oswalt, and the Astros are listening for the first time.  However, ESPN's Adam Rubin has a source who believes the Mets have no chance at Oswalt. 

2011 Contract Issues: Washington Nationals

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The Nationals face one contractual option after the season.  Second baseman Adam Kennedy has a $2MM club option with a $500K buyout.  Of course, it's too early to tell if Kennedy can reprise his offensive success of '09 and post a solid defensive season.

Aside from Kennedy, nearly $24MM could be freed up with departing free agents.  Adam Dunn ($12MM) and Cristian Guzman ($8MM) make up the bulk.  Talks for a Dunn extension have quieted.  The Nationals will be free of their commitment to Austin Kearns, who received a $1MM buyout this year.

Increases to players under contract are mild, made up mostly of Ryan Zimmerman's $2.675MM bump.  The Nats have several notable arbitration cases after the season.  John Lannan goes for the first time, while Sean Burnett and Jesus Flores go for a second.  Third-timers include Josh Willingham, Matt Capps, and Scott Olsen.  Fourth-timers are interesting too, with Chien-Ming Wang and Brian Bruney in the mix.  Recent history says the Nationals won't be shy about going to hearings if necessary.

Assuming Dunn leaves, the Nationals will have money to work with even if they hold payroll steady.  It might be another active offseason for Washington.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Angels, Royals

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As the West Coast games get started, here are some tidbits to snack on…

Diamondbacks, Mateo Closer To Deal

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The Wagner Mateo saga may be reaching a conclusion, with The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reporting that the Diamondbacks and Mateo, the 17-year-old outfield prospect from the Dominican Republic, are "getting closer" to a deal worth about 500K.

SI.com's Melissa Segura reported that Arizona expected to sign Mateo last week, but that report turned out to be premature. Piecoro reports that the Diamondbacks believe the report may have come from the Mateo camp to try and elicit another offer.

Mateo originally signed last summer with the Cardinals for $3.1MM, but St. Louis voided that deal after problems with Mateo's vision surfaced.

State Of The Trade: Volquez For Hamilton

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It is a useful exercise to take a look back at trades that were made, to help evaluate exactly how they are going for both teams. With the news of Edinson Volquez receiving a 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, now seems like a good time to evaluate the deal that sent Volquez and Danny Herrera from Texas to Cincinnati in exchange for Josh Hamilton.

As Tim pointed out earlier this afternoon, the suspension itself does very little to impact Volquez's value to the Reds. His 50-game suspension begins tomorrow, with Volquez on the DL. He had Tommy John Surgery on August 3, 2009, so even the most optimistic projections wouldn't have had him back before the 50 games is up.

As to who is ahead in this deal, it is hard to say. Both Hamilton and Volquez have had one fantastic season with their post-trade teams. Hamilton posted a .304/.371/.530 line with Texas in 2008 during his age-27 season. Volquez, during that same season, put up a 17-6, 3.21 ERA line in his age-24 season.

By Baseball Prospectus' Wins Above Replacement Player, Volquez was worth 5.3 WARP in 2008, Hamilton checking in at 5.5. As per Fangraphs.com's WAR, Volquez was slightly ahead, 4.3 to 4.1. Both had injury-marred 2009 seasons, and have posted roughly equivalent value for their two teams so far.

Moving forward, Hamilton is off to a rough start in 2010, at .222/.333/.390 through his first 48 plate appearances. Volquez, of course, won't be able to help Cincinnati until later this season if at all.

With his litany of injuries, it is hard to count on Hamilton to recapture his 2007 form. Volquez is coming back from Tommy John surgery, a fairly common occurrence. Volquez is also significantly younger; Hamilton turns 29 on May 21, Volquez turns just 27 on July 3.  However, projecting pitchers is almost always harder than projecting hitters.

This challenge trade seems too close to call right now, but Volquez seems likelier to regain elite player status. More money, however, is due to Hamilton. He earns $3.25MM in 2010, as he was arbitration-eligible this past offseason, while Volquez makes just $445K (and the Reds won't need to pay him for the next 50 games, or roughly a third of that salary).

In the meantime? Danny Herrera keeps on keeping on, following a 3.06 ERA in 61 2/3 innings in 2009 with a strong start in 2010. Just 25, Herrera may be the difference-maker in this deal after all.

Red Sox Roundup: Kotchman, Epstein, McDonald

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With Red Sox Nation in full panic mode, a number of writers are surveying the wreckage in a 4-9 start that represents, to provide some clarity, just eight percent of the season.

Orioles, Corey Patterson Agree To Terms

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Outfielder Corey Patterson has agreed to terms with the Orioles, reports MASN's Roch Kubatko.  He'll report to extended spring training.  Patterson, 30, hit .292/.333/.478 in 418 Triple A plate appearances last year.

Patterson joined the Orioles in a January '06 trade with the Cubs, and was fairly useful in two seasons.  He reached free agency as a 28-year-old Scott Boras client, but could only find a minor league deal with the Reds.  He's since dropped Boras and spent time in the Washington, Milwaukee, and Seattle organizations, most recently opting out of his Mariners contract on March 31st.  The O's have an outfield opening given Felix Pie's lat injury.

Odds & Ends: Harper, Mets, Orioles

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Links for Tuesday…

  • Our condolences to the family and friends of Rockies president Keli McGregor, who the Denver Post says was found dead of natural causes at age 48.
  • I joined Jeff & Jeff on KFNS St. Louis today; you can listen to audio here.
  • Baseball America's Jim Callis predicts Bryce Harper will receive $10-12MM, setting a record for a drafted hitter.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels that Ike Davis should've been with the Mets since the beginning of the season, with Jenrry Mejia starting in the minors.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports asks why Cal Ripken, Brooks Robinson, and Frank Robinson aren't working for the Orioles.
  • We've made some minor changes to the site, with dropdowns for navigation bar items About, Archives, and Feeds By Team.

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