Pirates Acquire Derrek Lee
There's no question about it at this point – the Pirates are buyers. The Pirates and Orioles announced tonight that the Pirates acquired Derrek Lee from Baltimore for minor league first baseman Aaron Baker.
The 35-year-old Lee (pictured) has a .248/.306/.409 line in 360 plate appearances this year and earns $7.25MM. His play has improved in July, however; he has a .261/.306/.533 line with six homers this month. Pirates first basemen (led by Lyle Overbay) have hit .228/.303/.343 with just eight homers this year, so their interest in Lee's power potential is understandable. The Pirates will pay Lee's remaining $2.3MM, with the Orioles covering bonus clauses.
“He is an experienced, productive right-handed hitter and solid defender who should add to our team on thefield and in the clubhouse,” Pirates GM Neal Huntington said in a statement.
Though his contract expires after the season, Lee doesn't project as a ranked free agent, so he probably won't be tied to draft pick compensation.
Baker, 23, has a .285/.353/.474 line with 15 homers in Class A Bradenton this year. The 2009 draft pick did not crack Baseball America's preseason list of the Pirates' top 30 prospects.
Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun broke the news and MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, Rob Biertempfel and Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review also contributed to the story. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Quick Hits: Slowey, Royals, Lee, Reddick
For a while, it seemed as though we'd have a quiet trade deadline. So much for that – today we saw Ubaldo Jimenez, Derrek Lee, Orlando Cabrera, Rich Harden, Koji Uehara, Chris Davis, Tommy Hunter, Jason Marquis, Mike Aviles, Jerry Hairston Jr., Doug Fister and David Pauley all get traded. Let's gear up for the deadline itself with another round of links…
- The Twins would like to move Kevin Slowey and the Rockies are interested, though they don't want to pay too much for him, according to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- Teams are still calling on Bruce Chen, Jeff Francis and Kyle Davies of the Royals, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). Any deal will likely come at the deadline tomorrow.
- Teams are still inquiring on Brandon League, even though top Mariners executives have said he's going nowhere, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels expects a quiet day tomorrow, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- The Astros would love to convince Carlos Lee that there's no point in refusing to waive his no-trade clause, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.
- The Astros wanted a package of players including Josh Reddick and Kyle Weiland from the Red Sox for Hunter Pence, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
Nationals Making Headway On Acquiring Span
10:47pm: The Nationals are more likely to go after Span than Michael Bourn or B.J. Upton at this point, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the sides are in a "staredown" (Twitter link). The Twins want the Nationals to include Storen in their offer.
9:22pm: The deal is "no closer than any other day," an MLB official told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
6:31pm: A deal featuring Span and Storen continues to look close, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
6:08pm: The Twins are insisting on acquiring Storen with Bernadina and minor league infielder Stephen Lombardozzi for Span, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
5:18pm: There are lots of mixed signals about the talks, but no deal is close, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
3:28pm: The Nationals are making headway with the Twins on a deal for Span, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Twins are insisting Storen be included along with a second player.
1:50pm: The Twins want Roger Bernadina along with a reliever in any deal that sends Span to the Nationals, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
10:45am: The Nationals are pushing setup man Tyler Clippard on the Twins for center fielder Denard Span over closer Drew Storen, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports. He says the Twins won't trade Span for a setup man, however.
Aside from saves, Storen comes with one more year of team control than Clippard. Still, we're talking about 2015 and 2016, and there's no telling what can happen with relievers in the course of several years.
Little Momentum For Michael Bourn Trade
Yesterday we learned that the Giants and Braves are in on Astros center fielder Michael Bourn, and GM Ed Wade seeks Major League-ready prospects. The latest:
- There is currently little momentum for a Bourn deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, though he notes things can change quickly on deadline day.
Michael Bourn Rumors: Saturday
Astros GM Ed Wade is keeping an open mind on trades, so it's possible outfielder Michael Bourn and others could still go. The latest on Bourn:
- The Braves refuse to include both Randall Delgado and Arodys Vizcaino in a deal for Bourn, according to ESPN.com's Jim Bowden (on Twitter).
- The Giants do have interest in Bourn, Morosi tweets.
- The Reds aren't likely to acquire Bourn, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com; Houston's asking price is too high.
- The Giants may have interest in Bourn, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Braves are getting more involved on Bourn, tweets Rosenthal. ESPN's Buster Olney hears the Braves are working hard on getting the center fielder.
- The Astros' efforts to trade Bourn are picking up steam, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, and it appears more likely he'll be dealt by tomorrow's deadline.
- The Astros want Major-League ready prospects for Bourn, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. It makes sense that Wade would seek certainty here, with his Hunter Pence haul being of the high-risk, high-reward variety.
- The Indians and Reds are the main suitors for Bourn right now, tweets Stephen Goff of Examiner.com, but he'd be surprised if the center fielder is traded.
- The Braves are not one of the main teams in on Bourn yet, tweets Rosenthal.
- "The Nationals, Braves, Indians and Reds are among the clubs with varying levels of interest in Bourn," report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Indians are the new suitor here.
Latest On Braves’ Outfield Targets
The Braves are expected to add an outfielder today; here's the latest…
- The Athletics' asking price for Coco Crisp was a bit much, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. We know the Braves are looking at Houston's Michael Bourn, and O'Brien says they're still in on B.J. Upton of the Rays as well.
Giants Acquire Orlando Cabrera
It appears that Orlando Cabrera is headed for October baseball yet again. The infielder, who has appeared in four consecutive postseasons for four different teams, is going to San Francisco in exchange for outfield prospect Thomas Neal, the Indians announced.
With Mark DeRosa, Freddy Sanchez and Miguel Tejada on the disabled list, the defending World Champions needed infield depth. Cabrera, who will become San Francisco's primary shortstop, began the season as the Indians' everyday second baseman and has since transitioned into more of a utility role. The 36-year-old Colombia native has a .244/.277/.321 line in 344 plate appearances at second, third and short this year.
Meanwhile, the Indians will continue rely on rookie infielders Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall, two of the top prospects the Indians did not send to Colorado in the deal that will send Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland.
Neal, 23, has spent the 2011 season at Triple-A Fresno, where he has a .295/.351/.409 line. Baseball America ranked him 96th among all MLB prospects before the 2010 season and seventh among Giants prospects before the 2011 season. Neal, who played on a youth travel team with Mike Leake, Stephen Strasburg and the son of Giants manager Bruce Bochy, has an enviable combination of power and arm strength, according to Baseball America, which suggested he could become an everyday player. However, Neal has seen his power numbers decline this year (13 doubles, two homers, .409 slugging percentage).
Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com broke the news and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle added detail.
Orioles Notes: Jones, Guthrie, Hunter
The Orioles sent Koji Uehara to Texas and are close to sending Derrek Lee to Pittsburgh. Here's the latest news out of Baltimore on the last night before this year's trade deadline…
- Orioles center fielder Adam Jones is not available, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- The Orioles aren't seeing offers they like for Jeremy Guthrie and will likely hang onto him, while adding the newly-acquired Tommy Hunter to the rotation, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter).
Jose Bautista Looks Back At Past Trades
This time last year, the Major League home run leader appeared to be on the trade block and teams were asking about his availability daily. The Giants, Phillies, White Sox and Tigers all inquired on Jose Bautista, and while the talk intrigued front offices and fans alike, it didn’t faze Bautista.
"That wasn’t something that bothered me too much,” he told MLBTR. “By now, I don’t think any trade rumors bother me. It’s always somewhat intriguing to know that you’re involved in talks.”
Twelve months later, the MLB home run leaderboard looks similar – Bautista tops it with 31 home runs – but the right fielder turned third baseman no longer hears himself mentioned as a trade candidate. Bautista, who has switched organizations six times in his career, obtained some stability over the winter, signing a five-year, $64MM extension with the Blue Jays.
On this date seven years ago, long before the multiyear contracts and home run titles, the trade talk turned to reality for Bautista, who was traded twice on July 30th, 2004. The Royals sent him to the Mets, who flipped him to the Pirates, the organization that drafted and developed him. Bautista was on the field for batting practice when he was told to go inside.
“I just thought it was a routine call into the office to talk about something else,” he recalled. “They told me straight up ‘all right, we’ve got some good news and bad news, which one do you want first?’ I was like ‘give me the bad news first and then give me the good news.’ They said ‘well the bad news is we just lost you, we just traded you away. The good news is you’re going to your original team and you’re going to have a lot of opportunities.”
Then a rookie Rule 5 pick who had already suited up for the Orioles, Rays and Royals in the first three months of the 2004 season, Bautista says getting traded so often early on in his career was disorienting at times.
“There’s always a little bit of ‘what the hell am I doing wrong that people don’t want me,'" he said. "At the same time, you’re going somewhere where people do want you. Mixed bag of feelings, but ultimately it was the best thing that happened to me at that point in my career.”
Seven years later, Bautista doesn't have to pack his bags or hear his name in trade rumors. It’s now time for him to experience this summer’s trade deadline in another way – as an observer.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Braves Acquire Michael Bourn
8:59am: The Astros will receive center fielder Jordan Schafer, southpaw Double-A starter Brett Oberholtzer, righty Double-A starter Paul Clemens, and righty Triple-A reliever Juan Abreu, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. None of the three pitchers are top 50 prospects, but they did rank ninth, 26th, and 27th respectively for the Braves on Baseball America's preseason rankings.
8:46am: The Braves acquired center fielder Michael Bourn from the Astros for four minor leaguers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says the deal is done and will be announced shortly. Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that the Braves will receive money in the deal as well.
Bourn, 28, is hitting .303/.363/.403 in 473 plate appearances, and he leads MLB with 39 steals. The Scott Boras client has $1.45MM remaining on his contract this year and is arbitration eligible for 2012 before hitting free agency. The Astros' outfield purge continues, as they sent Hunter Pence to the Phillies on Friday.