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Outrighted To Triple-A: Buck, Hall, Hernandez

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The latest players to get outrighted to the minors…

  • The Indians announced that they outrighted outfielder Travis Buck to Triple-A. He has three days to accept or decline the assignment.
  • The Giants outrighted Bill Hall to the minor leagues and he accepted the assignment, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The Giants designated Hall for assignment last week to create roster space for Carlos Beltran.
  • The Braves outrighted Diory Hernandez to Triple-A yesterday, according to MLB.com's transactions page. Atlanta designated the infielder for assignment five days ago to create 40-man roster space for Jose Constanza.

Heyman On Hendry, Yankees, Astros

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Jon Heyman of SI.com looks back at the Cubs' quiet weekend and reports that rival teams were surprised when the Cubs said they wouldn't move Carlos Pena, Marlon Byrd and Jeff Baker. Here are the rest of Heyman's notes from around MLB… 

  • GM Jim Hendry has a strong rapport with Cubs ownership, according to people connected to the Cubs.
  • Yankees people don’t think Erik Bedard would last 20 minutes in New York. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said Sunday that he’s happy to let Bedard’s arm respond to his critics.
  • The Astros hired an independent scout to watch their minor league affiliates and the scout found fewer than five players who should play in the Major Leagues.
  • MLB officials “seem determined” to convince the players’ association to agree to a slotting system for the amateur draft. The union doesn’t want capped bonuses, which would limit amateur players' earning power.

NL Central Notes: Garza, Astros, Brewers

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The Cardinals beat the Brewers in extra innings last night, and Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun got hit by pitches in the process. Here are some NL Central links for Wednesday, before the division rivals take the field again…

  • Cubs GM Jim Hendry told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he's glad to have Matt Garza under team control for 2012.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America looks back at the Astros' forays into free agency and their subsequent trades for prospects in a subscriber-only piece. It's clear, Eddy writes, that the Astros are well-positioned to land the top pick in next year's draft. Houston has an MLB-worst 36-74 record. 
  • The Brewers announced that they've already sold more tickets for 2011 than they did in 2010, when they drew 2,776,531 fans. More fans mean more revenue for the Brewers, who have already committed $59MM to next year's payroll.

Checking In On Former Rays Relievers

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When you consider what happened last offseason, it's not overly surprising that few bullpens in baseball have a worse strikeout rate, walk rate or ERA than the Rays. Six prominent Rays relievers hit free agency and signed elsewhere for a total of $67.65MM (a figure that the Rays’ payroll has surpassed exactly once since 2000). 

When I checked in on former Rays relievers in May, I wrote that the early results were disappointing, but that Benoit and Wheeler would likely bounce back from poor starts. Nearly three months have passed, so we have a much better sense of whether former Rays pitchers are living up to their new contracts…

  • Rafael Soriano - three years/$35MM, Yankees - Soriano, who missed two and a half months with inflammation in his right elbow, has ugly numbers 16 innings into his new deal: a 5.06 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9.
  • Joaquin Benoit - three years/$16.5MM, Tigers - Benoit recovered from a slow start to post more respectable numbers. His season stats (4.62 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9) aren't nearly as impressive as they were last year, however.
  • Grant Balfour - two years/$8.1MM, Athletics - Balfour has been an excellent addition to Oakland's pen, putting up similar numbers to the ones he had with the Rays last year. The 33-year-old has a 1.88 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 43 innings into the season.
  • Dan Wheeler - one year/$3MM, Red Sox - Wheeler has a 4.54 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 for the Red Sox. He spent time on the disabled list in May and has recovered from his slow start.
  • Chad Qualls - one year/$2.55MM, Padres - Qualls, who was unlucky in 2010, has cut his ERA in half to 3.23 this year thanks to some improved fortune. He has posted 5.1 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 53.0% ground ball rate in 53 innings.
  • Randy Choate - two years/$2.5MM, Marlins - Choate, the Marlins' lefty specialist, has a 1.66 ERA with 11.2 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 this season. He drew interest at the trade deadline, but the Marlins held on.

The Yankees surely regret Soriano's contract and the Benoit deal still seems like a coup for his representatives at ACES. The four smaller deals for Balfour, Wheeler, Qualls and Choate have worked out relatively well so far. Would Tampa Bay's bullpen be better with some of these relievers? No question. Worth $67.65MM for the low-budget Rays? No way.

Update On This Year’s Rule 5 Picks

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Many Rule 5 picks ultimately return to their original organizations, because it's not easy to keep inexperienced players in the Major Leagues all season long. Only five of the 19 players selected in the Major League phase of last offseason's Rule 5 draft remain on active MLB rosters midway through the season. Here’s another update on the draftees:

On Active Rosters (5)

  • Pedro Beato, 24, continues to impress for the Mets. He has a 3.38 ERA with 5.2 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 48.1% ground ball rate in 45 1/3 innings this year. He may be the beneficiary of some luck (.228 opponents' batting average on balls in play, 4.1% home run/fly ball rate, 4.45 xFIP).
  • Aneury Rodriguez of the Astros has a 4.79 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings. He started eight games for the Astros, but has been back in the bullpen for two months.
  • Nathan Adcock of the Royals has a 5.36 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 42 innings this year, though he has appeared in just seven contests since May.
  • Joe Paterson has a 3.33 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 24 1/3 innings this year. D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson mostly uses the southpaw against left-handed hitters (69 plate appearances vs. left-handed hitters, 37 plate appearances vs. right-handed hitters).
  • Michael Martinez of the Phillies picked up some big hits for the Phillies last month and has appeared at second, short, third, left and center. His season batting line is improving, but sits at just .219/.264/.314.

Traded (4)

The Mets returned Brad Emaus to the Blue Jays, who traded the infielder to Colorado; the Twins retained Scott Diamond in a trade with the Braves; the Red Sox sent Daniel Turpen to the Rockies; the Indians recently sent Josh Rodriguez to the Pirates.  Rule 5 restrictions no longer apply to these four players.

Injured (2)

Elvin Ramirez (Nationals) and Mason Tobin (Rangers) have been on the 60-day DL for over three months. They have to spend 90 non-September days on the active roster to become official property of their new teams. Otherwise, their Rule 5 status carries forward until the players spend 90 non-September days on the active roster.

Back Where They Started (8)

Brian Broderick, Jose Flores, Adrian Rosario, Pat Egan, Lance Pendleton, George Kontos, Robert Fish and Cesar Cabral are back with their original organizations.

D’Backs Notes: Towers, Marquis, Giants

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Paul Goldschmidt's first MLB home run came at the perfect time for the Diamondbacks, who defeated Tim Lincecum and the Giants behind the bat of their 23-year-old first base prospect last night. Here's the latest on the D'Backs, who are tied for the NL West lead with the Giants…

  • Giants manager Bruce Bochy told Jon Star of MLB.com that the biggest difference with the Diamondbacks is the back end of their bullpen. "They've got two new guys down there [J.J. Putz and David Hernandez] that made a huge difference, but also some other good arms. The pitching is much better."
  • GM Kevin Towers, who acquired Putz and Hernandez over the winter, told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he acquired Jason Marquis for the stretch run because he was reluctant to call minor leaguers like Jarrod Parker, Pat Corbin, Wade Miley and Tyler Skaggs up into the heat of a pennant race.
  • Towers says he initially hoped to add a couple relievers at the trade deadline, but changed course when other teams decided to keep their relievers. Instead, Towers acquired Marquis and Brad Ziegler.
  • Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News explains that the current series between San Francisco and Arizona has the makings of a pennant race precursor, though it's still early to be thinking in those terms.

Orioles Notes: Bundy, Reynolds, Pitching

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The Orioles shook things up yesterday, releasing Justin Duchscherer, who never appeared in a game for Baltimore, and claiming Jo-Jo Reyes, who is now a member of Buck Showalter's bullpen. Here's the latest on the Orioles…

  • Baseball America's Jim Callis told Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com that he doesn't believe Trevor Bauer's deal with Arizona wil impact the Orioles' discussions with top pick Dylan Bundy. As a high schooler, Bundy has more leverage than Bauer, who wanted to get on the field and kick-start his career.
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun explains that while Mark Reynolds may be better than advertised at the plate, his defense is hard to watch at times. Reynolds, who will earn $7.5MM next year, has 24 homers and a .224/.337/.486 line this year.
  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter explained to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that developing pitching takes time and patience. "If you’ve got six or seven guys with a chance to be pretty good and two, three or four hit, you’re lucky,” Showalter said. As Rosenthal shows, Baltimore's pitching has faltered since pitching coach Mark Connor resigned in June.

Quick Hits: Marlins, Cust, Jimenez, Angels

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It was on this day in 1907 that Walter Johnson made his Major League debut with the Washington Senators.  The Big Train retired after 21 seasons in Washington with 417 career wins, 3509 career strikeouts and a case as possibly the greatest pitcher of all time. 

Some notes from around the majors….

  • The Marlins were quiet at the trade deadline since the club wants to keep its core intact for the move into their new Miami ballpark in 2012, writes CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler.
  • The recently-DFA'ed Jack Cust visited some ex-teammates in the Athletics' clubhouse today but he told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that the A's weren't one of a few teams that had shown some interest in him.
  • Steve Slowsinski of Fangraphs gives kudos to the Rockies' front office for taking a risk with the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, but "really dislikes the trade from a philosophical point of view."  Slowinski feels Colorado could have at least gotten one of Cleveland's top position player prospects (Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall) back in the deal.
  • Bobby Abreu's $9MM option for 2012 vested on Sunday night and the veteran slugger tells MLB.com's Jordan Garretson that he's happy to remain with the Angels for the rest of his career.
  • From that same piece, Mike Scioscia explained the team's decision to send Mike Trout back to Double-A Arkansas rather than Triple-A Salt Lake City as partially due to the fact that Arkansas is headed for the postseason.  "We really feel strongly that in a player's development it's important to experience the playoffs. In Mike's case, he's a guy that's leading a team to the playoffs," Scioscia said. 

Padres Notes: Bell, Erlin, Wieland, Draft Picks

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It was on this day in 1995 when the Padres exploded for 11 runs in the eighth inning to notch an 11-3 win over the Giants.  Today, the offensively-challenged Friars would be happy if they scored 11 runs over a three-game series.  Here's the latest news from sunny San Diego….

  • The Padres have offered Heath Bell a two-year contract worth around $14MM, reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link).  We've heard that the Padres were willing to offer Bell two years with a third option year, while Bell is looking for three guaranteed years in the neighborhood of $27-30MM.  Given that Bell would probably earn as much as $10MM in arbitration next year, San Diego's offer of two years/$14MM doesn't seem like it would be enough, unless it included some easily-reachable incentive clauses and possibly a bonus payment if Bell is traded.
  • It will be a while before we can judge if the Padres or the Rangers "won" the Mike Adams trade, though Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres notes that Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland will benefit the most should they get the chance to pitch at Petco Park.  "If there's a better way for a pitcher to get a toehold on a major league career than to go to the Padres, one doesn't come to mind," Krasovic writes.
  • A pair of draft signings: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Padres signed seventh-rounder Matt Wisler to a contract with a $500K bonus.  Wisler, a right-handed pitcher, was committed to Ohio State.  San Diego also signed eleventh-rounder Casey McElroy, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter).

Central Notes: Bourn, Guillen, Soto, Rhodes

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The latest from the Central divisions….

  • The Astros wanted Ross Detwiler as part of any package the Nationals offered for Michael Bourn, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  Washington didn't want to part with its young southpaw, so the Nats' chance to acquire Bourn the day before the trade deadline evaporated.  Bourn instead went to one of Washington's NL East rivals.
  • In a video interview with Graham Bensinger of Yahoo Sports, Ozzie Guillen says that he recently told White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf that "If you want me to stay, a lot of things [have] got to be better."  Guillen also said, however, that he wants to remain in Chicago and is fully committed to his current team, despite some rumors connecting him to the Marlins job in 2012.  "It'd be an honor for me to manage the Marlins," Guillen said.  "Do I want to manage the Marlins?  No, because I'm managing the White Sox now."
  • Guillen's future is also a topic in Doug Padilla and Bruce Levine's Cubs-and-White Sox chat for ESPN Chicago.  Padilla and Levine discuss why both teams kept players like Carlos Quentin and Marlon Byrd at the trade deadline, Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn's potential as a future GM and why Mike Quade is playing so many veterans.
  • Also of note from the chat is Levine's news that the Pirates were interested in Geovany Soto, but were told by the Cubs that Soto wasn't available.
  • The Cardinals may have interest in Arthur Rhodes, who was designated for assignment today by the Rangers.  MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that the Cards have "held significant interest [in Rhodes] in recent years" and notes that Tony La Russa made some vague quotes both praising Rhodes and saying his team needed another southpaw reliever.
  • The Royals may have to do some roster juggling in August and September to find playing time for all of their young prospects, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.

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