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Carlos Beltran Trade Reactions

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The Giants acquired Carlos Beltran and $4MM from the Mets yesterday for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, in a deal that became official today.  The latest reactions:

  • ESPN's Adam Rubin has notes from Mets GM Sandy Alderson from today's conference call.  Alderson said there was a possibility of sending Beltran to an AL team, but it was contingent on him playing right field and the available NL options.
  • Giants GM Brian Sabean said today that vice president of player personnel Dick Tidrow assured him the team has enough pitching talent in the minors to withstand the loss of Wheeler, tweets Andrew Baggarly.
  • Though Wheeler is no sure thing, ESPN's Keith Law says the Giants risked "an enormous long-term cost" for about 60 games of Beltran.
  • The Beltran trade is the Mets' "most meaningful July 2011 victory," writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman says it helped that the Giants "do almost no statistical analysis" and are not active in talking to many other teams.  They simply go after the players their scouts like "with disregard to how it will be viewed by the rest of the sport."    
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan praises Giants GM Brian Sabean for going for it, but was not a fan of the win-now deal in which the Cardinals sent Colby Rasmus to Toronto.

Indians Acquire Kosuke Fukudome

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The Cubs' first-ever Japanese player is heading to Cleveland.  The Indians acquired right fielder Kosuke Fukudome and about $3.9MM from the Cubs today for minor leaguer outfielder Abner Abreu and reliever Carlton Smith.  With Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore on the DL, the Tribe has a clear need for outfield help, and Fukudome was willing to waive his no-trade clause to join the AL Central contender.  For the second summer in a row, Cubs GM Jim Hendry is taking on salary to ship out overpaid veterans.

Fukudome

Fukudome, 34, is hitting .273/.374/.369 in 345 plate appearances for the Cubs this year.  He leads the NL with 4.34 pitches per plate appearance.  Though his right field defense drew praise initially, Fukudome has been below-average per UZR over the last few years.  He is owed almost $4.7MM for the balance of the season, and the Cubs will pay all but $775K of that.  Fukudome signed a four-year, $48MM free agent deal with the Cubs in December of '07 after spending his career in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons.  

Fukudome cannot be offered arbitration after the season, so draft pick compensation was not a factor.

Abreu, 21, is hitting .244/.294/.429 in 367 plate appearances in his second stint at High-A. Prior to the 2010 season, Baseball America ranked him 23rd among Indians prospects, describing him as a player who has offensive tools but "remains raw at the plate."  Smith, 25, has a 4.50 ERA, 9.0 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, and 0.8 HR/9 in 46 Triple-A relief innings, his second stint at the level.

Ken Rosenthal broke the story, with Danny Knobler, Buster Olney, Jon Heyman, Paul Hoynes, and SportsTime Ohio adding details.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Giants Designate Bill Hall For Assignment

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The Giants designated infielder Bill Hall for assignment to open a roster spot for newly-acquired Carlos Beltran, tweets Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Hall, 31, hit .158/.220/.211 in 41 plate appearances for the Giants, playing mostly second base.  He'd been released by the Astros previously after signing a $3MM contract in December.

Alderson: Mets Unlikely To Make More Trades

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After snagging Zack Wheeler for Carlos Beltran, Mets GM Sandy Alderson is probably done dealing this month.  He told reporters he doesn't expect more trades "unless something extraordinary comes up," as he's reluctant to make it tougher on the current club.  So, those hoping to pluck Chris Capuano, Tim Byrdak, or Jason Isringhausen can probably stand down.

Giants Acquire Carlos Beltran

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The Giants have the worst offense of any National League contender, so GM Brian Sabean pounced on the best hitter available.  The Mets officially announced today they've traded right fielder Carlos Beltran and cash considerations to San Francisco for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler.  Reportedly, the Mets are sending $4MM to the Giants in the trade.

128110709009Mets_v_Giants

Beltran (pictured) is hitting .289/.391/.513 with 15 home runs in 419 plate appearances, in what has already become his healthiest season since 2008.  Signed by the Mets to a seven-year, $119MM free agent contract before the 2005 season, Beltran's agent Scott Boras negotiated a clause preventing his team from offering arbitration at the deal's conclusion.  Such an offer was no sure thing anyway, with Beltran earning $18.5MM this year.  About $6.5MM of that remains, of which the Mets are assuming $4MM.  Since Beltran has 10-and-5 rights, the trade took 24 hours to become official.  The Braves, Red Sox, Pirates, Rangers, Indians, and Phillies had also been involved in trade talks for Beltran.

Wheeler was a big price to pay for two months of Beltran's services.  The Giants' sixth overall pick in the 2009 draft, the hard-throwing righty has a 10.0 K/9 in High-A ball this year.  The consensus among Keith Law, Baseball America, and Kevin Goldstein is that Wheeler is among the top 36 prospects in the game.

Tim Brown first reported the deal, with Buster Olney and Joel Sherman adding details.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Red Sox Rumors: Rasmus, Starting Pitchers

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The latest on the Red Sox, who have the best record in the American League…

Phillies Interested In Carlos Quentin

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THURSDAY, 7:20am: The Phillies loved what they saw scouting Quentin, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but the White Sox plan to keep him. 

WEDNESDAY, 9:15pm: The Phillies, who saw Carlos Beltran leave the NL East today, are interested in Carlos Quentin, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The possibility of Quentin going to Philadelphia "was talked about" a week or so ago, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

The Phillies have scouted Quentin and it’s worth noting that the White Sox have been scouting Atlanta's system in anticipation of a possible deal involving the 28-year-old right fielder. He has a .265/.356/.516 line with 20 homers this year and earns $5.05MM. He'll earn a raise in 2012, when he's arbitration eligible for the final time.

Indians Very Close To Acquiring Kosuke Fukudome

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11:02am: A Cubs source told ESPN's Jim Bowden the prospects are outfielder Abner Abreu and reliever Carlton Smith (Twitter link).

10:30am: Hoynes tweets that the Indians are paying $775K of Fukudome's remaining salary, which would leave about $3.9MM for the Cubs.

9:35am: The prospects the Indians are sending are "one upper level, one lower level," tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  He says one is a pitcher and the other is a position player.

9:13am: The Cubs will receive two prospects for Fukudome, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and a deal is likely to be done by today's game at 1:10pm central time.  Olney adds that the Cubs are picking up more than half of the $4.7MM owed to Fukudome, while SI's Jon Heyman tweets that they'll pay the "vast majority."  Jayson Stark tweets that the only hangup is determining minor perks for Fukudome in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause, and Jon Paul Morosi notes that the Indians are indeed on the outfielder's 15-team no-trade list.

The Indians are still working on other things, tweets Olney.  Bastian expects a push for another outfielder.

8:57am: The Indians are in serious talks for Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The deal is "very close to happening," tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  With Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore on the DL, the Tribe has a clear need for outfield help.

Fukudome, 34, is hitting .273/.374/.369 in 345 plate appearances for the Cubs this year.  Throughout his Cubs career, Fukudome has been able to draw walks but has shown limited power.  Though his right field defense drew praise initially, he's been below-average per UZR over the last few years.  Since Fukudome is owed almost $4.7MM for the balance of the season, the Cubs will likely have to kick in money to make a deal happen.  He cannot be offered arbitration after the season, so draft pick compensation is not a factor.  Fukudome has a limited no-trade clause, which MLB.com's Jordan Bastian thinks he may have waived to come to the Indians (Twitter link).

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