NL East Notes: Beltran, Sanchez, Nationals, Braves
The Marlins are the only NL East team whose second half begins tonight, as the Fish start a four-game series at Wrigley Field. The other four teams will begin intra-divisional matchups (Phillies at Mets, Nationals at Braves) on Friday. Here's the latest from the East…
- The Carlos Beltran rumors are already swirling but the Mets will wait right until the deadline to move him, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. The Mets will wait, Heyman says, since the team still thinks it has a chance at the playoffs and because the club isn't sure Beltran would clear waivers.
- The Marlins' organizational lack of pitching depth make them likely to pursue an extension with Anibal Sanchez, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 2012 is Sanchez's last arbitration-eligible year, so Rodriguez thinks an extension might cost a bit more than Josh Johnson's four-year, $39MM with the team since this deal would be cover more of Sanchez's free agent years.
- Also from Rodriguez, Larry Beinfest said prospect Matt Dominguez is being considered by the Marlins for a September call-up. Dominguez was the 12th overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft and was ranked 81st on Baseball America's preseason list of the game's 100 best prospects. He hasn't hit well at Triple-A this season (a .239/.303/.394 line in 201 plate appearances) but Dominguez also spent a month recovering from a fractured elbow.
- Terry Collins announced today that Pedro Beato, Jason Isringhausen and Bobby Parnell will all get chances to close games for the Mets. For more on this move and other late-game news, check out MLBTR's sister site, Closer News.
- The Nationals announced the signings of four picks from this year's amateur draft. Right-hander Taylor Hill (a sixth-round pick) was the highest-selected of the four new Nats.
- Frank Wren talks to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the Braves' needs at the trade deadline. Wren feels the return of Martin Prado and Chipper Jones from the DL will help the club's offense and thus Atlanta may just look for role players to come off the bench, sch as a right-handed bat. The Braves are often mentioned as a team that could move its pitching depth in a trade but Wren says that other clubs haven't contacted him about such deals "because I think they’re smart enough to know that we’re not going to be trading our young pitching unless there’s something extraordinary out there to us."
Rangers Designate Zach Phillips For Assignment
The Rangers have designated left-hander Zach Phillips for assignment, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The move creates a spot on the 40-man roster for Scott Feldman, who was activated from the 60-day DL and cleared outright waivers earlier today. In another corresponding move, the Rangers optioned Darren O'Day to Triple-A in order to make room for Feldman on the 25-man roster.
Phillips, 24, was taken by the Rangers in the 23rd round of the 2004 amateur draft. He began his pro career as a starter but has primarily been used as a reliever for the last three seasons. Phillips has a career 4.10 ERA, an 8.6 K/9 rate and a 2.33 K/BB ratio in 213 minor league appearances, 98 of them starts.
Quick Hits: DeVoss, Adams, White Sox
The A's announced that Brett Anderson underwent Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on his left elbow. Dr. James Andrews performed the operation on Anderson, who will miss the remainder of the season. Here are this afternoon's links…
- The Cubs signed third round outfielder Zeke DeVoss for a $500K bonus, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The bonus is roughly $160K more than MLB recommended.
- The Padres have one prospect on Keith Law's recently-published list, Casey Kelly. They'll ask for another elite prospect in exchange for Mike Adams, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Rookie Michael Pineda and third-year pitcher Trevor Cahill are among the MLB players with the most trade value, according to Dave Cameron of FanGraphs, who lists his #31-35 top trade chips in baseball. Kevin Youkilis and the recently-extended Jaime Garcia check in in the #26-30 range.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that his team may not need trades to re-enter the playoff picture. "If we play to our potential, I guarantee we're going to kick some people's butt," Guillen said. "But we're not playing to our potential now."
Keith Law’s Midseason Top Prospects
ESPN.com’s Keith Law ranks the top 50 prospects in baseball and Bryce Harper of the Nationals and Matt Moore of the Rays rank first and second, respectively. Two Cardinals right-handers, Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez, place third and fourth on Law's list and Orioles shortstop Manny Machado rounds out the top five.
Law's list resembles Baseball America's midseason list, though Law excludes Mike Trout, who recently graduated to the Major Leagues. Braves pitching prospect Julio Teheran placed fourth on BA's list, but fell from sixth to 12th for Law, who explained that the right-hander's curveball could use some work.
Brewers Were On Francisco Rodriguez’s No-Trade List
The Brewers were one of ten teams on Francisco Rodriguez's no-trade list, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). However, as David Waldstein of the New York Times reported yesterday, the Mets never received the list from agent Paul Kinzer, so it didn't serve its intended purpose. Though Rodriguez has nothing against the Brewers, he lost out on potential leverage, according to Heyman.
The Mets traded Rodriguez to Milwaukee Tuesday night, not long after the reliever switched agents from Kinzer to Scott Boras. The 29-year-old has finished 34 games and a clause in his contract dictates that his $17.5MM option for 2012 becomes guaranteed if he finishes 55 games this season. Otherwise, the Mets will pay for a $3.5MM buyout and Rodriguez will hit the open market.
Minor Moves: Gustavo Chacin
Here are the latest minor moves…
- The Astros released Gustavo Chacin, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The 30-year-old appeared in 44 games for the Astros last year, posting a 4.70 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 and homering in his lone at bat for Houston. He had a 5.13 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 66 2/3 innings for the Astros' Triple-A affiliate this year.
Feldman Rejects Minor League Assignment
Scott Feldman rejected an assignment to the minor leagues after clearing outright waivers and the Rangers will activate him tonight, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Rangers, who placed Feldman on outright waivers earlier in the week, can option Yoshinori Tateyama to the minors to create active roster space for Feldman, but they'll have to make another move to create room on the 40-man roster.
Once Feldman rejected the minor league assignment, the Rangers had the choice of activating him or releasing him. If they had released Feldman, who has spent the entire season recovering from a winter knee operation, they would still have been responsible for the $9MM or so remaining on his contract.
Feldman was a starter for Texas from 2008-10, but the Rangers will likely put him in the bullpen now. The 28-year-old has a 4.80 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in six seasons. He signed an $11.5MM extension with the Rangers after posting a 4.08 ERA in 189 2/3 innings in 2009.
Reds Looking For Relief Help
Add the Reds to the ever-expanding list of teams eyeing bullpen help. They're in the mix for relievers, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The White Sox, who are just five games behind the Tigers in the AL Central, could also be looking for relievers, according to Heyman.
GM Walt Jocketty said recently that no moves are imminent, though he has had discussions with other teams to gather information. Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies is on Cincinnati's radar (realistically, Colorado would have to be overwhelmed to part with him).
Reds relievers rank tenth in MLB with a 3.29 ERA (3.95 xFIP) and 15th in MLB with 7.7 K/9, but they're 28th with 4.3 BB/9. Aroldis Chapman has been electric since returning to the roster in late June. He has a 17K/2BB ratio in his last 8 2/3 innings of work.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Brad Thomas
Here's where we'll keep track of the players who get outrighted to the minor leagues today…
- The Tigers announced that they reinstated left-hander Brad Thomas from the disabled list and outrighted him to Triple-A. He has 72 hours to accept or decline the assignment. The 33-year-old native of Australia allowed 17 hits, 11 earned runs and six walks in 11 innings before hitting the disabled list.
Indians Looking For Offense
The Indians are "kicking the tires for offensive help," according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince (Twitter links). Cleveland can add some salary – though Carlos Beltran is probably not a realistic target – and remains reluctant to surrender top prospects in trades.
Indians president Mark Shapiro said on Twitter today that GM Chris Antonetti and his staff spent the All-Star break "burning up phone lines" to make sense of the trade market and discuss possible deals. Though the market is developing slowly, the Indians are looking at "every opportunity" to improve, accoridng to Shapiro.
The Indians, who are second in the AL Central with a 47-42 record, rank seventh in the American League with 386 runs scored. They are a logical suitor for a corner outfielder, since Shin-Soo Choo is on the disabled list and probably won't return to the lineup before late-August. Austin Kearns, Travis Buck and Michael Brantley are currently covering left and right for the Indians.