Quick Hits: Astros, Lincecum, Yankees, Beltran
Sad news in baseball today, as the Blue Jays announced the passing of player development senior advisor Mel Queen and Harmon Killebrew announced that his esophageal cancer has developed to the point that doctors don't expect a cure. MLBTR extends its sincere condolences to Queen’s family and Killebrew and his family. Here are today's links…
- Astros manager Brad Mills was optimistic regarding the overall future of the organization after learning Drayton McLane Jr. had reached an agreement to sell the team to a group led by local businessman Jim Crane, according to Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.
- Tom Singer of MLB.com takes an entertaining look back at some deals that didn't happen, including a possible trade that would have sent Tim Lincecum to Toronto.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he would like to add a southpaw to his team. “I’m just not going to get one right now,” Cashman said. “And I don’t know if I’ll get one this summer.”
- Rosenthal says the Yankees shouldn't rush lefty Manny Banuelos to the Majors. "Let Manny become Manny … No sooner than 2012," Rosenthal writes.
- Matt Klaassen of FanGraphs examines Carlos Beltran's trade value and says "it is hard to imagine the Mets getting more than a couple of C prospects in return for Beltran if they send a few million dollars along."
Nationals Overloaded In The Outfield
Nats centerfielder Rick Ankiel may not be able to return to action when he's able to come off the disabled list next week. From the standpoint of delaying decisions, that might be a good thing, writes Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com.
Roger Bernadina has filled in at leadoff hitter and center fielder, and manager Jim Riggleman says that he'd like to keep it that way. If he remains in that role, it would leave Ankiel, Laynce Nix and Michael Morse to fight over playing time in left.
Other than optioning Bernadina back to Triple-A Syracuse, the club won't have many ways to fit everyone in. Riggleman says that the club will figure things out when Ankiel is healthy, a point that could be approaching soon.
Camden Riversharks Sign Pedro Feliz
Major league veteran Pedro Feliz has officially signed with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League, according to Mike Ashmore of the Hunterdon County Democrat (via Twitter). Feliz, 36, has played 11 seasons in MLB with four different clubs.
Feliz appeared in 137 games for the Astros and Cardinals last season, posting a slash line of .218/.240/.293. The Royals signed him to a minor league deal back in February, but the two sides parted ways in late March when it was apparent that he wouldn't make the big league club.
Minor Deals: Brewers, Clevlen, Alaniz, Boleska
The D'Backs released Ron Mahay and the Mariners claimed Jeff Gray. Here are the rest of today's minor moves…
- The Brewers released Alex Periard and Demetrius McKelvie, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (Twitter links).
- The Reds signed Brent Clevlen, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Clevlen, a former top prospect who's now 27, has big league experience with the Tigers and Braves.
- The Phillies released Adrian Alaniz, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The 27-year-old right-hander struggled in eight appearances at Class A this year, posting a 7.71 ERA. He has a 3.19 ERA with 7.8 K/0 and 3.0 BB/9 in five minor league seasons, but has yet to pitch above Double-A.
- The Pirates released Double-A right-hander Tom Boleska, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). Boleska, a 24-year-old right-hander, has a 2.73 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in five minor league seasons, but has struggled in 12 appearances at Double-A this year.
- The Mets acquired Bubba Bell from the Indians and assigned him to Triple-A, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Indians acquired Bell from the Red Sox in March and he hit .292/.346/.375 at Triple-A..
McLane Agrees To Sell Astros To Jim Crane
It won't be long before the Astros have a new owner. After 19 years of ownership, Drayton McLane confirmed to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that he has agreed to sell the Astros to a group led by Houston businessman Jim Crane. Though the sides are finalizing details and it will take weeks for MLB to approve the pending sale, McLane is confident the deal will be completed.
"We have an understanding, and Jim's an honorable person, and I am, too," McLane said. "We have an overall agreement, but things come up."
McLane had been negotiating exclusively with Crane and the sides have agreed on a price, reportedly about $680MM. McLane hopes to make an announcement by the middle of next week. Houston attorney Kenny Friedman, the father of Rays executive Andrew Friedman, also had interest in buying the Astros.
Jack Of All Trades: Jose Bautista
In my new book, Taking The Field, I have an entire chapter devoted to the July 30, 2004 trade of Scott Kazmir. But fascinatingly, Kazmir may not be the most valuable player the Mets dealt on that day. Jose Bautista also became an ex-Met on the day Victor Zambrano arrived in Queens. Based on wins above replacement (WAR), Bautista is well on his way to passing Kazmir. (That assumes Kazmir doesn't add any more value; he's actually lowered his career WAR the past two seasons.)
It has been a fascinating journey for Bautista to 54 home runs last year and an even better start this year. Bautista was with five organizations before he broke out with the Blue Jays – that's more teams than any other member of the 50 homer club belonged to pre-breakout. Only Luis Gonzalez's pre-50 homer travel itinerary came close; he played for three organizations before Arizona, including Houston twice.
Let's chart Bautista's evolution from organizational hot potato to all-time great slugger. The Pirates drafted Bautista in the 20th round of the 2000 draft, a round that produced just two other major leaguers: Carmen Pignatiello and Fred Lewis. With the exception of a terrific 2002 in the South Atlantic League, Bautista profiled about as he did in his pre-2010 Major League career: a .250 hitter with decent plate discipline and a little power. Still just 23 as 2003 ended, he had a good chance, with a season or two of polish, of becoming valuable – if he stuck at a middle infield position, very valuable.
Then, the scourge of reasonable prospect development struck: the Baltimore Orioles took Bautista in the Rule V Draft in December 2003. Suddenly, Bautista needed to make the transition from Class A pitching to the Major Leagues. Not surprisingly, he didn't. He hit a respectable .273 in 12 plate appearances for the Orioles, but Baltimore put him on waivers that June 3. Tampa Bay picked him up, gave him another 15 plate appearances, then sold him to Kansas City 25 days later. A little over a month after that, with 26 more plate appearances in Kansas City, the Royals traded him to the Mets for catching prospect Justin Huber. And the Mets, that very same day (Kazmir Day), traded Bautista, Ty Wigginton and pitching prospect Matt Peterson to the Pirates for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger.
Yes, all that could have been avoided if the Pirates just protected Bautista. Pittsburgh kept him around for another 43 plate appearances, and he didn't hit much back with his first organization, either. His 2004 total line over four organizations (five, including the Mets): .205/.263/.239. Pittsburgh wisely sent him to the minors for more seasoning.
After a strong year at Double-A, and brief promotion to Triple-A, the Pirates called Bautista up as a 24-year-old in 2004, hoping he'd be there to stay. He mostly did, providing value, with the ability to play corner positions (though middle infield was a non-starter) and giving Pittsburgh an OPS+ of about 95 each season. But by August 2008, Bautista was 27, and the chances that he'd become a star seemed nonexistent. So the Pirates, needing a catcher, traded Bautista to Toronto for Robinzon Diaz.
Diaz played one season in Pittsburgh, hit .279/.307/.357, then signed with the Tigers organization. He hasn't played in the Major Leagues since. Bautista provided another of his typical seasons for Toronto in 2009 – .235/.349/.408, good for an OPS+ of 99 – then turned into Jose Bautista as we now know him, baseball super icon.
Let's break down the trade. As of today, Bautista leads Diaz in total home runs hit with his new club, 78-1. However, this is misleading, since Diaz is no longer with the Pirates, and able to add to his total. Diaz does lead Bautista in runners thrown out trying to steal (Diaz had nine; Bautista, not a catcher, has 26 outfield assists with Toronto), and the Pirates undoubtedly lead the Blue Jays in fans shaking their fists angrily at the sky.
Generally, I like to find a moral in these trade paths, but it is hard with this one. Every player in baseball history who profiled like Jose Bautista didn't go on to become a classically great slugger, except for Jose Bautista. Perhaps it is simply a reminder that for all we think we know about how baseball will turn out, it still gloriously has the ability to surprise us – not just on a per-game basis, but on a personal one as well.
Mariners Claim Jeff Gray
The Mariners claimed Jeff Gray off of waivers from the White Sox, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). The White Sox designated the right-hander for assignment earlier in the week. Seattle has yet to announce a corresponding move.
Gray, 29, had pitched 13 1/3 innings for the White Sox this year, with 4.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. He has a 4.36 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 53 2/3 career innings with the Athletics, Cubs and White Sox.
D’Backs Release Ron Mahay
The D'Backs released veteran left-handed reliever Ron Mahay, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. They signed him to a minor league deal last month.
Mahay posted a 9.58 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 6.1 BB/9 in 10 1/3 innings at Triple-A Reno this year. The emergence of Rule 5 pick Joe Paterson lessened the D'Backs' need for left-handed relief. Paterson, the lone southpaw in Arizona's 'pen, has yet to allow a run in 15 appearances and has struck out 9 batters in 7 2/3 innings. Click here for more analysis of Arizona's remade 'pen.
Mahay, 39, appeared in 41 games for the Twins last year and posted a 3.44 ERA with a 42.5% ground ball rate, 6.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. In 14 big league seasons, Mahay has posted 7.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 against left-handed hitters.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Blanco, Pavano, Latos
On this date in 2008, the Rays took control of sole possession of first place in the AL East for the first time in franchise history. It took an extra innings walk-off win against the Yankees coupled with a Red Sox loss to the Orioles. The win also marked the first time Tampa Bay was seven games over .500 in a season. They, of course, went on to their first AL pennant and World Series appearance later that season.
Here are this week's batch of links, which break franchise records in their own individual ways…
- Sodo Mojo wrote at length about the Mariners and their strategy for next month's amateur draft.
- Brotherly Glove tackled the idea of a contract extension for Cole Hamels.
- Amazin' Avenue broke down the Mets' 2012 payroll obligations with respect to Jose Reyes.
- Wahoo Blues, meanwhile, explored the possibility of the Indians trading for Reyes.
- Motor City Bengals explained why David Wright will not be traded to the Tigers.
- Rising Apple called Taylor Buchholz an unlikely trade chip.
- The Shea Faithful obsessed over the Mets' last roster spot, saying it's time they part ways with Chin-lung Hu.
- NatsGM says the Gregor Blanco trade likely won't have much of an impact, but was a solid depth move for the Nationals nonetheless.
- Bay City Ball tries to figure out who should get playing time in the Giants' outfield.
- FanSpeak thinks it's time for Bryce Harper to move up a level in the minor leagues.
- True Grich says that even though Kendrys Morales is out for the year, it's Jeff Mathis that really has to go.
- Twins Territory Talk wonders if Carl Pavano was a bad investment.
- Capitol Avenue Club details Jair Jurrjens' new approach.
- Through The Fence Baseball is looking for the real Mat Latos.
- Royals Review came up with a way to quantify the Royals' grit.
- The Outside Corner takes a look at Raul Ibanez's continued decline.
- Fenway Faithful Report wonders if Jose Iglesias is the next Rey Ordonez.
- Cubbies Crib says the Cubs have reasons to be concerned about Tyler Colvin.
- Bronx Bombers Report wonders if the Yankees and White Sox match up for a trade involving a starting pitcher.
- Replacement Level Baseball scouts the Pirates' broadcasters.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.
NL West Notes: Dodgers, Starling, Jimenez
The Padres (127 runs scored), Giants (128) and Dodgers (140) are all among the four most feeble offenses in the National League so far. Here's the latest on the NL West…
- Despite a weakened bullpen and a thin lineup, the Dodgers are within 3.5 games of the division lead. The team's rotation is the reason things aren't worse, manager Don Mattingly told Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.
- D'Backs GM Kevin Towers and vice president Jerry Dipoto scouted high schooler Bubba Starling in person, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The two-sport star is athletic enough to make Bryce Harper take note; some say he can hit the ball a mile, throw 95 mph as a pitcher and toss a football 50 yards from his knees.
- It should come as no surprise that the Scott Boras client will be an expensive sign, Piecoro explains. Nebraska wants Starling to play quarterback and center field on a scholarship, so he has leverage. Arizona has the #3 and #7 selections in the first round this June.
- The Rockies "no longer have an ace," according to Tom Verducci of SI.com, who hears from one scout that Ubaldo Jimenez is pitching like he's hurt. His fastball has slowed down, but the Rockies say Jimenez is healthy and dealing with mechanical and command issues.