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Archives for August 2012

Week In Review: 8/12/12 – 8/18/12

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As we tip our proverbial caps to King Felix for delivering perfection to the baseball world on Wednesday, let's catch up on the week that was here at MLBTR…

  • Starlin Castro and the Cubs reached an agreement on a seven-year contract extension worth $60MM. The deal includes a $16MM option for 2020 which would boost the overall value of the deal to $76MM. 
  • The Astros appointed Tony DeFrancesco as their interim manager after dismissing manager Brad Mills, hitting coach Mike Barnett, and first base coach Bobby Meacham. The 49-year-old was the skipper for the club's Triple-A affiliate.
  • The Blue Jays signed Jeff Mathis to a two-year contract extension worth $3MM with a club option for 2015 worth $1.5MM. Mathis, 29, is hitting .215/.252/.415 with six homers in 147 plate appearances this season.   
  • Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera received a 50 game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Cabrera hit .346/.390/.516 with 11 homers in 501 plate appearances during his first season in San Francisco, earning him his first All-Star Game nomination.
  • The Marlins designated Gil Velazquez for assignment. Velazquez, 32, had one single in eight plate appearances with the Marlins since being called up earlier this week.
  • The Nationals designated infielder Cesar Izturis for assignment. Izturis' stay in Washington lasted just eleven days as he was claimed off of waivers from Milwaukee on August 6th.
  • Right-hander Mark Prior is in search of a new home after being released by the Red Sox in order to create space for the newly-acquired Pedro Beato, who arrived from the Mets in the Kelly Shoppach deal. During his time in Triple-A Pawtucket, Prior posted a 3.96 ERA with 13.7 K/9 and 8.3 BB/9 in a small sample size of 25 innings of work.
  • The Red Sox placed Aaron Cook, Felix Doubront and Andrew Miller on trade waivers.
  • The Phillies acquired right-hander Ryan O'Sullivan from the Dodgers to complete the Joe Blanton trade. O'Sullivan, 21, has pitched to a 3.05 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 88 1/3 innings at the Single-A level this season.
  • Veteran catcher Yorvit Torrealba signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays after recently being released by the Rangers. Torrealba, 34, posted a .236/.302/.342 batting line in 182 plate appearances for Texas.
  • The Blue Jays sent right-handed pitching prospect Kevin Comer to the Astros to complete last month's ten player trade.
  • The Pirates signed Dallas McPherson to a minor league deal. The 32-year-old infielder hit .253/.335/.463 with 12 homers in 264 plate appearances in the White Sox's farm system earlier this year.
  • Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Marmol cleared trade waivers. Soriano is now eligible to be traded anywhere, pending his approval due to his ten-and-five rights.
  • The Athletics signed pitcher Jeremy Accardo, who will report to Triple-A Sacramento. The 30-year-old posted a 4.58 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 26 appearances for Cleveland this season.
  • The Rockies designated Mike Ekstrom for assignment. Ekstrom, 28, allowed 11 runs in 15 2/3 relief innings for Colorado this season, striking out nine and walking two.
  • Outfielder/first baseman Mark Kotsay agreed to terms on a $1.3MM extension with the Padres through the 2013 season. Kotsay, 36, has a .275/.333/.363 slash line with one home run in 111 plate appearances.
  • The White Sox signed Jose Lopez to a minor league contract and assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate. Lopez, 28, hit .249/.272/.366 in 224 plate appearances for Cleveland this year while playing first, second, third and right field before being released.
  • The Orioles designated right-hander Miguel Socolovich for assignment. The native of Venezuela pitched ten and one-third innings for the O's this season, allowing eight earned runs with six strikeouts and six walks.
  • Infielder Yuniesky Betancourt can now sign with the team of his choosing after being released by the Royals. Betancourt, 30, has posted a career line of .266/.290/.392 with 67 homers in 3,869 plate appearances.
  • The Padres designated left-handed pitcher Alex Hinshaw for assignment. Hinshaw, 30 in October, posted a 4.50 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 28 innings of relief work for San Diego this season.
  • The Orioles acquired J.C. Romero from the Indians for minor league infielder Carlos Rojas. Romero, 36, allowed nine runs in eight innings for the Cardinals earlier this season, and has pitched to a 2.74 ERA in 23 Triple-A innings.

National League Notes: Braves, Jackson, Cabrera

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A pivotal battle between two division rivals in the midst of a playoff race took 19 innings to complete as the Pirates beat the Cardinals by the score of 6-3. Pedro Alvarez gave Pittsburgh the lead in the top of 19th when he hit a solo shot against Barret Browning. The Pirates took the three-game series with the win and would be headed to the playoffs if the season ended today as the second Wild Card.

Here's the latest news and headlines from around the National League…

  • With the Braves set to play one more series against the Nationals after this week's showdown, Atlanta realizes the importance of making up ground in D.C. starting on Monday, writes Andrew Simon of MLB.com. The Braves have a comfortable hold on the top Wild Card spot but have played well enough to make a run at the division only to be matched win-for-win by Washington. "We have the opportunity to take advantage because it seems like every time we win, they win and they don't lose very often," said Freddie Freeman. "So this is our time to try to take control of things and get a little closer."
  • Nationals right-hander Edwin Jackson, a free agent after the season, would like to remain in D.C. on a deal longer than the one-year contract he signed in February, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. "Anything more than one year," Jackson said. "It would be nice to settle down for more than one year, for sure. I would like to [stay]. I could see myself being a part of [the Nationals], but at the end of the day, it's up to ownership."
  • The battle against performance-enhancing drugs remains an uphill struggle for Major League Baseball, opines Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Rosenthal suggests Melky Cabrera's actions reflect a desperate person willing to resort to desperate actions as he may have viewed PEDs as the lone way to salvage his career. While there may be less users in baseball as compared to a decade ago, players are still abusing the system and reaping the benefits that Cabrera enjoyed for almost a full season, if not longer.

Quick Hits: Melky Cabrera, Johan Santana, Bobby V

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On this day in baseball history in 1957, Giants president Horace Stoneham violated baseball's protocol for announcements about teams relocating to new cities by failing to wait until after the World Series. Stoneham cited declining attendance to the press as to why the Giants were headed to San Francisco to play their home games for the following season. The team's board of directors approved the move by the vote of 8-1 with M. Donald Grant casting the lone dissenting vote. Grant would later go on to become the chairman of the expansion Mets. 

Here's the latest news and headlines from around the league…

  • Melky Cabrera's suspension ensures that the beleaguered outfielder won't see the field again until the playoffs, but that doesn't mean he can't win the NL batting title, writes Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com. Doyel suggests MLB commissioner Bud Selig should intervene and prevent Cabrera from receiving the award if he finishes the season with the highest batting average in the league. Andrew McCutchen currently leads the NL with a .356 average entering Sunday's action as compared to Cabrera's .346 mark with 43 games to go.
  • The Mets may have a trade partner for Johan Santana this offseason if the left-hander can regain the strong form he's occasionally displayed this season, opines Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Martino looks at the Dodgers as a possible fit for the former two-time Cy Young winner given their newly-minted deep wallets. With Santana guaranteed over $25MM next season, the Mets may elect to keep their struggling ace rather than pay $20MM to watch him pitch for another team.
  • Bobby Valentine never had a chance as the manager of the Red Sox given the state of the franchise from top to bottom, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. When Boston brought Valentine aboard to replace Terry Francona this offseason, it was getting a brilliant baseball mind who could identify talent at an expert level but was prone to a soap opera from time to time. As Heyman puts it, the Red Sox never should have hired Valentine if they were just going to cut his vocal chords mere months later in the wake of the Kevin Youkilis incident.

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:

September Call-ups: Pirates, Orioles, Padres, Mets

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Major League rosters can expand to 40 players beginning September 1st. Not everybody thinks it's such a great idea. Tigers manager Jim Leyland recently vented to reporters, including Jason Beck of MLB.com. "I've been really adamant about that, really a stickler on it," Leyland said. "When I have that meeting with the Commissioner [as part of the special committee for on-field matters], I talk about that all the time. Myself, if everybody went to 28, that wouldn't bother me at all. I think that's fine. That's just my feeling, but any manager who does a pretty good job of managing all year, and then at the biggest month of the year, he loses some of his ability to maneuver." Let's take a look at what the plans are for other clubs looking to maneuver over the season's final month. 
  • The Pirates are mulling their September call-ups with the post-season in mind, as they entered play today holding the second NL Wild Card spot and with Triple-A Indianapolis likely playoff-bound. General Manager Neal Huntington told reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "Where we go from there … it’s a delicate balance. I’ve been with another organization where we raided the Triple-A team as it was headed to the post-season. The guys came up and didn’t play very much, and that didn’t go over very well on many fronts."  At least one left-handed reliever and another catcher will be added when rosters expand, writes Biertempfel.
  • Pirates manager Clint Hurdle adds another consideration when deciding upon September call-ups: cost. In Biertempfel's piece, Hurdle pointed out, "In my rookie year, if you got a call-up, you made $5,000 or $6,000 (in September). Now you’re talking about making $75,000. So if you call up 10 guys, you’re picking up $750,000 in salary and everything that goes with it.”
  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter has acknowledged the team's September call-ups will be affected by the team's playoff chase. Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com lists possible players, both on the disabled list and at Triple-A, who could join the O's when the rosters expand. 
  • The Padres may not have the roster space to bring Jedd Gyorko up in September, according to John Maffei of the North County Times. The Padres already have 49 players on their 40-man roster (nine are on the 60-day disabled list) and may not want to start Gyorko's service clock just for a September sneak peak, writes Maffei. Since Gyorko has less than three full seasons in pro ball, the Padres don't have to add him to the 40-man roster next season.  
  • Lucas Duda will probably have to wait until September 1st to rejoin the Mets because the team wants to take a longer look at Mike Baxter, tweets the New York Post's Mike Puma. 
  • The Nationals have several candidates for September call-ups including pitcher John Lannan and 2011 first-round draft pick Anthony Rendon, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.

Cubs Claim Alex Hinshaw

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The Cubs have claimed left-handed pitcher Alex Hinshaw off outright waivers, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. Hinshaw was designated for assignment by the Padres last Tuesday.

Hinshaw posted a 4.50 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 28 innings of relief work for San Diego this season. He logged a strong strikeout rate of 11.6 K/9, but struggled with his control (6.4 BB/9). Prior to pitching for the Padres this season, he last appeared in the big leagues with the Giants in 2009.

Hinshaw is expected to join the Cubs in Milwaukee tomorrow in time for their series against the Brewers, tweets Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com. The Cubs, however, have yet to announce a corresponding roster move.  

Luhnow On Mills Firing, Possible Replacements

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Late last night, the Astros fired manager Brad Mills and coaches Bobby Meacham (first base) and Mike Barnett (hitting). This morning, the club announced their replacements, all on an interim basis: manager Tony DeFrancesco, first base coach Dan Radison, and hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo. The "getting to know you" phase shouldn't be difficult for DeFrancesco as seven of the nine players in the Astros' starting linuep today played for him in the minors, tweeted Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Here's the latest out of Houston:

  • The coaching staff had no sense the firings were immenient, instead thinking changes would be made after the season, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter). 
  • General Manager Jeff Luhnow, however, told reporters, including McTaggart, the decision was made a week ago. "Once that decision was made, it made sense to make changes sooner rather than later, not having a lame-duck administration. The mix wasn't working, the chemistry wasn't working."
  • Speculation has already started on Mills' successor. Joe Pettini, Chris Maloney, and Jim Riggleman are viewed as three potential replacements, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Pettini was the Cardinals' bench coach before joining Luhnow in Houston in the same capacity. Maloney is the Cardinals' first base coach. Riggleman, previously the manager of the Cubs, Padres, Mariners and Nationals, is managing the Reds' Double-A team.
  • MLB Network's Peter Gammons tweets seven names that should be on any managerial search list: Brad Ausmus, Dave Righetti, Tim Wallach, Davey Martinez, Joey Cora, Joe McEwing, and Gabe Kapler.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Hughes

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Let's take a look at some items on the Red Sox and Yankees as they get set to square off tonight..

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman will soon have to decide where they stand on Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, who are both set to hit free agency after next season, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  When asked about how he views the two long-term, Cashman responded, “That is stuff I can’t answer at this stage. It is a two-way street. It is a negotiation for two sides. So it is all for another day."
  • Sources told Andy Martino and Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News that the text message from Adrian Gonzalez to Red Sox ownership about Bobby Valentine was actually authored by catcher Kelly Shoppach.  The catcher was later traded to the Mets, clearing room in Boston for Valentine favorite Ryan Lavarnway.
  • The Yankees are often criticized for their hefty payroll, but the club has done an outstanding job of stockpiling low-cost veteran players, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal praises Cashman for his patience on the open market and his aggressiveness in small trades and on the waiver wire.

Mets Unlikely To Boost Payroll

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Even though General Manager Sandy Alderson recently said that a formal budget has not been set for 2013, the Mets are likely to keep their payroll at just north of $90MM, a source told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  The source speculated that Alderson will have no more than $10-15MM to spend this winter despite the money coming off of the books this year.

If the Mets choose to non-tender Andres Torres, they would have roughly $17.8MM freed up, though they will also need to find outfield help and retool the bullpen.  They'll also see a lot of that money go to scheduled pay raises while Johan Santana and Jason Bay will earn a combined $10MM more next season including their 2014 buyouts.  Pay raises include Jonathon Niese ($2.23MM), David Wright ($1MM), Frank Francisco ($1MM), and R.A. Dickey ($750K) while Daniel Murphy, Ike Davis, Bobby Parnell and Josh Thole all figure to be arb-eligible. 

A team official did not rule out the possibility of Alderson backloading new free agent deals to circumvent short-term limitations, but also pointed out that Alderson is cautious when it comes to long-term contracts.  The Mets could allow themselves to venture into longer-term deals as they have no payroll commitments for 2014 beyond Niese's deal.

Astros Name Tony DeFrancesco As Interim Manager

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The Astros announced that they have appointed Tony DeFrancesco as their interim manager.  The 49-year-old was the skipper for the club's Triple-A affiliate.  

Dan Radison has been brought aboard as the club's interim first base coach while Ty Van Burkleo will serve as interim hitting coach.  At this morning's presser, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow stated that the search for a permanent staff will begin immediately.

The Astros cleaned house late last night, dismissing manager Brad Mills, hitting coach Mike Barnett, and first base coach Bobby Meacham.  In total, the club went 171-274 with Mills at the helm.

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