The Cubs have designated infielder Alberto Gonzalez for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Julio Borbon, the team announced via press release.
The 30-year-old Gonzalez hit .217/.269/.391 in 11 games for the Cubs this season. The Venezuela native has hit .241/.279/.319 over parts of seven Major League seasons with the Nationals, Yankees, Rangers, Padres and Cubs.
Trade deadlines come and go every year, and in looking back we tend to remember the blockbuster deals. Few will forget last year's Hanley Ramirez deal or 2011's Ubaldo Jimenez trade (even if both teams involved would probably like to). Sometimes though, the smaller deals wind up yielding plentiful returns as well.
Such is the case with the Mike Adams trade of 2011. The last-place Padres shipped their ace setup man to the Rangers for minor league right-hander Joe Wieland (21 years old at the time) and left-hander Robbie Erlin (20 at the time). Here's a look at each of the players involved in this one…
The Major League Side
Adams broke out in San Diego, posting a 1.66 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 217 innings over parts of four seasons. It was more of the same in Texas following the swap, as Adams totaled 78 innings of 2.88 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 for the Rangers. Adams was controlled through 2012 at just $2.54MM, so GM Jon Daniels was able to secure a dominant relief arm for a year and a half. He proved to be a bullpen workhorse in the postseason, appearing in 11 of the Rangers' 17 games with a 3.24 ERA. Adams hit the open market this offseason, and not surprisingly he wasn't issued a qualifying offer. He signed a two-year, $12MM with the Phillies, ending his time in the Lone Star state.The Minor League Side
Adams proved to be a durable, highly effective late-inning arm for the Rangers, while the Padres have attained a pair of mid-rotation arms if Erlin and Wieland can overcome their respective arm injuries. Wieland's improvements have helped to make this look like a very strong return for San Diego. Time will tell if Wieland and/or Erlin can stick as big league starters, but I'd have to imagine that San Diego would be thrilled with the trade if even one of the two could be a part of the rotation for the next few years.
Baseball America's 2013 Prospect Handbook was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Cubs have claimed Julio Borbon off waivers from the Rangers, according to Borbon himself (on Twitter). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports confirmed the move (also on Twitter).
Borbon was designated for assignment by the Rangers last week and placed on waivers Wednesday after the Rangers were unable to work out a trade. The 27-year-old is a career .283/.324/.358 hitter with 40 stolen bases in 53 career attempts.
The outfielder drew interest from a few clubs including the Twins, who were said to be kicking the tires on him. Ultimately, however, the Rangers were unable to find a worthwhile deal for him. Texas ideally wanted a "pitcher with options" in exchange for Borbon.
Because waiver priority is determined by the previous year's standings for the first month of the season, the Cubs had second priority to claim Borbon. He did not pass through the entire American League unclaimed.
The Marlins have designated John Maine for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for Tom Koehler, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (on Twitter).
The 31-year-old Maine tallied 7 1/3 innings for the Fish over the course of four appearances, but the results weren't pretty. The right-hander allowed 10 runs on 15 hits and five walks, leading to a 12.27 ERA. This was Maine's first big league action since 2010 with the Mets. Maine underwent shoulder surgery in May of 2010 and hasn't been able to get his career back on track since. From 2006-08 with the Mets, Maine totaled a 3.93 ERA in 421 innings for the Mets.
MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently asked readers to vote on who the best starting pitcher of the coming offseason will be, and Josh Johnson led the way with nearly 20 percent of the vote.
The market for free agent hitters seems more concrete, given the fact that Robinson Cano's contract expires at the end of this season. However, many fans — including more than 78 percent of MLBTR readers who responded to Jeff Todd's poll – believe that the Yankees and Cano will agree to an extension prior to season's end.
In that instance, the free agent class shapes up much, much differently. Jacoby Ellsbury currently ranks second on MLBTR's 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings, but health is always a factor for Ellsbury, who missed more than 200 games from 2010-12. Other names on the current edition of that list include Shin-Soo Choo, Hunter Pence, Brian McCann and Chase Utley.
Beyond that, a look at the class as a whole features some intriguing hitters, including Corey Hart, Justin Morneau, Michael Morse, Kendrys Morales, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Beltran and Nelson Cruz, to name a few.
Any one of these hitters could turn in a monster season and significantly boost his stock. Who's going to top the list?
Agent Jamie Murphy of TWC Sports, in an interview on Buster Olney's Baseball Tonight podcast on ESPN, says that client-stealing by other agents isn't particularly prevalent in baseball. When players do change agents, Murphy says, it's mostly "for the right reasons," such as, for example, a player changing from an inexperienced agent to a more experienced one. Murphy represents Nick Markakis, Mark Ellis and David Aardsma. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
We'll track today's minor moves here:
David Ortiz says the timing of his likely return to the Red Sox's lineup Friday is unrelated to the structure of his contract, Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports. Under his current two-year, $26MM contract, Ortiz is guaranteed $11MM in 2014, but that number would rise to $13MM if he spends 21 to 40 days on the disabled list due to his Achilles injury in 2013. It would further increase to $15MM if he spends 20 or fewer days. Thursday was Ortiz's 19th day on the DL this season. If he is not activated before Saturday, he will lose $2MM in 2014. "I just found out about [the contract clause] a couple of days ago," says Ortiz. "If I would be limping or hurting still, it is what it is. But I’m going back now because I feel ready and I want to be playing for my ball club." Here's more from the AL East.
A setback in Derek Jeter's ankle injury will keep the Yankees shortstop out until after the All-Star break, Mark Feinsand of New York Daily News reports. Jeter's doctor found a "small crack" near where Jeter's injury originally occurred. He will not need surgery as a result of the setback, but this news ensures that the Yankees' lineup will be without its highest-profile star, in a season in which the lineup has frequently been filled with new Yankees like Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, Brennan Boesch and Ben Francisco. Here are more notes from around the American League.
Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia is finally set to make his minor-league debut, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports. The Orioles have assigned Urrutia to Double-A Bowie, and he will join the Baysox on Friday. Urrutia signed with the Orioles last year for $779K, but he was forced to stay in Haiti for several months after that with visa problems. Here are more notes from the Orioles.
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