Minor Moves: Volstad, Hughes
We'll keep track of today's minor moves here..
- Right-handed pitcher Chris Volstad cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to rejoin the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, according to the Sky Sox's Twitter feed. Volstad was waived last week to make room on the roster for Roy Oswalt.
- Left-hander Dusty Hughes has retired from baseball, MLBTR's Chris Cotillo has learned. Hughes, who was released by the Braves in May, posted a 4.99 ERA with a 6.5 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 80 appearances over three major league seasons with the Royals and Twins. The 30-year old will become a coach at a private school.
Edinson Volquez Drawing Interest
Padres pitcher Edinson Volquez is drawing trade interest from other clubs, according to Bill Center of U-T San Diego. A number of teams had scouts at yesterday's game to check out the right-hander in person.
The Orioles could be among those clubs with interest in Volquez and they have "apparently" mentioned the name of former top pitching prospect Jake Arrieta. The 27-year-old had a solid debut campaign in 2010 but has been inconsistent on the hill ever since. One scout suggested the Orioles might also be interested in swapping Arrieto for Anthony Bass.
Volquez, soon to be 30, has an ERA of 5.67 this season with 7.3 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. The right-hander is earning $5.725MM this season and will be a free agent this winter.
Diamondbacks To Sign Aaron Blair
The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with No. 36 overall pick Aaron Blair for a signing bonus of $1.435MM, tweets Kendall Rogers of perfectgame.org. According to Baseball America's list of pick values, the deal will be well below the assigned slot of $1,547,700. The Diamondbacks received that selection in the draft as the result of a competitive balance pick.
The right-handed pitcher was highly regarded by Baseball America (Subscription Required), Keith Law of ESPN (Subscription Required), and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, ranking 41st, 32nd, and 35th respectively in the pre-draft listings.
According to BA, the 6-foot-5, 220-pounder throws a heavy fastball and plus changeup that have been inconsistent thus far in his career, but might best move forward with the slider. The PSI Sports Management advisee spent his college days as a member of the Marshall Thundering Herd.
International Notes: Gonzalez, Despaigne, Jimenez
Japanese baseball is facing a growing scandal over livelier baseballs being used this year, explains Ken Belson of the New York Times. NPB Commissioner Ryozo Kato is under fire after first denying any change to what had been a pitcher-friendly baseball in 2011 and 2012. Here's the rest of tonight's notes from around the world..
- The Twins are another team that have interest in Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Gonzalez was recently declared a free agent, and the Twins have seen the 26-year-old pitch three times in the last month according to Wolfson.
- Ben Badler of Baseball America has the story on Cuban slugger Alfredo Despaigne, who is currently plaing in Mexico (Subscription Required). The Cuban government allowed a special arrangement in which Despaigne can play for the Campeche Pirates of the Mexican League for the summer. Scouts will likely take advantage of this rare opportunity to see the former home run champion in action, notes Badler.
- Eloy Jimenez is adjusting to life as a top prospect in baseball's altered international signing period, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. The Dominican native took the No.1 spot on MLB.com's Top 30 International Prospects for this July 2 signing class.
Texas Notes: Davis, Luhnow, Cardinals
While still in last place in the AL West, the Astros have played much better of late, going 7-3 in their last ten games. Meanwhile, the Rangers have won three in a row and currently sit one game back of the first place Athletics. Needless to say, there could be plenty of deadline news coming out of the Lone Star State. Here's tonight's notes from the Texas teams..
- Buster Olney of ESPN breaks down the Chris Davis deal that sent the current home run leader from the Rangers to the Orioles (Subscription Required and Recommended). Rangers GM Jon Daniels reflected on the trade, saying "I feel comfortable with the decision-making process that led us there. The result is obviously not in our favor, but the process wasn't bad.”
- The Rangers and Cardinals both were able to do well in free agency in recent years, opines Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. According to Miklasz, the two clubs have built impressive farm systems and maintained impressive payroll flexibility by letting their most expensive free agents move on to other teams.
- The Astros have built a farm system that GM Jeff Luhnow is pleased with, reports Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle. The only club that Lunhow would trade farm systems with is, unsurprisingly, the Cardinals. Lunhow played a pivotal role in drafting and developing both organizations.
Mariners Designate Eric Thames For Assignment
The Mariners have announced that outfielder Eric Thames has been designated for assignment. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for fellow outfielder Franklin Gutierrez, who will come off the 60-day disabled list. Gutierrez will replace Michael Morse on the active roster, with Morse landing on the 15-day DL.
Thames had yet to appear in the big leagues this season, and owns a career line of .250/.296/.431/ in 684 plate appearances with the Blue Jays and Mariners. The 26-year-old is currently slashing .295/.382/.479 with Triple-A Tacoma.
Dodgers Release Ramon Hernandez
The Dodgers have released catcher Ramon Hernandez according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Hernandez had been designated for assignment on June 14 to clear a roster spot for A.J. Ellis.
The Dodgers acquired the veteran backstop from the Rockies on April 6 in exchange for Aaron Harang. The 37-year-old saw only 55 plate appearances for Los Angeles, batting .208/.291/.438.
In 5701 Major League plate appearances with the A's, Padres, Orioles, Reds, Rockies and Dodgers, Hernandez is a .263/.327/.417 hitter. The Eric Goldschmidt client was in the final season of a 2-year, $6.5MM contract he signed with the Rockies prior to 2012.
Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez Declared A Free Agent
Cuban standout Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez has been officially declared a free agent, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). However, the hurler does not have U.S. Treasury clearance yet to negotiate with MLB teams yet, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Late last week, Gonzalez threw for teams in Tijuana and Ben Cherington was reportedly the only GM in attendance. However, the Red Sox aren't the only team interested in the right-hander. Several other clubs are said to be in the mix, including the Dodgers, who sent their three top scouts to watch the audition on Thursday.
Rockies Acquire Hisanori Takahashi
The Rockies have acquired left-hander Hisanori Takahashi from the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter). The veteran will report to the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate.
Takahashi made just three relief appearances for the Cubs this season and spent most of the year with Triple-A Iowa. In the minors, the 38-year-old posted an impressive 1.99 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
NL Notes: Utley, Pagan, Garza, Schierholtz
Let's have a look at a few notes on National League players who seem likely to figure in how the trade deadline market plays out:
- With his return to big league action, Phillies' second baseman Chase Utley quickly drew a flock of top scouts, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Salisbury noted the attendance at last night's game of scouts from the Yankees and Giants.
- Giants center fielder Angel Pagan could be headed for surgery on his injured left hamstring, report MLB.com's Chris Haft and Andrew Owens. According to manager Bruce Bochy, there is "no question [surgery] is an option." Today, we learned that an operation to repair the tear in his hammy would likely keep Pagan out for six weeks or so. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman, on Twitter.) As ESPN.com's Jim Bowden explained recently (on Insider), Pagan's injury could force San Francisco onto the market for an outfielder.
- The Cubs' Matt Garza continues to build his value on the trade and free agent markets after going eight strong innings last night against the Astros. As ESPNChicago.com's Doug Padilla noted last night, the length and quality of Garza's recent outings promise to enhance his candidacy as one of the best available arms.
- Meanwhile, with reports that the Cubs are prepared to sell players, Fangraphs' Dave Cameron took a look at the value of Chicago outfielder Nate Schierholtz. Noting that Schierholtz comes with an additional year of control and has undervalued but nevertheless highly useful skills, Cameron says that he could appeal to a wide variety of teams.