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Archives for June 2013

Padres Release James Darnell

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FRIDAY: The Padres announced the unconditional release of Darnell and he could re-sign with the club, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter).

WEDNESDAY: The Padres have requested release waivers on Darnell, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock, who confirms that Darnell is done for the season due to his injured shoulder. Brock expects the team to attempt to re-sign Darnell to a minor league contract if he goes unclaimed (Twitter links).

JUNE 14th: The Padres have officially announced the acquisition of Pedro Ciriaco and designated James Darnell for assignment to clear a space on the team's 40-man roster (Twitter link).

Darnell, 26, has appeared in 25 games for the Padres and compiled a .226/.300/.371 batting line in 71 plate appearances. In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level, Darnell is a .260/.341/.441 hitter.

The 2008 second-rounder ranked as the game's No. 90 prospect prior to the 2010 season, according to Baseball America. However, as Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in late May, Darnell dislocated his left shoulder, which could result in the third left shoulder surgery of his young career. Center called the injury "career threatening."

Yankees Acquire Brent Lillibridge

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The Cubs announced that they have traded Brent Lillibridge to the Yankees for a player to be named later or cash considerations.  The light-hitting infielder/outfielder has spent the bulk of the year with Chicago's Triple-A affiliate. 

The 29-year-old saw just nine games of action on the Cubs' varsity squad this season versus 48 games in Triple-A Iowa where he hit .281/.331/.425 with five homers.  Across six big league seasons, Lillibridge owns a .207/.271/.339 slash line with five different clubs.

Yankees, Robinson Cano Far Apart In Talks

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Some figured that Robinson Cano's decision to join up with Jay-Z's agency venture would lead to a quick and smooth contract resolution with the Yankees, but that doesn't appear to be the case.  While there's been some talk that the second baseman's people and the Yankees might pick up official contract talks sometime after the All-Star break, it's clear they are nowhere near a deal at this point, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

Even if they talk, its not clear if they will have anything to talk about, making free agency a very likely outcome for Cano at this point.  The Bombers are still far and away Cano's preference, but there's a very good chance he won't have a new deal with anyone until at least November or perhaps later.  There's always an outside chance that either part or both could bend leading to a quick deal, but that would signal a major change in thinking.

Cano isn't talking about his contract publicly, but he has told friends that he'd like something in the neighborhood of a $275MM deal, reminiscent of Alex Rodriguez's deal.  The Yankees aren't believed to be anywhere close to that, however, and at one point they suggested something closer to David Wright's eight-year, $138MM contract.  

The second baseman is the top ranked free agent on Tim Dierkes' 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings.  While he's still having a strong year, his numbers are down from his 2012 campaign in which he hit .313/.379/.550 with 33 homers.

Rockies Designate Logan Kensing For Assignment

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The Rockies announced (via Twitter) that they have selected the contract of outfielder Corey Dickerson and designated right-hander Logan Kensing for assignment.

The 30-year-old Kensing pitched just two-thirds of an inning for the Rockies this season — his first big league action since 2009. The former second-round pick has a 5.79 ERA in 161 2/3 career innings with 8.0 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9. He's fared significantly better in Triple-A, though, where he owns a career 3.67 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.

Kensing found himself out of affiliated ball entirely following the 2009 season, but worked his way back to the Majors this season following a brief stop in the independent Atlantic League along the way.

Dickerson, 24, is hitting .386/.429/.646 with nine homers, 19 doubles and an incredible 13 triples through 303 plate appearances at Triple-A this season. He's played left field almost exclusively, though he has made five appearances in right field as well. Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Dickerson as Colorado's No. 13 prospect, noting that he's become a much more complete hitter in recent years but calling his defense in left a "work in progress."

Astros Designate Ross Seaton For Assignment

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The Astros have designated minor league right-hander Ross Seaton for assignment, according to Brian T. Smith (on Twitter). Smith writes that the move clears a 40-man roster spot for outfielder Marc Krauss to take the place of Trevor Crowe, who was placed on the disabled list with a sprained joint in his shoulder.

Seaton, 23, was a third-round pick by the Astros in the 2008 draft. He ranked as the club's No. 16 prospect prior to the 2012 season and No. 21 prospect prior to this season, according to Baseball America. After posting a 3.93 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 169 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2012, however, he's posted an 8.18 ERA with 28 strikeouts and 26 walks in 55 innings between those same two levels this year.

Prior to the season, BA wrote that Seaton profiled as a back-of-the-rotation innings eater who didn't have enough stuff to get away with missing up in the zone, noting that he's prone to home runs. That was made very evident this season, as he allowed 11 long balls in his 55 innings.

White Sox Getting Calls On Veterans

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We learned earlier today that the Cubs are "open for business" and ready to sell, and it sounds like Chicago's other team may not be far behind. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports spoke with White Sox GM Rick Hahn recently, who confirmed that other teams have begun to express interest in his players:

"We are getting phone calls, and they will probably become a little bit more voluminous if we don't turn it around pretty quickly," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said.

Heyman's sources indicate that Alex Rios and Alexei Ramirez will at least be discussed, with one rival general manager telling him that Rios will draw more interest. Rios,32, is owed $12.5MM in 2014, the final guaranteed year of his contract, though his deal contains a club option as well. Ramirez, 31, is controlled through 2015 and owed $9.5MM in 2014, $10MM in 2015 and has a $1MM buyout on his $10MM club option for 2016.

Heyman also speculates that names such as Jake Peavy, Jesse Crain, Matt Thornton, Matt Lindstrom and perhaps even Gordon Beckham will become available if the White Sox do indeed take the position of sellers this July. Crain, of course, is on a historic run, having fired 28 shutout innings over his past 28 appearances with a 37-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time.

Yankees Acquire Yoshinori Tateyama

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The Rangers announced that they have sent right-hander Yoshinori Tateyama to the Yankees for future considerations.  The right-hander has been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Tateyama has spent the entire season at Triple-A Round Rock, posting a 4.24 ERA with 11.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 23 games. The 37-year-old spent portions of the 2011-12 seasons with Texas, posting a 5.75 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 53 relief appearances.  

Yankees Sign Mike Zagurski

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The Yankees have signed Mike Zagurski to a minor league deal, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned. His contract contains an August 15 opt-out date if Zagurski has not been promoted to the Majors.

Zagurski, 30, elected free agency on Wednesday after being designated for assignment by the Pirates last week.  While the left-hander made just six big league appearances this season for the Bucs, he has been extremely sharp in Triple-A, posting a 2.14 ERA with 37 strikeouts and nine walks across 21 innings of work.

Carlos Lee Retires

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Carlos Lee has announced his retirement from baseball, according to a report from the Associated Press (via ESPNdeportes.com). Lee, a client of Wasserman Media Group, said on a Panamanian sports radio show that he received offers from four different teams this offseason, but none offered the two-year deal he was seeking. Lee did not specify which teams were interested.

In parts of 14 Major League seasons, "El Caballo" hit .285/.339/.483 with 358 homers, 1363 RBIs and 125 stolen bases. During his peak years from 2003-07, Lee posted five straight seasons of 30 or more home runs. He made three straight All-Star appearances, won two Silver Sluggers and collected MVP votes on three separate occasions.

Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference both agree that Lee was worth slightly more than 28 wins above replacement over the course of his 2099 games with the White Sox, Astros, Brewers, Rangers and Marlins. According to Baseball-Reference, Lee earned $130.275MM in his career.

Cubs Ready To Sell

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We're just under six weeks away from the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. At this point, many teams are still attempting to determine whether or not they're buyers or sellers, and the addition of a second Wild Card in each league has made that a longer process than it was in the past. However, ESPN's Buster Olney has spoken to rival evaluators who have said that the Cubs are "open for business" and ready to sell (ESPN Insider required and recommended).

The Cubs are 13 games below .500 and 17 games out of first place in the National League Central as of this morning, so their stance is a clear one. Nate Schierholtz, Kevin Gregg, Scott Feldman, David DeJesus (when healthy), Alfonso Soriano, James Russell and Matt Garza are the names that figure to be on the trading block as the Cubs field calls, writes Olney. His piece also includes much more info on potential matches for the Cubs and which divisions may be the first to become active on the trade front.

My take on the Cubs' situation: Being the first team to sell pieces has its advantages and disadvantages. Obviously, the Cubs will have more teams to work with at this juncture. Early in the trading season, with so few teams ready to declare themselves sellers, buyers will have few other places to turn. Trading for a player like Garza or Feldman right now would give the acquiring team an extra few starts from the pitcher they're trading precious prospects for. Acquiring a position player in late June as opposed to late July could mean an extra 20 to 30 games out of that player.

On the flipside of the coin, teams may not be as desperate right now as they would be in the final hours leading up to the deadline. Oftentimes, big deals go down with just hours or minutes to go before the trade deadline, as teams have decided that one final push is worth the risk. Recent examples of July 31 blockbusters include both Hunter Pence trades, the Ubaldo Jimenez trade and the White Sox's acquisition of Jake Peavy. Each of these deals included high-profile prospects being exchanged for star-caliber players, though obviously not all of them worked out.

Injuries can also occur in the next month that would make buyers out of teams who are currently not looking. Conversely, one of the Cubs' trade chips could incur an injury, which would leave president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer one less piece to work with.

Selling pieces early takes away some of the "desperation" leverage from the Cubs, but it also will likely increase their number of suitors, creating more competition for their players. Epstein and Hoyer will have to determine how to walk that line over the next several weeks as they look to build toward the future.

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