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Minor Moves: Catricala, Taveras, Valaika, Heston
Today's minor moves…
- The Athletics announced (via Twitter) that Vinnie Catricala has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Double-A Midland. The 24-year-old third baseman was designated for assignment yesterday morning after hitting .219/.292/.297 in 33 games at Midland following a trade from the Mariners.
- The Royals released Willy Taveras, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Taveras, 31, hit .239/.308/.340 for Kansas City's Triple-A club in 279 plate appearances this year. The speedster last appeared in the majors in 2010 with the Nationals.
- Marlins infielder Chris Valaika cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A New Orleans, announced the team. Valaika, who has missed most of the season due to wrist surgery, was designated for assignment Tuesday. The 27-year-old was drafted by the Reds in the third round in '06, one pick before the Orioles took Zach Britton and 20 before the Yankees grabbed Zach McAllister.
- The Giants re-signed starter Chris Heston, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. They had designated Heston for assignment on July 13th, and later released him. The 25-year-old has a 5.80 ERA in 108 2/3 Triple-A innings.
- Righty David Pauley signed with the Sugarland Skeeters of the Atlantic League, tweets Cotillo. Pauley, who spent time with the Diamondbacks' Triple-A club this year, has pitched for the Red Sox, Mariners, Tigers, Angels, and Blue Jays.
- Eight players currently reside in DFA limbo: Ted Lilly of the Dodgers, Billy Buckner of the Angels, Humberto Quintero of the Phillies, Hunter Strickland of the Giants, Brandon Inge of the Pirates, Carlos Pena and Ronny Cedeno of the Astros, and Chris Dickerson of the Orioles.
Steve Adams and Aaron Steen contributed to this post.
Angels Designate Billy Buckner For Assignment
The Angels will designate Billy Buckner for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for right-hander J.C. Gutierrez, who the club claimed off waivers from the Royals yesterday, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter).
Buckner, 29, appeared in seven games for the Halos this season (two starts), posting a 4.67 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. However, he managed just seven strikeouts against seven walks and also allowed a staggering five home runs in that short time. He was already outrighted off the Angels' 40-man roster once this season back in May.
Amaro Denies That Dickerson Trade Is Close
5:59pm: Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com that an acquisition of Dickerson is not close (Twitter link). Heyman has since retracted his report (on Twitter).
5:40pm: The Phillies are close to a deal for Orioles outfielder Chris Dickerson, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports.
Dickerson, 31, was designated for assignment by the O's on July 19, managing a .245/.274/.412 line in 106 plate appearances prior to that point. He's been the subject of several trade rumors since his DFA, with FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal suggesting the Phillies as one possible destination. The Phils are known to be targeting an outfielder for their back up centerfielder job. Dickerson has logged 114 innings in the outfield so far this year, splitting them roughly evenly between left, center and right.
A left-handed hitter, Dickerson has hit 266/.342/.425 for his career against right-handed pitching, so he could also be useful as a late-inning pinch hitter. He's appeared in the majors every year since 2008, but has never managed to accumulate more than 300 plate appearances in any single season.
Phillies Release Carlos Zambrano
The Phillies announced via press release that they have released Carlos Zambrano from their Triple-A club.
Zambrano, 32, was a mid-May signing for the Phillies and threw 35 1/3 innings for their minor league affiliates, posting a 2.04 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9. However, he left the mound for Triple-A Lehigh Valley with shoulder pain on June 28 and hasn't pitched since. The Phillies said they decided that his chances of rehabbing and pitching competitively for the major league club this year were slim.
Big Z had an agreement in place with the Long Island Ducks earlier this year, but the Phillies swooped in with an offer for a minor league deal days after his contract with the Ducks was announced. Zambrano has a career 3.66 ERA in the major leagues in 1,959 innings.
NL Central Links: Braun, Gallardo, Soriano, Cards
Ryan Braun has yet to address the public regarding his 65-game suspension for his involvement with Tony Bosch's Biogenesis clinic, but he issued a statement through the Brewers' PR department today explaining that he is not legally able to speak on the topic while MLB's investigation still ongoing (Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporting). Braun says he will speak when he is legally allowed to do so. Here's more on the NL Central…
- Haudricourt tweets that the question surrounding Yovani Gallardo should no longer be whether or not he's traded, but rather whether or not the Brewers can salvage a pitcher who is losing his stuff. Gallardo allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings against the Padres today.
- Alfonso Soriano will be the last Cubs player to cause any drama regarding no-trade protection for a long time, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. President Theo Epstein doesn't believe in putting no-protection in contracts, so Soriano will be the last to receive that luxury (aside from players who end up with 10-and-5 rights, of course). The Cubs have dealt with no-trade hurdles when trying to move Kerry Wood, Derrek Lee, Carlos Marmol, Aramis Ramirez and Soriano himself in recent years.
- The Cardinals appear unlikely to make a significant trade, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. General manager John Mozeliak won't part with top prospects Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez, Oscar Taveras or Kolten Wong unless a "major" upgrade at shortstop or a high-end starting pitcher becomes available.
Red Sox Rumors: Norris, Gallardo, Volquez, Peavy
The Red Sox are searching for pitching in advance of Wednesday's trade deadline. The latest:
- The Sox have scouts most everywhere, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network. They have a scout watching the Astros' Bud Norris last night, and will have scouts in attendance for starts by Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers, Edinson Volquez of the Padres, and Jake Peavy of the White Sox today.
- Earlier today, we learned that the Red Sox may stand pat with their bullpen, and are in "pretty hard" on free agent Cuban righty Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.
Jake Peavy Rumors: Thursday
Jake Peavy could make his last start as a member of the White Sox this afternoon, as he takes on Justin Verlander and the Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field. The Sox aren't sure what they want to do with Peavy yet, writes ESPN's Buster Olney, but their asking price is "really high." The latest:
- The Red Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers, Braves, Orioles, and Reds each have a scout in attendance, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark, while the Rangers have two. Athletics director of player personnel Billy Owens is also there, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Keep in mind that their presence does not necessarily imply trade interest in Peavy.
Earlier Updates
- GM Rick Hahn keeps Peavy "abreast of what's going on," the righty told reporters including Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Peavy says he doesn't want to be traded, but he's prepared for the possibility. The Red Sox and Diamondbacks are expected to have two scouts apiece at today's start, notes Gonzales.
- The Cardinals and White Sox "continue to scout each other's personnel," writes Gonzales. Shortstop Alexei Ramirez could also be a fit for the Cardinals, but not at the cost of their top arms.
- "ERA-based reputation still holds a lot of sway," writes Dave Cameron of FanGraphs in trying to understand the perception that Matt Garza had more trade value than Peavy. That might make Peavy a relative bargain, he suggests. I tried to make the case for Peavy in our Monday poll, but about 65% of over 26,000 MLBTR readers polled felt Garza had more trade value.
Crain Will Not Be Activated Prior To Trade Deadline
White Sox reliever Jesse Crain could have been a hot commodity on the trade market, but he will not be activated prior to the trade deadline after experiencing what pitching coach Don Cooper called a "slight setback" today. Today's bullpen session was cancelled, reported Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago and others.
Crain, a free agent after the season, hit the DL on July 3rd with a shoulder strain. He made the All-Star team with a 0.74 first-half ERA, but was unable to participate. If Crain recovers, an August trade could be possible, though the White Sox would have to deal only with the team that wins a claim on him.
AL East Notes: Morrow, Red Sox, Rays, Yankees
Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow is likely out for the season due to an entrapped radial nerve in his right forearm, a source told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca last night. The issue is likely to be treated with extended rest rather than surgery, Davidi adds. The Blue Jays have since announced that Morrow will be out for approximately six weeks. Morrow, who turns 29 tomorrow, is under contract for $8MM next year and has a $10MM club option for 2015. The Blue Jays are finished this year, as a seven-game losing streak has dropped them to 11 games out in the wild card. Elsewhere in the AL East…
- The Red Sox appear "just as likely to stand pat as they are to add another reliever," writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. He says the team has not stepped up its search despite losing Andrew Bailey for the season, though they continue to monitor the market.
- "We explained to him that this is financial lunacy," agent Seth Levinson said in reference to Dustin Pedroia wanting to approach the Red Sox as early as 2011 about spending the rest of his career in Boston (WEEI's Alex Speier reporting). "Money was never really a factor," explained Levinson, who also said Pedroia chose years over salary partly to avoid becoming a contract albatross.
- Contract offers of more than five years are hard to come by, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria told Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, and he understands why Pedroia left "a few extra dollars lying on the table." Longoria did so himself in a pair of contract extensions.
- "There's no glaring place to be doing anything," Rays owner Stuart Sternberg told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times in regard to his club's needs. Still, the team is always looking to upgrade for the present and future.
- Along with the Yankees, the Red Sox are also still intrigued by Phillies third baseman Michael Young, a Major League source tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Having dropped four in a row, the Phillies are eight games out in the NL East and worse off in the wild card.
- Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano "asked for a couple days to think about" a potential trade to the Yankees, president Theo Epstein told reporters including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune yesterday. Adding Soriano would be a "good first step" for the Yankees, writes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues, but the team still has to address needs at third base and behind the plate.
- Cuban outfielder Dariel Alvarez, who recently signed with the Orioles for $800K, "struggles against live pitching," according to scouts who spoke to Baseball America's Ben Badler.