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Archives for July 2013

AL West Notes: Vargas, Burnett, Mariners, Rangers

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We're less than two weeks away from the non-waiver trade deadline, and with the rumor mill heating up, here's the latest out of the AL West…

  • Angels lefties Jason Vargas and Sean Burnett aren't likely to return before the trade deadline, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. The duo could return shortly after July 31, however. Both southpaws would have been attractive July trading chips, as Vargas is a free agent at season's end, and Burnett is on the first year of an affordable two-year, $8MM contract.
  • Larry Stone of the Seattle Times writes that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik and manager Eric Wedge are in a tricky position. The duo will likely be judged based on the team's record, which would be better if they hang onto Kendrys Morales, Joe Saunders, Raul Ibanez and the rest of the team's trade chips. However, that also does little to build for the future, leading Stone to say that they could be in a lose-lose situation.
  • In addition to their talks with the Cubs regarding Matt Garza, the Rangers are also seeking a right-handed bat, GM Jon Daniels told reporters today (including Todd Wills of ESPNDallas.com). Alex Rios and Alfonso Soriano "have been mentioned as possible acquisitions," according to Wills, who adds that the Rangers aren't yet ready to give Manny Ramirez a chance at the big league level.
  • From that same piece, Daniels adds that the Rangers aren't panicking over Nelson Cruz's connection to the Biogenesis scandal.

Cubs, Rangers Getting Closer On Garza Deal

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The Matt Garza rumors have picked up steam in the past couple of days, with ESPN's Jim Bowden stating Wednesday that there's an 80 percent chance he's traded before his next start. On Tuesday, we learned that the Cubs have a slight preference toward pitching prospects as opposed to position players and that the Rangers are unwilling to part with Martin Perez to acquire Garza. Here's the latest on Garza…

  • Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes that while the Rangers are "prominently involved," other teams are still in the mix for Garza at this point.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Class A right-hander C.J. Edwards is indeed in play in trade talks. Edwards, 21, has a 1.83 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 93 1/3 innings for Class A Hickory this season.
  • One official tells Rosenthal that the Cubs and Rangers are "getting closer" on a Garza trade (Twitter link). Rosenthal adds that third base prospect Mike Olt is "possibly" in play, but the two sides are discussing prospects from multiple levels.

Earlier Updates

  • The Cubs are asking teams for their "last and best offers" for Garza, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and other clubs think he's thrown his last pitch as a Cub. In a separate pair of tweets, Olney adds that while the Rangers don't want to move Perez, they have other pitching prospects such as C.J. Edwards and Luke Jackson that could be of interest to the Cubs. Jackson ranked as the team's No. 6 prospect prior to the season according to Baseball America, while Edwards ranked 14th. Both have had strong minor league seasons.
  • Rosenthal writes that the Rangers have the most motivation to acquire Garza and have had extensive talks with the Cubs. He adds that the Dodgers are still in the mix even after acquiring Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins.
  • If the Rangers don't acquire Garza, rival executives see the Cardinals, Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Dodgers as the likeliest destinations, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
  • As reported earlier by Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Rockies owner Dick Monfort issued a letter to season-ticket holders saying the team wouldn't surrender top prospects for rentals. That, presumably, officially takes them out of the running for Garza's services.

Diamondbacks Sign Shawn Camp

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The D-Backs have signed Shawn Camp and assigned him to Triple-A Reno according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 37-year-old veteran was released by the Cubs after being designated for assignment earlier this year.

Camp posted a 7.04 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 23 innings for the Cubs this season, thanks to an alarming seven homers allowed in that short time. He was significantly better for the Cubs in 2012 when he pitched to a 3.59 ERA and led the National League with 80 appearances.

Hinske Released By D-Backs; Likely To Retire

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The Diamondbacks have released veteran Eric Hinske from Triple-A Reno, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Chris Gabel of the Reno Gazette-Journal reports that the 2002 American League Rookie of the Year is likely to retire (Twitter link).

The 35-year-old Hinske batted .173/.259/.288 and appeared in 52 games for the D-Backs this season, but just three of those contests were starts. He was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter before being designated for assignment and ultimately accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Reno.

In parts of 12 Major League seasons with the Blue Jays, Braves, Red Sox, Rays, Pirates, Diamondbacks and Yankees, Hinske batted .249/.332/.430 with 137 home runs. He was originally drafted by the Cubs in the 17th round of the 2002 draft — a round that also produced notable Major Leaguers B.J. Ryan and Ty Wigginton. Hinske earned more than $22MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

Heyman Talks Twins Trade Chips

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While earlier reports have said that the Twins are likely to trade longtime first baseman Justin Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP isn't drawing significant interest, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Multiple teams that make sense as landing spots are "cool to the idea" at this time, Heyman writes.

The Rangers and Yankees prefer to focus their efforts on acquiring right-handed bats. The Orioles could use an extra bat, but they don't want to pay the $6MM remaining on the final year of Morneau's six-year, $80MM contract. ESPN's Jim Bowden recently connected the Rays and Pirates to Morneau, but Heyman says the Pirates "aren't heavily involved yet," and the financial element is a deterrent to the Rays as well.

Twins-connected sources tell Heyman there's almost no chance that Josh Willingham will be dealt, and closer Glen Perkins is likely to stay as well. The southpaw told Heyman over the All-Star break: "I'd love to be part of the future. And from what I gather, [the Twins] feel the same." Even Kevin Correia, halfway through the first season of a two-year, $10MM deal, doesn't sound likely to be dealt at this time, according to Heyman's contacts.

Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez Could Sign Next Week

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THURSDAY: Jaime Torres, Gonzalez's agent, told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com that he doesn't expect a deal to go down this weekend but that he hopes to announce an agreement next week. Torres is working on Gonzalez's visa process while the most interested teams make "their last internal consultations," the agent said.

Rojas added the Yankees, the Twins and the Marlins to the list of teams interested in the righty, citing a source close to Gonzalez, though the source adds that Minnesota and Miami are not expected to win the bidding because of Gonzalez's high salary demands. 

WEDNESDAY: The market is taking shape for Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez and the right-hander could sign with a club as early as next week, an industry source tells MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  There's also a trio of new teams in the mix for Gonzalez in the Phillies, Blue Jays, and Braves.  They'll vie with the Cubs, Dodgers, Rangers, and Red Sox, who have all been showing serious interest in his services.

While teams are working the phones vigorously to land an impact pitcher before the July 31st deadline, Gonzalez could provide a boost to a contender without giving up anything other than money.  Scouts believe Gonzalez needs only a few starts in the minors before making his MLB debut and his addition could move the needle as much as finding an arm via trade.

Gonzalez, who was cleared to sign with an MLB team earlier this week, could get as much as $60MM over five years.

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

Multiple Teams Interested In Bud Norris

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The Rangers are in on the Astros' Bud Norris as a back-up plan if they fail to acquire Matt Garza from the Cubs, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports via Twitter. Passan adds that the Pirates,  Dodgers, Blue Jays and Giants are all interested in Norris. 

Norris has been one of the most talked-about trade chips in July, with an executive telling Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com last week that he could be the next starter to be moved. Norris may not provide as immediate of an impact as Garza, but with a paltry $3MM salary this season and two years of team control remaining after this year, he offers significant long-term value. According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, the Astros' have set the high price of two top prospects in exchange for the hurler. 

Norris, 28, has a 3.63 ERA in 114 innings this year, a mark that would be the best of his career. Though his strikeout rate has fallen significantly this season, he's cut his walk and home run rates. The right hander told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart in June that he hasn't discussed a long-term deal with the Astros and understands that a deal may be on the horizon.

Rockies Don’t Want Rentals; Won’t Trade Cuddyer

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5:13pm: Renck also tweets that when asked about the possibility of trading Michael Cuddyer, Monfort replied, "No way. Not happening." Cuddyer is in the second year of a three-year, $31.5MM pact with Colorado and has enjoyed a monster season. To this point, he's hitting .330/.391/.568 with 16 homers. That production led to his second All-Star berth and first Home Run Derby, where he narrowly missed the finals.

3:27pm: The third-place Rockies have cooled off after a red-hot start to the season, but they're still just 4.5 games out of first place in the NL West and 7.5 games out of a Wild Card position. However, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that owner Dick Monfort said in a letter to season-ticket holders that the team will not surrender top prospects for a pitcher it is simply renting for a few months (All Twitter links).

The Rockies have been connected to a pair of prominent rentals thus far — Matt Garza and Jesse Crain. However, if Monfort's statement holds true, Garza certainly won't be joining the Rockies, as he would likely require a package of elite prospects. As a reliever who is currently on the disabled list, Crain's value is currently lower, so it's conceivable that the Rockies could land him without surrendering their "top" prospects. That, of course, is my own speculation, as opposed to a comment from Monfort himself.

There are still numerous pitchers with multiple years of control that the Rockies could pursue. For more info on that, check out Tim Dierkes' recent look at the trade market for starting pitching and my analysis of the market for right-handed relievers.

White Sox Release Lars Anderson, Jeff Gray

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Here's today's rundown of minor moves…

  • The White Sox released infielder Lars Anderson and pitcher Jeff Gray from their Triple-A club, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports via Twitter. Gonzales says the Anderson release is presumably to clear some space for first baseman Travis Ishikawa, who we reported early this morning agreed to sign with the club. Anderson, 25, saw very limited major league action from 2010 to 2012 with the Red Sox. He hit just .194/.302/.251 in 66 games with the Charlotte Knights this year. Gray is a 31-year-old right hander who's thrown more than 140 innings in the big leagues. He logged 52 innings for the Twins last year, posting an ERA of 5.71. He had a 3.27 ERA in 22 Triple-A innings this year before being released.
  • Henry Rodriguez of the Cubs, J.C. Gutierrez of the Royals and Chris Heston of the Giants remain in DFA limbo.

Royals Outright Pedro Ciriaco

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THURSDAY: The Royals have outrighted Ciriaco to Triple-A Omaha, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). It seems likely that the Royals were interested in adding Ciriaco as organizational depth but didn't want to use a 40-man roster spot on him and placed him on waivers. This time, he cleared and was assigned to the minor leagues.

TUESDAY: The Royals claimed shortstop Pedro Ciriaco off waivers from the Padres, according to a team press release.  Ciriaco had been designated for assignment on Friday.  The Royals now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Ciriaco, 27, hit .228/.288/.342 in 126 plate appearances for the Red Sox and Padres this year, spending most of his time at shortstop.  Ciriaco was signed by the Diamondbacks out of the Dominican Republic in 2003.  He went to the Pirates in a trade deadline deal three years ago, was granted free agency after the 2011 season, signed as a minor league free agent with Boston in January 2012, and was acquired in trade by the Padres in June of this year after they had designated him for assignment.

Prior to the 2011 season, Ciriaco was ranked 27th among Pirates prospects by Baseball America.  They noted his "plus speed, smooth glove, and strong arm," suggesting his bat would determine whether he could land an everyday role.  The Royals' middle infield mix currently consists of Alcides Escobar, Johnny Giavotella, Miguel Tejada, and Elliot Johnson.

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