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NL East Notes: Mets, Phillies, Marlins

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The NL East boasts seven of the game's top 50 prospects, in the eyes of ESPN's Keith Law: Christian Yelich, Jake Marisnick, and Andrew Heaney of the Marlins, Noah Syndergaard of the Mets, Jesse Biddle of the Phillies, Lucas Giolito of the Nationals, and Lucas Sims of the Braves.  Be sure to check out Keith's entire list.  On to today's division links:

  • "I know it will be substantially higher," Mets GM Sandy Alderson told David Lennon of Newsday regarding the team's 2014 payroll versus its current $55MM range.  Speaking to Joel Sherman of the New York Post in June, Alderson estimated a $90-100MM payroll.  "I think it has to be sort of a portfolio of players and contracts with varying maturities and obligations that make sense," Alderson told Lennon of his offseason plan, perhaps with a Red Sox-like strategy in mind for the club's numerous positional needs.  2014 was "always a target year," noted Alderson.
  • "Everybody acts like it is tomorrow but it is two weeks away," said Phillies general partner, president, and CEO David Montgomery in reference to the July 31st trade deadline to Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Montgomery seems reluctant to adopt a selling stance for the Phillies, currently 5.5 games out in the wild card.
  • "They've kind of come as advertised," Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, in reference to the seven players received from the Blue Jays in the controversial November blockbuster.  The Marlins flipped Yunel Escobar for Derek Dietrich, also acquiring Adeiny Hechavarria, Jeff Mathis, Henderson Alvarez, Marisnick, Justin Nicolino and Anthony DeSclafani.  "A big key to it was Hechavarria," GM Michael Hill noted.
  • Elsewhere in the NL East today, we learned the Braves have left-handed relievers James Russell, Mike Gonzalez, and Wesley Wright on their trade deadline wish list.

Jair Jurrjens Elects Free Agency

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Righty Jair Jurrjens elected free agency, announced the Orioles, rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk after clearing waivers.  Jurrjens had been designated for assignment on Friday, as the Orioles sought a 40-man roster spot for Jairo Asencio.

Jurrjens, 27, agreed to a Major League deal with the Orioles in January worth $1.5MM after being non-tendered by the Braves.  After the team expressed concerns with his physical, Jurrjens agreed to a minor league deal the following month.  His contract was selected in May, and he bounced up and down until being removed from the 40-man roster on June 30th, at which point he chose not to elect free agency.

Jurrjens, an All-Star with the Braves in 2011, made only two big league appearances this year.  At Triple-A he posted a 4.18 ERA, 4.9 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and 0.48 HR/9 in 94 2/3 innings across 16 starts.

Pirates Release Jose Contreras

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The Pirates released reliever Jose Contreras from their Triple-A club, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

The Bucs signed Contreras to a minor league deal in February, on the mend from Tommy John surgery last June.  He joined the big league club in May, spent some time on bereavement, hit the DL with back inflammation, and was released in mid-June when the team needed a 40-man roster spot.  The Pirates then retained him on another minor league deal, but have now released him again.  Contreras was quite good in Triple-A since signing again on June 17th — he allowed one earned run in 15 2/3 innings with 18 strikeouts and five walks.  It seems possible Contreras requested his release to find another opportunity, but that's just speculation.

Braves Eyeing Left-Handed Relievers

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The Braves' priority is to add a left-handed reliever, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman, with James Russell of the Cubs, Mike Gonzalez of the Brewers, and Wesley Wright of the Astros on their wish list.  The Braves are more interested in Russell and Gonzalez, he adds.

The Braves' need for a southpaw reliever has increased with the plan to put Alex Wood in the starting rotation, possibly swapping roles with right-hander Kris Medlen.  That would leave Luis Avilan as the only lefty in the Braves' pen, with Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters both out for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Russell, 27, has a large platoon split.  He'd held lefties to a .187/.218/.284 line, but righties have hit him hard (small sample size warning).  Russell is earning $1.075MM this year, and he's under team control through 2015 as an arbitration eligible player.  Gonzalez, 35, joined the Braves from the Pirates in the January 2007 Adam LaRoche trade.  He racked up 125 innings and 26 saves for the Braves over three seasons, mostly after recovering from June '07 Tommy John surgery.  The Braves allowed him to leave as a free agent for Baltimore, drafting Matt Lipka as a supplemental pick in 2010 as compensation.  After spending time with the Rangers and Nationals, Gonzalez signed with the Brewers as a free agent in January this year.  He's always been prone to the free pass, especially against righties this year, but he's been strong against lefties.

Wright, 28, came to the Astros in the '07 Rule 5 draft, from the Dodgers.  They were able to retain him by keeping him in the Majors for all of '08, and he's improved since then.  Similar to Russell, Wright is under team control through 2015 as an arbitration eligible player.  His problem this year, against righties and lefties, has been an abnormally high batting average on balls in play and rate of flyballs leaving the yard.

Which other left-handed relievers might be available?  We'll have a full post on the topic later today, but Mike Dunn, Charlie Furbush, Oliver Perez, Jose Mijares, Darren Oliver, Scott Downs, Joe Thatcher, Javier Lopez, and Jeremy Affeldt are names to consider.

The Braves also seek a backup infielder to fill the void after the loss of Ramiro Pena to season-ending surgery; they'd prefer a left-handed hitter with more offense than Paul Janish, writes Bowman.  The Cubs' Luis Valbuena could be a logical candidate there, in my opinion.

Orix Buffaloes To Sign Brad Mills

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11:12am: Mills agreed to sign with the Orix Buffaloes, MLBTR has learned.

11:01am: Southpaw Brad Mills left the Rangers organization to play in Japan, tweeted Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram last night.  Bernie Pleskoff of RotoWire first tweeted Mills had left the Triple-A All-Star game after requesting his release, also noting the likelihood of him going to Japan.  He had joined the club via a March waiver claim from the Angels, but was immediately outrighted to Triple-A.  Despite a stint on the DL for elbow tightness, Mills made 17 starts this year.

Mills, 28, posted a 3.87 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, and 0.83 HR/9 in 97 2/3 innings this year.  He was drafted by the Blue Jays in the fourth round in 2007 out of the University of Arizona, a round which also produced big leaguers Darwin Barney, Corey Kluber, Charlie Furbush, and Derek Norris.  Mills pitched in the Majors briefly in each of the past four seasons, which included a December 2011 trade to the Angels for catcher Jeff Mathis.

Trade Market For Designated Hitters

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The Orioles, Yankees, and Athletics are among the contenders getting subpar production out of the designated hitter spot.  Let's take a look at the trade market.

Starters (click here for leaderboard)

Kendrys Morales (Mariners), Adam Dunn (White Sox), Paul Konerko (White Sox), Adam Lind (Blue Jays), Ryan Doumit (Twins), Carlos Pena (Astros), Raul Ibanez (Mariners)

There are some interesting names in this mix.  Ibanez has shown vintage power in his age 41 season, while Morales has been solid as well.  I think a lot of armchair GMs would recommend the Mariners trade both players to stockpile prospects and young players, though the team's real GM, Jack Zduriencik, has said he doesn't expect to aggressively market his players.  Morales and Ibanez will be eligible for free agency after the season, and some have wondered if the Ms intend to make a qualifying offer to Morales.

Dunn will have about $20MM left on his contract at the trade deadline, as he is signed through 2014.  Konerko, who has full no-trade rights, will have about $4.5MM left and will be eligible for free agency.  Both players could at least be useful in a platoon, though trading Konerko for a modest return or salary savings might be more trouble than it's worth given his status as a fan favorite.  The Sox would have to pick up some of the tab on Dunn.

It's happening entirely against right-handed pitching, but Lind is having a resurgent year.  The 30-year-old could provide a major offensive boost, but the Blue Jays have affordable club options for 2014, '15, and '16 on him and may not be inclined to trade him.  Pena and Doumit would be nice bench additions, but both are slugging under .400 this season.

Other Possibilities

Mike Morse (Mariners), Carlos Quentin (Padres), Chris Carter (Astros), Lucas Duda (Mets), Aramis Ramirez (Brewers), Alfonso Soriano (Cubs), Michael Young (Phillies), Justin Morneau (Twins), Melky Cabrera (Blue Jays), Jesus Montero (Mariners)

Here are nine potentially available players who have not been regular designated hitters, but might be good fits to spend a few months in that role due to defensive questions or in the name of preserving health.  Ramirez, a third baseman by trade, is eligible to return from the DL from a knee injury on July 22nd.  If the clock runs out for him in July, his salary makes him an August trade candidate.  Some of the more controllable players listed here, such as Quentin, Carter, and Duda, are unlikely to be traded but we won't rule it out.  Montero, currently at Triple-A, hasn't hit well and has the Biogenesis cloud over him.

Soriano, Young, and Morneau have full no-trade rights, so potential suitors would want to gauge interest in a regular DH role in advance.

Check out the other entries in our trade market series.

Derek Lowe Retires

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Derek Lowe has retired from baseball, though he prefers not to use the word "retire."  "I'm officially no longer going to play the game," Lowe told Tom Pelissero of USA Today.  He later added, "I'm not going to go to the Hall of Fame, so I don't feel like I need to have a retirement speech. But I was able to play 17 years on some pretty cool teams and win a World Series. So, everyone's got to stop playing at some point, and this is my time."

Lowe, 40, was released by the Rangers in May.  His retirement seemed likely in June, as he told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he'd told agent Scott Boras not to seek work for him.  Lowe pitched in parts of 17 Major League seasons for the Mariners, Red Sox, Dodgers, Braves, Indians, Yankees, and Rangers.

Lowe was drafted by the Mariners in the eighth round in 1991, joining the Red Sox with Jason Varitek for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb in a 1997 trade deadline deal.  Dan Duquette authored that steal for Boston, besting Woody Woodward and creating history as one of the most lopsided deadline deals ever.  Lowe became the Red Sox closer in 1999, earning an All-Star nod the following year.  He switched back to starting for the '02 season, finishing third in the AL Cy Young vote.  Though Lowe scuffled in the regular season in '04, he came up big for the Red Sox in the postseason, picked up a World Series ring, and parlayed that success into a four-year, $36MM deal with the Dodgers.

The groundballer was durable and quite good for the duration of the Dodgers contract, leading to a four-year, $60MM deal with Atlanta that did not go nearly as well.  Among pitchers hailing from Michigan, Lowe ranks 11th with 176 wins, 10th with 86 saves, and eighth with 1,722 strikeouts.  He earned over $110MM in his career.

Cuban Pitcher Misael Siverio Defects

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Another Cuban pitcher is attempting to make the leap to Major League Baseball.  Misael Siverio, a 24-year-old lefty, was in Des Moines, Iowa Tuesday in advance of exhibition games against United States colleges, and he left the team hotel to pursue the Major League dream, according to Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald.

"It is not easy leaving behind what is yours, but after a giving it a lot of thought I made this decision for my future and for my family.  My dream, of course, is to make the Major Leagues, and starting today I will start doing what I need to do to accomplish that," Siverio told Ebro in Spanish.

Given his age, it appears Siverio will not be subject to the international signing restrictions established in the collective barganing agreement.  He also has to have played a minimum of three professional seasons in a Cuban professional league, which seems likely.  Most Cuban defectors establish residency in countries other than the U.S., to avoid being subject to MLB's amateur draft.  So while Siverio defected in Iowa, we'll have to see if he will be headed back out of the country in the name of being declared an MLB free agent.

A couple of Cuban pitchers have already been declared free agents: Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez and Dalier Hinojosa.  Gonzalez will sign first, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  Another Cuban pitcher, Odrisamer Despaigne, doesn't appear to be a free agent yet.

Padres Not Seeking Rentals

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In case there was any doubt, the GM for the last-place Padres made clear he's not in the market for rental players.  "I think the one thing our recent play has done is it doesn’t make sense for us to go for a rental," Josh Byrnes told Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Byrnes added, "To say that we make a trade to bring in somebody who is on our team now and helping us but we also have beyond this year, we’re certainly knocking on those doors."

As Sanders notes, Byrnes' stance seems to take the Padres out of the market for the Cubs' Matt Garza, who will be eligible for free agency after the season and had been linked to San Diego.  For a look at the controllable starting pitchers on the trade market, check out my Tuesday post.

Beltran Aims To Play Three Or Four More Years

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Though he'll play most of next season at age 37, right fielder Carlos Beltran ranked seventh on my recent 2014 free agent power rankings.  It's difficult to ignore his production and relative durability since signing with the Cardinals prior to the 2012 season; he's hit .284/.346/.510 in 969 plate appearances and made the All-Star team both years.  Talking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch at the All-Star game, Beltran suggested he'll play three or four more years, and admitted the Hall of Fame is on his mind.

"If I can stay healthy and play in the game to the level I’m playing right now, who knows, man?  I could be close," explained Beltran regarding the Hall.  Here's a look at the center field JAWS leaders, using Jay Jaffe's metric.  Beltran's case already seems superior to Hall of Famers Kirby Puckett, Andre Dawson, and Richie Ashburn, and reaching the 400 home run plateau with a strong finish would go a long way toward pushing him out of Kenny Lofton/Andruw Jones territory.

Beltran has enjoyed his time with the Cardinals, though the possible emergence next year of top outfield prospect Oscar Taveras has put his future with the club in doubt.

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