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Archives for July 2013

Indians Focused On Garza, Gallardo

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The Indians seek a top-of-the-rotation type of starting pitcher, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, and the pursuit has led them to focus exclusively on the Cubs' Matt Garza and the Brewers' Yovani Gallardo.  Heyman notes that no deal is close on either front.  The Indians have decent rotation depth, so they're not interested in lesser starters.

The Indians are on Gallardo's no-trade list, as first reported by Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish in June.  He could approve a trade to Cleveland, but it would represent an additional hurdle for the Indians and Brewers.  As Brewers GM Doug Melvin explained to Anthony Witrado of Sporting News in June, "That Yovani is not a free agent like guys like [Zack] Greinke or Anibal Sanchez last year, he has more value than just two months of a rental, so the package from another team has to be something that will wow me."  Gallardo is under contract through 2014 with a club option for '15.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported earlier today that the Indians and Rangers "are known to have strong interest" in Garza.  A Garza trade appears to be a question of "when," rather than "if." I imagine the Cubs' focus in Garza talks will be on pitching, and I would guess they'd bring up members of the Indians' Triple-A rotation such as Danny Salazar, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer.  The Indians also seek bullpen help, notes Heyman, a need the Cubs could accommodate with Kevin Gregg or James Russell.

Cardinals Release Ty Wigginton

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The Cardinals announced they have released infielder Ty Wigginton, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and others.  The team also promoted catcher Rob Johnson.  Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported earlier today that the Cards were considering a roster move involving Wigginton and their bench.

Wigginton, 35, signed a two-year, $5MM deal with the Cardinals in December.  He hit .158/.238/.193 in 63 plate appearances, however, and playing time was scarce with better options on the roster such as Matt Adams.  The Cardinals are on the hook for the $3.6MM or so remaining on Wigginton's contract, less the pro-rated portion of the league minimum if he finds his way back to the Majors.

Cubs Release Shawn Camp

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The Cubs released reliever Shawn Camp yesterday, according to the team transactions page.  Camp had been designated for assignment Wednesday, upon the Cubs' bullpen shake-up.

Camp, 37, posted a 7.04 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 2.74 HR/9, and 48.8% groundball rate in 23 innings for the Cubs.  With 538 career appearances, Camp ranks third all-time among those hailing from Virginia.  He tied for the MLB lead last year with 80 appearances, a career high.

Garfinkel Resigns As Padres President/CEO

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Tom Garfinkel has resigned as the Padres' president and CEO, according to a team press release.  Executive chairman Ron Fowler will assume his responsibilities on an interim basis until a replacement is hired.  Garfinkel's job involved overseeing the club's non-baseball operations.

Garfinkel followed Jeff Moorad from the Diamondbacks to the Padres in 2009.  He was in the news in April after making an insensitive comment about Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke at a season ticket holder event.

Cardinals Exploring Options With Wigginton

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The Cardinals are "considering a roster move before tonight’s game against Houston that could bring clarity to veteran Ty Wigginton’s role with the club and reshape the club’s bench," sources tell Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  A minor league assignment for Wigginton is among a handful of options the club is exploring, writes Goold.

Wigginton, 35, signed a two-year, $5MM deal with the Cardinals in December.  He's hitting .158/.238/.193 in 63 plate appearances, however, and playing time has been scarce.  The Cardinals' bench consists of backup catcher Tony Cruz, plus Matt Adams, Daniel Descalso, Shane Robinson, and Wigginton.

Giants To Sign Jeff Francoeur

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The Giants have reached an agreement on a minor league deal with free agent outfielder Jeff Francoeur, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Royals had released the 29-year-old earlier this month.

Francoeur hit .208/.249/.322 in 193 plate appearances this month, following a down 2012 with an even worse campaign.  Amid a resurgent 2011 season, the Royals signed Francoeur to a two-year, $13.5MM extension.  They'll be on the hook for the $3.2MM or so remaining on his contract, less the pro-rated league minimum if Francoeur returns to the Majors.  There is the expectation that he will join the big league team after getting some ABs and work in in left field, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Francoeur is represented by CSE.

A right-handed hitter, Francoeur hasn't done much damage against lefties since that 2011 season.  The Giants still aren't risking much by giving him a shot to contribute in left field; Rosenthal says they figure to use him in a platoon with Andres Torres, with Gregor Blanco manning center field in the absence of the injured Angel Pagan.

Matt Garza Rumors: Tuesday

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Righty Matt Garza may have put the finishing touch on his Cubs career last night by allowing one run in seven innings in a win against the White Sox.  The latest on the best available starter:

  • Garza's start was scouted by the Rangers, Indians, Pirates, Blue Jays, and Padres, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Those aren't necessarily suitors for Garza this month, however.  Morosi says the Rangers and Indians are "known to have strong interest," while the Red Sox, Nationals, and Dodgers can't be ruled out.  Morosi believes Garza probably wants to be paid like Anibal Sanchez on his next contract, which would mean a five-year, $80MM deal.  The difference is that Sanchez was coming off three consecutive healthy seasons.
  • Though Garza told reporters last night the possibility of a contract extension is 50-50, few believe it's actually a coin flip.  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times explains, "Team sources, however, characterize the recent, brief talks as confirmation that the sides aren’t much, if any, closer than they were more than a year ago when they first engaged in talks with little progress."  Garza suggested it would be "one hell of a party" to win with the Cubs, and Wittenmyer does note that team is leaving open the possibility of trading Garza now and talking to him again in the offseason.

Cubs Close To Deal With Kris Bryant

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The Cubs are very close to signing No. 2 overall pick Kris Bryant, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  The deal isn’t officially done, but the University of San Diego product is expected to receive the biggest bonus under the new system that began last year, topping Mark Appel’s $6.35MM pact with the Astros.

Bryant, who is being advised by Scott Boras, had a monster junior season in which he belted 31 homers and catapulted up the 2013 draft board.  The third baseman/outfielder will be the latest promising position player to join the Cubs’ stash, joining shortstop Javier Baez and outfielders Jorge Soler and Albert Almora.

Heyman heard in late June that the two sides weren’t close to an agreement.  Bryant and Boras were said to be seeking a bonus greater than the $6.7MM assigned pick value, while the Cubs wanted a deal for just over $6MM.

Quick Hits: Prospects, Young, Garza, Francoeur

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Baseball America released its updated rankings of the sport's top 50 prospects, headlined by Twins outfielder Byron Buxton.  For Baseball America subscribers, BA's J.J. Cooper also has lists of 10 prospects who missed the top 50 but are still having breakthrough seasons, preseason top-100 prospects who missed the new list, how the thirty preseason top-100 prospects who have already made the Major Leagues are faring and also a look at five organizations who have made strides and five who have struggled.

Here are some items from around the baseball world…

  • The Red Sox still have interest in Michael Young, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets, but "serious names have not been discussed" between the Sox and Phillies in trade negotiations.
  • The Cubs have reportedly explored extending Matt Garza's contract but CSN Chicago's David Kaplan doesn't believe it and neither does an American League executive.  "Theo [Epstein] and Jed [Hoyer] know that they have a great asset. They will not cave on what they want in return," said the AL exec.  "They will play this thing out until they get what they want. He's too valuable to not trade.  When you are in a rebuild you need to move assets to fuel the plan. Garza should help to do that. I'd be stunned if he is a Cub Aug. 1." (Twitter links here)
  • Reds general manager Walt Jocketty confirmed that he had spoken to Jeff Francoeur's agents at CSE, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (via Twitter).  "He's talking to other clubs as well.  [I'm] not sure it's a fit," Jocketty said.  Francoeur is known to have drawn interest from at least two other teams since he was released by the Royals.  Francoeur could be a right-handed hitting stopgap for Cincinnati until Ryan Ludwick returns from the DL in August.
  • Also from Fay, he thinks the strong recent performance of the Reds' bullpen should shift the team's trade deadline focus to hitting instead of relief pitching.  Fay opines that the Reds should look to acquire Twins outfielder Josh Willingham, who I'd guess would be too expensive for the Reds' liking (owed roughly $9.35MM through 2014) and is on the DL until August following knee surgery.
  • The Mariners have a number of trade chips on the roster but Larry Stone of the Seattle Times feels the team's toughest decisions will concern Raul Ibanez and Kendrys Morales.  On paper the 41-year-old Ibanez is an obvious candidate to be dealt, though Ibanez's popularity on and off the field in Seattle will make the M's consult him before any possible deal.  I examined the case for Morales as a trade candidate back in April.
  • Every Major League transaction is a complicated process, and they get even more complex when they have to be made quickly.  MLB.com's Corey Brock outlines how the Padres had to move fast to replace the injured Yasmani Grandal, which led to a shakeup of catchers at all levels of the organization and a lot of roster juggling that eventually led to Rene Rivera being called up from Triple-A Tucson to Washington for the next day's game.

Cubs, Garza Talking Extension

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11:48pm: Garza tells reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer) that there is a "50-50" chance he signs an extension.  Garza helped his trade value even more tonight by allowing just one earned run over seven five-hit innings in the Cubs' 8-2 win over the White Sox.

3:15pm: Garza and the Cubs are not close on his value, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, and a trade is still the likeliest outcome.  There are "no teeth" to the reported extension talks, adds Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, who tweets, "He'll be traded."

1:30pm: For the first time in more than a year, the Cubs are having discussions with Matt Garza about a long-term extension, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  A trade remains possible for the 29-year-old, who is perhaps the best available starter.  A similar report comes from Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com, whose source says the sides haven't had serious discussions about a long-term deal but haven't ruled it out.  The reports from Heyman and Rogers came within minutes of each other, though Heyman mentioned it first on MLB Network.

Garza has made nine starts this season since returning from a stress reaction in his elbow and a lat strain.  The injuries ended his season last year on July 21st.  This year, Garza has a 3.45 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.10 HR/9, and 37.8% groundball rate in 57 1/3 innings.  He's allowed three earned runs in his last 30 innings.  Garza takes on the White Sox tonight at U.S. Cellular Field.

Garza's value is difficult to peg, given his history of durability followed by the long layoff.  Last offseason five starting pitchers received deals of three or more years, most of whom did not have draft pick compensation attached.  A salary in the $13-15MM range seems appropriate for Garza, but from a team point of view it would be difficult to guarantee more than three years.

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