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Archives for August 2013

Gibbons To Manage Blue Jays In 2014

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It's been a rough season for the Blue Jays, but the powers that be in Toronto don't seem likely to pin the blame on manager John Gibbons. When asked by reporters –including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet — about Gibbons' future, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said definitively that Gibbons would return to manage the team in 2014 (Twitter link).

The Jays announced that Gibbons would return to the helm in November of last year. He spent parts of five seasons as the Jays' manager from 2004-08 and has a lifetime record of 364-378 as their manager. The Blue Jays are the only club he's managed at the Major League level, though he served as the Royals' bench coach from 2009-11 and the manager for the Padres' Double-A affiliate in San Antonio in between his stints with the Jays.

This year, the Blue Jays are in last place in the American League East with a 59-73 record, despite an offseason that saw blockbuster acquisitions of Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey.

Placed On Waivers: Santana, Rodriguez, DeJesus, Willingham

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Here's Tuesday's list of players who have been placed on revocable trade waivers…

  • Ervin Santana — Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Ervin Santana has been placed on waivers. He instantly becomes one of the most desirable pieces on waivers, but the Royals are likely not inclined to move him. Santana, 30, has a 3.21 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in what has been a tremendous rebound campaign with the Royals. He's owed about $2.23MM this season and is a free agent at season's end. However, Kansas City is still within striking distance of a Wild Card spot and will be making Santana a qualifying offer following the season, so a return would likely have to overwhelm them.
  • Francisco Rodriguez — Rosenthal's tweet also reported that K-Rod has been placed on waivers by the Orioles. This is likely nothing more than a procedural move, as he's been solid for the O's, and they're just 2.5 games back from a Wild Card spot.
  • Wesley Wright, David DeJesus — Rosenthal also noted that the Rays have put both of their most recent waiver pickups back on waivers. However, in a second tweet he cautions that DeJesus needn't be worried this time, as the Rays are merely putting all of their players through waivers as a procedural move right now, which explains Wright's placement as well.
  • Josh Willingham — Peter Gammons of the MLB Network tweets that the Twins have placed Willingham on waivers. Minnesota was expecting big things out of Willingham following a 35-homer season in 2012, but knee injuries diminished his production at the plate and he ultimately underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in early July. Since being activated on Aug. 9, he's batting just .177/.316/.371 with a pair of homers and six doubles. Willingham's walk rate (13.4 percent) and power (.179 ISO) remain strong, but his strikeout rate is up (26.7 percent) and his average is down due to a decrease in line drives and an increase in pop-ups. He's owed roughly $1.3MM for the remainder of the season and is owed $7MM in 2014 — the final season of a three-year, $21MM contract.
  • Earlier today, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported that Marlon Byrd, Pedro Feliciano and John Buck of the Mets were all on waivers, and at least one trade is likely. Byrd was claimed by an unknown NL team shortly thereafter.

For a reminder on how revocable trade waivers and August trades work, check out MLBTR's August trades primer. You can see who is available to be traded to any team by checking MLBTR's list of players who have cleared waivers.

Royals, Red Sox Swap Berry For Mortensen

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The Royals and Red Sox have swapped outfielder Quintin Berry for right-hander Clayton Mortensen, according to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link).

Berry, 28, was claimed by the Royals from the Tigers on June 4 but quickly outrighted to Triple-A Omaha. In 371 Triple-A plate appearances between the Tigers and Royals, he's batting .193/.309/.260 with 28 stolen bases in 32 attempts. Berry was significantly better when he saw regular time with Detroit last season, hitting .258/.330/.354 with a perfect 21 steals in 21 attempts in 94 games.

Mortensen, also 28, posted a 5.34 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 45.5 percent ground-ball rate in 30 1/3 innings for the Red Sox this season. Boston optioned him to Triple-A Pawtucket in late June and he's fared much better, pitching to a 2.45 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 44 innings. He's moved to the rotation recently, stretching out to seven innings in his most recent outing. Since moving to a starting role on Aug. 2, he's allowed just three runs in 27 1/3 innings.

Marlon Byrd Claimed Off Waivers

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9:29am: A National League team was awarded the claim on Byrd, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

8:58am: Marlon Byrd has been claimed off revocable trade waivers by an unknown team, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). Not long ago, this wouldn't have seemed as newsworthy, as the Mets had been steadfast in their stance against trading Byrd. However, as Rubin reported earlier this morning, the Mets are likely to make at least one trade in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Byrd, who turns 36 on Friday, is enjoying a surprising career year with the Mets. His 21 homers are a career-high, as is his 136 OPS+, and his .285/.330/.522 batting line has made him one of baseball's most productive right fielders. His defense grades out well in right, and he's owed just $130K for the remainder of the season.

The Mets will have 48 hours to work out a trade with the claiming team, so the latest we could find out resolution on the situation would be Thursday. Prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, the Reds, Pirates and Orioles were among the teams to show interest in Byrd.

Mets Likely To Make Late August Trades

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One day after learning that ace Matt Harvey has a torn UCL in his right elbow, ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin reports that the Mets are poised to be active on the trade front in the final days of August. According to Rubin, five players have been placed on revocable trade waivers, and at least one trade is likely in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Marlon Byrd, John Buck and Pedro Feliciano are three of the players to hit waivers, and the Mets have already recalled lefty Robert Carson, catcher Anthony Recker and outfielder Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Las Vegas. Obviously, that trio of minor leaguers could serve as replacements for the three known players on waivers.

Byrd, who turns 36 on Friday, is having a surprising career year despite his age. He drew significant interest prior to the July 31 non-waiver deadline, but the Mets opted to hang onto him. In 464 plate appearances, he's batting .285/.330/.518. His 21 homers and 136 OPS+ are both career-bests. Byrd is no longer a regular center fielder (just two games there in 2013), but his defense in right field grades out to a solid +6.6 UZR/150, and The Fielding Bible pegs him at nine runs saved. As Rubin notes, just $130K remains on Byrd's 2013 salary, making him a highly affordable trade chip.

Buck, 33, has cooled off considerably following a meteoric start that saw him club 10 homers in his first 25 games (23 starts). Since May 1, he's hitting just .206/.290/.302 with six homers, limiting his value. However, Travis d'Arnaud is now drawing the majority of the time behind the plate, so the Mets would likely welcome the opportunity to clear the remaining $1.1MM of Buck's salary.

Feliciano, 37, returned to the Majors for the first time since 2010 on Aug. 2 and has allowed a pair of runs in 5 1/3 innings since. His health woes in recent years likely leave him without high trade value, but he'd be a nice alternative to Javier Lopez, whom the Giants reportedly aren't likely to trade even though he's been claimed on waivers. Opposing lefties are just 3-for-17 against Feliciano this season, and all four of his strikeouts have come against left-handed batters.

Rubin also writes that in addition to Byrd, Buck and Feliciano, the Mets are considering dealing Major League talent that is under control beyond the 2013 season.

Lincecum, Pence, Lopez Claimed Off Waivers

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Giants stars Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence and Javier Lopez all went on waivers Saturday and were quickly claimed by teams, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  However, someone familiar with the situation told Heyman that "none of them are going anywhere." 

While the Giants could still trade any of the players, it appears that either the claiming teams were doing so in order to block trades or the Giants weren't really interested in trading any of the three.  The Giants could save close to $8MM by dropping the pending free agents, but there's reason to believe that they were never eager to deal three players who have helped them win World Series titles.  With Lincecum and Pence, the Giants have extra incentive to keep them as they plan to extend qualifying offers and collect draft picks if they go elsewhere.    

Lincecum owns a 4.55 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 but he is seen as someone who can help teams as a reliever or starter and one rival exec is confident that he's "better than a 4.5 ERA pitcher."  The right-hander is owed $4.2MM for the remainder of the year.  Pence, who makes about $2.8MM and Lopez, who is owed just $859K until the end, were locks to be claimed.  At any rate, it appears that all three men will finish the season in San Francisco.

Quick Hits: Mets, Harvey, Indians, Morneau, Twins

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The Mets got some difficult news today as they learned that young star Matt Harvey has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.  GM Sandy Alderson said that Harvey is unlikely to pitch again this season and they'll need two to three weeks to determine if he will require Tommy John surgery, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • If the Indians are going to have a chance at making the postseason, they're going to need their three of their highest-paid players to step it up, writes Dennis Manoloff of The Plain Dealer.  Manoloff says that Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, and Asdrubal Cabrera will need to produce if they plan on catching the Tigers for the AL Central crown or the A's for the second wild card spot.
  • Agent Scott Boras emphasized that surgery isn't an automatic for Harvey, Rubin writes.  "When you're talking about the term 'partial tear,' you're talking about 5 percent to 95 percent," Boras said of the Mets pitcher. "You have to get in and get the specifics and get more information medically before we can really make a determination as to what we're dealing with."
  • One Mets official acknowledged that losing Harvey for a significant amount of time would impact their timetable for contention, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  With "another bat or two," Zack Wheeler, and a healthy Harvey, the official felt that the Mets could have had a puncher's chance at a strong season in 2014.
  • In a fan mailbag, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com explains that a Justin Morneau trade is highly unlikely as he is still owed roughly $3MM through the end of the season and the Twins probably won't get much for a one-month rental.  Bollinger also tackles questions on top prospects Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton as well as a possible reunion with Johan Santana.

Placed On Waivers: Gallardo, Morse, Bell, Lopez

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Here's Monday's list of players that have been placed on revocable trade waivers…

  • Yovani Gallardo — Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter) reports that Gallardo has been placed on waivers by the Brewers.  The starter drew interest this summer as a player who could help not just for 2013, but beyond, as he is under contract for $11.25MM next season with a $13MM club option for 2015.  Gallardo is having a down year, but he has had two strong starts against the Reds this month since coming off of the DL.  For his career, Gallardo owns a 3.76 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9.
  • Mike Morse — Rosenthal also reports that Morse was placed on waivers by the Mariners.  Morse's teammate, Kendrys Morales, was claimed off of waivers earlier today, giving Seattle two bats to dangle to interested clubs.  Will either player be moved?  We can surmise that the M's held on to impending free agents like Morse, Morales, and Raul Ibanez with the idea of retaining them beyond this season.  On the year, Morse owns a .227/.282/.414 slash line with 13 homers in 301 plate appearances – down from his career line of .285/.338/.480.
  • Heath Bell — Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Bell, 35, has been placed on waivers. He came to the Diamondbacks from the Marlins this offseason in a three-team trade that also included the A's. Bell has rebounded, to an extent, from a rough 2012 season that saw him post a 5.09 ERA in his only season with the Marlins. He's pitched to a 3.88 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 41.9 percent ground-ball rate. His HR/FB ratio is at a sky-high 17.2 percent, which has bloated his ERA. xFIP predicts that with a league-average HR/FB rate (roughly 11 percent), Bell would have an ERA of 3.05. His K/BB numbers and the fluky nature of high HR/FB rates suggest he's in for some improvement in the ERA department, but he's under contract for $9MM this season and again in 2014. The Marlins are picking up $8MM of that salary, but he'd be an expensive acquisition. I'd expect Bell to clear waivers.
  • Javier Lopez — Heyman also tweets that the 36-year-old Lopez has been placed on waivers by the Giants. Lopez has a masterful 1.99 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a monstrous 64 percent ground-ball rate. He drew significant interest from multiple teams prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. San Francisco GM Brian Sabean reportedly had exorbitant asking price at the time, seeking top prospect Danny Salazar from the Indians in exchange for Lopez. A free agent at season's end, Lopez is owed roughly $813K over the remainder of the year and seems likely to be claimed.

For a reminder on how revocable trade waivers and August trades work, check out MLBTR's August trades primer. You can see who is available to be traded to any team by checking MLBTR's list of players who have cleared waivers.  Zach Links contributed to this post.

AL West Notes: Mariners, Astros, Walker

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The Mariners designated Aaron Harang for assignment earlier this evening but that might not be the only roster move made by GM Jack Zduriencik & Co. this week.  This morning, Kendrys Morales was claimed off revocable trade waivers, giving the M's and the mystery club a total of two days to hammer out a trade.  It was believe that the Mariners rebuffed interest from the Rangers and other clubs in late July with the hopes of re-signing Morales this winter, but the right deal might cause them to think otherwise.  Here's more out of the AL West..

  • The Astros own the worst record in the big leagues but they are also MLB's most profitable team as they have a remarkably low $13MM payroll, according to Dan Alexander of Forbes Magazine.  Owner Jim Crane has previously said that he eventually plans on making Houston's payroll one of the largest in the majors, but Alexander argues that Crane is likely to use some of the team's profit to help pay down the $275MM debt he took on when he bought the club.
  • The Astros responded to the article this evening in a statement to the press, arguing that the "information reported in the Forbes article relating to the Astros’ revenues, the Astros media rights fee from CSN Houston, and CSN Houston’s per subscriber rate are all significantly inaccurate" and as a result, "the conclusion about the Astros operational profit is significantly inaccurate."  
  • Mariners assistant GM Tony Blengino wasn't let go by the club, but actually requested to look into other MLB opportunities since his role in the organization has decreased, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  The stats guru said that when he called the Mariners last week, he was advised that his contract for 2014 would not be renewed.
  • More from Baker, who wonders if today's move with Harang was done to open up a rotation spot for Triple-A starter Taijuan Walker.  Walker was ranked as the No. 20 prospect in the country by Baseball America prior to this season.

Minor Moves: Lew Ford

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Here are today's minor moves from around the league…

  • The Orioles released outfielder Lew Ford from Double-A Bowie, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). Ford, 37, resurfaced in the Majors with Baltimore in 2012 after a four-year hiatus, during which he played in Japan, Mexico and the independent circuit in the U.S. He batted .236/.291/.463 in 33 games across three levels in the Orioles' minor league system this season. Ford hit .302/.383/.461 in 188 games in his first two seasons with the Twins in 2003-04 but hasn't been able to recapture that form since.
  • As can be seen in MLBTR's DFA Tracker, there are four players currently in DFA limbo: Pat Neshek of the A's, Chien-Ming Wang of the Blue Jays, Edinson Volquez of the Padres and Edgmer Escalona of the Rockies.

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