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Archives for July 2014

Stark’s Latest: Lester, Burnett, Lee, Kennedy, Lackey, Suzuki

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Jon Lester remains the most-discussed name at the moment, and ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark contributes his take after discussing the lefty with several club executives who will not be involved in any deals. He discusses the possibility of eight teams going after Lester: the Dodgers, Cardinals, Mariners, Orioles, Blue Jays, Braves, Brewers, and Pirates. Though Los Angeles still seems unwilling to part with any of its premium prospects, Stark tabs them the likeliest landing spot.

Of course, Stark also provides a number of important updates from elsewhere in the market in his latest post. Here are the key takeaways:

  • Talks between the Phillies and Pirates regarding A.J. Burnett are “all but dead,” writes Stark. The issue is that Burnett has been unwilling to give an assurance that he would not pick up his player option for next season, creating too much financial uncertainty for Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the Phillies have not yet abandoned hope of dealing fellow starter Cliff Lee before the deadline, though an official says that they want significant prospects in return.
  • Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if David Price of the Rays or Ian Kennedy of the Padres are moved, with Stark writing that the former will be a last-minute decision and the latter remains a 50-50 proposition. With the GM seat still unfilled in San Diego, and given that Kennedy remains under control for next year, the club is unwilling to move him unless the return includes a starter capable of stepping into the rotation along with another prospect.
  • The Red Sox are asking for a strong return on John Lackey in discussions. The club wants an established major league starter, presumably with additional control. If that is part of the return on Lester, however, the club might be open to more flexibility in a return for Lackey.
  • The Twins are telling inquiring clubs that they have not yet given up on extending Kurt Suzuki, and could keep him past the deadline. If that occurs, the team could still consider August deals, though the waiver process (and Suzuki’s cheap contract) could prove a hindrance.
  • Scouting trips can obviously be undertaken for many purposes, but Stark provides a few interesting ones to note: The Rangers have scouted the Nationals’ top affiliate this weekend; though rumors quickly died down, Washington was said to have inquired about Adrian Beltre. The White Sox are looking at the affiliates of the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Red Sox as they consider offers for John Danks. And the Red Sox have scouted the Triple-A affiliate of the Braves, who are said to be very interested in lefty Andrew Miller.

Giants Designate Tony Abreu For Assignment

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The Giants have designated infielder Tony Abreu for assignment, the club announced on Twitter. Joining the big league roster are Juan Perez and Travis Ishikawa, with Adam Duvall being optioned back to Triple-A.

Abreu appeared to be on his way to the open market recently when he opted out of his deal with the Giants, but the team worked things out and called him up recently alongside Dan Uggla. But the 29-year-old received only four trips to the plate in the four games for which he was active. Abreu owns a .278/.325/.430 slash line in 253 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.

Central Rumors: Russell, Colon, Burnett, Bonifacio, Pirates

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The Cubs are a bit lacking in starting pitching depth following the trade of Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, but lefty reliever James Russell suggested one name to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that could help alleviate the problem: his own name. “There’s still not a doubt in my mind that I could [start],” said Russell, who was drafted as a starter. Russell acknowledged that he may not get the opportunity to start with the Cubs, because they may prefer to keep him in a relief role or because they may trade him this week. He adds that he’s stated his case with the front office multiple times to return to the rotation, and he’d be open to doing so again with another club if they felt he could handle the role.

More from the game’s central divisions …

  • The Royals have at least some interest in both Mets starter Bartolo Colon and Phillies hurler A.J. Burnett, reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Martino had noted yesterday that there was no action on Colon. Though it is not yet clear how serious the interest is, the club likes both righties. One major issue for Kansas City, of course, is payroll, and Martino adds that the club may not be in a position to take on the salary (and significant future obligations) owed to Colon and Burnett. New York is said to be amenable to paying $2MM of Colon’s tab, but he is earning $9MM this year and comes with a guaranteed $11MM salary next year. Burnett, meanwhile, is making $7.5MM this year (in addition to a $7.5MM signing bonus) and comes with an option that will likely turn into a $12.75MM player option.
  • Emilio Bonifacio isn’t letting himself worry about the possibility of being traded by the Cubs, but Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago spoke to one NL official who feels that the utilityman would be a perfect last-minute addition on Thursday before the deadline. Rogers notes that if Bonifacio is traded, it could lead to a much-anticipated call-up for Javier Baez, wish Arismendy Alcantara manning center through season’s end and Baez taking over at the keystone. Currently, Bonifacio splits time between second and center.
  • The Pirates remain on the lookout for a left-handed reliever, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Pittsburgh has been rumored to have interest in severable available southpaws, including Antonio Bastardo of the Phillies and Andrew Miller of the Red Sox.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Padres Designate Jason Lane For Assignment

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The Padres have designated Jason Lane for assignment, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter). Taking his active roster spot will be shortstop Everth Cabrera, who has been activated from the DL.

San Diego will hope to get Lane through waivers and back to Triple-A, says Brock, as they have done previously. Lane just made his first MLB start at age 37, tossing a six-inning, six-hit, one-run gem against the Braves. Though he was also successful in two prior relief appearances, the converted outfielder will apparently have to wait in El Paso for his next opportunity.

Athletics Looking At Outfielders, Including Sam Fuld

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The Athletics are looking at multiple potential outfield acquisition targets, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Among them is Sam Fuld of the Twins, who started the year in Oakland.

Oakland could be looking to bolster its depth in the outfield due to concern over Coco Crisp’s neck injury, tweets Slusser’s colleague John Shea. Combined with the broken right hand of Craig Gentry, the A’s could suddenly be a bit thin, especially up the middle. Speedy minor leaguer Billy Burns will take an active roster spot in the meantime, but he was slashing just .250/.333/.330 at Double-A (albeit with 51 stolen bases).

Fuld, 32, owns a .261/.350/.367 line on the year with 13 swipes of his own in just 219 plate appearances. He was claimed by Minnesota after the A’s put him on outright waivers when Gentry made it back from a DL stint earlier in the year.

Orioles Unlikely To Move Top Young Arms, Not In On Kurt Suzuki

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The Orioles have given multiple executives the impression that they are unwilling to deal any of their best young pitching prospects to add to the MLB roster, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman lists Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy, and Hunter Harvey as the prospects that the team seems uninterested in dealing.

MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli reported last night that Baltimore was as hesitant as ever to move those types of arms, though there had been plenty of interest. “We are looking for pitching depth,” Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette told Sherman. “We are going to try to supplement our team.” As Duqutte’s words seem to indicate, a less costly arm appears to be the more likely outcome for Baltimore.

Additionally, a source tells Sherman that the team is not in on Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki, though catcher remains another area that the Orioles are looking into. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also just reported (on Twitter) that the club is not going after Suzuki. Baltimore had appeared one of the few good matches for Suzuki, who seems to have a fairly small market but remains perhaps the most attractive available backstop.

Indians Ready To Move Cabrera, Masterson

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TUESDAY: Industry perception is that the Indians are ready to move Masterson and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney.

Cabrera makes for an interesting target, because unlike Masterson, he’s enjoying a relatively productive season. Cabrera is hitting .249/.309/.392 as of this writing, and while that’s hardly elite, park- and league-adjusted metrics like OPS+ (99) and wRC+ (98) peg him as just slightly below league average. That, of course, is relative to all hitters around the league, but middle infielders come with a lower offensive standard, making the switch-hitting Cabrera’s production more valuable.

Defensively speaking, Cabrera doesn’t offer much; he’s never posted a positive UZR in a sample of 100+ innings, and Defensive Runs Saved feels that he’s cost Cleveland 28 runs over the past three seasons at short. However, he’s graded out better in his career at second base, albeit in a much smaller sample size (1341 innings compared to 6282 innings at short). Cabrera has about $3.44MM of this season’s $10MM salary remaining, and he is a free agent at season’s end.

MONDAY: Though he won’t be activated from the disabled list until this Friday, the Indians are “very willing” to trade Justin Masterson, sources tell Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Cleveland’s preference would be to obtain controllable starting pitching in return for their embattled right-hander.

Masterson has struggled for much of the 2014 season, posting a 5.51 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and a 58.5 percent ground-ball rate. More concerning, perhaps, is the stark decline in his fastball velocity; after averaging 91.6 mph on his heater in 2013 (and 91.9 mph in 2012), Masterson averaged just 89.1 mph before being placed on the disabled list with a knee injury. Pitching coach Mickey Callaway said before the All-Star break that he felt Masterson’s knee injury forced him to alter the way he landed coming off his delivery, which got his mechanics out of sync and could have been partially to blame for the velocity issues.

The 29-year-old is set to become a free agent at season’s end, and it seems unlikely that a team would surrender top talent to acquire a two-month rental that has struggled so greatly in 2014. As such (and this is my own speculation), Masterson might be more of an August trade candidate. If he can come back healthy and effective, scouts might be willing to overlook some of his early-season struggles (to an extent).

Masterson is earning $9.7625MM this season after avoiding arbitration for the final time this offseason. Cleveland had interest in extending its now-former ace (Corey Kluber likely holds that distinction now), but even when Masterson himself suggested seemingly below-market two- and three-year deals at $17-18MM annually, the Indians didn’t bite. Of course, at this point, that looks like it could have been a shrewd move on Cleveland’s behalf.

AL East Rumors: Lackey, Blue Jays, Masterson

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The Red Sox are willing to move one or both of John Lackey and Jon Lester, depending on the returns, sources tell WEEI’s Alex Speier. However, while the club is willing to move Lester within the division because he is a free agent at season’s end, they’re less inclined to move Lackey within the division, as he is controlled through 2015.

Here’s more on Lackey and the AL East…

  • In a second piece, Speier writes that it will be difficult for the Sox to move Lackey, though, as he’s expressed an understandable hesitance to pitch at the league minimum next year, and it would leave the Red Sox with little to no stability in their rotation. Speier suggests a one-year, $16.5MM extension (the AAV of Lackey’s current deal, prior to his league-minimum option kicking in), which could feel fair to both clubs. Essentially, it would amount to a two-year, $17MM deal, of course.
  • A trade of Lester could impact Lackey’s willingness to return to the Red Sox, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Lackey and Lester are close, and Rosenthal suggests that Lackey may not want to sign an extension or play for $500K next year if Lester is gone.
  • Yesterday’s acquisition of Danny Valencia may prove to be the biggest move that GM Alex Anthopoulos makes prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, writes Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star. The Blue Jays are getting contributions from two of their biggest trade chips — Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman — and the platoon of Steven Tolleson and Munenori Kawasaki has hit well to this point. Anthopoulos is still looking for a right-handed platoon partner for Adam Lind, but Nolan Reimold could fill that void. It seems to me that it’s a stretch to count on that many question marks, but Kennedy speculates that the team’s payroll limitations may be more significant than Anthopoulos has admitted to the public. Kennedy runs down the pros and cons of some speculative Jays targets.
  • While Justin Masterson is similar to Yankees acquisitions Brandon McCarthy and Chase Headley — all are formerly productive players with sizable salaries and diminished production in 2014 — the Yanks aren’t interested in acquiring him, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman points out that teams could be more open to acquiring Masterson in August if he clears waivers and begins pitching better following a DL stint, but the Indians, who are still in the Wild Card hunt, may just hang onto him then. Cleveland is “very willing” to move Masterson, who has reportedly drawn trade interest from other clubs.

Olney’s Latest: Marlins, Lester, Phils, Suzuki, Kemp

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Rival executives continue to say that the Marlins are lurking in the trade market, looking to acquire a starting pitcher that can help them beyond the 2014 season, writes Buster Olney in his latest ESPN Insider-only blog post. Marlins president of baseball ops Michael Hill has said the team won’t be sellers — as first noted by Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald on Monday — and Olney calls them “an intriguing candidate to surprise” before the deadline. He points out that Miami is closer to the division lead in the NL East than the Rays are in the AL East.

Here are some more highlights from Olney’s latest efforts…

  • Executives who have spoken with the Red Sox expect them to trade Jon Lester and others before Thursday’s deadline, because the team can extract more value from a trade than it could through draft pick compensation. Olney also spoke with a close friend of Lester, who told him that there’s “no chance” Lester will sign with the Sox at this point.
  • With less than three days until the trade deadline, the Phillies have made zero trades despite being among the league’s most obvious selling candidates. Officials who have spoken with the Phils have found it difficult to gain traction in trade talks and wonder how committed the team is to moving its veteran pieces. Olney writes that it will take a devotion to change, no matter the cost, for the Phillies to turn their roster over, because they possess so many expensive players.
  • Kurt Suzuki of the Twins may be the only starting-caliber catcher available in trades, but with few contenders in need of a starter, there isn’t a huge market for him. However, as Olney notes, he’s not a candidate for a qualifying offer, so the Twins are in a tough spot.
  • Though Matt Kemp is a big name on the trade market, his performance hardly lines up with his reputation or to how he is valued by rival clubs. Olney spoke with two rival executives from separate teams what they would pay Kemp as a free agent and received nearly identical answers: a two-year, $15MM deal and a two-year, $16MM deal. Their best chance to move him may be to package him with a top prospect while still eating lots of salary.
  • Teams around the league still feel that the Dodgers are the most likely club to pull off a trade for Lester or David Price due to ownership’s “must-win” mantra and the team’s considerable resources.
  • Even if the Red Sox don’t move Stephen Drew, he could still be dealt in August. As Olney notes, Drew is similar to Cliff Lee in that the non-waiver trade deadline doesn’t apply to him, as each player is seen as too expensive relative to his remaining salary. Drew should clear waivers and give Boston a chance to deal him if he he starts hitting better, and at that point, he’ll have less money remaining on his contract as well.

AL Central Rumors: Miller, Gomes, Danks, Sox, Indians, Twins

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The Royals are interested in Andrew Miller but aren’t currently pursuing Jonny Gomes, Major League sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Multiple reports have previously connected the Royals to Gomes, but it appears their interest has waned for the time being. Miller, of course, is being pursued by many teams due to his dominant numbers and relatively inexpensive salary. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end but could alter the composition of a bullpen and be a vital postseason piece. Miller tells Bradford that if he’s traded, he’ll harbor no hard feelings toward an organization with which he has “loved” his time. “I sincerely hope it doesn’€™t come to an end in the next couple of days, but if it does it won’€™t spoil it for me,” said Miller. “If it does I’€™m certainly not going to burn a bridge on the way out of town.” Earlier this morning, K.C. was also linked to John Lackey.

Here’s more from the AL Central…

  • Despite reported interest from the Yankees, the White Sox might have a difficult time moving John Danks, a source tells Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Anybody who throws 200 innings in the big leagues is worth his weight in gold,” the source said. “But I don’t think his weight is worth $30 million worth of gold.” Van Schouwen’s source feels that the Sox would let Danks go if he were to be claimed on waivers next month in order to free themselves of his remaining salary obligations.
  • As for Chicago’s other tradeable pieces, Van Schouwen notes that Adam Dunn, Gordon Beckham, Alejandro De Aza and Dayan Viciedo have limited markets due to contractual obligations (Dunn) or poor performance (the others). Alexei Ramirez would fetch a nice return, but the ChiSox don’t have an in-house replacement for the 32-year-old.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at the Indians’ current situation and feels that the team could sell some veterans without hurting their chances in the Wild Card hunt. Justin Masterson has underperformed, and Asdrubal Cabrera has been decent at best, but both have drawn trade interest, Hoynes reports. He suggests calling Oakland and San Francisco about Cabrera to peddle him as a second base option. Ultimately, the Indians could benefit from relying more on names like Jose Ramirez, Danny Salazar and Zach McAllister than their declining stars, Hoynes writes.
  • Glen Perkins made no effort to hide his feelings on whether or not the Twins should extend Kurt Suzuki when asked by Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press over the weekend: “That would be the ideal. I think everyone else would agree. Not even just pitchers. He’s fit in this clubhouse great, too, with everybody.” GM Terry Ryan told Berardino that he’s been happy with Suzuki’s contributions, though he acknowledged that Suzuki rates poorly in terms of pitch-framing. Berardino noted that the Orioles, Blue Jays and Giants had scouts in attendance at Twins games over the weekend.
  • In more Twins news, Ryan is sending assistant GM Rob Antony on the team’s current road trip to Kansas City and Chicago while he settles in with VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff and special adviser Wayne Krivsky to work out deadline deals, writes La Valle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Ryan acknowledged the team’s position as sellers, telling Neal: “As long as it stops in the near future, then it is worthwhile. … This isn’t what anyone signed up to do. Nobody wants to watch a club get into late July and be in a position where you don’t have a chance.” Neal lists several Twins trade candidates, including Suzuki, Josh Willingham, Brian Duensing and Casey Fien.

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