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Archives for July 2014

Cubs Notes: Russell, Castro, Mets

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The Cubs dominated headlines over the weekend by trading Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Athletics, and here’s the latest buzz around Wrigleyville…

  • James Russell’s name was “heard very often” as a trade possibility this weekend, Peter Gammons tweets.  With Chicago in seller mode, Russell’s 2.22 ERA would definitely attract teams looking for a left-handed bullpen arm, though his 4.45 xFIP suggests he has been greatly helped by a .209 BABIP and an 82.6% strand rate this year.  Russell has also posted reverse splits this season by pitching much better against right-handed hitters, as opposed to his usual dominance over left-handed batters.  Russell, 28, is pitching on a one-year, $1.775MM contract and is arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter.  The southpaw also drew a lot of interest during last year’s trade deadline and was close to being dealt to the Braves.
  • A member of the Mets organization described Starlin Castro as “a perfect match” for their club, John Harper of the New York Daily News reports.  Addison Russell’s acquisition makes the Cubs even deeper at shortstop and Castro seems like a logical trade candidate, while Harper feels the Mets have the young pitchers necessary to swing a deal.  Harper suggests Zack Wheeler and a minor league leaguer could interest the Cubs, though the Mets would balk at moving Wheeler and Jacob deGrom, or top prospect Noah Syndergaard.
  • Newsday’s David Lennon, however, doesn’t see the Mets rushing to acquire any major pieces this month, let alone for Castro.  In regards to the Cubs shortstop, the Mets would have issues taking on Castro’s contract and one New York official brought up Castro’s somewhat low on-base percentages as a cause for concern.
  • The Cubs’ focus on amassing position player depth in their minor league system stands contrary to the Cardinals’ long-standing strategy of developing as many young pitchers as possible, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.

Quick Hits: Headley, Russell, Cubs, Rockies, McCarthy

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The Blue Jays and Padres continue to discuss a Chase Headley trade, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. His colleague Ken Rosenthal adds that some within the Jays organization think that the team’s most acute need is a hitter, rather than a starting pitcher. In late June, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the Blue Jays had interest in Headley and that the Padres would be willing to deal him. Here are more notes from around baseball.

  • The Cubs dealt Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel early in the trading season, and for a package based around a position player, because Addison Russell was too good to pass on, David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune writes. “There was no pitcher available even close to the caliber of player that Addison Russell is,” says team president Theo Epstein.
  • The Cubs now have a top-notch collection of hitting prospects, but don’t have nearly as much pitching. They believe, however, that they can use that to their advantage, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. It’s hard to find hitters in today’s low-offense environment, and the Cubs have plenty of them. “If you look at the way the game is going, the batter-pitcher dynamic has shifted in recent years dramatically in favor of the pitcher,” says Epstein. “So there are more effective pitchers out there right now than there are position players.” The Cubs also feel they can compensate for their lack of pitching by acquiring a top-of-the-rotation starter within the next couple of years. Epstein also seems to allude to the possibility that the Cubs will make trades for pitching in the future.
  • A pair of Rockies are making their 2014 debuts with rookie-level Grand Junction, Patti Arnold of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports (Twitter links). Former Rockies closer Rafael Betancourt, who’s working his way back from an elbow injury, pitched a scoreless inning today, striking out one and walking one. Also, Kyle Freeland, the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, will make his pro debut on Wednesday.
  • The Diamondbacks placed now-Yankees pitcher Brandon McCarthy on waivers six to eight weeks ago, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. That means anyone could have claimed him and assumed the remainder of his $9MM salary for 2014. No one bit.
  • Red Sox first-round pick Michael Kopech will be represented by MVP Sports Group, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets.

Cafardo On Bryant, Russell, Twins, Peavy, Mets

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Cubs executive Jason McLeod sees flashes of Troy Glaus in top prospect Kris Bryant, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. “Definitely 40-home run power,” says McLeod. “There’ll be some strikeouts, but he has a great eye at the plate. He’ll take his share of walks and work the count.” Bryant, last year’s second overall draft pick, continues to dominate after having been promoted to Triple-A Iowa, hitting .364/.432/.773 in 74 plate appearances there. Here’s more from Cafardo.

  • One reason Addison Russell made sense for the Cubs in the Jeff Samardzija deal, Cafardo suggests, is that Russell is unlikely to stick at shortstop, meaning that he won’t be blocked by Starlin Castro and/or Javier Baez.
  • The Twins’ best trade chips could include Josh Willingham and Kendrys Morales, Cafardo writes. Willingham could make sense for the Red Sox or Royals.
  • Some NL teams could show interest in starter Jake Peavy if the Red Sox are willing to eat some of the remainder of his 2014 salary.
  • Daniel Murphy could make sense for the Giants if the Mets decide to deal him. AL East teams could have interest in Bartolo Colon, and the Mets might be able to get at least some talent in return if they elect to trade him. The Mets are trying to decide if they can make enough noise in the second half to keep players like Murphy and Colon, Cafardo writes.

2014 All-Star Game Rosters

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Here are the 2014 MLB All-Star rosters. They include three players who signed one-year contracts this offseason in Nelson Cruz, Kurt Suzuki and Francisco Rodriguez, along with a minor-league signee in Pat Neshek. Also included are a number of key 2014-15 free agents, including Max Scherzer and Jon Lester.

AL Starters

1B Miguel Cabrera, 2B Robinson Cano, SS Derek Jeter, 3B Josh Donaldson, C Matt Wieters, OF Jose Bautista, OF Mike Trout, OF Adam Jones, DH Nelson Cruz

C Salvador Perez will start in placed of the injured Wieters.

AL Pitchers

Dellin Betances, Mark Buehrle, Yu Darvish, Sean Doolittle, Felix Hernandez, Greg Holland, Scott Kazmir, Jon Lester, Glen Perkins, David Price, Max Scherzer, Masahiro Tanaka

AL Reserves

Jose Abreu, Alexei Ramirez, Jose Altuve, Adrian Beltre, Michael Brantley, Yoenis Cespedes, Edwin Encarnacion, Alex Gordon, Brandon Moss, Derek Norris, Perez, Kurt Suzuki, Victor Martinez

AL Final Vote Candidates

Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Rick Porcello, Garrett Richards, Dallas Keuchel

NL Starters

1B Paul Goldschmidt, 2B Chase Utley, SS Troy Tulowitzki, 3B Aramis Ramirez, C Yadier Molina, OF Andrew McCutchen, OF Carlos Gomez, OF Yasiel Puig

NL Pitchers

Madison Bumgarner, Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto, Zack Greinke, Francisco Rodriguez, Clayton Kershaw, Craig Kimbrel, Pat Neshek, Tyson Ross, Jeff Samardzija, Julio Teheran, Adam Wainwright, Tony Watson, Jordan Zimmermann

NL Reserves

Charlie Blackmon, Matt Carpenter, Starlin Castro, Todd Frazier, Freddie Freeman, Dee Gordon, Josh Harrison, Jonathan Lucroy, Devin Mesoraco, Daniel Murphy, Hunter Pence, Giancarlo Stanton

NL Final Vote Candidates

Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Rendon, Casey McGehee, Justin Morneau, Justin Upton

Since Samardzija now pitches for an AL team, he will be considered an All-Star but will not be active for the game.

Draft Signings: Gage Hinsz

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We’ll keep track of today’s draft signings here.

  • The Pirates have agreed to terms with 11th-round pick Gage Hinsz on a $580K deal, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. $480K of Hinsz’s bonus will count against the Pirates’ bonus pool. Hinsz, a high school pitcher from Montana, was committed to Oregon State. The Pirates have now agreed to terms with all of their draft picks through the first 22 rounds.

Minor Moves: Alex Sogard, Pedro Ciriaco

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Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball.

  • The Astros have traded pitcher Alex Sogard to the Diamondbacks, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The Astros will receive minor-league infielder Cesar Carrasco in return. Sogard, 26, has pitched 43 1/3 innings for Double-A Corpus Christi this season, with 5.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
  • Utilityman Pedro Ciriaco has accepted his outright assignment from the Royals, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets. The Royals designated Ciriaco for assignment last week. He has a career .270/.299/.372 line in 498 plate appearances over five seasons with the Pirates, Red Sox, Padres and Royals.

Quick Hits: Samardzija, Viciedo, D-Backs, Byrd

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Jeff Samardzija couldn’t be happier to be joining the A’s, writes MLB.com’s Jane Lee.  “Billy asked me how I felt,” said Samardzija. “I was supposed to pitch today, so I’m a day past my due date to pitch. I’m chomping at the bit. I don’t think there’s any better way to get acclimated than to do it on the mound. It was a no-brainer for me, and I look forward to it.” Here’s more from around baseball.

AL Notes: Soriano, Mariners, Reimold

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Alfonso Soriano will consider retirement after being designated for assignment by the Yankees, Marly Rivera of ESPN Deportes tweets. Soriano will take a week to talk with his family and think about what to do next. “This was to be expected. I talked to my lawyer about what I was going through, how I was being used, and I didn’t feel comfortable,” says Soriano. If this is it for the 38-year-old Soriano, he’ll finish his career with a .270/.319/.500 line and 412 home runs. Here are more notes from the American League.

  • One team that might make sense for Soriano is the Mariners, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Mariners have struggled against lefties, and Soriano has still hit for power against them, with a split of .247/.269/.416, even as he has struggled this season.
  • The Blue Jays plan to give new outfielder Nolan Reimold plenty of playing time, SportsNet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes. The Jays claimed Reimold from the Orioles earlier this weekend. “His big thing is staying healthy, he’s had trouble doing that over his career. This is his opportunity, there wasn’t a spot for him over in Baltimore,” says manager John Gibbons. “He’ll come here and help us out.” Adding Reimold could help the Jays use Jose Bautista more frequently in the infield.

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:

  • Zach Links participated in the conference call with Cubs President Theo Epstein announcing the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel trade and reported Epstein’s desire never to be a Trade Deadline seller again. “We thought a lot internally as we went through this process that we hope that this is the last year that we’ll be obvious sellers at the deadline. And, nothing would make us happier than aggressively adding to the big league team and enhancing chances for a World Series.“
  • Tim Dierkes was the first to report the Rays claimed right-hander Cory Burns off waivers from the Rangers.
  • Tim analyzed the trade market for catchers.
  • Steve Adams provided a primer on the 2014-15 international free agent signing period, which began July 2 and runs through June 15, 2015.
  • Brad Johnson asked MLBTR readers who will be the first position player traded. Martin Prado was the top pick followed by Chase Headley, Luis Valbuena, Dayan Viciedo, and Ben Zobrist.
  • Steve hosted the MLBTR live chat this week.
  • Zach put together the best of the baseball blogosphere in a double dose of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.

Red Sox Reluctant To Move Will Middlebrooks

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The Red Sox have been receiving decent trade interest in recent days in third baseman Will Middlebrooks, but Red Sox people are said to seem quite reluctant to deal him, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Middlebrooks is on injury rehab following his slow start in Boston but the Sox seem intent on keeping him past July.

Still only 25, Middlebrooks has power, and it isn’t easy to come by power bats in baseball these days. On top of that, if Middlebrooks can show something in the second half, he could be a piece if the Sox try and make a run at Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton.  It would obviously take much more than Middlebrooks to get a deal done, but Miami did have some interest in Middlebrooks last winter. Stanton would provide a huge boost for the Red Sox and Boston can build a package with some of the best prospects in baseball to entice Miami if they make Stanton available over the winter. In 21 games this season, Middlebrooks has hit just .197/.305/.324 with two homers.

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