Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Orioles, Thatcher, Melvin
On this date in 2003, Tampa Bay skipper Lou Piniella was a man of his word. The manager promised his club that if they won three in a row he’d dye his hair and after the Devil Rays beat the White Sox the night before, Lou become a blonde. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere.
- Camden Depot says the O’s starting rotation still needs improvement.
- Inside The Zona breaks down the Joe Thatcher deal from the D’Backs’ perspective.
- National League Theory breaks down Brewers GM Doug Melvin.
- Orioles Nation doesn’t think the O’s have the pieces needed to land a top-tier talent.
- MLB Reports gives us a roster tree of how all the Angels’ hitters were acquired.
- Infield Chatter proposes a trade that sends David Price to the Cardinals.
- Baseball Hot Corner says the Blue Jays need another righty bat.
- FanDuel looks at who’s hot and who’s not in fantasy.
- Steel City Buzzin‘ looks at the buyers and sellers in the National League.
- Baseball Hot Corner says Derek Jeter shouldn’t be starting in the All-Star game.
Please send submissions to Zach at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Week In Review: 6/28/14 – 7/5/14
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
- The Cubs traded pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel for pitcher Dan Straily, prospects Addison Russell and Billy McKinney and a player to be named.
- The Padres signed outfielder Seth Smith to a two-year extension with a team option for 2017.
- The Yankees acquired pitcher Brandon McCarthy from the Diamondbacks for pitcher Vidal Nuno.
- The Angels acquired pitcher Joe Thatcher and outfielder Tony Campana from the Diamondbacks for outfielder Zach Borenstein and pitcher Joey Krehbiel.
Top Prospect Promotions
- Red Sox — 2B/OF Mookie Betts (link)
Signed / Agreed To Terms
- Royals — OF Raul Ibanez (link), P Scott Downs (link)
Trades
- Braves — acquired P Andrew Robinson from Astros for cash considerations or a PTBNL
- Rockies — acquired P Jair Jurrjens from Reds for 1B Harold Riggins
- Dodgers — acquired 1B Brock Peterson from Nationals for cash considerations
- Angels — acquired P Rich Hill from Red Sox for cash considerations
- Marlins — acquired P Donnie Joseph from Royals for cash considerations
- Diamondbacks — acquired INF Ronny Cedeno from Phillies for C Raywilly Gomez
Claimed
- White Sox — P Angel Sanchez (from Rays — link)
- Rays — P Cory Burns (from Rangers — link)
- Blue Jays — OF Nolan Reimold (from Orioles — link), OF Cole Gillespie (from Mariners — link)
- Pirates — INF Dean Anna (from Yankees — link)
Designated For Assignment
- Yankees — OF Alfonso Soriano (link)
- Athletics — P Jeff Francis (link), OF Nick Buss (link)
- Astros — P Jerome Williams (link)
- Royals — OF Justin Maxwell (link)
- Orioles — P Ramon Ramirez (link)
- Angels — P Rich Hill (link)
- Blue Jays — OF Kenny Wilson (link), OF Brad Glenn (link)
- Rockies — P Raul Fernandez (link)
Outrighted
- Nationals — UT Greg Dobbs (link)
- Marlins — OF Brent Keys (link)
- Phillies — P Sean O’Sullivan (link), OF Zach Collier (link)
- Giants — P Jake Dunning (link)
- Royals — OF Pedro Ciriaco (link)
Returned
- Orioles — Rule 5 pick Michael Almanzar to Red Sox (link)
Released
- Rangers — P Joe Saunders (link)
- Nationals — P Mike Gonzalez (link)
Key Draft Signings
- Blue Jays — P Jeff Hoffman, C Max Pentecost (link)
- Royals — P Brandon Finnegan (link)
- Reds — P Nick Howard (link)
- Astros — OF Derek Fisher (link)
- Indians — 1B/OF Mike Papi (link)
- Cubs — P Dylan Cease (link)
Key Minor-League Signings
- Rockies — P Chris Capuano (link)
- Yankees — P Edgmer Escalona (link)
Blue Jays Designate Brad Glenn For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated outfielder Brad Glenn for assignment, SportsNet.ca’s Shi Davidi tweets. The move clears space on the Jays’ active roster for Cole Gillespie, and on their 40-man for Nolan Reimold. Davidi tweets that the Jays will have to make another move to make space for Reimold on their active roster.
Glenn, 27, had appeared in six games for the Blue Jays this season. His .377/.418/.570 line in 122 plate appearances for Triple-A Buffalo this year was almost certainly somewhat fluky, but he showed reasonable offensive ability in his previous minor league stops.
Rockies Designate Raul Fernandez For Assignment
The Rockies have designated pitcher Raul Fernandez for assignment, Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets. The Rockies also placed pitcher Nick Masset on the disabled list and replaced him on the active roster with Brooks Brown, for whom the Fernandez DFA clears a spot on the 40-man.
Fernandez, 24, had posted a 7.00 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 27 innings for Class A+ Modesto. Fernandez throws hard but has struggled in both the last two seasons.
Blue Jays Claim Nolan Reimold Off Waivers
The Blue Jays have claimed Nolan Reimold off waivers from the Orioles, according to Reimold’s cousin Seamus Doyle (on Twitter). The O’s placed Reimold on waivers last week.
Baltimore was looking at trade options for the outfielder but were unable to find any. Reimold has been hampered by multiple neck surgeries over the last few seasons but has posted a .902 OPS over 17 games on a Double-A rehab assignment.
The 30-year-old was once considered a top 100 prospect but has never been able to realize his potential due to health problems. In parts of five big league campaigns, Reimold owns a .252/.327/.439 slash line.
There are now six players in DFA limbo, as shown in MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.
Orioles Designate Ramon Ramirez For Assignment
The Orioles announced that they have designated Ramon Ramirez for assignment. The move will make space for Kevin Gausman on the roster.
Ramirez threw a grand total of one major league inning for the Orioles this season. Over parts of nine big league seasons with the Rockies, Royals, Red Sox, Giants, Mets, and Orioles, Ramirez owns a 3.42 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.
Ramirez becomes the second player to be designated for assignment today after the Yankees DFA’d Alfonso Soriano. To keep up with everyone in DFA limbo, check out MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.
Yankees Acquire Brandon McCarthy
10:44am: The Diamondbacks will eat $2.05MM of the $4.1MM owed to McCarthy for the rest of the year, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Meanwhile, the Yankees will pay the $1MM assignment bonus to McCarthy.
10:21am: The D’Backs will be eating money in the deal, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. McCarthy is owed the prorated portion of his $9MM contract, plus the $1MM assignment bonus he is set to earn after being traded.
The prorated portion of McCarthy’s deal comes out to roughly $4.1MM, not counting the assignment bonus.
10:15am: The Yankees are in fact trading Vidal Nuno to Arizona for McCarthy, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
Nuno, 26, owns a 5.42 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 through 14 starts and three relief appearances this season. While McCarthy is on an expiring contract, Nuno won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2019 season.
The left-hander was originally in the Indians’ system before being released in March 2011. The Yankees picked Nuno up a couple of months later and after getting 17 big league starts out of him across the last two seasons, they have parlayed him into the 6’7″ McCarthy.
10:10am: The Yankees have acquired Brandon McCarthy from the D’Backs, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish (on Twitter). The two sides were discussing a deal involving Vidal Nuno last night, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter), but it’s unclear if Nuno is in fact in the trade. 
McCarthy, 30, has a 5.01 ERA with 7.6 K/9 – a career best if it holds – and 1.6 BB/9 through 18 starts this season. While the 5+ ERA isn’t particularly attractive, advanced metrics such as McCarthy’s 2.89 xFIP indicate that he has been much better than that would indicate.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported late last month that McCarthy would earn a $1MM assignment bonus if he was traded. Olney added that the D’Backs would likely have to pick up the tab on that sum.
The Diamondbacks made a smaller move yesterday when they shipped Joe Thatcher and Tony Campana to the Angels for outfielder Zach Borenstein and right-hander Joey Krehbiel. Between that deal and today’s trade of McCarthy, it’s clear that the 36-53 Diamondbacks are going to be committed to selling this month.
Despite their underwhelming performances so far this season, veterans Cody Ross and Aaron Hill could also be on the move. Eric Chavez, Bronson Arroyo, and Mark Trumbo could also be of interest to teams if they show that they’re healthy. And while Thatcher is already gone, fellow lefty Oliver Perez should have some value. Thatcher is merely a rental for the Angels but Perez is controlled through the 2015 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Royals To Sign Scott Downs
The Royals have signed left-hander Scott Downs, according to Andy McCullough of The Kansas City Star (via Twitter). The White Sox released Downs late last week after previously designating him for assignment.
Over 23 2/3 innings for the White Sox, Downs recorded a 6.08 ERA with a better-than-usual 8.4 K/9 clip with an alarmingly high 5.7 BB/9 mark. Still, ERA estimators are kinder to Downs, as he owns a 3.69 FIP, 4.07 xFIP, and 3.96 SIERA. Downs has held opposing left-handed hitters to a .225/.309/.367 mark; his real issue has been with righties, who own a .296/.415/.364 triple-slash against him.
Downs is represented by CAA Sports, as shown in the MLBTR Agency Database.
Rays Open To Trading David Price Within Division
The consensus around baseball this season has been that the Rays are extremely reluctant to trade ace David Price within the AL East. That may still be true, but Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that they’re still at least open to the idea of moving Price within the division.
An intra-division deal might call for a premium price, but today’s report is still good news for the Blue Jays, who would no doubt love to bring Price north of the border. The Blue Jays can’t bank on Mark Buehrle duplicating his strong first half and they’ve fallen out of first place. If Toronto is willing to part with two of their top three prospects – Aaron Sanchez, Daniel Norris, and Dalton Pompey – they could come away with the most alluring pitcher on the trade market.
In addition to the Blue Jays, Morosi cites the Mariners, Dodgers, and Cardinals as possible landing spots for Price. It’s hard to see Seattle landing Price without parting with Taijuan Walker, but they might be aggressive enough to move the 21-year-old to get Price. The Dodgers, of course, are always aggressive and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports surmised yesterday that they could be extra bullish on Price because of their TV situation.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dodgers, Price, Hammel, Padres, Twins
In his latest video, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has an interesting theory as to why the Dodgers may be keen to acquire Rays starter David Price. Over 70% of the Dodgers market is currently blacked out due to a dispute between Time Warner and Direct TV. Adding another superstar pitcher to a rotation that includes Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke could put even more pressure on the two telecom giants to work out a deal.
- Speaking of Price, A’s GM Billy Beane confirmed interest in the southpaw, but he preferred to add two pitchers in one fell swoop. He was also concerned about Price’s potential $20MM price tag next season, which would be hard to absorb into the club’s payroll or move via trade.
- For their part, the Cubs were eager to deal Jason Hammel before the market became saturated with similar pitchers.
- The Padres have interviewed four candidates for their open GM position and plan to interview another seven to eight prior to the end of the All-Star break. Then they will invite two or three candidates back. A new GM may be named by the end of the month, although they may not start until after the non-waiver trade deadline.
- The Twins will hang onto their trade chips until after the All-Star game, which will be hosted at Target Field. As we heard earlier tonight, Josh Willingham, Kevin Correia, and Kurt Suzuki are the most likely to find new homes.