The Mets have placed Daniel Murphy on the disabled list and will recall Double-A second baseman Dilson Herrera to fill his roster spot. The 20-year-old Herrera was the second player acquired from the Pirates (along with Vic Black) in last year’s Marlon Byrd/John Buck trade. In 274 plate appearances with Binghamton this season, he slashed a healthy .333/.401/.544 with nine homers and nine steals. Herrera’s overall numbers this season are quite strong, and his continued development has led some, including ESPN’s Keith Law, to consider him among the game’s Top 100 prospects.
Here are some more links from around the league…
- The Orioles have continued to be active on the waiver wire despite the fact that they’ve yet to make an August acquisition, executive vice president Dan Duquette tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The O’s have been on the hunt for a left-handed hitting infielder but have come up empty in their search, Connolly writes.
- While the Mariners very much want to make the playoffs, team president Kevin Mather tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune that the M’s weren’t “going to sell [their] souls for a one-game Wild Card opportunity” by mortgaging the future at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Mather characterizes the acquisitions of Kendrys Morales, Austin Jackson and Chris Denorfia as “strategic” but “not crazy.” The team held onto top prospects Taijuan Walker and D.J. Peterson as well as young lefty James Paxton.
- Cubs president Theo Epstein told reporters, including ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers, that the team will have the financial wherewithal to add to the payroll in the coming years due to its young core. Epstein said he never looks at one offseason and decides that he has to get something done that year, but he expects to add impact starting pitching from outside the organization in the next 18 to 24 months.
- Victor Martinez would like to play for “a few more years” but thinks he’ll be out of the league by the age of 40, he tells Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi spoke to Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, who offered lofty praise for his DH, calling him the most prepared and focused hitter he has ever encountered. Morosi looks at the weak DH situations that many teams around the league have and wonders if the 35-year-old Martinez can fetch something in the neighborhood of Carlos Beltran’s three-year, $45MM contract from last offseason.
I like Mather so far. No complaints.
If Vmart keeps his SO rate this low, he could hit .275 and still get a great contract.
Level of excitement for Dilson’s debut?
25/10: Bonkers. The rest of the baseball world may not have realized how ridiculously amazing he is yet, and he hasn’t gone through the days and weeks of hype that other players have had (mostly because exactly nobody thought he would skip AAA), but this kid is exciting.
Yeah, definitely did not expect to see him this season. I figured he’d be maybe a September call-up next season. I assume they’re trying to see what they have here, and if Herrera can hold his own over the next month, I wouldn’t be surprised if Murphy got traded this offseason. Otherwise, the move makes little sense as the Mets already have Flores (who hasn’t been cutting it, but it’s not like the Mets have much to lose by allowing him more playing time) on the big league team.
VMart is worth 2 years at $30-35MM with a vesting option that is harder to obtain than plate appearances. Once you start guaranteeing a third year to a 36 year old in the hopes that he is still productive at 38, you get into trouble.
When will the Pirates learn? If you sign someone decent at the beginning of the season, they wouldn’t have to trade off top prospects. Dilson would have been at least 3 years away from the majors if he was retained by the Pirates, but Black would have fit in well this year. I do commend the Mets for test driving him at shortstop. I didn’t see that coming.
The trade of Black and Herrera for Marlon Byrd was a win for both Pirates and Mets. It took over 20 years for Pittsburgh to even smell the play-offs, and I can’t see criticizing Huntington for passing on the opportunity to improve his team immediately. Without Marlon Byrd, Pirates never would have been a legitimate play-off team, and were it not for the superior pitching of St. Louis last season, Bucs might have gone as far as the World Series. Both Mets and Pirates teams are/were better teams with this trade.
Guess Murphy is probably gonna be a goner after the season :(! Herrera is or future at second base and Murphy is in his last year of contract! I guess ownership was too cheap to sign him into a extention
Is Murphy as bad as Duda in the OF? Mets need offense and Murphy was probably one of their best offensive players this season. Move one to the OF and one at 1B.
I can’t quite remember, but he definitely wasn’t great. However, with Lagares in CF, Murphy’s poor defense could be hidden a little.
They have Duda at first wo that wouldn’t work and Murphy was horrible in the outfield, Unfortunately, Murph is a goner
Murphy was a disaster in the OF. Dropped or misplayed routine fly balls with regularity. (m.mlb.com/video/v4114329/nymfla-hermida-scores-on-…)There’s no way he’s moving back out there. If he’s not at 2B he won’t be with the Mets in all likelihood.
No “impact” pitching for the Cubs this off-season. Again. Wait ’til 2016.
Epstein’s mentality should switch at some point. The Cubs need to start adding pieces now. This “wait until next year” mentality has gone on long enough. They don’t need to go all in, but you can’t fix everything in a single offseason either.
I think if they added a starting pitcher this offseason, they could be in contention for a wild card next season. After 2015, when many of their hitting prospects have had a chance to learn and develop, they could go after another one.
Similar situation with the Mets, but instead of ‘pitcher’, they need some hitting. Both teams should be decent next year and adding a piece or two in each of the next two offseasons could be a great move.
Agreed. Hypothetically, the Cubs could go after Lester this off-season, and be a solid team; and then get Price after the 2015 season. Making one big move per off-season would catapult the team into contention.
That’s why he said “within the next 18 – 24 mo.”
V-Mart is one of the most consistent hitters I have ever seen. Go check his stats. The guy has never had a bad (offensive) season, not one.
2012?
I’d call 2012 a lost season, not a bad offensive season.
Fair. I thought it was worth noting since one could look at his offense and think a 3/45 would be a surefire bet, but he’s still a 35 year old who’s had major knee surgery. He’ll likely get a three year deal if he wants one and with the way he’s played, he deserves it.
Your point stands, but he was horrible in 2008. I assume he had injuries or something, but still.
M’s were smart, I wouldn’t have given up on any of those prospects either.
I mean look at the A’s, they took an aggressive stance and it doesn’t look too good right now.
As for my O’s, I am unsure what a left handed hitting infielder would do for them.
I do know, if they could trade for Beltre, that would be phenomenal!
Although, I am not holding my breath! I am telling you though, it would be helpful to the cause and make the O’s very formidable in the Playoffs!
Interesting to see if Cubs go after not one but two big name pitchers this off-season. They have the payroll for it but the risk in long term deals may cause the Cubs to be cautious. I would love to see Shields and Lester in Cubbie blue next year.
Victor Martinez or Nick Markakis would be a nice bat between triple crown threat and MVP candidate Jose Abreu and Avi Garcia for the 2015 Sox.
VMART will give a moderate Home Town discount to the Tigers to continue to hit after Miguel Cabrera.
Worst case scenario, Tigers will give VMART a Qualifying Offer, which will push his price down (because of lost draft pick to acquiring team) and eventually sign him for about 3/$45MM (Beltran money).