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Minor Moves: Kila Ka’aihue, Erik Hamren

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves here..

  • The Braves have traded minor league right-hander Erik Hamren to the Rays and he will report to Double-A Montgomery, tweeted the Mississippi Braves (Atlanta's Double-A affiliate). The Rays will give up future considerations, tweets Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune. Hamren has 14 MLB appearances to his credit, all with the Padres in 2011, good for a 4.38 ERA, 7.3K/9, and 6.6 BB/9 in 12 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old has made 13 relief appearances for Double-A Mississippi this year with a line of 2.55 ERA, 9.2 K/9, and 4.1 BB/9 in 17 2/3 innings.  
  • The Diamondbacks announced that they have released Kila Ka'aihue from Triple-A Reno.  The first baseman had an out clause in his minor league deal with the club, according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (via Twitter).  The Hawaiian has spent parts of four seasons at the big league level – most recently with the A's last year – with a slash line of .221/.305/.382.  Ka'aihue did quite well at Reno this year, hitting .313/.426/.620 with 16 homers in 235 plate appearances.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Ramirez, Brewers, Upton, Red Sox

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Here's tonight's look around baseball..

  • Aramis Ramirez may be a popular name in trade rumors this deadline, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. The Brewers may look to move the veteran third baseman, with the club struggling in last place in the NL Central. Ramirez understands the speculation, saying "It’s part of baseball. When teams don’t perform, you see changes." The 34-year-old is signed through 2014, and has played well despite injuries this season, slashing .305/.387/.512 in 93 plate appearances. 
  • Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez told reporters that he has discussed sending major offseason acquisition B.J. Upton to Triple-A to work out if his current struggles, according to an Associated Press report. Gonzalez acknowledges that there may be some obstacles involved, "I think there's some logistics — contractual things and that sort of stuff — that they might not be able to do it that easy."
  • In his latest mailbag, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe answered questions about possible trade deadline targets for the Red Sox, as well as Jacoby Ellsbury. Cafardo doesn't feel the club needs to make a deal to improve its pitching, but he did state that Jonathan Papelbon continues to be a likely target.  Meanwhile, Cafardo thinks that it would still take a major contract to keep Ellsbury in Boston past this season.  
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com looks back at the Nationals' decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg in light of the young starter’s latest injury scare.  Morosi feels that last season may have been the Nationals best shot at a World Series, and wonders what could have been done to best utilize Strasburg’s prized arm.

Minor Moves: Ortiz, Robinson, Pirates, Green, Wimberly

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Here are your minor moves from around the league for Friday…

  • The Blue Jays have announced that Ramon Ortiz and Clint Robinson cleared waivers and were outrighted off the 40-man roster, per Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson Smith (on Twitter). Ortiz was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, while Robinson was outrighted to Double-A New Hampshire. Both were designated for assignment earlier this week.
  • Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets that the Pirates have acquired Triple-A right-hander Graham Godfrey from the Red Sox in exchange for cash considerations. The 28-year-old Godfrey has amassed 46 Major League innings — all with the Athletics – and posted a 5.09 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.
  • The Pirates have acquired Triple-A lefty Atahualpa Severino from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Severino, 28, has a 3.40 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 156 1/3 career innings at Triple-A. He received a brief taste of the Major Leagues with the Nationals back in 2011, totaling 4 2/3 innings of relief.
  • The Marlins have outrighted infielder Nick Green to Triple-A New Orleans, according to the PCL's Transactions page, meaning that he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment Wednesday.
  • The Braves released minor league outfielder Corey Wimberly, according to the International League Transaction log. The 29-year-old hit .234/.268/.351 in 25 games (83 plate appearances) for Triple-A Gwinnett this season.
  • The Indians announced (via Twitter) that they have signed right-hander Chris Jakubauskas and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus. The 34-year-old has a 5.58 ERA in 166 big league innings and last saw the Majors with the Orioles in 2011. Jakubauskas spent 2012 in the D-backs and Blue Jays organizations, and he appeared in eight Triple-A games for the Brewers this season. He has a 3.75 ERA in 175 career innings at Triple-A.

Rosenthal On Fregosi, Upton, Indians, Rockies

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The hiring of Royals legend George Brett as the team's new hitting coach could buy manager Ned Yost some extra time, a rival executive tells FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, as Royals executives will want to see how Yost adjusts to such a notable change to his coaching staff.  If the Royals do fire their manager, however, scouts have rumored that Jim Fregosi could be Yost's replacement.  Fregosi's son is a special assistant to Royals GM Dayton Moore.

Here's more from Rosenthal, via his latest Hot Corner video…

  • In the wake of B.J. Upton's five-year, $75.25MM deal with the Braves last November, Rosenthal said a number of veteran players expressed surprise about the deal.  The general consensus was summed up as, "How can that guy get this much money?  He really hasn't proven all that much."  Upton's .146/.232/.247 line makes him Rosenthal's biggest disappointment thus far in the 2013 season.
  • Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, meanwhile, is the most improved player of the 2013 season.  Dan Duquette attributes Davis' success to his swinging at more strikes and being more selective at the plate.
  • The Indians and Rockies are somewhat surprising contenders and the big question for both clubs is if they'll have the pitching to stay in their respective pennant races.  Rosenthal figures Cleveland is the slightly more likely of the two to acquire another starter, as Colorado has Roy Oswalt and Double-A right-hander Chad Bettis as possible internal reinforcements. 
  • The Indians' and Rockies' ability to add players and payroll at the trade deadline will mostly be determined by how much revenue they can generate through attendance in the next two months.

Braves Designate Juan Francisco For Assignment

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The Braves announced they have designated third baseman Juan Francisco to open a roster spot for southpaw Alex Wood, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Francisco began the season in a third base platoon with Chris Johnson, and even started three of the last five games at the hot corner.

Francisco, 25, hit .237/.281/.420 in 320 plate appearances spanning 2012-13 for the Braves.  They had acquired him in an April 2012 trade with the Reds, for reliever J.J. Hoover.  Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Reds in 2004, Francisco hit the prospect radar a few years later.  Baseball America praised his arm and big raw power, questioning his aggressive approach at the plate.  The Braves are talking multiple clubs about potential Francisco trades, notes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, which was later confirmed by manager Fredi Gonzalez.

Wood, 22, was the Braves' second round pick last year.  He'll be the fifth player from the 2012 draft to reach the Majors, along with pitchers Michael Wacha of the Cardinals (who debuts tonight), Kevin Gausman of the Orioles, Paco Rodriguez of the Dodgers, and Michael Roth of the Angels.  Wood, ranked seventh among Braves prospects by Baseball America prior to the season, made ten strong starts at Double-A but will work out of the big club's bullpen on what Danny Knobler of CBS Sports calls the "Chris Sale plan."  If Wood succeeds in the relief role, it may lessen the Braves' need for outside relief help in the wake of the loss of lefty relievers Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters to Tommy John surgery.  Before the season, BA wrote of Wood, "With a better breaking ball, he could become a solid No. 3 starter."

Quick Hits: O’Day, Pedroia, Royals, Upton

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On this date seven years ago, the Angels signed an undrafted amateur free agent named Darren O'Day. Such transactions typically don't amount to much, but like his delivery, O'Day's story is anything but typical. He began his career as a 23-year-old at the Rookie-level Pioneer League but quickly ascended to Triple-A. By age 25, O'Day was in the Angels' bullpen but didn't replicate his minor league success. One Rule 5 selection and two waiver claims later, O'Day finds himself as a mainstay in the Orioles' bullpen. The 30-year-old signed a two-year, $5.8MM extension with a club option for 2015 in the offseason, which is probably exactly how he envisioned his life after he graduated from Florida with a degree in agricultural and life sciences and took the MCAT with hopes of becoming a plastic surgeon.

Here's more from around the league…

East Links: Braves, Nolin, Wheeler, Wada

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There were plenty of headlines made in both the AL East and NL East last night, with Kevin Gausman making his Major League debut and Chase Utley hitting the 15-day disabled list. More news and rumors from baseball's Eastern divisions…

  • The addition of a second wild card team in each league hurts teams such as the Braves that have early-season needs, writes ESPN's Buster Olney. Few teams are ready to pack it in and declare themselves sellers at this stage, but Atlanta could use some left-handed relief help with Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters out for the season. Olney's Insider-only piece runs down some potentially available lefties.
  • The Blue Jays have selected the contract of Sean Nolin from Double-A New Hampshire and transferred J.A. Happ to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster space, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Darren Oliver hit the 15-day DL to clear a 25-man roster spot.
  • The New York Post's Mike Puma cites a "high-ranking club official" as he reports that Mets top prospect Zack Wheeler should join the club in two to three weeks, barring any injury setbacks. Puma's source told him that were it not for a minor shoulder injury that caused Wheeler to miss a start, he might already be with the big league club. Jeremy Hefner is the most likely rotation casualty, Puma adds.
  • The Orioles have about three weeks to make a decision on what to do with rehabbing lefty Tsuyoshi Wada, writes Rich Dubroff of CSN Baltimore. The Japanese lefty has yet to throw a pitch for the O's since signing a two-year, $8.15MM contract thanks to Tommy John surgery.

NL East Notes: Utley, Amaro, Rizzo, Braves

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The Phillies received some more bad injury luck today when the team announced that Chase Utley was going to the 15-day DL with a Grade 1 oblique strain.  While the injury isn't considered particularly serious, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro told media (including CSNPhilly.com) that the team was going to be cautious in order to keep Utley's oblique from bothering him throughout the season.  Utley has battled a number of injuries over the last few seasons and going on the DL yet again is likely to hurt his free agent stock this winter — at the very least, it will drop him a few spots in the next edition of Tim Dierkes' 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings. 

Here are some items from around the NL East…

  • On Wednesday, before Utley's DL stint, Amaro said he saw his team as buyers leading up to the trade deadline since he felt his team was still in the race, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports.  Amaro did warn that the decision to buy or sell at the deadline was coming soon.  "The real question is: How long can you wait? Right now, we're willing to wait, because no one is crazy and running away with it. We're willing to wait, and how long we'll wait is a decision I'll have to make," Amaro said.
  • Amaro also commented on manager Charlie Manuel, reiterating that the team wouldn't look at Manuel's status until after the season.  This is the 69-year-old Manuel's last year under contract as the Phillies skipper.
  • Philadelphia's numerous injury problems give the Phillies the look of a seller at the deadline, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal opines in his latest Hot Corner video.  Rosenthal notes that the team would at least listen on offers for "virtually any Phillie" on the roster in order to clear money off the payroll and obtain young talent.
  • The Nationals aren't living up to their status as World Series favorites, but GM Mike Rizzo said the team isn't planning any major roster shake-ups to get on track during the season, Amanda Comak of the Washington Times reports.  "I think we put together a roster that we feel is going to contend….We feel we have the roster in place to win a lot of games," Rizzo said.  "We felt that in Spring Training, we felt that in the winter, and I still have all the confidence in the world that this is the team that’s going to play deep into the season.”
  • Eric O'Flaherty is the seventh Braves pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery in the last five years, leading David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to wonder if the team needs to re-examine their methods of using and developing their pitchers.
  • In other NL East news from earlier today on MLBTR, the Marlins designated Jon Rauch for assignment, the Nationals could be interested in hiring Don Mattingly as Davey Johnson's successor, and we shared a collection of notes about the Mets.

NL East Notes: Braves, Brown, Quintero

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Braves rookie Julio Teheran came within an inning of his first big league shutout tonight before a Josh Willingham homer halted that effort. The Braves hung on to win, preserving a three-game lead on the NL East. As it stands right now, only Atlanta has a positive run differential in that division. Here's more on the Braves and their NL East rivals…

  • The Braves are already without Jonny Venters following Tommy John surgery. But with today's news that Eric O'Flaherty needs the same operation, the team will need to mix and match with some unproven options late in games, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I imagine that the Braves could find themselves shopping for relief help as the trade deadline nears.
  • The Marlins selected the contract of outfielder Jordan Brown from Triple-A New Orleans after placing Matt Diaz on the DL, tweets Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. The Marlins already had an open 40-man roster spot, so there was no corresponding move necessary.
  • In a similar situation, the Phillies announced that they've selected Humberto Quintero's contract from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and placed Mike Adams on the disabled list. Like the Marlins, the Phillies already had an open spot on their 40-man roster.

Eric O’Flaherty To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Braves left-handed setup man Eric O'Flaherty visited Dr. James Andrews today, and it was determined that he will indeed undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery tomorrow, as the team had feared, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The news bears extra significance for O'Flaherty because he's in his final year of team control and will be eligible for free agency following the 2013 season. The 28-year-old, who was a lock for a multiyear free agent contract, will almost certainly have to settle for a one-year deal and could end up signing a minor league contract.

Since being selected off waivers from the Mariners prior to the 2009 season, O'Flaherty has been a dominant force coming out of the Atlanta 'pen. He's posted a 1.99 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 to go along with a 54.6 percent ground-ball rate. While he's unquestionably better against left-handed hitters, as one might expect, O'Flaherty has also held right-handed opponents to a sub-.700 OPS four times in the past five seasons.

Lefties Sean Burnett, Javier Lopez and Pedro Feliciano have all signed two-year deals worth $8-9MM in the past few years. O'Flaherty, however, could likely have pushed for a three-year deal in the mold of the contracts signed by Scott Downs ($15MM) or Jeremy Affeldt ($18MM) had he posted another strong season, especially considering his youth relative to the age at which those contracts were signed.

With O'Flaherty's stock plummeting, Downs could once again be the class of the lefty relief market. J.P. Howell and Boone Logan also represent lefties who, like O'Flaherty, will be younger than most of their peers when they hit the free agent market.

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