Odds & Ends: Reds, Giants, Harper, Dodgers, Prior
Links for Saturday, as J.P. Arencibia homers on the first pitch he sees in the majors….
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that he has not seen a year in which the Reds have faced so many difficult roster decisions in the last decade.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter) expects the Giants to eventually sign their first-round pick, center fielder Gary Brown.
- Barry Shlachter of the Dallas Morning News examines whether the group headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan overpaid for the Rangers.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America passes on news of a pair of draft picks signing for over-slot deals: The Blue Jays signed their second-round pick, while the Pirates locked up their fourth-rounder.
- Tigers owner Mike Ilitch acknowledged to Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News that he'd signed off on some bad contracts in the past, but said that won't stop him from spending money in the future.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears that negotiations between the Nationals and Bryce Harper could "heat up" by Tuesday. The first overall pick in this year's draft enrolled for classes at the College of Southern Nevada, but that doesn't mean he won't end up signing with the Nats.
- The Dodgers still seem to be buyers, leading Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times to wonder if they put a waiver claim on Adam Dunn.
- Although he's pitching for the Orange County Flyers now, Mark Prior hopes to make his way back to the bigs, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger.
Rangers Rumors: Lee, Daniels, Washington
The last month has been kind to Rangers fans. They acquired Cliff Lee and a pair of veteran infielders and appear headed for financial stability now that the group headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan won the auction for the team. More importantly, the 63-45 Rangers seem destined for the playoffs. But what does the auction mean for the club? GM Jon Daniels explained some specifics to ESPNDallas.com’s Richard Durrett:
- The Rangers aren’t worrying about re-signing Cliff Lee now, but their chances have improved since the auction. "In bankruptcy, we had no chance," Daniels said. "This improves that and I can’t really tell you how much until the season is behind us and we sit down and talk about it.”
- Daniels repeated that he enjoys working for the Rangers and said he’s sure he’ll discuss his own contract status with the team when the time is right.
- The Rangers aren’t going to finalize anything with manager Ron Washington until after the season, but Daniels told MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan that “it's very clear that Ron is our guy and Ron will be our manager in 2011." Washington's contract expires after the season and Daniels' contract expires after 2011.
Rangers, Washington To Talk Contract After Season
With the Rangers looking like a solid bet to win the AL West, manager Ron Washington has given himself a strong negotiating base for his next contract. Washington is in the final year of the deal he originally signed with Texas after the 2006 season, and ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett reports that club management is very interested in bringing the skipper back. Negotiations are being held off until the offseason, according to GM Jon Daniels, since the team doesn't want to distract from the Rangers' push for the American League pennant.
It's quite a turnaround for Washington, who about a year ago was worried for his job after testing positive for cocaine use. The Rangers decided to keep Washington at the helm, and he has paid off the club's faith by leading Texas to the division lead. Entering tonight's play, Washington has a 303-290 (.511) record as the team's manager.
Stark On Padres, Manny, Wandy, Harang
The Rangers appear to be headed toward stability, but they added $4.6MM in payroll before the trade deadline and, as ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports, that left some rival executives unhappy. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:
- The Padres had asked the Cardinals about Ryan Ludwick more than once leading up to the trade deadline.
- GM Jed Hoyer had also inquired on Jake Westbrook and even Roy Oswalt.
- When the White Sox called the Dodgers to ask about Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers ended the conversation quickly. That didn't stop the Rays and two other American League teams from calling the Dodgers, however. We should note that GM Ned Colletti told Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio that he only fielded one call about Manny (Twitter link).
- Not one team pursued Jose Guillen seriously before the deadline. The Royals designated the outfielder for assignment today, so we'll see in the next ten days if any teams have mild interest.
- Joe Beimel drew lots of interest last weekend, but the Rockies never seriously shopped him.
- A number of teams tried to acquire Wandy Rodriguez, including the Twins, Reds, Mets, Dodgers and Blue Jays.
- The Reds tried to determine interest in Aaron Harang, so they could attempt to move him in August if he returns from the DL and proves that the back spasms that sidelined him are no longer an issue.
Odds & Ends: Pedro, DeShields, Myers, Lee
Links for Thursday, as Juan Pierre picks up his 500th career stolen base…
- Pedro Martinez said he has recently received offers to pitch this year, but still doesn't intend to play in 2010, according to this AP report on ESPN.com.
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon implied to Mike Puma of the New York Post that Omar Minaya will definitely be his GM in 2011.
- Top Astros draft pick Delino DeShields Jr. told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that he's excited to begin his pro career. DeShields' deal could be finalized today.
- Astros GM Ed Wade told Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse that he has no concern about Brett Myers' health. "He's a 29-year-old horse," Wade said.
- Chuck Greenberg's group, which won the auction to buy the Rangers for hundreds of millions, plans to pursue Cliff Lee when he hits free agency after the season, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). Yesterday, we saw that GM Jon Daniels has interest in bringing the left-hander back.
- Tim Redding, who had been pitching in the Yankees system, signed with the Samsung Lions of the Korean Professional Baseball League, according to Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times-Tribune (Twitter link).
- Over at RotoAuthority, Tim Dierkes wonders what to expect from Mike Minor as a fantasy baseball option this year.
- The Yankees had interest in Willie Harris before the deadline, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- The Rockies 'kicked the tires' on Derrek Lee last month, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
Greenberg, Ryan Win Auction To Buy Rangers
Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan outbid Mark Cuban in an auction to win the right to buy the Rangers for $385MM, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. That figure does not account for debt owed to creditors, so the team actually costs about $200MM more.
The Rangers, who added Cliff Lee, Jorge Cantu, Cristian Guzman and Bengie Molina before the July 31st trade deadline, had trouble adding payroll, partly because of their uncertain ownership situation. Last night's auction should be a step toward financial stability for the club.
GM Jon Daniels could have opted out of his contract if the team's ownership had changed. He maintained that he wasn't thinking about that possibility, but the auction limits the chances that he'll opt out.
Odds & Ends: Padres, Sheets, Beltran, Rangers
More links for Wednesday, after another impressive outing from Ubaldo Jimenez…
- Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains that he didn't like trading Wynn Pelzer and Corey Kluber away, but says he hopes that "every year we're forced to pay such a price to further a pennant run."
- Ben Sheets, who is about to have flexor tendon surgery, told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he isn't sure whether he'll ever pitch again.
- Newsday's David Lennon wonders if the Mets could trade Carlos Beltran before next season (Twitter link).
- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appears to have made the highest initial bid in the auction to buy the Texas Rangers, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
Odds & Ends: Waivers, Lowell, Taschner, Sale
Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th home run today off Shaun Marcum. A-Rod is now the seventh player in MLB history to reach the milestone; up next is Sammy Sosa at 609. Links for Wednesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Players on the disabled list can't pass through waivers in August, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.
- The Yankees, Rangers, and Red Sox nearly reached a deal on Friday that would've sent Mike Lowell to New York, Jarrod Saltalamacchia to Boston, and prospects to the Rangers, reports WEEI's Alex Speier. A Lowell deal with the Blue Jays had been discussed in April and June, but both potential trades were killed due to health concerns.
- Lefty Jack Taschner filed for free agency, according to MLB.com's transactions page. Taschner had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Friday.
- First-round pick Chris Sale will join the White Sox today as a reliever, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis, making the lefty the first to reach the bigs from the 2010 draft class.
- With Thomas Diamond's MLB debut yesterday, Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs looks at what's come of the DVD trio.
Daniels On Hamilton, Vlad, Lee, Scheppers
Rangers GM Jon Daniels chatted with ESPN readers yesterday afternoon. A few nuggets:
- Daniels explained that Josh Hamilton will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season, and "a lot can happen between now and then that could keep him in Texas beyond that point." Hamilton reportedly turned down a four-year, $24MM offer in 2009. Rangers president Nolan Ryan recently testified that Hamilton's salary could jump to $8-10MM in 2010 if he wins the MVP award.
- Daniels has let the agents for Vladimir Guerrero and Cliff Lee know he'd like to re-sign their clients, but he feels it's best to talk specifics in the offseason.
- It's "certainly possible" Tanner Scheppers will make his MLB debut this year, and Daniels says the Rangers "don't really make decisions based on service time." The 23-year-old righty sports a 3.76 ERA, 9.2 K/9, and 3.4 BB/9 in 52.6 Triple A innings this year.
- The Rangers were discussing Cristian Guzman with the Nationals prior to Ian Kinsler's injury; Daniels viewed Guzman as a luxury at that point.
- The expectation is that the Rangers will be able to announce the player to be named received from the Red Sox in the Jarrod Saltalamacchia deal shortly.
- Daniels has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if the Rangers are sold to a group other than the one fronted by Chuck Greenberg, but he said yesterday that "leaving the Rangers is not remotely on my mind" and "I love it here."
Odds & Ends: Rodriguez, Rangers, DeShields
Links for Monday, as Jeremy Hellickson makes a smooth transition to the majors…
- Ivan Rodriguez told MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez that he isn't thinking about retirement and expects to play two or three more seasons. Pudge is under contract with the Nationals through 2011.
- MLB.com's Hal Bodley names the Yankees and Rangers trade deadline 'winners.'
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels explained his club's approach to the deadline, speaking to ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett.
- The Astros may be in good position to sign their first round pick from the June draft. Delino DeShields told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that his son, Delino Deshields Jr., intends to sign instead of going to college. "He's going to be an Astro," DeShields said. "No doubt."
- Former Astro Lance Berkman told Tim Britton and Didier Morais of MLB.com that adjusting to life in the Bronx after so many years in Houston will take some time.