Will A Team Pay More Than Minimum For Padilla?
Teams interested in Vicente Padilla face the following decision, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney: wait until the righty clears waivers and try to sign him for the pro-rated minimum or offer to contribute more than the minimum and try to strike a deal with the Rangers now. The Rangers designated Padilla for assignment last week and he has since become "the target of some interest."
Odds And Ends: O’s, Jays, Greene, Brewers
More links on the 80th anniversary of Babe Ruth's 500th career homer:
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are well-positioned in case teams start shedding high-salaried corner infielders.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says the Jays called up Randy Ruiz. Why didn't Travis Snider get the call? His service time probably has something to do with it.
- The Padres filed a grievance after they had to pay Khalil Greene to recover from a self-inflicted hand injury when he was on their roster last year. Now, Tom Krasovic reports that the two sides have come to an agreement, so there will be no grievance hearing.
- Via Twitter, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Brewers designated minor league righty Nick Green for assignment to make room for David Weathers.
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals claimed minor leaguer John Bannister from the Rangers and assigned him to AA.
- Via Twitter, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says he doubts the Yankees will trade for Bronson Arroyo.
Rosenthal On Bell, Mets, Padilla, Braves
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Dodgers were on the brink of acquiring Heath Bell before the July 31st trade deadline. The Padres will listen to offers for Bell and Adrian Gonzalez again after the season, but they're under less pressure to deal those players with Jake Peavy's contract off the books. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- The Mets are not considering replacing Omar Minaya with assistant GM John Ricco right now, but we could see Ricco deal with the media more.
- A pair of NL teams, possibly the Dodgers and Brewers, are "kicking the tires" on Vicente Padilla. Teams are more likely to wait for him to clear waivers than strike a deal now, however.
- The Braves offered Casey Kotchman to the Pirates for Adam LaRoche before acquiring LaRoche from the Red Sox.
- The Rays and Rangers have been claiming players off of waivers aggressively.
- Rosenthal notes that the Rockies' revamped 'pen has pitched well so far.
Several Clubs Interested In Smoltz
We touched on this earlier tonight, but let's expand on it a bit. ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting that the Texas Rangers and some National League clubs have expressed interest in acquiring the recently DFA'd John Smoltz, which is an indication that he'll have another opportunity to pitch this year if he's up to it. The other night we heard from Cardinals GM John Mozeliak that they were unlikely to pursue the future Hall of Famer, and it seems unlikely that Boston would made a deal with Texas since the two clubs are in a tight race for the American League Wildcard.
The Red Sox would not only like Smoltz to accept a minor league assignment so he could transition to the bullpen, but they also want to restructure a clause in his contract that pays the righty $35K for every day he's on the Major League roster. Olney mentions that teams like the Dodgers, Cubs, Brewers, and Astros were looking for pitching, but he says that it's "highly unlikely that any NL team would be willing to take Smoltz in a trade without some financial adjustment from the Red Sox, perhaps with Boston kicking in money to pay off a large portion of his base salary and roster bonus." Interested clubs could also wait it out and see if Boston releases Smoltz, when they could sign him for nothing more than the pro-rated minimum.
The 42-yr old Smoltz pitched to an 8.32 ERA in six starts with Boston, but teams will line up to take a chance on a player with his track record and pedigree. Of course, before anyone goes and acquires him, Smoltz will first have to decide if he wants to keep pitching.
Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Nationals GM, Chapman, Orioles
A couple of links on a lazy Sunday…
- ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Texas Rangers and several NL teams have expressed interest in acquiring John Smoltz. The 42-yr old is mulling his options at the moment, but Olney says it's "highly unlikely that any NL team would be willing to take Smoltz in a trade without some financial adjustment."
- Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says that there is lots of "chatter among major league sources in Washington that Diamondbacks director of scouting and player development Jerry Dipoto is the leading candidate to be Nationals general manager." He mentions that Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer has also been mentioned as a candidate, and that the club is also considering giving interm GM Mike Rizzo the job on a permanent basis.
- This one's a bit old, but Peter Bjarkman balances out some of the hype we've heard about Cuban defectee Aroldis Chapman, citing his lack of control in the strike zone and his pedestrian track record in the Cuban National League. (h/t Patrick at NPB Tracker)
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that Aubrey Huff, Melvin Mora, and Danys Baez have cleared waivers. Mora expressed his displeasure with Baltimore earlier in the week. Remember, you can find our list of players who've cleared waivers featured on the sidebar.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Rios, Mulder, Moyer, Masterson
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's dive in…
- Whatever the Blue Jays do with Alex Rios will tell us everything we need to know about the team's financial state and their opinion of Rios. Toronto could shed more than $60MM in obligation by letting the claiming team have him.
- Some executives believe Rios still has some trade value, and if the Jays wait until the offseason they'd be able to negotiate with all 29 other clubs. The problem is that the free agent market will again be flooded with outfielders.
- Free agent southpaw Mark Mulder could be throwing for teams within 7-10 days. Mulder is working with Rick Peterson, his former pitching coach, in New Jersey this weekend, The pair recently corrected a "minor mechanical flaw," and Peterson told Mulder's agent Greg Clifton that he was shocked the pitcher was in such good shape.
- Teams are looking at Mulder for September, with the Yankees, Brewers, Dodgers and Rangers are among the cubs that have expressed interest. Just as a reminder, if Mulder joins a big league team after August 31st, he would be ineligible for the playoff roster.
- Forget about all that talk from Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. about going with a six-man rotation, Jamie Moyer will "almost certainly" head to the bullpen once Pedro Martinez is ready. The team just hasn't figured out how to break the news yet.
- Justin Masterson was throwing 93-97 in his first appearance with Cleveland, causing some club officials to wonder if he should be a closer down the line. Short term, the Indians need him in the rotation and he has the everything needed to become a third or fourth starter.
Odds & Ends: Yankees, Giambi, Smoltz
On this day last year, Brian Giles invoked his no-trade clause in a deal that would have sent him to Boston. Some links:
- Robinson Cano, Brian Bruney, Mark Melancon and David Robertson have all cleared waivers for the Yankees, says George A. King III at the New York Post, and quite a few more names are going through waivers now, including A.J. Burnett and Melky Cabrera. Keep checking out our updated Players Who Have Cleared Waivers post as August progresses.
- Vicente Padilla is "disappointed" in having being designated for assignment and being called a "bad teammate," says T.R. Sullivan at MLB.com, and he wants to pitch again.
- According to George A. King III at the New York Post, the Yankees have no interest in bringing back Jason Giambi, who was released by the A's this week.
- Yahoo Sports' Gordon Edes writes that the failed John Smoltz gamble by the Red Sox proves just how deep the gap is between small and large-market teams.
- Ray Ratto at the San Francisco Chronicle believes that the failed Jason Giambi gamble proves that GM Billy Beane shouldn't continue with one-year deals for older veterans.
Odds & Ends: Berroa, Yankees, Scheppers, Pirates
More odds, more ends, more links…
- Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog reports that the Mets have designated Angel Berroa for assignment. Berroa's tenure in Flushing lasted 31 plate appearances, in which he fashioned a .148-.233-.185 batting line.
- George A. King III of The NY Post reports that the Yankees placed second baseman Robinson Cano, as well as relievers Brian Bruney, David Robertson, and Mark Melancon on waivers this past Wednesday. King says it's "highly unlikely the Yankees will deal Cano."
- MLB.com's Daniel Paulling spoke to Greg Genske, agent for Rangers' supplemental first round pick Tanner Scheppers, and reports that Genske is "setting up an audition for Scheppers for about a half dozen Japanese teams within a couple of weeks." Genske hasn't decided whether or not to invite the Rangers to workout, and also mentions that Scheppers has been given a clean bill of health.
- In addition to eighth rounder Colton Cain, the Pirates have also signed fourth round pick Zackry Dodson according to MLB.com's Jen Langosch. Team president Frank Coonelly denied a report that the team reached an agreement with Dodson last month.
- Patrick at NPB Tracker passes along a report that Chris Resop has left the Hanshin Tigers and returned home to the States to recover from pain in his throwing elbow. Resop doesn't have any immediate plans to return to Japan, and Patrick says he's unlikely to get another shot with Hanshin.
Rangers DFA Vicente Padilla
Evan Grant of D Magazine reports that the Rangers have designated righthander Vicente Padilla for assignment. Grant says the team has "no plans on bringing him back." Padilla went unclaimed when the team placed him on waivers in early June.
With a 4.90 ERA in 103 starts for Texas, it's safe to say the Rangers didn't get the return they were seeking on the three year, $33.75MM deal they gave Padilla before the 2007 season. There is roughly $4MM left on Padilla's contract for this season, not to mention a $1.75MM buyout for next year's option.
Crow & Scheppers Face Different Deadline
Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers will have until a week before next year's draft to sign with the teams that selected them, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. Most draftees must sign by August 17th, but MLB has ruled that the August deadline won't apply to players drafted out of independent leagues. Both Crow and Scheppers played in independent leagues after failing to sign last summer.
The Royals will have more time to sign Crow, but the Rangers may benefit most. Their finances are unstable now, but if they're resolved in the coming months, the team could sign Scheppers instead of shying away from his bonus demands.