Rangers Acquire Jason Grilli
According to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan the Rangers acquired pitcher Jason Grilli from the Rockies. He was designated for assignment on Friday after allowing more than two baserunners per frame over the course of 19.1 innings with the Rockies. Grilli, who did strike out 22 batters, was obtained for cash considerations.
The Rangers have been looking for relievers, and while they're likely not finished, this move gives them depth. Yet another reason to follow MLBTR on Twitter: we reported speculation about this move on Twitter yesterday.
Draft Updates: Deadline, D’Backs, Rangers
Some more links in anticipation of this evening's draft…
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says the signing deadline has been pushed back to August 17th because the 15th is a Saturday. The Nats' negotiations with Scott Boras will probably go down to the wire regardless, so it barely matters. If anything it's bad news for the Nats, as they'll have less time to prepare their probable selection, Stephen Strasburg, for a late-season cameo.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs could choose two hitters with their 16th and 17th picks. They like Bobby Borchering, but he may not be available to them.
- Nolan Ryan expects the Rangers to select a pitcher when they pick 14th, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- MLB.com's Doug Miller rounds up major leaguers' responses to this question: Has any prospect ever received more hype than Strasburg?
- And here's the final projection MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo will make. He has Dustin Ackley going to Seattle, Donavan Tate going to San Diego, Tony Sanchez going to Pittsburgh and Zack Wheeler going to Baltimore.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law has the same five players going in the same order. Interestingly, Law has Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers out of the first round, in large part because they're expected to demand lots of money.
Odds And Ends: Padres, Fukumori, Ortiz
Some links for Tuesday morning…
- Today's chat will be at 2pm CST.
- Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports that the Padres know they have to win if they want to stop management from trading players away.
- Adrian Gonzalez says it's too early to tell how long he'll remain a Padre.
- Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker passes on a report saying Kazuo Fukumori will be released by the Rangers. He made four appearances for them last year, but hasn't pitched in the majors this season.
- It's not his eyes, after all. David Ortiz can see just fine according to John Tomase of the Boston Herald.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer responds to Eddie's post about the mystery shortstop the Red Sox have interest in, saying it's "probably not" Yunel Escobar.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he believes Neal Huntington made an "understandable" and "wise" decision when he dealt Nate McLouth to the Braves.
- Joe Posnanski does not want to see the Royals trade for Jeff Francouer.
Rangers To Pursue Pitching?
After it appeared Brandon McCarthy would hit the DL with a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade, T.R. Sullivan at MLB.com chatted with Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who is going to turn to Doug Mathis for the open rotation spot for now. But he didn't rule out the possibility of a deal to shore up the position:
"'I'm open to it,' Daniels said. 'It's something we'll look into, but it's easier said than done. My expectation is we'll go with the guys we have. If there is a quality guy available, we'll look into it, but it's easier said than done.'"
Closer Frank Francisco is also hurting, and Daniels has made discussing relief pitching his "short-term focus," he told Sullivan.
The Rangers have been hit hard by the injury bug, but they remain atop the AL West with a 33-23 record, 4.5 games ahead of the Angels. Who makes sense to fill the holes? Are they still a legitimate contender?
Odds And Ends: Hamilton, Vizquel, Draft
Why not rattle off a few more links to wrap up this Monday afternoon…
- As MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports, Josh Hamilton will miss 4-6 weeks to repair a partially torn abdominal muscle.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes the Rangers are for real.
- He says Jon Daniels is not looking to trade Omar Vizquel.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law believes Stephen Strasburg will sign this year. He could be in line for a September debut, perhaps as a reliever.
- Law's high on Tyler Matzek, a polished high schooler who should go early in the first round.
- As Baseball America's J.J. Cooper reports, Tanner Scheppers boosted his draft stock by pitching in the upper 90s in his final start for the St. Paul Saints.
- Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post says the Marlins could go after pitching with their first round pick, especially since the draft is pitching-heavy early on.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock says the Padres will take Dustin Ackley if the Mariners don't.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says Josh Fields found his recent demotion "hard to swallow."
Rangers Exercise Washington’s 2010 Option
According to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram the Rangers exercised the 2010 option on manager Ron Washington's contract. Washington has led the Rangers, who currently have a 4.5 game lead in the AL West, to a 33-23 record. GM Jon Daniels said picking up the option was an "easy decision" because the Rangers have played so well.
Dellucci Would Return To Rangers
According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, the recently-released David Dellucci is interested in playing for the Texas Rangers again. He could return to Texas, where he played two seasons, if they offer him the major league minimum. The Indians are paying the rest of his salary.
Heyman On Strasburg, D’Backs, Penny
Jon Heyman of SI.com anticipates some memorable negotiations between the Nationals, Scott Boras and Stephen Strasburg. Here's what Heyman heard about Strasburg along with the rest of his rumors:
- Boras is still expected to demand $50MM for Strasburg.
- Think that's a lot? Some think Strasburg would command $100MM as a free agent.
- Executives generally guess he'll end up signing for more than $20MM, but not by much.
- One NL exec said he expects the deal to reach $30MM.
- Strasburg could always pitch in Japan or for an independent team if he doesn't sign, but Heyman imagines he'd much rather join a major league franchise immediately.
- The Pirates could draft catcher Tony Sanchez with the fourth pick.
- The D'Backs could deal Chad Qualls and Tony Pena at the deadline.
- Boston seems "in a hurry" to deal Brad Penny.
- One Red Sox person was not impressed by what he saw from Jeff Francoeur.
- It's probably too early for the Rangers to release Vicente Padilla.
Odds And Ends: Mariners, Rangers, Smoltz
Here are a few links to kick the week off…
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners would risk losing fan interest if they deal players like Erik Bedard before the Mariners fall far out of the playoff race.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Rangers GM Jon Daniels is looking to the trade market for a bullpen upgrade.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that John Smoltz is open to pitching out of the bullpen and may be asked to skip occasional starts. This could be one way of managing the starting pitching surplus in Boston.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders whether Kevin Frandsen, now in Triple A, would be open to starting fresh with a different club.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star believes the Royals are better off than they were a few years ago, but says they'll have trouble realizing their goal of contending in 2010.
- Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Tom Glavine isn't good enough to help the Brewers and Jake Peavy isn't cheap enough.
Vizquel Willing To Play For Boston
Omar Vizquel expressed a willingness to play for the Red Sox, should the opportunity for a trade arise at some point this season, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.
In the piece, Tomasse says that Vizquel "wishes the Red Sox made a play for him when they had a chance." Vizquel said the Red Sox had not called. Tomasse says the Red Sox did inquire about Vizquel earlier this year, but that the Rangers are not interested in dealing the veteran shortstop.