Rosenthal On Andrus, Headley, Ichiro, Victorino
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link) has posted his latest edition of Full Count, so let's dive in..
- The Rangers likely promotion of top prospect Jurickson Profar doesn't necessarily mean that they'll trade Elvis Andrus this offseason, but its possible. Profar is 19-years-old with many years of club control ahead of him while Andrus has only two years left on his contract after this season. Andrus is a Scott Boras client, making an extension unlikely.
- The Padres want one more piece for their rotation to support Clayton Richard and Edinson Volquez and Chase Headley could be the piece to help them make that happen. San Diego didn't get the prospect package that they wanted for Headley before the deadline but they could get a solid big league pitcher for him this winter.
- The Giants made a serious run at Ichiro Suzuki at the deadline before he wound up with the Yankees. GM Brian Sabean instead went for Hunter Pence as he felt the lineup needed more power. Rosenthal wouldn't be surprised if the Giants pursue Ichiro in free agency, depending on how they feel about re-signing Melky Cabrera.
- A source told Rosenthal that the Pirates could have gotten Shane Victorino from the Phillies before the deadline for Brad Lincoln. Of course, Pittsburgh instead sent Lincoln to the Blue Jays for Travis Snider.
Minor Moves: Daniel Cabrera, Dallas McPherson
Let's keep track of the day's minor moves right here…
- The Diamondbacks have acquired Daniel Cabrera from the Pirates according to the MLB.com transactions page. Cabrera, 31, has pitched to a 4.58 ERA in 108 innings for Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate after not playing at all in 2011 due to Tommy John surgery. The 6-foot-7 right-hander owns a 5.10 ERA in 892 1/3 big league innings with the Orioles, Nationals, and D'Backs.
- The Pirates have signed Dallas McPherson, also according to MLB.com. The 32-year-old infielder hit .253/.335/.463 with 12 homers in 264 plate appearances in the White Sox's farm system earlier this year. McPherson is a .241/.292/.446 career hitter with 18 homers in the show. He's suited up for the Angels, Marlins, and ChiSox.
Quick Hits: Mets, Gerrit Cole, Aviles
The Games of the XXX Olympiad came to a close today in London. Nearly 11,000 athletes from 204 nations took part in over 300 events in 26 sports. But, none of the Olympic pagentry involved baseball. So, let's celebrate America's National Pastime with the latest news, notes and quotes:
- Not everyone in the Mets front office is sold that they can be a sustained contender moving forward with Ike Davis at first base, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. One internal option would be moving Lucas Duda in from the outfield and some believe that he would be more comfortable at first.
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon wouldn't speak with reporters following a rare on-field appearance before last night's game against the Braves, but he'll have to start answering questions soon, writes David Lennon of Newsday. There are a lot of unknowns surrounding the Mets, including what their projected payroll will be for 2013 and if the franchise is on the rebound financially.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says Gerrit Cole, last year's top draft pick, will not be a September callup, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Sulia). "We've not talked about it internally. My gut (feeling) is no." Huntington said. "To drop him into bullpen up here in September is not something we have lot of interest in doing. We have a lot of other options, instead of rushing a young prospect." Cole is currently starting at Double-A Altoona.
- The A's had interest in Mike Aviles prior to the trade deadline, but a deal is unlikely now the Red Sox have placed the shortstop on waivers, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser says the chances are slim the A's will acquire a shortstop before the August 31st deadline for playoff-roster eligibility.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
Poll: How Will The Pirates Finish?
The Pirates are 20 wins away from assuring themselves of their first winning season since 1992, and they have a realistic chance at an even greater accomplishment. The Pirates are currently in playoff position, 2.5 games ahead of the Cardinals for the National League's second Wild Card spot. Baseball Prospectus calculates that there’s a 55.5% chance the Pirates make the playoffs this year.
But a lot can happen in two months. The Pirates made midseason upgrades a year ago, acquiring Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick, only to falter down the stretch and finish with a 72-90 record. This year's Pirates team is much better at preventing runs, yet it doesn't generate much offense. The Pirates are 11th in the NL in runs scored and their team on-base percentage is just .303.
For the Pirates to finish below .500, they’d have to finish 18-35 or worse. To win 90 games, they’d have to finish 28-25 or better. With 53 games to go, a lot of uncertainty exists…
How will the Pirates' season unfold?
-
Playoff berth 51% (8,868)
-
Above .500 but no playoffs 45% (7,898)
-
Below .500 4% (611)
Total votes: 17,377
Outrighted To Triple-A: Wells, Carpenter, Sutton
The latest outright assignments from around MLB…
- Padres pitcher Kip Wells cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Tucson, according to U-T San Diego (via Twitter). The Padres designated the right-hander for assignment on Friday. Wells, 35, made seven starts for the Padres this year.
- The Blue Jays outrighted Andrew Carpenter to Triple-A, Las Vegas, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The Blue Jays had removed Carpenter from their roster to create room for Adeiny Hechavarria and Jesse Chavez over the weekend.
- The Pirates outrighted Drew Sutton to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Pittsburgh designated Sutton for assignment one week ago on the day of the non-waiver trade deadline.
Central Notes: Overbay, Indians, Pirates, Burnett
Some links pertaining to baseball's two Central Divisions, which are currently led by the White Sox and Reds…
- The Reds aren't interested in Lyle Overbay, general manager Walt Jocketty told reporters including John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Jocketty mentions Overbay's defensive limitation and says his team likes Xavier Paul. Overbay was released by the D-backs earlier today.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti is exploring the trade market for both Johnny Damon and Derek Lowe, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Antonetti feels there's a chance that he can complete trades within their respective 10-day windows. Cleveland recently designated Damon and Lowe for assignment.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that Antonetti is happy with the job Manny Acta has done and expects him to be the Indians' manager in 2013. Antonetti did concede that the front office and coaching staff may have over-evaluated the roster's talent in Spring Training.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says he is actively monitoring the waiver wire and will make claims to improve his team or block others from improving theirs, writes Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- The Pirates haven't explored an extension with A.J. Burnett as of yet, Huntington told reporters including the Tribune-Review's Rob Biertempfel (Sulia link). Huntington says the team's focus is currently on making the playoffs.
NL Central Notes: Drew, Marte, Cardinals
The Reds have been nearly unbeatable since losing their top player to injury and now have the best record in baseball at 64-41. Here are today's NL Central links after another Reds win…
- The Pirates considered and rejected a trade that would have sent two minor leaguers to Arizona for Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (on Twitter). The prospects — not Jameson Taillon or Luis Heredia — are at the mid-to-low levels of Pittsburgh's farm system.
- The Phillies asked the Pirates for Starling Marte, Brad Lincoln and more in possible trades for Hunter Pence, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). The Phillies ultimately obtained Nate Schierholtz, minor league reliever Seth Rosin and minor league catcher/first baseman Tommy Joseph from the Giants for Pence.
- MLB terminated the contract between the Cardinals and right-handed pitching prospect Andres Serrano, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The Cardinals had signed the Dominican for $750K, but he failed the age and identity sections of his investigation, according to Badler. Brian Walton of TheCardinalNation.com had the story last month.
Quick Hits: Brewers, Pirates, A’s, Broxton, Snider
Phones across the country were ringing off the hook today, but it doesn't appear that was the case in Milwaukee. Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin said, "I didn’t have any calls from a General Manager all day," according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). Here's more from around baseball as we head into August..
- Pirates skipper Clint Hurdle says that the club had inquired about Gaby Sanchez and Chad Qualls in each of past two offseasons, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- A's assistant GM David Forst says that while the club had "plenty of conversations" leading up to the deadline, nothing was really close to happening, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com. Forst implied that Oakland will look to make a waiver deal if a solid opportunity arises.
- Reliever Jonathan Broxton strikes Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) as an odd fit for the Reds. Law notes that the Reds' bullpen is strong while they really could have used help at the top of the lineup.
- Travis Snider chose not to blame the Blue Jays for his shortcomings on the diamond and says that he is looking forward to a fresh start with the Pirates, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. The outfielder was sent to Pittsburgh for right-hander Brad Lincoln earlier today.
- After a busy July, Astros manager Brad Mills was glad to see the deadline pass without having to say goodbye to more players, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
Pirates, Yankees Swap McGehee, Qualls
The Yankees acquired corner infielder Casey McGehee and $250K from the Pirates for reliever Chad Qualls, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
For all the talk of the Yankees seeking a defense-first third baseman to fill in for Alex Rodriguez, they went with right-handed power in McGehee. Perhaps the Yanks liked McGehee's versatility, with Mark Teixeira ailing as well. McGehee, 29, is hitting .230/.297/.377 in 293 plate appearances for the Pirates. They acquired him from the Brewers for Jose Veras in December; McGehee has about $890K remaining on his contract. He's arbitration eligible for 2013, but may be non-tendered. He was made more expendable by the Pirates' acquisition of first baseman Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins earlier today.
Qualls, 33, has a 4.89 ERA, 4.9 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.63 HR/9, and 54% groundball rate for the Phillies and Yankees this year. The Yankees acquired Qualls from the Phils on July 1st after he'd been designated for assignment, and Qualls was a likely roster casualty had he remained with the Yanks.
Pirates Acquire Gaby Sanchez
2:28pm: The Pirates obtained right-handed reliever Kyle Kaminska in the deal, Peter Gammons of MLB Network reports (on Twitter). The 23-year-old has a 5.20 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 53 2/3 innings of work for the Marlins' top two affiliates this year. He was selected in the 25th round of the 2007 draft.
2:08pm: The Pirates have acquired first baseman Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins for outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and a competitive balance pick, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Sanchez, 28, hit 19 homers in both 2010 and 2011 and entered the 2012 season with a career batting line of .269/.346/.440. However, he posted a .202/.250/.306 batting line in 196 plate appearances with Miami this year, and the Marlins optioned him to the minor leagues on July 5th.
Hernandez, 24, appeared in 25 games for the Pirates this year, playing all three outfield positions and collecting his first two hits as a Major Leaguer. The former top prospect has a .281/.343/.377 batting line in seven minor league seasons. Hernandez was traded to Pittsburgh along with Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton three years ago in the Nate McLouth trade.
The Marlins are tentatively going to obtain the 33rd overall pick in the draft from Pittsburgh, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter). MLB recommended a bonus of $1.525MM for the 33rd overall selection this year.
Photo courtesy of US Presswire.