Rockies Focusing On Bullpen Help
The Rockies' main focus heading into next Saturday's trade deadline will be on acquiring bullpen help, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. We heard a few days ago that the Rockies were eyeing starting pitching and corner infielders along with relievers, but Renck indicates that their bullpen is the top priority at the moment.
According to Renck, Blue Jays relievers like Kevin Gregg and Scott Downs interest the Rockies, with SI.com's Jon Heyman tweeting of Colorado's interest in Gregg as well. Renck also expects the Rox to check in on the availability of Pirates' setup men Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan, but wonders if the price for Pittsburgh's and Toronto's relievers could be too high.
Check out our list of potentially available relievers here.
Chulk, Penn Sold To Japanese Teams
MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports (via Twitter) that the Pirates have sold the rights to right-handers Vinnie Chulk and Hayden Penn to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Chiba Lotte Marines, respectively. The moves have been in the works for a little while now but were just finalized today.
Chulk has pitched for Toronto, San Francisco and Cleveland over his seven years in the big leagues. In 276 1/3 major league innings, all of which came out of the bullpen, the righty posted a 4.33 ERA and a 1.75 K/BB ratio. Chulk signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh last December and had an uneven season at Triple-A Indianapolis; he had a 10.5 K/9 ratio but also a 4.96 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in 28 appearances.
Penn, drafted by the Orioles in the fifth round of the 2002 amateur draft, was a well-regarded prospect in Baltimore's system, ranked as the 81st-best prospect in the game by Baseball America in their pre-2006 listing. He was never able to translate that promise to the majors, however, as shown by his 9.51 career ERA over 33 games (15 of them starts) with Baltimore, Florida and Pittsburgh.
Crasnick On The Bullpen Market
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick does a nice job profiling the underwhelming market for relievers. The Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, Dodgers, Yankees, Rays, Phillies, and Twins could be looking to make an acquisition. A few tidbits…
- The Astros "will gladly talk about Brandon Lyon, but aren't so interested in discussing Matt Lindstrom." Lyon is still owed $12.48MM through 2012.
- Crasnick points out that Octavio Dotel is not a pitcher you want facing lefties. How about D.J. Carrasco? He's quietly having another decent year, he's cheap, and he's under team control through 2012. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweeted yesterday that at least five teams have inquired.
- Crasnick finds "the consensus" to be that Mariners closer David Aardsma will be dealt before the deadline. The Tigers have been linked to the hard-throwing righty, whose ERA is up several runs this year despite his strikeout and walk rates remaining stable. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times feels the Mariners would need their socks knocked off to move Aardsma.
- Chad Qualls, Clay Hensley, and most of the Brewers' and Royals' pens also merit consideration as trade bait.
Mets Considering Dotel, Downs
The Mets have discussed relievers Octavio Dotel and Scott Downs, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. John Harper of the New York Daily News reported yesterday that the Mets scouted Downs and Kevin Gregg over the weekend. The Mets agreed to terms with free agent reliever Chad Cordero earlier today.
The FOX writers say the Mets are now more focused on relievers than starters. While they maintain interest in Ted Lilly, they've cooled on Jake Westbrook, Ben Sheets, and Brett Myers. Speaking of Myers, ESPN's Adam Rubin learned that the Mets and Astros have had very little conversation.
Dotel came up through the Mets' system more than a decade ago and was traded in December of '99 to the Astros with Kyle Kessel and Roger Cedeno for Derek Bell and Mike Hampton. That deal was engineered by Steve Phillips and Gerry Hunsicker back when Dotel was a starter. If Hunsicker had been able to give the Yankees a window to negotiate with Hampton before his walk year, imagine how New York baseball history would've been altered.
This year as the Pirates' closer Dotel sports a 4.62 ERA, 10.9 K/9, and 4.1 BB/9 in 37 innings, with five home runs allowed and 20 saves in 25 attempts. He has a 2.60 ERA since May 4th. Still, as ESPN's Jerry Crasnick implies, Dotel's stats suggest he should be a righty specialist. By the way, Dotel's 2011 club option becomes mutual if he's traded.
Morosi noted on Twitter last night that the Pirates are also getting calls on Joel Hanrahan, "but the price remains very high." Armed with a 95.6 mph fastball, Hanrahan has 56 strikeouts in 40.6 innings. His 12.39 K/9 ranks behind only Carlos Marmol, Billy Wagner, and Brian Wilson in the National League.
Odds & Ends: Hanrahan, Phillies, Berkman, Yankees
Another round of links for Tuesday, with 11 days remaining before the deadline…
- The Pirates are getting calls about Joel Hanrahan, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Not surprisingly, they're asking a lot for the reliever.
- Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com hears that the Phillies would still like to add a top starter. Earlier today, before Jamie Moyer strained his left elbow, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. hinted that the club could trade for an arm.
- Lance Berkman tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that he realizes he may hit free agency after the season. The Astros can buy Berkman out for $2MM or pay him $15MM next year.
- Former big league player and minor league manager Pat Listach would have interest in managing the Cubs next year, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger that he doesn't like the looks of the current trade market and isn't optimistic about making major deals.
- MASN.com's Ben Goessling explains that offering Adam Dunn a four-year deal would be risky.
- USA Today considers some potential replacements for Lou Piniella, starting, of course, with Ryne Sandberg.
- The Cubs will have a new manager next year, but Jim Hendry is still the team's GM going forward, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).
- The Pirates signed eight Latin American players and Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com has the details.
- An AL executive tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that teams are demanding a ton for their relievers (Twitter link). Here are some of the arms teams can consider.
Multiple Teams Interested In D.J. Carrasco
At least five teams have inquired about Pirates reliever D.J. Carrasco, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter). The 33-year-old makes $950K this season and is under team control through 2012. We have seen recent indications that it's a hostile market for teams looking to add relievers, though there are some options available.
The righty has posted a 4.14 ERA in 50 innings, so it's not surprising that teams are asking the Pirates about him. The White Sox non-tendered Carrasco last winter and he has responded with 7.0 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. His $950K salary makes him one of the cheaper relievers available.
Dodgers Interested In Paul Maholm
The Dodgers are interested in Pirates lefty Paul Maholm, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Yahoo's Tim Brown wrote yesterday that the Dodgers "have been very aggressive in their pursuit of pitching."
Maholm, 28, has a 4.03 ERA, 4.5 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9 in 114 innings, with nine home runs allowed. With so few strikeouts, it's likely that Maholm's ERA will be higher from here on out. On the plus side, his 50.3% groundball rate ranks 12th in the National League according to FanGraphs. That rate has been higher in previous seasons.
Maholm signed a three-year, $14.5MM extension in January of 2009. He's got only $1.86MM remaining this year, $5.75MM in 2011, and a $9.75MM club option for '12 with a $750K buyout. That's $8.36MM guaranteed through '11, which has to be enticing for the Dodgers given their financial constraints.
Odds & Ends: Nationals, Lilly, Haren, Marlins, Kotsay
Sunday night linkage..
- Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com wonders if the reason Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo has made players like Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham available is because the team's offense is struggling with them as it is, so he'll try to improve other areas of the team.
- ESPNChicago's Bruce Levine says the Yankees could join the mix for Ted Lilly following Andy Pettitte's injury today. Meanwhile, Yanks' GM Brian Cashman told Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com that he is "not inclined" to make a move to replace Pettitte yet, saying that he prefers to give internal options a try first. Levine has the Tigers, Twins, Mets, and Dodgers also in the hunt for Lilly.
- Scott Miller of CSBSports.com wonders if this weekend's poor play (three losses to the Padres) makes a Dan Haren trade more likely.
- David Villavicencio of Fox Sports Florida tells us that players like Cody Ross and Ricky Nolasco want to stay with the Marlins, and know they need a strong run to make that a reality.
- Mark Kotsay knows what it's like to be the player who's desired in a trade, but also to be the player who would lose playing time as a result of one, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
- Jose Bautista was honored that Alex Anthopoulos called him to help get Yunel Escobar settled into his new environment, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Bautista says that he loves Toronto and would like to stay there long-term.
- The Yankees, who have been interested bystanders through most of the process, are now getting more interested in Mexican amateur pitcher Luis Heredia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, the Pirates and the Blue Jays remain the frontrunners for the 15-year-old, who is sure to get a bonus of more than $2MM.
- Jerry Crasnick of ESPN tweets that Tampa Bay expressed interest in Yunel Escobar before he was dealt to Toronto. He also tweets that Reid Brignac was part of the talks.
- Hayden Penn, a pitcher for the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate who was reportedly nearing a deal with the Chiba Lotte Marines, is on his way to Japan, according to Indianapolis Indians Triple-A announcer Scott McCauley (via Twitter). McCauley also says that another Indianapolis hurler is "close to a deal".
- The White Sox, who have been linked to Nationals slugger Adam Dunn, have had a scout present for Washington's series against the Marlins, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (via Twitter).
- Reliever David Aardsma is a possible fit for the Tigers, tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.
- R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs attempted to peg Fausto Carmona's trade value.
- Roy Oswalt wants to claim the Astros win record before leaving, writes Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle.
- Jean-Jacques Taylor of The Dallas Morning News praised the moves made by Rangers GM Jon Daniels.
- Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun senses deja vu all over again as the deadline approaches.
Pirates Notes: Trades, Penn, Chulk, Russell
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the highlights from Pirates GM Neal Huntington's weekly media address. Let's take a look:
- Huntington says that the Pirates have moved beyond "prospect gathering" mode. If a "good baseball trade" presents itself, Huntington will make it, but according to the general manager there are several players that he's not motivated to move.
- Huntington says he's trying to move forward with their group of young talent. He cites the Brewers' rise from second-to-last to second place in the middle of the decade thanks to the likes of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks, and Corey Hart (and don't forget Yovani Gallardo) in saying it takes a solid core to turn an organization around.
- The club is pleased with the changes made to its scouting, signing, player development, and evaluation processes, but obviously was hoping for a better record than their 31-59 mark to date.
- On Hayden Penn likely leaving the organization to pitch in Japan, Huntington said part of him wanted to say no and keep him in the Pittsburgh organization, but it was ultimately too hard to stand in Penn's way.
- Vinnie Chulk is another pitcher within the Pirates organization who may be transitioning to Japanese ball.
- Huntington shoots down rumors that manager John Russell's job may be tied to the club's performance on their current 10-game homestand: "When you hide behind imaginary sources that aren't going to go on the record, you can say anything you want," he told Kovacevic.
- Huntington says Russell shouldn't be used as a scapegoat, because ultimately, responsibility for the club's performance falls on his own shoulders.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Brewers, Harper, Ortiz
Links for Tuesday, as the National League wins an All-Star Game for the first time since Fred McGriff was their cleanup hitter…
- The Pirates signed 16-year-old Belarusian right-hander Aleksey Lukashevich, according to Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As Finder explains, the Pirates have gone all over the world to sign international free agents recently.
- MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the players' association will consider changes to the revenue sharing process when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2011 season.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he isn't actively shopping his players and won't dismiss manager Ken Macha tomorrow.
- Bryce Harper won the Golden Spikes award as the country's top amateur player, writes MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
- David Ortiz told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he expects to return to Boston next year. The Red Sox have a $12.5MM option for the Home Run Derby champion, but we know that Big Papi would like to sign a multi-year deal.
- Not only does Torii Hunter want a power bat, he is gently encouraging Carl Crawford to sign in Anaheim after the season, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs continues ranking baseball's best trade chips, including Miguel Montero (found among the 41st-45th most valuable players) and Josh Hamilton (found among the 36th-40th most valuable players).