Draft Update: Crow, Alvarez, Matusz
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reminds us of baseball’s next deadline: this year’s draft picks must be signed by end of day August 15th. Mayo provides links updating progress on unsigned top ten picks Pedro Alvarez, Eric Hosmer, Yonder Alonso, and Aaron Crow. No news on Gordon Beckham.
- Roch Kubatko says both the Orioles and Brian Matusz remain confident a deal will be done. No hard feelings on either side regarding the delay.
- Based on this Q&A with Nationals GM Jim Bowden, talks with Crow apparently haven’t gotten too far.
- As for Alvarez, the Pirates have a dollar figure they’d prefer not to exceed.
Odds and Ends: Bay, Clement, Fuentes, Cabrera
We’ve got plenty of links today.
- There is speculation that Andruw Jones could be sent back to the minors.
- Joel Sherman wonders if MLB should’ve gotten involved when Manny Ramirez decided to orchestrate his own exit. Kind of reminds me of Gary Sheffield intentionally botching plays to force a trade out of Milwaukee in ’92.
- Gordon Edes stands by his report that Manny pledged to give full effort if the Red Sox dropped his options. That phone call between Scott Boras and Theo Epstein occurred within an hour of his trade to the Dodgers.
- Jon Heyman takes us inside the Manny trade. He says Ramirez signed an agreement in advance that he’d accept a trade to any team if his options were dropped. Heyman believes Omar Minaya fibbed in saying he had failed trade discussions with Boston.
- The Red Sox are still waiting to hear whether Joe Borowski will accept their offer of a minor league deal.
- Dejan Kovacevic gives as inside look at the Jason Bay trade talks here and here. Did the Rays offer Reid Brignac and Jeff Niemann? Reports are conflicting.
- The Cardinals released Matt Clement on Saturday. Let this serve as another reminder of how hard it is to come back from shoulder surgery.
- The Cardinals weren’t willing to trade catching prospect Bryan Anderson plus a pitching prospect for Brian Fuentes. Also, GM John Mozeliak confirmed failed talks for Bay.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at young pitchers who may face innings caps this year.
- Another failed deal: Orlando Cabrera to the Orioles in a Brian Roberts deal.
- Geoff Baker believes that when inside information related to the Blue Jays leaks out, GM J.P. Ricciardi is likely responsible.
- Please continue to email me if you see a pop-up or full-page ad on MLB Trade Rumors.
Week in Review: 7/27 – 8/2
We saw the non-waiver trade deadline come and go this week, and plenty of action to go along with it. Let’s recap the big moves of the week:
- The Dodgers, Pirates, and Red Sox completed a three-team, blockbuster trade that sent Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles, Jason Bay to Boston, and Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris, Craig Hansen, and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh. The Pirates got a pretty nice haul, and while Bay won’t necessarily replace Manny’s production, he’s much more affordable, signed through ’09, and doesn’t disrupt the clubhouse. The Dodgers add the big bat they need for a push in the NL West, though are now overloaded with overpaid outfielders. All in all, I don’t think any team made a bad deal in this one.
- The Angels made a big move in adding Mark Teixeira to their lineup, sending Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek to Atlanta in exchange. The Angels didn’t need help at the time – they’re running away with the AL West – but this move will undoubtedly be significant in the postseason. Great boost to the Halos’ lineup.
- The White Sox and Reds completed a trade that sent Ken Griffey Jr. to Chicago in exchange for Nick Masset and Danny Richar. I don’t understand this trade from the Sox perspective. Griffey was only hitting .245 at the time of the trade, and his range in center field isn’t close to what it once was. Still, he’s a presence in both the lineup and the clubhouse. Will playing for a contender rejuvenate him?
- The Yankees acquired future hall-of-famer Ivan Rodriguez from the Tigers in exchange for Kyle Farnsworth. With Jorge Posada out for the season, New York did a good job of solidifying their catcher’s spot, while the Tigers got some much-needed improvement in their bullpen.
- The Twins aren’t known for making big trades at the deadline, and they held true to that in 2008. However, they made a move that could be bigger than any trade they might have made, when they designated Livan Hernandez for assignment, and recalled Francisco Liriano from Triple-A Rochester. The Twins DFA’ed Craig Monroe as well. The Rockies are looking for a fifth starter, and could have interest in Hernandez.
- Relievers on the move: Arthur Rhodes was traded to the Marlins, giving them another effective lefty option in the bullpen. The Astros acquired LaTroy Hawkins, still buying despite being 9.5 games out of the wildcard race at the time.
- The Nationals released Paul Lo Duca and Felipe Lopez. Both were highly unsuccessful this season, though they could generate interest from other teams.
- Tim explained the rules behind waiver trades for those who are unfamiliar with how the process works after the July 31st non-waiver deadline. He also takes a look at some noteable names who stayed put at the deadline.
- Minor moves: The Yankees signed Victor Zambrano to a minor league contract, while the Red Sox did the same with former Cleveland closer Joe Borowski.
- The Diamondbacks are talking extension with their second ace, Dan Haren.
- USA Today wrote an article on MLBTR. Check it out!
Rockies Intensify Search For Fifth Starter
The Rockies and Pirates were in discussions about starter Ian Snell before the non-waiver trade deadline, but Pittsburgh’s asking price of Franklin Morales was to high for the Rox to match, effectively killing the deal.
After another bad outing from one of their starters this week, however, and knowing they will look for a fifth starter via the waiver wire, the Rockies may have to revisit the Snell talks, as Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post thinks he would’ve been a "tantalizing option;" Renck also mentions Josh Fogg as an alternative for the Rox.
Fogg pitched for the Rockies in 2006 and Snell drew some interest from the Mets before the deadline.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Post-deadline rumors? Comments? alexo05 [at] umpbump [daught] com.
Players Not Traded
Assigning contender status is subjective, but I’m going to say that the following teams are not in the playoff mix: the Orioles, Royals, Indians, Mariners, Braves, Nationals, Reds, Astros, Pirates, Giants, and Padres. The Blue Jays and Athletics just missed the cut as fringe wild card contenders. With those 11 non-contenders in mind, let’s take a look at players not traded at the ’08 non-waiver deadline.
- Orioles: Aubrey Huff, Ramon Hernandez, Brian Roberts, Jay Payton, Jamie Walker, Kevin Millar, Chad Bradford, George Sherrill. Millar and Payton are free agents after the season, but there probably wasn’t much of a market for either. The rest are under team control through at least ’09, so Andy MacPhail still has time to find the right deal; read his comments here. Hernandez is an August trade candidate.
- Royals: Jose Guillen, Mark Grudzielanek, Ron Mahay, David DeJesus, Miguel Olivo. Moving the Guillen contract would’ve made sense, but we don’t know whether that was on the table. Kind of surprised to see Grudz still around. Mahay could be an offseason move, but the Royals might just want him for ’09. DeJesus’ name will probably come up at the Winter Meetings.
- Indians: Paul Byrd, David Dellucci, Jamey Carroll. Only Byrd was thought to generate a bit of interest. He could go in August.
- Mariners: Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, Raul Ibanez. The Ms still have time to move Beltre and Washburn if they feel so inclined. Ibanez is a possible Type A free agent, so the Mariners asked for a lot. Jayson Stark spoke to teams who characterized the Ms demands as "outrageous" in general. Geoff Baker gives his take on the Mariners’ deadline day.
- Braves: Mark Kotsay, Will Ohman. Wouldn’t be surprising to see Kotsay moved this month. Ohman we discussed here.
- Nationals: Austin Kearns, Dmitri Young, Cristian Guzman, Luis Ayala, Ron Belliard, Tim Redding, Odalis Perez. Some of these players have little trade value, while the Nationals prefer to keep others for ’09.
- Reds: Adam Dunn, Bronson Arroyo, Jeremy Affeldt, David Weathers, David Ross, Josh Fogg, Paul Bako. It seems that the offers just weren’t there for Dunn, who should net a pair of draft picks unless the Reds are gunshy about offering arbitration. I’m surprised Weathers and Fogg weren’t moved.
- Astros: Miguel Tejada, Randy Wolf, Jose Valverde, Ty Wigginton, Mark Loretta, Doug Brocail, Geoff Geary. The ‘Stros are acting like contenders. The worst outcome for fans would be if Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins add a few wins and worsen the team’s ’09 draft position.
- Pirates: Jack Wilson, John Grabow, Doug Mientkiewicz. The Pirates were quite active, and could still trade Wilson and Grabow this winter.
- Giants: Randy Winn, Dave Roberts, Bengie Molina, Rich Aurilia, Tyler Walker, Jack Taschner. Winn and Roberts are August trade candidates. The others might’ve made sense to trade.
- Padres: Greg Maddux, Brian Giles, Khalil Greene, Josh Bard. Maddux, with just one possible suitor, couldn’t be moved. Keeping Giles and Bard around makes sense for ’09, while trading Greene now would be selling low. The Padres did talk to seven different teams in the last few days.
Odds And Ends: Braves, Orioles, Redding, Dunn, Ryan
A few more post-deadline notes from the MLBiverse…
- Apparently the Braves tried to get involved in the Jason Bay sweepstakes in the last hour before the deadline.
- Andy MacPhail feels that the Orioles will actually be more active in August than in July. Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly suggest that several players, including Kevin Millar, Jay Payton and Ramon Hernandez could be had in August. MacPhail also noted that while there "was a pretty high bar set" for teams asking about Brian Roberts, MacPhail made it clear that Roberts was not off-limits and suggested that a deal this winter is not out of the question.
- Jim Bowden does not appear eager to trade Tim Redding, who according to Bill Ladson, is the Nat’s only player of value that could be traded in August.
- Walt Jocketty would not commit to an attempt to sign Adam Dunn to an extension.
- Terry Ryan, the Twins former GM, penned a piece for SI.com in which he details what a GM goes through in the weeks and days leading up to the trade deadline. Very interesting read.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Ibanez Trade Unlikely
6:10pm: Just to wrap up Toronto’s brief venture into the Bay sweepstakes (since it was first reported in this post)…the Jays backed out when the Pirates asked for Shaun Marcum and top prospect Travis Snider.
5:36pm: Geoff Baker has some more details on the failed deal with Toronto although he still is not sure who was offered for Ibanez. Baker has quotes from JP Ricciardi that says it was the Mariners that backed out of the deal. Baker then goes on to speculate that the aquisition of Ibanez was a marketing tool to convince the fans in Toronto that the team was still gunning for the playoffs to keep TV ratings up.
2:48pm: Jayson Stark says the Mariners had second thoughts and will likely keep Ibanez. It could’ve been a 2-for-1 with Major Leaguers going to Seattle.
2:34pm: Jeff Blair says talks for Ibanez are ongoing. It’s even possible (though unlikely) an Ibanez trade could allow the Jays to include Adam Lind in a deal.
Blair adds that the Marlins called the Jays about Matt Stairs.
2:20pm: The Jays are left as the sole Ibanez suitor as we draw to within 40 minutes of the deadline.
1:14pm: Stark says the Jays are also eyeing Raul Ibanez. Eh? Also, Dejan Kovacevic says the Bay talks ended quickly based on the Pirates’ asking price. Think Shaun Marcum and Travis Snider.
11:48am: According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Blue Jays have entered the mix for Jason Bay. Of course, the asking price will be high. But Bay is Canadian!
The Jays are 6.5 games out of the wild card, that dangerous area where a team thinks it’s a contender. Bay is under contract for ’09 too though.
Manny To Dodgers, Bay To Red Sox
4:05pm: Peter Abraham says Manny’s team options were removed and he has agreed to decline arbitration.
3:58pm: Let’s sort through this wild trade.
- For 1.3 years of Bay, the Pirates receive LaRoche, Morris, Hansen, and Moss. Moss becomes the regular left fielder, LaRoche takes over at third until Pedro Alvarez is ready. When that happens, they might have a good problem on their hands. Future Pirates’ outfield: Moss, McCutchen, McLouth. The pitchers are a couple of live arms at this point.
- The Red Sox might be downgrading a bit with Bay replacing Manny, but they get Bay next year for just $7.5MM.
- The Dodgers will have Manny play every day. That leaves Juan Pierre, Andruw Jones, Andre Ethier, and Matt Kemp splitting two outfield spots. Not ideal, but they didn’t give up a ton to get Ramirez. One question – can they get Manny to agree to decline an offer of arbitration so they can net draft picks?
3:39pm: Bob Nightengale has the Bucs getting Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss from the Red Sox and Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris from the Dodgers, correcting what looks like a typo in the Rosenthal report.
3:37pm: Rosenthal has details:
Pirates outfielder Jason Bay is headed to the Red Sox. The Pirates will receive Andy LaRoche and right-hander Bryan Morris from the Dodgers and outfielder Damien Moss and releiver Craig Hansen from the Red Sox.
He adds that the Red Sox will pay the $7MM remaining on Manny’s contract.
3:30pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman. Jack Curry agrees.
Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday
3:29pm: Bay to the Dodgers? Jennifer Langosch says it’s possible.
3:00pm: Rosenthal has a source saying Bay to the Rays is off "unless a miracle happens." He has Bay headed to Boston once again.
2:43pm: MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo says there is no done deal – the Rays might not make Brignac available.
2:11pm: MLB.com’s Bill Chastain with the scoop – the Rays have acquired Jason Bay for Reid Brignac and Jeff Niemann. The Rays haven’t confirmed it yet though, and Rosenthal says the Bucs want to replace Niemann with other prospects. I wonder if Bay would DH for the Rays.
Will we see a Jack Wilson trade next, or will that wait until the offseason? Brignac, 22, is hitting .257/.304/.429 in 91 Triple A games. He probably isn’t ready yet. Baseball America still expects him to develop into a solid offensive-minded shortstop.
Niemann, 25, has a 3.53 ERA in 18 Triple A starts this year. He’ll probably go straight into the Pirates’ rotation. Baseball America feels he has #2 or #3 starter stuff, but his star has dimmed in recent times.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Thursday
3:26pm: Many people are emailing saying Jon Heyman is reporting Manny to the Dodgers.
3:08pm: Aaaaaand…it’s dead again.
3:02pm: Rosenthal stirs things up: the three-headed Manny-Bay-Hermida deal is back on.
2:46pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says the three-way is dead, while the Dodgers are in play. Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe says to count out the Dodgers on Manny. Guess these guys aren’t cube-mates.
1:31pm: Heyman says the Dodgers are back in the mix for Manny but the Marlins aren’t out of it.
1:17pm: Nick Cafardo doesn’t buy the "dead" talk. However, the Pirates may have turned away from the Boston-Florida scenario for Bay. The Rays are still a possibility for him.
12:56pm: Rosenthal’s hearing this thing is dead.
11:49am: Rosenthal has a mixed opinion, with one source advising caution and another saying the deal is "taking off." Manny is following the ordeal on ESPN.
More links: a Gordon Edes Q&A on the topic, and word from Yahoo’s Tim Brown that the Pirates are happy with their end of the deal.
11:46am: Peter Gammons says the three-way Manny deal is close to dead. It may not make sense for Boston.
11:34am: A deal hasn’t been reached, though Manny has consented to a Florida trade. Jon Heyman considers this a major hurdle cleared.
The Rays appear unlikely to make a trade, by the way. Perhaps they’re cursed by their own loaded farm system.
11:29am: Will Carroll has an update. The Pirates could back out Bay talks entirely if they don’t get what they want. The Red Sox will continue shopping Manny regardless, with the Dodgers and a mystery team in the mix. The Dodgers might be willing to part with Matt Kemp.
10:44am: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe agrees – the Pirates’ return for Bay may be the holdup.
10:12am: Rosenthal says the three teams have a framework for the major players, but no agreement on the prospects. The Bucs’ return from the Red Sox is the holdup. Rosenthal says Tucker and Stanton will stay put, by the way.
9:37am: Kovacevic says the Pirates are open to trading Bay to the Red Sox or the Rays.
9:22am: ESPN’s Jayson Stark’s source has this at 50-50. The Pirates are insisting on Stanton but the Marlins don’t want to give him up. Grabow coud end up in Florida rather than Boston. Tucker is in play but not a lock to be moved.
9:10am: Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has a source saying chances of a deal are "less than 50-50." Some members of Red Sox front office are not convinced Manny should be traded. What do you think? Are they better off with Bay and Grabow or Manny?
7:59am: Scott Miller of CBSSports.com hears that Ryan Tucker and Mike Stanton would not be in the deal. He says it’s not done and talks could still collapse. By the way, the Pirates have tried to acquire Jeremy Hermida in the past.
7:17am: Here’s the latest on the Manny Ramirez–Jason Bay–Jeremy Hermida three-way deal talks. At this time, the AP is saying there is no tentative agreement between the Red Sox, Pirates, and Marlins.