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Eric Chavez Retires

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Third baseman Eric Chavez has retired, effective immediately, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The 36-year-old has seen time in 17 MLB seasons.

Chavez hit .246/.346/.449 in 81 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks this season, but hasn’t played since early June due to injury. He’s battled knee trouble this season and also has a long history of back issues.

MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks

Of course, his best seasons came earlier in his career with the Athletics, when Chavez was among the game’s more productive players. Over the 2000-2006 time frame, Chavez compiled a .273/.352/.495 slash with 199 home runs. With outstanding defense, he was worth 31 rWAR and 31.1 fWAR during that stretch.

From that point forward, Chavez was limited by injuries, and never saw more than 400 trips to the plate in a season. But he remained a productive reserve, ultimately moving to the Yankees and then Diamondbacks.

It was no coincidence that the “Moneyball” Athletics made five postseason appearances in the time that Chavez was at his peak. Though he never quite delivered full value on a six-year, $66MM extension signed before the 2004 campaign, Chavez nevertheless was, in the aggregate, a cheap source of top-level production for Oakland after being taken 10th overall in the 1996 draft.

Diamondbacks’ Relievers Drawing Interest

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The Diamondbacks’ top priority in trades is starting pitching, GM Kevin Towers tells MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (Twitter links). Next on their list is catching and then outfield help — in that order. Towers adds that his team isn’t looking to add any bullpen arms, but they have received interest in the ones they have.

With Aaron Hill and Martin Prado both struggling, Arizona’s bullpen could hold its most attractive trade chips (although Gerardo Parra is reportedly being shopped as well). Left-hander Oliver Perez’s affordable contract would be appealing to teams in need of a southpaw (the Braves and Pirates, for example). Right-hander Brad Ziegler is having a strong season, although somewhat curiously, the team doesn’t sound open to moving him. Even closer Addison Reed has recently been rumored to be available, which would add a more affordable late-inning option to the market (relative to Jonathan Papelbon and Joaquin Benoit, that is).

As Towers tells Gilbert, other clubs know what the Diamondbacks are looking to receive in return for their players, and for the time being, he’s waiting while the interested parties weigh the offers (Twitter link).

D’Backs To Sign Clayton Richard

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Left-hander Clayton Richard informs Nathan Baird of the Lafayette Journal & Courier that he will sign a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks and make his first minor league start with the organization this weekend.

Richard, 30, had a pair of 200-inning seasons with the Padres after coming over from the White Sox in 2009’s Jake Peavy trade, but he’s been sidelined all season while recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in February.

The former eighth-round pick has never been much of a strikeout pitcher, but has a career 4.33 ERA with 5.6 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 50 percent ground-ball rate in 773 innings for the White Sox and Padres. He’ll add some pitching depth to the D’Backs organization, though it’s still unclear what sort of timeline he would have in getting to the Majors.

Diamondbacks Shopping Gerardo Parra

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The Diamondbacks are shopping outfielder Gerardo Parra, an MLB executive tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). The 27-year-old is earning $4.85MM in his penultimate season of arbitration eligibility.

Parra, who bats from the left side, was said to be an unlikely trade candidate, but it appears that Arizona’s stance has changed. Parra has struggled this year with a .256/.301/.358 line, while defensive metrics have soured on his work in the outfield. After posting 5.5 rWAR and 4.5 fWAR last year, he has been at or below replacement level in 2014.

Nevertheless, Parra could be attractive to teams given his ability to play center and track record of success. And while he will not be cheap next year, Parra should remain affordable in a market that handed eight-figure, two-year guarantees to players like Nate McLouth, Rajai Davis, and David Murphy.

NL East Rumors: Marlins, Phillies, Byrd, Bastardo

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After a glance at the Mets earlier this evening, here’s a look at other items out of the NL East..

  • The Marlins are eyeing controllable pitchers and they’re thought to be considering A’s lefty Tommy Milone, D’Backs’ lefty Wade Miley, and Padres right-hander Ian Kennedy, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.  Of course, if their three-game set against the Nationals doesn’t go well, they could wind up going the other way and selling.
  • Phillies outfielder Marlon Byrd is no longer an option for the Royals and talks have stalled with the Mariners, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Byrd will only waive his no-trade clause if his 2016 option is exercised.
  • The Phillies are talking with multiple clubs about Byrd and reliever Antonio Bastardo and there’s a lot of action on both, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

Rakuten Golden Eagles Sign Nick Evans

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5:40pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets that Evans’ deal is official, and he will fly to Japan tomorrow.

JULY 28, 2:49pm: The Diamondbacks now announce (via Twitter) that Evans has been released to make roster room for Jordan Pacheco (who is returning from the DL).

JULY 26, 10:23am:  Nick Evans has an agreement with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes tweets. The Diamondbacks will remove Evans from their 40-man roster.

Evans had collected 21 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks this season and had previously played parts of four seasons for the Mets between 2008 and 2011. The 28-year-old has spent most of the 2014 season with Triple-A Reno, where he hit .354/.423/.631 in 227 plate appearances.

Stark’s Latest: Lester, Miller, Byrd, Kemp, Danks, Rios

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With roughly three days until the non-waiver trade deadline, here are some highlights from the latest Rumblings & Grumblings column by ESPN’s Jayson Stark…

  • The Red Sox have contacted every contending team in each league and told them that Jon Lester is available for a two- to three-prospect package fronted by at least one upper-echelon prospect. One executive, however, tells Stark that the Sox simply can’t get as much as the Rays would get if they moved David Price, which isn’t surprising, given Lester’s impending free agency and the remaining year of control that Price has.
  • Lester isn’t the only player being shopped — Boston has firmly planted a “for sale” sign in the ground, and they’re willing to move any impending free agents with the exception of Koji Uehara, whom they hope to re-sign. They’re peddling Andrew Miller, Burke Badenhop, Stephen Drew, Jonny Gomes and Craig Breslow. The price for Miller is also exorbitant at this time, however, as officials from two interested clubs tell Stark that Boston has asked for one of the top prospects plus a lesser prospect.
  • The Giants have asked the Phillies about Marlon Byrd, but their main priority is second base. The Reds are reassessing their stance after losing eight of nine games, and the Royals have backed off of Byrd. The Mariners appears to be the most logical option, but Byrd still wants his $8MM 2016 vesting option guaranteed to approve a trade there.
  • Byrd tells Stark that he’d have to think long and hard if GM Ruben Amaro Jr. came to him and asked him to approve a trade to a team on his no-trade clause. While his hope was to retire a Phillie, he  appreciates how aggressive Amaro was in signing him. “[Ruben] made it easy for me this offseason,” he said. Still, given the odds that he’d want some form of perk to approve a trade, it’s no longer certain that he gets dealt.
  • While the Red Sox and Mariners have been connected to Matt Kemp, officials from other clubs tell Stark they feel an offseason trade is much more likely than an in-season deal.
  • The White Sox have had scouts watching the Yankees’ surplus of minor league catchers in recent weeks, fueling speculation that the Yanks would like to acquire John Danks.
  • Some officials believe the Yankees would like to find a right-handed hitting platoon partner to pair with Ichiro in Suzuki in right field. New York wants an option that doesn’t have commitments beyond 2014, making names like Justin Ruggiano of the Cubs and Chris Denorfia of the Padres as possible targets. Earlier today it was reported that Denorfia could be moved soon.
  • The Royals have decided that Alex Rios isn’t a good fit for their right field need. Because the team is unable to take on much additional salary (if any), they could wait until August to add a bat.
  • While Troy Tulowitzki’s name has had a lot of buzz around it, club officials from interested teams tell Stark there’s no indication he is available. Rather, the Rockies are open to moving bullpen arms Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers, LaTroy Hawkins and Matt Belisle. However, the team would only move Hawkins if they’re overwhelmed. That seems a bit odd, given his age, but Hawkins does have a cheap club option and has drawn praise in Denver for his mentoring of younger talent.
  • The D’Backs are telling clubs that they’d move Addison Reed, but they don’t want to move Brad Ziegler. Arizona is also willing to move Aaron Hill and Oliver Perez. They’ll listen on Martin Prado and Josh Collmenter, although they’re more hesitant to deal them.
  • The chances of Cliff Lee being traded before August are almost nonexistent. Scouts who have seen him don’t think he looks close to healthy, and the money he’s owed is of course problematic.

Nationals Notes: Astros, Hill, Prado, Iglesias

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It’s difficult to tell whether the Nationals could be very busy or stand pat before the trade deadine, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes.  It seems like the Nats are at least exploring a number of options, as Kilgore reports…

  • The Nationals have asked the Astros about available relievers, and Houston had scouts watching the Nats’ Triple-A and Class A affiliates over the weekend.  Left-hander Tony Sipp best fits the Nationals’ needs, Kilgore surmises, since Washington is thin on southpaw relief options.
  • The Nationals haven’t talked to the Diamondbacks about Aaron Hill or Martin Prado.  Either player could fill the hole at second base created by Ryan Zimmerman’s injury (Anthony Rendon moved to third), or Prado could simply play third and Rendon could return to second.  Kilgore isn’t sure the Nats want to pay Hill the $26MM he’s owed through 2016, however, though Hill loved playing for manager Matt Williams when Williams was a D’Backs coach.  Arizona is reportedly shopping Hill but “barely listening” to inquiries about Prado.
  • With Jose Iglesias possibly on the trade block in Detroit, Kilgore thinks the Nats could be interested given the team’s desire to add a young shortstop as depth if Ian Desmond can’t be extended.  The Tigers had a scout watching the Nationals’ Class A team recently, Kilgore notes, though that isn’t necessarily related to Iglesias.
  • Speaking of scouting assignments, the Rangers had an evaluator watching a recent game between the Nationals’ and Braves’ Triple-A teams.  The two NL East rivals are both known to be looking for relief pitching.
  • Washington had scouts watching two recent Red Sox series, and Kilgore figures that they were checking out relievers Koji Uehara and Andrew Miller.  Earlier today, Peter Gammons reported that the Nats were interested in Miller.

Cubs Notes: Prospects, Price, Arrieta, Barney

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The Cubs scored a league-best eight players within MLB.com’s midseason list of the top 100 prospects in baseball, and also topped the league in terms of the “prospect points” ranking system.  Kris Bryant (fourth), Javier Baez (sixth) and Addison Russell (seventh) were the highest-rated young Cubs on the list.

Here’s some more news out of Wrigleyville…

  • Rumors linking the Cubs to David Price don’t make much sense, ESPN’s Buster Olney opines (Twitter links).  While the Cubs have the prospect depth the Rays are looking for in a Price deal, Olney wonders why Chicago would give away top minor league talent when they could just sign a top free agent arm like Jon Lester this winter if they wanted to add an ace.
  • Olney figures the Cubs would only make a move for him if the Rays’ asking price severely dropped and if Chicago was allowed to negotiate an extension before making the trade, as the Cubs aren’t going to be contenders before Price’s contract expires at the end of the 2015 season.
  • “We called Theo [Epstein] and asked about Jake Arrieta and we were told they will NOT move him. Period,” an NL scout tells David Kaplan of CSN Chicago (Twitter link).  There were rumors last month that the Cubs were gauging the market for Arrieta, yet it’s no surprise he could be untouchable given his excellent performance this year.  The right-hander has a 2.18 ERA and 9.8 K/9 over 91 innings and is controlled through the 2017 season.
  • The Cubs have received trade interest in second baseman Darwin Barney and expect to move him before Thursday’s DFA deadline, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets.  Barney was designated for assignment by Chicago on July 22.
  • Neither the Cubs or the Diamondbacks will trade from their surplus of young infielders this summer, as both teams prefer to use that depth to look for pitching in the offseason, Metsblog.com’s Matthew Cerrone reports.

Cafardo On Phillies, Iglesias, Prado, Red Sox

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The Phillies have a number of major trade chips on their roster, but the perception around baseball is that they’re asking for too much in return, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes in his weekly notes column.  Cafardo recently wrote that Philadelphia wanted three prospects in exchange for Cole Hamels, only to be told by a Phillies official that three was “too conservative” a number.  The Phillies, for their part, say they’re simply looking for “a fair deal” for any of their veteran stars.  Here’s some more from Cafardo’s latest piece…

  • The Tigers are so impressed with Eugenio Suarez’s play that they could look to trade Jose Iglesias, according to some scouts.  It would definitely be a sell-low move on Iglesias, who seemed to be Detroit’s shortstop of the future before stress fractures in his shins cost him the entire 2014 season.
  • The Red Sox were one of a few teams considering a move for Martin Prado, whose positional versatility and good clubhouse reputation would make a strong trade candidate, though the Diamondbacks have little desire to move him.  The Blue Jays were another team known to be scouting Prado.
  • The Red Sox are facing a 40-man roster crunch with several notable prospects in the offseason, and Cafardo wonders if the club could package some of these youngsters in a trade rather than risk losing them in the Rule 5 draft.
  • One AL scout disagrees with the general belief that the Yankees lack the minor league depth to move any prospects at the deadline.  “They have more in their farm system than people think. They have some arms, they have the Aaron Judge kid, [Luis] Severino, [Gary] Sanchez, [Peter] O’Brien, [Eric] Jagielo. If they wanted to make a deal, they have enough to give up,” the scout said.
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