Diamondbacks Acquire Zagurski; Designate Vasquez
The Diamondbacks have acquired left-handed reliever Mike Zagurski from the Phillies in exchange for a player to be named, Zagurski's agent tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Arizona announced it designated reliever Esmerling Vasquez for assignment in a corresponding 40-man-roster move.
Zagurski, 28, was among three players whom the Phillies designated for assignment last week. The southpaw pitched to a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 innings with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season but has struggled in 37 career big league outings, posting a 6.82 ERA in parts of three seasons. His 10.2 K/9 rate is promising, but he struggles with his control (5.4 BB/9).
Arizona's magic number number to clinch the NL West is down to 1, but Zagurski, who will be added to the active roster for the regular season's balance, will not be eligible for the postseason roster.
Vasquez, 27, has posted a 4.66 ERA in 141 career Major League games, spanning parts of three seasons with Arizona. The Dominican right-hander was signed as an international free agent in 2003.
The Diamondbacks' active roster is currently at 33 after the moves. The 40-man roster is full.
Quick Hits: Oswalt, Dipoto, Conditioning
The Phillies suffered their first sweep since August 2010 on Thursday night, but they got good news regarding the long-term outlook of one of their starting pitchers. More on that in this late-night grab bag of links …
- Phillies righty Roy Oswalt's agent, Bob Garber, said that the 33-year-old is no longer considering retiring after this season, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Oswalt and the Phils have a $16MM mutual option for 2012, although Zolecki writes that it's unlikely the Phils will exercise their end of that deal. The Phils could bring back Oswalt on a lesser deal, however. In February, Oswalt, who has dealt with back injuries in recent years, said, "I'm going to play this year and see how it goes."
- Diamondbacks senior vice president of scouting and development Jerry Dipoto has played an integral role in Arizona's resurgence this year, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The Snakes' former interim GM remained with the organization last offseason, even though he was a candidate for the full-time GM job and didn't get it. Dipoto was interviewed recently by Tim Dierkes as part of MLBTR's GM Candidates series, so be sure to check that out.
- Teams are moving closer to monitoring their players' physical conditioning year-round, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, although the players' union likely won't care for it. Some executives are growing increasingly frustrated by players who report to Spring Training out of shape or let themselves go during the season, according to Olney.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Tommy Manzella
We'll keep track of the latest players to get outrighted to the minors right here:
- The D'Backs outrighted Tommy Manzella to Triple-A, according to MLB.com's transactions page. The 28-year-old hit .232/.315/.351 with eight home runs and 11 stolen bases in 485 plate appearances for the Triple-A teams of the Astros and D'Backs this season. Arizona had designated him for assignment on Monday.
NL West Notes: D’Backs, Giants, Dodgers, Ramirez
The Padres fired GM Jack McKeon on this date in 1990. Now the Marlins' skipper, McKeon is nearly 81 and still going strong. Here's the latest from his former division…
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law says D'Backs executive Jerry Dipoto deserves significant credit for his team's success, just as former GM Josh Byrnes and current GM Kevin Towers do. Dipoto steered the team through the 2010 trade deadline, acquiring Daniel Hudson among others. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes spoke to Dipoto last month for our GM Candidates series.
- The spirit of last year's World Champion Giants has been lost to "exhausting expectations, demoralizing injuries, down years and a weekly reality show," Tim Brown writes at Yahoo.
- Bill Burke, who submitted a $1.2 billion bid for the Dodgers in late August, told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that owner Frank McCourt did not respond to the offer. It expired yesterday, but Burke offered McCourt an extension. An attorney for McCourt dismissed the offer as a publicity stunt earlier this month, which makes a deal seem highly unlikely.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post has heard that the Rockies aren't looking at Aramis Ramirez (Twitter link). Ramirez said yesterday that he has probably played his last game as a Cub.
D’Backs Designate Tommy Manzella For Assignment
The Diamondbacks announced that they have designated infielder Tommy Manzella for assignment to create roster space for top pitching prospect Jarrod Parker. The D'Backs have 32 players on their active roster and their 40-man roster remains full.
Arizona claimed Manzella off of waivers in August, after the Astros designated him for assignment. The 28-year-old reported to Triple-A Reno and appeared in 22 games for the D'Backs' top affiliate. In 485 plate appearances for two Triple-A teams, Manzella hit .232/.315/.351 with eight home runs and 11 stolen bases this season.
Parker, a 2007 first round pick, entered the season as the #33 prospect in baseball, according to Baseball America. The 6'1" right-hander has the "stuff to become an ace," according to Baseball America, which placed him first among D'Backs prospects before the season. Parker pitched well in his first full year since undergoing Tommy John surgery in October of 2009. He posted a 3.79 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 130 2/3 innings at Double-A Mobile in '11.
D’Backs Will Look Into Exercising Towers’ Options
The Diamondbacks went from having the third worst record in baseball last year to the third best record in the NL this year thanks to the moves made by new GM Kevin Towers. Because of that improvement, CEO Derrick Hall told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic that he'll look into exercising the first two-year club option (for 2013 and 2014) in Towers' contract this offseason. Towers also has another two-year club option for 2015 and 2016.
When Arizona hired Towers last offseason, they only gave him a two-year contract rather than the four-year deal most GMs receive. "I didn't want to put the organization in a position where we had another long-term deal in case it didn't work out the way we hoped it would," said Hall, referring to previous GM Josh Byrnes. Byrnes had five years left on his contract when he was fired last summer.
Towers told Piecoro that he is very happy with his current situation, and that he's not too concerned about his contract. "To me, I'm at a point in my career where I don't worry about contracts or lengths of contracts as long as the people that I work for trust the job that I'm doing and like me being here," he said. "This is where I want to be. I want to be here, not only because I like the working environment, but I like the ownership, I like the CEO and my boss, and I like where we're headed."
Our Transaction Tracker shows all of the moves Towers has made with the Diamondbacks. Known for his bullpen-building skills, Towers turned a historically bad relief corps (5.74 ERA in 2010) into a strength (3.85 ERA in 2011) by signing J.J. Putz, trading for David Hernandez and Brad Ziegler, and selecting Joe Paterson in the Rule 5 Draft. He also signed Stephen Drew to a two-year contract that bought out his remaining years of arbitration-eligibility.
NL West Links: Bauer, Broxton, Cook, Brach
It's Panda-monium at Coors Field tonight, as Pablo Sandoval hit for the cycle against the Rockies. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Sandoval's cycle was the 25th in Giants history and the 10th since the club moved to San Francisco. If you had Sandoval and George Kottaras in a "who will hit for the cycle?" pool this season, you are now a multi-millionaire.
Some items from the NL West…
- Kevin Towers hinted to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the Diamondbacks may not call up Trevor Bauer in September. Towers thought the young prospect could have pitched too many innings for UCLA and in the minors this year.
- Jonathan Broxton will likely be shut down for the season after suffering a setback with his injured elbow, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. This probably also spells the end for Broxton with the Dodgers, as the right-hander is a free agent this winter. Don Mattingly was non-committal when talking about if Broxton could be back in L.A. next season.
- Aaron Cook isn't planning to retire and wants to pitch in the Majors next season, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Cook is set to start on Wednesday in the Rockies' last home game of the season, and it will likely be his last appearance with the team — Colorado is expected to decline Cook's $11MM option for 2012 and buy him out for $500K. MLB.com's Thomas Harding describes Cook's start as "a thank you for his long run with the organization," as Cook is the Rockies' all-time wins leader.
- The Rockies will install a humidor at their Triple-A stadium in Colorado Springs, reports Jim Krieger of the Denver Post. The team feels its pitching prospects can't properly develop by throwing in the thin air, and Colorado Springs' 6.41 team ERA this season is evidence.
- Brad Brach's journey from being a 42nd-round draft pick to pitching in the Padres bullpen is detailed by MLB.com's Corey Brock.
Minor Moves: Buente, Hendrickson, Ward
As I showed earlier today in my 10 Best Minor League Deals Of The Year post, minor moves sometimes have a major impact. Today's latest:
- The Rays released right-handed reliever Jay Buente, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. The move created a 40-man roster spot for Dan Johnson, whose contract was purchased. Buente, who'd been claimed off waivers from the Marlins in May, found himself literally twice as hittable for the Rays' Triple-A affiliate as compared to his work in the Marlins' organization this year. Topkin adds that recently designated pitchers Rob Delaney and Mike Ekstrom cleared waivers and the Rays are waiting to hear if they'll accept outright assignments.
- The Orioles released lefty reliever Mark Hendrickson on Monday, according to the team's transactions page. He'd been designated for assignment last Tuesday.
- The Diamondbacks released first baseman Daryle Ward, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. The 36-year-old hit .318/.445/.471 in 110 plate appearances. He last played in the Majors in '08 with the Cubs.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Dodgers, Peavy, Bauer
Sunday night linkage..
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter) wonders if the Red Sox might pursue pitching for the final stretch, even though anyone acquired wouldn't be eligible for the postseason.
- Surprisingly, patience seems to be the new trend in baseball when it comes to GMs, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. This morning, the Pirates announced that they have extended GM Neal Huntington's contract through 2014.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said yesterday that the club won't undergo any major changes this winter and Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times is less-than-enthused.
- The White Sox are shutting down starter Jake Peavy in hopes that rest will help the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner return to full strength next year, according to the Associated Press. Peavy underwent shoulder surgery on July 14, 2010 and the right-hander posted a 4.92 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.
- The Diamondbacks might promote top prospects Trevor Bauer and Jarrod Parker to experience the playoff race as they prepare for 2012, tweets Peter Gammons of the MLB Network.
NL West Notes: Giants, Dipoto, Zito, Rockies
Let's take a look at a few items out of the NL West..
- This winter, the Giants will have 13 players eligible for salary arbitration and seven players hitting free agency. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle peered into his crystal ball to predict which players would return to the club in 2012.
- Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports gives credit to Diamondbacks exec Jerry Dipoto for his role in the club's success. The former interim general manager could have looked for another GM gig after the position was given to Kevin Towers last year, but he instead chose to be a company man. Recently, Tim Dierkes spoke to Dipoto about his career in baseball and his future aspirations.
- If all goes well, it looks like Giants pitcher Barry Zito will soon be activated and will get the chance to show the club where he stands, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. Recently, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy admitted that he wasn't sure where the lefty fits into the team's long-term plans.
- Given their other needs, Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter) expects the Rockies to wait another year to address their first base situation.