Minor Moves: Davis, Astros, Roemer
Here are the latest minor moves…
- The White Sox released Doug Davis, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. They had signed the veteran left-hander to a minor league deal in July.
- Eddy has all of the other minor league transactions that took place between August 31st and September 6th.
- The Astros announced that they signed right-hander Alan Abreu as a non-drafted free agent out of Lander University. Abreu played primarily shortstop and center field in college, according to the Astros.
- The D'Backs released right-hander Wes Roemer over the weekend, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Arizona released the former supplementary first round pick to clear 40-man roster space, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Roemer posted a 4.39 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 164 innings in the upper minors this year. He has a 4.44 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in five pro seasons.
Extension Possible For Montero, D’Backs
Miguel Montero told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he’s open to the possibility of an extension, though he isn’t sure if the Diamondbacks will approach him about a deal. Piecoro hears that it’s “probable” that the D'Backs will discuss the possibility with the catcher this offseason. If they come calling, Montero will listen attentively.
"They're more than welcome to come to me in the off-season," Montero told Piecoro. "Obviously, I want to stay here. My family likes Phoenix, so it's always good to stay here. I like the front-office guys. I like the fans. I like everybody. I would be more than happy to stay here."
Montero earns $3.2MM this year and will be arbitration eligible one last time this offseason before hitting free agency after the 2012 season. MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk examined the possibility of an extension for Montero in detail this weekend, suggesting that a three-year deal in the $21MM range could work.
Rosenthal On Diamondbacks, Cubs, Royals
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes talked about the work of successor Kevin Towers: "Obviously, there were some holes on the roster that needed to be addressed. Kevin addressed them very well. The bullpen killed the team in 2010. He made that group a lot better." Arizona's bullpen ranks ninth in the National League with a 3.62 ERA, after placing last in '10 with a 5.74 mark. Towers methods varied – David Hernandez was acquired in the Mark Reynolds trade, J.J. Putz received a big free agent deal, Joe Paterson came in the Rule 5 draft, and Micah Owings was signed to a minor league deal. Free agent signing Aaron Heilman was the only bust; subtract his 35 1/3 innings and the bullpen's ERA drops to 3.32.
- Cubs owner Tom Ricketts should not have given a four-year extension to vice president of player personnel Oneri Fleita before hiring a new GM, opines Rosenthal. Rosenthal writes that Ricketts has "already diminished the power of his next GM."
- Signing a major free agent starting pitcher is "almost out of the question" for the Royals this offseason.
Extension Candidate: Miguel Montero
One of the key reasons behind the Diamondbacks' surprising run to the top of the NL West has been the play of Miguel Montero. The catcher entered today's action with a .278/.348/.460 line, made his first All-Star appearance and (perhaps most importantly) showed no lingering after-effects of the knee surgery that sidelined him for two months in 2010.
Montero, 28, avoided arbitration last winter by agreeing to a one-year, $3.2MM contract and he has one arb year left before hitting the free agent market after the 2012 season. Since hard-hitting catchers are a rare commodity in the game, it stands to reason that Arizona will try to sign Montero to a long-term contract. The D'Backs explored locking Montero up before 2010 but nothing came of those negotiations, possibly since the club was still rueing its last multiyear deal to a catcher.
I could see the Diamondbacks approaching Montero with a three-year contract, thus covering his last arb year and his first two free agent seasons. The total value would be in the ballpark of $21MM — $5.5MM for 2012 (about what Montero would make in a one-year contract that avoids arbitration), $7MM for 2013 and $8.5MM for 2014. The D'Backs will probably shoot for at least one club option year, worth around $11MM for 2015. If that hypothetical option year was used, then Montero would be a free agent at age 32 and a candidate to score another multiyear deal if he's still a productive bat and able to handle the rigors of catching.
The D'Backs also face interesting arbitration cases with Joe Saunders (third year) and first-timers Ryan Roberts and Ian Kennedy this winter. MLBTR's Mike Axisa considered Kennedy's case for an extension back in July.
Quick Hits: Brewers, August Winners, Free Agents
Twins minor leaguer Kyle Gibson, the No. 22 overall draft pick in 2009, will undergo Tommy John surgery, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Best wishes to Gibson on making a full recovery and perhaps debuting in the Majors late in 2012.
Here are a few other items of note on this Thursday afternoon:
- The Brewers were interested in acquiring lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez from the Orioles before Baltimore dealt him to Texas, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “We had the irons in the fire,” Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin said. The Brew Crew remains without a southpaw in their bullpen.
- The Diamondbacks were among the five winners of August's post-deadline trade period, opines Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Arizona shored up its infield by acquiring infielders John McDonald and Aaron Hill from Toronto in exchange for Kelly Johnson. Morosi's other winners: The Rangers, Tigers, Braves and Indians.
- Impending free agents, however established they may be, should still be scouted dilligently, writes Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). For example, though some of us may take it for granted that Albert Pujols' fractured wrist is fully healed, scouts from interested teams will be watching all of his final at-bats for even the slightest change in his swing or approach. After all, Bowden explains, with tens, and sometimes hundreds, of millions of dollars at stake, every bit of info helps.
NL West Notes: Ethier, Giants, D’Backs
As MLBTR's Reverse Standings page shows, the Padres, Dodgers and Rockies project to have protected first round picks in next year's draft. Here are the latest links as the Giants continue chasing the D'Backs for the division lead…
- Agent Nez Balelo told Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times that Andre Ethier wants to return to the Dodgers next year and stay there for the rest of his career. Ethier, who hit a grand slam tonight, returned to the lineup yesterday after the Dodgers' medical staff determined that his injured knee wouldn't deteriorate if he keeps playing. He is under team control through 2012.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean told Chris Haft and Adam Berry of MLB.com that he doesn't expect to make any moves this month.
- The Giants announced that they discovered evidence of possible embezzlement by former payroll manager Robin O'Connor. They dismissed O'Connor and are working with federal authorities on the matter.
- The 2009 trade that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees has helped all three teams involved, including the D'Backs, Matthew Leach writes at MLB.com. The D'Backs acquired Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson in the deal before flipping Jackson for Daniel Hudson.
Royals Open To Trading Prospects
With baseball's best farm system at his disposal, Royals GM Dayton Moore acknowledged that he's willing to trade prospects for pitching, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Dutton says Moore would like to find a deal similar to the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, where the Indians acquired a talented, controllable starter in exchange for prospects.
"We'll be aggressive in trades," Moore said, looking ahead to the offseason. “We'll try to make a trade or two that helps us. We have to look internally first, but then we have to look at trades. Then, finally, we have to look at free agency. We’ll explore all of those options…. We have a minor league system that's ranked pretty good. So we'll see what's out there. We're a pitcher or two away."
This spring, Baseball America said Kansas City's minor league system was "among the best we've seen," with nine Royals ranking among BA's top 100 prospects. So while there's no doubt that the Royals have the depth to make such a move, you could contest Moore's assertion that the club is only "a pitcher or two away." Even in a weak AL Central division, with some of their youngsters starting to make an impact in the bigs, the Royals are 25 games below .500 this season.
Still, according to Dutton, club officials believe that the rotation doesn't need to be overhauled for 2012, and that adding a top-of-the-rotation starter to their current core is the key for a "rapid rise" in the standings.
"What we need, if we're going to win a championship," one official said. "Is somebody who can match up with [Justin] Verlander and [C.C.] Sabathia and [Josh] Beckett."
ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider link) identifies the Mariners, Diamondbacks, and Braves as teams who might match up with the Royals, specifically naming Mike Moustakas as a player who could interest Atlanta as a successor to Chipper Jones at third base.
D’Backs Designate Ransom For Assignment
SATURDAY: Ransom has accepted his assignment to Triple-A Reno, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (via Twitter).
WEDNESDAY: The D'Backs announced that they designated infielder Cody Ransom to create 25-man roster space for Aaron Hill and John McDonald. The first roster spot opened up yesterday, when Arizona sent Kelly Johnson to Toronto in the deal that brought Hill and McDonald to the National League. The D'Backs now have full 25 and 40-man rosters.
Ransom, 35, appeared in 12 games for Arizona this year, hitting .152/.243/.303 in his 37 trips to the plate. He played short and third in 2011 and also has big league experience at first, second and left field. A nine-year veteran, Ransom has a .220/.304/.383 line in 383 career plate appearances.
D’Backs Wanted Defense, Infield Depth
Talk of draft pick compensation, club options and future salaries is valid after any trade, including the one the Diamondbacks just made with the Blue Jays. But the D’Backs didn’t make this move with an eye on future seasons or drafts.
“This deal was really made with a focus on ‘how do we get better for the next five weeks and stay ahead of the Giants’,” GM Kevin Towers explained this evening on a conference call with reporters.
Ever since Stephen Drew’s season ended, the D’Backs have been short-handed up the middle. They wanted to rely on Willie Bloomquist less, so Towers and the Blue Jays discussed Aaron Hill, someone the D’Backs have been eyeing for a while. The second baseman isn’t having much of a season at the plate, but Towers says his power could return against National League pitching.
“We’re hoping that a change of scenery can not only spark our club, but spark these two guys,” Towers said, referring to Hill and John McDonald.
Even if Chase Field doesn’t coax extra base power out of Hill, who has a 36-homer season to his name, Towers won’t mind. The deal, which included the versatile McDonald, was about defense. Though Towers didn't express disappointment in Kelly Johnson’s defense, he did say he's looking forward to adding the pair of former Blue Jays to his infield.
Hill has two $8MM team options for 2012-13, yet they aren't a major consideration for the D'Backs at this point at this point. It was “doubtful” that Johnson (pictured) would have returned after 2012, according to Towers, so the D’Backs were willing to part with him for Hill, regardless of whether Hill returns to Arizona in 2012.
That Hill and McDonald strike out less than Johnson (132 Ks this year) is a bonus for Towers, who has been looking to reduce Arizona’s strikeout totals since last year. Plus, they’re two “great guys” who drew personal praise from Diamondbacks people and others in baseball.
For the two nice guys to finish first, the D’Backs will have to maintain their current one-game lead over the defending World Champion Giants. Arizona could even obtain more help this month, since Towers may not be done dealing yet.
“We’ll keep working the phone lines until the end,” he said.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Darvish
The Blue Jays completed a trade with the Diamondbacks today, sending Aaron Hill and John McDonald to Arizona for Kelly Johnson. Here's the latest news from the AL East, starting with a note on today's trade…
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio that Hill and McDonald cleared waivers earlier in the month (Twitter link). The deal started when Arizona GM Kevin Towers called about McDonald.
- Anthopoulos says he acquired Johnson from the D'Backs to get an up-close look at him before deciding how aggressively to pursue him this offseason when he hits free agency, according to Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com takes us inside Boston's front office in a must-read look at how the Red Sox approached the signing deadline. “Between 11:50 and 12 it was straight chaos,” one person told Speier. “Five people were on the phone at the same time with five different agents negotiating five different deals.”
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains that MLB teams, even rich ones like the Yankees, have to develop their own starting pitching, since the few elite starters who do reach free agency are prohibitively expensive.
- The Yankees have scouted Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish heavily, according to Sherman. Darvish, 25, "is coming" to the Major Leagues this offseason, according to one of Sherman's sources.