Minor Moves: Flores, Stokes, Ward, Carson
Let's keep track of the day's minor moves here…
- The Yankees will release Triple-A left-hander Randy Flores tomorrow according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Both sides agreed to the move. Flores pitched to a 2.54 ERA in 28 1/3 innings for New York's top minor league affiliate, but he gave up 14 hits in 14 innings against lefties.
- The Diamondbacks have signed Brian Stokes and assigned him to Triple-A Reno according to the team's Twitter feed. The righty reliever spent last season with the Angels organization, throwing 16 2/3 innings in the majors and 17 2/3 innings in the minors.
- The D'Backs also signed infielder Daryle Ward according to the club's Twitter feed. The 36-year-old had been playing with the independent Newark Bears, and he hasn't appeared in the big leagues since 2008. He's headed to Double-A Mobile.
- The Rays have acquired Matt Carson from the Athletics according to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 30-year-old outfielder hit .285/.338/.538 with 19 homers and 11 stolen bases in exactly 400 plate appearances for Oakland's Triple-A affiliate this season. He's seen time with the A's in each of the last two seasons, posting a .200/.210/.370 batting line with five homers in 105 plate appearances from 2009-2010.
- The Astros have released right-hander Brad Hennessey according to Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The 31-year-old pitched to a 7.76 ERA in 26 2/3 innings for Houston's Triple-A affiliate,
Diamondbacks Acquire Brad Ziegler
Long expected to add relief help, the Diamondbacks acquired right-handed sidearmer Brad Ziegler from the Athletics for first baseman Brandon Allen and reliever Jordan Norberto today.
Ziegler, 31, is under team control through 2014 and is owed only $405K for the balance of the season. He has a 2.39 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 71.6% groundball rate with no home runs allowed in 37 2/3 innings this year. As you might expect, he's a lot tougher on right-handed hitters.
Allen, 25, hasn't done much in 209 scattered big league plate appearances since coming to Arizona two years ago in a trade with the White Sox. He's logged a lot of time in Triple-A, and the Pacific Coast League is hitter-friendly, but he is hitting .306/.427/.579 there this year.
Norberto, 24, tossed 20 ugly big league innings last year and has been in Triple-A this year. The lefty has a 4.25 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 4.8 BB/9, and 0.2 HR/9 in 48 2/3 innings. He has good velocity for a southpaw and ranked 29th among D'Backs prospects before the 2010 season, according to Baseball America.
Buster Olney, Jon Heyman, Tim Brown, and Steve Gilbert reported various aspects of the story as it developed.
Diamondbacks Acquire Brad Ziegler
12:07pm: The A's will receive first baseman Brandon Allen and reliever Jordan Norberto, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
11:53am: The D'Backs acquired Ziegler, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
11:47am: The Diamondbacks are likely to acquire righty reliever Brad Ziegler from the Athletics, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted the discussions earlier.
Ziegler, a 31-year-old sidearmer, is under team control through 2014 and is owed only $405K for the balance of the season. He has a 2.39 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 71.6% groundball rate with no home runs allowed in 37 2/3 innings this year. As you might expect, he's a lot tougher on right-handed hitters.
Arizona Reliever Rumors: Ziegler, Balfour
The Diamondbacks are likely to come away with a reliever today; here's the latest…
- Arizona is closing in on acquiring a reliever, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
- The D'Backs are talking to the A's about reliever Brad Ziegler, tweets Olney. The 31-year-old sidearmer is under team control through 2014.
- The D'Backs have taken a very close look at Oakland's Grant Balfour, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. The 33-year-old Australian has about $5.6MM left on his contract through next year if his club option for '13 is declined.
D’Backs Working To Acquire Reliever
SUNDAY, 12:43am: The Diamondbacks have a list of 7 or 8 relievers they are still pursuing and they're almost certain to come away with one, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Meanwhile, Arizona doesn't like their chances of landing Rockies reliever Rafael Betancourt, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter).
SATURDAY, 11:07pm: D’Backs GM Kevin Towers says he’s looking at everything (bullpen, bench, starting pitching) and could take on salary under the right circumstances, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter links).
9:13pm: The D'Backs are still working to acquire a reliever and it sounds as though they expect to complete a deal, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). The D'Backs acquired starting pitcher Jason Marquis earlier tonight.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links) reported earlier this evening that Arizona remains interested in relief help, including Jason Isringhausen. However, Isringhausen has said the Mets have told him they won't trade him, according to Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger (on Twitter).
Diamondbacks Acquire Jason Marquis
The Diamondbacks added an innings eater for the stretch drive today, acquiring righty Jason Marquis from the Nationals for shortstop prospect Zach Walters, the teams announced. Marquis returns to the NL West, where he won 15 games in '09 for the Rockies.
Marquis, 32, has a 3.95 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 54.0% groundball rate in 120 2/3 innings this year. Our projected Elias rankings have him well short of Type B status. Aside from last year, the veteran righty is known for taking the ball every fifth day, and he'll slot in nicely at the back end of Arizona's rotation. The D'Backs take on all of the $2.47MM remaining on Marquis' contract.
The Diamondbacks selected Walters in the ninth round of last year's draft. The 21-year-old has a .302/.377/.485 line with 42 extra base hits in 412 plate appearances at Class A South Bend this season. He has mostly played short, but has also appeared in ten-plus games at second and third.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi broke the story and Jim Bowden added detail. Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Matt Thornton Rumors: Saturday
Left-handed reliever Matt Thornton has a 3.28 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.50 HR/9, and 47.3% groundball rate in 35 2/3 innings this season for the White Sox, which is only a down year by his lofty standards. Thornton signed a three-year extension in March. He has $1MM remaining this year, $5.5MM in 2012, $5.5MM in '13, and a $6MM club option or $1MM buyout for '14. That's a total of $13MM guaranteed through 2013 for the hard-throwing 34-year-old. The latest rumors:
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that another deal is highly unlikely (Twitter link).
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post senses that the White Sox have really fallen out of love with Thornton and would love to move his contract (Twitter link). He says the Yankees are watching Thornton.
- The Diamondbacks would love to acquire Thornton but it can't happen given Chicago's demand of top prospects, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- The Red Sox are pushing hard for Thornton and right fielder Carlos Quentin, tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
- Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Rangers are pursuing Thornton, but would only be open to Chicago's request of Derek Holland if the Sox include a starter such as John Danks.
Diamondbacks Acquire Jason Marquis
4:06pm: The D'Backs take on all of the $2.47MM remaining on Marquis' contract, according to Bowden (on Twitter).
3:58pm: The Nationals will receive shortstop prospect Zach Walters from the D'Backs, tweets ESPN's Jim Bowden.
3:42pm: The trade is agreed upon, tweets Morosi – Marquis will join the Diamondbacks.
3:33pm: The D'Backs are close to acquiring Marquis, tweets Jon Paul Morosi. Marquis is scheduled to take on the Mets less than three hours from now at Nationals Park.
3:27pm: The Diamondbacks are working to acquire righty Jason Marquis from the Nationals, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Marquis, 32, has a 3.95 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 54.0% groundball rate in 120 2/3 innings this year. Our projected Elias rankings have him well short of Type B status, and he's owed $2.5MM on the season.
NL West Rumors: Carroll, Diamondbacks, Harang
The Giants and Diamondbacks are buyers; the Rockies, Dodgers, and Padres are sellers. The latest:
- The Diamondbacks have some interest in Rafael Furcal, tweets Jack Magruder.
- Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers says it's 50-50 he makes a deal, tweets Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona. Towers does not expect a deal to break this evening. He's hopeful teams will accept Arizona's second and third-tier prospects, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- The Dodgers' talks about trading infielder Jamey Carroll have died, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, while there's a touch of interest in Furcal. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer adds that the Dodgers' talks with the Indians have grown cold, so Carroll and Hiroki Kuroda won't be going to Cleveland.
- Clayton Richard's season-ending shoulder surgery is not a factor in whether the Padres trade starter Aaron Harang, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times.
D’Backs Sell Brazoban To Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
FRIDAY: The Diamondbacks announced that they have sold Brazoban to the Hawks.
WEDNESDAY: Reliever Yhency Brazoban is on the verge of leaving the Diamondbacks for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball League, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The 31-year-old former Dodger had his contract purchased by Arizona in late June, but was outrighted back to Triple-A a week ago.
Brazoban has a 3.22 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, and 1.5 HR/9 in 36 1/3 Triple-A innings for the Diamondbacks and Rangers this year.
Meanwhile, SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Diamondbacks are talking to the Blue Jays about reliever Jason Frasor, despite rumors Frasor is headed to the White Sox.