Minor League Transactions: Lumsden, Red Sox
The latest minor league transactions from Baseball America's Matt Eddy…
- The Padres acquired lefty Tyler Lumsden from the Astros for future considerations. The former first-round pick has already tossed over ten innings for the Double A San Antonio Missions. Lumsden was well-regarded a few years ago, ranking fifth among Royals' prospects in BA's '07 Handbook.
- The Red Sox released pitchers Randor Bierd and Kason Gabbard. Bierd came to the Sox in the January '09 David Pauley trade, while Gabbard was sent to Texas in July of '07 in the Eric Gagne deal and later reacquired.
- The Diamondbacks released reliever Saul Rivera. He'd been designated for assignment on June 8th.
Odds & Ends: Duffy, Tigers, Yankees, Reds, Red Sox
Some leftovers in the wake of another trade deadline…
- I'll be appearing on Sporting News Radio at 8:25pm PT tonight to talk about the deadline. You can listen in here.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark named his trade deadline winners and losers, with the Rangers, Padres, and Yankees among the teams earning praise.
- The Phillies released Triple-A outfielder Chris Duffy, reports Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Steve Kornacki of MLive.com that he "had a chance to do something surprising and big," and that it was like "getting the wind knocked out of you" when it fell through. He didn't elaborate any further, so we'll have to keep playing the guessing game.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post says the Yankees took on $4.8MM at the deadline, more than any other team (Twitter links). The bankrupt Rangers came in second at $4.1MM.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that he was working on some deals in recent days, but they "fell apart at the end."
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets the Red Sox finished second in the Kerry Wood race, ditto the Rays and Lance Berkman, both of whom ended up with their biggest rival.
- Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider tweets that Yunesky Maya's deal with Washington will be made official within the hour.
- The Padres inquired about Jacoby Ellsbury before picking up Ryan Ludwick, but were told he's not available according to ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes (Twitter links).
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Dodgers took on about $3MM with all their deadline moves. Their financial situation has been in question basically all season.
- Chad Tracy has exercised an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Yankees and is now a free agent, tweet Conor Foley with the Triple-A Scranton Yankees.
- Barret Loux has joined the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League according to the team's official Twitter feed. Loux was the sixth overall pick in last month's draft, but recently failed his physical with the Diamondbacks and could be looking to rebuild his stock.
- The Royals traded minor league catcher Jeff Howell to the Twins for future considerations according to milb.com's official Twitter feed.
Giants Still Active
2:56pm: It doesn't look like anything will happen with the Giants and Hart, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
2:28pm: Lots of familiar names still in play for the Giants, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, including perhaps Corey Hart again.
2:17pm: The Diamondbacks, Giants, and Blue Jays have discussed a three-way deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. For the moment I'll leave the speculation to the commenters, but we know the Giants like Kelly Johnson from Arizona as well as Jays relievers and Jose Bautista. The Jays have had interest in Johnson as well.
Pirates Acquire Chris Snyder In Five-Player Deal
Diamondbacks interim GM Jerry Dipoto further dismantled his team today, sending catcher Chris Snyder, Triple A shortstop Pedro Ciriaco, and $3MM to the Pirates for reliever D.J. Carrasco, infielder Bobby Crosby, and outfielder Ryan Church. Snyder has about $8.18MM remaining through 2011, assuming his '12 option is declined, while Carrasco, Crosby and Church have roughly $1.2MM remaining.
Snyder signed his extension under previous GM Josh Byrnes in December of '08, coming off a fine .237/.348/.452 performance. However, he hit the disabled list in June of last year with a back injury and had surgery in September. Miguel Montero took over as the starter and hit .319/.364/.523 the rest of that season. The D'Backs shopped Snyder in the offseason and nearly dealt him to the Blue Jays until concerns over his back scuttled the deal. Snyder was able to prove his health this year when Montero missed two months due to knee surgery. Current Pirate Ryan Doumit, whose contract might have been the model for Snyder's, is on the disabled list due to a concussion.
Carrasco, Crosby, and Church were signed cheaply as free agents by the Pirates last winter, but only Carrasco has panned out. On the season he has a 3.88 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 3.6 BB/9 in 55.6 innings with only four home runs allowed. Carrasco probably will be tendered a contract by the D'Backs, and he's under team control through 2012. Church is technically arbitration-eligible after the season, but he's highly likely to be non-tendered.
Ciriaco, 24, ranked 27th among D'Backs prospects heading into the season according to Baseball America. They praised him for his defense and speed, suggesting a possible utilityman future.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first broke news of the trade talks, with Nick Piecoro, Jack Magruder, Steve Gilbert, Dejan Kovacevic, and Jenifer Langosch also contributing to the story.
Giants In Talks For Kelly Johnson
The Giants are in talks for Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. He says the Giants like that Johnson can also play left field. I imagine they're also keen on the fact that he's under team control for 2011. SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Diamondbacks rejected an offer of Joe Martinez plus another player for Johnson.
Rays Acquire Chad Qualls
The unloading of veteran Diamondbacks continues, as they've shipped reliever Chad Qualls to the Rays for a player to be named later. The Rays will pay the entire $1.48MM remaining on Qualls' contract, keeping interim GM Jerry Dipoto's streak alive of not sending cash in his transactions.
Qualls, 31, began the season as Arizona's closer but lost the gig by mid-June. He has an 8.29 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 3.6 BB/9 in 38 innings on the season with five home runs allowed. Silver lining: he tossed a scoreless inning last night and there's almost no way his batting average on balls in play remains at .434. The Rays' pen is in good shape, especially from the right side, so Qualls is something of a luxury for the wild card leaders.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal first reported the Rays' serious interest in Qualls, with MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reporting the agreement.
Odds & Ends: Padres, Oswalt, Farnsworth, Theriot
We here at MLBTR really appreciate everyone staying up past their respective bedtimes to keep up on all of the latest rumors. Here's some news from around the web..
- The Padres prospect drawing the most interest from other clubs is Double-A starter Cory Luebke, writes Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres.
- The Dodgers had a chance to land Roy Oswalt from the Astros, but it would have cost them Chad Billingsley, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
- Plenty of major leaguers read MLBTR, but it doesn't sound like Kyle Farnsworth is one of them in this article by Dick Kaegel and Samuel Zuba of MLB.com.
- ESPN's Buster Olney (in these three tweets) says that the Red Sox, who have found the market for outfielders and relievers to be shallow, might make a smaller deal before the deadline or make their moves in the August waiver period.
- The Diamondbacks offered second baseman Kelly Johnson to the Cubs for Ryan Theriot and lefty James Russell in return, writes ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine.
- Brad Hawpe says that he isn't concerned about being involved in a deadline deal, writes MLB.com's Thomas Harding. Based on news from earlier today, it sounds like Hawpe doesn't have anything to worry about.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets that the Cubs could move Ryan Theriot to the Diamondbacks for Kelly Johnson.
- The Phillies may be done trading and are telling teams that they are out of money and prospects, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.
- The Tigers and Jays are talking, and John Buck may be an even better fit for Detroit than the relievers, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
Pirates, D’Backs Agree On Chris Snyder Trade
10:43am: The minor leaguer going to the Pirates will be shortstop Pedro Ciriaco, tweets Kovacevic. Baseball America ranked Ciriaco 27th among D'Backs prospects heading into the season, praising his defense and speed.
9:55am: The Pirates will also receive a minor leaguer in the deal, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. So it's Snyder, a minor leaguer, and cash to the Pirates for Carrasco, Church, and Crosby. The Pirates will not flip Snyder, tweets Kovacevic.
9:42am: The D'Backs will also get reliever D.J. Carrasco, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Carrasco has $336K plus incentives left on his contract this year, and he's under team control through 2012. He should be a useful piece in what figures to be a revamped bullpen for Arizona next year.
9:31am: The D'Backs will receive Bobby Crosby and Ryan Church in the deal, tweets Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona. This explains the call-ups today of Argenis Diaz and Jeff Clement, to some extent. The inclusion of Crosby and Church offsets about $883K of the $8.18MM still owed to Snyder.
8:56am: Despite an agreement in principle, the two sides are still talking about names going to Arizona, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke to an uninvolved industry source who wonders if the Pirates might flip Snyder.
SATURDAY, 12:37am: The only thing standing in the way of a Snyder-to-Pittsburgh deal is the commissioner's approval for cash changing hands, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. It is still not clear as to what Arizona will receive in return, he adds (via Twitter).
FRIDAY, 8:57pm: The Pirates have spoken to the D’Backs about a trade that would send catcher Chris Snyder to Pittsburgh, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The FOX Sports writers suggest Arizona would likely send money to Pittsburgh in any deal. Snyder has $1.7MM remaining on his contract in 2010, plus $5.75MM next year and either $6.75MM or a $750K buyout in 2012.
The Pirates currently have Jason Jaramillo and Erik Kratz on the active roster, but Ryan Doumit is on the DL with a concussion. Like Snyder, Doumit has a lot of money coming his way. He'll earn $5.1MM in 2011 and the club holds options for 2012-13.
Earlier in the week, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reported that the D'Backs were trying to trade Snyder, but this is the first we've heard of the Pirates' interest.
Twitter Rumors: Lowell, Ross, Dotel, Heilman
A home for today's random Twitter rumors…
- The Red Sox might not activate Mike Lowell today because they're trying to trade him, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- The Marlins are getting tons of calls on Cody Ross but aren't inclined to move him, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Marlins are wavering on their stance not to deal Ross, and the Braves are making a push.
- The Sox made a run at the Cubs' Sean Marshall and were shot down, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. Marshall is having a dominant year out of the Cubs' pen.
- Though the Giants have inquired on Orioles lefty Will Ohman, a deal is unlikely according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Action has been light on Octavio Dotel so far, tweets Morosi.
- The Diamondbacks aren't sure about trading Aaron Heilman, reports Ken Rosenthal, but could move Chad Qualls and Adam LaRoche. SI's Jon Heyman says the D'Backs have gotten nibbles on Qualls but nothing is close yet.
- The Indians are getting "significant hits" on Jake Westbrook, says ESPN's Buster Olney. The Cardinals and Yankees have checked in, reports Stark.
White Sox Acquire Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson has been traded for the fourth time in his young career, this time by the Diamondbacks to the White Sox for pitchers Dan Hudson and David Holmberg.
The 26-year-old Jackson would be a project for Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, as he has a 5.55 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 4.3 BB/9 on the season despite throwing a no-hitter in late June. Of course, we're not positive the hard-throwing righty won't be flipped, possibly for Adam Dunn, before Saturday's trade deadline. At any rate, Arizona shed more payroll with the move since Jackson is owed $1.5MM more this year and $8.35MM in 2011 before he'll be eligible to become one of the youngest members of the 2012 free agent class.
Hudson, 23, rocketed up Chicago's farm system last year with "three solid pitches and natural deception," according to Baseball America. He's spent most of this season in Triple A, posting a 3.47 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 3.0 BB/9 with 13 home runs allowed in 93.3 innings. The D'Backs might be concerned that their revamped rotation is built around flyball pitchers, with Ian Kennedy and Joe Saunders already in the fold, but interim GM Jerry Dipoto told MLBTR, "pitchers with good stuff work just about anywhere" while noting that Kennedy and Hudson miss bats. The D'Backs will have Hudson under team control through 2016 even if they keep him in the Majors the rest of the season.
Holmberg, 19, was drafted in the second round, 71st overall out of high school by the White Sox last year. The southpaw was ranked eighth among Sox prospects by BA heading into the season, with the projection of a "middle of the rotation workhorse at best."
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports were first to report the teams being on the verge of the deal, with Yahoo's Tim Brown breaking news of the agreement. Jon Heyman, Joe Cowley, and Bob Nightengale also contributed to the story.