Braves To Release Scott Proctor
The Braves will release Scott Proctor, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Chris Schiavone of WSB Radio broke the news earlier (on Twitter). The move will create roster space for Arodys Vizcaino, Atlanta's number seven prospect before the season, according to Baseball America.
Proctor posted a 6.44 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings for the Braves this year. The 34-year-old, who signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in April, has struggled since appearing in 83 games in consecutive seasons (2006-07).
The Braves recently promoted Vizcaino to Triple-A and moved him to the bullpen, where he struck out eight hitters without allowing a walk in seven innings. In 97 innings of work as a starter and reliever across three levels this year, the 20-year-old has a 3.06 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.
Quick Hits: Leyland, Phillies, Trumbo, Taylor
Some notes from around the majors as Casey Kotchman is a walkoff hero for Tampa Bay….
- Jim Leyland is fine with his contract being extended for just one year by the Tigers since he isn't sure how long he'll keep managing, reports Chris Iott of MLive.com. "I want to make sure that I'm giving the Tigers everything they're paying for, and when that day comes that I'm not, I'm going home," Leyland said. The manager also said that a year from today, he hopes he'll be signing another one-year extension.
- Meanwhile, Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press thinks the Tigers were wise to extend Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski.
- The Phillies don't plan to look for outside help at third base if Placido Polanco misses a lot of time with his sports hernia, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Ruben Amaro said that the Phils will use Wilson Valdez and Michael Martinez at third in Polanco's place.
- Mark Trumbo was never a highly-regarded prospect, and the Angels first baseman tells Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times that he uses those scouting reports as incentive to prove the critics wrong.
- Michael Taylor called the trade deadline "the toughest day of the year for me," reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Athletics' prospect was disappointed that the team didn't move any of their outfielders, thus creating room for him on Oakland's Major League roster.
- The Nationals aren't yet sure when Tom Milone and Brad Peacock will be called up from Triple-A but the team definitely wants to give both pitchers some Major League experience, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
- The Dodgers are on pace to lose at least $27MM this season and Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times predicts that figure may be a conservative estimate.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis answers questions relating to minor league prospects and draft signings in the latest edition of "Ask BA."
- The Braves "were heavy in on getting either" Carlos Beltran or Hunter Pence at the trade deadline but their unwillingness to part with top prospects Julio Teheran, Mike Minor or Randall Delgado halted both deals, tweets Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner. The fact that Atlanta was able to acquire Michael Bourn without giving up any of those prospects is a nice deadline win for the Braves and GM Frank Wren.
East Notes: Ortiz, McGowan, Rhodes, Uggla
As if Joe DiMaggio didn't have enough honors already, the U.S. Postal Service plans to sell a DiMaggio stamp in 2012, along with stamps bearing the likenesses of three other yet-to-be-announced baseball superstars. A fitting tribute to a legend of the game….or a subtle way of trying to jinx Dan Uggla? If it was the latter, the jinx didn't work, as Uggla extended his hitting streak to 29 games tonight.
Here's some more on Uggla, DiMaggio's old team and the other eastern franchises….
- David Ortiz has been upset about the lack of contract talks between he and the Red Sox, but Fangraphs' Steve Slowinski argues that if negotiations had begun, Ortiz might not liked what he would've heard. "Which would you prefer: a star player that’s mildly hurt you won’t talk about a new contract with him, or one that feels unappreciated and lowballed?" Slowinski asks.
- Dustin McGowan hasn't pitched in the majors since 2008, but the injury-plagued Blue Jays right-hander hopes to finally return this September, reports MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.
- Speaking of Blue Jays pitchers, Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi reports that Toronto has called up right-hander Henderson Alvarez. The 21-year-old will make his first Major League start for the Jays sometime this week.
- Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer suggests the Phillies should consider acquiring Arthur Rhodes to provide some left-handed bullpen depth.
- Uggla's hot streak has finally made him look like the player the Braves expected when they acquired him from Florida last winter, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
- The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo touches on a number of Red Sox-related topics in a fan mailbag, such as the likelihood of Jacoby Ellsbury signing a contract extension, how Josh Reddick has improved his trade value and if the Red Sox would get involved in the bidding for Jose Reyes this winter.
- The Yankees won't call up Jesus Montero for Tuesday's game with the Angels, reports Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. There had been speculation that Montero would soon be in pinstripes given the team's announcement that Jorge Posada would be relegated to a bench role.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter told Bill Madden of the New York Daily News that while fans focus on the payroll gap between big-market and small-market clubs, "the real disparity, the disparity that's hurting baseball, is the disparity that no one sees — the amount of money being spent on scouting and player development." In a follow-up piece for the Baltimore Sun, Robbie Levin looks at how the O's have fallen behind their AL East rivals in developing Latin American talent.
- The Marlins have agreed to terms with seventh-round draft pick Ryan Rieger, reports Baseball America's Aaron Fitt. (Twitter link) Rieger, a first baseman, had committed to play for Long Beach State University next year.
Quick Hits: Hairston, Angels, Pirates, Phillies
On this date in 2009, the Indians sent Carl Pavano to the Twins for a player to be named later (Yohan Pino). Pavano won five games down the stretch for Minnesota and has worn a Twins uniform ever since. Pino, meanwhile, now pitches for the Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire, having been dealt for cash considerations earlier this year. As we wait to find out whether we'll see any major August trades this year, let's check out today's links….
- The Mets came very close to trading Scott Hairston to the Braves in July, but ultimately nixed the deal, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).
- A club official tells Peter Gammons (Twitter link) that the Red Sox and Yankees are blocking waiver claims on relievers and starters, respectively.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff identifies a few August trade candidates and a few contenders with outstanding needs.
- The Angels are one team named by Davidoff as an August buyer, and GM Tony Reagins agrees. As he says to Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times, "We think there will be some opportunities later on that may materialize."
- GM Neal Huntington tells Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates hope to become a "consistent championship caliber organization," rather than merely finishing above .500. Unfortunately for the Pirates and their fans, the team's current nine-game losing streak has put them on pace for a 19th straight losing season.
- Despite frequently moving prospects for impact players, the Phillies haven't depleted their farm system, writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Quick Hits: Jones, Stanton, Francisco
The Cardinals acquired Larry Walker from the Rockies seven years ago today. The waiver trade sent minor leaguer Jason Burch and two players to be named later to Colorado, one of whom turned out to be Chris Narveson.
Will we see any big name players dealt in waiver trades this month? I'm thinking yes. Until then, here are the links for Saturday…
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that both the Braves and Phillies asked the Orioles about Adam Jones before the trade deadline, but were told he wasn't available. The two NL East clubs satisfied their outfield needs with Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence, respectively.
- The Marlins have not yet approached Mike Stanton about a long-term contract extension, reports MLB.com's Peter Gammons (on Twitter). Yesterday we learned that the team was having "preliminary internal talks" about a deal for the slugging outfielder.
- Roy Oswalt will be activated off the disabled list and start for the Phillies tomorrow, and Matt Gelb of The Philadephia inquirer thinks Ben Francisco could be in danger of losing his roster spot. John Mayberry Jr.'s emergence has made Francisco a bit more expendable, though he does have one minor league option remaining.
Quick Hits: Indians, Bedard, Braves, Phillies
Links for Thursday, before the Pirates try to reach the .500 mark and the Indians try to climb above it…
- One GM told Tim Kurkjian of ESPN The Magazine that the Indians gave up an awful lot to get Ubaldo Jimenez, "a guy you're just not sure about." However, reliever Frank Herrmann told Kurkjian that he believes in Cleveland's GM. "We're not going to meddle in the way the front office works," Hermann said. "I would be upset if Chris Antonetti came down to the clubhouse and told me how to hold my curveball."
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox never stopped pursuing Erik Bedard throughout their negotiations for Jimenez, Hiroki Kuroda and Rich Harden.
- Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com that the Rangers want to prove that last year's World Series run was just the beginning. "We want to show we belong there, that it wasn't a fluke," Hamilton said.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Padres should have traded Heath Bell by now or signed him to an extension. Their best remaining option is to trade him this August, even though they have significantly less leverage than they did a month ago, Rosenthal says.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle can envision the Astros winning as many as 90 games in 2013 – but he can also envision three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
- The Braves and Phillies will likely reinforce their bullpens internally, as Rosenthal explains. The Braves would like to add a right-hander and Peter Moylan, who is returning from back surgery, and minor leaguers Arodys Vizcaino and Julio Teheran are options. The Phillies, meanwhile, are looking forward to the return of Jose Contreras.
Braves Interested In Bench Help
The Braves would like to add a right-handed pinch hitter, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Atlanta is looking for a player to complement the left-handed hitting Eric Hinske as a weapon off of the bench late in games.
Braves pinch hitters have eight homers and a .201/.250/.390 line this year. Among the names GM Frank Wren could consider as he looks for right-handed bench help: Casey Blake, Jamey Carroll, Ty Wigginton, Reed Johnson, Miguel Cairo, Jonny Gomes, Aaron Hill and Josh Willingham.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Buck, Hall, Hernandez
The latest players to get outrighted to the minors…
- The Indians announced that they outrighted outfielder Travis Buck to Triple-A. He has three days to accept or decline the assignment.
- The Giants outrighted Bill Hall to the minor leagues and he accepted the assignment, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The Giants designated Hall for assignment last week to create roster space for Carlos Beltran.
- The Braves outrighted Diory Hernandez to Triple-A yesterday, according to MLB.com's transactions page. Atlanta designated the infielder for assignment five days ago to create 40-man roster space for Jose Constanza.
AL East Notes: Rays, Bedard, Hairston, Jimenez
The deadline has passed and the Yankees are the only team in the AL East that didn't make a deal. The Rays were pretty quiet, too, but there may have been a reason for that…
- Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman underwent an appendectomy last night, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. However, that didn't stop Friedman from conducting business from his hospital room this afternoon.
- The Red Sox and Mariners will each cover some of the incentives on Erik Bedard's contract, GM Jack Zduriencik told Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox had interest in Scott Hairston, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). However, the Mets weren't interested in minor salary relief or a marginal prospect.
- Boston wasn’t the only interested team, by the way. The Braves talked to the Mets about acquiring Hairston as a bench bat, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Jack Curry of the YES Network hears that the Yankees wanted a shoulder MRI for Ubaldo Jimenez, but the Rockies declined (Twitter link).
NL East Trades
Here are the trades that took place in the NL East this month..
Braves
- Acquired center fielder Michael Bourn and cash from the Astros for center fielder Jordan Schafer, southpaw Double-A starter Brett Oberholtzer, righty Double-A starter Paul Clemens, and righty Triple-A reliever Juan Abreu.
- Acquired catcher Wil Nieves from the Brewers for cash considerations.
Mets
- Acquired pitching prospect Zack Wheeler from the Giants for right fielder Carlos Beltran and cash considerations.
- Acquired two players to be named later from the Brewers for Francisco Rodriguez and cash considerations. The Mets will choose the players from a list of five Brewers minor leaguers by a date in September.
Marlins
- Acquired outfielder Mike Cameron from the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Nationals
- Acquired shortstop prospect Zach Walters from Arizona in exchange for right-hander Jason Marquis.
- Acquired Double-A outfielder Erik Komatsu from the Brewers for infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr..
- Acquired Jonny Gomes and cash considerations from the Reds for outfielder Bill Rhinehart and left-hander Chris Manno.
Phillies
- Acquired Hunter Pence and $2MM from the Astros for prospects Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, and Josh Zeid, as well as a player to be named later.