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.
Marlins Receiving Calls On Omar Infante
1:01pm: The Pirates are interested in many bats right now, tweets Jon Paul Morosi, including Infante. Infante told Joe Frisaro he hopes to remain with the Marlins beyond this year.
10:27am: The Infante rumors have no legs, hears Juan C. Rodriguez.
8:29am: Infante is a popular target, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but nothing is close with the Braves and the Marlins are leaning toward keeping him.
7:12am: The Braves and Marlins have had multiple conversations regarding Omar Infante, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Infante's versatility would come in handy given the injuries to Nate McLouth and Jordan Schafer. Infante, 29, played three seasons for the Braves before November's Dan Uggla deal with Florida. He currently profiles as a Type B free agent.
Braves Acquire Michael Bourn
After seeing top outfield trade candidates Carlos Beltran and Hunter Pence land with National League rivals, Braves GM made a splash today by acquiring 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. The Astros announced the deal via press release.
Bourn (pictured) is hitting .303/.363/.403 in 473 plate appearances, and he leads MLB with 39 steals. He fills the Braves' need for a center fielder and leadoff man through next year. The 28-year-old Scott Boras client has $1.45MM remaining on his contract this year and is arbitration eligible for 2012 before hitting free agency. The Astros' outfield purge continues, as they sent Pence to the Phillies on Friday. The Reds, Giants, Indians, and Nationals had also shown interest in Bourn.
Schafer, 24, figures to replace Bourn as the Astros' regular center fielder once he returns from the disabled list for a finger injury. He owns a .223/.310/.303 line in 414 big league plate appearances, coming in '09 and this year. Before the 2008 and '09 seasons, he was considered one of the best 50 prospects in the game, but an HGH suspension and wrist surgery dropped his stock.
None of the three pitchers are top 50 prospects, but they did rank ninth, 26th, and 27th respectively for the Braves on Baseball America's preseason rankings, and the team has a highly-regarded farm system. Oberholtzer, 22, ranked ninth and is seen as a potential third or fourth starter in the big leagues. Clemens and Abreu both have big upside and impressive fastballs.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports broke the story, with Jayson Stark adding the prospects and Ken Davidoff adding the financial detail. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Michael Bourn Rumors: Saturday
Astros GM Ed Wade is keeping an open mind on trades, so it's possible outfielder Michael Bourn and others could still go. The latest on Bourn:
- The Braves refuse to include both Randall Delgado and Arodys Vizcaino in a deal for Bourn, according to ESPN.com's Jim Bowden (on Twitter).
- The Giants do have interest in Bourn, Morosi tweets.
- The Reds aren't likely to acquire Bourn, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com; Houston's asking price is too high.
- The Giants may have interest in Bourn, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Braves are getting more involved on Bourn, tweets Rosenthal. ESPN's Buster Olney hears the Braves are working hard on getting the center fielder.
- The Astros' efforts to trade Bourn are picking up steam, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, and it appears more likely he'll be dealt by tomorrow's deadline.
- The Astros want Major-League ready prospects for Bourn, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. It makes sense that Wade would seek certainty here, with his Hunter Pence haul being of the high-risk, high-reward variety.
- The Indians and Reds are the main suitors for Bourn right now, tweets Stephen Goff of Examiner.com, but he'd be surprised if the center fielder is traded.
- The Braves are not one of the main teams in on Bourn yet, tweets Rosenthal.
- "The Nationals, Braves, Indians and Reds are among the clubs with varying levels of interest in Bourn," report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Indians are the new suitor here.
Latest On Braves’ Outfield Targets
The Braves are expected to add an outfielder today; here's the latest…
- The Athletics' asking price for Coco Crisp was a bit much, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. We know the Braves are looking at Houston's Michael Bourn, and O'Brien says they're still in on B.J. Upton of the Rays as well.
Braves Acquire Michael Bourn
8:59am: The Astros will receive center fielder Jordan Schafer, southpaw Double-A starter Brett Oberholtzer, righty Double-A starter Paul Clemens, and righty Triple-A reliever Juan Abreu, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. None of the three pitchers are top 50 prospects, but they did rank ninth, 26th, and 27th respectively for the Braves on Baseball America's preseason rankings.
8:46am: The Braves acquired center fielder Michael Bourn from the Astros for four minor leaguers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says the deal is done and will be announced shortly. Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that the Braves will receive money in the deal as well.
Bourn, 28, is hitting .303/.363/.403 in 473 plate appearances, and he leads MLB with 39 steals. The Scott Boras client has $1.45MM remaining on his contract this year and is arbitration eligible for 2012 before hitting free agency. The Astros' outfield purge continues, as they sent Hunter Pence to the Phillies on Friday.