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Cubs Claim Jason Berken

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The Cubs have claimed Jason Berken off of waivers from the Orioles, Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com reports (on Twitter). Baltimore had designated the right-hander for assignment four days ago in order to free up roster space for Zach Phillips.

Berken spent most of the 2012 season at Triple-A, where he posted a 3.50 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 26 starts. The 28-year-old appeared in just one game with Baltimore this year, but he was a fixture in the Orioles' rotation in 2009 and in their bullpen from 2010-11. The Cubs claimed right-hander Miguel Socolovich off of waivers from Baltimore less than a month ago.

Stark On Yankees, LaRoche, Phillies

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The Yankees will reach a crossroads with three of their most productive players this offseason when Nick Swisher hits free agency and Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano get a little closer to the open market. Jayson Stark surveyed MLB executives about the value of those Yankees and passed along the results in his latest column at ESPN.com. Here are the details and more notes from Stark…

  • Two National League executives had no reservations about spending on Cano. “Pay him what he's worth," one said. The other said Cano has a legitimate case for a $200MM extension.
  • The execs praised Granderson as a person but questioned his value on the field. A $100MM contract would be excessive in the view of one executive. Both Cano and Granderson will be eligible for free agency following the 2013 season, assuming the Yankees exercise their '13 club options.
  • Similarly, the executives don’t consider Swisher a candidate for a Jayson Werth-type deal (seven years and $126MM). Swisher may look to match Werth’s contract as a free agent this coming winter.
  • The Nationals have considered picking up their side of Adam LaRoche’s $10MM mutual option for 2013 and keeping Bryce Harper in center field, Stark reports. Alternatively, they could sign Michael Bourn when he hits free agency, move Harper to a corner spot and trade Michael Morse. I examined LaRoche’s option in detail last week, before his recent hot streak.
  • The Phillies are looking at third base and left field options for next year and that search includes players already in the organization. One scout has been impressed by 26-year-old Darin Ruf, who hit 38 home runs at Double-A this year. "He might be Matt Holliday," the scout said, praising Ruf's hitting ability.
  • An old friend of Roger Clemens doesn’t believe the seven-time Cy Young Award winner when he says he’s not thinking about playing at the MLB level. The person expects Clemens to sign with the Astros this month.

Bard, Melancon, Mortensen On Waivers

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The Red Sox have placed Daniel Bard, Mark Melancon and Clayton Mortensen on revocable waivers, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter). The Red Sox have placed many players on waivers since the current waiver period opened at the beginning of August; this is by no means an indication that they intend to trade more players.

 If the right-handers go unclaimed, the Red Sox would be able to trade them to any team (the players wouldn’t be eligible for postseason rosters). If a team claims one of the players, the Red Sox will have three choices. They can let the player (and his contract) go to the claiming team, they can complete a trade with the claiming team, or they can pull the player back off of waivers. American League teams will have claiming priority on the three Red Sox pitchers. 

Red Sox Eyeing Mike Scioscia

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The rumors surrounding John Farrell and the Red Sox won’t go away, especially now that Farrell’s Blue Jays are visiting Boston, where he coached until 2010. Farrell is the top choice of Red Sox officials to replace Bobby Valentine as the team’s manager in 2013, but he isn’t the only American League manager the Red Sox are considering. The Red Sox will turn to Angels manager Mike Scioscia if the Angels fire Scioscia and Farrell isn’t available, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

The Red Sox are expected to fire Valentine soon after the regular season ends, Nightengale writes. By that point the availability of Farrell, who’s under contract for 2013, and Scioscia, who’s under contract through 2018, should be more clear. Red Sox president Larry Lucchino told Nightengale the team hasn’t made a decision about Valentine’s future in Boston. "We'll re-evaluate it at the end of the season," Lucchino said.

Trade Candidates: Justin Upton, Jon Niese

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With less than one month remaining in the regular season it’s time for some teams to look ahead to the offseason. Here’s the latest on a pair of potential trade candidates…

  • Justin Upton is aware that this could be his final month with the Diamondbacks, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Upton said he’s comfortable in Arizona, but prepared for the possibility of a trade. "I'm in a good place right now," he told Piecoro. "I'm in a good place mentally about it.” The Diamondbacks considered trade offers for Upton this summer and haven’t publicly ruled out the possibility of a winter trade.
  • Baseball officials wonder if the Mets would trade Jon Niese, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports. Rival executives have noticed Niese’s production (3.55 ERA in 165 innings) and believe the left-hander could bring the Mets a quality return in a potential trade. One executive told McCullough the Mets could get two or three prospects for Niese and others compared him to Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill. Niese is under team control through 2018 after signing a five-year, $25.27MM extension this spring.
  • Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog weighs in and explains why the Mets would likely target "an established, young, under-control position player" if they put Niese on the market. Cerrone wonders if the Mets could match up with the Diamondbacks on a possible deal involving Upton and explains why trading Niese for a legitimate outfield bat could appeal to GM Sandy Alderson.

Possible Offseason Outcomes For Haren, Angels

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Five months of the way through a disappointing season Dan Haren's 2013 contract option doesn't look as team-friendly as it once did. The Angels right-hander has a 4.46 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 39.2% ground ball rate in 147 1/3 innings: unremarkable production from someone previously considered a top-of-the-rotation starter. 

Haren's contract includes a $15.5MM club option for 2013 with a $3.5MM buyout. Once the season ends the Angels must decide whether to bring him back for another year or decline the option and proceed from there. The situation could unfold in a variety of ways. Here’s a closer look:

Angels’ Option Decision

After the World Series ends the Angels will have to decide whether to exercise Haren’s option at $15.5MM or buy him out for $3.5MM. The net cost of $12MM seems reasonable for a 31-year-old who was one of the league's top pitchers just one year ago, but there are warning signs — a career-low average fastball velocity (88.5 mph) and a diminished swinging strike rate (8.8%) — that GM Jerry Dipoto will have to consider before committing to Haren for 2013.

Angels’ Qualifying Offer Decision

If the Angels decline Haren’s option, they’ll have to decide whether to make him a qualifying offer (under the sport’s new collective bargaining agreement, teams can extend qualifying offers to players after club/player/mutual options have been declined). The Angels will be eligible for draft pick compensation in 2013 if they make Haren a qualifying offer. Draft picks have value, but it’s not that simple. Haren could accept and if he did the Angels would owe him a salary of $13MM-plus. Combine that salary with the $3.5MM buyout and the Angels would be spending more than $16.5MM for someone they could have had for $15.5MM.

If the Angels don't make Haren a qualifying offer they won't be eligible for draft pick compensation. Meanwhile, Haren would be able to sign wherever he likes as a free agent without being linked to a draft pick (the Angels would still be an option).

Haren’s Qualifying Offer Decision

If the Angels decline Haren’s option and make him a qualifying offer, he’ll have two choices: accept and return to Anaheim for another year, or decline and seek a contract on the open market while linked to draft pick compensation. Teams are never eager to surrender top draft picks for free agents, but they’ll do it for the right player.

Haren’s free agent stock has diminished, though, and some teams could decide they aren’t parting with a draft choice to sign a pitcher coming off of a disappointing year. With this in mind, the CAA Sports client might prefer the qualifying offer to the uncertainty of free agent market. There’s a good chance Haren will never have to make that choice, but it’s a possibility worth considering as the offseason approaches.

Rangers Release Miguel De Los Santos

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The Rangers released left-hander Miguel De Los Santos, according to the team’s website. The move comes six days after the team removed the De Los Santos from its 40-man roster and designated him for assignment.

The 24-year-old posted a 5.22 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 58 2/3 innings at Double-A this year. He started four games for the Frisco RoughRiders and pitched out of the bullpen in 22 others. Baseball America ranked De Los Santos 29th among Rangers prospects before the season, crediting him for the best changeup in the organization.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Mets, Profar

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The Braves defeated the Rockies 1-0 this afternoon behind one unearned run and another strong start from Tim Hudson. Atlanta now has a 78-60 record and their chances of making the playoffs exceed 90%, according to Baseball Prospectus. Here are today’s links, starting in Colorado…

  • There are still no winners in the trade that sent Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland for Alex White and Drew Pomeranz, Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes. White and Pomeranz have been disappointments in the year-plus since the 2011 trade and both must improve the command of their secondary pitches to start seeing better results, Renck writes.
  • The Mets are expected reduce their losses from the $70MM range to $23MM this year, Josh Kosman of the New York Post reports. The Mets cut their payroll considerably last offseason and it currently sits in the $94.5MM range, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Their payroll is expected to stay in the same range for 2013.
  • Jurickson Profar belongs at the MLB level even if he isn't as physically imposing as some of the sport's other young stars, Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes. Profar, the 19-year-old shortstop prospect who was recently called up by the Rangers, has impressive makeup at a young age, Passan writes.

Amaro: Manuel To Return In 2013

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Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that Charlie Manuel will return as the team’s manager in 2013. Manuel will remain in place next year and the sides will re-evaluate following the ’13 season. Amaro said he’s pleased with Manuel’s performance but acknowledged that the two disagree at times, as most GMs and managers do.

Here are some more highlights from Amaro’s Q&A with Salisbury:

  • Amaro said Ryne Sandberg has been great as the organization’s Triple-A manager. The GM declined to call Sandberg the successor to Manuel, but said he’s worthy of consideration for MLB managerial jobs. Amaro added that he is hopeful Sandberg gets the chance to manage in the Major Leagues and said he would like to keep him in the organization.
  • Chase Utley is an option at third base for the 2013 Phillies, Amaro said. The decision depends on Utley’s comfort level at the position. If the Phillies look outside of the organization for third base help they could seek a left-handed hitter to platoon with Kevin Frandsen.
  • The Phillies aren’t impressed by the free agent options at the hot corner. “There are no third basemen out there,” Amaro said. “Very, very few. The options are very, very small. It’s no secret that that’s one of the things we were looking for at the deadline and the availability of third basemen was basically zero. And the ones that were available, the prices on them were enormous.”
  • The Phillies may find their setup relievers from within the organization, Amaro said. Pitchers such as Antonio Bastardo, Phillippe Aumont, Justin De Fratus and Josh Lindblom are options. However, the Phillies were disappointed with Bastardo’s performance this year and he’s an unknown going forward.

Teams With Open 40-Man Roster Spots

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Few teams have open 40-man roster space once rosters swell to accommodate late season reinforcements in September. In the last week alone teams have purchased the contracts of 37 players, including prospects such as Jurickson Profar and Shelby Miller, veterans like Fred Lewis and Xavier Nady and a variety of others. The result: just five teams have open 40-man roster space. 

The Royals (two open spots), Angels (two open spots), Brewers (two open spots), Twins (one open spot) and Reds (one open spot) are the only MLB teams that presently have open 40-man spots, according to MLBDepthCharts.com. These clubs are well-positioned to claim someone should an intriguing player be placed on waivers.

For context there were six waiver claims last September, eight waiver claims in 2010 (remarkably three of them involved Cesar Carrillo) and five waiver claims in 2009. MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently recapped some of the best waiver claims of the past year.

Keep in mind that the 25 teams with full 40-man rosters could create roster space by moving a player to the 60-day disabled list or by releasing, outrighting or designating for assignment a rostered player.

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