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Dodgers Awarded Claiming Rights On Cliff Lee

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8:43pm: Ruben Amaro didn't confirm or deny the reports of the Dodgers' claim on Lee to the media (including MLB.com's Paul Hagen) but said "It's irrelevant. [Lee] is not going anywhere."

5:16pm: The Dodgers were awarded Lee's claiming rights, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports.  This means that all NL teams with a record worse than the Dodgers' 56-50 mark (every NL team except the Reds, Nationals, Pirates, Braves, Giants and Cardinals) first passed on Lee.

5:06pm: The Phillies don't see a trade as very likely, reports Jon Heyman.  The Phils also aren't likely to just let Lee leave to the claiming team without getting anything back in return.

3:46pm: Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee has been claimed on waivers, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). The Phillies can now pull Lee back off of waivers, assign his contract to the team that won the claim, or work a trade out with the claiming team. Lee can block trades and claims to 21 teams, which could limit the Phillies' flexibility, depending on the identity of the claiming team.

The team(s) that claimed Lee showed a willingness to take on approximately $95MM in future commitments. Lee earns $21.5MM in 2012 and $25MM per season through 2015. His contract includes a $27.5MM vesting option for 2016 with a $12.5MM buyout. If the Phillies can assign Lee to the claiming team without his permission, they will now have to decide whether they value Lee's performance more than the flexibility they'd obtain by letting him go. If multiple teams claimed Lee, National League teams have priority over American League teams.

Lee, who turns 34 this month, has a 3.73 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 125 1/3 innings so far this year. He has averaged seven innings per start and contributed 2.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.

The Red Sox didn't claim Lee, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports (on Twitter). More than 58% of 14,000 MLBTR readers correctly predicted that Lee would be claimed.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Wil Nieves Elects Free Agency

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FRIDAY: Nieves has cleared waivers and rejected an assignment to the minors, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  Nieves is eligible for free agency on Saturday.

WEDNESDAY: The Rockies announced that they designated catcher Wil Nieves for assignment after reinstating him from the 15-day disabled list (Twitter link). Nieves appeared in 16 games for the Rockies this year, but has been sidelined since July 8th with turf toe. 

The 34-year-old posted a .298/.333/.404 batting line in 51 plate appearances this year. The nine-year MLB veteran has a career line of .226/.272/.296 that is likely more indicative of his abilities on offense.

Astros Acquire Devenski To Complete Myers Deal

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The White Sox sent minor league right-hander Chris Devenski to the Astros to complete the trade that sent Brett Myers to Chicago, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports (on Twitter). The White Sox sent right-hander Matthew Heidenreich and left-hander Blair Walters to Houston for Myers on July 21st.

Devenski, 21, was selected in the 25th round of last year's draft. He has spent the 2012 season at Class A Kannapolis, where he has a 4.23 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 61 2/3 innings.

Dodgers Acquire Joe Blanton

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The Dodgers acquired Joe Blanton from the Phillies for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the Phillies announced. The Dodgers claimed Blanton off of waivers, according to the Phillies, who have called up right-hander B.J. Rosenberg in a related move.

Blanton has a 4.59 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 1.2 BB/9 and a 43.9% ground ball rate in 133 1/3 innings for the Phillies this year. The 31-year-old earns $8.5MM — $2.8MM between now and the end of the season — and is set to hit free agency this fall. The Dodgers will be responsible for Blanton's remaining salary, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio reports (on Twitter).

Every National League team but the Giants, Cardinals, Pirates, Reds, Braves and Nationals appears to have passed on the chance to claim Blanton. He drew interest from the Orioles from leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, but Baltimore was reluctant to match Philadelphia's asking price.

Blanton joins a rotation that includes Clayton Kershaw, Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano and Chad Billingsley. Stephen Fife figures to lose his rotation spot in the short term, and another pitcher could be bumped from the starting five when the team activates Ted Lilly from the disabled list. The Dodgers attempted to acquire pitching depth leading up to the trade deadline, when they were rumored to have interest in Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza, among others.

Checking In On Baseball’s New Managers

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Ozzie Guillen and Bobby Valentine get more than their share of the coverage, but the Marlins and Red Sox weren’t the only teams that hired new managers this past offseason. Five teams made managerial changes for the 2012 season and two other managers are in their first full seasons with their current teams. Here’s a look at how the managerial changes are going…

Managers (PW)

American League

Valentine has been in the spotlight often, publicly questioning Kevin Youkilis’ effort level and producing a documentary about baseball in the Dominican Republic. The Red Sox are in fourth place in the AL East with a disappointing 53-53 record. 

While Valentine has considerable experience managing MLB teams, Robin Ventura hadn’t managed a single game when he accepted the managerial job with the White Sox. The results have been excellent so far; the first-place White Sox have a 57-47 record.

Bob Melvin managed the Athletics for much of the 2011 season, but this is his first full season in charge. The surprising A’s have a 57-48 record under Melvin, the 2007 NL Manager of the Year.

National League

Guillen’s year started off poorly when he expressed admiration for Fidel Castro and drew a five-game suspension from his new team. The Marlins opened the season in a new stadium with lofty expectations, but they’re just 48-57 entering today’s action. Meanwhile, Davey Johnson’s Nationals lead the NL East with a 62-42 record in Johnson’s first full season as Washington’s manager.

Rookie manager Mike Matheny replaced future Hall of Famer Tony La Russa on a Cardinals team that won the 2011 World Series, but the former catcher (pictured with Ventura) has done well in St. Louis, leading the Cardinals to a 56-49 record. Dale Sveum’s roster doesn’t have the same kind of talent that the Cardinals have, so it’d be unfair to judge him by the Cubs’ 43-60 mark.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Nationals Designate Maldonado For Assignment

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The Nationals announced that they designated catcher Carlos Maldonado for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for recently-acquired catcher Kurt Suzuki.

Maldonado, 33, appeared in four games for the Nationals this May. He has spent most of the season at Triple-A Syracuse, where he has a .223/.343/.405 batting line in 146 plate appearances. Maldonado has a .254/.329/.359 line over the course of 17 minor league seasons.

Indians Designate Johnny Damon For Assignment

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The Indians announced that they designated Johnny Damon for assignment. The move creates 25-man roster space for outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, who has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus.

Damon signed a minor league deal with the Indians in April after an extended stint on the free agent market. The 38-year-old didn't provide much offense, hitting just .222/.281/.329 with four home runs in 224 plate appearances as a left fielder and designated hitter. Damon now has 2769 hits, 235 home runs and 408 stolen bases in his 18-year career. He ranks in the top 50 all-time in runs scored (1668, 31st) and doubles (522, 41st).

Nationals Acquire Kurt Suzuki

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The Athletics traded catcher Kurt Suzuki and cash considerations to the Nationals for catcher David Freitas, the teams announced. It sounds like the A's are picking up most of Suzuki's 2012 salary and a bit of next year's salary, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter).

The move provides the Nationals with Major League catching depth to complement Jesus Flores and Sandy Leon. Washington manager Davey Johnson said Suzuki is a "number one catcher" who will bring a "veteran presence" to the Nationals, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter).

Suzuki has posted a disappointing .218/.250/.286 batting line in 278 plate appearances so far in 2012. To his credit, he has prevented 38% of stolen base attempts against him this year (23 of 60) and the Athletics have an American League-best 3.43 ERA. The A's are now likely to rely more heavily on rookie catcher Derek Norris and recently-acquired backstop George Kottaras.

The 28-year-old Suzuki earns $5MM in 2012 and $6.45MM in 2013. His contract includes a $8.5MM club option for 2014 ($650K buyout). Evidently no American League team placed a claim on him when he hit the waiver wire. Every National League team but the Reds had to pass up chance to claim Suzuki for him to become available to Washington.

Freitas, 23, has a .271/.374/.407 batting line in 321 plate appearances at Class A Potomac this year. The Nationals selected him in the 15th round of the 2010 MLB draft.

Tigers Designate Don Kelly For Assignment

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The Tigers announced that they have designated utility player Don Kelly for assignment. The move creates 25-man roster space for Andy Dirks, who has been recalled from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the disabled list.

Kelly, 32, has appeared in 64 games for the Tigers this year, playing all three outfield positions plus first, second and third. He has a .175/.267/.243 batting line in 116 plate appearances in 2012, but has a career batting line of .231/.282/.345 in five seasons with the Pirates and Tigers. Dirks had been sidelined since May 31 with right achilles tendinitis.

Heyman On Cliff Lee, Carlos Lee

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Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has the latest on a pair of August trade candidates…

  • MLB executives say they don’t expect Cliff Lee to be claimed by this afternoon, the deadline for clubs to submit a waiver claim on the left-hander. However, one AL exec said someone might claim him since many teams are short on pitching. The Dodgers seem like the most likely candidate to claim Lee, according to the executives Heyman surveyed.
  • Lee could prevent the Phillies from assigning his contract to any one of the 21 teams on his no-trade list if he is claimed on waivers, Heyman adds. Approximately 59% of 12,000 MLBTR readers expect Lee to be claimed.
  • The Yankees agreed to pay the Marlins $1MM in exchange for Carlos Lee before the trade deadline, but Lee blocked the deal as Jayson Stark reported this week. The Marlins tried to get $2.5MM from the Orioles for Lee, Heyman reports. However, the Orioles declined the offer (it’s unclear if the Orioles are on Lee’s 14-team no-trade list).
  • The Astros are paying Lee all but the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary, so the Marlins would have turned a profit had they completed a deal with either AL East team. Lee, who is now on waivers, could be traded in August.

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