Pirates Sign Jason Grilli
The Pirates officially announced that they have signed right-hander Jason Grilli. The sides had reached an agreement yesterday, and Pittsburgh confirmed the move this morning. The Pirates announced that they optioned Pedro Ciriaco and Josh Harrison to Triple-A and transferred Evan Meek to the 60-day DL in corresponding moves.
Grilli had a 1.93 ERA, 11.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 32 2/3 innings for the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate this year after missing the entire 2010 season with right knee surgery. Grilli had a clause in his minor league contract that enabled him to accept a Major League offer from another team if the Phillies didn't promote him onto their roster.
Epstein On Trades, Buchholz, Reddick
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told John Dennis and Dale Arnold that the Red Sox can surrender prospects in the right trade. Speaking on WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan show, Epstein said Boston’s farm system remains strong even after giving up a significant haul for Adrian Gonzalez in the offseason.
"Don't think we're limited just because we made a trade last winter," Epstein said.
But Boston’s most important reinforcements may not arrive in trades. Epstein said the Red Sox aren’t going to do better than injured starter Clay Buchholz on the trade market.
"If you ask me what player do I want out there on this club in all of baseball, if I could name one guy to acquire for this team, it would be just a healthy Clay Buchholz and I think we're going to have that,” Epstein said.
In terms of offense, Josh Reddick has a .378/.432/.671 line 95 plate appearances into the season, so the Red Sox will continue working him into the lineup. Epstein says he and manager Terry Francona intend to give "the best players a chance to impact the game."
Red Sox Hope To Extend Jacoby Ellsbury
Theo Epstein told John Dennis and Dale Arnold that the Red Sox have attempted to work out a long-term deal with Jacoby Ellsbury before and still have interest in an extension for the center fielder. The GM explained on WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan show that he views Ellsbury as a core member of the organization (Rob Bradford has the highlights).
"I guess it's not a secret we sat down and tried in the past to do that, lock Jacoby up, and I hope we'll sit down in the future again and try to do it once more at the appropriate time," Epstein said. "He's somebody we've long believed in, we've long seen as a core young member of the organization that we would love to keep around."
Epstein spoke of organizational standards that have to be met,' which may be an allusion to Boston's policy of getting a team option on any extension. Agent Scott Boras doesn’t expect a deal during the season for Ellsbury, who is arbitration eligible for the second time this winter.
Ellsbury, 27, has rebounded in a big way after missing most of the 2010 season with ribcage injuries. He has 15 home runs, 28 stolen bases and a .316/.375/.509 line in 431 plate appearances. He'll earn a raise from his current $2.4MM salary next year and is under team control through 2013.
Braves Fully Intend To Acquire Hitter
The Braves ‘fully intend’ to add a hitter before the end of the month, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Some of Rosenthal’s sources suggest the Braves are close to a trade, as David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicated yesterday.
If the Braves are indeed close to completing a trade, it isn’t for Carlos Beltran, Rosenthal writes. Hunter Pence is not Atlanta’s slugger of choice, though the Braves have expressed interest in him, B.J. Upton, Ryan Ludwick, Jonny Gomes and others.
The Braves are reluctant to overpay for a rental player and they’re uncomfortable with the Astros’ asking price for Pence. The Braves would prefer not to send Jason Heyward to the minors, though the sophomore slugger’s struggles have compounded Atlanta’s need for a bat.
Blue Jays Have Inquired On Padres Relievers
The Blue Jays have inquired on the Padres’ available relievers, including Heath Bell, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It’s not clear whether the Blue Jays want to obtain a closer or are interested in flipping one of San Diego’s relievers to another team.
If they were to acquire Bell, they could offer arbitration and collect a pair of draft picks next season, presuming the free agent to be declines the offer and signs elsewhere. Mike Adams is under team control through 2012, but Padres owner Jeff Moorad told him he’s staying put.
Don’t count on the Blue Jays trading their own relievers, Rosenthal writes. Toronto has 2012 options for Jon Rauch, Jason Frasor and Octavio Dotel, who all project as Type B free agents, according to MLBTR’s reverse-engineered Elias Rankings.
Trade Market Update: Drew, Gomez, Beltran
Two contenders lost key players in the same game tonight and the injuries could affect the trade market for the remainder of the season. The Diamondbacks announced that Stephen Drew fractured his right ankle and will likely require surgery. Soon afterwards, the Brewers learned that Carlos Gomez fractured his left clavicle. Those events could shape the trade market and so could the following developments from around the Major Leagues:
- Carlos Beltran appears to have recovered from the flu – he homered off of Kyle McClellan (by the way, McClellan pitched well enough, though he may lose his rotation spot if the Cardinals add a starter).
- Old-school GMs might like Ryan Ludwick's 61 RBIs (he added four today), but his on-base percentage is just .309.
- The Yankees are looking for pitching, but they can't complain about Freddy Garcia, who pitched into the seventh and struck out seven without allowing a run.
- Meanwhile, Casey Kotchman improved his trade value by collecting three hits and boosting his season line to .337/.396/.467.
- The Braves used Jonny Venters again in a losing effort to the Rockies. The lefty has now appeared in 54 games this year, so the Braves will want to ease up on the 26-year-old or acquire a reliever to bolster the 'pen.
- Duane Below pitched reasonably well for the Tigers in his MLB debut, but GM Dave Dombrowski continues eyeing starting help. The Tigers, who have used seven left-handed relievers this year, could look to acquire another southpaw after last night. David Purcey walked the bases loaded to kick-start Oakland's four-run seventh.
- Who says the Red Sox need reinforcements? Josh Reddick picked up two hits and a walk and Andrew Miller didn't allow a run in 5 2/3 innings. Still, the Orioles' lineup isn't a powerhouse and Miller walked twice as many hitters (6) as he struck out (3).
- Lyle Overbay was hitless in four at bats for the Pirates, who scored just one run for the second consecutive night. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Pirates explore ways of getting more production from first base now that Overbay's line has dropped to .236/.304/.357.
- Bruce Chen pitched eight innings, allowing just one run, one walk and four hits while striking out four.
- Frank Francisco and Octavio Dotel allowed home runs to the light-hitting Mariners, which doesn't help the Blue Jays' chances of trading the relievers for valuable pieces.
- The Giants are still having trouble scoring (Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw didn't allow a single run against San Francisco).
- Hunter Pence reached base four times and Brett Myers and Livan Hernandez pitched well in a contest between the Astros and Nationals, two teams who aren't in the race.
AL Central Notes: Dunn, Buehrle, Tigers
Four teams are within five games of the American League Central lead. The Tigers and Indians are tied atop the division and the White Sox (4.5 games behind) and Twins (5.0 games behind) are within striking distance. Here's the latest…
- Slumping White Sox slugger Adam Dunn told Yahoo's Jeff Passan that he has contemplated quitting the game, though he can't imagine actually doing so. "I enjoy playing," Dunn said. "Even though I suck. Or have been sucking. I enjoy playing the game. Love it. But as soon as I lose that, I’m gone, dude. It’s true."
- White Sox starter Mark Buehrle confirmed to Passan that he would block trades to certain teams. The left-hander, who has ten and five rights, isn’t sure he’d want to remain with another team in 2012. If he gets traded, a clause in Buehrle’s contract causes a $15MM option to kick in for '12.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski made it clear that he's still looking for starting pitching, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck.
Quick Hits: Cespedes, Ludwick, Pettitte
Congratulations to Hideki Matsui, who hit his 500th professional home run tonight. The 37-year-old slugger has 168 homers in the Major Leagues and 332 more in Japan. Here's the latest from around MLB…
- The Mets, Dodgers and Cubs combined to spend nearly $350MM on payroll this season, but aren't threatening for playoff berths. Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com identifies possible trade candidates for the three big market teams.
- Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald hears that Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes is in the Dominican Republic (Twitter link).
- As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains, trade candidates Ryan Ludwick and Josh Willingham have their shortcomings, though both can help contenders. The frustration levels are high for buyers who consider asking prices for players like Ludwick and Willingham "ridiculous," according to Rosenthal.
- Though the Giants would like to improve at shortstop or catcher, there isn’t much out there, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick notes (on Twitter).
- The Yankees have not contacted Andy Pettitte about coming out of retirement and do not expect to do so, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
- Lastly, I answered some trade-related questions for the Batting Ninth blog.
Minor Moves: Texeira, Ring, Padres
Matt Eddy of Baseball America has updates on the latest minor moves (Twitter links)…
- The Yankees re-signed right-hander Kanekoa Texeira to a minor league deal. They released the reliever earlier in the month after re-acquiring him in May.
- The Red Sox signed left-hander Royce Ring to a minor league deal. The former first rounder logged 23 2/3 innings for the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate this year, posting a 6.08 ERA with 12.5 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
- The Padres signed right-hander John Van Benschoten from the Atlantic League. The former Pirate hasn't appeared in the Major Leagues since 2008.
- The Rays released R.J. Swindle, who last appeared in the Major Leagues in 2009. The left-hander had been pitching at Triple-A, where he had a 4.15 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 34 2/3 innings.
- The Dodgers released Merkin Valdez. The right-hander, who appeared in two games for Toronto last year, had a 3.58 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 50 1/3 innings at Triple-A.
- The Brewers released 28-year-old lefty Chase Wright. The former third round pick had a 5.83 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 71 innings in the upper minors this year.
NL Central Notes: Pirates, Barmes, Reds
Already today we've seen the Pirates add one player and contemplate more changes. We've seen the Brewers express interest in a versatile infielder and learned about how the Cubs intend to approach the deadline. Here's the rest of the day's news from the NL Central…
- Rival GMs believe Pirates GM Neal Huntington over-values his prospects, so they're suspicious that he can be an effective 'buyer,' according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Pirates haven't made progress toward a contract extension with Paul Maholm, according toJenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Pittsburgh has a $9.75MM 2012 option for Maholm, who has said he'd like to remain with the Pirates long-term.
- The Brewers have had internal discussions about Clint Barmes of the Astros, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- The Brewers expressed interest in Jeff Keppinger before the Astros sent the infielder to San Francisco, according to Crasnick (on Twitter). Milwaukee continues looking for help on the left side of the infield.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin made the first major trade of the summer, acquiring Francisco Rodriguez from the Mets, but he says there’s "not much happening right now," according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter).
- GM Walt Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that the Reds are “definitely” buyers. “We’re looking to upgrade any area,” Jocketty said. For more detail on the Reds’ needs, check Tim Dierkes' analysis from yesterday.