Sabean Talks Offense, Trade Market, Prospects
11:59pm: It's possible Sabean's "something bigger" referred to the Twins' Michael Cuddyer, writes Baggarly. The Giants recently expressed interest in him with a second base job in mind. The asking price was steep, so Sabean closed the Keppinger deal with Houston. Still, Baggarly would not rule out the Twins revisiting Cuddyer.
10:15pm: After the Giants acquired Jeff Keppinger, GM Brian Sabean explained that his work isn't done. The 56-41 Giants are lucky to be 15 games above .500, according to Sabean, who discussed the trade market in detail tonight. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has the details on the Giants, who are taking on the division rival Dodgers tonight:
- Sabean said he's still committed to improving the San Francisco offense. No winning team has scored fewer runs than the Giants (356).
- Before the Keppinger deal, Sabean was working on “something [he] thought was much bigger.” That deal did not involve Carlos Beltran, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
- Sabean described the market for catchers and shortstops as “almost nonexistent.”
- General managers eyeing Zack Wheeler and Brandon Belt may want to think twice. Sabean suggested some of the team's top young players are virtually untouchable. “There are guys we definitely won’t trade, and baseball people know that, too,” Sabean said.
Quick Hits: Goldschmidt, Johnson, Rockies
Ubaldo Jimenez struck out nine Braves in 6 2/3 innings tonight, allowing seven hits, two walks and two earned runs. The asking price on Jimenez was already sky-high and there's no reason to think it's going anywhere but up after tonight's performance. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks and Brad Boxberger of the Reds are two of the minor leaguers who could make an impact in the Major Leagues down the stretch, as Keith Law writes at ESPN.com.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America breaks down 12 pro scouting success stories in baseball this year, from Reed Johnson's solid play for the Cubs, to Jason Giambi's power displays in Denver.
- Carlos Gonzalez told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he hopes the Rockies can regain the confidence of their front office by playing better baseball for the remainder of the season.
- Third round pick C.J. McElroy signed with the Cardinals for $510K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. That's the highest bonus any third rounder has obtained so far, $226K over slot.
D’Backs Eye Starters, Intend To Acquire Reliever
The Diamondbacks will add at least one reliever and could add a starter, too, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Giants, who lead Arizona by 3.5 games in the NL West, acquired Jeff Keppinger tonight and D'Backs GM Kevin Towers is expected to respond before long.
The D'Backs "would love" to acquire Kerry Wood, who can block any trade the Cubs propose. Arizona also has interest in Todd Coffey, Jason Isringhausen and Jason Frasor. John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR reported last week that the D'Backs would consider Isringhausen, Wood and possibly Frasor.
Though the D'Backs are looking for starting pitching, Ubaldo Jimenez, Hiroki Kuroda and Aaron Harang are unlikely to be traded within the NL West. For more on what the D'Backs, Giants and other contenders are looking for, check out Tim Dierkes' analysis from earlier today.
Elias Rankings Update
After the season the Elias Sports Bureau will take all players over the 2010-11 period, divide them into five groups for each league, and rank them based on various statistics. Then each player will be labeled a Type A, B, or none. Those designations and the possible accompanying arbitration offers determine draft pick compensation (click here for a refresher).
Eddie Bajek has reverse-engineered the Elias rankings, and he's providing that information exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors. Here's a look at how the players rank for the period beginning with the 2010 season running through July 19th, 2011. Note: an error in an earlier version of this post has been corrected.
NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Soriano, Betemit, Pence
Four teams are within striking distance of the NL Central lead: the Brewers, the Cardinals and the Reds and Pirates, who are currently playing at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The latest links from the division…
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio that he can take on payroll and would prefer not to trade players currently on the Major League roster (Twitter link).
- Alfonso Soriano told Carrie Muskat of MLB.com that he isn't worried about trade rumors, since he doesn't control what happens leading up to the trade deadline. The 35-year-old has 14 homers and a .255/.298/.456 line for the Cubs, who owe him $18MM annually through 2014. Soriano told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he would consider waiving his no-trade clause to join a contender.
- Dave Gershman of Beyond the Boxscore suggests the Cubs should consider trading Sean Marshall if they can get a top prospect like Jonathan Singleton.
- The Brewers and Royals are still in contact about Wilson Betemit, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Brewers have had interest in the infielder since earlier in the month, but haven’t made substantial progress so far. Morosi reports that the Brewers would like any acquisition to be capable of playing the outfield.
- Rival teams get the impression that it will take a "major, major overpay" to obtain Hunter Pence from the Astros now, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
NL East Notes: Braves, Nationals, Hairston, Byrdak
The Phillies and Braves will be buyers this month, the Mets appear to be sellers, the Nationals will be 'buyers and sellers' and the Marlins are fielding inquiries on their players. Here's the latest on the NL East…
- The Braves are happy with Jordan Schafer, so even though they're among the teams with interest in Carlos Beltran, they wouldn't necessarily put Beltran in center field if they were to acquire him, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
- If the Braves trade Derek Lowe it will be to create payroll flexibility for the rest of 2011 and in 2012, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter links). Such a deal would also show that the Braves have lots of confidence in Brandon Beachy, as Olney explains.
- Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com explains that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo is willing to listen on just about all of his players, including relievers Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard. Goessling says it's more likely that the Nationals trade a starter than Clippard or Storen, however.
- The Phillies are scouting Scott Hairston and Tim Byrdak of the Mets, not just Beltran, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
Dodgers Release Marcus Thames
The Dodgers have released Marcus Thames, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter). Los Angeles designated the outfielder for assignment a week ago to create roster space for new acquisition Juan Rivera.
Thames hit .197/.243/.333 in 70 plate appearances this year. Though the Dodgers acquired the 34-year-old for his ability to hit left-handed pitching (.824 career OPS), he struggled against southpaws, posting just a .167/.231/.306 line. In ten big league seasons, he has a .246/.309/.485 line with 115 homers.
Giants Acquire Jeff Keppinger
The Giants acquired Jeff Keppinger from the Astros for right-handed pitchers Henry Sosa and Jason Stoffel, the teams announced. The Astros called Jose Altuve up to the Major Leagues in a related move.
Keppinger has experience at all four infield positions, though he has spent the entire 2011 season at second base. Since recovering from left foot surgery and returning to Houston’s lineup at the end of May, the 31-year-old has a .307/.320/.436 line. He has been hitting especially well of late, with five hits, including two doubles and two home runs, in his last 13 at bats.
About $900K remains on Keppinger's $2.3MM salary for 2011 and he is controllable through 2012 via arbitration. When I looked at Keppinger as a trade candidate earlier in the month, I mentioned the Giants as a possible destination.
Sosa, 25, has a 5.51 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings for the Giants' top two affiliates this year. In six professional seasons, he has a 3.61 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. Baseball America ranked Sosa 29th among Giants prospects before the season, citing his electric arm. However, the Dominican Republic native has "fringy" breaking pitches, according to BA.
Stoffel, 22, was a fourth round pick in 2009. Since then, he has posted a 3.78 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 102 1/3 innings, all of which have come in relief. Now at Double-A, Stoffel has a 3.98 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 31 2/3 innings so far this year. Baseball America ranked him 22nd among Giants prospects before the season, explaining that he has a fastball in the 88-93 mph range and a true power slider.
As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, GMs Ed Wade and Brian Sabean have matched up for many trades before, including deals involving Ricky Ledee, Alfredo Simon and, most recently, Matt Downs. Alyson Footer of the Astros first reported the trade (on Twitter).
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Roberts, Yankees
The Blue Jays announced today that they’re going to retire Roberto Alomar’s number 12 later this month. When the former second baseman gets enshrined in Cooperstown over the weekend, he’ll become the first inductee to wear a Blue Jays cap into the Hall. A week later, he’ll become the first Blue Jay to have his number retired. Here are links from around the American League East…
- The Red Sox are actively looking to improve their roster, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Though Boston has made moves out of necessity in recent years, this summer is one of opportunity for Boston's front office, Speier writes. Left-handed relief remains one unsettled area for the first place club.
- The Orioles announced that they transferred second baseman Brian Roberts to the 60-day DL to create 40-man roster space for Alfredo Simon, who was reinstated from the restricted list.
- The Yankees are unwilling to trade a "big" prospect for a reliever, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). They expect their bullpen will be fine and are searching for starters (though Ubaldo Jimenez remains a longshot).
- The Yankees have been suggesting to teams that they're happy with their bullpen, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
Nationals Designate Chad Gaudin For Assignment
The Nationals announced that they designated Chad Gaudin for assignment after recalling him from his rehab assignment and reinstating him from the 15-day disabled list. Gaudin had been on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation since April 27th.
The 28-year-old posted a 3.52 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 15 1/3 minor league innings during his rehab stint. In nine big league seasons, Gaudin has a 4.63 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9. He spent last season with the A's and Yankees, before signing with Washington in December.