Pirates Open To Trading Prospects
The Pirates have been trading big leaguers for prospects for years, but this summer is different. Pittsburgh is just a game out of first place with a 47-43 record and GM Neal Huntington says the Pirates are searching for “the right piece to add to the club” every day.
"In theory we would absolutely like to add to this club," Huntington told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Under the right circumstances, the Pirates would even deal prospects for Major Leaguers.
"[One of the reasons] you have a deep and talented farm system is to make trades to add to your major league club when you don't have the right piece," Huntington said. "We are to a point where we've got some prospects in the system that we're willing to talk about."
Huntington says he’s monitoring the trade market and has noticed that there are still more buyers than sellers at this point. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes explains what could happen if the Pirates become buyers and Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the Pirates should acquire a power bat.
Rangers Have Checked In On Marlins’ Arms
The Rangers have asked the Marlins about their pitching, though the sides have yet to exchange names for possible trades, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Talks are “not far along” now, but the clubs had more serious discussions about pitching at last year’s Winter Meetings.
Derek Holland pitched a shutout last night, leading the Rangers to their eighth consecutive win. Before their hot streak, they were searching for starting pitching and relief help.
Leo Nunez, who is arbitration eligible in 2012, Brian Sanches and Edward Mujica are among the trade candidates on Florida's pitching staff. For more on those names and others, check out this piece by Tim Dierkes, which explains what will happen if the Marlins – now fifth in the NL East with a 44-48 record – become sellers.
Quick Hits: DeVoss, Adams, White Sox
The A's announced that Brett Anderson underwent Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on his left elbow. Dr. James Andrews performed the operation on Anderson, who will miss the remainder of the season. Here are this afternoon's links…
- The Cubs signed third round outfielder Zeke DeVoss for a $500K bonus, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The bonus is roughly $160K more than MLB recommended.
- The Padres have one prospect on Keith Law's recently-published list, Casey Kelly. They'll ask for another elite prospect in exchange for Mike Adams, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Rookie Michael Pineda and third-year pitcher Trevor Cahill are among the MLB players with the most trade value, according to Dave Cameron of FanGraphs, who lists his #31-35 top trade chips in baseball. Kevin Youkilis and the recently-extended Jaime Garcia check in in the #26-30 range.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that his team may not need trades to re-enter the playoff picture. "If we play to our potential, I guarantee we're going to kick some people's butt," Guillen said. "But we're not playing to our potential now."
Keith Law’s Midseason Top Prospects
ESPN.com’s Keith Law ranks the top 50 prospects in baseball and Bryce Harper of the Nationals and Matt Moore of the Rays rank first and second, respectively. Two Cardinals right-handers, Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez, place third and fourth on Law's list and Orioles shortstop Manny Machado rounds out the top five.
Law's list resembles Baseball America's midseason list, though Law excludes Mike Trout, who recently graduated to the Major Leagues. Braves pitching prospect Julio Teheran placed fourth on BA's list, but fell from sixth to 12th for Law, who explained that the right-hander's curveball could use some work.
Brewers Were On Francisco Rodriguez’s No-Trade List
The Brewers were one of ten teams on Francisco Rodriguez's no-trade list, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). However, as David Waldstein of the New York Times reported yesterday, the Mets never received the list from agent Paul Kinzer, so it didn't serve its intended purpose. Though Rodriguez has nothing against the Brewers, he lost out on potential leverage, according to Heyman.
The Mets traded Rodriguez to Milwaukee Tuesday night, not long after the reliever switched agents from Kinzer to Scott Boras. The 29-year-old has finished 34 games and a clause in his contract dictates that his $17.5MM option for 2012 becomes guaranteed if he finishes 55 games this season. Otherwise, the Mets will pay for a $3.5MM buyout and Rodriguez will hit the open market.
Minor Moves: Gustavo Chacin
Here are the latest minor moves…
- The Astros released Gustavo Chacin, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The 30-year-old appeared in 44 games for the Astros last year, posting a 4.70 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 and homering in his lone at bat for Houston. He had a 5.13 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 66 2/3 innings for the Astros' Triple-A affiliate this year.
Feldman Rejects Minor League Assignment
Scott Feldman rejected an assignment to the minor leagues after clearing outright waivers and the Rangers will activate him tonight, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Rangers, who placed Feldman on outright waivers earlier in the week, can option Yoshinori Tateyama to the minors to create active roster space for Feldman, but they'll have to make another move to create room on the 40-man roster.
Once Feldman rejected the minor league assignment, the Rangers had the choice of activating him or releasing him. If they had released Feldman, who has spent the entire season recovering from a winter knee operation, they would still have been responsible for the $9MM or so remaining on his contract.
Feldman was a starter for Texas from 2008-10, but the Rangers will likely put him in the bullpen now. The 28-year-old has a 4.80 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in six seasons. He signed an $11.5MM extension with the Rangers after posting a 4.08 ERA in 189 2/3 innings in 2009.
Reds Looking For Relief Help
Add the Reds to the ever-expanding list of teams eyeing bullpen help. They're in the mix for relievers, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The White Sox, who are just five games behind the Tigers in the AL Central, could also be looking for relievers, according to Heyman.
GM Walt Jocketty said recently that no moves are imminent, though he has had discussions with other teams to gather information. Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies is on Cincinnati's radar (realistically, Colorado would have to be overwhelmed to part with him).
Reds relievers rank tenth in MLB with a 3.29 ERA (3.95 xFIP) and 15th in MLB with 7.7 K/9, but they're 28th with 4.3 BB/9. Aroldis Chapman has been electric since returning to the roster in late June. He has a 17K/2BB ratio in his last 8 2/3 innings of work.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Brad Thomas
Here's where we'll keep track of the players who get outrighted to the minor leagues today…
- The Tigers announced that they reinstated left-hander Brad Thomas from the disabled list and outrighted him to Triple-A. He has 72 hours to accept or decline the assignment. The 33-year-old native of Australia allowed 17 hits, 11 earned runs and six walks in 11 innings before hitting the disabled list.
Indians Looking For Offense
The Indians are "kicking the tires for offensive help," according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince (Twitter links). Cleveland can add some salary – though Carlos Beltran is probably not a realistic target – and remains reluctant to surrender top prospects in trades.
Indians president Mark Shapiro said on Twitter today that GM Chris Antonetti and his staff spent the All-Star break "burning up phone lines" to make sense of the trade market and discuss possible deals. Though the market is developing slowly, the Indians are looking at "every opportunity" to improve, accoridng to Shapiro.
The Indians, who are second in the AL Central with a 47-42 record, rank seventh in the American League with 386 runs scored. They are a logical suitor for a corner outfielder, since Shin-Soo Choo is on the disabled list and probably won't return to the lineup before late-August. Austin Kearns, Travis Buck and Michael Brantley are currently covering left and right for the Indians.