Odds & Ends: Lee, Orioles, Cubs, Oswalt, Chipper
Links for Wednesday, before Pedro Alvarez makes his MLB debut…
- Jack Curry of the YES Network (via Twitter) hears from a baseball official that the Phillies are interested in adding a starting pitcher. Curry specifically names Cliff Lee, though I can't imagine the team re-acquiring him just a few months after shipping him to Seattle.
- The Orioles have contacted Buck Showalter about managing the team, according to Tim Kurkjian of ESPN.com.
- The Cubs hired a statistical analyst for the team's baseball operations department, according to ESPN.com's Bruce Levine.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that it's an "extreme long shot" that the Rangers acquire Roy Oswalt.
- One GM told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that teams are now demanding big returns for players who will eventually be traded for less.
- DJ Bean of WEEI.com introduces us to Red Sox fourth rounder Garin Cecchini, who told every major league team he wouldn't sign for less than mid-first-round money. Specifically, Cecchini wants $1.75MM, according to Bean.
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he hasn't given up on his team and wants to see how it fares over the course of the coming week.
- Chipper Jones' agent, B.B. Abbott, told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Chipper will "absolutely not" retire during the season.
- The Yankees released David Winfree from their Triple A team, according to Donnie Collins of the Times-Tribune.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out that the Yankees won't have to pursue free agents Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth if Brett Gardner, Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson keep playing this well.
Joe Nelson Clears Waivers
WEDNESDAY, 2:28pm: ESPNBoston's Joe McDonald tweets that Nelson has cleared waivers, so we should find out tomorrow whether or not the righty will accept a minor league assignment.
FRIDAY, 7:49pm: Nelson hinted at retirement following the move, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.
"I've got a flight at 7:15, and I'm going to Florida and in all likelihood, if I clear waivers, I've probably thrown my last pitch," said Nelson. "I don't anticipate myself going back to [Triple-A] Pawtucket, but that's emotion talking right now and we'll probably reanalyze it when I'm not as disappointed. I had every opportunity and I didn't produce. The thought of going to Triple-A doesn't sound that great. We'll wait and see what options present themselves."
Nelson battled major arm injuries early in his career, including a pair of surgeries to repair the labrum in his throwing shoulder. He broke through with the Royals in 2006, but has bounced around quite a bit since. Baseball-Reference.com has his career earnings at just under $1.7MM.
2:41pm: The Red Sox designated Joe Nelson for assignment as part of a flurry of moves, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). The team also activated Jonathan Papelbon from the bereavement list, called up Scott Atchison and placed Jeremy Hermida on the DL.
Nelson, 35, had a 9.72 ERA in 8.1 innings this year with 9.7 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9. Those high strikeout and walk rates are characteristic of the ones the right-hander has posted over the course of his six-year MLB career. Nelson posted a 2.49 ERA in 21.2 innings at Triple A this year, with similarly high strikeout and walk numbers.
Berkman’s Preferred Destinations
Despite all the rumors surrounding him and Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman told Yahoo's Jeff Passan that he doesn't expect to be traded. Berkman has at least $10.6MM remaining on his contract when you include his 2011 buyout, and he realizes that figure scares teams off, especially in this market.
"Teams value their prospects more than they ever have," Berkman said. "I’m 34. I’m not having a great year."
Berkman, who is hitting .238/.340/.392 with six homers, has a no-trade clause, so like Oswalt, he controls his future to an extent. The Angels have a clear need for a first baseman, but Berkman says the Angels "wouldn't be an automatic yes." Berkman would rather go east than west, though that's not his number one consideration.
"There is absolutely no way I would consent to going somewhere that didn’t have a good chance not just to get to the playoffs, but to win the whole thing," he said.
Berkman realizes the Astros are probably not going to pick up his $15MM option for 2011 at this point. Earlier in the month, Jon Heyman of SI.com reported that Berkman would approve a trade if the acquiring team picked up his option.
Maybin Still Part Of Marlins’ Plans
Mike Stanton's getting all the attention and at least Cody Ross and Chris Coghlan are getting playing time. Cameron Maybin's getting benched, but Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald that Maybin is a "big time" part of the team's future.
"I'm not sure that's going to happen right now," Beinfest said. "But definitely in the future [Maybin figures in]."
Now, Maybin is struggling. He has a .225/.290/.341 line in 201 plate appearances this year, with five homers. Maybin, who was considered a top-ten prospect by Baseball America leading up to 2007, 2008 and 2009, has the potential to do considerably more on offense. To his credit, his defense has been above-average in about 1000 major league innings.
Beinfest told Navarro that he doesn't believe Maybin deserves a demotion to the minors. Maybin is on track to be a borderline super two candidate after 2011, so the cost-conscious Marlins could prevent him from obtaining super two status by demoting him for a few weeks now.
It seems like Maybin has been in the majors for ages, but like the man he was traded for (Miguel Cabrera) he reached the majors at an extremely young age. Maybin, 23, is younger than prospects like Desmond Jennings and Pedro Alvarez, so he has plenty of time to realize his potential and it's no surprise that Beinfest expects that to happen in a Marlins uniform.
D’Backs Seem Likely To Keep Trading
Now that the D'Backs have started trading, they don't seem likely to stop. That doesn't necessarily mean they are going to rebuild completely, but as GM Josh Byrnes told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the club could be making more deals this summer.
"There's a good chance, yeah," Byrnes said. "We aren't where we need to be in the standings and as far as sort of the things we'd like to do to adjust the roster, there's also payroll considerations as we try to sort of get ready for next year."
The sooner Arizona trades players, the more money the team can save. The club, which has $44.5MM committed to its 2011 payroll according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, could potentially use savings to spend more aggressively for 2011.
As Dan Haren explained to Piecoro, the D'Backs have "a tremendous amount of talent" and don't need to start over, so he doesn't necessarily want to be traded. However, Jon Heyman reported last week that the D'Backs would listen on Haren and every other player not named Justin Upton or Ian Kennedy.
Click here to vote on which one of the D'Backs will be traded next.
Poll: Arizona’s Next Trade
The D'Backs started the summer trading season off yesterday when they sent Conor Jackson to Oakland. It doesn't look like they're done, either. The team is 26-39 and they're considering major changes. Today's poll question:
Who will the Diamondbacks trade next?
Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.
Red Sox Agree To Sign First Rounder Kolbrin Vitek
TUESDAY, 7:07pm: Vitek has passed his physical and will probably sign his contract on Wednesday, Speier reports. Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that Vitek will receive a $1.36MM bonus, as expected.
FRIDAY, 12:21pm: The Red Sox have reached an agreement with first round pick Kolbrin Vitek, pending a physical, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law (via Twitter). Immediately after Monday night's draft, Vitek told reporters that he had reached a "verbal agreement" with the Red Sox and Alex Speier of WEEI.com reported at the time that the deal would be for slot money. That likely means a bonus worth about $1.36MM for the 20th overall pick, who said Monday that he didn't want to spend much time negotiating.
“I expect to sign right away and get playing and start my career right away,” Vitek said.
The Red Sox spoke to Vitek, a two-way player at Ball State, about playing third base and that's where he expects to play. The 21-year-old Ohio native stands 6'3".
Amateur Draft Signings: Tuesday
We'll probably have to wait a little while for Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Jameson Taillon to sign, but teams have agreed to deals with some of the players selected later on in the draft. The players listed below signed today. Click here for the list of picks to sign yesterday and here for the updated list of first rounders to sign:
- The Rangers signed four picks, reports ESPNDallas.com, including third-rounder Jordan Akins and fourth-rounder Drew Robinson.
- As reported earlier, Toronto signed 14 picks, including supplemental rounders Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard.
- Thirteenth-rounder Robby Price is the highest-drafted of the five Rays picks who signed today, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- Eight more Orioles picks have signed, says Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Riley Hornback (12th round) is the highest selected of the new signees.
- The Brewers have signed fourth-rounder Hunter Morris and two other draft picks, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- LoHud.com's Chad Jennings reports that the Yankees have signed 13 picks, with eight-rounder Kyle Roller the highest-drafted of the bunch.
- The Padres signed second rounder Jedd Gyorko and fourth rounder Chris Bisson pending physicals, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter).
- The Royals signed seven more draft picks, including eighth rounder Michael Mariot.
- The Pirates signed six late round selections, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter).
Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post.
Mets Release Gary Matthews Jr.
The Mets have released Gary Matthews Jr., according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). The Mets designated the outfielder for assignment earlier in the month and requested release waivers for Matthews over the weekend. The 35-year-old now joins the likes of Rocco Baldelli and Jermaine Dye on our list of free agent outfielders.
Unlike Baldelli, Dye and a number of other free agent outfielders, Matthews has been playing in the major leagues this year. However, his numbers are not good. He posted a .190/.266/.241 line in 65 plate appearances for the Mets. It's not much to draw conclusions from, but Matthews has not hit or defended well in recent years.
Odds & Ends: A’s, Reds, Murton, Maya, Chipper
Links for Tuesday, as Andy Pettitte and Tim Lincecum celebrate birthdays…
- A's assistant GM David Forst tells MLB.com's Jane Lee that the club would like to add depth to its lineup, even after the Conor Jackson trade (Twitter link).
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that the club would consider trading for or signing a reliever.
- The Hanshin Tigers will pick up Matt Murton's option for 2011, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (via Twitter). Jack Moore of FanGraphs recently updated us on Murton's success in Japan.
- Ben Badler of Baseball America hears that the Mariners will likely sign right-hander Jose Torres for $800K (Twitter link).
- MLBTR has an internship opportunity for a limited number of regular readers. Any skilled and experienced writers with an eye for detail should describe their experience as writers and editors in a couple sentences and e-mail mlbtrintern@gmail.com by the end of the day.
- Yunesky Maya was already unblocked, but he can sign with anyone now that he has been cleared by the FAC office, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com (link in Spanish).
- Chipper Jones could announce that he will retire after the season, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle says Nationals GM Mike Rizzo misread Stephen Strasburg and should have called him up early on in the season.
- From what Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog gathers, the Mets and Mariners have talked a lot about Cliff Lee.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik declined to comment on whether the team would trade Lee now, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Jay Greenberg of the New York Post says the Mets seem likely to keep relying on R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi, as tempting as Roy Oswalt may be.
- Buck Showalter and Phil Garner both told MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli that the O's have yet to contact them about managing the club.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests the Cubs could benefit from becoming sellers. – it just wouldn't be an easy sell to the fan base.
- David Ortiz tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he misses Manny Ramirez, though the two didn't socialize much beyond the ballpark.