Olney On Guzman, Hardy, Rays, Rios
ESPN.com's Buster Olney says we should know today whether anyone has successfully claimed Cristian Guzman off waivers. However, some executives say Guzman isn't worth the $8MM he makes annually. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:
- J.J. Hardy hasn't yet cleared waivers and Olney wonders if the Red Sox could target him. They had interest in Hardy earlier in the year, but the two teams couldn't agree on the shortstop's value.
- The Rays are one of the teams claiming many players. They don't expect to acquire all the cheap youngsters they claim, but they could face a roster issue if they're handed multiple players.
- Every talent evaluator Olney speaks with believes the Jays need to take advantage of the club that claimed Alex Rios and dump the right fielder's salary while they can.
Odds And Ends: Rios, Mets, Pirates, V-Mart
A variety of links to look at this morning…
- The Blue Jays have until 12:30 CST tomorrow to deal Alex Rios, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
- Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog considers possible replacements for current Mets GM Omar Minaya.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates will have to be something more than an "unmitigated disaster" for Neal Huntington's moves to start looking good, since the GM obtained half the team's roster in recent trades.
- Victor Martinez tells Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald that he's looking forward to his first home game as a member of the Red Sox.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer shows that the Reds' moves impacted players personally and professionally.
- Baseball America's Conor Glassey reports that the Phillies signed third rounder Kyrell Hudson to an over-slot bonus worth about $475k.
Mariners Rumors: Felix, Ackley, Branyan
Jack Zduriencik says he hasn't started talking with Felix Hernandez about a new deal, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, who passes on comments the Mariners GM made on Q-13 FOX over the weekend. Here are the details and assorted Mariners rumors:
- The Mariners haven't started talking with Felix Hernandez, who will hit free agency after 2011, about a new deal. Zduriencik says he appreciates Felix's talent, but cautions: "it takes two to tango."
- The Mariners have started talking with Scott Boras about the team's first round pick, Dustin Ackley. The two sides have had a couple conversations recently and Zduriencik expects talks to intensify soon.
- The Mariners want to re-sign Russell Branyan after the season. Something tells me $1.4MM won't be enough this time around!
Torre Confident The Dodgers Can Add Pitching
Huff, Mora & Baez Clear Waivers
Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that Aubrey Huff, Melvin Mora and Danys Baez all cleared waivers, and can now be dealt to any club. As we mentioned earlier, you can find this trio on our list of players to clear waivers.
Could Nomar Fit In Philly?
When asked if he'd accept a deal to the Phillies, Nomar Garciaparra said "Sure, why not?" according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle The Phillies are looking for a right-handed bench bat and they had interest in Garciaparra in the offseason. The 36-year-old is hitting .265/.300/.372 and his base salary is just $1MM.
Pirates Sign Eighth Rounder For Over $1MM
6:04pm: Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that Cain received a $1.125MM bonus.
1:23pm: Via Twitter, Mayo reports that Cain's bonus is worth more than $1.1MM and less than $1.2MM.
12:45pm: The Pirates are set to sign eighth round pick Colton Cain for at least $1MM, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. We heard the sides were close to a deal this morning, but there was no indication that it would reach seven figures. After shedding over $7MM in salary at the deadline, the Pirates appear to be re-investing in their system. It's safe to say the commissioner's office won't be pleased to hear of a late-round bonus this high.
Odds And Ends: Zaun, D’Backs, Byrd
A few more links to read as we try to figure out who claimed Alex Rios…
- Gregg Zaun told Roch Kubatko of MASN.com that he was "totally shocked" to hear he was traded to the Rays.
- The D'Backs agreed to terms with Chris Owings, the 41st overall pick in this year's draft, on a $950k deal, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. Owings, a high school shortstop, signed for $135k above slot.
- Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports that it may be three weeks before Paul Byrd is ready.
Red Sox DFA John Smoltz
The Red Sox designated John Smoltz for assignment, according to DJ Bean of WEEI.com. Smoltz, 42, struggled in eight starts for the Red Sox. He only walked nine, but eight of the 59 hits he allowed were homers. His ERA ballooned to 8.32 after allowing eight earned runs at Yankee Stadium last night.
Smoltz receives $35k for every day spent on the active roster, so with nearly 60 days left in the season, he could have made about $2MM over the course of the next two months, plus an additional $500k for being on the roster on the last day of the season. He receives $500k if the Red Sox trade him.
Red Sox Add Tazawa & Woodward; DFA Traber
The Red Sox called up Junichi Tazawa, acquired Chris Woodward from the Mariners and designated Billy Traber for assignment this afternoon, according to DJ Bean of WEEI.com. Tazawa pitched well in the minors, striking out 88 in 98 AA innings before pitching twice in Triple A.
They acquired Woodward off of waivers, according to a team press release.