Odds And Ends: Colon, Lee, Bedard, Ligtenberg
More links for the afternoon…
- If you don't already know which three major leaguers have weight or fitness-related clauses in their contracts, check out Jorge Says No! to find out.
- Marc Hulet of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays acquired two of the top ten prospects moved this deadline. He ranks Zach Stewart 8th and Josh Roenicke 10th among all prospects dealt.
- The White Sox don't know where Bartolo Colon is, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Via Twitter, Ed Price of AOL FanHouse informs us that Phillies' acquisition Cliff Lee has allowed four runners past first base in 16 innings with his new team. Not bad.
- Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune says there's a good chance Erik Bedard will need another exploratory surgery after he undergoes an MRI tomorrow.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus reports that former MLB reliever Kerry Ligtenberg retired. He had been pitching in an independent league.
Productive Free Agent Pickups
Manny Ramirez, C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira have all produced since headlining last offseason's free agent class, but they're far from the only free agents to make meaningful contributions this season. Here are the five free agents who have been worth most this year according to FanGraphs. I've included the player's worth, as calculated by FanGraphs, his contract info and some more traditional stats:
- Raul Ibanez, Phillies – He's been worth $16.1MM this year, but the Phillies are paying him just $6.5MM (plus incentives) in the first year of a deal worth $31.5MM. Ibanez has 26 homers, 75 RBI and an OPS just shy of 1.000.
- C.C. Sabathia, Yankees - Sabathia has been worth $15.6MM this year, making a $14MM salary in the first year of a deal that could pay him $161MM. Despite a drop in his K-rate, Sabathia has an ERA below 4.00 in the AL East and leads the league in starts.
- Mark Teixeira, Yankees – He's been worth $15.1MM so far, so he's on pace to earn the first $20MM of his $180MM deal. He's added 26 homers, 80 RBI and 56 walks to the Yankees' offense.
- Bobby Abreu, Angels – He's been worth $13.8MM this year and he's making a base salary of just $5MM. What a deal for the Angels, who get an .869 OPS, nearly as many walks as strikeouts and 22 steals.
- Juan Rivera, Angels - Another unheralded signing by the Angels. Rivera and Abreu have both approached Teixeira's production this year and the Yanks pay Tex more in one season than the Angels will pay Abreu and Rivera in total over the course of their current deals. Rivera makes a base salary of $3.25MM this year and will make at least $12.75MM on his new deal. He's batting .311 with 18 homers.
Nats Acquire Ward & Hopper From White Sox
The Nationals acquired former major leaguers Daryle Ward and Norris Hopper from the White Sox today, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The players go from Chicago's Triple A team to Washington's.
Rays Sign Winston Abreu
Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times reports that the Rays signed Winston Abreu to a minor league contract today. Abreu opted for free agency this morning after the Indians designated him for assignment on Saturday. The Rays acquired Jonathan Meloan for Abreu a month ago. Safe to say they won that trade.
Odds And Ends: Yanks, Red Sox, Indians, Peavy
More links to look through as we ready ourselves for four days of Yankees vs. Red Sox…
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney presents nine reasons the upcoming Boston-New York series matters. To an extent, both teams have their psyches on the line this weekend.
- Indians ownership says the team will likely lose about $16MM this year, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN). The Indians trimmed about $8.1MM in payroll leading up to the deadline.
- So how do teams like the Indians compete with big spenders like the Yankees and Red Sox? Joe Posnanski of SI.com says small market teams may have to beat richer ones by taking advantage of the 'win now' mentality in large markets.
- Jake Peavy is set to pitch in three minor league games before joining the White Sox, according to Bruce Levine of ESPN.com. He's still expected to make his AL debut in late August or early September.
Crow & Scheppers Face Different Deadline
Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers will have until a week before next year's draft to sign with the teams that selected them, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. Most draftees must sign by August 17th, but MLB has ruled that the August deadline won't apply to players drafted out of independent leagues. Both Crow and Scheppers played in independent leagues after failing to sign last summer.
The Royals will have more time to sign Crow, but the Rangers may benefit most. Their finances are unstable now, but if they're resolved in the coming months, the team could sign Scheppers instead of shying away from his bonus demands.
Mets Acquire Anderson Hernandez
The Mets acquired second baseman Anderson Hernandez from the Nationals, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Ed Price of AOL FanHouse says the Nats obtain minor league second baseman Greg Veloz in return.
Hernandez, 26, already played for the Mets from 2005-07. This year he's hitting .251/.310/.320. Veloz, 21, is hitting .232 without much power or plate discipline in high-A ball.
Odds And Ends: Byrd, Timlin, Giambi
Some links to look through…
- Bobby Abreu tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that it was frustrating to see other players sign big contracts last offseason. Abreu waited and finally settled for a $5MM deal, but now he loves LA.
- The Jason Giambi signing didn't work out nearly as well for the A's. When MLB.com's Mychael Urban asked manager Bob Geren if Giambi will be back next year, Geren avoided the question. Presumably the A's would rather buy the slugger out for $1.25MM than pay him $6MM next year.
- Paul Byrd told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he's in Boston to win a World Series ring.
- Mike Timlin is rehabbing in the Rockies' minor league system to prove he can still pitch, according to Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies.
- Justin Smoak, Martin Perez and Julio Borbon top Jamey Newberg's updated list of top Rangers prospects at MLB.com.
Winston Abreu Becomes A Free Agent
Less than a week after designating Mike Gosling and Winston Abreu for assignment, the Indians outrighted both pitchers to Triple A Columbus, only to see Abreu opt for free agency. The 32-year-old righty struggled in cameos with the Rays and Indians this year, but he has an impressive minor league line to his credit. In 32 innings at Triple A Durham, he allowed just 14 hits and ten walks, striking out 49.
Cubs Release B.J. Ryan
B.J. Ryan asked for his release and the Cubs gave it to him, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Cubs signed him to a minor league deal last month after the Blue Jays released him. Apparently, Ryan's velocity and sharpness did not return during his brief stint in the Cubs' system.