Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Irabu, Draft
Some links to start the morning off…
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders if the Red Sox would pull back John Smoltz and Mike Lowell if either veteran was claimed on waivers.
- Hideki Irabu is closing in on a deal with an independent Japanese team, according to CBS Sports.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo points out that there are usually a lot of unsigned draft picks this time of year. He also has a league-wide update on those who have yet to sign this season.
- If you heard that someone determined the return on investment of top draft picks, you'd probably think it was someone in a front office. But, as Mayo reports, Pirates pitcher Ross Ohlendorf did just that as a student at Princeton.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that the O's haven't made progress with second rounder Mychal Givens.
- New acquisition Jarrod Washburn told David Mayo of MLive.com that he "felt like a rookie" in his Tigers debut last night. Washburn lost to Brian Matusz, a real-life rookie who won his MLB debut.
- Like the early 90s Braves, the Padres are building around young arms, according to Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Marti, Gomez & Serrano Declared Free Agents
The agent for Yadel Marti, Yasser Gomez and Juan Yasser tells ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. that the three Cubans have all been declared free agents. Marti and Gomez defected in December and a few weeks later their agent, Jaime Torres, said his clients were big-league ready. Now the bidding can begin…
Torres tells Arangure Jr. (via Twitter) that three NL teams and two AL teams have expressed interest in signing Gomez and Marti for the stretch run. As Arangure Jr. points out, potential suitors would have to activate either player by the end of the month for them to be playoff-eligible. Apparently Marti could boost any team's rotation.
Pirates And Mariners Exchange Minor Leaguers
The Pirates aren't finished dealing after all. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that they traded Mike Koplove to the Mariners for shortstop Deybis Benitez. Benitez, 22, is hitting .304/.407/.304 in A ball. Koplove, a 33-year-old righty, has allowed 42 hits and 21 walks in 54.1 innings for two Triple A teams this year, striking out 50. He spent six years with the D'Backs and last appeared in the majors a couple years ago on the Indians.
Mariners DFA Chris Woodward
The Mariners designated Chris Woodward for assignment today to make room for Adrian Beltre, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Some expected the Mariners to option Jack Hannahan to the minors, but they're keeping him around at Woodward's expense. Woodward, 33, hit .239/.288/.254 in 20 games for the Mariners at short, second and third.
Verducci On Halladay, Pirates, Extensions
Tom Verducci of SI.com says the media has unfairly called the Blue Jays losers in the aftermath of the trade deadline. Verducci says the Jays should not have been expected to lower their asking price for Roy Halladay. Here are a few other notes to take a look at:
- Among all players 36 and older only Raul Ibanez, Chipper Jones, Mike Cameron and Craig Counsell play the field and have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
- Verducci says the Pirates chose "the proper philosophy" when they dealt so many players this summer. One executive says the Pirates obtained quantity, but not necessarily quality.
- Clubs would rather rely on youngsters than guarantee lots of money to veteran players in multi-year deals.
- The lack of extensions this year could lead to a collusion charge from the players' union.
List Of Players To Clear Waivers
We'll see some deals in August and the trading process becomes a whole lot easier if players clear waivers (here's the full explanation). We'll keep a constantly-updated list of the players to clear waivers right here as the month progresses. We won't hear of all players who clear waivers, so there could be surprise trades, but as soon as we know a player clears waivers, we'll add him to the list.
Cardinals - Khalil Greene (source)
Nationals – Cristian Guzman (source)
Orioles – Aubrey Huff, Melvin Mora, Danys Baez (source) and Mark Hendrickson (source)
Reds – Bronson Arroyo, Aaron Harang (source) and Alex Gonzalez (source)
Red Sox – John Smoltz (source)
Yankees – Brian Bruney, Robinson Cano, Mark Melancon, David Robertson (source)
D'Backs – Jon Garland (source)
Brewers – Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall, Craig Counsell, Braden Looper (source)
Which Teams Shed Salary At The Deadline?
Yesterday we found that the Cardinals led the group of 12 teams that took on at least $1MM leading up to the trade deadline. They took on $6.6MM and were the only team to add as much as $5MM in payroll. So what about the sellers? Here's a look at the teams that traded away at least $1MM in 2009 salary this summer. Again, all totals are approximate:
- The Indians trimmed $8.1MM from their payroll, trading Mark DeRosa ($2.9MM), Victor Martinez ($2MM), Cliff Lee ($2MM) and Rafael Betancourt ($1.2MM).
- The Pirates shed $7.3MM in trades, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- The A's saved $5MM by dealing Matt Holliday ($3.7MM) and Orlando Cabrera ($1.25MM).
- The Mariners' decision to trade Jarrod Washburn saved them $3.6MM.
- The Padres saved $2.8MM in the Jake Peavy deal.
- The D'Backs shed $1.4MM by trading away Felipe Lopez.
- The Orioles saved $1MM by trading George Sherrill.
Seven teams saved $1MM or more this deadline. The Indians, Pirates and A's saved considerably more than that this year and the Padres saved considerably more than that in the future. Surprisingly, the Nationals don't appear on this list. Their decision to trade Joe Beimel saved them $700k and they're paying Nick Johnson to play for the Marlins, so ironically, the team everyone thought would sell wasn't much of a seller.
Olney On Parity, Waivers, Rolen, Encarnacion
ESPN.com's Buster Olney shows that the economic downturn has widened the gap between rich teams and poor ones after a decade of relative parity. As he shows, seven of the eight teams with the biggest payrolls would make the playoffs if they began today. The Mets have the game's second-biggest payroll, but wouldn't make it. Here are a few others notes from Olney's blog:
- We could start hearing about waiver claims today, since teams have stared putting players on waivers.
- The Reds' acquisition of Scott Rolen is "without question the most widely panned pre-deadline trade within the industry."
- The Reds gave up Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart, a pair of highly-regarded young arms.
- One talent evaluator believes the Jays will release Edwin Encarnacion after the season. Even if the third baseman's $4.75MM salary is too much for the Jays, they'd presumably try to trade him first.
Odds And Ends: Jays, O’s, Dodgers, Sano
Some links to read this morning…
- Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that the Jays will need improved offense to contend next year.
- The Orioles have nearly completed their rebuilding process, MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun suggests the O's could make room for Brian Matusz by parting ways with Melvin Mora.
- Diamond Leung reports that the Dodgers acquired Harvey Garcia from the Pirates for a PTBNL or cash.
- The Dodgers never acquired a big-name starter, so Yahoo's Tim Brown says the team will have to win without a Manny Ramirez-esque infusion of talent this summer- unless they add a pitcher who clears waivers, of course.
- What's new with Miguel Angel Sano? His agent wants to let interest develop, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Several teams are interested, including the Pirates.
Discussion: What To Do With Melvin Mora?
Melvin Mora's unhappy in Baltimore and knows he won't be back next year. He's not a part of the Orioles' future and it's looking more and more like he won't be a part of their present for long. He's sure to clear waivers since there's not much of a market for powerless late-thirties hitters making $9MM. This means the Orioles will probably be able to trade him, but they have other options. Let's take a look at their choices:
- Hope that there's a taker on the trade market – Mora's hitting just .256/.321/.330, hardly enough to warrant a $9MM salary. He won't hurt you in the field, but his dropoff in power (23 homers last year, just 3 in 2009) is scary.
- Release him – With nothing to lose but $3MM, the O's could decide that it's not worth having Mora around.
- Hope he turns it around – He was productive as recently as last year. The O's could keep Mora and hope that he finishes strong.