Knobler On Padres, Urrutia, Cardinals, Stanton
Here's the latest from CBS Sports' Danny Knobler:
- The Padres, who are now 42-54, have decided they're sellers, Knobler writes. They will listen to offers for Chase Headley (who is eligible for free agency after next season), but Knobler suggests they're in no rush to deal him. Instead, they could deal Edinson Volquez and/or bullpen arms like Huston Street.
- The Orioles have already traded for Scott Feldman, and they might continue to be active on the trade market, but Knobler suggests their biggest addition might come from the promotion of Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia, who is hitting .367/.406/.467 in his first 15 games at Triple-A Norfolk.
- Knobler confirms that the Cardinals have talked to the Cubs about Matt Garza, and suggests that the two teams' front offices might not find the possibility of trading with one another quite as strange as some fans might. Knobler notes that the last significant deal between the rival squads occurred in 2002, when the Cubs sent Jeff Fassero to St. Louis.
- Elsewhere, Knobler writes that the Marlins may be becoming less inclined to trade Giancarlo Stanton. The Marlins feel that they could improve quickly, and may want to wait to see how Stanton (who is only 23 and is not eligible for free agency until after the 2016 season) and their other top young players perform together. The Marlins will continue to shop relievers and older position players, but youngsters like Jose Fernandez, Jacob Turner and Marcell Ozuna evidently have the Marlins wondering whether they could join Stanton as part of the core of the next good Marlins team.
Rosenthal On DeJesus, Encarnacion, Rangers, Braves
Here's the latest from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal:
- The Cubs aren't necessarily planning to trade David DeJesus, who they have signed through 2014, but they'll listen to offers. DeJesus could be a trade candidate in August, after he recovers from a shoulder injury.
- While the Rangers' 2011 decision to trade Chris Davis for Koji Uehara has recently received plenty of attention, Rosenthal notes that the Athletics also have a what-could-have-been in their recent history as well. The A's claimed Edwin Encarnacion from the Blue Jays in November 2010, then non-tendered him, and he ended up back with the Jays. Since then, he's hit 84 home runs.
- The Rangers might be interested in Michael Cuddyer if the Rockies wished to trade him, Rosenthal notes. The Rangers are reportedly on the lookout for a righty hitter, and Cuddyer would fit the bill.
- The Braves aren't looking for a top starter, Rosenthal writes, but they'd like to augment their bullpen.
Week In Review: 7/7/13 – 7/13/13
Here's a look back at the week that was here at MLBTR.
- The Astros signed second baseman Jose Altuve to an extension.
- The Nationals acquired outfielder Scott Hairston from the Cubs in exchange for pitching prospect Ivan Pineyro.
- The Red Sox acquired reliever Matt Thornton from the White Sox in exchange for outfielder Brandon Jacobs.
- The Rockies acquired pitcher Mitchell Boggs from the Cardinals in exchange for international bonus spending rights. To make room for Boggs, the Rockies designated pitcher Joe Gardner for assignment, then outrighted him to the minors.
- The Cardinals released infielder Ty Wigginton.
- The Cubs released reliever Shawn Camp.
- Tom Garfinkel resigned as the Padres' president and CEO.
- The Cubs claimed outfielder Cole Gillespie from the Giants.
- The Cubs designated pitcher Henry Rodriguez for assignment.
- The Royals designated pitcher J.C. Gutierrez for assignment.
- The Yankees designated first baseman Travis Ishikawa for assignment. Ishikawa cleared waivers and elected free agency.
- The Giants designated minor-league pitcher Chris Heston for assignment.
- The Padres designated infielder Pedro Ciriaco for assignment.
- The Orioles designated pitcher Jair Jurrjens for assignment.
- The Indians outrighted catcher Omir Santos.
- The Athletics outrighted infielder Adam Rosales.
- The Twins outrighted pitcher P.J. Walters.
- The Red Sox outrighted infielder Jonathan Diaz.
- The Mets requested release waivers for pitcher Brandon Lyon.
- The Cubs signed first-round pick Kris Bryant.
- The Marlins signed first-round pick Colin Moran.
- The Padres signed first-round pick Hunter Renfroe.
- The Yankees signed first-round pick Aaron Judge.
- The Blue Jays signed 11th-round pick Jake Brentz and 30th-rounder Rowdy Tellez to hefty bonuses, but did not sign first-round pick Phil Bickford.
- The Astros promoted top pitching prospect Jarred Cosart.
- The Pirates acquired 1B/OF Russ Canzler from the Orioles for minor-league pitcher Tim Alderson. The Pirates also acquired shortstop Brian Bocock from the Nationals.
- The Giants signed outfielder Jeff Francoeur to a minor-league deal.
- The Tigers signed pitcher Jeremy Bonderman to a minor-league deal after the Mariners designated him for assignment.
- The Brewers signed utilityman Eric Patterson and pitcher/outfielder Micah Owings to minor-league deals.
- The Red Sox signed pitcher Bobby Lanigan to a minor-league deal.
- The Blue Jays released catcher Ramon Hernandez.
Astros To Promote Jarred Cosart
The Astros will promote top prospect Jarred Cosart to start against the Rays on Friday, Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle reports. The righty will replace Lucas Harrell in the Astros' rotation. If Cosart sticks in the big leagues, he'll be eligible for arbitration after the 2016 season, and eligible for free agency after 2019.
Before the season, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked Cosart the No. 73 prospect in baseball, praising his 96-97 MPH velocity. ESPN's Keith Law (Insider-only) ranked Cosart No. 86, noting that he has great stuff and indicating that he could one day be a good closer if he doesn't make it as a starter. Baseball America's Prospect Handbook listed Cosart as the Astros' No. 7 prospect, arguing that improved command of his curveball would help him generate more strikeouts.
Cosart has pitched 93 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season, posting a 3.29 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. The Astros acquired him from the Phillies in the Hunter Pence trade in 2011.
Trade Candidate: Nate Schierholtz
Outfielder Nate Schierholtz is in the midst of a career season in Chicago, and as with every Cubs veteran playing well, he easily could be dealt before the end of the month. The Cubs have already traded his platoon-mate, Scott Hairston, to the Nationals, and the Cubs figure to at least explore the possibility of trading Schierholtz as well.
As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports recently noted, the Cubs control Schierholtz's rights through 2014 — the Phillies non-tendered him following the 2012 season with two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, so he still has a year of team control left after this year. Schierholtz is also only making $2.25MM in 2012, so his price in arbitration won't be exorbitant. That means the Cubs don't need to trade him. But it also makes Schierholtz a very attractive trade target right now, particularly in a season in which he's hitting .275/.330/.510.
Also, David DeJesus is currently on the disabled list, and the Cubs control DeJesus' services for 2014 as well. That means DeJesus isn't likely to be traded, and knowing he's likely to stick around may make the Cubs more inclined to deal their other lefty-hitting veteran outfielder.
Schierholtz doesn't really play center field, but he provides reasonably strong defense in a corner. He isn't a typical 30-homer masher, but he does have some power. He doesn't steal many bases, but he's an average, or maybe slightly-above-average baserunner. Dave Cameron at FanGraphs correctly labels Schierholtz a tweener. Schierholtz doesn't have enough of any one skill to be a slugger, or an archetypal leadoff man. The flipside, though, is that there isn't much he does badly, and as a result, he can help both defensively and offensively, particularly when he's platooned. (He has just 31 plate appearances against lefties this year.)
The Cubs should be able to get a solid prospect return for Schierholtz, both because he's playing very well and because his salary won't be an obstacle. The Pirates (whose fans Schierholtz might remind of Nate McLouth, and not just because of his first name) would be an obvious fit. Travis Snider has played horribly in an extended audition in right, and while Jose Tabata has played well recently in Snider's place, Tabata and Schierholtz would fit together nicely in a platoon. The Rangers might also be a possibility, although they would likely prefer a right-handed hitter. Contenders with more stable outfields also might show interest in Schierholtz, since he would be very useful as a fourth outfielder.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NL Notes: Pirates, Nationals, Giants, Rockies, Cubs
The Pirates have "no clear priority" at the trade deadline, GM Neal Huntington tells Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on SiriusXM (via Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Twitter). Huntington notes, however, that the team could look for a reliever or hitter. If they pursue a hitter, an outfielder to complement Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte might make sense, although Jose Tabata has hit well alongside them recently. Here are more notes from around the National League.
- Even after the addition of Scott Hairston, Nationals manager Davey Johnson would like his club to acquire another veteran bench player, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports. Ladson notes, however, that the Nationals are more likely to acquire a pitcher, since Ross Detwiler is hurt and Dan Haren has not gotten good results.
- Johnson, however, says doesn't think a deal for a starting pitcher is "in our plans," MASNsports.com's Dan Kolko reports. GM Mike Rizzo doesn't favor rental players, Kolko says, and the Nationals like their minor-league pitching, so they don't see much reason to pursue a longer-term rotation solution via trade.
- The Giants have lost four games in a row and are now in the NL West cellar at 40-50, and they don't have plans right now to be buyers at the tarde deadline, CBS Sports' Danny Knobler tweets. They don't appear ready to sell yet, either, although Knobler guesses that could soon change. If they do sell, Knobler notes that Tim Lincecum and Hunter Pence could be on the market.
- The Rockies aren't sure whether they will buy or sell, Knobler reports, noting that this weekend's series against the Dodgers could help them decide. The Rockies are just 4.5 games back in the NL West, but they're 43-48. If they do end up becoming sellers, they will not trade Troy Tulowitzki or Carlos Gonzalez, and would have to be "overwhelmed" to deal Michael Cuddyer, Knobler reports.
- The Cubs, meanwhile, have won four games in a row, but that won't keep them from continuing to sell, writes Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago. The Cubs are still 14 games out of first place. "Even though we're playing really well there has to be that streak of wins to climb back into something," says manager Dale Sveum. "Especially when you have three to four teams to climb over. It still takes a 10-game winning streak to say, ‘Ok, now we have a chance.'"
AL Notes: Rangers, Red Sox, Mariners
The Rangers are looking for a righty hitter to balance out their lefty-heavy lineup, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. Switch-hitter Lance Berkman and righty Jeff Baker are both on the disabled list, and it's unclear what might happen with righty Nelson Cruz, who has been connected to the Biogenesis scandal. Here are more notes from around the American League.
- The Red Sox appear likely to be active on the trade market, with relief help a top concern, says Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox's bullpen is in a tough spot with the loss of Andrew Miller to injury. He names the White Sox's Matt Thornton or the Marlins' Steve Cishek as potential trade acquisitions.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik doubts he will be an "aggressor" on the market, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. "I'm not going to go out there and start shopping our players. I don't think that's the right thing to do," Zduriencik says. "We have three weeks before the trading deadline. Our goal is to put a healthy club on the field." Zduriencik says he will be open-minded when other teams call. The Mariners have shown small signs of progress recently, winning six of their last nine, although they're 13 1/2 games out of first place and are just 16-19 even since the beginning of June.
Jen-Ho Tseng, Cubs Close To Deal
The Cubs are close to a deal with Taiwanese pitcher Jen-Ho Tseng, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports. Sanchez expects that Tseng's bonus will cost the Cubs a little over $1.5MM. Sanchez had tweeted on Monday that the Cubs had emerged as the favorite to sign Tseng.
Sanchez ranked Tseng the No. 29 international prospect. The 18-year-old Tseng has a fastball that reaches 95 MPH, along with a curve and slider. He was the youngest player on Chinese Taipei's WBC roster.
The Cubs have already signed Gleyber Torres for $1.7MM, Jefferson Mejia for $850K, Erling Moreno for $650K and Johan Matos for $270K, and they have an agreement with top outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez for $2.8MM. That means they will have exceeded their $5.52MM international bonus pool even before the Tseng signing.
The Cubs can still trade for the right to spend more bonus pool money, but Sanchez notes that they can only do so up to a 50 percent increase over their original $4.56MM pool. If they traded up to the maximum amount, that would leave them with a bonus pool of $6.84MM. Assuming Tseng signs for an even $1.5MM and that the Jimenez deal is completed, the Cubs will spend $7.7MM just on Jimenez, Torres, Tseng, Mejia, Moreno and Matos.
If the Cubs exceed their pool by 10 to 15%, they cannot sign an international prospect for more than $500K during the 2014-15 signing period. If they exceed it by more than 15%, they cannot sign a player for more than $250K. In either case, they would have to pay a 100% tax on this year's overage. It now appears very likely that the Cubs will exceed their 2013-14 bonus pool by more than 15%, which may be a plan they developed on the fly — they recently traded for more pool space in the Scott Feldman and Ronald Torreyes deals, and it's hard to see why they would have done that if they planned on paying the stiffest penalty for exceeding their pool.
MLBTR's Steve Adams wrote last week about the Cubs' international bonus situation.
Quick Hits: Diaz, Peavy, Colon, Francoeur
Major League Baseball has ruled that Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz is ineligible to sign until February 2014, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. Diaz had claimed to be born in January 1990, which would make him 23 and would mean MLB teams wouldn't be restricted by their international bonus pools in their attempts to sign him. Earlier media reports indicate that he is actually 22. A 22-year-old Cuban player would still have to sign under the bonus pool system. Ten teams were reported to have interest in Diaz. Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- The White Sox's Jake Peavy says he wanted to ask the team if he could pitch for the big league club on Sunday, though he would have been denied, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports via Twitter. Peavy, who's been sidelined with a rib injury, will join the Sox's Double-A club on Wednesday if he's still feeling good at that time, Gonzales says. If he's healthy, Peavy could be a trade chip at the July 31 deadline.
- Bartolo Colon is defying the odds yet again this season with the Athletics, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. Colon currently has a 2.69 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 in 120 1/3 innings despite his age (40) and the fact that he was suspended last season for testing positive for testosterone. Common sense suggested that, without the use of PEDs, Colon couldn't keep pitching well, but the A's took a chance on Colon, signing him for $3MM plus bonuses. "Our organization thought he would be very similar based on what they saw in winter ball," says A's manager Bob Melvin. "He was throwing with the same velocity he does right now, the same movement. It was an easy sign for us and we did it very quickly, based on what everybody thought he would be like, and certainly he’s been that and more."
- The Giants' signing of Jeff Francoeur is a "lightning-in-a-bottle play," Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com writes. Baggarly compares the acquisition to the Giants' May 2010 signing of Pat Burrell, who had been cast off by the Rays. Baggarly also notes that Francoeur and Kensuke Tanaka, who is making his big-league debut while starting in left field Tuesday night, will mean less playing time for Andres Torres.
Aaron Steen contributed to this post.
NL Notes: Wilson, Pence, DeJesus, Marcum
Free agent and former Giants closer Brian Wilson has been training in Hawaii and could pitch for scouts near the beginning of August, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets. Wilson had Tommy John surgery in 2012 and has not pitched since last April. Here are more notes from around the National League.
- Giants outfielder Hunter Pence told Jim Bowden on Sirius XM MLB Network Radio (via Twitter) that while the club hasn't made him an offer in the last two months, he enjoys playing in San Francisco and would like to stay there. Pence avoided arbitration with the Giants prior to this season by agreeing to a one-year, $13.8MM deal and will be eligible for free agency for the first time this winter.
- Cubs outfielder David DeJesus' recent injury means he's unlikely to be headed out of Chicago by the trading deadline, and he's just fine with that, the Chicago Sun-Times' Gordon Wittenmyer reports. "I love Chicago. I love playing here," says DeJesus. "[I]f I can be a part of the team chancing over and bringing the winning feeling to Chicago … We’ve been playing some good baseball the last month. I want to be a part of it."
- Mets offseason acquisition Shaun Marcum will be shut down for the season due to an issue with his pitching hand, according to a report from Ed Coleman of WFAN that has been confirmed by Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). Even though the signing didn't pay off for the Mets, Rubin recently explained that incentives in the deal would have cost the club even more if he continued to pitch.
Zach Links contributed to this post.