Nationals Acquire Scott Hairston
The Nationals have acquired outfielder Scott Hairston in a trade with the Cubs, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes. The Cubs received minor league righty Ivan Pineyro in return, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Both teams will also receive a player to be named later, but Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told reporters today that component will "not affect the balance of the deal." Signed by the Cubs to a two-year, $5MM deal in February, the Cubs will chip in less than $500K toward Hairston's $2.5MM salary for 2014, tweets Heyman.
Hairston, 33, has played sparingly this year, hitting .172/.232/.434 in 112 plate appearances, the overwhelming majority of them against lefties. As Amanda Comak of the Washington Times notes, the Nats are about to begin a series against the Phillies in which they'll face three straight lefty starters: John Lannan, Cole Hamels, and Cliff Lee. That means Hairston could get a fair amoung of playing time right away, but generally, the Nationals will likely use him primarily off the bench, just as the Cubs did. Hairston's opportunities will probably come at the expense of fellow righty Tyler Moore, who has hit .151/.195/.283 this season. Hairston has a .244/.299/.447 line over ten seasons with the Diamondbacks, Padres, Athletics, Mets and Cubs. He was drafted by the D'Backs in the third round in 2001, at which point current Nationals GM Mike Rizzo was their director of scouting. Even after acquiring Hairston, the Nationals are looking for a second right-handed hitter to add more depth off the bench, notes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
Pineyro, 21, was promoted to High-A in mid-June after making the South Atlantic League All-Star team. In 15 starts overall this year, he has a 3.24 ERA, 8.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 0.58 HR/9 in 77 2/3 innings. Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Pineyro 27th among Nationals prospects, noting that the Dominican held his own against older competition, and "his quick arm is intriguing." According to BA, Pineyro throws 90-94 with an average to plus changeup and a curveball that needs work. "If he continues to pitch the way he has been, I think he will be a big league pitcher," Hagerstown Suns pitching coach Franklin Bravo told Ashley Marshall of MLB.com in late April.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Quick Hits: Green, Rosales, Blue Jays
The Athletics are set to promote Grant Green for their series in Pittsburgh tomorrow, and the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser suggests that the move could result in Adam Rosales being designated for assignment. Green is hitting .318/.374/.500 for Triple-A Sacramento, while Rosales is batting .200/.273/.331 for Oakland. The A's could use Green as a right-handed complement to second baseman Eric Sogard, Slusser suggests, particularly since the Pirates will start lefties Jeff Locke and Francisco Liriano in the upcoming series. Rosales, meanwhile, has played sparingly since mid-June. Here are more notes from around MLB.
- The Blue Jays just signed sixth-round draft pick Matt Boyd for just $75K (compared to a slot value of $250K), which is significant because the Jays have now saved nearly $1.8MM against their bonus pool, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets. (The Jays also recently signed second-rounder Clinton Hollon for significantly below slot, and several other picks have signed for below slot as well.) The Boyd signing confirms what had already seemed to be the Jays' strategy — the Jays appear to be positioning themselves to land first-rounder Phil Bickford, along with 11th-rounder Jake Brentz and 30th-rounder Rowdy Tellez, all of whom are perceived as being tough signs. Tellez, Callis says, will likely cost the Jays second-round money.
- Kiley McDaniel of Scout.com confirms (or reports) a number of signings of international players, including a few significant ones not yet mentioned on MLBTR: Kelvin Beltre (Giants, $650K), Rudy Giron (Padres, $600K), Yoan Aybar (Red Sox, $450K), and Adrian Valerio (Pirates, $400K).
NL Notes: Francoeur, Rockies, Giants
Outfielder Jeff Francoeur, who was recently released by the Royals, has interest from three teams, including the Reds, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The exact details of any negotiations are unclear, but a new contract for Francoeur, who was hitting .208/.249/.322 in 2013 after having struggled in 2012, would almost certainly be a minor-league deal. Here are more notes from around the National League.
- Roy Oswalt of the Rockies left his start on Sunday with a strained hamstring, leaving Colorado looking for pitching, Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets. Renck writes that it will be a seller's market for arms, however, making acquiring starting pitching difficult. The Rockies were reported to be interested in Ricky Nolasco before the Marlins dealt him to the Dodgers. While the Rockies are still technically in the playoff race, though, they're five games below .500 and in third place, so it's fair to wonder whether they'll be as motivated to pay heavily for shorter-term upgrades as other teams might be.
- The Giants are unlikely to make dramatic changes despite their recent struggles, Mike Bauman of MLB.com writes. After winning two of the last three World Series, the Giants are currently 40-47. "These are our guys, though," says manager Bruce Bochy. "These guys have done a lot of good things here. You know [the slump] feels like it's been forever, but it's been maybe three weeks. It's getting long, but still, they are our guys and we're going to stay behind them." Bauman notes that Chad Gaudin recently returned to the Giants' rotation and that reliever Santiago Casilla and starter Ryan Vogelsong could soon return from injury as well.
AL Notes: White Sox, Rangers, Angels
White Sox manager Robin Ventura thinks Alex Rios' anxiety about a possible trade may be a cause of his recent slump, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports. "He’s not squaring it up as much. He’s staying in the middle of the field," says Ventura. "Probably a little of all the rumors going around. That does affect people in certain ways. I don’t know if that’s him, but it’s probably leading to it." Rios, however, denies that trade rumors have an effect. "At this point, we shouldn’t be worried about what’s going to happen because you just can’t control it," he says. In mid-May, MLBTR's Jeff Todd profiled Rios' trade value, although Rios' poor hitting since then (he had a .643 OPS in June and a .579 OPS so far in July) may affect his trade outlook. Here are more notes from around the American League.
- The White Sox hope their upcoming game against the Cubs on Monday (which will feature the Cubs' Matt Garza, himself a trade candidate) will provide a good opportunity to showcase their players, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports. He notes that the Rangers, in particular, have been watching the Sox recently.
- The Rangers' placement of Nick Tepesch and Lance Berkman on the disabled list on Sunday shows their need to acquire a starting pitcher and a hitter at the trade deadline, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.
- Angels GM Jerry DiPoto does not sound like he plans to make big moves at this month's trade deadline, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports. "You’re always looking for ways to get better, to maybe find some smaller pieces to contribute, but the high-profile moves? I wouldn’t suspect that we’re looking for those," says DiPoto. DiGiovanna points out that the Angels could benefit from the returns of Jason Vargas, Tommy Hanson and Sean Burnett from the disabled list.
Week In Review: 6/30/13 – 7/6/13
Here's a look back at the week that was here at MLBTR.
- The Dodgers acquired starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins for pitchers Angel Sanchez, Steve Ames and Josh Wall.
- The Dodgers acquired reliever Carlos Marmol, the right to spend extra international bonus money, and cash from the Cubs in exchange for reliever Matt Guerrier.
- The Orioles acquired pitcher Scott Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger from the Cubs for starter Jake Arrieta, reliever Pedro Strop and the right to spend extra international bonus money.
- The Orioles acquired third baseman Alex Liddi from the Mariners, with the Mariners receiving the right to spend extra international bonus money in the deal. The Orioles designated Russ Canzler for assignment to clear space for Liddi.
- The Astros acquired minor-league second baseman Ronald Torreyes from the Cubs, who received the right to spend extra international bonus money in the deal.
- The Yankees claimed first baseman Travis Ishikawa off waivers from the Orioles.
- The Royals designated outfielder Jeff Francoeur for assignment and requested release waivers for him.
- The Twins designated pitcher P.J. Walters for assignment.
- The Indians designated pitcher Carlos Carrasco for assignment.
- The Mets designated reliever Brandon Lyon for assignment.
- The Cubs designated reliever Shawn Camp for assignment.
- The White Sox designated catcher Hector Gimenez for assignment.
- Veteran hitter Eric Hinske cleared waivers and accepted the Diamondbacks' assignment to Triple-A.
- The Royals outrighted pitcher Francisley Bueno.
- The Rangers outrighted pitcher Kyle McClellan.
- The Blue Jays outrighted pitcher Chien-Ming Wang.
- The Nationals outrighted pitcher Cole Kimball off their 40-man roster.
- Clayton Mortensen of the Red Sox cleared waivers.
- Catcher Miguel Olivo, formerly of the Marlins, cleared waivers and elected free agency.
- The Rays signed first-round pick Ryne Stanek.
- The Red Sox signed second-round pick Teddy Stankiewicz.
- The Cubs signed or reached agreement with a number of top international prospects, including Eloy Jimenez, Gleyber Torres and Erling Moreno.
- The White Sox signed top international prospect Micker Adolfo Zapata.
- The Royals signed top international prospects Marten Gasparini and Cristhian Vasquez.
- The Rockies signed top international prospect Carlos Herrera.
- The Padres signed top international prospect Mayky Perez.
- The Mariners signed top international prospect Greifer Andrade.
- The Dodgers signed top international prospect Lucas Tirado.
- The Athletics signed top international prospect Jesus Lopez.
- The Angels signed top international prospect Ricardo Sanchez.
- The Red Sox signed top internationals prospects Rafael Devers and Emmanuel DeJesus.
- The Rangers signed top international prospects Michael DeLeon and Marcos Diplan. They also signed fellow top prospects Yeyson Yrizarri and Jose Almonte.
- The Diamondbacks signed top international prospect Jose Herrera.
- The Twins signed top international prospects Lewin Diaz and Roni Tapia.
- The Blue Jays signed top international prospects Yeltsin Gudino and Freddy Rodriguez.
- More international signings can be found here.
- The Rangers signed Manny Ramirez to a minor-league deal.
- The Dodgers signed third baseman Ian Stewart.
- The Yankees signed infielder Luis Cruz after he refused an outright assignment from the Dodgers.
- The Nationals signed catcher Kelly Shoppach.
- The Rays signed pitcher Ramon Ramirez.
- The Royals signed first baseman Ben Broussard.
- The Padres signed pitcher Clay Zavada.
- Pitcher Jon Rauch opted out of his minor-league deal with the Orioles.
- Pitcher Aaron Laffey opted out of his minor-league deal with the Dodgers.
- Pitcher Justin Thomas opted out of his minor-league deal with the Athletics.
- The Indians released pitcher Chris Jakubauskas from Triple-A Columbus.
- The Nationals released pitcher Micah Owings from Triple-A Syracuse.
- The Diamondbacks released pitcher David Pauley from Triple-A Reno.
Royals To Sign Sean Manaea
The Royals have agreed to sign competitive-balance pick Sean Manaea for $3.55MM, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets. The Indiana State lefty was the No. 34 overall pick in the draft.
$3.55MM is way above the $1.62MM draft pool recommendation for the No. 34 pick. But the Royals’ intentions to sign Manaea to an above-slot bonus became clear very early in their draft — they surprised many observers by selecting college shortstop Hunter Dozier with the No. 8 overall pick, then took Manaea, who is advised by the Boras Corporation and was regarded as one of the top talents in the draft before an injury-plagued junior season at Indiana State. The Royals then signed Dozier for over $900K less than his slot value, saving money to sign Manaea.
ESPN’s Keith Law ranked Manaea the No. 10 prospect in the draft, while MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Baseball America ranked Manaea No. 13 and No. 18, respectively. Manaea’s stock fell after most draft rankings were published, however, particularly when, shortly before the draft, he was scratched from a start with shoulder tightness.
Law writes that the lefty threw 96 MPH with an excellent slider during the summer of 2012 in the Cape Cod League, but both pitches took steps backward in the 2013 season, when Manaea threw 89-94 MPH with an inconsistent slider. He also throws a changeup.
Quick Hits: Nolasco, Stanton, Yankees, Ramirez
Ricky Nolasco would not mind pitching for the Giants, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. "I don’t think anybody would be disappointed to come to San Francisco. I like everything about this place: mound size, good place to pitch, crowd is great and a great team. What’s not to like?" Meanwhile, the Marlins are laying the groundwork for a Nolasco trade, Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. "They don't screw around," a source tells Rodriguez. "The second they get the deal they like they'll do it." In 15 starts this year, Nolasco has a 3.61 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- The Pirates "need" the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton, ESPN.com's David Schoenfield argues. Schoenfield points out that the Pirates rank last in the National League in OPS at right field (with Travis Snider's disappointing season thus far being the main reason why). Also, the Pirates have a strong farm system with the sorts of prospects that could well tempt the Marlins. Schoenfield suggests that the Pirates could deal Jameson Taillon and Gregory Polanco, both Top 100 prospects, along with catcher Tony Sanchez and an additional pitching prospect. That would still leave the Bucs with a good crop of young players that would include Gerrit Cole, Starling Marte, Alen Hanson, Josh Bell and their 2013 draft class, but it would be a high price, as one would expect. Stanton isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2016 season, so the Pirates would be receiving a huge, and immediate, upgrade for the next several years. But the Bucs' financial situation makes their farm system a crucial part of any success they might have, so the penalty for missing on such a huge trade would be very high.
- The Yankees will be looking for hitters at the trade deadline, but one problem is that the uncertain timing of the returns of the Yankees' many injured hitters makes it difficult to know which positions they should aim to upgrade, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman writes. Also, the Yanks would still like to keep their payroll under $189MM in 2014, which could make it tricky to trade for players signed beyond 2013.
- Manny Ramirez is still looking for an opportunity with a Major League club, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com tweets. Ramirez is also looking for a chance to play in Japan. Ramirez, 41, played briefly for the Rays in 2011, and appeared in 17 games for the Athletics' Triple-A Sacramento affiliate in 2012.
NL Notes: Phillies, Cardinals, Cubs
Phillies president David Montgomery showed support for GM Ruben Amaro Jr. on Wednesday, Bob Brookover of the Inquirer reports. "Ruben is not making independent decisions," Montgomery says. "He's going with a pretty good group of eyes who are looking out there at players and making determinations. God knows we're all trying to bat 1.000 on decision making. The reality is I think we do better than the .300 standard in baseball." The Phillies are 35-38 after going 81-81 last season. Here are more notes from the National League.
- The Phillies are among the teams that must rebuild, says ESPN's Jim Bowden (Insider-only). (Bowden also names the White Sox and the Brewers.) Bowden says the Phillies should try to trade veterans in order to reduce the payroll and add youth, but they shouldn't blow up the team completely, since the Phillies have a workable core. Trading Cliff Lee or Jonathan Papelbon would be the Phillies' best bet, Bowden says.
- Chris Carpenter, who is trying to come back from a nerve injury, will not factor in the Cardinals' trade deadline plans, GM John Mozeliak tells Derrick Gould and Brendan Meyer of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. " He hasn’t pitched yet. It’s still something that he could end up contributing, I think that’s a bonus. But I don’t think, going in to (July 31), (we will be) factoring him involved right now," says Mozeliak. Carpenter felt back tightness after throwing a bullpen session on Sunday.
- Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says manager Dale Sveum isn't to blame for the team's poor record, ESPNChicago.com's Doug Padilla writes, citing an interview on ESPN 1000. The Cubs just don't have the talent to provide Sveum with good options right now, Epstein says. "I think Dale is taking a lot of heat for the fact that we don't have currently a roster that is talented enough to regularly win baseball games," says Epstein. "We just don't."
- Epstein also says the Cubs will not release Ian Stewart, Padilla notes. The Cubs suspended Stewart after he sent a series of tweets complaining that the club was unlikely to promote him. "He hasn't lived up to our expectations but he is a human being and his career is at stake," Epstein says. Stewart has hit .168/.286/.372 for Triple-A Iowa this season.
Minor Moves: Chris Narveson
We'll keep track of today's minor moves here.
- The Brewers have activated pitcher Chris Narveson from the disabled list, and have outrighted him to Triple-A Nashville, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweets. Narveson had been on the DL with a finger injury in 2013 after missing most of the 2012 season with a rotator cuff injury. He struggled in five rehab starts at Nashville, posting a 7.00 ERA in 18 innings.
Orioles To Sign Hunter Harvey
The Orioles have agreed to terms with first-round draft pick Hunter Harvey, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com tweets. Harvey, a high school pitcher from North Carolina, was the No. 22 overall pick in the draft. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets that Harvey signed for exactly the bonus pool recommendation, which is just under $1.95MM. Harvey is advised by Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked Harvey the No. 22 prospect in the draft, noting his projectable frame, 94-MPH fastball, and inconsistent, but promising, curveball and changeup. ESPN's Keith Law ranked Harvey the draft's No. 24 prospect, while Baseball America ranked Harvey No. 33. Harvey is the son of former big-league reliever Bryan Harvey.