Mets Acquire Luis Ayala
The Washington Times is reporting that the Nationals have traded relief pitcher Luis Ayala to the Mets for Anderson Hernandez.
Ayala, who will be a eligible for free agency for the first time this offseason, has a 5.77 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 22 walks in 57.2 innings this season. He is making $1.7MM. The Mets will have to try to fix him quickly; his control worsened this year. The Phillies and Marlins chose not to make a claim on Ayala, apparently. The reliever had been requesting a trade throughout the year.
Hernandez, a middle infielder, is hitting .203/.262/.307 in Triple A. He has limited big league experience, having appeared in 35 games for the Mets.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .
Marlins Could Be Set For Another Fire Sale
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the Marlins will be forced to trade away some of their arbitration-eligible players this offseason unless management is willing to double their payroll into the $50MM range.
Jackson takes a closer look at which players may be on the move…
- Two scouts and a GM told Jackson that the Marlins will likely explore the market for Mike Jacobs, noting they have other options at first base.
- Jackson feels the Marlins won’t want to give Dan Uggla a long-term deal and will look to trade him.
- With Cameron Maybin ready to take over, Jackson sees one or two of the starting outfielders, Cody Ross, Josh Willingham and Jeremy Hermida, being traded.
- Closer Kevin Gregg will be gone if Matt Lindstrom shows he can handle the job.
- Of the pitchers in the rotation, Scott Olsen seems the most likely to be traded. One scout told Jackson the Marlins could "get a lot" for Olsen and they have Andrew Miller who could take his spot.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Cafardo’s Latest: Ausmus, Towles, Mariners, Giants, Sheffield, Salty
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a few items in his Sunday column…
- Cafardo says that the Red Sox, despite being in the market for a catcher, are not interested in Brad Ausmus. They did inquire with the Astros about J.R. Towles, who is currently in Triple A, but were told he is unavailable.
- One executive told Cafardo that the Mariners continue to demand other teams take entire contracts and give up prospects for players like Raul Ibanez, Jarrod Washburn and Adrian Beltre. In the cases of Ibanez and Beltre, that position is defensible.
- Cafardo interviewed Brian Sabean about several topics: 1) When asked about trading veteran players, Sabean responded "There’s still time"; 2) When asked whether the Giants would "go young" or target free agents in the offseason, Sabean was noncommital but said they will look for free agents and trade pieces to fix problems, specifically mentioning the bullpen and first base; 3) When asked if he was tempted to sign Barry Bonds, Sabean would not answer.
- Cafardo was just musing on a few players, but feels that Gary Sheffield could help the Rays, but only if the Tigers pay some of the salary. He also thinks Jarrod Saltalamacchia would be a nice fit in Boston next season.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Millar, Sheffield, Dunn, Rangers, Salty
A few random notes from around the baseball Blogosphere…
- Beerleaguer feels that Kevin Millar would make a nice addition to the Phillies’ bench.
- MetsBlog says Gary Sheffield is the right-handed outfield bat the Mets need and this is the best time to add a player with something to prove.
- True Blue LA is angered that the Dodgers did not block the D’Backs’ claim of Adam Dunn.
- Newberg Report discusses which players the Rangers must be willing to part with if they are to land an "All-Star level, legitimate number one" pitcher or even a pitcher from the next level of starters.
- Over The Monster wonders if the Red Sox will replace Jason Varitek with Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Giles, Teixeira, Dunn, Manny
A few random notes from around the baseball Blogosphere…
- Orioles Outsider projects what Mark Teixeira should be worth on the open-market and wonders how much above that number the O’s should be willing to go.
- Baltimore Birds Nest thinks that the only way Teixeira ends up in an O’s uniform next season is if Peter Angelos opens the wallet and makes the biggest offer.
- Camden Chat would prefer to have Adam Dunn over Teixeira.
- The Shadow of Manny Ramirez compares the Manny Ramirez trade to a scene from "Sex and the City"…Don’t worry. It went over my head also.
- Not to be outdone, Soxaholix wonders why every time one of the Sox best players leaves town, it is like an episode of the new "90210".
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Nationals Release Lo Duca, Lopez
The Washington Post is reporting that the Nationals released both Paul Lo Duca and Felipe Lopez following tonight’s game. The move was made to free-up space on the roster for Elijah Dukes and Emilio Bonifacio.
Lo Duca was hitting .230/.301/.281 in 139 at bats this season and made $5MM on a one-year deal. Lopez was hitting .231/.303/.309 in 324 at bats and was in his final arbitration-eligible season, making $4.9MM.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Braves, Orioles, Redding, Dunn, Ryan
A few more post-deadline notes from the MLBiverse…
- Apparently the Braves tried to get involved in the Jason Bay sweepstakes in the last hour before the deadline.
- Andy MacPhail feels that the Orioles will actually be more active in August than in July. Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly suggest that several players, including Kevin Millar, Jay Payton and Ramon Hernandez could be had in August. MacPhail also noted that while there "was a pretty high bar set" for teams asking about Brian Roberts, MacPhail made it clear that Roberts was not off-limits and suggested that a deal this winter is not out of the question.
- Jim Bowden does not appear eager to trade Tim Redding, who according to Bill Ladson, is the Nat’s only player of value that could be traded in August.
- Walt Jocketty would not commit to an attempt to sign Adam Dunn to an extension.
- Terry Ryan, the Twins former GM, penned a piece for SI.com in which he details what a GM goes through in the weeks and days leading up to the trade deadline. Very interesting read.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Giants, Maddux, Grudzielanek, Arias
A few post-deadline notes from the MLBiverse…
- Brian Sabean is confident that he will be able to sneak some of his veteran players (Rich Aurilia, Omar Vizquel, Randy Winn, Bengie Molina, etc.) through waivers in the coming month for the purpose of making a trade. Chris Haft feels that the large number of teams remaining in contention will make that very difficult.
- Kevin Towers does not sound optimistic about the possibility of trading Greg Maddux in the next month noting that such a move would be "dicier" and any trade would still require the Dodgers to "step up and give us the prospect package [the Padres want]."
- Bob Dutton reports that the Royals will still try to move Mark Grudzielanek.
- The Astros claimed relief pitcher Alberto Arias off waivers from the Rockies. Arias had been DFA’d on Tuesday and the Astros will send him to triple-A.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .
Rhodes To The Marlins?
2:44pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick also heard the Marlins were eyeing Jeremy Affeldt and David Weathers of the Reds.
12:47pm: Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald is reporting that the Marlins could be close to landing Arthur Rhodes from the Mariners.
The Marlins could be closer to a deal to acquire left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes from the Seattle Mariners, who are looking only for a midlevel minor-league prospect in return. Rhodes, 37, is 2-0 with a 3.83 ERA in 35 relief appearances this season.
Yesterday we heard that the Marlins were targeting several left-handed relievers and it looks like they have narrowed their focus to Rhodes.
With many teams balking at the asking price for relievers such as Brian Fuentes and George Sherrill, we have heard of several teams showing more interest in Rhodes (ie. the Brewers).
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Gammons, Stark, Giles, Royals
And still more minor notes from around the MLBiverse…
First from Peter Gammons:
- Gammons says that the Marlins will not part with Anibal Sanchez for Brian Fuentes and will instead go after Arthur Rhodes.
- The Cardinals now appear to be the favorite for Fuentes.
- No teams seem willing to pay the asking price for Jason Bay.
- The Indians will pay the remainder of Casey Blake’s $2MM salary.
Next from Jayson Stark:
- The Mets are also showing interest in Randy Winn, but one official from another club feels Winn is just a backup plan.
A couple of random notes:
- Bud Black says Brian Giles does not want to be traded and prefers to stay with the Padres.
- Kevin Murphy notes that the Royals haven’t fared too well in the trade market the last few years.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.