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Quick Hits: Soriano, Indians, Price, Smith

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Rafael Soriano needs 32 more games finished to cause his $14MM club option to vest, but the Nationals closer says that vesting option or not, he wants to return to Washington in 2015, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson reports.  Soriano would need to get up to the 62-finish mark (a career high) to make it, though with the Nats in a tight pennant race, they’ll undoubtedly need their closer as much as possible down the stretch.

Here’s some more news and notes from around baseball…

  • Scouts for the Indians have been told to focus their attention on Rays minor leaguers, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo reports, and Cotillo wonders if this could suggest that Cleveland is revisiting talks for David Price.  Cleveland and Tampa discussed a Price trade during the offseason, as Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, that involved Carlos Santana and Danny Salazar going to the Rays. (Tampa Bay also had interest in Francisco Lindor but the Indians consider Lindor virtually untouchable in any trade.)  A new trade package, Cotillo speculates, could be Santana/Salazar for Price and a couple of Rays prospects, hence the Tribe’s interest in scouting Tampa’s farm system.
  • Also from Cotillo, the Angels made the same three-year, $15.75MM offer to both Joe Smith and Edward Mujica this past offseason and told both pitchers that the contract would go to whichever accepted first.  Smith took the deal first and is enjoying a strong season, even moving into the Halos’ closing job.  Mujica, meanwhile, signed a two-year, $9.5MM deal with the Red Sox and has struggled to a 5.45 ERA in 34 2/3 IP.
  • The Giants are still without agreements for five of their top 10 draft picks, a situation Cotillo believes could be due to the club devoting their time and draft pool resources to signing first-rounder Tyler Beede, who couldn’t negotiate until after the College World Series.
  • Despite the number of recent stars to come out of Cuba, teams are still relying on very little or no scouting information when signing these players, Danny Knobler writes for Bleacher Report.  Knobler’s piece explores the future of the Cuban talent pipeline while also delving into the limited data the White Sox and Dodgers, respectively, had when signing Jose Abreu and Yasiel Puig to major contracts.
  • While the Royals’ farm system is still considered strong, it is short on prospects ready to help at the Major League level, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star writes.  Thanks to a few thin drafts, the prospect package sent to Tampa Bay in the James Shields trade and the fact that many of their top prospects of recent years are already in the bigs, “between Omaha and their [Double-A] club, there’s nobody that looks like they’re going to jump up soon as a significant piece,” an AL executive said.
    Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article719772.html#storylink=cpy

Mets Make Bartolo Colon Available

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The Mets have made Bartolo Colon available in trades, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports.  The team isn’t thought to be seriously negotiating a Colon trade at this time, though a Major League source thinks the Mets will start hearing more offers on the veteran right-hander over the next week.

It was reported last week that the Mets were listening to offers for the 41-year-old Colon, who fits as a trade chip given his contract ($3.75MM remaining this season and $11MM in 2015) and the fact that New York has the young pitching depth to take Colon’s spot in the rotation both this season and next.  The Mets could wait until past the July 31st deadline to move Colon and “it is not a foregone conclusion that he will be dealt” at all, Rubin writes.

The Mets’ deadline needs include a power-hitting left fielder and a shortstop who can supplant Ruben Tejada, Rubin reports, though these pieces wouldn’t necessarily come from a Colon trade.  (While Colon is still pitching effectively, his age will likely prevent the Mets from landing a true impact young player in return.)  The Diamondbacks and Cubs stand out as teams with a possible surplus at shortstop, and the Mets have been connected to Didi Gregorius in the past, though Rubin hears that Tony La Russa is still evaluating Arizona’s roster and may wait until the offseason for major moves.

As for the Cubs, the addition of Addison Russell to an organization that already has Starlin Castro in the bigs and star prospect Javier Baez at Triple-A would seem to make them trade partners for the Mets as well.  Rubin says that Baez “is believed to be a more realistic target” for the Mets, though it would take a major deal to get Chicago to part with a player who is a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball, despite Baez’s underwhelming Triple-A numbers this season.

To create room in the outfield, the Mets are trying to find trades for Chris Young and Eric Young Jr.  Neither player is enjoying a particularly strong season, though Young Jr. will be more attractive to other teams due to his speed (25-for-28 in steals) and two remaining years of team control, whereas Chris Young is owed over $3MM for the rest of the year.

AL West Notes: Preller, Gallo, Johnson, A’s

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The AL West has three teams on pace for postseason play and is home to the two best records in baseball.  The 59-36 A’s hold a slim lead over the 57-37 Angels, while the Mariners’ 51-44 record gives them a 2.5 edge over the Royals and Blue Jays for the second AL wild card slot.  On the flip side, Houston (40-56) and Texas (38-57) hold the American League’s two worst records, with the Rangers’ eight-game losing streak dropping them to worst record in the game.

Here’s the latest from around the AL West…

  • Rangers assistant GM A.J. Preller will receive a second interview for the Padres’ general manager job, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports.  Of the dozen or so candidates known to have interviewed for the job, Preller is thought to be the first to receive a second meeting with San Diego’s upper management team.
  • Also from Fraley, he notes that the Rangers are projected to draw around 400,000 fewer fans than last season, and he speculates this drop in attendance could impact the club’s 2015 payroll.
  • Joey Gallo’s power was the talk of yesterday’s Futures Game, and WEEI.com’s Alex Speier is already wondering how the Rangers prospect could have fallen to the 39th pick of the 2012 draft.  The Red Sox, in particular, had two bonus compensation picks plus their own first-rounder with Gallo still on the board and yet passed on him all three times (drafting Deven Marrero, Brian Johnson and Pat Light instead).
  • When Drew Pomeranz is ready to return to the Athletics’ 25-man roster, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hints that the A’s could make room by parting ways with Jim Johnson.  The A’s nearly dealt Johnson to the Marlins last month and there have been reports that Oakland would be willing to eat most of Johnson’s remaining salary (approximately $4.2MM) in a trade.  Johnson has been a major disappointment in his first season as an Athletic, posting a 6.18 ERA and losing his closer’s job to Sean Doolittle.
  • The Athletics’ seven All-Stars took some very different paths to get to Oakland, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes, which is a tribute to how creatively the team has built its first-place roster.

Royals Interested In Jonny Gomes

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Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes is on the Royals’ list of targets as the team continues its search for a right-handed bat, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link).  Kansas City has been rumored to be looking for outfield and bench depth in the wake of Nori Aoki’s struggles as the everyday right fielder.

Gomes has primarily played in left field throughout this career, though with Alex Gordon filling that role in K.C., Gomes would slot into right as the right-handed hitting side of a platoon with lefty bats Aoki and Raul Ibanez.  Gomes would certainly provide the Royals with pop from the right side of the plate — the veteran has an .832 OPS in 119 PA against left-handed pitching this season, which is actually down from his very impressive .279/.379/.496 career slash line against southpaws.

While there has been some speculation about how much (if any) Royals GM Dayton Moore would be able to add to the payroll for trade deadline additions, Gomes comes at a fairly cheap price, with roughly $2.08MM remaining on his 2014 salary.  The 33-year-old is in the final year of the two-year, $10MM contract he signed with Boston in November 2012.  That expiring contract makes him an expendable piece for the Sox if they decide to become notable sellers before the deadline, despite Gomes’ popularity in the Sox clubhouse and his big role in last year’s World Series championship team (though Boston could also re-sign Gomes as a free agent this winter).

Minor Moves: Francisco, Gimenez

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Here are some recent minor league transactions, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • The Blue Jays released right-hander Frank Francisco, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  The veteran reliever elected free agency from the White Sox in May and then signed a minor league deal with the Jays in late June, though he never saw any game action.  This was Francisco’s second stint in the Toronto organization, as he posted a 3.55 ERA over 50 2/3 IP for the club in 2011 after being acquired from the Rangers for Mike Napoli.
  • The Blue Jays released catcher Hector Gimenez last week, as announced by their Triple-A affiliate’s Twitter feed.  Gimenez was acquired by the White Sox in May and the veteran backstop appeared in 16 games for Toronto’s Double-A and Triple-A squads.  Gimenez has an even 100 career PA in the majors over four seasons with the White Sox, Dodgers and Astros, hitting .216/.280/.330 with two home runs.

AL East Notes: Duquette, Robertson, Jays

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It was on this day in 1934 that Lou Gehrig made his only career appearance at shortstop, though the Yankees legend never actually took the field at the position.  Gehrig was battling lumbago when the Yankees traveled to Detroit to face the Tigers, yet the “Iron Horse” was in the doubly-unusual lineup spot of both playing short and hitting leadoff.  After Gehrig singled to begin the game, he was removed for pinch-runner Red Rolfe, who played short the rest of the way.  This game was one of a few unofficial rest days Gehrig occasionally received while continuing his consecutive game streak into the 1939 season.

Here’s some news from around the AL East…

  • The Orioles are having “active discussions with a number of teams” about possible trades, O’s executive VP Dan Duquette told MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski, though the talks have “not really” gotten very serious.  Duquette implied that teams are asking for Baltimore’s top prospects in return and he didn’t outright deny the possibility of dealing one of those minor leaguers.  “Young talent is going to be the lifeblood of our organization, but at the same time we want to advance the organization in the postseason, so that is kind of what you’re looking at,” Duquette said.  “We hope our top prospects are going to help us for a long time.”
  • David Robertson says there have “been zero talks” between his representatives and the Yankees about a contract extension, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports.  “When the offseason comes, it comes and we’ll hear what other teams and everybody else wants to say,” Robertson noted, though he said he would like to remain with the Yankees.  The closer will become a free agent this winter and he’s set himself up for a nice contract after an impressive first half as Mariano Rivera’s replacement.  The Yankees generally don’t discuss extensions before a player’s contract is up, so the lack of talks shouldn’t necessarily indicate any disinterest in retaining Robertson, though Dellin Betances could be waiting in the wings as a future closer.
  • For the second straight year, Joe Girardi is leading an injury-depleted Yankees team to a record that outperforms a negative run differential, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes.  While questions are being raised about several other aspects of the Yankees organization in the face of another postseason absence, Davidoff notes that “Girardi keeps enhancing his status, both within the organization and among other teams.”
  • The names of Daniel Norris and Dalton Pompey have already been frequently mentioned in Blue Jays trade rumors, and Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi profiles the two prospects who are both big parts of the Jays’ future, whether it be in a Toronto uniform or as bait to obtain upgrades before the deadline.

Minor Moves: Alderson, O’Neill, Wang, Miller, Wolf

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Here are today’s minor league transactions, with the latest moves at the top of the post…

  • The Orioles have released pitcher Tim Alderson, David Hall of the Virginian Pilot tweets. The Giants traded Alderson, a 2007 first-round pick and former top prospect, to the Pirates for Freddy Sanchez in 2009, and the Bucs traded him to the Orioles for Russ Canzler last year. In 50 innings for Triple-A Norfolk this season, Alderson had a 6.12 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.
  • The Cardinals have outrighted outfielder Mike O’Neill after designating him for assignment Friday, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. O’Neill, 26, has hit .258/.343/.341 in 320 plate appearances this season for Double-A Springfield.
  • Pitcher Chien-Ming Wang has opted out of his deal with the Reds, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay tweets. Wang pitched 119 1/3 innings for Triple-A Louisville, posting a 3.70 ERA with 3.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. He last appeared in the big leagues last season with the Blue Jays.
  • The Yankees have announced they have outrighted right-hander Jim Miller to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Miller was designated for assignment Friday. 
  • Randy Wolf has cleared out his locker and has left the Orioles’ Triple-A team, tweets David Hall of the Virginian-Pilot. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweeted Wolf opted out of his contract. The 37-year-old appeared in six games for Norfolk, including one start, and posted a 4.20 ERA with a 12-to-5 K-BB ratio in 15 innings.
  • Blue Jays right-hander Bobby Korecky has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Buffalo, the club announced (hat tip to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith).  Korecky was designated for assignment on Friday.  The righty posted an 8.10 ERA over 3 1/3 relief innings for Toronto this season in his first taste of Major League action since a one-game cup of coffee in 2012.
  • The White Sox have released right-hander Henry Rodriguez, the team announced.  Rodriguez just recently signed a minor league deal with the Sox but posted a 21.60 ERA, three strikeouts and a whopping eight walks over 1 2/3 innings with Triple-A Charlotte.  That lack of control has been the story of Rodriguez’s career, as the righty has recorded a 6.4 BB/9 over 150 1/3 Major League innings with the Marlins, Cubs, Nationals and A’s over six seasons in the Show, though his high-90’s fastball has helped him record 151 strikeouts.  This is the second time Rodriguez has been released this season, as the Marlins already cut ties with him in June.

Edward Creech and Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Yankees Designate Then Option Matt Daley

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4:33pm: The Yankees have announced Daley has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

9:51am: The Yankees designated right-hander Matt Daley for assignment, the team announced.  This is the second time Daley has been designated this season, and the move comes just a day after New York recalled Daley from Triple-A.

The 32-year-old has a 4.85 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 1.5 K/BB rate over 13 relief innings for the Yankees this season, and he’s been very impressive at the Triple-A level, posting a 3.38 ERA, 12.8 K/9 and 5.43 K/BB over 26 2/3 innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Daley joins two other Yankees (Alfonso Soriano and Jim Miller) plus eight other players in “DFA limbo” according to the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker.

Braves Suspend Dan Uggla For One Game

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1:38pm: Gonzalez expects Uggla to be with the Braves on Friday when play resumes after the All-Star break, tweets O’Brien.

11:44am: The Braves have issued a one-game suspension to Dan Uggla, the team announced.  Triple-A second baseman Phil Gosselin was known to be getting a promotion prior to today’s game, and he’ll take Uggla’s spot on the roster in a corresponding move.  Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez declined to comment on the specifics of the suspension but David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears it was due to tardiness, as Uggla reportedly arrived to the ballpark only an hour before the start of Saturday’s game. (Twitter links).

Uggla has seen barely any action since losing his starting job to Tommy La Stella, and O’Brien speculated yesterday that with Gosselin on the way up, the Braves could have designated Ugggla for assignment today.  The suspension gives Atlanta a bit of extra time to decide what they’re going with Uggla over the long run, as the club still owes him approximately $5.42MM for the remainder of this season and $13MM in 2015.

The second baseman hasn’t lived up to expectations since the Braves acquired him from the Marlins in November 2010 and he signed a five-year, $62MM extension two months later.  Uggla has a .209/.317/.391 slash line and 79 homers over 1984 PA as a Brave and he’s seen his role decrease as his output has declined — he was left off Atlanta’s playoff roster last fall and his starting job was usurped by La Stella and Tyler Pastornicky.  Today’s suspension is the clearest sign yet that Uggla’s time with the club is about to end and the Braves will have to eat the remainder of Uggla’s contract.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Rockies Release Manny Corpas

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The Rockies have released right-hander Manny Corpas, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (Twitter link).  Corpas requested the move and is looking for an opportunity with another team.

Corpas, 31, signed a new minor league deal with the Rockies last winter and posted a 5.29 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 4.2 K/BB rate over 47 2/3 innings (one start and 27 relief outings) with Triple-A Colorado Springs.  He has yet to see any big league action this season after getting regular work as a reliever for the Rockies and Cubs since he debuted in the Majors in 2006.

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