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NL West Links: Dodgers, La Russa, Goebbert

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The Diamondbacks and Dodgers are both two of baseball’s biggest disappointments thus far, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan writes, though the Dodgers show up twice on Passan’s list of the season’s biggest underachievers.  Passan criticizes the Dodgers both for their middling play and for a broadcasting dispute between Time Warner Cable and DirecTV that has left Dodger games available in only 30 percent of homes in the greater L.A. area.

Here’s the latest from around the NL West…

  • Reds GM Walt Jocketty and Tigers assistant GM Al Avila were both mentioned to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal as names to consider for the Diamondbacks’ general manager job should Tony La Russa fire current GM Kevin Towers.  La Russa has ties to both Jocketty and Avila, though Rosenthal notes that La Russa hasn’t discussed possible GM replacements with D’Backs upper management, plus there’s still a chance Towers could be retained.
  • Though Kirk Gibson is well-liked and respected throughout baseball, there is a feeling amongst some scouts and some within the D’Backs organization that his in-game moves and handling of pitchers is hurting the team.  Firing Gibson might not be easy for La Russa, however, since there isn’t any obvious candidate who could step in immediately.  Rosenthal believes La Russa could talk to Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo but isn’t likely to do so in the middle of the Cards’ season.
  • Newly-acquired Padres outfielder Jake Goebbert talks to MLB.com’s Corey Brock about the uncertainty that a player goes through when he is the subject of an impending trade, like how the Goebbert-for-Kyle Blanks swap was rumored for a few days before the deal was finalized.  Goebbert notes to Brock that he wasn’t aware he was being targeted in any trades until he read his name right here on MLBTR last week.

New York Notes: Sabathia, A-Rod, Myers

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C.C. Sabathia received a stem cell injection in his right knee last week and will be out of action until at least July, Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Cashman said he has checked in with teams about trade possibilities and while “nothing has materialized,” Cashman “will keep an eye out to see if something does.”  Three-fifths of the Bombers’ regular rotation is currently injured, with Ivan Nova out for the season and Michael Pineda on the DL until mid-June at the earliest.

Here’s the latest from the Yankees and Mets in this roundup of Big Apple baseball news…

  • Alex Rodriguez told advisers last summer that he was considering retirement rather than go through a lengthy battle with Major League Baseball over his record PED suspension, reports Teri Thompson, Bill Madden, Michael O’Keeffe, Christian Red and Nathaniel Vinton of the New York Daily News.  A-Rod was convinced to fight his suspension, however, after consulting with Desiree Perez, a New York nightclub manager affiliated with Jay Z and who also played a role in Robinson Cano signing with the Mariners.  Rodriguez may have been motivated to listen to Perez in part because, as the article states, he would like to become a player agent, possibly with Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports agency.
  • Back when Wil Myers was still a Royals prospect, Kansas City offered him to the Mets for a trade package of Jonathan Niese and Zack Wheeler, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweets.  Myers, of course, ended up being the centerpiece of the five-player package the Royals sent to the Rays in exchange for James Shields and Wade Davis.  It’s an interesting what-if to ponder for both the Mets and Royals; Myers would’ve given the Amazins a cornerstone player in the outfield, but at the cost of two quality young arms.  For K.C., Shields was the better win-now move, though he had only two years of team control and Davis has become a relief pitcher.  Wheeler is controllable through the 2019 season while Niese’s five-year contract has club options that could’ve extended the deal through 2018.
  • Also from Martino, he looks at some trade possibilities for the Yankees and Mets this summer.  The Mets looked at LaTroy Hawkins, Fernando Rodney and Grant Balfour over the winter and could explore trading for veteran closer help, plus shortstop could still be a position the Mets are looking to upgrade.  As for the Yankees, they could also use shortstop help but acquiring a big name could be awkward given the awkwardness of benching Derek Jeter during his final season.  A move for Diamondbacks shortstop Didi Gregorius makes sense for both New York clubs.
  • Particularly in the wake of the Sabathia news, the Yankees also need starting pitching.  Martino writes that while the Yankees may not have the prospect depth to attract a major trade chip, their financial resources could help them take big contracts off the hands of losing teams.  Possible trade candidates in this vein could be the Diamondbacks’ Bronson Arroyo or the Blue Jays’ Mark Buehrle or R.A. Dickey (if Toronto falls out of the race, that is).
  • In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Paul Swydan criticizes both the Mets front office and manager Terry Collins for some transactions and personnel moves that Swydan feels “have left the Mets in an all-too-familiar middling position.”

Phillies Re-Sign Shawn Camp

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The Phillies have signed right-hander Shawn Camp to a new minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Camp rejoins the organization after electing to become a free agent last week rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.  Camp is represented by Dave Meier.

Camp originally joined the Phils on a minor league deal in November and he posted a 5.40 ERA over 3 1/3 innings this season.  Philadelphia is the fifth team that Camp, 38, has pitched for during his 11 years in the majors, and his career numbers include a 4.41 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 2.29 K/BB over 592 1/3 relief innings.  While Camp has struggled over the last two seasons, he could still provide value to a Phillies’ bullpen that has the fourth-worst bullpen ERA in the majors (4.42) and is in need of right-handed depth.

Daniel Carbonell Weighing Five Offers

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Cuban outfielder Daniel Carbonell has received five offers from Major League teams, all of which range from five to seven years in length, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports.  Carbonell is said to be looking for a four-year deal.  If he doesn’t sign by July 2, Carbonell’s signing bonus will count against his new team’s 2014-15 international signing period pool money.

FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported over the weekend that the Mariners and Yankees were two of the five finalists for Carbonell, though Chavez doesn’t believe either team has made the 23-year-old a concrete offer.  The Dodgers also aren’t finalists and the White Sox, Red Sox and Braves are “not among the favorites to sign” Carbonell, though those teams showed interest in him earlier this year.

The only other team linked to Carbonell on the rumor mill is Minnesota, who attended his recent showcase and are “monitoring” him.  1500ESPN.com’s Darren Wolfson tweeted, however, that the Twins don’t seem to be “heavily involved” to the extent of other clubs like the Yankees.

Carbonell is a 6’3″, 220-pound switch-hitter with four years of pro experience in Cuba.  Chavez notes that Carbonell “is known for his speed and power” and is considered by some scouts to be a five-tool talent.

Minor Moves: Komatsu, Brown, Boshers, Wilson, Rosario

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

  • The Angels have signed outfielder Erik Komatsu to a minor league deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. Komatsu, a 26-year-old former Rule 5 choice who saw brief MLB time with the Cardinals and Twins, was recently released by the Nationals.
  • The Rangers have released outfielder Jordan Brown, tweets Cotillo. The 30-year-old was struggling in the upper minors this year with a .212/.286/.363 line in 126 plate appearances. Brown has seen some MLB time in the past, but his Triple-A production has been in steady decline since a strong 2009 season (.913 OPS, 15 home runs).
  • Angels director of communications Eric Kay tweets that left-hander Buddy Boshers has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. Boshers was designated for assignment last week when the Halos claimed Brooks Raley off waivers from the Twins.
  • Infielder Josh Wilson has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock from the Rangers, tweets Anthony Andro of Fox Sports Southwest. Texas outrighted the veteran yesterday, leaving him with 72 hours to accept his assignment or elect free agency.
  • The Giants re-signed Sandy Rosario to a new minor league contract after the team released the right-hander earlier in the week, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Rosario was bothered by leg injuries during Spring Training and has yet to pitch in 2014.  The righty posted a 3.02 ERA, 1.2 K/BB rate and 24 strikeouts over 41 2/3 relief innings with San Francisco last season and was non-tendered, though Rosario was a non-roster invitee to the Giants’ Spring Training camp.

Quick Hits: Jocketty, Uehara, Kolek, Mets

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The Reds’ quiet offseason included few depth signings, and now that lack of roster depth is being tested given the number of key players currently on the team’s disabled list.  Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila that “there weren’t a lot of moves to make” and warned against too much roster turnover, though finances also played a part in the Reds’ uneventful winter.  “It wasn’t just [will we have money later], it was also ‘Do we have enough money now?,’ Jockett said.  “We’d have loved to have [Shin-Soo] Choo back, but we couldn’t afford him. And there really wasn’t anything else we felt we could do — that we felt we could financially do. Once your club is set, it’s pretty hard to make changes.”

Here are some more items from around baseball…

  • Also from Laurila’s piece, Red Sox closer Koji Uehara wasn’t sure he was ready to pitch in North America when he was first eligible at age 24, though he would’ve liked to have arrived sooner than his age-34 season.  The issue for Uehara was that his Japanese club, the Yomiuri Giants, didn’t post their players and instead required them to fulfill the entirety of their contacts.
  • Right-hander Tyler Kolek regularly hits the 100-mph plateau and “is the hardest-throwing high schooler of the draft era,” scouts tells Baseball America’s John Manuel.  Kolek has been widely predicted to be at least a top-three selection in this year’s amateur draft.
  • As pitchers like Kolek are throwing faster and harder at increasingly young ages, evaluating these young arms has become “a convergence of fascination and fear,” for scouts, MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince writes.  Teams are as interested in ever with hard-throwers, yet are also concerned with the injury risk attached with regularly throwing at such high velocities.
  • Mets fans are losing patience with the team’s rebuilding plan and Sandy Alderson’s front office has seemed either unwilling or unable to spend to make the Amazins more competitive, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin opines.  Even the low-cost moves that were supposed to be Alderson’s forte have backfired, Rubin notes in regards to the club’s struggling bullpen.
  • Baseball America’s Ben Badler (BA subscription required) profiles five international prospects who have drawn the attention of the Yankees and Astros in the lead-up to the July 2 deadline.  New York has been linked to catcher Miguel Flames, shortstop Diego Castillo and outfielder Jonathan Amundaray, while Houston is interested in outfielder Ronny Rafael and shortstop Miguel Angel Sierra.
  • Should the Tigers use Robbie Ray as a much-needed southpaw reliever or send him back to the minors to get regular work as a starter?  Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press argues the former point while MLive.com’s Chris Iott argues the latter.
  • The revamped draft and free agent rules haven’t helped parity or benefited smaller-market teams, Peter Gammons writes for GammonsDaily.com.  Tying the draft directly to the free agent compensation system (in regards to qualifying offers) has created flaws in both areas, Gammons argues, and the real purpose of the new rules was “to lessen the power of agents and limit the money paid to amateur prospects.”

NL West Notes: D’Backs, Padres, Sabean

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The Dodgers hold a 20-19 record and have yet to live up to their preseason billing as World Series contenders, Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown writes.  L.A. leads the National League in errors and have played uninspired baseball at times, though Brown reminds us that the Dodgers had a much worse record in May 2013 before they caught fire in the summer.  Here’s the latest from around the NL West…

  • With the Diamondbacks 10 games out of first place and the Padres 6.5 games behind the division-leading Giants, ESPN’s Jim Bowden (Insider subscription required) places two players from each team on his list of 10 players who could be moved at the trade deadline.  Bowden feels that Aaron Hill, Martin Prado, Chase Headley and Huston Street could all be dealt if the Snakes and Friars can’t get their seasons turned around.
  • Speaking of those first-place Giants, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal feels the franchise is still somewhat overlooked as a baseball power despite winning two of the last four World Series titles.  GM Brian Sabean’s ability to put together quality bullpens has been underrated, as Rosenthal points out how the Giants have consistently turned little-regarded pitchers into valuable relievers.
  • While recovering from Tommy John surgery, Josh Johnson is trying to make the most of his time on the DL by helping mentor the Padres’ young pitchers, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports.

Nationals Sign Greg Dobbs To Minors Deal

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11:21am: Dobbs’ contract contains an opt-out clause in early June, MLBTR’s Zach Links reports, but Dobbs expects to be on Washington’s Major League roster well before that date.

10:19am: The Nationals have signed Greg Dobbs to a minor league contract, the team announced via its Twitter feed.  Dobbs is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Dobbs was released by the Marlins earlier this week after picking just one hit in 13 PA with Miami this season, with all of his plate appearances coming in a pinch-hit capacity.  Dobbs has experience at first base, third base and both corner outfield spots, so he could provide some valuable depth for Washington if he makes the Major League roster.  The Nats may have had an eye on Dobbs for a while, as former manager Davey Johnson “really wanted” to acquire Dobbs before the 2013 season, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets.

The 35-year-old is joining the fourth different franchise of his 11-year Major League career.  The left-handed hitting Dobbs has been used mostly against right-handed pitching over his career, and he has slashed .266/.310/.403 in 2022 PA against righties.

Orioles Discussed Astros’ Catchers

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Orioles executive VP Dan Duquette spoke with Astros GM Jeff Luhnow this past weekend “gauging whether there was a potential match” between the two clubs on a trade for a backup catcher, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports.  The O’s are known to be looking for depth behind the plate with Matt Wieters on the DL, and Kubatko believes the Orioles could favor adding a right-handed hitting catcher to platoon with left-handed hitting Steve Clevenger.

Houston currently has catchers Jason Castro, Carlos Corporan and Max Stassi on its 40-man roster, with Stassi and Carlos Perez (both right-handed bats) at Triple-A.  It seems unlikely that the O’s would make a move for an everyday catcher like Castro, though there is some uncertainly about how long Wieters will be out.  The switch-hitting Corporan has only a .603 career OPS against southpaws and has mostly hit from the left side over his career, so he isn’t really a fit alongside Clevenger.  Perez has some solid on-base numbers in the minors but he is pretty comparable to Caleb Joseph, the right-handed hitting catcher already on the Orioles’ roster.

This is just my speculation, but Stassi might be the most intriguing option for Baltimore, as the 23-year-old posted an .863 OPS in 323 Double-A plate appearances last year.  The 2014 Baseball America Propsect Handbook ranked Stassi as the 12th-best prospect in the Astros’ system, noting that while Stassi has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, he has potential as an everyday starter in the bigs.  There were rumors last winter that the Astros could clear a path for Stassi by trading Castro to one of several interested suitors.  Adding a promising young catcher like Stassi could also give the O’s a future option should Wieters leave in free agency after the 2015 season.

Left-hander Troy Patton has been mentioned as possible trade bait for the Orioles, and Patton could help a Houston bullpen that ranks last in the majors with a 6.06 ERA.  The southpaw was originally drafted by the Astros in 2004 (going to Baltimore as part of the Miguel Tejada trade package of 2007) and has a 3.06 ERA, 3.21 K/BB rate and a 7.1 K/9 in 139 career appearances, all but two of them coming out of the bullpen.  Given Stassi’s potential, it may take more than just Patton to complete the trade if the Orioles indeed have the catcher in mind.

AL East Notes: Price, Lester, Tanaka

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Happy birthday to the legendary Yogi Berra, who turns 89 years old today.  Arguably the greatest catcher in baseball history, Berra won three AL MVP Awards and 10 World Series titles in 18 seasons with the Yankees, plus he added three more Series rings as a coach with the Yankees and Mets.  Here’s the latest from around the AL East…

  • There’s still time for the Rays to turn things around, but if their early-season struggles continue, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi wonders if the club will be forced to trade David Price.  Beyond just adding some needed minor league talent to the Rays’ system, a Price trade could have an even larger impact on the franchise as Morosi wonders if owner Stuart Sternberg would explore selling the team if faced with going through a rebuilding phase.
  • At age 30, Jon Lester is on pace for the best season of his career, which WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford notes is another example of how ace pitchers often take years to fully master their craft.  As such, it could take years for any of the young arms in the Red Sox farm system to be able to replace Lester should the southpaw leave Boston in free agency this winter.
  • Masahiro Tanaka has been an instant hit as a Yankee, which even came as a bit of a surprise to Brian Cashman, the general manager told CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman.  “I would have expected a transition to some degree. You always expect a transition period coming to New York, even if it’s just coming from another city (in MLB). Here, he’s coming from Japan, where they have a different pitching schedule and different travel,” Cashman said.  Tanaka has exceeded expectations thus far in his first exposure to American baseball, as Cashman noted that the Yankees only projected Tanaka as “a solid No. 3” starter who could possibly be a No. 2.

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