Mike Axisa | MLB Trade Rumors

Cashman: We Tried To Drive Crawford’s Price Up

By Mike Axisa | September 23, 2011 at 11:32am CDT

When the Yankees wined and dined Carl Crawford during last December's winter meetings, most assumed he was their backup plan to Cliff Lee. Crawford agreed to a deal with the Red Sox before the end of the meetings and Lee eventually went back to the Phillies, but GM Brian Cashman told ESPN New York he was never really interested in signing the outfielder in the first place…

"I actually had dinner with the agent to pretend that we were actually involved and drive the price up," said Cashman. "The outfield wasn't an area of need, but everybody kept writing Crawford, Crawford, Crawford, Crawford. And I was like, 'I feel like we've got Carl Crawford in Brett Gardner, except he costs more than $100 million less, with less experience.'"

Interestingly enough, Crawford said he didn't believe the Yankees were serious about signing him back in March. "If the Yankees want somebody they go out and get them, don't they?," he asked, and aside from Lee, he's generally correct. Crawford is hitting .259/.295/.410 with only 18 steals in the first year of his seven-year, $142MM contract. Gardner, on the other hand, is hitting .261/.347/.374 with an AL leading 46 stolen bases. He also leads all players in UZR (regardless of position) for the second straight year, and will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.

Within the same ESPN NY piece, Cashman acknowledged that his offseason moves turned out better than expected. "What I said was accurate: The Red Sox had a great winter, and I had a bad winter," he said. "But as it turned out, I had a better winter than anybody would've expected, including myself." Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia have combined for a 3.90 ERA in one out shy of 300 innings, the main reasons Cashman's offseason was surprisingly successful.

Dempster Has Not Thought About Player Option

By Mike Axisa | September 17, 2011 at 12:10pm CDT

Ryan Dempster is scheduled to start for the Cubs tomorrow, and it might be his last start at Wrigley Field as a Cub. Dempster holds a $14MM player option for next season, but he told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that he hasn't put much thought into whether or not he'll exercise it yet…

"I never even thought about that," said Dempster. "As a player, you just want to see where everything's going and what direction they want to go and things like that more than anything. You know how much I love playing here. Hopefully, it's not just about staying here for next year but staying past next year. I'll worry about what's on the field first."

Dempster added that there are a lot of factors that will go into the decision, which is understandable. The free agent market for starters is quite thin beyond CC Sabathia (assuming he exercises his opt-out) and C.J. Wilson, so it's not a stretch to say Dempster would be the third best pitcher available and the top righty (ahead of Edwin Jackson).

The 34-year-old Dempster is in the middle of his worst season as a Cub, pitching to a 4.66 ERA in 183 1/3 innings across 31 starts. Unless he pitches very deep into the game in his last two starts, he'll fail to crack the 200 innings plateau for the first time since moving back into the rotation in 2008. It's worth noting that his strikeout (8.7 K/9), walk (3.4 BB/9), and home run (1.0 HR/9) rates are right in line with his previous seasons.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Francisco Samuel

By Mike Axisa | September 17, 2011 at 10:29am CDT

Here are today's outright assignments…

The Cardinals have outrighted Francisco Samuel to Triple-A according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 24-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment earlier this week. He'd pitched to a 12.17 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 16 walks in 14 innings between three minor league levels this year, battling shoulder and lat injuries.

D’Backs Will Look Into Exercising Towers’ Options

By Mike Axisa | September 17, 2011 at 8:48am CDT

The Diamondbacks went from having the third worst record in baseball last year to the third best record in the NL this year thanks to the moves made by new GM Kevin Towers. Because of that improvement, CEO Derrick Hall told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic that he'll look into exercising the first two-year club option (for 2013 and 2014) in Towers' contract this offseason. Towers also has another two-year club option for 2015 and 2016.

When Arizona hired Towers last offseason, they only gave him a two-year contract rather than the four-year deal most GMs receive. "I didn't want to put the organization in a position where we had another long-term deal in case it didn't work out the way we hoped it would," said Hall, referring to previous GM Josh Byrnes. Byrnes had five years left on his contract when he was fired last summer.

Towers told Piecoro that he is very happy with his current situation, and that he's not too concerned about his contract. "To me, I'm at a point in my career where I don't worry about contracts or lengths of contracts as long as the people that I work for trust the job that I'm doing and like me being here," he said. "This is where I want to be. I want to be here, not only because I like the working environment, but I like the ownership, I like the CEO and my boss, and I like where we're headed."

Our Transaction Tracker shows all of the moves Towers has made with the Diamondbacks. Known for his bullpen-building skills, Towers turned a historically bad relief corps (5.74 ERA in 2010) into a strength (3.85 ERA in 2011) by signing J.J. Putz, trading for David Hernandez and Brad Ziegler, and selecting Joe Paterson in the Rule 5 Draft. He also signed Stephen Drew to a two-year contract that bought out his remaining years of arbitration-eligibility.

Phillies Designate Three For Assignment

By Mike Axisa | September 16, 2011 at 9:09pm CDT

The Phillies have designated Drew Naylor, Juan Perez, and Mike Zagurski for assignment according to a team press release. The moves free up 40-man roster spots for Erik Kratz, Joe Savery, and Brandon Moss, all of whom were called up from the minors. Domonic Brown and Justin DeFratus were also recalled.

Naylor, 25, pitched to a 4.63 ERA in 167 innings for Philadelphia's Double-A affiliate last year. The 33-year-old Perez posted a 5.70 ERA in 36 1/3 Triple-A innings this season, and was generally ineffective in five appearances with the big league team. Zagurski, 28, had a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 relief innings at Triple-A this season, and he also appeared in four games in the show. Naylor is a righty, but both Perez and Zagurski are left-handed.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Spears, Delaney, Ekstrom

By Mike Axisa | September 16, 2011 at 7:49pm CDT

Here's the latest round of players that cleared waivers and were outrighted to the minors, courtesy of the International League transactions page…

The Red Sox outrighted Nate Spears to Triple-A. The 26-year-old infielder played in just three games for Boston before being designated for assignment to help make room on the roster for Trever Miller and Joey Gathright earlier this week.
The Rays outrighted Rob Delaney to Triple-A. Delaney, 26, was designated for assignment a few days ago to make room on the roster for top prospect Matt Moore. The right-hander spent most of the year in Triple-A, pitching to a 1.86 ERA in 67 2/3 relief innings.
The Rays also outrighted Mike Ekstrom to Triple-A. The 28-year-old righty appeared in just one big league game this year, instead pitching to a 4.35 ERA in 68 1/3 minor league innings. Ekstrom was designated for assignment earlier in the week to make room on the roster for Russ Canzler.

Martin Expresses Interest In Staying With Yankees

By Mike Axisa | September 16, 2011 at 5:55pm CDT

A month ago, Ben Nicholson-Smith identified Russell Martin as a non-tendered player who was contributing with a new team. If Martin gets his way, he'll be with that new team in 2012 as well. The backstop told George A. King III of The New York Post that he's interested in staying with the Yankees beyond the season.

"If you are asking me if I want to be here, yes. But they are in a nice position with the quality of kids they have," said Martin, referring to catching prospects Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, both of whom are with the big league team as September call-ups.

Martin is under team control next year, but that's hardly a guarantee he'll return. The Dodgers cut him loose last offseason because of declining production and a hip injury that ended his season in August. With the Yankees, Martin has hit .236/.322/.410 with 17 homers, more than he hit in 2009 and 2010 combined (12). He's also thrown out 35 of 121 attempted basestealers (28.9%).

Martin is arbitration-eligible for the fourth time this winter as a Super Two player. It's tough to predict his 2012 salary because he's coming off the non-tender, but it could exceed $7MM. The consensus is that Montero isn't a catcher long-term, and Romine has played just six games above Double-A, so there's certainly an opening for Martin on the Yankees roster next season.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Italy, Wilson, Howard

By Mike Axisa | September 16, 2011 at 11:56am CDT

Five years ago today, Alfonso Soriano stole second base in the first inning against the Brewers, becoming the fourth member of the 40-40 club. Soriano, then with the Nationals, finished with 46 homers and 41 steals before signing his massive eight-year, $136MM contract with the Cubs after the season. Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), and Alex Rodriguez (1998) are the only other players that have gone 40-40 in a single season.

Here's this week's batch of links, starting with a very interesting podcast…

Replacement Level Baseball interviewed Corey Conflenti, a center fielder for the Lodi Old Rags of the Italian Baseball League. They discussed the level of talent in Italy, the cultural differences, the styles of play, and the impact of Alex Liddi's big league callup.
1 Blue Jays Way interviewed Colby Rasmus during his minor league rehab assignment.
Baseball Time In Arlington muses about the future of C.J. Wilson.
Brotherly Glove wonders what kind of contract Ryan Howard would have received if he was able to become a free agent after the season.
Swingin' A's reviewed the Athletics' rebuilding process (part one, part two).
Rant Sports Indians identified Chad Durbin as a September trade candidate.
Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness says farewell to Jonathan Broxton.
Camden Crazies analyzes the Mike Gonzalez–Pedro Strop.
Pirates Prospects thinks the Pirates 2012 pitching staff may already be set.
The Friarhood says it's time for the Padres to shut Tim Stauffer down.
SF Giants Rumors looks through some shortstop options for the 2012 Giants.
Meanwhile, Giants Nirvana previews the outfield free agent market.
Call to the Pen doesn't think AL contenders need to worry about the Angels despite their strong rotation.
The Flagrant Fan looks at how the Yankees have been doing without the injured A-Rod.
Rant Sports Yankees says New York could be poised to make several big trades this offseason.
Rising Apple wrote about some young players forcing their way onto the 2012 Mets.
Blogging Mets muses about Carlos Quentin in a Mets uniform next season.
Marlin Maniac looked at Emilio Bonifacio's season, and wonders if this is the real him.
Through The Fence Baseball ranked the best pitchers in Dodgers history.
Bleacher GM lists some AAAA All-Stars.
MLB Reports wonders if MLB should put another team in Canada.
The Hardball Times takes a second look at Ian Kinsler's fantasy value.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Reds Owner Says Jocketty, Baker Will Return

By Mike Axisa | September 14, 2011 at 6:52pm CDT

The season has not gone according to plan for the Reds, who are 72-76 and 14.5 games back of the Brewers in the NL Central. GM Walt Jocketty's contract is up after the season, and there's been some speculation that he could be a fit for the Cubs. Reds owner Bob Castellini shot that down though, telling John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer that both Jocketty and manager Dusty Baker will be back.

"Walt's contract is up … There's been some speculation about his future. My instincts tell me he isn’t going anywhere," said Fay to Castellini, who replied: "Your instincts are correct." As for Baker, Castellini said: "Of course, he’ll be back."

Jocketty has been running the Reds since late-April of 2008, when he replaced Wayne Krisvky. Baker came on board a few months before Jocketty, agreeing to manage the Reds during the 2007-2008 offseason. The duo has helped the team go from 72-90 in 2007 to the NLDS and a division title last year, though this season has been a bit of a bump in the road.

To see all of Jocketty's moves with the Reds, check out our Transactions Tracker.

Cards Designate Francisco Samuel For Assignment

By Mike Axisa | September 13, 2011 at 6:53pm CDT

The Cardinals have designated Francisco Samuel for assignment, reports Brian Walton of FOX Sports Midwest (on Twitter). The move frees up a 40-man roster spot for Eduardo Sanchez, who was activated off the 60-day DL.

Samuel, 24, pitched to a 12.17 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 16 walks in 14 innings between three minor league levels this year. He topped out at Double-A after pitching at Triple-A last season. Samuel has battled lat and shoulder troubles this year, hence the low innings total.

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