Poll: Berkman or Hawpe?
Owners of the two best records in baseball, both the Yankees and Rays aimed to acquire a bat for the season's stretch run as they battle for the AL East crown. The Yanks got their man at the trade deadline, acquiring Lance Berkman from the Astros for a pair of minor leaguers and cash. The Rays waited a little longer, grabbing Brad Hawpe off the scrap heap after the Rockies released him. Both players have slotted in as their team's primary designated hitter against righthanded pitching.
Since the trade, Berkman has hit .239/.314/.348 in 51 plate appearances while spending some time on the disabled list with an ankle injury. Hawpe has come to the plate just four times with Tampa since being recalled on September 1st, and has struck out all four times. Clearly, both players are capable of much better than what they've shown with their new teams so far, which brings us to today's poll question.
Who will perform better down the stretch: Berkman or Hawpe?
Click here to participate in the poll, and here to see the results.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Francoeur, Lilly, Loney
On this date two years ago, instant replay was used for the first time in baseball history, resolving a fair or foul call on an Alex Rodriguez home run against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Third base umpire Brian Runge originally called the ball a homer, and that call stood upon further review. Numerous umpire gaffes have some clamoring for expanded use of instant replay, but so far Major League Baseball hasn't budged.
Here's a look at what's been written around the baseball blogosphere…
- Amazin' Avenue looks at the illogicality of the Jeff Francoeur trade.
- Meanwhile, Baseball Time In Arlington recaps the last trade of the season.
- North And South Of Royal Brougham suggests Ted Lilly for the 2011 Mariners.
- The Process Report explains how the Rays used Jose Lobaton to manipulate their potential playoff roster.
- Cubs Pack provides Jim Hendry with an offseason to-do list.
- True Blue LA wonders what the Dodgers should do with James Loney.
- Capitol Avenue Club hands out some Braves minor league awards.
- Disciples of Uecker compares Yovani Gallardo's contract to those of some other great young pitchers.
- Saber By The Bay has some good news for Tigers fans looking ahead to next season.
- Midwest Sports Fans builds a roster of players who played for the Indians and White Sox, a la Manny Ramirez.
- The Nats Blog thinks it's time for Nyjer Morgan to go.
- MLB Depth Charts created the Tommy John Surgery Tracker in the wake of Stephen Strasburg's injury.
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Downs, Frasor, Gregg, Camp All Claimed Off Waivers
SATURDAY, 12:24pm: ESPN's Buster Olney says that the Jays will probably not be moving any of their relievers at this point.
FRIDAY, 8:09pm: Blue Jays relievers Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Kevin Gregg, and Shawn Camp were all claimed off trade waivers according to The Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott (Twitter link). It's unknown who any of claiming teams were.
The Jays made all of their relievers available before the trade deadline, but no one stepped up and met their asking price(s). There has also been no indication that the team is trying to move any of the four, but Downs and Frasor are scheduled to become free agents after the season while there is a club option for Gregg's services. Camp is under team control as an arbitration-eligible player next season as well.
Dunn Likely Headed For Free Agency
Even though Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has spoken about his desire to sign Adam Dunn to a contract extension, the first baseman seems headed for free agency after the season. Dunn told Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post that nothing is imminent, and that he "assumes" he will end the season without an extension in place.
Dunn, 30, was reportedly seeking a three or four year deal to stick with the Nationals, but it doesn't seem as if the two sides ever got all that close to reaching an agreement on an extension. An unknown team claimed Dunn off waivers earlier this month, but no trade was made. Interest in the slugger was abundant before the trade deadline as well.
With offense and power trending downward throughout the league, Dunn's consistent homerun prowess has become increasingly more valuable despite his well-publicized defensive shortcomings. He's currently on pace for 39 homers, which would make 2010 the seventh consecutive season in which he's gone deep at least 38 times. Similar to the deadline, there would be a long line of teams bidding for Dunn's services as a free agent after the season.
Poll: The Blue Jays’ Bullpen
The Blue Jays made most of their relief pitchers available before the trade deadline, but no team stepped forward to meet their asking price for Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor, and/or Shawn Camp. There was plenty of interest in each, but nothing came of it.
Yesterday we learned that all four were claimed off trade waivers by unknown teams (or perhaps it was just one team), but we don't know how sincere GM Alex Anthopoulos is about moving his top late game relievers. With Frasor and Downs scheduled to become a free agents after the season, it's possible he'll look to move them for prospects now rather than gamble on compensation draft picks later (both project to be Type-A free agents).
Which relievers will the Blue Jays trade?
Click here to take the poll, and here to see the results.
Diamondbacks Unlikely To Make Any Trades
Two prominent Diamondback veterans in Kelly Johnson and Adam LaRoche have cleared trade waivers recently, but don't expect the team to move them or anyone else says Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Interim GM Jerry Dipoto didn't sound confident about making any deals before Tuesday, which is the deadline for when a player must be with an organization to be eligible for the postseason roster.
"There's still a chance (of making a deal)," said Dipoto, "but I wouldn't qualify it as likely."
Aside from Johnson and LaRoche, the D-Backs could have also looked into moving Aaron Heilman, Mark Reynolds, and maybe even Stephen Drew if the return was great enough. They've already jettisoned Chris Snyder, Edwin Jackson, Conor Jackson, Chad Qualls, and Dan Haren this season, the closest thing we've seen to a full-blown firesale in quite some time.
At 51-78, Arizona has the second worst record in the NL and fourth worst overall. The do, however, have a decent young core with Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Chris Young, Miguel Montero, Drew, and of course, Justin Upton. Beyond a bullpen overhaul, it might not take much to get them back into contention in the NL West.
Twins Acquire Brian Fuentes
The Twins have acquired Brian Fuentes from the Angels according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com (via Twitter). LaVelle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune tweets that the Angels will receive a player to be named later in the deal.
Fuentes, 35, has a 3.52 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 38.1 innings this season. There's approximately $1.89MM left on his contract this season, and he's unlikely to reach the 55 games finished that will trigger his $9MM vesting option for next season (he's at 33 GF right now). He's saved 23 games in 27 opportunities.
Manager Ron Gardenhire said that Matt Capps will retain closer duties, pushing Fuentes to set-up work according to another Neal tweet. The former Rockie has held lefthanded batters to a .132/.209/.158 batting line against with 15 strikeouts in 44 at-bats, so he'll also be a valuable weapon against lefties.
Non-Tender Candidate: Melky Cabrera
Braves outfielder Melky Cabrera will be eligible for arbitration for the third time as a Super Two this winter. He's earning $3.1MM this year; will the Braves tender him a contract and potentially give him a raise for 2011?
Cabrera, 26, started off very slowly this year but has come around of late, and is hitting .260/.319/.370 in 422 plate appearances. Capable of playing all three outfield spots, UZR grades him out as below average in center and basically average in the corners.
Part of the deal that sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees, Cabrera essentially fits the profile of the fourth outfielder yet has been thrust into full-time duty over the last several seasons. He won a World Series ring with New York last season, but I suspect the Braves won't care too much when making a decision on whether or not to tender Cabrera a contract for 2011 in December. This is Melky's third time through the arbitration process as a Super Two, so whatever salary he receives this season will impact his 2012 compensation as well.
Melky received a rather generous $1.7MM raise last winter, more than doubling his 2010 salary. That, however, was coming off the best season of his career, in which he hit .274/.336/.416 with a career best 13 homers. He and his agent shouldn't expect a similar raise this time around with a sub-.700 OPS and a career low four long balls. Even if he were to take a modest $400K raise to $3.5MM, it's not terribly difficult to find outfielders more productive than him at that cost, especially in today's market. We also have to consider Nate McLouth's $6.5MM salary for next season, since the Braves might not want to spend upwards of $10MM on a pair of below average outfielders.
With all that in mind, it's time for you to weigh in. Click here to vote on whether or not Cabrera will be non-tendered, and here to see the results.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Winfield, Gio, Hawpe, Cubs
On this date three years ago, the Astros fired manager Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura. They were replaced on an interim basis by Cecil Cooper and Tal Smith, respectively. Cooper kept the job until he was fired last September, and the team is now under the direction of Brad Mills. Ed Wade took over the GM job about a month after Purpura was fired, and has held it since.
Here's a look at what's being written in the baseball corner of the web…
- Gaslamp Ball interviewed Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.
- Pirates Prospects spoke to a Certified Public Accountant about the Pirates' leaked financial records.
- Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Lumber Co. wonders if teams receiving revenue sharing money should earn a profit.
- Think Blue Crew analyzes Ryan Howard's swings and misses.
- SPANdemonium wonders what it would take to lock up Gio Gonzalez long-term.
- Rays Index revisits Andrew Friedman's biggest mistake.
- DRays Bay explains why Brad Hawpe makes sense for the Rays.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness thinks Ned Colletti should do the right thing and let Manny Ramirez go.
- Nolan Writin' looks at who the Rangers should call up on September 1st.
- Cubs Pack wonders who will play first base for the Cubbies next season.
- Yankeeist explores the idea of the Yankees signing Paul Konerko in the offseason.
- Walk Like A Sabermetrician suggests some ways to improve the waiver process.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Lee, Feliz, Braves, Kershaw
On this date two years ago, umpires agreed to the use of instant replay to help determine boundary calls, such as fair or foul, on home runs. Expanded use of instant replay remains a hot topic in baseball, and even though Commissioner Bud Selig continues to dance around the subject, more replay feels inevitable at this point.
Here are a bunch of links from around the baseball blogosphere…
- Mike Ashmore's Thunder Thoughts interviews players and team personnel about minor league life, touching on everything from salary to housing to food, the whole nine. It's a long, but truly great read.
- Capitol Avenue Club analyzes the Derrek Lee trade.
- Pine Tar and Pocket Protectors says that Pedro Feliz is not the answer for the Cardinals.
- Beyond The Box Score looks at which teams are building the best bullpens on the cheap.
- Amazin' Avenue tries to figure out who should close for the Mets with Francisco Rodriguez out for the season.
- Royals Review questions whether or not Kansas City has something in Bryan Bullington.
- The Few, The Proud, The Brave looks ahead to Atlanta's offseason as well as the 2011 season.
- Pittsburgh Lumber Co. tries to figure out if the Pirates should start spending this offseason.
- The Process Report lists the Rays' farmhands eligible for this year's Rule 5 Draft.
- SD Sports Net wonders if the Padres whiffed by failing to sign first rounder Karsten Whitson.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness uses Ricky Romero's new contract as a basis for a Clayton Kershaw contract extension.
- Baseball Time In Arlington examines the hidden value of Cliff Lee.
- Camden Crazies wonders if Brad Bergesen is back to being an effective pitcher.
- 1 Blue Jays Way introduces us to Toronto's prospects.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.