Mike Axisa | MLB Trade Rumors

Outrighted To The Minors: Eric Hacker, Oscar Tejeda

By Mike Axisa | September 8, 2012 at 5:55pm CDT

Here are the day's outright assignments…

The Giants have outrighted Eric Hacker to Triple-A, reports Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter). The 29-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment earlier this week. Hacker has allowed six runs in 9 2/3 innings for San Francisco this year, otherwise pitching to a 4.01 ERA in 150 1/3 Triple-A innings.
The Pirates have outrighted Oscar Tejeda to the minors according to MLB.com transactions page. The 22-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment earlier this week after hitting .242/.292/.364 in 221 plate appearances for Pittsburgh's Double-A squad. They claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox in June.

Update On This Year’s Rule 5 Draft Picks

By Mike Axisa | September 8, 2012 at 12:32pm CDT

Players selected in the annual Rule 5 Draft must remain on their new team's 25-man active roster all season, or be passed through waivers and offered back to their original club. Here's an update on the 12 players taken in the Major League portion of last December's draft…

Rhiner Cruz, RHP, Astros (from Mets) — The 25-year-old has worked out of the Houston bullpen all season and owns a 6.80 ERA in 47 2/3 innings.
Terry Doyle, RHP, Twins (from White Sox) — Doyle was returned to the ChiSox in Spring Training and he's since moved on to a team in Japan.
Lucas Luetge, LHP, Mariners (from Brewers) — The 25-year-old southpaw has turned into a reliable bullpen weapon, pitching to a 3.13 ERA in 37 1/3 innings while holding left-handed hitters to a .169/.267/.169 batting line.
Ryan Flaherty, IF, Orioles (from Cubs) — Flaherty, 26, has spent time on the DL this season but has otherwise hit .211/.252/.309 in 135 plate appearances for Baltimore.
Cesar Cabral, LHP Yankees (from Red Sox via trade with Royals) — Cabral has been on the DL all season with an elbow injury.
Lendy Castillo, RHP, Cubs (from Phillies) — The 23-year-old missed considerable time with a groin strain and owns a 10.22 ERA in 12 1/3 innings for Chicago.
Gustavo Nunez, IF, Pirates (from Tigers) — Nunez has been on the DL all season with an ankle injury.
Robert Fish, LHP, Braves (from Angels) — Fish has been on the DL all season with an elbow injury.
Erik Komatsu, OF, Cardinals (from Nationals) — The 24-year-old hit .211/.286/.211 in 21 plate appearances with St. Louis, was claimed off waivers by the Twins, hit .219/.297/.219 in 37 plate appearances with Minnesota, then was returned to the Nationals in May.
Marwin Gonzalez, IF, Astros (from Cubs via trade with Red Sox) — Gonzalez spent some time on the DL but has otherwise hit .234/.280/.328 in 215 plate appearances with Houston.
Brett Lorin, RHP, Diamondbacks (from Pirates) — Arizona retained Lorin after a Spring Training trade with Pittsburgh.
Brad Meyers, RHP, Yankees (from Nationals) — Meyers has been on the DL all season with a shoulder injury.

Cruz, Luetge, Flaherty, Castillo, and Gonzalez will become property of their current teams once the season ends, meaning they can go to the minors without having to clear waivers in the future. Players who not spend at least 90 days on the active (non-DL) roster like Cabral, Nunez, Fish, and Meyers will still be subject to the Rule 5 Draft rules next season.

Roger Clemens Hopes To Be With Astros in 2013

By Mike Axisa | September 8, 2012 at 8:51am CDT

Fifty-year-old Roger Clemens made his second start for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters last night, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out one, walked zero, and allowed two hits while his son Koby was behind the plate. In his two starts for the Skeeters, he's allowed no runs on three hits in eight innings. Following the game, Clemens spoke to reporters (including Fran Blinebury of The New York Post) about what's next…

“Well, not this year,” replied Clemens when asked if he'll pitch in the big leagues this season, reiterating what he said a few days ago. “But we’ll see what happens after that. I’m not going to rule anything out. I don’t know what Koby is going to do, where he ends up. I hope to end up probably in February with the Astros, put on a uniform and help those kids. That’s probably next.”

He didn't specify if he would like to wear that uniform as a player or coach, though I think it's fair to assume he would prefer to be an active player. Astros owner Jim Crane is open to signing Clemens and they have been scouting his recent outings, but it doesn't sounds like the two sides have had any dialogue about a contract yet.

"I'd listen to [Crane], but I'd have to do some work again," said Clemens. "I just don’t think I'm close to pitching in a Major League game."

ESPN's Buster Olney says (on Twitter) that Clemens opened last night's outing by throwing 79 mph in the first inning, but that climbed to 84 in the second, 86 in the third and fourth, and then 87 in the fifth. That is obviously way down from his prime, ditto the 90.3 mph he averaged with the Yankees during his final season in 2007.

Returning to a Major League club as an active player (and appearing in a game) would restart Clemens' five-year waiting period for the Hall of Fame. He will appear on the ballot for the first time next year along with Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, and others. Despite his seven Cy Young Awards and historic playing career overall, Clemens seems unlikely to be inducted into Cooperstown on the first ballot due to the PED shroud. Delaying his candidacy five years could improve his chances for induction.

Quick Hits: ACES, Yankees, Steranka

By Mike Axisa | September 7, 2012 at 10:52pm CDT

Stephen Strasburg made his final home start of the season tonight, allowing five runs in three innings to the Marlins. The Nationals will infamously shut down their star right-hander following his next start on the road against the Mets. Here's the latest from around the league as Friday turns into Saturday…

MLB and the player's union are investigating the Levinson brothers and their ACES baseball agency about whether they facilitated PED use by their clients, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. As our Agency Tracker shows, ACES represents the recently-suspended Melky Cabrera as well as players like Heath Bell, David Wright, Jonathan Papelbon, and Dustin Pedroia.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post wrote about the Yankees and the oldest roster in baseball, which has contributed to their second-half slide and has them just a game up in the AL East.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America recapped a week's worth of minor league transactions. The Pirates signed 21st round draft pick Jordan Steranka, who was free to sign after the deadline as a college senior.

Giants Designate Steve Edlefsen For Assignment

By Mike Axisa | September 7, 2012 at 9:17pm CDT

The Giants have designated Steve Edlefsen for assignment, reports Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The move clears a 40-man roster spot for Yusmeiro Petit.

Edlefsen, 27, has made 27 relief appearances for San Francisco over the last two seasons, pitching to a 6.75 ERA with more walks (16) than strikeouts (15) in 26 2/3 innings. The right-hander owns a 3.79 ERA in 38 relief innings down in Triple-A this year.

Nationals Hope To Retain Adam LaRoche

By Mike Axisa | September 7, 2012 at 5:52pm CDT

The Nationals own the best record in baseball (85-52) thanks in large part to Adam LaRoche, who is healthy after missing most of last season due to a shoulder injury. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the team hopes to retain the first baseman beyond this season with a new contract. GM Mike Rizzo went on to praise his primary cleanup hitter…

"He's a terrific player. He's probably been our most consistent player," said Rizzo. "We love having him as a player on the club. He's exactly the player we thought he was.''

LaRoche, 32, has a $10MM mutual option for 2013 in his contract, though he is likely to decline his half while the team picks up theirs. He signed a two-year, $16MM deal with Washington prior to last season and has hit .270/.343/.511 with 29 homers in 130 games this year after playing in just 43 games last summer. The upcoming free agent class is light on first basemen, so LaRoche should have no problem finding a multi-year guarantee on the open market.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Strasburg, Melky, Orioles

By Mike Axisa | September 7, 2012 at 11:02am CDT

On this date in 2009, the Pirates lost to the Cubs and became the first team in baseball history to clinch their 17th consecutive losing season. They eclipsed the 1933-1948 Phillies for the longest streak of futility in baseball history. Pittsburgh ran that streak to 19 straight last season, but they need to win just ten of their final 24 games this year to clinch their first winning record since 1992. Here's the latest links from around the web…

District on Deck is okay with the Nationals shutting down Stephen Strasburg.
MLB Reports thinks the Red Sox should be cautious about pursuing Josh Hamilton.
Wahoo's on First says Melky Cabrera would be a great fit for the Indians.
Yanks Go Yard wrote about Curtis Granderson's eventual free agency.
NASORB mused about Hisashi Iwakuma and his impending free agency.
Sodo Mojo listed some offseason targets for the Mariners.
Burning Down The Yard analyzed the Orioles payroll flexibility.
Rising Apple thinks the Mets should bring Mike Pelfrey back in 2013.
Blogging Mets wonders if the Mets can swing a Red Sox-type of dump trade.
Rays Colored Glasses wrote about B.J. Upton's walk year.
MLB Injury News tries to figure out what's wrong with Ian Kennedy.
MLB Prospect Watch wrote about the D'Backs' dilemma with Adam Eaton.
Full Spectrum Baseball has some thoughts on the waiver trade period.

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

Pirates Sign Hector Luna

By Mike Axisa | September 1, 2012 at 7:56pm CDT

Here are the day's minor transactions…

The Pirates have signed Hector Luna according to the MLB.com's transactions page. The 32-year-old infielder elected free agency earlier this week after he hit .226/.273/.355 with two homers in 66 plate appearances for the Phillies.

Notable Recent September Transactions

By Mike Axisa | September 1, 2012 at 5:57pm CDT

Although the non-waiver trade deadline passed a month ago, teams are still able to swing deals via the waiver process through the end of the season. However, last night was the deadline to acquire a player and have him be eligible for the playoff roster. Because of that, the month of September is usually a slow one on the trade rumor circuit.

With some help from our Transaction Tracker, here's a recap of some notable recent September transactions from the last three years…

Trades

Sean Rodriguez – traded by Angels to Rays as player to named later in Scott Kazmir trade in 2009.
Willie Bloomquist – traded by Royals to Reds in 2010.
Octavio Dotel — traded by Dodgers to Rockies in 2010.
Mike Zagurski — traded by Phillies to Diamondbacks in 2011.
Kila Ka'aihue — traded by Royals to Athletics in 2011.

Extensions

Ryan Franklin — two-year, $6.5MM extension with Cardinals in 2009.
Trever Miller — two-year, $4MM extension with Cardinals in 2009.
Chris Carpenter — two-year, $21MM extension with Cardinals in 2011.
Tim Byrdak — one-year extension with Mets in 2011.
Lance Berkman — one-year, $12MM extension with Cardinals in 2011.
Omar Infante — two-year, $8MM extension with Marlins in 2011.
Sergio Santos — three-year, $8.25MM extension with White Sox in 2011.

Giants Designate Hector Correa For Assignment

By Mike Axisa | September 1, 2012 at 12:23pm CDT

The Giants have designated right-hander Hector Correa for assignment, reports John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The move clears a 40-man roster spot as rosters expand today. Correa, 24, has pitched to a 7.50 ERA in just 18 innings for the club's Triple-A affiliate this year while battling injury.

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