Yankees Designate Ramiro Pena For Assignment
The Yankees have designated Ramiro Pena for assignment according to the transactions page at MLB.com. The move cleared room on the roster for the recently-acquired Casey McGehee.
Pena, 27, had one single in four plate appearances with New York this year and is a career .233/.266/.288 hitter in 338 big league plate appearances. The infielder hit .249/.302/.316 in Triple-A this year and has seen time at second, short, third, and right field during his career.
Diamondbacks Release Scott Podsednik
The Diamondbacks have granted Scott Podsednik his release after he declined an assignment to Triple-A, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter). Arizona acquired him as part of the Matt Albers–Craig Breslow trade earlier this week.
Podsednik, 36, hit .387/.409/.484 with six steals in 70 plate appearances with the Red Sox this year and .242/.308/.291 in Triple-A. The speedy outfielder also missed a little more than two weeks with a groin strain earlier this season.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Pena, Bay, Grades
The trade deadline is officially behind us, but expect to see a number of waiver trades this month as teams begin to fall out of contention. Here's the latest from around the league as Wednesday turns into Thursday…
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox held onto Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kelly Shoppach at the deadline despite trade interest because they wanted to keep as many impact bats as possible while David Ortiz is on the DL. They also want to maintain catching depth.
- "Absolutely. That would be wonderful," said Hunter Pence to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com when asked about signing long-term with the Giants (Twitter link). San Francisco acquired Pence yesterday.
- Earlier today we heard that the Mets and Marlins discussed a trade involving Jason Bay, Heath Bell, and John Buck, but Mike Puma of The New York Post reports (on Twitter) that Bay was never asked to waive his no-trade clause.
- ESPN's Jim Bowden graded each team's trade deadline activity, giving the Angels and Dodgers an A and an A-, respectively. The rebuilding Astros received a B+.
Indians Designate Derek Lowe For Assignment
The Indians have designated Derek Lowe for assignment, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter). The move clears room on the roster for Corey Kluber.
Lowe, 39, pitched to a 5.52 ERA in 21 starts for Cleveland this season, including an 8.80 ERA in his last dozen starts. He walked (45) more batters than he struck out (41) in 119 innings, though he was still generating plenty of ground balls (60.0%) with that sinker.
The Indians acquired Lowe from the Braves this past offseason and only had to pay $5MM of his $15MM salary. They're still on the hook for that money less the pro-rated portion of the league minimum should he sign elsewhere. Lowe has expressed interest in returning to the Red Sox, and it's likely a pitching-starved team will give him a chance given his reputation as an innings eater.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Bay, Bell, Buck, Lee, O’s, K-Rod
The Mets and Marlins discussed a change-of-scenery trade that would have sent Jason Bay to Miami for Heath Bell and John Buck, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. A deal was never close, though the contracts and the money matched up well. Bell is signed through 2014, Bay and Buck through 2013. Rosenthal notes that all three players are likely to clear waivers this month, so the two sides could revisit the deal. Here are the rest of his rumors…
- The Astros are paying virtually all of the $9MM left on Carlos Lee's contract, but one club that spoke to the Marlins said Miami wanted as much as $2.5MM in return for the slugger. Talks never progressed.
- The Orioles spoke to the Mariners about Kevin Millwood, but Seattle wanted a better return than what was offered given the right-hander's bargain $1MM salary.
- The Orioles also discussed a deal with the Royals that would have sent one of their young arms to Kansas City for Luke Hochevar and Jonathan Broxton. Rosenthal speculates that it may have been Jake Arrieta.
- The Brewers were close to trading Francisco Rodriguez to the Giants about a week before the deadline, but San Francisco backed off after the right-hander blew two saves and allowed six runs in Philadelphia last week.
Reds Designate Mike Costanzo For Assignment
The Reds have designated Mike Costanzo for assignment, the team announced (on Twitter). The move creates room on the roster for Dioner Navarro.
Costanzo, 28, had one single and one walk in 21 plate appearances for Cincinnati this season, good for a .056/.095/.056 batting line. The infielder was involved in two high profile trades in 2007, first the Brad Lidge–Michael Bourn swap and then the Miguel Tejada–Luke Scott deal.
Rockies Restructure Front Office
12:27pm: The Rockies announced the changes, naming Geivett the senior VP of Major League operations (Twitter links). O'Dowd retains the title of executive VP/general manager and will still be the team's chief baseball executive.
12:00pm: The Rockies are expected to announce a restructuring of the front office today, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Dan O'Dowd will remain the GM but will focus on the minor leagues and player development while assistant GM Bill Geivett receives expanded day-to-day duties with the big league roster.
O'Dowd willl receive assistance from Geivett on the MLB side, according to Renck. Geivett, the Rockies' assistant GM since 2000, will work closely with manager Jim Tracy and continue answering to O’Dowd. For more on Geivett, check out Tim Dierkes’ piece from MLBTR’s 2011 series on potential GM Candidates around MLB.
Minor Moves: Tuffy Gosewisch
There were lots of major moves prior to this afternoon's trade deadline, but here's a recap of the day's smaller transactions…
- The Phillies sold catcher Tuffy Gosewisch to the Blue Jays, reports Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). Toronto is currently without J.P. Arencibia and top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud due to injuries. The 28-year-old Gosewisch hit .192/.241/.310 in 228 plate appearances for Philadelphia's Triple-A affiliate this season.
No Formal Trade Request From Nate Schierholtz
3:38am: Schierholtz denied formally requesting a trade, talking to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.
1:15am: Giants outfielder Nate Schierholtz has requested a trade, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Earlier this month we heard that he was unhappy with his reduced role and would welcome a move to a team with more opportunity.
Schierholtz, 28, is hitting .247/.316/.418 with five homers in 190 plate appearances this season. The left-handed hitter has been limited to spot start and pinch-hitting duties because the starting outfield trio of Melky Cabrera, Angel Pagan, and Gregor Blanco have been so good. San Francisco is seeking a right-handed outfield bat prior to Tuesday's trade deadline.
Dodgers Acquire Brandon League
The Mariners have traded Brandon League to the Dodgers for prospects Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom, the team announced. Earlier today we heard that a number of contenders had interest in Seattle's former closer as they looked to bolster their bullpens.
League, 29, is owed approximately $1.8MM for the rest of the season before becoming a free agent this winter. He's pitched to a 3.63 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 44 2/3 innings this year, plus his usual sky-high ground ball rate is down to just 46.9%. The Dodgers have lost Matt Guerrier and Todd Coffey to injury this season, so League will add some late-inning depth.
Landry, 22, is hitting .328/.358/.559 with eight homers and 15 triples in 376 plate appearances for Los Angeles' High Class-A affiliate this season while spending most of his time in center field. Bawcom, a 23-year-old right-hander, owns a 2.03 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 48 2/3 relief innings split between Single-A and Double-A this year. Neither player ranked among the team's top 30 prospects in Baseball America's Prospect Handbook before the season.