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Tigers Acquire Jose Veras

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The first-place Tigers augmented their bullpen, at a time the back end finally seemed to have stabilized.  Detroit acquired reliever Jose Veras today from the Astros for outfield prospect Danry Vasquez and a player to be named later, which will be decided on or before September 15th.

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Veras, 32, has successfully served as the Astros' closer this year after signing a one-year, $2MM free agent deal in December.  In a big benefit to his trade value, Veras' contract includes a $3.25MM club option for 2014.  "We are pleased to add an experienced arm to our bullpen," Tigers' president, CEO, and GM Dave Dombrowski said in a statement.   "Jose can pitch in a variety of roles, provides depth in the bullpen, and complements the roles of Joaquin Benoit and Drew Smyly."  Veras has a 2.93 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.84 HR/9, and 45.3% groundball rate in 43 innings this year.  He's always thrown hard and racked up strikeouts, but this year he's been able to trim his walk rate significantly.  In November, the Brewers outrighted Veras rather than retain his rights for 2013 through the arbitration process.

The Tigers add Veras at a time their larger bullpen concerns seemed behind them.  They entered the season with uncertainty at closer, and re-signed Jose Valverde to a minor league deal in April.  Valverde saved nine games for the club, but was removed from the closer role in late June and ultimately replaced by Benoit.

Vasquez "adds to an already formidable group of prospects at the A ball level," Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said in a statement.  The 19-year-old left fielder was hitting .281/.333/.390 in his second stint for the Tigers' Low-A club.  Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Vasquez sixth among Tigers prospects, noting that the offensive-minded Venezuelan "projects as a solid hitter with plus power potential."  Baseball America's Matt Eddy has more on Vasquez.  The Veras trade is Luhnow's second this month, as he acquired Ronald Torreyes from the Cubs for international bonus pool money.  "There's nothing else close at this point," McTaggart quotes Luhnow as saying this morning.  Starter Bud Norris is thought to be the Astros' other major trade chip this month.

The Astros and Tigers haven't hooked up for a trade in over a decade.  Back in June 2001, Tigers GM Randy Smith sent Dave Mlicki to Houston, with Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker acquiring Jose Lima.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com first broke news of the trade.  Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLBTR Reader Survey

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Beat The Expert With DraftStreet

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I'm putting my fantasy baseball reputation on the line. DraftStreet is offering $2000 in cash prizes for an exclusive "beat the expert" MLBTR/DraftStreet league using Friday night's MLB games. The entry fee is $11, but DraftStreet is raising the pressure on me (Tim Dierkes) by offering $5 back to anyone who beats my team, separate from the regular prize pool.

Pick one player from each of eight tiers. You'll be competing based on the stats your eight players accumulate in Friday night's games. There are only 200 slots in this league, so sign up early. I decided to avoid a prominent trade candidate in tier eight in Alex Rios, instead taking Adrian Gonzalez. And although tier two starter Corey Kluber has posted three straight strong outings, I decided to take a pass given his recent hip issue. You can see a screenshot of my team in the making below.

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Be sure to sign up as soon as possible, before the 200 slots are all taken. DraftStreet has raised the stakes by challenging you to beat me; are you up to it?

This is a sponsored post from DraftStreet.

Advertise With MLB Trade Rumors

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Are you looking to advertise to 18 to 34-year-old males?  MLB Trade Rumors reaches tons of them this time of year (no disrespect to our many readers falling outside that demographic).  Last year, MLBTR had 5,956,590 pageviews and 895,264 unique visitors over the final two days of July, and should be in the same range in 2013. 

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Minor Moves: Catricala, Taveras, Valaika, Heston

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Today's minor moves…

Steve Adams and Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

Red Sox Rumors: Norris, Gallardo, Volquez, Peavy

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The Red Sox are searching for pitching in advance of Wednesday's trade deadline.  The latest:

Jake Peavy Rumors: Thursday

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Jake Peavy could make his last start as a member of the White Sox this afternoon, as he takes on Justin Verlander and the Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field.  The Sox aren't sure what they want to do with Peavy yet, writes ESPN's Buster Olney, but their asking price is "really high."  The latest: 

  • The Red Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers, Braves, Orioles, and Reds each have a scout in attendance, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark, while the Rangers have two.  Athletics director of player personnel Billy Owens is also there, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Keep in mind that their presence does not necessarily imply trade interest in Peavy.

Earlier Updates

  • GM Rick Hahn keeps Peavy "abreast of what's going on," the righty told reporters including Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  Peavy says he doesn't want to be traded, but he's prepared for the possibility.  The Red Sox and Diamondbacks are expected to have two scouts apiece at today's start, notes Gonzales.
  • The Cardinals and White Sox "continue to scout each other's personnel," writes Gonzales.  Shortstop Alexei Ramirez could also be a fit for the Cardinals, but not at the cost of their top arms.
  • "ERA-based reputation still holds a lot of sway," writes Dave Cameron of FanGraphs in trying to understand the perception that Matt Garza had more trade value than Peavy.  That might make Peavy a relative bargain, he suggests.  I tried to make the case for Peavy in our Monday poll, but about 65% of over 26,000 MLBTR readers polled felt Garza had more trade value.

Crain Will Not Be Activated Prior To Trade Deadline

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White Sox reliever Jesse Crain could have been a hot commodity on the trade market, but he will not be activated prior to the trade deadline after experiencing what pitching coach Don Cooper called a "slight setback" today.  Today's bullpen session was cancelled, reported Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago and others.

Crain, a free agent after the season, hit the DL on July 3rd with a shoulder strain.  He made the All-Star team with a 0.74 first-half ERA, but was unable to participate.  If Crain recovers, an August trade could be possible, though the White Sox would have to deal only with the team that wins a claim on him.

AL East Notes: Morrow, Red Sox, Rays, Yankees

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Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow is likely out for the season due to an entrapped radial nerve in his right forearm, a source told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca last night.  The issue is likely to be treated with extended rest rather than surgery, Davidi adds.  The Blue Jays have since announced that Morrow will be out for approximately six weeks.  Morrow, who turns 29 tomorrow, is under contract for $8MM next year and has a $10MM club option for 2015.  The Blue Jays are finished this year, as a seven-game losing streak has dropped them to 11 games out in the wild card.  Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • The Red Sox appear "just as likely to stand pat as they are to add another reliever," writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.  He says the team has not stepped up its search despite losing Andrew Bailey for the season, though they continue to monitor the market.
  • "We explained to him that this is financial lunacy," agent Seth Levinson said in reference to Dustin Pedroia wanting to approach the Red Sox as early as 2011 about spending the rest of his career in Boston (WEEI's Alex Speier reporting).  "Money was never really a factor," explained Levinson, who also said Pedroia chose years over salary partly to avoid becoming a contract albatross.
  • Contract offers of more than five years are hard to come by, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria told Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, and he understands why Pedroia left "a few extra dollars lying on the table."  Longoria did so himself in a pair of contract extensions.
  • "There's no glaring place to be doing anything," Rays owner Stuart Sternberg told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times in regard to his club's needs.  Still, the team is always looking to upgrade for the present and future.
  • Along with the Yankees, the Red Sox are also still intrigued by Phillies third baseman Michael Young, a Major League source tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  Having dropped four in a row, the Phillies are eight games out in the NL East and worse off in the wild card.
  • Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano "asked for a couple days to think about" a potential trade to the Yankees, president Theo Epstein told reporters including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune yesterday.  Adding Soriano would be a "good first step" for the Yankees, writes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues, but the team still has to address needs at third base and behind the plate.
  • Cuban outfielder Dariel Alvarez, who recently signed with the Orioles for $800K, "struggles against live pitching," according to scouts who spoke to Baseball America's Ben Badler.

Schierholtz, Rios Top Pirates’ Wish List

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9:28am: White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams "has been spotted in Altoona," home of the Pirates' Double-A club, notes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.

6:58am: Chicago right fielders Nate Schierholtz and Alex Rios top the Pirates' wish list, writes Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.  The Bucs "have been watching Schierholtz for more than a month," notes Levine.

Right field is an obvious need for the 60-39 Pirates, who have been using Travis Snider, Jose Tabata, and Garrett Jones there and have gotten an aggregate .228/.291/.360 line.  Schierholtz, 29, signed a one-year, $2.25MM deal with the Cubs in December after being non-tendered by the Phillies.  At .277/.334/.521 with a career-high five RBIs last night, he's having an excellent campaign.  Arbitration eligibility for 2014 is a big plus, though for some GMs Schierholtz has yet to shake the reputation of a platoon bat given his continued lack of playing time and struggles against left-handed pitching.

Levine quotes Cubs president Theo Epstein saying, "I think it is fair to say we have some players who can help other clubs.  That would especially be true for players who are not under contract control next season."   As you might expect, that's an indication that the team is more inclined to move its impending free agents, such as closer Kevin Gregg, as opposed to someone like Schierholtz.

The Pirates' interest in Rios has been previously noted.  He's on the radar of the Rangers, Royals, and Red Sox as well.

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