Marlins Hire Jack McKeon As Manager
The Marlins' hiring of Jack McKeon as manager is complete, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. An announcement by the team is scheduled for this afternoon.
Edwin Rodriguez surprised the team by resigning Sunday, in the midst of a brutal month for the Fish. McKeon, now 80, managed the Marlins from 2003-05 and remained with the organization as a special assistant. He'll be the second-oldest person to manage an MLB game behind Connie Mack, reports ESPN's Buster Olney via Elias. As Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes, McKeon's past four managerial jobs began midseason, including his '03 hire with the Marlins that resulted in a World Championship. The 32-40 Marlins are 7.5 games out of the wild card, so they'd probably have to play at least .620 ball from here on out to have a shot at the playoffs.
For Contenders With Deep Pockets
Payroll flexibility is a beautiful thing at the trade deadline, as it allows a team to acquire talent by providing salary relief to the other club. For teams with a little money to burn and an inclination to keep top prospects, here are some players who I think could be acquired mostly by taking on their contracts. This list doesn't take no-trade clauses into account, except for the elimination of Aramis Ramirez.
- Catchers: None
- First basemen: Derrek Lee, James Loney, Brad Hawpe, Juan Rivera
- Second basemen: Mark Ellis
- Shortstops: Rafael Furcal, Clint Barmes
- Third basemen: Mark Reynolds, Casey Blake
- Left fielders: Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee
- Center fielders: None
- Right fielders: Kosuke Fukudome, Michael Cuddyer
- Designated hitters: Vladimir Guerrero, Hideki Matsui
- Starting pitchers: Javier Vazquez, Kyle Davies, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster
- Relievers: Mike Gonzalez, Kevin Gregg, Joe Nathan, John Grabow, Jonathan Broxton
I haven't included players on contending teams here, though it's certainly true someone could acquire players like Aaron Rowand and Jason Bay by only taking on their contracts.
Trade Candidate: Jamey Carroll
At 7.5 games back in the NL West, the Dodgers might start pondering trading a few impending free agents. In infielder Jamey Carroll, they've got someone who would be useful to many teams.
Carroll, 37, stepped in as the Dodgers' regular shortstop when Rafael Furcal broke his thumb in April. With Dee Gordon now in the mix at short, Carroll is contributing more at second base lately. He has also logged time at third base and the outfielder corners.
Carroll is a top of the order type, with a .357 career OBP and a .376 mark this year. He's earning $1.8MM plus incentives, so his contract won't be an issue for any team. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti hasn't been committed to acquiring draft picks through free agent compensation, but Carroll appears to have a shot at Type B status.
The Rays, Reds, Brewers, Pirates, and Giants are contenders who could use a hand a shortstop, though the Dodgers may not want to deal with a division rival. The Tigers and Cardinals could desire a second baseman, while the Indians, Tigers, White Sox, Mariners, and Rockies might like a third base addition. While the Dodgers probably won't extract a top 100 prospect for Carroll, there's potential for a half-dozen suitors or more. Assuming the infielder ascends to Type B status, the Dodgers should at least be able to acquire a prospect who is on par with a supplemental round draft pick.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Marlins Designate Dustin Richardson For Assignment
The Marlins designated lefty reliever Dustin Richardson for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Dewayne Wise, tweets the team. Center fielder Chris Coghlan was optioned to Triple-A to open a 25-man spot.
Today's series of moves reflects poorly on a pair of mid-November deals made by the Marlins. Richardson was the Marlins' return from Boston for lefty Andrew Miller, who had been a big piece of Florida's Miguel Cabrera trade with Detroit. Miller was non-tendered by the Red Sox, so any team could have jumped in and signed him. But he re-signed and is flourishing in Triple-A, to the point where many teams tampered and tried to convince him to opt out of his contract according to Peter Gammons. Richardson, meanwhile, had a 3.66 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 5.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 32 Triple-A innings.
Coghlan, the 2009 Rookie of the Year, was the Marlins' Opening Day center fielder despite never having played the position as a pro. His demotion comes on the heels of a .230/.296/.368 line in 298 plate appearances. Confidence in Coghlan was presumably part of the reason the Marlins found Cameron Maybin expendable in November; Maybin is hitting .259/.322/.413 for San Diego.
The Marlins traded a superstar to Detroit in Miguel Cabrera in December of 2007, and Dontrelle Willis added value to the package. They received Miller, Maybin, Burke Badenhop, Dallas Trahern, Eulogio de la Cruz, and Mike Rabelo in return. If Richardson finds a new home they'll have nothing to show for Miller, while the Maybin thread leaves the Fish with relievers Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica. Badenhop is part of the Marlins' big league bullpen as well.
Rangers Agree To Terms With Matthews, Cone
The Rangers agreed to terms with top draft picks Kevin Matthews and Zach Cone, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Matthews gets $936K, while Cone gets $873K. Both players signed for slot.
Matthews, a high school lefty, was the last pick in the first round, 33rd overall. The Rangers received the pick from the Phillies as part of the compensation for the loss of Cliff Lee. ESPN's Keith Law considers Matthews one of the biggest reaches of the first round. Baseball America says the consensus is that the southpaw will end up a reliever. Matthews is one of three first round picks to sign so far; check out our list here.
Cone, an outfielder from the University of Georgia, went four picks later in the supplemental round. He represents the other part of the Lee compensation. Baseball America says scouts question his pitch recognition, but he profiles as an above-average defensive center fielder with "solid raw power and strength" and good athleticism. Cone is represented by the Boras Corporation.
McCourts Settle Divorce, Contingent On Fox Deal
Frank and Jamie McCourt announced a divorce settlement, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. However, the settlement is contingent upon MLB's approval of the Dodgers' deal with Fox, which SI's Jon Heyman says won't happen (Twitter link). McCourt disagrees. In the Fox deal is not approved, it's back to divorce court. A decision is expected Tuesday, Jamie's attorney told Shaikin (Twitter link).
Shaikin reports that the McCourts also "agreed to a one-day trial so that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon could make a final determination of whether the Dodgers belong solely to Frank McCourt or whether the team should be considered community property." If the Dodgers are ruled community property, the team is likely to be sold as a result.
Click here to view the McCourts' settlement agreement, from the L.A. Times.
Stark On Dempster, Adams, Reyes, Braves
Jayson Stark leads his latest column for ESPN with a debate with colleague Buster Olney about realignment possibilities. He notes that his sources say there's no chance divisions are dissolved and baseball becomes two 15-team leagues. On to Stark's other rumblings…
- An NL executive who spoke with Cubs GM Jim Hendry says there's no likely scenario where Ryan Dempster is traded. Earlier today, there were indications the Yankees at least have an eye on Dempster, who has full no-trade rights and a $14MM player option for 2012.
- Padres reliever Mike Adams also is likely to stay put, as the Padres are only interested in trading impending free agents Heath Bell and Chad Qualls.
- Jose Reyes might not be Brian Sabean's type of player, says one baseball man who speaks with the Giants' GM regularly. Still, Stark's source wondered if the liberation of winning last year's World Series might compel Sabean to take more chances. Of course, the Mets are looking like potential buyers right now.
- The Braves are "aggressively positioning themselves to deal for an outfield bat as soon as they can find a team ready to open its sell-off shop for business," writes Stark, and they've already checked in on Josh Willingham and Hunter Pence. We outlined potentially available power bats earlier this month.
How Are Free Agent Relievers Doing?
During the 2010-11 offseason, 42 relievers signed Major League free agent deals. From Rafael Soriano at $35MM to Taylor Buchholz at $600K, almost $253MM was invested in these relievers. How are they doing so far?
Numbers for the average American League reliever: a 3.86 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, and 0.88 HR/9. AL teams threw around much of the relief cash during the offseason, accounting for more than 81% of the total spend. The 26 signees have totaled 576 1/3 innings, from Joel Peralta at 33 1/3 to Pedro Feliciano at zero. The average reliever in this group has 22 innings. The results for the free agents: a 4.09 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, and 1.00 HR/9 – pretty close to league average. Though he's allowed five home runs, Koji Uehara has probably been the best investment.
The average National League reliever has a 3.54 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, and 0.74 HR/9. NL teams invested only $48MM in relievers, as compared to $204MM for the AL. The 16 NL signees have totaled 306 1/3 innings, or about 19 each. Chad Qualls has been the workhorse at 35 innings, while Takashi Saito has registered only two frames. As a whole the group has a 3.64 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, and 0.85 HR/9, also pretty close to league average. With almost everyone in the group costing $5.5MM or less in total, there are plenty of bargains such as Qualls, Randy Choate, Todd Coffey, George Sherrill, and Buchholz (though he's currently injured).
My apologies for the lack of a groundbreaking conclusion here. The 2010-11 free agent relief class has performed around league average. The American League's heavy spending (36% of which came from the Yankees) has not paid off when compared to the National League bargain shopping.
If The Marlins Become Sellers
The Marlins have lost seven in a row, and they're now 6.5 games out in the wild card. It's time to think about selling.
- Closer Leo Nunez (pictured) has battled a stiff back lately and endured a few rough outings in the last month or so. His numbers remain strong overall and he's under team control through 2012, so a quality prospect or two could be extracted.
- The Marlins don't have impending free agents in their bullpen, but I could picture a few arbitration eligible types being available. That might mean Clay Hensley if he returns strong in July, or Brian Sanches and Edward Mujica. Don't expect the Marlins to go overboard dismantling their pen though, as improving it was a major focus of last offseason.
- Omar Infante, a big part of the Dan Uggla trade, has struggled to a .253/.297/.306 line on the season. If he picks it up a bit there could be mild interest in the versatile 29-year-old.
- Bench players Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs could become available. Dobbs' bat was quite useful in the first two months of the season.
- I liked the Javier Vazquez signing at the time, but he has a 6.85 ERA to date and hasn't shown much in the way of improvement. At $7MM, a release is more likely than a trade.
- Check out other potential sellers posts here.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Cubs Rumors: Zambrano, Dempster, Soriano
A few Cubs rumblings from ESPN's Bruce Levine…
- Yankees scouts watched Carlos Zambrano pitch on the Cubs' recent road trip, writes Levine. Levine notes that these were not advance scouts, but rather top advisers to GM Brian Cashman. Hopefully they saw his start against the Cardinals rather than the Phillies. Levine is of the opinion Zambrano would waive his no-trade clause, as a friend of the pitcher told him earlier this month, "At this point Carlos would probably let the Cubs trade him to Siberia." As a 4.50 ERA guy in the National League with clubhouse concerns and over $28MM remaining on his contract through 2012, Zambrano would be a tough sell for any team.
- Some of the Yankees top evaluators have more interest in Ryan Dempster, reports Levine, as you might expect. They'll get a look at him Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Dempster has $7.7MM remaining on his contract this year, as well as a $14MM player option for 2012. He also has full no-trade rights and strong ties to Chicago.
- Alfonso Soriano told Levine he expects to stay with the Cubs (he's signed through 2014), but if the team wants to trade him he wouldn't stay. Soriano, who is owed about $64MM through '14, has a full no-trade clause.
- I tackled the possibility of the Cubs becoming sellers earlier this month. They're ten games out in the NL Central and the wild card.