Red Sox Notes: Crawford, Ramirez, Beckett, Ellsbury
One year ago, the Red Sox shocked the baseball world when they hit the reset button with their massive blockbuster deal with the Dodgers. Today, Boston finds themselves atop of the AL East, something that very few could have predicted after they shed roughly $270MM in payroll. Alex Speier of WEEI.com has a fascinating article today on the trade that altered the direction of the club and the possible alternatives that could have also taken place. Here's a look at some of the highlights..
- One rumor prior to last year's non-waiver deadline had the Red Sox considering a swap of Carl Crawford and Hanley Ramirez with the Marlins. However, such a deal never came close. One source familiar with the talks said that Boston would done the deal straight up, but the problem was the difference in salary. Such a move would have required the Marlins to break out the checkbook as there was $37MM+ owed to Ramirez through 2014 and a whopping $110.5MM owed to Crawford through 2017.
- However, there were other proposed deals that had legs, particularly ones involving Josh Beckett. According to multiple industry sources, the Rangers and Red Sox explored a number of possible deals including one that had a framework of Beckett and Jacoby Ellsbury going to Texas with the Red Sox getting left-hander Derek Holland. However, Beckett told WEEI's Rob Bradford that the talks never gained enough traction for the team to discuss the possibility of him waiving his no-trade rights.
- The Dodgers were among the clubs with interest in Beckett prior to the July 31st deadline and that was information that the Red Sox stored for later.
- The club's previous free-spending ways handcuffed them from even considering a run at Yu Darvish after the 2011 season. Of course, the blockbuster with L.A. gave them much more flexibility going forward. GM Ben Cherington acknowledged that a trade deadline deal like the Jake Peavy trade this year simply wasn't possible given the payroll constraints that the team previously faced.
- Boston considered using their prospects to help get out from under bad contracts, but they ultimately decided against that. "We'd made the decision long term, we were just going to need to start holding on to [top prospects] and figuring out what they could do," said one team official. "Instead of picking the right guy, keep them all in the tub and let them decide for us. Back when we were good, that's what we did."
- Up until the Dodgers deal happened, Cherington says that he wasn't planning on making any significant moves in August. There was some thought given to turning the Dodgers down and waiting until the offseason when they could revisit talks with L.A. and other clubs. However, Boston didn't want to let the opportunity to start fresh pass them by.
Angels Designate Billy Buckner For Assignment
The Angels have designated Billy Buckner for assignment, the club announced. Buckner has now been DFA'd three times since the start of the 2013 season. In a related move, Cory Rasmus has been recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Buckner, who turns 30 next week, made two starts and five relief appearances for the Angels this season, posting a 4.67 ERA with 3.6 K/9 and BB/9. He spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.60 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 16 starts.
You can keep up with the status of Buckner and other players in DFA limbo using our brand new DFA Tracker.
Braves Acquire Freddy Garcia
The Orioles announced that they have traded Freddy Garcia to the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. The veteran will report to Triple-A Gwinnett, according to a press release from the Braves.
Garcia, 36, was optioned from the majors to the club's Triple-A affiliate back in late June. After giving the idea some thought, Garcia opted to stay in the Baltimore organization rather than try his luck elsewhere.
In total, the right-hander posted a 5.77 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in ten starts and one relief appearances for Baltimore this year. Across 13 starts at Triple-A Norfolk, Garcia had a much stronger 2.84 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.
Today's move comes on the heels of word that Brandon Beachy will be visiting Dr. James Andrews on Monday.
Rays Designate Jason Bourgeois For Assignment
The Rays have designated Jason Bourgeois for assignment, accoridng to Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune (on Twitter). The move will create roster space for the newly-acquired David DeJesus.
The outfielder was signed to a minor league deal in January by Tampa Bay. Bourgeois, 31, saw just nine games of big league actions in 2013 and spent most of the season with the club's Triple-A affiliate. At Triple-A Durham, Bourgeois hit .291/.336/.371 with two homers in 363 plate appearances.
You can keep track of all DFA'd players and their current status with MLBTR's brand new DFA Tracker.
Cubs Acquire Neil Ramirez To Complete Garza Deal
The Rangers announced that they have sent right-handed pitcher Neil Ramirez to the Cubs, completing the July 22nd trade that sent Matt Garza to Chicago.
The Garza deal called for a player to be named later to be sent to Chicago, but with one interesting wrinkle. Theo Epstein & Co. had the choice of either acquiring Ramirez or two other hurlers from an agreed upon list of names. After giving it some thought, the Cubs opted for the former.
Ramirez, 24, was ranked as the 23rd best prospect in the Rangers' system heading into this season by Baseball America, but the publication had him as high as No. 5 at one point thanks to his strong 2011 minor league season. In 2012, his stock fell a bit as he dealt with shoulder fatigue and was demoted to Double-A to finish out the season. Ramirez was a starter during his time in the Texas system, but BA writes that the club saw his big league future in the bullpen as he had a tendency to overthink things when in the rotation.
The right-hander has spent all of 2013 with the Rangers' Double-A affiliate, posting a 3.84 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 21 starts. He'll stay at the Double-A level as he will report to the Cubs' affiliate in Tennessee, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter).
Minor Moves: Nick Christiani, Ryan Langerhans
Today's minor moves..
- The Reds selected the contract of right-hander Nick Christiani and added him to the 40-man roster, the club announced via Twitter. Christiani will replace Jonathan Broxton (placed on the 15-day DL for season-ending forearm surgery) on the 25-man roster and Johnny Cueto was moved to the 60-day DL to free up a 40-man roster spot. Christiani, 26, was a 13th-round pick of the Reds in the 2009 draft and he owns a 3.66 ERA in 255 2/3 minor league innings, all out of the bullpen. The Vanderbilt product wasn't ranked as one of Cincinnati's top 30 prospects by Baseball America before the season and he has a 4.05 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 3.2 K/BB in 53 1/3 Triple A innings this year.
- The Blue Jays have signed outfielder Ryan Langerhans to a minor league deal, according to a press release from Triple-A Buffalo. Langerhans was cut loose by Toronto earlier this summer and spent some time with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League, where he hit .283/.415/.496 in 142 plate appearances. The 33-year-old is a client of the ACES agency, according to the MLBTR Agency Database.
Quick Hits: Biogenesis, Abreu, Mariners, A’s
Major League Baseball considers the Biogenesis investigation closed in terms of looking into players, but they're still investigating the possible involvement of some agents, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). Here's more from around baseball..
- Speaking of Biogenesis, MLB released a statement saying that Miguel Tejada did not warrant any discipline based on what they uncovered in the investigation, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Of course, Tejada will still have to serve his 105-game suspension for amphetamine use.
- Jose Dariel Abreu is working on establishing residency in Haiti and there isn't an open showcase scheduled yet, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (on Twitter). Abreu has drawn interest from several clubs so far including the Red Sox, Orioles, Pirates, and White Sox.
- The status of Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is expected to be updated if not entirely clarified within the next few days, people familiar with the situation tell Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. When asked about speculation that the M's could make a play for Brian Cashman, club president Chuck Armstrong spoke positively of the Yankees GM but wouldn't discuss him in context.
- The Athletics continue to look for catching help as they have been for the past couple of weeks or so, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- In retrospect, the Cardinals really could have used Kyle Lohse this season, writes Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Rangers Sign Brendan Harris
The Rangers announced that they have signed Brendan Harris to a minor league contract. The veteran infielder had a cup of coffee in the Yankees' system before signing with Texas today. Harris will help provide extra infield depth for the Rangers who have been thin since Leury Garcia was traded to the White Sox in the Alex Rios trade.
Harris, who celebrates his 33rd birthday on Monday, signed with the Yankees on July 26th and hit just .233/.356/.315 with one homer in 22 games. Prior to that, Harris was batting .206/.252/.355 in 117 plate appearances this year for the Angels. The veteran has big league experience at all four infield positions with the bulk of it at shortstop. Harris, who last saw regular action in 2009 with the Twins, is a career .256/.314/.381 hitter.
Astros Designate Wade LeBlanc For Assignment
The Astros announced that they have designated pitcher Wade LeBlanc for assignment. The move, coupled with catcher Carlos Corporan's placement on the seven-day concussion disabled list, will allow Triple-A right-hander David Martinez and Double-A catcher Max Stassi to join the big league squad.
LeBlanc, 29, had a rough time in four relief appearances for the Astros this season. For his career, LeBlanc owns a career 4.51 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in parts of six seasons with the Padres, Marlins, and Astros.
You can keep track of all DFA'd players using our brand new DFA Tracker. Tim Dierkes wrote up a guide on MLBTR's newest feature earlier today.
Laynce Nix Joins CAA Sports
As Laynce Nix searches for his next club, he'll be represented by a new agency. The outfielder/first baseman has joined CAA Sports, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Nix was previously a client of Lagardere Unlimited.
Nix, 32, was designated for assignment by the Phillies on August 6th and granted his release six days later. The veteran, who was on the backend of a two-year, $2.5MM deal, was expected to be a quality reserve bat against right-handed pitching, but things weren't clicking for him in Philly this year.
The folks at CAA will now try to sell teams on Nix's pre-2013 performance. The older brother of Yankees infielder Jayson had a career .245/.290/.429 slash line prior to this season.
You can keep track of everyone's representation using MLBTR's Agency Database.