Mets Designate Garrett Olson For Assignment
The Mets announced that they have designated left-hander Garrett Olson for assignment. The move will allow the Mets to re-activate Johan Santana from the disabled list.
Olson, 28, saw just one-third of an inning with the Mets this year when he pitched against the Marlins in a blowout loss on Wednesday. In 104 career big league appearances, Olson has a 6.26 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
D’Backs Designate Mike Zagurski For Assignment
The Diamondbacks announced that they have designated pitcher Mike Zagurski for assignment. The left-hander was the last southpaw in the Arizona bullpen after trading Craig Breslow to the Red Sox.
Zagurski had a 6.18 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 27.2 innings of work this season. The 29-year-old has 69 career big league games to his credit and 111 Triple-A outings. At the Triple-A level, Zagurski owns a 2.82 ERA with 11.0 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Brian Bixler
Today’s outright assignments..
- Brian Bixler has been outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City after clearing waivers, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Bixler, DFA’d by Houston on Thursday, appeared in 36 games this yea and saw time at second, third, shortstop, and both corner outfield positions. The 29-year-old has a .267/.349/.366 slash line in 229 Triple-A plate appearances.
Quick Hits: Padres, Cubs, Bourn, Sheets, Braves
Earlier today, the Indians released right-hander Derek Lowe after designating him for assignment earlier this month. The veteran is willing to start or relieve and there's reportedly a sense that he'll return to the National League. While we keep an eye on where the veteran might land, here's tonight's look around baseball..
- As first reported by Jim Callis of Baseball America, Padres scouting director Jaron Madison is leaving the organization to join the Cubs. The 36-year-old will take over as Chicago's scouting director while Tim Wilken has been reassigned to the role of Special Assistant to president Theo Epstein, the team announced.
- One Braves official believes that if Michael Bourn had an agent other than Scott Boras he might already have a new contract with the club, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. People who know Nationals GM Mike Rizzo believe that Bourn has always been at the top of his wish list and the Phillies, Reds, and Marlins are also potential suitors this winter.
- Ben Sheets wasn't entirely confident about his return to the big leagues, but the veteran has looked tremendous so far, Knobler writes. The 34-year-old isn't sure how long he'll continue pitching but he says that he wants to leave on his own terms as opposed to being forced out by injury.
Poll: How Will The Dodgers Finish?
The Dodgers’ new ownership group has made it clear that they are committed to winning once again in Los Angeles and they spared no expense prior to the trade deadline to try and make that happen. Inside of a week, General Manager Ned Colletti was given the greenlight to acquire shortstop Hanley Ramirez, outfielder Shane Victorino, and right-hander Brandon League. The Dodgers’ deadline potentially could have been even more wallet-busting had the Phillies agreed to part with Cliff Lee and the roughly $95MM owed to him through the rest of his contract.
Since acquiring Ramirez in late July and putting him into action on the 25th, the Dodgers are 7-7 in 14 games. The enigmatic star is now making his homecoming tonight in Miami as the Dodgers sport a 60-52 record. Los Angeles sits just one game behind the Giants for first place in the NL West and 3.5 games back of the Pirates for the second wild card slot.
Will their recent offensive infusion help them get over the hump and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009? For the Dodgers to wind up below the .500 mark, they’d have to finish 20-30 or worse. To win 90 games, they’d have to go 30-20. There are 50 games remaining, how do you see it playing out?
How Will The Dodgers' Season Unfold?
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Playoff berth 63% (7,206)
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Above .500 31% (3,505)
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Below .500 6% (694)
Total votes: 11,405
Yankees Release Russell Branyan
The Yankees have released Russell Branyan, according to Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times-Tribune (via Twitter). The veteran was with the club's Triple-A affiliate for the bulk of the year.
Branyan, 36, missed considerable time with back issues this season. The slugger played in just 33 games for Scranton Wilkes-Barre but posted an impressive .309/.438/.655 slash line with eleven homers. Branyan has not played in a game since July 6, when ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggested that he might have played his way into drawing trade interest.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Verlander, Tigers, Rockies
Here's a look around baseball, starting with the 50-60 Marlins..
- The strong belief around the Marlins is that this season will lead owner Jeffrey Loria to shake up his front office, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The moves could even include the replacement of Larry Beinfest, who run the baseball operations department for eleven years under Loria. Knobler opines that this winter may not be as exciting in Miami, but it could be just as fascinating.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland isn't afraid to allow Justin Verlander to throw 130 pitches per game and believes that pitch counts became an issue in baseball thanks to agents, writes Chris Iott of MLive.com. "It became a hot topic when agents and big contracts came into play, if you want to know the truth," Leyland said. "Tell it like it is, cut through all the (expletive), sort through all the (expletive): When the agents and the big contracts came into play, the pitch count came into play, in my opinion."
- The Rockies' "Project 5,183", a system in which pitchers are limited to 75 pitches per game, is unconventional and doesn't seem to be helping the club's arms, writes Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports. Tracy quibbled with Paul DePodesta & Co. as Dodgers manager over his stats-based roster tweaks but says that he is willing to help the club pilot test their idea this year as the Rockies aren't contending.
West Notes: Oswalt, Giants, Overbay, Dodgers
Rangers pitcher Roy Oswalt was reportedly unhappy about being relegated to the Texas bullpen, leading Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and others to suggest that the veteran put his concerns aside for the sake of the team. Morosi stopped short of saying that the Rangers should part ways with the veteran, but that notion has undoubtedly crossed the minds of fans who have watched Oswalt struggle this far with his new club. Here’s more out on Oswalt and some items out of the NL West as well..
- Oswalt and Rangers manager Ron Washington met Tuesday and both seemed satisfied that the right-hander is ready to help the bullpen in any way possible, writes Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com. The soon-to-be 35-year-old has also said that he never requested a trade from the club during any point of their disagreement.
- The Giants have looked into signing first baseman Lyle Overbay, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). However, the Giants would like the first baseman to get some work at Triple-A Fresno first and so far he is not eager to do that. Overbay was released by the D’Backs yesterday and Reds GM Walt Jocketty says that he isn’t interested in his services.
- The new Dodgers ownership has made it clear that they are willing to spend big in order to win, and this may just be the tip of the iceberg, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Heyman adds that the Dodgers were not only willing to eat the remainder of Cliff Lee‘s sizable contract but offered players in exchange for him as well.
Mets Won’t Eat Jason Bay’s Contract
After announcing that Jason Bay will be a platoon player for the Mets, General Manager Sandy Alderson says that he won't absorb the final season of the veteran's contract. The Mets allegedly discussed a change of scenery deal with the Marlins for Bay but the Mets aren't looking to part ways with the outfielder.
"Certainly, there are times when it is appropriate to eat a contract," Alderson told Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York. "There are other times when it is not. Jason Bay is not going anywhere, nor is his contract."
Bay, 34 in September, is hitting just .154/.248/.285 with five homers in 149 plate appearances in 2012. The outfielder is set to earn $16MM in 2013 and has a $3MM buyout on his $17MM 2014 season.
Astros Designate Juan Abreu For Assignment
The Astros have designated pitcher Juan Abreu for assignment, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (via Twitter). The right-hander appeared in seven games for the Astros last season but never saw time on the big league roster in 2012.
Abreu, 27, had a 7.09 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 6.7 BB/9 in 38 appearances for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. His Triple-A numbers last season were significantly sharper as he posted a 2.18 ERA with 12.0 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 48 games for the Astros' and Braves' affiliates.