Athletics To Acquire George Kottaras From Brewers
SUNDAY, 12:51am: The Brewers will receive right-handed reliever Fautino De Los Santos in the trade according to Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. The 26-year-old pitched to a 7.25 ERA in 36 Triple-A innings this year and owns a 4.21 ERA with 11.4 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 36 1/3 big league innings with Oakland over the last two seasons.
SATURDAY, 3:05pm: The Brewers and Athletics have agreed on a trade to send catcher George Kottaras to Oakland, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. It's not yet known what the Brewers will receive in return.
Kottaras, 29, was designated for assignment by Milwaukee on Thursday. The catcher has a .209/.409/.360 slash line in 116 plate appearances this year for the Brewers. In parts of five big league seasons, Kottaras owns a .221/.326/.402 batting line. The Brewers replenished their catching depth this afternoon when they inked Humberto Quintero to a minor league deal.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal for the catcher.
Quick Hits: Padres, Victorino, Red Sox, Liriano
ESPN's Buster Olney says (on Twitter) that one NL official called Saturday the calm before the trade deadline storm. Hanley Ramirez and Zack Greinke have already been traded, but there are still nearly three full days to go before the deadline. Here's the latest from around the league..
- The Padres are leaning towards keeping Chase Headley and Huston Street unless the market changes considerably in the next few days, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (on Twitter).
- The Phillies are suggesting to interested teams that they may still sell Shane Victorino and other pieces, but also may wait right to the deadline tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- The Red Sox are willing to deal from their bullpen and outfield surplus in order to upgrade their starting rotation, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- Neither Francisco Liriano or the Twins pursued an extension for the left-hander (Twitter link), GM Terry Ryan told reporters (including MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger). The White Sox acquired Liriano earlier tonight.
- Before Marco Scutaro was traded to the Giants, the Yankees and Athletics also tried to acquire the veteran, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Mike Axisa contributed to his post.
New York Notes: Headley, Mets, League, Yankees
A look at the latest out of Queens and the Bronx..
- A source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that Padres third baseman Chase Headley is not out of question for the Yankees. Headley could play at third until Alex Rodriguez and could replace Nick Swisher if he leaves via free agency next year, Rosenthal tweets.
- The Yankees and Padres haven't exchanged names in Headley talks, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- Although Mets GM Sandy Alderson is fielding calls for Tim Byrdak and Scott Hairston, he is more likely to retain the pair, a person familiar with the club's thinking told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- Martino adds that the Mets have inquired on Mariners righthander Brandon League, according to a baseball source, but their interest in him and other high-profile relievers has fizzled. That source expects a quiet few days from the Mets as the deadline approaches.
- Before the Mariners traded Ichiro to the Yankees, they were deep in talks with the Giants and White Sox, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- The outfielder liked the idea of playing for the Giants, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle adds (via Twitter).
Rosenthal On Orioles, Liriano, Soriano, Diamondbacks
Let's take a look at the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link)..
- The Orioles figure to make at least one trade before the non-waiver deadline and one source says they are the most aggressive team on Francisco Liriano of the Twins. Multiple sources also say they're also aggressive on the Padres' Chase Headley. Unfortunately for the O's, they lack chips beyond Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy, and aren't moving either player. As a result, they could be open to discussing major league pieces like Jake Arrieta or even Zach Britton.
- Alfonso Soriano's name has surfaced in the Cubs' discussions with the Dodgers, but the Cubs might prefer to wait until the offseason and make a better deal. The veteran is on pace to hit 31 homers and post a .831 OPS. After this season, he'll have two years and $36MM remaining and the Cubs could find him a home in the AL if they pay that down to about $12MM per year.
- The D'Backs don't plan to trade Justin Upton now but they will likely move an outfielder this offseason between Upton, Chris Young, and Gerardo Parra. Arizona has two young outfielders that they like in Triple-A in Adam Eaton and A.J. Pollock.
Astros Claim Steve Pearce Off Waivers
The Astros have claimed first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce off of waivers from the Orioles, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Pearce was designated for assignment last Saturday by the O’s to create room for Omar Quintanilla on the 25-man roster.
The O’s traded for Pearce in early June and posted a .254/.321/.437 slash line in 83 plate appearances for them this year. In parts of six big league seasons, Pearce has hit .235/.304/.375 for the Orioles and Pirates.
Brewers Sign Humberto Quintero
The Brewers have signed catcher Humberto Quintero to a minor league deal, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). This comes on the heels of the Brewers reportedly closing in on a deal to send recently DFA'd catcher George Kottaras to Oakland.
Quintero, 32, was cut loose by the Royals after being designated for assignment earlier this month. Kansas City acquired Quintero in March along with Jason Bourgeois from the Astros for Kevin Chapman and minor league outfielder D'Andre Toney. Quintero hit .232/.257/.341 line in 144 plate appearances for the Royals in 2012.
Giants Designate Emmanuel Burriss For Assignment
The Giants have designated infielder Emmanuel Burriss for assignment, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com. In related moves, Aubrey Huff and the newly acquired Marco Scutaro have been activated.
Burriss, 27, hit just .214/.273/.221 in 144 plate appearances this season. The light-hitting second baseman was ranked as the club's tenth-best prospect in 2008 but has not played more than 61 games in the majors since '09.
Stark On Rangers, Johnson, Headley, Dempster
Here's a look at the today's Daily Rumble from ESPN.com's Jayson Stark..
- According to clubs that have talked to the Rangers, the club is balking at including shortstop Jurickson Profar and third baseman Mike Olt in any deal. That stance meant losing out on Zack Greinke and could take them out of the mix for Josh Johnson or James Shields.
- Clubs identify the Dodgers, Orioles and Blue Jays as other aggressive suitors for Johnson while the White Sox, Red Sox, Braves, and Royals have checked in.
- Teams that have spoken with the Pirates say they seem to be losing their enthusiasm for Chase Headley. If they dealt for Headley, they would have to move either him or Pedro Alvarez to first base, and neither player has started a professional game there.
- One source told Stark that while the Braves and Ryan Dempster could potentially reverse course and get a deal done that would send the hurler to Atlanta, he "seriously" doubts it will happen.
- While the Rays seem to be listening on offers for several quality players, other teams remain skeptical of how willing they are to move anyone right now. One exec believes that they are simply listening on players in order to gather information for possible deals during the offseason.
Brewers Nearing George Kottaras Deal With A’s
The Brewers are close to trading George Kottaras to the Athletics, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Kottaras was designated for assignment by Milwaukee on Thursday.
The 29-year-old has a has a .209/.409/.360 slash line in 116 plate appearances this year for the Brewers. In parts of five big league seasons, Kottaras owns a .221/.326/.402 batting line. The Brewers replentished their catching depth this afternoon when they inked Humberto Quintero to a minor league deal.
Quick Hits: Gregerson, Rangers, Indians, Escobar
As usual, the market for relievers is developing late. One name to watch, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) is Padres right-hander Luke Gregerson. The 28-year-old could appeal to clubs as he has a 3.05 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 on the year. While Gregerson could be a valuable trade chip for San Diego, the Mets reportedly turned down a proposal that would have sent Gregerson to Queens for Daniel Murphy. Here's a look around baseball as we burn the midnight oil on MLBTR..
- One AL scout told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that if he were a betting man, he'd put his money on the Rangers landing Zack Greinke. Meanwhile, if the Rangers or Angels land Greinke, the Rays could get the other club to overpay for James Shields.
- After talking with Indians GM Chris Antonetti, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (via Twitter) believes that the Tribe is looking to add or stand relatively pat at the deadline rather than sell.
- Yunel Escobar's clubhouse reputation has been a red flag for some teams and is hurting his market value, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. The A's have been linked to the shortstop but are lukewarm on him as they are wary of disrupting their locker room atmosphere.