Pirates, Rockies Interested In Slowey
The Rockies and Pirates are among the teams showing continued interest in Twins hurler Kevin Slowey as he nears the end of a minor-league rehab assignment at Triple-A Rochester, major-league sources told Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. The 27-year-old is currently on the disabled list with an abdominal strain, but he is said to be healthy now.
The veteran is earning $2.7MM this season but hasn't been able to find a spot on the team's big league roster. If the Twins don’t deal him soon, it’s possible that Slowey will be kept in the minors on an optional assignment.
Slowey will not be a free agent until after the 2013 season. For his career, the right-hander has a 4.43 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9.
Quick Hits: Yankees, Riggleman, Fernandez, Orioles
Congratulations to Derek Jeter on career hit No. 3,000. Here are some Quick Hits for Saturday afternoon..
- ESPN's Buster Olney says that rumors are swirling about a managerial change for the White Sox, but a high-ranking source says a change is not being considered and Ozzie Guillen is safe (Twitter link). The ChiSox won today, but had lost four in a row and five of six before that.
- Alex Rodriguez may need knee surgery that could keep him out a month, and Joel Sherman of The New York Post hears that the Yankees will consider outside options to fill in at third base (Twitter link). Their first choice is to use in-house candidates Eduardo Nunez and Brandon Laird.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that Jim Riggleman has a job interview for an unknown position with the Giants next week. Riggleman resigned as Nationals manager last month.
- The Marlins are not close to signing first-round pick Jose Fernandez, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. The 14th overall selection is seeking a deal close to $4MM while the Fish offered just $1.6MM.
- The Orioles are confident that they will be able to sign top pick pitcher Dylan Bundy, but they also expect that negotiations will go down to the mid-August deadline, writes Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com.
- The Cubs are likely to pass on requests for starting pitchers Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Matt Garza, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- We learned yesterday that Brian Gordon is Korea-bound, and now there are rumblings that Chris Bootcheck is as well, tweets Patrick Newman of NPBTracker.com.
Rangers Sign Ronald Guzman
JULY 9: Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports that the deal is now official (Twitter links). Anthony Andro of The Star Telegram says the final bonus is $3.45MM.
JULY 2, 12:54PM: The deal is actually worth $3.5MM, tweets Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated.
12:12PM: The Rangers aren't finished signing big-time international free agents. The club has agreed to terms with Dominican outfielder Ronald Guzman, according to Dionisio Soldevila of the Associated Press (via Twitter, en Espanol). The deal is reportedly worth $3.3MM.
Guzman stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 195 pounds. The 16-year-old throws and hits left-handed and projects to left field because of his below-average arm and speed.
Some believed that Guzman could command the biggest payday of any international free agent today, but his $3.3MM deal was trumped by Nomar Mazara's deal earlier today. Mazara will reportedly earn more than $5MM.
Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter, in Spanish) first reported that the Rangers were close to a deal with Guzman.
Cubs Release Augie Ojeda
The Cubs have released infielder Augie Ojeda, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. The 36-year-old was with the club's Triple-A affiliate.
In 18 games for Iowa this season, Ojeda hit just .200/.281/.220. In nine seasons of big league play, the veteran has a career .234/.320/.313 slash line. Ojeda last appeared in the majors in 2010 as a member of the Diamondbacks.
Chicago Notes: Wood, White Sox, Soriano, Ramirez
Let's check out some items on the Chicago teams, who are both in action tonight..
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry says that he's gotten phone calls from teams inquiring about players that he's not interested in moving, and the teams know that before they call, writes Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
- At some point, the Cubs will let Kerry Wood know which contenders have serious interest in him and let him make the choice of if he's traded, and where to according to Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter).
- Meanwhile, the club is telling teams that they have no interest in talking about Sean Marshall in any potential trade, Olney tweets.
- The White Sox might make a trade with the Braves in the weeks leading up to the deadline, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Though it's possible that nothing is imminent, GM Ken Williams' special assistants Dave Yoakum and Bill Scherrer have been watching Atlanta over the past two or three series.
- Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com wonders if Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and John Grabow could be of interest to the Yankees. Although the Yankees already have a solid base in their everyday lineup, Levine writes that Ramirez or Soriano could add some punch as a designated hitter.
Quick Hits: Beltran, Giants, Brewers, Gordon
Friday night linkage..
- Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran hinted that he would waive his no-trade clause to play for the Giants, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Beltran also said that the Mets might want to keep him now that they're playing better (Twitter link).
- The Brewers will be looking for infield depth in the trade market in addition to relief pitchers, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
- The Yankees have sold Brian Gordon's rights to the SK Wyverns of the Korean Professional League for cash considerations, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
- For a Carlos Beltran trade to happen, the Mets would probably have to eat $5-7MM of his contract and take back a B-minus/C-plus prospect back in return, Olney tweets.
Red Sox Agree To Deal With Deoscar Romero
The Red Sox have agreed to terms with Dominican right-hander Deoscar Romero, team Senior Vice President of Player Personnel and International Scouting Craig Shipley told Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Romero will receive a $600K bonus.
Romero, 16, stands at 6-foot-3 and throws 89-91 mph with an advanced delivery for a pitcher his age. He also features a curveball and changeup, with the curve considered the more advanced pitch.
Red Sox To Sign Raymel Flores
The Red Sox have reached agreement on a deal with Dominican shortstop Raymel Flores, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link). Flores' signing bonus is worth $900K.
Flores, 16, is a switch-hitter and stands out for his defensive skills. This marks the second notable international signing by the BoSox this week as they inked Dominican outfielder Manuel Marcos to an $800K deal on July 4th.
BoSox Looking At Position Players Over Pitchers
As the trade deadline approaches, the Red Sox are probably going to be looking for position players rather than pitchers, GM Theo Epstein told Peter Gammons in an appearance on NESN (video link).
"I don't see a ton of pitching help out there unless it's the few guys who can really make an impact, who will take your farm system to get," Epstein said. "I think we could benefit from a complementary position player in the right spot."
Epstein cited the organization's pitching depth as a reason why the club won't seek out arms before the deadline. For the time being, he says, the club won't look to tap into that depth to replace John Lackey in the rotation. The 32-year-old has a 7.47 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 through 13 starts this season.
Mets Are Shopping K-Rod, Byrdak, Isringhausen
The Mets are making it clear to other teams that they're looking to move relievers Francisco Rodriguez, Tim Byrdak, and Jason Isringhausen, two sources tell Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
"They are really trying to move Isringhausen, and also Byrdak and K-Rod (before the trade deadline)," said one of the sources. "Those guys have pitched well, and they could help somebody."
Their actions, Martino writes, do not yet indicate that they're giving up on this season. The club could trade a reliever or two and still claim to be serious about this year. However, it does seem that they will look to sell and build towards the future.
Rodriguez's situation is complicated by his 2012 contract option, which vests if he finishes 55 games. At present, K-Rod is on pace to finish 61 games this year. The right-hander will earn $17.5MM in '12 if his option kicks in but can be bought out for just $3.5MM if he falls short of the mark.