Millwood Chooses Not To Exercise Opt-Out
Veteran pitcher Kevin Millwood has chosen not to exercise his opt-out with the Red Sox organization, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Millwood, 36, will remain in the Sox' organization with the understanding that exploring opportunities in other organizations may be revisited as the season progresses.
Millwood's official opt-out date was on Monday. The right-hander has looked solid in five starts with Triple-A Pawtucket, posting a 2.89 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.
Pirates Designate Dusty Brown For Assignment
The Pirates have designated catcher Dusty Brown for assignment, according to a team press release. The move was made in order to create space for catcher Eric Fryer who is being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Brown, 29, played in 11 games for the Pirates this season. In parts of five Triple-A seasons, the catcher has a .259/.340/.394 slash line.
Rosenthal On Reyes, White Sox, Padres, Nunez
Here are some highlights from the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- Rival clubs continue to report that the Giants are looking hard for a catcher. In a perfect world, they'd pick up a shortstop too. Rookie Brandon Crawford appears to be over-matched at the plate, Miguel Tejada has the lowest OPS in the National League, and Mike Fontenot won't be able to play the position every day even when he returns from the DL. Jose Reyes has been mentioned as a fit but he'll probably cost a ton to land and quite a bit of cash to retain beyond this year. One veteran that could make sense for the club is the Indians' Orlando Cabrera. The Giants had interest in him last winter and he is now expendable.
- The White Sox are looking to improve and there's one obvious move they can make within: dumping Juan Pierre and promoting Dayan Viciedo. It would leave the club without a leadoff hitter, but Pierre has been struggling as of late anyway. Meanwhile, Viciedo has been hitting .324 with power in Triple-A.
- The Padres are taking one last stab at getting into contention, but one more losing stretch and they'll commence the selloff. It would behoove them to act sooner rather than later with players like Heath Bell and Ryan Ludwick so that they can get the jump on the market. Money is tight for many teams right now but the Padres might be willing to include some cash in deals to get better returns.
- The rapidly declining Marlins will definitely be sellers and will listen on offers for Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs. They could also shop Leo Nunez, even though the market for relievers is crowded. Nunez is making $3.65MM this season and has one more year of arbitration eligibility left.
NL West Notes: Dodgers, Cook, Hawpe
Let's check out a few items from the National League West..
- Steve Soboroff, who publicly clashed with the commissioner’s office in his brief tenure as the Dodgers’ vice chairman, has resigned, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune wonders where Brad Hawpe will fit in when he returns from the disabled list. Even though it'll be hard to find a place for the veteran, it's hard to imagine the Padres cutting him loose and paying him the $2MM that he is still owed.
- Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook needs to turn things around quickly before the Rockies start exploring other options, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Earlier today, Renck reported that the club has started calling other teams to gauge the market for rotation help.
Quick Hits: Dodgers, Mariners, Pedro, Giants
On this day in 2004, the Royals completed a three-team deal that sent Carlos Beltran to the Astros. The Athletics were the third party in the transaction and bagged Octavio Dotel from Houston. The Royals, meanwhile, received Mark Teahen, John Buck, Mike Wood, and cash considerations..
- A fun fact courtesy of ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin (via Twitter): Mets manager Terry Collins is tied with Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez for second-most managerial seniority in the NL East with their current team.
- Mark Cuban’s interest in buying the Dodgers should make Padres fans nervous, writes Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Sullivan believes that Cuban has the forward-thinking mindset and deep pockets to shift the balance of power in the NL West.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik has a chance to win right now and needs to make a move to bolster the offense, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Pedro Martinez isn't ready to announce his retirement just yet, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link). Martinez also says that he envisions himself in a Sandy Koufax-type role with a club.
- The Giants could use an offensive infusion as the deadline approaches, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
Nationals Notes: Johnson, Riggleman, McLaren
The Nationals named John McLaren as their interim skipper last night, but the former M's skipper was just a temporary hire. Here's the latest on the Nats as they look for a more permanent solution..
- It would come as a huge surprise if Davey Johnson was not the Nats manager Monday in Anaheim, Kilgore tweets.
- ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter) talked to a number of GMs, assistant GMs, and scouts over the last 24 hours and every single person said that Jim Riggleman made a major mistake.
- McLaren will serve as the Nats' interim manager until Sunday, when they wrap up a three game set against the White Sox, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com. McLaren is not a candidate to become the interim manager of the team for the remainder of 2011 (via Twitter).General Manager Mike Rizzo is expected to name another interim manager by Monday.
- Rizzo said that Davey Johnson is a candidate to become the next manager of the Nationals, Ladson tweets. Johnson currently serves as a senior adviser for the club.
- The GM confirmed that he has spoken to Johnson, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. He went on to say that he will name a new interim skipper in "days, not weeks".
- Rizzo believes that Johnson would enjoy the challenge of managing the Nats, otherwise he wouldn't talk about it, Kilgore tweets. Kilgore adds that there's a great chance that Johnson will be the choice.
Cardinals Notes: Reyes, Reifer, Samuel, Brown
Let's check out a couple of notes on the Cardinals as they take on the Blue Jays at home..
- Roger Hensley of STLToday.com led a roundtable discussion on the idea of the Cardinals pursuing Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. Derrick Goold argues that such a deal is not realistic because the Mets are looking for a haul similar to what the Athletics were seeking for Matt Holliday. Most agree with Goold's view and are also doubtful that the club could afford to keep Reyes beyond this season.
- The club now finds themselves with a logjam on the 40-man roster, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards could put reliever Adam Reifer, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, on the 60-day DL, but doing so would put him on the major-league payroll and start his service time clock. They could also drop Francisco Samuel or Andrew Brown, but they would risk losing them to another team. With five weeks to go before the non-waiver trade deadline, it appears that the Cardinals are shopping and their moves will reach deeper than the majors.
Marlins Manager Edwin Rodriguez Steps Down
9:36PM: Jack McKeon, 80, is expected to be named the Marlins' new manager, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
11:52AM: Bobby Valentine is also being considered by the Marlins as well, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
11:30AM: In addition to Hyde, the Marlins are considering 80-year-old Jack McKeon as a candidate for interim manager, tweets Olney.
10:35AM: Marlins skipper Edwin Rodriguez has resigned, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Bench coach Brandon Hyde will manage the team this afternoon in Tampa Bay as the club begins its search for an interim manager.
Rumors have swirled about Rodriguez's job status this season as the Fish have floundered. The Fish have long coveted White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports recently reported that the team was even looking at Bobby Valentine.
Florida has lost 18 of their last 21 games and earlier this month fired hitting coach John Mallee in an effort to shake things up. The Marlins are at the bottom of the NL East, 12.5 games back of the first place Phillies.
Rodriguez was hired on a full-time basis in November. The 50-year-old finished 2010 as the club's interim manager after Fredi Gonzalez was fired.
Minor Deals: Castillo, Vazquez, Gotay, Carter
We'll keep track of all of the day's minor deals right here:
- The Diamondbacks have signed left-handed pitcher Alberto Castillo, according to CBSSports.com. Castillo, 35, was designated for assignment by the Orioles on June 10th. The veteran has a 2.89 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 across four seasons of play at the Triple-A level.
- The Blue Jays signed infielder Ramon Vazquez to a minor league deal, according to the CBSSports.com transactions page. The 35-year-old last appeared in the majors in 2009 when he spent the year with the Pirates. Vazquez has experience playing shortstop, second base, and third base.
- The Braves signed infielder Ruben Gotay and outfielder Chris Carter to minor league deals and assigned them to Triple-A Gwinnett, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Gotay last appeared in the bigs with Atlanta in 2008, while Carter played in 100 games with the Mets last season.
Marlins Notes: McKeon, Hyde, Guillen
Earlier today, Edwin Rodriguez voluntarily stepped down as Marlins manager and bench coach Brandon Hyde was tabbed to fill in for today's game against the Rays. Here's the latest on who might take over next..
- McKeon is owner Jeffrey Loria's first choice to take over as interim manager, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
- Marlins officials will discuss interim manager candidates internally after today's game against Tampa Bay, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. A source tells Morosi (Twitter link) that both Hyde and Jack McKeon are being considered and a decision is expected in the next 48 hours.
- A source told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that the Marlins are not considering Nationals' third base coach Bo Porter. The Fish hope to put an interim skipper in place for the rest of season by tomorrow.
- Jack McKeon will definitely manage again on an interim basis if asked, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The octogenarian said that he's capable of doing it, though he'd want to talk it over with his wife first.
- Nightengale also tweets that it would be interesting if the Marlins hire someone to fill-in on an interim basis and then make another run at Ozzie Guillen.