Orioles Designate Eric Thames For Assignment
The Orioles have designated outfielder Eric Thames for assignment, the team announced via press release. In a corresponding move, the team added pitcher Eric Beaulac to the 40-man roster and put him on the DL, which creates an extra potential post-season roster spot.
Thames was acquired from the Mariners by trade in late June, but hasn't notched an MLB at-bat this season. He has seen his big league playing time dwindle consistently since a nice rookie campaign with Toronto in 2011, when he slashed .262/.313/.456 and hit twelve long balls in 394 plate appearances. In the Seattle and Baltimore minor league systems this year, Thames has a collective .283/.367/.432 line across 420 plate appearances.
Orioles Designate Taylor Teagarden For Assignment
The Orioles have designated catcher Taylor Teagarden for assignment, reports Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The move was needed to open a 40-man spot for fellow backstop Chris Snyder, who had an opt-out clause in his deal (according to an earlier Encina tweet).
Teagarden has hit .167/.180.300 in 62 plate appearances for the O's this year. The 29-year-old has been a well-below-average hitter over his big league career The club hopes to be able to keep Teagarden in the organization, MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko notes on Twitter. Alternatively, Baltimore may look to find a trade partner for Teagarden, who can refuse an assignment if he clears waivers, MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli reports (via Twitter).
Trade Notes: Morse, Axford, Kubel
With the post-season eligibility deadline at midnight tonight, the August revocable waiver trade market is coming to a close. We just saw a big trade go down with Justin Morneau heading to Pittsburgh, and could still see more action over the afternoon and evening. One situation to keep an eye on is the possibility of the Red Sox going after a reliever, although the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham tweets that nothing is in the works for Boston at the moment.
In the meantime, let's round up some links on the recently completed deals:
- The Orioles ultimately found Michael Morse to be "a little better fit" than Josh Willingham, GM Dan Duquette told reporters including MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko, leading the team to pull the trigger on his acquisition. "Morse has a big, physical presence and has some power, and hopefully he can bounce back and have a good month," said Duquette. "He has experience and he's been to the playoffs. Those are all good things."
- Morse's former manager with the Nationals, Davey Johnson, noted that he "shudder[s] to think" about the impact Morse could have hitting in Camden Yards, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. "That ballpark is made for him," said Johnson. "He's that right-center hitter, and that's the jet stream. He's a good fit there."
- The Cardinals and Brewers were talking all week about a deal and swapping names before settling on the trade that sent reliever John Axford to St. Louis, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Manager Mike Matheny explained: "There's a lot of experience there, a lot of upside. It's hard to forget that two years ago this guy was one of the top relievers in the game."
- Don't look for any more players to depart Milwaukee via trade, according to a tweet from Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. GM Doug Melvin says that the team is likely to stand pat after nabbing a player to be named later and clearing some cash in the Axford deal.
- After picking up struggling outfielder Jason Kubel, the Indians now face the question of how to use him. As Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, manager Terry Francona praised GM Chris Antonetti for "trying to help us," but did not seem clear about how Kubel would be deployed. Francona says he first needs "to see how healthy [Kubel] is for the outfield," but did indicate that the 31-year-old could see some time at DH, sharing duties with fellow lefty Jason Giambi. "We love having G [Giambi] do what he does, but he can't do it every day," Francona explained. "It will be nice to have another bat here. If he gets hot, or gets a couple of big hits, it certainly isn't going to hurt anything." Of course, as low-average, low-speed, power-first, defensively-limited left-handed hitters, Kubel and GIambi seem somewhat redundant at this point if one of them does not regularly play in the field.
West Notes: Hamilton, Dodgers, Volquez, Suzuki
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark turned to executives, scouts, and other baseball people to try and figure out what has gone wrong with Josh Hamilton since he joined the Angels. While some expressed doubt over whether he can rebound, GM Jerry Dipoto said that he's confident that his sizable investment will pay off. "I still believe in Josh's physical ability. I still believe in the player. … And we've seen signs, over the last three weeks [as Hamilton has put up a .329/.414/.539 slash line over a 19-game stretch], that he's getting back to doing the things that Josh Hamilton does," the GM said. Here's more out of the AL and NL West..
- The Dodgers signed Edinson Volquez shortly after he was cut loose by the Padres, but there were plenty of other suitors. The pitcher says that he chose L.A. over the Reds, Blue Jays, Orioles, Phillies, and "a couple more" teams, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Volquez added that he's willing to start or relieve for the Dodgers.
- Ken Gurnick of MLB.com (via Twitter) notes that even though Don Mattingly said that Volquez would come out of the bullpen for the Dodgers, he was seen taking batting practice with the starting pitchers.
- Kurt Suzuki is glad to be back with the A's and the feeling is mutual within the organization. Manager Bob Melvin says that one advantage of reacquiring Suzuki is that he won't need a whole lot of time to get acquainted with the Oakland pitching staff as other backstops would, writes Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com.
Orioles Acquire Mike Morse For Xavier Avery
The Orioles made a pair of waiver claims with the hopes of bolstering their lineup this week, and Friday they were able to convert on one of them by acquiring Mike Morse from the Mariners in exchange for outfield prospect Xavier Avery. Both teams have announced the trade via press release. 
Morse, 31, came to the Mariners in a three-team trade that sent John Jaso to the A's and prospects A.J. Cole, Ian Krol and Blake Treinen to the Nationals. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik had high hopes in re-acquiring Morse after the right-handed hitter mashed his way to a .296/.345/.516 line with 64 homers in 346 games from 2010-12. However, Morse has been a disappointment in Seattle. He slugged six homers in the season's first nine games but is now hitting just .226/.283/.410 with 13 homers overall. He's missed time this season with a broken pinkie finger as well as a severe quad strain.
Morse, who was claimed by the Orioles on Wednesday, is a free agent at season's end, so he is strictly a rental. He's earning $6.75MM this season, meaning that he has approximately $1.1MM remaining on his contract. While Morse has experience as a corner outfielder and first baseman, he's regarded as one of the game's worst defensive outfielders by both Ultimate Zone Rating and The Fielding Bible.
The Orioles also placed a claim on Minnesota's Josh Willingham, but the two sides couldn't work out a deal due to the Twins' high asking price for their left fielder. The Twins reportedly asked for top left-handed pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez, causing the O's to balk and turn their attention to Morse.
Avery, 23, is currently ranked as Baltimore's No. 10 prospect, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. He entered the season ranked seventh among Orioles prospects according to Baseball America. The former second-round pick is hitting just .237/.312/.312 in 333 plate appearances at Triple-A this season, though he opened the year with a respectable .300/.391/.406 line in 186 Double-A plate appearances. Avery has stolen 29 bases in 37 attempts across the two levels, which matches up with Mayo's report that Avery's speed is his best tool. Mayo writes that he's good enough from a defensive standpoint to play center and could be an everyday player if his offense improves. BA echoes that statement, noting that Avery has strong hands and good bat speed but lacks pitch recognition and is too aggressive at the plate.
Avery made his Major League debut for the Orioles last season, batting .223/.305/.340 with a homer and six stolen bases in 94 plate appearances.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported that the Orioles had traded for Morse (Twitter links), and Peter Gammons of the MLB Network was the first to break the news that Avery was headed to Seattle (on Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Orioles Sign Dan Johnson
A look at today's minor moves from around the league…
- The Orioles, who recently struck a deal for Mike Morse, have acquired another bat by signing Dan Johnson to a minor league contract, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Johnson recently opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees after batting .253/.379/.447 with 21 homers in 559 plate appearances at Triple-A. Johnson is a career .237/.338/.412 hitter in parts of seven big league seasons with the A's, Rays and White Sox.
- Russ Canzler of the Pirates and Aaron Harang of the Mariners remain in DFA limbo, as can be seen in MLBTR's DFA Tracker.
Twins Pull Willingham Back Off Waivers
FRIDAY, 12:33pm: The Twins and Orioles could not come to an agreement on a trade, and Willingham has been pulled back off waivers, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Earlier reports indicated that the Twins asked for top prospect Eduardo Rodriguez, causing Baltimore to back off.
WEDNESDAY, 10:57pm: The Orioles are the team that claimed Willingham, a source tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The O's are trying to work out a deal with the Twins.
5:01pm: Josh Willingham has been claimed off waivers by at least one other team, according to a big league source cited by Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. The team that was awarded the claim isn't known at this point. The Twins will have until noon on Friday to put together a trade for the slugger or pull him back.
It's been a disappointing season for Willingham, 34, who missed all of July with a knee injury. Since returning to the lineup on Aug. 9, he's hit just .177/.316/.371. As MLBTR's Steve Adams noted on Tuesday, the left fielder has continued to hit for power and post a strong walk rate, but more pop-ups and fewer line drives have dragged down his batting average. However, it was just a year ago that Willingham slashed .260/.366/.524 for the Twins in 615 plate appearances, so he may be a good candidate for a bounce-back campaign in 2014.
Willingham is owed $1.26MM for the remainder of the 2013 season and will be paid $7MM next year.
O’s Working On Morse Trade; Unlikely To Land Willingham
12:15pm: The Twins asked the Orioles for multiple pitching prospects in exchange for Willingham, according to Kubatko. Prized lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was among Minnesota's targets. The 20-year-old Rodriguez ranks as the No. 86 prospect in baseball at this time, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
9:42am: The Orioles have been highly active on the waiver market this week, claiming both Josh Willingham of the Twins and Mike Morse of the Mariners. Morse is far likelier to end up with Baltimore it seems, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that a Willingham trade is "not happening at this point" because of the Twins' lofty asking price. Kubatko says the Orioles and Mariners are still actively trying to work out a deal for Morse, though.
Willingham is under contract for 2014 at just $7MM and belted 35 homers for the Twins last season, so it's not a surprise to see them asking a lot even in a down season for Willingham. Despite his low batting average, he's still posted strong OBP and ISO numbers. Morse is a free agent at season's end and owed just over $1.1MM for the remainder of the 2013 season. There have been reports indicating that he's likely to be moved, as he no longer has a place in the Mariners' organization. He hasn't played in either of the team's two games since being claimed by the Orioles.
Waiver Notes: Morse, Headley, Red Sox, Pirates
With the clock ticking on the August revocable waiver trade market, here are the latest updates …
- Outfielder Michael Morse, who is suited up but not in the lineup for the Mariners tonight, is "almost certain" to join the Orioles in the immediate future, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The O's claimed Morse earlier today, giving the teams two days to work out a deal (or for Seattle to pull Morse back or allow Baltimore to assume his contract without compensation). As Baker explains, Morse no longer appears to be in the team's future plans, leaving little reason for the club to hold onto him. Just over $1MM remains on Morse's $6.75MM salary for this season.
- The Padres pulled back third baseman Chase Headley after he was claimed on waivers, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. While that news is hardly surprising, given that Headley was reportedly placed on waivers back on August 20th, it does confirm that Headley did not clear waivers and will no longer be available this season. Headley, who will be entering his final season of team control, has failed to repeat his strong 2012 season but remains an attractive player going forward. Heyman notes that the Pads are expected to explore a multi-year extension with the 29-year-old over the coming off-season, and estimates that he could command a five-year, $75MM deal.
- The Red Sox could look to pick up a right-handed bullpen piece before Saturday's non-waiver trade deadline, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Manager John Farrell said that he is not concerned about the pen, but added that "if there's someone out there that makes sense for us to acquire, we might see that." On the other hand, Britton notes, a returning Clay Buchholz will likely allow the club to move righty Ryan Dempster to the bullpen. You may recall that Dempster once served as the Cubs' closer back in 2005-2007.
- While the Orioles have been busy making waiver claims, the Pirates have been the most aggressive team over the course of August, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Of course, the club recently added Marlon Byrd and John Buck, making further acquisitions seem unlikely. On the other hand, the Bucs are reportedly still interested in first baseman Justin Morneau.
Mariners Pull Morales Back After Waiver Claim
THURSDAY: The Orioles, who have claimed both Josh Willingham and Mike Morse this week, may also have been the team that claimed Morales, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. However, as Jon Heyman of CBS Sports pointed out this morning, Morales was not traded within 48 hours of his claim, meaning the Mariners pulled him back. Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik will now have to decide whether or not to extend a qualifying offer to Morales following the season.
MONDAY: An unknown team has claimed Kendrys Morales off revocable trade waivers from the Mariners, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). It has yet to be reported when Morales was claimed or by whom, but the Mariners and the claiming team would have two days to work out a deal.
Morales, 30, is batting .284/.340/.449 with 17 homers in his first season with Seattle. The Mariners acquired him from the Angels straight up for Jason Vargas in a rare intra-division trade this offseason. The Cuban switch-hitter is earning $5.25MM this season, meaning he's owed roughly $1MM for the remainder of the 2013 campaign.
Morales will be a free agent for the first time this offseason, so the Mariners do have the option of hanging onto him and making a qualifying offer of roughly $14MM following the season. Were he to decline such an offer, the Mariners would gain a compensatory pick in the 2014 draft (a new team would not be allowed to do so, per the new CBA). However, as Dave Cameron of Fangraphs and the U.S.S. Mariner wrote last night, extending a qualifying offer to Morales doesn't look as wise at it did two months ago, as he's regressed significantly since early June.
Several teams have been looking to acquire offense, including the Orioles, Indians, Yankees and Rangers. It seems likely that an American League team placed the claim on Morales, as every team in the AL would have a crack at him prior to the NL (in reverse order of standings), and he's only played first base 27 times this season (as opposed to 96 games at DH).