Valentine Interested In Managing Marlins; Not O’s
Bobby Valentine has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Orioles' managerial opening and confirmed that he has interest in managing the Marlins. Valentine, who had been a candidate to take over in Baltimore, told ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian that he is no longer interested in managing the Orioles.
"At this time in my career, I feel I should direct my energies in another direction," Valentine said.
The former Mets skipper confirmed to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he is interested in managing the Marlins, who have yet to formally contact Valentine. Kurkjian notes that Valentine has been a friend of Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria for decades. Edwin Rodriguez will now take over for Fredi Gonzalez in Florida, but Valentine figures to interview for the permanent job.
The Orioles, who now must move on without Valentine, are interviewing Buck Showalter today and have already interviewed Eric Wedge. Click here for reactions to the Marlins' decision to fire Gonzalez.
Olney On Rangers, Sheets, Gonzalez, Orioles
Lawyers in the game say the Rangers don’t have a good chance of completing their ownership transfer by the July 31st trade deadline, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. That means Roy Oswalt won’t likely play for the Rangers this year. But GM Jon Daniels, who would like to add a veteran starter, could acquire Cliff Lee if he gets creative. Taking on salary would be a challenge, since the Rangers have borrowed $20MM or more from MLB to operate. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:
- The A’s can afford to cover some of the $5.5MM remaining on Ben Sheets’ contract in a trade if it means they acquire better prospects. Since few teams want to take on payroll, the A’s, who paid part of Matt Holliday’s salary after trading him to the Cardinals last year, could improve the return they get for Sheets by absorbing money again.
- Olney says recently-fired manager Fredi Gonzalez has been “a dead man walking” since the end of the 2009 season.
- The Orioles aren’t in a rush to trade their veterans, partly because the team is struggling so much.
Odds & Ends: Millwood, Mariners, A’s, Dunn
As we settle in for a Tim Lincecum/Roy Oswalt pitching matchup in Houston tonight, here are some news items…
- According to Fangraphs' Dave Cameron, Kevin Millwood is what Carl Pavano was at last year's trade deadline — a veteran starter whose high ERA hides some good peripheral numbers.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times thinks the Mariners' hitting problems aren't to be blamed on Safeco Field.
- CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban has some hot-stove speculation about the Giants and A's, including hinting at "a major shakeup" coming to the Oakland roster.
- Adam Dunn tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson that he doesn't want to be traded.
- Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com calls the Orioles' trade for Jake Fox "pretty much the nail in the coffin" for Garrett Atkins' playing time and possibly his tenure in Baltimore altogether. Ghiroli guesses that Atkins could be designated for assignment by as soon as Saturday when Brad Bergesen is ready to return to the majors.
- John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Giants utilityman Mark DeRosa will undergo wrist surgery and will miss the rest of the season (Twitter link). San Francisco signed DeRosa to a two-year, $12MM contract in December that was criticized as too costly given DeRosa's age (35) and the fact that he underwent wrist surgery last November. DeRosa has since said that the first surgery didn't solve his wrist problems, thus accounting for his .537 OPS this season.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer thinks the Reds will pick up a reliever before the trade deadline (via Twitter).
- Outfielder/first baseman David Winfree has signed a minor-league deal with Seattle, tweets Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times-Tribune. Winfree was playing for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton before being released last week.
- The Sports Bank blog looks at some of Chicago's options if the White Sox indeed try to acquire a left-handed hitter.
Orioles Acquire Jake Fox For Ross Wolf
The Orioles acquired Jake Fox from the A's for minor league pitcher Ross Wolf, according to Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles could option Chris Tillman to the minors or designate Garrett Atkins for assignment to make room for the utilityman.
Soon after the A's designated Fox for assignment, it became apparent that the O's were interested. The 27-year-old is hitting .214/.264/.327 in 106 major league plate appearances this year. Fox, who can catch and play left, right and third, has 122 homers and a .528 slugging percentage in 2636 minor league plate appearances.
Wolf, a 27-year-old righty, has a 2.11 ERA in 38.1 innings at Triple A this year with 6.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. As Connolly notes (via Twitter), the O's have pulled off the first animal surname for animal surname trade in a while.
Rosenthal On Yankees, Oswalt, White Sox, Beltre
The Yankees are not actively looking for a utility infielder, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal names Willie Bloomquist, John McDonald and Jayson Nix as options the Yanks could consider should they decide that they want more experience than Kevin Russo and Ramiro Pena can offer. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- Adrian Beltre will almost certainly reject his player option after the season and re-enter free agency. He has been one of the game's best players this year, rating characteristically well on defense (according to UZR) and hitting .336/.371/.528.
- The Mariners won't necessarily get a first round pick in next year's draft if they hold onto Cliff Lee. First of all, a losing team could sign Lee (the first 15 picks are protected). Secondly, a team could sign Lee and a free agent who ranks higher under the Elias system. That would mean the Mariners get a supplementary rounder and a second rounder.
- If the Rangers are sold before the winter, they could be a potential landing spot for Carl Crawford, one executive suggested.
- Rosenthal hears that Astros owner Drayton McLane is not against the idea of trading Roy Oswalt to Texas, though the Rangers' ability to take on payroll and the pitcher's no-trade clause could prevent a deal from going through.
- The Marlins inquired on Matt Thornton back when the White Sox were sellers. Now, the White Sox would not consider dealing the left-hander.
- If White Sox GM Kenny Williams becomes a buyer, he may pursue a left-handed bat.
- The Mariners want major league or major league-ready hitters for Cliff Lee, but the Dodgers' best prospects are a few years away from the majors.
- The Rockies are interested in Ty Wigginton, according to Rosenthal's colleague, Tracy Ringolsby.
- The Rays will look for impact players at the trade deadline.
Using Postseason Odds To Identify Sellers
Buyers and sellers can be hard to identify this time of year, since so many teams are often within a few games of a playoff spot. It's not even July yet, but a number of clubs have extremely slim odds of becoming contenders and appear likely to sell. Here are the teams that have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs in 2010, according to the postseason odds report at Baseball Prospectus.
- Orioles
- Royals
- Indians
- Mariners
- Nationals
- Astros
- Pirates
- Diamondbacks
Other than those eight clubs, the A's (7% chance of making the playoffs), White Sox (6%), Cubs (5%) and Brewers (2%) are potential sellers to watch. The White Sox, winners of ten of their last 12, have dramatically improved their chances of playing meaningful games down the stretch. They have shown that anything is possible, but the eight teams listed above seem like good bets to become sellers within the next six weeks.
In case you're wondering, BP suggests the Rangers (81%) are the safest bet to make the playoffs.
Odds & Ends: Sale, Astros, Shealy, Orioles
Links for Sunday night..
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune points out that even though Sale signed for less than anticipated, a quick promotion to the majors would start his service time clock sooner.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets that more teams should be willing to test the resolve of college juniors, like the White Sox were with Chris Sale.
- The moves the Astros made earlier this evening will make them younger, faster, and possibly better defensively, writes Alyson Footer of MLB.com.
- Ryan Shealy believes that his new club will afford him a better opportunity to make a big league roster, writes Paul Kenyon for The Providence Journal. Shealy was signed by Boston and placed in Triple-A after exercising his opt-out clause with the Rays.
- O's scouting director Joe Jordan is hopeful that the club's agreement with fourth-round pick Trent Mummey will get the ball rolling for the rest of the team's top draftees, writes MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Baltimore has now agreed to terms with 26 of their 49 selections.
Odds & Ends: Mejia, O’s, McGuire, Rangers, Valverde
Links for Sunday….
- ESPN's Adam Rubin tweets that the Mets have optioned Jenrry Mejia to Double-A Binghamton, where he will start their game on Wednesday.
- Jeff Zrebiec tells us that Buck Showalter will interview for the Baltimore managerial job this week, and Eric Wedge will likely receive a second interview. The club has yet to ask the Mets for permission to interview Bob Melvin.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian quotes Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos saying that despite first-round pick Deck McGuire's lack of participation in a media conference call, he's excited to have been drafted by Toronto. Anthopoulos says that negotiations, however, could go down to the wire as they did in 2009 with Chad Jenkins.
- Rangers manager Ron Washington feels that his team could use another front-line starting pitcher, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Texas has recently seen both Derek Holland and Rich Harden land on the disabled list.
- Nick Piecoro tweets that the D'Backs offered Jose Valverde a two-year deal worth about $10MM before he signed for two years and $14MM with Detroit. The story spawns from some heated comments that were exchanged between Valverde and former teammate Miguel Montero.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times thinks Dan Haren would be a "perfect fit" for the Angels.
- The Cubs will soon face a decision on whether to become buyers or sellers, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- Within a mailbag for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul Hoynes says that a little salary relief is the best the Indians could hope for in a Kerry Wood trade.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch details how the Cardinals will handle their starting rotation for the time being. Even after signing Jeff Suppan, the club will be short-handed while they wait for Brad Penny to get healthy.
- The Tigers should exercise patience when it comes to acquiring a shortstop, according to Lynn Hennig of the Detroit News.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Tigers will have to think about trading for a starting pitcher, with Rick Porcello heading to Triple-A.
Odds & Ends: Grandal, Red Sox, Salazar, Rockies
A few links to check out while we wait to see if the Rays can avoid falling out of first place for the first time in nearly two months…
- The Reds have made initial contact with the representatives for Yasmani Grandal according to John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer. GM Walt Jocketty said they will continue talks this week with 2010's 12th overall draft pick.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier mentions that when Felix Doubront started for the Red Sox last night, he became the first Latin American player signed and developed by the Theo Epstein regime to reach the big league. ESPN's Jorge Arangure mentions (via Twitter) the Boston hasn't had a homegrown Latin American position player since the early 1990's.
- Meanwhile, MLB.com's Peter Gammons says (via Twitter) that only two teams were willing to take Manny Ramirez off Boston's hands two years ago even if they footed the bill: the Marlins and Dodgers. The Red Sox's requests for Mike Stanton and Andre Ethier were met with "no thank yous."
- MLB.com's Corey Brock, Brittany Ghiroli, and Gina Mizeli spoke to Oscar Salazar, who reflected on the trade that send him from the Orioles to the Padres last year.
- The Rockies will look at the middle infield market, but ESPN's Buster Olney tweets they're likely to just ride out Troy Tulowitzki's absence with what they have in house. He does however mention that Dan Uggla is one name to watch.
- Both Jhonny Peralta and Kerry Wood offered up the stock "it's out of my control" response when asked about the possibility of being traded, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
- Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post says the idea of the Rockies' acquiring Cliff Lee is wishful thinking. The team would have to get back in the playoff race and show it can compete without Troy Tulowitzki before ownership would consider adding Lee's salary to the payroll.
- The Cardinals had interest in signing Ben Sheets this winter according to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but the righthander's price was too high. “If he wants to prove his value here, we’d have interest,” said manager Tony La Russa. “It turns out he had value that wasn’t going to work.”
Orioles Interested In Jake Fox
SATURDAY, 8:59pm: The Orioles still have interest in Fox according to Zrebiec. Oakland has until Thursday to trade, release or waive him, though the fact that Baltimore has waiver priority may increase the likelihood of a deal.
WEDNESDAY, 4:14pm: Andy MacPhail and the Orioles have at least some interest in acquiring Jake Fox, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The A's designated Fox for assignment over the weekend and are apparently hoping that he clears waivers.
Fox, 28 next month, has already played left field, third base, DH and catcher in 2010. His .214/.264/.327 batting line doesn't compare with the numbers he has posted in the minors. Fox has 122 homers with a .293/.357/.528 line in his minor league career, so he clearly has some hitting ability.
Zrebiec suggests a Fox acquisition could mean the end of Garrett Atkins' tenure in Baltimore, though it would not be a surprise to see the Atkins era end before long regardless of what happens with Fox.