Rosenthal Discusses George Sherrill
Orioles closer George Sherrill sports a 2.51 ERA with 17 saves, and had been lights out recently until today's outing against the Red Sox. The 32 year-old southpaw is under team control through 2011. Since the Orioles are 10.5 games out of the wild card, it's only natural to expect a few trade rumors involving Sherrill.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports discusses the possibility of a deal in an article tonight. His source speaks of talks with Florida that have "tiny legs" that "could grow given time." The Marlins' closer, Matt Lindstrom, is currently on the shelf with an elbow sprain. Rosenthal says the Fish would not be willing to part with Chris Coghlan for Sherrill, though the O's like the rookie. The Orioles have a clear organizational need on the left side of the infield.
A trade of Sherrill is no sure thing, according to Rosenthal. He speaks of Sherrill's stabilizing presence on the team's young pitching staff. I imagine it would be easier for the Orioles to part with Danys Baez, especially with over $2.8MM remaining on his contract.
Orioles Sign Matt Hobgood
TUESDAY, 5:08pm: Hobgood received a bonus of $2.42MM, according to PGCrossChecker.com.
SATURDAY, 2:19pm: MLB.com's Spencer Fordin reports the Orioles will introduce Hobgood at a press conference scheduled for 5:30pm ET.
FRIDAY, 4:58pm: The Orioles will sign first round pick Matt Hobgood tomorrow, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. Schmuck doesn't have the terms of the deal, but they should become available after tomorrow's press conference. Click here to see the bonuses received by some of Hobgood's fellow first-rounders.
Odds And Ends: Halladay, Yankees, Rangers
Links for Tuesday morning…
- Today's chat will take place at 2pm CST.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports looks ahead to the end of next season when Roy Halladay becomes a free agent if the Jays don't lock him up before then.
- As Diamond Leung notes, the Dodgers traded minor league pitcher Brian Mazone to the Phillies for future considerations. Mazone already spent three years in the Phillies organization.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post speculates on an imagined deal: Luis Castillo for Milton Bradley.
- Peter Abraham of the Journal News reports that the Yankees signed two independent leaguers: third baseman Yurendell DeCaster and lefty Edwin Walker.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe offers five possible solutions for the Red Sox in case Mike Lowell has to miss much time.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun asks Orioles fans which player they would pluck from the Red Sox roster if possible. Kevin Youkilis and Jon Lester would sure be nice additions.
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post answers his readers' trade questions.
- Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers signed second rounder Tommy Mendonca.
Odds And Ends: Sano, Rays, Mateo
More links for your Friday afternoon…
- The Orioles' director of player development told Steve Melewski of MASN.com that Miguel Angel Sano is the best Dominican prospect he's ever seen.
- The Orioles haven't begun negotiating with Sano, as there are some lingering questions about his age.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says he'd find room for David Price in the crowded Rays 'pen instead of bumping Andy Sonnanstine from the rotation.
- White Sox scouting director Doug Laumann says Josh Phegley and Kyle Bellamy could move quickly through the minors.
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure believes the $3.1MM Wagner Mateo agreed to is impressive in this economy.
Orioles Acquire Michael Aubrey For PTBNL
As MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports, the Orioles acquired Michael Aubrey from the Indians for a player to be named later. The Indians drafted him 11th overall in 2003, only to see Aubrey struggle with injuries.
He made his major league debut last year, posting an OPS of .613 for the Indians in 13 games. Aubrey has 22 extra base hits and a .292 batting average at Triple A Columbus this year.
Odds & Ends: Ransom, Dice-K, O’s
MLBTR's own Eddie Schmid started posting this special little feature a couple weeks ago and it drew a nice response. I'm just a thief. This day in MLBTR history: On June 23, 2008, the bidding war was heating up for 16-year-old pitching phenom Michael Inoa. He, of course, eventually signed with the Oakland A's.
A couple more links for Tuesday evening…
- Marc Craig of the Newark Star-Ledger notes that Cody Ransom's 60-day stay on the disabled list will end Wednesday. At that point, the Yankees either have to add him to the 25-man roster or designate him for assignment and risk losing him to another club.
- The Boston Globe's Bob Ryan is almost ready to call Daisuke Matsuzaka a bust. The Japanese import is 1-5 this season with an 8.23 ERA and 2.20 WHIP. Sure, he was solid last year, but keep in mind the Red Sox shelled out $103MM to land him.
- Matthew Pouliot of NBCSports.com and Rotoworld fame lists 10 outfielders who are "most likely to be traded" this season. Matt Holliday tops the list, followed closely by Ryan Spilborghs, Jeff Francoeur and Cody Ross.
- As the fellas over at "The Rays Party" point out, 2005 first-round pick Wade Townsend has decided to call it a career. The right-hander out of Rice University battled all sorts of injuries during his four-year minor league campaign.
- The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck suggests a few moves the Orioles could make at the trade deadline. "Keep Aubrey Huff… Listen to offers for George Sherrill… Don't listen to offers for Cesar Izturis," he writes.
Odds & Ends: Orioles, White Sox, Nady, Indians
Some links to check out while watching game one of the College World Series …
- MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko spoke to Orioles mastermind Andy MacPhail about plenty of topics, including the scuffling Felix Pie and fifth overall pick Matt Hobgood.
- South Side Sox breaks down the White Sox players who won't (or can't) be traded.
- Xavier Nady is set to begin a rehab assignment, however Buster Olney recently said the Yankees will not look to trade one of their spare outfielders once he returns.
- Indians president Paul Dolan says he is concerned about the team's direction, but will not make any "rash decisions" according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It certainly sounds like Eric Wedge's days are numbered, and his number is coming up.
- The Dallas Morning News' Kevin Sherrington writes that even though they're in first place, the Rangers aren't in a position to go all out and need to keep focusing on the future.
Prospect Updates: Strasburg, Harper, Sanchez
Updates on some of baseball's best prospects;
- It's fair to expect intense negotiations between Stephen Strasburg, Scott Boras and the Washington Nationals this summer. In this Philadephia Inquirer article by Don McKee, Jered Weaver says his negotiations were too "frantic" back when he was a top college pitcher like Strasburg.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs are creating so many new ways to lose that they could end up with a worse record than the Nationals and the chance to take Bryce Harper first overall next June.
- Dave Mackall of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Pirates first rounder Tony Sanchez is "not oblivious" to the critics who say the Pirates drafted him too early.
- Pedro Alvarez has been promoted to AA, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Steve Melewski of MASN.com reports that Mychal Givens was surprised when the Orioles drafted him. O's scouting director Joe Jordan says he'd be surprised if Givens signs soon.
Orioles Draft Pick Updates
Steve Melewski informs us that the Orioles are getting closer to signing first-round pick Matt Hobgood. Hobgood will travel to Baltimore this week to take a physical, and could have a press conference and be introduced at Camden Yards as soon as next Saturday.
Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan has said that Hobgood will likely pitch in the Gulf Coast League when he signs, and could possibly move up later in the summer.
The O's aren't close to signing second-rounder Mychal Givens, but are expected to sign sixth-round pick Justin Dallas and 23rd rounder Michael Mooney soon.
Odds & Ends: O’s, Josh Johnson, Yankees, Red Sox
A busy Sunday morning has made for some some discussable items from around the league:
- Rick Dempsey of MASN is excited by the Orioles future and says it is undoubtedly time for the team to trade, highlighting George Sherrill, Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Roberts, Aubrey Huff, and Melvin Mora.
- Carlos Frias of the Palm Beach Post notes A.J. Burnett has regrets over leaving the Marlins and burning his bridges in the process.
- After Josh Johnson beat the Yankees yesterday, Mike Feinsand of the New York Daily News says, "Hope you got a good look, Yankees fans. You may have been watching your future ace."
- River Ave. Blues thinks trading Xavier Nady makes sense despite Buster Olney having said, "The Yankees are unlikely to trade Nick Swisher of Xavier Nady after Nady returns."
- Not a trade rumor, but Manny Ramirez is set to begin a minor-league stint on Tuesday in Albuquerque, says The Tribune-Review.
- Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe says (via Twitter, of course) "Daisuke [Matsuzaka] to DL. [Catching prospect] Dusty Brown up with the team for the first time." She continues, "About to talk to Daisuke. Will get quotes to you shortly. [Sox manager Terry Francona] said he doesn't think this will be a two-week DL." While the Sox still have rotation depth, this surely effects any perceived sense of urgency to deal.