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Twins Notes: Bard, Colabello, Morneau, Hamburger

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Here’s a look at the latest on the Twins..

  • The Twins “are in the due diligence phase” on Daniel Bard, whose brother Luke is a Minnesota farmhand, 1500ESPN.com’s Darren Wolfson tweets. Injuries have plagued the 28-year-old’s 2013 campaign, as he’s pitched just one inning in the majors this year and has a 6.46 ERA in 15 1/3 minor league innings. Still, Bard has two years of arbitration remaining and posted a 3.33 ERA in 73 innings for Boston as recently as 2011, so he may be worth a claim.
  • Chris Colabello’s opposite-field power could help him earn the Twins’ first base job following the departure of Justin Morneau, Berardino writes. Colabello, 29, has managed just a .193/.270/.360 line in 126 plate appearances for the Twins this year, but was hitting .352/.427/.639 for the club’s Triple-A affiliate before being called up in May.
  • The Twins have signed well-traveled right-hander Mark Hamburger to a minor league deal, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Hamburger, who was originally signed out of an amateur tryout camp by the Twins in 2007, managed to catch on long enough with the Rangers to pitch eight major league innings in 2011. However, the 26-year-old hasn’t pitched in the majors since. He’ll have to serve a 50-game suspension for testing positive a second time for a drug of abuse before he can play a game, Berardino notes. 

Quick Hits: Waiver Trades, Hamilton, Blazek, Bard

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Twins GM Terry Ryan says he has no qualms about blocking potential August trades by making waiver claims, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes (via Twitter). Ryan says he was surprised that Marlon Byrd — who's having a strong season and makes a paltry $700K — made it all the way through waivers until the Pirates claimed him. The Reds, for example, had waiver priority on the Pirates and might well have chosen to claim Byrd, both because Byrd would have cheaply improved their own team and also to prevent the rival Pirates from getting him. Here are more notes from around baseball.

  • The Cardinals are the first big-league team that will have to figure out how to stop Billy Hamilton of the Reds, Max Schmetzer of MLB.com writes. Of course, that means that the basestealing phenom will have to battle against Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. "We have film on [Hamilton]," says Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "We're not going to ask the pitchers to be quicker on him or the catchers to throw quicker." Before the season, Hamilton was ranked the No. 20 prospect in baseball by Baseball America and No. 30 by ESPN's Keith Law. Even in a disappointing 2013 season, Hamilton managed to swipe 75 bases for Triple-A Louisville.
  • Reliever Michael Blazek spent several days in "limbo" before being shipped from the Cardinals to the Brewers in the John Axford deal, Adam McCalvy and Kevin Massoth of MLB.com write. The Cards technically optioned Blazek to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday, but he was actually just waiting in his hotel in St. Louis, presumably to be called up when rosters expanded on Sunday. Instead, in his third day away from the team, he learned he was headed to Milwaukee.
  • Daniel Bard was recently designated for assignment by the Red Sox, but claiming him on waivers could be a tricky proposition, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. That's because the claiming team would have to decide by early December whether to take Bard to arbitration, where he would receive a minimum of about $1.5MM next year. That might be a lot to pay a player who appears to be nowhere near the pitcher he was in 2009 through 2011, when he was a solid relief option.

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

Red Sox Notes: Bard, Uehara, Saltalamacchia

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As he moves from Baseball America to MLB.com, Jim Callis spoke with WEEI.com's Alex Speier about his two decades covering the Red Sox farm system. Anyone interested in the Sox system or prospect rankings more generally should listen in as Callis effectively passes the baton to Speier. Here's some more Red Sox chatter …

  • When Boston acquired John McDonald just before the August 31st post-season roster deadline, it became the infielder's eighth major league team in his career and his fourth club this season, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com notes. “I’ve been getting closer to home, going from Arizona, to Pittsburgh, to Cleveland to Philly to Boston,” said the 38-year-old, who was drafted out of Rhode Island's Providence College in 1996. "It might be baseball's way of telling me something. But I’m not ready to listen." 
  • The implosion of Daniel Bard — designated for assignment yesterday by the Sox — resulted from the "worst misstep" of GM Ben Cherington's early tenure at the helm, writes the Boston Herald's Scott Lauber. Switching Bard to the rotation, rather than making him the team's closer, not only aligned with the onset of Bard's various issues but triggered a series of ill-fated trades involving late-inning relievers.
  • While the team had hoped that new manager John Farrell would help turn Bard around, he does not sound sanguine about that possibility at this point, and leaves the impression that the team is moving on. While a change of scenery "can help," said Farrell, "to say that that’s the sole reason, that would be wishful thinking.” So what went wrong? “It was a combination of delivery issues that were being ironed out and certainly confidence issues,” Farrell said. “That’s where the question was, which comes first. We felt like performance was going to lead to confidence. It looked like he was on his way, and unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”
  • For another look at Bard's downfall, the Providence Journal's Tim Britton provides an interesting timeline of quotes from Bard and others.
  • In spite of the rocky history of the Red Sox closers of late, Koji Uehara has brought clarity to the situation. WEEI.com's Rob Bradford argues that he could be the most important player in the entire American League because of the way he settled down a potentially disastrous situation. Even as Uehara creeps closer to guaranteeing himself a $5MM payday next year through his contract's vesting option – he is just five games finished away – Boston will surely be glad to pay up.
  • Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia has done everything he could to set himself up for a big contract when he reaches free agency this off-season as a 28-year-old, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. As the Sox decide whether and how much to bid on Salty, one important and hard-to-quantify question is the extent to which the team values his handling of the team's pitching staff. MacPherson suggests that his rapport with the club's arms could make him more valuable to Boston than other organizations. Of course, this is an area where the Sox have an information advantage on the rest of the market.

Quick Hits: Black, Pirates, Rasmussen, McDonald

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Reliever Vic Black did not suspect he would be headed to the Mets as the player to be named in the Marlon Byrd deal with the Pirates, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com writes. "It never crossed my mind," Black says. Black notes that his goal is to close in the big leagues, saying that he has the aggressive mentality necessary to be a closer. He also has closer-type stuff, with a plus fastball and a slider. Black had a 2.51 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 Triple-A Indianapolis this season. Here are more notes from around the Majors.

  • The loss of Black and, potentially, Duke Welker (who may or may not be headed to the Twins as the PTBNL in the Justin Morneau trade) will add more uncertainty to a Pirates' Triple-A Indianapolis roster that has already had more than its share of flux. Brian Peloza of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review writes that the Pirates have promoted 18 different players from Indianapolis this season, more than other NL playoff contenders. Those players include Black, Welker, Alex Presley (the other player included in the Morneau deal), and top prospect Gerrit Cole.
  • The Phillies believe that Rob Rasmussen, the pitcher they received when they traded Michael Young to the Dodgers, could end up as a reliever, Bob Brookover of the Inquirer reports. "He's starting now, but he could be a guy later on who could pitch in the bullpen," GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says. "Lefthanders are always valuable. He's viewed as a really strong makeup kid with a big arm." Rasmussen, 24, had a 2.55 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 for Double-A Chattanooga in 2013, although he struggled in 54 1/3 innings for Triple-A Albuquerque.
  • Connecticut native and Massachusetts resident John McDonald is happy that a trade to the Red Sox brought him home, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. "[G]rowing up in New England, and getting to play in Fenway, and to put this uniform on today, it’s pretty awesome," McDonald says. The Red Sox will be the fourth team the infielder has played for this season, having also suited up for the Pirates, Indians and Phillies.
  • Angels owner Arte Moreno needs to share his plan to rebuild the team with superstar outfielder Mike Trout, argues the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin. Trout will be close to free agency by the time it will become possible for the Angels to return to contention, at least on a regular basis, Shaikin says.
  • The Rockies need to acquire a veteran starter in the offseason, and they also need bullpen help and a right-handed power bat, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post writes. Nonetheless, Renck suggests that the improvements in the Rockies' rotation this year (their 2013 starters have a 4.37 ERA, compared to a 5.81 ERA in 2012) suggest that the team is heading in the right direction.

Red Sox Designate Daniel Bard For Assignment

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The Red Sox have designated reliever Daniel Bard for assignment, reports Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The move creates a 40-man roster spot for the call-up of recent acquisition Quintin Berry.

The former top-100 prospect established himself as a dominating late-inning reliever in 2010, but melted down when the team attempted to convert him back into a starter last season. This season, his control issues have reached (and exceeded) Rick Ankiel levels. In an injury-shortened campaign, Bard is allowing 15.8 BB/9 in 15 1/3 minor league innings.

Bard's 2013 salary is $1.8625, and he remains arbitration-eligible for 2014-15. As Speier notes, Bard does still have an option remaining, making it plausible that a team would roll the dice on him with a 40-man roster spot. For a further read on Bard's struggles, check out this excellent piece from Matthew Kory of Sports on Earth. 

Red Sox Acquire John McDonald

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The Red Sox have acquired infielder John McDonald from the Phillies in exchange for minor league pitcher Nefi Ogando, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets. Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe adds that the Phillies are sending cash along in the deal (Twitter link).

The Red Sox become the fourth team this year for McDonald, who has also seen time with the Pirates and the Indians. The 38-year-old has appeared at second base, shortstop and third base in 2013, but has managed just a .098/.179/.164 batting line in 68 plate appearances. A 15-year veteran, McDonald is a career .235/.274/.327 hitter.

Ogando, 24, has thrown 55 innings for the Red Sox's high-A affiliate this season, posting a 4.09 ERA with a 7.2 K/9 and a 4.4 BB/9. He wasn't ranked among Boston's top 10 prospects by Baseball America after the 2012 season.

Red Sox Notes: Bullpen, Cherington, Victorino, Peavy

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As the Red Sox look to continue to extend their lead over the rest of the American League East, let's look at some links out of Boston …

  • While a source says that the Sox are still "kicking stuff around" regarding a possible trade today, WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that nothing appears imminent. Bradford notes that Boston has been quiet in part because it has failed to see desirable players reach its spot on the waiver wire during August. The club is most likely looking to add bullpen depth at this point, Bradford notes, and is seemingly no longer interested in the Phillies' Michael Young, who has cleared waivers.
  • The Sox need to do everything possible to add a bullpen piece, argues John Tomase of the Boston Globe. Noting that GM Ben Cherington's track record with relievef pitching acquisitions has been spotty, Tomase argues that the team should find an alternative set-up option to the inconsistent Junichi Tazawa. It should be noted that Tazawa has continued to post the same impressive strikeout-to-walk rate that he did last year: in 2013, he has 9.45 K/9 and 1.35 BB/9. He has seen his ERA inflate to a still-solid 2.70 (in 60 innings pitched) due primarily to a much higher home run rate (1.20 HR/9) than the very low rate (.20 HR/9) he put up last year.
  • Cherington discussed a few topics in a short interview yesterday with Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (video link). He noted, in particular, that he believes this club has been constructed with sufficient depth and professionalism to avoid another historic collapse over the stretch run. 
  • One of the key players in this season's so-far successful run is outfielder Shane Victorino, whose solid bat and spectacular defense has been worth at least five wins above replacement according to both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. As WEEI.com's Alex Speier writes, the three-year, $39MM deal that brought Victorino to Boston — which was viewed by some as an overpay at the time — has been an unquestionable bargain.
  • In another piece, Speier looks at recent Red Sox acquisition Jake Peavy and the two key trades that have shaped his career. Looking back at the 2009 trade that sent him to the White Sox, Peavy said that he knew "the Padres had to move me" and was prepared to consider Chicago since he had previously vetoed another deal that would have sent him there.

Royals, Red Sox Swap Berry For Mortensen

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The Royals and Red Sox have swapped outfielder Quintin Berry for right-hander Clayton Mortensen, according to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link).

Berry, 28, was claimed by the Royals from the Tigers on June 4 but quickly outrighted to Triple-A Omaha. In 371 Triple-A plate appearances between the Tigers and Royals, he's batting .193/.309/.260 with 28 stolen bases in 32 attempts. Berry was significantly better when he saw regular time with Detroit last season, hitting .258/.330/.354 with a perfect 21 steals in 21 attempts in 94 games.

Mortensen, also 28, posted a 5.34 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 45.5 percent ground-ball rate in 30 1/3 innings for the Red Sox this season. Boston optioned him to Triple-A Pawtucket in late June and he's fared much better, pitching to a 2.45 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 44 innings. He's moved to the rotation recently, stretching out to seven innings in his most recent outing. Since moving to a starting role on Aug. 2, he's allowed just three runs in 27 1/3 innings.

Quick Hits: Sabathia, Red Sox, Indians, Cardinals

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C.C. Sabathia's deal with the Yankees could turn out to be an ugly one, Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com writes. "That contract might not be a disaster of A-Rod-ian proportions, but unless Sabathia finds a way to turn it all round, it might turn out to be the next-worst thing," Matthews writes. Sabathia has three years left on his contract, plus a vesting option for 2017 that the Yankees can avoid only if Sabathia has a left shoulder injury. All told, the Yankees are likely to be on the hook for $96MM after this season. Sabathia's season arguably isn't as bad as his 4.81 ERA makes it look — his peripherals are indicative of ERA about a run lower. But his declining velocity is a serious concern. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • The Red Sox's huge trade of Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers one year ago gave them the payroll flexibility to acquire Ryan Dempster, Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew, Koji Uehara, and Jonny Gomes, Scott Miller of CBS Sports writes. But that doesn't mean the Dodgers are unhappy with their end of the deal — Miller notes that it "changed the path of both franchises." Miller also quotes Dodgers manager Don Mattingly noting that his team likely would have pursued Victorino (for whom they had traded in July 2012) as a free agent if they hadn't acquired Crawford.
  • The trade also gave the Sox the flexibility to acquire Jake Peavy, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal notes. Peavy's matchup against Chris Capuano on Sunday reminds MacPherson that the Red Sox made a "desperate attempt" to acquire Capuano from the Mets in 2011. The talent gap between Peavy and Capuano is significant, and MacPherson argues that the trade with the Dodgers made the difference in acquiring Peavy this time.
  • There will be interest in Asdrubal Cabrera and Chris Perez this offseason if the Indians want to trade them, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Cabrera has struggled this season, hitting .237/.292/.389, and he's set to make $10MM in the last year of his contract in 2014. Perez, meanwhile, is set to earn a raise in arbitration on his $7.3MM 2013 salary before becoming a free agent after 2014. His pitching hasn't been stellar in 2013 — he has a 3.30 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. Hoynes may be right that the Indians could deal Perez if they wanted to. For example, the Red Sox's offseason trade for Joel Hanrahan, a pitcher with a similar salary and contract situation, perhaps shows that teams are always willing to deal for an established closer. But that deal also demonstrates just how volatile closers can be, and Perez has never been dominant in the way Hanrahan once was.
  • As the August trade deadline approaches, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says that his team is unlikely to make a trade, Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch tweets. That makes it unlikely that the Cards will wind up with Dan Haren of the Nationals. The Cardinals recently lost Jake Westbrook to injury and have replaced him in the rotation with Tyler Lyons, at least for now.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Rays, Soriano, Red Sox

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Here's a look at the AL East as the Rays and Red Sox jostle for control of the division..

  • Orioles Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette told reporters, including CSNBaltimore's Rich Dubroff, "We’ve pursued some hitters, but we haven’t been able to find the right fit." Duquette added he's looking at options to improve the bullpen, but those may come from Triple-A.
  • The Rays were able to acquire outfielder David DeJesus and his approximately $2.4MM salary committment because they are "under budget," a Major League source told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
  • Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman made moves this summer with depth in mind, writes Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune.  “We talked about it in July, our biggest focus was on augmenting our depth,” Friedman said before Friday’s win. “Essentially right now we have a 37-game season and we’re doing everything we can to put together the most talented team we can going down the stretch. The fact that we play 37 games in 38 days also factored in, something where us having as much depth as we could was important. In our minds this is arguably the deepest roster we’ve had.”  The Rays added reliever Jesse Crain in late July, signed designated hitter Delmon Young to a minor league deal on Thursday, and traded for outfielder David DeJesus on Friday. 
  • The Yankees' acquisition of Alfonso Soriano represents the sixth time in 19 years the club landed an established slugger during the season who had at least the following season left on his contract.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post runs down the previous five occurences and ranks them by success.  He concludes that those acquisitions - Ruben Sierra, Cecil Fielder, David Justice, Raul Mondesi, and Bobby Abreu - helped the Yanks in the season they were acquired but most of them were problematic beyond that.
  • A year after shocking the baseball world, Red Sox GM Ben Cherington has no regrets about his megatrade with L.A., writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

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