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Quick Hits: Delgado, Top Prospects, Byrd, Relievers

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The Blue Jays will add Carlos Delgado to the Level of Excellence at the Rogers Centre this weekend — an honor bestowed upon the greatest Jays in franchise history. Delgado spent a dozen seasons with the Jays, hitting .282/.392/.556 with 336 homers in 6,018 plate appearances. He will join Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, Tony Fernandez, George Bell and Dave Stieb as players to receive the distinction. Here's more from around the league…

  • ESPN's Keith Law unveiled the latest edition of his Top 50 prospects (ESPN Insider required and recommended), and it's fronted by Twins Class A Advanced center fielder Byron Buxton, though Law cautions that even he is a little uncomfortable with the amount of hype Buxton is receiving. Oscar Taveras, Xander Bogaerts, Miguel Sano and Francisco Lindor round out Law's Top 5.
  • The Mets will need to be "overwhelmed" to trade Marlon Byrd, writes Jorge Castillo of the Newark Star Ledger. "Overwhelmed," of course, is a relative term, and manager Terry Collins states things more lightly later in the article: "Right now, Marlon Byrd’s a huge piece. If Marlon Byrd’s going to get moved, we’re going to get something good back." Castillo's article meshes with previous reports that the Mets may simply stand pat at the deadline.
  • A team official tells Mike Puma of the New York Post that the Mets haven't had any action yet on Byrd or closer Bobby Parnell (Twitter link).
  • ESPN's Jim Bowden examines the trade market for relievers (video link), naming all of the usual suspects that have been mentioned previously but also adding Jared Burton, Huston Street and Luke Gregerson, who haven't been mentioned often this summer. All three are controlled beyond 2013. Bowden's colleague Buster Olney tweeted earlier today that the Diamondbacks continue to be players on the relief pitching market.
  • Uncertainty surrounding Clay Buchholz's injuries hasn't changed Boston's approach to the trade deadline, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The Red Sox still plan to be "selective" as they debate possibilities to upgrade what they consider to be strong rotation depth. The team is also still interested in upgrades at third base and in the bullpen.

Lincecum Has Limited No-Trade Clause; Unlikely To Be Moved

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9:45pm: Lincecum's no-trade clause is likely to be a moot point, as general manager Brian Sabean said today on KNBR radio: "I find it hard to believe we'll see Timmy in another uniform this year" (via Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle on Twitter).

Lincecum told Schulman's colleague, John Shea, that he's not worried about trade talk, especially after Sabean's comments (Twitter link).

7:06pm: Tim Lincecum has a previously unreported limited no-trade clause in his contract that would allow him to block trades to eight teams, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Red Sox and Tigers aren't on that list, he adds, alluding to a report from earlier in the week that the Tigers have interest in acquiring "The Freak" and converting him to a reliever.

A Tigers acquisition is a "major long shot," and one NL executive called the idea of a team acquiring Lincecum and converting him into a closer "far-fetched." Heyman adds that Lincecum likely wouldn't be happy about the move anyway. He prefers to start, and because he's just over two months away from hitting the open market for the first time, a move to the bullpen may reduce his free agent value.

The 29-year-old Lincecum has a 4.26 ERA with 9.7 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 46.2 percent ground-ball rate in 116 1/3 innings this season. He's in the final season of a two-year, $40.5MM contract he signed with the Giants to avoid arbitration prior to the 2012 campaign. He's lost significant life on his fastball and seen his command worsen in that time, leading to results that look more like a fourth or fifth starter than a two-time Cy Young winner. 

Cubs, Rangers Getting Closer On Garza Deal

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The Matt Garza rumors have picked up steam in the past couple of days, with ESPN's Jim Bowden stating Wednesday that there's an 80 percent chance he's traded before his next start. On Tuesday, we learned that the Cubs have a slight preference toward pitching prospects as opposed to position players and that the Rangers are unwilling to part with Martin Perez to acquire Garza. Here's the latest on Garza…

  • Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes that while the Rangers are "prominently involved," other teams are still in the mix for Garza at this point.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Class A right-hander C.J. Edwards is indeed in play in trade talks. Edwards, 21, has a 1.83 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 93 1/3 innings for Class A Hickory this season.
  • One official tells Rosenthal that the Cubs and Rangers are "getting closer" on a Garza trade (Twitter link). Rosenthal adds that third base prospect Mike Olt is "possibly" in play, but the two sides are discussing prospects from multiple levels.

Earlier Updates

  • The Cubs are asking teams for their "last and best offers" for Garza, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and other clubs think he's thrown his last pitch as a Cub. In a separate pair of tweets, Olney adds that while the Rangers don't want to move Perez, they have other pitching prospects such as C.J. Edwards and Luke Jackson that could be of interest to the Cubs. Jackson ranked as the team's No. 6 prospect prior to the season according to Baseball America, while Edwards ranked 14th. Both have had strong minor league seasons.
  • Rosenthal writes that the Rangers have the most motivation to acquire Garza and have had extensive talks with the Cubs. He adds that the Dodgers are still in the mix even after acquiring Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins.
  • If the Rangers don't acquire Garza, rival executives see the Cardinals, Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Dodgers as the likeliest destinations, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
  • As reported earlier by Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Rockies owner Dick Monfort issued a letter to season-ticket holders saying the team wouldn't surrender top prospects for rentals. That, presumably, officially takes them out of the running for Garza's services.

Derek Lowe Retires

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Derek Lowe has retired from baseball, though he prefers not to use the word "retire."  "I'm officially no longer going to play the game," Lowe told Tom Pelissero of USA Today.  He later added, "I'm not going to go to the Hall of Fame, so I don't feel like I need to have a retirement speech. But I was able to play 17 years on some pretty cool teams and win a World Series. So, everyone's got to stop playing at some point, and this is my time."

Lowe, 40, was released by the Rangers in May.  His retirement seemed likely in June, as he told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he'd told agent Scott Boras not to seek work for him.  Lowe pitched in parts of 17 Major League seasons for the Mariners, Red Sox, Dodgers, Braves, Indians, Yankees, and Rangers.

Lowe was drafted by the Mariners in the eighth round in 1991, joining the Red Sox with Jason Varitek for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb in a 1997 trade deadline deal.  Dan Duquette authored that steal for Boston, besting Woody Woodward and creating history as one of the most lopsided deadline deals ever.  Lowe became the Red Sox closer in 1999, earning an All-Star nod the following year.  He switched back to starting for the '02 season, finishing third in the AL Cy Young vote.  Though Lowe scuffled in the regular season in '04, he came up big for the Red Sox in the postseason, picked up a World Series ring, and parlayed that success into a four-year, $36MM deal with the Dodgers.

The groundballer was durable and quite good for the duration of the Dodgers contract, leading to a four-year, $60MM deal with Atlanta that did not go nearly as well.  Among pitchers hailing from Michigan, Lowe ranks 11th with 176 wins, 10th with 86 saves, and eighth with 1,722 strikeouts.  He earned over $110MM in his career.

East Notes: Mets, Byrd, Cano, Ortiz

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Earlier today, Mark Simon of ESPNNewYork.com turned in his 2013 mid-season report card for the Mets.  It hasn’t been a banner semester for most of the Metropolitans, but Marlon Byrd gets an A- for his play and Simon notes that he’ll be Mets remembered very fondly if he nets a good prospect in a deadline deal.  Meanwhile, GM Sandy Alderson gets a C for his efforts, though it’s really more like an incomplete as he’ll be judged more by what he does with a more flexible payroll this winter.  Here’s more out of the AL and NL East..

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks as the offseason ahead of the Yankees’ Robinson Cano.  A number of teams with potential openings at second base could get involved, including the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies (if they move on from Chase Utley), Mets, Orioles, Nationals and Mariners.  Ultimately, however, Rosenthal expects Cano to stay in pinstripes.
  • Despite his performance, Red Sox star David Ortiz knows that age is catching up with him, writes CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam.  Ortiz isn’t ready to lay out a timetable, but he says that the two-year pact he signed this past offseason could be his last.
  • Mets infielder Ruben Tejada is making an agency change, leaving Peter Greenberg and the Legacy Group for Barry Praver & Scott Shapiro, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  You can keep track of everyone’s representation with MLBTR’s Agency Database.

Bowden’s Latest: Garza, Rox, Rios, Morneau, Perkins

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The trade deadline is just two weeks away, and with the All-Star Game in the rear-view mirror, Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio writes that the market will pick up rapidly beginning Friday. Here are some highlights from the highly informative article penned by the former GM of the Reds, Expos and Nationals (ESPN Insider required and recommended)…

  • Bowden hears there's an 80 percent chance that Matt Garza will be traded before his next scheduled start (Monday or Tuesday of next week). The Rangers, Red Sox and Diamondbacks are still involved, He describes the D-backs as "dark horses," adding that their odds in the Garza sweepstakes would increase if they were willing to part with left-hander David Holmberg.
  • The Rockies could also be interested in Garza, but they're not clear-cut buyers right now, and the prospective cost is prohibitive to them. If they were to sell, Rafael Betancourt and Matt Belisle could be had. Michael Cuddyer could be moved, but only if Colorado is "blown away."
  • The White Sox have been "extremely disappointed" with offers for Alex Rios thus far. Bowden feels that offers will improve as the deadline draws closer.
  • The Justin Morneau era in Minnesota is coming to an end, and the Twins are prepared to trade the former MVP, according to Bowden. The Rays, Pirates and Yankees are said by Bowden to be possible destinations for Morneau.
  • The Cardinals, Reds, Dodgers and Braves have all inquired on Twins closer Glen Perkins and been turned away. Those four teams are all monitoring the health of Jesse Crain as well.
  • The Yankees are trying to use Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and catching prospect J.R. Murphy to acquire a bat but have had no luck thus far. None of those players figure to interest the Twins in regards to Morneau, Bowden adds, given the impending free agency of Hughes and Chamberlain and the presence of Joe Mauer behind the plate for the Twins.

Jesse Crain Rumors: Tuesday

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Jesse Crain's rapidly rising trade value took a hit when he was placed on the 15-day disabled list earlier this month with a right shoulder strain, but the right-hander is still likely to be highly sought if he returns healthy next week, as he's expected to do. Here's the latest on the White Sox setup man…

  • The Rockies are very interested in Crain given the struggles of Wilton Lopez, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post. The Rockies have long coveted Crain, according to Renck. While Crain was born in Toronto, he attended high school in Colorado and admitted to Renck that he nearly accepted a two-year offer from the Rockies prior to signing his three-year pact with the White Sox.
  • Crain told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that "it would be fun" to play for the first-place Red Sox. Crain says he's heard plenty of rumors about Boston being a potential destination for him on the trade market, and that trade rumors were frequently on his mind prior to his injury. He's now focused on getting healthy rather than where he will be pitching come August 1.

Matt Garza Rumors: Tuesday

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On January 8th, 2011, the previous Cubs front office led by GM Jim Hendry finalized a trade that brought Matt Garza (and Fernando Perez and Zach Rosscup) to Chicago from the Rays for Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Robinson Chirinos, Sam Fuld, and Brandon Guyer.  At the time, ESPN's Buster Olney heard that Andrew Friedman and the Rays "didn't get much in the way of high-end prospects; more depth type guys than impact."  Archer, 24, seems ready to challenge that evaluation as a member of the Rays' rotation, while Lee, a 22-year-old shortstop, was knocking on the door of the Majors until a knee injury ended his season in April.  It's clear now the Cubs gave up a huge haul to acquire three years of Garza; now their new regime is marketing the remaining two to three months of his services to recoup as much young talent as possible.  The latest:

  • Jon Heyman of CBS Sports echoes Sullivan's earlier report that the Rangers aren't willing to include Martin Perez in a trade for Garza. The Red Sox are said to be "thinking about" Garza and would be a major threat if they entered the fray, according to Heyman. Boston has many pitching prospects acquired by Theo Epstein during his time as the team's GM. The Diamondbacks are in the mix as well, though they may prefer Jake Peavy. The Cubs are likely to place more emphasis on ceiling than proximity to the Major Leagues, according to Heyman, with a slight preference for pitching as opposed to position players.

Earlier Updates

  • The Rangers, Cardinals, Pirates, Indians, Blue Jays, and Dodgers "are the strongest pursuers" with a handful of other teams showing at least cursory interest in Garza, writes David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com.  A handful of club executives who spoke to Kaplan consider Garza a very strong No. 3 starter, for whom the Cubs have an "exceptionally high" asking price.  Kaplan adds that the Rangers and Blue Jays "are both deciding how far they want to go to acquire Garza."  Kaplan's baseball personnel experts feel the Cubs will come close but fall short of the Brewers' Zack Greinke package from last summer, which consisted of shortstop Jean Segura and pitchers Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena.  Complicating that comparison is the fact that Segura raised his stock considerably this year; at the time of the deal, Baseball America ranked him 43rd among prospects and ESPN's Keith Law had him outside of his top 50.
  • Baseball America's midseason top 50 prospects list came out last week.  Prospects in the 35-50 range who play for potential Garza suitors include Joc Pederson of the Dodgers, Anthony Ranaudo and Garin Cecchini of the Red Sox, Alen Hanson of the Pirates, Aaron Sanchez of the Blue Jays, Mike Olt of the Rangers, Kolten Wong of the Cardinals, and Adam Eaton of the Diamondbacks.  Kaplan notes that the Rangers are "thought to be dangling" Olt, a third baseman.  A lot of the position players named here either seem unlikely to be traded or aren't great fits for the Cubs, who might prefer to get a pitcher as the headliner.
  • The personnel heads who spoke to Joel Sherman of the New York Post picture Garza going to the Rangers, who have the need and the goods to make a deal.  22-year-old southpaw Martin Perez "could be a key element for the Cubs to move Garza to Texas," writes Sherman.  The Rangers are not going to give up Perez, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  He names Neil Ramirez, Carlos Pimentel, Leury Garcia, and Luis Sardinas as more realistic possibilities.

Cuban Pitcher Hinojosa Granted Free Agency

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Cuban righty Dalier Hinojosa received clearance from the U.S. government and has been granted free agency by MLB, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  Hinojosa defected from Cuba in February, establishing residency in Haiti, according to a source.  The Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees are among the teams that have shown interest in the 27-year-old, Sanchez wrote in June.  Hinojosa is represented by Praver/Shapiro, MLBTR has learned, and he has already showcased his talents for teams.

Hinojosa throws in the low-to-mid 90s with a slider, curveball, two-seam fastball, and changeup, according to Sanchez.  He starred with the Cuban national team, and is a former teammate of Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.  Gonzalez has also been cleared to sign with MLB teams.  There is no limitation to the contracts these Cuban defectors may receive, because they are at least 23 years old and have played as a professional in a Cuban professional league for at least three seasons.  For the 2014-15 international signing period, that minimum requirement will jump to five seasons.

Strong Interest In Michael Young

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"Intense trade interest" in infielder Michael Young might compel the Phillies to trade him despite indications the team doesn't plan to sell, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  He says the Red Sox and Yankees are among about a dozen teams that have checked in on Young.

I still think Young, a 36-year-old hitting .288/.344/.414, would bring a modest return.  Rosenthal says the Phillies have no obvious internal replacement for him, though I wonder if utility man Kevin Frandsen is capable of delivering similar production in a regular role.  The Phillies are currently 5.5 games out in the wild card, and seek a center fielder and bullpen help.

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