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Quick Hits: Giants, Ross, Rangers, Morneau, Royals

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One of the largest trades in baseball history was made official on Saturday, but here's a look at what else is going on in baseball…

  • The Giants' search for an outfielder is going "nowhere fast," reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have waiver priority and can block deals, though San Francisco likes having Gregor Blanco's defense in left for their fly ball pitching staff.
  • Following their recent major move, the Red Sox want to keep Cody Ross according to Rosenthal (on Twitter). Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston says that Ross knows this and an extension could happen before the end of the season (Twitter links). Talks have not yet begun, however.
  • The Rangers have claimed a number of players this month, including Justin Upton according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The club is looking for a number of ways to improve prior to August 31st.
  • Before moving on to Adrian Gonzalez, the Dodgers made another attempt to acquire Justin Morneau last week according to Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. They tried to land the Twins' slugger prior to the trade deadline as well.
  • There is mutual interest between the Marlins and Carlos Lee about a return next season, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Earlier this month we heard that Lee wanted to return to Miami, but the club's intentions were unclear.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star that the team's focus this offseason will be the pitching staff, including an attempt to re-sign Jeremy Guthrie.
  • Jonny Gomes told Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle that he would like to return to the Athletics next season. The 31-year-old is hitting .248/.360/.478 with 15 homers in 267 plate appearances this year.

Justin Upton Claimed On Waivers

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7:46pm: The Rangers are one of several clubs that placed a claim on Upton, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Since they have the best record in the AL, Texas is dead last on the waiver priority list for an NL player.

SATURDAY, 6:48pm: The Red Sox were not the claiming team, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). He reiterates that Upton will not be traded.

FRIDAY: Justin Upton has been claimed on waivers by an unidentified team, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter links). However, a Diamondbacks official said there's "no chance" of a trade this month.

Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick told reporters last month that it's a "reasonable assumption" that Upton will stay put for the remainder of the season. It's not at all uncommon for teams to determine trade interest by placing players — even stars — on the waiver wire.

Upton will earn $9.75MM in 2013, $14.25MM in 2014 and $14.5MM in 2015. His six-year, $51.25MM contract allows him to block moves to the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Indians.

The Diamondbacks now have until Sunday to select one of three options. They can let Upton (and his contract) go to the claiming team, they can complete a trade with the claiming team, or they can pull him back off of waivers. Expect Arizona to pull Upton back off of waivers.

National League teams had claiming priority on Upton, whose teammate, Joe Saunders, cleared waivers today. Upton, 25, has a .273/.356/.397 batting line with nine home runs in 472 plate appearances this year.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Rosenthal On Upton, Rangers, Beckett, Drew

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Here's a look at the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link)..

  • It's likely that the Rangers will pursue a trade for the Diamondbacks' Justin Upton this offseason.  Upton would join Mike Olt and Jurickson Profar as a part of the team's future offensive core.  Of course, Texas will be facing the potential losses of Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli as free agents and Nelson Cruz will be entering his final year under contract.  In a deal for Upton, the D'Backs would likely have interest in shortstop Elvis Andrus.
  • Stephen Drew is basically on a six-week audition with the A's and the club won't rule out bringing him back for 2013, perhaps even by exercising their end of his $10MM option.  Drew's agent Scott Boras has shown a willingness to do one-year deals to help players re-establish value and the shortstop has a strong relationship with Bob Melvin.
  • The Red Sox won't regret trading Josh Beckett when they had the chance.  Even though this winter's available pitchers aren't necessarily elite, there are plenty of more attractive options than Beckett.  Three of the big free agents: Zack Greinke, Ryan Dempster, and Anibal Sanchez, haven't upped their value since being traded and their prices could sink.  Dan Haren and Ervin Santana could be available if the Angels decline their options and pitchers like Gavin Floyd and Justin Masterson could be on the trade block.
  • The Reds are leaning against promoting Billy Hamilton, who has 148 stolen bases in the minors this season.  The idea of using him as a pinch runner in September would be extremely exciting, but the club doesn't believe that he will be ready to play in the majors next season and he would basically be a waste of a 40-man spot.

Trade Reactions: Red Sox, Dodgers, Gonzalez

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This morning, the Red Sox and Dodgers completed a nine-player blockbuster sending Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto to Los Angeles for James Loney, Allen Webster, Ivan De Jesus, Jerry Sands, and Rubby De La Rosa.  For more on the quartet of prospects the Red Sox received, check out Mike Axisa's rundown from earlier today.  Here's a look at some of the reaction to today's mega-deal..

  • Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) looks at the winners and losers of the deal.  The Dodgers of 2012 are unsurprisingly among the winners while the Dodgers of 2017, Olney writes, appear to be losers in the trade.  Olney also notes that this is the first time in MLB history in which two players with $100MM remaining on their contracts were involved in a trade.
  • The Red Sox will have $260MM to spend, but two best free agents this winter, Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke, don't appear to be fits for Boston, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
  • One rival executive told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that he didn't feel that this was the best use of $250MM+ in future spending for the Dodgers.
  • Rival executives are wondering why the Dodgers didn't simply tell the Red Sox that they would eat their hefty contracts but would not give up notable prospects, Olney tweets.
  • A National League executive opined to Peter Gammons of MLB.com (via Twitter) that "The Dodgers so wanted [Adrian] Gonzalez they took [Carl] Crawford and [Josh] Beckett's money and traded two great arms to get him."  Gammons also opines (Twitter link) that between the limited free agent market and caps on international and draft spending, it won't be easy for Boston to reinvest all the money that they have saved.
  • The trade talk all started with a call from the Dodgers to Red Sox president Larry Lucchino about Gonzalez, Heyman tweets.
  • One overlooked aspect of the trade, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets, is that it could potentially net the Dodgers a more lucrative TV contract.
  • Mark Teixeira weighed in on the deal, saying that he didn't sign with Boston in part because they don't offer no-trade clauses, tweets Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
  • Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo Sports wonders if the trade will hurt Boston as a potential free agent destination down the line.  Money will always speak the loudest in the end, but free agents may look for an even higher premium to sign with the club that just jettisoned much of its core.
  • Red Sox players were predictably shocked by the trade, including second baseman Dustin Pedroia, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.

A Look At The Prospects Headed To The Red Sox

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The Red Sox and Dodgers completed what is arguably the biggest trade of the MLB Trade Rumors era today, a nine-player swap featuring Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, and Carl Crawford moving to Los Angeles. The Dodgers clearly made the move with the intention of improving their chances to win both now and during the next several seasons, but for the Red Sox it was all about a fresh start.

As reported earlier, the Dodgers will assume all but $12MM of the approximately $271.5MM in contracts coming their way. Boston is getting what amounts to a financial fresh start, as their three highest paid players coming into the season (in terms of average annual value) are now off the books. After a disastrous end to last season and a disappointing 2012 season overall, most clubs would have been happy just clearing that much future payroll. Red Sox GM Ben Cherington did one better and acquired some quality prospects as well.

Uspw_5380708The four-player prospect haul is highlighted by two right-handers: Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa (pictured). The Cubs asked for the 22-year-old Webster in exchange for right-hander Ryan Dempster prior to the trade deadline but were rebuffed. Baseball America ranked him as the number two prospect in Los Angeles' system before the season, behind only Zach Lee. Webster was also ranked as the 95th best prospect in baseball before the season by the publication. He's pitched to a 3.55 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 22 starts and five relief appearances at the Double-A level this season, and Baseball America spoke to one team official who described him as a future number two starter in the Derek Lowe mold.

De La Rosa, 23, just returned from Tommy John surgery. He threw a dozen minor league rehab innings before making one relief appearance with the Dodgers earlier this week, but was sent down to Triple-A last night so he could be included in the trade as a player to be named later. Reports indicated that the Blue Jays may have claimed him off waivers, so pulling him back and waiting until the offseason to officially include him gets around that obstacle. De La Rosa made ten starts and three relief appearances for the Dodgers last year, pitching to a 3.71 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 60 2/3 innings. PitchFX confirms that he can run his fastball into the upper-90s and triple digits. Although Rubby was not eligible for this year's prospect lists, Baseball America considered him the third best prospect in the organization and 90th best prospect in the game prior to 2011. Like Webster, they called him a potential number two starter down the road.

The Red Sox have developed two above-average starting pitchers in Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz in recent years, but they whiffed on free agent contracts to John Lackey and (to a lesser extent) Daisuke Matsuzaka. Only two of their top ten prospects coming into the season were pitchers, and number four prospect Anthony Ranaudo has only thrown 37 2/3 innings due to injury this summer. They surrendered Casey Kelly to acquire Gonzalez last offseason, however 2011 first rounder Matt Barnes has since emerged as one of the best pitching prospects in the game. Boston's starting rotation has pitched to a 4.88 ERA this season, fourth worst in the AL and fifth worst in all of baseball. Not all prospects work out, but adding Webster and De La Rosa to Barnes gives the Red Sox some much-needing top-shelf pitching depth in the upper minors.

The two other pieces of the trade – Jerry Sands and Ivan De Jesus – project to be role players. The 24-year-old Sands is a right-handed hitting corner outfielder/first baseman who has hit .244/.325/.376 with four homers in 251 plate appearances with the Dodgers over the last two seasons. His big Triple-A numbers (.291/.363/.557 since last year) are somewhat inflated due to a hitter-friendly park in Albuquerque. Like De La Rosa, Sands was not prospect-eligible this year but Baseball America did consider him the team's sixth best prospect prior to 2011. There is some concern about his ability to hit right-handed pitching long-term – .589 OPS vs. RHP and .904 OPS vs. LHP in his limited big league time – but Fenway Park should boost his offensive output. He'll give the Red Sox some flexibility at three of the four corner spots.

De Jesus, 25, missed the start of this season with an oblique injury and has been up and down the last two years. He's hit .231/.282/.277 in 72 big league plate appearances and .301/.354/.416 in over 1,200 Triple-A plate appearances since the start of 2010. Again, those minor league numbers are inflated a bit by the offensive environment in Albuquerque. Baseball America ranked him as the team's 26th best prospect before the season in their Prospect Handbook, where they noted his ability to play three infield positions. With Nick Punto on his way to Los Angeles and Will Middlebrooks injured, De Jesus will provide some infield depth for the time being.

The big prize for the Red Sox is all the freed-up payroll, but the trade was not just a pure salary dump. Webster and De La Rosa have the potential to be impact big leaguers and both Sands and De Jesus should be able to carve out a niche at the Major League level. Three of four prospects figure to see time with Boston next month, and Webster should be in consideration for a job at some point next season. The Dodgers were able to swing all of their midseason trades without surrendering Lee and 2011 first rounder Chris Reed, a benefit to their willingness to absorb money. Boston essentially hit the reset button financially, all while adding some quality prospects in the process.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Red Sox, Dodgers Complete Nine-Player Blockbuster

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If there was any doubt remaining that the Dodgers' new ownership group would drastically alter the franchise, it has now been completely eliminated. The Dodgers and Red Sox have officially completed a massive nine-player blockbuster trade that sends Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto to Los Angeles for James Loney and four prospects.

The four prospects are right-hander Allen Webster, infielder Ivan De Jesus, outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands, and right-hander Rubby De La Rosa. The Red Sox will pay just $12MM of the over $270MM owed to Beckett, Crawford, Gonzalez, and Punto, so their savings are considerable. Adding the four new players represents a substantial financial commitment by the Dodgers:

  • Gonzalez will earn $21MM per season through 2016 and obtain a raise to $21.5MM for 2017-18. The total exceeds $130MM when accounting for the remainder his 2012 salary.
  • Crawford will earn $20MM in 2013, $20.25MM in 2014, $20.5MM in 2015, $20.75MM in 2016 and $21MM in 2017.
  • Beckett will earn $15.75MM per season through 2014.
  • Punto earns $1.5MM per season through 2013.

With this trade as well as the previous acquisitions of Hanley Ramirez, Randy Choate, Brandon League, Shane Victorino, and Joe Blanton, the Dodgers have absorbed more than $300MM in future payroll obligations in the last month or so. As Jeff Euston of Cot's Baseball Contracts notes (on Twitter), the club now has a $193.75MM in contract obligations for next season, $133.6MM for 2014, $90MM for 2015, $88.65MM for 2015, and another $90MM for 2016. The Red Sox, on the other hand, are now on the hook for just $45.6MM in 2013, $34.4MM in 2014, $12.75MM in 2015, and $2.45MM in 2016 (Twitter link).

Both Beckett (10-and-5 rights) and Crawford (limited no-trade clause) had to approve the deal, and Buster Olney of ESPN reports (on Twitter) that neither player asked for any kind of compensation to do so. The Dodgers were not included in Gonzalez's limited no-trade clause. Los Angeles claimed both Gonzalez and Beckett off trade waivers yesterday, plus Punto and Crawford both cleared earlier this month. Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times reports (on Twitter) that the Blue Jays are believed to have claimed De La Rosa off waivers, but he was pulled back and will technically be included in the deal as a player to be named later.

Uspw_6257872The Dodgers, who currently sit three games back of the Giants in the NL West race, are adding an impact left-handed bat to pair with the right-handed Matt Kemp in Gonzalez. The Southern California native spent the first five full seasons of his career a little further south with the Padres, so he's certainly familiar with the division. Gonzalez, 30, is hitting .300/.343/.469 with 15 homers in what is generally considered to be a down year compared to his career average of .294/.372/.509 and 30 or so homers annually. Dodgers' first basemen have hit just .244/.289/.357 this season, so even down year Gonzalez represents an enormous upgrade.

Beckett, 32, has pitched to a 5.23 ERA in 21 starts and 127 1/3 innings this season while battling thumb and back issues. His strikeout rate (6.6 K/9) is a career-low and PitchFX shows that his velocity has tapered off into the low-90s. Moving into the easier league and a more pitcher-friendly ballpark should help his numbers, and Beckett gives Los Angeles a pitcher with a proven playoff track record. Current Dodgers' starters have combined for just 11 career playoff starts, six by Blanton. Beckett alone has 13 playoff starts and a World Series MVP to his credit.

Crawford, 31, had Tommy John surgery two days ago and will miss the rest of the season. He hit just .260/.292/.419 with 14 homers and 23 steals in 161 disappointing games with the Red Sox after averaging .299/.340/.448 with 13 homers and 50 steals in eight full seasons with the Rays. Crawford is expected to be able to return to action early next season, meaning Victorino is likely to be allowed to leave as a free agent.

The Dodgers recently lost Jerry Hairston Jr. to a hip injury for the remainder of the season, so the 34-year-old Punto gives them some protection and added depth on the infield. He's hit just .200/.301/.272 with five steals in 148 plate appearances for Boston this year while playing all four infield positions. He's a year removed from a .278/.388/.421 line as a part-time player with the Cardinals.

Loney, 28, has hit just .254/.302/.344 with four homers in 359 plate appearances this season and will become a free agent this winter. He figures to serve as a stopgap first baseman for the Red Sox for the next six weeks or so.

Webster, 22, has pitched to a 3.55 ERA in 121 2/3 innings for the Dodgers' Double-A affiliate this season. The 25-year-old De Jesus has been up and down between Triple-A and the big leagues in recent years, hitting .301/.354/.416 in over 1,200 minor league plate appearances since 2010. Sands, 24, has been also been up and down these last two years. He owns a career .291/.363/.557 line nearly 900 Triple-A plate appearances. De La Rosa, 23, just returned from Tommy John surgery and pitched to a 3.71 ERA in ten starts and three relief appearances for Los Angeles last season. Click here for a more in-depth look at the prospects headed to Boston later today.

A trade of this magnitude had many helping hands along the way, though Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston first reported that the two sides were discussing this massive deal. Check out this post for all of the pre-completion rumors and reports. Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald and an Roche of WBZ (on Twitter) first reported completion of the trade while Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com and Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times added details (Twitter links). Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Red Sox Notes: Dodgers, Gonzalez, Beckett

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With the Red Sox on the verge of completing a blockbuster deal with the Dodgers, here's a look at the latest out of Fenway..

  • The Red Sox should trade Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers, just as the Phillies should have done with Cliff Lee when they had the chance, opines Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Even though Gonzalez isn't Boston's problem, the veteran has seen his power dip this season and will be owed $127MM from 2013 through 2018.
  • Seeds of the mega-deal between the Red Sox and Dodgers were planted before the July 31st deadline, tweets Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.  The discussions were resurrected in the last week, which led to Gonzalez and Josh Beckett to go on waivers.
  • If the deal goes down as expected, it will be one of the most interesting trades in baseball history, writes Dave Cameron of Fangraphs.  Cameron writes that even strong believers in Gonzalez will have to concede that they won't have a hard time replacing his production with the roughly $262MM that they could save.

Stark On Mariners, Felix, Sizemore, Lohse

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MLB executives tell ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark that they make sure to consider the differences between baseball’s two leagues when evaluating trade candidates. “I think it's safe to say you can look a lot smarter taking a pitcher from the American League to the National League than the other way around," one executive told Stark. Here are some highlights from his latest ESPN.com column:

  • Baseball people expect the Mariners to sign Felix Hernandez long-term instead of trading him, Stark reports. Hernandez is under contract through 2014.
  • Two scouts said they’d recommend signing Grady Sizemore if it doesn’t require much guaranteed money. The outfielder’s season is over and he figures to obtain a one-year, incentive-based contract this winter.
  • One scout said he’d be nervous about trading for Johan Santana given his health issues. The Mets recently shut the left-hander down for the remainder of the season.
  • Cardinals executives have told people they’re going to let Kyle Lohse’s contract situation play itself out. Lohse, who is headed for free agency this offseason, hasn’t had recent contract talks with the team, so it’s a safe bet he’ll hit the open market.

Dodgers Awarded Claim On Adrian Gonzalez

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4:22pm: The Dodgers are "very serious" about trading for Gonzalez and have lots of options, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (on Twitter).

2:51pm: There’s a growing possibility that the Red Sox will trade Gonzalez to the Dodgers, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reports. However, Red Sox officials told Edes they “love Adrian” and are simply exploring all ways of improving their team.

2:12pm: The Red Sox are listening to the Dodgers' trade pitch for Gonzalez, but the chances of a deal being completed are slim, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter).

12:52pm: The Dodgers have erased any lingering doubts about their willingness to spend big on impact MLB players. They were awarded the waiver claim on Adrian Gonzalez, the latest in a series of aggressive moves by the team's new ownership group, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports (on Twitter). The Dodgers and Red Sox now have until Sunday to discuss a possible trade, but August waivers are revocable, so the Red Sox can elect to hold onto Gonzalez.

Alternatively, Boston GM Ben Cherington could work out a trade involving Gonzalez or assign the San Diego native and the $130MM-plus remaining on his contract to the Dodgers. The Dodgers couldn't have won the claiming rights unless every American League team passed on Gonzalez, as well as every National League team with a worse record than Los Angeles.

Gonzalez can’t block a move to the Dodgers, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. However, the Red Sox would only move Gonzalez in a transformative or franchise-changing move, Ken Rosenthal reported. Boston wouldn't let him go for nothing, Jon Heyman added. Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com asked a Red Sox official if Boston will trade Gonzalez to Los Angeles in the next two days and the person replied 'no' (Twitter link). If the Red Sox are willing to consider trading Gonzalez, they could wait until the offseason and engage more teams.

Gonzalez, the first overall pick in the 2000 draft, will earn $21MM per season through 2016 and obtain a raise to $21.5MM for 2017-18. The total exceeds $130MM when accounting for the remainder of Gonzalez's 2012 salary. The 30-year-old has a .300/.343/.469 batting line with 15 home runs and 37 doubles in 527 plate appearances this year. He would represent a considerable upgrade over James Loney for the Dodgers.

Since taking over at the beginning of the 2012 season team president Stan Kasten and chairman Mark Walter have made it clear that they're willing to spend aggressively. The Dodgers claimed Cliff Lee on waivers earlier this month after trading for Shane Victorino, Hanley Ramirez, Joe Blanton and Brandon League.

Dodgers Awarded Claim On Josh Beckett

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3:48pm: The Dodgers claimed Beckett, McAdam reports (on Twitter). This will create many possibilities for a larger trade involving Adrian Gonzalez.

3:35pm: An unidentified team has claimed right-hander Josh Beckett off of waivers, Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com reports (all Twitter links). One MLB executive believes the mystery team could be the Dodgers, but that hasn't been confirmed. Beckett can veto any trade or waiver assignment as a player with ten and five rights.

The Red Sox now have until Sunday to select one of three options. They can let Beckett (and his contract) go to the claiming team, they can complete a trade with the claiming team, or they can pull him back off of waivers. American League teams had claiming priority on Beckett.

McAdam suggests the Red Sox would probably allow the claiming team to take on Beckett and his salary — $15.75MM per season through 2014. He has posted a 5.23 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 127 1/3 innings this year, while facing considerable scrutiny for his on-field performance and off-field actions. The Rangers showed some interest in Beckett leading up to the July 31st trade deadline.

Gonzalez was claimed by the Dodgers today, but reportedly won't be traded unless the Red Sox obtain a substantial return.

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