Trade Reaction: Ubaldo, Rangers, Furcal, Mariners
We've seen dozens of deals completed this month. To help you make sense of it all, here are some reactions to the moves from around MLB…
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan breaks down the deadline for all 30 teams. The Astros might receive Passan's harshest criticism. Passan's response to this morning's Michael Bourn trade: "To send him to Atlanta without getting at least Mike Minor or Randall Delgado, let alone Julio Teheran or Arodys Vizcaino, shows a deep misunderstanding by GM Ed Wade of the proper way to rebuild." Ouch.
- The Rangers, Phillies, Braves, Giants and Mets are winners for ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The Yankees, Angels, Reds and Cubs are losers, Stark writes. The Astros face harsh criticism once again: "They're basically starting to shape themselves for 2015," one NL executive told Stark. "It's almost like they're doing an expansion team."
- Brian Sabean (Giants), Jon Daniels (Rangers), Dan O'Dowd (Rockies) and Jed Hoyer (Padres) are among the general managers on Jim Bowden's list of top deadline deal-makers at ESPN.com.
- In a separate piece, Passan looks back at flameout rates for pitching prospects and concludes that the Indians made a great deal in acquiring Ubaldo Jimenez for a package of players including Drew Pomeranz and Alex White.
- One front office polled its members about winners and losers and the Rangers were the unanimous top choice, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says Rafael Furcal is an upgrade for the Cardinals at short because St. Louis didn't have any legitimate alternatives. Furcal, Law writes, is an average defender with a plus arm.
- The Mariners did well to acquire Charlie Furbush, Francisco Martinez, Casper Wells and one of the Tigers' top three picks from the 2010 draft for David Pauley and Doug Fister, who benefit from spacious Safeco Field, Law writes.
- Law says the Mariners did well to obtain Trayvon Robinson for two months of Erik Bedard and Josh Fields ("a throw-in"), but he isn't sure what the Dodgers were doing in this deal.
- The Rangers' bullpen will be substantially better with Mike Adams and Koji Uehara, Law writes at ESPN.com. San Diego gets Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland from the Rangers, two pitchers who "make up in probability for what they might lack in upside."
AL East Trades
This month's AL East trades..
Blue Jays
- Acquired center fielder Colby Rasmus and pitchers Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters from the Cardinals for starter Edwin Jackson, relievers Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, outfielder Corey Patterson, and three players to be named later or cash considerations.
- Acquired starter Edwin Jackson and third baseman Mark Teahen from the White Sox for reliever Jason Frasor and starter Zach Stewart.
- Will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations from the Dodgers for outfielder Juan Rivera.
Orioles
- Acquired minor league first baseman Aaron Baker from the Pirates for Derrek Lee.
- Acquired Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter from Texas for Koji Uehara and $2MM.
- Acquired lefty reliever Zach Phillips from the Rangers for Nick Green and cash considerations.
Rays
- Received cash considerations from the Brewers in exchange for Felipe Lopez.
Red Sox
- Acquired starter Erik Bedard and reliever Josh Fields from Seattle in a three-way deal also involving the Dodgers. Boston sent catcher Tim Federowicz, reliever Juan Rodriguez, and starter Stephen Fife to Los Angeles and outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang to Seattle. The M's also got outfielder Trayvon Robinson from the Dodgers.
- Acquired infielder Mike Aviles from the Royals for infielder/outfielder Yamaico Navarro and reliever Kendal Volz.
- Will receive a player to be named later or cash from Florida for outfielder Mike Cameron.
Yankees
- The Yankees didn't make any July trades for the first year since 1999.
Epstein On Bedard, Harden, Fields, Buchholz
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein acquired Mike Aviles, Erik Bedard and Josh Fields in trades this weekend. He joined reporters on a conference call to discuss those moves and other issues pertaining to his first-place team this evening. Here are the details:
- The Red Sox like the way Bedard's stuff looks this year. He "really started to look like one of the best left-handers in the league again," Epstein said.
- Though Bedard was rusty in his lone start since returning from the disabled list, the Red Sox maintained interest in him since he seems healthy and has pitched in the AL East. Plus, he met Boston's biggest need – rotation help.
- The Bedard deal came together at the last minute, since the Red Sox had to acquire Trayvon Robinson from the Dodgers before completing the deal with the Mariners.
- As for the bullpen, Epstein says the Red Sox can get by without adding outside help. "We feel we have some depth, not only in the big leagues, but in Triple-A," he said.
- Epstein declined to speak about discussions for Rich Harden, but says he has no hard feelings. It appeared last night that Boston was going to acquire Harden.
- The Red Sox like Fields' "big arm" despite his command issues.
- Though Epstein didn't discuss Clay Buchholz's injury in detail, he acknowledged concern over the right-hander's health.
Red Sox Acquire Erik Bedard In Three-Team Deal
Southpaw Erik Bedard hasn't pitched into August since 2007, but the Red Sox are hoping he can bolster their rotation for the rest of the season. The Sox acquired Bedard from Seattle today in a complicated trade:
- Red Sox get: starter Erik Bedard, reliever Josh Fields (both from Mariners)
- Mariners get: outfielder Trayvon Robinson (from Dodgers), outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang (from Red Sox)
- Dodgers get: catcher Tim Federowicz, reliever Juan Rodriguez, starter Stephen Fife (all from Red Sox)
Bedard, 32, has a 3.45 ERA, 8.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.08 HR/9, and 41.7% groundball rate in 91 1/3 innings this year. That's his highest innings total since '07, as he endured multiple shoulder surgeries. With Daisuke Matsuzaka out for the season, Clay Buchholz battling back problems, and Jon Lester missing time this month with a strained shoulder muscle, the Sox will take whatever they can get from Bedard. Bedard recently returned from a month-long layoff due to a knee sprain. He's owed only $324K in additional base salary, but can make millions more in incentives.
In Robinson, the Mariners came away with the best prospect in the deal. The 23-year-old outfielder is hitting .293/.375/.563 at Triple-A. Baseball America ranked him tenth among Dodgers prospects heading into the season, saying he's "loaded with athleticism" and "could have four average or better tools." Chiang, signed by the Red Sox out of Taiwan in 2006, has a breakout .338/.399/.647 line at Double-A. The Mariners added two quality outfield prospects without giving up much.
The Ms did have to surrender Josh Fields, their first-round draft pick from 2008. The 25-year-old has experienced control problems in the high minors. Baseball America ranked him 24th among Mariners prospects prior to the season, writing, "he could be a useful middle reliever if he can tighten up his control."
Federowicz, a 23-year-old Double-A catcher, must have been the key to the deal for the Dodgers. He's a well-regarded defensive backstop, but has a .275/.337/.397 line at Double-A. Overall Dodgers' involvement is a bit of a head-scratcher, but we'll see if prospect experts agree.
Rodriguez, 22, has a 5.19 ERA with 13.4 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 59 innings of relief at Class A this year. In parts of four professional seasons, he has a 3.31 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9. Fife, 24, has spent the past two seasons in the rotation of Boston's Double-A affiliate at Portland. He has a 3.66 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 103 1/3 innings this year.
Jon Heyman, Gordon Edes, and Jon Heyman broke the story with ESPN.com's Buster Olney reporting the specifics of the trade. Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Red Sox Deal For Harden Falls Through
10:58am: The Red Sox tried to remove the player to be named later from the deal and just send Anderson after looking at Harden's medicals, and were rebuffed by the A's, tweets Sean McAdam.
SUNDAY, 1:05am: Uncertainty after a review of Harden's medicals led to the deal coming apart, tweets Speier.
12:36am: A major league source says that the BoSox are not counting on the deal getting done, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
12:05am: Harden told the Oakland media that there is no deal and that he's staying with the A's, tweets Ian Browne of MLB.com. A Boston source confirmed Brown (via Twitter) that the deal is off.
SATURDAY, 11:47pm: A's GM Billy Beane told Harden he's still scheduled to pitch for the A's Tuesday, according to Slusser (on Twitter).
8:35pm: Anderson and a player to be named will head to Oakland in the deal, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus and Stark (Twitter links).
8:33pm: The deal could happen tonight and may involve Triple-A first baseman Lars Anderson, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).
8:20pm: It looks as though the Red Sox are closing in on a deal for Rich Harden, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark on Twitter. ESPN's Buster Olney reported on the deal earlier today and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported tonight that there was a "strong chance" of a deal.
Harden, 29, has a 4.30 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings for the A's this year. The British Columbia native was on the disabled list until the beginning of July. He earns a $1.5MM base salary this year.
Erik Bedard Rumors: Sunday
The latest on Mariners southpaw Erik Bedard…
- The Red Sox, Cardinals, and one other team are eyeing Bedard, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
- The Mariners and Cardinals are discussing Bedard, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He adds that the ball is in the Cardinals' court. Acquiring Bedard would give the Cards strong rotation depth, as they added Edwin Jackson on Wednesday.
Quick Hits: Slowey, Royals, Lee, Reddick
For a while, it seemed as though we'd have a quiet trade deadline. So much for that – today we saw Ubaldo Jimenez, Derrek Lee, Orlando Cabrera, Rich Harden, Koji Uehara, Chris Davis, Tommy Hunter, Jason Marquis, Mike Aviles, Jerry Hairston Jr., Doug Fister and David Pauley all get traded. Let's gear up for the deadline itself with another round of links…
- The Twins would like to move Kevin Slowey and the Rockies are interested, though they don't want to pay too much for him, according to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- Teams are still calling on Bruce Chen, Jeff Francis and Kyle Davies of the Royals, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). Any deal will likely come at the deadline tomorrow.
- Teams are still inquiring on Brandon League, even though top Mariners executives have said he's going nowhere, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels expects a quiet day tomorrow, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- The Astros would love to convince Carlos Lee that there's no point in refusing to waive his no-trade clause, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.
- The Astros wanted a package of players including Josh Reddick and Kyle Weiland from the Red Sox for Hunter Pence, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
Red Sox Talked To A’s About Harden, Willingham, Crisp
8:15pm: The Red Sox are out on Willingham and still trying on Harden, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
3:18pm: The Red Sox checked in with the A's on old friend Coco Crisp, tweets ESPN's Gordon Edes. He says the price is high for a player who may not bring draft pick compensation. Crisp does have a shot at Type B status though.
11:11am: The Red Sox talked to the Athletics about a possible trade for starter Rich Harden and outfielder Josh Willingham, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but it's unclear whether the deal currently has a pulse. The rumor mill has been quiet on Harden and Willingham, though they'd both be solid pickups for a contender.
Hiroki Kuroda To Stay With Dodgers
Yesterday we learned that officials in the Kuroda talks believe that they'll need to come to a resolution by tonight since the hurler will need some time to approve a deal. The Dodgers continue to talk with teams but the asking price remains high. Here's the latest news on Kuroda, with the most recent updates up top:
- Kuroda told the Dodgers he intends to stay with them for the remainder of the season, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter). The Dodgers have confirmed Kuroda's intention (on Twitter).
- Kuroda is the 'best bet' among players on Boston' radar, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (on Twitter). The deal is far from done, though.
- The Dodgers' heaviest conversations about Kuroda today have been with Texas and Boston, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Yankees are still involved.
- Kuroda has indicated to the Dodgers that he is open to deals to the Rangers, Red Sox, and Yankees, tweets ESPN's Gordon Edes. Heyman, however, spoke to a friend of Kuroda who would be surprised if the pitcher consents to any trade.
- The Dodgers are down to a final three of the Rangers, Yankees, and Red Sox on Kuroda, tweets Jon Heyman, though there's still no word on whether he'd approve a trade.
- The Yankees have taken the lead over the Red Sox for Kuroda, tweets ESPN's Jim Bowden, and it's 40/60 they make a deal. However, Buster Olney tweets that the Yankees and Dodgers have not spoken about Kuroda recently.
- The Dodgers asked the Yankees for Ivan Nova and a catching prospect, which was a non-starter for New York, tweets Joel Sherman. He explains that the Yankees think the Dodgers feel that if they can't make a killer deal for Kuroda, it's not worth trying to talk him out of his no-trade clause.
- Boston's interest in Kuroda increased after Erik Bedard's ugly start last night, tweets Ken Rosenthal.
- The Red Sox and Dodgers are in trade talks involving Kuroda for a prospect, tweets ESPN's Jim Bowden.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told reporters that he's "under no orders to shed salary," writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Due to a signing bonus that has yet to be paid, Kuroda is owed almost $6.7MM of his $12MM contract currently.
Matt Thornton Rumors: Saturday
Left-handed reliever Matt Thornton has a 3.28 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.50 HR/9, and 47.3% groundball rate in 35 2/3 innings this season for the White Sox, which is only a down year by his lofty standards. Thornton signed a three-year extension in March. He has $1MM remaining this year, $5.5MM in 2012, $5.5MM in '13, and a $6MM club option or $1MM buyout for '14. That's a total of $13MM guaranteed through 2013 for the hard-throwing 34-year-old. The latest rumors:
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that another deal is highly unlikely (Twitter link).
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post senses that the White Sox have really fallen out of love with Thornton and would love to move his contract (Twitter link). He says the Yankees are watching Thornton.
- The Diamondbacks would love to acquire Thornton but it can't happen given Chicago's demand of top prospects, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- The Red Sox are pushing hard for Thornton and right fielder Carlos Quentin, tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
- Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Rangers are pursuing Thornton, but would only be open to Chicago's request of Derek Holland if the Sox include a starter such as John Danks.