Heyman On Sabathia, Swisher, Red Sox
C.C. Sabathia told Jon Heyman of SI.com that he hopes the Yankees will add guaranteed years to his contract after the season. The left-hander has an opt-out clause that enables him to walk away from the four years and $92MM remaining on his contract and become a free agent, so he has leverage. Here's the latest on Sabathia, the Yankees and the Red Sox:
- Executives around the league tell Heyman that they're sure Sabathia will use the opt out to leave or obtain an extension.
- However, people around the Yankees like what Sabathia delivers and say he is "pretty well entrenched" as a Yankee.
- Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter in the league, according to Sabathia, who gave Jose Bautista an honorable mention.
- It's possible that the Yankees will allow Nick Swisher to hit free agency instead of exercising his $10.25MM option after the season. Here's a list of all 2012 free agents.
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who has homered in three of his past four games, is rewarding the Red Sox people who believed in his ability.
- Carl Crawford has been a "real professional" despite his struggles, a Red Sox person told Heyman.
Quick Hits: Holliday, Twins, Astros, Nats, Red Sox
Some links to browse through on your Sunday afternoon…
- The Matt Holliday contract is looking better every day, writes Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Miklasz compares Holliday's deal to several other outfielders, including Alfonso Soriano and Jason Bay, in pointing out the early returns on the Cardinals' investment in Holliday.
- Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at some of the biggest trades to date from Twins GM Bill Smith as the trade deadline approaches. The Twins figure to be full-fledged sellers for the first time under Smith's watch.
- Neither the Astros nor the Rockies are looking like winners of the Clint Barmes–for-Felipe Paulino swap this past offseason, writes the Houston Chronicle's Zachary Levine. The Rox just DFA'ed Paulino while Barmes is hitting .191 in Houston. As Levine points out, the Astros' bigger loss to the Rockies was former closer Matt Lindstrom.
- Zach Berman of the New Jersey Star Ledger takes a look at Nationals third base coach Bo Porter and his quest to become a Major League manager.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports opines that the Red Sox are a great team, but not yet complete as their bullpen has been overworked and exposed by a struggling rotation. He wonders if Boston will be in the hunt for an elite upgrade to its rotation prior to July 31 to take some of the pressure off the bullpen.
Quick Hits: Branyan, Bedard, Vazquez, Turner
On this date in 1999, the Twins traded Scott Downs and Rick Aguilera to the Cubs for Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan. Aguilera and Ryan ended their careers years ago, but Downs has a 0.84 ERA in 10 2/3 innings for the Angels this year while Lohse owns a 2.17 ERA in 66 1/3 innings for the Cardinals.
Here are Saturday's links, as Cliff Lee prepares to pitch against his former Rangers' teammates…
- Since joining the Red Sox, the club has learned that Adrian Gonzalez is a great mentor for their young Latin players, writes Peter Gammons of MLB.com.
- As Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter) points out, the Diamondbacks' release of Russell Branyan marks the end of his time with his tenth different club. He's had multiple stops in the same place as well as the Indians had and traded him four different times while the Brewers and the Mariners each had him twice.
- In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney says that any team interested in trading for Erik Bedard would have to convince themselves that he could find the same comfort zone on their team that he has with the Mariners.
- Seattle is "almost certainly in position to ask for a top prospect" for Bedard according to Olney, who has a 3.94 ERA in eight starts this year but remains an injury risk given all his shoulder trouble.
- Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez indicated that Javier Vazquez is not pitching for his job today, writes Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. Vazquez has a 7.55 ERA with more walks (24) than strikeouts (20) in 39 1/3 innings across eight starts this year, in part because his fastball velocity has disappeared.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post points out that the Yankees once drafted Mets' infielder Justin Turner, but he turned down a $200K offer as 29th round pick in 2005 and returned to school for his senior season. Turner signed with the Reds for $50K as a seventh round pick in 2006, then was traded to the Orioles in the Ryan Freel–Ramon Hernandez swap and was later claimed off waivers by the Mets. He went 3-for-4 with an RBI against the Yanks last night.
Minors Notes: Jennings, Transactions, Red Sox
The Phillies' Domonic Brown became the latest prospect to get the call up to the big leagues today (although he debuted in 2010), but some blue-chippers remain down on the farm. Here's a note about one of them, and some other interesting items …
- Rays manager Joe Maddon said Desmond Jennings wasn't called up after Dan Johnson was designated for assignment because Tampa wants the speedy outfielder to play every day, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Of course, Maddon was implying that the decision was not related to Jennings' service time.
- The Phillies' signing of 17-year-old Australian catcher Liam Bedford was among last week's notable minors transactions, compiled by Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Another noteworthy move: The Angels have finally signed UC Irvine catcher Francis Larson, their 22nd-round pick in last year's draft.
- The Red Sox have a unique sales pitch for minor league free agents, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Boston has a recent track record of awarding promotions to players like Nick Green and Darnell McDonald, which is appealing to guys like Drew Sutton who are looking to latch onto organizations that will give them a legitimate shot of playing in the Majors.
Red Sox Sign Kevin Millwood
The Red Sox and Kevin Millwood have finalized a minor league deal, Alex Speier of WEEI confirmed (on Twitter). Yahoo's Tim Brown first reported the agreement (on Twitter).
Millwood, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees earlier this year but opted out of his contract after posting a 4.50 ERA through three minor league starts. Millwood's numbers appeared to be good through his first two starts, but scouts said otherwise, citing that his fastball was sitting around just 85mph.
Over the past few days, we've heard that the Cubs, Red Sox, and possibly the Angels have all shown interest in Millwood. Boston's rotation depth has taken a hit with injuries to both John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka, so the Red Sox were a logical destination for the 14-year Major League veteran.
Red Sox Designate Daniel Nava For Assignment
The Red Sox designated outfielder Daniel Nava for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Drew Sutton, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (Twitter link). The Red Sox created room on the active roster for Sutton by optioning Jose Iglesias to the minor leagues.
Nava, 28, has a .192/.321/.262 line in 156 plate appearances at Triple-A this year. In 2010 he was a major contributor in Pawtucket, hitting .289/.372/.458 and earning a promotion to Boston. He made an impression early, hitting a grand slam on the first MLB pitch he saw and posting a .242/.351/.360 line in 188 plate appearances for the Red Sox.
Here's a more detailed look at Nava's path to the Major Leagues.
Red Sox Notes: Millwood, Morales, Okajima
The Red Sox made a pair of moves yesterday and won again, boosting their record to a season-best 23-20. Here’s the latest on Boston as they prepare to take on the Cubs…
- If recent signing Kevin Millwood reaches the Major Leagues, he’ll earn a pro-rated portion of $500K, plus incentives, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. In other words, he's guaranteed slightly more than the MLB minimum.
- If the Rockies had sent Franklin Morales to the Pirates instead of the Red Sox, Colorado would have asked for a prospect rather than former Rockie Joe Beimel, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
- The Red Sox designated Hideki Okajima for assignment to create roster space for Morales, but the Japanese left-hander says re-signing in Boston this offseason was not a mistake, according to Speier.
Red Sox Acquire Franklin Morales
The Red Sox have acquired Rockies left-hander Franklin Morales for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). In order to make room for Morales, Hideki Okajima has been designated for assignment by the BoSox.
Boston has until November to either agree on a player in the Morales trade or pay a nominal amount of money to the Rockies, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.
Morales was ranked as the eighth-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America prior to the 2008 season. The left-hander throws the ball extremely hard as evidenced by his 94.4 mph fastball last year. Across parts of five big league seasons, he owns a 4.83 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9.
The 25-year-old is out of options and the Rockies have reportedly been concerned about losing him to waivers. Yesterday we learned that the Rockies were measuring trade interest in Morales as well as fellow fireballer Felipe Paulino.
Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) first reported that the two sides were close to an agreement while Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter) reported that a deal was completed.
Red Sox Notes: Rodriguez, Millwood
A pair of items on the Red Sox as they take on the Tigers at home..
- Scouts around the league tell Danny Knobler of CBS Sports that the Red Sox need to find another catcher. Could Ivan Rodriguez be the solution in Boston? "That's a good park to hit in," Rodriguez told Knobler. "I've always hit well there." The 39-year-old says he wants to play two or three more seasons.
- The BoSox are still talking with Kevin Millwood, but nothing is happening there yet, a source tells Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter). Today we learned that the Cubs are interested in the veteran right-hander.
AL East Notes: Orioles, Martinez, Lowe, Posada
Hector Noesi got his first MLB win in unconventional fashion yesterday, pitching in and out of trouble through four innings of scoreless relief against the Orioles. Here’s the latest on the Yankees, the O’s and their division rivals after a bizarre game in Baltimore…
- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and manager Buck Showalter are likely weighing a variety of options after the extra-inning game and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun explains them.
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald argues that letting Victor Martinez leave as a free agent last season was the right decision for Boston. Though the Red Sox will likely miss the backstop this year, they’ll also miss his decline years.
- The Red Sox are in ‘hang-in’ mode with Tim Wakefield and Alfredo Aceves starting and John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox have inquired on Kevin Millwood and Cafardo suggests we should keep an eye on Derek Lowe, though he appears unavailable.
- Though Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter helped the Yankees win five championships, keeping the veterans in pinstripes when they’re no longer elite players has its consequences, in the opinion of Les Carpenter of Yahoo Sports. “The price of relative stability, of naming cornerstones and leaving them in place,” Carpenter writes, “is the inability to get rid of them.”