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Olney On Rios, Upton, Davis, Smoltz, Webb

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggests that Alex Rios would sign a deal worth $20MM over two years or $30MM over three if he were a free agent right now. That means the White Sox are paying more than market value for their new outfielder, but clubs can't often acquire talented players in their prime. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • The White Sox are better equipped to win this year and, even though they took on lots of money, they didn't give up a single player to acquire Rios.
  • Some talent evaluators are convinced the Rays will listen to offers for B.J. Upton this offseason.  
  • Olney hears that Doug Davis is currently on waivers and John Smoltz cleared waivers. 
  • If the D'Backs don't exercise Brandon Webb's $8.5MM option for 2010, he could become a gamble for big-market teams like the Yankees and Red Sox.

Odds And Ends: Webb, Tazawa, Morgan, Aurilia

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A few links for the morning…

  • Today's chat starts at 2pm CST.
  • Brandon Webb says he'll pitch next year and he hopes it's with the D'Backs, according to Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic. The team has the option of paying Webb $8.5MM or buying him out for $2MM.
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck says the Tigers, who had interest in Junichi Tazawa last Winter, now have to face the righty as he makes his first MLB start.
  • How about this stat, from Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post: The Nats were 21st in the majors in runs before Nyjer Morgan's arrival. Since trading for him, they're third.
  • MLB.com's Chris Haft wonders if the Giants may be about to release Rich Aurilia.
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Red Sox agreed to sign 10th rounder Brandon Jacobs for $750k, which exceeds the recommended bonus by about $600k.
  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the A's have budgeted first round money for fourth rounder Max Stassi. However, there appears to be a 50% chance he accepts a scholarship at UCLA instead of going pro.

Rosenthal On Bell, Mets, Padilla, Braves

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Dodgers were on the brink of acquiring Heath Bell before the July 31st trade deadline. The Padres will listen to offers for Bell and Adrian Gonzalez again after the season, but they're under less pressure to deal those players with Jake Peavy's contract off the books. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:

  • The Mets are not considering replacing Omar Minaya with assistant GM John Ricco right now, but we could see Ricco deal with the media more.
  • A pair of NL teams, possibly the Dodgers and Brewers, are "kicking the tires" on Vicente Padilla. Teams are more likely to wait for him to clear waivers than strike a deal now, however.
  • The Braves offered Casey Kotchman to the Pirates for Adam LaRoche before acquiring LaRoche from the Red Sox.  
  • The Rays and Rangers have been claiming players off of waivers aggressively. 
  • Rosenthal notes that the Rockies' revamped 'pen has pitched well so far.  

Alex Rios Claimed; Trade Next?

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MONDAY, 5:26pm: According to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, Blue Jays manager J.P. Ricciardi has just called a pre-game press conference. Bastian wonders if it'll involve news on the Rios situation. Stay tuned.

SUNDAY, 5:01pm: Ken Rosenthal says that Jays have to let Rios go, regardless of what kind of return – if any – they receive. Freeing up $58.7MM over the next several years is too valuable of an opportunity. As Rosenthal points out, $12MM this offseason (Rios' approximate average salary) could have bought Bobby Abreu, Orlando Hudson, Russell Branyan, and Adam Everett, while leaving $800K to spare.

6:52pm: Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune spoke to White Sox GM Kenny Williams, who abided by league rules stating he can't comment about specific players placed on waivers. He did offer up this, though:

"I’m not confirming or denying any interest or any claims or any thing, but if these things get out on a daily basis, boy, it’s going to be a heck of an August around here in terms of how many players you claim and how many you don’t claim.  It will make your head spin if you follow each report.  A lot of players getting claimed every day. Why is this a big deal?"

 

1:50pm: According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, we should know by "early Tuesday afternoon" where Rios is headed.

SATURDAY, 1:34pm: MLB.com's Jordan Bastian asked Rios about the waiver claim before Saturday's tilt with the Orioles.  It sounds like everyone is still in the dark.  "I can't do anything," said the outfielder.  "If I get traded, I get traded. I'm going to have to go wherever I get traded to, but I don't know.  At this point I'm thinking that I'm staying here."

For what it's worth, Rios is 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI since the waiver claim was reported.

FRIDAY, 10:02pm: Olney is now reporting that the White Sox "are most likely the team awarded claim on Rios, but the Blue Jays have not confirmed it."  The Sox face a mutual option on right fielder Jermaine Dye after the season, and could also consider using Rios in center field if they acquire him.

8:44pm: Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times reports that the Mariners did not put the claim in on Rios.

7:58pm: John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that "someone high in the front office" confirms that the Reds did not claim Rios.

6:16pm: Henry Schulman of The SF Chronicle says that vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans "hinted strongly" that the Giants are not the team that claimed Rios.

4:41pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox didn't claim Rios, either.

4:39pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears from a high-ranking Mets official that the Mets did not claim Rios. J.P. Ricciardi didn't get into specifics with MLB.com's Jordan Bastian and just said it's normal to place players on waivers.

2:52pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Alex Rios has been claimed on waivers by an unknown team. The Blue Jays now have three choices:

  • They can let the claiming team have Rios and the $60MM-plus remaining on his contract.
  • They can pull him back from waivers and keep him. 
  • They can work out a deal with the claiming team. 

One executive calls this an "incredible opportunity" for the Blue Jays to shed payroll. 

Odds And Ends: Sano, Red Sox, Pedro

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Another round of links for the afternoon…

  • ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. says the Angels looked at Miguel Angel Sano, but aren't close to offering the Dominican shortstop prospect a deal.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox signed Jason Thompson, their 11th round pick, for $300k. The team also appears to be on its way to signing 10th rounder Brandon Jacobs for second-round money.
  • Ben Klayman of Reuters reports that at least a third of MLB teams will send out send out season ticket renewal offers earlier than usual to keep revenues flowing.
  • As MLB.com's Todd Zolecki notes, Pedro Martinez will start for the Phillies Wednesday and bump Jamie Moyer to the bullpen. 

Cristian Guzman Clears Waivers

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3:01pm: MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears that the Nationals have no intention of trading Guzman to the Red Sox or any other team. In fact, Nick Cafardo's Boston Globe report upset the Nats and confused Guzman because it said the Red Sox claimed the shortstop on waivers.

1:08pm: Cristian Guzman cleared waivers and can now be traded to any club, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The 31-year-old shortstop is hitting .317/.337/.437 , but the $8MM salary he makes this year and next seems to have prevented teams from claiming Guzman.

Olney On Guzman, Hardy, Rays, Rios

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney says we should know today whether anyone has successfully claimed Cristian Guzman off waivers. However, some executives say Guzman isn't worth the $8MM he makes annually. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • J.J. Hardy hasn't yet cleared waivers and Olney wonders if the Red Sox could target him. They had interest in Hardy earlier in the year, but the two teams couldn't agree on the shortstop's value.
  • The Rays are one of the teams claiming many players. They don't expect to acquire all the cheap youngsters they claim, but they could face a roster issue if they're handed multiple players. 
  • Every talent evaluator Olney speaks with believes the Jays need to take advantage of the club that claimed Alex Rios and dump the right fielder's salary while they can. 

Odds And Ends: Rios, Mets, Pirates, V-Mart

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A variety of links to look at this morning…

Several Clubs Interested In Smoltz

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We touched on this earlier tonight, but let's expand on it a bit. ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting that the Texas Rangers and some National League clubs have expressed interest in acquiring the recently DFA'd John Smoltz, which is an indication that he'll have another opportunity to pitch this year if he's up to it. The other night we heard from Cardinals GM John Mozeliak that they were unlikely to pursue the future Hall of Famer, and it seems unlikely that Boston would made a deal with Texas since the two clubs are in a tight race for the American League Wildcard.

The Red Sox would not only like Smoltz to accept a minor league assignment so he could transition to the bullpen, but they also want to restructure a clause in his contract that pays the righty $35K for every day he's on the Major League roster. Olney mentions that teams like the Dodgers, Cubs, Brewers, and Astros were looking for pitching, but he says that it's "highly unlikely that any NL team would be willing to take Smoltz in a trade without some financial adjustment from the Red Sox, perhaps with Boston kicking in money to pay off a large portion of his base salary and roster bonus." Interested clubs could also wait it out and see if Boston releases Smoltz, when they could sign him for nothing more than the pro-rated minimum.

The 42-yr old Smoltz pitched to an 8.32 ERA in six starts with Boston, but teams will line up to take a chance on a player with his track record and pedigree. Of course, before anyone goes and acquires him, Smoltz will first have to decide if he wants to keep pitching.

Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Nationals GM, Chapman, Orioles

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A couple of links on a lazy Sunday…

  • ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Texas Rangers and several NL teams have expressed interest in acquiring John Smoltz. The 42-yr old is mulling his options at the moment, but Olney says it's "highly unlikely that any NL team would be willing to take Smoltz in a trade without some financial adjustment."
  • Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says that there is lots of "chatter among major league sources in Washington that Diamondbacks director of scouting and player development Jerry Dipoto is the leading candidate to be Nationals general manager." He mentions that Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer has also been mentioned as a candidate, and that the club is also considering giving interm GM Mike Rizzo the job on a permanent basis.
  • This one's a bit old, but Peter Bjarkman balances out some of the hype we've heard about Cuban defectee Aroldis Chapman, citing his lack of control in the strike zone and his pedestrian track record in the Cuban National League. (h/t Patrick at NPB Tracker)
  • Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that Aubrey Huff, Melvin Mora, and Danys Baez have cleared waivers. Mora expressed his displeasure with Baltimore earlier in the week. Remember, you can find our list of players who've cleared waivers featured on the sidebar.
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