Odds And Ends: Yanks, Red Sox, Indians, Peavy
More links to look through as we ready ourselves for four days of Yankees vs. Red Sox…
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney presents nine reasons the upcoming Boston-New York series matters. To an extent, both teams have their psyches on the line this weekend.
- Indians ownership says the team will likely lose about $16MM this year, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN). The Indians trimmed about $8.1MM in payroll leading up to the deadline.
- So how do teams like the Indians compete with big spenders like the Yankees and Red Sox? Joe Posnanski of SI.com says small market teams may have to beat richer ones by taking advantage of the 'win now' mentality in large markets.
- Jake Peavy is set to pitch in three minor league games before joining the White Sox, according to Bruce Levine of ESPN.com. He's still expected to make his AL debut in late August or early September.
Odds And Ends: Byrd, Timlin, Giambi
Some links to look through…
- Bobby Abreu tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that it was frustrating to see other players sign big contracts last offseason. Abreu waited and finally settled for a $5MM deal, but now he loves LA.
- The Jason Giambi signing didn't work out nearly as well for the A's. When MLB.com's Mychael Urban asked manager Bob Geren if Giambi will be back next year, Geren avoided the question. Presumably the A's would rather buy the slugger out for $1.25MM than pay him $6MM next year.
- Paul Byrd told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he's in Boston to win a World Series ring.
- Mike Timlin is rehabbing in the Rockies' minor league system to prove he can still pitch, according to Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies.
- Justin Smoak, Martin Perez and Julio Borbon top Jamey Newberg's updated list of top Rangers prospects at MLB.com.
Odds & Ends: White Sox, Rolen, Halladay
Some late-night links to peruse as we wonder how the Phillies can fit in both Pedro Martinez and J.A. Happ into their pitching staff:
- The Red Sox signed 11th-round pick, high school SS Jason Thompson, to a deal worth $300k, says Jim Callis at Baseball America.
- Evan Brunell at the Hardball Times defends the rationale behind the widely-panned Scott Rolen trade.
- Scot Gregor at the Daily Herald wonders if any of the three recently-defected Cuban talents might land on the White Sox. They all share the same agent, Jaime Torres, as current Sox Dayan Viciedo, Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez.
- Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times posits the question: Do the White Sox keep Scott Podsednik for another year or go after Chone Figgins as their speedy lead-off man for 2010?
- Craig Calcaterra at the Hardball Times questions whether J.P. Ricciardi actually "botched" the Roy Halladay negotiations, as he has been criticized for doing.
Red Sox Sign Paul Byrd
According to Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports, the Red Sox have signed RHP Paul Byrd to a minor-league deal. Rosenthal says Byrd could be ready to pitch for the team by Sept. 1.
Byrd, 38, was acquired by the Sox from the Indians last year and altogether put up 4.60 ERA and 82/34 K/BB ratio in 180 innings. It was somewhat of a surprise no one had picked him up until now.
Red Sox DFA Gil Velazquez
The Red Sox made a minor move today, designating infielder Gil Velazquez for assignment. He'll make room for lefty Billy Traber. Velazquez appeared in six games for Boston earlier this year, going 0 for 2.
Heyman On Jays, Gonzalez, Peavy
Jon Heyman of SI.com calls Toronto's team the "Blew Jays" because he believes GM J.P. Ricciardi blew the Roy Halladay trade talks. Here are the details and a couple other rumors:
- Heyman says too much talk, too much candor and an overly steep price prevented Ricciardi from making a deal.
- Heyman hears that Halladay would have approved trades to a variety of teams in the East and Midwest.
- The Jays never agreed on prospects with the Rangers, but would have sent $5MM to Texas in a possible Halladay deal.
- One executive says the Jays "overplayed their hand."
- The Padres wanted more than Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson and Jed Lowrie for Adrian Gonzalez.
- GM Kevin Towers had a deal more or less in place to send Jake Peavy to Atlanta last offseason before the righty told the Padres he didn't want to go to Atlanta.
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Irabu, Draft
Some links to start the morning off…
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders if the Red Sox would pull back John Smoltz and Mike Lowell if either veteran was claimed on waivers.
- Hideki Irabu is closing in on a deal with an independent Japanese team, according to CBS Sports.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo points out that there are usually a lot of unsigned draft picks this time of year. He also has a league-wide update on those who have yet to sign this season.
- If you heard that someone determined the return on investment of top draft picks, you'd probably think it was someone in a front office. But, as Mayo reports, Pirates pitcher Ross Ohlendorf did just that as a student at Princeton.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that the O's haven't made progress with second rounder Mychal Givens.
- New acquisition Jarrod Washburn told David Mayo of MLive.com that he "felt like a rookie" in his Tigers debut last night. Washburn lost to Brian Matusz, a real-life rookie who won his MLB debut.
- Like the early 90s Braves, the Padres are building around young arms, according to Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Mora, Halladay
Some links to pore over as we just miss another no-hitter:
- Alex Speier at WEEI reports that the Red Sox won't give 16-year-old Dominican hurler Victor Payano a contract, despite being rumored as favorites to sign him. Payano, in line for a bonus around $900k, had failed his physical.
- Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun notes that top prospect Brian Matusz was called up to start tonight for the O's and they in turn optioned Kam Mickolio to Triple-A. After Melvin Mora's recent spat with manager Dave Trembley, there was speculation Mora would be gone, but he is starting tonight. He still could be moved.
- Scott Podsednik's improved play has increased his value, but he wants to stay with the White Sox in 2010, says Scott Merkin at MLB.com.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels said in an e-mail to Yahoo's Gordon Edes that there was no effort by J.P. Ricciardi to mislead the Rangers in Roy Halladay talks, and Ricciardi was "upfront" about what he wanted.
- The Padres officially released Mark Prior today, says CBS Sports. The move was reported to be on the horizon by Corey Brock at MLB.com Saturday.
Odds And Ends: Pirates, Bard, Padres, Rolen
More links for the afternoon…
- MLB.com's Ian Browne says Daniel Bard has essentially become "untouchable." Of course few players other than Tim Lincecum and Evan Longoria really are untouchable, but it sounds like the Red Sox really like their young reliever.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick hears from some people within the game who credit the Pirates for gutting the team and amassing prospects instead of continuing with the "lipstick on a pig" approach they tried for years.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock shows that the Padres improved their pitching depth and suggests they could pursue a free agent hitter this offseason.
- Reds assistant GM Bob Miller said in his MLB.com chat that the reports on the amount the Reds owe Scott Rolen are "incorrect." So how much are the Reds paying Rolen? Miller can't say.
- Peter Abraham of the Journal News shows that Andy Pettitte could double his $5.5MM salary if he has a strong enough finish and his incentives kick in.
Which Teams Took On Salary At The Deadline?
As the trade deadline approached, we heard many writers and executives suggest teams would be unable to add payroll this year. Here's a breakdown of the teams that added at least $1MM in salary to their 2009 payrolls this summer. All totals are approximate:
- The Cardinals added $2.9MM to the team's payroll when they traded for Mark DeRosa and $3.7MM when they added Matt Holliday for a total of $6.6MM.
- The Red Sox added $4.5MM between the Victor Martinez and Adam LaRoche deals.
- Acquiring Jarrod Washburn added about $3.6MM to the Tigers' payroll.
- The White Sox added $2.8MM in salary when they made the Jake Peavy deal.
- The Giants added $2.1MM in the Freddy Sanchez trade.
- The Phillies added $2MM in the Cliff Lee deal.
- The Rockies added $1.9MM in the Rafael Betancourt and Joe Beimel deals.
- The Brewers took on $1.4MM by dealing for Felipe Lopez.
- The Braves took on $1.3MM to add Nate McLouth.
- The Twins added $1.25MM in salary by trading for Orlando Cabrera.
- They didn't take on much salary, but between the Eric Hinske deal and the Jerry Hairston Jr. acquisition, the Yanks added $1.1MM.
- The Dodgers added about $1MM when they dealt for George Sherrill.
In total, 12 teams added payroll, but only one took on more than $5MM. The prognosticators were right about one thing: teams didn't take on much payroll. However, few predicted 12 teams would take on salary at the deadline. Looks like many teams set economic concerns aside when presented with the chance to win.