Giants Seeking Outfield Help
The Giants are seeking outfield help following Melky Cabrera's 50-game suspension, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). For now the team plans to promote Justin Christian from Triple-A and stick with Gregor Blanco, Angel Pagan, and Hunter Pence as the regulars.
Rosenthal reports that Scott Hairston and Juan Pierre have yet to be placed on trade waivers, though the Diamondbacks would likely block both players from getting to San Francisco. Arizona has a higher waiver priority and both Hairston (approximately $300K) and Pierre ($200K) are reasonably priced for the remainder of the season. Alfonso Soriano remains unlikely to approve a trade to the 2010 World Champs.
Kevin Millwood and Josh Beckett still have yet to be placed on waivers according to Rosenthal. The Red Sox have put a handful of players through waivers but otherwise have remained quiet this month.
East Links: Blanton, Valentine, Swisher, Mets
Three of the four best records in baseball belong to teams in the East divisions, as the Reds join the Nationals, Yankees, and Braves as the only clubs to win at least 68 games so far this season. Here is the latest from the NL East and the AL East…
- The player to be named later in the Joe Blanton trade will be named today, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). It's expected to be a pitching prospect. The Phillies traded Blanton to the Dodgers earlier this month.
- In an appearance on The Dennis & Callahan Show Thursday morning, Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino responded with an unequivocal "yes" when asked if Bobby Valentine will manage the team for the rest of the season according to WEEI.com's DJ Bean.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post says that Melky Cabrera's suspension will impact other impending free agent outfielders, including Nick Swisher. Sherman also speculates that Melky could be a fit for the Mets at the right price, since they know he'll have no trouble adjusting to New York.
Quick Hits: Villanueva, Hammel, Cabrera, Hamilton
Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel is on the mend and set to return next month. With that in mind, O's General Manager Dan Duquette doesn't seem terribly focused on adding a starting pitcher, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Here's more from around baseball..
- Blue Jays right-hander Carlos Villanueva hopes to stay in Toronto, but wants to do so as a starting pitcher, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Villanueva avoided arbitration with a $2.2775MM deal this winter but would likely look for a significant pay bump as a starter.
- This winter's free agent market figured to be light on heavy hitters anyway, but Melky Cabrera's situation means that the Rangers would have an even harder time replacing Josh Hamilton, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. One Texas official cautiously predicted that the slugger would re-sign with the team, but we learned last week that Hamilton will wait until the offseason to negotiate.
- It hasn't been a successful year for the Astros, but things could get worse upon their arrival in the American League West, writes Randy Harvey of the Houston Chronicle.
- Speaking of the Astros, they released 2008 second-round pick Jay Austin earlier today (hat tip to Jayne Hansen of What The Heck, Bobby). The 22-year-old outfielder never advanced beyond Advanced-A ball in his time with Houston.
- Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is staying upbeat in the face of the latest controversy surrounding him and the club, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne. Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia were reportedly the most vocal in a meeting between the players and principal owners regarding Valentine.
Red Sox Notes: Valentine, Shoppach, Gonzalez
Earlier today, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported that Red Sox players met with owners John Henry and Larry Lucchino in late July to voice their displeasure with manager Bobby Valentine. Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia were said to be among the most vocal in the meeting and GM Ben Cherington confirmed that the pow-wow took place. Here's the latest out of Fenway..
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) opines that the trade of Kelly Shoppach in order to give Valentine favorite Ryan Lavarnway more playing time can't be a bad sign for Bobby V. Boston will receive a player to be named later from the Mets in exchange for the backstop.
- Valentine told reporters, including Tim Britton of The Providence Journal, that he is glad to have the reported unrest behind him. "Wow. Is that what was said really? That's what Dustin and Adrian said? It did say that? I didn't hear that. I'm glad that July is over because they're still playing for me," said the skipper.
- The Red Sox players haven't kept an open mind about Valentine ever since his remarks about Kevin Youkilis back in April, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. In an interview, Valentine said that he didn't think the veteran was "as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason.”
Mets Acquire Kelly Shoppach From Red Sox
The Mets have acquired catcher Kelly Shoppach from the Red Sox on a waiver claim in exchange for a player to be the named, New York announced (via Twitter).
Shoppach, 32, hit .250/.327/.471 in 158 plate appearances with Boston this season and is a career .227/.316/.422 hitter. He's notably tougher on lefties, though, hitting .270/.364/.530 in his career against southpaws, and has thus been deployed primarily in platoons. Shoppach earns $1.35MM in 2012 and will be a free agent at season's end.
Quick Hits: Lowe, Padres, Hairston, Twins, Tigers
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com notes (on Twitter) that the MLB owners meetings will be held in Denver later this week. They are expected to vote on the sale of the Padres, but the Athletics/Giants/San Jose issue is unlikely to be resolved. Here's the latest from around the league…
- The Giants, Orioles, Phillies, and Red Sox all had interest in Derek Lowe before he signed with the Yankees, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
- The Mets have not yet put Scott Hairston on trade waivers, reports Ken Davidoff of The New York Post. Davidoff argues that the Amazin's should trade the outfielder this month.
- Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com says that it's lazy to blame the Twins' struggles on their payroll, particularly the $23MM owed to Joe Mauer on an annual basis.
- Josh Slagter of mLive.com says the Tigers should give top prospect Nick Castellanos a shot, similar to how the Orioles used Manny Machado to bolster their lineup.
- In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney mentions that he's heard Mark Kotsay's name pop-up as a future big league manager. The Padres signed the veteran to a one-year extension yesterday, so he's not ready to transition to coaching just yet.
Quick Hits: Mets, Gerrit Cole, Aviles
The Games of the XXX Olympiad came to a close today in London. Nearly 11,000 athletes from 204 nations took part in over 300 events in 26 sports. But, none of the Olympic pagentry involved baseball. So, let's celebrate America's National Pastime with the latest news, notes and quotes:
- Not everyone in the Mets front office is sold that they can be a sustained contender moving forward with Ike Davis at first base, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. One internal option would be moving Lucas Duda in from the outfield and some believe that he would be more comfortable at first.
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon wouldn't speak with reporters following a rare on-field appearance before last night's game against the Braves, but he'll have to start answering questions soon, writes David Lennon of Newsday. There are a lot of unknowns surrounding the Mets, including what their projected payroll will be for 2013 and if the franchise is on the rebound financially.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says Gerrit Cole, last year's top draft pick, will not be a September callup, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Sulia). "We've not talked about it internally. My gut (feeling) is no." Huntington said. "To drop him into bullpen up here in September is not something we have lot of interest in doing. We have a lot of other options, instead of rushing a young prospect." Cole is currently starting at Double-A Altoona.
- The A's had interest in Mike Aviles prior to the trade deadline, but a deal is unlikely now the Red Sox have placed the shortstop on waivers, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser says the chances are slim the A's will acquire a shortstop before the August 31st deadline for playoff-roster eligibility.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
Kelly Shoppach, Mike Aviles On Waivers
The Red Sox put Kelly Shoppach and Mike Aviles on waivers today, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter). Nick Punto and Carl Crawford have now cleared waivers, according to Cafardo.
Teams routinely place players on waivers, even if they don't plan on trading them, so this is not an indication that the Red Sox intend to move Shoppach or Aviles. If the players go unclaimed, the Red Sox will be able to complete a trade just as easily as they could have before the current waiver period began ten days ago.
If a team claims Shoppach or Aviles, the Red Sox will have three choices. They can let the player (and his contract) go to the claiming team, they can complete a trade with the claiming team, or they can pull the player back off of waivers. American League teams will have claiming priority on Shoppach and Aviles.
Players Who Cleared Waivers
This is a running list of players who have cleared waivers, based on published reports. Once a player clears waivers, he can be traded to any team (barring a no-trade clause). This list can always be found in the sidebar under MLBTR Features. Player names are linked to the source articles.
Updated 8-31-12
Infielders
Nick Punto, Red Sox - Punto earns $1.5MM this year and will earn the same amount in 2013.
Outfielders
Carl Crawford, Red Sox - Crawford has $102.5MM remaining on his contract after 2012, so he was expected to clear waivers. Crawford can block trades to two clubs, but no team can flip him to the Yankees after acquiring him from Boston.
Alfonso Soriano, Cubs – Soriano can block any trade. He earns $18MM per season through 2014.
Juan Pierre, Phillies – Pierre earns $800K in 2012 and he'll hit free agency after the season.
Catchers
Joe Mauer, Twins – Mauer earns $23MM per season through 2018.
Starting Pitchers
Joe Saunders, Diamondbacks – Saunders earns $6MM in 2012 and will hit free agency after the season.
Roy Oswalt, Rangers – Oswalt earns $5MM in 2012 and will hit free agency after the season.
Kevin Millwood, Mariners – Millwood earns $1MM in 2012 and will hit free agency after the season.
Relief Pitchers
Carlos Marmol, Cubs - Marmol will earn $9.8MM in 2013 before hitting free agency.
Red Sox Sign Dedgar Jimenez
The latest international signings…
- The Red Sox signed Venezuelan left-hander Dedgar Jimenez, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The 16-year-old obtained a bonus of $175K. Jimenez has a "David Wells-type frame" but good pitchability and a fastball in the 88-89 mph range, Badler writes.