Minor League Transactions: Lumsden, Red Sox
The latest minor league transactions from Baseball America's Matt Eddy…
- The Padres acquired lefty Tyler Lumsden from the Astros for future considerations. The former first-round pick has already tossed over ten innings for the Double A San Antonio Missions. Lumsden was well-regarded a few years ago, ranking fifth among Royals' prospects in BA's '07 Handbook.
- The Red Sox released pitchers Randor Bierd and Kason Gabbard. Bierd came to the Sox in the January '09 David Pauley trade, while Gabbard was sent to Texas in July of '07 in the Eric Gagne deal and later reacquired.
- The Diamondbacks released reliever Saul Rivera. He'd been designated for assignment on June 8th.
Waiver Trade Candidates: AL East
Last year, Ronnie Belliard, Jose Contreras, Jon Garland, Scott Kazmir, Jon Rauch, Billy Wagner, Bill Hall, Ivan Rodriguez, Aubrey Huff, Alex Gonzalez, David Weathers, Carl Pavano, Chad Gaudin, and Gregg Zaun were traded in August. Alex Rios and Russ Springer also changed teams as waiver claims. Here's our primer on the rules. Let's take a look at candidates to be traded or claimed in 2010, starting with the AL East.
The Orioles traded Miguel Tejada and Will Ohman last week, but kept Ty Wigginton and Luke Scott. Both could be moved, but the O's don't have an obvious replacement for Wigginton. Scott is under team control through 2012, and dealing him in August would limit the trade talks to the one team winning the claim. Jeremy Guthrie isn't going anywhere. Kevin Millwood will probably clear waivers, as he's earning $12MM and has given up five earned runs in each of his last five starts. Cesar Izturis could be dealt if the Orioles don't mind starting Julio Lugo at shortstop the rest of the year. Mark Hendrickson has been better against lefties than Ohman or Javier Lopez; I'm surprised there wasn't more July interest.
The Red Sox discussed sending Mike Lowell to the Yankees via the Rangers on Friday, reported Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Lowell would clear waivers, and Rosenthal feels that the Phillies, Rays, and Twins are potential matches. The Sox seemed willing to part with Manny Delcarmen in July; he could be claimed by a non-contending AL team willing to tender him a contract for 2011.
If Nick Johnson somehow takes a positive turn and comes off the DL this month, perhaps the Yankees would look to move him. Marcus Thames could be the odd man out with Austin Kearns now in the fold.
The Rays optioned Dioner Navarro to Triple A in June and could try to move the remainder of his $2.1MM salary. Lance Cormier or Gabe Kapler could be dumped if the Rays find suitable replacements.
One Blue Jay certain to clear waivers is Vernon Wells, even though his power has returned this year. Lyle Overbay is a reasonable trade candidate, though the Jays seemingly didn't get too far in July discussions. Edwin Encarnacion already cleared waivers in June. Brian Tallet has handled lefties well, and will probably clear waivers given his $2MM salary. Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Kevin Gregg, and John Buck will probably be retained for future draft pick compensation.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Rangers, Maya, Lowell
Sunday night linkage..
- The three newest members of the Dodgers are happy to be in Los Angeles, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- The Rangers were the biggest winners at the deadline, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
- Yunesky Maya tells Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald (Spanish link) that he has been training hard and "in about three weeks" the Nationals can save him a spot on the roster (translation courtesy of Nick Collias). Earlier today the Nats confirmed that they have inked the 28-year-old hurler to a four-year deal.
- Major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that a three-way trade was discussed in which Mike Lowell could have landed with the Yankees. In the discussed deal, the Red Sox would have sent Lowell to the Rangers, who would then send the veteran to the Yankees.
- Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal writes that despite his strong first half, Clay Buchholz still couldn't bring himself to relax at the deadline.
- The Giants haven't talked to Carlos Delgado's people since this winter, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com.
- MLB.com's James Hall writes that Indians manager Manny Acta is happy to have July 31st in the rear view mirror. Jake Westbrook, Kerry Wood, Austin Kearns, and Jhonny Peralta were all shipped out in advance of the deadline.
- The future of Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu is clearly in doubt, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos had his eye on center fielder Anthony Gose for quite some time, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Anthopoulos finally got his man in exchange for first baseman Brett Wallace.
Odds & Ends: Ankiel, Ohman, Tigers, Mets, Rangers
Links for Sunday, as a handful of players suit up for new teams….
- Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth are happy to be playing meaningful games with the Braves, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
- Will Ohman had a hunch that he would be moved before the deadline, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
- The Tigers have yet to make a blockbuster deadline deal under GM Dave Dombrowski, writes Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter) thinks it's very likely that the Mets will sign their first round selection, pitcher Matt Harvey. However, Callis doesn't feel that the pitcher is worth going over slot for.
- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban could be putting himself in position to buy the Rangers, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
- Cristian Guzman initially vetoed a deal to the Rangers, but changed his mind, according to Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News. MASN's Ben Goessling notes that the Nationals will pay for the rest of Guzman's salary this year (approximately $2.78MM), but will also receive $1.1MM from the Rangers.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney looks back on the deadline deals in his latest Insider-only blog, writing that "what in the world was Washington thinking?" was a question frequently asked by frustrated rival executives.
- The Boston Globe's Amalie Benjamin says that the price of bullpen help was too steep for the Red Sox, who made "competitive offers" on Scott Downs, Brandon League, and Brian Fuentes.
- Daniel Paulling of the Kansas City Star reports that Gil Meche won't have season-ending surgery after all, since doctors told the right-hander it would have kept him out of action in 2011 as well.
- The Brewers were never close to making any trades, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Trade Deadline Reactions
While we wait for August's rumor mill to pick up, the focus remains on the trades made over the last few days. Let's take a look at how a few writers are evaluating those deals….
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale and the New York Post's Joel Sherman list their winners and losers, agreeing that the Rangers and Padres did very well, while the Mets and Red Sox needed to do more.
- In Jeff Passan's assessment of July's deals for Yahoo! Sports, the Mets get a surprising thumbs-up.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examines how the trades affect the playoff races. The Phillies and Cardinals are among his predicted division winners, after their respective deals for Roy Oswalt and Jake Westbrook.
- The Cardinals paid too high a price for Westbrook, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says that although the Dodgers' and Angels' moves were nice, they won't be enough to propel either team into the playoffs.
- A pair of New York Daily News writers disagree about the merit of the Yankees' weekend acquisitions. According to Mike Lupica, all the additions make the Yanks seem slightly desperate, but John Harper sees nothing wrong with making baseball's best team better. I have to side with Harper here – Brian Cashman's goal is to field a championship team, not to worry about whether a division rival's inactivity makes his club look insecure.
- The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice and Jerome Solomon have conflicting views on the post-deadline Astros. Solomon can't think of much to be happy about, while Justice writes that a younger, more energetic roster should be fun.
Cafardo On Lee, Edmonds, Dunn, Kelly
In this week's installment of his Baseball Notes column, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo breaks down the winners and losers of the trade deadline. His assessment includes a few surprises, such as praising the inactive Blue Jays for "not settling for pennies on the dollar." Here are the rest of the highlights from Cafardo's piece:
- This year's deadline could make teams even less willing to include no-trade clauses in future contracts. Players like Derrek Lee and Roy Oswalt took advantage of their clauses, making it difficult, or in Lee's case impossible, for their respective clubs to move them.
- Having said that, Cliff Lee "has made it clear" he wants a no-trade clause in his next deal, having played for four different clubs in the past two seasons. As the best pitcher available this winter, he should be in a position to make that demand.
- The Brewers would like to keep Jim Edmonds around past this season if he's healthy and willing to return. It appears, however, that he's leaning toward retirement.
- Had David Ortiz not turned his season around earlier this year, the Red Sox would have been one of the teams in on Adam Dunn before the deadline.
- With the Red Sox' starting rotation currently full, a few teams thought Boston may part with Casey Kelly. According to Cafardo, the Sox may try to move Daisuke Matsuzaka when they feel Kelly is major league ready.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Salty, Braves, Cards
Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…
- The Red Sox scouted Jarrod Saltalamacchia hard before acquiring him this afternoon, and they feel that he is throwing better and will benefit from a change of scenery. 18 months ago the cost for Salty was Clay Buchholz, so they feel he's worth the gamble considering the uncertain futures of Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek.
- The Braves didn't need either Kyle Farnsworth or Rick Ankiel, but picking up both improves their depth considerably. Ankiel will be the regular center fielder against righties, platooning with Melky Cabrera, while Farnsworth will help lessen the burden on Takashi Saito and Jonny Venters. The Braves are clearly going for it in Bobby Cox's final season.
- It seems odd that the Cardinals would trade Ryan Ludwick given their offensive inconsistency this year, but the team likes what Jon Jay has done and they'll save big when Ludwick goes to arbitration for the final time next season.
- Relative to its competition, no team did as poorly as the Mets at the deadline. They were outbid for Ramon Ramirez, and the Cubs wanted no part of a Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez for Carlos Zambrano swap. The Cubbies are hopeful that Big Z will come back and rebuild his value down the stretch.
Odds & Ends: Duffy, Tigers, Yankees, Reds, Red Sox
Some leftovers in the wake of another trade deadline…
- I'll be appearing on Sporting News Radio at 8:25pm PT tonight to talk about the deadline. You can listen in here.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark named his trade deadline winners and losers, with the Rangers, Padres, and Yankees among the teams earning praise.
- The Phillies released Triple-A outfielder Chris Duffy, reports Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Steve Kornacki of MLive.com that he "had a chance to do something surprising and big," and that it was like "getting the wind knocked out of you" when it fell through. He didn't elaborate any further, so we'll have to keep playing the guessing game.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post says the Yankees took on $4.8MM at the deadline, more than any other team (Twitter links). The bankrupt Rangers came in second at $4.1MM.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that he was working on some deals in recent days, but they "fell apart at the end."
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets the Red Sox finished second in the Kerry Wood race, ditto the Rays and Lance Berkman, both of whom ended up with their biggest rival.
- Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider tweets that Yunesky Maya's deal with Washington will be made official within the hour.
- The Padres inquired about Jacoby Ellsbury before picking up Ryan Ludwick, but were told he's not available according to ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes (Twitter links).
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Dodgers took on about $3MM with all their deadline moves. Their financial situation has been in question basically all season.
- Chad Tracy has exercised an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Yankees and is now a free agent, tweet Conor Foley with the Triple-A Scranton Yankees.
- Barret Loux has joined the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League according to the team's official Twitter feed. Loux was the sixth overall pick in last month's draft, but recently failed his physical with the Diamondbacks and could be looking to rebuild his stock.
- The Royals traded minor league catcher Jeff Howell to the Twins for future considerations according to milb.com's official Twitter feed.
Red Sox Designate Jeremy Hermida For Assignment
5:11pm: WEEI.com's Alex Speier says the Red Sox will continue to explore deals for Hermida in August if he clears waivers, which Speier says is a near certainty (Twitter links). Hermida could end up back in Boston's farm system if they don't find any takers.
2:40pm: The Red Sox designated outfielder Jeremy Hermida for assignment, tweets NESN's Heidi Watney. The 26-year-old signed with the Sox as a free agent after being non-tendered by the Marlins, but hit just .203/.257/.348 in 171 plate appearances. He dealt with rib and forearm injuries from a collision with Adrian Beltre.
Giants Acquire Ramon Ramirez
The Giants have acquired righty reliever Ramon Ramirez from the Red Sox in exchange for minor league pitcher Daniel Turpen.
Ramirez, 28, had a 4.46 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 42.1 innings out of Boston's bullpen this season. There is approximately $555K left on his contract this season, and he is arbitration eligible in each of the next two seasons.
Turpen, 23, had a 4.09 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 50.2 innings for San Francisco's Double-A affiliate this season, working mostly in relief. The 254th overall pick in the 2007 draft was not ranked as one of the Giants' 30 best prospects before the season according to Baseball America.
WEEI.com's Rob Bradford first reported the deal while Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle added some details.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.