Stark On Oswalt, Braves, Carmona, Yankees
Astros scouts haven't been told to watch specific teams or players, so Roy Oswalt doesn't need to start preparing for life after Houston just yet. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark has the details on Oswalt and more rumblings from around the major leagues:
- Oswalt has told friends he'd love to play in St. Louis and it's believed that he would be interested in joining the Dodgers and Braves.
- We've heard lots about the $29MM remaining on Oswalt's deal, but the Angels have some money, according to an official Stark spoke to. The Nationals may be "the one team that would pay the whole freight on the contract."
- GM Andrew Friedman says he wasn't sure how Rafael Soriano's National League experience would translate to the American League East when the Rays dealt for him last offseason. Needless to say, the Rays have been pleased with Soriano's dominant start to the season.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tells Stark that other teams offered Jose Contreras "much more money" last winter.
- Braves GM Frank Wren says he's pleased with Eric Hinske's play and notes that teams probably don't pay enough attention to their benches.
- Wren says the Braves would not have interest in adding a starting pitcher. Besides their current rotation, they have the injured Jair Jurrjens and Triple A pitcher Chris Resop.
- GM Jon Daniels says the Rangers saw "a guy with major league ability and pedigree" when they scouted Colby Lewis in Japan last year.
- One scout says the Blue Jays are definitely tracking Fausto Carmona and have watched his last 12 starts.
- The Red Sox have tried trading Mike Lowell unsuccessfully, but they aren't eager to eat the $8MM-plus remaining on his salary.
- Rival clubs say the Yankees haven't decided what their trade deadline needs are, though they're showing some interest in versatile outfield bats.
Red Sox Designate Atchison For Assignment
The Red Sox designated Scott Atchison for assignment to make room for Mike Cameron, according to a team press release. Last night, it appeared that the Red Sox had designated Darnell McDonald for assignment to make room for Cameron, but the team changed its plans.
Jacoby Ellsbury has experienced soreness in his left side, so the team wanted to keep McDonald around, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter). Atchison has options, so the DFA is 'procedural', writes Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (via Twitter). For now, the Red Sox are not cutting ties with Atchison or McDonald.
The Red Sox signed Atchison to a one-year deal with two club options last winter. The 34-year-old righty has a 6.10 ERA in 10.1 innings this year, with 7.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9.
Red Sox Designate McDonald For Assignment
The Red Sox designated Darnell McDonald for assignment, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). The Red Sox had to make room for returning center fielder Mike Cameron, who is returning from an abdominal injury.
Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury both missed significant time early on, so McDonald has played more than expected. The 31-year-old has essentially been a regular this year. He has played all three outfield positions, hitting .263/.320/.400 in 105 plate appearances. Like Jeremy Hermida, McDonald has batted more times than Cameron and Ellsbury combined. It wouldn't be fair to judge McDonald's defensive ability on 226 innings, but UZR suggests he has been below average to this point.
McDonald could be claimed by another team, but the outfielder has enjoyed playing for the Red Sox so far. He told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he wants to stay in the Red Sox organization, though he understands the business side of the game.
Cafardo On Ortiz, Iannetta, Atkins, Lowell
The key to the Rays' success so far has been their pitching staff, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, who praises Tampa Bay for playing so well despite a few slumping bats. Cafardo says that it may be hard for the club to add another piece or two before the trade deadline, since their budget is already maxed out. However, Cafardo acknowledges that with Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena facing free agency, the Rays may go all-out this year and stretch their budget a little in hopes of winning a championship. Here are some of Cafardo's other notes:
- After this season, David Ortiz is probably "done in Boston unless he takes a massive pay cut." Ortiz might have trouble catching on anywhere next year, since there's virtually no market for one-dimensional players, and he may not be willing to accept a role similar to Jason Giambi's in Colorado.
- If Ortiz and Victor Martinez continue to hit, the Red Sox are very unlikely to pursue Chris Iannetta.
- One of the winter's most disappointing new additions has been Garrett Atkins, who is homerless and sports a .221/.261/.283 slash line in 119 plate appearances. The Orioles will have to consider releasing him if he doesn't turn things around.
- The Rangers are looking for a starting pitcher and a productive right-handed bat. A Rangers official tells Cafardo that he'd still love to see Mike Lowell in Texas.
- Cafardo thinks that if the Red Sox fall out of playoff contention and become sellers, they could replenish their farm system, acquiring multiple players for Martinez, Lowell, Ortiz, Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, and Jeremy Hermida. I'm less optimistic than Cafardo about the caliber of talent the Sox could land for most of those guys.
Odds & Ends: Green, Oswalt, Mets, Gaudin, Werth
Links for Saturday….
- With Rafael Furcal returning to the Dodgers, the out-of-options Nick Green is a candidate for demotion, writes Evan Drellich of MLB.com.
- Roy Oswalt told Houston owner Drayton McLane that he wouldn't mind coming back and finishing his career with the organization, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.
- More on Oswalt: Footer (via Twitter) is skeptical about the Mets' chances of acquiring Houston's ace. Meanwhile, manager Brad Mills doesn't expect Oswalt's trade request to be a clubhouse distraction, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- At MLB.com, Peter Gammons takes a look at a few underachieving teams who are under pressure to make changes.
- Scott Olsen has been placed on the disabled list, but Stephen Strasburg won't be the pitcher called up to take his roster spot, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
- Jack Curry of the YES Network (via Twitter) asked Mets GM Omar Minaya if Jerry Manuel is managing to save his job. Minaya answered, "I don't want to say that. I wouldn't say that's the case."
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Chad Gaudin received and turned down a minor league assignment offer from the A's.
- Mike Lowell told Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald that he has no regrets about passing on a four year, $37.5MM contract offer from the Phillies after the 2007 season.
- Jayson Werth said he's "played [his] entire career for this year," according to David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Werth, of course, is referring to his contract year and impending free agent payday.
- Chris Iannetta remains the one who got away for the Red Sox, who almost drafted the catcher back in 2004 according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
- Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune analyzed the Carlos Gomez–J.J. Hardy trade now that we're six months out.
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds have gotten tremendous production out of their bargain basement left field combo of Jonny Gomes and Laynce Nix ($1.4MM combined salary).
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Oswalt, Lowell, Griffey
With FOX airing Saturday evening games this weekend rather than afternoon games, Ken Rosenthal's new Full Count video showed up on their website a little later in the day too. Now that it's been posted, let's recap Rosenthal's latest hot stove tidbits….
- Roy Oswalt is making $15MM this year and $16MM next year, which will make it difficult to trade him. Making it even trickier, owner Drayton McLane won't want to include money in a deal, even if it means getting better prospects in return.
- If the Mariners become sellers, that would further diminish the chances of an Oswalt deal, since the M's could make Cliff Lee available. Lee is the much more affordable ace, earning only $9MM this season.
- The Red Sox don't want to release Mike Lowell, since he provides injury protection at both corner infield spots, and can DH against left-handers. Additionally, if the Sox were to release Lowell, many of their AL rivals, such as the Angels, Rays, and Twins, could have interest in him.
- Ken Griffey's current role of pinch-hitter, occasional DH, and clubhouse mentor is exactly what the Mariners were hoping for when they re-signed the 40-year-old this winter. For now, the club has no desire for Griffey to retire.
- Carlos Zambrano appears to be headed back to the Cubs' rotation, even though he may currently be their sixth-best starter. The team could attempt to trade Tom Gorzelanny or move him to the bullpen, but Rosenthal opines that it would make their pitching staff weaker.
Red Sox Designate Jonathan Van Every
Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports (via Twitter) that the Red Sox have designated Jonathan Van Every for assignment. The move was made to free up a roster spot for Jacoby Ellsbury's activation from the disabled list.
The Red Sox traded for Van Every on April 24 in order to fill the holes in their outfield left by Ellsbury and Mike Cameron's trips to the DL. Appearing mostly as a late-game defensive replacement, Van Every hit .211/.286/.421 in 21 plate appearances this season. It was Van Every's second stint in Boston, as the outfielder appeared in 18 games for the Sox over the 2007-08 seasons before being released last July.
Though this is Van Every's tenth year of pro ball and he might have a bit of that "quadruple A" stigma, you have to think that there's room somewhere on a major league roster for an guy who brings a decent glove to every outfield position and has an .853 career OPS at Triple-A.
Remembering the 2000 Trade Deadline
Ah, times were different back in 2000. Bush and Gore were locked in a closely-contested race. Reality television was the exception, not the rule. And What Women Want taught us that Mel Gibson would be best remembered for capturing Helen Hunt's heart.
Meanwhile, let's climb into the Wayback Machine (though I believe Sherman has already called shotgun) and look at some of the biggest trade deadline hits from the year 2000…
- The first deal of significance near the non-waiver trade deadline came on July 12, when the Yankees acquired Denny Neagle (and Mike Frank) for Jackson Melian, Drew Henson, Brian Reith and Ed Yarnall. The Yankees didn't lose much, since Henson's production never approached his hype. Neagle, however, was actually nearing the end of a good career, and posted just a 5.81 ERA after coming to New York.
- Little-discussed, however, is one of the most impressive trade-deadline pickups of all time. On July 21, the Yankees dealt the forgettable Ben Ford and Oswaldo Mairena to the Cubs for Glenallen Hill. For Hill, the deal provided the last, best jolt of power in a home run-packed career. He hit .333/.378/.735 (!) with 16 home runs in 143 at-bats for the Yankees. It is hard to imagine a better example of acquiring an impact bat. Hill, who last played in 2001, publicly admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs late in his career.
- The most important trade of that time took place on July 26, 2000, when the Phillies traded Curt Schilling to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Omar Daal, Nelson Figueroa, Travis Lee and Vicente Padilla. Padilla was the most productive of the bunch, with a pair of 14-win seasons, while Travis Lee, the centerpiece, hit just .258/.343/.402 in Philadelphia. Schilling, meanwhile, still had 111 of his 216 career victories ahead of him. He posted a 22-6 record in 2001, a 23-7 record in 2002, and had a successful Red Sox career after the trade.
- Probably the biggest surprise of the players acquired at this time was Melvin Mora, traded with three other players by the Mets to the Orioles for Mike Bordick. The Mets wanted a shortstop and Bordick had a reputation as a strong defender. He posted a .260/.321/.385 mark with the Mets in 2000 and Mora went on to hit 158 home runs for the Orioles through 2009.
- The Indians dealt a 25-year-old Richie Sexson, along with Kane Davis, Paul Rigdon and a player to be named later to the Brewers for three pitchers to shore up their pitching staff: Jason Bere, Bob Wickman and Steve Woodard. Of the three, only Wickman posted a reasonable ERA, and the Charlie Manuel-led Indians finished five games behind the Jerry Manuel-led White Sox. Sexson, meanwhile, hit 45 home runs in two of the next three seasons. And adding insult to injury, the player to be named later turned out to be Marco Scutaro.
- In my favorite trade of the 2000 deadline, the Cardinals sent minor league slugger Jose Leon to the Orioles for first baseman Will Clark. All Clark did was hit .345/.426/.655 with the Cardinals, leading them into the NLCS. He then retired- the textbook case of going out on top.
Gammons On Martinez, Lowell, Iannetta
Peter Gammons made one of his regular appearances on WEEI's The Big Show on Friday afternoon to chat about the Red Sox. Matt West has the full transcript, but here are a few of the more pertinent notes….
- David Ortiz's improved play led to a question about Boston's future plans at the DH spot. Gammons thinks that it will depend on if Victor Martinez is willing to re-sign "at a DH price or at a catcher’s price. If its a catcher’s price I don’t think Victor will come back; if its a DH price I think they’ll bring him back."
- Along those same lines, Gammons notes that "a DH price" is lower since league-wide, designated hitters are producing fairly average numbers: "The DH has been devalued, there are a lot of 35-, 36-year-olds who used to have the juice of life that don’t have it anymore."
- Mike Lowell's agents have told Gammons that eight to ten teams are interested in their client, though Gammons doesn't necessarily believe them. He thinks Lowell will end up being dealt from Boston at some point, though Gammons notes that two possible contenders for his services (the Mets and Rangers) are out of the running given the production of Ike Davis and Vladimir Guerrero, respectively.
- Gammons cites Tampa Bay as a potential destination for Lowell if the Sox end up releasing him. Lowell would split time in a platoon at DH with Hank Blalock.
- In regards to the rumors about Chris Iannetta, Gammons says the Red Sox attempted to acquire the catcher two years ago and "do really love him." A deal could still happen later in the year though Gammons doesn't know if Boston could meet Colorado's trade needs.
Red Sox Monitoring Chris Iannetta
4:12pm: "Talks quickly faded" between the Sox and Rockies about Iannetta, says Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, because Colorado reportedly "wanted 'premium' talent" for the catcher.
6:58am: The Red Sox are monitoring Chris Iannetta’s progress in case the Rockies make him available, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. The catcher, who has been linked to the Red Sox for a while, is now in the minors.
Iannetta struggled through 34 plate appearances with the Rockies this year, hitting .133/.235/.333. The 27-year-old’s .362/.449/.741 Triple A line should be robust enough to convince any doubters that the last two years were not flukes: Iannetta can hit. The Red Sox have no doubt noticed that Iannetta has thrown out seven of 13 would-be base stealers.
Victor Martinez has struggled at the plate, but he has multi-hit games in three of his last four starts. Backup catcher Jason Varitek has been hitting surprisingly well in limited time. The tandem has limited opponents’ running games more effectively of late, nabbing nine of the last 21 baserunners to attempt to steal.
Iannetta, who is under contract through 2012, could be a long-term solution for the Red Sox. Their catchers are producing now, but both Martinez and Varitek hit free agency this winter.