Red Sox Would Like To Trade For Wagner
Chad Finn of the Boston Globe hears that the Red Sox would like to trade for Mets reliever Billy Wagner, who was just claimed on waivers by an unknown team. The Globe's source didn't say whether the Red Sox are the team that has been awarded the claim, but confirmed that they would like to trade for Wagner if possible. If another team was awarded the claim, the Red Sox will not have the opportunity to work out a trade.
Red Sox DFA Fernando Cabrera
The Red Sox designated Fernando Cabrera for assignment according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe. The 27-year-old righty didn't do badly in four MLB games this year, walking two and allowing four hits in 4.0 innings and striking out seven batters along the way. He'd been striking out nearly a batter an inning at Triple A Pawtucket before getting the call to the majors.
Odds And Ends: Zambrano, Sheffield, Rockies
Links for the morning…
- Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times believes the Cubs need Carlos Zambrano, even if he hasn't endeared himself to everyone.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suspects that baseball is about to retire Gary Sheffield. After all, it will be hard for a "41-year-old, oft-injured malcontent" to find work.
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle looks at the Rockies and sees a team without glaring weaknesses.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times lists the best and worst free agent signings the Cubs have made since 2000.
- Sure, the Yankees and Red Sox are big spenders, but, as this Boston Globe piece shows, they develop lots of talent, too.
Red Sox Release Chris Duncan
The Red Sox released outfielder Chris Duncan, according to Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal. Duncan came to the Red Sox from St. Louis in the July 22nd swap for shortstop Julio Lugo. Duncan, 28, hit just .188/.255/.294 in 92 Triple A plate appearances for the Sox. Meanwhile Lugo has flourished with a .319/.367/.528 line in 81 plate appearances for St. Louis (with Boston paying the freight). Keep in mind that the Red Sox are also set to receive a player to be named later or cash as part of the trade.
Duncan crushed right-handed pitching in 2006-07, but has been derailed by injuries since.
Odds And Ends: Tejada, Varitek, Smoltz
Some afternoon links…
- Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports that Miguel Tejada has been led to believe that the Astros pulled him back off waivers after another team claimed him.
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald suggests that the Red Sox need Jason Varitek because he coaxes the best results out of Josh Beckett.
- The Baltimore Sun passes along an AP report saying the Nationals will sell some tickets for $1 Friday to celebrate their deal with first overall pick Stephen Strasburg, who will be introduced to the fans.
- Via Twitter, Jon Heyman of SI.com says John Smoltz found the perfect spot in St. Louis.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Smoltz's deal includes post-season awards incentives.
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Matzek, Mets, Helm
I think we're in the eye of the draft storm, because things suddenly got quiet…
- Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that the Red Sox have signed ninth rounder Kendal Volz for $550K. Volz was considered a first round talent coming into the year, but a down season at Baylor dropped his stock.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post notes that Rockies first rounder Tyler Matzek didn't attend classes at Oregon today, an indication that he's interested in signing. Renck says it's hard to believe he'd sign for less than the $2.875MM Shelby Miller got from the Cardinals.
- The Mets are "still haggling" with top pick Steven Matz, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman.
- The Diamondbacks signed seventh rounder Matt Helm for $500,000, according to Callis.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus writes that there is "very little optimism right now coming out of clubs with unsigned picks." He estimates that we're looking at as many as six first rounders going unsigned by the midnight deadline.
- Make sure you check out our list of the first round picks who have signed to stay up to date with all the goings on of the draft.
- To get the fastest updates, follow MLBTR on Twitter and subscribe to our transactions-only feed.
Draft Updates: Brewers, Red Sox, Matzek
More updates, as the deadline approaches…
- Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that the Brewers signed third rounder Brooks Hall for $700k. Hall was a two-way player in high school, but he'll focus on pitching as a pro.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com points out that the Red Sox, who didn't draft any Scott Boras clients, have spent aggresively on players who fell because of perceived signability issues.
- DJ Bean of WEEI.com shows that the Red Sox have a history of drafting and spending aggressively under Theo Epstein. However, they are able to "draw a line in the sand" when necessary.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that the Rockies and Tyler Matzek are still far apart in their negotiations, though that doesn't mean they won't agree to a deal.
Red Sox Release John Smoltz
The Red Sox released John Smoltz, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They designated the veteran right-hander for assignment ten days ago and weren't able to work out a trade with any team. Smoltz will become a free agent Wednesday once he clears release waivers and should have a number of suitors to choose from at that point.
Any team that signs Smoltz will only pay him the pro-rated major league minimum; the Red Sox would have to cover the rest of his $5.5MM salary. Since bonuses are negated once a player's released, no team will have to pay Smoltz any incentives.
Smoltz To Be Released Monday?
8:38pm: Mark Bowman at MLB.com says the Braves appear to have no interest in bringing back Smoltz and discusses the dubious relationship between the righty and the Braves. A source acknowledges "there would have to be some people saying they're sorry to each other" if any deal were to happen, but Bowman suggests that the Braves were more concerned about his durability than the emotions involved. Had Smoltz been willing to sharpen his mechanics in the minors, Bowman says the team would have been more willing to take another chance on him.
7:49pm: Jon Heyman at SI says (via Twitter) that the Red Sox may release the DFA'd John Smoltz tomorrow. As Heyman notes, it was probably difficult to find takers for Smoltz not only due to his questionable performance but also his built-in contract incentives that pay Smoltz for every day he's on the major-league roster.
As we pointed out yesterday, there are a number of teams that retain interest in Smoltz, and Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports named the Marlins and Cardinals as suitors for Smoltz as a right-handed option out of the bullpen.
Gammons’ Latest: Greene, Angels, Strasburg
Peter Gammons has a new blog post up at ESPN, in which he writes about the wildcard races and what they mean for baseball. Bud Selig takes a lot of heat, but I don't think there's any arguing that the wildcard is one of his greatest achievements.
Anyway, Gammons drops a few rumor nuggets at the end of the piece, so let's round 'em up…
- The Red Sox did not pursue Cardinals shortstop Khalil Greene when he cleared waivers. Remember to check out out handy dandy list of players who have already cleared waivers.
- The Angels are reportedly interested in Heath Bell, who was put on waivers yesterday. Several GMs "expressed doubt that the Padres would be able trade him." I, for one, think the Pads would have no problem moving him if they really wanted to.
- One GM says the Angels "should take Francisco Cordero. The Reds will move him."
- Gammons says that most baseball people think the Nationals will sign Stephen Strasburg "if negotiations with Scott Boras do not get contentious." He guesstimates that Strasburg could get $22MM for three years, which would allow him to go to arbitration for three years and land another big payday. Or three.