Perrotto’s Latest: Reds, Dempster, Silva, Lugo
John Perrotto’s Every Given Sunday column is up over at Baseball Prospectus. For those without a BP subscription, here’s the highlights:
- Perrotto believes that Reds owner Bob Castellini will give Walt Jocketty the go-ahead to dive into the free agent market this season in an attempt to contend in 2009. The Reds like their young core, and feel a solid bat or two can help them contend in NL Central immediately.
- Jed Lowrie’s play since taking over for the injured Julio Lugo has convinced the Red Sox that he can be the everyday shortstop. They’ll look to move Lugo (and his contract) this offseason.
- There’s been a lot of talk about teams looking for corner outfield help, but don’t expect the Tigers to jump into that category. They’re convinced that rookie Matt Joyce can be their everyday left fielder next season. Joyce already has 12 home runs this season in just 183 ABs.
- Despite a great season, the Cubs may be hesistant to re-sign Ryan Dempster to a long-term deal because they already have Rich Harden, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Jason Marquis signed for 2009.
- I apologize in advance to Mets fans for what I’m about to write: Perrotto feels that the Mets could make a push to trade for Carlos Silva in the offseason, in the hope that a reunion with his close friend and former teammate Johan Santana can revitalize him.
- The Pirates are almost certain to trade Jack Wilson before the 2009 season begins.
- Another name for teams seeking starting pitching: The Marlins are likely to trade Scott Olsen this offseason to help keep their payroll down.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Kotsay, Fuentes, Glavine, Smoltz
On August 18th, Rosenthal mentioned Mark Kotsay had cleared waivers, and that Brian Fuentes had not yet been placed. Here’s an update, from today’s Inside Pitch video:
- The Brewers and Red Sox are both showing interest in Kotsay. The Brewers would only pursue a trade if Ryan Braun‘s ribcage injury worsens, and so far he looks more than fine. The Sox made a play for lefty-hitting Brian Giles before Giles vetoed the deal, so it makes sense that they’d exert similar effort toward Kotsay. Even more so now that J.D. Drew has a herniated disc.
- Fuentes is expected to be put on waivers this week, a process that’s not usually made public, let alone announced, so the Rockies must be keen to see if they can do better in a trade than the two first round draft picks they get by keeping Fuentes. According to Rosenthal, as things stand, the Dodgers currently have waiver priority. If they pass for salary reasons, the Phillies could be a roadblock for the Mets.
- Rosenthal also mentions a delicate situation in Atlanta: Tom Glavine and John Smoltz both want to pitch next year, and Glavine only wants to pitch for the Braves. The Braves are faced with re-signing the inevitable Hall of Famers without being as reliant on their health as they were this year, or letting them go despite their long history with the team. Toss Mike Hampton‘s arm into the mix as well.
Odds and Ends: Manny, Pavano, Gonzalez
Some Saturday mid-day linkage:
- Hitoki Iwase was lit up in the Olympics, possibly dropping his stock as a prospect. Iwase was one of several Japanese players being scouted by Major League clubs in Beijing.
- Luis Gonzalez reminisces about his trade to the Diamondbacks ten years ago.
- Manny Ramirez is not interested in talking about those old Philadelphia rumors. I’m shocked, shocked.
- J.D. Drew‘s back spasms are actually a herniated disk. According to Nick Cafardo, the Red Sox would love to add another outfielder, but can’t seem to lay their hands on one. No offense to Jason Lane.
- He’s baaaa-aaaack: Free-agent-to-be Carl Pavano is starting tonight for the New York Yankees. Strike up the band and break out the rum punch.
- Recently traded infielder Jose Bautista was at odds with Pirates manager John Russell.
- Thomas Boswell talks about the possibility of Stephen Strasburg becoming a National next year.
Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro and can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Lane, Taveras, Cubs, Reyes
Round three from the MLBiverse…
- The Red Sox have signed former Astros outfielder Jason Lane to a minor league deal.
- Troy E. Renck says that Willy Taveras could be moved this winter and speculates that the Nationals might be a good fit if Lastings Milledge is moved from center field.
- Paul Sullivan says the Cubs are not likely to make many changes this winter with only four key free agents. One of those free agents, Ryan Dempster, said that he would prefer to stay with the Cubs.
- Omar Minaya says Al Reyes turned down a major league job with another organization to take the minor league deal with the Mets.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Red Sox Sign Dave Ross
THURSDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Red Sox signed Ross to a minor league deal.
WEDNESDAY: Ross became a free agent today, and the Phillies made contact to express their interest.
MONDAY, 8:13pm: Rosenthal has added the Red Sox to the mix for Ross.
3:27pm: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Phillies are interested in recently-released catcher Dave Ross. Rosenthal says they could send him to the minors and bring him up when rosters expand. The Marlins seemingly chose Paul Lo Duca over Ross earlier this year.
The 31 year-old backstop hit .231/.381/.366 in 173 plate appearances this year. He flashed prodigious power in ’06, but not much since then. Ross threw out 29% of attempted basestealers this year and 41% in ’07.
Post-Draft Roundup: Hosmer, Smoak, Strasburg
Below I’ve collected more interesting remaining links regarding the amateur draft.
- The Royals bumped their offer from $5MM to $6MM and signed top pick Eric Hosmer. Rany Jazayerli was surprised to see Hosmer effectively get more than #1 pick Tim Beckham. The Royals joined the Red Sox and Pirates as teams spending around $10MM on draft picks this year.
- The Rangers resisted a Major League deal for Justin Smoak, and ultimately signed him to a $3.5MM minor league deal. Owner Tom Hicks pined for a hard slot system.
- The story of pitcher Chris Gruler, picked third overall by the Reds in ’02, reminds us to temper our enthusiasm for these kids. Many will bust.
- Tim Lincecum says Buster Posey can expect other minor leaguers to treat him differently because of the bonus he received.
- The race is on for Stephen Strasburg, who is separating himself from the pack as the top talent in the ’09 draft. The Mariners, Padres, and Nationals all have a shot at him, with the Nats in the "lead." Would the Nats avoid Strasburg due to signability concerns?
Week In Review: 8/10 – 8/16
Taking a look back at this week’s happenings here on MLBTR…
- The biggest move of the month was the Diamondbacks’ acquisition of slugger Adam Dunn for Dallas Buck, Micah Owings, and Wilkin Castillo. I can’t remember any August trades of this magnitude.
- Bronson Arroyo told the media Dunn would be seeking over $100MM this offseason; Dunn denied the report wholeheartedly. I’d be surprised to see him get $100MM, but I also certainly don’t think it would be the worst signing we’ve seen in the past few offseasons.
- The Red Sox acquired Paul Byrd from the Indians. Boston will pay the remaining portion of Byrd’s salary. Byrd has been very good lately, and you can never have too much pitching depth. Not a bad move for Boston, in my opinion.
- The Twins were very active in discussions this week, though nothing surfaced as of yet. Minnesota claimed Jarrod Washburn off waivers from Seattle, but a deal wasn’t worked out. Boof Bonser and salary relief was originally thought to be the offer, but that report was later denied. Passing a chance to unload Washburn’s salary makes no sense to me. The Twins also claimed Alan Embree from Oakland, but he was pulled back.
- Freddy Garcia signed a minor-league contact with the Tigers. They must have liked what they saw at his audition. If he can return to be as effective as he was in his Chicago days, that would be a great signing. Nice low-risk move for Detroit.
- We’ve seen a lot of teams signing their young talent to long-term deals, but it looks like San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum will not be one of them. He’d prefer to go year-to-year.
- Minor moves happening around baseball: The Reds DFA’d David Ross, the Blue Jays released Shannon Stewart, and the Twins signed Bobby Kielty to a minor-league deal. The Giants DFA’d Jose Castillo, and Richie Sexson’s time in New York was cut short when he was released after just 35 plate appearances. The Rockies added another arm, signing Oscar Villareal.
- And now, for the draft-pick signings! Here are all the signings and not-signings teams made with their top picks this week: The White Sox signed Gordon Beckham, the Orioles signed Brian Matusz, the Padres signed Allan Dykstra, the Rangers signed Justin Smoak, the Giants signed Buster Posey, the Pirates signed Pedro Alvarez, the Royals signed Eric Hosmer, and the Reds not only signed Yonder Alonso, but Venezuelan outfielder Yorman Rodriguez as well. The Nationals failed to sign Aaron Crow, and the Yankees failed to sign Gerrit Cole.
- And to cap things off, since we just covered a bunch of guys who probably weren’t even alive when Jamie Moyer first started pitching in the Majors… he didn’t deny the possibility of pitching until he’s 50. He’s 45 right now with 11 wins and an ERA of 3.64, who knows?
Cafardo’s Latest: Ausmus, Towles, Mariners, Giants, Sheffield, Salty
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a few items in his Sunday column…
- Cafardo says that the Red Sox, despite being in the market for a catcher, are not interested in Brad Ausmus. They did inquire with the Astros about J.R. Towles, who is currently in Triple A, but were told he is unavailable.
- One executive told Cafardo that the Mariners continue to demand other teams take entire contracts and give up prospects for players like Raul Ibanez, Jarrod Washburn and Adrian Beltre. In the cases of Ibanez and Beltre, that position is defensible.
- Cafardo interviewed Brian Sabean about several topics: 1) When asked about trading veteran players, Sabean responded "There’s still time"; 2) When asked whether the Giants would "go young" or target free agents in the offseason, Sabean was noncommital but said they will look for free agents and trade pieces to fix problems, specifically mentioning the bullpen and first base; 3) When asked if he was tempted to sign Barry Bonds, Sabean would not answer.
- Cafardo was just musing on a few players, but feels that Gary Sheffield could help the Rays, but only if the Tigers pay some of the salary. He also thinks Jarrod Saltalamacchia would be a nice fit in Boston next season.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .
Odds And Ends: Hunter, Hissey, Westmoreland, Minaya
Some links on a post-signing-draft-picks-deadline Saturday:
- The A’s were able to sign Brett T. Hunter before the deadline.
- The Red Sox signed fourth-rounder Peter Hissey, and fifth-rounder Ryan Westmoreland.
- David Lennon of Newsday believes Omar Minaya’s job is secure, and he’ll be with the Mets for a while.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? alexo05 (at) umpbump (dot) com.
Bonser Not Discussed In Washburn Talks
8:42pm: Hold the phone – John Hickey says Bonser’s name never came up in the Washburn talks. Jim Street and Larry Stone agree. The criticism of the Mariners may be somewhat unjustified. Hickey says Nick Blackburn was on the table for a very brief period of time. Lee Pelekoudas was tight-lipped on the topic.
4:52pm: Even Washburn can’t believe the Mariners wouldn’t trade him for Bonser. He’s disappointed the trade didn’t go through. Perhaps a new GM will deal him this winter.
FRIDAY, 12:19pm: Joe Christensen has details on the Twins’ uncharacteristic claim of Washburn. He heard they offered the Mariners Boof Bonser (plus apparently the salary relief), but the Ms wanted someone like Nick Blackburn or Kevin Slowey. It is hard to see this as anything but a blunder for the Mariners’ front office.
On a related note, Scott Miller says Lee Pelekoudas will not become the Mariners’ permanent GM, while Jon Heyman says Kevin Towers is unlikely. Pat Gillick is still rumored as a possibility for the next team president.
THURSDAY
11:48pm: Baker says the Twins put in claims on both Washburn and Ibanez, but only won the Washburn one. With Washburn, the Twins would’ve put him in the rotation and moved a starter to the setup man role. Baker notes that a deal still could happen.
4:58pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Twins won the Washburn claim and the Tigers won the Ibanez claim. The Red Sox and Mets also put in claims on Ibanez. Interesting on both fronts, but no deals were struck so both players will remain with the Mariners.
Heyman says that while the Twins’ Washburn claim had the flavor of a blocking move, the two teams did have trade discussions. There wasn’t really anyone to block, unless the White Sox were lying about their lack of interest.
4:56pm: The Cardinals did not put in a claim on Washburn, according to Derrick Goold.
3:00pm: Geoff Baker expects that the Mariners will hold onto Ibanez, given the compensatory picks they’ll receive this winter. He further speculates that Washburn’s next start will not be for Seattle.
10:54am: The Twins didn’t win the claim on Ibanez, according to Joe Christensen. Ibanez doesn’t expect a trade, though the Mariners have not discussed an extension with him.
9:57am: Geoff Baker confirms both players have been informed they’ve been placed on waivers. He sees the Jays, Red Sox, and Rays as possible AL claimants for Ibanez. Buster Olney considers the Twins a possibility as well. There seems little chance Ibanez would slip to the NL. Baker and Olney also heard an unconfirmed rumor that the Cardinals claimed Washburn.
WEDNESDAY
According to Ken Rosenthal, Mariners players Jarrod Washburn and Raul Ibanez were claimed on waivers yesterday. The Ms have until tomorrow afternoon to work out a deal with the claiming teams. Rosenthal says the Yankees did not claim Washburn.
At the least, the Mariners have a chance to unload Washburn’s contract. Ibanez is inexpensive, so they’ll want quality prospects in return. The Mariners can also elect to keep both players if they don’t like the offers.
The American League received first crack at the two Mariners, in the following order (omitting non-contenders):
- Tigers
- Rangers
- Blue Jays
- Yankees
- Twins
- White Sox
- Red Sox
- Rays
- Angels