Astros Likely To Dismiss Brad Mills After Season
The Astros have lost eight straight games and currently sit in fifth place in the NL Central, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that they will likely dismiss manager Brad Mills after the season. GM Jeff Luhnow said that no change is imminent, however.
"We haven’t talked about next year at all," said Luhnow. "I’ve told everyone we’re going to wait. I’m not even thinking about it at this point … Brad has done a good job. We get along well. There is no reason to make a change … At the end of the year is when I’m going to spend time looking at all aspects of the operation. But I’m not spending time on it right now."
Mills was hired prior to the 2010 season when the team was under different ownership with a different GM. Jim Crane purchased the club from Drayton McLane last year, and Luhnow was hired during the offseason. Mills is under contract through the end of the season with a club option for 2013. The Astros are 164-243 under his watch and finished with the worst record in baseball a year ago.
Carlos Lee Trade Reactions
The Astros sent Carlos Lee to the Marlins for prospects Matt Dominguez and Rob Rasmussen in a deal that was announced earlier today. The trade provides the Marlins with much needed stability at first base and gives the Astros two more young pieces as they continue to build for the the future. Here are some reactions to the deal:
- With the lowest OPS production at first base in the big leagues this season, the Marlins' acquisition of Lee makes for a natural fit given the veteran's reputation as a professional hitter, says Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com (video link).
- Dominguez and Rasmussen may eventually find themselves playing in Houston, but don't look for the duo to develop into stars, writes Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.
- The ceiling for the Astros' newest prospects projects Dominguez as a defensive replacement and Rasmussen coming out of the bullpen, predicts Keith Law of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow spoke with the Marlins about a potential Lee trade for over a week with conversation intensifying on Wednesday morning, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
- Luhnow says Chris Johnson remains the Astros' third baseman with Dominguez providing insurance for the team given Johnson's health issues, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (on Twitter).
Marlins Acquire Carlos Lee
The Marlins have played to a 38-42 record since changing their name and logo, moving to a new stadium and spending aggressively on free agents, but the slow start will not stop them from adding midseason reinforcements before this year's trade deadline. The Marlins have acquired Carlos Lee from the Astros for Matt Dominguez and Rob Rasmussen, the teams announced. The move should provide Miami with some much-needed offense at first base and add depth to the Astros' minor league system.
“Carlos has been an important part of our team and our community in Houston for almost six seasons and he will be missed,” GM Jeff Luhnow said. “We made this move with an eye towards the future, and are very excited about adding Dominguez and Rasmussen to our talent base. Both players have a bright future.”
Lee, 36, is earning $18.5MM in the final season of a six-year, $100MM contract. The Astros are covering all but the pro-rated minimum of Lee's salary, Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel reports (Twitter links). Though Lee didn't enjoy no-trade protection in the form of ten and five rights, his contract allowed him to block trades to 14 clubs. The Marlins weren't on Lee's 14-team no-trade list.
Lee has five homers and a .286/.336/.412 batting line in 274 plate appearances so far in 2012. He has slowed down in recent years, but his bat will still represent an upgrade over Gaby Sanchez's .194/.240/.283 batting line.
Dominguez, 22, has a reputation as a strong defensive third baseman, but he projects as a below-average hitter. The 2007 first round selection posted a .234/.291/.357 batting line at Triple-A this year and he has a .252/.321/.410 batting line in six minor league seasons. Dominguez, who appeared in 17 games on last year's Marlins team, ranked fourth on Baseball America's list of top Marlins prospects following the 2011 season.
Rasmussen, 23, entered the season as Miami's seventh-best prospect, according to Baseball America. The 5'9" left-hander has a 3.90 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 87 2/3 innings as a starter at Class A Jupiter this year. The Marlins selected him in the second round of the 2010 draft.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney first reported the deal. Photo courtesy of US Presswire.
Olney’s Latest: NL Trade Market, Darvish
In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney compares the current state of the trade market to shopping at an airport, where priced are designed to gouge customers. Buyers want more sellers and sellers want more buyers. Olney also previewed the NL trade market, so let's dive in…
- The Mets are among teams looking for bullpen help and are waiting for the market develop. The division-rival Nationals are also in the market for relief help but do have Drew Storen on the mend. Olney wonders if they'll look for a starter given Stephen Strasburg's inning limit.
- Executives expect the Padres to deal Carlos Quentin and Huston Street, plus they continue to get calls about Chase Headley. Olney speculates that the Reds could be a fit for Quentin.
- The Braves are looking to add a veteran starting pitcher, but Olney says they're unlikely to swing a trade for Zack Greinke without having some kind of long-term contract agreement in place.
- Olney wonders if the Diamondbacks could become surprise buyers for pitching help given Joe Saunders' injury and Trevor Bauer's early struggles. The Cardinals figure to jump into the pitching market given Chris Carpenter's season-ending shoulder surgery.
- The Cubs, Astros, and Rockies are among the clubs in sell mode. The Brewers will wait a little longer before deciding to sell, and while Greinke, Shaun Marcum, and others could be on the block, Corey Hart will not.
- Olney says the Blue Jays actually finished third in the bidding for Yu Darvish behind the Rangers and Cubs. No bid was within $35MM of the $51.7MM Texas submitted.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Cardinals, Greinke, Astros, Rasmus
With Chris Carpenter set to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a nerve condition in his shoulder, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that the Cardinals are in the market for at least one starter and one reliever. St. Louis has trade chips though the new collective bargaining agreement doesn't allow teams to recoup draft pick compensation for rental players, changing the landscape.
Let's round up the rest of Rosenthal's rumors…
- Zack Greinke would likely welcome a trade to – and a chance to sign long-term with – the Cardinals, though it's unclear if the Brewers would be willing to trade him within the division.
- The Astros are prepared to move Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers, though Jed Lowrie is essentially unavailable. Rosenthal says they could be an obvious trade partner for St. Louis since GM Jeff Luhnow spent nine years in the Cardinals' front office.
- The Cardinals may not want to invest $20MM+ annually into a pitcher, but both Lance Berkman ($12MM) and Kyle Lohse ($11.875MM) will be off the books after this season.
- The Blue Jays' immediate strategy may be to acquire a modest rotation upgrade before reassessing at the trade deadline, shortly before Brandon Morrow returns from his oblique injury. Rosenthal believes they should consider selling high on Colby Rasmus.
- Teams continue to call the Angels about Peter Bourjos and some believe he could be the centerpiece of a deal for a quality starting pitcher. The Halos believe the young outfielder is a building block for the future, however. They do not appear to be in the market for a pitcher at the moment.
- The difference in income tax rates between Texas (none) and California (among the highest in the country) was an issue for Astros first baseman Carlos Lee as he mulled over a potential trade to the Dodgers. Los Angeles may have been willing to help "bridge the gap" had he shown enthusiasm for the deal.
International Signings: Blue Jays, Pirates, Athletics
This year’s July 2 signing period opened yesterday, and teams got started immediately with a number of significant contracts on the first day of deal-making. The action continues today as the Twins and Indians have already signed players. We’ll keep track of other noteworthy deals right here with the latest updates up top:
- The Astros agreed to terms on contracts with outfielder Luis Payano, shortstop Kristian Trompiz, and catcher Victor Tavarez, the team announced. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
- Dominican shortstop Richard Urena has signed with the Blue Jays, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 16-year-old is ranked as the No. 13 international prospect by Baseball America and projects to stick at shortstop.
- The Pirates signed Dominican third baseman Julio Delacruz for $700K, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. Baseball America notes that the 16-year-old has an impressive feel for hitting from the right side. "We are very excited to have signed Julio Delacruz who is, in our estimation, the best pure hitter available in Latin America this season,” director of Latin American scouting Rene Gayo said in a statement from the team.
- The Athletics signed Dominican outfielder Luis Barrera for $450K, Badler reports. The 16-year-old Barrera has a smooth left-handed swing and profiles at first base or in left field.
Marlins, Astros Talking Carlos Lee Trade
The Marlins and Astros are deep into talks about a deal that would send Carlos Lee to Miami, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports. The deal isn't completely done but there has been a whole lot of progress, Olney writes. Lee, who can block trades to 14 teams, including the Dodgers, has agreed to go to the Marlins, according to ESPN.
Lee left today's game against the Pirates before the contest ended, leading to speculation that trade talks might be picking up. As Olney notes, Marlins first basemen rank last among the 30 MLB teams with a combined .565 OPS this year.
Lee, 36, is earning $18.5MM in the final season of a six-year, $100MM contract. The Astros will absorb a "huge portion" of the $9MM remaining on his salary, Olney reports. Though Lee doesn't enjoy no-trade protection in the form of ten and five rights, his contract allows him to block trades to 14 clubs. The teams on his list are mostly in large markets, according to FOX Sports.
Lee has five homers and a .286/.336/.412 batting line in 274 plate appearances so far in 2012. Lee has slowed down in recent years, but his bat would still represent an upgrade over Gaby Sanchez's .194/.240/.283 batting line.
This post was first published on July 4th, 2012.
Quick Hits: Lee, Lino, Hamels, Trade Market
Some links to sift through as your Monday night winds down…
- Carlos Lee is remaining quiet on the potential Astros-Dodgers trade that would have sent him to Los Angeles, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. "When I'm ready to talk, I'll come to you," Lee told reporters on Monday.
- Mike Newman of Fangraphs and Scouting the Sally writes that Gabriel Lino, who the Phillies acquired from the Orioles in this weekend's Jim Thome trade, is one of the Top 5 catching prospects he's scouted in person in terms of talent and ceiling. Newman opines that Ruben Amaro Jr. did well to turn a one-year deal like Thome into a talented teenage catcher.
- Josh Slatger of MLive.com writes that if the Tigers decide to make a run at Cole Hamels, third base prospect Nick Castellanos could be the "golden ticket" to acquiring the Philadelphia ace. Castellanos is blocked with both Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder locked into Detroit long-term.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince looks at the ten biggest buzz topics heading into this year's trading season.
Int’l Free Agency Links: Puig, Rangers, Royals
There's been no shortage of signings on this, the first day of 2012's international signing period, but there's also plenty of chatter around the league. Here's some links for your perusal…
- In the latest edition of Ask BA, Jim Callis relays some Yasel Puig-related notes from his colleague Ben Badler. Giving the caveat that it's difficult to compare the 21-year-old Puig to 15- and 16-year-olds, Badler notes that he'd only have ranked Puig 11th on his Top 20 international free agents. Beyond that, Badler says that the consensus from his talks with teams was that Puig would've gone in the third round of the 2012 Amateur Draft. Puig signed a seven-year, $42MM deal with the Dodgers just prior to July 2, narrowly avoiding the new CBA's spending limitations.
- Badler tweets that the Rangers could be a fit for Wendell Rijo now that the Yankees have used up most of their $2.9MM cap. Badler ranked Rijo 10th on his Top 20.
- Despite Badler's comment, Rangers GM Jon Daniels told MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez that his club isn't likely to be active on the international front because they're awaiting resolution on the Jairo Beras situation (Twitter link).
- Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told reporters (including MLB.com's Brian McTaggart) that his team is prepared to spend on international players in the coming days. Luhnow though, is more excited for the 2013-2014 classes, when bonus pools will be based on the previous year's standings. "…that's when things will be more interesting, and you'll see more unique strategies like we saw in the Draft this year," said Luhnow.
- Badler doesn't think the Royals will be shy with signing someone they like, despite not having been active yet (Twitter link).
Carlos Lee Rumors: Sunday
Yesterday, we learned a deal is on the table for the Dodgers to acquire Carlos Lee and cash from the Astros for pitching prospect Garrett Gould. All that is needed is for Lee to approve the trade. Here's the latest:
- The Dodgers have pulled the plug on the Lee trade and will look elsewhere for a bat, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
- Sources tell ESPN.com's Buster Olney that Lee has not changed his mind since Saturday and won't agree to a deal (via Twitter).
- Lee told reporters, including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, that he still hasn't made a decision and admitted the weight of trying to decide whether to accept the trade to the Dodgers or stay in Houston has been difficult. McTaggart writes several of Lee's teammates feel he wants to remain with the Astros.