Yankees Rumors

AL East Notes: Lester, Blue Jays, Aramis

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 25, 2012 at 1:37pm CDT

We checked in on the AL East this morning, but with less than a week remaining before the trade deadline, the rumors don’t stop coming. Here’s the latest…

The Red Sox won't trade Jon Lester this summer, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reports. The Red Sox are working to add starting pitching and have interest in controllable right-handers Matt Garza and Josh Johnson, Edes writes.
Several clubs have approached the Red Sox about possible trades involving outfielders such as Ryan Kalish, Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ross. The Pirates and Reds have both scouted the Red Sox extensively, according to Edes.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Blue Jays are trying to move Yunel Escobar and suggests they could have interest in Jose Reyes. The Blue Jays were very interested in Reyes as a free agent, Sherman writes.
The Yankees aren’t likely to pursue Aramis Ramirez, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). They could have interest in Chase Headley, however.
In case you missed it, the Rays designated Hideki Matsui for assignment.

Padres Likely To Trade Chase Headley

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 25, 2012 at 1:11pm CDT

The Padres are drawing “huge” amounts of interest in third baseman Chase Headley, and there’s a “strong probability” of a trade, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The Padres are "down the road" with several teams willing to part with high-end prospects for Headley, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter).

The Yankees are unlikely to make a strong push for Headley, Heyman reports. Though they will consider third base options now that Alex Rodriguez is on the disabled list with a broken hand, they don’t want to surrender top prospects for Headley. The Yankees will ask the Padres about Headley, but haven’t done so yet, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter).

Headley has a .268/.361/.423 batting line in 421 plate appearances for the Padres this year. He earns $3.48MM in 2012 and will remain under team control through 2014. GM Josh Byrnes has reportedly set a tremendously high asking price for Headley. The Orioles, Indians, Pirates, A's and others have checked in on the 28-year-old.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Hanley, Orioles

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 25, 2012 at 10:18am CDT

Alex Rodriguez broke his hand last night, when he was hit by a pitch from Felix Hernandez in Seattle. The injury is expected to sideline Rodriguez for six to eight weeks, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Not surprisingly, the news will affect the Yankees' summer shopping list. Here are the latest notes from the AL East…

Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he’ll engage the market for a third baseman, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. The Yankees will consider all third base options, including Chase Headley of the Padres, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). It seems unlikely that the Yankees would meet the Padres' asking price for Headley, Heyman writes (on Twitter).
The Red Sox asked the Marlins about Hanley Ramirez before last night’s trade, but Boston’s interest was in acquiring the infielder and flipping him to a third team, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. It sounds as though the Red Sox were going to flip Ramirez to either the A’s or the Dodgers, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter).
The Orioles announced that they signed 25-year-old Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia to a minor league contract. The Orioles will assign the 6’5”, 195-pound switch-hitter to Double-A Bowie. Urrutia did not play in 2011 following an unsuccessful attempt at defection, according to the Orioles. He established residency in Haiti after successfully defecting from Cuba.

Rosenthal & Morosi On White Sox, Tigers, Angels

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 24, 2012 at 4:22pm CDT

White Sox GM Kenny Williams has already traded for Kevin Youkilis and Brett Myers, but he may not be done dealing yet, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports write. The White Sox want to add a starting pitcher and Zack Greinke is high on their list of potentially available arms, Rosenthal and Morosi report. Here are the rest of the notes and rumors from the FOX reporters…

The White Sox are eager to move Gavin Floyd, Rosenthal and Morosi report.
Though the White Sox don’t have a deep farm system, they could flip Floyd for prospects and use those prospects to acquire Greinke from Milwaukee, Rosenthal and Morosi suggest.
A National League executive suggested to Morosi that Anibal Sanchez will be the third-best free agent starter this offseason behind Greinke and Cole Hamels (Twitter link).
Morosi expects the Tigers to extend catcher Alex Avila at some point (Twitter link). Avila, the son of Tigers assistant GM Al Avila, has a .237/.339/.381 batting line this year. He has battled hamstring issues in 2012, his final year as a pre-arbitration eligible catcher.
The Blue Jays remain in buy mode, Morosi notes. Toronto executives believe a second-place finish in the AL East is possible (Twitter link).
The Blue Jays, Yankees, Giants, Indians, Diamondbacks and Cardinals all had scouts at last night’s Marlins game, according to Morosi (Twitter link).
Josh Willingham is available, but prohibitively expensive, one GM told Rosenthal (Twitter link).
Josh Johnson, James Shields and Greinke are among the starting pitching options the Angels could consider, Rosenthal writes.

AL East Notes: Ichiro, Span, Hanley

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 24, 2012 at 9:26am CDT

After 11-plus seasons in Seattle, Ichiro Suzuki has been traded to the Yankees. The Mariners responded to Ichiro’s trade request last night, sending the outfielder to New York for right-handers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar. Here’s the latest from the AL East, starting with some reactions to the big trade…

Though Ichiro has been a star for his entire MLB career, he's now a role player on the Yankees, Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains.
The Yankees asked about Shane Victorino and Denard Span before completing the deal for Ichiro, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes. The Phillies appear to have suggested a high asking price for Victorino (though they aren't yet committed to selling) and the Yankees believed the Twins’ asking price for Span was too high.
The Red Sox were still listening to the Marlins about possible deals involving Hanley Ramirez last night, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. The Marlins have never been more open to trading Ramirez.

Rosenthal On Marlins, Ichiro, Rangers, Pence

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 24, 2012 at 8:03am CDT

The Marlins aren’t thinking about firing manager Ozzie Guillen, but are expected to continue discussing potential trades in the week leading up to the MLB trade deadline, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. The 45-51 Marlins sent Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to Detroit yesterday, signaling that they don’t expect to contend in 2012. Here are more of Rosenthal’s notes…

Hanley Ramirez could be the next player traded, Rosenthal reports. The Marlins tried to send the third baseman to Boston last week and they’re still open to moving him.
The Marlins figure to shop Heath Bell aggressively, even though he’s just four months into a three-year contract.
Teams covet Josh Johnson, who’s under contract for 2013.
Ichiro Suzuki is “a lot better than you think” once you take defense and baserunning into consideration, one executive tells Rosenthal. The Yankees acquired the veteran outfielder from Seattle yesterday.
The Rangers would love to obtain a top-of-the-rotation starter, but they believe they could address their rotation issues internally if necessary. Cole Hamels will be atop the Rangers’ list of potential targets if the Phillies don’t re-sign him.
The Phillies are indicating to other teams that they’re eager to move Hunter Pence. The right fielder will remain under team control through 2013, when he’s expected to obtain a raise and earn $13-14MM.
Rosenthal mentioned this yesterday, but it’s worth repeating: the Nationals are among the teams interested in Zack Greinke.

Yankees Designate DeWayne Wise For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 23, 2012 at 5:57pm CDT

The Yankees have designated Dewayne Wise for assignment in order to make room on the roster for Ichiro Suzuki, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger.

The 34-year-old Wise hit .262/.286/.492 in 63 plate appearances for the Yankees this season. Wise signed a minor league deal with New York shortly after the calendar flipped to 2012. The Yankees were Wise's sixth team; the veteran outfielder has also seen Major League time with the Blue Jays, Reds, Marlins, Braves, and White Sox. He's a career .222/.258/.381 hitter.

Yankees Acquire Ichiro Suzuki

By Steve Adams | July 23, 2012 at 5:08pm CDT

A legendary figure in Seattle will be changing uniforms, but won't have to go farther than the visitors' clubhouse to join his new team. The Yankees, who are playing in Seattle tonight, have acquired Ichiro Suzuki and cash from the Mariners in exchange right-handers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar, the teams have confirmed.

Within the press release, Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln revealed that Ichiro requested the trade:

“Several weeks ago, Ichiro Suzuki, through his long time agent, Tony Attanasio, approached Chuck Armstrong and me to ask that the Mariners consider trading him. Ichiro knows that the club is building for the future, and he felt that what was best for the team was to be traded to another club and give our younger players an opportunity to develop."

The 38-year-old Ichiro has never known life outside of Seattle in the Major Leagues, but will jump from a last place team to a first place team as a result of the transaction. The two-time batting champion's production has tapered off considerably in recent years, and he's hitting just .261/.288/.353 this season. A move from the spacious Safeco Field to Yankee Stadium could very well help boost his offensive production, however.

Ichiro, who is a free agent following the 2012 season, is owed roughly $6.7MM of his $17MM salary. The Yankees will be responsible for $2.25MM of that salary, meaning the Mariners are including somewhere around $4.5MM to facilitate the deal. Baseball's new collective bargaining agreement prevents teams from acquiring compensatory draft picks for players who didn't spend the entirety of the season on their roster. In other words, Ichiro is strictly a rental.

The Yankees' interest likely picked up when Brett Gardner suffered another setback in his rehab. Because Ichiro has 10-and-5 rights, he had the chance to veto this trade, but approved a deal to the Yanks. Mitchell is on the Yankees' 40-man roster, but Farquhar is not, which means the Mariners will not have to make a corresponding move.

Mitchell, 25, has appeared in four games for the Yankees this season, pitching to a 3.86 ERA in 4 2/3 innings. In 85 2/3 career Triple-A innings, he has a 3.81 ERA with a 6.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. The Yankees selected him out of Clemson University in the 10th round of the 2008 draft.

The 25-year-old Farquhar was taken just 11 picks earlier in the same draft, by the Blue Jays. He spent time in the Jays and Athletics organizations this season, and was claimed off waivers by the Yankees on June 26 after the A's designated him for assignment. Farquhar owns a 4.65 ERA in 69 2/3 Triple-A innings, where he's posted a 7.6 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9.

Jack Curry of the YES Network first broke the news (on Twitter), and Joel Sherman of the New York Post added details surrounding the money that was exchanged (Twitter link).

Quick Hits: Upton, Red Sox, Yankees, Dempster

By Zachary Links | July 22, 2012 at 12:40pm CDT

The Yankees have inquired on Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton and Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines that GM Brian Cashman should make it happen. Sherman argues that three of their best trades of the past two decades involved landing outfielders in their 20s who had fallen out of favor with their clubs: Paul O’Neill, Curtis Granderson, and Nick Swisher. Upton would fit the profile as some in the D'Backs organization have questioned his heart and motivation. Here's more from around baseball..

With the Red Sox possibly eyeing some major acquisitions before the deadline, Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal runs down the movable pieces and the near untouchables in their farm system.
One National League official told Ken Davidoff of Newsday (via Twitter) that he expects Ryan Dempster of the Cubs to be the "first domino to fall", followed by the Twins' Francisco Liriano.
The new collective bargaining agreement and the altered free agent compensation system has made this year's deadline harder to figure out that most, writes Tim Britton of The Providence Journal.
Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter) opines that while the Astros' purge might make sense from a baseball perspective, it is harmful from a business perspective as it will turn off a large section of fans.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Span, Giants, Cardinals, Mets

By Mike Axisa | July 21, 2012 at 10:43pm CDT

Some links from around the league as Saturday turns into Sunday…

With Brett Gardner out for the year, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says the Yankees have called the Phillies about Shane Victorino, the Diamondbacks about Justin Upton, and the Twins about Denard Span. "The Twins are asking for a ton (for Span)," he hears.
The Giants are in the market for bullpen help according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). He says Jonathan Broxton of the Royals could be a possible fit.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said his team has both short and long-term payroll flexibility and will likely seek bullpen help at the deadline according to the AP (via ESPN). He indicated that he is open to trading within the division as long as a top prospect isn't involved.
Mets GM Sandy Alderson told reporters (including Conor Orr of The Star-Ledger) that the presumption is his team will be buyer before the deadline (Twitter link). The next 7-10 days will dictate their moves, however.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Yankees Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect