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Bullpen Notes: Papelbon, Nathan, Tigers, Padres

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Closer Jonathan Papelbon is dissatisfied with the Phillies' current direction, MLB.com's Todd Zalecki reports. In the midst of an eight-game losing streak, Philadelphia has fallen to seven games below .500, and that's not what Papelbon anticipated when he signed with the Phils. "I definitely didn't come here for this," he says. He also doesn't sound optimistic when asked about the Phillies' future. "Oh man," he says. "We could be here all day."

Papelbon is of the opinion that the Phillies need to undergo an overhaul, similar to that of his former team, the Red Sox (whose overhaul, ironically, included losing Papelbon to free agency). He says he does not want to be traded, but adds that he does not want to stay in Philadelphia if his team continues on the same path.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Gonzalez, Braves, Nationals

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Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez resigned today amid allegations of verbal and physical abuse of players, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Two sources told Spencer the agent for recently-demoted second baseman Derek Dietrich contacted the team several months ago to report an incident where Martinez erupted in anger unjustly and grabbed a player by his neck and neck chain. The MLBPA was notified of the alleged incident, as well as others involving Martinez, and the union then contacted the Commisioner's office and that office was expected to contact the Marlins on Tuesday, Spencer reports. Martinez, who had never been a Major League coach before this season, was owner Jeffrey Loria’s hand-picked selection to become Marlins' hitting coach. The Red Sox also had interest in hiring Martinez before he took the job with the Marlins. In other news and notes coming from the NL East:

  • The Phillies are still not acknowledging the signing of Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez as sources say the Cuban right-hander is awaiting visa approval, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Gonzalez reportedly agreed to a six-year, $48MM contract with the Phillies, which could be worth as much as $59MM.
  • Gelb also tweeted that Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins indicated he is not willing to waive his no-trade clause, if asked.
  • There is no indication the Phillies are aggressively taking offers for Chase Utley in the event a contract extension cannot be reached, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
  • The Braves have not had any conversations with the Royals regarding Ervin Santana, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told reporters, including the Washington Times' Amanda Comak, he would like to add some more depth before the Trade Deadline. "If we could tweak or improve certain spots on the bench, I think that would be one place that we would attack," Rizzo said. "We’ve got a lot of trade discussions. We’ve received calls, we’ve made calls." 
  • Manager Terry Collins doesn't expect the Mets to make any moves prior to the Trade Deadline, reports Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. Marlon Byrd is the Met name most mentioned in trade rumors and a team source tells Ackert the asking price is a top 10-15 prospect. 

Phillies Make Young Available, Not Cliff Lee

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The Phillies have reached out to other clubs to let them know that players, including MIchael Young, are available, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  However, coveted starter Cliff Lee is not among those players on the block.

Last week, GM Ruben Amaro admitted that he will be willing to listen on any player and couldn't definitively rule out trading anyone.  That idea was underscored by sources telling Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com that the club would listen to offers on Lee, who would completely change the landscape of available starting pitching.

Young, who is hitting .277/.342/.402 with seven homers on the year, has drawn the interest of the Rangers, Red Sox, and Orioles.  According to one report last night, however, Texas is not looking to reunite with Young before Wednesday's deadline.

The Phillies have a number of attractive pieces for contending clubs, including second baseman Chase Utley and closer Jonathan Papelbon.  It's not clear if they are being made available in the coming days but if they are, it would mark a change in thinking for Amaro & Co.  Amaro has publicly stated his desire to see Utley play out the remainder of his career in Philadelphia and has said that developing another closer of Papelbon's caliber would take time that the club doesn't have.

Orioles Notes: Young, Morneau, Morse

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Earlier tonight, we learned that the Orioles could be fairly serious about making a play for Jake Peavy.  Here's more out of Baltimore..

  • Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com names the Orioles as a primary team involved in talks for the Phillies'Michael Young, along with the Rangers and Red Sox.  The versatile Young appears to make the most sense for Baltimore as a DH, Edes says. T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reported earlier this evening that the Rangers aren't planning to reunite with Young.
  • A top Orioles scout was in Seattle this week as the Mariners took on the Twins, who have made Justin Morneau available, Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun reports. An industry source tells Connolly that the Orioles have asked the Twins about the former MVP, who will earn about $6MM over the rest of the season, though the talks are considered "preliminary." As Connolly notes, DH might be Baltimore's biggest hole.
  • The O's have liked Seattle's Mike Morse for years, Connolly adds. Morse, 31, is currently rehabbing a quadriceps injury in Triple-A, but has hit .251/.313/.454 in 227 plate appearances so far this year, appearing mainly in the outfield. Connolly also says the O's could add still another arm, potentially a lefty for a late-inning role, noting that the Mariners'Oliver Perez could fit that bill. However, "the sense within the organization" is that the Orioles might be done shopping, as the team is hesitant to add payroll and won't send top prospects in a deal for a rental player.

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

NL East Notes: Utley, Lee, Peavy, Santana

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The Phillies are clearly in sell mode after dropping five of six since the All-Star break, and should now begin fielding offers for Chase Utley, Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News says. The oft-injured Utley can no longer man second base for a full season in the National League, but would do well in a situation where he could regularly play first and DH for an American League team, while appearing at second only occasionally, Hayes opines. Shipping Utley to another club would clear a spot for prospect Freddy Galvis, who's now in Triple-A. As Hayes notes, Utley too was once a 23-year-old prospect blocked by an aging veteran at the keystone. On to tonight's NL East links:

  • Cliff Lee's best asset is his durability, as he's "never hurt" and "always goes out there," an executive tells Jayson Stark of ESPN (Twitter link). Lee, of course, offers other virtues, including a 3.05 ERA in 144 2/3 innings this year. We heard this week that the Phillies will listen to offers for their ace.
  • The Braves continue to assess the cost of starting pitchers such as the White Sox's Jake Peavy and the Royals' Ervin Santana, whom they consider to be "legit upgrades," Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. However, their focus is on landing a reliever. In a second tweet, Bowman says Atlanta's deep rotation and the high price tag on starting pitching this year make it more likely that the club will acquire bullpen help and/or a backup infielder.
  • Discussing potential trades, Braves GM Frank Wren says payroll isn't an issue for his club, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. "It’s going to be the talent we have to give up," Wren said.

Phillies, Rangers Have Discussed Michael Young

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7:17pm: The Rangers have no plans to bring back Young, major league sources tell T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. A trade for the infielder "is not going to happen."

12:56pm: The Phillies and Rangers have had discussions about a trade shipping infielder Michael Young back to Texas, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. We learned yesterday from CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman that the Rangers were considering Young internally. Talks have been "exploratory" in nature, says Stark, and the clubs are not close to an agreement.

For the Rangers, Stark echoes recent reports that the team is focused on acquiring a right-handed bat. With Texas focused primarily on nabbing a player who can man the outfield, he says that Young is more of a back-up option. In addition to other players previously linked to the Rangers — such as Alex Rios of the White Sox, Hunter Pence of the Giants, Justin Ruggiano of the Marlins, and Kendrys Morales of the Mariners – Stark notes that Seattle's Michael Morse is on Texas's radar.

On the Philadelphia side of the ledger, sources tell Stark that the Phils have indicated an increasing willingness to listen on veterans after the team's recent slide. The names that could generate attention include — unsurprisingly — Young, catcher Carlos Ruiz, closer Jonathan Papelbon, and ace Cliff Lee. (We learned about Lee's potential availability yesterday.) As has long been been the case, Young is believed to be the most likely among those players to swap teams before the deadline. Other potential suitors for Young include the Yankees, Red Sox, and Reds.

Rosenthal On Young, Rangers, Rios, A’s

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted his latest edition of Full Count.  Let's take a look at the highlights..

  • The Phillies' direction remains unclear and its possible that they might not even deal Michael Young.  His .344 OBP is the highest of any team regular and the return that they would get on him is unknown.  Young also has a full no-trade clause, so he can effectively control the process.  If he's zeroed in on returning to the Rangers, he can conceivably block deals to other clubs until that gets done.  Both sides are interested in a reunion.
  • It will be interesting to see if the White Sox actually trade Alex Rios in the days ahead.  The Rangers' interest is overstated, Rosenthal hears, and the Pirates wouldn't necessarily want to take on the balance of the outfielder's contract.  Things can change, but White Sox might have to wait until the winter to find a palatable deal for Rios.
  • The A's remain interested in Jake Peavy, figuring that if they can't fix their offensive issues, they might as well add to their pitching strength.  They're not going to part with Sonny Gray or Addison Russell, but if they do acquire Peavy, they could promote Gray to their bullpen and send Tommy Milone down, keeping him in reserve as their No. 6 starter.
  • The Blue Jays appear unlikely to make a big move and they're not going to trade Jose Bautista or Edwin Encarnacion unless they can improve their big league club and it's hard to see how trading either would accomplish that.  Toronto is far more open to moving Emilio Bonifacio and they're also drawing interest on their relievers.  They're also in something of a bind with something on Josh Johnson: they could either take what they can get right now, which isn't much, or risk giving him a qualifying offer this winter and having him accept.

Reactions To Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez Signing

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We learned yesterday that the Phillies have inked Cuban starter Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez to a six-year deal that includes $48MM in guaranteed money. To start the weekend, we'll take a look at some preliminary reactions to the deal:

  • Gonzalez is a high-risk signing in more ways than one, reports ESPN's Buster Olney. (Twitter links.) Olney says that other teams saw "elbow questions" with Gonzalez to go along with his long layoff from pitching (in addition to the regular uncertainties with international signings). The perception around the league, according to Olney (more Twitter links), is that the Phillies must have seen this information more positively than most. 
  • On the topic of Gonzalez's risk-reward profile, one baseball executive told MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (Twitter link) that, while the price tag was steep, the deal was understandable. Sanchez's source summed things up: "sometimes, you have to take a risk."
  • The Phillies did not sign Gonzalez to help the team compete this year, though there is some possibility he will throw in the big leagues in 2013, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Instead, says Rosenthal, the move signals the club's intentions to "restructure" the roster around a deep starting rotation.
  • The Gonzalez signing represents both a new direction and a continued commitment for the Phillies and GM Ruben Amaro Jr., explains MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Guaranteeing $48MM to an international player is, on the one hand, a stark departure for an organization that had never spent more than $1.2MM on any international prospect. Indeed, after Amaro's comments a month ago describing the risks of international splashes, it seemed the team would continue to stay its hand. But Amaro has also insisted repeatedly that he has every intention of delivering a contender this year and in the immediate future, and adding Gonzalez certainly appears designed to serve that end.
  • For the Phils to have placed this large a bet on an international talent, says Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, well-respected international scouting director Sal Agostinelli must have had his "fingerprints … all over this signing." Many of the questions surrounding Gonzalez revolve around whether or not his splitter or slider are capable of delivering strikeouts, writes Gelb, making a scouting assessment critical in valuing the hurler.
  • You can count fellow Cuban pitcher Jose Contreras among those who believe in Gonzalez, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Contreras, who has been strong in his short tenure with the top Red Sox affiliate since his recent signing, says that Gonzalez possesses the "mentality for the big leagues."

Phillies To Sign Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez

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The Phillies have reached agreement with Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez on a six-year deal, $48MM deal, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports. With bonuses, Gonzalez's contract could be worth as much as $59MM. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reported that Gonzalez's contract includes a vesting option for 2019, and Passan noted that the vesting option is worth $11MM.

Passan notes that, with the option, Gonzalez's deal would be bigger than the $56MM the Rangers gave Yu Darvish, and the guaranteed portion is already much more than the $42MM Yasiel Puig received from the Dodgers. The Red Sox were the other main contender for Gonzalez, who is represented by Jaime Torres.

Yesterday, it looked likely that Gonzalez would be making a decision soon, so the timing of the signing wasn't a surprise. Gonzalez fled Cuba this year, first to El Salvador and then to Mexico. Since he is over 23 and has played more than three seasons in a Cuban professional league, he is not subject to the international bonus pool system that limits bonuses that can be given to Dominican and Venezuelan players.

Gonzalez throws a mid-90s fastball, along with a curveball, splitter and changeup. In a scouting report for Baseball America, Ben Badler notes that Gonzalez's curveball is his weakest pitch and that his splitter and changeup are just "a tick above average." Scouts who like Gonzalez rate him as about a No. 3 starter in the big leagues, Badler says, while others think he might be a back-of-the-rotation starter or low-leverage reliever.

Badler says, however, that scouts mostly agree Gonzalez is a Major League talent. The 26-year-old is also fairly widely perceived as being big-league ready, or close to it, despite having not pitched much in the past two years after being suspended from the Cuban national team for trying to defect. Passan also notes that one factor in the Phillies' decision to sign Gonzalez is that they will soon be negotiating a new TV deal — they're getting a big-league pitcher, and they'll have plenty of money with which to pay him.

Beyond that, it isn't yet absolutely clear how Gonzalez fits into the Phillies' long-term plans, although, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes, the Phillies' additional starting pitching depth might allow them to deal another starter, possibly Cliff Lee.

Yankees Notes: Soriano, Rios, Young

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Earlier today the Yankees officially acquired Alfonso Soriano from the Cubs in exchange for minor league right-hander Corey Black. Here's more on the Yankees…

  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Yankees were the only team to which Soriano would accept a trade (Twitter link).
  • Prior to acquiring Soriano, the Yankees contacted the White Sox to express interest in Alex Rios, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The Yankees are on Rios' no-trade list and were informed that he would not approve a deal to the Bronx. Rios, however, says he was never approached about accepting a deal to the Yankees, Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago reports.
  • Sherman also tweets that the Yankees have continued to contact the Phillies regarding Michael Young, but to this point they've been told that Young isn't available and might not become available at all.
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