NL East Notes: Murphy, Capuano, Dickey, Fish, Phils
The Mets and Dodgers could help each other with a trade of Daniel Murphy for a reliever, speculates ESPN's Buster Olney. While the Mets need bullpen help, the Dodgers would use Murphy at third base, which the Mets feel is his best position (and where he's blocked by David Wright in New York). The two sides came close to a trade involving Murphy last December.
Here's the latest from around the NL East…
- R.A. Dickey had to struggle just to stick with the Mets, relates Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal in this story of how Dickey went from being the low man on the Mets roster to one of baseball's biggest surprises of 2012.
- The Mets passed on re-signing Chris Capuano since they didn't think the lefty could handle a starting role and wasn't worth a two-year contract, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Capuano has enjoyed a big comeback season with the Dodgers, with whom he signed a two-year, $10MM deal last winter.
- Several of the Marlins' top executives were called to Miami for a meeting today, according to Clark Spencer of the MIami Herald. Sources are split on whether the meeting is standard business or "is anything but" normal procedure, as Spencer figures the club's disastrous June record will be the major topic of conversation in either case.
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News breaks down how much payroll the Phillies have spent by position over the last five seasons, with the bullpen getting less of a share every year.
- If you missed it earlier tonight, the Phillies have explored trading Jim Thome to an American League team.
Phillies Shopping Thome To DH-Needy AL Teams
The Phillies are making Jim Thome available to American League teams in need of help at designated hitter, two AL executives tell ESPN's Jayson Stark. Ruben Amaro didn't confirm that he was shopping the veteran slugger, but said "if there's a situation out there that benefits both Jim and the Phillies, we'll try to put something together."
"The ideal situation right now, because he can't really play defense in the National League, would be for Jim to play in the American League," Amaro said. "He still has the ability to win a game for us and be productive off the bench. The problem is, the further away he gets from regular at-bats, the more difficult it becomes for him to do that."
Thome spent a month on the DL with a back injury and is just 1-for-16 as a pinch-hitter for Philadelphia this season, but showed he can still produce with regular playing time, hitting .333/.415/.722 with four homers in 41 plate appearances while serving as the Phillies' designated hitter in interleague play. This stretch convinced Thome that he is best suited as a DH and he has told the Phils that he would accept a trade to an AL team if a fit can be found.
Thome's friends say he would prefer to return to one of his former teams, but the Indians and White Sox have their DH spots filled and the Twins will be sellers instead of buyers at the trade deadline. Among AL contenders, the Orioles stand out as having the clearest need for a DH, with the Rays (Luke Scott has struggled and Hideki Matsui hasn't produced much) and Rangers as darkhorse candidates, though Thome would be expendable in Texas once Mitch Moreland returns from the DL in August.
Quick Hits: Dodgers, Puig, Qualls, Harper
The Mets and Athletics could match up for a potential trade involving Grant Balfour, ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggests (on Twitter). Balfour, a midseason trade candidate, is pitching well and the Mets could use bullpen help. Here are today's links…
- Olney runs through some of the available and potentially available trade candidates for Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, explaining that the options out there are less than perfect. The Dodgers have started calling around the league about potential offensive upgrades, but players like Jeff Francoeur, Vernon Wells and Alfonso Soriano have their shortcomings.
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law suggests the Dodgers’ investment in Cuban outfielder Yasel Puig “is a bizarre overreaction to the upcoming international spending cap.” The Dodgers and the outfielder agreed to terms on a seven-year, $42MM contract earlier today.
- Chad Qualls, who was designated for assignment this morning, has asked Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. to trade him, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports (on Twitter).
- The Nationals have been relying on Bryce Harper in center field, but they’re still telling teams they’re looking for a long-term answer at the position, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).
Phillies Designate Chad Qualls For Assignment
The Phillies announced that they designated right-handed reliever Chad Qualls for assignment. The team will option left-hander Joe Savery to Triple-A and select the contracts of left-hander Jeremy Horst and right-hander Brian Sanches from Triple-A in related moves.
The Phillies signed Qualls to a one-year, $1.15MM contract in January and he started the season with six consecutive scoreless appearances. The 33-year-old now has a 4.60 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 54.5% ground ball rate in 31 1/3 innings out of the Phillies' bullpen. He owns a 3.82 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 57.3% ground ball rate in nine MLB seasons.
Phillies Have Yet To Make Hamels, Victorino Available
The Phillies won last night but are still in fourth place in the NL East, eight games out of first and 4.5 back of the wild card spots. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said he could be a seller if his team doesn't improve back in May, but in today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney says Philadelphia has yet to put Cole Hamels or Shane Victorino on the market.
Olney says contending teams are monitoring the Phillies — as well as the Brewers — to see if they become sellers in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline. The Blue Jays have already inquired on both Hamels and Victorino, and you have to think almost every team in the league will check-in on those two at some point. Amaro could also market Juan Pierre, Ty Wigginton, and Joe Blanton at the deadline, though that is just my speculation.
Milwaukee could offer Shaun Marcum, though his recent elbow injury is throwing a wrench into those plans. He tried to play catch yesterday but things did not go well according to Todd Rosiak of The Journal Sentinel. The Brewers also have trade candidates in Zack Greinke, Randy Wolf, and Francisco Rodriguez.
Draft Notes: Phillies, Red Sox, Chargois, Rays
This morning we learned that the Red Sox are close to reaching agreement with first-round pick Brian Johnson for $1.575MM, the recommended bonus for the 31st overall selection. Here's the latest draft news, with the latest updates up top..
- The Phillies sign third-rounder Zach Green for $420K, a slight bump from the pick value of $374K, tweets Jim Callis of Baseball America. The California high school shortstop is said to have a powerful bat and a solid arm. The Phillies have now signed nine of their top ten picks with second-round pitcher Alec Rash as the only one unsigned.
- The Red Sox are close to reaching agreement with third-round right-hander Austin Maddox, multiple industry sources tell Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The University of Florida product is expected to sign for less than the $400K slot recommendation.
- The Twins gave second-rounder J.T. Chargois a bonus of roughly $712K, the full pick value for his selection, Callis tweets. The former Rice closer reached agreement with the team on Monday.
- The Rays signed third-round pick Andrew Toles, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The outfielder played at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida after being dismissed from the University of Tennessee baseball team.
Kevin Youkilis Rumors: Thursday
Potential suitors for Kevin Youkilis are waiting to see if the Youkilis of old returns, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. So far this year, the 33-year-old has a .225/.311/.359 batting line, which means he's on track for the lowest batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage of his nine-year career. Here are the latest Youkilis rumors from Boston:
- The Red Sox have stepped up their efforts to trade the infielder, and will have to absorb most of his $12MM salary to facilitate a deal, Cafardo writes. However, they want something more than salary relief for Youkilis, a homegrown player who developed into an All-Star.
- The Indians are very much involved in talks and talks with the Diamondbacks don’t appear to be dead, Cafardo reports. The Phillies have scouted Youkilis, and the Dodgers could have interest, but the White Sox are more likely to pursue pitching help.
Quick Hits: Galvis, ChiSox, Marlins, Soriano, Dodgers
Ichiro Suzuki recorded his 2500th career hit tonight, leading off the game with a single to center field. Only Al Simmons, Ty Cobb and George Sisler reached the 2500-hit milestone in fewer games than Ichiro's 1817 MLB games. Of course, Ichiro started his Major League career at a much later age than any of those Hall-of-Famers, as he had already racked up 1278 hits in Japan before joining the Mariners in 2001.
Here's the latest from around the majors….
- Phillies infielder Freddy Galvis has been suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball due to a positive PED test, according to a statement from the league. Galvis is currently injured and will able to serve his suspension while on the DL, which FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi describes as "a loophole that wasn't closed in the new [collective bargaining agreement]."
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams told reporters (including Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago) that his team's low attendance could make it more difficult for the Sox to make acquisitions at the trade deadline.
- The Marlins are actively looking for outfielders, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro as part of a reader mailbag. Frisaro speculates that Denard Span, Peter Bourjos or Carlos Lee could fit the Marlins' needs.
- ‘‘It goes both ways because I don’t want to be miserable,’’ Alfonso Soriano tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times about a possible trade from the Cubs. Soriano wants to remain in Chicago but, ‘‘I don’t want to have a long summer or a long season. I just want to win, no matter what. If it’s here, I’m more than happy. If it’s not here, if they think they want to take longer than two or three years, then my contract’s done….But it has to be a very good team to go to because I don’t want to go be miserable on the other team, too.’’
- With the Dodgers expected to big players at the trade deadline, Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times warns that the team shouldn't feel obligated to make a move just to answer the pressure.
- Ned Colletti tells Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times that the Dodgers are looking for a starting pitcher, a hitter and a left-handed reliever. Trades have been hard to come by, however, as Colletti says teams have so far only been willing to discuss moving pending free agents. The second wild card has also improved several teams' chances of contending, so there are fewer obvious sellers.
- The Pirates have been similarly stifled in their trade attempts, as they've been discussing moves for the last six weeks, writes Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We've been told by some clubs that they're going to hold on as long as they can to sell tickets and try to keep their fans engaged, so that may take an obvious seller off the market," said GM Neal Huntington.
- Diamondbacks rookie Wade Miley shut down the Mariners on Monday, but Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that in 2010, the two teams discussed a trade that would've sent Miley to Seattle in exchange for David Aardsma.
Draft Signings: Phillies, Marlins, Padres, Pirates
The latest noteworthy draft signings from the second round and beyond…
- The Phillies have signed eight of their top 10 picks, Phillies assistant director of scouting Rob Holiday told media (including Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Second-round pitcher Alec Rash and third-round infielder Zach Green are the only two yet to sign with the team. We heard last week that the Phils had signed their top three picks, all at slot value.
- The Marlins have signed 25 players from their draft class, with outfielder Kolby Copeland (compensatory third round) being the highest-picked of the signees.
- The Padres announced the signing of second-round pick Jeremy Baltz, via the club's Twitter feed. Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that Baltz's bonus is worth $625K, well below MLB's recommended $757.9K price tag for the 68th overall pick.
- The Pirates announced that they've signed three players: right-hander Adrian Sampson (5th round), infielder D.J. Crumlich (9th round), and infielder Chris Diaz (11th round).
- The Braves announced that they have signed 26 players, including their first six selections. All but four of the 26 players signed out of college.
- The White Sox signed sixth round selection Kyle Hansen for an over-slot bonus of $250K, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets. The right-hander can reach 96 mph and happens to be the brother of former MLB pitcher Craig Hansen.
- The Indians announced that they have signed fifth round selection Dylan Baker. The Indians also signed seventh rounder Josh Schubert for an over-slot bonus of $250K, Callis tweets. Schubert, a high school outfielder, has raw power and relatively good speed.
Rosenthal On Royals, A’s, Barney, Orioles
Many baseball people expect the Padres to trade Carlos Quentin, but the team is in a fluid situation, so that assumption is not safe, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The Padres should have some payroll flexibility this offseason, so they could keep the outfielder despite their modest budget. Here are Rosenthal’s latest rumors:
- Jeff Francoeur has played through ailments and injuries this year and the Royals like his leadership, so they aren’t necessarily looking to trade him.
- Last August the Royals offered Melky Cabrera the same two-year, $13.5MM contract Francoeur eventually signed, but Cabrera declined the offer and the Royals traded him a few months later.
- Rosenthal suggests the A’s aren’t eager to trade veterans for marginal returns. The team is hovering around .500 and plays 18 of its next 28 games at home. The A’s would probably love to trade Kurt Suzuki, Rosenthal writes.
- One exec predicts the Phillies don’t have enough confidence in their outfield depth to trade Hunter Pence this summer.
- An agent predicts Cole Hamels will sign a monster free agent contract this coming offseason and Rosenthal says the Phillies won’t go near $150MM for six years or $175MM for seven years.
- Rival teams frequently ask about Darwin Barney and it’s possible the Cubs will trade the second baseman.
- The Orioles seem to have the most interest in trading for Diamondbacks left-hander Joe Saunders, Rosenthal reports.
- The Orioles’ Triple-A team, which includes Miguel Tejada, Jamie Moyer and Dontrelle Willis, tops the Orioles’ MLB team in career earnings, Rosenthal notes.
- One executive suggested a growing number of teams could request 72-hour windows to negotiate extensions with trade targets this summer because of the provision in the new collective bargaining agreement that prevents teams from obtaining draft pick compensation for players acquired midseason. However, players wouldn’t necessarily be interested in signing and it’d cost teams time and leverage.