NL Central Notes: Sandberg, Pirates, Rasmus
On this date three years ago, the newly acquired C.C. Sabathia homered and pitched a complete game to help the Brewers beat the Reds 3-2. The Brewers' latest acquisition, Francisco Rodriguez, probably won't get too many chances to swing the bat this summer, but he could help Milwaukee reach the playoffs again…
- Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg told ESPN Chicago's "The Waddle & Silvy Show" that he wants to manage in the Major Leagues and would consider returning to Chicago if the Cubs asked him to manage at some point. Sandberg, who was a candidate for the Cubs' managerial opening over the winter, now manages Philadelphia's Triple-A affiliate. ESPNChicago.com has highlights from the conversation.
- The Pirates announced that they have signed fourth round pick Colten Brewer and eighth round pick Jason Creasy. Now that they've signed the pair of high school right-handers, Pittsburgh has locked up 16 players from last month's draft.
- The Rockies like Colby Rasmus, but don't match up well with the Cardinals on a potential trade, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Cardinals might be willing to trade Rasmus, who ranks 41st on Dave Cameron's annual list of players with the most trade value at FanGraphs.com.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said in a chat today that the Cardinals would most covet Jeremy Hellickson in a potential trade involving Rasmus and the Rays.
Cardinals Sign Jaime Garcia To Four-Year Deal
The Cardinals announced that they signed Jaime Garcia to a four-year deal with two club options, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN). Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the deal is worth $27.5MM in guaranteed money (Twitter link). Michael Golde of KTRS 550 AM first tweeted a rumor of the Garcia extension last Thursday, with the contract details included.
Garcia, 25, is enjoying another fine season with a 3.22 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 54.5% groundball rate in 117 1/3 innings. He was set to become arbitration eligible for the first time after the season, so it appears that the contract covers his three arbitration years (2012-14) and his first free agent year, with options on two additional free agent years. Garcia is represented by Melvin Roman of MDR Sports Management, having made a change this year.
The deal falls a bit short of the contracts earlier this year for Clay Buchholz and Trevor Cahill, which also featured a pair of club options. Keep in mind that Garcia's first-year arbitration earning power would have been limited by time missed due to '09 Tommy John surgery.
Cardinals Might Be Willing To Trade Rasmus
The Cardinals "might reconsider [their] stance" on trading center fielder Colby Rasmus, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He adds that GM John Mozeliak "would have to acquire a significant return for Rasmus but may be willing to plumb long-standing interest from the pitching-rich Tampa Bay Rays."
Rasmus, 24, is showing "only halting development" in Strauss' opinion. He's hitting .246/.329/.413 with nine home runs in 360 plate appearances this season. That's solid for a center fielder, but a decline from last year's numbers. Defensively, Rasmus put up a strong UZR in '09 but has been below-average in over 1,800 center field innings since then. If Rasmus were to be traded, Jon Jay would become the Cardinals' starting center fielder.
Even with his stock slightly down, Rasmus would be a hot commodity on the trade market. I can see why he'd interest the Rays, who control center fielder B.J. Upton through 2012 but could control Rasmus through '14. Rasmus could jump past $3MM in arbitration next year against perhaps $7MM for Upton. Upton could be moved in a separate deal, though the Nationals would probably be interested in both center fielders. It'd be a big win for the Cardinals to somehow pry James Shields loose in a Rasmus deal, but with Shields' ace performance and his contract offering options through '14, a direct swap doesn't seem to benefit Tampa Bay enough.
Heath Bell Talks Trade Possibilities
Padres closer Heath Bell appears to be keeping tabs on his own market, telling Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times he views the Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Rangers, and Phillies as potential suitors (Twitter link).
Bell discussed the trade possibility at length with MLB.com's Matthew Leach and other reporters today at the All-Star game media session, saying he's willing to set up for the rest of the year if a team acquires him for that role. Of course, he doesn't really have any say in the matter; if a team wants him to play shortstop he'll have to do that to collect his paycheck. Bell does not seem to have a league preference. As you might expect, Bell will want a closing job when he signs a contract as a free agent.
An NL executive spoke to Tom Krasovic about Bell's trade value, wondering if Padres setup man Mike Adams is valued more. As far as fantasy baseball trade value, Dan Mennella at CloserNews wonders if it's time to try flipping Bell.
NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Keppinger, Johnson
Heading into today's action, no first place team in either league holds a lead of more than two and a half games, and no division is tighter at the top than the NL Central. Not only are the Cardinals, Brewers, and Pirates separated by a single game in the standings, but all three teams are dead even in the loss column. Here's the latest on the Central, as we look forward to what should be a fun playoff race:
- The Cardinals' pursuit of pitching is "taking shape," tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, though he cautions in a second tweet that he's unsure of the timetable for a deal.
- Discussing the Cardinals' need for arms, Bernie Miklasz of the Post-Dispatch says that while prioritizing relief help makes sense, the team could also try to acquire a starter and move Kyle McClellan to the bullpen.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wonders (via Twitter) if the Astros will receive more interest in Jeff Keppinger than Brett Myers, given Myers' struggles this season.
- In a separate tweet, Morosi notes that Cubs' outfielder Reed Johnson is another useful complementary player who could be available on the cheap this month.
Cardinals Continue To Search For Pitching
The Cardinals signed Blaine Boyer and Ron Mahay to minor league deals this week, but GM John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he is still looking for pitching. Mozeliak says the Cardinals are in a position to make a move and could target starters or relievers.
St. Louis appears to have interest in Heath Bell, but there are indications that the Cardinals are unlikely to meet the Padres’ current asking price for their closer, according to Goold. Depending on what the Cardinals are getting and who they’re giving up, they could have payroll flexibility, but at this point, “that's a tough question to answer,” according to Mozeliak.
Quick Hits: Mariners, Giants, Yankees, Orioles
Our condolensces go out to the friends and family of Dick Williams. The long-time player and manager passed away at age 82 today.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told MLB.com's Greg Johns that "we're wide open." He added that they've "had dialogue" about potential trades, but haven't found a match and won't make a deal until they find one that makes sense.
- MLB.com's Adam Berry notes that Mike Fontenot is coming off the disabled list soon, which could mean the end of Bill Hall's time with the Giants.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Yankees have a scout at Nationals Park tonight, presumably to see Sean Burnett. Earlier today we heard that they've discussed the lefty internally.
- Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that the Yankees are doing normal pre-deadline due diligence and are discussing many players (on Twitter), but they are not close to any deals.
- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com that he'd like scouting director Joe Jordan to return next year. The contracts of both men are up after the season.
- The Mets have signed seventh rounder Cole Frenzel, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. The first baseman from Arizona was the 222nd overall pick.
- Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that the Cardinals are expected to finalize a deal with third rounder C.J. McElroy (Twitter link). "Just details" are left to be finalized. MLB's slot recommendation for the 109th overall pick is approximately $284K.
NL Central Notes: Garcia, Pujols, Pirates, Cozart
The Brewers acquired C.C. Sabathia on this date in 2008. The left-hander strung together one dominant outing after another and led Milwaukee to its first postseason series since 1982. Here's the latest from the NL Central as we await this summer's first blockbuster deal…
- When asked about the possibility of signing a contract extension with the Cardinals, Jaime Garcia told B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com (on Twitter): "I'm not saying yes or no, but if something is going on, when the time comes, you guys will find out."
- Now that he has made an exceptionally quick return from the disabled list, Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols looms as the biggest potential difference-maker in the division, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains.
- Manager Clint Hurdle told Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates discussed some external options yesterday, when management met to determine its plan for summer roster moves.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he isn’t going to make moves for the sake of shaking things up.
- Fay points out that someone named Zack Cozart is registered at the Reds’ team hotel (Twitter link). Though it could be a coincidence, it seems likely that the shortstop prospect is getting the call to the big leagues.
Cardinals Designate Bryan Augenstein For Assignment
The Cardinals have designated Bryan Augenstein for assignment, reports B.J. Rains of FoxSportsMidwest.com (on Twitter). The move frees up a roster spot for P.J. Walters.
Augenstein, 25 next week, had been claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks during the offseason. He appeared in five games for St. Louis, all in relief, and allowed seven runs in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six, but walked three (all intentional) and allowed 11 hits. In 12 2/3 innings in the minors, Augenstein struck out 13 but allowed 11 runs.
2012 Vesting Options Update
The season is offically more than halfway complete now, so let's update the status of the various vesting options from around the league…
- Bobby Abreu, Angels: $9MM option vests with 433 plate appearances. Abreu is just 82 plate appearances short of that total, so this one will vest later this month, barring injury.
- Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: $12MM option vests with 600 plate appearances. Injuries have limited Furcal to just 82 plate appearances this year, so this one won't be vesting.
- Jon Garland, Dodgers: $8MM option vests with 190 innings pitched. A few days ago we heard that Garland is unlikely to pitch the rest of the season due to a shoulder issue. He's at 54 innings, so the Dodgers won't have to worry about this one vesting either.
- Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: $17.5MM option vests with 55 games finished and if doctors declare him healthy at the end of the year. K-Rod has finished 32 games already, putting him on pace for 60. A trade to a team that would use him as a setup man would change things, though we recently heard that some GMs beleieve Rodriguez's trade value is reaching a "tipping point" as he racks up the games finished.
- Koji Uehara, Orioles: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished. Uehara has appeared in 35 games and finished 16, putting him on pace for 68 and 29, respectively.
- Arthur Rhodes, Rangers: $4MM option vests with 62 appearances and if he's not on the disabled list at the end of the season. Rhodes has appeared in 28 games so far, and he's on pace for 52. Texas will need to use him a little more liberally down the stretch for this one to kick in.
- Joakim Soria, Royals: $6MM option vests with 55 appearances. With 35 appearances already to his credit, Soria is on pace to pitch in 69 games this year.
- Dan Wheeler, Red Sox: $3MM option vests with 65 games; increases to $3.25MM with 70 games. Wheeler has appeared in 26 games this year with a disabled list stint mixed in. He'd have to appear in 39 of the team's final 77 games for the option to vest, which seems unlikely.
Adam Wainwright's 2012 ($9MM) and 2013 ($12MM) options will not vest because he will finish the season on the disabled list after having Tommy John surgery. Aramis Ramirez's option depends on MVP Award finishes and whether or not he's traded, not plate appearances or another counting milestone.