Odds & Ends: Fielder, Lincoln, Gorzelanny, Lee, Haren
Links for Sunday..
- The Phillies demoted Phillippe Aumont from Double-A back to High-A after a disastrous start to the season, tweets Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner. Aumont was part of the Roy Halladay–Cliff Lee blockbuster.
- Peter Barzilai of USA Today explains why the Brewers should hold on to Prince Fielder.
- This week's Pirates/Nationals matchup may end up being the most interesting series between sub-.500 teams this season. Not only will Stephen Strasburg make his major league debut on Tuesday, but Pirates GM Neal Huntington says former first-round pick Brad Lincoln could make his first big league start on Wednesday, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs received some calls about Tom Gorzelanny's availability a few weeks ago, but that they have no immediate plans to move him.
- The newest Cardinal, Randy Winn, was a player Tony La Russa wanted the team to pursue this past winter, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Larry Brooks of the New York Post would like to see the Mets aggressively attempt to trade for Cliff Lee.
- The Denver Post's Troy Renck hopes the Rockies will inquire on Lee, as well as Dan Haren, if only to see what would it cost to acquire another ace.
- If you play fantasy baseball, be sure to stay on top of the saves category by following our @closernews account on Twitter and tracking the latest news on late-inning relievers around the league.
Odds & Ends: Green, Gonzalez, Berkman, Stanton
Links for Saturday….
- Nick Green, who was designated for assignment by the Dodgers, has cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- WEEI's Alex Speier explains why trading for Adrian Gonzalez appears less and less likely for the Red Sox.
- Lance Berkman's agent is telling teams that his client will approve a trade in which his $15MM option for 2011 is picked up, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. No teams are willing to do that but if the demand is dropped, Heyman says that the Angels are a match.
- Joe Frisaro of MLB.com says that while no exact date has been set for the major league debut of Mike Stanton, speculation is that he could get the call as soon as Tuesday when the Marlins head to Philadelphia.
- Alex Rodriguez now has some say in the fate of his former team after being named to the Rangers creditors' committee, tweets Heyman. Texas owes A-Rod $24.9MM in deferred compensation.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes that Jaime Garcia would have been an Oriole if not for a translation mishap.
- Hank Blalock is happy to be in Tampa Bay, writes Drew Davison of the Dallas Morning News.
Draft Links: Cardinals, Royals, Jackson, Rays
If this morning's round of draft-related links wasn't enough, here's some more reading material to prepare you for Monday….
- The Cardinals are targeting left-handed pitching, speed, and power in the draft, according to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo hears that the Royals don't quite have an agreement in place with Yasmani Grandal yet, but that Grandal is still the favorite to go fourth overall to Kansas City.
- Rany Jazayerli outlines why he thinks the Royals' draft positions in recent years have been unlucky.
- Within Peter Gammons' MLB.com piece on the draft, one National League GM says that after the top three of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Jameson Taillon, "there's virtually no difference between the fourth and 44th picks."
- ESPN.com's Keith Law tweets that the Brewers, Astros, Marlins, and Yankees are interested in right-hander Luke Jackson, who looks increasingly like a first-round pick.
- Continuing their three-part preview of Tampa Bay's draft, DRaysBay examines some players the Rays could target with their first few picks.
- Fanhouse's Frankie Piliere runs down the latest draft buzz he's heard and updates his predictions for the first 15 picks.
- Former Athletic Scott Hatteberg is helping out with the club's draft preparation, according to Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter).
Cardinals Sign Randy Winn
11:56am: John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the deal is official, and Winn will be available for today's game.
10:19am: The Cardinals are close to signing outfielder Randy Winn, according to the team's official Twitter feed. He was designated for assignment by the Yankees about a week ago.
Winn, 36 next week, hit just .213/.300/.295 in 71 plate appearances for the Yanks, and his merely average defensive performance wasn't even getting him playing time as a late-inning defense replacement by the end of his tenure. The Yanks are still on the hook for his $1.1MM salary, less the pro-rated portion of the league minimum that St. Louis will pay him.
Cardinals Agree To Deal With Carlos Matias
The Cardinals have come to an agreement on a $1.5MM deal with 18-year-old Dominican righthander Carlos Matias, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. Matias was one of the best pitchers available on the international market this year.
As Badler explains, Matias is under contract with the team, but he still has to clear some hurdles before receiving his money. MLB must first verify his age and identity, and the U.S. consulate must grant him a visa before the deal can be made official and the bonus paid.
Matias had previously reached an agreement with the Red Sox for $160K, but he was suspended for a year after failing an MLB investigation. The suspension may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, because the righty added velocity to his fastball during the layoff and now routinely sits at 97-99 mph, which has drastically improved his stock.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure reported in March that both the Yankees and Diamondbacks had interest in Matias.
Odds & Ends: Trembley, Konerko, Oswalt, Athletics
Links for Tuesday, as Scott Rolen's big season continues…
- The Orioles should put manager Dave Trembley "gently out of his misery" and fire him, if you ask Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the D'Backs were smart to acquire Dontrelle Willis.
- Jack Moore of FanGraphs says Oliver Perez and Jeff Suppan have "parasitic" contracts.
- Paul Konerko told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that speculation linking him to the Angels is none of his business and a "non-issue" for him.
- If you're on your cell phone, consider checking out our mobile site at mlbtraderumors.mobi. It's a stripped-down version of the site that just shows headlines on the front page.
- The Cardinals could use a starting pitcher, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch runs through some options. One official told AOL FanHouse's Ed Price about a rumor that Roy Oswalt would only accept a trade to the Phillies, Cardinals, or Yankees.
- Josh Willingham, Corey Hart, Jose Guillen, Luke Scott, and Garrett Jones are a few speculative names tossed out by FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi as offensive additions for the Athletics. Keep in mind, though, that Willingham is not known to be available and Jones is slugging .415.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders if the Pirates will release Akinori Iwamura, though he admits it'd be "an especially bitter pill for management."
- It's too early for the Rangers to think about trading Vladimir Guerrero, opines ESPN's Richard Durrett. They're only one game out!
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe looks at Theo Epstein's midseason work from years past. This year, Massarotti feels that adding a late-inning reliever is a priority.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues hopes Kanekoa Texeira clears waivers and is offered back to the Yankees. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that he thinks the Yanks would take him back if given the chance.
Dan Lozano Leaves Beverly Hills Sports Council
TUESDAY, June 1st: Crasnick reports that Lozano officially announced his departure from Beverly Hills Sports Council. Lozano will still represent all of his clients, including Pujols, Rollins, Young, Cabrera, Joey Votto, Dallas Braden and J.C. Romero. Agent Dan Horwits is not leaving BHSC (Twitter links).
THURSDAY, May 27th: Crasnick hears that Lozano is taking several employees with him. Partner Dan Horwits, who represents Kurt Suzuki, Mike Leake and Kevin Gregg, may also leave Beverly Hills Sports Council (Twitter links).
WEDNESDAY, May 26th: Agent Dan Lozano has left the Beverly Hills Sports Council, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. SI's Jon Heyman tweets that Lozano will take at least three big clients with him in his solo venture: Albert Pujols, Jimmy Rollins, and Michael Young. Felipe Lopez, Russell Branyan, and Orlando Cabrera have also been reported as clients of Lozano in recent years, but it's not known whether he retained them.
By our count BHSC had the seventh-biggest offseason, brokering $132.92MM worth of contracts. Their business takes a hit with the loss of Pujols, who is likely headed for a contract in excess of $200MM. They've still got Mark Reynolds, Tommy Hanson, Brad Hawpe, Aaron Hill, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Ludwick, Hunter Pence, Ryan Theriot, Dan Uggla, Jayson Werth, and Brian Wilson, among others.
2011 Vesting Options Update
11:33am: ESPN's Adam Rubin explained in a chat today that Cora's option vests with 80 games rather than 80 starts. Cora is on pace to play more than 90 games this year.
8:32am: We entered the season with nine vesting options to watch, but we're already down to five. Let's take a look.
- Trever Miller, Cardinals. The lefty's $2MM option vests with 45 games. So far he's appeared in 17 of the team's 52 games, putting him on pace for 53. Miller appeared in ten games in May and is back on track.
- Alex Cora, Mets. Cora's $2MM option vests with 80 starts. He's started 19 of the team's 52 games, putting him on pace for 59 starts. Cora will need to make about 15 starts per month from here on out to reach the target. His 2011 contract may depend on Luis Castillo's foot problems and reduced playing time against righties.
- Darren Oliver, Rangers. Oliver's $3.25MM option vests with 59 appearances. He's made 24 in the team's first 50 games, putting him on pace for about 78.
- Ramon Hernandez, Reds. Hernandez's $3.25MM option vests with 120 games played. He's played in 33 of 52, putting him on pace for 103. He'll need about 22 games per month to hit the target. Ryan Hanigan's broken thumb is a factor.
- Magglio Ordonez, Tigers. His $15MM option vests with 135 starts or 540 plate appearances. He's on pace for 156 games and 658 PAs, so even a DL stint wouldn't necessarily prevent Ordonez from locking in his 2011 salary.
- As a reminder, the vesting options for Brian Fuentes, Billy Wagner, Matt Cain, and Kerry Wood have already been addressed.
Rosenthal On Cardinals, Silva, Yankees
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports leads his latest column by noting that the Angels' problems extend beyond the loss of first baseman Kendry Morales. On the business side, I wonder how Morales' abbreviated 2010 will affect his first-time arbitration payday after the season. A few other hot stove notes from Rosenthal…
- Rosenthal would not be surprised to see the Cardinals add a starting pitcher. They've got payroll flexibility but a reluctance to move more prospects. In my opinion, that points toward an acquisition of someone like Jake Westbrook.
- Carlos Silva has surpassed all expectations, and you have to credit Cubs GM Jim Hendry for saving money and getting a useful player for Milton Bradley. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said to Rosenthal, "We didn't see any flashes of him doing what he's doing now. It just didn't feel like it was going to work here."
- Rosenthal finds it likely that the Yankees will attempt to acquire a bat as well as bullpen help.
- Could Phillies first base prospect Jonathan Singleton become trade bait? Rosenthal spoke to one scout who raved about Singleton, who the Phillies drafted out of high school in the eighth round last year. Singleton, ranked 20th among Phils prospects heading into the season by Baseball America, is off to a strong start in Low A.
Rich Hill Agrees To Push Back Opt Out Date
Rich Hill has agreed to push back the opt out date in his minor league contract with the Cardinals by 30 days, reports Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Hill would have been able to elect free agency if he was not added to the big league roster by Tuesday.
Goold mentions that Hill's willingness to stay could stem from his new role as a reliever. The 30-year-old lefty has spent most of his career as a starter, though his last ten outings with Triple-A Memphis have come out of the bullpen. As a reliever, Hill has posted a 3.21 ERA with a 16/9 K/BB ratio in 14 innings, and lefties are hitting just .171 off him.
Since his breakout 2007 season with the Cubs, Hill has struggled mightily with his control, walking 136 batters in 178 total innings, majors and minors.