Scott Kazmir Worked Out For Rangers
Free agenty left-hander Scott Kazmir worked out for the Rangers earlier this week, reports Anthony Andro of The Star-Telegram. Kazmir was healthy for the workout but the team hasn't made any decision yet.
"We've talked with him, doing our due diligence," said GM Jon Daniels. "Not sure if anything's going to come of it, but we try to look at every opportunity to see if someone can help us."
Kazmir posted a 3.51 ERA and 742 strikeouts in 689 2/3 innings for the Rays between 2005 and 2008, including a league-high 239 K's in 2007. Since then, he has dealt with a number of injuries, and Tampa Bay dealt him to the Angels in August 2009. The southpaw has managed just a 5.31 ERA and 5.7 K/9 in 35 starts with Los Angeles. The Angels released Kazmir earlier this month, and since then we've heard that a number of teams have interest in signing him.
The Rangers are focusing on bullpen help at the moment, and they currently have three lefties in their bullpen: Arthur Rhodes, Darren Oliver, and Michael Kirkman.
Ryan On Bullpen, Realignment, Astros
Rangers president Nolan Ryan told reporters yesterday that his team’s biggest problem has been inconsistency. Ryan believes the bullpen, a soft spot so far this year, is improving for the Rangers, who lead the AL West with a 43-38 record. Here are more of Ryan’s thoughts from Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle:
- It’s “premature” to say the Rangers will go outside of the organization for bullpen help, since it’s not clear which pitchers are available. The Rangers don’t have anything pending, but Ryan would have interest in the right pitcher. GM Jon Daniels said this week that he remains intent on upgrading the Texas ‘pen.
- Ryan likes the idea of adding the Astros to the AL West, partly because it would mean more games close to home and extra fan involvement. “I think if you had the Astros and Rangers in a pennant race it would stimulate a lot of interest in the state,” Ryan said.
- Jim Crane, who should officially become the owner of the Astros this year, will have to be patient if he wants to build through a strong farm system, Ryan said. “You have to keep putting people in the pipeline because you’re going to have all type of things happen from injuries to mis-evaluations to players not performing,” Ryan said. “There’s a tremendous fallout rate.”
Rangers Continue To Focus On Bullpen
The Rangers haven’t acquired any relievers since they publicly expressed interest in adding bullpen help 12 days ago, but it’s not for lack of trying. GM Jon Daniels told Jim Bowden and Casey Stern on MLB Network Radio’s SiriusXM channel that his primary goal remains acquiring relievers.
“I think the bullpen will definitely be a focus, first focus,” Daniels said. “You’re always open to anything. But that’s probably where we’ve spent the most of our time.”
It's not surprising to hear that Daniels is interested in adding relief help given his 'pen's performance so far in 2011. Rangers relievers have combined for a 4.53 ERA (28th in MLB) with 6.9 K/9 (27th in MLB) for -1.3 wins above replacement (30th in MLB).
The Rangers had scouts watching the Giants recently, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter). MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently previewed the market for left-handed and right-handed relievers.
Rangers Not Interested In Beltran, K-Rod
TUESDAY, 7:50am: "I can't believe that we have an interest in either," remarked Rangers president Nolan Ryan on Galloway and Company yesterday. Ryan doesn't see K-Rod as an upgrade to his bullpen, and he's worried about Beltran's health and salary.
MONDAY, 12:37pm: The Rangers are interested in Mets veterans Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
Beltran and the Rangers are not an obvious match, since Texas is set at the outfield corners with Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz. Of course, there are ways to make it work, as Hamilton and Beltran are capable of playing center field. Plus, Hamilton and Cruz are not locks to avoid the DL from here on out. The 34-year-old Beltran is hitting .278/.372/.480 with 10 home runs in 317 plate appearances on the season, in what is likely to become his healthiest season since '08. Beltran's $18.5MM salary and full no-trade clause, as well as the Mets' status as wild card contenders, could be obstacles in a trade.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, has an 8.18 ERA in 11 games this month. He's 26 games finished away from having his $17.5MM option for 2012 vest. That target could be down to 15 or so by the trade deadline, so it's safer to trade K-Rod now. Though a trade would be a clear manipulation of his vesting option, the closer appears open to waiving his no-trade protection. Even teams with established closers would take on risk in acquiring Rodriguez, since he could be thrust back into the ninth inning if the incumbent stopper is injured. A trade agreement might have to address such a scenario. And don't forget, Rodriguez earns a hefty $11.5MM this year.
The Rangers and other teams seeking relief help have plenty of options beyond K-Rod and all his baggage. The Rangers have more trade chips than anybody, in the opinion of one scout who spoke to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
New York Notes: Crosstown Trades, Osuna, Reyes
The Yankees own the best record in the American League and a half-game lead in the AL East over the Red Sox. The Mets are at .500 and sit 4.5 games out in the wild card race. The latest on New York's teams…
- The Mets and Yankees have matched up on only nine trades in their history, which you can check out with our Transaction Tracker. Yanks GM Brian Cashman has authored three of them, acquiring Mike Stanton (2004), Armando Benitez (2003), and Robin Ventura (2001). Cashman told Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal, "There's never been an issue with it, but you'd better win the trade." Costa's article is an excellent discussion of cross-town dealing, so be sure to check it out.
- Speaking of Yankees-Mets deals, one Yankees person who spoke to SI's Jon Heyman called the chances of a trade for Francisco Rodriguez "less than 50-50." As I mentioned earlier today, K-Rod carries a lot of baggage.
- The Yankees will eventually need 40-man roster spots for Phil Hughes, Rafael Soriano, and Eric Chavez when they come off the 60-day DL. Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues breaks down the most expendable Yankees currently on the 40-man. The Yankees are one of 19 teams with a full 40-man roster.
- The Yankees, Rangers, Blue Jays, Athletics, and Padres watched Roberto Osuna throw in Mexico on Thursday, reports Roberto Espinoza of Vanguardia (link in Spanish). The Red Sox are also interested. The 16-year-old Osuna is one of the top pitchers in the July 2nd class.
- SI's Jon Heyman surveyed two executives and two agents about Jose Reyes' next contract, with three of the four expecting $20MM per year and six or seven years.
Giants Have Shown Interest In Yorvit Torrealba
The Giants have scored the fewest runs in baseball in part due to Buster Posey's season-ending injury, so it's not surprising that both Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports are reporting that a catcher upgrade is the team's focus right now. They've specifically shown interest in Rangers' backstop Yorvit Torrealba, who started his career in San Francisco.
There are two significant roadblocks to a deal according to the FOX scribes. First, Texas can not seriously consider moving Torrealba until Mike Napoli comes off the disabled list, at the very least. Secondly, the Giants are reluctant to pay the $3.25MM he's owned next season. The Rangers would want a bullpen arm in return, but San Francisco is hesitant to part with any of their relievers other than Guillermo Mota.
Rosenthal and Morosi say that Ivan Rodriguez, Ronny Paulino, and Ramon Hernandez have also been discussed internally by the Giants. The Reds are unikely to part with Hernandez even though Ryan Hanigan gets the majority of the playing time behind the plate.
Jon Daniels Scouting Yu Darvish
Rangers GM Jon Daniels is scouting Japanese star Yu Darvish, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. However, the 24-year-old right-hander won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2014 season. If he does in fact come over, it will be via the posting system.
While it has been reported that Darvish wants to play in MLB in 2012, the hurler is not on the record as saying so. Heading into this season, the 6'5" starter had a 2.06 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 1128 1/3 career innings.
Thanks to Patrick Newman of NPBTracker for contributing information.
Orioles Notes: Guthrie, Roberts, Minor Leagues
The Nationals may be generating most of the headlines today, but there's also some news coming from the Beltway's other team. Here's the latest from the Orioles…
- Jeremy Guthrie is perhaps Baltimore's most attractive trade candidate, but MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli doesn't think the right-hander will be moved. "It would take a significant haul on the Orioles' side to give up Guthrie," Ghiroli writes, and she also points out that Guthrie is the only veteran and only innings-eater on the club's pitching staff. Ghiroli cites the Indians and Rangers among the teams who have shown interest in Guthrie.
- From that same mailbag item, Ghiroli thinks the Orioles should start looking for a new long-term answer at second base. Brian Roberts will be 36 when his deal runs out after the 2013 season and the former All-Star is already a question mark due to injuries. Short-term, however, the O's have no second base prospects ready to step in and Roberts has a no-trade clause in his contract.
- The lack of minor league production from several of the Orioles' top prospects "has to be considered an organizational-wide failure," writes The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec. The development system has been further skewed since "for years, Oriole minor leaguers have been getting promotions because of a desperate need at the big league level, not because they’ve necessarily earned a shot."
Cafardo On Kazmir, Upton, Broxton, Ramirez
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders if roster manipulation is rampant in baseball. Cafardo points to the pulled quad muscle injury of Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald as a possible example. McDonald wasn't showing any signs of injury and when asked about it, he gave a "no comment". It's possible that Boston simply wanted to get McDonald more playing time with Mike Cameron eating up the lion's share of the reps. Things such as this, Cafardo writes, are happening all around baseball. Let's see what else is happening around the majors:
- As poorly as left-hander Scott Kazmir has pitched in the last two seasons, there are at least five teams looking at him in the Rockies, Marlins, Padres, Rangers, and Diamondbacks. It also wouldn't be a surprise if the Yankees jump into the mix considering their pitching needs.
- There always seems to be a should-we-or-shouldn’t-we-trade B.J. Upton dilemma for the Rays. The Nationals could be a fit as they'd like a young center fielder they can grow with. The question is: is he available? All signs point to yes.
- Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton has been on the shelf since May with an elbow injury, but the club could move him if they're lagging in the standings.
- The Marlins' recent slide has skipper Edwin Rodriguez on the hot seat and it's no secret that the club has been keeping an eye on Ozzie Guillen for quite some time. Guillen has one year remaining on his deal with the White Sox.
- The Dodgers owe Manny Ramirez more than $8MM in deferred payments but the charismatic twelve-time All-Star is collecting a lot more than that. The BoSox owe him quite a bit of money too, roughly $32MM over 16 years. Boston will pay Ramirez through 2026, when he’ll be 54-years-old.
Quick Hits: Kazmir, Gordon, Jackson, Hudson, A’s
Some late night links as Friday turns into Saturday…
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel that he has no interest in pursuing the recently released Scott Kazmir once the lefty clears waivers (Twitter link).
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Rangers had interest in Brian Gordon before the Yankees signed him. "[Texas] had been interested from the beginning, but didn't think they had a lot of room," said David Schwartz, Gordon's agent. "On Tuesday, when their pitching staff was getting beat up, they got more interested. But by then, we had come to a verbal agreement – he was going to New York."
- MLB.com's Spencer Fordin wrote about Edwin Jackson of the White Sox and Daniel Hudson of the Diamondbacks, who were traded for each other last season and faced each other tonight.
- ESPN's Howard Bryant brings us up to speed with the Athletics and their stadium situation.