Tigers Acquire Jeff Baker From Cubs
The Tigers announced that they have acquired Jeff Baker from the Cubs in exchange for two players to be named later. The Cubs will receive the two PTBNLs either on or before October 31st.
Baker, 31, has a .269/.306/.448 slash line in 144 plate appearances on the year. The veteran has seen time at first base, second base, and the corner outfield positions this season and also has experience at third.
As for the Cubs, they will presumably bolster their farm system with this trade as they look to 2013 and beyond. Theo Epstein & Co. continued the youth movement today with the promotions of Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson.
Quick Hits: Lowe, Cubs, Antonini, Rangers, Indians
Links from around baseball as Saturday becomes Sunday..
- The Cubs are not interested in pitcher Derek Lowe, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter), who spoke with a major league source. Last night it was reported that the Cubs were "looking into" what it would take to acquire the veteran, who was designated for assignment by the Indians earlier this week.
- Dodgers pitcher Michael Antonini cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com (via Twitter). Antonini was designated for assignment to make roster space after the acquisitions of Brandon League and Shane Victorino.
- Rangers General Manager refused to succumb to outside pressure and held on to his most prized prospects through the trade deadline, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. While third baseman Christian Villanueva and right-hander Kyle Hendricks were shipped out, infielders Mike Olt and Jurickson Profar and pitcher Martin Perez stayed with the organization.
- Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer would like to see the Indians take a page out of the White Sox's book and rebuild while keeping the focus on winning.
Chicago Notes: Lowe, Soriano, Williams, Liriano
Here's the latest from both Windy City teams….
- The Cubs are "looking into what it would take to acquire" Derek Lowe, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Lowe has a 5.52 ERA in 21 starts this season and was designated for assignment by the Indians two days ago. The Orioles and Red Sox have also been mentioned as possible suitors for Lowe, though the Red Sox haven't been in contact with the Indians about Lowe, according to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
- Also from Wittenmyer's piece, Cubs president Theo Epstein said Alfonso Soriano had one semi-legitimate suitor before the trade deadline. ‘‘There were a few nibbles, and there was one match of a team that had expressed interest and a place that he would go,’’ Epstein said. ‘‘But they ended up never making an actual offer and addressing their needs somewhere else.’’ This team could possibly be the Dodgers, who were known to have an interest in Soriano before acquiring Shane Victorino from the Phillies.
- White Sox general manager Kenny Williams tells reporters (including MLB.com's Scott Merkin) that he plans to monitor the waiver wire, though "we don't have a lot of positions where if you claim somebody they're going to come in and play."
- Francisco Liriano ended up being Williams' biggest acquisition in the days before the trade deadline and the GM thinks Liriano will thrive under pitching coach Don Cooper. "While there might be some other guys out there who were available, I just felt that Liriano's one that all he really has to do is be in the strike zone on a more consistent basis," Williams said.
Olney On Dempster, Athletics, Lee, Castro
At least one baseball person wonders if Ryan Dempster hurt his free agent stock by agreeing to join the Rangers, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. The American League, referred to by one general manager as "the big boy league," features some high-powered offenses that could have impact Dempster’s numbers and diminish his leverage in offseason contract talks. Here are more notes from Olney…
- The Dodgers were interested in Dempster, but they never pushed for him, Olney reports. The Dodgers didn’t want to trade from their core of good prospects and they didn’t waver when the Cubs asked about their top minor leaguers.
- Olney suggests teams like the Red Sox and Orioles could have interest in Brandon McCarthy if the Athletics place him on waivers when he returns from the disabled list.
- Before the trade deadline, the Phillies made it clear that they would not pick up any of Cliff Lee’s salary in a trade and would also want prospects in return for the left-hander. Olney suggests it’s highly unlikely Lee will be moved in a waiver deal this month.
- Starlin Castro’s name came up in conversations between the Cubs and Diamondbacks leading up to the trade deadline, Olney writes. However, both sides moved on quickly and a deal was never close.
- Olney wonders if the Nationals could pursue in Derek Lowe given their interest in adding pitching leading up to the trade deadline.
Updates On Converted Relievers Now Starting
Building a rotation through free agency can be expensive and frustrating, so teams are understandably open to alternatives. One way for teams to avoid free agent salaries and long-term commitments is to move relief pitchers to the starting rotation. Yet few relievers have the repertoire and durability to succeed in the rotation, so it's not uncommon for converted relievers to flop as starters.
Here’s a mid-season update on four pitchers who jumped from the ‘pen to the rotation this year. None of the pitchers below had started more than three MLB games in a season before 2012 and all of them were big league relievers last year:
- Daniel Bard – Bard walked more batters than he struck out and posted a career-high ERA as a starting pitcher before being optioned to the minor leagues in early June. The right-hander saw his fastball velocity (93.1 mph) and swinging strike rate (7.9%) dip as a starter. He's now pitching out of the bullpen at Triple-A, and the results have been mixed. This attempted transition has been a disappointment.
- Neftali Feliz – The Rangers have successfully converted C.J. Wilson and Alexi Ogando to starting roles under Ron Washington and Mike Maddux in recent years, but Feliz's conversion didn't go nearly as well. He will miss the rest of the season and much of 2013 to undergo and recover from Tommy John surgery. Feliz's injury may be unrelated to his change in roles, but it doesn't make the reality of his elbow issues any more pleasant for the Rangers. The 24-year-old started just seven games before hitting the disabled list, and the results were acceptable, if not overwhelmingly positive: a 3.16 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9.
- Jeff Samardzija – Credit the Cubs for putting Samardzija in the rotation this spring. He's enjoying a breakout season with a 4.19 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 120 1/3 innings (he recovered from an ugly month of June to string together some strong starts in July). The 27-year-old has maintained his fastball velocity, averaging 95 mph with his heater. Among MLB starters only Cole Hamels and Tim Lincecum generate a greater percentage of swings and misses (12.0%).
- Chris Sale – Sale has pitched to a 2.61 ERA through 124 innings with a 114K/31BB ratio and impressive hit and home run rates. The 2012 All-Star has lost some zip on his fastball (now 92.1 mph), but he continues to generate lots of swings and misses. A major success for rookie manager Robin Ventura, pitching coach Don Cooper and the White Sox.
Note: Though Lance Lynn, Anthony Bass and Felix Doubront pitched in relief last year, they also started in the minors for much of the 2011 season, so I don’t consider them converted relievers. Advanced stats via FanGraphs.
Poll: Will The Cubs Move Soriano This Month?
The Cubs made many trades before this week's non-waiver deadline, but Alfonso Soriano stayed put. Soriano wasn't dealt Tuesday despite some interest from rival teams. However, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer acknowledged on ESPN 1000 yesterday that "there is a chance” Soriano will be traded in August.
Two things would have to happen for the 36-year-old to be moved. He’d have to be placed on waivers and he’d have to approve the trade. Soriano is now hitting .273/.322/.499 with 19 home runs and 22 doubles, so he’d represent an offensive upgrade for many teams. Yet he earns $18MM per season through 2014, so there’s an excellent chance he’ll clear waivers this month. He also has a no-trade clause, which limits the Cubs' options. If Soriano does clear waivers, the Cubs can trade him to any team with his permission. In the unlikely event that he gets claimed, they can let him go for nothing but salary relief or work out a trade with the claiming team — as long as Soriano consents. How do you think it'll play out?
Will the Cubs move Soriano to another team this month?
-
Yes 59% (9,005)
-
No 41% (6,375)
Total votes: 15,380
AL West Notes: Iwakuma, Rangers, Dempster
The Athletics and Angels are currently positioned as the American League's two Wild Card teams. Both clubs made trades with the Brewers in anticipation of the non-waiver trade deadline, but the Angels' acquisition (Zack Greinke) led to considerably more headlines than the player the A's obtained (George Kottaras). Here's the latest on the other two AL West teams…
- Sosnick Cobbe Sports no longer represents Mariners right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter). Agent Paul Cobbe said it made sense for the sides to end their business relationship because of some personal differences.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels will look out for possible August trade targets this month, Bryan Dolgin of ESPNDallas.com writes. "It's unusual to find an everyday player, a starting pitcher, but you can find some quality role players or relief pitchers out there," Daniels said.
- Recently-acquired Rangers starter Ryan Dempster said on ESPN 1000's The Waddle & Silvy Show that he never turned down a trade to Atlanta (link via ESPNChicago.com). "All I asked for was more time on one particular trade," the right-hander said. The Cubs sent Dempster to Texas for minor league third baseman Christian Villanueva and minor league right-hander Kyle Hendricks.
Cubs Notes: Garza, Dempster, Villanueva
The non-waiver trade deadline came and went and Cubs hurler Matt Garza wound up staying put in Chicago. Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer says that teams shied away in part because of the right-hander's tricep injury, tweets Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Here's more on the Cubs..
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that the Dodgers didn't wind up with Ryan Dempster because of the pitchers that they were unwilling to part with. GM Ned Colletti's four untouchables in talks for Dempster were right-handers Zach Lee, Allen Webster, and Rubby De La Rosa, and left-hander Chris Reed.
- The Rangers will pay all of Dempster's salary while the Cubs will pay all of Soto's salary, making it a virtual wash in terms of money, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- Landing a solid prospect in Christian Villanueva was a reasonable return for the Cubs considering that their leverage to move Dempster was limited by his 10-and-5 rights, writes Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd). Villanueva was blocked in the Rangers organization but should have a chance to shine with the Cubs.
AL East Notes: Qualls, Blanton, Blue Jays, Beckett
The Yankees acquired Casey McGehee and the Red Sox acquired Craig Breslow, but the Blue Jays, Orioles and Rays remained relatively quiet on trade deadline day. Here’s the latest from the AL East…
- The Yankees had planned to designate Chad Qualls for assignment to create roster space for Joba Chamberlain, so trading him to Pittsburgh wasn't a problem for the club, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports (on Twitter).
- The Yankees were in on Ryan Dempster, but talks "never got to crunch time," Marc Carig of the Star Ledger reports (on Twitter).
- The Orioles continued general discussions about a possible Joe Blanton trade, but never took the next step, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (on Twitter). "We would have liked to have done a deal or two today, but I don't think we're done adding to the team," executive VP Dan Duquette said, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Sun (on Twitter).
- The Blue Jays were discussing a trade late Monday, only to see the deal fall apart, GM Alex Anthopoulos said, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (on Twitter). Griffin suggests the deal was with the Cubs, who were discussing trades involving Matt Garza last night.
- Red Sox GM Ben Cherington said he didn’t ask Josh Beckett if he’d waive his ten and five rights, according to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (on Twitter).
Alfonso Soriano Not Getting Traded Today
5:14pm: Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including MLB.com's Jason Beck, that the Tigers didn't discuss Soriano with the Cubs (Twitter link). "Not once. … We did speak with the Cubs, but we did not speak about Soriano," Dombrowski said.
2:24pm: Soriano will stay with the Cubs at least this week, tweets Nightengale.
2:14pm: The Cubs say Soriano is likely to stay put, though an August deal is possible, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
2:04pm: The Tigers and Cubs are hard at work on Soriano, tweets David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com, but he's not sure if they can make the money work. Soriano is owed $42.3MM through 2014.
1:18pm: Manager Jim Leyland thinks the Tigers may be done on the trade front, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
10:57am: The Tigers have considered Alfonso Soriano, but don't think he's a great fit, Knobler reports (on Twitter). They asked about Scott Hairston, but the Mets wanted one of the Tigers' top five prospects in return.
10:24am: The Tigers are seeking a middle-of-the-order hitter in the wake of discouraging news on Victor Martinez's recovery from knee surgery, writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Martinez is said to be 50-50 to return this year, so the Tigers are "looking hard" for another bat.