Minors Moves: Hill, Carlson, Ka’aihue
We'll keep track of today's minor league moves here, with the latest up top..
- The Cubs outrighted catcher Koyie Hill to Triple-A Iowa, writes Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com. Hill, who appeared in 11 games with the North Siders this season, was designated for assignment Thursday.
- The Red Sox released reliever Jesse Carlson, tweets Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Carlson, a left-hander, missed most of 2010 and all of 2011 due to a shoulder injury. He signed a split contract with Boston last offseason.
- The A's announced that first baseman Kila Ka'aihue cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento. The Hawaiian, acquired from the Royals for Ethan Hollingsworth last September, was designated for assignment by Oakland last week.
Olney On Hamels, Dempster, Cubs, Red Sox, Draft
Some rival executives believe that unless the Phillies run off a string of victories between now and the deadline, they will seriously consider offers for left-hander Cole Hamels, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney. In today's column (Insider subscription required), Olney looks at the pros and cons of trading Hamels and more..
- If the Red Sox are waffling about whether to get involved in talks for Ryan Dempster, then the right-hander must have opened their eyes with his strong outing Friday. However, it remains to be seen if the Cubs and BoSox can move past the Theo Epstein compensation drama to make a deal.
- Matt Garza could also figure to be one of the top pitchers on the market leading up to the deadline and execs say that he has been talked about a lot more in recent days.
- A pair of baseball execs told Olney that they're in favor of the new draft rules putting prospects into their respective systems more rapidly. "For them, it's one less year to the major leagues. High school kids do not have to spend as much time in rookie league. College players who are high draft [picks] can get more easily get to Double-A in Year Two," said Mark Newman, Yankees senior VP of baseball operations.
- The Padres are extremely high on top pick Max Fried and one evaluator compared his breaking ball to Clayton Kershaw's. Fried, the No. 7 pick, agreed to a $3MM deal with the club yesterday.
Yankees Like Dempster; Dodgers Eyeing Garza
Ryan Dempster held the Red Sox scoreless for seven innings in Chicago today and even picked up two hits to provide his team's offense with some assistance. Here's the latest on Dempster and his teammate, Matt Garza:
- Several contenders, including the Yankees and Dodgers, covet Dempster, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
- Two scouts at today's game said the Yankees prefer Garza to Dempster, David Kaplan reports (on Twitter).
- Dempster told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he doesn’t pay attention to the rumors, though it’s flattering to know teams are interested in him. “I’ve been itching to get back to the playoffs,” Dempster told Rosenthal. “I just wanted another opportunity. I never got it. And we’ve struggled since then.” Dempster is a clear summer trade candidate, as I explained yesterday.
- The Dodgers are interested in Garza, Rosenthal reports. Garza, 28, has a 4.04 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 71 1/3 innings for the Cubs this year.
Cubs To Sign Paul Blackburn
The Cubs agreed to sign supplemental first round selection Paul Blackburn, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets. The high school right-hander, represented by Adam Karon of Sosnick Cobbe Sports, will obtain a $912K bonus.
MLB recommends a $912K bonus for the 56th overall selection, which the Cubs obtained as compensation for losing Carlos Pena to free agency. Blackburn has a clean delivery and the potential for three plus pitches, Callis reports.
AL East Notes: Epstein, Cherington, Encarnacion
It was on this day in 1996 that Cal Ripken Jr. became professional baseball's all-time iron man. Though Ripken eclipsed Lou Gehrig's Major League record for consecutive games played in 1995, it took a while longer to surpass Japan's Sachio Kinugasa, who played in 2215 NPL straight games between 1970 and 1987.
Here's some news from both Ripken's Orioles and elsewhere around the AL East…
- Theo Epstein spoke to media (including WEEI.com's Alex Speier) about his days as the Red Sox general manager, noting that he felt some of the club's free agent signings deviated from the franchise's long-term plan and were made due to the pressure of staying competitive. It's a must-read piece for Red Sox fans, not to mention Cubs fans who could see what Epstein hopes to avoid during his tenure in Chicago.
- “We’re going to go see hundreds of players over the next few weeks,” Red Sox GM Ben Cherington tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. “We may end up just acquiring one of those or none of them. In this particular year, we do believe we’re going to get impact players just by getting healthy. Still, we have to come together. I think this team still will be very good.”
- The Blue Jays could look to move Edwin Encarnacion, Kelly Johnson or "any bullpen piece" at the trade deadline if the team isn't in serious contention, opines FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi in a radio interview with the Brady & Lang show on Sportsnet 590 The Fan (Sportsnet.ca's Jeff Simmons has a partial transcript).
- Encarnacion's breakout season could put him in line for a big free agent contract this winter but Morosi says "a lot of GMs are wary" about Encarnacion's ability to play first base on a regular basis. "If you're viewed as a DH, that will affect his valuation going forward," Morosi said. "So we'll see how often he plays in the field and not having [Vladimir Guerrero] coming will certainly change how often he'll play first base."
- The Orioles and Blue Jays have both been scouting the Cubs, reports Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. Levine specified that Baltimore was looking at the Cubs' starting pitchers and Alfonso Soriano.
- For more AL East news, check out this batch of Yankees notes and the latest on the Kevin Youkilis trade rumors.
Cubs Notes: Dempster, Garza
Some links for Thursday afternoon as the Cubs host the Tigers at Wrigley Field…
- Ryan Dempster and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein discussed potential trades yesterday, Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports. As many as ten teams have interest in Dempster, who earns $14MM this year and can block any trade. "We discussed a lot of things and obviously there are a lot of things being talked about," Dempster said. I looked at the right-hander’s trade value earlier today.
- Matt Garza said he enjoys playing in Chicago but will embrace the challenge of pitching for another club if necessary, Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports. "I just want to keep playing. It doesn’t matter where. I’ll pitch on the freaking moon," he said. "The AL East doesn't scare me a bit,” Garza added.
- The Cubs designated catcher Koyie Hill for assignment earlier today, in case you missed it.
Cubs Designate Koyie Hill For Assignment
The Cubs designated catcher Koyie Hill for assignment, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The Cubs activated Welington Castillo from the disabled list in a related move.
Hill appeared in 11 games for the Cubs this year, collecting six singles and a double in 39 plate appearances. The 33-year-old has experience in nine MLB seasons, but most of his professional career has been spent at the minor league level, where he has a .278 /.344/.410 batting line.
Trade Candidate: Ryan Dempster
The Cubs, now 21-41, aren't going to win anything this year, and they’re reportedly willing to listen to trade offers on a variety of players. The Cubs’ front office members would consider a new contract for Ryan Dempster, but there’s no denying the obvious: the 35-year-old right-hander could just as easily be traded.
Teams will have interest in Dempster this summer. He has a 2.31 ERA, and while his peripheral stats suggest the ERA is not quite sustainable, he's been highly effective by most measures. He's striking hitters out (7.7 K/9) and owns a career-best walk rate (2.4 BB/9). Though his average fastball velocity has dropped below 90 mph, he continues to generate swings and misses (9.8% swinging strike rate).
This year isn’t an anomaly, either. Only 16 pitchers have been more valuable in the past five years, according to FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement. For context, the metric ranks Dempster alongside pitchers such as James Shields, Josh Beckett and Mark Buehrle for 2008-12.
Dempster’s contract status could complicate trade talks. He'll earn $14MM this season before hitting free agency, so his salary could deter some low-revenue suitors. If a trade is completed, the acquiring team won't be eligible to obtain draft pick compensation in 2013, so other interested teams may be reluctant to meet the Cubs' asking price. And Dempster has earned ten and five rights, so he can block any trade or demand compensation for being traded. All told, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer, Dempster, and the pitcher’s representatives at LSW Baseball face an unusual situation.
The Dodgers are known to be interested in Dempster and others clubs are presumably eyeing him as well. The Braves, Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers are among the contenders that might seek rotation help between now and the end of July.
If Dempster agrees to waive his no-trade protection — and it sounds as though he’s open to the possibility — the Cubs will be positioned to demand valuable prospects or controllable young players in return. The trade market could include Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum seven weeks from now, but at the moment Dempster might be the top starter available and it’s an advantage the Cubs could look to exploit.
Photo courtesy of US Presswire.
NL Central Notes: Dempster, Cubs, Brewers, Appel
Items out of the NL Central as Wednesday turns into Thursday..
- Amid heavy trade talk, Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster had a long chat with Theo Epstein in the stands of Wrigley Field before today's game, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. Dempster told Muskat that the two discussed an upcoming fundraiser. Meanwhile, some execs believe that the hurler could be moved early, perhaps even before the All-Star break.
- The Brewers expect to announce a number of draft signings by the end of the week, including a deal with second-round pick Tyrone Taylor, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Taylor is a center fielder out of Torrance High School in California.
- Many of this year's top picks have already signed with their respective clubs and when all is said and done, Keith Law of ESPN.com (via Twitter) believes that Mark Appel is the only first round pick who may not sign. The Pirates' eighth-overall pick was said to be in the mix to go No. 1 but asked for more than the Astros were willing to pay.
Quick Hits: Teahen, Soler, Ethier, Hamilton, Youkilis
The Dodgers officially announced their five-year, $85MM extension with Andre Ethier this afternoon on a day that featured lots of draft news. Here are some of Tuesday’s non-draft-related links, starting in Los Angeles…
- Mark Teahen can opt-out of his minor league contract with the Nationals if not called up by June 15th, MLBTR has learned. The 30-year-old has hit .293/.347/.404 with Washington's Triple-A affiliate while playing all four corner spots.
- Jorge Soler is still in the process of securing a visa prior to officially signing with the Cubs, reports MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). That could take about a week.
- The Dodgers’ deal with Ethier could eliminate them from the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes after the season, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes (Twitterlinks). This could limit Hamilton’s leverage with the Rangers whenever the sides resume contract talks.
- Olney points to the abundance of quality outfielders nearing free agency and suggests it makes sense for the players to accept deals now instead of waiting for what could be a buyer’s market.
- There are no new developments in contract discussions between Cole Hamels and the Phillies or Zack Greinke and the Brewers, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).
- GM Sandy Alderson told Ken Davidoff of the New York Post that the Mets haven't drawn up plans to buy or sell this summer. Davidoff suggests that the Mets could decide to stay the course at the upcoming trade deadline.
- One scout watched Kevin Youkilis play and wasn’t impressed, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). "For what he costs, he can't do anything," the scout said.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.