Minor Moves: Hinckley, Scales, Perez
Here's a summary of the day's minor moves…
- The Blue Jays released former top prospect Mike Hinckley, MLBTR has confirmed. The 28-year-old left-hander posted a 5.68 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 4.7 BB.9 in the upper minors before the Blue Jays let him go. Hinckley made it to the Major Leagues in 2008 and 2009 with the Nationals. Dave Gershman first reported the move.
- Utility player Bobby Scales is leaving the Cubs for a Japanese team, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). Scales, a 33-year-old with two years of MLB experience with Chicago, has signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters. He had a .304/.424/.535 line in 283 plate appearances at Triple-A Iowa this year.
- The Pirates announced that they have acquired minor league catcher Miguel Perez from the Nationals for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Perez, 27, played for Pirates affiliates in 2008-09 and has two games of MLB experience with th '05 Reds. He has appeared in just two games this year and has a .270/.323/.343 line as a minor leaguer.
Quick Hits: Nationals, Pirates, MacPhail, Astros
Links for Saturday…
- The Nationals plan on having Davey Johnson meet up with the team tomorrow in Chicago before flying to Anaheim with them, reports Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post (Twitter links). ESPN's Buster Olney, meanwhile, notes that Johnson's contract ensures that he'll be the manager for this year only. The two sides will re-evaluate things after the season.
- Tim Britton of The Providence Journal says the Pirates were the big losers in the Jason Bay-Manny Ramirez trade.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun spoke to Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail about his contract, which expires after the season. "I have always taken the position, unlike one of my good friends in the game Jim Riggleman, let's just see how we do," said MacPhail. "Let's get to the end of the year and see how we do and take it from there."
- Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros transfer of ownership from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane likely won't happen until mid-July (or later) as MLB focuses its efforts on the Dodgers (Twitter link).
- Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch addressed the speculation about how Albert Pujols' injury could impact his contract negotiations with the Cardinals after the season.
- McLaren will not be leaving the Nationals, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com (Twitter links). He will not be bench coach and will instead stay in another capacity.
- The Nats can expect another resignation, this time from acting manager John McLaren, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. McLaren served as bench coach under Jim Riggleman.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports spoke to a source that is doubtful the Giants would move any of their big league pitchers to improve the offense (Twitter link). San Francisco has scored just 261 runs this year, the fewest runs in the game.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs front office plans to give the team a few more weeks to see if they can salvage the season before deciding to sell. The front office will meet next week to sort some of this stuff out.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun mentioned that Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and Reds GM Walt Jocketty have swung trades in the past and spent some time together yesterday before their clubs played. He notes that the two clubs appear to match up well in a potential trade as well.
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy has this week's collection of minor league transactions, which includes a slew of draft pick and undrafted free agent signings.
Quick Hits: Nationals, Padres, Drew, Quade
Some notes from around the majors….
- ESPN's Buster Olney is "85-95%" confident that Davey Johnson will be the next Nationals manager. Johnson is currently an advisor with the Nats and hasn't managed since 2000. SI.com's Jon Heyman says Johnson is "in the mix" and might take the job if offered but "he loves [Jim] Riggleman and is sensitive to [the] situation" concerning Riggleman's abrupt departure. (All Twitter links)
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also chimes in on the Nationals' managerial situation, noting that while Riggleman was wrong to leave the team, it was also unfair of Nationals management to leave Riggleman as a lame duck without a guaranteed 2012 contract. Rosenthal also reports that GM Mike Rizzo rarely communicated with Riggleman and has a similar lack of regular contact with his scouting department.
- “Given the division, if we were to get real hot over the next two weeks, a final decision might be delayed a week or two,” a Padres executive tells Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune about when the Friars will start looking to trade players. “But the day is coming.” Center figures Heath Bell, Ryan Ludwick and Chad Qualls are all sure bets to be dealt. Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson may stay put, however, since San Diego has no Major League-ready middle infield replacements in the farm system. Such a young player could possibly come back in any deal for one of those two veterans, but if you're a team with a good young middle infielder, you'd probably want to keep that player rather than move him for a Hudson or a Bartlett.
- Jed Hoyer says "nothing is imminent" and "the only thing that’s true [about various Padres rumors] is that people call us," reports Marty Caswell of XX1090 Radio in San Diego. (Twitter link)
- With David Wright cleared to resume baseball activities, ESPN New York's Rob Parker hopes the Mets won't abandon a much-needed rebuilding plan in pursuit of a longshot chance at the postseason.
- ESPN Boston's Jeremy Lundblad looks at J.D. Drew's struggles this season. With Drew and Mike Cameron providing a negative WAR, Lundblad argues the Red Sox will need to look for right field help, whether it's via trade or an internal option like Josh Reddick or Ryan Kalish.
- The Cubs will have to go on a tear in the second half of the season in order to save Mike Quade's job, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Even this might not be enough, since if GM Jim Hendry goes, so will Quade.
- In an appearance on Jim Rome's radio show on Wednesday (via Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post), Todd Helton said he thinks the Rockies need another quality starter to be World Series contenders. Colorado GM Dan O'Dowd recently stated his team might be in the market for pitching.
Cubs To Determine Deadline Approach
Members of the Cubs' front office will meet early next week to determine their approach for this summer’s trade deadline, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The team intends to pursue top prospects and young players, but the details have yet to be determined, according to Levine.
It appears likely that the 30-44 Cubs will become sellers, in which case some pricey veterans could become trade bait. Aramis Ramirez won’t be one of them, since he won’t approve a trade, but Carlos Zambrano, Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome may find themselves on the trade market. Zambrano and Soriano have said they wouldn’t block trades.
GM Jim Hendry and assistant GM Randy Bush will direct top Cubs scouts during the meetings. Hendry will advise the scouts to monitor the clubs he believes match up best as possible trade partners for Chicago.
Red Sox Notes: Cameron, Navarro, Miller
Despite today’s loss, the 44-30 Red Sox have proven that they’re one of baseball’s top teams. Here’s the latest on the Red Sox from Peter Gammons of MLB Network, who joined WEEI’s Mut & Merloni show today (Audio here, Ryan Hannable has the highlights):
- The Red Sox may consider pursuing a right-handed hitting outfielder, since there’s some concern about Mike Cameron. Gammons mentions Jeff Baker of the Cubs and Ryan Spilborghs of the Rockies as possible targets for Boston.
- Minor league infielder Yamaico Navarro is recovering from an oblique injury, but the Red Sox could call on the versatile prospect if they need depth later in the summer. "I know they think that he’s going to be a really important guy to this team, because he’s got so much versatility,” Gammons said. “He’s so young. And he’s grown up a lot in the last year.” Navarro has a .283/.387/.538 line at Triple-A this year.
- The Red Sox envision Andrew Miller as someone who has “the potential of being a big-time power starter” rather than a reliever, Gammons said. The left-hander made his Red Sox debut this week, tossing 5 2/3 innings and allowing seven hits, three walks and three runs while stiking out six.
How Many Sellers Right Now?
Just when you start to count out the Twins and A's, they reel off winning streaks and re-enter the contention picture. Right now, only six teams are at least eight games out of their division or wild card: the Orioles, Royals, Marlins, Cubs, Astros, and Padres.
Some teams may prefer to make trades now, to get an extra month from their acquisition. That means the best of the trade market looks like this, assuming the six non-contenders will listen on these players, their contracts don't prevent deals, and the players are healthy:
- Hitters: J.J. Hardy, Derrek Lee, Mark Reynolds, Luke Scott, Vladimir Guerrero, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Francoeur, Wilson Betemit, Omar Infante, Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, Jeff Baker, Carlos Pena, Reed Johnson, Hunter Pence, Jeff Keppinger, Carlos Lee, Michael Bourn, Clint Barmes, Ryan Ludwick, Brad Hawpe
- Starting pitchers: Jeremy Guthrie, Jeff Francis, Bruce Chen, Kyle Davies, Javier Vazquez, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Doug Davis, Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez, Aaron Harang
- Relievers: Jim Johnson, Koji Uehara, Kevin Gregg, Mike Gonzalez, Joakim Soria, Leo Nunez, Randy Choate, John Grabow, Kerry Wood, Chad Qualls, Heath Bell
Cross off the Cubs players with crazy contracts and the Astros and Orioles who may never hit the market, and there's not much out there aside from relievers right now. In theory, the state of the market should improve the return for guys like Ludwick and Francis, at least until more sellers show up.
Quick Hits: Kazmir, McKeon, Indians, Gonzalez
Some quick hits as we take in a full slate of games today..
- The Pirates have checked into Scott Kazmir, but GM Neal Huntington did not indicate whether the discussions are ongoing or if it's moot issue, tweets Rob Biertempfel of MLB.com.
- If asked, 80-year-old Jack McKeon says that he's capable of taking over the Marlins managerial job on an interim basis, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
- The Indians have fired hitting coach Jon Nunnally and will replace him with Bruce Fields, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- The Cardinals scouted left-hander Scott Kazmir but they do not have interest in pursuing him, a club source told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While several teams have denied interest in the former All-Star, we learned yesterday that the Mets will consider him.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com looks back at the long-term deal that Adrian Gonzalez signed with the Padres and how it ultimately affected his future with the Red Sox.
- In response to a question, Ken Davidoff of Newsday (via Twitter) said that Carlos Zambrano is unlikely for the Yankees.
- Baseball's international signing period is quickly becoming one of the most important dates on the calendar for many big league teams, writes Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. The international signing period begins July 2nd.
Central Notes: Zambrano, Francoeur, Astros, Pirates
A few items of note coming out of the Central divisions as Carlos Carrasco loses his no-hit bid in the sixth in Cleveland:
- Cubs righty Carlos Zambrano is trending in trade rumors recently, as he has already said that he would waive his no-trade clause. We've also learned that the Yankees have no interest in acquiring the hurler. However, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reminds us that no team has actually checked in with the North Siders on the hurler's availability (via Twitter).
- Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur could draw interest at the trade deadline as a fourth outfielder for a contending team, writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. However, Francoeur has a strong relationship with GM Dayton Moore and isn't blocking the imminent arrival of any corner-outfield prospects, so the Royals probably aren't feeling any urgency to deal him, according to Dodd.
- The Astros have signed Arizona State lefty Mitchell Lambson, their 19th-round pick, according to Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner (via Twitter). Houston has now signed 28 of its 50 selections, per Goff.
- The Pirates have signed Louisiana Tech lefty Mike Jefferson, their 22nd-round pick, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter).
Yankees Have “Zero Interest” In Zambrano
Despite recent reports that the Yankees have been scouting long-time Cub Carlos Zambrano, ESPN's Wallace Matthews spoke to a source who called the rumors "B.S." and said that the Yankees have "zero interest" in acquiring the fiery right-hander.
Matthews' source cites Zambrano's declining fastball velocity (he's checking in at 89.8mph this year) as well as his large contract over the next few seasons:
"He's just not worth the money," the official said. "The Cubs would have to pick up most if not all of the contract. I just don't see it happening."
Zambrano is being paid $17.875MM in 2011, $18MM in 2012, and has a $19.5MM vesting option for 2013, though he would need serious Cy Young consideration over the next two years (Top 2 in 2011 or Top 4 in 2012) plus a clean bill of health at the end of the 2012 season for it to vest. Earlier today we learned that the Yankees prefer rental players and left-handed pitchers, neither of which applies to Zambrano.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi both declined to comment on any potential interest in Zambrano, while pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who spent nine years as a pitching coach for the Cubs, praised Big Z as a person:
"He's a good person," Rothschild said. "Off the field, he's a great family man, he was a good guy to coach, he'll listen (to) all the things you would expect from a professional player. The stuff you see on the field is a result of just the passion he takes to the mound."
Zambrano said earlier this week that he would waive his no-trade clause if the Cubs approached him about a potential deal, but for the time being, it doesn't sound like he'll end up in Yankee pinstripes should that occur.
Carlos Zambrano Would Waive No-Trade Clause
Carlos Zambrano does not want to leave the Cubs, but he told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he would waive his no-trade clause if the team asked him to do so.
"If they come to me and want to trade me, obviously it's because they don't want me here anymore," said Zambrano. "I always say that. I'll be here until the Cubs decide to trade me … I've heard rumors. I've already talked to my family. They said,'It's OK. If you think it's good for you, if you feel you want to be traded, do it.' I don’t want to leave. I've been here 10 years. The town has been special to me, the fans, too."
This morning we learned that the Yankees had several top advisors watch Zambrano recently, though Rosenthal hears that their interest is minimal due to his volatile personality. Since he is due to earn $17.875MM this year and $18MM next, it's likely the Cubs would have to include some cash to facilitate a trade. The Yankees are one of the few teams able to absord that kind of payroll hit, and it's worth noting that their pitching coach, Larry Rothschild, held the same position with the Cubs for the last several years.
Zambrano, 30, owns a 4.59 ERA in 96 innings across 15 starts this season. His strikeout rate (6.3 K/9) is the second lowest of his career and his ground ball rate continues to decline, though his walk rate (3.3 BB/9) is a career best. It's also worth noting that Zambrano's fastball velocity is trending downward as well.