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Phillies Claim Casper Wells Off Waivers

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The Phillies announced that they have claimed Casper Wells off of waivers from the White Sox.

To call Wells a well-traveled outfielder this season would be putting it lightly, as the Phillies will be the fifth organization he has been with this season. Wells went to Spring Training with the Mariners before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Blue Jays. His next stop was Oakland before ultimately landing in Chicago for the majority of the season.

In 38 games with the White Sox, the 28-year-old hit just .167/.225/.182 — a far cry from the .246/.317/.435 batting line that he carried into the 2013 campaign. Wells is capable of playing all three outfield positions and is a career .249/.330/.450 hitter against left-handed pitching. He was selected by the Tigers in the 14th round of the 2005 draft and remained with that organization until being included in the 2011 Doug Fister trade with the Mariners.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

NL Notes: Trade Deadline, Cedeno, Detwiler

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This year's quiet trade deadline is indicative of a brand of baseball in which youth is prized and the strategy of absorbing salary in deadline trades isn't as viable as it once was, Derrick Goold says in an article for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. With sellers such as the White Sox asking for "top 50" or "top 15" prospects in trades for their veterans, according to Goold, NL Central contenders the Cardinals, the Reds and the Pirates opted to stick with the teams they already had in place. Moving too many prospects in a trade is "the quickest way to head in the wrong direction," Pirates GM Neal Huntington opined. On to more Saturday night NL links:

  • The Padres signed shortstop Ronny Cedeno to a minor league deal with the knowledge that starting shortstop Everth Cabrera may be suspended on Monday in connection with the Biogenesis investigation, GM Josh Byrnes told Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune. “From Josh’s standpoint, we have to make sure we are covered at shortstop in case we need one,” manager Bud Black said.
  • Cubs GM Jed Hoyer expects the waiver trade period to be more active than the non-waiver one, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports. However, Hoyer notes that there's some luck involved in putting together a trade after July 31. "If the wrong team claims a guy and won't give up any talent, you're kind of stuck, so waiver deals can work out, but you can also get stuck and not be able to make a deal," Hoyer said.
  • Nationals starter Ross Detwiler's lingering back issues may cause him to miss the rest of the season, manager Davey Johnson indicated in an article by Amanda Comak of The Washington Times. As Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post reported in July, many rival executives expected the Nats to acquire a starter after Detwiler hit the DL early last month. However, GM Mike Rizzo's lone July deal was a trade to acquire bench bat Scott Hairston from the Cubs.

Rosenthal On Rios, Rangers, Dodgers, A’s

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has his latest edition of Full Count up. Let's run through some of the highlights…

  • Some teams considering a trade for the White Sox's Alex Rios might consider the remainder of his contract – $13MM in 2014 and a $13.5MM club option for 2015 – to be a benefit. According to Rosenthal, Rios ranks fifth in wins above replacement among all right fielders since the start of the 2012 season. That's ahead of both Nick Swisher and Shane Victorino, who were able to sign large free agent deals last offseason. Rosenthal says Rios could still be traded this month or after the season.
  • Rangers officials told Rosenthal that they had more conversations about major leaguer-for-major-leaguer trades leading up to the deadline than ever before in their push to acquire a bat for their struggling lineup, but nothing came to fruition. Texas made almost every player on their roster available in trade talks, including the newly acquired Matt Garza.
  • The Dodgers opted not to bid on Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez because they were unsure of whether he profiled as anything more than a back-end starter or reliever. They also want to create opportunities for prospects such as Zach Lee and Chris Reed.
  • The A's decision this weekend to send Tommy Milone – the owner of a 4.39 ERA in 133.1 innings this year – to Triple A was aimed at adding another arm to the bullpen, as they don't need a fifth starter until Aug. 13. However, that Aug. 13 starter could end up being prospect Sonny Gray. The A's were originally considering putting Gray in the bullpen, but they could get left-hander Brett Anderson back within two weeks as a reliever, Rosenthal says.

White Sox To Release DeWayne Wise

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The White Sox have requested waivers of Dewayne Wise for the purpose of granting his unconditional release, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).  Wise appeared in 30 games for the White Sox this season, slashing .234/.258/.328 in April and May.  The outfielder has been on the disabled list since June 2nd.

Wise, a veteran of eleven big league seasons, owns a career slash line of .228/.264/.381 for the Blue Jays, Braves, Reds, Marlins, Blue Jays, Yankees, and White Sox.  The 35-year-old re-signed with Chicago on a minor league deal back in November which marked his seventh minor league deal in three seasons.  

AL Notes: Red Sox, White Sox, Blue Jays

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It's been a quiet day around baseball. There was, however, some interesting news out of Boston, with Peter Gammons reporting on the GammonsDaily.com that Red Sox principal owner John Henry has been chosen to purchase the Boston Globe from the New York Times Corporation. Elsewhere around the American League …

  • With Boston's prospect depth at the upper levels of the minor leagues, says Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via WEEI.com), the team is primed to be "devastatingly good the next five years if they play their cards right." Passan praises the organization for not dipping into that group in acquiring Jake Peavy at the trade deadline.
  • White Sox GM Rick Hahn discussed a range of topics in a fascinating interview with Matt Spiegel and Ben Finfer of Chicago's 670 The Score (hat tip to South Side Sox). While he said that fans should expect to see "other moves like" the trade of Jake Peavy over the immediate future, Hahn declined to say that the club could not compete by 2015. Hahn indicated that he thinks the team's "transition" can be relatively short given the organization's pitching base and the growth of its international signings over the last few seasons.
  • Discussing this year's deadline, Hahn explained that the priority was to return value for relievers Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain, both of whom are set for free agency. After that was accomplished, Chicago did not need to "force anything" since other chips could be dealt during August or the offseason. Hence, the Sox feel that the Peavy deal was justified because it opened payroll flexibility and returned Avisail Garcia, who Hahn views as a nearly MLB-ready, potential impact corner outfielder. 
  • We should expect the Blue Jays to try and pass their entire roster through waivers over the course of August, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. He notes that GM Alex Anthopoulos believes in testing the market to the full extent possible.

AL Central Links: Tigers, Rzepczynski, Sox, Royals

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The Twins demoted one top prospect today in favor of another, sending Aaron Hicks to Rochester and recalling Oswaldo Arcia to take his place. The moves came on the heels of another loss to the streaking Royals, who have snapped off nine consecutive wins and are 4.5 games back from a Wild Card spot. Here's more out of the AL Central…

  • It's no coincidence that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has a history of making significant moves at the trade deadline and a history of gettting his team to the postseason, writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Knobler writes that the Tigers have long coveted the recently acquired Jose Iglesias, and Dombrowski's persistent inquiries made Detroit a natural fit for a third team when the Red Sox and White Sox initially struggled to make a Jake Peavy deal.
  • Knobler also notes that Dombrowski tried many times to acquire Jurickson Profar from the Rangers with packages fronted by Avisail Garcia but came up empty.
  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti was happy to acquire a left-handed reliever who has thrived against opposing lefties and also has postseason experience in Marc Rzepczynski, he told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. The Tribe looked at many other ways to upgrade, but found the asking prices too high. Manager Terry Francona told Bastian that he merely rolled his eyes and said "Oh my goodness," at the alarming asking prices for players in which the Indians had interest.
  • White Sox general manager Rick Hahn conceded to MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he nearly pulled off a last-minute deadline deal before the other team suddenly changed its asking price. Hahn said he received a text message 45 minutes prior to the deadline and spent the next 35 minutes or so working on the specifics, and it got to the point where he informed chairman Jerry Reinsdorf that it was close to happening. Hahn did not specify which player(s) were on the table.
  • The Royals will be active players on the August trade/waiver market, writes Dick Kaegel of MLB.com. Kaegel spoke with GM Dayton Moore, who told him: "There are two months left to the baseball season and there's potentially the opportunity to improve our team. So we're going to continue to evaluate and look for ways to upgrade."

Reactions To The Jake Peavy Trade

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The Red Sox got creative last night, orchestrating a three-year deal with the White Sox and Tigers that sent Jake Peavy and Brayan Villarreal to Boston, Jose Iglesias to Detroit, Avisail Garcia to Chicago and three low-level minor leaguers (J.B. Wendelken, Francellis Montas and Cleuluis Rondon) from Boston to Chicago as well. Now that the baseball world has had some time to digest the move, here are some reactions…

  • Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs offers up his take on the trade, noting that the White Sox exchanged a questionable outfielder for a questionable infielder, while the Red Sox did well to acquire Peavy at a low cost.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a scouting report on all players involved, noting Garcia is the centerpiece for the White Sox and calling him "a five-tool talent who runs, throws and defends enough to handle center field in his youth and right field down the line."
  • Two years ago, the Red Sox wouldn't have made this trade, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. However, a strong desire to avoid the new Wildcard play-in game has changed the dynamic of the trade deadline. Passan goes on to write that no GM has had a better year than Ben Cherington, who has taken the Red Sox from one baseball's worst teams in 2012 to an AL East title race in 2013.
  • So long as he remains healthy, Peavy should be viewed as a top-of-the-rotation arm, according to ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required). Law says that the Red Sox paid a "modest" price in the deal, and also opines that the Tigers did well to add a Jhonny Peralta replacement that has solid future value as a defense-first middle infielder. He is less rosy on the White Sox end of the trade, however, given his view that Garcia will not develop into an above-average MLB regular.
  • Boston was able to "parlay[] two lucky months from Iglesias into Jake Peavy," according to a rival executive that Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with. Another source told Rosenthal that the White Sox side of the deal was largely a salary dump, with a less-than-stellar prospect return (albeit one with some upside).
  • The Red Sox accomplished exactly what they needed to and did so at an extremely reasonable price, opines WEEI.com's Alex Speier. He notes that the trade not only upgrades the rotation this year and next with Peavy, but allows the Sox to improve their bullpen by shifting Brandon Workman to relief duty. 
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington discussed the trade in a conference call, with WEEI.com's Rob Bradford passing on the highlights. Noting that the deal came together late, Cherington said the team was comfortable moving Iglesias given the organization's depth at shortstop. He noted that the team also sees Villarreal as a promising power bullpen piece moving forward.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski acknowledged the role that the Biogenesis scandal had in nabbing Iglesias, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck. "There's a lot of uncertainty facing the situation which concerned me," said Dombrowski, "especially with our scenario trying to win a championship. … My problem ends up being that after 4 o'clock tomorrow, I cannot aggressively try to do anything that's assured. Because after 4 o'clock, if anything happens, and people know we're looking for a shortstop, there are shortstops that aren't going to make it through waivers." Dombrowski did make clear that the team would not have pulled the trigger if it hadn't been confident in Iglesias as a long-term solution at short.
  • In his own conference call, posted on CSNChicago.com, White Sox GM Rick Hahn explained that the deal evolved out of talks with many teams from prior to the All-Star break. According to Hahn, the three-team deal did not really come together until this afternoon. 

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

July Trade Recap: AL Central

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Here's a look at the trades that went down involving AL Central teams in what proved to be a relatively quiet month of July…

Indians

Royals

Twins

  • Traded catcher Drew Butera to the Dodgers in exchange for a player to be named later.

Tigers

White Sox

Synopsis

The Tigers and White Sox were the big players, making one of three-intra-division trades seen this July (though the Red Sox were involved as well). Detroit bolstered its bullpen at a relatively low cost, acquiring a solid arm in Veras rather than paying for a big name pitcher with a higher price tag. They safeguarded themselves against the Jhonny Peralta suspension that is likely on the horizon, landing Iglesias, who could turn into the game's best defender at short. The Tigers paid a steep price in moving Garcia, whom the White Sox surely are excited to bring to the organization. The White Sox received a trio of underwhelming prospects from Boston in the deal as well — a smaller return than most anticipated for Peavy — and their return on Crain's excellent season remains to be seen due to his injury.

The Royals found a nice platoon partner for David Lough in Maxwell, who has a career batting line of .253/.370/.455 against left-handed pitching. Smith is enjoying a nice season and has No. 3 starter upside, per Baseball America, so they had to part with someone of some significance to get him. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo ranks Smith 15th among Astros prospects on his newly updated Top 20 list. Hernandez was acquired for depth, though he could be a fourth outfielder based on his glove.

The Indians refused to cave in and meet San Francisco's demands for Javier Lopez (not surprising, considering reports that the Giants demanded Danny Salazar in return). Instead, they acquired Rzepczynski, who had been displaced in the Cards' system. Rzepczynski has always been tough on lefties, which was GM Chris Antonetti's main target at the deadline.

The Twins stood pat, save for an insignificant transaction at the last minute that doesn't impact their future much. Justin Morneau's slump and large contract dried up interest in the former MVP, and Josh Willingham's knee injury kept him off the block as well. The Twins neglected to cash in on bullpen chips Jared Burton, Casey Fien and Brian Duensing, and they never budged from their insistence that Glen Perkins was not available. All of those players are controlled for at least two more seasons, and the Twins clearly didn't run into an offer they felt a need to accept. Morneau and Willingham, in particular, remain August trade candidates.

Quick Hits: Lee, A’s, Rays, Yankees

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In reality, the Red Sox were a "non factor" for Cliff Lee before they landed Jake Peavy, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Will he get moved today to another club?  Baseball people are highly doubtful anyone would meet the supposed Phillies' asking price of three top prospects for a pitcher who has $70MM left on his deal through 2015.  "I don't know of a team in baseball that would [do] that. Taking on that much money and giving up three legit prospects seems like a stretch for anyone," one exec said.  Here's more from around baseball as we approach the 3pm central deadline..

  • The A's are still pursuing bullpen depth, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.
  • Teams that have spoken with the Phillies say they're not upbeat about making any deals today, tweets ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.  Michael Young is still in play, but there's no clear destination for the third baseman.
  • The Cardinals are leaning towards standing pat at the deadline unless there is a last minute drastic change, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes that the Rays have been looking into at least one more potential deal, presumably to add a bat.  Tampa Bay made a splash earlier this week when they landed Jesse Crain in a swap with the White Sox.
  • The Yankees were mainly working on smaller acquisitions like Alberto Callaspo this week and didn't have any interest in Alex Rios once they landed Alfonso Soriano, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Callaspo wound up going from the Halos to the A's.
  • The Marlins don't expect to do much today and plan to keep Chad Qualls, Justin Ruggiano, and other trade chips if they can't get good value in return, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • Meanwhile, the Marlins are gauging interest in Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. 
  • The Royals' search for a second baseman continues, but they don't appear to be close on anything at the moment, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  “Anything’s possible,” one club official said. “We looking at a lot of things, but I doubt anything get done unless things change in the last few hours.”
  • The Indians got the left-handed reliever they needed yesterday in Marc Rzepczynski and would still be open to a rotation upgrade, but they don't like the price so far, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  For now, the Tribe is prepared to stand pat.
  • There are a lot of present and veteran Braves who think the club is making a serious mistake by allowing Brian McCann hit the open market at the end of the season, writes Peter Gammons at GammonsDaily.com. "Only the people around the team understand what he means to that pitching staff. He’s a star player in the team concept,” said David Ross of McCann, who also leads the team with a .884 OPS.
  • Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com spoke with Nationals players to get their take on the trade deadline.  Scott Hairston and Adam LaRoche have both been involved in multiple deadline deals.

Alex Rios Rumors: Wednesday

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White Sox right fielder Alex Rios is guaranteed almost $18MM through next year.  The latest trade rumors:

  • The White Sox would like to move Rios today, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark, but it doesn't look promising.  The Rangers and Pirates have no more than lukewarm interest, he adds.
  • Rios was watched by a Pirates scout last night, notes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  The White Sox have scouted the Pirates' farm system thoroughly, he says.  Rios left the game in the eighth inning after fouling a pitch off his foot, but the bruise appears minor.
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