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.
Diamondbacks Acquire Gaby Hernandez
The D'Backs have acquired right-hander Gaby Hernandez from the White Sox, reports the official Twitter feed of the Reno Aces, Arizona's Triple-A affiliate. Hernandez had a 7.69 ERA in 11 starts at Triple-A Charlotte this season and he has a career ERA of 5.76 in 81 Triple-A games.
Arizona is Hernandez's fifth organization in 17 months. He was a Mariner, a Red Sock, and a Royal within a little over a month's time in early 2010, and then he was dealt to the White Sox last March. Hernandez was originally taken in the third round of the 2004 amateur draft by the Mets.
White Sox Claim Leyson Septimo
The White Sox claimed lefty Leyson Septimo off waivers from the Diamondbacks and optioned him to Double-A, tweets the team. As the team with the fewest players on their 40-man roster (36) the Sox had plenty of room to make the addition. Meanwhile, Arizona's 40-man count drops to 38.
Septimo, 25, has a 6.37 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 7.6 BB/9, and 0.3 HR/9 in 29 2/3 relief innings at Double-A this year. Prior to the 2010 season, Baseball America ranked Septimo 26th among Diamondbacks prospects. The former outfielder was converted to the mound after the '07 season and can touch triple digits with his fastball, according to BA. The White Sox currently have a position player conversion success story in their own bullpen, closer Sergio Santos.
2012 Vesting Options Update
Now that the calendar has flipped to June, let's check in on the status of the various vesting options around the league…
- Bobby Abreu, Angels: $9MM option vests with 433 plate appearances. Abreu has already come to the plate 276 times this year, so this one seems life a safe bet to vest, barring injury.
- Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: $12MM option vests with 600 plate appearances. Furcal is back on the disabled list with an oblique strain, and he's still a month away from returning. He has only 69 plate appearances this year, so this one won't vest.
- Jon Garland, Dodgers: $8MM option vests with 190 innings pitched. Garland has been on the disabled list twice this year (the first two times of his career), and he's currently out with a sore shoulder. He only has 54 innings to his credit and won't be back anytime soon, so this one won't vest.
- Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: $17.5MM option vests with 55 games finished and if doctors declare him healthy at the end of the year. K-Rod has already finished 25 games, putting him on pace for 65 at season's end. A trade to a team that would use him as a set-up man would change everything, but right now the option figures to vest.
- Koji Uehara, Orioles: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished. Uehara has appeared in 26 games and finished 11, putting him on pace for 69 and 29, respectively.
- Arthur Rhodes, Rangers: $4MM option vests with 62 appearances and if he's not on the disabled list at the end of the season. He's appeared in 20 games so far, putting him on pace for 50. Rhodes' workload could increase down the stretch.
- Joakim Soria, Royals: $6MM option vests with 55 appearances. He's already appeared in 28 games and is on pace for 71. It's worth noting that even if the option doesn't vest, the Royals would still control Soria as an arbitration-eligible player in 2012.
- Dan Wheeler, Red Sox: $3MM option vests with 65 games; increases to $3.25MM with 70 games. Wheeler has appeared in 17 games so far, so a stint on the disabled list did not help his cause.
Adam Wainwright's 2012 ($9MM) and 2013 ($12MM) options will not vest because he will finish the season on the disabled list after having Tommy John surgery. Aramis Ramirez's option depends on MVP Award finishes and whether or not he's traded, not plate appearances or another counting milestone.
Mark Buehrle is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011 season and although he doesn't have a traditional option in his contract, he gets an extra year at $15MM tacked onto his current deal if he's traded at some point this season.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Central Notes: Humber, Cubs, Rasmus, Draft
The Central divisions are home to not just the four worst records in baseball (the Twins, Astros, Cubs and Royals) but also to the Cardinals and their MLB-best 37-25 record. Here's some news from the middle of the baseball map…
- Phil Humber's improbable journey from being a third overall pick to injury-riddled obscurity to a star in the White Sox rotation is chronicled by ESPNChicago's Jon Greenberg.
- The Cubs have no plans to rush Brett Jackson to the Major Leagues, reports MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Jackson just recently returned to action after a finger injury. Muskat's piece also contains updates on several other Cubs prospects.
- The Cardinals would be "crazy" to think about dealing Colby Rasmus, writes Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Tigers took position players with 10 of their first 11 draft picks, and 24 of their first 29 picks were college players. Baseball America's John Wagner looks at how both trends were a departure from Detroit's recent draft strategies.
- Bill Hall has cleared waivers and is now a free agent, tweets Steve Campbell of the Houston Chronicle. Hall was put on release waivers by the Astros on Monday.
- The Astros can also claim the first signing of the 2011 Amateur Draft, as 44th-round pick Blake Ford told Stephen Goff of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) that he will sign tonight. Ford, a right-hander from Lamar University, happened to have tickets to tonight's Astros-Cardinals game so he figured he would take care of his contract while at the ballpark. Also from Goff, the Astros have already signed two other draft picks.
Yankees Claim Jeff Marquez
The Yankees claimed pitcher Jeff Marquez off waivers from the White Sox, MLBTR has learned. The 26-year-old righty had been designated for assignment by Chicago on Sunday. The move will require the Yankees to open up a spot on the 40-man roster; Marquez will be in uniform for tonight's game against the Red Sox.
Marquez was drafted 41st overall by the Yankees in 2004 and was later traded to the White Sox as part of the Nick Swisher deal in November of 2008. This year in nine Triple-A starts he posted a 3.97 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 47 2/3 innings.
White Sox Notes: Dunn, Williams, Guillen
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he has confidence that slumping slugger Adam Dunn will go on a hot streak and help the team return to contention. Dunn leads the league with 80 strikeouts and has five homers with a .176/.314/.309 line two months into his $56MM contract. Here's the latest on the 29-33 White Sox…
- Reinsdorf told Morosi that he’s confident in GM Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen and expects both to return in 2012.
- Reinsdorf isn’t thinking about becoming ‘sellers’ at this point, but he is disappointed to be spending more money for diminished results. “We have a much bigger payroll than we had last year,” Reinsdorf said. “And we’re on pace to draw the same number of people. Obviously, that makes it tougher financially. But we’ll be OK.”
- Guillen's son, Ozney Guillen is excited about the possibility of being drafted and starting his pro career, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com. The White Sox selected him out of high school in the 22nd round last year, but he didn't sign and is draft-eligible once again. Ozney expects to sign this year.
White Sox Designate Jeff Marquez For Assignment
The White Sox have designated Jeff Marquez for assignment, the team announced. The move clears a spot on the roster for Mark Teahen, who was activated from the disabled list.
Marquez, selected 41st overall by the Yankees in 2004, was called up from Triple-A Charlotte last Monday, but didn't pitch for Chicago before being designated. The 26-year-old has appeared in just one big league game, allowing a two-run home run to Yuniesky Betancourt in his lone inning of work last July. This season, Marquez has made nine starts for Charlotte, recording a 3.97 ERA.
Rosenthal On Wood, White Sox, Reyes, Rays, Dodgers
Let's check out the latest edition of Full Count from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal..
- Cubs reliever Kerry Wood is likely to be in high demand at the deadline, in part because his salary this year is just $1.5MM. The Cubs gave him a full no-trade clause and Wood told Rosenthal that he hasn't thought about what he would do if the team asked him to waive it. After all, Wood came back to Chicago to be with his family and to lay the groundwork for a job with the organization after his career is through.
- The White Sox expect teams to inquire about their surplus of starting pitching, with Edwin Jackson as their most obvious trade candidate as he is a potential free agent. However, GM Ken Williams wouldn't necessarily seek offense in return. Instead, they'd prefer a right-handed reliever or even prospects. If the White Sox were to add a bat, they wouldn't know where to put it in the lineup.
- The Rays have been sliding as of late but are still in contention in the AL East so we can expect them to be buyers. With offense as their biggest need, it wouldn't be surprising to see them inquire on Jose Reyes, but they likely won't land him. Tampa Bay would have to part with top-notch prospects to pull off such a deal, and prospects are more valuable for the Rays than they are for most teams.
- The Dodgers were hoping to bounce back in the NL West once they got healthy, but a second rash of injuries has left them depleted again. If the Dodgers ever do get healthy, Rosenthal expects them to go after a power bat to put in left field or at third base.
Quick Hits: Orioles, Danks, Athletics, Yankees, Mets
Tampa Bay selected Jose Bautista off of waivers from the Orioles on this date in 2004. That was, of course, before the Rays dropped the "Devil" portion of their nickname and before Jose Bautista was Jose Bautista..
- The Orioles haven't found a taker for Jake Fox yet and will likely need the full ten days to do so, according to Todd Karpovich and Avi Zaleon for MLB.com. Baltimore DFA'd the 28-year-old on Wednesday.
- Despite his rough start, there's no reason to fret about John Danks' long-term future with the White Sox, writes Brett Ballantini of CSNChicago.com.
- If Bob Geren is to stay on as Athletics skipper beyond this season, the club needs to turn things around, writes Jon Heyman of Sports Ilustrated. Even though things have been rocky in Oakland, Heyman expects Geren to keep his job for the rest of the year.
- The Mets are open to talking trade with the Yankees, writes David Lennon of Newsday. Even though there are obvious hurdles, Lennon wonders if the two could be a match in a deal involving Carlos Beltran.