Arangure Jr. On Chapman, Sano, Padres
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. has some good inside info on the international free agent market, as always. Let's scope out his latest:
- Despite reports that the Padres had been interested in top talent Miguel Angel Sano, a Padres executive "assured" Arangure that the team would not be signing Sano. Investigation into Sano's age is ongoing.
- Arangure believes that the recent acquisition of Alex Rios by the White Sox takes them out of the running for top Cuban pitching talent Aroldis Chapman. It had been rumored that the White Sox were one of the top suitors for Chapman, as the Sox already field Cuban stars like Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez.
- The Padres are said to be scouting Edgar Ferreira, who Arangure says is the top Dominican amateur pitcher still unsigned. They'll watch him pitch tomorrow. Ben Badler at Baseball America ranked Ferreira the 11th overall best international free agent this season.
White Sox Acquire Alex Rios
According to the New York Times' Tyler Kepner (via Twitter), the White Sox have acquired Alex Rios from the Blue Jays. It's a straight waiver claim, so the Blue Jays will receive nothing in return. Says Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi:
"This allows us to get out from under a contract and do more to address our club."
Check out Ken Fidlin's article from the Toronto Sun for more Ricciardi quotes on the move.
The 28-year-old Rios is due roughly $60MM more on the seven-year contract he signed last April, which will take him through the 2014 season with a club option for 2015. Rios is hitting .264/.317/.424 in 479 plate appearances for the Jays this season. With the Jake Peavy acquisition already in the books, that means White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has taken on more than $100MM in future contracts for the Sox.
To lose Rios' fat contract is a major relief for the re-building Blue Jays, while the Sox add a relatively stable long-term piece to their outfield. This could also potentially spell the end for Jermaine Dye as a member of the Sox, as he has a mutual option after this season and it's not clear how he'd fit into the picture. If he is retained, Rios could potentially play center field.
Knobler’s Latest: Rios, Tejada, Rays
Danny Knobler from CBS Sports writes that two baseball sources have confirmed to CBS Sports that Alex Rios was claimed on waivers, and one source stated that he was claimed by the White Sox. Knobler says that the Jays will keep Rios if they're not offered enough in return.
Additionally, an unknown team placed a waiver claim on Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada. The Astros have since pulled Tejada back. Any guesses as to who the claiming team was?
Knobler also says that the Rays have been very active in placing claims on any low-salary players, in order to block them from being traded to the Red Sox or Yankees. Knobler says that the Rays, however, are not believed to be the team that claimed Tejada.
Odds And Ends: Colon, Lee, Bedard, Ligtenberg
More links for the afternoon…
- If you don't already know which three major leaguers have weight or fitness-related clauses in their contracts, check out Jorge Says No! to find out.
- Marc Hulet of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays acquired two of the top ten prospects moved this deadline. He ranks Zach Stewart 8th and Josh Roenicke 10th among all prospects dealt.
- The White Sox don't know where Bartolo Colon is, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Via Twitter, Ed Price of AOL FanHouse informs us that Phillies' acquisition Cliff Lee has allowed four runners past first base in 16 innings with his new team. Not bad.
- Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune says there's a good chance Erik Bedard will need another exploratory surgery after he undergoes an MRI tomorrow.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus reports that former MLB reliever Kerry Ligtenberg retired. He had been pitching in an independent league.
Nats Acquire Ward & Hopper From White Sox
The Nationals acquired former major leaguers Daryle Ward and Norris Hopper from the White Sox today, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The players go from Chicago's Triple A team to Washington's.
Odds And Ends: Yanks, Red Sox, Indians, Peavy
More links to look through as we ready ourselves for four days of Yankees vs. Red Sox…
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney presents nine reasons the upcoming Boston-New York series matters. To an extent, both teams have their psyches on the line this weekend.
- Indians ownership says the team will likely lose about $16MM this year, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN). The Indians trimmed about $8.1MM in payroll leading up to the deadline.
- So how do teams like the Indians compete with big spenders like the Yankees and Red Sox? Joe Posnanski of SI.com says small market teams may have to beat richer ones by taking advantage of the 'win now' mentality in large markets.
- Jake Peavy is set to pitch in three minor league games before joining the White Sox, according to Bruce Levine of ESPN.com. He's still expected to make his AL debut in late August or early September.
Odds & Ends: White Sox, Rolen, Halladay
Some late-night links to peruse as we wonder how the Phillies can fit in both Pedro Martinez and J.A. Happ into their pitching staff:
- The Red Sox signed 11th-round pick, high school SS Jason Thompson, to a deal worth $300k, says Jim Callis at Baseball America.
- Evan Brunell at the Hardball Times defends the rationale behind the widely-panned Scott Rolen trade.
- Scot Gregor at the Daily Herald wonders if any of the three recently-defected Cuban talents might land on the White Sox. They all share the same agent, Jaime Torres, as current Sox Dayan Viciedo, Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez.
- Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times posits the question: Do the White Sox keep Scott Podsednik for another year or go after Chone Figgins as their speedy lead-off man for 2010?
- Craig Calcaterra at the Hardball Times questions whether J.P. Ricciardi actually "botched" the Roy Halladay negotiations, as he has been criticized for doing.
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Mora, Halladay
Some links to pore over as we just miss another no-hitter:
- Alex Speier at WEEI reports that the Red Sox won't give 16-year-old Dominican hurler Victor Payano a contract, despite being rumored as favorites to sign him. Payano, in line for a bonus around $900k, had failed his physical.
- Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun notes that top prospect Brian Matusz was called up to start tonight for the O's and they in turn optioned Kam Mickolio to Triple-A. After Melvin Mora's recent spat with manager Dave Trembley, there was speculation Mora would be gone, but he is starting tonight. He still could be moved.
- Scott Podsednik's improved play has increased his value, but he wants to stay with the White Sox in 2010, says Scott Merkin at MLB.com.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels said in an e-mail to Yahoo's Gordon Edes that there was no effort by J.P. Ricciardi to mislead the Rangers in Roy Halladay talks, and Ricciardi was "upfront" about what he wanted.
- The Padres officially released Mark Prior today, says CBS Sports. The move was reported to be on the horizon by Corey Brock at MLB.com Saturday.
Which Teams Took On Salary At The Deadline?
As the trade deadline approached, we heard many writers and executives suggest teams would be unable to add payroll this year. Here's a breakdown of the teams that added at least $1MM in salary to their 2009 payrolls this summer. All totals are approximate:
- The Cardinals added $2.9MM to the team's payroll when they traded for Mark DeRosa and $3.7MM when they added Matt Holliday for a total of $6.6MM.
- The Red Sox added $4.5MM between the Victor Martinez and Adam LaRoche deals.
- Acquiring Jarrod Washburn added about $3.6MM to the Tigers' payroll.
- The White Sox added $2.8MM in salary when they made the Jake Peavy deal.
- The Giants added $2.1MM in the Freddy Sanchez trade.
- The Phillies added $2MM in the Cliff Lee deal.
- The Rockies added $1.9MM in the Rafael Betancourt and Joe Beimel deals.
- The Brewers took on $1.4MM by dealing for Felipe Lopez.
- The Braves took on $1.3MM to add Nate McLouth.
- The Twins added $1.25MM in salary by trading for Orlando Cabrera.
- They didn't take on much salary, but between the Eric Hinske deal and the Jerry Hairston Jr. acquisition, the Yanks added $1.1MM.
- The Dodgers added about $1MM when they dealt for George Sherrill.
In total, 12 teams added payroll, but only one took on more than $5MM. The prognosticators were right about one thing: teams didn't take on much payroll. However, few predicted 12 teams would take on salary at the deadline. Looks like many teams set economic concerns aside when presented with the chance to win.
Discussion: What To Do With Dye?
Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald in Chicago writes that veteran right fielder Jermaine Dye "deserves a new deal."
Dye clubbed his 24th home run today, and has driven in 67 runs as I type this, while posting a line of .280/.354/.534 this season. He may be 35 years old, but as Gregor points out, that doesn't seem to have slowed his bat down.
With Jim Thome likely departing after this season due to concerns from the White Sox over his health, Dye could take on designated hitter duties in order to keep him fresh. Gregor also feels that Dye can still play right field as well, citing a great catch today and a strong outfield assist at Mark Teixeira's expense yesterday.
Dye has become a staple in Chicago, but that didn't stop them in the case of Joe Crede this past offseason. Dye loves playing on the South Side, and currently has a $12MM mutual option for 2010 with a $1MM buyout, though Gregor mentions a possible two-year extension. If you were Kenny Williams, how would you handle the situation this offseason? Should Dye's age be a concern? What type of contract would you offer Dye, if at all?