Indians Designate Adam Everett For Assignment
The Indians designated infielder Adam Everett for assignment, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Everett isn't sure of his next step, and retirement is possible. As Everett's career possibly comes to a close, the Lonnie Chisenhall era is about to begin in Cleveland, reports Bastian. Adding the top prospect would keep the Tribe's 40-man roster full.
Everett, 34, hit .217/.277/.233 in 67 plate appearances for the Indians, but he was brought aboard for his exceptional defensive abilities. Primarily a shortstop in his career, Everett played more third and second base for the Indians this year.
Chisenhall was ranked as the 20th best prospect in baseball by ESPN's Keith Law on May 31st. The 22-year-old third baseman is hitting .265/.352/.427 in 290 Triple-A plate appearances.
What Do The Indians Need?
The Indians have been exploring trades, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, but the market remains undefined with so many teams still in contention. Bastian adds that he expects the team to lean toward internal moves for upgrades at primary positions. He believes they could make deals for backup-type players, with high-priced acquisitions unlikely. The Indians are one game back in the AL Central after being swept by the Giants over the weekend.
A pair of Indians position players are currently on the DL in first baseman Matt LaPorta and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo. LaPorta, who is recovering from a sprained ankle, will rejoin the team for batting practice on Friday and is eligible to be activated on July 4th. Choo is expected to need surgery on a broken thumb and might be out until mid-August. The Tribe will go with an Austin Kearns/Travis Buck platoon in right field initially. If they eventually look outside the organization, guys like Reed Johnson and Laynce Nix could merit consideration in my opinion.
The Indians rank eighth in the AL with 4.28 runs scored per game. Second and third base are potential areas of upgrade. As we've discussed, the Indians are giving Cord Phelps a shot at second now and still have Jason Kipnis in the minors. They could get more offense than what Jack Hannahan has provided at the hot corner, though top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall hasn't been amazing at Triple-A. The biggest offensive upgrade could come from Baltimore's Mark Reynolds, but he's more than a rental. A more reasonable alternative might be Kansas City's Wilson Betemit, though both players would represent defensive downgrades from Hannahan. Another option could be to acquire Colorado's Josh Fields and use him in various spots as the Sky Sox have been doing.
How about the rotation? Fausto Carmona has struggled all year. Should he eventually be considered for a long relief role, options abound at Triple-A, as outlined by MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Another reinforcement could come perhaps in August if Alex White recovers from a finger injury. So it appears the Indians will go the internal route here as well. If GM Chris Antonetti does explore the trade market, a few of these starters will be in the mix. There's no ace in the group, so Antonetti won't be switching to the buying side of a Cliff Lee or C.C. Sabathia type deal.
The Tribe's bullpen may lack household names, but with an AL-best 2.94 ERA Antonetti probably will not be in the market for relievers.
Quick Hits: Deadline, Reds, Asdrubal, Pirates, Rox
Another assortment of links for your Sunday viewing pleasure…
- Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union Tribune opines that Major League Baseball should push the trading deadline back. Sullivan's piece includes quotes from Padres GM Jed Hoyer and Yankees GM Brian Cashman, and is an excellent read. Sullivan reminds us that in 2004, there was a 50-50 split in a GM poll that asked whether they'd prefer to move the deadline to August 15 or keep the status quo.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty is sticking with the combination of Edgar Renteria and Paul Janish in lieu of promoting top prospect Zack Cozart (and presumably making a trade as well), writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Jocketty praises the glove work of Janish and Renteria.
- Orlando Cabrera may not be setting the world on fire with the Indians, but Ken Rosenthal's latest column suggests that the move may have a benefit that goes beyond the stat sheet; during Spring Training, O-Cab encouraged Asdrubal Cabrera, saying he shouldn't be afraid to "let it fly" after marveling at the shortstop's power in batting practice. Asdrubal has already belted a career-high 12 homers.
- Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette writes that Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is working with the front office to re-evaluate the offense. The Bucs have looked outside the organization to make improvements, but other teams weren't ready to deal.
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post looks at the Rockies' need for starting pitching in the wake of Jorge de la Rosa's injury, but says the Rox need something more than a fourth or fifth starter in any trade. He also opines that Clayton Mortensen and Greg Reynolds should get a look before any big moves are made.
Indians Release Jensen Lewis
The Indians released Jensen Lewis from Triple-A last night, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The right-handed reliever has spent parts of four seasons with the Indians, but spent the 2011 season at Triple-A Columbus.
Lewis, 27, posted a 5.14 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 28 innings of relief at Triple-A this year. The former third round pick has a 3.68 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 198 innings as a Major Leaguer.
Orioles Notes: Guthrie, Roberts, Minor Leagues
The Nationals may be generating most of the headlines today, but there's also some news coming from the Beltway's other team. Here's the latest from the Orioles…
- Jeremy Guthrie is perhaps Baltimore's most attractive trade candidate, but MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli doesn't think the right-hander will be moved. "It would take a significant haul on the Orioles' side to give up Guthrie," Ghiroli writes, and she also points out that Guthrie is the only veteran and only innings-eater on the club's pitching staff. Ghiroli cites the Indians and Rangers among the teams who have shown interest in Guthrie.
- From that same mailbag item, Ghiroli thinks the Orioles should start looking for a new long-term answer at second base. Brian Roberts will be 36 when his deal runs out after the 2013 season and the former All-Star is already a question mark due to injuries. Short-term, however, the O's have no second base prospects ready to step in and Roberts has a no-trade clause in his contract.
- The lack of minor league production from several of the Orioles' top prospects "has to be considered an organizational-wide failure," writes The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec. The development system has been further skewed since "for years, Oriole minor leaguers have been getting promotions because of a desperate need at the big league level, not because they’ve necessarily earned a shot."
Pirates Acquire Josh Rodriguez
The Pirates have acquired Josh Rodriguez from the Indians for cash, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter). The infielder had been returned to Cleveland from Pittsburgh as a Rule 5 Draft pick back in April.
Baseball America ranked Rodriguez 24th among Pirates prospects before the season and suggested that he could become a big league utility player. In 364 plate appearances at Triple-A last year, he hit .293/.372/.486 and played shortstop. In 14 plate appearances for the Pirates this year, Rodriguez collected a single and a walk while playing second and short. His brief return to the Tribe resulted in a .193/.270/.316 batting line in 65 Triple-A plate appearances.
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.
Draft Pick Signings: Twins, Indians, Red Sox
Let's round up some notable draft picks signings in one convenient spot…
- The Twins have signed second round pick Madison Boer, reports MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger and Jordan Schelling. The Oregon righty was taken with the 87th overall pick, which comes with a slot recommendation of $405K from MLB.
- The Indians announced via press release that they have signed third rounder Jake Sisco, a right-hander from Merced College. MLB's slot recommendation for the 97th overall pick is approximately $357K.
- The Red Sox announced in a press release that they've signed a dozen more draft picks, including sixth rounder Miguel Pena and ninth rounder Alex Shaw. WEEI.com's Alex Speier reports that they received $85K and $110K, respectively.
Quick Hits: Connor, Andrew Miller, Tigers
A second pitching coach change occurred today, as Mark Connor resigned from the Orioles post for personal reasons. Rick Adair will take his place. Today's links…
- A couple of young pitchers were added to 40-man rosters today, as the Blue Jays added Zach Stewart in place of Kyle Drabek and the Cubs promoted Chris Carpenter in place of Casey Coleman according to ESPN's Bruce Levine. Both teams already had one open spot on the 40-man roster.
- Andrew Miller's agent Mark Rodgers implied his client will not opt out of his Red Sox contract tomorrow, in a discussion with Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald. Lauber notes that Miller has a second opt-out date on August 5th.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski suggested he might look for offense at the trade deadline, talking to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). The Tigers currently rank sixth in the AL with 4.48 runs scored per game.
- Minor league infielder Matt Lawson retired, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. The Indians acquired Lawson and cash considerations from the Mariners for Aaron Laffey in March. At least they still have the cash. Laffey currently has a 1.98 ERA in 27 1/3 innings for the Mariners.
- More bad news for the Indians: pitching prospect Jason Knapp, acquired in the Cliff Lee deal, will miss the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery according to the team (Twitter link).
- An unnamed agent guesses contracts for ten prominent free agents in Jeff Passan's latest Yahoo article. The agent guessed eight years and $200MM for Prince Fielder. Meanwhile, Fielder's former Brewers teammate Bill Hall had all kinds of praise for the first baseman in this conversation with Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Quick Hits: Magglio, Betemit, Manny, Indians
Wandy Rodriguez looked sharp in his return from the disabled list tonight. The Astros left-hander allowed four walks and two hits over six shutout innings as Houston notched a 8-3 win over Atlanta. You'll be reading a lot about Rodriguez at MLBTR this summer since, with so few difference-making pitchers on the market, Rodriguez could arguably be the top arm available at the trade deadline.
Some links….
- Magglio Ordonez could be on the market very soon, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Ordonez is a defensive liability in the outfield the Tigers can't put him at DH since that could cost Victor Martinez or Alex Avila at-bats. Ordonez is still owed $5.8MM this season and he has a no-trade clause, so Morosi figures Detroit "would probably need to swap one burdensome contract for another" to move the veteran slugger. The Yankees, Mariners and Angels are listed as contenders who could use DH help.
- Wilson Betemit is drawing attention from several scouts, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Betemit is hitting .289/.348/.411 for the Royals this season but lost his starting third base job to Mike Moustakas. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith profiled Betemit's trade candidacy last month and noted that at a 2011 salary of just $1MM, Betemit is bargain for any club needing third base help.
- The Royals have signed five more of their draft picks, with seventh-rounder Kellen Moen the highest pick yet to sign with the club this year.
- As if the Dodgers didn't have enough financial problems, the club owes Manny Ramirez a deferred payment of $8.33MM by June 30, reports Molly Knight of ESPN The Magazine. Ramirez is owed a total of $25MM in deferred money from the Dodgers, which will be split up into three equal payments this year, next year and in 2013.
- The Indians announced the signings of three picks from the 2011 draft. Outfielder Bryson Myles (sixth round) was the highest-picked of these signings.