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Stark On Lilly, Indians, Astros, Dodgers

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The starting pitching market may be ‘mediocre’ if you ask officials around the major leagues, as ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark did, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t tons of rumors out there with just over a week before the deadline. Here they are:

  • Six teams or more are interested in Ted Lilly, who will almost certainly get traded. The Tigers, Mets and Dodgers have interest, but the Yankees probably won’t be involved. The Cubs are not willing to pick up any of Lilly’s salary and probably won’t have to.
  • The A’s, on the other hand, will pick up much of the $4MM or so remaining on Ben Sheets’ salary and are ready to deal him.
  • The Indians are willing to deal one of Jake Westbrook or Fausto Carmona for a “compelling” package, but not both.
  • They’re also growing more and more confident that they’ll be able to trade Kerry Wood. If they don't strike a deal before the deadline, they could do so after Wood clears waivers in August.
  • The Yankees are kicking tires on many starters, including Westbrook and Dan Haren.
  • The Astros would have to be “overwhelmed” to move Brett Myers (as FOX Sports reported) or Wandy Rodriguez. Myers has a mutual option, so there’s no guarantee he returns in 2011. I find it hard to believe that the Astros wouldn’t deal him for a good-but-not-great group.
  • The Marlins appear to have decided to focus on extending Dan Uggla, instead of trading him.
  • The Dodgers have told rival teams that they have $2-3MM to play with.

Astros Claim Anderson Hernandez, Nelson Figueroa

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The Astros claimed infielder Anderson Hernandez off waivers from the Indians and pitcher Nelson Figueroa off waivers from the Phillies, tweets Alyson Footer.  She adds that pitchers Polin Trinidad and Gary Majewski were designated for assignment.

Hernandez was designated for assignment by the Indians three days ago, the second time they'd done so this year.  He's struggled mightily with the bat in the Majors and minors.  Figueroa cleared waivers and accepted a Triple A assignment in June, so I'm not sure what happened there.  The 36-year-old was excellent in the minors and decent in the bigs.

Trinidad, a 25-year-old southpaw, has a 4.55 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 12 home runs allowed in 97 Triple A innings this year.  Heading into the season Baseball America ranked him 26th among Astros prospects, saying he "profiles as a No. 5 starter or long reliever."  Majewski, 30, spent most of the season at Triple A where he posted a 4.04 ERA, 5.3 K/9, and 2.8 BB/9 in 35.6 relief innings.

Jensen Lewis Optioned To Triple A

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WEDNESDAY: Lewis was optioned to Triple A Columbus, tweets MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.  Castrovince explained yesterday that the move was a procedural one.

TUESDAY: The Indians designated righty Jensen Lewis for assignment to make room for Asdrubal Cabrera, according to the team. Lewis, 26, posted a 4.18 ERA in 22 relief appearances for the Indians this year, with 6.1 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9. The 2005 third-rounder picked up 23.2 innings in total this season, his fourth in the Indians' 'pen.

But teams salivating over Lewis in a thin relief market should check themselves. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports that Lewis will not be placed on outright waivers and was DFA'd as a technicality (Twitter link).

Cabrera, who broke out for the Indians last season, is returning from a fractured left forearm and will play in the majors for the first time since May 17th. Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo and Kerry Wood have all missed time due to injuries as well.

Yankees Considering Jhonny Peralta

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Indians third baseman Jhonny Peralta is in the mix along with Florida's Wes Helms as potential bench options for the Yankees, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal says the prices on Jose Bautista and Ty Wigginton are too high.

Peralta has a substantial commitment for a bench player, with $2.23MM remaining on his contract.  He's hitting .252/.314/.401 on the season. 

The Yankees were first linked to Helms four days ago by MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, but Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post tweets today that he's not their first choice.  Other available bench options capable of playing third base include Willie Bloomquist, Adam Kennedy, and Craig Counsell.

Mets Considering Dotel, Downs

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The Mets have discussed relievers Octavio Dotel and Scott Downs, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  John Harper of the New York Daily News reported yesterday that the Mets scouted Downs and Kevin Gregg over the weekend.  The Mets agreed to terms with free agent reliever Chad Cordero earlier today.

The FOX writers say the Mets are now more focused on relievers than starters.  While they maintain interest in Ted Lilly, they've cooled on Jake Westbrook, Ben Sheets, and Brett Myers.  Speaking of Myers, ESPN's Adam Rubin learned that the Mets and Astros have had very little conversation.

Dotel came up through the Mets' system more than a decade ago and was traded in December of '99 to the Astros with Kyle Kessel and Roger Cedeno for Derek Bell and Mike Hampton.  That deal was engineered by Steve Phillips and Gerry Hunsicker back when Dotel was a starter.  If Hunsicker had been able to give the Yankees a window to negotiate with Hampton before his walk year, imagine how New York baseball history would've been altered. 

This year as the Pirates' closer Dotel sports a 4.62 ERA, 10.9 K/9, and 4.1 BB/9 in 37 innings, with five home runs allowed and 20 saves in 25 attempts.  He has a 2.60 ERA since May 4th.  Still, as ESPN's Jerry Crasnick implies, Dotel's stats suggest he should be a righty specialist.  By the way, Dotel's 2011 club option becomes mutual if he's traded. 

Morosi noted on Twitter last night that the Pirates are also getting calls on Joel Hanrahan, "but the price remains very high."  Armed with a 95.6 mph fastball, Hanrahan has 56 strikeouts in 40.6 innings.  His 12.39 K/9 ranks behind only Carlos Marmol, Billy Wagner, and Brian Wilson in the National League.

Cardinals Focused On Westbrook, Haren

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The Cardinals are trying to acquire a starting pitcher, wrote Ed Price of AOL FanHouse last night, and they're focused on Jake Westbrook and Dan Haren.

Recently we summed up the market for both pitchers.  Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ten days ago that he expected to "shy from a rental deal that requires us to give up a ton of talent."  Neither Westbrook nor Haren fits that description, so it makes sense that they'd be in play for newly-extended GM John Mozeliak. 

The Jake Westbrook Market

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After undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2008, Indians righty Jake Westbrook is finally healthy again.  It'd be reasonable for the last-place Tribe to move the veteran, so let's take a closer look.

Contract

Westbrook signed a three-year, $33MM extension in April of 2007, and he has $4.54MM in base salary remaining.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Westbrook also gets a $2MM lump sum and a pro-rated $1MM salary increase if traded.  If dealt today, Westbrook would be owed about $6.95MM.  This is clearly a major impediment to a deal.  As far as draft pick compensation, forget about it – Westbrook is nowhere close to Type B status.

Performance

Westbrook, 33 in September, has a 4.67 ERA, 5.3 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 in 113.6 innings this year.  His 52.2% groundball rate ranks sixth in the American League among those with 80 innings, according to FanGraphs.  Interestingly, Westbrook's teammates Justin Masterson and Fausto Carmona are among the five hurlers ranked ahead of him.  The Indians rank 25th in baseball in defensive efficiency according to Baseball Prospectus, so any potential trade partner will probably be good for Westbrook. 

Asking Price/Availability

The Indians "would trade Westbrook in a minute for a mid-level prospect if the Mets would pick up most of what's left on his contract this season," wrote John Harper of the New York Daily News.  Indians writers have presented a different view.  On July 4th, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that the Indians "are sending out messages that they don't simply intend to dump Westbrook's salary," and will have to be compelled to move him.  In June, Pluto's colleague Paul Hoynes wrote that Westbrook is "one of the least likely to be moved" on the team.  Hoynes said the Indians have a good relationship with Westbrook and may try to re-sign him after the season.  The fact that Westbrook had significant trade incentives built into his contract shows his inclination to stay put. 

Interested Teams

  • Mets: Harper says Mets officials are divided on whether to acquire Westbrook.  Indeed, reports over the last month have conflicted over the team's level of interest.
  • Dodgers: They've inquired, reports Yahoo's Tim Brown.  You may recall the Casey Blake trade of two years ago, where the Indians paid the freight and were able to acquire Carlos Santana as a result.
  • Padres: They've discussed him, reports Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse.  The Padres are known to be prioritizing starting pitching.
  • Yankees: The idea of a reunion has been broached by beat writers in a more speculative sense.  However, GM Brian Cashman told Peter Botte of the New York Daily News yesterday that "Cliff Lee was a special case" and Sergio Mitre would be in most teams' rotations.
  • We haven't seen the Tigers, Twins, Angels, Phillies, Cardinals, or Rockies linked to Westbrook, but those contenders may be looking for pitching.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Lilly, Haren, Marlins, Kotsay

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Sunday night linkage..

Indians Designate Hernandez For Assignment

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The Indians have designated Anderson Hernandez for assignment, according to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com (via Twitter).  The move was made in order to clear a spot for 22-year-old right-handed pitcher Jeanmar Gomez.

The switch-hitting infielder struggled at the plate with Cleveland this season, hitting .246/.270/.295 in 63 plate appearances.  This marks the second time this season that Hernandez has been DFA'd by the Tribe.  Cleveland designated the 27-year-old for assignment in April, though he cleared waivers almost a week later.

Hernandez will report to Triple-A if he clears waivers, tweets Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.

Odds & Ends: Molina, Machado, Wood, Montero

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Saturday afternoon linkage…

  • Bengie Molina has had an immediate impact in Texas, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
  • The Orioles won't sign Manny Machado before August 1st, Baltimore's director of scouting told Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com (via Twitter).
  • The Indians placed closer Kerry Wood on the disabled list with a blister on his right index finger according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. The move is retroactive to July 12th, so unless he needs more than the 15 days off, Wood will be back just before the trade deadline.
  • Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney says Wood's actual trade deadline is August 31st, because he will clear waivers next month given the $4MM still owed to him this season (Twitter links).
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams often approaches his veteran players to get their opinions about potential moves, but he has not yet pulled Paul Konerko aside to discuss scenarios according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times.
  • Bernie Miklasz of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that Cardinals' GM John Mozeliak was well-deserving of his contract extension.
  • In a video on ESPN, Olney says the Yankees have determined that they would not trade catching prospect Jesus Montero for any player available on the trade market. They were willing to move him for Cliff Lee because it was a special case.
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