Indians Designate Hernandez For Assignment
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
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.
Mets Less Likely To Trade For A Pitcher?
The Mets were enamored with Cliff Lee but lost out on the lefty when they wouldn't include Ike Davis in a deal, and now Andy Martino of The New York Daily News hears from "people familiar with the team's thinking" that they are less likely to make a trade for a pitcher now than they were last month. The team believes that R.A. Dickey's success has reduced the urgency to add an arm.
Dickey, 35, has a 2.63 ERA in 11 starts for the Mets, stymieing hitters with his knuckleball. Martino says the Mets maintain interest in Ted Lilly, Jake Westbrook, Brett Myers, and to a lesser extent Roy Oswalt, and they are still open to making a move if the opportunity presents itself. They are not optimistic about adding an impact reliever though, and consider the overall market for bullpen help to be underwhelming.
The Mets were reportedly in on Lilly, but they have concerns about his drop in velocity following a shoulder injury. The Cubs are getting serious about making trades and moving cumbersome salaries, but Lilly's market isn't limited to just the Amazins. They shouldn't have trouble finding another suitor.
Omar Minaya's payroll situation and ability to take on salary are unclear, though a team official told Martino that the Mets will be able to add payroll if needed. Those decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis. Myers is the most affordable option, with just $1.37MM or so left on his contract this year and a $2MM buyout of his $8MM mutual option for 2011.
Indians Release Mike Redmond
FRIDAY: The Indians released Redmond, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter).
SATURDAY: The Indians have designated catcher Mike Redmond for assignment, tweets Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. In his place, Cleveland promoted Chris Gimenez from Triple-A Columbus.
Redmond, 39, has made just two starts since Carlos Santana joined the big league club. In 22 games for the Tribe this season, the veteran has hit .206/.242/.270. For his career, Redmond owns a slash line of .287/.342/.358.
The catcher can retire comfortably if he chooses to do so. Baseball Reference estimates that Redmond has earned roughly $9MM in his 13-season major league career.
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Wigginton, Rockies, Wood
It was on this day in 1905 that Shirley Povich, one of the great sportswriters of all time, was born in Bar Harbor, Maine. Povich, who passed away in 1998, would've been 105 today and no doubt still would've been keeping an eye on Stephen Strasburg for the Washington Post.
Some news items….
- The Palm Beach Post's Joe Capozzi wonders if Edwin Rodriguez's planned lineup changes in Florida are a hint towards a possible trade of Cody Ross or Jorge Cantu.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun adds the Padres and Rangers to the list of "potential fits" for Ty Wigginton.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweeted a few follow-up points to his story about Colorado's interest in Dan Uggla. Renck mentions right-hander Esmil Rogers and outfielder Matt Miller as possibilities for a trade package with Florida, but "there's no way" that Jhoulys Chacin would be dealt. Renck also thinks the Rockies "will listen" to offers for Franklin Morales, though those offers might not be related to any Uggla deal.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince shares some Cleveland hot stove talk in a reader mailbag. Castrovince says that Kerry Wood has drawn "minimal, at best" trade interest, but he notes that Wood could be dealt in late August to a team that didn't want to pay an extra month of Wood's contract.
- In another MLB.com mailbag, Bill Ladson "would be shocked" by a Matt Capps trade. The Nationals still have Capps under control for 2011, and with Drew Storen still a rookie and Tyler Clippard not pitching well lately, Ladson doesn't think Washington will want to risk dealing their closer.
- It's "all quiet on [the] Ben Sheets trade front," tweets FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, though Sheets' recent success "should change" that.
- Aroldis Chapman's inconsistent control means that Chapman probably won't be promoted to the majors until September, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- We already know that the Giants have shown some interest in acquiring David DeJesus, and now Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that a "top Royals talent evaluator" was on hand for the Mets/Giants game at AT & T Park tonight.
- Steve Kornacki of Mlive.com looks at what the Tigers need to do in the second half and weighs in on some trade options. Kornacki says that trading for Jack Wilson wouldn't cost much for Detroit, whereas acquiring Dan Haren isn't worth the cost since he doesn't think "the Tigers are good enough to get past the first round of the playoffs. And that’s the only reason to gamble that much for somebody like Haren."
- Rice's Anthony Rendon, thought to be a potential first overall pick in the 2011 Amateur Draft, is undergoing ankle surgery on Friday, reports MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
- Fangraphs' Dave Cameron has the latest installment of his ranking of the players with the most trade value. As he goes from #20 to #16, Cameron cites a defending Cy Young Award winner and two potential Cy winners for this season.
Odds & Ends: Dunn, Beltre, Lee, Sabathia
Links for Tuesday, as we wait for David Price to throw the first pitch of the All-Star Game to Hanley Ramirez…
- For the second time this month, Torii Hunter lobbied for the Angels to acquire Adam Dunn (MLB.com's Bill Ladson reporting). Hunter's willingness to weigh in on personnel decisions should come as no surprise, given his desire to be a GM one day.
- Adrian Beltre was close to accepting a multiyear offer from the Athletics in the offseason, but he told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he felt the Red Sox gave him a better chance to win. Beltre has not had any talks with the Sox about an extension, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford.
- Cliff Lee doesn't know whether proximity to his Arkansas home will impact where he signs, reports ESPN's Richard Durrett.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince responds strongly to C.C. Sabathia's comments made to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Asked about the breakup of the Indians, Sabathia said, "That wasn't our fault. They traded us. That's on them."
- It appears that the Hanshin Tigers will retain Matt Murton for 2011, according to a Sanspo report relayed by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.
Pirates Re-Acquire Brian Bixler
The Pirates re-acquired Brian Bixler from the Indians for a player to be named later, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter). Bixler, 27, has spent the 2010 season playing for the Indians' Triple A team, but he picked up 166 plate appearances for the Pirates from 2008-09. The 2004 second rounder has a .178/.238/.237 line at the major league level.
Bixler is hitting better at Triple A, where he has a .278/.345/.383 line as a super-utility player. He has played all three outfield positions and appeared at second, third and short so far this season. Oddly enough, Bixler is going from the Indians to the Indians, since he'll report to Pittsburgh's Triple A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians.
Minor League Transactions: Meyer, Colome
The latest minor league transactions from Baseball America's Matt Eddy…
- The Astros released second baseman Drew Meyer, who was then signed by the Angels. Meyer has already racked up 39 plate appearances for the Salt Lake Bees.
- The Dodgers released reliever Jesus Colome. They'd signed him on June 24th, but he made only three appearances for the Isotopes before being let go.
- Other familiar names were cut, including Brian Buscher (Indians), Ruddy Lugo (Tigers), and Mike Koplove (Mariners). The Red Sox signed Argenis Reyes, who had been playing independent league ball.
Odds & Ends: Rolen, Yankees, Astros, Jeter
Links for Sunday, as the celebration continues in Spain….
- Since acquiring Scott Rolen from Toronto roughly one year ago, the Reds are 70-42 when he starts and 12-26 when he doesn't, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday (via Twitter) talked to Yankees catcher Austin Romine, who admitted that a trade of Jesus Montero to the Mariners would have benefited him.
- Looking to improve their NL-worst OBP (.295) and SLG (.348), the Astros have replaced hitting coach Sean Berry with Jeff Bagwell, per a team release. Sean Berry was surprised by his dismissal from the Astros, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- Last winter, Bob Klapisch of FOX Sports suggested that the Yankees offer Derek Jeter a four-year, $100MM extension. Today, the New York Post's Joel Sherman says that Jeter "hardly looks like a player deserving" of such a contract, except for the fact that he's Derek Jeter. Sherman expects Jeter to be a Yankee past this season, of course, but suggests that the second half of 2010 may be a "salary drive" for the 36-year-old.
- Brian Sabean has no regrets about not promoting Buster Posey or trading Bengie Molina earlier, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer thinks the Indians would like to keep Jake Westbrook, so they have at least one veteran starter in their 2011 rotation.
- Noting that Albert Pujols could have his own "Decision" to make next year, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hopes the slugger doesn't do to St. Louis what LeBron James did to Cleveland.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is reluctant to become a seller because he believes his team can contend next year, if not this year, says Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Within the same piece, Shaikin indicates the Dodgers could still be in "payroll limbo" this offseason if the McCourts' divorce goes to trial.
- Minor league free agents have come through this year for the Phillies, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Poll: Cleveland’s Next Trade
The Indians got a head start on trading season last month, when they dealt Russell Branyan to the Mariners. However, that may not be the last move the Indians make before July 31st, as trade rumors have continued to follow a handful of their veterans. Today's poll question:
Who will the Indians trade next?