Odds & Ends: Sheets, Matthews Jr., Cubs, Red Sox
A few more links for Monday night….
- A scout tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that he didn't know of any teams scouting Ben Sheets this past weekend.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that there's no risk to the Reds signing Gary Matthews Jr., but that he still wouldn't do it.
- Jack Moore of Fangraphs explains how he thinks the Cubs should approach the trading deadline.
- The Red Sox will have the financial flexibility to make a move or two this summer in part because of their abundance of homegrown pitching talent, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons.
- Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies may need to acquire an arm for the back of their bullpen.
- With July 31st fast approaching, MLB.com's beat writers are fielding a slew of questions about possible trades. Check out mailbags from Anthony Castrovince (Indians), T.R. Sullivan (Rangers), Joe Frisaro (Marlins), and Chris Haft (Giants) for their thoughts on the trade market.
Mets Have Discussed Carmona, Not With Indians
The Mets have discussed Fausto Carmona internally, but have not yet approached the Indians about acquiring the right-hander, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. (all Twitter links). Carmona, who is enjoying a resurgent season, makes a guaranteed $8.9MM through 2011 at which point the Indians have three consecutive club options. As Olney notes, the affordable options through 2014 make Carmona appealing as long as he is pitching well.
That has certainly been the case so far in 2010. The former 19-game winner has a 3.31 ERA in 92.1 innings with 5.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Carmona has always been a ground ball pitcher, rather than a strikeout pitcher, and he has a robust 57% ground ball rate that has helped him keep the ball in the park (six homers allowed).
The Mets are looking for top starters, but are unsure that Carmona will adjust smoothly to the pressures of playing in New York, according to an article Olney wrote over the weekend. If they prefer to acquire a veteran on the brink of free agency, they could look to Carmona's teammate, Jake Westbrook, or others such as Kevin Millwood and Ben Sheets.
Using Postseason Odds To Identify Sellers
Buyers and sellers can be hard to identify this time of year, since so many teams are often within a few games of a playoff spot. It's not even July yet, but a number of clubs have extremely slim odds of becoming contenders and appear likely to sell. Here are the teams that have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs in 2010, according to the postseason odds report at Baseball Prospectus.
- Orioles
- Royals
- Indians
- Mariners
- Nationals
- Astros
- Pirates
- Diamondbacks
Other than those eight clubs, the A's (7% chance of making the playoffs), White Sox (6%), Cubs (5%) and Brewers (2%) are potential sellers to watch. The White Sox, winners of ten of their last 12, have dramatically improved their chances of playing meaningful games down the stretch. They have shown that anything is possible, but the eight teams listed above seem like good bets to become sellers within the next six weeks.
In case you're wondering, BP suggests the Rangers (81%) are the safest bet to make the playoffs.
Pirates Acquire Adam Davis
The Pirates have acquired Adam Davis from the Indians, according to the MLB.com Transactions page. Davis, 25, has been assigned to the Bradenton Marauders.
The former third-round draft pick spent the bulk of this year in advanced-A Kinston, posting a slash line of .225/.333/.375 with three homers. He also had a five game stint for Double-A Akron where he had an OPS of .498.
Odds & Ends: Mejia, O’s, McGuire, Rangers, Valverde
Links for Sunday….
- ESPN's Adam Rubin tweets that the Mets have optioned Jenrry Mejia to Double-A Binghamton, where he will start their game on Wednesday.
- Jeff Zrebiec tells us that Buck Showalter will interview for the Baltimore managerial job this week, and Eric Wedge will likely receive a second interview. The club has yet to ask the Mets for permission to interview Bob Melvin.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian quotes Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos saying that despite first-round pick Deck McGuire's lack of participation in a media conference call, he's excited to have been drafted by Toronto. Anthopoulos says that negotiations, however, could go down to the wire as they did in 2009 with Chad Jenkins.
- Rangers manager Ron Washington feels that his team could use another front-line starting pitcher, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Texas has recently seen both Derek Holland and Rich Harden land on the disabled list.
- Nick Piecoro tweets that the D'Backs offered Jose Valverde a two-year deal worth about $10MM before he signed for two years and $14MM with Detroit. The story spawns from some heated comments that were exchanged between Valverde and former teammate Miguel Montero.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times thinks Dan Haren would be a "perfect fit" for the Angels.
- The Cubs will soon face a decision on whether to become buyers or sellers, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- Within a mailbag for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul Hoynes says that a little salary relief is the best the Indians could hope for in a Kerry Wood trade.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch details how the Cardinals will handle their starting rotation for the time being. Even after signing Jeff Suppan, the club will be short-handed while they wait for Brad Penny to get healthy.
- The Tigers should exercise patience when it comes to acquiring a shortstop, according to Lynn Hennig of the Detroit News.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Tigers will have to think about trading for a starting pitcher, with Rick Porcello heading to Triple-A.
Odds & Ends: Grandal, Red Sox, Salazar, Rockies
A few links to check out while we wait to see if the Rays can avoid falling out of first place for the first time in nearly two months…
- The Reds have made initial contact with the representatives for Yasmani Grandal according to John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer. GM Walt Jocketty said they will continue talks this week with 2010's 12th overall draft pick.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier mentions that when Felix Doubront started for the Red Sox last night, he became the first Latin American player signed and developed by the Theo Epstein regime to reach the big league. ESPN's Jorge Arangure mentions (via Twitter) the Boston hasn't had a homegrown Latin American position player since the early 1990's.
- Meanwhile, MLB.com's Peter Gammons says (via Twitter) that only two teams were willing to take Manny Ramirez off Boston's hands two years ago even if they footed the bill: the Marlins and Dodgers. The Red Sox's requests for Mike Stanton and Andre Ethier were met with "no thank yous."
- MLB.com's Corey Brock, Brittany Ghiroli, and Gina Mizeli spoke to Oscar Salazar, who reflected on the trade that send him from the Orioles to the Padres last year.
- The Rockies will look at the middle infield market, but ESPN's Buster Olney tweets they're likely to just ride out Troy Tulowitzki's absence with what they have in house. He does however mention that Dan Uggla is one name to watch.
- Both Jhonny Peralta and Kerry Wood offered up the stock "it's out of my control" response when asked about the possibility of being traded, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
- Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post says the idea of the Rockies' acquiring Cliff Lee is wishful thinking. The team would have to get back in the playoff race and show it can compete without Troy Tulowitzki before ownership would consider adding Lee's salary to the payroll.
- The Cardinals had interest in signing Ben Sheets this winter according to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but the righthander's price was too high. “If he wants to prove his value here, we’d have interest,” said manager Tony La Russa. “It turns out he had value that wasn’t going to work.”
Amateur Draft Signings: Wednesday
It's only been ten days since the draft, but teams are quickly coming to terms with their picks. Here are the latest updates on the deals you need to know about. You can track first rounders and their bonuses right here:
- The Red Sox made ten draft pick signings official, according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
- John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press reports that the Tigers have signed eighth round pick Pat Leyland, the son of manager Jim Leyland.
- The Padres signed 20 players, including second rounder Jedd Gyorko, according to the team.
- The White Sox signed second rounder Jacob Petricka, third rounders Addison Reed and Thomas Royse and 19 others, according to the team.
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch lists the 33 picks the Cardinals have signed.
- The D'Backs signed 15 picks, including ninth rounder Zachary Walters, according to the Arizona Republic.
- The A's signed fifth rounder Tyler Vail and five others, according to the team.
- James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press reports that ninth rounder Tony Plagman and 15 other picks agreed to terms with the Tigers today.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via Twitter) that the Indians signed their 40th rounder and three undrafted free agents.
Indians Notes: Draft, Carmona, Westbrook, Choo
Here's some news out of Cleveland that has nothing to do with Tom Izzo…
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Tribe has signed draft picks Jordan Cooper (9th round) and Diego Seastruck (14th).
- Fangraphs' Matt Klaassen looks at the Indians as a whole and examines their trade options. He notes that the reasonable contracts of Fausto Carmona and Jhonny Peralta make both men attractive to other teams, with Carmona being Cleveland's top piece of trade bait. Kerry Wood and Jake Westbrook's ages and injury histories keep them, in Klaassen's view, from having "much value on the trade market."
- In regards to Westbrook, Anthony Castrovince writes in a mailbag for MLB.com that the Indians love the experience that he brings to their rotation. If Westbrook is dealt at the deadline, Castovince thinks the team might try to re-sign him in the winter. The veteran right-hander is in the last year of a contract that pays him $11MM for 2010.
- Castrovince also notes that Shin-Soo Choo and his agent Scott Boras may be looking for an extension over Choo's three arbitration years, but not a deal that would cover any of his free agent years. Choo isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season.
Remembering the 1991 Trade Deadline
Ah, who can forget 1991? A little start-up network named Comedy Central was born, while the Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved. Youngsters Jeff Bagwell and Chuck Knoblauch, NL and AL Rookie of the Year, respectively, served notice that they'd be forces for years to come. And Cubs' shortstop Starlin Castro celebrated his first birthday.
Meanwhile, the hot stove produced some interesting moments as well. Let's think back to the time we furiously refreshed MLBTradeRumors.com using our 300 baud modems…
- The Toronto Blue Jays got a jump on the trading season on June 27th by dealing Glenallen Hill, Mark Whiten and Denis Boucher to the Cleveland Indians for Tom Candiotti and Turner Ward. Candiotti had been a hard-luck pitcher with Cleveland- his 2.24 ERA had produced a 7-6 record- but his trade to a contender didn't help, as his 2.98 ERA in Toronto produced a 6-7 record. Just another lesson in the perils of won-loss record. Meanwhile, Hill and Whiten went on to similar careers-both bounced around the major leagues, hitting home runs. And Boucher, a Montreal native, eventually made a triumphant homecoming, pitching to a 1.91 ERA for the 1993 Expos.
- On July 15th, the New York Mets, still in the race at 49-36, 4.5 games out of first, traded Ron Darling and Mike Thomas to the Expos for Tim Burke in an attempt to shore up their bullpen. Burke certainly did that, pitching 55.2 innings of 2.75 ERA baseball, but it didn't stop the Mets from a freefall that left them at 77-84 for the season. Darling, meanwhile, was a disaster in Montreal, posting a 7.41 ERA in three starts before being shipped just 16 days later to Oakland for Russell Cormier and Matt Grott. Back on American soil, Darling found his rhythm again, pitching to a 4.08 ERA over 75 innings for the Athletics.
- Oil Can Boyd fared only a bit better than Darling, post-trade, after being dealt from the Expos to the Rangers on July 21 for Joey Eischen, Jonathan Hurst and Travis Buckley. Boyd had a 3.52 ERA in 120.1 innings with Montreal, but collapsed to a 6.68 ERA in what turned out to be the final 62 innings of his major league career for Bobby Valentine's Rangers. Not that Boyd was finished pitching, of course- he had several more seasons in independent league baseball, including a 3.83 ERA stint in 110.1 innings for the 2005 Brockton Rox of the Can-Am League, at age 45.
- And in an indication of just how much the past 19 years has inflated the cost of deadline-deal closers, the Phillies traded Roger McDowell to the Dodgers for Mike Hartley and Braulio Castillo. Hartley was a veteran middle reliever, while Castillo was a fringe prospect at best. McDowell was just what the Dodgers needed, saving seven games and pitching to a 2.55 ERA in 42.1 innings. The Dodgers, however, finished one game behind Atlanta, meaning that a 93-69 season earned Los Angeles… nothing.
Odds & Ends: Bell, Giants, Lowell, Maine, Indians
Sunday linkage..
- Heath Bell told Ephraim Fischbein of New York Baseball Digest that he's happy in San Diego, but would like to return to the Mets if the Padres decide to go in a different direction.
- Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News (via Twitter) applauds the Giants' signings of Juan Uribe and Aubrey Huff, who cost the club roughly $3MM each.
- Mark Tracy is excited to be a part of the Rockies along with his father, manager Jim Tracy, writes MLB.com's Thomas Harding. Colorado selected the skipper's son in the 22nd round of the 2010 Draft.
- Contrary to a report late last night, the Angels and Red Sox did not agree to a swap of Gary Matthews Jr. and Mike Lowell over the winter, a major league source told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
- David Lennon of Newsday (via Twitter) writes that it's an 80% possibility that the Mets non-tender John Maine after this season.
- ESPN's Buster Olney says that the Indians are likely to move some veterans in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, but they could be a dangerous team to face until then because of Fausto Carmona, Justin Masterson, and Jake Westbrook (Insider req'd).
- MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch says to expect negotiations between the Pirates and their top draft picks Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie to go right down to the August 16th signing deadline.
- The Pirates had a long debate about who to take with the second overall pick in last week's draft according to Chuck Finder of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and it wasn't until last weekend that they decided on Jameson over Manny Machado.
- Meanwhile Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the Pirates won't rush their top prospects. Once those prospects are promoted to the big league team, their minor league roster spots will be filled by players currently on ML roster (after they're optioned down) or by "signing low-cost, minor league free agents."
- Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer doesn't see the Indians offering anyone but Shin-Soo Choo a multi-year deal, including the resurgent Austin Kearns.
- Newsday's David Lennon thinks it might make sense for the Mets to "consider opening extension talks" with catcher Rod Barajas before the season ends and he hits the free agent market.