Blue Jays Acquire Zach Jackson
The Indians have traded lefthander Zach Jackson to the Blue Jays for a player to be named later, according to a team press release. He's been assigned to their Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas.
Jackson, 26, has a 5.81 ERA in 105.1 big league innings, striking out just 5.4 batters per nine innings. His minor league track record isn't much better (4.83 ERA, 6.2 K/9), however he's always been stingy with walks. Toronto originally drafted Jackson in the first round back in 2004, but sent him to Milwaukee in the Lyle Overbay trade after the 2005 season. He joined the Indians in 2008 as part of the C.C. Sabathia deal.
Indians Sign Austin Kearns
The Indians signed outfielder Austin Kearns to a minor league deal, according to a team press release.
Kearns, 30 in May, hit .195/.336/.305 in 211 plate appearances for the Nationals this year, logging 363 innings in right field. He had thumb surgery in August, ending his season. The Nats predictably declined Kearns' $10MM club option after the season, finishing a three-year, $17.5MM extension given by Jim Bowden in January of '07. Bowden's July '06 acquisition of Kearns, Felipe Lopez, and Ryan Wagner from the Reds for Bill Bray, Royce Clayton, Brendan Harris, Gary Majewski, and Daryl Thompson was seen as a masterstroke at the time.
Kearns has been lousy offensively the last two years, though his right field defense remains a plus. It's a decent no-risk pickup for the Tribe, who also added Shelley Duncan yesterday.
GM Trade Histories: AL Central
Brendan Bianowicz has more GM Trade History series updates for us. Click below to download Excel spreadsheets with info on the AL Central GMs (trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks).
Indians Sign Shelley Duncan
Chad Jennings of The Journal News reports that the Cleveland Indians have signed longtime Yankee farmhand Shelley Duncan.
Duncan has hit just .219/.290/.411 in 163 major league plate appearances over three seasons, but had another strong season in Triple-A this past year, posting a batting line of .277/.370/.546 for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Duncan is 30, and could challenge for playing time in left field with the Indians. Keep in mind that if he shows anything with the bat, he's the type of player managers like to keep around, and would likely get the benefit of the doubt. His Triple-A numbers also indicate he could flourish with some regular major league at-bats. Good pickup for Cleveland.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Twins, Beltre, Giants
On New Year's Day 49 years ago, the stadium on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull Boulevard in Detroit was officially renamed Tiger Stadium. The then 49-year-old park had previously been known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium. Tiger Stadium would serve as the home of Detroit's ball club until the 2000 season, and was demolished completely in 2009.
Here's a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…
- Bucco Fans takes a look at what could have happened if the Pirates had kept their 2008 roster together.
- Twins Overlook runs down Minnesota's top seven prospects, led by outfielder Aaron Hicks.
- Meanwhile, Nick's Twins Blog examines the current state of the Twinkies' starting rotation.
- The Bottom Line looks at how signing Adrian Beltre could affect the big picture in Boston.
- DRaysBay compares Matt Joyce to Matt LaPorta, and finds that the gap between the two may not be as big as you think.
- Jorge Says No! looks at the potential risk and reward of the Mark DeRosa signing.
- El Lefty Malo guesses that the Giants will wait to see how Jonathan Sanchez's arbitration case turns out before deciding on whether or not to move a starter for a bat.
- Pinstripes Published suggests David DeJesus as a possible left field solution for the Yankees.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Cafardo On Red Sox, Hudson, Garland
In his latest column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe speculates about where "old hands" such as Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz could land. Here are some of Cafardo's other notes:
- The Red Sox "are debating whether they’ll go for it and pay luxury tax money," as their payroll approaches the $170MM mark.
- If the Sox wanted to sign Jason Bay, they could offer a low, one-year base salary with three heavily backloaded option years. With as much as $48MM coming off their books next winter, they would be better equipped to pay Bay after 2010.
- Baseball executives think that plenty of good values will be available by mid-January, with some established major league players having to sign minor league contracts. One NL GM says "the Pirates will load up" on this type of player.
- The Mets are still the team most interested in Orlando Hudson, but would have to find a way to move Luis Castillo.
- A market is starting to form for Jon Garland, and the Rangers seem to be the early frontrunner.
- Other Rangers notes: The team might prefer Jermaine Dye to Vladimir Guerrero, since Dye can still play the outfield (albeit not particularly well, according to UZR/150). Texas and Minnesota could also be good fits for Miguel Tejada.
- The Indians aren't saying Fausto Carmona is available, but baseball execs feel that the club would have to listen on any offers.
Odds & Ends: Johnson, Kouzmanoff, Berkman
Here's a stocking stuffed with news items on this Christmas Eve…
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues breaks down the details of Nick Johnson's contract with the Yankees. If Johnson reaches all of his incentives and his mutual option for 2011 is picked up, he can make a total of $14.5MM over his two-year deal.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock says the Kevin Kouzmanoff trade talks that were swirling at the winter meetings have "cooled," and he thinks Kouzmanoff will remain a Padre unless San Diego receives an overwhelmingly good offer. Perhaps the Padres want to keep Kouzmanoff to anchor their lineup in case they happen to deal away Adrian Gonzalez.
- In a discussion of Lance Berkman's future plans, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com says that "the older [Berkman] gets, I think the less likely he is to play elsewhere." The Astros star is under contract next season and the team has a $15MM option on Berkman for the 2011 season that it will surely pick up if Berkman matches his 2009 line of .274/.399/.509. McTaggart notes that the Astros have been hesitant to rebuild since they still feel they can contend with quality veterans like Berkman and Roy Oswalt in their relative primes. As we learned last September, however, Berkman might rather retire after 2011 than be a burden on the organization.
- From that same piece, McTaggart says Houston's acquistions of Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz last winter have made the team leery of signing another injury-prone starter like Ben Sheets, especially since Sheets would come at a much higher price.
- Top Reds prospect Todd Frazier seems to be capable of playing anywhere on the field, but doesn't appear to be Cincinnati's answer at shortstop, reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- What team made the best trades in the 20th century? According to one author, it was the Cleveland Indians.
- Speaking of Cleveland, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com says the Tribe will put Rafael Perez back in the bullpen next season in spite of the left-hander's excellent starting outings in winter ball.
Twins Looking To Upgrade Infield, Rotation
The Minnesota Twins are interested in bolstering their infield and their starting rotation, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. For now, they seem to be adopting a wait-and-see approach, in hopes that the asking prices for some free agents will drop. Here are the highlights from Morosi's update:
- According to a source, Jarrod Washburn, Jon Garland, Doug Davis, and Brett Myers are among the Twins' pitching targets.
- Garland, who is hoping to sign a multi-year deal, may be out of the Twins' price range.
- The Twins are interested in Mark DeRosa and Adrian Beltre, but may not be able to afford them either. Their more realistic infield options include Miguel Tejada and Juan Uribe.
- The Indians could move Jhonny Peralta, but the Twins "haven't actively pursued a trade" for him yet.
Indians Sign Saul Rivera
The Indians signed reliever Saul Rivera to a minor league deal, reports MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Rivera was released by the Nationals on December 7th to free up a spot for Brian Bruney.
The 32-year-old Rivera posted a 6.10 ERA, 4.9 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 in 38.3 big league innings this year. He tossed another 45.6 innings at Triple A. He was fairly useful in the three previous seasons.
Indians Get Mitch Talbot In Kelly Shoppach Trade
Righty Mitch Talbot is the player to be named later from the Kelly Shoppach trade, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. The Indians traded Shoppach to the Rays on December 1st. The Rays also received cash in the deal, according to a team press release.
Talbot, 26, pitched mostly at Triple A this year. He posted a 4.47 ERA, 6.6 K/9, and 3.0 BB/9 in ten starts. He missed a few months with an elbow injury, so the Rays had him make six starts in the Arizona Fall League to get more work. He's out of options, so he'll presumably compete for a spot in the Indians' rotation. Heading into the season, Baseball America had this scouting report on Talbot:
Talbot has an 89-91 mph fastball with good movement, a hard slider with impressive late cutting action and a changeup that continues to show better fade and depth.
Shipping Aubrey Huff to the Astros in July of '06 really paid off for the Rays. They received Talbot and eventually spun him into Shoppach. They also received Ben Zobrist, who was immensely valuable this year.