Indians DFA Jose Veras
Another Indian reliever has been shuffled: According to Anthony Castrovince at MLB.com, the Indians have designated RHP Jose Veras for assignment. He'll move to make room for Jess Todd, the player to be named later from the Cardinals in the Mark DeRosa deal.
Veras had been acquired from the Yankees in June, and put up a 7.62 ERA in 13 innings for the Indians.
Which Teams Shed Salary At The Deadline?
Yesterday we found that the Cardinals led the group of 12 teams that took on at least $1MM leading up to the trade deadline. They took on $6.6MM and were the only team to add as much as $5MM in payroll. So what about the sellers? Here's a look at the teams that traded away at least $1MM in 2009 salary this summer. Again, all totals are approximate:
- The Indians trimmed $8.1MM from their payroll, trading Mark DeRosa ($2.9MM), Victor Martinez ($2MM), Cliff Lee ($2MM) and Rafael Betancourt ($1.2MM).
- The Pirates shed $7.3MM in trades, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- The A's saved $5MM by dealing Matt Holliday ($3.7MM) and Orlando Cabrera ($1.25MM).
- The Mariners' decision to trade Jarrod Washburn saved them $3.6MM.
- The Padres saved $2.8MM in the Jake Peavy deal.
- The D'Backs shed $1.4MM by trading away Felipe Lopez.
- The Orioles saved $1MM by trading George Sherrill.
Seven teams saved $1MM or more this deadline. The Indians, Pirates and A's saved considerably more than that this year and the Padres saved considerably more than that in the future. Surprisingly, the Nationals don't appear on this list. Their decision to trade Joe Beimel saved them $700k and they're paying Nick Johnson to play for the Marlins, so ironically, the team everyone thought would sell wasn't much of a seller.
Haudricourt On: Hall, Pitching, Cain
Tom Haudricourt from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has some topics of discussion for your reading pleasure this Sunday afternoon:
- Haudricourt says that there's a best case scenario for Bill Hall, and it's not returning to the Brewers' lineup. Haudricourt feels the best thing for both sides is for Hall to play strongly at the Triple-A level, draw interest from a team needing infield help, and get traded. This would require the Brewers eating a significant portion of the roughly $10MM Hall has left on his deal, but with Casey McGehee's emergence and Mat Gamel waiting in the wings, Hall is an odd man out.
- It's not fair to blame the Brewers' lack of minor league pitching depth on injuries to first round picks such as Mike Jones and Mark Rogers. As Haudricourt says, at some point, you have to develop a mid- or late-round pick into a viable major leaguer. His example: Randy Wells – a 38th round pick – and his 2.84 ERA.
- Matt Cain's dominance this season serves as a testimonial as to why the Brewers were unable to acquire him when they were rumored to be pursuing the San Francisco righty in the past. Haudricourt says the Giants never intended to deal Cain, and his 12-2 record and 2.12 ERA are the reasons for that.
- Haudricourt wonders aloud how nice Zack Greinke would look in a Brewers uniform, and offers this quote from the Kansas City ace: "The way we've been playing, it's as bad as any team I've played for." Strong words from someone who's been with the Royals since 2004. Greinke is just 10-6 despite leading the Majors with a 2.08 ERA, and has a 2.97 ERA over his five no-decision this season. Ouch.
- Haudricourt discusses the Indians as well, pointing out that no team had ever traded the AL Cy Young winner in back-to-back seasons. He quotes Cliff Lee:
Odds & Ends: O’s, Halladay, Pirates
Some links as we ponder what team might be desperate enough to pick up Sidney Ponson:
- Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun notes that the George Sherrill trade sends mixed signals about whether the Orioles believe they can contend in 2010.
- Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe has a lot of interesting stuff from Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi in the aftermath of the Roy Halladay talks.
- Pirates owner Bob Nutting was "emphatic" in saying that ownership would not change for the near future, says Dejan Kovacevic at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic also talked with general manager Neal Huntington, and has the highlights of that interview.
- Recently dealt Orlando Cabrera says he'd be interested in returning to the A's as a free agent this offseason, says Susan Slusser at the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Bill Madden at the New York Daily News calls the Indians' and Pirates' trade deadline "a disgrace."
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro is "not looking for applause now" for the Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez deals, says Bud Shaw at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
- Bob Klapisch from FOX Sports looks at how each divisional race is impacted by the flurry of deals made at the end of July.
Indians DFA Abreu, Gosling
According to Anthony Castrovince at MLB.com, the Indians have designated pitchers Winston Abreu and Mike Gosling for assignment. Those spots will clear the way for a call-up of Jensen Lewis and the newly-acquired Justin Masterson.
The Indians had previously gotten Abreu from the Rays in exchange for Jonathan Meloan. Abreu should find work on another team, as he had been performing well in the minors, but he was abysmal for the Tribe, allowing six earned runs and nine baserunners in 2.1 IP.
Deadline Roundup: Mets, Washburn, Nats, Rays
Two Cy Young Award winners were traded this deadline and neither one of them was Roy Halladay. It's been a wild few days. Here's a recap of the action and here are some more details and reactions:
- Omar Minaya told Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post that the Mets couldn't find a trade partner because of what other teams were asking for.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo says Aaron Thompson is a pretty good return for Nick Johnson. it sure beats losing him for nothing after the season.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Mariners told the Yankees they had to give up an Austin Jackson-type player for Jarrod Washburn, who was dealt to Detroit.
- The Brewers were told they'd have to surrender Manny Parra, Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel for Washburn, Sherman reports.
- Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Washburn is open to returning to the Mariners in the offseason, when he hits free agency.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski tells MLB.com's Jason Beck that the Tigers were "not close at all" to completing any other moves.
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays will look for help on the waiver wire in August.
- Any bobblehead collectors? Tomorrow night is still Victor Martinez bobblehead night in Cleveland, according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.
- The Phillies, Cardinals, Red Sox and Tigers are Jon Heyman of SI.com's deadline winners. His losers? The Nats and Royals.
Adrian Gonzalez Rumors: Friday
1:55pm: From Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports: the Dodgers are making a run at Gonzalez and Bell (separately or together); they could send James Loney to San Diego in such a deal.
12:26pm: A Jayson Stark source says the asking price for Gonzalez is "astronomical, three times the asking price on Halladay."
12:04pm: SI's Jon Heyman hears the Red Sox are still in talks for Gonzalez. Buchholz, Lowrie, and Masterson are "in the mix" with the Padres asking for Westmoreland and Anderson. Heyman adds, "However, the sides are still pretty far apart, and Boston is still in the mix for Martinez." Heyman also says Bell's name has come up in these talks.
11:35am: MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo via Twitter: "I'm hearing odds of Padres dealing Gonzalez are very low at this point." Bonus: Mayo's Twitter background has a Magic Eye effect.
10:22am: ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Red Sox still "have pokers in the fire" on Gonzalez, Martinez, and Roy Halladay. Stark continues to suggest the Sox may try to include a third team to faciliate one of these deals.
6:45am: Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News say the Red Sox are in "full pursuit" of Gonzalez, and believe Boston could get Heath Bell too if they're willing to include pitcher Daniel Bard. Also, Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald confirms that the Red Sox are more interested in Gonzalez than Victor Martinez.
12:51am: We heard yesterday that the Padres and Red Sox spoke at length Wednesday night about a possible Adrian Gonzalez trade. However, there was no indication the talks had developed by the end of the day. Not only are the Red Sox discussing a three-way deal with the Indians and another club, they're involved on the Gonzalez front as well. Here's the latest:
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that there are indications the talks were active late last night and will likely peak today.
- It would be surprising if this were not the case, but Kevin Towers is asking for "a ton" in return for Gonzalez, according to Cafardo's source.
- The teams are discussing Clay Buchholz, Lars Anderson, Jed Lowrie, Ryan Westmoreland, Justin Masterson and others.
- A rival executive told Jon Heyman of SI.com he believes the Red Sox prefer Gonzalez to Victor Martinez.
Bannister, Bloomquist, Teahen Drawing Interest
1:47pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark says the price for Bannister is similar to that of Jarrod Washburn – "big league-ready starter, pitching prospect with upside." He says the Yanks maintain mild interest.
10:16am: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports say the Brewers made an offer for Bannister but the Royals chose not to counter it. The Royals would have to be bowled over to move the 28 year-old righty.
FRIDAY, 9:22am: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the Royals rejected overtures from the Marlins on Bannister. He wonders whether the next best thing for Florida might be to bring Carl Pavano back. We've heard surprisingly little about Pavano lately. He projects to fall short of Type B status, so there's no point in the Indians keeping him.
THURSDAY, 7:58pm: Jayson Stark and Buster Olney of ESPN.com report that the Yankees inquired about Bannister, but talks didn't develop because the Yankees asked the Royals to pay the $650k that remains on Bannister's 2009 contract. Since when does $650k stop the Yanks from making a deal? As Stark and Olney say, welcome to the wacky world of baseball 2009.
7:50pm: Teams are inquiring on righty Brian Bannister, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The Royals weren't close to dealing him as of this evening, but we still have 20 hours before the deadline. Bannister, 28, makes $1.7MM this year and isn't scheduled to become a free agent until after the 2012 season. Here are a few more quick hits on the Royals:
- Check out the Tim's interviews with Brian here, here, and here.
- Olney says Willie Bloomquist is also drawing interest.
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hear that a number of teams are still contacting the Royals about Mark Teahen.
- Earlier today we heard that Ron Mahay's available, too.
Red Sox Acquire Victor Martinez
1:38pm: Done deal, says Yahoo's Gordon Edes. MLB Network's Tom Verducci says pitcher Bryan Price is the third hurler going to Cleveland in the trade.
1:35pm: MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo says (via Twitter) pitchers Nick Hagadone and Justin Masterson are in the deal (ESPN's Peter Gammons agrees). Gut reaction: nice haul. Mayo also says the two clubs are looking at additional names to add for Cleveland.
1:27pm: FOX now says Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard are not in this deal.
12:55pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale via Twitter: the Red Sox are about to acquire first baseman/catcher Victor Martinez from the Indians. Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse, trying to confirm, says it "looks good." FOX Sports agrees, and notes a lack of a third team involved. They also believe this kills the Adrian Gonzalez talks.
Victor Martinez Rumors: Friday
12:24pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark: "The Rays continued to talk with Cleveland about Martinez Friday afternoon, but clubs they've spoken with say they're more focused on "under-the-radar" bullpen arms." San Diego closer Heath Bell is among those names, but the Rays didn't like the price.
11:49am: MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo (via Twitter) finds a 50% chance of a Martinez trade.
7:44am: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports describe the Indians as "pessimistic" about their chances of trading Martinez.
6:36am: Yesterday ESPN's Jayson Stark brought up Victor Martinez as part of a possible three-way trade involving the Red Sox, Indians, and another club. Let's see what's cooking today…
SI's Jon Heyman writes of "brief talks" between the Mets and Indians for V-Mart. However, the Mets prefer to keep their top prospects and probably already turned down an offer from Cleveland. We know this because GM Omar Minaya admitted to turning down two offers for big-time players. Heyman still sees Boston as the favorite for Martinez. Joel Sherman of the New York Post expects some kind of big move out of the Sox today. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports agrees.