Indians Acquire Jose Veras
The Indians have acquired reliever Jose Veras from the Yankees for cash considerations, according to a team press release. The Yankees designated Veras for assignment last week after he disappointed in 25.2 innings of work. Veras struck out 18, but allowed 37 baserunners.
Orioles Acquire Michael Aubrey For PTBNL
As MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports, the Orioles acquired Michael Aubrey from the Indians for a player to be named later. The Indians drafted him 11th overall in 2003, only to see Aubrey struggle with injuries.
He made his major league debut last year, posting an OPS of .613 for the Indians in 13 games. Aubrey has 22 extra base hits and a .292 batting average at Triple A Columbus this year.
Tribe Brass To Discuss Wedge’s Future
According to the Associated Press, via ESPN.com, Indians general manager Mark Shapiro is expected to discuss manager Eric Wedge's status with president Paul Dolan and team owner Larry Dolan "in the next few days."
Wedge is in serious danger of losing his job. The Indians, 30-42 as of Tuesday night, are stuck in last place in the American League Central and have seen a major drop in attendance this season. "It's been one of those years, that's for sure," said Wedge, who is in his seventh season with the club and is signed through 2010. Look for some kind of announcement by the weekend.
Wedge has a 526-518 managerial record with the Tribe. He led them to the ALCS in 2007.
Odds And Ends: Brewers, Magglio, White Sox
More links for Tuesday…
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. hears the Royals are a likely destination for Cheslor Cuthbert, a Nicaraguan prospect who would command a bonus of about $1MM.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears from a Mets official that the team "will not mortgage [their] future" this summer in any trades.
- Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer continues to argue that firing Eric Wedge won't solve the Indians' problems even though Mike Hargrove, who some would like to see back in Cleveland, is a skilled manager.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com says Donald Fehr did his job well- too well, in fact. Check the story out for some anecdotes from years ago.
- The Detroit Free Press reports that Magglio Ordonez returns to the Tigers' lineup tonight.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer suggests the Mariners should choose talent over sentiment if they're serious about winning this year.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that the White Sox signed second round pick David Holmberg.
- I'll be talking rumors with the Benchwarmers on 590 KFNS in St. Louis at 11pm CST tonight so tune in if you're in the area or online.
Indians DFA Luis Vizcaino
The Indians designated Luis Vizcaino for assignment, according to the team's Twitter. Vizcaino was acquired by the Indians earlier in the year to help their struggling bullpen, but walked more than a batter per inning in his 11 games with the club.
Odds & Ends: Orioles, White Sox, Nady, Indians
Some links to check out while watching game one of the College World Series …
- MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko spoke to Orioles mastermind Andy MacPhail about plenty of topics, including the scuffling Felix Pie and fifth overall pick Matt Hobgood.
- South Side Sox breaks down the White Sox players who won't (or can't) be traded.
- Xavier Nady is set to begin a rehab assignment, however Buster Olney recently said the Yankees will not look to trade one of their spare outfielders once he returns.
- Indians president Paul Dolan says he is concerned about the team's direction, but will not make any "rash decisions" according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It certainly sounds like Eric Wedge's days are numbered, and his number is coming up.
- The Dallas Morning News' Kevin Sherrington writes that even though they're in first place, the Rangers aren't in a position to go all out and need to keep focusing on the future.
Indians Rumors: Wedge, White, Draft
MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince says the chatter about Eric Wedge's job security is premature. The Indians aren't on the verge of firing him and are more likely to consider a change after the season. Here are some more Indians notes:
- The Indians are expected to begin negotiations soon with first rounder Alex White.
- As Castrovince pointed out on draft day, White is a 20-year-old righty reliever out of UNC who could make an impact in the majors sooner than most players in the draft.
- The team has now signed 18 of the players drafted earlier in the month, including 13 of their top 16 picks.
Odds And Ends: Wedge, Penny, Mets
Some links to start the week off…
- Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the Indians wouldn't improve if they fire Eric Wedge.
- As this poll shows, 71% of Plain Dealer readers want Wedge fired.
- Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer suggests the Indians' inability to develop better pitching shows in the standings.
- MLB.com's Ian Browne says Brad Penny's becoming more and more valuable, especially to the Red Sox.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets' chance to deal Jose Reyes, David Wright or Carlos Beltran for three or four cheap, young players has likely come and gone.
- The Moneyball movie, which was to star Brad Pitt, is now in jeopardy.
Are Eric Wedge’s Days Numbered?
The Indians are currently sporting the worst record in the American League; their loss to the Cubs today dropped them to 29-42 on the season and 10 games out of first place in the AL Central. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer takes a look at the decision that owners Paul and Larry Dolan face with Eric Wedge. Hoynes writes:
General manager Mark Shapiro doesn't feel that Wedge should lose his job, and actually takes more of the blame himself for the bullpen he assembled this offseason:
"'Part of the bullpen's performance is tied to the inconsistency of our starting rotation and not having three-fifth of the rotation we opened the season with.'"
Shapiro added, 'If anyone is to blame, it's me.'"
The Indians have also dealt with injuries to Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Asdrubal Cabrera, Aaron Laffey, and Anthony Reyes, just to name a few. Fausto Carmona completely imploded, and Jake Westbrook's recovery from Tommy John surgery has been slowed.
Wedge doesn't shy away from criticism though:
The Indians have had their share of injuries and a faulty bullpen to blame for their last-place ranking this season. There's certainly plenty of cases that can be made to defend Eric Wedge, but we've seen managers fired for a lot less than this, and typically someone has to take the blame. So should Wedge stay or go?
Gammons’ Latest: Red Sox, Washburn, DeRosa
In his latest blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons writes that "unless someone comes up with a Justin Smoak, Matt LaPorta or Brett Wallace," the Red Sox will hold on to Brad Penny and enjoy the depth. He says no one will offer up a prospect like that for a few months of Penny.
Here's the rest of Gammons' rumors:
- Takashi Saito is the pitcher on Boston's staff most likely to be traded.
- Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard "probably won't be tradeable before Aug. 1" because of their injuries.
- Jarrod Washburn could be had.
- The Red Sox have talked to the Angels about infielder Maicer Izturis, but the talks haven't gone anywhere
- Mark Mulder "made considerable progress refinding his delivery after one session with pitching coach Rick Peterson."
- The Mets are looking for an outfield bat. They made a run at Mark DeRosa, but wouldn't discuss Bobby Parnell.
- The Cardinals wouldn't discuss Jason Motte or Chris Perez in exchange for DeRosa.
- The uncertain situation surrounding the Cubs' ownership will likely prohibit any major additions.