Red Sox Notes: Crawford, McClure
The latest news on the Red Sox who, at 59-63, are currently on pace to suffer their first losing season since 1997…
- Clay Buchholz told the Boston Globe's Peter Abraham that he was surprised by the decision to let McClure go (Sulia link). Buchholz said he had a good relationship with McClure and spoke to him daily.
- Carl Crawford will undergo Tommy John surgery on Thursday, the team announced via press release. The surgery will be performed by Dr. James Andrews. Two seasons into the seven-year deal Crawford signed with Boston, he'll have appeared in just 161 games and batted .260/.292/.419. As a position player, Crawford will likely have a shorter recovery time than pitchers who undergo the procedure. For example, Reds shortstop Zack Cozart had Tommy John last August and was ready for Spring Training this season.
- In a second press release, the Red Sox announced that they've fired pitching coach Bob McClure. Assistant pitching coach Randy Niemann will take over the position in the interim. Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets the following quote from Boston GM Ben Cherington: "This wasn't working out. We felt like we need to make a change. The best thing to do was to give everyone a fresh start." Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com adds that the decision was performance-based, not because of clashes with manager Bobby Valentine (Twitter link).
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets that McClure will be a candidate to take over the Rockies' pitching coordinator. As Renck points out, McClure is familiar working with pitchers at an altitude. McClure spent seven years as a pitching coach with the Rockies between Triple-A and the Major League club from 1999-2005.
Quick Hits: Isringhausen, Mets, Francis, Brewers
"One of a GM's biggest tasks is to have the understanding and power to manage up (his ownership) as well as manage down (his manager)," said a GM to MLB.com's Peter Gammons (Twitter link). Here is the latest from around the league…
- Jason Isringhausen told reporters (including MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez) that he won't accept an assignment to Triple-A if he loses his roster spot when Jordan Walden returns from the DL (Twitter link). The 39-year-old has pitched to a 4.02 ERA in 40 1/3 innings for the Angels this year.
- A former Mets executive told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) he believes the club will nontender Andres Torres in December. The 34-year-old, who is earning $2.7MM this year, is hitting .234/.343/.337 with two homers in 309 plate appearances.
- There are "strong indications" that the Rockies will make a push to re-sign Jeff Francis after the season, reports Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. The 31-year-old southpaw has pitched to a 6.07 ERA in 15 starts since returning to Colorado earlier this year.
- "Nothing happens quick in the off-season," said Brewers GM Doug Melvin to Todd Rosiak of The Journal Sentinel. "You wait until the GM meetings, the winter meetings. The only free agents that sign early are the ones who get overpaid … We'll determine what level of involvement we'll have with free agents. I don't know that we'll be that heavily involved. I know the list that's out there."
- Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News argues that the Reds should pick up the team's $5MM club option for outfielder Ryan Ludwick next season. The 34-year-old has hit .271/.339/.568 with 23 homers for Cincinnati this season.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Abreu, Ekstrom, Igarashi
Here are the latest outright assignments, courtesy of the MLB.com transactions page…
- The Blue Jays have outrighted right-hander Juan Abreu to Triple-A. Toronto claimed the 27-year-old off waivers from the Astros earlier this week. He's pitched to a 7.04 ERA in 46 Triple-A relief innings this year.
- The Rockies have outrighted right-hander Mike Ekstrom to Triple-A. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment earlier this week after allowing 11 runs in 15 2/3 relief innings for Colorado this season.
- The Yankees have outrighted right-hander Ryota Igarashi to Triple-A. New York claimed the 33-year-old off waivers from the Blue Jays earlier this season, and he's allowed four runs during his three innings in pinstripes.
- The Twins have outrighted outfielder Rene Tosoni to Triple-A. The 26-year-old hit .218/.299/.314 in 293 plate appearances at various levels of Minnesota's farm system this year.
Rockies Designate Mike Ekstrom For Assignment
The Rockies have designated Mike Ekstrom for assigment, the team announced (on Twitter). The move creates room on the roster for Guillermo Moscoso.
Ekstrom, 28, allowed 11 runs in 15 2/3 relief innings for Colorado this season, striking out nine and walking two. The right-hander pitched to a 2.64 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 47 2/3 Triple-A innings this year.
Minor Moves: Mariners, Luis Castro, Tony Pena
Here are today's minor moves, with the latest up top…
- The Mariners released minor league catcher Ralph Henriquez in order to make room for 2012 No. 3 overall pick Mike Zunino on their Double-A roster, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). The 25-year-old Henriquez was a second round pick by the Astros in 2005 but has just a .592 OPS in eight minor league seasons.
- The Rockies have signed 16-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Luis Castro for $50K, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (on Twitter). Castro had originally signed with the Blue Jays for $800K last month, but the contract was voided due to health concerns.
- The Angels have signed right-hander Tony Pena according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 30-year-old had Tommy John surgery last August, and has pitched to a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 379 2/3 big league innings with the Diamondbacks and White Sox.
- The Rockies have signed right-hander Jeff Marquez, also according to MLB.com. The 28-year-old posted a 6.69 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 76 2/3 innings with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate this year. Marquez has four big league appearances to his credit, one with the White Sox (2010) and three with the Yankees (2011).
NL West Links: Uribe, Melky, Fowler, Padres
Here's the latest from the NL West…
- Juan Uribe's time with the Dodgers could be nearing an end, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, as the team will need to open a roster spot with Adam Kennedy due back from the DL this week. Uribe has just a .553 OPS in 459 plate appearances since signing a three-year, $21MM free agent contract before the 2011 season. The Dodgers would have to eat the approximately $10.3MM left on Uribe's deal but Hernandez notes this would hardly be a burden to the club's free-spending new owners.
- Melky Cabrera told reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he hadn't heard anything from his agent Sam Levinson about tabling extension talks with the Giants until after the season. Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area tweets that the two sides "had conceptual talks" about a new contract, so as Schulman speculated, it's possible the discussions never got serious enough for Levinson to bring anything solid to his client.
- Dexter Fowler has played well enough to earn a contract extension, though Troy Renck of the Denver Post thinks the Rockies should wait until midway through next season to explore such a deal just to ensure that Fowler is for real. Fowler is still under team control through the 2015 season and eligible for arbitration three more times as a Super Two player. Fowler is earning $2.35MM this season.
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune outlines a few ways that the Padres' prospective new owners can quickly win the favor of San Diego fans.
Quick Hits: Trout, Tigers, Marlins, Rockies
The Cubs were scheduled to play the first ever night game at Wrigley Field on this date 24 years ago, but the game was rained out, so it wasn't until the next day that the Cubs officially welcomed night baseball to the North Side of Chicago. Here are today's links, as the Cubs visit the Padres in San Diego…
- MLB executives discussed a possible Mike Trout extension with Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (link at ESPN.com). Trout could break records as an arbitration eligible player if he continues playing at an MVP level, so it might be surprisingly expensive for the Angels to lock the 21-year-old up.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland gives president and GM Dave Dombrowski a ‘gold star’ for his work acquiring Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante and Jeff Baker, Chris Iott of MLive.com reports. Leyland’s top priority was a pitcher, so getting Infante in the same trade as Sanchez was a bonus. “When it worked out that we got both of them at the same time, that was pretty good," the manager said.
- The Marlins will be willing to spend this offseason, but they’ll do so carefully, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes. Team president David Samson says the Marlins aim to remain competitive, despite their disappointing 2012 season. “We’re not rebuilding, we’re retooling,” he said. For more of his comments on the team click here.
- The Rockies have some interest in Yorvit Torrealba, who was recently placed on release waivers, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (on Twitter). However, it’s not clear how he’d fit on the Rockies with both Ramon Hernandez and Wilin Rosario healthy.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Verlander, Tigers, Rockies
Here's a look around baseball, starting with the 50-60 Marlins..
- The strong belief around the Marlins is that this season will lead owner Jeffrey Loria to shake up his front office, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The moves could even include the replacement of Larry Beinfest, who run the baseball operations department for eleven years under Loria. Knobler opines that this winter may not be as exciting in Miami, but it could be just as fascinating.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland isn't afraid to allow Justin Verlander to throw 130 pitches per game and believes that pitch counts became an issue in baseball thanks to agents, writes Chris Iott of MLive.com. "It became a hot topic when agents and big contracts came into play, if you want to know the truth," Leyland said. "Tell it like it is, cut through all the (expletive), sort through all the (expletive): When the agents and the big contracts came into play, the pitch count came into play, in my opinion."
- The Rockies' "Project 5,183", a system in which pitchers are limited to 75 pitches per game, is unconventional and doesn't seem to be helping the club's arms, writes Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports. Tracy quibbled with Paul DePodesta & Co. as Dodgers manager over his stats-based roster tweaks but says that he is willing to help the club pilot test their idea this year as the Rockies aren't contending.
NL West Notes: Lee, Dodgers, Rockies
Cliff Lee will remain a Phillie as the window on the Dodgers' waiver claim closed today. Lee responded by allowing three home runs in a no-decision against the Diamondbacks this afternoon. When asked by Zach Links yesterday, 68% of MLBTR readers thought the Phillies should have let Lee go. But, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com outlines two scenarios explaining why the Phillies held onto Lee. In other news involving teams from the NL West:
- The Dodgers have been busy wheeling and dealing the past week turning over 20% of their roster with their recent trade acquisitions. Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times writes about how the Dodgers are being forced to mesh and develop its own chemistry in the season’s final two months while battling for a playoff spot.
- The Rockies rearranged the duties of General Manager Dan O'Dowd and Assistant GM Bill Geivett this past week, but the Denver Post's Troy Renck believes the switch seems convoluted unless it leads to a major overhaul in personnel, especially in the drafting and development of better starting pitching.
- The Rockies placed struggling left-hander Jonathan Sanchez on the 15-day disabled list with left bicep tendinitis. Sanchez was acquired from the Royals for Jeremy Guthrie last month, but Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area tweets the real get for Colorado was salary relief to the tune of $1.1MM.
Wil Nieves Elects Free Agency
FRIDAY: Nieves has cleared waivers and rejected an assignment to the minors, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Nieves is eligible for free agency on Saturday.
WEDNESDAY: The Rockies announced that they designated catcher Wil Nieves for assignment after reinstating him from the 15-day disabled list (Twitter link). Nieves appeared in 16 games for the Rockies this year, but has been sidelined since July 8th with turf toe.
The 34-year-old posted a .298/.333/.404 batting line in 51 plate appearances this year. The nine-year MLB veteran has a career line of .226/.272/.296 that is likely more indicative of his abilities on offense.