Rockies Acquire Kevin Kouzmanoff
THURSDAY: The Rockies are paying $250K of Kouzmanoff's remaining salary, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter).
TUESDAY: The Rockies have acquired third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and cash considerations from the A's for a player to be named or cash considerations, the teams announced. Colorado's new acquisition will report to Triple-A, according to the Rockies.
Kouzmanoff, who spends his offseasons in Evergreen, Colorado, hasn't appeared in the Majors since June 6th, when the A's optioned him to Triple-A. Before getting sent down, the 30-year-old posted a .221/.262/.353 line with four homers in 149 plate appearances. Kouzmanoff hit 75 MLB homers in total from 2007-10 and led the A's with 16 last year. He has a career line of .255/.300/.421 in six seasons.
The Rockies don't have a long-term solution at third base and they figure to give Kouzmanoff a chance at the hot corner in the Majors over the course of the season's final five weeks. It's possible that Colorado will call their new acquisition up within 24 hours.
Kouzmanoff earns $4.75MM this year and will be arbitration eligible for the final time after the season. The A's were presumably looking to obtain something of value for a player who no longer figured into their long-term plans and had become a non-tender candidate.
MLBTR has learned that Kouzmanoff recently switched agents from Adam Katz of WMG to Sosnick Cobbe Sports. Check out our Agency Database for the latest on which agents represent which players.
Quick Hits: Nationals, Mets, Wandy, Blue Jays
On this date 25 years ago, A's rookie Mark McGwire hit his first MLB home run. Another historic slugger, Jim Thome, could be on the move this week. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post wants to see Davey Johnson return as the Nationals' skipper in 2012. Earlier this week, GM Mike Rizzo raved about Johnson's ability to connect with his players.
- The Mets haven't yet had internal discussions about picking up the 2013 option for manager Terry Collins, but they'll likely discuss the possibility within the next month, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from someone connected to baseball management who wonders why MLB players don't insist on slotting. Capping bonuses does have potential benefits, but as Rosenthal explains, it's far from an ideal system.
- The Astros wanted Wilin Rosario or Drew Pomeranz for Wandy Rodriguez, but the Rockies were only offering Jason Hammel, Casey Weathers or Christian Friedrich, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Talks between the two teams reached a standstill yesterday, after the Rockies claimed Rodriguez earlier in the week.
- The Blue Jays announced that they signed non-drafted free agent Luke Willson, a left-handed hitter who also plays tight end for the Rice University Owls.
Checking In On Colorado’s Offseason Extensions
The Rockies were one of the most aggressive teams in baseball in terms of extensions last offseason. They locked six of their players up on multiyear deals, including two contracts worth $80MM or more.
It’s still too early to say with much authority that the deals failed or succeeded, but Troy Tulowitzki’s contract doesn’t expire until 2020 at the earliest and that’s a long wait, so let's check in on the deals now. The early verdict? Nearly five months into the season, the Rockies’ new deals are going well, largely because their biggest investments are looking good. That in itself doesn't justify the moves, but it's certainly better than the alternative.
Tulowitzki (ten years, $157.75MM), Carlos Gonzalez (seven years, $80MM), Matt Lindstrom (two years, $6.6MM), Jason Hammel (two years, $7.75MM), Rafael Betancourt (two years, $8.02MM) and Matt Belisle (two years, $6.125MM) all signed long-term last winter. Conventional wisdom says multiyear deals for relievers and megadeals for players already under long-term control aren’t the most prudent ways of spending money, especially for a mid-market team. Nevertheless, the Rockies went ahead with the moves and they’re going well so far this year.
It would be hard to argue that Tulowitzki isn’t the best shortstop in the game. Gonzalez has boosted his walk rate, lowered his strikeout rate and, thanks to a recent hot streak that has included seven home runs in 12 days, raised his season line to .289/.360/.523. Betancourt, Belisle and Lindstrom (now on the DL) have each pitched at least 43 2/3 innings with at least 6.2 K/9, no more than 2.3 BB/9 and an ERA of 3.41 or below. Even Hammel, who just lost his rotation spot to Alex White, provided Colorado with three months’ worth of solid starts before faltering in July and August.
The extensions look good so far, despite the Rockies’ disappointing 63-68 record. At this point, that’s all Colorado could hope for. But every player they locked up could have been on the team this year even if GM Dan O’Dowd hadn’t inked them to long-term deals, so the final verdict on the 2010-11 offseason deals will have to wait for another decade or so.
Quick Hits: White Sox, Rangers, Kazmir, Rockies
MLBTR extends condolences to the family and friends of former Major League pitcher and executive Mike Flanagan, who was died at age 59, according to the Orioles. Flanagan, the 1979 AL Cy Young Award winner, was the Orioles' GM from 2002-07 and later became a broadcaster for the club. Here are this evening’s links…
- Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com wonders if the White Sox could still sell. Now 63-64, Chicago trails Detroit by 6.5 games in the AL Central.
- Rangers starter C.J. Wilson told T.R. Sullivan and Louie Horvath of MLB.com that now is not the time to look ahead to the offseason, when he'll hit free agency and be in position to sign a lucrative contract. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes suggested yesterday that Wilson could obtain a $100MM deal.
- Evan Rich of the Cornell Daily Sun interviewed Cornell graduate Jon Daniels about his current role as Rangers GM and how he got there.
- Scott Kazmir intends to pitch in winter ball, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- The Rockies won't acquire Wandy Rodriguez, but they will continue to look for pitching, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
Waiver Rumors: Thome, Bell, White Sox, Wright
The waiver wire is heating up with one week remaining for teams to trade for postseason reinforcements. Here’s a refresher on how August trades work and here are the latest rumors…
- The Indians placed a claim on Jim Thome, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). However, the White Sox, who have a worse record than Cleveland, also placed a claim, so they would have priority over the Indians.
- It appears unlikely that the Giants, who won the claim on Heath Bell, will complete a trade for the reliever, Jon Heyman of SI.com reports (on Twitter).
- Though the Padres would find if difficult to accept a weak offer for Bell, it might beat the alternative of keeping him and potentially paying him big money in 2012, Ken Rosenthal writes at FOX Sports.
- The White Sox placed John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Paul Konerko and Matt Thornton on waivers, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- The Giants are a fit for the recently waived Ramon Hernandez, but the catcher will likely be a Type A free agent so a different team could claim him for draft picks, ESPN.com's Buster Olney notes (on Twitter).
- Hoynes suggests the Indians likely claimed one of Thome and Jason Kubel (Twitter link). Unknown teams claimed both Twins sluggers this week.
- The Rockies were one of the teams that put in a claim on David Wright this month, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Though it's unclear which team won the claim, it probably doesn't matter at the moment, since the Mets aren't trading their third baseman. As Renck points out, it's a reminder that the Rockies will be interested if the Mets ever make Wright available.
Astros To Keep Wandy Rodriguez
The Astros pulled Wandy Rodriguez back off of waivers, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The Rockies claimed Rodriguez yesterday, but balked when Houston insisted on obtaining prospects and salary relief for the 32-year-old.
Technically, Houston GM Ed Wade could place Rodriguez on waivers again, but if he does so, he'll no longer be able to pull the left-hander back. The Astros' best chance to trade Rodriguez could be this offseason, when they can engage all 29 of their rivals in the bidding.
Rodriguez earns $10MM next year and $13MM in 2013. If he's traded, the Astros $13MM option for 2014 becomes a player option. Rodriguez has solid numbers this season (3.41 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 153 innings), but the Rockies picked up ten hits and six runs (four earned) against him at Coors Field today.
The Astros wanted Wilin Rosario or Drew Pomeranz plus salary relief for Rodriguez, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter links). That deal wouldn't have worked for the Rockies, but they were willing to take on Rodriguez's entire salary, according to Renck.
No Momentum For Wandy Trade
2:29pm: Astros GM Ed Wade told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that his gut tells him Rodriguez is staying put.
WEDNESDAY, 11:53am: A deal remains a long shot because the Astros want catching prospect Wilin Rosario or a top young pitcher from the Rockies in the deal. Last month, Baseball America ranked Rosario the 28th best prospect in baseball. Oddly enough, Rodriguez is scheduled to pitch for the Astros a couple of hours from now at Coors Field.
TUESDAY, 3:25pm: There's no momentum for a Wandy Rodriguez trade at the moment, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter links). The Rockies claimed the Astros' left-hander on waivers and now have 48 business day hours to work out a trade or claim with Houston.
The Astros aren't especially motivated to move Rodriguez, according to Olney. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes (on Twitter) that the Astros can afford him next year even if they reduce their payroll to $60MM or so, as they intend to.
ESPN.com's Jim Bowden says the Astros are looking to acquire a bona fide return for Rodriguez and could consider dealing him in the winter if Colorado doesn't offer what they're looking for (Twitter link). The Rockies, meanwhile, are well aware that free agent starters are hesitant to sign with them, according to Olney.
Rockies Designate Ryan Rohlinger For Assignment
The Rockies designated shortstop Ryan Rohlinger to open a 40-man roster spot for newly-signed Kevin Kouzmanoff, tweets Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Kouzmanoff has been called up and is starting today, as MLBTR suggested when he signed.
Rohlinger, 27, hit .247/.351/.416 in 392 Triple-A plate appearances for the Giants and Rockies this year. The Rockies had claimed him off waivers in June.
GM Candidate: Bill Geivett
MLBTR's list of general manager candidates introduced 20 people who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs. We’re bringing you closer to the candidates with a series of pieces. Today the series continues with Rockies senior vice president of scouting and player development/assistant general manager Bill Geivett, who ranked 15th on our list.
Bill Geivett grew up in Sacramento rooting for the Swingin' A's. A speedy third baseman, he played ball at Sacramento City College and later majored in economics at the University of California-Santa Barbara, telling me, "I'm a Gaucho, and will always be a Gaucho." Geivett was drafted four times, but a desire to complete his degree compelled him to wait until after his senior season to sign with the Angels. A knee injury ended Geivett's playing career at the Double-A level, after which he obtained a Masters and coached collegiately at Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State.
Geivett got into scouting after that, telling me, "I still believe I'm the only person that has taken a pay cut to go to the New York Yankees." After about four years with the Yankees he took a step up to become the Expos' farm director. After three years there he joined Chuck LaMar as a special assistant to the GM for the Devil Rays, helping prepare for the expansion draft and taking part in many firsts for the organization. Next came an eventual assistant GM position with the Dodgers under Kevin Malone, after which Geivett began his long tenure with the Rockies in 2000. He now oversees scouting and player development and assists with all baseball decisions. I talked to Geivett on the phone yesterday.
On his mentors:
Bill Livesey is one of the biggest mentors I've had in baseball. He really taught me how to scout and how scouting and player development worked [while with the Yankees]. The biggest thing I've learned from [Rockies GM] Dan O'Dowd is perseverence. There were a lot of lean times here, as we were involved in a rebuilding-type situation. To see our leader show up every day, grinding it out, he kept on going when times looked tough for us. The perspective of a MLB manager I learned from Felipe Alou and Tommy Lasorda. Keli McGregor, our former president, and Dick Monfort, our owner, had a big influence on me also.
On stats and scouting:
If you talk to the scouts they'd probably say I'm too involved in statistics. Talk to some stat guys, they'd probably tell you I like scouting too much. I think there's always times where you lean on one or the other. As you're dealing with Major League players, it's a lot more appropriate to lean on stats. I think statistics are a fabulous indication of what's happened. I think the scout's job is to try to tell you what will happen.
I've never really understood the scouts versus stats argument; I don't see it. For somebody to make a good decision they need a clear understanding of all it. You can get the oldest scout you want and he's going to pull out stats and look at them. There are a lot of scouts who will look at statistical information and already have an opinion before they even watch the player. And they've got big floppy hats and gray hair.
The trade he was involved with of which he's most proud:
The Matt Holliday trade was definitely big for us. If we're going to trade Matt we need to get a young, middle of the order position player back, and we got Carlos Gonzalez. You have a criteria in your mind and to be able to make a deal that actually fit was tremendous. We were at an advantage because Arizona had him originally and we were down in Tucson and played Arizona all the time. I can remember [senior director of international scouting] Rolando Fernandez and I were sitting there watching him in the instructional league one year, and we were talking about how that's the type of position player we need to sign. We really hadn't broken the position player barrier at the time. We always looked at CarGo as the type of guy we wanted to get. We had a long history with him.
The draft pick of which he's most proud:
Troy Tulowitzki. I coached at Long Beach State; Bill Schmidt, our VP of scouting, went to Long Beach State. We felt like we knew him very well. If available, we were going to be able to acquire a corner bat at a premium defensive position. Bill Schmidt said he would be available, but I didn't think he'd be there for us [at the seventh overall pick]. The first day [Tulowitzki] showed up he said, "I just want to tell you guys I want to be here my whole career," and he hadn't even played in A ball yet.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Weaver, Rodriguez, Thome
We saw one trade completed today and, as our list of players to clear waivers shows, there are more potential deals on the horizon. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he doesn't expect to make a trade this month, though he's considering waiver trade candidates every day.
- Angels ace Jered Weaver had a refreshing take on his team friendly five-year, $85MM extension, as Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times writes. “If $85 million is not enough to take care of my family and other generations of my family, then you’re stupid," he said. "I play baseball for the love of the game, for the competitive part of it.”
- A's GM Billy Beane told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that the gap between baseball's haves and have-nots has widened. "The window for small-market clubs is shorter and shorter,” Beane said.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports breaks down some possible trade scenarios between the Rockies and Astros involving the recently-claimed Wandy Rodriguez.
- Rodriguez drew interest at the trade deadline, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Yankees were prepared to give up a player for the left-hander, who they valued at $21MM.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen says he'd love to bring Jim Thome back to Chicago, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Thome hit waivers yesterday.