Three Teams Interested In Jermaine Dye
After an offseason that featured little attention from clubs and a few rejected offers, three teams are now expressing interest in free agent slugger Jermaine Dye according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com. Those clubs: the Rangers, Rockies, and Padres.
We know the Padres are looking to add offense and the Rangers have been searching for a righty bat after Ryan Garko didn't work out, but the Rockies has been linked to infielders more than anything in the wake of Troy Tulowitzki's injury. If signed, Dye would require some time to get into game shape, but could be contributing as an outfielder, first baseman, and/or DH in the second half. He'd also have a few months to prove himself before heading back out on the free agent market.
The 36-year-old Dye hit .250/.340/.453 with 27 homers for the White Sox last year, but his outfield defense was among the worst in the game and he hit just .176/.287/.278 in his final 237 plate appearances.
Odds & Ends: A-Rod, Beltre, Athletics, Rockies
Links for Tuesday, as Tigers reliever Casey Fien returns to the Majors after spending the offseason in waiver wire hell…
- The home run milestone incentives in Alex Rodriguez's contract were the brainchild of Warren Buffett, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. The milestones start with home run #660; A-Rod currently has 594.
- WEEI's Alex Speier has the interesting story of the Dodgers signing Adrian Beltre in 1994 at age 15 by way of falsified documents, including the player's recollection of the situation. I swapped emails with Fred Claire, who was Dodgers GM at the time. Claire takes responsibility for the incident, but "had no awareness that Beltre's birth date had been altered in any way, shape or form" and "would never have approved such an act."
- Joe Stiglich of the Contra Costa Times talked with scouts about the Athletics' trade chips. At least one scout prefers Ben Sheets to Kevin Millwood.
- Dave Cameron's presciption for the Rockies in this FanGraphs article: move Brad Hawpe to first base and acquire Dan Uggla. Another good read from Cameron is his takedown of the theory that Russell Branyan will bring protection for other Mariners hitters. Speaking of Branyan, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Seattle's acquisition "stunned" rival executives.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues looks at Octavio Dotel as a potential Yankees trade target, and prefers they do not pursue a reunion.
- Howard Megdal of SNY is "reluctant to deal any significant part of the Mets' future for a rental of Cliff Lee." Megdal feels that the team's window to win extends beyond 2010.
Remembering the 1993 Trade Deadline
Baseball's 1993 season, with a potential strike looming, was an interesting year. And the trade deadline produced deals involving some of baseball's biggest names.
- On June 24, the Marlins traded Andres Berumen, Jose Martinez and a young reliever named Trevor Hoffman to the Padres for Rich Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield. Sheffield was just 24, and the Marlins quickly realized that he was more at home in the outfield than at third base. Sheffield managed an OPS+ of 162 over his next four seasons, before being purged by the Marlins, who traded him in the 1998 Mike Piazza deal, then turned around and traded Piazza to the Mets for prospects. And Hoffman? 16 seasons in San Diego, 552 saves and an ERA+ of 146.
- Less than a month later, the Atlanta Braves added a signature piece to their roster, trading Vince Moore, Donnie Elliott and Melvin Nieves to the Padres for Fred McGriff. The Braves got immediate payoff from the deal. McGriff, who had posted a .275/.361/.497 line in San Diego, went on a .310/.392/.612 tear with Atlanta. He hit 130 home runs over five seasons with the Braves. This is a classic trade deadline pickup.
- Still more activity came from the Padres, who, it must be noted, finished just 61-101 in 1993. On July 26, San Diego traded Greg Harris and Bruce Hurst to the Colorado Rockies for Brad Ausmus, Doug Bochtler and a player to be named later. Harris reached his sell-by date the day he was traded, going from a 3.67 ERA with San Diego to a 1-8, 6.50 ERA finish in Colorado. Hurst pitched 8.2 innings of 5.19 ERA ball before going down due to injury. And worst of all? The player to be named later sent to San Diego turned out to be… Andy Ashby, who pitched eight seasons of 113 ERA+ baseball for the Padres. Not a good day one mile above sea level.
- Under the radar a bit was a three-team deal that must be mentioned. The Royals got John Habyan. The Yankees got Paul Assenmacher, saving the clubhouse manager a ton of time by not having uniform names on their players' backs. And the Cubs got outfielder Tuffy Rhodes. While Habyan and Assenmacher continued to do what they tended to do for everyone else- put up decent ERAs out of the bullpen- Rhodes was a revelation, hitting .288/.413/.538 in 63 plate appearances. Then, on Opening Day 1994, he hit three home runs against the Mets! Surely, stardom would follow. Instead, he hit .234/.318/.387, and was playing in Japan by 1996. He starred there, of course, with seven seasons of 40 or more home runs, including a high of 55.
- The final bit of trade deadline drama came with the best leadoff hitter of all time. The Oakland Athletics sent Rickey Henderson to the Toronto Blue Jays for elite pitching prospect Steve Karsay and outfield prospect Jose Herrera. Amazingly, Henderson was a total bust for Toronto. He hit .215/.356/.319 after the trade, .327/.469/.553 before the trade. But Karsay could never stay healthy for long, and Herrera didn't do much in two big league seasons.
Rockies To Keep “Weathering The Storm”
Rockies owner Dick Monfort told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that his club probably can’t add a hitter and probably doesn’t need a pitcher. Despite rumblings connecting the Rockies to infielders such as Dan Uggla and Ty Wigginton, Monfort says deals for star hitters are easier discussed than completed.
"I don't think we can add a bat” Monfort said. “I mean, who's going to trade you something you want? It's especially hard to get a right-handed bat. We have plenty of left-handed bats."
Monfort didn’t rule out adding an arm, but said he thinks the Rockies “are good” in terms of pitching, especially since Jorge de la Rosa should return early next month. Taylor Buchholz is also on his way back and Huston Street has joined the club already. Since those pitchers are returning and adding a power bat would be difficult, Monfort thinks the Rockies are “better off weathering the storm.”
It became apparent yesterday that the 38-33 Rockies won't likely acquire infielders soon, even though they're missing a regular until Troy Tulowitzki's wrist heals.
Odds & Ends: Pomeranz, Marlins, Everett, Valentine
Links for Wednesday…
- Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that fifth overall pick Drew Pomeranz is scheduled to go to Cleveland on Monday to take a physical and "hear the Indians' sales pitch." Hoynes says there have been no negotiations to date.
- Marlins' president David Samson told Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald that they're "not ready to say for certain that trade didn't work," referring to the Miguel Cabrera blockbuster (Twitter link). Both Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin, the two centerpieces of the deal for Florida, have struggled in the big leagues and are currently in the minors.
- Upon hearing about Boston's interest in his services, Adam Everett said "I haven't heard that, but great team, great city, and it sounds interesting," according to FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi (via Twitter).
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets the leaders in wins above replacement, or WAR, from last year's free agent class. Andy Pettitte tops the list, followed closely by Livan Hernandez and Aubrey Huff.
- Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post notes (via Twitter) that the Marlins spoke with Bobby Valentine this morning. The Marlins' opening interests Valentine.
- Prince Fielder and Corey Hart tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that they realize they could be traded. Morosi says the Brewers should trade Hart for pitching, but Hart would prefer to stay in Milwaukee.
- Kenny Williams told Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune that the White Sox could become buyers.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that the Blue Jays could trade pitching away this trade deadline (Twitter link).
- Chris Iannetta told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that he did his best to ignore rumors that the Red Sox were interested in him.
- At this point, Pedro Martinez doesn't want to think about whether he'll play this year. He told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald that he doesn't know anything right now.
- Steve Gould of the Baltimore Sun reminds us that 2009 first rounder Matt Hobgood is still a teenager and says Orioles fans should be more patient with the tall righty.
- MLB.com's Fred Claire shows that the Orioles are looking for the kind of stability that was once found in Baltimore and that the Angels now have.
Rockies In No Rush To Acquire Infielders
The Rockies are interested in Ty Wigginton and will monitor the market for infielders, but they will wait to see if the club remains in contention before dealing for infield help. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that for now, the Rockies will rely on Clint Barmes and Jonathan Herrera while Troy Tulowitzki's broken wrist heals. If the Rockies remain in contention after they play seven consecutive series against winning teams, they could pursue infield help.
If the 37-33 Rockies are contending in mid-July, Rosenthal suggests Wigginton and Dan Uggla as possible targets. Other infielders such as Adam Kennedy, Akinori Iwamura, Jayson Nix and Ryan Theriot could also draw interest from GM Dan O'Dowd and the rest of the Rockies front office. But at least for now, the team is in wait-and-see mode.
Juan Rincon Designated For Assignment By Rockies
With Huston Street activated today from the disabled list, Colorado has cleared roster space by designating reliever Juan Rincon for assignment. Troy Renck of the Denver Post was the first to report that Rincon was being "moved out" (Twitter link), and he also tweets that the team will know by tomorrow if Rincon will stay in the organization.
This is the second time that the out-of-options Rincon has been DFA'ed by the Rockies this season. He cleared waivers the first time, went to Triple-A Colorado Springs and was just recalled to the majors last week. The right-hander has appeared in just two major league games this season, but has a 7.25 ERA in 24 relief appearances for Colorado Springs.
Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Manny, Mets, Silva, Rangers
Links for Tuesday before the Angels and Dodgers face off in Anaheim…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports breaks down the trade candidates on the D'Backs. How many of these players will be moved? One person in the D'Backs organization put the over-under at two.
- In an appearance on WEEI, Peter Gammons suggested Manny Ramirez will be earning $5-6MM in the American League next year. Click here for more on Ramirez's free agent stock.
- Mets starters Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana told Peter Botte of the New York Daily News that they would be pleased if the Mets added an ace like Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt, even though R.A. Dickey, Jon Niese and Hisanori Takahashi have pitched well.
- As Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times points out, the disappointing Cubs would be doing much worse if not for their acquisition of Carlos Silva.
- Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News says the Rangers wouldn't have to fear the Yankees, Red Sox or Twins if they add an ace pitcher.
- Woody Paige of the Denver Post suggests a number of paths the Rockies could choose if their next nine games don't go well. Among the many options Paige suggests: trade for Dan Uggla.
Rockies Notes: Uggla, Wigginton, Iannetta
Following Troy Tulowitzki's wrist injury, the Rockies are considering their next move, hoping to stay in contention in a competitive NL West. Troy Renck of the Denver Post has a few tidbits on their potential plans, in a series of tweets:
- After Tulowitzki got hurt, we heard that the Rockies might pursue infield depth. Renck writes that the club is "monitoring" the infield market, specifically naming Dan Uggla and Ty Wigginton as two players they'll watch. FOX Sports' Tracy Ringolsby also mentioned Wigginton as a possibility for Colorado earlier today.
- The Red Sox and Rangers could have interest in Chris Iannetta, with the Rangers focusing on him for this season and the Sox looking ahead to next year. Boston's current catcher, Victor Martinez, faces free agency at season's end, while Iannetta's contract runs through 2012.
- Prior to the trading deadline, the Rockies may also make minor deals involving players like Omar Quintanilla and Jay Payton. The Astros have been interested in Quintanilla before.
Rosenthal On Yankees, Oswalt, White Sox, Beltre
The Yankees are not actively looking for a utility infielder, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal names Willie Bloomquist, John McDonald and Jayson Nix as options the Yanks could consider should they decide that they want more experience than Kevin Russo and Ramiro Pena can offer. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- Adrian Beltre will almost certainly reject his player option after the season and re-enter free agency. He has been one of the game's best players this year, rating characteristically well on defense (according to UZR) and hitting .336/.371/.528.
- The Mariners won't necessarily get a first round pick in next year's draft if they hold onto Cliff Lee. First of all, a losing team could sign Lee (the first 15 picks are protected). Secondly, a team could sign Lee and a free agent who ranks higher under the Elias system. That would mean the Mariners get a supplementary rounder and a second rounder.
- If the Rangers are sold before the winter, they could be a potential landing spot for Carl Crawford, one executive suggested.
- Rosenthal hears that Astros owner Drayton McLane is not against the idea of trading Roy Oswalt to Texas, though the Rangers' ability to take on payroll and the pitcher's no-trade clause could prevent a deal from going through.
- The Marlins inquired on Matt Thornton back when the White Sox were sellers. Now, the White Sox would not consider dealing the left-hander.
- If White Sox GM Kenny Williams becomes a buyer, he may pursue a left-handed bat.
- The Mariners want major league or major league-ready hitters for Cliff Lee, but the Dodgers' best prospects are a few years away from the majors.
- The Rockies are interested in Ty Wigginton, according to Rosenthal's colleague, Tracy Ringolsby.
- The Rays will look for impact players at the trade deadline.