Cafardo’s Latest: Arroyo, Carmona, Garza, Lilly
In this week's installment of his Baseball Notes feature, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discusses the 2006 deal that sent Bronson Arroyo to Cincinnati for Wily Mo Pena. "I'm sure it's not one [trade] that Theo has on his mantle at home," Arroyo jokes, before going on to say that he'd love to stay with the Reds past this season. The team holds an $11MM 2011 option ($2MM buyout) for Arroyo. Here are Cafardo's other notes of interest:
- The Brewers and the Rangers, before they acquired Cliff Lee, were among the teams "sniffing around" Fausto Carmona.
- Cafardo wouldn't be shocked if the Rays were willing to discuss trading Matt Garza, with Jeremy Hellickson waiting in the wings (2.21 ERA in 105.2 Triple-A innings). In exchange for an impact bat, the Rays appear more inclined to deal major league players than prospects. A National League scout tells Cafardo that the team has been "very willing to include B.J. Upton in trade talks" and may even think about moving Wade Davis, if the price was right.
- The Rays also have some interest in Ted Lilly, who could be a fit for the Twins and Tigers as well.
- Cafardo thinks the Red Sox should pursue Evan Meek if the Pirates make him available.
- Lou Piniella's agent Alan Nero says that the Cubs' skipper will definitely finish out the season, but isn't sure about Piniella's future past this year.
Odds & Ends: Dunn, Dodgers, Lee, Tigers
Links for Saturday night, after Roy Halladay and Travis Wood traded zeros for nine innings….
- Bill Ladson of MLB.com writes that Mike Rizzo isn't looking to deal Adam Dunn. Rizzo repeated what's becoming a favorite phrase lately, telling Washington broadcaster Bob Carpenter that it'd be "very painful" to move Dunn, both for the Nationals and for the team acquiring him.
- The Dodgers were involved in talks with the Mariners for Cliff Lee, but wouldn't part with Chad Billingsley or James Loney, according to MLB.com's Evan Drellich.
- Jamey Newberg provides his detailed take on the Rangers' acquisition at The Newberg Report.
- In light of the Lee trade, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times takes a look at how some past blockbuster deals between division rivals worked out.
- Jim Leyland reiterates to MLB.com's Jason Beck that the Tigers could use some bullpen help.
- Ricky Nolasco knows that he might be on the trade block this month, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com wonders (via Twitter) if the Yankees' scout in Arizona yesterday had an eye on Nolasco, noting that Joe Girardi managed the right-hander in 2006.
- River Ave. Blues passes along a story from El Universal (Spanish link) in which Ernesto Armenteros reports that the Yankees signed 18-year-old Colombian catcher Alfredo Castellon Jr.
Tigers Interested In Stephen Drew
SATURDAY, 11:22am: Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic heard from a Diamondbacks' source that there have been no discussions with the Tigers regarding Drew in the past week.
MONDAY, 1:12pm: The Tigers are looking for middle infield help and are interested in Stephen Drew, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Tigers could use a shortstop and Drew is one of the many Diamondbacks interim GM Jerry Dipoto will consider dealing before July 31st.
Drew, who won’t hit free agency until after 2012, makes $3.4MM this year. The 27-year-old is hitting .268/.336/.409 and appears to be an above-average defender. Drew has made just four errors this year and UZR/150 suggests he defends better than most shortstops.
However, Drew has missed time with a sore left knee, so the Tigers would likely need to be assured that the shortstop is healthy before making the D’Backs a compelling offer. Since Adam Everett's release, Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth have been playing short for the Tigers, who are tied for first place with the Twins.
Rick Porcello Could Become A Trade Chip
10:16pm: Jason Beck of MLB.com reports that Jim Leyland categorically denied the Porcello trade rumor this afternoon. "There's not a chance that Rick Porcello is going to be traded," Leyland said. "That's a lie. That's not even speculation."
1:33pm: The Tigers haven’t ruled out trading Rick Porcello, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They pushed the 21-year-old's next Triple A start back a day, though it’s not because of an injury. GM Dave Dombrowski said he doesn’t plan to move Porcello, but acknowledged that anything could happen.
“I don’t ever use the word ‘untouchable’ on any players,” Dombrowski said. “But he’s not a guy we’re looking to trade.”
The Tigers have tens of millions coming off the books after the season, since Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis all have contracts that expire. That could make it easier for the Tigers to add a top starter this year.
Cliff Lee won’t likely be on the market for long and Roy Oswalt would not accept a deal to Detroit, but the Tigers could pursue Dan Haren. The Tigers have sent Edwin Jackson and Willis to Arizona in recent trades, though that was when Josh Byrnes was running the D’Backs.
Porcello followed up his breakout 2009 season with a disappointing 13-start stint in the Tigers' rotation. He posted a 6.14 ERA in the majors and has since posted a 4.29 mark in three minor league starts.
Odds & Ends: Lee, DeJesus, Padres, Drew
Some news from around the majors tonight, including a bit more on (you guessed it), Cliff Lee joining the Rangers…
- Newsday's David Lennon tweets that the Mariners/Mets negotiations for Lee fell through when Seattle wanted Ike Davis as part of the trade package.
- The Mariners were after James Loney or Chad Billingsley from the Dodgers in a possible Lee trade, reports Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. (Twitter link)
- Most teams feel the Royals will wait until closer to the trade deadline before thinking about a David DeJesus trade, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
- Dan Hayes of the North County Times reports (via Twitter) that the Padres have heard some inquiries about right-handed prospect Keyvius Sampson, among other notable minor leaguers in the San Diego system.
- Jamie Samuelsen of the Detroit Free Press says the Tigers are virtually obligated to make a move at the trade deadline.
- Blogger El Lefty Malo thinks the Giants should make an offer on Stephen Drew. Not a bad idea, but it's hard to believe that San Francisco would give up Jonathan Sanchez for Drew, as E.L.M. proposes.
- Speaking of Drew, MLB.com's Jason Beck thinks that he's "a more realistic target" than Dan Haren in a potential Tigers/Diamondbacks trade.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the Pirates' international scouting system.
- Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin says his team isn't in out-and-out "seller" mode, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com writes that the Cubs could be contenders again in the near future.
- And finally, Fangraphs' Matt Klaaseen pokes some fun at the newest members of the Miami Heat by predicting a familiar scenario for some of this winter's top free-agent outfielders.
Reactions To The Cliff Lee Trade
Now that we know for sure that Cliff Lee is headed to the Rangers, the pundits are already chiming in about the big swap — both about what it means for Texas and Seattle, and about what it means for the teams that fell short in the Lee sweepstakes.
- Since the Rangers didn't have to give up any of their blue-chip pitching prospects, the trade is "a huge, huge 'win' for" Texas, tweets Evan P. Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
- Grant also tweets that he was told that one of those young pitchers, Martin Perez, "was deemed untouchable" by the team.
- Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio thinks "both teams win on this deal," though the Rangers are the "biggest winner" since it helps their chances in October. Bowden also compliments the Mariners for getting more talent back for Lee than they dealt to acquire him in the winter. (Twitter link).
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale writes that last night, the Rangers thought that Lee was going to the Yankees. (Twitter link) Nightengale also thinks this trade makes Texas GM Jon Daniels the executive of the year.
- The Phillies are taking some heat for not getting as much minor league talent for Lee when they dealt him over the winter. ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that one scouting director rated Philadelphia's haul for Lee as "last by a long shot" compared to what Seattle and Cleveland both got for the pitcher within the last year.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Reds "made what they thought was a serious offer" for Lee today, though Fay thinks both "the Rangers and Yankees offered a better package than the Reds could have put together."
- Ed Price of Fanhouse.com comments that the Rays didn't want to give up any significant prospects for Lee (via Twitter), while the Mets simply didn't have the caliber of prospects that Seattle was looking for. Price notes, however, that Jeremy Guthrie could be on the Mets' radar screen.
- The Mets could use this Lee deal as a guideline, however, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. The Mets could follow the Rangers' example and try to get a trading partner to add money into a deal, since Olney reports that New York won't be able to add to their payroll before the deadline.
- Rays manager Joe Maddon is unsurprisingly happy that Lee isn't in Yankee pinstripes, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski says his team "had interest [in Lee], but we didn’t come close to a deal," reports John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
- Alyson Footer of MLB.com tweets that the Lee trade may help Houston move Roy Oswalt, since the "more attractive pitcher is off the table & Roy is the next best option."
Oswalt Would Not Accept Trade To White Sox, Tigers
The White Sox and Tigers are among the teams to which Roy Oswalt would not accept a trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). A couple of teams are interested in Oswalt, though the market for the right-hander's services remains slow. The Astros are reluctant to pick up much of the $25MM or so remaining on Oswalt's contract, which limits the number of teams with serious interest.
It doesn't appear that Cliff Lee will be on the market for long, so teams in search of starting pitching may soon be calling the Astros about Oswalt, who has a no-trade clause. The Mets won't be one of them, at least for now. They are prioritizing Ted Lilly, according to multiple reports today.
The Tigers could use stability behind Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman and Max Scherzer. The White Sox have had a steady rotation so far, but recently lost Jake Peavy to the DL. The Tigers, White Sox and Twins are all within two games of each other in the AL Central.
2011 Vestings Options Update
The season started with nine vesting options to watch, but we're down to just five a little beyond the season's halfway point…
- Trever Miller, Cardinals. The southpaw's $2MM option vests with 45 appearances. He's appeared in 31 of the team's 85 games, so he's on pace for 59. He should get there easily.
- Alex Cora, Mets. Cora's $2MM option vests with 80 games (not necessarily starts), and he's already appeared in 48. He's on pace for 91 games. Luis Castillo's foot and Ruben Tejada's emergence could stand in Cora's way.
- Darren Oliver, Rangers. His $3.25MM option will lock in with 59 appearances. He's already appeared in 37 games, so he should get there without a problem.
- Ramon Hernandez, Reds. Hernandez must play in 120 games for his $3.25MM option to vest. He's appeared in just 57 of Cincinnati's first 86 contests, putting him on pace for 107 games.
- Magglio Ordonez, Tigers. Ordonez's $15MM option vests with 135 starts or 540 plate appearances. He's on pace for 141 and 615, respectively, so it'll take a lengthy stint on the disabled list to knock him off track.
The vesting options for Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes, Billy Wagner, and Matt Cain have already been addressed.
Jack Of All Trades: Gary Sheffield
How does a player rack up 509 home runs, post a career OPS+ of 140 (better than Reggie Jackson, Chuck Klein and Al Kaline), make nine All-Star teams…and get traded five times?
Ask Gary Sheffield. His career has been a fantastic one, and if he is denied the Hall of Fame, it will likely be due to the perceived taint around his numbers. But Sheffield has also been part of the hot stove for as long as he's been a household name. Let's take a look at the blockbusters involving Sheff – a combined five trades totaling 25 players.
- On March 29, 1992, a disgruntled Sheffield was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers with minor leaguer Geoff Kellogg (not MLB umpire Jeff Kellogg) to San Diego in exchange for Ricky Bones, Matt Mieske and Jose Valentin. While none of the three managed a career close to that of Sheffield, all three went on to be valuable. Bones became a mainstay in the Milwaukee rotation over the next four years, pitching to a 4.40 ERA. Mieske delivered 44 home runs over the next five seasons in Milwaukee as a power bat off the bench. And Valentin spent eight seasons in Milwaukee as an extremely underrated player due to his batting average. Valentin was a tremendous glove at shortstop, and delivered a respectable OPS+ of 89 over those eight seasons, posting double figures in home runs six times.
- Sheffield, however, wore out his welcome in San Diego, despite winning the batting title in 1992 and posting a season line of .330/.385/.580. No, really. So on June 26, 1993, the Padres sent him to Florida along with Rich Rodriguez for Andres Berumen, Trevor Hoffman and Jose Martinez. Berumen and Martinez made no impact, while Hoffman, of course, became the all-time saves leader. Still, it is hard to say that San Diego got the equal of Sheffield's remaining career – not that Florida did, either.
- The Marlins did get a 156 OPS+ over six seasons. But when the post-1997 firesale commenced, the Marlins traded Sheffield on May 14, 1998 with Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich and Charles Johnson to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. Florida then sent Piazza onto the Mets for prospects. And while it cost Los Angeles the best-hitting catcher in baseball history, Sheffield performed extremely well for them: a 160 OPS+ over four seasons, actually better than his performance for Florida.
- Still, the Dodgers tired of Sheffield as well, and dealt the 33-year-old to Atlanta on January 15, 2002 in exchange for Andrew Brown, Brian Jordan and Odalis Perez. Brown, a top pitching prospect, never amounted to much, though Jordan gave the Dodgers a 116 OPS+ over two seasons, and Perez pitched to an ERA+ of 127 and made the All Star game in the first of five largely successful seasons with Los Angeles. Sheffield? All he did was post a 151 OPS+ in his two years with Atlanta, then signed with the New York Yankees before the 2004 season.
- The haul New York got from the Tigers for Sheffield on November 10, 2006 shows that Sheffield was still a valuable bat late in his career. Though Sheffield was entering his age-38 season, Detroit traded Kevin Whelan, Anthony Claggett and Humberto Sanchez for Sheffield. Sanchez in particular was a highly-touted prospect, though injuries wrecked his career. But for the first time, a team dealing for Sheffield got less-than-superstar production. In two seasons with Detroit, Sheffield had an OPS+ of just 105. The Tigers released him, and even after an OPS+ of 118 with the Mets in 2009, no one wanted Sheffield in 2010.
Though he was a far better player, Sheffield's tale reminds one of Dave Kingman – a prodigious home run hitter who couldn't find a job after hitting 35 home runs in his final season. Kingman was also traded three times and sold once in his career. Overall, Sheffield's career, on some level, has to be considered a disappointment- an astounding thing to say about a player with so much production.
Odds & Ends: Padres, Young, Diamondbacks, Yankees
Some links on the night Atlanta became the NL's first 50-win team…
- Dan Hayes of The North County Times says (via Twitter) the international market has been slow for the Padres, and he doesn't expect any "major splashes." San Diego did sign Duanel Jones for $900K back in January.
- Meanwhile, AOL FanHouse's Tom Krasovic sheds some light on the insurance on Chris Young's contract. The Padres' righty will earn $6.25MM this year, though he made just one start before a shoulder issue forced him to the disabled list.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck and Alex DiFilippo report that the Tigers have signed their sixth through eight round draft picks.
- The Diamondbacks have signed 16-year-old Venezuelan center fielder Yorman Garcia to a six-figure bonus, reports Baseball America's Ben Badler.
- ESPN's Buster Olney says that the Yankees are currently focusing on adding a veteran player who can play third base and provide some power (Twitter links). Alex Rodriguez has been dealing with an on-and-off hip issue all season.
- Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com tweets that it is possible the Red Sox will pursue Chris Snyder after the season, though he doesn't think they'll go after him before the deadline.
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons tells us what to watch out for in the second half of the season, specifically with regards to the trade deadline and August 16th draft signing deadline.
- MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling reports that the Nationals have adjusted their plan to manage Stephen Strasburg's innings this season. The phenom will now remain on a regular schedule and be shut down when the time comes in September.
- The Athletics have called up righthander Ross Wolf according to a team press release. Oakland acquired Ross from the Orioles in exchange for Jake Fox late last month.