Stark On Greinke, Headley, Indians, Wells
The market for Zack Greinke appears to consist of the Rangers, Angels, White Sox and Braves, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. Rival teams say the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers aren’t involved on Greinke, and the Indians and Orioles have limited interest in pitchers headed for free agency, Stark writes. Here are more notes from Stark:
- The Yankees are exploring their third base options with Alex Rodriguez out, Stark reports. Marco Scutaro could be an option for New York.
- There’s an expectation that Chase Headley will be traded, but the Padres continue saying they’re happy to keep him, Stark writes. One team says the Padres are looking for a Mat Latos-like return if they trade the third baseman.
- The Phillies are looking for a proven, young setup reliever and a young outfielder or third baseman for Victorino, Stark reports. They’ve asked about relievers Brad Lincoln, Wade Davis and Logan Ondrusek in trade talks.
- It’s already been a busy month for the Astros, but they’re still willing to consider trades for anyone but Jose Altuve.
- The Indians and Cardinals have talked to the Rays about James Shields, Stark reports.
- The Angels are telling teams they’d rather trade Vernon Wells than keep him when he returns from the disabled list. They’re looking for a trade partner and saying they don’t want to eat all of his salary, Stark reports. It’ll be challenging to find a taker for Wells’ salary; he earns $21MM per season through 2014.
- The Indians aren’t likely to deal Chris Perez or Shin-Soo Choo, but they’ll listen on either player.
Pirates Acquire Wandy Rodriguez
The Pirates have acquired left-handed starter Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros in exchange for minor leaguers Rudy Owens, Robbie Grossman, and Colton Cain.
The Astros will also pay some of the remaining salary owed to Rodriguez at least through 2013 and perhaps through 2014, as the club option for that year became a player option when Rodriguez was traded, per a stipulation in his contract. The Astros' yearly contributions to Rodriguez's salaries break down as such: $1.7MM in 2012, $8.5MM in 2013, and potentially $7.5MM in 2014.
Rodriguez, 33, has posted a 4.04 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in a little over 1,300 career innings, all with the Astros. The Wasserman Media Group client signed a three-year, $34MM extension with Houston prior to the 2011 season.
Grossman, an outfielder, is the best of the three prospects acquired by Houston, according to Jim Bowden of SiriusXM ESPN radio (Twitter). A 22-year-old switch-hitter, Grossman was a sixth-round draft choice of the Bucs in 2008. He's hit .262/.374/.403 with seven homers in 413 plate appearances this season with Double-A Altoona.
Owens, 24, had a 3.14 ERA in 19 starts with Triple-A Indianapolis this season. He has been added to Houston's 40-man roster.
Tom Singer of MLB.com first broke that the trade was close. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com confirmed that it was official and added in financial details (via Twitter), as did Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter). And club press releases added which players the Astros received.
Rosenthal On Hamels, Giants, Brewers
Talks between Cole Hamels and the Phillies will accelerate this week, as the sides consider the possibility of a mid-season extension, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Hamels must decide whether to accept an offer from the Phillies with the trade deadline looming and free agency just a couple of months away. The left-hander is “conflicted” about how to proceed, Rosenthal writes. The Phillies will almost certainly trade Hamels if they don’t sign him to a long-term deal, Rosenthal reports. Here are more notes from around MLB…
- The Giants’ biggest offensive need might be a right-handed hitting outfielder.
- A rival executive notes that the Nationals have relied heavily on their bullpen and suggests it’d make sense for Washington to add a starting pitcher this summer.
- The Twins would want a major return if they trade Josh Willingham, who has a reasonable three-year, $21MM contract.
- Some teams like Asher Wojciechowski, a right-handed pitching prospect acquired by the Astros from Toronto in last week’s ten-player deal. Overall the trade wasn’t considered a blockbuster, however.
- Brewers relievers Manny Parra and Kameron Loe are drawing interest.
- The Phillies might need to include cash if they trade Shane Victorino. Including salary relief could help the team obtain better prospects for the prospective free agent.
Quick Hits: Upton, Red Sox, Yankees, Dempster
The Yankees have inquired on Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton and Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines that GM Brian Cashman should make it happen. Sherman argues that three of their best trades of the past two decades involved landing outfielders in their 20s who had fallen out of favor with their clubs: Paul O’Neill, Curtis Granderson, and Nick Swisher. Upton would fit the profile as some in the D'Backs organization have questioned his heart and motivation. Here's more from around baseball..
- With the Red Sox possibly eyeing some major acquisitions before the deadline, Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal runs down the movable pieces and the near untouchables in their farm system.
- One National League official told Ken Davidoff of Newsday (via Twitter) that he expects Ryan Dempster of the Cubs to be the "first domino to fall", followed by the Twins' Francisco Liriano.
- The new collective bargaining agreement and the altered free agent compensation system has made this year's deadline harder to figure out that most, writes Tim Britton of The Providence Journal.
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter) opines that while the Astros' purge might make sense from a baseball perspective, it is harmful from a business perspective as it will turn off a large section of fans.
Texas Links: Scutaro, Lee, Wandy, Astros
The Rangers have the second best record in baseball (55-37) while the Astros have the worst record in baseball (34-60). Here's the latest from Texas…
- The Rangers would have interest in Marco Scutaro as a utility man if the Rockies were to put him on the market, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- Cliff Lee does not have the Rangers on his 21-team no-trade list according to Heyman. There is still no indication that the Phillies will move their veteran left-hander, even to free up payroll to sign Cole Hamels long-term.
- Carlos Lee, Brandon Lyon, J.A. Happ, and Brett Myers have all been traded already, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that it "will be a while" before the Astros deal Wandy Rodriguez (Twitter link).
- In an Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Keith Law says the two pitchers the Astros received in exchange for Myers – Matt Heidenreich and Blair Walters – "barely qualify as prospects." He says Walters has a chance as a lefty specialist.
- ESPN's Buster Olney hears from rival executives that the Astros seem to be following the old Devil Rays strategy, meaning they'll accumulate top draft picks for several years because their big league team will be so bad (Twitter link).
White Sox Acquire Brett Myers From Astros
The White Sox have acquired Brett Myers from the Astros, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Houston announced that they will receive right-hander Matt Heidenreich, left-hander Blair Walters, and a player to be named later for the pitcher. The Astros will also send cash to Chicago, according to the White Sox.
The White Sox are on the hook for just $1MM of the $4.45MM still owed to Myers this year, according to Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com (via Twitter). Chicago also received money to go towards Myers' salary or possible buyout for next sesaon.
Myers, 31, has a $10MM option for 2013 that will vest if he finishes 45 games and doesn't end the season on the disabled list. To date, the closer has finished 29 games with 35 appearances in total. Rosenthal notes (via Twitter) that Myers has a $500K bonus in his contract for being traded, but it's not yet known which team will pick up the tab.
The veteran has been linked to a handful of clubs recently including the Cardinals and the Mets but the White Sox weren't among the teams rumored to be interested. The right-hander has posted a 3.52 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 for the Astros this season.
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow has extremely busy this week, having just completed a ten-player swap with the Blue Jays. That deal brought six players to Houston including four minor leaguers and a player to be named later. In total, Luhnow has replenished the Houston farm system with eight prospects through these two deals.
Heidenreich, 21, has a 3.95 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 18 Single-A and Double-A starts this year. Houston announced that the former fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft will be assigned to Double-A Corpus Christi. The 6'5" right-hander boasts a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s and will likely fill out in the years ahead as he weighs in at just 185 pounds.
Walters, 22, has split time between Single-A and Advanced-A this year, posting a 3.96 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. Prior to this season, Baseball America had the left-hander ranked as the No. 26 prospect in the White Sox organization.
Astros Claim Mark Hamburger Off Waivers
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow announced that the Astros have claimed right-hander Mark Hamburger off waivers from the Padres, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (via Twitter). San Diego designated the 25-year-old for assignment on Thursday.
Hamburger was designated for assignment twice inside of 30 days with the Rangers also DFA'ing him in June. The right-hander owns a career 3.99 ERA and 8.1 K/9 rate in 198 minor league games.
AL East Notes: Shields, Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles
Several teams, including the Tigers and Angels, had scouts in attendance for Rays right-hander James Shields' start against Seattle today, write Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates, Giants, and Blue Jays also had scouts on hand, indicating that Shields could be a hot commodity as the deadline approaches. As for Detroit, sources say that the Tigers have had interest in Shields for years and could ply him away with catching prospects Rob Brantly and James McCann. The Rays aren't necessarily shopping Shields but GM Andrew Friedman will listen to offers on him as well as Jeremy Hellickson, Alex Cobb, and Wade Davis, sources say. Here's more out of the AL East..
- As you might imagine, the ten-player deal between the Blue Jays and Astros wasn't exactly easy to put together. Houston GM Jeff Luhnow told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter) that he had 20 conversations with Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos last night alone.
- Orioles GM Dan Duquette told reporters, including Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun that he's on the lookout for high on-base percentage hitters. “Hopefully, [Omar Quintanilla] is a good on-base man. Take a look at his OBP capabilities with the Mets. He was good. We hope he brings the same [thing] with us. … "[But] we are looking at our on-base capabilities. No question. We need to do a better job with that," Duquette said.
- Anthopoulos told reporters that the two teams will work out the player to be named later in the trade by the end of August, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
Quick Hits: Astros, Mets, Athletics, Straily
Ryan Dempster, Francisco Liriano and Shane Victorino are among the most likely players to be traded within the next 11 days, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes. Those players are a step behind the Astros and Blue Jays, who announced a major trade this morning. Here are today’s links…
- There are “no game-changers” in the ten-player trade completed this morning, a rival evaluator told ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).
- The Mets don't have interest in Brett Myers and didn't have interest in Brandon Lyon before the Blue Jays acquired him from Houston, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter).
- The Athletics agreed to sign 16-year-old Dominican Jhonny Rodriguez, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). It's a $300K deal, the Dominican Prospect League announced.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests we shouldn't be surprised if the Athletics work to add right-hander Daniel Straily to their rotation at some point soon. The 23-year-old has a 2.64 ERA with 162 strikeouts in 126 1/3 innings in the upper minors this year.
- Brett Lawrie, Justin Verlander and Buster Posey barely missed the cut for inclusion on Dave Cameron's list of the ten MLB players with the most trade value. Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp rank sixth and seventh, respectively, on Cameron's list at FanGraphs.
Stark On Rays, Volquez, Butler, Phillies
The chances of Cole Hamels getting traded are diminishing, but they haven't disappeared, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports. The Phillies are trying to sign the left-hander to a long-term deal, but will weigh trade offers if they can’t agree on an extension. Here are Stark’s latest rumors…
- The Rays would be looking for a combination of high-end young pitchers, a young catcher and a controllable hitter if they discuss trades involving James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson. Wade Davis is drawing as much interest as Shields, now that he’s pitching well out of the Tampa Bay bullpen, Stark reports.
- The Astros have told rival teams that they’d absorb a substantial percentage of Wandy Rodriguez’s salary in a trade if it allows them to get “the best value back.”
- The Padres aren’t shopping Edinson Volquez, but they haven’t made him untouchable.
- Teams don’t expect the Marlins will trade Josh Johnson, who’s under contract for 2013.
- Brandon McCarthy’s history of shoulder problems diminishes his trade value. “He's not going anywhere," one executive predicted to Stark.
- The Nationals haven’t been focused on finding a center fielder.
- Hunter Pence is attracting as much interest as anyone on the Phillies, including Hamels. However, the Phillies have downplayed their interest in trading the right fielder. Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, Joe Blanton, Placido Polanco and Kyle Kendrick would be available if the Phillies decide to sell this month, Stark reports. Rollins can veto any trade and would only accept deals to West Coast contenders.
- The Pirates have asked about tons of hitters, including Billy Butler, but they’re still in a “buy-low frame of mind.” The Royals have told clubs they’d have to be overwhelmed to part with Butler, Stark reports.
- The Rockies are trying to move Marco Scutaro and Jason Giambi, but they’d have to be “bowled over” to deal relievers such as Rafael Betancourt, Matt Belisle and Matt Reynolds.