Rosenthal On Pirates, Astros, Rangers
The acquisition of right-handers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom has proved integral to the Orioles' early season success. The same cannot be said for Jeremy Guthrie, sent to the Rockies by Baltimore in the same trade, as the right-hander has struggled in injury-limited action for Colorado. Let's check in with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports as he catches us up on news and rumors from around the league in his latest column:
- The Pirates may be strong candidates to trade pitching for hitting the way the Mariners did when they traded Michael Pineda for Jesus Montero. While the Pirates' offense averages fewer than three runs per game their pitching staff has offered glimmers of hope. More specifically, the Pirates' bullpen leads the league in relief ERA with a plethora of quality relievers waiting for an opportunity at Triple-A Indianapolis.
- Count Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow among the believers who think that the Astros may be buyers at the trade deadline given their plus-11 run differential heading into Memorial Day. “I do think so,” Luhnow said. “I don’t necessarily know if we’ll take on a whole bunch of salary. But we’ll look at every opportunity that comes our way, evaluate it in terms of short-term impact and medium and long-term impact. Look for Houston to attempt to trade Wandy Rodriguez, Carlos Lee and Brett Myers if the team begins to mimic last year's 106-loss club.
- The inability to move right-hander Koji Uehara during the offseason and later during Spring Training has paid huge dividends for the Rangers this season. After struggling in Arlington upon being acquired from the Orioles, Uehara has rebounded nicely in 2012 by posting a 1.04 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 1.0 BB/9.
Astros Sign Brian Bass
We'll keep track of the day's minor moves here…
- The Astros signed right-hander Brian Bass, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The former Orioles reliever had been playing for the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization. Bass, 30, will start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Marlins Acquire Justin Ruggiano From Astros
The Marlins have acquired outfielder Justin Ruggiano from the Astros in exchange for minor league catcher Jobduan Morales, according to Alyson Footer of the Astros (via Twitter).
Ruggiano, 30, appeared in 46 big league games for the Rays in 2011 before signing a minor league deal with the Astros in February. The outfielder was off to a strong start with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, hitting .325/.409/.581 in 138 plate appearances.
Morales, 20, spent the bulk of the year with Miami's New York-Pennsylvania League affiliate, hitting .272/.385/.450 in 52 games. The switch-hitter was the Marlins' ninth-round pick in 2009.
NL Central Notes: Berkman, Cubs, Lucroy, Astros
The light-hitting Pirates again didn't generate much offense on Friday, scoring just one run against the Cubs. Fortunately for the Bucs, that lone run was all they needed — five Pittsburgh hurlers (started off by A.J. Burnett's scoreless 5 1/3 frames) combined to shut out Chicago in a 1-0 result. The Cubs have now suffered 10 consecutive losses.
Here's the latest from around the division…
- Lance Berkman was considering retirement two years ago before playing in pennant races with the Yankees and Cardinals reignited his love of baseball, writes Richard Justice for MLB.com. Berkman discussed retirement again in the wake of his recent knee injury, but he is expected to miss only 8-10 weeks of action, rather than the entire season. Justice can see Berkman signing to play DH with the Astros when they move to the AL West next season, but I'm not sure if Berkman's love of his old team would overcome his desire to play for a contender, should one exist this winter.
- The Cubs are expected to focus on Major League roster moves once the June 4 amateur draft passes, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy's rise to the majors is profiled by Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Lucroy is enjoying a huge breakout season and the five-year, $11-13MM extension he signed with Milwaukee in March is looking like a great bargain for the team, especially given the much more expensive deals signed by catchers Yadier Molina and Miguel Montero.
- "Rumors continue to swirl that Astros scouts prefer Byron Buxton but that higher-ups want someone who can provide more immediate help," writes Jim Callis of Baseball America. Callis thinks Houston should take Buxton, a high school outfielder who Callis compares to Matt Kemp, Justin and B.J. Upton in terms of overall tools.
- Astros legend Craig Biggio has been given the title of special assistant with the team, owner Jim Crane tells Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
Minor Moves: Maine, Hernandez, Lindsay
The latest minor moves…
- The Yankees will sign right-hander John Maine to a minor league deal, Evan Drellich of MLB.com tweets. The Red Sox recently released the 31-year-old, who has missed considerable time with shoulder injuries. He posted a 7.43 ERA in 46 innings with the Rockies' top affiliate in 2011 before signing with the Red Sox this January.
- The Cubs signed infielder Diory Hernandez, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. The Astros had released Hernandez earlier in the week.
- The Diamondbacks signed right-hander Gaby Hernandez from the independent Frontier League, Eddy tweets. The 26-year-old pitched at Triple-A for the Diamondbacks and White Sox last year.
- The Dodgers released right-hander Shane Lindsay, Eddy tweets. The reliever had walked more than one batter per inning at Triple-A this year.
Astros Release Diory Hernandez
The Astros have released infielder Diory Hernandez, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Hernandez, 28, struggled offensively as he played for the club's Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City.
Hernandez appeared in 75 games for the Braves from 2009-2011, making 138 plate appearances in total. The veteran owns a .270/.311/.366 slash line across parts of five Triple-A campaigns with experience at second base, third base, and shortstop.
Minor Moves: Galarraga, Montanez, Barfield
Tonight's minor moves..
- The Astros signed pitcher Armando Galarraga to a minor league deal, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The 30-year-old will help the Astros fill a rotation spot at Triple-A Oklahoma City after starter after Henry Sosa agreed to pitch in Korea.
- The Cardinals signed outfielder Lou Montanez, according to the CBSSports.com transactions page. Montanez, 30, was released by the Phillies earlier this month. The outfielder struggled in 17 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, hitting just .136/.264/.159 in 53 plate appearances.
- The Orioles re-signed utility player Josh Barfield and assigned him to Double-A Bowie, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The O's released Barfield from Triple-A Norfolk last month to make room for right-hander Jason Berken.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Manny, Luebke, Luhnow
Some links from around the league on a day when Max Scherzer became the first pitcher since 1988 to induce 15 swinging strikeouts in one game…
- We're just two weeks shy of the three-year anniversary of the trade that sent Nate McLouth from the Pirates to the Braves in exchange for Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, and Gorkys Hernandez. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review points out that with Locke being recalled from Triple-A, all four players involved in that trade — even McLouth himself — are on the Pirates' 25-man roster.
- Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News chronicles Manny Ramirez's journey to the Athletics, and ponders which Manny will show up in Oakland. Manny, who began a 10-game minor league assignment this weekend, has a chance to rewrite what was a disappointing ending to his career, writes Brown.
- Nothing is certain, but Padres lefty Cory Luebke is strongly leaning toward undergoing Tommy John surgery, writes Dan Hayes of the North County Times. Luebke was transferred to the 60-day DL today, which opens a spot on the Pads' 40-man roster.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is personally scouting candidates for his team to select with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's MLB draft, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Luhnow isn't revealing which players he's scouting. He told reporters the Astros "aren't close" to knowing which player they'll draft, but are feeling more comfortable with the information they've gathered.
Minor Moves: Lew Ford, Henry Sosa
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The Orioles signed outfielder Lew Ford to a minor league deal, according to their Triple-A affiliate (via Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com on Twitter). The 35-year-old last appeared in the Major Leagues in 2007, but he picked up MVP votes after posting an .827 OPS with the 2004 Twins.
- The Astros have sold the rights of right-hander Henry Sosa to the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization, Alyson Footer of the Astros tweets. Sosa, 26, started ten games for the Astros last year, posting a 5.23 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings. He had been starting for Houston's Triple-A affiliate this season.
Stark On Myers, Phillies, Wang, Giants, Appel
There will be interleague games throughout most of the season, starting next year, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. MLB will limit the number of interleague contests during the last five weeks of the season to ensure that most teams play within their own league down the stretch. Here are more of Stark’s rumors…
- Brett Myers told Stark he doesn’t want to be traded, but realizes it’s beyond his control. Though Myers doesn’t have a no-trade clause, he obtains a $500K bonus if dealt.
- The Phillies have “zero” interest in trading Cole Hamels or Shane Victorino, according to an executive who looked into the possibility of trading for the free agents to be. "They'd have to be really out of it to trade anybody,” the exec said.
- Some teams have expressed interest in rehabbing right-hander Chien-Ming Wang. The Nationals don’t seem interested in trading him, however.
- The Giants are sending signals that they’re in the market for a corner outfield bat, Stark reports. The Giants, who are also monitoring the infield market, may not have much selection since few power bats seem to be available.
- Rival teams believe the Astros are leaning toward selecting Stanford right-hander Mark Appel with the first overall selection in this June’s amateur draft. One person said Astros GM Jeff Luhnow seems to want to select someone close to the Major Leagues.
- The loss of pitching coach Dave Duncan entered into the Cardinals' thinking when they extended Yadier Molina earlier in the year, GM John Mozeliak told Stark. "With the fact that Dunc was gone, it was a subtle way of still keeping that same presence on our staff,” he said.