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Astros Claim Lucas Harrell

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The Astros have claimed right-hander Lucas Harrell from the White Sox, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The move fills Houston's 40-man roster and creates a spot on Chicago's roster, which now stands at 37.

The White Sox selected Harrell in the fourth round of the 2004 draft and the 26-year-old has had brief stints in the majors in each of the past two seasons. In 29 big league innings, he has a 5.28 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 and over the course of seven minor league seasons, Harrell has a 3.79 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9.

Heyman On Ethier, Lowe, Astros, Twins, Mets

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Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier is the main topic of Jon Heyman's latest piece at SI.com. Ethier, a free agent after the 2012 season, is deeply unhappy with the Dodgers on account of their on and off-field troubles, a source tells Heyman.

While no specific trade or signing rumors pertaining to Ethier are cited, the outfielder is apparently a good friend of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (both players attended Arizona State University) and is said to have "Boston in his mind."

Here are some other items of note from Heyman's piece:

  • The Braves aren't openly shopping Derek Lowe, but with good pitching depth in the minors, Atlanta would probably listen to offers on the right-hander.
  • The Astros will be hard trade partners, one GM told Heyman, because of the impending change of ownership.
  • The Twins do not yet consider themselves sellers, a rival exec told Heyman.
  • Even if the Mets wanted to negotiate secretly with Jose Reyes, as was recently reported, Heyman thinks it's unlikely Reyes and his agents would entertain those talks at this juncture.
  • The Mets would love to find a trade partner to offload Francisco Rodriguez but, the closer's $17.5MM 2012 option deters logical suitors. One GM called it "scary."
  • The Tigers will consider an offensive upgrade at one of third base, second base or outfield.

Rockies Don’t Plan To Be Sellers

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The Rockies don’t need to shed salary this summer and don’t plan to be sellers regardless of their record, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. The Rockies are now 41-46 and if they continue struggling they may move Aaron Cook and Ian Stewart, but Huston Street and Ty Wigginton are likely staying put. 

For now, the Rockies will attempt to add a pitcher who’s under team control beyond 2011. They’ve asked the Twins about their starters, but Minnesota is reluctant to trade until they’re further out of the race. 

Though Brett Myers and Carlos Beltran are among the best players available, the price tags for those players make them unappealing to Colorado. GM Dan O’Dowd won’t consider trading prospects for a ‘rental player’ unless Colorado is leading the division, according to Renck (the Rockies now trail by 7.5 games).

Trade Candidate: Jeff Keppinger

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The Astros have had magical late-season surges before, but their chances of making the playoffs in 2011 are essentially non-existent. At 29-57, they have the worst record in baseball and are now open to trading players who don’t figure into their long-term plans.

Jeff Keppinger figures to draw interest this summer and GM Ed Wade will presumably consider offers for the second baseman. Keppinger is under team control through 2012, but he doesn’t appear to be a cornerstone player like Hunter Pence, Bud Norris or Jordan Lyles.

That doesn’t mean he can’t help a contender, though. Since recovering from left foot surgery and returning to Houston’s lineup at the end of May, the 31-year-old has hit .328/.346/.424 with two home runs. He has played second base this year and has big league experience around the infield and outfield.

However, Keppinger’s batting average on balls in play is a robust .331 this year, significantly higher than his career mark of .291. This suggests that his current level of production is not sustainable, though his career line of .285/.339/.393 is still respectable.

Keppinger’s $2.3MM salary makes him a more expensive option than Jeff Baker or Jamey Carroll, two other trade candidates at the position. He's still relatively cheap, though. By the time the trade deadline arrives, Keppinger will have less than $1MM remaining on his contract. Plus, he’s under team control in 2012, so an acquiring team would have flexibility for next year.

The Tigers, Giants and Cardinals are among the contenders that could consider upgrading at second base. Given the Astros’ record and Keppinger’s better-than-expected performance so far in 2011, it won’t be surprising if Wade trades his second baseman within the month.

Astros Notes: Wandy, Bourn, Lee, Pence, Myers

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The Astros will likely be sellers at this year’s trade deadline, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Houston has an MLB-worst 29-57 record, so the front office figures to entertain offers for Wandy Rodriguez, Michael Bourn and others. Here are the details from Rosenthal and Morosi’s report, which is a must-read item for Astros fans:

  • Though owner Drayton McLane would like to complete the sale of his club to Jim Crane by the July 31st trade deadline, the deal may not become official until August. MLB isn’t close to approving the sale, partly because of its ongoing conflict with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
  • Crane will likely stay quiet until baseball’s owners approve him, but he’ll influence the team’s direction this summer.
  • MLB has not told Crane that he has to agree to move the Astros to the AL West for the sale to go through.
  • Carlos Lee, who earns $18.5MM this year and next year, wouldn’t be easy to trade even if Houston picked up significant salary.
  • The club doesn’t want to trade Hunter Pence, who is under control through 2013. Bud Norris and Jordan Lyles also figure into Houston’s long-term plans, but the Astros will likely listen to offers on most other players, including Brett Myers and Jeff Keppinger.
  • Most baseball people expect Crane to fire GM Ed Wade, but the new owner will likely take his time evaluating Wade’s leadership before conducting a search for a new GM.
  • Houston native and current Rays executive Andrew Friedman is “an almost certain target,” according to Rosenthal and Morosi. Another Tampa Bay exec, former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker, is also a possibility for Crane. He led Houston to four division titles before joining the Rays.

Quick Hits: Blue Jays, International Signings, Astros

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A few items of note as the White Sox pick up a rare "balk-off" win over Aaron Crow and the Royals….

  • The Blue Jays have signed Nicaraguan right-hander Osman Gutierrez, reports Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.  Terms of the deal were not announced.  Gutierrez is only 16 years old but stands 6'4", weighs 200 pounds and has a "power arm."
  • In a mailbag piece, Jim Callis of Baseball America questions the double standard between international signings and draft picks, wondering "why it's OK for the Rangers to give $5 million to Nomar Romaza and $3.5 million to Ronald Guzman, both Dominican outfielders, yet it's a capital offense for any club to exceed MLB's ridiculously low bonus recommendations for the draft."  Callis also discusses the history of draft picks making quick debuts in the Majors and the progress of Angels prospect Randal Grichuk, who was taken 24th overall in the 2009 draft — one pick ahead of Mike Trout.
  • The Astros' signings of Luis Reynoso and Arturo Michelena are the latest examples of the team's renewed focus on Latin American scouting, writes Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner.

Astros Sign Luis Reynoso

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The Astros have signed Dominican shortstop Luis Reynoso, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 16-year-old received a $700K signing bonus.

Badler's subscriber-only scouting report says Reynoso "has an athletic, projectable body and combines solid tools with instincts and feel on both sides of the ball." He's a contact-oriented hitter with speed from the right side, and it's expected that he'll be able to man the middle infield long-term.

Quick Hits: Mariners, Rangers, Astros, Hendry

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Some Quick Hits for Saturday night..

  • The Mariners are looking for bullpen help in addition to bats and they've shown interest in what the Padres have, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  However, the M's aren't likely to overpay for a rental and they'd much prefer players under who are under control for '12 (also via Twitter).
  • The Rangers appear to be close to another international signing, writes Enrique Rojas for ESPNDallas.com.  The club is nearing a deal with Dominican pitcher Pedro Payano for $500-600K.
  • A few inexpensive international signings went down today.  The Astros signed Venezuelan shortstop Arturo Michelena for $220K according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.  The Braves signed Iosif Bernal, a Panamanian outfielder, for a $230K bonus and the Indians inked Dominican outfielder Francisco Miguel for $200K, writes Badler.  The Cardinals signed Venezuelan catcher Jose Godoy for $200K, says Badler.
  • Cubs GM Jim Hendry said that he's not concerned about what other people have to say about his job security in an interview on ESPN1000.

Minor Moves: Torra, Storey

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A couple of minor league transactions to pass along:

  • The Rays have acquired right-hander Matt Torra from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter). Torra, a first-round pick of Arizona in 2005, has a career era of 4.52 in 800 innings in the minors.
  • The Astros acquired righty Mickey Storey in a trade with the Athletics on Thursday, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (via Twitter). Storey's minors numbers are solid: 3.04 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 in 195 2/3 innings.

Quick Hits: Wandy, Venezuela, Trade Deadline

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Here are some loose items of note as Jair Jurrjens works on a gem against the Orioles …

  • The Astros face a tough decision in whether to trade Wandy Rodriguez, writes Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner. Rodriguez's trade stock is at an all-time high, according to Goff, but it's unclear of how the Astros' incoming owner, Jim Crane, will want to proceed with the current roster. If an option for 2014 vests, the balance of Rodriguez's current deal would end up being $44.5MM.
  • There is a proposal for a new law in Venezuela that would alter MLB teams' access to the country's players, according to Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter). Venezuela, of course, is a hotbed for Major League talent, having produced Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Francisco Rodriguez and many, many others.
  • Tom Singer of MLB.com provides a scene-setter for what promises to be an interesting month leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline. There are plenty of trade candidates this year, according to Singer, such as Heath Bell, but there are few, if any, no-doubt types, as there was a year ago in Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman, Cliff Lee and Dan Haren.
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