Astros Designate Luis Durango For Assignment
The Astros announced that they have designated outfielder Luis Durango for assignment. They have called outfielder J.B. Shuck up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
The Astros claimed Durango from the Padres in June and he pitcked up a single and a walk in seven plate appearances for Houston. He appeared in 28 games as a backup center fielder for the Padres last year and had a .243/.328/.294 line with 10 stolen bases at Triple-A Tucson before Houston claimed him.
Shuck, 24, has yet to appear in the Major Leagues. The 2008 draft pick has a .302/.401/.375 line at Triple-A and was a Pacific Coast League All-Star this year.
Quick Hits: Indians, Bedard, Braves, Phillies
Links for Thursday, before the Pirates try to reach the .500 mark and the Indians try to climb above it…
- One GM told Tim Kurkjian of ESPN The Magazine that the Indians gave up an awful lot to get Ubaldo Jimenez, "a guy you're just not sure about." However, reliever Frank Herrmann told Kurkjian that he believes in Cleveland's GM. "We're not going to meddle in the way the front office works," Hermann said. "I would be upset if Chris Antonetti came down to the clubhouse and told me how to hold my curveball."
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox never stopped pursuing Erik Bedard throughout their negotiations for Jimenez, Hiroki Kuroda and Rich Harden.
- Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com that the Rangers want to prove that last year's World Series run was just the beginning. "We want to show we belong there, that it wasn't a fluke," Hamilton said.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Padres should have traded Heath Bell by now or signed him to an extension. Their best remaining option is to trade him this August, even though they have significantly less leverage than they did a month ago, Rosenthal says.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle can envision the Astros winning as many as 90 games in 2013 – but he can also envision three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
- The Braves and Phillies will likely reinforce their bullpens internally, as Rosenthal explains. The Braves would like to add a right-hander and Peter Moylan, who is returning from back surgery, and minor leaguers Arodys Vizcaino and Julio Teheran are options. The Phillies, meanwhile, are looking forward to the return of Jose Contreras.
Heyman On Hendry, Yankees, Astros
Jon Heyman of SI.com looks back at the Cubs' quiet weekend and reports that rival teams were surprised when the Cubs said they wouldn't move Carlos Pena, Marlon Byrd and Jeff Baker. Here are the rest of Heyman's notes from around MLB…
- GM Jim Hendry has a strong rapport with Cubs ownership, according to people connected to the Cubs.
- Yankees people don’t think Erik Bedard would last 20 minutes in New York. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said Sunday that he’s happy to let Bedard’s arm respond to his critics.
- The Astros hired an independent scout to watch their minor league affiliates and the scout found fewer than five players who should play in the Major Leagues.
- MLB officials “seem determined” to convince the players’ association to agree to a slotting system for the amateur draft. The union doesn’t want capped bonuses, which would limit amateur players' earning power.
NL Central Notes: Garza, Astros, Brewers
The Cardinals beat the Brewers in extra innings last night, and Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun got hit by pitches in the process. Here are some NL Central links for Wednesday, before the division rivals take the field again…
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he's glad to have Matt Garza under team control for 2012.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America looks back at the Astros' forays into free agency and their subsequent trades for prospects in a subscriber-only piece. It's clear, Eddy writes, that the Astros are well-positioned to land the top pick in next year's draft. Houston has an MLB-worst 36-74 record.
- The Brewers announced that they've already sold more tickets for 2011 than they did in 2010, when they drew 2,776,531 fans. More fans mean more revenue for the Brewers, who have already committed $59MM to next year's payroll.
Central Notes: Bourn, Guillen, Soto, Rhodes
The latest from the Central divisions….
- The Astros wanted Ross Detwiler as part of any package the Nationals offered for Michael Bourn, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Washington didn't want to part with its young southpaw, so the Nats' chance to acquire Bourn the day before the trade deadline evaporated. Bourn instead went to one of Washington's NL East rivals.
- In a video interview with Graham Bensinger of Yahoo Sports, Ozzie Guillen says that he recently told White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf that "If you want me to stay, a lot of things [have] got to be better." Guillen also said, however, that he wants to remain in Chicago and is fully committed to his current team, despite some rumors connecting him to the Marlins job in 2012. "It'd be an honor for me to manage the Marlins," Guillen said. "Do I want to manage the Marlins? No, because I'm managing the White Sox now."
- Guillen's future is also a topic in Doug Padilla and Bruce Levine's Cubs-and-White Sox chat for ESPN Chicago. Padilla and Levine discuss why both teams kept players like Carlos Quentin and Marlon Byrd at the trade deadline, Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn's potential as a future GM and why Mike Quade is playing so many veterans.
- Also of note from the chat is Levine's news that the Pirates were interested in Geovany Soto, but were told by the Cubs that Soto wasn't available.
- The Cardinals may have interest in Arthur Rhodes, who was designated for assignment today by the Rangers. MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that the Cards have "held significant interest [in Rhodes] in recent years" and notes that Tony La Russa made some vague quotes both praising Rhodes and saying his team needed another southpaw reliever.
- The Royals may have to do some roster juggling in August and September to find playing time for all of their young prospects, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
Minor Moves: Fien, Bocock
The latest minor moves…
- The Astros have released right-hander Casey Fien, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (Twitter link). Fien had a 4.81 ERA and an 8.9 K/9 ratio in 21 relief appearances at Triple-A Oklahoma City this year. The 27-year-old righty last pitched in the Majors in 2010 as a member of the Tigers.
- The Phillies traded shortstop Brian Bocock from their Triple-A team to the Pirates' Triple-A team, according to the transactions page for the International League. Bocock, 26, has MLB experience with the Giants and Phillies. In 2107 minor league plate appearances over the course of six seasons, he has a .227/.302/.307 line.
Quick Hits: Orioles, Beane, Bourn, Beltran
The Cardinals acquired Woody Williams from San Diego on this date ten years ago. The right-hander pitched 75 innings of 2.28 ERA ball and helped the Cardinals reach the postseason, where they lost to the eventual World Champion Diamondbacks. Here's the latest from around MLB…
- As Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun points out, Buck Showalter took over the Orioles one year ago today. In 162 games under Showalter, the Orioles are 76-86. The honeymoon is over, but Showalter is "the most prepared and observant person [Connolly has] been around in this game."
- The Phillies may tinker with their roster in August by calling up a reliever or acquiring a bat in a minor trade, Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
- Yahoo's Steve Henson looks back at the 13 most lopsided trades in baseball history. If you guessed that Jeff Bagwell, Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek would appear on the list, you're right.
- Moneyball has become a "period piece," Tom Verducci writes at SI.com. The advantages Billy Beane once had in Oakland have been neutralized by stadium revenue for other clubs and savvy front offices around baseball. "The biggest problem we have is that until we get a stadium it's going to be treading water for us," Beane said. "There cannot be any long-term planning. It's likely to get worse before it gets any better. It's going to be more than challenging."
- GM Jon Daniels says the Rangers checked in on Michael Bourn without pursuing him seriously, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick examines the Giants' feeble offense and the impact that Carlos Beltran will have on it.
- As Scott Miller of CBSSports.com shows, the Diamondbacks have once again become relevant in the NL West thanks, in large part, to an improved pitching staff.
Quick Hits: Mets, Overbay, Springer, Storen, Stewart
Thanks to our loyal readers, MLBTR generated 3.1 million pageviews over the weekend! We appreciate you making MLBTR a regular stop, and have a lot of cool things planned in the coming months. On to today's links…
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin that he tried to acquire a reliever before the deadline, but to no avail (Twitter link). He would not rule out a trade before August 31st.
- The Red Sox will not have interest in Lyle Overbay, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Overbay for assignment today, and as Cafardo notes, he has great numbers in Fenway Park: .323/.395/.500 in 177 plate appearances.
- Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) doesn't envision Jason Isringhausen re-signing with the Mets this offseason.
- The Astros are very confident that they'll sign first-round pick George Springer, but it may come down to the last week, tweets MLB.com's Alyson Footer. Last week we learned that Springer's father met with the independent league Long Island Ducks.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick names a bunch of waiver trade candidates in his latest article.
- The Twins wanted closer Drew Storen and minor league second baseman Stephen Lombardozzi for center fielder Denard Span, and the Nationals declined, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. I think that would have been a solid deal for Washington.
- The Indians announced they signed infielder Argenis Reyes to a minor league deal; he'd been playing independent ball. In slightly more important news, Ubaldo Jimenez will debut for the Tribe Friday in Texas.
- The extent of Boston's interest in Ubaldo? Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald says exec Allard Baird put in a call on Thursday and the Red Sox weren't in touch after that.
- Both sides have denounced the $30MM figure that was floated for Dylan Bundy, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Talks are expected to start this week for the Orioles' fourth overall pick. Ghiroli has more on the topic here. Bundy is advised by Jay Franklin at BBI Sports Group; the company also employs his father.
- The Rockies were close to trading third baseman Ian Stewart to an undisclosed National League team yesterday, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but the deal fell apart with a half hour to go.
- The Mariners and Red Sox are sharing the costs of Erik Bedard's incentives, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Newly-acquired players Zack Wheeler and Jonathan Singelton head updated top ten prospects lists for the Mets and Astros, courtesy of Baseball America's Jim Callis.
Minor Moves: Flores, Stokes, Ward, Carson
Let's keep track of the day's minor moves here…
- The Yankees will release Triple-A left-hander Randy Flores tomorrow according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Both sides agreed to the move. Flores pitched to a 2.54 ERA in 28 1/3 innings for New York's top minor league affiliate, but he gave up 14 hits in 14 innings against lefties.
- The Diamondbacks have signed Brian Stokes and assigned him to Triple-A Reno according to the team's Twitter feed. The righty reliever spent last season with the Angels organization, throwing 16 2/3 innings in the majors and 17 2/3 innings in the minors.
- The D'Backs also signed infielder Daryle Ward according to the club's Twitter feed. The 36-year-old had been playing with the independent Newark Bears, and he hasn't appeared in the big leagues since 2008. He's headed to Double-A Mobile.
- The Rays have acquired Matt Carson from the Athletics according to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 30-year-old outfielder hit .285/.338/.538 with 19 homers and 11 stolen bases in exactly 400 plate appearances for Oakland's Triple-A affiliate this season. He's seen time with the A's in each of the last two seasons, posting a .200/.210/.370 batting line with five homers in 105 plate appearances from 2009-2010.
- The Astros have released right-hander Brad Hennessey according to Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The 31-year-old pitched to a 7.76 ERA in 26 2/3 innings for Houston's Triple-A affiliate,
Rosenthal On Yankees, Wandy, Ubaldo, Bailey
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Yesterday's push by the Yankees to acquire Astros lefty Wandy Rodriguez came from ownership, not GM Brian Cashman. SI's Jon Heyman wrote yesterday that the Yankees offered to pay $21MM of the $38MM left on Rodriguez's contract, implying they feel that Rodriguez is worth less than $7MM a year. Rosenthal says the Astros were willing to pay $2MM of Rodriguez's salary this year (essentially all of it) "or $5MM if his [player] option for 2014 were exercised." I'm in the minority, but I'm with the Astros in thinking paying Wandy down to the range of Ted Lilly's contract is reasonable. At any rate, Rosenthal says the Astros and Yankees never even got to the point of discussing names.
- Cashman has seven untouchables in trade discussions, a rival GM told Rosenthal.
- More than a handful of teams called the Indians "to gauge the club’s willingness to flip Ubaldo Jimenez less than 24 hours after acquiring him." The Indians wanted Jimenez for themselves though. Rosenthal adds that the Indians entertained a "flurry of offers" for starter Fausto Carmona before the deadline.
- Rosenthal says he was unfair to print a rival executive's quote last week about how Astros GM Ed Wade was trying to make a "job-saving" deal for Hunter Pence.
- Athletics GM Billy Beane explained to Rosenthal that "ultimately a trade is a bilateral and not a unilateral process," suggesting that teams were not engaging in back-and-forth negotiations for his players. Also, Rosenthal hears that the Rangers offered Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland (who ultimately got them Mike Adams) plus shortstop prospect Leury Garcia for closer Andrew Bailey.