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Astros Agree To Extension With Brett Myers

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SUNDAY, 12:51pm: The Astros and Myers have agreed to an extension that is guaranteed through 2012, per a team release. Houston will hold a club option for 2013 that could vest based on Myers' performance in 2012. The extension guarantees the right-hander at least $21MM, and could earn him up to $29.5MM, including the option and performance incentives.

SATURDAY, 9:06pm: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweets that Myers' new deal is expected to cover the 2011 and 2012 seasons with an option for 2013.

3:06pm: The Astros are close to a multiyear deal with Brett Myers, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  It's an odd time for an extension, but we heard all along the Astros preferred to retain Myers rather than trade him.

Myers, 29, signed a one year deal worth $5.1MM guaranteed this offseason with a $8MM mutual option for 2011 ($2MM buyout). The former Phillie has been better than I think even the Astros hoped he would be, pitching to a 3.10 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.60 BB/9 in 21 starts. He's the only pitcher in the game to make that many starts to complete at least six innings each time out. 

Trade Deadline Reactions

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While we wait for August's rumor mill to pick up, the focus remains on the trades made over the last few days. Let's take a look at how a few writers are evaluating those deals….

  • USA Today's Bob Nightengale and the New York Post's Joel Sherman list their winners and losers, agreeing that the Rangers and Padres did very well, while the Mets and Red Sox needed to do more.
  • In Jeff Passan's assessment of July's deals for Yahoo! Sports, the Mets get a surprising thumbs-up.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examines how the trades affect the playoff races. The Phillies and Cardinals are among his predicted division winners, after their respective deals for Roy Oswalt and Jake Westbrook.
  • The Cardinals paid too high a price for Westbrook, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says that although the Dodgers' and Angels' moves were nice, they won't be enough to propel either team into the playoffs.
  • A pair of New York Daily News writers disagree about the merit of the Yankees' weekend acquisitions. According to Mike Lupica, all the additions make the Yanks seem slightly desperate, but John Harper sees nothing wrong with making baseball's best team better. I have to side with Harper here – Brian Cashman's goal is to field a championship team, not to worry about whether a division rival's inactivity makes his club look insecure.
  • The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice and Jerome Solomon have conflicting views on the post-deadline Astros. Solomon can't think of much to be happy about, while Justice writes that a younger, more energetic roster should be fun.

Brett Myers Rumors: Saturday

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Brett Myers would be one of the better available starters, and the Astros reportedly became more open to moving him recently.  Myers has a 3.10 ERA and has gone at least six innings in every start this year.  The latest:

Astros Expected To Keep Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers

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1:33pm: The Astros will not trade Rodriguez or Myers, tweets Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. 

8:18am: The Astros became more open late Friday to the possibility of trading veteran starter Brett Myers, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Now, Morosi's colleague Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Astros are fielding offers for Wandy Rodriguez too, though they're not that motivated.

Rodriguez, a 31-year-old southpaw, has a 4.80 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 3.4 BB/9 on the season in 114.3 innings.  He's under team control through next year.  His 2011 salary will be kept lower in part because the Astros beat him in arbitration for 2010, getting him for $5MM instead of $7MM.  The sample is small, but Rodriguez's July numbers are reminiscent of his breakout 2009 campaign.  He'd be a solid pickup for a team seeking more than a rental, and the Astros shouldn't be afraid to move him.  I wouldn't expect the price to be too different from that of Edwin Jackson.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Oswalt, Farnsworth, Theriot

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We here at MLBTR really appreciate everyone staying up past their respective bedtimes to keep up on all of the latest rumors.  Here's some news from around the web..

White Sox, Twins Exploring Deal For Brett Myers

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SATURDAY, 2:53am: The Twins are in the mix to land Myers, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  He says the Astros became more open to trading Myers in recent hours.

FRIDAY, 1:37pm: The White Sox are including Jackson in their offer for Adam Dunn, tweets Nightengale.  If they pull that off, they'll try for Myers.

10:56am: We know the White Sox are seeking a mid-rotation starter and might pull off a deal for Edwin Jackson.  But GM Kenny Williams is also quietly exploring acquiring Brett Myers from the Astros, tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale.  Myers is thought to be mostly unavailable, as the Astros hope to re-sign him and perhaps would prefer not to decimate their rotation for the rest of this year.  The Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley cautions not to get too excited about the White Sox-Myers talk (Twitter link).

Williams might be burning up the phone lines with Ed Wade for multiple players, as AOL FanHouse's Ed Price tweets that there's buzz about the Sox going after Lance Berkman.  It certainly seems that the White Sox will make some noise in the 28 hours leading up to the trade deadline.

Adam Dunn Rumors: Friday

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The latest on Nationals slugger Adam Dunn…

  • The Giants are involved a number of pursuits, but do not seem serious about Dunn, writes Rosenthal. 
  • The White Sox are once again saying that they're out of the Dunn sweepstakes, according to Rosenthal (Twitter links). Barring a mystery team, Rosenthal finds it hard to envision a Dunn trade.
  • The Nationals told teams that Edwin Jackson was key to obtaining Adam Dunn from them, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Many teams tried to obtain Jackson, the White Sox got him and now the Nationals say they aren't so sure they want the righty. Obviously, teams are frustrated with the Nationals (all Twitter links).
  • The Nats are becoming frustrated as they try to obtain equal value for Dunn, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter links). Rival teams say that Washington's asking price is enormous.
  • Nats GM Mike Rizzo told MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling that he won't lower his asking price for Dunn (Twitter link).
  • Dunn says he'd be comfortable DHing for the rest of the year, according to multiple reporters, including Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link). That is music to the ears of White Sox, Rays and Yankees fans.
  • The Rays are convinced that the Yankees will acquire Dunn, Peter Gammons told WEEI.com. Gammons suspects that if the Nationals trade Dunn, the Yankees will acquire him. The Rays haven't given up hope, since they have had a special assignment scout watching Dunn all week, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (Twitter link). 
  • The White Sox remain in talks with the Nationals for Dunn even after the Edwin Jackson trade, write Rosenthal and Morosi.  Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Nationals want Jackson in a Dunn trade, but the White Sox hope to keep him out of the deal. 
  • The White Sox are focused only on Dunn and not Prince Fielder or Lance Berkman, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has heard varying opinions about whether the Yankees are truly out on Dunn.
  • Yesterday's Dunn rumors are tough to sort out, rife with conflicting reports.  The White Sox, Yankees, Rays, Giants, and Tigers were linked, though the Tigers might be out.

Yankees Acquire Lance Berkman

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A year ago, the Yankees' big midsummer acquisitions were named Hinske and Hairston, but the team won the World Series. After missing out on Cliff Lee and Dan Haren, Brian Cashman went after one of the more recognizable hitters available and got him. Lance Berkman waived his no-trade clause and will head to New York in exchange for minor leaguers Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes.  The deal is now official.

Berkman, who vetoed a trade to the White Sox, brings a .245/.372/.436 line to the Bronx. The 34-year-old switch hitter comes with a substantial price tag, but the Astros are contributing $4MM or so of the $7.1MM owed to Berkman. He can become a free agent after the season, since the $15MM option for 2011 is now mutual (it was a club option). Berkman is in the midst of a disappointing offensive year, but he did post a .907 OPS in 2009.

Melancon had brief stints with the Yankees this year and last year, but most of his pro experience has come in the minor leagues. The right-hander has a 3.67 ERA in Triple A this year with 9.3 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9. The high walk rate is alarming, but the 25-year-old had never posted a walk rate higher than 2.3 BB/9 at any minor league stop before this year. Baseball America ranked Melancon 15th among all Yankees prospects before the season, citing his closer's mentality and strong makeup.

Paredes, 21, is a switch-hitting infielder who has played second, short and third. He has stolen 36 bases in 46 attempts at A ball this year and has a .282/.312/.408 line. Unlike Melancon, he did not place in Baseball America's top 30 Yankees prospects before the season.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the deal was imminent, that it was complete, some financial details and that the Yanks gave up Melancon and Paredes. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, ESPN.com's Buster Olney, Alyson Footer of the Astros, USA Today's Bob Nightengale, MLB.com's Scott Merkin and Jon Heyman of SI.com also contributed to the story.

Rockies Not Likely To Trade Cook Or Hawpe

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6:00pm: The Rockies are telling teams they can't move Hawpe right now no matter what, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (Twitter link).

1:55pm: The Rockies aren’t likely to move Aaron Cook or Brad Hawpe, but Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that Colorado is looking for MLB-ready prospects if they deal either player (all links on Twitter). Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Rockies would deal Cook for a bullpen piece and a prospect.

The White Sox and Tigers are still eyeing Hawpe, so Renck suggests things could get “interesting” if Chicago doesn’t acquire Adam Dunn. The White Sox still appear to have interest in Dunn, but Hawpe’s left-handed bat could be an alternative for GM Kenny Williams. So far this season, the 31-year-old is batting .262/.340/.454 with seven homers.

Lance Berkman, another player the White Sox are considering as an alternative to Dunn, drew interest from the Rockies, who ‘kicked the tires’ on him before their recent skid.

Lance Berkman Rumors: Friday

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Yesterday we heard Lance Berkman could be the next big-name Astro to go, especially with Brett Wallace now in the fold.  The latest:

  • The Yankees are telling teams they can take on salary, but don’t want to hand over prospects, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. They’re now taking a long, hard look at Berkman.
  • Berkman would accept a deal to the Yankees, according to Sherman (via Twitter). Earlier today we heard that Berkman would like to play with former teammate Andy Pettitte.
  • The Yankees are seriously considering Berkman, tweets Sherman. Berkman is one of many bats the Yankees are considering, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark notes that Berkman could be traded in August given his large salary.  He says the White Sox, Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays have checked in.
  • Berkman could be in play for the Yankees under the right circumstances, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal feels Berkman would probably waive his no-trade rights for a chance to reunite with old friend Andy Pettitte.  A word of caution: an exec who talked to Joel Sherman of the New York Post wondered how Berkman would fare in the American League.
  • Are the White Sox in on Berkman, perhaps as a backup plan for Adam Dunn?  Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweets yes, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets no.
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