Astros Ink Armando Benitez
8:54pm: Astros GM Ed Wade said "We'll give Armando a chance to finish the season at Round Rock and then determine where we go from there," according to the AP. Round Rock's regular season ends on Sept. 7th, so if he pitches well we might see the Major League return of Big Game Benitez.
3:24pm: MLB.com's Alyson Footer confirms it is indeed a minor league deal. Benitez will head directly to Triple-A Round Rock.
3:02pm: According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, the Astros have signed 36-year-old reliever Armando Benitez.
It's safe to assume the agreement is a minor league deal. Benitez hasn't appeared in the major leagues since 2008, when he allowed four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings out of the Blue Jays' bullpen. For what it's worth, he has a 3.18 career ERA, a 1.22 WHIP and 289 saves.
Odds And Ends: Astros, Mets, Phillies, Wagner
Links for the afternoon…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle presents a dream Astros lineup for 2010 that includes John Lackey and Justin Duchscherer.
- Tyler Hissey ranks Lackey, Duchscherer and other impending free agents to start determining their value.
- Jay Schreiber of the New York Times says the Mets' failure to agree to terms with either Damien Magnifico or David Buchanan by Monday's deadline to sign picks adds to a frustrating season.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff was surprised to hear someone claimed Billy Wagner.
- Scott Lauber of the News Journal hears that Wagner would not have approved a trade to his former team, the Phillies.
Odds And Ends: Garcia, Astros, Reds
More links for the afternoon…
- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports looks at some candidates for waiver trades. Could Freddy Garcia help a National League team?
- Jim Callis of Baseball America ranks the 15 biggest bonuses MLB draft picks have ever received. Stephen Strasburg tops them all, of course.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers will send Jose Vallejo to the Astros along with Matt Nevarez as part of the Ivan Rodriguez trade, as expected. The Astros receive a third player if the Rangers make the playoffs.
- Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News says the Reds have veered away from rebuilding plans instead of devoting themselves to one like the Twins, Rays and Marlins.
- Via Twitter, Matthew Pouliot wonders if the A's, who are interested in adding starters, could pick up Livan Hernandez.
- Remember the Derek Jeter–Jimmy Rollins debate at the WBC? As Tyler Hissey shows, the two shortstops have had remarkably different seasons.
Stark On Wagner, Padres, Crawford
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark shows that a number of contenders have vulnerable-looking closers. The Cubs and Phillies two of many teams with shaky arms at the back of the 'pen. Here are the details and the rest of Stark's rumors:
- At least one scout believes John Smoltz would have been the perfect arm for the Marlins to add to their 'pen.
- However, clubs pursuing Smoltz heard that he wanted to start, at least for now.
- A scout who watched Billy Wagner throw has "no doubt" that Wagner could help a team win. The Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest in Wagner, but neither team would be likely to give up much of a prospect unless the Mets picked up salary.
- Stark hears that the Padres pulled Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez back off waivers after multiple teams claimed them.
- Mark Hendrickson cleared waivers, and can now be traded to any team. The Rockies were interested before the deadline, but they may decide to see where the Billy Wagner bidding goes before pursuing Hendrickson again.
- One rival GM considers the Cards "the best team in the league right now."
- The Royals don't seem interested in trading their top pitchers. They pulled Brian Bannister back from waivers and though Joakim Soria and Gil Meche are on waivers now, they aren't likely to be dealt.
- Clubs eyeing Carl Crawford believe the Rays are becoming less likely to deal him. Desmond Jennings could become the Rays' left fielder, but they'd probably have to be overwhelmed to part with Crawford.
- It's possible that Jamie Moyer could draw interest as a trade candidate after the season.
- One AL exec isn't sure Bryce Harper's the guarantee people perceive him to be.
- Stark points out that the Astros traded Ivan Rodriguez just as his incentives were about to start kicking in.
- An official of a team that inquired about Stephen Strasburg before the draft says that Scott Boras invoked Daisuke Matsuzaka's name without specifically saying he wanted $50MM for his client.
Astros Will Not Trade Valverde
The Astros pulled Jose Valverde back off of waivers after another team claimed him, meaning he won't be traded this month, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. There's a small chance the Astros could put him on waivers again if they decide to shed a portion of their closer's $8MM salary, but they would no longer have the right to pull him back.
Valverde should be a Type A free agent after the season, so the Astros can obtain draft picks if they offer Valverde arbitration. The Astros dealt Ivan Rodriguez earlier in the week, but GM Ed Wade said he doesn't expect to deal more players.
Odds And Ends: Jeter, Uggla, Cubs, Hall
Links for Thursday morning…
- Derek Jeter, whose contract expires after next season, says he isn't thinking about his next deal or how long he'll keep playing, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
- Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel asks: Are the Marlins better off holding onto Dan Uggla after the season and paying him about $7MM in arbitration, or should they trade him?
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he takes resonsibility for his team's frustrating season.
- Jeff Sackmann of the Hardball Times says Doug Melvin was justified in handing Bill Hall a long-term contract, even though it didn't work out for the Brewers.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports expects Vicente Padilla to be on his best behavior with the Dodgers, who need him badly.
- In his latest roundup of top Rangers prospects at MLB.com, Jamey Newberg notes that it doesn't look like Justin Smoak will reach the majors this year.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles will audition Luke Scott at first base between now and the end of the season.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says the Astros won't see their attendance improve if they put another "old, bad, boring" team on the field next year.
Odds & Ends: Tejada, Rays, Yankees
A roundup of links before the evening comes to a close:
- Alyson Footer at MLB.com wonders if Miguel Tejada's suggestion to play third for the Astros in 2010 isn't such a bad idea.
- The father of the Rays' first round pick Levon Washington says the Rays didn't abide by the pre-draft agreement the two sides had come to, says Marc Topkin at the St. Petersburg Times. Washington was reportedly offered $1.1MM. Washington will enter next year's draft.
- Gritty and Clutch examines whether the Yankees got their moneys' worth in payroll this season (h/t River Ave. Blues).
- Matthew Leach at MLB.com gets player and management reaction in the fallout of the Cards' John Smoltz acquisition.
- Kevin Baxter at the L.A. Times says that Vicente Padilla will have to pass a physical before he can join the Dodgers.
Odds And Ends: Tejada, Varitek, Smoltz
Some afternoon links…
- Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports that Miguel Tejada has been led to believe that the Astros pulled him back off waivers after another team claimed him.
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald suggests that the Red Sox need Jason Varitek because he coaxes the best results out of Josh Beckett.
- The Baltimore Sun passes along an AP report saying the Nationals will sell some tickets for $1 Friday to celebrate their deal with first overall pick Stephen Strasburg, who will be introduced to the fans.
- Via Twitter, Jon Heyman of SI.com says John Smoltz found the perfect spot in St. Louis.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Smoltz's deal includes post-season awards incentives.
Odds And Ends: Astros, Halladay, Phillies
More links for Wednesday morning…
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says it's insincere for Astros owner Drayton McLane to act like his team's still in contention.
- As Alex Speier notes, Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said on WEEI in Boston that it's too soon to tell whether Roy Halladay will hit the trade market again this winter. Once the team has a permanent president and a firm payroll, it will be easier to tell.
- Phil Wood of MASN.com says Mike Rizzo has earned a shot at the permanent Nats GM job.
- Scott Miller of CBS Sports wouldn't be surprised if Lou Piniella decided not to manage the Cubs next year. His contract, which runs through 2010, will surely be his last, Miller says.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tells MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that he doesn't expect to make a waiver trade, though the Phils have claimed players.
Astros Don’t Expect To Trade More Players
The Astros traded Ivan Rodriguez to the Rangers yesterday, but don't expect more deals soon. GM Ed Wade told Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle that he expects to hold onto the rest of his players this month.