Cafardo On Garza, Lowrie, Greinke, Red Sox, Liriano
The rest of the baseball world is waiting for the Yankees to get old, but so far that hasn't happened, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "They’ve been saying that ever since I’ve been around," said Yankees GM Brian Cashman. "They said it after 2001. They said it after we were reshuffling in 2003, and in 2004, my therapist said I wasn’t supposed to talk about it. After 2009, we can’t be winning with older guys…So I’ve always heard it. As long as we’re winning, people can keep saying it." Here's more from today's column..
- About six teams have been in contact with the Cubs consistently regarding Matt Garza: the Braves, Tigers, Cardinals, Red Sox, Jays, and Royals. Epstein is looking for a great package to part with Garza as he is the club's biggest chip. However, teams have some concern over whether the pitcher can control his emotions.
- The Tigers could be heavily in the mix for Astros shortstop Jed Lowrie and Detroit would likely move him to second to fill a need. Cafardo wouldn't be shocked if he is on the Phillies’ radar as well. Houston has a few other chips in Brett Myers, Brandon Lyon, and Wandy Rodriguez that could help contenders.
- When teams ask about Zack Greinke's availability, they are getting "not yet" from the Brewers. However, Cafardo writes that he'll be available as soon as they get the right offer because there doesn’t seem to be any chance of Milwaukee signing him long-term.
- There has been a lot of talk about Scott Podsednik being used as a trade chip but Cody Ross and Daniel Nava could also be made available by the Red Sox.
- Francisco Liriano's recent pitching has made him a viable trade chip for the Twins. It would still be hard for a contender to trust him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be moved.
- A National League talent evaluator thinks the Mets should give some thought to trading R.A. Dickey while his value is skyhigh. The Mets don't have the money to make the deadline upgrades that they need, so they could instead continue with their three- or four-year plan by making the right-hander available.
Royals Sending Mixed Signals On Francoeur
The Royals' willingness to trade Jeff Francoeur has fluctuated greatly in recent weeks, major league sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. An official with another club termed their interest in moving the veteran as "back and forth, every other week."
Francoeur should draw even more interest once Kevin Youkilis is traded as clubs looking for right-handed hitting could turn to the Royals rightfielder instead. Kansas City is within striking distance in the AL Central but strong play from prospect Wil Myers could motivate the club to move the 28-year-old.
Unsurprisingly, Morosi hears that Francoeur is more available than Billy Butler, who is on a longer-term contract One source said Kansas City would need a "[Zack] Greinke-type" offer in order to part with Butler.
Royals Designate Roman Colon For Assignment
The Royals have designated Roman Colon for assignment, the team announced (on Twitter). He is out of options and can not be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. The move clears a roster spot for left-hander Francisley Bueno.
Colon, 32, allowed six runs on 12 hits in eight innings for Kansas City. He appeared in only three games and it was his third stint with the club. Colon has also pitched for the Braves and Tigers in his career, posting a 5.19 ERA in 187 1/3 innings.
Quick Hits: Paulino, Blue Jays, Giants
Links from around MLB before the season’s final weekend of interleague play begins…
- The Royals announced that right-hander Felipe Paulino has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The 28-year-old will seek a second opinion on his elbow, and could choose to undergo Tommy John surgery. Paulino has a 1.67 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 37 2/3 innings this year.
- Executives from other teams and a few MLB owners are paying attention to the Blue Jays' 2010 draft class, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports writes. The Blue Jays chose upside over certainty under then-scouting director Andrew Tinnish and the results are promising so far.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean said he doesn’t expect to trade for starting pitching help, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes (Twitter links).
- The Giants haven’t started extension talks with Melky Cabrera and the team doesn’t consider Andre Ethier’s five-year, $85MM deal a comparable contract, Sabean said.
Quick Hits: Lee, Pirates, Ortiz, A’s, Royals
The Dodgers are in need of a run producer and the Astros' Carlos Lee is the latest name to surface on the club's radar, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. The veteran has the ability to block trades to 14 teams, and the Dodgers are on that list. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that Lee doesn't want to play in Los Angeles Almost all of the teams on that list are high-revenue teams, providing the first baseman with leverage. More from around baseball on this Thursday night..
- With the Pirates on the lookout for offense, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter) wouldn't be surprised to see them check in on Ryan Kalish or Cody Ross when Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford return to the Red Sox.
- David Ortiz hasn't been happy with the Red Sox for some time and people that have heard his complaints strongly doubt that he would want to return to Boston after this year, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- Both the A's and the Giants have had a revolving door at first base for some time, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants have used 24 players at first since J.T. Snow left, and the A's have used 41 since Jason Giambi left the first time.
- A's skipper Bob Melvin insists that the promotion of Derek Norris isn't about creating trade bait when it comes to Kurt Suzuki, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com. Earlier this week, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that Oakland would probably like to move the catcher and his $6.45MM salary.
- Carlos Beltran says that the Royals never made him a concrete, multi-year offer to keep him during his time there, writes MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. "I don't really recall getting a real offer. I knew they talked about having something done, but we never got to the point where we were serious about it," the outfielder said.
Blue Jays Acquire Sean O’Sullivan
The Blue Jays acquired minor league right-hander Sean O'Sullivan from Kansas City for cash considerations, the Royals announced. The marks the second time in two days that the injury-plagued Blue Jays have acquired right-handed pitching depth; they claimed David Pauley from the Angels yesterday.
O'Sullivan, 24, has a 6.75 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year. He started ten games for last year's Royals team, posting a 7.25 ERA with 2.9 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 58 1/3 innings. The right-hander was originally drafted by the Angels in the third round of the 2005 draft.
Rosenthal On Hernandez, Castro, Butler
Trading Felix Hernandez for offense would make sense for the Mariners, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests. Hernandez, who’s under contract through 2014 and can block deals to ten teams, has a 3.52 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings this year. Here are more of Rosenthal’s notes from around MLB…
- Few teams are willing to take on high salaries and part with premium prospects, Rosenthal writes. This would limit the Mariners’ potential trade partners were they to consider trading Hernandez.
- The Mariners asked the Cubs about Starlin Castro and asked the Royals about Billy Butler in recent weeks, Rosenthal reports. They also talked to other clubs about potential trades for hitters, but none of the discussions progressed.
- Virtually every team contacted the Cubs following a report indicating that Castro was available. However, the Cubs haven’t actually put Castro on the trading block.
- Butler is also relatively untouchable, Rosenthal writes. The Royals consider him a core piece.
International Notes: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Twins
A new set of rules and restrictions for the international prospect market will take effect less than two weeks from now, on July 2. Each team will be working with an annual budget of $2.9MM for international players starting next month. Here are the latest rumblings regarding the international prospect market, via Ben Badler of Baseball America:
- The Blue Jays had seemed to be in the lead for Venezuelan right-hander Jose Mujica, but may not be as closely linked to him as expected, Badler writes. The Red Sox and Diamondbacks have also been linked to the 15-year-old Mujica, who's considered by many scouts to be the top pitching prospect available in Latin America.
- The Blue Jays are still favored to sign 16-year-old Venezuelan Franklin Barreto, according to Badler. Some teams consider Barreto the top available prospect, but he will likely move from shortstop to another position.
- The Red Sox, Padres and Royals have been mentioned as possible teams of interest on Venezuelan left-hander Jose Castillo, Badler writes. Some view the Dodgers and Orioles as sleepers for Castillo, who’s expected to obtain a generous bonus.
- The Twins are showing heavy interest in Dominican shortstop Amaurys Minier, according to Badler. The 16-year-old switch-hitter is expected to become one of the highest-paid Dominican prospects.
- Some believe the Pirates are in on Dominican third baseman Julio de la Cruz.
AL Central Notes: Turner, Doumit, Royals
The Tigers are calling on Missouri native Jacob Turner to make his season debut against the Cardinals this afternoon. Turner, who started three games for Detroit last year, had a 3.43 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 42 innings at Triple-A before getting called up. Here are today's AL Central links…
- If Turner stays in the Major Leagues from this point on, he'll have two years and 134 days of service time after the 2014 season. There's a good chance it'd be enough for Super Two status, but it won't be enough to accelerate Turner's free agency. However, the Tigers' primary focus is no doubt winning games this year.
- Ryan Doumit, who signed a one-year, $3MM contract with the Twins last offseason, has enjoyed playing in Minnesota and has interest in returning next season, Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com reports. No extension talks have taken place, and there’s a sense the Twins will wait until after the trade deadline before determining how Doumit fits into their long-term plans, Mackey writes.
- The Royals won’t necessarily be sellers this summer, scouts tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The Royals are in fourth place in the AL Central, 4.5 games behind the division-leading Indians.
Rosenthal On Royals, A’s, Barney, Orioles
Many baseball people expect the Padres to trade Carlos Quentin, but the team is in a fluid situation, so that assumption is not safe, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The Padres should have some payroll flexibility this offseason, so they could keep the outfielder despite their modest budget. Here are Rosenthal’s latest rumors:
- Jeff Francoeur has played through ailments and injuries this year and the Royals like his leadership, so they aren’t necessarily looking to trade him.
- Last August the Royals offered Melky Cabrera the same two-year, $13.5MM contract Francoeur eventually signed, but Cabrera declined the offer and the Royals traded him a few months later.
- Rosenthal suggests the A’s aren’t eager to trade veterans for marginal returns. The team is hovering around .500 and plays 18 of its next 28 games at home. The A’s would probably love to trade Kurt Suzuki, Rosenthal writes.
- One exec predicts the Phillies don’t have enough confidence in their outfield depth to trade Hunter Pence this summer.
- An agent predicts Cole Hamels will sign a monster free agent contract this coming offseason and Rosenthal says the Phillies won’t go near $150MM for six years or $175MM for seven years.
- Rival teams frequently ask about Darwin Barney and it’s possible the Cubs will trade the second baseman.
- The Orioles seem to have the most interest in trading for Diamondbacks left-hander Joe Saunders, Rosenthal reports.
- The Orioles’ Triple-A team, which includes Miguel Tejada, Jamie Moyer and Dontrelle Willis, tops the Orioles’ MLB team in career earnings, Rosenthal notes.
- One executive suggested a growing number of teams could request 72-hour windows to negotiate extensions with trade targets this summer because of the provision in the new collective bargaining agreement that prevents teams from obtaining draft pick compensation for players acquired midseason. However, players wouldn’t necessarily be interested in signing and it’d cost teams time and leverage.