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Robinson Tejeda Elects Free Agency

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Robinson Tejeda has elected to become a free agent, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link).  The right-hander was designated for assignment by the Royals in May and spent the rest of the season pitching for Triple-A Omaha.

In seven Major League seasons with the Phillies, Rangers and Royals, Tejeda has a career ERA of 4.42 in 186 games (53 of them starts).  Tejeda, 29, has averaged 7.6 K/9 in his career but has also had control problems, walking five batters per nine innings.  Given his decent lifetime numbers and solid minor league campaign for Omaha this year, Tejeda is a likely candidate for a minor league deal from a club in search of bullpen help.

Tejeda earned $1.55MM in 2011 after signing an arbitration-avoiding one-year contract with the Royals in the offseason.  The righty still has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining.

Quick Hits: Quade, Vazquez, Royals, Hafner

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As if the Rays didn't already have the focus of the baseball world, Joe Maddon announced that Matt Moore will start Game One of the ALDS tomorrow against the Rangers.  Moore (the 22-year-old consensus top pitching prospect in baseball) has all of 9 1/3 Major League innings to his credit, with a 2.89 ERA and 15 strikeouts against just three walks in his short career.  As Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe put it, "the Rays are taking their house money and doubling down with it."

Some news from around the league as we prepare for the start of the postseason…

  • Mike Quade believes he will manage the Cubs next season, though he understands if the incoming Cubs GM wants to make changes, reports Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago.
  • Several players have told Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald that Javier Vazquez is "without a doubt…hanging up his spikes" and retiring.  Vazquez said earlier this week that he would make his final decision in a few months' time.
  • GM Dayton Moore more or less confirmed speculation that the Royals will look to deal some of their wealth of prospects for a proven starter, reports Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star.  "There’s always a few players in your organization that you view, (where) you gotta be extremely blown away to move them," Moore said. "And I won’t get in to who those pitchers are or players. And then everybody else, you look to make deals with."  As we heard last week, several of K.C.'s top prospects are untouchable.
  • Royals pitching coach Bob McClure and bench coach John Gibbons won't be back next season, reports Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America has this week's rundown of minor league transactions.
  • Travis Hafner will be back with the Indians next season, GM Chris Antonetti confirmed to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Hafner is under contract for $13MM next season and Pluto reports that "for a while, there has been a feeling among the Indians string-pullers that if Hafner's production ever dropped low enough, ownership might be willing to eat a part of the contract."

Red Sox Will Not Acquire Starter

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4:46pm: The Red Sox have given up searching for starting pitching help and they'll rely on one of their own pitchers in the event of a play-in game tomorrow, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (on Twitter).

12:17pm: ESPN's Buster Olney and CSNNE.com's Sean McAdam both find the Red Sox trading for a starter to be unlikely, to varying degrees (Twitter links).  Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star hears that the Royals and Red Sox are discussing Chen, but one official calls a trade a "long shot."

10:18am: Royals lefty Bruce Chen is among Boston's trade targets as they consider acquiring a starter for a potential Thursday play-in game, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Chen is scheduled to start tonight in Minnesota as he seeks to tie his career-high of 13 wins.

Chen projects as a Type B free agent, and an arbitration offer from Kansas City is realistic.  Red Sox GM Theo Epstein would have to surrender something significant to best the value of that potential draft pick, and he'd probably have to complete the trade before even knowing whether he'd need Chen for tomorrow.  At most, the Red Sox would be able to use Chen for that one game, as he would not be eligible for the postseason roster.  As Rosenthal notes, the lefty has already cleared waivers.  The 34-year-old Chen has a 3.98 ERA, 5.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 35.5% groundball rate on the season.

In theory, Epstein could also look at fully rested starters such as Chien-Ming Wang, Rodrigo Lopez, and Aaron Harang, though Harang also may be a Type B.  If the Red Sox do not acquire a starter, they might have to use John Lackey or Tim Wakefield on three days rest should a play-in game occur Thursday at Tropicana Field.  Another option might be activating Clay Buchholz, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford.

Athletics Acquire Kila Ka’aihue

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The Athletics acquired first baseman Kila Ka'aihue from the Royals for minor league pitcher Ethan Hollingsworth, according to press releases from the teams.  The A's recalled and transferred Joey Devine to the 60-day DL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Ka'aihue.

Ka'aihue was designated for assignment by the Royals last Wednesday.  The 27-year-old had a crack at the Royals' first base job coming into the season but was benched before the end of April.  In four separate Triple-A stints, Ka'aihue has proven his ability to draw a walk in 15-20% of his plate appearances.  His power has seemed to come and go, however.  The A's had penciled in another walk-happy first baseman before the season in Daric Barton, but he was optioned to Triple-A in June and went down with a torn labrum the following month.

Hollingsworth, 24, posted a 3.76 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 105 1/3 innings this year between Double and Triple-A.  The A's had acquired him in January from Colorado for Clayton Mortensen.

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star first reported the trade on Twitter.

Quick Hits: Willingham, Rivera, Royals, Wilson

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Links for Wednesday, as the Cardinals, Rays and Angels try to make improbable surges into the playoffs with some late-season magic…

Royals Designate Kila Ka’aihue For Assignment

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It wasn't long ago that Kila Ka'aihue seemed like a promising piece of the Royals' future. But the Hawaiian first baseman doesn't appear to fit into their long-term plans any more, despite the career minor league on-base percentage of .390 that has endeared him to the statistically minded. Kansas City designated the 27-year-old for assignment to create 40-man roster space for right-handed reliever Kelvin Herrera, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.

Ka'aihue has excelled in ten minor league seasons, posting a career line of .266/.390/.458 that includes a .272/.379/.433 line this year in his fourth stint at Triple-A. The 2002 draft pick has had some opportunities against Major League pitching, but has just a .216/.309/.375 line in 326 MLB plate appearances.

Though Ka'aihue has admittedly poor stats in the Major Leagues, he also appears to have been unlucky on balls in play (.242 BABIP). It won't be surprising if a small market team without a long-term answer at first base claims Ka'aihue or works out a trade for him (the Rays have an open 40-man spot; the Pirates don't).

Quick Hits: Aramis, Manny, Royals, Blue Jays

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Albert Pujols has a .304/.373/.551 line after tonight's four-hit performance, but the Cardinals' win didn't bring them any closer to the Braves, who still hold a 2.5 game advantage in the Wild Card standings. Here are tonight's links…

  • Aramis Ramirez told Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald that he has "probably" played his last game as a Cub at Wrigley Field (Twitter links). As Ramirez points out, he can't negotiate a new deal with the Cubs at the moment since they don't currently have a permanent GM. I took a look at possible suitors for the third baseman last week.
  • Manny Ramirez intends to play in the Dominican winter league for the Cibao Eagles, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN). 
  • The Royals are promoting Kelvin Herrera, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). They will need to create 40-man roster space to promote the right-hander, as their roster is at its full complement. The Royals don't have any players on the 15-day DL, so there's no way of transferring a player to the 60-day DL for an easy fix.
  • Shawn Camp and Edwin Encarnacion told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca that they'd like to return to Toronto in 2012. Camp hits free agency after the season, while the Blue Jays control Encarnacion's rights for '12 with an option that I discussed earlier in the month.

AL East Notes: Aviles, Rays, Blue Jays, Jenks

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Mariano Rivera recorded his 601st career save yesterday against the Blue Jays, tying Trevor Hoffman for the all-time mark. John Harper of the New York Daily News writes that, while Joe Girardi isn't about to keep Rivera out of a save situation if one arises today, it would be nice if the Yankees didn't have to use their closer again in Toronto. New York begins an eight-game homestand tomorrow, which could allow Rivera to notch the record-setting save in Yankee Stadium. Here are the rest of this morning's AL East notes:

  • Mike Aviles told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he asked the Royals to trade him at the deadline this season, knowing he wasn't a part of the team's long-term plans. Aviles has been an important acquisition for the Red Sox, given the injuries to Jed Lowrie and Kevin Youkilis. The utility man has hit .361/.373/.458 in part-time action since arriving in Boston.
  • Within the same piece, Rosenthal notes that you could argue the Rays should have added a bat at the deadline, given their current presence in the Wild Card race. However, the club was 8 1/2 games out of the Wild Card at the time, and didn't want to compromise their team defense for an offensive upgrade.
  • John Tomase discusses Alex Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays in a piece for the Boston Herald, and the Jays GM offers a few interesting quotes. Anthopoulos says the primary challenge of the AL East isn't going up against the massive payrolls of the Red Sox and Yankees, but rather competing with a handful of smart general managers who know how to run a team.
  • More Anthopolous, on the most efficient way for the Blue Jays to add talent: "The trade route where we are right now is important for us. It's going to be a big part of what we're doing and it is. Free agency is the last route we want to go. At some point we'll have to start delving into it a little more, but I still want to try to avoid it at all costs. If we try to do this through the draft, it's going to be a while. And it's not going to work and we're not going to get it to time properly."
  • Bobby Jenks tells Michael Vega of the Boston Globe that he's disappointed the first season of his two-year deal with the Red Sox turned out so poorly. He's optimistic about being ready for Spring Training and being able to contribute in 2012 though. The reliever says that although he hasn't undergone his spine surgery yet, the doctors are talking about "weeks and not months" for the recovery.

Royals Notes: Melky, Starters, 2012

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A couple of Royals notes as they put their six-game winning streak on the line tonight against the White Sox at The K:

  • The Royals will have to figure out what to do with outfielder Melky Cabrera, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The Melk Man has bounced back in a big way from a dismal 2010 and is under team control through next season. The Royals will mull flipping him for pitching help, offering him arbitration and holding onto him for 2012, or signing him to an extension, as they did with Jeff Francoeur. Cabrera, for his part, wants to remain in Kansas City.
  • Rival executives expect the Royals to aggressively pursue one or two established, veteran starters in the offseason, and they could pull it off as they have a prospect-rich farm from which to draw upon, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
  • The 2011 Royals are young and formidable offensively, like their 1999 counterparts, writes Rany Jazayerli. In an interesting analysis, Rany lays out some arguments to believe these Royals will fare better in 2012 and beyond than those ones did in 2000.

Revisiting The Felipe Paulino For Clint Barmes Trade

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One month into the season, it looked like the Felipe Paulino–Clint Barmes trade would go down as a lose-lose deal. Paulino struggled through his first month with the Rockies and Barmes spent the first four weeks of the season on the disabled list while he recovered from a fractured left hand. 

But Paulino has put together his best season yet and Barmes recovered from his hand injury on his way to a strong campaign in Houston. Win-win trade? Not quite. The Rockies gave up on Paulino after 14 2/3 ugly innings, so the Royals are the ones who benefitted from the 27-year-old’s turnaround.

Paulino, who struck out 11 without walking a batter in seven innings of work on Saturday, has a 4.10 ERA in 107 2/3 innings since the Royals acquired him in late May. His fastball clocks in over 95 mph, just as it has every season of his career, and his peripheral stats are strong: 8.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 45.1% ground ball rate, 3.81 xFIP.

Considering that Kansas City only gave up cash considerations, the Paulino move looks especially favorable for the Royals. They need the pitching and can pencil the Dominican right-hander into their rotation going forward. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes estimates a raise from $790K to $1.6MM in 2012, so Paulino will remain affordable next year.

The Astros could use the pitching, but Paulino had his chances in Houston and the Astros needed a shortstop. For $3.925MM, Barmes has hit .249/.323/.388 with ten home runs. FanGraphs’ UZR suggests the 32-year-old plays above-average defense and their version of wins above replacement has Barmes as the 11th most productive shortstop in baseball this season (3.1 WAR).

He’ll hit free agency after the season and doesn’t project as a ranked free agent, so this may be all Houston gets out of Barmes. Even if he departs for nothing this offseason, the Astros will have done significantly better than the Rockies in this trade. It’s not that Colorado was necessarily going to keep Barmes – he was a non-tender candidate in the offseason – but the Rockies are the only team that didn’t profit from last November’s trade. The Royals ended up with a cheap, productive arm, the Astros got an affordable everyday shortstop and all the Rockies got was 14 2/3 innings of 7.36 ERA ball.

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