Rosenthal On Diamondbacks, Cubs, Royals
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes talked about the work of successor Kevin Towers: "Obviously, there were some holes on the roster that needed to be addressed. Kevin addressed them very well. The bullpen killed the team in 2010. He made that group a lot better." Arizona's bullpen ranks ninth in the National League with a 3.62 ERA, after placing last in '10 with a 5.74 mark. Towers methods varied – David Hernandez was acquired in the Mark Reynolds trade, J.J. Putz received a big free agent deal, Joe Paterson came in the Rule 5 draft, and Micah Owings was signed to a minor league deal. Free agent signing Aaron Heilman was the only bust; subtract his 35 1/3 innings and the bullpen's ERA drops to 3.32.
- Cubs owner Tom Ricketts should not have given a four-year extension to vice president of player personnel Oneri Fleita before hiring a new GM, opines Rosenthal. Rosenthal writes that Ricketts has "already diminished the power of his next GM."
- Signing a major free agent starting pitcher is "almost out of the question" for the Royals this offseason.
Quick Hits: Wilson, Santana, Mets, Soto, Chen
When George Kottaras hits for the cycle, left-hander Tom Milone homers on the very first pitch he sees in the Major Leagues and the Tigers come back from an 8-1 deficit for a 9-8 win over the White Sox, you know it's been a wild day in baseball. Let's end it off with some news items…
- The Rangers should offer C.J. Wilson a five-year contract worth between $92.5 and $97.5MM, writes Jean-Jacques Taylor for ESPN Dallas, but not any more than that since Wilson isn't quite one of the game's elite aces. If you think that Wilson isn't worth that kind of money, remember that unless C.C. Sabathia opts out of his deal, Wilson will be clearly the best free agent arm on the market this winter. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes thinks Wilson could even score a $100MM contract.
- Kaja Whitehouse of the New York Post isn't impressed by the Mets' plan of offering ownership "units" worth $20-$30MM to several different investors. She believes the club will find it hard to find investors willing to buy in without getting any say in the franchise's operations.
- Johan Santana threw 30 pitches for Class A St. Lucie today in his first minor league appearance since July 28, reports Adam Rubin for ESPN New York. Mets manager Terry Collins didn't rule out the possibility that Santana could pitch in a Major League game this season.
- The Cubs' new general manager may have a difficult decision to make about Geovany Soto, writes Patrick Mooney for CSNChicago.com. While Soto will have to rebound in 2012, it's hard to imagine any new GM immediately getting rid of a catcher who has performed very well in two of four Major League seasons.
- Bruce Chen tells Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that he wants to return to the Royals next season, what he's learned from pitching for 10 different organizations and how he wants to be like Jamie Moyer. Will MLBTR still be writing posts about Chen in 2025?
- Juan Rivera's performance for the Dodgers has convinced the team that it needs another big bat for next season, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. That big bat is intended for first base or left field, which would mean that the Dodgers would part ways with either Rivera or James Loney.
Players Who Cleared Waivers
This is a running list of players who have cleared waivers, based on published reports. Once a player clears waivers, he can be traded to any team (barring a no-trade clause). This list can always be found in the sidebar under MLBTR Features. Player names are linked to the source articles.
Updated 8-30-11 at 10:56pm
Starting pitchers
- Aaron Harang, Padres - Harang's ERA is a respectable 3.92 with 6.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in pitcher-friendly Petco Park.
- Dontrelle Willis, Reds – Willis has bounced back with the Reds, posting a 4.10 ERA, 6.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 0.68 HR/9, and 56.8% groundball rate in 52 2/3 innings.
- Carlos Zambrano, Cubs – Zambrano cleared waivers prior to being placed on the disqualified list. He has a short fuse, lousy stats, and over $22MM remaining on his contract through next year.
- Rodrigo Lopez, Cubs – Not surprising to see the journeyman clear waivers.
- Chris Capuano, Mets – Capuano owns a 3.74 SIERA as of August 14th and earns only $1.5MM plus incentives, so it's hard to see why a few teams didn't place claims.
- Bronson Arroyo, Reds – His peripheral stats haven't changed much, but Arroyo has a 5.31 ERA as of August 15th. $15MM of his $35MM contract is deferred through 2021 without interest. The deferrals are voided if he's traded, however. At any rate, expect Arroyo to stay put.
- Bruce Chen, Royals – Chen has his moments, but it's not surprising to see him clear waivers.
- Jason Vargas, Mariners – Like many of the starters here, Vargas' fastball wouldn't break a window. But he has less than a million bucks left on his contract this year and is under team control through 2013. He'd fit nicely at the back end of several rotations.
- Chien-Ming Wang, Nationals – His three starts this season were his first in over two years, so it's understandable that contenders wouldn't jump to claim him.
- Tom Gorzelanny, Nationals – Booted to the bullpen last month, the 29-year-old flyballing southpaw has posted strong strikeout rates in recent years but can't hold a rotation job.
- Ted Lilly, Dodgers – He always has strong strikeout-to-walk numbers, but is prone to the longball. With over 82% of his $33MM contract remaining ($27MM+), it's no surprise he cleared waivers.
Relievers
- Joe Nathan, Twins - Nathan won't be traded, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
- Chad Qualls, Padres – Qualls is enjoying a bounce-back season, though his strikeout rate dipped to 5.3 K/9 this year.
- Bill Bray, Reds – Bray has been decent this year, and a little tougher against lefties. He'll be arbitration eligible for the second time this offseason.
- Hong-Chih Kuo, Dodgers – A dominant reliever last year, Kuo has dealt with a back injury and anxiety disorder as his control has eluded him.
- Huston Street, Rockies – Between a recent triceps injury and the $9MM+ owed to him through 2012, Street was expected to clear.
- Brian Fuentes, Athletics – He's owed over $6MM through next year, and has been mediocre for the A's.
- Jon Rauch, Blue Jays – Rauch is affordable, but he's on the DL for an appendectomy and wasn't great before that.
- Mike Gonzalez, Orioles – Gonzalez has been dominant in August, and against lefties. The problem is that he's still owed almost a million bucks.
- Kevin Gregg, Orioles – Gregg might be the worst reliever holding down a closer's job, and he's owed at least $6.4MM through next year.
- John Grabow, Cubs – He's been ineffective even against lefties, and he has over $700K remaining.
- D.J. Carrasco, Mets – The Mets signed Carrasco to a two-year deal in December – their biggest acquisition of the offseason - but optioned him to Triple-A in April. He stayed there until mid-June.
Position players
- Aramis Ramirez, Cubs – In July, Ramirez's agent said that his client would consider an August deal but he has since had a change of heart. The Cubs hold an option on Ramirez's deal worth $16MM.
- Alfonso Soriano, Cubs – This one was also obvious. SI's Jon Heyman notes on Twitter that the Cubs are willing to pay a "major, major chunk" of the $58.35MM owed to the left fielder through 2014.
- Lance Berkman, Cardinals – Berkman has said he hopes to re-sign with St. Louis after the season, when he hits free agency. Still, it's a surprise to see him clear waivers.
- Ryan Theriot, Cardinals - Theriot earns $3.3MM this year and will be a non-tender candidate after the season.
- David Wright, Mets - It's surprising that Wright cleared waivers, but it doesn't mean the Mets have interest in dealing him. Wright earns $15MM next year and can void a $16MM club option for 2013 if traded.
- Conor Jackson, Athletics – Olney notes that the Red Sox asked about the light-hitting 1B/LF/RF, but there doesn't seem to be any traction there.
- David DeJesus, Athletics – DeJesus has had a rough year but could at least be useful against right-handed pitching.
- Hideki Matsui, Athletics – The Athletics have several waiver trade candidates, and Matsui's hot second half and low salary (owed less than $2MM the rest of the season) could make him a popular target.
- Jason Bay, Mets – With Bay being owed at least $38.8MM through 2013, this was expected. It's only been 12 games, but Bay is at least having his first good month of 2011.
- Willie Harris, Mets – The versatile Harris has less than $200K left on his contract.
- Angel Pagan, Mets – It's been a dismal year for Pagan, who may be in line for a non-tender after the season.
- Carlos Lee, Astros – No surprise here, as the 35-year-old is hitting .263/.321/.417 and is owed almost $23MM through next year. El Caballo's ten-and-five rights kick in after the season.
- Johnny Damon, Rays – Damon blocked an August trade last summer and 12 months later he's a candidate to be traded once again.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Rangers Acquire Matt Treanor
Matt Treanor is heading back to Texas. The Royals announced that they have sent the catcher to the Rangers, the team with which he started the season, for cash considerations. Treanor joins catchers Mike Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba on Texas' roster.
Treanor missed the last 29 games after suffering a concussion at the end of July. He has been rehabbing at Double-A for the last seven games. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star and MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan first reported on the deal, which brings Kansas City's 40-man roster to 39.
Treanor, 35, has a .226/.351/.306 line in 230 plate appearances this year and he has thrown out 26% of attempted base stealers from behind the plate. Given his career marks (.227/.318/.310, 26% caught stealing) that's probably pretty close to what the Rangers anticipated when they signed him to a one-year, $850K deal in December. Though Treanor doesn't project as a ranked free agent, he's not far from Type B status, so Texas may have the chance to obtain a pick for the backstop if they're prepared to offer him arbitration.
Rangers To Acquire Matt Treanor
1:57pm: The Royals are about to send catcher Matt Treanor back to the Rangers in a cash transaction, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
12:50pm: A club source tells MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan the Rangers will "likely do something today." In Sullivan's opinion, the team's biggest need is a right-handed bat.
This post was originally published at 12:50 pm CDT on Wednesday, August 31st, 2011.
Quick Hits: Soria, Bourn, Transactions, Wilson
Sunday linkage..
- A look at Royals closer Joakim Soria's contract situation shows that his $6MM option vested on July 30, when he pitched his 110th game between the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Soria's option vesting merely locks in his salary for 2012; he'd have been arbitration-eligible at any rate.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wonders if the Braves should extend Michael Bourn, and what the cost of it would be. As O'Brien points out, it's hard to come by comparables for Bourn, and the best may be Juan Pierre, whose contract is widely regarded as a tremendous mistake.
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy runs down the week's minor league transactions.
- Recently, impending free agent C.J. Wilson said that now is not the time to look ahead to the offseason and his next contract. In an interview on 103.3 FM ESPN (audio link), Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine seemed to agree and said that the club isn't looking to negotiate mid-season, writes Bryan Dolgin of ESPNDallas.com.
- Infielder Felipe Lopez will report to the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate on Monday after being outrighted on Wednesday. The veteran didn't impress on Milwaukee's big league roster this year, batting .182/.245/.182 in 51 trips to the plate.
- It's time for Athletics GM Billy Beane to move on to a different challenge, writes Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle. While he's been linked extensively to the Cubs job, Jenkins wonders if Beane could be a fit for the Dodgers if GM Ned Colletti winds up being hired by Chicago.
- The Marlins have begun the process of looking at managerial candidates and there is still interest in some corners of the Florida organization in Ozzie Guillen, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The White Sox skipper has another year on his current deal but it remains to be seen whether Guillen will be invited back.
MLBTR's Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the contract information used in this post.
Royals Open To Trading Prospects
With baseball's best farm system at his disposal, Royals GM Dayton Moore acknowledged that he's willing to trade prospects for pitching, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Dutton says Moore would like to find a deal similar to the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, where the Indians acquired a talented, controllable starter in exchange for prospects.
"We'll be aggressive in trades," Moore said, looking ahead to the offseason. “We'll try to make a trade or two that helps us. We have to look internally first, but then we have to look at trades. Then, finally, we have to look at free agency. We’ll explore all of those options…. We have a minor league system that's ranked pretty good. So we'll see what's out there. We're a pitcher or two away."
This spring, Baseball America said Kansas City's minor league system was "among the best we've seen," with nine Royals ranking among BA's top 100 prospects. So while there's no doubt that the Royals have the depth to make such a move, you could contest Moore's assertion that the club is only "a pitcher or two away." Even in a weak AL Central division, with some of their youngsters starting to make an impact in the bigs, the Royals are 25 games below .500 this season.
Still, according to Dutton, club officials believe that the rotation doesn't need to be overhauled for 2012, and that adding a top-of-the-rotation starter to their current core is the key for a "rapid rise" in the standings.
"What we need, if we're going to win a championship," one official said. "Is somebody who can match up with [Justin] Verlander and [C.C.] Sabathia and [Josh] Beckett."
ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider link) identifies the Mariners, Diamondbacks, and Braves as teams who might match up with the Royals, specifically naming Mike Moustakas as a player who could interest Atlanta as a successor to Chipper Jones at third base.
AL Central Notes: Young, Francoeur, Thome, Indians
Fresh off a weekend sweep of the Indians, the Tigers send Justin Verlander to the mound against the streaking Rays tonight. Here are links from the AL Central as Verlander looks to build on the Tigers' division lead and boost his Cy Young candidacy…
- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire admitted that Minnesota was likely going to non-tender outfielder Delmon Young after the season, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com (on Twitter). Instead, the Twins traded him to the Tigers.
- In a detailed piece, Rany Jazayerli explains that he doesn't like the Jeff Francoeur extension for the Royals, even though there's a good chance it'll work out and it probably won't hurt the Royals terribly.
- Twins slugger Jim Thome has wanted to return to the Indians ever since he left Cleveland in 2002, according to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com (on Twitter). Thome hit waivers earlier today.
- MLB executives tell ESPN.com's Buster Olney that if the Twins gave a valued player like Thome away for nothing, it would draw major scrutiny (Twitter links). For example, there would be loud protests if the Twins released Thome so that he could sign with the Phillies or another team of his choice.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti and manager Manny Acta both acknowledged to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that their high profile summer acquisition, Ubaldo Jimenez, needs to make mechanical adjustments and modify his pitch sequencing (Twitter link).
Draft Notes: Austin, Pirates, Hultzen
The deadline for signing draft picks has passed, but there’s still lots of news about 2011 draftees. The latest:
- Padres draftee Brett Austin turned down $1.5MM from San Diego to play for North Carolina State, according to Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres (Twitter link). San Diego selected the catcher with the 54th overall pick in the draft.
- As Jim Callis of Baseball America shows, the Pirates, Nationals and Royals lead all MLB teams in bonus expenditures from 2007-11. Four AL East teams – everyone but the Yankees – are next on the list.
- Callis also details this year's expenditures, with the Pirates, Nationals and Royals again leading the way.
- 2011 draftees Gerrit Cole, Bubba Starling and Danny Hultzen obtained three of the top five bonuses in draft history, according to Callis.
Royals Notes: Cabrera, Francoeur, Starling
The Royals signed Jeff Francoeur to a two-year, $13.5MM extension today and the deal has inspired lots of chatter. Here are the latest Royals-related links…
- Royals GM Dayton Moore sidestepped a question about Melky Cabrera's future in Kansas City, according to MLB.com's Adam Holt. "That's a fair question, it's a question that should be asked," Moore said. "But right now, I'd just as soon not go down that road right now." The Royals control Cabrera's rights through arbitration in 2012 and don't appear to be nearing an extension with him.
- C. Trent Rosecrans of CBSSports.com says $13.5MM for two years of Francoeur is "probably a bit of an overpayment, but it's hardly cripling" for the Royals who benefit from the outfielder's production.
- FanGraphs' Eno Sarris agrees, writing that the extension will not cripple the Royals or suppress any prospects on the brink ot the Major Leagues.
- Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com says we should expect the Royals to add a veteran starting pitcher this offseason (Twitter link).
- The Royals say they started following Bubba Starling's athletic pursuits three years ago, according to the Kansas City Star, which re-publishes a Terez A. Paylor story from 2008 detailing the achievements of the eventual Royals draft pick. Kansas City selected the high schooler fourth overall in June and signed him to a $7.5MM bonus Monday.