Royals Rumors

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Chapman, Duffy, Veal

By Mark Polishuk | June 3, 2010 at 10:16pm CDT

Not even one no-hitter, perfect game or near-perfect game in the majors today? How unusual. These news items will have to do in the meantime…

Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com looks at who the Nationals could acquire to solve their ongoing problems in right field. Goessling notes, of course, that Washington might not stay in the NL East race long enough that they'll need to make a trade deadline deal.
Walt Jocketty tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that Aroldis Chapman will not be called up as a reliever to help the Reds' beleaguered bullpen.
Royals prospect Danny Duffy is back at K.C.'s extended spring training camp, reports The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton and Terez A. Paylor. The 21-year-old left-hander appeared to have abruptly retired back in March.
Left-handed Pirates prospect Donald Veal will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Veal, who came to Pittsburgh from the Cubs in the 2008 Rule 5 draft, posted a 7.19 ERA in 19 appearances for the Bucs last season.
The Giants sent John Bowker down to Triple-A Fresno today, a move that Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com says (via Twitter) is the first step in bringing Pat Burrell up to the major league roster. Urban says the club is still figuring out another move in order to get Burrell on the 40-man roster, but tweeted that Mark DeRosa might be moved to the 60-day DL. Burrell signed a minor league deal with San Francisco last week and has made just 19 plate appearances for Fresno thus far, but has an 1.064 OPS in that short span.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a rundown of the week's minor league transactions. One of the notable names on the move is veteran Scott Elarton, who was released by the White Sox after signing a minor league deal with the club last March.

The David DeJesus Trade Market

By Mark Polishuk | June 3, 2010 at 10:00pm CDT

We heard from ESPN.com's Jayson Stark back on May 20 that the Royals were telling teams interested in making a trade to "get back to them in a month." There's still a couple of weeks to go before that supposed deadline, but really, it should never be too early for Kansas City to continue their rebuilding process by trying to move some of their veterans. Scott Podsednik has had a solid year but is somewhat of a one-dimensional speed threat, and Jose Guillen, as Stark noted, is hard to move given his big contract.

The most attractive overall bit of trade bait seems to be David DeJesus. The career Royal is having another solid season, posting an .846 OPS over 228 plate appearances going into today's play. That OPS would be a career-best mark over a full season for DeJesus if he can keep it up. Defensively, he has been above average in right field this year but could be a real asset in left field given his 18.9 lifetime UZR/150 rating at the position.

Contract-wise, DeJesus has about $3.14MM left on the $4.7MM salary he's slated to earn in 2010. The final year of his current deal is a club option worth $6MM for 2011, with a $500K buyout. For a team in need of outfield help, a $3.64MM minimum for two-plus months of DeJesus is pretty reasonable, and that $6MM option might not be a bad pickup either given the circumstance.

With his good play in 2010, DeJesus might have generated the trade market for himself that the Royals hoped would be there last winter. What contenders could be possible destinations for DeJesus?

San Diego. It's still odd to think of the Padres adding salary at the deadline, but if they're still near first place in July, DeJesus could fill holes at either corner outfield spot.
San Francisco. Pat Burrell has been signed but he's a major defensive liability in the outfield and may be also be used at first base and as a pinch-hitter. The Giants may not have the money for DeJesus and have a lot of options in LF and RF already, but DeJesus is certainly a more proven contributor than the likes of Andres Torres and Nate Schierholtz. San Fran's need could grow if Mark DeRosa ends up spending more time on the disabled list.
Tampa Bay. Adding DeJesus would allow the Rays to move Ben Zobrist out of right and back to second base if Sean Rodriguez continues to struggle. DeJesus' contract is modest enough for the Rays to absorb and they certainly have enough good prospects to spare in a swap with K.C.
Texas. Nelson Cruz's hamstring problems, plus the hitting woes of Julio Borbon and David Murphy, leave the Rangers in need of some outfield reinforcements. With the uncertainty surrounding the club's ownership situation, though, the Rangers might not be able to afford any decently-priced help at the trade deadline.
Washington. It might be a stretch to consider the Nationals as contenders given their 6-14 mark over their last 20 games, but if the Nats can ride the Stephen Strasburg momentum and get back in the race, DeJesus would be a big help to their right field problems. DeJesus' presence would eliminate the need to put Cristian Guzman in right as a defensive replacement, thus preventing critical errors like the one that cost Washington this afternoon.

Royals Claim Kanekoa Texeira

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 3, 2010 at 1:13pm CDT

The Royals claimed pitcher Kanekoa Texeira off of waivers from the Mariners and designated right-hander Brad Thompson for assignment to make room for Texeira, according to a team press release.

The Mariners designated Texeira and Jesus Colome for assignment two days ago. The Yankees acquired Texeira in the 2008 deal that brought Nick Swisher to the Bronx, but they saw the Mariners claim the 24-year-old Hawaiian in last winter's Rule 5 draft. The Royals have to expose Texeira to waivers if they decide to take him off their active roster this year. If no team were to claim Texeira on waivers, the Royals would have to offer him back to the Yankees.

Kanekoa relied on a 90 mph fastball, a change-up and a slider in Seattle, where he posted a 5.30 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 16 appearances this year. He has a 2.49 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in four minor league seasons.

Odds & Ends: Angels, Willis, Oswalt, Jones

By Tim Dierkes | May 31, 2010 at 9:18pm CDT

Memorial Day linkage, as Ubaldo Jimenez continues to amaze…

T.J. Simers of the LA Times offers a profile of refreshingly down-to-earth Angels owner Arte Moreno.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune explains the dilemma the White Sox will face when they have the chance to select Ozney Guillen on draft day.
Ryan Zimmerman would like to see the Nationals acquire Roy Oswalt, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
A scout told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he would be interested in Adam Jones if the Orioles considered trading him, despite the young outfielder's 2010 struggles.
MLBTR is looking for an intern with strong Excel skills and a willingness to contribute for 30 minutes a day. If you are interested in this unpaid data entry position, send a short e-mail to mlbtrintern@gmail.com by the end of the day.
We will be giving away a DVD of the movie Sugar to our 30,000th Twitter follower (currently 584 followers away). Sugar chronicles a Dominican pitcher trying to make it to the Majors.
The Cubs announced the promotion of 2008 first-round pick Andrew Cashner. The big righty will work out of the bullpen. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle notes that several years ago, Cashner offered the Astros a hometown discount and they declined.
The Pirates benched second baseman Akinori Iwamura in favor of Neil Walker, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Iwamura, the team's highest-paid player, was an out-of-character acquisition for GM Neal Huntington. At the time of the trade there had been talk about an extension, but we have to assume that idea has been tabled.
Dontrelle Willis' agent Matt Sosnick spoke to MLB.com's Jason Beck, saying his client could benefit from a fresh start despite a fair chance with the Tigers.
Rany Jazayerli says Dayton Moore is not the worst GM in baseball, and it is too early to judge his organizational rebuilding effort.
With one week left, AOL FanHouse's Frankie Piliere has his third first-round mock draft. ESPN's Keith Law also posted a mock draft, for those who have Insider.
Heath Bell explained to Bill Center and Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune why he still has hostility toward the Mets.

Oliver Perez Trade Ideas

By Tim Dierkes | May 31, 2010 at 11:06am CDT

After a look at our Bad Contract Swap Meet post, let's put on our speculating cap and try to find a trade that would work for the Mets and Oliver Perez.

Perez is owed $20.2MM through 2011. He refused the Mets' minor league assignment and isn't helping the big league team. Not only is he a project, he's one that must be tinkered with in the Majors.

Gary Matthews Jr.'s contract qualifies as equally bad, but he's already on the Mets. A couple of Perez trade ideas:

Perez and $8.8MM to the Brewers for Jeff Suppan. Suppan has $10.6MM left on his contract. The Mets save $800K here, about $500K beyond what they'd get back if they released Perez and he signed elsewhere. From the Brewers' point of view Perez at least has more upside than Suppan. The lefty would be reunited with pitching coach Rick Peterson, who was Perez's guide during the pitcher's initial Mets resurgence. The Brewers might require assurance that Perez would accept a minor league assignment in 2011 if necessary.
Perez and $10.5MM to the Royals for Jose Guillen and Kyle Farnsworth. Guillen is owed $8.2MM, Farnsworth $3.6MM. This scenario has the Mets taking on $2.1MM to acquire Guillen and Farnsworth, about $550K of which covers what the Royals might get after releasing the two players.

Odds & Ends: Chapman, Gordon, Winn, Brewers

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2010 at 9:17pm CDT

Some Thursday notes from around the majors…

Aroldis Chapman recorded seven strikeouts while allowing three hits and a walk over five shutout innings for the Reds' Triple-A affiliate in Louisville tonight, reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Chapman is in the midst of a 10 2/3 inning scoreless streak.
Fangraphs' Jack Moore looks at Alex Gordon's ongoing demolition of Triple-A pitching and says "there’s no excuse if he’s not back in Kansas City by June."
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets that "many people believe" the Yankees will designate Randy Winn for assignment when Curtis Granderson returns from the DL. Feinsand believes the Yanks should keep Winn and instead send Kevin Russo back to the minors.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports (via Twitter) that the Brewers have signed right-hander Eduardo Morlan to a minor-league deal. The Brewers selected Morlan from Tampa Bay in the 2008 Rule 5 draft but he was designated for assignment and returned to the Rays during spring training of that year. The Rays just released Morlan two days ago.
ESPN's Insider Rumors section (subscription required) speculates that Rickie Weeks could be a trade candidate if Milwaukee doesn't want to pay his likely arbitration raise in the winter. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explored the Brewers' trade options last week, and noted that Weekes' arbitration salary bump might also cause teams to shy away from acquiring him.
John Schuerholz chatted on the air with Sirius XM Radio's Jim Bowden today. Bowden tweeted that Schuerholz feels the Braves have enough pop in their lineup and don't "need to make a Fred McGriff type trade." The Crime Dog was acquired by Atlanta in July 1993 for Donnie Elliott, Vince Moore and Melvin Nieves — don't you always need to make a deal like that?
Bowden also had Baltimore president Andy MacPhail on his show, and speculates (via Twitter) that the O's will look to draft Jameson Taillon based on MacPhail's description of his club's wants. Bowden also tweeted that MacPhail didn't offer an endorsement of manager Dave Trembley, and instead just noted that it's still early in the season.
Omar Minaya said the Mets might look to trade for a starter later in the summer, reports Kieran Darcy of ESPNNewYork.com.
Fanhouse's Ed Price explains how Philadelphia's unheralded signings of Jose Contreras and Danys Baez have bailed out their bullpen over the first two months of the season.
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com answers Cleveland-related fan questions in a mailbag about such topics as when Michael Brantley will return to the majors, the recent release of Scott Lewis, and how the Tribe passed on Jason Heyward in the 2007 amateur draft.

Two New Mock Drafts

By Tim Dierkes | May 26, 2010 at 1:08pm CDT

Baseball's amateur draft is just 12 days away. The latest links:

AOL FanHouse's Frankie Piliere takes a second pass at a mock draft for the first round. This time he has the Royals taking Ole Miss lefty Drew Pomeranz at #4. Pomeranz is pitching in the SEC Tournament today.
MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo projects the top 20, with Florida Gulf Coast lefty Chris Sale going to the Royals.
Mayo also has an article profiling the draft's top outfielders, with video for each.
ESPN.com's Keith Law posted his most recent mock draft yesterday.

Odds & Ends: Millar, Yankees, Royals, Darvish

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 20, 2010 at 4:03pm CDT

Links on a memorable Thursday afternoon for Brooks Conrad and the Braves…

Kevin Millar will join NESN as an analyst, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Millar signed with the St. Paul Saints earlier this month.
The Yankees signed utility player Jeff Natale and assigned him to Triple A, according to Pete Cava of the Times Leader via River Ave. Blues. The 27-year-old posted a .298/.432/.446 line in five seasons in the Red Sox organization.
Royals GM Dayton Moore says winning the World Series is an eight or ten year process, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
Sam Miller and Dan Woike of the Orange County Register run through some players the Angels could target, including Miguel Tejada and Will Ohman.
Top Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish says his father has known agents like Arn Tellem and Scott Boras for years, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker who translated from Chunichi. Darvish says he wants to keep playing in Japan.
Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post wonders if the Marlins should trade Hanley Ramirez. It's a hypothetical question as the Marlins aren't looking to move their shortstop.
Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says Pirates manager John Russell deserves an extension, especially now that some top Pirates prospects are nearing the major leagues.
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer understands why Ken Griffey Jr. wants to play, but questions whether Junior deserves a roster spot on the Mariners.
Adam LaRoche explained in March that he didn't reject a two-year $17MM offer from the Giants, even though they were interested in him last winter. He repeated as much to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, adding that he has no hard feelings towards the Giants.

Stark On Hanley, Royals, Astros, Rays, Pedro

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 20, 2010 at 2:13pm CDT

Teams called about Hanley Ramirez after this week's drama, but the Marlins informed them that they have no interest in dealing their superstar, writes ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The Marlins will hold onto Hanley, at least until their new ballpark opens in 2012. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:

Teams have expressed interest in some Royals, but the Royals have told them to call back in a month. Teams are hearing that Alex Gordon and Joakim Soria are not available. Jose Guillen would be easier to obtain than those two, but Stark hasn't heard of a single team with interest.
Ned Yost would have been a candidate to replace Bobby Cox in Atlanta after the season, had he not taken over in Kansas City. Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez could also manage the Braves next year, in the opinion of one person close to the team.
Astros GM Ed Wade insists that he wants to win now, but says he'll "pay attention to any opportunity" that makes the team better if the 14-26 Astros fall further out of contention. In other words, the Astros could be sellers if they don't win soon.
Rival clubs say they don't expect the Rays to trade for a reliever just because J.P. Howell is out for an extended period of time. One executive thinks the Rays would love to add a couple of power arms to their 'pen eventually.
Executives disagree on Pat Burrell's future. One exec says Burrell could fit in Seattle and another one doesn't see any good fits for the free agent.
The Phillies have had discussions with Pedro Martinez, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. acknowledged. There's mutual interest in a deal and the sides continue communicating.
One official says top amateur pitcher Jameson Taillon is "way overpriced."
Two of Stark's sources are uneasy with MLB's attempt to hurry along the Rangers' sale.

Josh Rupe Clears Waivers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 14, 2010 at 9:48pm CDT

FRIDAY, 9:48pm: MLB.com's Samuel Zuba reports that Rupe has cleared waivers and accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A.

WEDNESDAY, 4:29pm: The Royals designated Josh Rupe for assignment, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. The Royals had to make room for Blake Wood, a right-hander who got the call from Triple A Omaha. Rupe allowed all four batters he faced to reach base last night and he allowed a homer in his previous outing. In 9.2 innings this season, the 27-year-old righty has rates of 7.4 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9.

Wood, 24, has a fastball that touches 97 mph with a power curveball and an average changeup, according to Baseball America's 2010 handbook. BA suggests the former starter could have a future as a setup man. This year, Wood has pitched 16.2 innings, with 6.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.

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