Heyman Talks Giants
In a new blog post, SI's Jon Heyman discusses the Giants' plans.
- The Giants "haven't ruled out trading for more offense" after getting Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Garko. Heyman says that at some point the Giants scouted Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee, Josh Willingham, Nick Johnson, Mark Teahen and Marco Scutaro. We can probably cross Johnson off the list. And we've seen no sign the Astros would sell.
- The Giants would like to add a fifth starter, given the loss of Randy Johnson for at least August. Heyman speculates on a few names such as Bronson Arroyo, Doug Davis, and Jon Garland.
Royals Acquire Josh Anderson
According to a press release, the Royals acquired outfielder Josh Anderson from the Tigers for cash considerations. The speedster hit .242/.282/.315 with 13 steals in 15 tries for Detroit before being designated for assignment. The Royals say they'll make a corresponding roster move once they determine Anderson's reporting date.
MLB.com's Jason Beck notes that the Royals and Yankees also had interest in Anderson.
Giants Interested In Sanchez, Scutaro, Teahen
Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that Freddy Sanchez remains atop the Giants' list of bats as they continue their determined search for offense. Free agent-to-be Marco Scutaro and Mark Teahen also interest the Giants.
Odds And Ends: Pena, Snell, Richard
Some links to read on the day Alex Rodriguez turns 34…
- Angels manager Mike Scioscia told Ben Bolch of the LA Times that teams in the market for pitching will have to overpay for it.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press that it's a seller's market because many teams remain within range of a playoff spot.
- The Royals are converting shortstop Tony Pena Jr. into a pitcher according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.
- As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review shows, Ian Snell has dominated Triple A hitters. Snell has said he doesn't want to return to the Pirates, so he has attracted interest as a trade chip, specifically from the Yankees.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders if Clayton Richard's future is in the rotation, the 'pen, or on a team other than the White Sox.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a quote from Bobby Valentine, who says it's time for him to leave the Chiba Lotte Marines after the season.
Odds & Ends: Braves, Orioles, Arroyo, Strasburg
Some links to check out on the night Derek Jeter tied Ted Williams on the career hits list with 2,654…
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman writes that if the Braves make a move before next Friday's trade deadline, "the best bet is that they'll add a reliever." He mentions Danys Baez, Takashi Saito, Ron Mahay, and John Grabow as available options.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun took a look at the Orioles' main trade chips, including Baez, Aubrey Huff, George Sherrill, and Ty Wigginton.
- Bronson Arroyo is officially on the trading block, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman,
- The camp of top pick Stephen Strasburg has expressed concern over the Nationals' uncertain general manager situation, reports Chico Harlan of The Washington Post.
- Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times says that despite the Matt Holliday haul, the Mariners shouldn't expect as big of a return for Erik Bedard or Jarrod Washburn because they only project to be Type-B free agents after the season.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said ""We'll be aggressive but we won't be stupid," when it comes to making trades according to Tom Haudricourt.
- Scott Lauber of The News Journal wrote about the dilemma of trading prospects.
Odds And Ends: Wang, Maine, Scutaro
Some links to read through as the trading heats up…
- Dr. James Andrews will take a look at John Maine's throwing arm, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
- Dr. Andrews will also evaluate Chien-Ming Wang, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Wang worries that he may need surgery.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if the Yankees and Mets will offer contracts to the pair of pitchers after the season.
- Erik Manning of FanGraphs says the A's are big winners for acquiring Brett Wallace. Jon Heyman calls it a "great deal" for the A's and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus calls it an "outstanding" trade for Oakland.
- Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi told Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Sun that there's been a lot of interest in Marco Scutaro.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Chris Iott of MLive.com that Jeremy Bonderman may pitch out of the bullpen this season.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says it doesn't sound like the Mariners will be big buyers if it means surrendering top prospects.
- The Kansas City Star presents the Royals' 2010 payroll commitments.
Odds And Ends: V-Mart, Tigers, Mets
Some links for the morning…
- ESPN.com's Peter Gammons says the Adam LaRoche acquisition won't prevent the Red Sox from pursuing an impact bat like Victor Martinez.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck predicts that the Tigers will trade close to next Friday's deadline if they decide to deal.
- Manager Jim Leyland spends so little time thinking about trades that he doesn't even know who's available, according to Chris Iott of MLive.com. Someone needs to tell him about MLBTR.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the notion that the Mets are contenders "borders on delusional."
- Royals GM Dayton Moore tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he will "be very aggressive and put the throttle down" if he sees an opportunity to improve his club.
- Justin Smoak, Martin Perez and Neftali Feliz lead Jamey Newberg's list of top Rangers prospects this week at MLB.com.
- As anticipated, the Seibu Lions acquired minor league reliever Jonah Bayliss from the Blue Jays, according to the Kyodo News.
- More than half of St. Louis Post-Dispatch readers believe the Julio Lugo-Chris Duncan swap was necessary.
Odds And Ends: Reds, Tigers, Hernandez
Even more links for your perusal…
- Larry Stone of the Seattle Times says the Mariners' combination of brilliant fielding, top starters, journeymen and injuries present a "true conundrum" to GM Jack Zduriencik: Buy or sell?
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com's Jason Beck that "scoring runs is a concern," but not an urgent one. Carlos Guillen is rehabbing, so he'll provide a boost, but Dombrowski says his hitters have to perform better as a group.
- It's not getting any easier for the Reds. They face the Dodgers and Cubs this week and they'll have to play without Ramon Hernandez, who will miss 4-6 weeks to undergo knee surgery, according to the Sports Network, via the Miami Herald. The Reds will rely on Ryan Hanigan, who has out-hit Hernandez so far this year.
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post says the Mets, for now, are the most expensive fourth-place team in history. Their $136MM payroll leads the NL.
- Bradford Doolittle of the Kansas City Star says the Royals are in trouble because their relievers are "expensive and bad."
- Follow MLBTR on Twitter for all of your trade deadline updates.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Salazar, Meredith, Royals
Some more links as we inch closer and closer to the July 31 trade deadline…
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker suggests Major League Baseball should consider re-working its draft system. Here's the gist of his idea: "What I’d propose is a regulated amateur free agent system, in which the draft is discarded entirely. Every amateur player who meets the entry criteria (age, education, whatever) would be allowed to negotiate and sign with any team, regardless of national origin." Check it out.
- The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck gives his take on the Oscar Salazar-for-Cla Meredith swap: "Oscar was the ultimate good soldier, waiting for his turn without complaint and performing very well as a spot player recently."
- As Joe Posnanski points out, the Royals have won just 19 of their last 62 games. Just how bad is that mark? The Dodgers have never lost as many games in a 62-game stretch.
- Baseball America's Ben Badler reports that the Indians signed Jairo Kelly, a switch-hitting Dominican shortstop.
Odds & Ends: Johnson, Redding, Lopez, Giants, Hillman
Hope everyone's Sunday is going well! Here's some links for the afternoon…
- Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald feels that the face of the Marlins' future is ace Josh Johnson. Gutierrez feels that the most critical move the Marlins need to make it locking up Johnson to a long-term deal. To quote Gutierrez: "If Hanley Ramirez was worth paying for, then Johnson is at least as important, if not more."
- David Lennon of Newsday has Tim Redding's take on the possibility of being released: "I'm not an idiot. I've been around the game long enough to know what's going on, with the way I've been used." Redding, however, remains with the Mets despite a 7.22 ERA.
- Felipe Lopez isn't thinking about the trade rumors surrounding him, according to Nick Piecoro. He's focused on helping Arizona. Piecoro says that the Brewers have expressed interest in the Arizona second basemen.
- It's been a hard weekend for the Giants, as the team's largest shareholder, Sue Burns, died at the age of 58 just a week after learning that she had cancer. Rich Aurilia had some kind words about Burns: "Being here for a while, I've known her family for a long time. They're great people to be around and always treated everyone on the team like a part of their own family, which is nice. You don't get that a lot from a lot of teams and owners. This is a huge loss not only for the Giants but everybody who knew her." Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Burns family, Giants organization, and Giants fans everywhere.
- Royals general manager Dayton Moore has given Trey Hillman his vote of confidence, stating that despite the club's struggles, Hillman will remain with the Royals for both this season and next. Says Moore: "We're all in this thing together… You just can't keep reshuffling." The Royals have lost 42 of their last 61 games.