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Angels, Dodgers Discussed Trade For Kendrick In July

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The Angels and Dodgers "held extensive trade discussions" about a possible deal that would've sent Howie Kendrick from Angel Stadium to Chavez Ravine, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports.  Negotiations went on right up until the July 31 deadline, a source tells Rosenthal, and Zach Lee would've been part of the package that went back to the Angels in return.  It isn't clear which team backed away from the deal.

Kendrick also drew attention from the Blue Jays and Royals before the deadline as the Angels openly shopped a number of pieces on their roster in an attempt to gauge their trade value and obtain young, MLB-ready pitching.  (Alberto Callaspo and Scott Downs ended up being the only notable Angels moved in July.)  ESPN's Jayson Stark reported on July 30 that the Angels and Dodgers had discussed Kendrick, but there was no indication that a deal was close.

Kendrick has a partial no-trade clause that allows him to block trades to 12 teams, but Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers aren't one of them.  Rosenthal says the Halos are likelier to deal Kendrick than they are Erick Aybar since they think it's easier to find a replacement at second base than at shortstop.  Indeed, Anaheim may already have an in-house second base option in Grant Green.

The Dodgers' pursuit of Kendrick could be a sign, Rosenthal notes, that the team is looking for second base options besides Robinson Cano.  It has been widely speculated that the Dodgers would be one of the very few teams that could meet Cano's salary demands in free agency but we heard earlier today that L.A. might not pursue Cano (or any major free agents) this offseason.

Kendrick, 30, has hit .301/.341/.437 with 11 homers in 451 PA, though hasn't played since August 5 due to a sprained left knee.  He is owed $18.85MM over the 2014-15 seasons, the last two years of his current four-year contract.  According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, Kendrick's limited no-trade protection drops to just six blocked teams in 2014, so the Halos could have a wider array of trade partners in the new year.

Lee, the 28th overall pick of the 2010 draft, was ranked by MLB.com as the sport's 78th-best prospect prior to the 2013 season.  The right-hander has a 3.19 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 3.9 K/BB ratio in 26 games (23 of them starts) at Double-A this season.  Lee's name has popped up in a few trade rumors in recent years, perhaps most notably in a rumored deal for Matt Garza in July 2012.

Angels Notes: Scioscia, Dipoto, Trout, Pitching

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As noted earlier today, the Angels' acquisition of infielder Grant Green from the Athletics looks to be a sound move thus far, but the team still has plenty of holes, namely in the pitching department. Here's more on the Halos…

  • Asked by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times whether or not GM Jerry Dipoto and manager Mike Scioscia would return next season, owner Arte Moreno declined comment. Not surprisingly, Scioscia told Shaikin that he wants to remain with the Angels. He says he has not given any thought to one day managing his hometown Phillies now that Charlie Manuel has been fired.
  • One general manager told Peter Gammons of the MLB Network that the Angels have the two most unmovable contracts in baseball in Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols. The same GM added that they "have no farm system" after trading for Zack Greinke and forfeiting their 2013 first-rounder to sign Hamilton, and they've wasted the inexpensive years of Mike Trout's career.
  • Dipoto failed on his four offseason pitching acquisitions, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times. Ryan Madson, Sean Burnett, Tommy Hanson and Joe Blanton have contributed very little for the Halos, which Dipoto himself acknowledged. The team is confident that Burnett will be healthy for 2014, but DiGiovanna writes that Blanton could be released in the offseason and Hanson non-tendered. The thin market for free agent pitching might ultimately lead the Halos to consider trading Mark Trumbo, Peter Bourjos, Erick Aybar or Howie Kendrick for young, controllable pitching help.

AL Notes: Reynolds, Green, Callaspo

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We'll begin a quiet morning in baseball with a few links from the American League …

  • Mark Reynolds started his Yankee tenure with a bang, ripping a two-run homer, going two-for-five, and adding another RBI on the evening. As Mark Feinsand and Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News report, Reynolds and his new teammates and manager all seemed pleased with his signing after the game. The Yanks will hope that Reynolds catches one of his patented hot streaks down the stretch this year.
  • The Angels' acquisition of young second baseman Grant Green in exchange for Alberto Callaspo is looking better and better in the eyes of MLB.com's Lyle Spencer (via Twitter). Spencer says that Green evidently has the kind of talent that it is worth taking a chance on. After an underwhelming (0-for-15) stint with the Athletics earlier this year, Green has been on fire early in his Angels tenure. In his 36 plate appearances with the Halos, Green has posted a .433/.528/.500 triple-slash. 
  • For his part, Callaspo's .229/.308/.371 line since joining the A's corresponds to the OPS+ mark (92) he put up in Anaheim this year. With his defensive metrics trending down, Callaspo seems unlikely to put up more than one win above replacement this season (whether measured by Fangraphs or Baseball Reference) for the first time since he became a regular. He will earn $4.875MM next season before becoming a free agent the following year.

AL Notes: Hanson, Ellsbury, Reynolds, Konerko

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Let's have a look around the American League:

  • Angels starter Tommy Hanson has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Jason Vargas, tweets MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. Hanson came to the team last November in a deal that sent reliever Jordan Walden to the Braves. While Walden has prospered in Atlanta, Hanson sports an unsightly 5.59 ERA over 67 2/3 innings and has seen his strikeout rate fall from a career-high 9.8 K/9 to 6.9 K/9 this season. Hanson received $3.725MM in 2013, his first year of arbitration eligibility. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noted in late May that Hanson was not a likely non-tender candidate, but could price himself into a trade. At this stage, while he won't likely command a major raise, it is reasonable to ask whether Hanson will be tendered a contract by the Angels.
  • The Mariners could try to lure Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to Seattle, writes FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. The M's have a shade over $33MM on the books for next season, a young core of low-cost regulars already in the stable, and a hole in the middle of the outfield. A return to the Pacific Northwest for the Oregonian Ellsbury could make sense for both sides, Rosenthal suggests. In the midst of a nice bounce-back season at the age of 29, Ellsbury looks to have a strong hold on the number two spot in Dierkes's 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings.
  • The Orioles have discussed bringing back Mark Reynolds and will continue to do so, says manager Buck Showalter. As MASN's Roch Kubatko tweets, Showalter did note that "we like our roster." Reynolds would cost nothing more than a roster spot and the league minimum salary, however, since he was placed on release waivers by the Indians earlier today.
  • This could be the last season for White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, writes Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald. Konerko has suffered through a down year (for himself and his team), has an expiring contract, and has dealt with lower back issues. Gregor notes that Konerko has previously indicated no interest in holding on "just to chase some numbers," and guesses that he'll ultimately decide to hang it up this fall.

Rosenthal On Trout, Angels

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In his article today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports took on several important issues facing the disappointing Angels. Here are some notes from the piece, which is worth a read in its entirety. (There is some interesting stuff on former Angel Zack Greinke's hot stove views.)

  • It is not difficult to argue that Angels center fielder Mike Trout is the most valuable player in the game today, given his stellar production and bargain salary. His unmatched output-to-cost ratio is especially important to a club that is still in the early stages of dealing with two of baseball's most troublesome deals. While the Angels could simply choose to sit back and enjoy Trout at the league minimum for another season, Rosenthal says the organization needs to be thinking of his future cost. 
  • After all, when Trout reaches arbitration in 2015, he will almost certainly be paid more than any other first-time arb-eligible player in history. And the cost will only go up from there. As Rosenthal notes, a likely arbitration salary in excess of $10MM will give Trout immediate financial security, making an extension less enticing. While the team could try and dangle a long-term deal before Trout reaches arbitration eligibility, it may be hard pressed to commit the kind of salary needed, particularly given the massive outlays already owed Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. With Trout set to reach free agency at the tender age of 26, he might well elect to take arbitration year-to-year and wait out a historic contract on the open market.
  • With the Halos well into a second consecutive season of angst, Rosenthal wonders who among the team's leadership might be sent packing. With GM Jerry Dipoto and manager Mike Scioscia reportedly not on the same page, one or both could certainly lose their jobs. Rosenthal says Dipoto is more likely to go, given the poor performance of recent acquisitions. (Under Dipoto's watch, Rosenthal notes, the team has wasted resources on pitchers Joe Blanton, Tommy Hanson, and Ryan Madson.) On the other hand, says Rosenthal, Scioscia has failed to deliver the kind of "crisp, aggressive teams" that he once did. 

Quick Hits: Trout, Pirates, White Sox

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MVP awards are supposed to be based on a player's value to his team, but voters don't ordinarily take contract considerations into account, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports notes. If they did, Passan says the Angels' Mike Trout, who is making just $510K this year compared to Miguel Cabrera's $21MM, would likely win the AL MVP this year. The next-most-valuable player, when considering performance and salary, would be Matt Harvey, who is making $499K. Of course, players like Cabrera and Clayton Kershaw, who have higher salaries but also provide spectacular performance, are still extremely valuable even after factoring in their contracts. But Passan quotes Padres analyst Chris Long, who makes a distinction between value (that is, the degree to which a player outperforms his salary) and mere performance. Most MVP debates only consider the latter. Here are more notes from around the Majors.

  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that he believes fewer players are being placed on waivers than last August, and that more players are being claimed, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review tweets. That might suggest it will be difficult for the Pirates, and perhaps other teams as well, to pull off August trades.
  • GM Rick Hahn has the White Sox on the right course, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes. Hayes argues that Hahn's trading has added high-level prospects (particularly Avisail Garcia, acquired from the Tigers in the Jake Peavy deal) and depth (in the form of the other three prospects acquired from the Red Sox in the same deal). Hahn also cleared salary by trading Peavy, Alex Rios, Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain. "Although this wasn’t how we wanted to spend the July and August trading periods, overall we are pleased with both the return talent-wise as well as the flexibility created by the deals," says Hahn.
  • With their trades, the White Sox cleared $10.7MM in salary in 2013 and $27MM in 2014, Baseball America's Matt Eddy notes. Eddy has compiled a list of what each team traded at the deadline, and what it received in return.

AL Notes: White Sox, Vargas, Morneau

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GM Rick Hahn of the White Sox says he plans on spending more on young talent in 2014, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports. The White Sox have saved plenty of money in their recent trades of Jake Peavy and Alex Rios, and it sounds like Hahn doesn't plan on using those savings on Major League payroll right away. "It's going to go to making the big league club better for the long haul, no doubt," says Hahn. "One of the positives of an unfortunate season like this is we're going to have the opportunity in all probability to spend a lot more money on amateur talent." Before the season, Baseball America ranked the White Sox's farm system the second-worst of any organization. Hahn also says the White Sox could continue trading this August. Here are more notes from the American League.

  • The Angels are no longer in the playoff hunt, but free-agent-to-be Jason Vargas still has something to play for, the Los Angeles Times' Mike DiGiovanna writes. Vargas will soon rejoin the Angels' rotation after missing more than a month with a blood clot. Before that, he had a 3.65 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 91 1/3 innings this season. His performance down the stretch will likely impact his standing on the free agent market this winter, says DiGiovanna, who also notes that the Angels are interested in keeping Vargas around. One possibility is that the Angels could deal Vargas this month, then attempt to acquire him again once he becomes a free agent.
  • Twins first baseman Justin Morneau isn't sure about his waiver status, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes (on Twitter). "I have no idea if I’ve been put through waivers or claimed on waivers or whatever it is," Morneau says. "That’s still a possibility." Morneau is making $14MM in the final year of his contract.

Minor Moves: Mike Ekstrom, Julio Borbon

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Here's your collection of minor moves from Tuesday…

  • The Angels released right-hander Mike Ekstrom from Triple-A Salt Lake, according to the Pacific Coast League's transactions page. Ekstrom, who turns 30 at the end of this month, posted a 5.19 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 26 innings for the Bees this season. He's appeared in the Majors for at least one inning each year from 2008-12, but he has just a 5.61 ERA in 61 career big league innings.
  • Julio Borbon has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). The Cubs designated the speedster for assignment last Friday after he hit just .202/.284/.279 in 117 plate appearances after being claimed off waivers from the Rangers earlier this year.
  • Six players are currently in DFA limbo: Laynce Nix of the Phillies, Michael Schwimer of the Blue Jays, Brent Lillibridge of the Yankees, Adam Rosales of the Rangers, Josh Sullivan of the Rockies and Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants.

Tommy Hanson Joins The Legacy Agency

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Angels right-hander Tommy Hanson has changed agents and is now represented by Greg Genske of The Legacy Agency, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (on Twitter). Hanson had previously been represented by Scott Boras.

The 26-year-old Hanson was acquried by the Halos this offseason in a one-for-one swap that sent Jordan Walden to the Braves. A one-time top prospect who posted a 3.28 ERA through his first three Major League seasons, Hanson has seen his velocity and strikeout rates decline sharply, and his command has worsened as well. He's battled a forearm injury this season and has also spent time on the DL with back and shoulder injuries dating back to 2011.

Hanson has a 5.29 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 34 percent ground-ball rate in just 63 innings in his first season with the Angels. He's earning $3.73MM in 2013 and is controlled through the 2015 season via arbitration.

By switching to The Legacy Agency, Hanson joins an agency that represents many notable Major Leaguers, including Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, Edwin Jackson, Aaron Hill, Jose Reyes and many more. For additional agency info on nearly 1,900 Major League and Minor League players, check out MLBTR's Agency Database. If you see any omissions or errors within the database, please email us at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

AL West Notes: Wilhelmsen, Smoak, Green, Rangers

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Earlier today, the Mariners released Jason Bay after the outfielder hit .204/.298/.393 in 68 games for the club. Meanwhile, the Rangers announced that Colby Lewis will undergo hip surgery that will end his 2013 season. Here's more out of the AL West…

  • The Mariners recently demoted struggling closer Tom Wilhelmsen to Triple-A Tacoma, and MLB.com's Greg Johns tweets that the team is going to experiment with him as a starter. Seattle isn't officially announcing that Wilhelmsen will convert to a starting role at this time, but he did start for Tacoma today with unsuccessful results. Wilhelmsen allowed three runs on three hits (two homers) with four strikeouts in two innings.
  • Justin Smoak's turnaround has transformed him from one of the Mariners' problems to part of the solution, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The Mariners still have plenty of decisions on their hands this offseason to produce a winning season, however, he adds.
  • The Angels have called up infielder Grant Green in place of Daniel Stange and inserted him into the lineup, tweets Angels director of communications Eric Kay. Green, a former first-round pick, was acquired from the Athletics for Alberto Callaspo last week in a rare intra-division trade.
  • In an appearance with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio, Rangers GM Jon Daniels shot down previous reports that the team was willing to trade Matt Garza for a bat. He also said reports that the team wouldn't welcome Nelson Cruz back in 2014 after accepting his 50-game suspension were inaccurate (Twitter links).
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