AL West Notes: Greinke, Ryan, Rangers
The Angels will do everything they can to sign Zack Greinke long-term, ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian reports (on Twitter). The Angels surrendered three prospects for Greinke, but the Casey Close client is just two months away from the free agent market. Greinke appears to have turned down an extension offer exceeding $100MM before the Brewers traded him to Anaheim. Here’s the latest from his new division…
- The Yankees attempted to acquire Brendan Ryan from the Mariners, but Seattle turned them down, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Ryan is one of many infield options the Yankees have considered this month.
- The Phillies have scouted the Rangers' farm system aggressively, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).
- The Rangers discussed Josh Beckett before obtaining the rights to Yu Darvish last offseason, but aren't comfortable with the Red Sox right-hander, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Rangers are focused on upgrading their bench and bullpen, and they could consider trades for catchers.
Rafael Betancourt, Matt Reynolds Drawing Interest
6:26pm: Matt Reynolds is also drawing trade interest, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Reynolds, 27, has a 3.61 ERA, 8.9 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and 46.3 percent ground-ball rate in 42 1/3 innings of work this season.
6:15pm: Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that the Rangers, Braves, Red Sox and Blue Jays are all inquiring on Betancourt (Twitter link).
Sunday, 6:02pm: Betancourt continues drawing trade interest but nothing is imminent, according to Renck (Twitter link). It's probably fair to assume that several of the teams who are currently discussing Brandon League with the Mariners are also intrigued by Betancourt, though that's my own speculation. — Steve Adams
Saturday: The Orioles, Yankees, and Athletics are among the teams with interest in Rockies reliever Rafael Betancourt according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post. The Red Sox had interest earlier this month and both the White Sox and Angels are digging around for bullpen help.
Betancourt, 37, has pitched to a 3.00 ERA and gone 17-for-21 in save chances. His strikeout (9.3 K/9) and walk (2.5 BB/9) rates are superb as usual. Betancourt is owned approximately $1.5M for the rest of the season and is under contract for $4.25MM next year. His deal includes a $4.25MM mutual option ($250K buyout) for 2014 as well.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Mariners Close To Trading Brandon League
5:15pm: The Giants and Mariners have definitely discussed League, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). It's still not clear where League will be traded, though, according to Morosi.
4:06pm: The Mariners were discussing League with multiple teams as of this afternoon, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
3:03pm: There's some scuttlebutt in high circles that the Giants are the team getting League, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). But it's not a sure thing.
2:52pm: The Braves and Rangers aren't in the mix for League, Crasnick tweets.
2:46pm: The Angels and Mariners are in talks for League, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports. The Mariners could be close to trading League to the Giants or the Angels, Gonzalez writes.
2:24pm: The White Sox have been talking to the Mariners about League and the Angels continue seeking relief help, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter links).
2:05pm: The Mariners are close to trading Brandon League to an unknown team, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter). The Giants, Angels and Mets are known to have some interest in the right-hander.
League is earning $5MM this year and will hit free agency this offseason. The 29-year-old has a 3.05 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 46.4% ground ball rate in 42 1/3 innings for Seattle. He lost the closer's job in May, but has pitched to a 1.96 ERA with twice as many strikeouts as walks since the beginning of June. His fastball averages 95.2 mph, according to FanGraphs.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Details On The Pursuit Of Zack Greinke
The Angels won the Zack Greinke sweepstakes last night, acquiring the former Cy Young Award winner in exchange for prospects Jean Segura, John Hellweg, and Ariel Pena. We've already seen some reactions to the trade as well as a breakdown of its impact on the Rangers, but here are some more details on the pursuit of the right-hander…
- Righties Justin Grimm and Cody Buckel were the top pieces in the Rangers offer, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Brewers valued a young shortstop and wanted Martin Perez to compensate.
- Rosenthal also hears that the Angels' late inclusion of Pena in their offer swung things in their favor (Twitter link).
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams "worked his tail off" to land Greinke according to Rosenthal (on Twitter), even trying to include a third team before failing to find a match.
- MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports (on Twitter) that the Nationals expressed interest in Greinke, perhaps in preparation for Stephen Strasburg's eventual shutdown. The Braves were also in the mix.
Pitching Rumors: Shields, Orioles, Felix, Angels
Though the Giants did pick up some infield help in Marco Scutaro earlier tonight, the Giants are focusing on relief pitching given the high cost of a big hitter, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. He cites Matt Belisle, Rafael Betancourt, Brandon League, Chris Perez and Francisco Rodriguez as a few of the names linked to San Francisco and "if there’s a guy who has experience pitching in the later innings and he’s now on a second-division team, you can bet the Giants are looking into him," Schulman writes.
The Giants aren't the only team who are looking into the arms race as we head towards the trade deadline. Here are some more pitching-related rumors…
- James Shields' recent struggles haven't been due to trade speculation, the right-hander told media (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Rays manager Joe Maddon feels that Shields will still be with the team after the deadline.
- Maddon and executive VP Andrew Friedman shared a "guffaw" over a rumor that the Rays would send Shields to the Angels in exchange for Garrett Richards and Howie Kendrick, according to MLB.com's Bill Chastain. Friedman said he's still not sure how the Rays' deadline strategy will evolve.
- The Orioles are looking to add a starter moreso than a position player, executive VP Dan Duquette tells reporters (including MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli). Duquette said other teams have shown interest in Baltimore's own pitching depth in the majors and minors, and Ghiroli speculates that the O's wouldn't deal a young arm without getting a Major League-ready starter in return.
- In response to the latest Felix Hernandez rumors, a Mariners source tells ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link) that "Felix will be a Mariner." The M's have been adamant that they have no intention of trading their ace despite looking at a long-term rebuilding plan.
- Through Angels GM Jerry Dipoto said his team was probably done trading after acquiring Zack Greinke earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) reports the Halos are looking for a reliever to share late-inning duties with Ernesto Frieri and Scott Downs.
- Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated looks at the three tiers of starting pitchers available at the deadline.
Reaction To The Zack Greinke Trade
Zack Greinke is on his way to the Angels and the ripple effects of this big move are reverberating throughout baseball. Here is some of the early reaction to the big deal and how it will impact other clubs as we approach the trade deadline…
- Los Angeles paid a "significant" price for Greinke, especially given that he's only under contract through the rest of this season, writes ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required). As for the minor league package going to Milwaukee, "it's only marginally less than the Brewers initially gave up for two years of Greinke, but has a lot more risk, as all three of the prospects involved have fairly low floors," says Law.
- The Angels "must be thrilled" over acquiring Greinke without having to deal Peter Bourjos or Garrett Richards, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
- The Greinke trade could it for the Angels' deadline moves. "This in all likelihood will be all we do," GM Jerry Dipoto tells Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times (Twitter link).
- Dipoto also told DiGiovanna that he hasn't discussed an extension yet with Greinke, who can be a free agent after this season. An AL executive tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link) that the Angels must have gotten "at least [an] inkling from [the] Greinke camp he can be re-signed" or else they wouldn't have made the deal.
- Greinke told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) that he enjoyed his time in Milwaukee and would be open to returning if the Brewers pursued him in free agency. The right-hander described his choice to not sign an extension with the Brewers as "a business decision."
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told reporters (including Haudricourt) that he "zeroed in" on three suitors for Greinke before narrowing the field down to just two teams. "We got a lot of phone calls. When you have a player of Zack's caliber, a lot of people are instructed to make a phone call to get involved," Melvin said.
- The Angels were reportedly high on Greinke's list of preferred trade destinations, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Greinke also would've liked to pitch for the Braves and Cardinals.
- The Rays were hoping that if Greinke was dealt to the Angels or Rangers, it would move the other to "pay big" for James Shields, reports Sherman (Twitter link). Other executives, however, think the Rangers prefer Josh Johnson over Shields.
Angels Acquire Zack Greinke
One of the trade deadline's major chips has switched teams, as the Angels have acquired Zack Greinke in a trade with the Brewers. Milwaukee will receive top infield prospect Jean Segura and Double-A right-handers Ariel Pena and John Hellweg in exchange for their ace.
Greinke returns to the American League after spending the last season and a half with the Brewers. The right-hander lived up to expectations in Milwaukee, posting a 3.67 ERA and a 9.9 K/9 rate in 49 starts with the team and playing a major role in the Brewers' charge to the NLCS last season. Still, the Brewers are undoubtedly disappointed to be moving their ace less than 20 months after acquiring him from the Royals for a major prospect haul that included Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress, though they were able to recoup some of that minor league depth back in this deal.
Segura was rated as the 55th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America headed into this season and the shortstop put up solid numbers at Double-A Arkansas, hitting .294/.346/.404. Segura also made his Major League debut on July 24 as the Angels called him up as depth for the injured Erick Aybar. With Mike Trout and Garrett Richards now in the majors, Segura was considered to be the top prospect remaining in the Halos' system. The 22-year-old has been considered by some teams to be best suited for second base, according to ESPN's Buster Olney, though for now Segura fills the shortstop void left behind by Escobar in the Brewers' system.
Pena, 23, has a 3.37 ERA, an 8.9 K/9 rate and a 2.2 K/BB rate in 111 games (103 of them starts) over six seasons in the Angels' system. Hellweg, also 23, was a 16th-round pick for the Angels in the 2008 amateur draft. He has a 3.66 ERA and a 9.6 K/9 rate in 127 minor league games (38 starts) though control has been an issue, as Hellweg has a career 6.4 BB/9 rate.
Pitching wasn't expected to be a need position for the Halos going into the season, but with Dan Haren and Ervin Santana struggling, the team was in need of another big arm. Greinke is a free agent this winter and the Angels are in a good payroll position to keep him; Los Angeles could decline its $15.5MM and $13MM options on Haren and Santana, respectively, plus Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu's contracts will be off the books after this season.
The Angels not only upgrade themselves by acquiring Greinke, they also deal a blow to their AL West rivals — the Rangers were one of several teams in the mix for Greinke. With one major arm removed from the trade market, teams like the Rangers, Braves, White Sox or Dodgers could now their attention to other possibly available aces like James Shields or Josh Johnson.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) broke the news that Greinke was going to Anaheim, as well as the news about which prospects would be going back to Milwaukee.
Photo courtesy of Frank Victores/US Presswire.
Zack Greinke Rumors: Friday
Brewers GM Doug Melvin has acknowledged that Zack Greinke could be traded before he makes his scheduled start this Sunday. He told USA Today the right-hander will be traded ("It's going to be difficult when we trade him'') then offered a less definitive statement later on last night ("I just said there was that possibility"). The Rangers, Angels, Braves and White Sox are pursuing Greinke. Here are the latest rumors surrounding the right-hander…
- Though the White Sox don't have a highly-regarded farm system, they have enough talent in the Major Leagues to acquire Greinke, Heyman reports. Gavin Floyd's name has come up in trade talks, but he doesn't appear to be related to the Greinke sweepstakes, Heyman reports.
- The Braves continue to seek a starting pitcher and Greinke and others remain in play, MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports (on Twitter). However, the Braves are telling teams they’re focused on bullpen and bench help, rather than starting pitching, according to Jayson Stark.
- The Angels remain very much involved in the Greinke talks, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). Morosi reports that Greinke has a "high regard" for the Angels and thus would likely be more open to signing a contract extension to remain in Anaheim. The Angels might prefer Greinke to Shields and Johnson, according to Danny Knobler.
- The Dodgers could check in on Greinke, Jon Heyman reported today.
Dodgers, Angels Continue Pursuing Top Arms
The Dodgers are considering trades for Josh Johnson and James Shields since they aren’t making progress with the Cubs regarding a possible Ryan Dempster deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The Dodgers could check in on Zack Greinke, who will likely be traded this month. However, they view Cliff Lee’s contract as onerous (not that he's available).
The Angels continue to be involved in talks for Greinke, Shields and Johnson, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports. They might like Greinke best, but Shields may be their most realistic target (Ken Rosenthal reported this morning that the Angels believe in Shields at a time that other clubs have doubts about him). The Angels would prefer to acquire a pitcher they can keep beyond 2012, so Shields’ contract options likely appeal to Angels executives. Johnson is also controllable, but the Angels have concerns about his health issues and $13.75MM salary.
The Angels would like to find a taker for Ervin Santana and Vernon Wells, Knobler writes. The team would likely have to absorb salary to move either player.
Giants, Angels Interested In Brandon League
The Giants and Angels are among the teams that have shown interest in Mariners right-hander Brandon League, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Giants are seeking relievers more aggressively than any team, Morosi reported earlier today. The Angels and Braves are also actively seeking bullpen help (Twitter links).
League is earning $5MM this year and will hit free agency this offseason. The 29-year-old has a 2.98 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 45.1% ground ball rate in 42 1/3 innings for Seattle. He lost the closer's job in May, but has pitched to a 1.71 ERA with twice as many strikeouts as walks since the beginning of June. His fastball averages 95.2 mph, according to FanGraphs.