Dodgers Rumors

Dodgers Sign Jack Taschner

By Tim Dierkes | June 28, 2010 at 11:08am CDT

The Dodgers signed lefty reliever Jack Taschner to a minor league deal. Albuquerque Isotopes GM John Traub confirmed in an email to MLBTR that the southpaw was added to the roster yesterday. Taschner allowed one of Allen Craig's two home runs in Sunday's blowout loss to the Memphis Redbirds. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has been stockpiling veteran relievers – he also added Claudio Vargas, Jesus Colome, and Kiko Calero to the Triple A club recently.

Taschner, 32, posted a 6.05 ERA, 7.9 K/9, and 3.7 BB/9 in 19.3 innings for the Pirates this year before being designated for assignment on June 8th. He later elected free agency after refusing an outright assignment to the minors. Taschner's line against lefties in his brief time with the Pirates was odd – he struck out nine and walked one in 6.6 innings, but also allowed eight hits and seven runs.

The Dodgers' bullpen features lefties Hong-Chih Kuo and George Sherrill. Kuo must be used carefully, while Sherrill has struggled.

Odds & Ends: Patterson, Marlins, League, Zambrano

By Mike Axisa | June 26, 2010 at 9:41pm CDT

Some Saturday links as the Red Sox suffer their latest injury, this one involving Clay Buchholz and running the bases…

FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Red Sox's acquisition of Eric Patterson came together quickly; they had yet to inquire about him as recently as noon Eastern time today.
Marlins' first base coach Dave Collins abruptly resigned today, reports Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post. He wonders if the move may be related to an imminent Bobby Valentine hiring, but president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said that was not the case (all Twitter links).
Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says (via Twitter) that Brandon League is the Mariners' second best trade chip behind Cliff Lee. The hard-throwing righty reliever is owed approximately $590K the rest of the season, and is under team control for two more years.
With the Yankees facing off against the Dodgers, Tyler Kepner from the New York Times reminds us that Alex Rodriguez was almost a Dodger back in 1993. Fortunately for the Mariners, the first pick still alternated yearly between the AL and NL back then.
In the comments of his blog, the Atlanta Journal Constitution's David O'Brien says that conversations with people across the Braves organization yesterday have him convinced more than ever that Fredi Gonzalez will be the Braves' next manager.
Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs may have reached the "breaking point" with Carlos Zambrano, and says they're probably better off eating the $45MM left on his contract and trading him away.
WEEI.com's Alex Speier says that Dustin Pedroia's foot injury is going to test Boston's less than stellar infield depth.
Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says that the Indians will probably be able to make smaller deals like they did last year with Rafael Betancourt (to the Rockies) and Ryan Garko (to the Giants).

Mariners Willing To Trade Cliff Lee Immediately?

By Mike Axisa | June 26, 2010 at 9:07am CDT

Mariners' GM Jack Zduriencik has maintained that he is not yet willing to throw in the towel and trade ace lefty Cliff Lee, but Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com heard from two executives that Seattle is willing to deal him "immediately for the right offer." One of those executives predicted that he could be moved in the next seven to ten days, similar to the timetable the Indians used when dealing CC Sabathia two years ago.

By moving Lee now as opposed to waiting until the deadline, the Mariners could maximize their return since the acquiring team will be getting an extra month of the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner. They'll also save a larger percentage of the approximately $4.94MM owed to Lee the remainder of the season, and of course reduce the risk of a trade value crippling injury.

Rosenthal's sources say that the Mets, Dodgers, and Rangers have all inquired about Lee, but many project the Twins as the front runner. The Mariners have scouted the Yankees' farm system, but the Yanks' scouting of Lee is just the team's routine coverage of a pitcher on their free agent wish list. They are happy with their five-man rotation at the moment.

Seattle is currently 14 games back in the AL West while Cleveland was 13.5 back when they dealt Sabathia. They received a four prospect package highlighted by Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley, and the Mariners can reasonably expect a similar return for Lee. The 31-year-old lefty has made 11 starts this year after missing time with an oblique injury, and has pitched to a 2.39 ERA in 86.2 innings. He's struck out 76 and walked just four.

Remembering the 1993 Trade Deadline

By Howard Megdal | June 25, 2010 at 9:05pm CDT

Baseball's 1993 season, with a potential strike looming, was an interesting year. And the trade deadline produced deals involving some of baseball's biggest names.

On June 24, the Marlins traded Andres Berumen, Jose Martinez and a young reliever named Trevor Hoffman to the Padres for Rich Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield. Sheffield was just 24, and the Marlins quickly realized that he was more at home in the outfield than at third base. Sheffield managed an OPS+ of 162 over his next four seasons, before being purged by the Marlins, who traded him in the 1998 Mike Piazza deal, then turned around and traded Piazza to the Mets for prospects. And Hoffman? 16 seasons in San Diego, 552 saves and an ERA+ of 146.
Less than a month later, the Atlanta Braves added a signature piece to their roster, trading Vince Moore, Donnie Elliott and Melvin Nieves to the Padres for Fred McGriff. The Braves got immediate payoff from the deal. McGriff, who had posted a .275/.361/.497 line in San Diego, went on a .310/.392/.612 tear with Atlanta. He hit 130 home runs over five seasons with the Braves. This is a classic trade deadline pickup.
Still more activity came from the Padres, who, it must be noted, finished just 61-101 in 1993. On July 26, San Diego traded Greg Harris and Bruce Hurst to the Colorado Rockies for Brad Ausmus, Doug Bochtler and a player to be named later. Harris reached his sell-by date the day he was traded, going from a 3.67 ERA with San Diego to a 1-8, 6.50 ERA finish in Colorado. Hurst pitched 8.2 innings of 5.19 ERA ball before going down due to injury. And worst of all? The player to be named later sent to San Diego turned out to be… Andy Ashby, who pitched eight seasons of 113 ERA+ baseball for the Padres. Not a good day one mile above sea level.
Under the radar a bit was a three-team deal that must be mentioned. The Royals got John Habyan. The Yankees got Paul Assenmacher, saving the clubhouse manager a ton of time by not having uniform names on their players' backs. And the Cubs got outfielder Tuffy Rhodes. While Habyan and Assenmacher continued to do what they tended to do for everyone else- put up decent ERAs out of the bullpen- Rhodes was a revelation, hitting .288/.413/.538 in 63 plate appearances. Then, on Opening Day 1994, he hit three home runs against the Mets! Surely, stardom would follow. Instead, he hit .234/.318/.387, and was playing in Japan by 1996. He starred there, of course, with seven seasons of 40 or more home runs, including a high of 55.
The final bit of trade deadline drama came with the best leadoff hitter of all time. The Oakland Athletics sent Rickey Henderson to the Toronto Blue Jays for elite pitching prospect Steve Karsay and outfield prospect Jose Herrera. Amazingly, Henderson was a total bust for Toronto. He hit .215/.356/.319 after the trade, .327/.469/.553 before the trade. But Karsay could never stay healthy for long, and Herrera didn't do much in two big league seasons.

Odds & Ends: Fukudome, Kemp, Lowell, Harang

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 25, 2010 at 4:15pm CDT

Links for Friday, as the Rangers keep streaking…

A few Cubs people told Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald that they're not trying to move Kosuke Fukudome as aggressively as it seems. The Cubs would still like to trade him, though.
In a piece for the New York Times, Baseball-Reference creator Sean Forman says the Padres may be one above-average bat away from sustaining their surprisingly good start.
Should the Dodgers trade Matt Kemp? Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports answers that question with a definite 'yes.'
Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that Mike Lowell's hip issues, which have landed him on the disabled list, prevented the completion of the deal that would have sent Lowell to Texas over the winter. Lowell tells Speier he knows his DL stint will hurt his trade value.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer wonders if the Reds could trade Aaron Harang.
The Padres need to add a bat, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Check out my appearance on Bloomberg Sports' Ballpark Figures series right here.
Joe Torre told Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times that he would have room for Robinson Cano on his all-time Yankees team (Twitter link). Torre also managed All-Star second basemen Chuck Knoblauch and Alfonso Soriano in the Bronx.
Kevin Kernan of the New York Post says it's the Mets' turn to make a big mid-summer acquisition. Kernan would like to see the Mets bring Cliff Lee back to the NL East.
A person close to Lee told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that the lefty would not mind playing in New York.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post strongly endorses Bobby Valentine and Buck Showalter as managers. Sherman writes that the two skippers "are both fantastic at running a game" and would fit well in Florida and Baltimore, respectively.

Dodgers Sign Jesus Colome

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 24, 2010 at 10:13am CDT

The Dodgers signed Jesus Colome, according to the roster of the team's Triple A affiliate. The Mariners designated the right-hander for assignment after he pitched to a 5.29 ERA in 12 appearances.

Colome, 32, walked and struck out more batters than he normally does, posting 8.5 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 in 17 innings of work this year. The ten-year veteran joins two other recent free agent pickups on the Albuquerque Isotopes' roster: Kiko Calero and Claudio Vargas. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti continues to look at free agent pitching, according to the LA Times.

Dodgers Are Considering Free Agent Pitchers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 24, 2010 at 10:01am CDT

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that he has inquired about free agent pitchers, without specifying which ones. Jarrod Washburn is coaching T-ball these days, but said he would consider offers to pitch this season. Former Dodger Pedro Martinez has said he would pitch for a contender and Braden Looper is another free agent option.

Colletti expressed confidence in his offense and suggested it will take pitching to improve upon the team’s 38-33 record.

"Unless something drastic happens to an everyday player — or more than one — I think our focus will continue to be on our pitching staff," Colletti said.

It would take at least a few weeks for any unsigned pitcher to prepare for major league action, but free agents will only cost money. Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren may be more appealing, but they would cost the Dodgers prospects and salary.

Amateur Draft Signings: Tuesday

By Mark Polishuk | June 22, 2010 at 7:19pm CDT

Here's the round-up of today's mass signings and individual agreements between teams and players from the 2010 Amateur Draft. The list of first-rounders and supplemental round picks to sign can be found here.

Pittsburgh has signed 14th-rounder Bryce Weidman and 22nd-rounder Adalberto Santos, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Reds have signed two more of their picks.
Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that the Dodgers signed their second and seventh round selections — namely, right-hander Ralston Cash and right-hander Ryan Christenson.
The Cubs agreed to terms with five draft picks today, according to a team press release. Third-rounder Micah Gibbs was the highest-drafted player amongst the new Cubs.
Corey Brock of MLB.com tweets that the Padres signed fifth-round pick Rico Noel and eleventh-rounder Brian Guinn.
A Padres team press release confirmed the signings of Noel and Guinn, and also announced that the club had agreed to terms with six other draft picks.
Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News reports that Texas agreed to terms with sixth-rounder Brett Nicholas.
According to an Angels press release, the team has signed second-rounder (81st overall) Daniel Tillman, a right-handed pitcher from Florida Southern College.
Chris Sale passed his team physical and thus his contract with the White Sox was officially announced by the club today, via press release.

Olney On Dodgers, Lee, Yankees

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 22, 2010 at 10:33am CDT

One general manager told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that "it's becoming pretty clear" that the Dodgers won't be able to add pitching at the trade deadline. But Ed Price of AOL FanHouse heard from an MLB source that the Dodgers are scouting starters "aggressively" in preparation for possible trades. The Dodgers could use starting pitching given John Ely's last three starts and the injuries to Chad Billingsley and Carlos Monasterios, but executives appear to be divided on their ability to acquire it. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

Rival teams are waiting for the Mariners to indicate that they're willing to deal Cliff Lee. One GM says it will be "a win for the Mariners" if and when they do trade Lee, since Jack Zduriencik will probably obtain better prospects than the ones he gave up for the left-hander in December.
The Yankees are focused on improving their offense right now. Olney wonders if the Yanks could pursue a powerful infielder like Ty Wigginton. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports listed some easier-to-obtain infielders yesterday.

Odds & Ends: Giants, D’Backs, Rivera, Ramos

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 21, 2010 at 4:40pm CDT

Some links for Monday, before Mike Leake tries to restore order for the Reds…

Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com explains why he believes the Giants should acquire bullpen help.
Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner wonders (via Twitter) if the Mariners and Blue Jays could swap two recently-designated players: Ian Snell and Edwin Encarnacion.
D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes told Jack Curry of the YES Network that he will need "very significant players" in return for some of his stars (Twitter link). Sounds like Dan Haren will be hard to obtain this summer.
Mariano Rivera told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that he doesn't want to think about his contract (it expires after the season) but would consider signing a one-year deal like Andy Pettitte.
Wilson Ramos is thought of as the kind of prospect that could help the Twins pry Cliff Lee from the Mariners. But as Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes, the catcher will miss about a week with a strained oblique.
Pat Andriola of FanGraphs names winners and losers from some 2008 deadline deals.
Most expect the D'Backs to continue selling, but Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes (via Twitter) that no scouts made a special trip to see Edwin Jackson's most recent start.
The Red Sox signed Jay Broughton from the independent league Calgary Vipers, according to Sean Myers of the Calgary Herald. The 23-year-old had enrolled in grad school, but he quit and Red Sox assistant GM Allard Baird took notice and signed him.
Alex Speier of WEEI.com explains that the Dodgers, who lost to Clay Buchholz last night, nearly drafted the right-hander in the 2005 draft.
R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs says the Braves could improve by adding an outfielder before the trade deadline. Few Braves fans would argue that GM Frank Wren shouldn't consider players like Luke Scott and David DeJesus if the price is right.
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says the Marlins need to solidify their bullpen if they're going to contend.

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