Odds & Ends: A-Rod, Beltre, Athletics, Rockies
Links for Tuesday, as Tigers reliever Casey Fien returns to the Majors after spending the offseason in waiver wire hell…
- The home run milestone incentives in Alex Rodriguez's contract were the brainchild of Warren Buffett, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. The milestones start with home run #660; A-Rod currently has 594.
- WEEI's Alex Speier has the interesting story of the Dodgers signing Adrian Beltre in 1994 at age 15 by way of falsified documents, including the player's recollection of the situation. I swapped emails with Fred Claire, who was Dodgers GM at the time. Claire takes responsibility for the incident, but "had no awareness that Beltre's birth date had been altered in any way, shape or form" and "would never have approved such an act."
- Joe Stiglich of the Contra Costa Times talked with scouts about the Athletics' trade chips. At least one scout prefers Ben Sheets to Kevin Millwood.
- Dave Cameron's presciption for the Rockies in this FanGraphs article: move Brad Hawpe to first base and acquire Dan Uggla. Another good read from Cameron is his takedown of the theory that Russell Branyan will bring protection for other Mariners hitters. Speaking of Branyan, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Seattle's acquisition "stunned" rival executives.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues looks at Octavio Dotel as a potential Yankees trade target, and prefers they do not pursue a reunion.
- Howard Megdal of SNY is "reluctant to deal any significant part of the Mets' future for a rental of Cliff Lee." Megdal feels that the team's window to win extends beyond 2010.
Odds & Ends: DePaula, Padres, Yost, Fasano
Links for Monday, as Jason Heyward hits the DL…
- Top Dominican pitching prospect Rafael DePaula admitted to using a false name and lying about his age, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.
- Padres CEO Jeff Moorad confirmed something Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse reported last week. The Padres are interested in starting pitching and can spend to acquire it.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore is not yet thinking about manager Ned Yost's future, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince hears that Sal Fasano, who currently manages in Toronto's system, is an early candidate to replace Cito Gaston as the Blue Jays' manager in 2011. Fasano, 38, had an 11-year MLB career that included a stint with the Jays in 2007.
- Some GMs think the relatively small number of teams with money to spare will limit the trading we see this summer, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
- There's not a lot of optimism within the Dodgers' organization that the club will be able to add much payroll to improve its pitching staff, writes Olney (Twitter link). Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told MLBTR's Tim Dierkes that the team's ability to make a deal depends on many variables.
- Check out Will Carroll's top ten GM candidates in this Baseball Prospectus article (subscription required).
- Nolan Ryan may be about to hire former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker away from the Rays, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle.
- Former Astro Chris Burke is considering retirement, according to Michael Grant of the Louisville Courier-Journal. The Reds' Triple A club cut the 30-year-old over the weekend.
Will Dodgers Pursue Bullpen Help?
The Dodgers need bullpen help, in the opinion of Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. Manager Joe Torre has been leaning heavily on closer Jonathan Broxton, who failed to protect a four-run lead against the Yankees last night. Shaikin feels that the Dodgers have only two other reliable relievers – Ronald Belisario and Hong-Chih Kuo.
GM Ned Colletti has already stacked the Albuquerque Isotopes' roster with veteran relievers – Jesus Colome, Jack Taschner, Kiko Calero, and Claudio Vargas are recent additions. Asked over email by MLBTR whether he is looking to upgrade the bullpen and if he'd be open to renting a reliever, Colletti was noncommittal: "Always depends on who is coming in and who is going out." Talking to Shaikin yesterday, Torre said, "I know Ned is certainly not zeroing in on one little area." In other words, Colletti is considering more than just starting pitching.
If Colletti looks to make a deal, I imagine Kerry Wood, Kyle Farnsworth, Octavio Dotel, D.J. Carrasco, Brendan Donnelly, and Javier Lopez can be had. I also wonder about Brandon League, David Aardsma, Brandon Lyon, Matt Lindstrom, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, and Matt Capps. The remaining salary on these contracts ranges from $413K for Lopez to $5.59MM for Wood.
Dodgers Sign Jack Taschner
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
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?
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
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
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
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
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.