Quick Hits: Marlins, Yankees, Darvish
Dan Uggla hit his 23rd home run of the season and extended his hit streak to 25 games against the Nationals this afternoon. Here's the latest news from around MLB, starting with an item on Uggla’s former team…
- Greg Cote of the Miami Herald argues that the Marlins should stop focusing on finding a new manager for 2012 and let Jack McKeon lead the club into its new stadium next year.
- GM Brian Cashman's emphasis on the "bigger picture" has enabled the Yankees to keep the likes of Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and Eduardo Nunez, as Newsday's Ken Davidoff explains.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (link at ESPN.com) and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com rank the top prospects traded at the deadline and Drew Pomeranz, who hasn't even been officially traded yet, tops both lists. The Rockies will acquire Pomeranz as the player to be named in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports suggests Yu Darvish could end up with the Rangers next year. The Rangers have two Japanese pitchers, Koji Uehara and Yoshinori Tateyama, and could bid for the rights to Darvish after the season. GM Jon Daniels saw Darvish pitch this year, but he was interested in more than one player. "I was there to get a feel for the lay of the land and the baseball culture, the same way I did in the Dominican a few years ago,” Daniels told Morosi. “If we’re going to invest in that universe of players, we need to understand where they’re coming from.”
Quick Hits: Marlins, Cust, Jimenez, Angels
It was on this day in 1907 that Walter Johnson made his Major League debut with the Washington Senators. The Big Train retired after 21 seasons in Washington with 417 career wins, 3509 career strikeouts and a case as possibly the greatest pitcher of all time.
Some notes from around the majors….
- The Marlins were quiet at the trade deadline since the club wants to keep its core intact for the move into their new Miami ballpark in 2012, writes CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler.
- The recently-DFA'ed Jack Cust visited some ex-teammates in the Athletics' clubhouse today but he told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that the A's weren't one of a few teams that had shown some interest in him.
- Steve Slowsinski of Fangraphs gives kudos to the Rockies' front office for taking a risk with the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, but "really dislikes the trade from a philosophical point of view." Slowinski feels Colorado could have at least gotten one of Cleveland's top position player prospects (Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall) back in the deal.
- Bobby Abreu's $9MM option for 2012 vested on Sunday night and the veteran slugger tells MLB.com's Jordan Garretson that he's happy to remain with the Angels for the rest of his career.
- From that same piece, Mike Scioscia explained the team's decision to send Mike Trout back to Double-A Arkansas rather than Triple-A Salt Lake City as partially due to the fact that Arkansas is headed for the postseason. "We really feel strongly that in a player's development it's important to experience the playoffs. In Mike's case, he's a guy that's leading a team to the playoffs," Scioscia said.
NL East Trades
Here are the trades that took place in the NL East this month..
Braves
- Acquired center fielder Michael Bourn and cash from the Astros for center fielder Jordan Schafer, southpaw Double-A starter Brett Oberholtzer, righty Double-A starter Paul Clemens, and righty Triple-A reliever Juan Abreu.
- Acquired catcher Wil Nieves from the Brewers for cash considerations.
Mets
- Acquired pitching prospect Zack Wheeler from the Giants for right fielder Carlos Beltran and cash considerations.
- Acquired two players to be named later from the Brewers for Francisco Rodriguez and cash considerations. The Mets will choose the players from a list of five Brewers minor leaguers by a date in September.
Marlins
- Acquired outfielder Mike Cameron from the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Nationals
- Acquired shortstop prospect Zach Walters from Arizona in exchange for right-hander Jason Marquis.
- Acquired Double-A outfielder Erik Komatsu from the Brewers for infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr..
- Acquired Jonny Gomes and cash considerations from the Reds for outfielder Bill Rhinehart and left-hander Chris Manno.
Phillies
- Acquired Hunter Pence and $2MM from the Astros for prospects Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, and Josh Zeid, as well as a player to be named later.
Marlins Receiving Calls On Omar Infante
1:01pm: The Pirates are interested in many bats right now, tweets Jon Paul Morosi, including Infante. Infante told Joe Frisaro he hopes to remain with the Marlins beyond this year.
10:27am: The Infante rumors have no legs, hears Juan C. Rodriguez.
8:29am: Infante is a popular target, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but nothing is close with the Braves and the Marlins are leaning toward keeping him.
7:12am: The Braves and Marlins have had multiple conversations regarding Omar Infante, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Infante's versatility would come in handy given the injuries to Nate McLouth and Jordan Schafer. Infante, 29, played three seasons for the Braves before November's Dan Uggla deal with Florida. He currently profiles as a Type B free agent.
NL East Notes: Braves, Pence, Minor, Beltran, Marlins
The Phillies sent Bobby Abreu to the Yankees on this date five years ago. Now they're buyers and they have Hunter Pence to show for it. Here's the latest on Pence and his new division…
- The Braves are working hard to acquire an outfield bat, but there are "still no dance partners" according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- The Astros sent $2MM (not $1MM) to the Phillies in the Pence deal, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). The Phillies won't have to pay the luxury tax this way, Stark reports.
- Kevin Goldstein and R.J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus break down the trade that sent Pence to the Phillies.
- The Braves would have included Mike Minor in a deal for Pence, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- One executive tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Braves have six untouchable players (Twitter link).
- The Mets thought they were going to trade Carlos Beltran to the Rangers earlier in the week, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Texas was being more aggressive than other teams and even though they weren't willing to include elite prospects, the Mets considered a multi-prospect package. Finally, the Giants offered Zack Wheeler and the Mets moved on from the Rangers, who wouldn't budge on certain requests.
- The Marlins intend to keep Leo Nunez, Omar Infante, Ricky Nolasco and Randy Choate, according to Olney (on Twitter). They've gotten tons of hits on those players, Olney reports.
Marlins Likely To Keep Nunez Into Next Season
We've heard that the Marlins are likely to keep closer Leo Nunez this summer. Today, Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel adds that he's heard the Fish plan to keep the righty into next season. There had been a question of whether the Marlins would be willing to pay a reliever $6.5MM, the range of Nunez's expected 2012 salary.
Talking to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, Brewers GM Doug Melvin cited the Marlins as an example of a non-contender that is holding on to its players this summer. Said Melvin: "They're not anticipating moving anybody."
NL East Notes: Nationals, Marlins, Reyes
The Braves and Phillies are both interested in Hunter Pence (latest rumors) and have interest in the same collection of right-handed hitting outfielders as alternatives. Here's the latest on a division led by two of the NL's three 60-win teams…
- The Nationals want interested teams to take on the $2.2MM remaining on Jason Marquis' contract and surrender a prospect, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Marquis' suitors don't love the idea. The Tigers discussed a deal for the righty last night.
- Rival executives tell ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo is intent on finding a center fielder. "It's his Holy Grail," a rival GM said. "He's bound and determined to get an established guy.” Denard Span of the Twins is Rizzo’s current target.
- It looks like the Marlins won't make a deal before the trade deadline, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (on Twitter).
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson has seen firsthand that Jose Reyes makes an immense difference on the field, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Can the Mets afford the free agent to be after 2011? A surprising number of Mets executives expect to keep Reyes long-term, according to Sherman.
NL East Notes: Marlins, Lowe, Nieves
The NL East looks much different than it did 24 hours ago. Carlos Beltran is out, Zack Wheeler is in and the Phillies and Braves will have to turn elsewhere in their respective searches for offense. Here are the details on the division…
- The Marlins are asking for a lot in exchange for Leo Nunez and Randy Choate and Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez are off-limits at this point, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- It appears that the Braves will hold onto Derek Lowe, according to Heyman (on Twitter).
- The Brewers obtained $1 from the Braves for catcher Wil Nieves, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (on Twitter). That's right – one dollar. The Braves will pay Nieves' remaining salary while he plays for their Triple-A affiliate.
Yankees Tried For Ricky Nolasco
The Yankees tried for starter Ricky Nolasco, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, but the Marlins are not ready to deal him. Earlier, Joel Sherman of the New York Post talked to an "AL personnel man" who said he thought the Marlins would at least listen seriously on Nolasco.
Nolasco, 28, has a 4.04 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9, and 43.6% groundball rate in 140 1/3 innings this year. The strikeout rate is his lowest since his rookie season. Nolasco has about $2.1MM left on his contract this year, plus $20.5MM for 2012-13.
Marlins Unlikely To Trade Nunez
The Marlins are unlikely to trade closer Leo Nunez, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. And as I mentioned in June, the Fish may want to extend starter Anibal Sanchez if anything.
Though the Angels, Phillies, and others have been linked to Nunez, his removal from the trade market wouldn't change much. It's still flush with right-handed relievers.
Sanchez figures to be a big part of the Marlins' 2012 rotation, along with Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco.