If The Marlins Become Sellers
The Marlins have lost seven in a row, and they're now 6.5 games out in the wild card. It's time to think about selling.
- Closer Leo Nunez (pictured) has battled a stiff back lately and endured a few rough outings in the last month or so. His numbers remain strong overall and he's under team control through 2012, so a quality prospect or two could be extracted.
- The Marlins don't have impending free agents in their bullpen, but I could picture a few arbitration eligible types being available. That might mean Clay Hensley if he returns strong in July, or Brian Sanches and Edward Mujica. Don't expect the Marlins to go overboard dismantling their pen though, as improving it was a major focus of last offseason.
- Omar Infante, a big part of the Dan Uggla trade, has struggled to a .253/.297/.306 line on the season. If he picks it up a bit there could be mild interest in the versatile 29-year-old.
- Bench players Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs could become available. Dobbs' bat was quite useful in the first two months of the season.
- I liked the Javier Vazquez signing at the time, but he has a 6.85 ERA to date and hasn't shown much in the way of improvement. At $7MM, a release is more likely than a trade.
- Check out other potential sellers posts here.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Quick Hits: Orioles, Miller, Maybin, Bedard
Congratulations to the Boston Bruins on winning their first Stanley Cup since 1972. This year's major sports champions have now come from Boston, the Dallas/Fort Worth area and Wisconsin. All three of those regions could be gunning for their second championship parade of the year come November — the Red Sox, Rangers and Brewers are all in first place in their respective divisions.
Some news and items from around the majors….
- The Orioles have a lot of pieces that can be moved this summer, writes Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. He lists Koji Uehara and Jeremy Guthrie as possible trade candidates, but Schmuck predicts Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee will finish the season in Baltimore since "neither…has done enough to create real value for the club." Schmuck also notes that Andy MacPhail may not pursue a full fire sale since finishing with a .500 record would be a positive step for a team that hasn't had a winning record since 1997.
- Andrew Miller has indeed opted to remain with the Red Sox and he will start for the team against San Diego on Monday, reports Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston.
- David Villavicencio of FOX Sports Florida has the story of Marlins first-round pick Jose Fernandez, who escaped to the United States from his native Cuba on his fourth attempt. Florida took the right-hander with the 14th overall pick and though Fernandez has committed to the University of South Florida, the story makes it sound as if he's eager to sign.
- Erik Bedard still carries too much risk for the Yankees to make a play for at the trade deadline, argues Mike Axisa of the River Avenue Blues blog. Also, as Axisa notes, the Mariners aren't likely to deal the Canadian southpaw since they're contending in the AL West.
- "China, as well as India, Taiwan, and South Korea, represents one of the next great market inefficiencies," writes Bradley Woodrum for Fangraphs. A team that establishes a foothold in East Asia will have first dibs on a huge, untapped area for finding future baseball talent.
Rosenthal On Reds, Nunez, Edwin Rodriguez
Here's the latest from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal in this new Hot Corner video…
- Of the NL Central contenders, Rosenthal thinks the Reds will be the most active before the trade deadline. They can deal one of their top prospects (Zack Cozart, Yonder Alonso, Devin Mesoraco) for help, or perhaps promote one or more of those youngsters. The Reds also have Aroldis Chapman and Homer Bailey's returns on the horizon.
- The Cardinals will rely on reinforcements in the form of injured players returning from the DL, and while the Brewers are looking for "a hard-throwing reliever," Rosenthal doesn't think Milwaukee will be able to make any major trades since the farm system is thin after the Zack Greinke deal last winter.
- The bright side of Derek Jeter's injury is that it gives the Yankees a look at Eduardo Nunez, their possible shortstop of the future. Rosenthal also notes that Nunez could be a potential trade chip.
- In regards to the rumored realignment plan, Rosenthal says concerns about interleague games being played throughout the year would be addressed by having the majority of AL vs. NL matchups take place towards the middle of the season, as per tradition. Rosenthal, for his part, is a big supporter of realignment since it will create a more fair playing field in regards to scheduling and the divisional setup.
- In another video clip, Rosenthal argues that the Marlins shouldn't be quick to fire manager Edwin Rodriguez even though the team is struggling. The injuries to Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson have hampered the team, though as Rosenthal notes, even with this excuse for Florida's slump, it's hard to predict Jeffrey Loria's actions.
Marlins Sign DeWayne Wise
The Marlins have signed outfielder Dewayne Wise and he will be assigned to Florida's Triple-A affiliate, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. This is Wise's second stint with the Fish in 2011; he signed the team in the offseason but exercised his contract's out clause in March when he didn't make Florida's Opening Day roster.
Wise was released by the Blue Jays last week. The defensive specialist posted a .931 OPS in 144 plate appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas, but given how that number is over 250 points higher than Wise's career Major League OPS, his offensive surge can likely be explained by the hitter-friendly Las Vegas ballpark. The Marlins are Wise's fifth team in his eight-year Major League career — he has also played for the Jays, Braves, Reds, and perhaps most memorably, the White Sox.
Marlins Designate Brad Davis For Assignment
The Marlins designated catcher Brad Davis for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster for recently-signed infielder Jose Lopez, tweets Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Righty Elih Villanueva, who was hammered by the Phillies today in his big league debut, was optioned to create a spot on the 25-man roster.
Davis, 28, was hitting .212/.294/.303 in 187 Triple-A plate appearances this year, a big step down from his work at that level in 2010. Davis spent some time in the Majors last year, but lost the spring battle with Brett Hayes to be the Marlins' backup catcher.
Heyman On Yankees, Red Sox, Twins, D’Backs
In the aftermath of Bob Geren’s dismissal, Jon Heyman of SI.com lists a handful of managers with suspect job security. Though 2011 probably won’t be a big year for managerial firings, Jim Riggleman of the Nationals and Edwin Rodriguez of the Marlins are on Heyman’s list. Here are the rest of his rumors:
- Geren had "lost" the Athletics' clubhouse, according to people with Oakland ties.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman doesn’t expect elite starting pitching to be available this summer. "I just don't see a No. 1 pitcher you can pinpoint,'' Cashman said.
- The Yankees will look for starting pitching and left-handed relief.
- The Red Sox will also be looking to add a southpaw to their ‘pen.
- Boston people expect top prospect Jose Iglesias to prove himself as the shortstop of the future and people don’t expect the Red Sox to “make a play” for Jose Reyes.
- Competing executives say the Twins will “do what’s right” for the organization this summer, even if that means trading Major Leaguers for prospects. Watch out for the last-place Twins, who have won seven of eight.
- Executives say the D’Backs, Padres, Pirates, Rays and Red Sox had strong drafts.
Marlins Sign Jose Lopez
The Marlins have signed Jose Lopez to a minor league contract reports MLB.com's Greg Johns (on Twitter). He had been released by the Rockies earlier this week.
Lopez, 27, hit just .208/.233/.288 in 129 plate appearances for Colorado, which is why they designated him for assignment late last month. The Marlins would only owe Lopez the pro-rated portion of the league minimum if they called him up; the Rockies are on the hook for the rest of his $3.6MM salary.
East Notes: Phillies, Lawrie, Fox, Uggla
Some items from the eastern divisions….
- "You will not see a major move this year," Phillies GM Ruben Amaro tells Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com about his team's trade deadline plans. Amaro feels the Phils are already good enough to compete and it's just a matter of the club finding its peak form. He also notes that the team has very little payroll flexibility, but "for $170 MM-plus, we should be good enough to be a World Series contender.”
- Blue Jays prospect Brett Lawrie will be out for two-to-four weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his left hand, tweets Rogers Sportsnet's Arash Madani. Lawrie was tentatively scheduled to make his Major League debut last week before being hit by a pitch in a Triple-A game.
- Jake Fox was put on waivers by the Orioles earlier today and he might get some attention from the Pirates. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes that the Pirates had some interest in Fox during Spring Training, and the Bucs might have need for a catcher since Chris Snyder left today's game with a back injury. (Twitter link)
- The Dan Uggla trade hasn't panned out well for either the Braves or the Marlins thus far, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
Rosenthal On Rangers, Upton, Marlins, Indians
With only five teams more than seven games out of first place, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks this year's trade market could play out differently than your usual scenario of struggling teams selling to contenders. An unnamed general manager tells Rosenthal “It might be more of a reallocation of pieces than classic buying or selling…Parity also means that teams that aren’t close are saying, ‘Next year, it can be us.’ Maybe they buy a two- to three-year asset that they wouldn’t otherwise.”
Here's the latest from Rosenthal on a number of teams looking to fill needs as the pennant races begin to heat up…
- The Rangers are looking for right-handed relievers and have a number of trade chips to offer other teams. Rosenthal speculates Texas could offer Taylor Teagarden to the Giants for a righty arm, or possibly Chris Davis to the Padres or another team that is looking for offensive help.
- Todd Coffey is drawing interest from the Rangers, and Rosenthal thinks Coffey could be part of a package for Julio Borbon since the Nationals need a center fielder/leadoff hitter type.
- Of course, Washington is also looking at B.J. Upton to fill that hole in center. Rosenthal thinks it's unlikely the Rays move Upton, though they could change their minds if the Nats offer Tyler Clippard and a young positional prospect.
- The Marlins are interested in acquiring veteran bullpen help in exchange for one of their minor league relievers. Right-handers Jose Ceda, Jhan Marinez and Sandy Rosario have all attracted some attention from other clubs.
- While "the Indians’ most obvious need remains a quality starting pitcher," Rosenthal also thinks the Tribe could be in the market for right-handed hitting help. One of Rosenthal's Twitter followers asked if Cleveland could make a move for Hunter Pence, but Rosenthal doesn't think Houston will move Pence and the Indians already have Shin-Soo Choo in right field.
- The Brewers "would love to add another power arm to their 'pen," as Milwaukee relievers rank 13th in the league in K/9.
- The Diamondbacks had an interest in David Purcey before the A's dealt the left-hander to the Tigers on May 27.
- Bruce Bochy thinks rookie shortstop Brandon Crawford can be a productive Major League hitter, which would seem to lessen the Giants' chances of acquiring Jose Reyes before the deadline or trying to sign Reyes this winter in free agency.
- Rosenthal "can't see" Jim Hendry returning as the Cubs' general manager given the team's current state. "Forget about signing a free agent such as the Cardinals' Albert Pujols or the Brewers' Prince Fielder," Rosenthal writes. "The Cubs are so far gone, they are much more than one player away." Carlos Pena, John Grabow, Kosuke Fukudome, Kerry Wood and Jeff Baker are all trade candidates this summer; MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently looked at the values of these players and others on the struggling Cubbies.
Nine Teams In Violation Of Debt Service Rules
The Dodgers and Mets are among the nine MLB teams in violation of MLB’s debt service rules, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. The regulations came into being in 2002 and are intended to limit a team’s debt to ten times its yearly earnings and ensure that each team can pay its bills. The Orioles, Cubs, Tigers, Marlins, Phillies, Rangers and Nationals are also in violation of the rules, according to Shaikin.
MLB executive VP of labor relations Rob Manfred says he isn’t “concerned about the overall economic condition of the industry" and a National League executive called the high number of teams out of compliance a “hiccup” for an otherwise healthy league.
Along with the competitive balance tax and revenue sharing, the debt service rule figures to be a major financial issue in the negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the owners. The Phillies have confirmed that they are not currently compliant with the debt-service rule, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.