Marlins Outright Jorge Sosa To Triple A
WEDNESDAY: The Marlins outrighted Sosa to Triple A, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).
SUNDAY: The Marlins will designate veteran reliever Jorge Sosa for assignment on Tuesday, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
Sosa, 32, has appeared in eight games for the Marlins this season, totaling 9.1 innings pitched. Over that time he's allowed eight runs for a 7.71 ERA and walked six hitters as opposed to just five strikeouts. He signed a minor league deal with Florida earlier this Spring after being released by the Red Sox in Spring Training.
Sosa's fastball sits at 92mph these days, as opposed to 2004 when he averaged 94.6mph with the Rays and posted a strong 8.52 K/9. His control has always been a weakness, with a career 4.13 BB/9. That lack of control culminated in a four-walk outing yesterday in which he recorded just two outs and allowed four earned runs, despite surrendering only one hit.
The Latest On The Marlins’ Managerial Search
The Marlins are "moving fast" to interview Bobby Valentine as soon as possible, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Rosenthal says other candidates are in the mix for the job Fredi Gonzalez held until this morning.
Jack McKeon, who managed the Marlins to a World Series title in 2003, is not in the running to manage the team again, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (via Twitter). No more than ten candidates have a shot at the position and the Marlins hope to hire a new manager by the All-Star break (Twitter link).
Team president David Samson spoke with Valentine this morning, according to Capozzi (via Twitter). Interest is mutual at this point; Valentine has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Orioles' opening and said he would consider managing the Marlins.
Marlins Release Renyel Pinto
The Marlins released lefty Renyel Pinto, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). It's been a busy day for the Marlins, who fired manager Fredi Gonzalez and have already started contacting potential replacements. Pinto was designated for assignment a week ago, so his release is less of a surprise than his former manager's firing.
Pinto, 28 next month, had a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings for Florida this year, striking out 16 and walking nine. He is under team control for both the 2011 and 2012 seasons, so he figures to draw some interest as a free agent.
The Marlins released left-hander Hunter Jones yesterday and it looks like he'll undergo Tommy John surgery. Unlike Jones, Pinto can help a team this year.
Valentine Interested In Managing Marlins; Not O’s
Bobby Valentine has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Orioles' managerial opening and confirmed that he has interest in managing the Marlins. Valentine, who had been a candidate to take over in Baltimore, told ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian that he is no longer interested in managing the Orioles.
"At this time in my career, I feel I should direct my energies in another direction," Valentine said.
The former Mets skipper confirmed to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he is interested in managing the Marlins, who have yet to formally contact Valentine. Kurkjian notes that Valentine has been a friend of Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria for decades. Edwin Rodriguez will now take over for Fredi Gonzalez in Florida, but Valentine figures to interview for the permanent job.
The Orioles, who now must move on without Valentine, are interviewing Buck Showalter today and have already interviewed Eric Wedge. Click here for reactions to the Marlins' decision to fire Gonzalez.
Olney On Rangers, Sheets, Gonzalez, Orioles
Lawyers in the game say the Rangers don’t have a good chance of completing their ownership transfer by the July 31st trade deadline, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. That means Roy Oswalt won’t likely play for the Rangers this year. But GM Jon Daniels, who would like to add a veteran starter, could acquire Cliff Lee if he gets creative. Taking on salary would be a challenge, since the Rangers have borrowed $20MM or more from MLB to operate. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:
- The A’s can afford to cover some of the $5.5MM remaining on Ben Sheets’ contract in a trade if it means they acquire better prospects. Since few teams want to take on payroll, the A’s, who paid part of Matt Holliday’s salary after trading him to the Cardinals last year, could improve the return they get for Sheets by absorbing money again.
- Olney says recently-fired manager Fredi Gonzalez has been “a dead man walking” since the end of the 2009 season.
- The Orioles aren’t in a rush to trade their veterans, partly because the team is struggling so much.
Fredi Gonzalez Firing Reactions
Barely an hour has passed since the Marlins fired manager Fredi Gonzalez and replaced him with Edwin Rodriguez, but the reactions have already started streaming in. The early verdict: Gonzalez deserves another chance and he'll probably get one. Here are some takes on the dismissal from around the league:
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders who is good enough for Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria if Joe Girardi and Gonzalez are not.
- Braves GM Frank Wren told MLB.com's Mark Bowman (Twitter link) that he respects Gonzalez, but will not comment further until Bobby Cox has managed his last game.
- Bowman wonders if the Braves will find room for Gonzalez in their organization this season.
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports suggests (via Twitter) that Bobby Valentine could be the Marlins' next manager.
- Ed Price of AOL FanHouse says there's "some belief in the game" that the Marlins already have an agreement with Valentine. Price also suggests Loria had unfairly high expectations for Gonzalez.
- Gonzalez seemed to be taking the news well, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. The Marlins players, however, were walking around the team hotel "in shock."
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro calls the firing "a stunning move."
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says Gonzalez deserves an award, not a dismissal, for standing up to Hanley Ramirez (Twitter link).
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Marlins were "strongly considering" firing Gonzalez before his public clash with Ramirez (Twitter link).
Marlins Fire Fredi Gonzalez; Rodriguez To Manage
The Marlins fired manager Fredi Gonzalez and two coaches, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Edwin Rodriguez, who had been managing the organization's Triple A affiliate, will replace Gonzalez as interim manager, according to ESPN.com. The 34-36 Marlins also replaced coaches Carlos Tosca and Jim Presley with Brandon Hyde and John Mallee.
Gonzalez has a 276-279 record in three-plus seasons managing the perennially low-payroll Marlins. Earlier in the season he and superstar Hanley Ramirez attracted national attention after Gonzalez benched Ramirez for lack of hustle.
Rodriguez, who turns 50 this summer, has led the New Orleans Zephyrs to a 33-37 record so far this year. It's his second season managing the Zephyrs and his eighth in the Marlins organization. Rodriguez played in parts of three seasons for the Yankees and Padres from 1982-85.
Like the manager he replaced, Joe Girardi, Gonzalez is well-respected and other teams will presumably be interested in his services. Jon Heyman of SI.com has often suggested that Gonzalez, a longtime Braves coach, could replace Bobby Cox in Atlanta in 2011. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes (via Twitter) that Gonzalez "immediately moves to top of the list of potential Cox replacements."
Minor League Transactions: Johnson, Mastny, Botts
Tom Mastny and Jason Botts were among the former major leaguers to sign deals with big league clubs from June 8th-14th. Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the details:
- Ben Johnson, one of the players the Padres sent the Mets for Heath Bell, has signed a deal with the Tigers. The outfielder, who has a .230/.313/.414 line in parts of three major league seasons, had been playing in the Golden League.
- Scott Patterson, who played briefly with the Yankees and Padres in 2008, signed with the Mariners after posting an 18K/3BB ratio in the Atlantic League.
- The Marlins turned to Tom Mastny in their search for relievers, signing the former Indian out of the Atlantic League. Mastny, 29, posted a 6.13 ERA in 94 innings with Cleveland from 2006-08.
- The Royals released Jason Taylor four years after drafting him in the second round and signing him to a $763K deal.
- The Nationals signed Jason Botts out of the Atlantic League. Botts, who has a minor league OPS of .875, spent parts of the 2005-08 seasons with the Rangers.
- The Orioles and Royals, two of the organizations that have seven domestic minor league clubs, have pursued and signed non-drafted free agents aggressively.
- Mike Curto reports (via Twitter) that the Astros acquired Tommy Everidge from the Mariners. Everidge appeared in 24 games for the A's last year.
Marlins Release Hunter Jones
The Marlins released Hunter Jones, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (via Twitter). Jones and Jose Alvarez joined the Marlins last November in the Jeremy Hermida deal. Jones, who was born about 80 miles from Miami, appeared in three major league games in early May and held the opposition scoreless in 1.2 innings.
In 45.1 innings for the Triple A New Orleans Zephyrs, Jones has a 4.17 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 this season. The 26-year-old left-hander relies on a high-80s fastball and a high-70s slider, according to data on FanGraphs. MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports that Jones will likely undergo Tommy John surgery (Twitter link). The Marlins have offered to re-sign him for 2011.
Odds & Ends: Sheets, Matthews Jr., Cubs, Red Sox
A few more links for Monday night….
- A scout tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that he didn't know of any teams scouting Ben Sheets this past weekend.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that there's no risk to the Reds signing Gary Matthews Jr., but that he still wouldn't do it.
- Jack Moore of Fangraphs explains how he thinks the Cubs should approach the trading deadline.
- The Red Sox will have the financial flexibility to make a move or two this summer in part because of their abundance of homegrown pitching talent, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons.
- Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies may need to acquire an arm for the back of their bullpen.
- With July 31st fast approaching, MLB.com's beat writers are fielding a slew of questions about possible trades. Check out mailbags from Anthony Castrovince (Indians), T.R. Sullivan (Rangers), Joe Frisaro (Marlins), and Chris Haft (Giants) for their thoughts on the trade market.