At Least Four Teams Interested In Uehara
The Rangers, Pirates, Tigers, and Twins are among the teams that have expressed interest in Orioles reliever Koji Uehara, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Interest from the Pirates and Twins was previously reported, and the Reds are known to have discussed Uehara at least internally.
Uehara, 36, is among the best relievers available this summer. He sports a 1.80 ERA, 11.8 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 31.3% groundball rate in 45 innings this year, and a reasonable $4MM option for next year vests with 14 more appearances. Uehara told Zrebiec he loves Baltimore and the Orioles, "but it's not going to be any fun if we don't win. That's the dilemma."
In theory, Uehara shouldn't be much easier to acquire than San Diego's Mike Adams, the biggest difference being the former's flyball leanings. Aside from the Uehara suitors mentioned above, the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, and Diamondbacks are seeking relief help.
Sabean Not Finding Shortstop, Catcher Upgrades
Earlier this month, I deemed the trade market weak at many positions, including catcher and shortstop. Giants GM Brian Sabean appears to agree. His comments to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters yesterday:
"Right now, we don't see an upgrade with the names out there at shortstop or at catcher, and that kind of puts you in a box. A lot of the names that are being speculated on aren't even in the market. Will that change in the last 48 or 72 hours? Perhaps. Quite frankly, there are some teams that we wish would fall out of it so that we could have more conversation."
With the Reds still in contention and not likely to move Ramon Hernandez, Geovany Soto rumors scarce, and Ronny Paulino likely to stay put, it's difficult to find an available starting catcher. I wonder if Sabean was referring to the Reds, who are three games out and have strong catching depth beginning with Hernandez. Colorado's Chris Iannetta would be a nice addition, but Sabean and Dan O'Dowd have never made a significant trade that I can find.
On the shortstop front, failing a surprise blockbuster deal for Hanley Ramirez, the best options might be the Astros' Clint Barmes or the Dodgers' Jamey Carroll and Rafael Furcal. As the Brewers might tell you, shortstop upgrades are hard to come by this summer.
The Giants remain intrigued by the Twins' Michael Cuddyer, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. At seven games out, the Twins might be drifting out of contention, but it appears they'll retain Cuddyer anyway and try to re-sign him.
Central Notes: Slowey, Cardinals, Paulino, Brewers
Let's check in with the latest from the middle of the MLB map….
- The Pirates are not interested in Twins right-hander Kevin Slowey, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. (Twitter link) We heard last week that the Bucs were looking at Slowey, who went to high school in Pennsylvania.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is hoping to improve his team without moving a player from the Major League roster, but Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that "to accomplish [their] trade goal," the Cards will have to deal at least one Major Leaguer.
- With the Cardinals aggressively pursuing starting pitching, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch roundtable discusses which pitchers would be available at the lowest cost to the Cards. I like the idea of St. Louis getting a second-tier arm like Chris Capuano, since the Cardinals' search for bullpen help means they won't be able to meet the asking price for both a top starter and a top reliever such as Heath Bell.
- Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star details the Royals' scouting and pursuit of Felipe Paulino, who has pitched well since being acquired from the Rockies in May.
- The Brewers are continuing negotiations with first-round draft picks Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Brewers amateur scouting director Bruce Seid described the talks as "a work in progress," while GM Doug Melvin felt the draft picks' respective agents weren't approaching the talks with much urgency leading up to the August 15 deadline.
Twins Interested In Koji Uehara
Add the Twins to the list of teams interested in Orioles reliever Koji Uehara. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that both the Twins and O's have sent representatives to scout the other in the past week and Minnesota is known to be looking for bullpen depth.
As Connolly notes, the two clubs have a recent trading history — Baltimore acquired J.J. Hardy from Minnesota last winter. The two also seem like a good match since the Orioles "likely are looking for Major-League-ready starting pitching and young position players" and the Twins have several young outfielders and Kevin Slowey potentially available in a deal.
Uehara has a bit more than $1MM remaining on the one-year, $3MM contract he signed with the O's last winter and he has a $4MM option for 2012 that will vest if he reaches 55 appearances. Given that Uehara has 40 appearances already, this option is a virtual certainty to vest. The 36-year-old Osaka native is having a stellar year, posting a 1.84 ERA, a 7.25 K/BB ratio and an 11.9 K.9 rate in those 40 appearances with Baltimore.
The Reds and Pirates are two other teams rumored to be looking at Uehara.
Minor Moves: Vazquez, Diamond
Let's keep track of all the day's minor moves here…
- The Blue Jays have released infielder Ramon Vazquez according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 34-year-old hit .288/.367/.363 in 90 Triple-A plate appearances after signing a minor league deal in mid-June.
- The Twins released right-hander Thomas Diamond according to the International League transactions page. Diamond, 28, pitched to a 8.25 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 in 24 innings for Minnesota's Triple-A affiliate after landing a minor league contract last month.
AL Central Notes: Twins, White Sox, Indians
On this date in 1909, Ty Cobb stole second, third and home in one inning as the Tigers beat the Red Sox 6-0. The Tigers will be playing the Twins tonight and the Indians will host the White Sox in the other intra-divisional contest of note. Here's the latest on the winnable AL Central…
- The Twins are six games below .500, but they consider themselves buyers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. They’re six games out of first place and continue targeting middle relief. GM Bill Smith told Rosenthal that he wants “depth” to complement Joe Nathan, Matt Capps and Glen Perkins.
- The White Sox are being uncharacteristically quiet on the trade market, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). Crasnick suggests we'll have a better sense of Chicago's plans after Chicago's upcoming six games against the Indians and Tigers.
- Rival executives expect the Indians to keep their prime assets and make incremental moves this year, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (Twitter link).
Quick Hits: Mariners, Slowey, Phillies
Here are some late night links as Thursday turns into Friday…
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports spoke to rival executives who believe the only three Mariners off limits in trade talks are Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, and Dustin Ackley. Impending free agents like Adam Kennedy, Jack Wilson, and Jamey Wright are certainly on the block, but pitchers Jason Vargas, Brandon League, and Doug Fister would be the most interesting trade candidates.
- The Blue Jays scouted Kevin Slowey's minor league rehab start on Wednesday night, tweets Morosi. They've had interest in him since Spring Training.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says the Phillies are unlikely to add both a reliever and a right-handed bat before the trade deadline. Healthy returns from Brad Lidge and Jose Contreras could be all the bullpen help they need.
AL Central Notes: Indians, Tigers, Twins, Avila
The Indians called up top prospect Jason Kipnis today, hoping that his .281/.363/.485 batting line in Triple-A will provide a boost for their big league offense. Let's see what else is going on around the division…
- The Indians need a starter and a bat, but Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says (on Twitter) that they are taking a conservative approach to the trade deadline.
- Meanwhile, SI.com's Jon Heyman says (on Twitter) that the Indians' top two trade targets are Hiroki Kuroda and Aaron Harang. Earlier today we heard they were looking at Coco Crisp as well.
- The Tigers are still not talking to the Astros about either Wandy Rodriguez or Brett Myers, reports Morosi (on Twitter). Earlier today we heard Houston is "making it clear" that they're willing to move Wandy.
- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that the Twins are dipping their toe in the bullpen market, and seek a reliever to pair with Joe Nathan and Matt Capps at the end of the game.
- The AL Central is up for grabs, and MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince says the trade deadline could play a big part in determining who eventually wins the division.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote about the rise of Alex Avila, the Tigers 24-year-old All-Star catcher.
Red Sox Not Pursuing Anyone Aggressively Right Now
The Red Sox are "not pursuing anyone aggressively right now," a source familiar with the team's thinking told WEEI's Alex Speier. Instead, the team is currently trying to determine which internal solutions will work. We've heard the Red Sox named as one of the most aggressive suitors for Carlos Beltran, but that may not be the case.
The Sox are still taking their normal approach of "inquiring about anyone who may make an appreciable difference to the team," in the words of the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo. Cafardo says the Red Sox have inquired on Beltran, Ubaldo Jimenez, Felix Hernandez, Jose Reyes, Jeff Francoeur, Jeff Baker, Michael Cuddyer, Ty Wigginton, Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Jeremy Guthrie, Ryan Ludwick, Josh Willingham, Conor Jackson, Ryan Spilborghs, Mike Adams, and others. The team needs include starting pitching, a reliever, an outfielder, and a shortstop, but the Red Sox may prefer internal options in many cases.
Sabean Talks Offense, Trade Market, Prospects
11:59pm: It's possible Sabean's "something bigger" referred to the Twins' Michael Cuddyer, writes Baggarly. The Giants recently expressed interest in him with a second base job in mind. The asking price was steep, so Sabean closed the Keppinger deal with Houston. Still, Baggarly would not rule out the Twins revisiting Cuddyer.
10:15pm: After the Giants acquired Jeff Keppinger, GM Brian Sabean explained that his work isn't done. The 56-41 Giants are lucky to be 15 games above .500, according to Sabean, who discussed the trade market in detail tonight. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has the details on the Giants, who are taking on the division rival Dodgers tonight:
- Sabean said he's still committed to improving the San Francisco offense. No winning team has scored fewer runs than the Giants (356).
- Before the Keppinger deal, Sabean was working on “something [he] thought was much bigger.” That deal did not involve Carlos Beltran, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
- Sabean described the market for catchers and shortstops as “almost nonexistent.”
- General managers eyeing Zack Wheeler and Brandon Belt may want to think twice. Sabean suggested some of the team's top young players are virtually untouchable. “There are guys we definitely won’t trade, and baseball people know that, too,” Sabean said.