Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mets Rumors

NL East Notes: Brown, Utley, Byrd, Storen, Nats

By | at

Earlier today, the Phillies placed Domonic Brown on the seven-day disabled list with concussion-like symptoms. The move was retroactive to July 24, meaning he'd be eligible to return next Wednesday. As general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. noted to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, the speed with which Brown can return will have an impact on the team's decision to buy or sell heading into the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Here's more on the Phillies and the rest of th NL East…

  • Also from Salisbury's piece, Amaro was hesitant to discuss reports that he and his staff are working on an extension for Chase Utley. Salisbury writes that if the Phillies don't think they can sign him long-term, they'll probably move him. When asked if Utley will be a Phillie after the deadline, Amaro replied, "I would think so."
  • Many teams are keeping an eye on Marlon Byrd whether they admit to it or not, a Major League executive told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The Mets are still planning to hang onto both Byrd and Bobby Parnell, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reported today. Martino cites a source "with direct knowledge of the Mets' plans" as saying the pair will remain with the team unless they receive an offer they simply can't turn down.
  • Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post examines the uncertainty that surrounds the Nationals' bullpen, noting that it's possible the team could option former closer Drew Storen to the minors to rediscover himself. Storen has a 5.40 ERA and 1.46 WHIP with 9.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 41 2/3 innings this season.
  • Kilgore also notes that it's likely the Nationals will trade one of their relievers this offseason. Rafael Soriano is set to make $14MM in 2014, while Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard will both receive raises on their respective 2013 salaries of $2.5MM and $4MM via arbitration. Kilgore notes that the Nats could do what would've seemed unthinkable a few weeks ago by trading one of their relievers now in order to maximize the return.

Mets Acquire Angels’ No. 2 International Bonus Slot

By | at

9:12pm: Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that the Mets have received the Angels' No. 2 international bonus slot, which is valued at $360,500. The acquisition boosts the Mets' overall bonus pool to $3.0251MM and drops the Angels to $1.6332MM. Badler calls both Concepcion and Perez "more organizational players rather than true prospects." 

6:10pm: The Angels have acquired minor leaguers Julio Concepcion and Andres Perez from the Mets in exchange for an international bonus slot, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).

Concepcion, a 23-year-old outfielder, is a .277./.337/.390 hitter over parts of seven minor league seasons, but has not progressed past Class A to this point. He's played six games so far in 2013 in the short-season New York-Pennsylvania League after playing 17 games there in 2012, though he has just a combined .218/.256/.295 batting line at that level in those 23 games.

The 22-year-old Perez is a right-hander that is currently pitching in the Rookie Level Appalachian League. He's pitched to a 5.52 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 14 2/3 innings this season and has a career ERA of 3.68. Neither prospect was among the Top 30 Mets prospects prior to the season, according to Baseball America. It's unclear at this time how much the slot the Mets received is worth.

Knobler On Rios, Royals, Braves, Rangers

By | at

Here’s a look at the latest trade rumblings from Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com..

  • We know that the Rangers have interest in Alex Rios, but the Royals also like the White Sox outfielder, Knobler writes.  The Royals have been talked about more as sellers and we know that they’re willing to discuss Ervin Santana, but KC has also been looking to add under-control players who could fill their needs in right field or at second base.  It’s not clear how much the division rivals have talked, however.  
  • The Braves need their hitting to improve, but they’re scouring the market for bullpen help, writes Knobler.  The main focus has been on finding a left-handed reliever, but they’ve also looked at right-handed bullpen help and even at starting pitchers.  Left-handers like the Brewers’ Mike Gonzalez and James Russell of the Cubs would make sense for them.  Marlins lefty Mike Dunn has also been mentioned by some teams, but the Braves have been told he won’t be traded.
  • In addition to Rios, the Rangers also have their eye on the Mets’ Marlon Byrd (Twitter link).  Last week it was said that the Mets need to be “overwhelmed” to trade Byrd.

Mets Request Release Waivers On Shaun Marcum

By | at

The Mets announced today that they have placed right-hander Shaun Marcum on unconditional release waivers after it was confirmed that he is unlikely to pitch again this season (Twitter links).

Marcum, 31, pitched to a 5.29 ERA in 78 1/3 innings with 6.9 K/9, 2.4 K/9 and a 34.9 percent ground-ball rate for the Mets. He signed a one-year, $4MM contract with the Mets this offseason that contained an additional $4MM worth of incentives. Though his ERA was unsightly, Marcum's 3.63 FIP suggests that he pitched more effectively than his ERA suggested.

Injuries have long plagued Marcum, who has topped 200 innings just once in his career. When he's on the field, however, he's typically been very effective. In 995 career innings, Marcum has a 3.88 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 despite featuring a fastball that has averaged less than 88 mph dating back to 2007. Marcum underwent surgery on July 15 that likely ended his season.

As ESPN's Adam Rubin points out, via Twitter, the Mets will save at least $1MM by opting to release Marcum, due to the roster bonuses in Marcum's contract with the Mets.

Quick Hits: Delgado, Top Prospects, Byrd, Relievers

By | at

The Blue Jays will add Carlos Delgado to the Level of Excellence at the Rogers Centre this weekend — an honor bestowed upon the greatest Jays in franchise history. Delgado spent a dozen seasons with the Jays, hitting .282/.392/.556 with 336 homers in 6,018 plate appearances. He will join Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, Tony Fernandez, George Bell and Dave Stieb as players to receive the distinction. Here's more from around the league…

  • ESPN's Keith Law unveiled the latest edition of his Top 50 prospects (ESPN Insider required and recommended), and it's fronted by Twins Class A Advanced center fielder Byron Buxton, though Law cautions that even he is a little uncomfortable with the amount of hype Buxton is receiving. Oscar Taveras, Xander Bogaerts, Miguel Sano and Francisco Lindor round out Law's Top 5.
  • The Mets will need to be "overwhelmed" to trade Marlon Byrd, writes Jorge Castillo of the Newark Star Ledger. "Overwhelmed," of course, is a relative term, and manager Terry Collins states things more lightly later in the article: "Right now, Marlon Byrd’s a huge piece. If Marlon Byrd’s going to get moved, we’re going to get something good back." Castillo's article meshes with previous reports that the Mets may simply stand pat at the deadline.
  • A team official tells Mike Puma of the New York Post that the Mets haven't had any action yet on Byrd or closer Bobby Parnell (Twitter link).
  • ESPN's Jim Bowden examines the trade market for relievers (video link), naming all of the usual suspects that have been mentioned previously but also adding Jared Burton, Huston Street and Luke Gregerson, who haven't been mentioned often this summer. All three are controlled beyond 2013. Bowden's colleague Buster Olney tweeted earlier today that the Diamondbacks continue to be players on the relief pitching market.
  • Uncertainty surrounding Clay Buchholz's injuries hasn't changed Boston's approach to the trade deadline, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The Red Sox still plan to be "selective" as they debate possibilities to upgrade what they consider to be strong rotation depth. The team is also still interested in upgrades at third base and in the bullpen.

NL East Notes: Mets, Phillies, Marlins

By | at

The NL East boasts seven of the game's top 50 prospects, in the eyes of ESPN's Keith Law: Christian Yelich, Jake Marisnick, and Andrew Heaney of the Marlins, Noah Syndergaard of the Mets, Jesse Biddle of the Phillies, Lucas Giolito of the Nationals, and Lucas Sims of the Braves.  Be sure to check out Keith's entire list.  On to today's division links:

  • "I know it will be substantially higher," Mets GM Sandy Alderson told David Lennon of Newsday regarding the team's 2014 payroll versus its current $55MM range.  Speaking to Joel Sherman of the New York Post in June, Alderson estimated a $90-100MM payroll.  "I think it has to be sort of a portfolio of players and contracts with varying maturities and obligations that make sense," Alderson told Lennon of his offseason plan, perhaps with a Red Sox-like strategy in mind for the club's numerous positional needs.  2014 was "always a target year," noted Alderson.
  • "Everybody acts like it is tomorrow but it is two weeks away," said Phillies general partner, president, and CEO David Montgomery in reference to the July 31st trade deadline to Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Montgomery seems reluctant to adopt a selling stance for the Phillies, currently 5.5 games out in the wild card.
  • "They've kind of come as advertised," Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, in reference to the seven players received from the Blue Jays in the controversial November blockbuster.  The Marlins flipped Yunel Escobar for Derek Dietrich, also acquiring Adeiny Hechavarria, Jeff Mathis, Henderson Alvarez, Marisnick, Justin Nicolino and Anthony DeSclafani.  "A big key to it was Hechavarria," GM Michael Hill noted.
  • Elsewhere in the NL East today, we learned the Braves have left-handed relievers James Russell, Mike Gonzalez, and Wesley Wright on their trade deadline wish list.

East Notes: Mets, Byrd, Cano, Ortiz

By | at

Earlier today, Mark Simon of ESPNNewYork.com turned in his 2013 mid-season report card for the Mets.  It hasn’t been a banner semester for most of the Metropolitans, but Marlon Byrd gets an A- for his play and Simon notes that he’ll be Mets remembered very fondly if he nets a good prospect in a deadline deal.  Meanwhile, GM Sandy Alderson gets a C for his efforts, though it’s really more like an incomplete as he’ll be judged more by what he does with a more flexible payroll this winter.  Here’s more out of the AL and NL East..

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks as the offseason ahead of the Yankees’ Robinson Cano.  A number of teams with potential openings at second base could get involved, including the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies (if they move on from Chase Utley), Mets, Orioles, Nationals and Mariners.  Ultimately, however, Rosenthal expects Cano to stay in pinstripes.
  • Despite his performance, Red Sox star David Ortiz knows that age is catching up with him, writes CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam.  Ortiz isn’t ready to lay out a timetable, but he says that the two-year pact he signed this past offseason could be his last.
  • Mets infielder Ruben Tejada is making an agency change, leaving Peter Greenberg and the Legacy Group for Barry Praver & Scott Shapiro, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  You can keep track of everyone’s representation with MLBTR’s Agency Database.

All-Star Notes: Scherzer, Harvey, Davis

By | at

Tonight's American League All-Star starter Max Scherzer knows the best place for MLB players to find out if they're on the move.  "It's crazy how that works.  You're traded out of the blue, and the only way you find out is by MLB Trade Rumors. All of the media and all of your friends know, but you don't hear it from the people doing it," the Tigers righty told Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  Scherzer went on to describe himself as a "pretty fanatical fan" of this website, of which he is a near-daily reader.  Be sure to check out Nightengale's article, which focuses on Scherzer's experiences with former slugger and current Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire.  As Scherzer and other players prepare for tonight's All-Star game at Citi Field, here are your related links…

  • We learned yesterday that nothing is cooking regarding a contract extension for Scherzer, who is eligible for free agency after the 2014 season.  Talking to Nightengale, Scherzer said, "It's funny, everybody wants to speculate on teams, and X amount of dollars, but if I go out there and pitch well, everything will take care of itself."  
  • How about National League starter Matt Harvey, who fronts the Mets' rotation and is also represented by Scott Boras?  Joel Sherman of the New York Post talked to Boras, who said, "Usually the team will come to you, it is not up to the player to start negotiations.  I would also say this, where the team wants to go in these situations and what the true value of the player is are not often that close."  That's not terribly encouraging, but Mets fans can rest easy knowing Harvey will not be arbitration eligible until after the 2015 season, and will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2018 campaign.
  • Though he didn't make the American League squad, Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes took home the Home Run Derby belt last night, besting Bryce Harper.  To learn about the journey Cespedes and his family took in defecting from Cuba, check out this article from Susan Slusser and Demian Bulwa of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • Another good read is the harrowing story of Marlins All-Star Jose Fernandez, who also defected from Cuba.  MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince has it here, and Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald has another good look at Fernandez here.  Fernandez has not yet reached the riches Cespedes has, as he was subject to the 2011 amateur draft.
  • With 37 home runs at the All-Star break, the Orioles' Chris Davis is another of the All-Star Game's big stories.  Davis treats Roger Maris' 61 home runs in 1961 as the record, discounting the six times it was bested from 1998-2001 by Barry Bonds, McGwire, and Sammy Sosa.  Yahoo's Jeff Passan surveyed 15 All-Stars and found that most treat Bonds' 73 as the record despite his PED ties.  The Reds' Joey Votto was most critical of Davis' stance, telling Passan, "If Chris feels like 61 is the home run record, maybe he’s just selfishly pegging that number as the home run record so if he passes it he can wear a crown or something like that.  There would be a lot of money in that."
  • The Nationals were highly interested in Davis when the Rangers made him available in 2011, writes James Wagner of the Washington Post.  Instead, Davis joined the Orioles along with Tommy Hunter in a July 2011 deal for reliever Koji Uehara and $2MM. 
  • More than half of the 78 All-Stars were acquired by their current team through the draft, an international signing, or a trade while still in the minors, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal in his analysis.

Quick Hits: Wilpon, Rios, Mozeliak, Blue Jays

By | at

National League All-Star starter Matt Harvey has become a well-known name around baseball…though not necessarily a well-known face.  Harvey personally explored his relative anonymity in a comedy bit tonight on The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon (YouTube link).  If it makes Harvey feel better, I rarely hear, "Hey, are you Mark Polishuk from MLB Trade Rumors?!" when I'm strolling around New York.  Here's some news from around baseball on the eve of the All-Star Game…

  • Jeff Wilpon promised that the Mets are willing to spend in 2014, the team COO said in an interview on WFAN radio (and partially transcribed by Newsday's Neil Best).  The Mets will be helped when the Johan Santana and Jason Bay contracts expire this winter, which will by themselves free up $43.625MM in payroll space.  "We haven't set a payroll for next year, but I can tell you we're ready to invest with those big contracts coming off the books," Wilpon said. "We have the money to invest. We're going to invest it prudently. Sandy [Alderson] is going to set a path."
  • The Rangers could avoid giving up top prospects for White Sox right fielder Alex Rios, depending on how much of Rios' contract Texas is willing to eat, ESPN Dallas' Richard Durrett writes.  Rios is owed roughly $4.85MM for the rest of 2013, $12.5MM in 2014 and a $13.5MM club option for 2015 that can be bought out for $1MM.  The Rangers are one of several teams interested in acquiring Rios, though his trade stock has dipped due to a six-week slump.
  • “A lot of teams you think might normally would be breaking things up aren’t,” Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “There just aren’t a lot of players that are truly available. That could change. That’s my observation today.”  The Cardinals are known to be interested in acquiring starting pitching and have recently been connected to Matt Garza, though the Cards aren't too keen to trade within the NL Central and are unlikely to make a deal that would cost them one of their top prospects.
  • Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Cecil all tell Sportsnet's Shi Davidi that the Blue Jays already have the talent to turn their season around.  Bautista, for one, doesn't think GM Alex Anthopoulos necessarily needs to make any further roster additions.  “Alex is not out on the field playing for us, we’re totally capable of playing a lot better baseball than we’ve shown, we just need to play better as a team,” Bautista said.  If the Jays don't make any moves, Bautista "wouldn’t look too much into it" since Anthopoulos “made plenty of moves in the off-season to make our team the best team that he could put on the field.”
  • The three prospects acquired by the Nationals in the Michael Morse trade have performed well for Washington thus far, MASNsports.com's Byron Kerr observes.  Right-handers A.J. Cole and Blake Treinen have pitched well at high A-ball and Double-A, respectively, while southpaw Ian Krol reached the Majors and delivered a 1.80 ERA, 13 strikeouts and just one walk over 15 relief innings for the Nats.
  • Chase Lambin turned 34 years last week and has played 12 years of professional baseball in the minors and in Japan, but the veteran has still yet to reach the Major Leagues.  Kent Babb of the Washington Post profiles Lambin, who currently plays for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate.
  • The Mets' infamous long-long-term deferred contract with Bobby Bonilla is actually a pair of contracts that will pay the retired slugger $42MM between 2004 and 2035, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports.  While the Orioles are paying part of Bonilla's ongoing salary, the Mets are solely responsible for another 25-year deferred payment plan, this one to Bret Saberhagen.  The former two-time Cy Young Award winner has received $250K per year from the Mets since 2004.

Odds & Ends: Hughes, Byrd, Cubs, Yankees

By | at

Giants fans have been concerned about Tim Lincecum as of late, but he looked stellar last night as he pitched a no-hitter against the Padres.  The Freak tossed an eye-popping 148 pitches to get there, one shy of the watermark set by Edwin Jackson in 2010.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • Phil Hughes has been mentioned quite a bit as a trade candidate for the Yankees and while one might expect them to seek out a piece to help them in 2013, like a righty-hitting corner bat with power, they would prefer a player that they can control in the future, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  If the Yankees keep Hughes, they are prepared to give him the 2014 tender (roughly $13.8MM) as they believe that outside teams will bid on him even with compensation attached.  In the event that they're wrong, the Bombers see it as low risk to have Hughes on a one-year deal and believe, at worst, he would still be tradeable.  
  • The Mets could trade Marlon Byrd, but Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter) opines that nobody is going to give them anything close to a significant piece for a rental with a .313 OBP.  This weekend, General Manager Sandy Alderson said that he isn't in a rush to deal the outfielder.
  • The Cubs figure to be an attractive trade partner for contending clubs this summer, but president Theo Epstein didn't see it working out that way.  "We wanted to be buyers this year," Epstein told reporters, including MLB.com's Chad Thornburg. "With a few breaks, this year, we could've been in a much different situation. Some one-run games early change, and different bullpen situations [we'd have different results]. The goal every year is to be in position where you're looking to add and have a strong pennant push."
  • After helping the Cubs top the Cardinals, Matt Garza spoke with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link) about what the immediate future might hold for him.  While he says that he's focusing on pitching the best he can, he admits that it would be tough for him to leave the Cubs.  Meanwhile, he still pegs the odds of signing an extension with Chicago at 50/50.
  • Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record writes that Yankees fans hoping for a major splash shouldn't hold their breath between now and the end of the month.  “There’s not a lot out there for [GM Brian Cashman],” said one rival executive, who added that Michael Young isn’t currently available and the Bombers aren’t particularly interested in Byrd. 
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top