NL West Notes: Lee, Upton, Pena, Street, Denorfia
We've already checked out some Giants and Rockies rumors today, so let's look around the rest of the NL West…
- The Dodgers won't trade top pitching prospect Zach Lee for a rental player like Ryan Dempster, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). We heard earlier today that Los Angeles had made the Cubs an offer for Dempster.
- Though the Diamondbacks and Pirates have had trouble connecting on a trade match for Justin Upton, the outfielder remains "at or near the top" of Pittsburgh's search for a hitter, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- The Diamondbacks have signed 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Ismael Pena, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. Badler describes Pena as "a 6-foot-3, 175-pound lefty with a sound swing, a good approach and a hit-first, power-second profile. He's an average runner with a 45 to 50 arm on the 20-80 scale."
- Huston Street was "aggressively" pursued by the Mets last winter, a source tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), but through the Mets are searching for bullpen help now, they don't think the Padres will move the closer. We heard earlier today that the Padres were looking to propose long-term extensions to Street and Carlos Quentin before the trade deadline.
- Street and Chris Denorfia have drawn more trade interest than Quentin, reports Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Also from Center, the Pirates and Orioles are "among the teams pushing hardest" for Chase Headley. Center added the Mariners to the long list of Headley's suitors. The third baseman himself says he has heard "between six and 10 teams" have shown interest.
Mets Notes: Francisco Rodriguez, Brett Myers
The Mets are interested in right-handed relievers Jonathan Broxton and Grant Balfour, but they aren't close on any deals, according to reports yesterday. Here are the latest Mets-related rumors, as GM Sandy Alderson considers ways of adding to his bullpen:
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News hears that Brewers president of baseball operations Doug Melvin told Alderson that Milwaukee isn’t selling yet (Twitter link). Martino suggests Francisco Rodriguez — the former Mets closer who continues to intrigue the team — would already be on the Mets if the Brewers had a worse record.
- The Mets haven’t been very aggressive in pursuing Brett Myers, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports (on Twitter). The trade candidate has 19 saves and a 3.52 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 30 2/3 innings with the Astros this year.
- Assistant GM John Ricco told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that the team won't overpay for help.
East Notes: Rays, Infante, Ankiel, Moyer
On average, the ten teams in baseball's two East divisions are four games over .500. Here’s the latest from the two divisions…
- Rays president Matt Silverman says MLB needs to make significant changes to its economic structure, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. “We have advocated for meaningful change, especially when it comes to addressing the dramatic imbalances in our game,” Silverman said. “Meaningful change has not occurred.” The Rays were one of two eligible teams that didn’t obtain an additional draft pick in yesterday’s competitive balance lottery. Silverman called the picks “trifling.”
- The Tigers have barely obtained any offensive production from second base this year, so John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press discusses the possibility of a reunion with Omar Infante in light of yesterday's report linking the Tigers to the Marlins infielder.
- The Nationals recently asked a Mets person if they'd have interest in Rick Ankiel, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports (on Twitter). The Nationals believe the recently-designated Ankiel is a Major League caliber player and they expect him to be picked up by another club, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter). Peter Gammons of MLB Network suggests on Twitter that Ankiel would be a "great fit" for the Yankees.
- Jamie Moyer intends to continue pitching, Tom Mahon of the Philadelphia Daily News reports. "I'm not retired," Moyer said, adding that his agent is working to find a fit for him. Moyer, 49, has been a free agent since the Blue Jays released him two weeks ago.
Mets Interested In Broxton, Balfour
The Mets are interested in Jonathan Broxton and Grant Balfour as they look to improve their bullpen before the July 31st trade deadline. They're definitely showing interest in Broxton, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter), and Newsday's David Lennon says they're also targeting Balfour (Twitter link).
However, the Mets are not close on any deal involving a reliever, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported today (on Twitter). They remain in "wait-and-see" mode for now. Though the Mets' bullpen is in rough shape, they've convinced some doubters they're a dangerous club, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post wrote earlier today.
Mets Rumors: Broxton, Bullpen, Deadline Plan
- The Mets are "paying close attention" to Royals closer Jonathan Broxton, a source tells Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Broxton has put together a nice rebound campaign as Kansas City's stopper after his stock had tumbled due to injuries in 2010-11. Meanwhile, the Mets could use reinforcements for a spotty relief corps that is without closer Frank Francisco, who has been sidelined by an oblique injury since June.
- To that end, the Mets are seeking bullpen help, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, although they're finding most relievers to be too pricey in terms of trade compensation or too insignificant of an upgrade. The Brewers, for one, are telling teams that former Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez is available but they are unwilling to eat any of the remaining $4MM owed to him. K-Rod, incidentally, was named Milwaukee's closer today.
- The Mets are also looking for a veteran catcher, according to Heyman, and have talked to the Rockies about Ramon Hernandez, but New York is not willing to pay the $3.2MM owed to Hernandez through next season.
- GM Sandy Alderson said all of the organization's scouts have been deployed to the Major League, adding "we are buyers," according to Rubin. Alderson also said pitching prospect Zack Wheeler will not pitch in the big leagues this season and will soon be promoted to Triple-A (Twitter links).
Mets Designate Omar Quintanilla For Assignment
The Mets designated Omar Quintanilla for assignment, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger tweets. The Mets have confirmed the move, which creates roster space for Jason Bay (Twitter link).
Quintanilla, 30, has appeared in 29 games for the Mets this year, playing both middle infield positions. He has a .257/.250/.371 batting line in 80 plate appearances so far this year. The seven-year MLB veteran has a career batting line of .218 /.278 /.294.
AL Central Notes: Castillo, Tigers, Willingham
The White Sox lead the AL Central with a 49-39 record, and they are considering at least one high-profile midseason reinforcement. The White Sox have Zack Greinke on their radar, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported earlier today. Here are the latest AL Central rumors, starting in Chicago…
- The White Sox agreed to sign Dominican prospect Luis Castillo for $450K, the Dominican Prospect League announced. The league release describes Castillo as a "man child" who hits the ball hard and runs well for his size.
- The Tigers and White Sox are both prioritizing starting pitching in trade talks, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports.
- The Twins haven't made Josh Willingham off-limits to other teams, but they aren't shopping him, Phil Mackey and Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com report. Willingham, who's in the first year of a three-year, $21MM contract, is "definitely" Minnesota's most valuable trade chip, 1500ESPN.com reports. However, the Twins are enjoying Willingham's production and would prefer not to trade a player so early in a multiyear contract.
- The Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays and Braves are believed to have some interest in Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano, Heyman reports.
Mets Have Considered Kelly Shoppach
The Mets are looking for an upgrade behind the plate and they're rumored to have interest in Ramon Hernandez of the Rockies. According to MLB.com's Peter Gammons (on Twitter), they have considered Kelly Shoppach as an alternative if the price to land Hernandez is too high, however.
New York's backstops have produced a .244/.303/.298 batting line this season, the third worst catcher OPS in the NL. Shoppach has put up a .269/.358/.527 line while backing up Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and he's historically done most of his damage against left-handers. As Gammons notes, a trade would allow the Red Sox to bring Ryan Lavarnway up from Triple-A, where he's hitting .306/.395/.455.
Draft Links: Compensation Picks, Seniors, Yaz
Yesterday afternoon (4pm CT, specifically) was the deadline for teams to sign this year's draft picks. Every first round and supplemental first round pick signed except for Stanford right-hander Mark Appel, who turned down the Pirates as the eighth overall pick. Here's a round-up of some post-draft links…
- Jim Callis of Baseball America lists the four compensation picks for next year's draft. The Pirates will get the ninth overall pick for Appel while the Mets (76th overall), Phillies (96th), and Athletics (supplemental third round) will also receive picks for failing to sign players before yesterday's deadline.
- The deadline does not apply to college seniors with college eligibility remaining, so Preston Tucker (seventh round, Astros), Jarret Leverett (15th, Twins), and Tyler Olson (17th, Athletics) are still eligible to sign at any time according to Callis (on Twitter).
- The Mariners offered 30th round pick Mike Yastrzemski a $300k bonus according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons (on Twitter), but he decided to return to Vanderbilt to finish his degree. Mike is the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski.
- Fifteen picks in the top ten rounds remained unsigned as of 15 minutes prior to the deadline, and Callis explains what happened with each of them.
Mets Sign C.J. Nitkowski
Tonight's minor moves..
- Left-hander C.J. Nitkowski announced via Twitter that he has agreed to a minor league deal with the Mets and will report to Double-A Binghamton. The 39-year-old, who last appeared in the majors in 2005 with the Nationals, added that this will be his "last shot" at getting back to the big leagues. Nitkowski pitched in Japan and Korea from 2007-2010 and auditioned for the Mets back in March.