Carlos Beltran Clears Waivers
The Mets can trade Carlos Beltran now that the center fielder has cleared waivers, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Beltran has a no-trade clause and $24MM remaining on his contract, so a trade remains highly unlikely.
Beltran has hit just .195/.300/.312 since recovering from January knee surgery, so his trade value would not be high even if he didn’t have a no-trade clause and so much remaining on his contract. Earlier today, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes wondered if the Mets could trade the center fielder this winter.
If you're wondering why the Mets couldn't trade Beltran until he cleared waivers, click here.
Will The Mets Try To Trade Carlos Beltran?
From 2001-2008, Carlos Beltran was at least a five-win player every year except for '05. Even last year, despite missing July and August with a bone bruise behind his knee, Beltran provided value. However, the Mets and Beltran battled about his decision to have January knee surgery, a procedure that delayed his 2010 debut until July 15th. Beltran's first 90 plate appearances and 180 innings in center field have gone so poorly that David Waldstein of the New York Times says the Mets would let him go for nothing if a team claims him off waivers this month.
Waldstein finds a waiver claim "extremely unlikely," as Beltran is owed over $5.5MM this year and $18.5MM in 2011 before his contract is up. He has a full no-trade clause. Waldstein expects the Mets to be open to trading Beltran this winter but believes the outfielder's salary will be an impediment. He suggests the Mets would be reluctant to assume much of Beltran's contract in a trade.
This might be fantasy baseball-type talk, but I can't help but notice that the money owed to Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano matches up closely with the money owed to Beltran, Luis Castillo, and Oliver Perez.
Odds & Ends: Gibbons, Anderson, Pirates, Francoeur
Sunday night linkage..
- Jay Gibbons, who retired from baseball a season ago, is grateful for his latest opportunity with the Dodgers, writes Evan Drellich of MLB.com.
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times wonders why the Dodgers waited until now to designate Garret Anderson for assignment.
- The Pirates fired pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and bench coach Gary Varsho, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Mets manager Jerry Manuel told reporters that Fernando Martinez and Jeff Francoeur won't platoon all of the time, according to Michael Baron of MetsBlog. Yesterday we learned that Francoeur was unsatisfied with the arrangement and was ready to meet with GM Omar Minaya to discuss trade possibilities.
Mets Release Alex Cora
The Mets have released Alex Cora and demoted Jesus Feliciano to the minors, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported (via Twitter) that the team would be "bumping" Cora from the major league roster in order to make room for Ruben Tejada. Feliciano's demotion clears a spot on the roster for Fernando Martinez.
As David Lennon of Newsday points out (via Twitter), by releasing Cora, the Mets avoid seeing the 34-year-old's 2011 option vest. Cora needed to play in just 18 more games to trigger the $2MM option.
No Trade Imminent For Mets
The Mets scratched Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada from their Triple-A lineup last night, leading to speculation that a trade could be in the works. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported that the team was "in dialogue" with the Mariners, but for now, no trade is imminent.
As FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweets, Martinez or Tejada have not been placed on waivers, so neither player could be traded at this point. Rubin indicated that Martinez may have been one player on the move in a hypothetical deal with Seattle, but Rosenthal suggests that the late scratches just involve "internal stuff." Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes confirms (via Twitter) that both players will join the big league club in Philadelphia.
Baseball America ranked Martinez and Tejada third and ninth respectively among Mets' prospects heading into this season. The 20-year-old Tejada earned some time in the majors earlier in the year, hitting .212/.297/.250 in 122 plate appearances, while Martinez has spent the season in high-A and triple-A, posting an overall slash line of .256/.321/.458.
Odds & Ends: Yelich, Harper, Tigers, Minaya, Guillen
Links on a Friday night…
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports that negotiations between the Marlins and first round pick Christian Yelich are progressing slowly, but all signs point to a deal being reached before the August 16th deadline.
- Meanwhile, Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post says there is nothing new to report about talks between the Nationals and first overall pick Bryce Harper.
- Like the Marlins and Yelich, talks between the Tigers and their top picks will go down to the wire according to MLB.com's Jason Beck. Four of Detroit's top five selections remain unsigned, including their two first rounders Nick Castellanos and Chance Ruffin.
- When asked about his job security, Omar Minaya responded "The fact of the matter is that I have a contract beyond this year, two years beyond this," according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. Owner Jeff Wilpon recently implied that Minaya's job is safe through 2011.
- Jack Curry of the YES Network says (via Twitter) we shouldn't expect the Yankees to have any interest in Jose Guillen. We heard this morning that they were going to keep an eye on the recently DFA'd outfielder.
- Mark Feinsand of The New York Daily News spoke to an American League GM who said he can't see Derek Jeter signing anywhere but back with the Yankees after the season. I suspect that's the general belief pretty much everywhere.
- The Tigers have expanded the roles of three front office members, reports Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Park, Garza, Wieters
On this date four years ago, the Mets locked up franchise cornerstone David Wright to a six-year deal worth $55MM guaranteed. A club option for 2013 could put another $15MM in his pocket, and he's already earned an extra $300K in award based incentives. Wright, just 23 at the time and now a .307/.387/.517 career hitter, would have become a free agent after this season had he not opted for the long-term security. Can't say I blame him.
Here's a look at what's being written in the baseball corner of the blogging universe…
- Mets Paradise hosts a post-trade deadline roundtable discussion with fellow Mets bloggers.
- 1 Blue Jays Way interviews Toronto prospect Danny Farquhar.
- NPB Tracker recaps the deals made on the July 31st trade deadline in Japan.
- River Ave. Blues wonders what would have happened if Alex Rodriguez hadn't opted out of his contract after the 2007 season.
- Pittsburgh Lumber Co. defends the Pirates' Chan Ho Park pick-up.
- Bright House Sports Network thinks Matt Garza's time with the Rays may soon come to an end.
- Camden Crazies looks at what's wrong with Matt Wieters.
- SD Sports Net deciphers the Padres' deadline deals.
- More Hardball breaks down the young players the Pirates have coming up through the system.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Stark On Padres, Manny, Wandy, Harang
The Rangers appear to be headed toward stability, but they added $4.6MM in payroll before the trade deadline and, as ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports, that left some rival executives unhappy. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:
- The Padres had asked the Cardinals about Ryan Ludwick more than once leading up to the trade deadline.
- GM Jed Hoyer had also inquired on Jake Westbrook and even Roy Oswalt.
- When the White Sox called the Dodgers to ask about Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers ended the conversation quickly. That didn't stop the Rays and two other American League teams from calling the Dodgers, however. We should note that GM Ned Colletti told Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio that he only fielded one call about Manny (Twitter link).
- Not one team pursued Jose Guillen seriously before the deadline. The Royals designated the outfielder for assignment today, so we'll see in the next ten days if any teams have mild interest.
- Joe Beimel drew lots of interest last weekend, but the Rockies never seriously shopped him.
- A number of teams tried to acquire Wandy Rodriguez, including the Twins, Reds, Mets, Dodgers and Blue Jays.
- The Reds tried to determine interest in Aaron Harang, so they could attempt to move him in August if he returns from the DL and proves that the back spasms that sidelined him are no longer an issue.
Odds & Ends: Pedro, DeShields, Myers, Lee
Links for Thursday, as Juan Pierre picks up his 500th career stolen base…
- Pedro Martinez said he has recently received offers to pitch this year, but still doesn't intend to play in 2010, according to this AP report on ESPN.com.
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon implied to Mike Puma of the New York Post that Omar Minaya will definitely be his GM in 2011.
- Top Astros draft pick Delino DeShields Jr. told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that he's excited to begin his pro career. DeShields' deal could be finalized today.
- Astros GM Ed Wade told Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse that he has no concern about Brett Myers' health. "He's a 29-year-old horse," Wade said.
- Chuck Greenberg's group, which won the auction to buy the Rangers for hundreds of millions, plans to pursue Cliff Lee when he hits free agency after the season, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). Yesterday, we saw that GM Jon Daniels has interest in bringing the left-hander back.
- Tim Redding, who had been pitching in the Yankees system, signed with the Samsung Lions of the Korean Professional Baseball League, according to Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times-Tribune (Twitter link).
- Over at RotoAuthority, Tim Dierkes wonders what to expect from Mike Minor as a fantasy baseball option this year.
- The Yankees had interest in Willie Harris before the deadline, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- The Rockies 'kicked the tires' on Derrek Lee last month, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
Mets Open To Reyes Extension
The Mets are willing to negotiate an extension with Jose Reyes, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. The sides have not discussed anything yet and will not finalize anything during the season, but the Mets are open to replacing their $11MM club option for 2011 with a multi-year deal.
The Mets are committed to Reyes as a long-term solution at short, according to Martino’s source. The club is not concerned about Reyes’ health, despite the leg, thyroid and oblique injuries that have sidelined him in 2009-10.
Reyes, 27, has a .278/.318/.414 line in 428 plate appearances this year with 21 stolen bases. His UZR/150 is -6.2, which suggests his defense has been below-average for a shortstop.