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Stark On Mariners, Felix, Sizemore, Lohse

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MLB executives tell ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark that they make sure to consider the differences between baseball’s two leagues when evaluating trade candidates. “I think it's safe to say you can look a lot smarter taking a pitcher from the American League to the National League than the other way around," one executive told Stark. Here are some highlights from his latest ESPN.com column:

  • Baseball people expect the Mariners to sign Felix Hernandez long-term instead of trading him, Stark reports. Hernandez is under contract through 2014.
  • Two scouts said they’d recommend signing Grady Sizemore if it doesn’t require much guaranteed money. The outfielder’s season is over and he figures to obtain a one-year, incentive-based contract this winter.
  • One scout said he’d be nervous about trading for Johan Santana given his health issues. The Mets recently shut the left-hander down for the remainder of the season.
  • Cardinals executives have told people they’re going to let Kyle Lohse’s contract situation play itself out. Lohse, who is headed for free agency this offseason, hasn’t had recent contract talks with the team, so it’s a safe bet he’ll hit the open market.

NL Notes: Reds, Ludwick, Mets, Ramirez

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Here's a look at what's happening on the Senior Circuit..

  • The Reds have several factors to consider when deciding whether to call up shortstop Billy Hamilton, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.  Calling up the prospect in September would start Hamilton's service clock prematurely and skipper Dusty Baker says that he won't be among those making the call.
  • It's a foregone conclusion that the Reds will exercise their end of Ryan Ludwick's mutual $5MM option for 2013, but the outfielder says that he hasn't thought about what he'll do, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  The Reds signed Ludwick to a one-year, $2.5MM deal in mid-January after receiving interest from a few other clubs, including the A's.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson expects the team to improve via trade over the offseason, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  Alderson would go on to hint at significant changes, saying that the team needs "an infusion of players, productive players," (Twitter link).
  • One National League General Manager says that Hanley Ramirez has been a completely different player with the Dodgers and adds that his energy level is much higher, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.  Ramirez has a slashline of .311/.368/.544 in 114 plate appearances for the Dodgers so far.

Quick Hits: Mets, Athletics, Storen, Izturis

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The Mets announced that Johan Santana isn't expected to pitch again in 2012 after an MRI revealed inflammation in his lower back. The Mets say no surgery is required for Santana, who returned from a shoulder capsule operation to post a 4.85 ERA in 117 innings this year. Here are today’s links…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests the Athletics will rely on internal options to replace the recently-suspended Bartolo Colon (Twitter link). If the Athletics do pursue outside alternatives Randy Wolf would be one option now that he has been released.
  • David Ross and Drew Storen have been impressed by MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports. "I'm a backup catcher, but he knew every detail of my career and my negotiations," Ross said. Weiner plans to continue to work on behalf of the players while undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.
  • There's virtually no chance Cesar Izturis returns to the Nationals this year, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter). The infielder elected free agency earlier in the week.

Quick Hits: Melky Cabrera, Johan Santana, Bobby V

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On this day in baseball history in 1957, Giants president Horace Stoneham violated baseball's protocol for announcements about teams relocating to new cities by failing to wait until after the World Series. Stoneham cited declining attendance to the press as to why the Giants were headed to San Francisco to play their home games for the following season. The team's board of directors approved the move by the vote of 8-1 with M. Donald Grant casting the lone dissenting vote. Grant would later go on to become the chairman of the expansion Mets. 

Here's the latest news and headlines from around the league…

  • Melky Cabrera's suspension ensures that the beleaguered outfielder won't see the field again until the playoffs, but that doesn't mean he can't win the NL batting title, writes Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com. Doyel suggests MLB commissioner Bud Selig should intervene and prevent Cabrera from receiving the award if he finishes the season with the highest batting average in the league. Andrew McCutchen currently leads the NL with a .356 average entering Sunday's action as compared to Cabrera's .346 mark with 43 games to go.
  • The Mets may have a trade partner for Johan Santana this offseason if the left-hander can regain the strong form he's occasionally displayed this season, opines Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Martino looks at the Dodgers as a possible fit for the former two-time Cy Young winner given their newly-minted deep wallets. With Santana guaranteed over $25MM next season, the Mets may elect to keep their struggling ace rather than pay $20MM to watch him pitch for another team.
  • Bobby Valentine never had a chance as the manager of the Red Sox given the state of the franchise from top to bottom, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. When Boston brought Valentine aboard to replace Terry Francona this offseason, it was getting a brilliant baseball mind who could identify talent at an expert level but was prone to a soap opera from time to time. As Heyman puts it, the Red Sox never should have hired Valentine if they were just going to cut his vocal chords mere months later in the wake of the Kevin Youkilis incident.

September Call-ups: Pirates, Orioles, Padres, Mets

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Major League rosters can expand to 40 players beginning September 1st. Not everybody thinks it's such a great idea. Tigers manager Jim Leyland recently vented to reporters, including Jason Beck of MLB.com. "I've been really adamant about that, really a stickler on it," Leyland said. "When I have that meeting with the Commissioner [as part of the special committee for on-field matters], I talk about that all the time. Myself, if everybody went to 28, that wouldn't bother me at all. I think that's fine. That's just my feeling, but any manager who does a pretty good job of managing all year, and then at the biggest month of the year, he loses some of his ability to maneuver." Let's take a look at what the plans are for other clubs looking to maneuver over the season's final month. 
  • The Pirates are mulling their September call-ups with the post-season in mind, as they entered play today holding the second NL Wild Card spot and with Triple-A Indianapolis likely playoff-bound. General Manager Neal Huntington told reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "Where we go from there … it’s a delicate balance. I’ve been with another organization where we raided the Triple-A team as it was headed to the post-season. The guys came up and didn’t play very much, and that didn’t go over very well on many fronts."  At least one left-handed reliever and another catcher will be added when rosters expand, writes Biertempfel.
  • Pirates manager Clint Hurdle adds another consideration when deciding upon September call-ups: cost. In Biertempfel's piece, Hurdle pointed out, "In my rookie year, if you got a call-up, you made $5,000 or $6,000 (in September). Now you’re talking about making $75,000. So if you call up 10 guys, you’re picking up $750,000 in salary and everything that goes with it.”
  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter has acknowledged the team's September call-ups will be affected by the team's playoff chase. Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com lists possible players, both on the disabled list and at Triple-A, who could join the O's when the rosters expand. 
  • The Padres may not have the roster space to bring Jedd Gyorko up in September, according to John Maffei of the North County Times. The Padres already have 49 players on their 40-man roster (nine are on the 60-day disabled list) and may not want to start Gyorko's service clock just for a September sneak peak, writes Maffei. Since Gyorko has less than three full seasons in pro ball, the Padres don't have to add him to the 40-man roster next season.  
  • Lucas Duda will probably have to wait until September 1st to rejoin the Mets because the team wants to take a longer look at Mike Baxter, tweets the New York Post's Mike Puma. 
  • The Nationals have several candidates for September call-ups including pitcher John Lannan and 2011 first-round draft pick Anthony Rendon, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.

Mets Unlikely To Boost Payroll

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Even though General Manager Sandy Alderson recently said that a formal budget has not been set for 2013, the Mets are likely to keep their payroll at just north of $90MM, a source told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  The source speculated that Alderson will have no more than $10-15MM to spend this winter despite the money coming off of the books this year.

If the Mets choose to non-tender Andres Torres, they would have roughly $17.8MM freed up, though they will also need to find outfield help and retool the bullpen.  They'll also see a lot of that money go to scheduled pay raises while Johan Santana and Jason Bay will earn a combined $10MM more next season including their 2014 buyouts.  Pay raises include Jonathon Niese ($2.23MM), David Wright ($1MM), Frank Francisco ($1MM), and R.A. Dickey ($750K) while Daniel Murphy, Ike Davis, Bobby Parnell and Josh Thole all figure to be arb-eligible. 

A team official did not rule out the possibility of Alderson backloading new free agent deals to circumvent short-term limitations, but also pointed out that Alderson is cautious when it comes to long-term contracts.  The Mets could allow themselves to venture into longer-term deals as they have no payroll commitments for 2014 beyond Niese's deal.

Quick Hits: Samardzija, Stauffer, Izturis, Reynolds

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Tigers manager Jim Leyland all but confirmed that Victor Martinez will not return this season, reports James Schmehl of mLive.com. Martinez torn his ACL during an offseason workout, but there was a small possibility that he would return to the team in September. Here's the latest from around the league…

  • “I’m not really too worried about that. I like to leave that front-office stuff to my agent,” said Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija to ESPN Chicago when asked if any contract extension talks were taking place. The 27-year-old is in the middle of a breakout season while earning $2.64MM.
  • Right-hander Tim Stauffer is dealing with shoulder and elbow issues, and Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribute says that the Padres will likely non-tender him after the season. Stauffer has only made one start this year and will earn $3.2MM.
  • The Nationals designated Cesar Izturis for assignment earlier today, and manager Davey Johnson told reporters (including Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com) that the club will likely bring him back in September if he isn't claimed off waivers (Twitter link).
  • Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com says the Orioles have a difficult decision to make about Mark Reynolds' club option after the season. Baltimore holds an $11MM option ($500K buyout) for the slugger, who has turned it on of late following a slow start.
  • The Padres are considering internal options (crosscheckers Bob Filoti and Bill Gasparino) as well as external options (Mets coordinator Ian Levin and crosschecker Steve Barningham) for their scouting director position, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).

New York Notes: Hairston, Shoppach, Patterson

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The first place Yankees are playing the fourth place Red Sox tonight while the third place Mets take on the first place Nationals. Here is the latest out of the Big Apple…

  • The Mets have not yet had contract extension talks with Scott Hairston, though he is receptive to the idea according to ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. Rubin notes that the Amazin's signed Tim Byrdak to an extension at this time last year, so the GM Sandy Alderson regime has set a precedent for midseason deals.
  • Rubin also reports that the Mets acquired Kelly Shoppach to see how he fits with their pitching staff and philosophies before considering re-signing him after the season. He notes that Pedro Beato, who went to Boston in the trade for Shoppach, had fallen out of favor in New York.
  • The Mets have voided the minor league contract of the recently-signed Scott Patterson, reports Rubin. The right-hander came down with a shoulder injury in Triple-A.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) opines that second base prospect David Adams could eventually be trade fodder for the Yankees as he is blocked by Robinson Cano at the Major League level. Adams was supposed to be part of the 2010 Cliff Leenon-trade.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Red Sox Acquire Beato To Complete Shoppach Deal

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The Red Sox have acquired right-hander Pedro Beato from the Mets as the player to be named later in the Kelly Shoppach trade, reports ESPN's Keith Law (on Twitter). New York acquired Shoppach earlier this week.

Beato, 25, has pitched to a 4.67 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 71 1/3 relief innings with the Mets over the last two seasons. They originally acquired him as a Rule 5 Draft pick from the Orioles prior to last season, then retained his rights by keeping him on the roster all summer. Beato has pitched to a 4.14 ERA in 37 Triple-A innings this season while also missing time with a shoulder problem.

Giants Seeking Outfield Help

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The Giants are seeking outfield help following Melky Cabrera's 50-game suspension, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). For now the team plans to promote Justin Christian from Triple-A and stick with Gregor Blanco, Angel Pagan, and Hunter Pence as the regulars.

Rosenthal reports that Scott Hairston and Juan Pierre have yet to be placed on trade waivers, though the Diamondbacks would likely block both players from getting to San Francisco. Arizona has a higher waiver priority and both Hairston (approximately $300K) and Pierre ($200K) are reasonably priced for the remainder of the season. Alfonso Soriano remains unlikely to approve a trade to the 2010 World Champs.

Kevin Millwood and Josh Beckett still have yet to be placed on waivers according to Rosenthal. The Red Sox have put a handful of players through waivers but otherwise have remained quiet this month.

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