NL East Notes: Reyes, Bonifacio, Murphy
The Marlins appear to have set an extremely high asking price for Josh Johnson, Jon Heyman reported today. Here’s the latest on the Marlins and their NL East rivals…
- The Marlins are telling teams Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle are off-limits, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. They feel committed to Buehrle and believe Reyes will play better now that Hanley Ramirez has been traded. The Marlins are also sure to keep Giancarlo Stanton, Heyman writes.
- The Marlins are reluctant to trade Emilio Bonifacio, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
- The Padres offered to trade Luke Gregerson for Daniel Murphy, but the Mets rejected the possible deal, John Harper of the New York Daily News reports. Gregerson, 28, has a 3.05 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 44 1/3 innings this year. He earns $1.55MM and will remain under team control through 2014.
Mets Release Miguel Batista
The Mets have released Miguel Batista, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. They had designated the 41-year-old right-hander for assignment four days ago.
Batista posted a 4.82 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 46 2/3 innings of work this year, including five starts. Batista joined the Mets last summer on a minor league deal and signed another with the club in January. The 18-year veteran has a 4.49 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in his career.
Quick Hits: Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox
The latest trade rumors from around MLB…
- The Giants are still looking for bullpen help, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter), They had some interest in Francisco Rodriguez until they saw him pitch recently and they don't view Jonathan Broxton as the solution, Knobler reports.
- GM Ned Colletti says the Dodgers are far from done, and will continue to look for a starter and a position player, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
- The Mets would listen to offers for Scott Hairston and Tim Byrdak, but only for pieces who could help them next year, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter).
- The Red Sox would like to obtain a right-handed bat, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. We covered more Red Sox rumors in a pair of AL East posts today.
NL East Notes: Nationals, Buehrle
The Phillies are eager to trade Hunter Pence, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported today. Here are some more notes from the NL East with exactly one week remaining before the July 31st trade deadline…
- The Nationals' primary concern is improving their middle infield depth, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports. The Nationals could make a move very soon now that Ian Desmond might miss a month with a strained oblique. The team has discussed 15-20 players in the Marco Scutaro, Jamey Carroll, Nick Punto mold, Kilgore reports.
- The Nationals aren’t looking for a starting position player and they aren’t offering much for starting pitching, Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). It seems unlikely that GM Mike Rizzo will trade for a premium pitcher like Zack Greinke or Matt Garza.
- One GM told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that the Marlins are expected to listen on any player not named Giancarlo Stanton or Jose Reyes. However, the Marlins would likely have to be overwhelmed to trade Mark Buehrle.
- The Mets announced that they have signed reliever Craig Hansen to a minor league contract (via Twitter). Hansen was a first-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2005.
NL East Notes: Sanchez, Victorino, Braves, Mets
The battle for the top spot in the National League East has quickly become a two-horse race given how teams have fared since returning from the All-Star break. Swept by the Dodgers in a three-game series this weekend, the Mets are now one game under .500 after losing eight of their last nine contests. New York is left looking up at the Braves and Nationals, who split a four game series with Atlanta at home. Here's the latest news and happenings from around the division…
- The Marlins' Anibal Sanchez was being scouted today by the Tigers and Red Sox, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Sanchez took the loss against the Pirates but was impressive striking out eight while allowing only three runs in seven innings.
- The Pirates see Shane Victorino as a perfect fit for their outfield, but not until the Phillies drop their asking price dramatically, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- The Braves continue to be one of the teams courting the Cubs' Ryan Dempster. ESPN's Buster Olney wonders if Jair Jurrjens' poor outing today (six runs allowed, including two home runs, in 2 1/3 innings) will spur more talk between the Braves and Cubs (via Twitter).
- The Mets will not become sellers at the trade deadline, despite their recent struggles, because they don't want to leave the clubhouse bare, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Rubin adds the Mets could still be active at the deadline making lateral trades for MLB players under control in 2013 (via Twitter).
Daniel Seco contributed to this post.
Mets Designate Miguel Batista For Assignment
The Mets have designated Miguel Batista for assignment, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). The Mets' 40-man roster currently stands at 38.
The 41-year-old had a 4.82 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 46.2 innings of work this year. Batista joined the Mets last summer on a minor league deal and inked another with the club in January. For his career, the veteran has a 4.49 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.
Quick Hits: Yankees, Span, Giants, Cardinals, Mets
Some links from around the league as Saturday turns into Sunday…
- With Brett Gardner out for the year, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says the Yankees have called the Phillies about Shane Victorino, the Diamondbacks about Justin Upton, and the Twins about Denard Span. "The Twins are asking for a ton (for Span)," he hears.
- The Giants are in the market for bullpen help according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). He says Jonathan Broxton of the Royals could be a possible fit.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said his team has both short and long-term payroll flexibility and will likely seek bullpen help at the deadline according to the AP (via ESPN). He indicated that he is open to trading within the division as long as a top prospect isn't involved.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told reporters (including Conor Orr of The Star-Ledger) that the presumption is his team will be buyer before the deadline (Twitter link). The next 7-10 days will dictate their moves, however.
Quick Hits: Astros, Mets, Athletics, Straily
Ryan Dempster, Francisco Liriano and Shane Victorino are among the most likely players to be traded within the next 11 days, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes. Those players are a step behind the Astros and Blue Jays, who announced a major trade this morning. Here are today’s links…
- There are “no game-changers” in the ten-player trade completed this morning, a rival evaluator told ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).
- The Mets don't have interest in Brett Myers and didn't have interest in Brandon Lyon before the Blue Jays acquired him from Houston, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter).
- The Athletics agreed to sign 16-year-old Dominican Jhonny Rodriguez, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). It's a $300K deal, the Dominican Prospect League announced.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests we shouldn't be surprised if the Athletics work to add right-hander Daniel Straily to their rotation at some point soon. The 23-year-old has a 2.64 ERA with 162 strikeouts in 126 1/3 innings in the upper minors this year.
- Brett Lawrie, Justin Verlander and Buster Posey barely missed the cut for inclusion on Dave Cameron's list of the ten MLB players with the most trade value. Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp rank sixth and seventh, respectively, on Cameron's list at FanGraphs.
Orioles Acquire Omar Quintanilla
The Orioles acquired Omar Quintanilla from the Mets for future considerations, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The Mets, who have confirmed the trade, designated Quintanilla for assignment three days ago to create roster space for Jason Bay.
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.
Sherman On Mets, Hamels, Padres
The asking price for relief help remains high, even for players nearing free agency, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Mets, of course, are looking for relievers and they’d prefer to acquire a controllable player, according to Sherman. Here are Sherman’s latest notes, starting with the Mets:
- Acquiring a controllable reliever would provide the Mets with a long-term bullpen option but, it won’t be easy to complete a deal. “The problem is those guys are so scarce, and the cost, at least at this point, is prohibitive,” a Mets official told Sherman.
- The Rays have always liked Lucas Duda, so there’s a potential match between the Mets and Rays, Sherman writes.
- The Mets privately believe that the future of pitching prospect Jeurys Familia may be in the bullpen, so they could promote him in a relief role.
- Cole Hamels could decline an extension offer that’s expected to fall in the six-year, $130MM range, but it wouldn’t be easy to do so, one team executive told Sherman. “My sense is he is comfortable in Philly, they have made the playoffs five years in a row and the $130MM says they value him, so it is going to take a heck of a reason to say no to that.”
- If the Padres’ efforts to lock Huston Street up to an extension fail, they’ll make him available in trades later this month.