Latin Links: Abreu, Herrand, Alfonzo
Ubaldo Jimenez dominates the Spanish-language press like he dominates NL hitters, but a few other stories have managed to make it to press. Links are in Spanish…
- Bobby Abreu held a conference call with Spanish-speaking reporters press earlier this week, and the focus quickly switched from his philosophy of hitting to the end of his career. Lider en Deportes' Cesar Augusto Marquez quotes Abreu as saying he'd like to play five more years in the majors in the hopes of attaining 3,000 hits. The 36-year-old Venezuelan admits, however, that his timeline might change if he comes to believe the round number is out of reach. Assuming Abreu produces between 160 and 180 hits this season, as he has for each of the last ten, five more in the same range should put him over the edge.
- The Pirates continued their recent surge of Latin American signings yesterday by adding righthanded Dominican pitcher Jonathan Herrand for $185K out of the Dominican league La Javilla. Jeffrey Nolasco at Hoy paints an impressive picture of Herrand as a potential power arm: 6'4", with a 95 mph fastball backed by two plus breaking pitches and a delivery that his Javilla coach compares to a young Pedro Martinez. Pedro plus five inches—not a bad place to start.
- Edgardo Alfonzo would like to return to the big leagues, and to the Mets in particular, the player tells the New York-based El Diario/La Prensa. Given that Alfonzo's two great seasons and one memorable postseason in Flushing are now a decade past, you'd be forgiven for mistaking him to be older than Abreu at 36. Alfonzo's last stint in the majors was in 2006 with the Blue Jays, and he's been playing consistently in Japan, Venezuela and for the independent Newark Bears since.
July 2 Update: Abad, Peguero, Sanchez
We're still more than a month away from July 2nd, when teams can officially sign a new crop of international talent. That means most of us are thinking about Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and the other American, Canadian and Puerto Rican prospects eligible for the upcoming amateur draft. But Melissa Segura of SI.com has the latest on some international players who are attracting heavy interest (all Twitter links):
- Righty Luis Alvaro Abad is attracting interest from the Yankees, Astros, A's and Blue Jays.
- Six to eight teams are pursuing dominican shortstop Estalin Peguero and interest is heating up.
- Elvis Sanchez is also picking up momentum; the Mets, Pirates and Astros appear to be interested.
Roy Oswalt Rumors: Tuesday
9:00pm: The Astros are not looking to trade Oswalt now, according to Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Dodgers are not in active talks to trade for the right-hander at this point.
8:15pm: The Rangers are content with their current pitchers and have limited financial flexibility, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. GM Jon Daniels told Sullivan that the club is not looking for pitching – at least for now.
"That could always change," Daniels said. "You've got to be open-minded about adding an impact pitcher."
8:34am: Prepare yourself for a couple months of Roy Oswalt rumors. Today's batch:
- ESPN's Buster Olney says the Commissioner's Office would have to approve an increased payroll for the Rangers to take on Oswalt. Such approval would likely displease other teams.
- Olney tweets that he's in agreement with colleague Jayson Stark that the Twins are worth monitoring in the Oswalt derby. The Twins have a solid rotation of Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Francisco Liriano, and Kevin Slowey. They'd be better-served pursuing a third baseman.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post spoke to Oswalt's friend Andy Pettitte, who said, "Roy doesn't want to guess. He would only leave to take a real shot at the World Series." Sherman says Oswalt also craves stability. Sherman does not feel the Mets are currently a viable option, but there is no clear contender with the need and the money. In a blog post, Sherman favors the Angels for Oswalt.
- Bernardo Fallas and Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle analyze eight possible suitors.
Mets Claim Justin Turner
The Mets claimed infielder Justin Turner off waivers from the Orioles, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The O's had designated Turner for assignment on Friday to make room for Scott Moore. Connolly notes that Mets executive Wayne Krivsky drafted Turner as Reds GM back in '06.
Turner, 25, hit .300/.362/.388 in 441 Triple A plate appearances last year. He's failed to match that production in 95 PAs this year. Turner has mostly played second base this year, but he's also spent time at third base and shortstop.
Heading into the '09 season, Baseball America ranked Turner 27th among Orioles prospects after he came over in the Ramon Hernandez deal. BA wrote that Turner is a competitive "baseball rat" who has a shot at becoming a utility player in the bigs.
Rosenthal On Oswalt, Kearns, Dunn
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports leads his latest column with an imagined conversation between Astros owner Drayton McLane and GM Ed Wade, in which Wade attempts to educate McLane on the realities of Roy Oswalt's trade value. Rosenthal's hot stove notes…
- Like most people, Rosenthal can't see the Reds splurging on Oswalt. He finds the Mets "an even less serious contender" due to limited finances.
- Rosenthal points out that Carlos Zambrano hasn't shown himself to be worthy of replacing anyone in the current Cubs' rotation. At the moment, the Cubs appear to have a surplus.
- Rosenthal notes that the Majors' current home run kings – Jose Bautista, Paul Konerko, and Ty Wigginton – could be available at the trade deadline. Who would've predicted these three would top the leaderboard on May 24th? With Kelly Johnson tied for fourth? The Jays acquired Bautista in August of '08 without much fanfare, sending catcher Robinzon Diaz to Pittsburgh. The Pirates designated Diaz for assignment last November.
- Austin Kearns would be a nice match for the Giants, suggests Rosenthal. The 30-year-old outfielder is hitting .304/.377/.487 in 130 plate appearances for the Indians this year. Nate Schierholtz hasn't been much worse, though he's dealing with a bruised shoulder at the moment.
- Rosenthal feels that the Nationals will strike a deal to keep Adam Dunn in Washington before he reaches free agency.
Odds & Ends: Reds, Rookies, Pelfrey, Lima, Alvarez
Links for Sunday, as we await tonight's Subway series rubber match….
- The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay looks at what a trip to the disabled list for Homer Bailey would mean for the Reds' rotation. Bailey left today's game after just 2.1 IP with shoulder soreness. Fay writes that it won't be Aroldis Chapman, who is having his next start pushed back due to a blister.
- Joel Sherman breaks down the tremendous amount of talent in the rookie class of 2010, and wonders if it ranks among the best ever.
- In a separate article, Sherman profiles Mike Pelfrey's success so far in 2010, and relays that the New York right-hander wants manager Jerry Manuel to keep his job.
- Former MLB pitcher Jose Lima has died of a massive heart attack, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (via Twitter). Our condolences go out to Lima's family and friends.
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports lists ten veteran players who he thinks deserve to be traded to another team.
- Pirates fans could see 2008's second overall pick, Pedro Alvarez, arrive in Pittsburgh soon, writes Bob Cohn of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Alvarez is hitting just .243 at Triple-A Indianapolis this season, but he has homered ten times and slugged .497.
- The Chicago Sun Times' Rick Morrissey says that Ryne Sandberg might not be a good fit as the eventual manager of the Cubs, even if fans would love to see it.
- With Rays Senior VP of baseball operations Gerry Hunsicker in Houston this weekend, Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle looks back on Hunsicker's tenure as the Astros' GM.
Odds & Ends: Green, Oswalt, Mets, Gaudin, Werth
Links for Saturday….
- With Rafael Furcal returning to the Dodgers, the out-of-options Nick Green is a candidate for demotion, writes Evan Drellich of MLB.com.
- Roy Oswalt told Houston owner Drayton McLane that he wouldn't mind coming back and finishing his career with the organization, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.
- More on Oswalt: Footer (via Twitter) is skeptical about the Mets' chances of acquiring Houston's ace. Meanwhile, manager Brad Mills doesn't expect Oswalt's trade request to be a clubhouse distraction, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- At MLB.com, Peter Gammons takes a look at a few underachieving teams who are under pressure to make changes.
- Scott Olsen has been placed on the disabled list, but Stephen Strasburg won't be the pitcher called up to take his roster spot, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
- Jack Curry of the YES Network (via Twitter) asked Mets GM Omar Minaya if Jerry Manuel is managing to save his job. Minaya answered, "I don't want to say that. I wouldn't say that's the case."
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Chad Gaudin received and turned down a minor league assignment offer from the A's.
- Mike Lowell told Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald that he has no regrets about passing on a four year, $37.5MM contract offer from the Phillies after the 2007 season.
- Jayson Werth said he's "played [his] entire career for this year," according to David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Werth, of course, is referring to his contract year and impending free agent payday.
- Chris Iannetta remains the one who got away for the Red Sox, who almost drafted the catcher back in 2004 according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
- Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune analyzed the Carlos Gomez–J.J. Hardy trade now that we're six months out.
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds have gotten tremendous production out of their bargain basement left field combo of Jonny Gomes and Laynce Nix ($1.4MM combined salary).
Olney’s Latest: Oswalt, Mariners, Jays, Sonnanstine
In today's blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney wrote about the major hurdles the Astros will face in trying to trade Roy Oswalt. The biggest obstacles are Oswalt's salary (owed $29MM through 2011), his history of back trouble, his full-no trade clause, and the fact that teams are coveting young players more than ever and might not be willing to give up a package good enough to convince owner Drayton McLane to move one of his star players.
As one GM put it, "a no-trade clause doesn't become a must-trade clause." Another believes they won't "just give the guy away." Here's the rest of Olney's rumors…
- The Mariners continue to search for a hitter.
- Toronto's asking for one or two prospects for relievers Jason Frasor and Scott Downs, but rival executives believe that asking price to be very high.
- Some executives believe that the Rays will make Andy Sonnanstine available at some point this summer. Olney suggests the Mets as a potential fit, noting that there were brief talks between the two teams about a trade this offseason.
Remembering the 2000 Trade Deadline
Ah, times were different back in 2000. Bush and Gore were locked in a closely-contested race. Reality television was the exception, not the rule. And What Women Want taught us that Mel Gibson would be best remembered for capturing Helen Hunt's heart.
Meanwhile, let's climb into the Wayback Machine (though I believe Sherman has already called shotgun) and look at some of the biggest trade deadline hits from the year 2000…
- The first deal of significance near the non-waiver trade deadline came on July 12, when the Yankees acquired Denny Neagle (and Mike Frank) for Jackson Melian, Drew Henson, Brian Reith and Ed Yarnall. The Yankees didn't lose much, since Henson's production never approached his hype. Neagle, however, was actually nearing the end of a good career, and posted just a 5.81 ERA after coming to New York.
- Little-discussed, however, is one of the most impressive trade-deadline pickups of all time. On July 21, the Yankees dealt the forgettable Ben Ford and Oswaldo Mairena to the Cubs for Glenallen Hill. For Hill, the deal provided the last, best jolt of power in a home run-packed career. He hit .333/.378/.735 (!) with 16 home runs in 143 at-bats for the Yankees. It is hard to imagine a better example of acquiring an impact bat. Hill, who last played in 2001, publicly admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs late in his career.
- The most important trade of that time took place on July 26, 2000, when the Phillies traded Curt Schilling to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Omar Daal, Nelson Figueroa, Travis Lee and Vicente Padilla. Padilla was the most productive of the bunch, with a pair of 14-win seasons, while Travis Lee, the centerpiece, hit just .258/.343/.402 in Philadelphia. Schilling, meanwhile, still had 111 of his 216 career victories ahead of him. He posted a 22-6 record in 2001, a 23-7 record in 2002, and had a successful Red Sox career after the trade.
- Probably the biggest surprise of the players acquired at this time was Melvin Mora, traded with three other players by the Mets to the Orioles for Mike Bordick. The Mets wanted a shortstop and Bordick had a reputation as a strong defender. He posted a .260/.321/.385 mark with the Mets in 2000 and Mora went on to hit 158 home runs for the Orioles through 2009.
- The Indians dealt a 25-year-old Richie Sexson, along with Kane Davis, Paul Rigdon and a player to be named later to the Brewers for three pitchers to shore up their pitching staff: Jason Bere, Bob Wickman and Steve Woodard. Of the three, only Wickman posted a reasonable ERA, and the Charlie Manuel-led Indians finished five games behind the Jerry Manuel-led White Sox. Sexson, meanwhile, hit 45 home runs in two of the next three seasons. And adding insult to injury, the player to be named later turned out to be Marco Scutaro.
- In my favorite trade of the 2000 deadline, the Cardinals sent minor league slugger Jose Leon to the Orioles for first baseman Will Clark. All Clark did was hit .345/.426/.655 with the Cardinals, leading them into the NLCS. He then retired- the textbook case of going out on top.
Rangers Looking To Trade For Rod Barajas?
The Rangers' search for a reliable catcher may be taking them to a former Ranger who they pursued in the offseason. T.R. Sullivan and Chris Cox of MLB.com report that if the Mets put Rod Barajas on the market, the Rangers will have an interest in the veteran catcher. Sullivan and Cox notes that Texas is contacting several clubs about finding a solution to their catching problems.
Barajas turned down a minor-league contract from Texas over the winter, eventually signing a one-year deal with New York worth $500K. He has already earned a $400K bonus for making the Opening Day roster, and another $1MM is also available if Barajas reaches other incentive plateaus. Even if he gets to that maximum price, Barajas has been a bargain for the Mets, hitting a club-leading 10 homers and carrying an OPS of .893 into Friday's game with the Yankees.
Sullivan and Cox cite sources who say that if the Mets do choose to deal Barajas, it won't be until much closer to the July trade deadline. This could be to try and create a bidding war for the catcher's services, or maybe the Mets still think they can get back into contention.