Yankees To Sign Omar Luis Rodriguez
4:23pm: The left-hander will obtain a $4MM bonus, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. He has five pitches, including a fastball that ranges from 86-92 mph, and a competitive approach.
1:09pm: The Yankees have agreed to sign Cuban left-hander Omar Luis Rodriguez to a minor league deal worth an estimated $4-5MM, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports (on Twitter). Rodriguez, 19, drew interest from several MLB teams, including the Dodgers, Royals and Phillies, Sanchez reported two days ago.
Rodriguez projects as a starter and impressed onlookers with his performance at the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship, according to Sanchez. MLB declared Rodriguez a free agent earlier in June. Like Jorge Soler and others, he had until July 2 to sign without being subjected to the spending restrictions that will soon take effect under baseball's collective bargaining agreement.
Astros Will Listen On Wandy Rodriguez
The Astros will listen to offers for left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, and teams are watching the left-hander in anticipation of the July 31st trade deadline, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports writes. The Yankees, Giants and Blue Jays had representatives in attendance for Rodriguez’s start against the Royals last night, Morosi reports.
Rodriguez, 33, has a 3.29 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 95 2/3 innings this year. He earns $10MM this year, $13MM next year and his contract includes a $13MM vesting option for 2014. The '14 option becomes a player option if the Astros trade Rodriguez.
The Yankees’ rotation has been tremendous of late, but the Giants and Blue Jays have potential openings because of injuries and poor performances. It’s worth noting that the presence of scouts doesn’t necessarily reflect serious interest from potential suitors. Teams routinely evaluate players around the league to prepare for possible roster moves.
AL East Notes: Soriano, Werner, Guthrie, Orioles
Rays prospect Chris Archer will make his Major League debut on Wednesday against the Nationals, filling in while Jeremy Hellickson is on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder fatigue. Archer was ranked as the 89th-best prospect in the game by Baseball America before the season, though that was down from a #27 ranking the year prior due to Archer's fairly unimpressive 2011 campaign at Double-A. This season, Archer has a 4.81 ERA, a 10.6 K/9 rate and 90 strikeouts (against 45 walks) in 14 starts for Triple-A Durham.
Here's some other news from around the AL East…
- Rafael Soriano's success as the Yankees' closer could lead to him opting out of his contract for 2013 and becoming a free agent, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Soriano is set to earn $14MM from the Yankees in 2013, but could opt out in search of a longer-term commitment and a full-time closer's job, as Soriano will again be Mariano Rivera's set-up man if he stays in New York. Sherman argues that Soriano's experience in high-pressure AL East games could help him find the multiyear deal that eluded most closers last offseason.
- Red Sox chairman Tom Werner (in an interview with WEEI's The Big Show, as partially recapped by WEEI.com's Paul Flannery) denied Theo Epstein's recent statements about ownership pressure contributing to free agency decisions during Epstein's tenure as the team's general manager. "We don't dictate who Theo or Ben [Cherington] should sign," Werner said. "What we do is we try to give them the resources to be successful. There's a sense that non-baseball people are telling baseball people what to do, but what we do is we try to create the revenue streams for our baseball operations people to be successful."
- The Blue Jays have "been most active" in trade negotiations for Rockies' right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. We heard about Toronto's interest in Guthrie over the weekend but now that Guthrie has been moved to Colorado's bullpen, it will no doubt affect his trade value.
- Former Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail deserves some of the credit for the team's early-season success, argues Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
- The Orioles haven't made any progress with top two draft picks Kevin Gausman (4th overall) and Branden Kline (65th overall), tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Connolly "wouldn't be surprised if [negotiations] take a while" between the team and the two right-handers.
Quick Hits: Padres, Phillies, Drabek, Vlad
Teams interested in acquiring starting pitching help surely noticed when the Cubs placed right-hander Ryan Dempster on the disabled list with right lat tightness today. Dempster, 35, is one of the top starters known to be available in trades. Here are today’s links…
- A quick sale of the Padres may not be possible at this point, writes Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. The three apparent finalists are all leading bid groups with multiple investors, which will require extensive background work once a sale is announced.
- Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com examines the trade stock of some of the Phillies biggest names in the event that their slide continues into late July.
- Blue Jays righty Kyle Drabek is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, tweets Barry Davis of Sportsnet.ca. This will be the second time Drabek has been through Tommy John.
- Free agent designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero isn't close to signing, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
- There's no indication the Tigers are interested in Jim Thome, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press reports. Thome, a "longtime tormentor" of the Tigers, bats left-handed, which means he’s not a perfect fit in Detroit. The Tigers are interested in acquiring a bat before the July 31st trade deadline and they'd prefer to add a right-handed hitter, Morosi reported yesterday.
- GM Brian Cashman told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio that the Yankees haven't pursued contract extensions for Robinson Cano or Curtis Granderson, but aim to keep both players long-term (Twitter link).
- Maury Brown explains that TV deals are boosting franchise values across MLB in a piece at Baseball Prospectus.
Sherman On Dempster, Lee, Gonzalez
MLB executives expect the additional Wild Card teams to slow the trade market this summer, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Cubs and a few other teams such as the Athletics, Astros and Padres are willing to sell now, but most clubs still hope to contend this summer. Here are some notes from Sherman on the trade market:
- No clear difference makers appear to be available right now, Sherman reports. People are generally waiting to see if the Brewers or Phillies decide to trade established stars for controllable talent.
- A Yankees official told Sherman that Ryan Dempster would just “muddy the water” in New York, an indication that the Yankees aren’t overly interested in the Cubs right-hander.
- Though there’s no indication that Cliff Lee and Carlos Gonzalez are available, Sherman makes the case that their respective clubs should consider trades for them this summer. Lee, who has a nine-team no-trade list, would appeal to a number of contenders, and Gonzalez would draw considerable interest in a trade market that currently features few impact hitters.
- Sherman points out that people in the industry see California native Cole Hamels heading toward a big payday from the Dodgers after the season when he hits free agency.
East Notes: Blue Jays, Phillies, Braves, Soler
Earlier today we learned that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos asked the Twins about Justin Morneau. However, one exec noted that Anthopoulos seems to "[call] about everyone." Here's more on the Blue Jays and the rest of the division..
- Anthopoulos isn't worried about any criticism that may come his way, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet. Even though the GM knows that the club has to show progress on the field, he insists that he won't be swayed by popular opinion and won't rush into making a move.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) spoke to a scout who didn't have a very high opinion of where the Phillies stand or what they can offer in a trade. “They’re not young. They’re not healthy. And their system is thin," the scout said.
- The Braves were right there with the Cubs and willing to spend $30MM on Jorge Soler, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB.com. The White Sox and Yankees, meanwhile, had bids that fell between $25MM and $30MM.
Yankees Like Dempster; Dodgers Eyeing Garza
Ryan Dempster held the Red Sox scoreless for seven innings in Chicago today and even picked up two hits to provide his team's offense with some assistance. Here's the latest on Dempster and his teammate, Matt Garza:
- Several contenders, including the Yankees and Dodgers, covet Dempster, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
- Two scouts at today's game said the Yankees prefer Garza to Dempster, David Kaplan reports (on Twitter).
- Dempster told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he doesn’t pay attention to the rumors, though it’s flattering to know teams are interested in him. “I’ve been itching to get back to the playoffs,” Dempster told Rosenthal. “I just wanted another opportunity. I never got it. And we’ve struggled since then.” Dempster is a clear summer trade candidate, as I explained yesterday.
- The Dodgers are interested in Garza, Rosenthal reports. Garza, 28, has a 4.04 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 71 1/3 innings for the Cubs this year.
Yankees Sign Austin Aune
The Yankees signed second round selection Austin Aune for a $1MM bonus, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter). The Yankees selected the high school shortstop/outfielder 89th overall in last week's draft.
MLB recommends a bonus of $548K for the selection, so Aune's bonus will account for a disproportionate chunk of the Yankees' draft budget. Aune had been recruited to play quarterback at TCU, Callis adds.
Olney On Red Sox, Quentin, Willingham, Pirates
ESPN's Buster Olney shared a number of items (via his Twitter feed) about a variety of hot stove topics and rumors…
- The Red Sox might be forced to deal Kevin Youkilis due to a "roster crunch" at the corner infield positions and players returning from the DL. Rival executives, however, think Youkilis currently has "no trade value" so it doesn't make sense for Boston to move him right now.
- The Angels and Yankees are "still waiting for needs to be defined" before exploring trades, while the Red Sox are only focused on acquiring starting pitching.
- Many baseball executives believe the Padres will trade Carlos Quentin, though Olney reports the Padres "would like to" offer Quentin a long-term extension sometime this summer. Olney's phrasing may relate to the uncertain status of the Padres' ownership situation.
- Teams have checked in on Josh Willingham but have been told that he isn't available. Some believe this could change but others believe Twins GM Terry Ryan "is, generally speaking, conservative with in-season deals" so the Twins could hold onto their slugger.
- The Pirates are looking for hitting but thus far found few sellers willing to deal.
- The Dodgers are asking about first basemen as they look to upgrade from James Loney but have "no reason to go crazy" finding a second base replacement for Mark Ellis, who will return from the DL at some point.
- The Rockies aren't seen as a team with much to trade, as their roster is split between "untouchables" (i.e. Troy Tulowitzki) and "role players" (such as Rafael Betancourt).
- Jim Thome could be a trade target for AL teams but Olney believes Phillies GM Ruben Amaro would first ask Thome if changing teams was something the respected veteran would want.
Yankees Notes: Quentin, Swisher, Nunez
The Yankees own baseball's all-time best record (164-109) in interleague play, including a 7-2 mark against the National League this year. The Bronx Bombers are riding a six-game winning streak thanks to consecutive sweeps of the Mets and Braves and they'll visit the equally red-hot Nationals in a three-game series this weekend. Here's the latest from Yankee Stadium…
- The Yankees don't consider Carlos Quentin as a fit for their needs, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Yankees would want to fill left field with someone "speedier" than Quentin, which probably also means someone more defensively capable (Quentin has a career UZR/150 of – 9.1). MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith explored Quentin as a trade candidate in May and the Tigers were linked to Quentin earlier today.
- Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees blog looks at how Andre Ethier's recent extension with the Dodgers may impact Nick Swisher's free agent value this winter and Swisher's chances of re-signing with the Yankees.
- MLB.com's Bryan Hoch looks at a few Yankee hot stove topics in a fan mailbag, including the possibility of an Alfonso Soriano trade and how the Yankees could be trying to build Eduardo Nunez's trade value by playing him at several different positions.