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AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Rivera, Johnson, Andino

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The Rays and Red Sox begin a four-game set at Fenway Park tonight that could very well determine the AL Wild Card.  Here are some items about both clubs, plus the rest of the AL East…

  • Trades and middling draft results have robbed the Red Sox of pitching depth, opines ESPN's Jim Bowden (Insider subscription required).  With more good arms in the system, Bowden argues that Boston could have had reinforcements ready to step in when Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz hit the DL, or could've used those young prospects to acquire a more reliable starter than Erik Bedard.
  • The Blue Jays will at least check in on Jonathan Papelbon this winter, writes MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm, though Chisholm notes that it isn't Alex Anthopoulos' style to sign relievers to expensive, multiyear contracts.  Chisholm also looks at Frank Francisco and Adam Loewen's respective futures in Toronto as part of the mailbag piece — Chisholm thinks Francisco will leave, while Loewen is out of options and will probably only have a spot on the team if the Jays cut Mark Teahen.
  • Mariano Rivera is a Yankees legend today, but Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York looks at how 20 years ago, the Sandman wasn't even the most regarded prospect in his own family.  "If you turn the clock back and you ask who was the best Rivera in our system, it was Ruben," says Brian Cashman.  "Mariano was just known as Ruben’s cousin.''
  • Writing for USA Today, Patrick DiCaprio looks at how Orioles reliever Jim Johnson fits the prototype of a closer.  Johnson could very well finish games next season given that Baltimore seems to have lost patience with Kevin Gregg, though we've also heard that the O's have explored converting Johnson to a starter.  You can keep track of Baltimore's late-game situation all winter long at MLBTR's sister site, Closer News.
  • Robert Andino has finally gotten the chance to show he belongs in the Majors, writes Brittany Ghiroli for MLB.com.  The versatile infielder has definitely earned a roster spot with the Orioles for next year.
  • The Rays' somewhat surprising performance in 2011 makes it clear that they will be contenders again in 2012 and possibly for years to come, writes Rob Neyer.

Pedro Feliciano’s 2012 Season, Career In Question

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Pedro Feliciano underwent surgery on his left rotator cuff last week, a procedure that will threaten the southpaw's 2012 season, reports MLB.com's Bryan Hoch and Taylor Soper.  Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he "would be surprised if [Feliciano] pitched next year" and also noted that it would be difficult for Feliciano to recover from such an operation at age 35.

Feliciano has missed the entire season after suffering a torn capsule in his throwing shoulder in April.  He passed on surgery following the advice of Dr. James Andrews, though a summer of rehab assignments failed to get Feliciano's arm back in shape.  Feliciano threw just one professional inning in 2011, for the Yankees' Rookie League team — obviously not what New York expected when it signed Feliciano to a two-year, $8MM contract in December.  The team holds a $4.5MM option on Feliciano for 2013 that seems like a lock to be declined, so Feliciano will likely never pitch for the Bronx Bombers.

Back in April, Brian Cashman said the Mets "abused" Feliciano, as the left-hander led the NL in appearances in each of the previous three seasons.  Despite these concerns, the Yankees found no issue in Feliciano's medicals and Feliciano himself said he enjoyed pitching on a regular basis.

Yankees Designate Steve Garrison For Assignment

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The Yankees have cleared a 40-man roster spot for Austin Romine by designating Steve Garrison for assignment, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.

Garrison, who the Yankees claimed off waivers from the Padres just over a year ago, spent most of the year in the starting rotation for Double-A Trenton. He posted a 5.95 ERA in 75 2/3 innings, with 5.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.

AL East Notes: Ellsbury, Yankees, Gregg

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This weekend's series between the Rays and Red Sox has made things a little more interesting in the AL East. With another win today, Tampa Bay would pull to within 3 1/2 games of the second-place Red Sox. Both teams have only intra-division games left on the schedule, including four more against each other next weekend. Here's a round-up of the morning's AL East links, as Jon Lester and James Shields prepare to square off in St. Petersburg:

  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald discusses the upcoming arbitration case for Jacoby Ellsbury, who is putting up MVP-caliber numbers while earning $2.4MM this season. As Lauber writes, it's not easy to find appropriate comparables for the Red Sox outfielder. Lauber cites Andruw Jones, Hunter Pence, and Carlos Beltran as some names that could come up during negotiations.  Last month, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained that Ellsbury's salary should exceed $6MM.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post praises the Yankees' bench, pointing out that the club's depth is one reason for its AL East lead. GM Brian Cashman noted that the Yanks weren't desperate for reinforcements at the trade deadline this year: "We did our trade deadline deals in the winter. Our supplemental moves kept us from having to trade assets in July for answers."
  • The Orioles can't go into next season with Kevin Gregg as their closer, argues MASN's Steve Melewski. The right-hander is under contract for 2012 ($5.8MM), but has been inconsistent at the back of Baltimore's bullpen this year, posting a 4.45 ERA and 6.3 BB/9. Another reason why the O's may want to keep Gregg away from the ninth inning next season? He has a $6MM option for 2013 that would vest if he finishes 50 games in 2012. As the team's closer this season, he has just 43 games finished, but he recorded more than 50 in each of his previous four seasons.
  • For the latest updates on the Orioles closing situation, along with 29 others, be sure to follow @closernews on Twitter or visit CloserNews.com.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Iannetta, Santana, Willis

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Joey Votto celebrated his 28th birthday with a 3-for-4 performance today against the Rockies, including his 27th homer of the year.  It wasn't enough, however, as Cincinnati dropped a 12-7 result to Colorado.

Some notes from around the majors….

  • The Red Sox could use another solid starting pitcher but "for the moment don't feel there's anyone out there available who's better than what they have," a team official tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
  • The Rockies will give catcher Wilin Rosario a lot of playing time this month as they decide what to do with Chris Iannetta this winter, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  If Rosario plays well, Colorado may decide to deal Iannetta, who's due to make $3.55MM in 2012.  Iannetta's name was mentioned in trade rumors involving the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Pirates and Padres at the July deadline.
  • Johan Santana will probably not pitch in the Major Leagues for the Mets this season, reports Anthony DiComo for MLB.com.
  • Dontrelle Willis probably won't be back with the Reds next season, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Willis has re-established himself as a big league starter this year but Fay figures that this progress has likely priced the southpaw out of the Reds' range.
  • Another Red who likely won't be back in Cincinnati next year is Paul Janish, opines Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News.  Despite some excellent glovework (a +11.6 UZR/150 at shortstop this year), Janish will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter and is probably a non-tender candidate with Zack Cozart taking over at short.
  • Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune says several American League scouts have asked him about Jesus Guzman's fielding ability in recent weeks, a sign that AL teams could have an interest in Guzman as a DH candidate.  Center discusses Guzman, Bud Black's status, a possible extension for Cameron Maybin and other Padres-related topics in an online chat with fans.
  • Andruw Jones has been playing all season with a small tear in his left knee, reports Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger.  The Yankees discovered the injury during Jones' physical but signed the veteran outfielder anyway  (both Twitter links).

Astros Claim Lance Pendleton

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The Astros claimed right-hander Lance Pendleton off of waivers from the Yankees, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Pendleton, who was designated by the Yankees on Tuesday, spent Spring Training with Houston after they selected him from New York in last winter's Rule 5 draft. The Astros returned the 6'3" Houston native to the Yankees on March 27th when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.

The 27-year-old made his MLB debut for the Yankees in April and went on to post a 3.21 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 in 14 innings. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 3.10 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 66 2/3 innings as a starter and reliever.

AL East Notes: Robertson, Granderson, Aviles

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A few items of note out of the AL East, where the Yankees lead the Red Sox by 2 1/2 games through Thursday's action …

  • Yankees setup man David Robertson has pitched so well this season that Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders whether we're watching the development of Mariano Rivera's heir apparent as New York's closer. Rivera is under contract through next season.
  • Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson is in the thick of MVP talks because of his stellar season, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, but he's also an affable, charitable, humble and highly intelligent person. He's the Yankees' player rep for the MLBPA and is one of two league-wide reps along with Craig Counsell of the Brewers. Crasnick's piece is an excellent read.
  • Not much was thought of it when the Red Sox acquired Mike Aviles from the Royals, but the utility infielder is preparing himself for what could be an important postseason role, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Aviles isn't a prototypical burner but is an efficient basestealer, according to Bradford, and could pinch-run in the postseason in a big spot — a la Dave Roberts in 2004.

Five Non-Moves That Shaped The 2011 Season

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Blockbuster trades and record-breaking free agent contracts are lots of fun, but not all rumors turn into reality. Some of the storylines that dominated MLBTR early on this season never actually happened. Here’s a look back at five of them:

  1. Giants don’t replace Buster Posey – Last year’s Rookie of the Year went down on May 25th. Since then, the Giants have seen their catchers hit .208/.272/.298 with five homers. The Giants wouldn’t necessarily be leading the NL West if they had acquired reinforcements, but I’m comfortable saying the first-place Diamondbacks didn’t mind seeing Brian Sabean roll out Eli Whiteside, Chris Stewart and Hector Sanchez instead of acquiring a replacement. Finding catching midseason is never easy and the Giants’ non-Posey catchers did limit the running game (34% of would-be base stealers caught), but the defending World Champions could have done better.
  2. Padres hold Heath Bell – It was a foregone conclusion that the Padres would trade Heath Bell this year. Instead of pitching for a contender, he’s playing out the season in San Diego, wondering how the Padres will handle him this offseason.
  3. Yankees don’t acquire starting pitching – Ubaldo Jimenez, Wandy Rodriguez and Hiroki Kuroda were all linked to the Yankees, who seemed to be in need of pitching depth from day one. 141 games later, Yankees starters lead the American League in K/9 (7.1), are second in xFIP (3.78) and fifth in ground ball rate (44.9%). Brian Cashman’s reluctance to overpay for pitching in trades has allowed Ivan Nova to blossom, but it hasn’t answered questions about who will follow C.C. Sabathia in New York’s playoff rotation.
  4. Rays stand pat – B.J. Upton, Johnny Damon, James Shields and Kyle Farnsworth all made regular appearances on MLBTR this summer, but they stayed put. Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who spent the July 31st trade deadline having his appendix removed, added summer reinforcements by calling up hot-hitting prospect Desmond Jennings a week before the deadline.
  5. Mets hold Jose Reyes – It's easy to wonder what the Mets would have obtained for Jose Reyes if they had dangled him in early July. He was hitting .354/.398/.529 at the time and had yet to spend time on the disabled list this year. The Mets, who are expected to pursue Reyes when he hits free agency this offseason, held onto him instead of sending him to a contender. Though Reyes missed time in July and August, he would have provided a contending team with a boost (and provided the Mets with more prospects).

New York Notes: Cano, Johan, Reyes

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The Yankees are waiting for the playoffs, while the Mets are jockeying for .500.  The latest on New York's teams…

Outrighted To The Minors: Neshek, Pope, Walters

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Here are the latest players to get outrighted to the minor leagues…

  • The Padres outrighted Pat Neshek to Triple-A today, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). They had designated the reliever for assignment last Thursday.
  • The Yankees outrighted Ryan Pope to Triple-A, reports Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (on Twitter). Pope was designated for assignment last week, when the Yankees needed 40-man roster space for Jesus Montero. The 25-year-old righty posted a 5.12 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings split between Double and Triple-A this year.
  • The Blue Jays outrighted P.J. Walters to the minor leagues, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter). Walters appeared in one game for the Blue Jays after they acquired him in the deal that brought Colby Rasmus to Toronto. In 51 MLB innings, the right-hander has a 7.24 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.
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