New York Notes: Chavez, Reyes, Burnett
Hurricane Irene washed out Saturday's contests for both New York clubs, and today's Braves/Mets game has been postponed as well. Weather permitting though, the Yankees and Orioles will play two, with Bartolo Colon and Ivan Nova looking to help the Yanks make up ground on the Red Sox in the AL East. Before they get underway, let's check out the latest from Queens and the Bronx….
- Eric Chavez explains to the Star-Ledger's Jeff Bradley why coming to New York actually helped relieve the pressure he'd felt in Oakland.
- When the Mets negotiate with Jose Reyes this offseason, part of the conversation will revolve around playing time, days off, and medical history, writes Dan Martin of the New York Post.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News discusses Brian Cashman's starting rotation hits and misses over the years, while Mark Feinsand of the Daily News notes that the Yankees GM didn't exactly rush to A.J. Burnett's defense this weekend.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Jeff Marquez
Let's keep track of Saturday's outright assignments right here…
- The Yankees have outrighted Jeff Marquez to Triple-A according to the International League transactions page. The 27-year-old right-hander was claimed off waivers from the White Sox back in June, though he's currently on the disabled list and rehabbing a shoulder problem. Marquez has allowed three runs in five career big league innings, four coming with New York this season.
Cubs Interested In Friedman, Colletti, Cashman
Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts has been gathering information about Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Cubs, who are on the hunt for a new general manager, also appear to have interest in Rick Hahn of the White Sox and Josh Byrnes of the Padres.
The Cubs are drawn to Colletti, a Chicago native and former Cubs employee, since they believe he could bring Hall of Fame second baseman turned minor league manager Ryne Sandberg back as the team’s Major League skipper. Sandberg has said he’d return to the Cubs now that former GM Jim Hendry has been fired, according to Wittenmyer.
Ricketts has also discussed the possibility of trying to lure Yankees GM Brian Cashman to Chicago along with New York manager Joe Girardi. Cashman’s contract expires after the season, but Girardi, a Peoria, Illinois native, is under contract with the Yankees through 2013.
Wittenmyer hears from associates of Friedman that the Rays executive isn’t likely to leave Tampa Bay for Chicago.
Yankees Claim Carlos Pena; Deal Unlikely
10:41pm: Pena has been told that the Cubs will pull him back off of waivers, according to Muskat (on Twitter).
5:59pm: The Cubs and Yankees haven't had contact about Pena as of this evening, according to Olney (on Twitter).
5:06pm: GM Brian Cashman told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that a trade is "very unlikely" for the Yankees and that he's "not optimistic" about making a deal. MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports (on Twitter) that Pena isn't going anywhere.
4:16pm: The Yankees claimed Pena, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). That means every team in baseball other than New York and possibly Boston passed on Pena. It's clear that the Yankees want Pena, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Cubs remain reluctant to make a deal (Twitter links).
1:09pm: Cubs slugger Carlos Pena was claimed on waivers by an unknown team, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Cubs made the decision to place Pena on trade waivers on Monday, triggering a 48 hour window in which teams could put in claims.
In 480 plate appearances this year for the Cubs, the 33-year-old is hitting .222/.342/.455 with 23 homers. Pena is owed about $1MM for the rest of the year and projects as a Type B free agent this winter. The Cubs will be on the hook for a deferred $5MM in January even if they deal him.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Yankees, Maddon
Links from the AL East before some of the division's top pitchers – Josh Beckett, C.C. Sabathia and Ricky Romero – start for their respective teams…
- Red Sox owner John Henry told John Tomase of the Boston Herald that chatter about GM Theo Epstein and the Cubs shows "how highly regarded Theo is by the media and baseball in general.”
- Prospective free agent David Ortiz tells Yahoo’s Jeff Passan that his ability to tune criticism out helps him perform on the field. “I’m not a five-tool player. I may be a two-tool player. But one of them tools is this one right here,” he said, pointing to his head.
- Bartolo Colon has slowed down, so the Yankees figure to rely on Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova more than ever, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes.
- MLB players consider Joe Maddon of the Rays the manager they'd most like to play for, according to a recent Sports Illustrated poll. Red Sox manager Terry Francona placed second in the poll and Yankees manager Joe Girardi placed seventh. Having a popular manager in place no doubt helps teams trying to attract free agents or sign players to long-term extensions.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Weaver, Rodriguez, Thome
We saw one trade completed today and, as our list of players to clear waivers shows, there are more potential deals on the horizon. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he doesn't expect to make a trade this month, though he's considering waiver trade candidates every day.
- Angels ace Jered Weaver had a refreshing take on his team friendly five-year, $85MM extension, as Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times writes. “If $85 million is not enough to take care of my family and other generations of my family, then you’re stupid," he said. "I play baseball for the love of the game, for the competitive part of it.”
- A's GM Billy Beane told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that the gap between baseball's haves and have-nots has widened. "The window for small-market clubs is shorter and shorter,” Beane said.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports breaks down some possible trade scenarios between the Rockies and Astros involving the recently-claimed Wandy Rodriguez.
- Rodriguez drew interest at the trade deadline, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Yankees were prepared to give up a player for the left-hander, who they valued at $21MM.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen says he'd love to bring Jim Thome back to Chicago, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Thome hit waivers yesterday.
AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Darvish
The Blue Jays completed a trade with the Diamondbacks today, sending Aaron Hill and John McDonald to Arizona for Kelly Johnson. Here's the latest news from the AL East, starting with a note on today's trade…
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio that Hill and McDonald cleared waivers earlier in the month (Twitter link). The deal started when Arizona GM Kevin Towers called about McDonald.
- Anthopoulos says he acquired Johnson from the D'Backs to get an up-close look at him before deciding how aggressively to pursue him this offseason when he hits free agency, according to Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com takes us inside Boston's front office in a must-read look at how the Red Sox approached the signing deadline. “Between 11:50 and 12 it was straight chaos,” one person told Speier. “Five people were on the phone at the same time with five different agents negotiating five different deals.”
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains that MLB teams, even rich ones like the Yankees, have to develop their own starting pitching, since the few elite starters who do reach free agency are prohibitively expensive.
- The Yankees have scouted Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish heavily, according to Sherman. Darvish, 25, "is coming" to the Major Leagues this offseason, according to one of Sherman's sources.
Yankees Designate Aaron Laffey For Assignment
The Yankees designated lefty Aaron Laffey for assignment, tweets Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger. They'd claimed him off waivers from the Mariners on Friday. Carig notes that Laffey was placed on optional waivers, meaning he remains on the 40-man roster and can be pulled back if claimed.
Laffey, 26, posted a 4.14 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.4 HR/9, and 50.9% groundball rate in 45 2/3 innings for the Mariners and Yankees this year.
Cubs, Hendry Links: Saturday
The Cubs dismissed long-time GM Jim Hendry yesterday, so let's round up the latest regarding the move…
- SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Brian Cashman won't be a candidate for the Cubs' GM opening, but the position will be very coveted in the industry.
- Manager Mike Quade isn't concerning himself with his future right now, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. It's common for a new GM to appoint his own manager, raising plenty of questions about Quade's role with the team beyond the 2011 season.
- MLB.com's Carrie Muskat provides a timeline of Hendry's tenure with the team, starting with his hiring in July 2002 and ended with his suspension of Carlos Zambrano last week.
- Bruce Miles of The Daily Herald says Hendry's tenure was a mixed bag. He did well in trades (Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Kenny Lofton), but not so well on the free agent market (Milton Bradley, Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome).
- Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports says whoever takes over as the permanent replacement for Hendry will "inherit a potential gold mine." Owner Tom Ricketts is willing to spend to win, and there's always "the promise of deification should the new GM actually win a World Series."
MLBTR's Steve Adams also contributed to this post.
Rosenthal’s Full Count: Cubs, Zimmerman, Minor, Rox, Span
Ken Rosenthal has his weekly Full Count Video up over at FOXSports.com, so let's take a look:
- All GMs — past, present, and prospective — would love a crack at the Cubs' recent opening, says Rosenthal. Some GMs who are in their last contractual year, like Brian Cashman of the Yankees, line up better than others. Rosenthal feels the Rays might let Chicago interview Andrew Friedman, but finds it highly unlikely that the Red Sox would allow the Cubs to interview Theo Epstein, who is under contract through 2012.
- While the Nationals have spent almost $40MM on the Amateur Draft in the past three seasons, Rosenthal says they'd be wise to check in with their first draft pick ever: Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman is controlled through 2013, but Rosenthal likens him to another prominent young star, saying that Zimmerman is to the Nats what Troy Tulowitzki is to the Rockies. He feels the Nats should approach their cornerstone about a similar extension before he gets so close to free agency that he considers testing it.
- The Mets were far from the only team interested in Mike Minor at the July 31st trade deadline. The Indians offered the Drew Pomeranz to the Braves in exchange for Minor, thinking that with Atlanta trying to acquire Hunter Pence at the time, the Astros may prefer Pomeranz to Minor. Cleveland would get a more Major League-ready arm in return, but the Braves had no intention of dealing Minor.
- The Rockies will look to add a big bat this winter, preferably at third base or a corner outfield spot. If they can find a third baseman despite a weak market, they may be inclined to pursue a leadoff hitter like the Twins' Denard Span. Rosenthal says the Rox have long coveted Span, and almost drafted him in 2002, but instead took Jeff Francis due to concerns over Span's asking price. Minnesota grabbed Span 11 picks later at No. 20 overall, though they showed a willingness to move him at this year's deadline when negotiating with the Nats.