Rosenthal On Nolasco, Rays, Upton, Jimenez
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports brought us another edition of Full Count today while sporting yet another fantastic bow tie. Here are some highlights..
- The Marlins could wind up trading Ricky Nolasco if they fail to get back to the .500 mark. The Rangers have shown interest in Nolasco since last winter and the Yankees could look to reunite him with manager Joe Girardi. If the Fish make such a deal, it won't be in one of their classic salary dumps, it will be instead for baseball reasons. They're looking to increase their payroll ahead of their move into a brand new stadium and they could be major players for free agents this winter.
- The Rays still could end up as sellers but right now they appear to be buyers as they were looking to get Francisco Rodriguez before the Brewers swooped in at the final hour. If Tampa Bay sells, it's doubtful that they'll move any of their starters but B.J. Upton is another story. In theory, the Nationals, Phillies, and Braves could all be potential destinations for the outfielder.
- The three teams with the best chance of meeting the Rockies' asking price for Ubaldo Jimenez are the Yankees, Tigers, and Reds. The concerns with Jimenez are that he's not back to his 2009/early 2010 form and that his velocity has dropped. One scout told Rosenthal that he's not back to his ace form yet but he's getting close.
- The first-place Pirates are after upgrades but they should also improve from within. They have a number of injured players returning such as Jose Tabata, Evan Meek, and Ross Ohlendorf. The Bucs continue to search for a bat but they're not terribly interested in the Cubs' Carlos Pena.
Quick Hits: Mariners, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Bailey
Friday night linkage..
- The Mariners are receiving calls on Jamey Wright and Adam Kennedy, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- Both the Red Sox and the Yankees have scouts at tonight's Mets–Phillies game, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has made the rounds of his minor league teams and is willing to part with pieces at the deadline, writes Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Club ownership has told Towers that he will have some financial flexibility if he wants to add some payroll at the Deadline.
- The Athletics have received calls on Andrew Bailey, though their current position is that they would need to be overwhelmed by an offer, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday looks at some of the best mid-season rentals in recent years. No surprise here, No. 1 is the Brewers' acquisition of C.C. Sabathia in 2008.
- Over at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron continues his 2011 Trade Value series with a look at players ranked No. 25-21.
Yankees Sign J.C. Romero
The Yankees signed J.C. Romero to a minor league deal, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The left-hander, who obtained his release from the Nationals mere minutes ago, could pitch for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate tonight, Olney reports.
The Yankees will be Romero's third organization of the year. He started the season in Philadelphia, where he posted a 3.86 ERA with more walks than strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings. The Phillies released him in June and he signed with the Nationals within a week, only to obtain his release today.
Nationals Release J.C. Romero
The Nationals released J.C. Romero, according to Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported yesterday that the Yankees would likely sign the left-hander to a minor league deal if the Nationals granted him his release.
Romero, who signed with Washington at the end of June, had a clause in his contract that enabled him to opt out if he wasn't in the Major Leagues by July 15th. Before signing with the Nationals, the 35-year-old posted a 3.86 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 6.6 BB/9 in 16 1/3 innings for the Phillies, who released him last month. Romero missed time with a calf injury earlier this season.
Francisco Rodriguez Trade Links
Shortly after the All-Star game last night, the Brewers came out of nowhere to acquire Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez and $5MM from the Mets for two minor league players to be named later. The deal came together quickly, tweets ESPN's Adam Rubin. The Mets couldn't afford to wait much longer, because K-Rod has a $17.5MM option for 2012 that vests with 55 games finished, and the reliever racked up 34 closing for the Mets. Details and links on the deal…
- Agent Paul Kinzer never submitted the list of ten teams to which Rodriguez could block trades, according to David Waldstein of the New York Times. The Mets didn't want to lose the freedom to deal Rodriguez anywhere, so they made the deal once Rodriguez switched agents to Scott Boras. The Mets thought Boras would submit a list of ten teams or file a grievance in an attempt to do so.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Jim Memolo and Mel Antonen of MLB Network Radio that the list of five minor league players the Mets will choose from in September does not include the Brewers' "top top guys," but they are "players that could play in the big leagues."
- The Brewers were not among the ten teams to which Rodriguez could block a trade, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. That comes as no surprise, because new agent Scott Boras had indicated recently that his client would not approve a trade to set up if the team was among those ten. The smart money is on K-Rod setting up for Brewers closer John Axford, though there's room for the new acquisition to safely finish ten or more games.
- Though the agent had no influence on the trade, Rosenthal and Morosi note that it benefits Boras to get Rodriguez to free agency after the season, commission-wise. I imagine Boras found all of this to be the likely scenario when he began representing K-Rod.
- The Mets called around and offered similar deals to other teams, including the Yankees, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. He says the Brewers were willing to take on more money than any other team. Alderson told the Brewers they had other deals for Rodriguez, so they'd have to pull the trigger now to get him, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. The Yankees declined because they were wary of having two emotional relievers – K-Rod and Rafael Soriano – working before their preferred ninth inning, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs says the trade is a big bet on Axford for the Brewers.
- ESPN's Keith Law says the Brewers should have gone after a reliever who misses more bats, given the team's porous defense. With all due respect to Law, I can't find an available reliever with a higher strikeout rate than Rodriguez's 9.7 per nine, outside of Koji Uehara.
- K-Rod will diminish his free agent value if he makes any waves about his role with Milwaukee, writes Rosenthal.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson had to be the adult in the room and make this deal, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- Dan Mennella discusses the fantasy baseball ramifications of the trade over at CloserNews.
Yankees Notes: Romero, Jimenez, Clippard
If you're wondering which Yankee has impressed his teammates with his sense of style or which Yankee would be valuable in a brawl, check out Daniel Barbarisi's piece at the Wall Street Journal. If you're interested in the latest rumors surrounding the team, keep reading – you're in the right place…
- J.C. Romero intends to opt out of his deal with the Nationals and sign a minor league deal with the Yankees if Washington doesn't promote him to the Major Leagues by Friday, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Romero, who hasn't yet been promoted, wants to secure his release and sign with the Yankees, according to Olney.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues guesses that the Yankees would have to surrender at least four young players to acquire Ubaldo Jimenez from Colorado. The Rockies will discuss the right-hander, so there's no harm in inquiring.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues explains how Yankee prospect turned All-Star reliever Tyler Clippard ended up in Washington.
Heyman On K-Rod, Sabathia, Fielder, Beltran
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Francisco Rodriguez's agent Scott Boras spoke with Brewers GM Doug Melvin shortly after last night's trade, at which point Heyman says "Boras made the case that K-Rod should close, suggesting he wouldn't do nearly as well setting up." Melvin was apparently noncommital in that conversation, as he has been publicly. K-Rod would become the highest-paid reliever in baseball history if his option vests, though Boras wouldn't get commission on a contract brokered by Wasserman Media Group in 2008. Heyman suggests an unhappy Rodriguez is a scary concept, but based on the player's tweets (in Spanish), he's content.
- Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia "has done some selling on the Yankees" to his friend Prince Fielder. Heyman doesn't take this as a sign the Yankees are interested in Fielder as a very expensive designated hitter, but rather an indication that Sabathia expects to stick around with the club after this season.
- Cardinals right fielder Lance Berkman told Yahoo's Jeff Passan he expects Fielder to top Albert Pujols in total dollars due to the age difference, but Albert should get the higher average annual value.
- Heyman sees the Tigers as a potential suitor for Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran. He believes the Tigers could add a bat at second base, third base, or outfield.
K-Rod Could Reject Trade To Setup Role
7:40pm: Rodriguez would consider re-structuring his contract to do away with the $17.5MM option for 2012 in exchange for some other form of compensation, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
3:50pm: Rodriguez's no-trade list was submitted when the contract was signed and it doesn't change year to year, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The Yankees are not on the list, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal. Rodriguez chose the teams on his no-trade list based on which teams he didn't want to join and the list includes some small-market teams that wouldn't have interest in him, according to Costa.
1:39pm: Francisco Rodriguez's new agent Scott Boras strongly indicated today that the reliever would not accept a trade to a team on his no-trade list if it means being a setup man, tweets Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal. The issue at stake: Rodriguez will receive a staggering $17.5MM salary from the Mets for 2012 if he finishes 21 more games and is healthy after the season. The closer told Mike Puma of the New York Post he hopes the Mets let him finish the year with them.
K-Rod can block deals to ten unknown teams. Boras will be fighting for the vesting option Paul Kinzer of Wasserman Media Group negotiated, while Mets GM Sandy Alderson is trying to skirt the clause former GM Omar Minaya accepted.
In a fantasy baseball sense, the trade rumors have helped place Rodriguez in the third tier of closers, in the opinion of Dan Mennella at CloserNews.
Heath Bell Talks Trade Possibilities
Padres closer Heath Bell appears to be keeping tabs on his own market, telling Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times he views the Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Rangers, and Phillies as potential suitors (Twitter link).
Bell discussed the trade possibility at length with MLB.com's Matthew Leach and other reporters today at the All-Star game media session, saying he's willing to set up for the rest of the year if a team acquires him for that role. Of course, he doesn't really have any say in the matter; if a team wants him to play shortstop he'll have to do that to collect his paycheck. Bell does not seem to have a league preference. As you might expect, Bell will want a closing job when he signs a contract as a free agent.
An NL executive spoke to Tom Krasovic about Bell's trade value, wondering if Padres setup man Mike Adams is valued more. As far as fantasy baseball trade value, Dan Mennella at CloserNews wonders if it's time to try flipping Bell.
AL East Notes: Hardy, A-Rod, Millwood
Here are a few items of note coming out of the American League East. The Red Sox own a one-game lead over the Yankees in that tightly contested division as we hit the Midsummer Classic …
- Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is hopeful that a contract extension will be agreed upon during the All-Star break, writes Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Said Hardy: “I hope it gets done during the break. I don’t know if it will. Right now, the ball is kind of in their court. That’s where it’s at.”
- Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will undergo right knee surgery and miss four-six weeks, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger (via Twitter). For now, it appears the Yanks will go with Eduardo Nunez in A-Rod's stead, writes Chad Jennings of LoHud.com. As Tim Dierkes noted a couple weeks back, the trade market for third basemen is pretty bleak. The best sensible trade candidate is probably Aramis Ramirez, but he, along with his agent, has been consistent in maintaining that he won't waive his no-trade clause.
- Red Sox pitcher Kevin Millwood was not called up from Triple-A Pawtucket recently despite Boston having an opening in its rotation, likely because it's easier to return Kyle Weiland to the minors than Millwood, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Red Sox minor league director Mike Hazen said he expects Millwood to get his shot in Boston sometime later this season. Millwood chose not to opt out of his deal with Boston in June.