Yankees To Continue Pushing For Lilly?
The Yankees "will continue to push to make a deal" for Dodgers lefty Ted Lilly, according to Mark Feinsand, Bill Madden, Anthony McCarron, and Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News. Furthermore, the writers say the Yankees "believe there is a loophole that because they were awarded the claim before the first of the month, they could use Lilly on their postseason roster."
Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues can't find evidence of this loophole, nor could ESPN's Keith Law or a big league executive with which Law spoke. Aside from postseason eligibility, is it plausible for the Yankees to acquire Lilly for the rest of the regular season? Can the Dodgers place Lilly on waivers again, even after pulling him back the first time the Yankees won the claim?
According to The Biz of Baseball, "Once a player on major league waivers has been claimed and the waiver request revoked, any subsequent request for major league waivers during the same waiver period is irrevocable." In other words, if the Dodgers put Lilly on waivers again they cannot pull him back if he's claimed. If the Dodgers had purely financial motives, they could hope the Yankees or another team claims Lilly, allowing the Dodgers to save over $2MM and also keep the $2.5MM sent by the Cubs. Such a transfer would be one of the bigger September transactions in recent memory. Still, it's possible the Dodgers simply have no intention of moving Lilly, as ESPN's Wallace Matthews suggests. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Yankees' original claim of Lilly "never had any traction."
Ted Lilly Will Not Be Traded; Yankees Won Claim
The Dodgers pulled Ted Lilly back off of waivers after the Yankees won the claim on the left-hander, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). This means virtually every team in baseball let Lilly through (the Rays being the lone possible exception). When the Dodgers placed Lilly on waivers last week, they did not seem inclined to trade him, so their decision is not a surprise.
Earlier in the month, the Yankees maintained that they weren't interested in adding starting pitching. Clearly, something changed this week. Andy Pettitte has been progressing slowly and Dustin Moseley has not fared well in his last four starts, so perhaps the Yankees decided it was time to be aggressive.
Lilly's new teammate, Hiroki Kuroda, will not be traded either. Both pitchers hit free agency this winter.
Quiet Deadline Day Expected?
Eleven hours remain until tonight's waiver trade deadline. A year ago today, Jim Thome, Jose Contreras, Ronnie Belliard, and Jon Garland were dealt. But two years ago it was pretty much just David Eckstein, and three years ago we only had deals for Steve Trachsel and Russell Branyan. So SI's Jon Heyman may be right in passing along the prediction from baseball executives that only "a couple of bullpen and bench pieces" will be moved today. More from Heyman:
- Almost all productive players have been blocked by claims already, even well-paid ones. Kevin Gregg, Scott Downs, and Fausto Carmona are among those claimed and pulled back.
- The Padres and Yankees would be in the market for a starter if someone decent comes available. The Padres made a claim on Hiroki Kuroda, but the Dodgers pulled him back.
- The Dodgers are not looking to trade Ted Lilly or gut the team, so consider my post on the potential to save $5.775MM just for fun.
- One active club is the Rays, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Click here for our list of those who have cleared waivers.
Dodgers To Send Ramirez To White Sox
SUNDAY, 9:03pm: The Dodgers confirmed that Ramirez will be shipped to the White Sox, tweets Peter Gammons of the MLB Network.
8:33pm: Ramirez has indicated that he will waive his no-trade clause even if he isn't compensated, sources tell Hernandez (via Twitter).
8:04pm: The Dodgers are trying to decide whether to take third base prospect Jon Gilmore and assume part of Ramirez's salary or just take the cash, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The White Sox acquired the former first-round pick from the Braves as part of a package for Javier Vazquez in December of 2008.
7:30pm: There's still a possibility that a swap could be worked out in which the Dodgers get a player and the White Sox don't have to foot the entire $4.3MM bill for Ramirez, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com writes that there will be no players coming back to Los Angeles.
7:08pm: Details of the transaction are still being worked out but Ramirez will be a member of the White Sox on Monday one way or another, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
7:02pm: The White Sox will receive Ramirez tomorrow, a source tells Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Because the White Sox will be getting Ramirez on a waiver claim, they will be on the hook for the remainder of his salary, Hernandez tweets.
1:31pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale opines (via Twitter) that since the Dodgers aren't playing Manny, they're likely set on trading him. According to Nightengale, Manny is telling friends that he can't wait to join the White Sox.
Meanwhile, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times quotes Joe Torre as saying that he's not benching Manny to get him to waive his no-trade clause, he's just trying to win games (Twitter link). From what we've heard, it doesn't sound like Manny would need the extra encouragement anyway.
SATURDAY, 8:34pm: The Dodgers have yet to ask Manny to waive his no-trade clause, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
7:20pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets that the Dodgers don't intend to give Manny up for nothing. If they part with Manny, the Dodgers want a Sox prospect in return to make it "worth their while."
FRIDAY, 7:37pm: The White Sox "swear" they have yet to have trade talks with the Dodgers about Manny, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).
1:26pm: Multiple teams claimed Manny Ramirez on waivers, but the White Sox won the claim, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). Stark reports strong indications that the Rays claimed Manny and the Rangers also claimed the 38-year-old, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
The White Sox and Dodgers, who have already discussed possible trades, have until Tuesday to work out a deal. Ramirez has a no-trade clause, which will give him the power to veto a deal if the Dodgers plan to make one. However, he has told friends that he would approve a trade to the White Sox, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link).
The Dodgers, who are currently 5.0 games out of the Wild Card race, can now hold onto Ramirez, hand him over to the White Sox or work out a trade. They must determine by Tuesday afternoon whether they can contend for the playoffs.
National League teams had waiver priority on Ramirez, but no NL team made a claim. The claim seems to indicate that the White Sox are willing to take on $4.1MM in salary, but the Dodgers and White Sox talked about potential deals earlier in the week, so the teams may have agreed on a trade that would send Ramirez to Chicago along with salary relief. About $3.1MM of Ramirez's remaining salary is deferred.
Jon Heyman of SI.com, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times also contributed to the story.
Odds & Ends: Johnson, Figgins, Pineda, Ross
Saturday night links, as Joey Votto, Adam Dunn, and Paul Konerko belt their 32nd home runs…
- Nick Johnson's 2011 option is very unlikely to be exercised, as Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News writes. Heading into the season, controlling Johnson for $5.5MM in 2011 looked reasonable for the Yankees. But a disappointing, injury-plagued season for the 31-year-old means that money could be better spent elsewhere.
- Joe Girardi and Doug Melvin told Chad Jennings of The Journal News and MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, respectively, that they're not expecting their clubs to make any trades.
- Chone Figgins, the subject of a few trade rumors this summer, tells Doug Miller of MLB.com, "I don't want to go anywhere. I chose to come here, because I like the direction and I like the guys that are here."
- The Mariners have shut down pitching prospect Michael Pineda for the year, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Pineda is fine physically and will compete for a spot in the rotation next spring, according to Jack Zduriencik.
- Cody Ross told Jim Bowden on Fox Sports Radio (Twitter link) that he was "shocked" the Marlins moved him.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer conducts a Q&A with Drew Pomeranz, the Indians' fifth overall pick in this year's draft.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Overbay, Hawpe, Lilly, Marlins
Links for Friday…
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times says (via Twitter) that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti hasn't asked anyone to waive their no-trade clause, which would include Manny Ramirez.
- Lyle Overbay was pulled from tonight's game in the 6th inning, and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says there has been trade interest in the Jays' first baseman recently. However, Overbay left for precautionary reasons as he's been feeling under the weather according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (Twitter links).
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that Brad Hawpe chose the Rays over the Red Sox was because there was "a perceived better fit in terms of guaranteed playing time."
- The Dodgers placed Ted Lilly on waivers today, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported yesterday that the Dodgers aren't inclined to trade Lilly.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports that Marlins president David Samsom directed millions of dollars to owner Jeffrey Loria. Samson has said publicly that he did no such thing, but Passan contests that "what Samson said was so provably false that it was akin to a 3-year-old trying to hide his peas under a pile of mashed potatoes."
- Stephen Strasburg will probably need Tommy John surgery, according to the Nationals.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the idea of Joe Girardi leaving the Yankees for the Cubs this offseason is "pure insanity," since the Yankees will always provide Girardi with the chance to win.
- However, Cubs sources confirmed to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the Cubs will pursue Girardi to manage, possibly as the leading candidate, if he is available.
- Padres GM Jed Hoyer told MLB.com's Corey Brock that he and Red Sox GM Theo Epstein joked about the inevitable Adrian Gonzalez rumors last winter. As Brock shows, those rumors are a thing of the past for the first place Padres.
Minor League Transactions: Yankees, Pinto
The minor league transactions continue, even as the minor league season draws to a close. Matt Eddy of Baseball America has all the minor league news for August 19th-25th. Here are some highlights:
- The Yankees signed Tzu-Wei Lin, a 16-year-old shortstop from Taiwan, for a six-figure bonus. However, Lin may be looking to void the contract and take more money from the Twins or A’s. Lin, who stands 5’7”, has good speed and a good arm with an above-average bat.
- The Cardinals released lefty reliever Renyel Pinto after he posted a 4.78 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 7.5 BB/9 at Triple A. Memphis was not kind to Pinto or to Nate Robertson, another lefty who signed with the Cards after the Marlins released him.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Winfield, Gio, Hawpe, Cubs
On this date three years ago, the Astros fired manager Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura. They were replaced on an interim basis by Cecil Cooper and Tal Smith, respectively. Cooper kept the job until he was fired last September, and the team is now under the direction of Brad Mills. Ed Wade took over the GM job about a month after Purpura was fired, and has held it since.
Here's a look at what's being written in the baseball corner of the web…
- Gaslamp Ball interviewed Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.
- Pirates Prospects spoke to a Certified Public Accountant about the Pirates' leaked financial records.
- Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Lumber Co. wonders if teams receiving revenue sharing money should earn a profit.
- Think Blue Crew analyzes Ryan Howard's swings and misses.
- SPANdemonium wonders what it would take to lock up Gio Gonzalez long-term.
- Rays Index revisits Andrew Friedman's biggest mistake.
- DRays Bay explains why Brad Hawpe makes sense for the Rays.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness thinks Ned Colletti should do the right thing and let Manny Ramirez go.
- Nolan Writin' looks at who the Rangers should call up on September 1st.
- Cubs Pack wonders who will play first base for the Cubbies next season.
- Yankeeist explores the idea of the Yankees signing Paul Konerko in the offseason.
- Walk Like A Sabermetrician suggests some ways to improve the waiver process.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Yankees Do Not Intend To Claim Kuroda
Yankees GM Brian Cashman says the Yankees don’t intend to claim Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. In fact, the Yankees maintain that they are content to stand pat.
“Right now I'm not interested in adding anyone," Cashman said. "I like the team we have and I think we have what it takes to get the job done."
Kuroda hit waivers yesterday, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but Cashman says he isn’t hoping to find a pitcher through a waiver claim or trade.
"I haven't thought about [Kuroda]. I don't even know if he's on waivers yet," Cashman said. "Besides, I'd be hard-pressed to find a pitcher on the waiver wire who can pitch better for us than Dustin Moseley has."
The Yankees and Rays are tied for first place in the AL East with identical 78-48 records. At this point, the Red Sox, who claimed Johnny Damon on waivers, appear to have been the most active of the three division rivals.
Sabathia Does Not Intend To Leave New York
C.C. Sabathia told Mark Hale of the New York Post that he won't "even consider" becoming a free agent after 2011, even though his contract allows him to do so.
"I'm here," Sabathia said, pointing out that his kids go to school in New York, where he lives all year. "Hundred percent."
As Ben Kabak of River. Ave Blues explains, Sabathia’s contract looks like a seven-year $161MM deal, but it’s actually “a three-year contract for $69MM with a player option for four years and $92MM.” As Kabak points out, the opt-out gives Sabathia leverage he could use without actually leaving the Yankees. For example, he could ask for another guaranteed year or re-negotiate the contract completely.
The Yankees are presumably eyeing Cliff Lee and they can count on Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Joba Chamberlain even if Andy Pettitte retires, but Sabathia’s presence in the rotation matters immensely.