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AL West Notes: Dunn, Porter, Beimel

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The balance of power in the AL West has swung heavily in the Angels’ direction after the Halos completed a four-game sweep of the Athletics on Sunday.  Los Angeles now own both baseball’s best record (83-53) and a five-game lead over the struggling A’s, who are looking for answers after an 12-17 August.  Oakland is still on track to reach the postseason, as they hold a four-game lead in the AL wild card race.

Here’s the latest from around the AL West…

  • The A’s will cover $1MM of the roughly $2.3MM remaining on Adam Dunn’s 2014 salary, and ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that Oakland’s willingness to take on this much of Dunn’s salary was part of the reason why the A’s were able to acquire the slugger.  The Giants, Dodgers and at least one other team were also reportedly talking to the White Sox about a Dunn trade.
  • Astros manager Bo Porter tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila that his relationship with Houston’s front office “is what he expected coming in,” which seems to counter recent rumors of tension between Porter and GM Jeff Luhnow.  “My staff and I take all the information from our baseball ops and use it to the best of our ability. Every last component of that is needed to be successful,” Porter said.
  • Also from Laurila’s piece, 37-year-old lefty Joe Beimel not only has no plans to retire, his 12-year career might only be half-over.  “I plan on pitching until I’m at least 50….I don’t see any reason I can’t do what Jamie Moyer did,” Beimel said.  “He was starting games at 49 years old and getting guys out with 80 mph. I’m not down that low yet and I figure if he could go six, seven innings, I could at least come in and get one or two guys out.”  After missing 2012 and 2013 due to Tommy John surgery, Beimel is enjoying a nice comeback year out of the Mariners’ bullpen.  The veteran southpaw has a 2.03 ERA, 5.2 K/9 and 1.92 K/BB ratio in 40 innings, and he’s held left-handed batters to only a .480 OPS.

Quick Hits: Orioles, Athletics, Brewers, Pirates

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The Orioles made two trades last night, adding infielder Kelly Johnson and outfielder Alejandro De Aza, and any trade involving big-leaguers has an effect on not only a team’s 25-man roster, but its clubhouse. Via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, manager Buck Showalter provides an interesting look into how trades affect players who aren’t being dealt. Showalter says, for example, that following the acquisition of De Aza, he spoke to Delmon Young and other players about what the trade meant for them. “It’s unknown that drives players crazy and you want them to understand things,” says Showalter. “I had a real good idea what they were going to say. They’re usually pretty short conversations, but you have them nonetheless.” Here’s more from around the big leagues.

  • The Athletics’ trade for Adam Dunn might not have been needed had they not traded Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox in the Jon Lester deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports opines. Oakland’s offense has struggled since the trade, and while Cespedes’ departure isn’t entirely to blame (there have been slumps and injuries throughout the Athletics lineup), it hasn’t helped.
  • In the wake of the Brewers’ acquisition of Jonathan Broxton today, Rosenthal notes (via Twitter) that Milwaukee also went after David Price last month. Talks with the Rays did not progress very far, however, because the Brewers were unwilling to give up top young pitcher Jimmy Nelson.
  • The Pirates appear unlikely to make any trades today, David Manel of Bucs Dugout writes. “It’s been a lower percentage of successful claims than ever before,” says GM Neal Huntington. “You expect the American League guys not to make it through the American League. But there have been some guys in the National League that have been claimed before they’ve gotten to us, which has been a bit of a surprise.”

Athletics Outright Deck McGuire

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The Athletics have outrighted pitcher Deck McGuire to make room on their 40-man roster for Adam Dunn, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. The A’s acquired McGuire from the Blue Jays in July for cash considerations.

McGuire, the Jays’ first-round pick out of Georgia Tech in 2010, has struggled in the high minors, taking several years to escape Double-A and posting poor numbers this year at Triple-A. He had an 8.05 ERA in seven starts at Sacramento since joining the A’s organization, striking out 16 batters and walking 16 in 34 2/3 innings.

AL East Notes: Rays, Escobar, Johnson, Red Sox

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In his Sunday column, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that “the key to [the Rays’] offseason flexibility might be trades” before noting that Tampa would be eager to deal either Grant Balfour or Jose Molina if they opportunity presented itself. He also speculates that names such as Matt Joyce, Sean Rodriguez and Jeremy Hellickson are names to watch, and he wonders whether or not Desmond Jennings and even Wil Myers will be discussed in trades this winter as well.

Here’s more from Topkin’s piece and the rest of the AL East…

  • While trading Yunel Escobar to the A’s or letting him go on waivers might’ve been popular with Rays fans (and even some in the clubhouse, Topkin notes), the team held onto him for multiple reasons. Firstly, the Rays are confident that Escobar will rebound from a tough 2014 season next year. They also don’t trust Ben Zobrist at shortstop next year in his age-34 season and aren’t sold on Nick Franklin’s defense at short. Nor are they certain whether or not Hak-Ju Lee and Tim Beckham will be ready in 2015. Beyond that, the Rays don’t feel they can replace Escobar for as cheap little as he stands to earn in 2015 ($5MM).
  • Kelly Johnson, who went to the Orioles as the key to a four-player deal Saturday night, is now headed to his fifth straight AL East team. He’s happy to be headed to a likely playoff team in Baltimore, he tells the Providence Journal’s Tim Britton. “It’s crazy,” says Johnson. “Obviously I’ll be familiar with the surroundings. … I’m obviously excited to be in a situation where you’re on a first-place team.”
  • In a second piece, Britton also looked at the struggles of Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley, and he spoke with Red Sox assistant GM Mike Hazen about whether or not the hardships experienced by that duo has led the Sox to reevaluate their evaluation process for young players. Hazen speaks at length about the league-wide decline of offense, the increase in defensive shifts and the progress made in scouting reports, noting that it’s tougher now for young players to break through.

Athletics Acquire Adam Dunn

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3:08pm: The Athletics will pay just $1MM of the $2.3MM remaining on Dunn’s contract, Slusser tweets.

10:45am: Dunn will join the A’s tomorrow, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.

10:38am: The A’s have acquired Adam Dunn from the White Sox in exchange for minor league pitcher Nolan Sanburn, the team announced. Though the A’s were on his limited no-trade clause, word broke this morning that Dunn, who has never played in the postseason, was willing to waive that clause in order for a chance to win.

"<strongDunn, 34, is hitting .220/.340/.433 with 20 homers on the season, and his numbers against right-handed pitchers are even better: .232/.357/.457 with 18 homers. The hope for the A’s is that adding some left-handed pop can help to spark an offense that has gone dormant in the month of August. Though the A’s still lead the Majors in total runs scored, they’re hitting just .248/.324/.394 this month and they’re tied with the Phillies for 20th in runs scored this month at 102. Many fans attribute those struggles to the decision to trade Yoenis Cespedes, and in Dunn, Oakland will receive a hitter whose wRC+ of 114 is similar to the 113 mark posted by Cespedes.

Those offensive struggles for the A’s have been a significant factor in the team’s fall from atop the American League West. They’ve had a particularly difficult time scoring runs against the now-division-leading Angels, as Anaheim has outscored the A’s by a score of 10 to three thus far in their four-game series. Oakland has been shut out in each of the past two contests against the Halos and has fallen to four games back in the division. They are still, however, in position to finish as one of the Wild Card winners.

John Jaso has served as Oakland’s left-handed DH quite a bit this season, but the A’s recently placed Jaso on the seven-day disabled list due to concussion-like symptoms, and they’ve been mixing and matching with Brandon Moss, Coco Crisp, Derek Norris and Gomes of late. Crisp, however, has recently re-strained his neck, which could lead to more outfield time for Moss, especially if Crisp is out for a significant amount of time.

Dunn is earning $15MM in the final season of a four-year, $56MM pact with the White Sox, meaning he is owed about $2.54MM for the month of September. Presumably, that salary commitment and Dunn’s well-documented defensive limitations allowed him to clear waivers. This marks the fourth significant trade of the summer for the A’s, who have acquired Sam Fuld, Jeff Samardzija, Jason Hammel, Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes in other deals.

In Sanburn, the Sox will acquire a right-hander that ranked 12th on MLB.com’s midseason list of top 20 Athletics prospects. The 23-year-old was Oakland’s second-round pick back in 2012 and has pitched to a 3.28 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 71 1/3 relief innings at Class-A Advanced this season. He’s finished 23 games and picked up six saves in his time at Stockton.

Sanburn has been plagued by some shoulder issues, but he also has less mileage on his arm than many pitching prospects due to the fact that he was an outfielder in college and for part of his time in college at Arkansas. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com note in their free scouting report that Sanburn touched 99 mph in college and offers a curveball with good depth as well. The MLB.com duo notes that Sanburn has a promising slider and changeup as well, but concerns over his durability have led to a bullpen role this season in Oakland.

Tom Verducci of SI.com first reported that the A’s were pursuing Dunn. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that the A’s were the front-runners to land him and that Dunn would waive his no-trade clause. ESPN’s Buster Olney first tweeted that the A’s were closing in on a deal for Dunn.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

A’s Closing In On Deal For Adam Dunn

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9:30am: The A’s are closing in on a trade for Dunn, Olney tweets.

9:00am: The Giants are no longer a potential landing spot for Dunn, according to Olney (Twitter link).

8:45am: Rosenthal tweets that the A’s are the front-runners to acquire Dunn, who is willing to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a trade to Oakland.

8:34am: The Giants, A’s and one other club are pursuing Dunn, Rosenthal further reports (Twitter links). Oakland is indeed on Dunn’s no-trade list, but Dunn will consider allowing a trade for a chance to win in the postseason, he adds. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Buster Olney hears that the Dodgers are still in discussion with the White Sox on Dunn (Twitter link).

8:31am: The Giants and A’s are both looking to make a late trade for White Sox slugger Adam Dunn, reports Tom Verducci of SI.com. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that there was a lot of chatter yesterday that Dunn could be moved in advance of the Sept. 1 deadline for postseason eligibility. Rosenthal also notes that Dunn has a limited no-trade clause, and while the teams on that list aren’t known, Oakland frequently finds itself listed on players’ no-trade clauses.

However, as Verducci notes, Dunn leads all active players in games played without a postseason appearance, and he’s also discussed the possibility of retiring after the season. With those factors in mind, it’s hard to imagine Dunn blocking a trade to a team with a good chance of providing him with the first playoff experience of his 14-year career.

Players acquired via trade after Aug. 31 are not eligible for their new team’s postseason roster, making today somewhat of a soft trade deadline (we of course have seen trades take place after Sept. 1). As such, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Dunn (and/or others) on the move, and the White Sox certainly aren’t averse to trading veterans, having just dealt Alejandro De Aza to the Orioles last night.

While there haven’t been reports on Dunn clearing revocable trade waivers, his $15MM salary and defensive limitations both make him a candidate to clear waivers. If that has happened, he’s free to be dealt to any team, and that would certainly seem to be the implication in Verducci’s article, as he notes that the Dodgers also inquired on Dunn but aren’t considered a fit. The “Big Donkey” is owed about $2.54MM in September, so Chicago GM Rick Hahn could sweeten a potential trade by offering to pay some or all of Dunn’s remaining salary.

Dunn hit his 20th homer of the season yesterday and has posted a .220/.340/.433 batting line on the season as a whole. His platoon issues have been building for years, and they’re very apparent in 2014, as he’s hitting just .154/.274/.288 with two homers against southpaws and .232/.351/.457 against righties. Dunn could be used as a bench bat for the Giants and perhaps a platoon option at DH for the A’s. Clearly, he could play a bigger role in Oakland than in San Francisco, and for what it’s worth, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that A’s GM Billy Beane has told him that he “loves” Dunn in the past.

West Notes: Darvish, Giants, Athletics, Diamondbacks

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The Rangers and Yu Darvish would be wise to shut down the prized righty, opines Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, who says that the “macho baseball culture” that would suggest otherwise is simply wrong. As Passan rightly notes, minor injuries (like Darvish’s, according to reports) can often be a precursor to a more significant problem, and that risk is simply not worth it with Texas playing out a clearly lost season.

Here’s more from the game’s western divisions …

  • Looking ahead to the offseason, the Giants face many impactful and emotionally difficult decisions on pending free agents, GM Brian Sabean said in an interview on The Sports Virus podcast. Emphasizing the club’s oft-noted loyalty, Sabean indicated that monetary constraints would play an important role in how the offseason unfolds (while also seemingly to imply that he could make a run at bringing back Michael Morse). “[A]t the end of the year, your starting third baseman, your closer, one of your starters, and your left fielder that you’ve fallen in love with has got a chance not to be back with the team, or you may have to pick and choose due to budget considerations,” he said. “… I don’t remember a year about to end … with those kind of decisions at hand, including keeping it all within a manageable budget.”
  • Athletics GM Billy Beane said that his club’s recent struggles do not change the considerations that led him to deal away Yoenis Cespedes for Jon Lester, as John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group writes. “I’m happy to have Lester’s three wins,” said Beane. “Those are three wins I don’t know we’d have without him.”
  • Diamondbacks hurler Patrick Corbin is likely not to return until June of next year, at the earliest, as Adam Lichtenstein of MLB.com writes. The club is taking a fairly conservative approach with its prized young lefty.
  • Though Arizona surely has plenty of needs to address after a fairly miserable 2014 campaign, one fairly specific desire is to add an on-base machine to the lineup, GM Kevin Towers tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. “It would be nice to have another bat that was not only an offensive player, but somebody who works the count, gets on base and can create more scoring opportunities,” said Towers. The club is looking to find that package in an outfielder, Towers added, and has already begun scouting possible free agent or trade targets. Players like Nori Aoki and Chris Denorfia could fit the profile, says Piecoro.

AL West Links: Choo, Darvish, Colon, Astros

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The Rangers announced tonight that outfielder Shin-Soo Choo will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow to remove a bone spur and will miss the remainder of the 2014 season. The loss of a player to season-ending surgery has become a familiar refrain for Rangers fans, who have seen Prince Fielder, Martin Perez, Mitch Moreland, Jurickson Profar, Matt Harrison and Alexi Ogando all go down for the season, while Derek Holland has yet to step on a big league mound as of Aug. 25. Clearly, the Rangers were hoping for more than the .242/.340/.374 batting line turned in by Choo in his inaugural season with the club, though he’s been bothered by ankle injuries all season in addition to the aforementioned elbow problem. Michael Choice will take Choo’s roster spot for the rest of the season.

Here’s more on the Rangers and their division…

  • As if the loss of Choo wasn’t enough, Jon Daniels said in an interview on 105.3 The Fan that he is doubtful Yu Darvish will pitch again in 2014 (via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). While the Rangers GM said the team has stopped short of definitively ruling out its ace, it seems safe to assume that Darvish can have his name added to the list of Rangers whose seasons ended prematurely due to injury.
  • Geovany Soto tells Jane Lee of MLB.com that he was “very surprised” to learn of his trade from the Rangers to the division-rival Athletics, but he’s happy to have the opportunity to play on a contending team and work with the Oakland pitching staff.
  • The Angels don’t appear to be a fit for Bartolo Colon at this time, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Colon, who cleared waivers today, is owed $1.77MM for the remainder of the season and $11MM in 2015, and the Angels would likely have interest only if the Mets were to assume some of the remaining salary, DiGiovanna says.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle that the team will not comment on the federal investigation that is looking into the team’s data leak earlier this year. He did, however, reassure Drellich that the team’s systems are now secure.

Rays To Pull Yunel Escobar Back From Waivers

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The Athletics were awarded a waiver claim on Yunel Escobar this weekend, but Rays manager Joe Maddon tells reporters, including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, that Escobar will not be traded via waivers this month (Twitter link).

The 31-year-old Escobar is controlled through the 2016 season at annual rates of $5MM (2015) and $7MM (2016) with a $7MM club option or $1MM buyout for the 2017 season. Those salaries are the result of an extension inked by Escobar earlier this season, but his production thus far likely hasn’t been what the Rays were expecting.

Escobar has batted just .253/.317/.318 this season — numbers that are far inferior to the .256/.332/.366 batting line he posted for Tampa in 2013. However, Escobar hasn’t been known for his bat for quite some time. Rather, his value has been in providing top-tier defense at shortstop, but metrics such as Ultimate Zone Rating (-13.9 runs) and Defensive Runs Saved (-18 runs) feel he’s been well below average in that regard as well in 2014. Single-season samples of defensive metrics rarely tell the entire story of a player’s defense, however, and this is the first year in which Escobar has posted anything but a positive total in either metric. He’s been bothered by shoulder problems this season, which could have had some impact on both his swing and his throws across the diamond (though his range appears to be the culprit on defense, based on his Fangraphs fielding page).

Oakland has been using Andy Parrino at short of late due to a fractured finger from regular shortstop Jed Lowrie. The fact that Lowrie is a free agent at season’s end could also have played a part in the Athletics’ decision to claim Escobar, as his affordable salaries for the coming seasons would fit well within Oakland’s typically tight payroll. However, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier this morning, Lowrie could soon begin throwing, which would give him a chance to play by the end of the month.

It’s possible that the Rays could move Escobar this offseason if they feel they can find a suitable alternative on the free agent market, or if they feel that veteran Ben Zobrist or trade acquisition Nick Franklin can hold down the fort at shortstop. However, Zobrist hasn’t been a regular shortstop in years, and scouts have long questioned whether or not Franklin can handle short. Many feel that his ultimate position will be second base.

Athletics Claim Yunel Escobar On Revocable Waivers

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MONDAY: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle also hears that a deal for Escobar is unlikely, in part due to the progress that Lowrie has made on his injured finger. Lowrie could begin throwing within the next couple of days, which could allow him to return by the end of August.

SUNDAY, 6:51pm: The Athletics and Rays don’t appear likely to reach agreement on a trade involving Escobar, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. If they can’t, Escobar would stay with the Rays.

1:48pm: The Athletics have claimed shortstop Yunel Escobar from the Rays on revocable waivers, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. That means the two teams will have until Tuesday afternoon to agree upon a trade, if they’re going to make one.

Escobar is making $5MM this season and is already signed to a two-year, $13MM deal for 2015 and 2016 that also includes a club option for 2017. He had been a solid, underappreciated player for several years before this one, but this season he’s struggled, hitting .250/.315/.316 while getting uncharacteristically bad marks for his defense — UZR had rated him as an above-average shortstop for seven straight seasons before this one, but this year he’s 14 runs below average. That figure might be somewhat fluky, but he’s nearly 32 and has also struggled offensively, suggesting he might be declining.

Given Escobar’s contract status, then, it’s a little surprising that the Athletics claimed him, but perhaps they feel he has rebound potential, and they do have a need at shortstop. Jed Lowrie is currently on the disabled list and will be a free agent after the season, and journeyman Andy Parrino has recently taken his place. The A’s also recently shipped top prospect Addison Russell to Chicago in the Jeff Samardzija deal.

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