Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Athletics Rumors

Quick Hits: Pirates, Manny, Luebke, Luhnow

By | at

Some links from around the league on a day when Max Scherzer became the first pitcher since 1988 to induce 15 swinging strikeouts in one game…

  • We're just two weeks shy of the three-year anniversary of the trade that sent Nate McLouth from the Pirates to the Braves in exchange for Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, and Gorkys Hernandez. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review points out that with Locke being recalled from Triple-A, all four players involved in that trade — even McLouth himself — are on the Pirates' 25-man roster.
  • Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News chronicles Manny Ramirez's journey to the Athletics, and ponders which Manny will show up in Oakland. Manny, who began a 10-game minor league assignment this weekend, has a chance to rewrite what was a disappointing ending to his career, writes Brown.
  • Nothing is certain, but Padres lefty Cory Luebke is strongly leaning toward undergoing Tommy John surgery, writes Dan Hayes of the North County Times. Luebke was transferred to the 60-day DL today, which opens a spot on the Pads' 40-man roster.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is personally scouting candidates for his team to select with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's MLB draft, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Luhnow isn't revealing which players he's scouting. He told reporters the Astros "aren't close" to knowing which player they'll draft, but are feeling more comfortable with the information they've gathered.

Franchise Notes: Padres, Athletics

By | at

Here’s the latest on the upcoming sale of one California team and the possible relocation of another…

  • MLB has vetted five possible ownership groups for the Padres and the sale of the team could be complete in weeks if not months, Dan Hayes of the North County Times reports. Some of the groups that had interest in buying the Dodgers also appear to have interest in the Padres, which has sped the process up. Some estimate that the Padres will sell for $600-700MM.
  • Athletics owner Lew Wolff told the San Francisco Chronicle that he doesn't intend to leave the Bay Area. Wolff believes that "there is only one location that'll provide [the A’s with] a badly needed new venue, and that location is … in downtown San Jose." Bud Selig established a committee to examine the Athletics' situation in 2009, but the commissioner said yesterday that there's no timetable for resolution.
  • The time has come for Wolff to start firing off lawsuits in an attempt to move the Athletics to San Jose or sell the team, ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets.

AL West Notes: Scioscia, Dipoto, Athletics

By | at

The Rangers named 35-year-old Bobby Valentine their manager on this date in 1985. Valentine, now the skipper in Boston, managed the Rangers for eight seasons. Here's the latest from the AL West, starting with the managerial situation in Anaheim…

  • There could be a divide developing between longtime Angels manager Mike Scioscia and new general manager Jerry Dipoto, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times writes. However, Scioscia says he doesn’t think about the possibility that further changes could come and Dipoto said "Mike has done a fabulous job." 
  • Commissioner Bud Selig says there’s no timetable for resolution on the Athletics’ stadium situation, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
  • Selig said it’s up to Athletics owner Lew Wolff to consider relocation possibilities, Gerry Spratt of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. “That’s really his decision to make,” Selig said. The commissioner noted that a move would require approval from baseball’s other owners.

Athletics Claim Travis Blackley

By | at

The Athletics announced that they claimed left-hander Travis Blackley off of waivers from the Giants. The A's moved Joey Devine to the 60-day disabled list to free up a 40-man roster spot in a corresponding move. The team will announce a corresponding 25-man roster move once Blackley reports to his new club.

Blackley, 29, allowed seven hits and five earned runs in five innings for the Giants before getting designated for assignment two days ago. He has a 3.98 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in ten minor league seasons.

This marks the third time this year the Athletics have claimed an Australian-born player, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows. They claimed Rich Thompson from the Angels and Luke Hughes from the Twins back in April.

Quick Hits: Balfour, A’s, Twins, Plouffe, Cardinals

By | at

Links as the weekend comes to a close..

  • A's reliever Grant Balfour is less than thrilled about losing his job as closer, writes Jeff Fletcher for MLB.com.  Balfour has drawn considerable interest from teams around baseball this season and Ben Nicholson-Smith recently looked at what Balfour could net Oakland in a trade.
  • Twins utility man Trevor Plouffe has been struggling as of late and could wind up as a roster casualty if things do not pick up, writes Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com.  Chris Parmelee is also struggling at the plate but has minor league options remaining, unlike Plouffe.
  • Alyson Footer of the Astros (via Twitter) felt that the Cardinals dodged a financial bullet when Albert Pujols signed with the Angels.

Closer Options For 2013

By | at

Last offseason's Hot Stove was notable for the hefty contracts signed by the likes of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, but the abundance of closers in free agency was an interesting secondary arc. A few stoppers signed for big bucks, and if there were any takeaway, it was that many teams have not necessarily adopted a frugal philosophy with respect to bullpen spending.

The upcoming offseason's class of free-agent closers is pretty interesting, too, and several of its potential members have options for 2013. Here's a list of those pitchers and a very preliminary look at whether their options figure to be picked up:

  • Matt Capps (2013 age: 29), $6MM club option with a $250K buyout: Capps' signing this offseason was maligned after he pitched poorly in 2011, but the Twins' bullpen was pretty barren, so it may have been a devil-you-know situation. He's pitching roughly the same so far this year, but the guess here is that if they were willing to bring him back after last year, they'll be willing to do so again. He could be a trade candidate, but I'm not sure there will be takers.
  • Ryan Madson (32), $11MM mutual option with a $2.5MM buyout: The Reds will be on the hook for at least $2.5MM, so will they want to gamble an extra $8.5MM on a guy coming off Tommy John surgery? With Aroldis Chapman and Sean Marshall in the back of the Reds' bullpen, I think they'll pass.
  • J.J. Putz (36), $6.5MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout: Putz is getting on in years, and his health is always a concern (including a DL stint during his brilliant 2011), but the right-hander is really good when he's on the mound. If he can get through this year relatively unscathed in terms of injury, which is no sure thing, I think the Diamondbacks will roll the dice, seeing as the penalty for snake eyes is relatively low.
  • Joakim Soria (29), $8MM club option with a $750K buyout: Similar to the Reds and Madson, the Royals will have a tough decision to make with Soria coming off (a second) Tommy John surgery. They've been very reluctant to part with him via trade previously, so I'm thinking they'll pick up the option just to save face and see what he can yield — either in terms of on-field contributions or perhaps a trade later in the season if he comes back healthy.
  • Huston Street (29), $9MM mutual option with a $500K buyout if club declines: The Padres will likely look to trade Street before this year's deadline, so his recent injury development must make them a little nervous. He has plenty of time to get healthy before the deadline, though, and I'd expect the Friars to move hard to flip him. If they can't, they could always pick up the option and then look to trade him again next summer.
  • Grant Balfour (35), $4.5MM club option with a $350K buyout: The A's will be shopping Balfour hard before the deadline, as he'll draw plenty of interest, as MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently noted. Wherever he is, his option will look pretty attractive, with his durability and effectiveness probably trumping any concerns over his age.
  • Rafael Soriano (33), $14MM player option or a $1.5MM buyout: Soriano is very likely to exercise this option, meaning the Yankees will almost certainly be paying this hefty tab in 2013. The temptation may be there for Soriano to decline and rake in another two- or three-year deal elsewhere on the market, but he can get one of those after 2013, assuming for health.

This Date In Transactions History: Herb Washington

By | at

Most of us are familiar with the story of Archibald Graham, the New York Giants outfielder who appeared in just one game in 1905 — without making a plate appearance — before moving on to other endeavors in life. For this distinction, "Moonlight," as he was nicknamed, was immortalized in W.P. Kinsella's Shoeless Joe and later its film adaptation, Field of Dreams.

Graham's story was exhumed and canonized by those stories, for sure, but it hasn't been entirely unique. Here's an even weirder one: former Athletic Herb Washington. Notice I didn't include a position to describe Washington — because he didn't have one. Despite playing in a whopping 105 Major League games with Oakland in 1974-75, Washington never made a plate appearance, played in the field or threw a pitch. He was a so-called "designated runner," used exclusively as a pinch-runner.

Washington was a decorated sprinter as a student-athlete at Michigan State University, and despite not having played baseball since he was a high schooler in Mississippi, his blazing speed apparently made him fit for the Major Leagues in the eyes of eccentric Oakland owner Charles O. Finley. Thus, Washington would parachute into games and, often times, attempt to steal bases.

The only problem was, Washington wasn't terribly good at it. Sure, he swiped 31 bags in his 105 games, but that was in 48 attempts — good for an underwhelming 65% success rate. Stolen-base profiency is still a topic of debate, but most research shows that a 65% success rate won't add much, if anything, to your team's chance of winning — not exactly what Finely had in mind when he signed the speedster. Most notably, Washington was picked off first base late in Game 2 of the 1974 World Series, the only game of that series that Oakland lost. 

Finley and the A's had apparently seen enough of Washington on this day in 1975, because they released him from his contract. Perhaps they weren't over the pickoff, or maybe they just realized a precious roster spot wasn't best spent on a designated runner. Nevertheless, Washington didn't sign elsewhere and thus never appeared in the big leagues again, cementing his place among baseball history's many oddities.

Let us ease his pain.

Athletics Designate Luke Hughes For Assignment

By | at

The Athletics announced that they have designated infielder Luke Hughes for assignment. The move creates roster space for Brandon Inge, whose deal with the A's is now official.

The Twins designated Hughes for assignment two weeks into the season and the A's claimed him off of waivers. The 27-year-old native of Australia has a .218/.277/.331 line in 348 career plate appearances, including this season's slow start. Hughes has just three hits in 24 plate appearances for the Twins and A's so far in 2012.

The A's designated fellow Australian Rich Thompson for assignment after claiming him from the Angels. A third Australian-born player, Grant Balfour, remains in place as Oakland's closer.

Athletics To Sign Brandon Inge

By | at

The Athletics will sign the recently-released Brandon Inge, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

The 35-year-old Inge picked up just two hits in 20 at-bats with the Tigers this season after batting just .197/.265/.283 in 303 plate appearances last season. He was released by Detroit, the only organization he's ever known, on Thursday last week.

Oakland's third base situation has been in question all season. Scott Sizemore was originally scheduled to start at third for the A's, but went down with a knee injury prior to the season. The A's have since acquired Luke Hughes from the Twins, but Hughes profiles more as a utility player than a starter. Oakland was one of three teams, along with the Twins and Orioles, rumored to be interested in adding the veteran.

Inge is a career .234/.304/.387 hitter whose defense at third has long been considered to be a plus. He possess a 5.6 UZR/150 in his career at the hot corner. Inge is represented by ACES.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top