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AL West Notes: Weaver, Mariners, Athletics

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The Angels extended Jered Weaver yesterday and it didn’t take long for some initial reactions to surface. Here are more reactions to the Weaver deal, plus other notes from the Angels’ division…

  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that executives around MLB were stunned that Weaver accepted the Angels' five-year, $85MM extension offer. They expected the Scott Boras client to hold out for more or test his value on the open market.
  • Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles examines the Weaver deal and what it means for the Angels and their ace before concluding that "Weaver and the Angels needed each other." 
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs shows that Weaver pitches in one of the best environments possible for his skills. Though Weaver probably left money on the table, Cameron says the deal is a good one for Weaver and the Angels.
  • Writing at U.S.S. Mariner, Cameron suggests the Mariners might want to spend their money on a third baseman this winter, even though they already have the disappointing Chone Figgins under contract for 2012. However, there's not much out there aside from Aramis Ramirez, so the Mariners will likely have to decide between so-so secondary options and in-house solutions.
  • The A's demoted catcher Landon Powell to Triple-A Sacramento so that he could get some regular at bats, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • Coco Crisp and Rich Harden were claimed on waivers and pulled back, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. If Oakland puts the players on waivers again, they won't be able to pull them back. The A’s first placed Harden and Crisp on waivers a week ago.

Heath Bell, Carlos Pena, Kubel Placed On Waivers

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Heath Bell, Jason Kubel, and Carlos Pena were placed on trade waivers today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal tweeted earlier about Jim Thome being placed, also.  The placement on waivers starts a 48 hour period during which teams can put in claims.  Hundreds of players are placed on waivers in August, but these four are notable because they do appear to be trade candidates.

Bell, the Padres' closer, sports a 2.60 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.35 HR/9, and 42.9% groundball rate in 52 innings this year.  That's a big dropoff from his typical strikeout rate.  The 33-year-old has $1.5MM left on his contract.  He projects as a Type A free agent, but has said he'd accept arbitration if the Padres offer.  Owner Jeff Moorad said this month that Bell accepting arbitration would be preferable in some ways, but if the Padres aren't actually interested in a potential eight-figure one-year deal for Bell, they've got two days to move him. Dan Mennella took a look at the fantasy impact of the move at CloserNews.

Kubel, 29, is hitting .295/.350/.456 in 326 plate appearances for the Twins, playing right field and DH.  The left-handed hitter has about $1MM plus incentives left on his contract and currently profiles as a Type B free agent in the American League.  He earns more than Thome, but not so much that we can rule out a team claiming him mostly for the draft pick.

Pena, 33, is hitting .222/.342/.455 with 23 home runs in 480 plate appearances this year for the Cubs.  Though he projects as a Type B, teams might be reluctant to offer arbitration given his salary.  He's owed about $1MM for the rest of the year, and the Cubs will be on the hook for a deferred $5MM in January even if they trade him.

Two players who will not be traded this month: Oakland's Rich Harden and Coco Crisp, who were claimed on waivers but pulled back according to this report yesterday from Rosenthal.  Today, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Indians won the claim on Harden, but could not work out a deal.

Rockies Notes: Pomeranz, Willingham, Cuddyer

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On this day in 2006, the Rockies signed Juan Nicasio as a 19-year-old amateur free agent. Five years later, the right-hander, who started 13 games for Colorado this season, is recovering from surgery to his C-1 vertebrae. As Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post wrote earlier this week, such an injury can lead to paralysis or even death, but Nicasio is "doing at least as well as anyone associated with the Rockies could have hoped for," and intends to pitch again. We wish him the best of luck in his comeback. Here are the rest of today's Rockies notes:

Quick Hits: Anthopoulos, Marlins, Harden, Bogusevic

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Todd Helton celebrated his 38th birthday with a 3-for-6 performance (that included a homer) against the Dodgers today.  Best of all for Helton, the Rockies picked up a 7-6 win in a 13-inning affair against their NL West rivals.

Some news from around the majors….

  • "There is a strong belief" that the Blue Jays have discussed a contract extension with general manager Alex Anthopoulos, writes Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star.  The catch is, the terms of Anthopoulos' original deal in 2009 were never made public, so the end date of the GM's current contract is unknown to all but himself and the club.  Anthopoulos' quotes to Griffin would seem to indicate that he is staying in Toronto for years to come. 
  • The Marlins have denied several requests from teams to interview GM Michael Hill and VP of player personnel Dan Jennings for open front office positions over the last few years, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  Rodriguez feels the two men have earned the right to run their own team since Larry Beinfest calls the shots in Florida, though in Hill's case, he would have to be offered a president position to leave since he's already a general manager.
  • If Rich Harden is traded this month or just reaches the end of his one-year contract, he's still a candidate to return to the Athletics in the offseason, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Harden has family in the Bay Area, enjoys pitching in Oakland and has "a great relationship with pitching coach Ron Romanick."
  • Slusser also notes that the A's were looking for a first baseman for Harden at the deadline (like Lars Anderson from Boston), but since they've acquired Brandon Allen in the interim, the A's could ask for an outfielder or third baseman in a potential Harden trade package.
  • Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle looks at how Brian Bogusevic went from a failing minor league pitcher to a productive member of the Astros' outfield.
  • "It's important to have talented players in uniform in Pittsburgh," Pirates owner Robert Nutting told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  "That's exactly what we're trying to do, whether it's through a long-term assurance in a contract or whether it's bringing in great talent (through the draft)."  The Bucs have had an expensive week, spending $17MM on draft picks, signing Jose Tabata to a contract extension and closing in on another multiyear deal with Neil Walker.
  • The Rockies have dealt some notable right-handed prospects in recent years, but as Rich M of Inside The Rockies details, the club hasn't lost any significant arms.
  • Scott Van Slyke's impressive minor league campaign should earn him a chance at the Dodgers' first base job in Spring Training, argues Jon Weisman of ESPN Los Angeles.  Van Slyke, 25, has a .343/.424/.576 line in 474 plate appearances for Double-A Chattanooga this season.  Incumbent first baseman James Loney is expected to be non-tendered by L.A. this winter.
  • Ryan Madson's meltdown against the Nationals on Friday night is a sign that the Phillies need to stop using him on three consecutive days, opines Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  You can catch up on all the latest info about the Phillies' bullpen and every other late-game situation in baseball on MLBTR's sister site, Closer News.

Yankees, Other Contenders Scouting Rich Harden

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Rich Harden has been drawing interest from several contenders, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Yankees were just one of the teams on hand to witness his dazzling start last night. Harden held a potent Blue Jays offense scoreless through seven innings while punching out 11 batters and allowing just two hits and four walks.

All told, he's got a 3.91 ERA (3.73 xFIP) and a robust 10.2 K/9 in 53 innings this season. His heater, averaging 91.6mph, is down from his first stint in Oakland but up from the 90.5mph he averaged with the Rangers in 2010. He's still walking too many (4.1 BB/9) and a bit homer prone (1.36 HR/9), but Harden looks better than he has since late 2009 with the Cubs.

According to Slusser, the Yankees have watched Harden's last two starts, and several other contenders have been scouting him longer than that. New York seems a logical destination with the uncertainty in their rotation behind anchor C.C. Sabathia. Freddy Garcia just hit the disabled list (albeit with a minor injury), A.J. Burnett remains a mystery, Bartolo Colon has floundered in recent weeks, and Phil Hughes has been effective but his strikeouts have disappeared. A healthy Harden would give the Yankees another swing-and-miss arm to potentially overpower a lineup in a short postseason series.

The Red Sox nearly acquired Harden at the deadline for prospect Lars Anderson and a player to be named later, but Harden's medical records caused Boston to remove the PTBNL and the deal was dissolved. Since then, Harden has a 3.42 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings of work. Boston acquired Erik Bedard as an alternative, but given that their rotation currently includes Tim Wakefield and a struggling John Lackey, Harden could still be an attractive option for GM Theo Epstein.

As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes pointed out when Harden hit waivers earlier this week, any team that acquires the right-hander would only be on the hook for about $360K plus his performance incentives, so he's a very affordable, potentially impact addition to a contender looking to solidify its rotation. Speculating here, but the Tigers, Indians, and Diamondbacks are other logical landing places for Harden (in the unlikely event that he managed to clear waivers or fell all the way to Arizona, of course).

Harden is currently an unranked free agent with no shot of achieving Type B status, so it makes sense for the A's to try to get something for him while they have the chance. As Slusser points out, it would be an interesting scenario to see Harden pitching against the Red Sox, the team that almost acquired him, in a Yankees uniform down the stretch and potentially in the playoffs.

Trade Candidate: Hideki Matsui

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The Phillies are looking for a left-handed bat for the stretch run and they’re surely not the only team interested in adding offense from the left side. Few hitters have been hotter since the All-Star break than Hideki Matsui, who has five homers and a .385/.439/.573 line in 132 second half plate appearances. 

Matsui has cleared waivers, which means the A’s can now trade him to any team. He makes $4.25MM this year on a deal that expires after the season and only $960K or so remains on his salary, so interested teams wouldn’t have to make a major financial commitment.

One factor that could limit the Athletics’ interest in moving their DH is his projected Type B ranking. Assuming Matsui finishes the season as a Type B free agent, the A’s could offer arbitration and collect a supplemental first round pick in next year’s draft if the 37-year-old slugger declines the offer and signs elsewhere. The A’s front office might very well prefer an extra draft choice to an extra $960K.

But for the A’s to obtain such a pick, they’d have to be prepared to bring Matsui back in 2012. Despite his hot streak, Matsui has career lows in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage and his season line sits at .263/.336/.403, which is slightly worse than the average American League DH (.264/.342/.422). 

Unless the A’s have assurances that Matsui will turn an offer of arbitration down (it wouldn’t hurt him to turn their offer down), they can’t be confident in their ability to end up with a draft pick rather than a positionless 38-year-old whose overall production is in decline. As a result, dealing Matsui might appeal to the small market A’s if they can secure $1MM in salary relief. The cash might help them more than Matsui’s hot bat and the possibility of a draft choice.

Athletics Place Harden, Crisp, Breslow On Waivers

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A trio of Athletics were placed on waivers recently, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports: starter Rich Harden, center fielder Coco Crisp, and lefty reliever Craig Breslow.  Placing the three on waivers does not necessarily mean the A's want to trade them.  But if they were placed this afternoon then the clock is now ticking to make a claim, with the window closing after 48 hours.

The Red Sox pulled out of a trade deadline deal for Harden over physical concerns, but the 29-year-old righty continues to take his turn in the rotation for the A's.  His big-time strikeout rate is back in an eight start sample, though Harden remains prone to free passes and home runs.  Owed just $360K plus performance bonuses, claiming Harden would not be terribly risky despite his extensive injury history.

Crisp, 31, is hitting .274/.329/.392 in 441 plate appearances this season, already his highest total since '07.  He leads the American League with 37 steals and his defense is typically well-regarded.  He has a shot at Type B status, so the A's probably won't let him go for nothing.  Crisp has about $1.39MM remaining on his contract.

Breslow is under team control through 2013, assuming he's tendered contracts for the next two seasons.  The brainy 31-year-old has been hittable this year, especially against left-handed hitters.

Quick Hits: Marquis, Aaron Hill, Ellis, Matsui

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Dan Uggla's incredible 33-game hitting streak came to an end today. The Braves' slugger batted an insane .377/.438/.762 over that stretch with 15 homers, good for an even 1.200 OPS. Remarkably though, he still falls 23 games short of Joe DiMaggio's immortal record. Here are your Sunday links:

  • After fracturing a fibula today, new Diamondbacks acquisition Jason Marquis will miss four to six weeks.  SI's Jon Heyman tweets that it sounds like the team's inclination is to replace Marquis internally.  The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro doesn't think the team will go with top draft pick Trevor Bauer for the rotation spot, but notes that it's not crazy to suggest it.  The 20-year-old Bauer tossed five scoreless innings today in his Double-A debut.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm, "We’re always open minded for Aaron [Hill] still being a long-term part of this team."  Anthopoulos notes that Hill has flashed his talent at times this year.  It's tough to picture the Jays picking up Hill's $8MM club option, but maybe they can work something out.
  • Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post tweets that he would be surprised if the Rockies don't re-sign second baseman Mark Ellis.  The 34-year-old had a .267/.304/.382 line in 139 plate appearances heading into tonight's action.
  • If Bob Melvin is managing the Athletics again in 2012, he wants them to bring Hideki Matsui back, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Matsui had just a .617 OPS in the season's first half, but has risen from the ashes to post a .410/.470/.630 slash line in 26 games since the All-Star Break.
  • Similarly, the Cubs and Carlos Pena both seem to be open to working out a new deal, writes Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com.  On a related note, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that "in some important corners of the Cubs' front office, there is concern about investing huge money in one player this winter."  In other words, the Cubs' brass might be wary of signing Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder to play first base.
  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wonders if the Pirates can follow the path to prominence that their division rivals, the Brewers, followed to escape a similar tradition of losing.
  • Olney tweets that in three days, Drew Pomeranz can officially become the player to be named later from last month's Ubaldo Jimenez trade with the Indians. Pomeranz is expected to report to the Rockies' Double-A affiliate in Tulsa.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

NL West Notes: Bloomquist, Romero, Blake

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The tightest division race in the National League is happening out west, where the Diamondbacks have taken a two-game lead over the Giants on the strength of five straight wins. ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider link) likens Arizona to a No. 14 seed in an NCAA tournament, holding a lead late in the game and gaining confidence that they can pull off an upset. Here are this morning's notes from around the NL West:

  • The D'Backs didn't go out and acquire a replacement for Stephen Drew when he fractured his ankle, and Willie Bloomquist is making the decision look good, writes Olney. Since Drew's injury, Bloomquist is hitting .295/.349/.423 as the team's regular shortstop.
  • J.C. Romero tells Troy Renck of the Denver Post that his friend LaTroy Hawkins had good things to say about the Rockies' organization, which pushed the lefty toward Colorado. Romero will throw a bullpen and take a physical today, and could be added to the Rockies' roster if both go well.
  • Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times wonders what's next for the Dodgers' Casey Blake, who is "not the least interested in calling it a career" and "has no desire in going out on some injury-riddled, less-than-fulfilling season," according to Dilbeck.
  • The Athletics have called up two former members of NL West clubs, both of whom were involved in trades earlier this season, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Brandon Allen, formerly of the Diamondbacks, and Bruce Billings, acquired from the Rockies in the Mark Ellis deal, will join the A's for today's game.

Draft Signings: D’Backs, Indians, Blue Jays, A’s

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The latest draft signings from around MLB…

  • The Diamondbacks have signed tenth rounder Kyle Winkler for $240K, tweets Callis. Winkler, a right-hander out of TCU, was expected to be drafted in the supplemental first round before suffering a stress fracture in his elbow the weekend before the draft.
  • The Indians have signed seventh rounder Eric Haase for $580K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The high school catcher obtained the highest bonus of any player selected after the fifth round so far this year. He's more athletic than most catchers and was the best high school position prospect in Michigan this spring, according to Callis.  Tripper Johnson of Sosnick Cobbe Sports represents Haase.
  • The Blue Jays announced that they have signed 17th round right-hander Brady Dragmire and 27th round outfielder Derrick Loveless. They also confirmed the signings of 35th overall pick Jacob Anderson and fourth rounder Tom Robson.
  • The A's formally announced that they have agreed to terms with third round selection B.A. Vollmuth (Baseball America heard about the $304K agreement last night). The third baseman earned First Team All-Conference USA honors for the second consecutive season at Southern Mississippi this year.
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