Cubs Notes: Evans, Beane, Garza, Pena
Here’s the latest on the Cubs, including an update on their search for a successor to Jim Hendry…
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says former Dodgers general manager Dan Evans fits all the criteria chairman Tom Ricketts has established for his new GM. Friends and associates of Evans tell Wittenmyer that the executive has always considered the Cubs' GM job his dream position.
- A’s owner Lew Wolff told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he wouldn’t prevent GM Billy Beane from exploring job opportunities elsewhere, though he hopes to retain him for a long time. "I would never inhibit anybody from bettering themselves because of a contract," Wolff said, noting that no teams have called regarding the "indispensable" Beane.
- Wittenmyer says Matt Garza's presence at the front end of Chicago's rotation seems critical to any Cubs turnaround. The Cubs can retain Garza as an arbitration eligible player through 2013, though he won't be cheap.
- Meanwhile, Carlos Pena told Wittenmyer that he was "pleasantly surprised" that the Cubs pulled him off of waivers after the Yankees claimed him earlier in the week.
Rockies Acquire Kevin Kouzmanoff
THURSDAY: The Rockies are paying $250K of Kouzmanoff's remaining salary, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter).
TUESDAY: The Rockies have acquired third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and cash considerations from the A's for a player to be named or cash considerations, the teams announced. Colorado's new acquisition will report to Triple-A, according to the Rockies.
Kouzmanoff, who spends his offseasons in Evergreen, Colorado, hasn't appeared in the Majors since June 6th, when the A's optioned him to Triple-A. Before getting sent down, the 30-year-old posted a .221/.262/.353 line with four homers in 149 plate appearances. Kouzmanoff hit 75 MLB homers in total from 2007-10 and led the A's with 16 last year. He has a career line of .255/.300/.421 in six seasons.
The Rockies don't have a long-term solution at third base and they figure to give Kouzmanoff a chance at the hot corner in the Majors over the course of the season's final five weeks. It's possible that Colorado will call their new acquisition up within 24 hours.
Kouzmanoff earns $4.75MM this year and will be arbitration eligible for the final time after the season. The A's were presumably looking to obtain something of value for a player who no longer figured into their long-term plans and had become a non-tender candidate.
MLBTR has learned that Kouzmanoff recently switched agents from Adam Katz of WMG to Sosnick Cobbe Sports. Check out our Agency Database for the latest on which agents represent which players.
Latest On Beane, Cubs
Some baseball people who know Billy Beane well say the longtime Oakland general manager might consider an offer to join the Cubs if they approach him about their vacant GM job, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Cubs fired Jim Hendry on Friday and are already considering replacements, possibly Rick Hahn, Josh Byrnes, Andrew Friedman, Ned Colletti and Brian Cashman.
A’s executives are frustrated with the slow pace at which MLB is considering a possible move for the franchise, Slusser reports. There’s concern within the organization that Beane might leave if the A’s don’t get permission to build a stadium in San Jose and the team is sold.
Slusser suggests A’s owner Lew Wolff would grant Beane permission to interview elsewhere if the GM wanted to be considered for other opportunities. Nine years ago, Beane nearly joined the Red Sox, before deciding to stay in Oakland.
Should Beane leave, assistant GM David Forst would be the logical candidate to replace him. Forst, who has declined opportunities to pursue GM jobs elsewhere, currently assumes much of the responsibility in Oakland. His name appeared on MLBTR’s list of GM candidates earlier in the month.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Weaver, Rodriguez, Thome
We saw one trade completed today and, as our list of players to clear waivers shows, there are more potential deals on the horizon. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he doesn't expect to make a trade this month, though he's considering waiver trade candidates every day.
- Angels ace Jered Weaver had a refreshing take on his team friendly five-year, $85MM extension, as Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times writes. “If $85 million is not enough to take care of my family and other generations of my family, then you’re stupid," he said. "I play baseball for the love of the game, for the competitive part of it.”
- A's GM Billy Beane told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that the gap between baseball's haves and have-nots has widened. "The window for small-market clubs is shorter and shorter,” Beane said.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports breaks down some possible trade scenarios between the Rockies and Astros involving the recently-claimed Wandy Rodriguez.
- Rodriguez drew interest at the trade deadline, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Yankees were prepared to give up a player for the left-hander, who they valued at $21MM.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen says he'd love to bring Jim Thome back to Chicago, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Thome hit waivers yesterday.
AL West Notes: Weaver, Mariners, Athletics
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
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
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:
- Drew Pomeranz, who joined the Rockies this week to complete the Ubaldo Jimenez trade with Cleveland, underwent an emergency appendectomy last night, according to the Tulsa Drillers twitter feed. Pomeranz's agent, Steve Rath, confirmed news of the surgery, which figures to end the left-hander's season, to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- In a separate piece for the Post, Renck briefly discusses the Rockies' outfield possibilities for 2012. According to Renck, players like Josh Willingham or Michael Cuddyer could be free agent targets, while Eric Young Jr.'s recent strong play in the outfield is improving his trade value. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also addressed the Rockies' desire for a big bat, either in the outfield or at third base, in his Full Count video yesterday. Renck adds that Colorado would be "first in line" if the Mets made David Wright available this winter.
- In another Denver Post column, Renck and Armstrong provide readers with an extended look at how this year's blockbuster trade with the Indians came about.
Quick Hits: Anthopoulos, Marlins, Harden, Bogusevic
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
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
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.