A’s Designate Jerry Blevins For Assignment
The A's have designated left-hander Jerry Blevins for assignment, according to the team's official Twitter feed. Adam Rosales was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move. Credit the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser with the scoop, as she heard from Blevins himself (Twitter link) that he was on the move.
This is the third time Blevins has been DFA'ed this season and he hasn't been claimed due to his unique optional waivers situation. The 27-year-old has a 3.93 ERA and an 8.3 K/9 ratio in 17 appearances with the Athletics this year but has struggled with his control — Blevins' 6.9 BB/9 rate is almost twice his career average.
Quick Hits: Orioles, Beane, Bourn, Beltran
The Cardinals acquired Woody Williams from San Diego on this date ten years ago. The right-hander pitched 75 innings of 2.28 ERA ball and helped the Cardinals reach the postseason, where they lost to the eventual World Champion Diamondbacks. Here's the latest from around MLB…
- As Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun points out, Buck Showalter took over the Orioles one year ago today. In 162 games under Showalter, the Orioles are 76-86. The honeymoon is over, but Showalter is "the most prepared and observant person [Connolly has] been around in this game."
- The Phillies may tinker with their roster in August by calling up a reliever or acquiring a bat in a minor trade, Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
- Yahoo's Steve Henson looks back at the 13 most lopsided trades in baseball history. If you guessed that Jeff Bagwell, Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek would appear on the list, you're right.
- Moneyball has become a "period piece," Tom Verducci writes at SI.com. The advantages Billy Beane once had in Oakland have been neutralized by stadium revenue for other clubs and savvy front offices around baseball. "The biggest problem we have is that until we get a stadium it's going to be treading water for us," Beane said. "There cannot be any long-term planning. It's likely to get worse before it gets any better. It's going to be more than challenging."
- GM Jon Daniels says the Rangers checked in on Michael Bourn without pursuing him seriously, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick examines the Giants' feeble offense and the impact that Carlos Beltran will have on it.
- As Scott Miller of CBSSports.com shows, the Diamondbacks have once again become relevant in the NL West thanks, in large part, to an improved pitching staff.
Minor Moves: Flores, Stokes, Ward, Carson
Let's keep track of the day's minor moves here…
- The Yankees will release Triple-A left-hander Randy Flores tomorrow according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Both sides agreed to the move. Flores pitched to a 2.54 ERA in 28 1/3 innings for New York's top minor league affiliate, but he gave up 14 hits in 14 innings against lefties.
- The Diamondbacks have signed Brian Stokes and assigned him to Triple-A Reno according to the team's Twitter feed. The righty reliever spent last season with the Angels organization, throwing 16 2/3 innings in the majors and 17 2/3 innings in the minors.
- The D'Backs also signed infielder Daryle Ward according to the club's Twitter feed. The 36-year-old had been playing with the independent Newark Bears, and he hasn't appeared in the big leagues since 2008. He's headed to Double-A Mobile.
- The Rays have acquired Matt Carson from the Athletics according to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 30-year-old outfielder hit .285/.338/.538 with 19 homers and 11 stolen bases in exactly 400 plate appearances for Oakland's Triple-A affiliate this season. He's seen time with the A's in each of the last two seasons, posting a .200/.210/.370 batting line with five homers in 105 plate appearances from 2009-2010.
- The Astros have released right-hander Brad Hennessey according to Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The 31-year-old pitched to a 7.76 ERA in 26 2/3 innings for Houston's Triple-A affiliate,
Rosenthal On Yankees, Wandy, Ubaldo, Bailey
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Yesterday's push by the Yankees to acquire Astros lefty Wandy Rodriguez came from ownership, not GM Brian Cashman. SI's Jon Heyman wrote yesterday that the Yankees offered to pay $21MM of the $38MM left on Rodriguez's contract, implying they feel that Rodriguez is worth less than $7MM a year. Rosenthal says the Astros were willing to pay $2MM of Rodriguez's salary this year (essentially all of it) "or $5MM if his [player] option for 2014 were exercised." I'm in the minority, but I'm with the Astros in thinking paying Wandy down to the range of Ted Lilly's contract is reasonable. At any rate, Rosenthal says the Astros and Yankees never even got to the point of discussing names.
- Cashman has seven untouchables in trade discussions, a rival GM told Rosenthal.
- More than a handful of teams called the Indians "to gauge the club’s willingness to flip Ubaldo Jimenez less than 24 hours after acquiring him." The Indians wanted Jimenez for themselves though. Rosenthal adds that the Indians entertained a "flurry of offers" for starter Fausto Carmona before the deadline.
- Rosenthal says he was unfair to print a rival executive's quote last week about how Astros GM Ed Wade was trying to make a "job-saving" deal for Hunter Pence.
- Athletics GM Billy Beane explained to Rosenthal that "ultimately a trade is a bilateral and not a unilateral process," suggesting that teams were not engaging in back-and-forth negotiations for his players. Also, Rosenthal hears that the Rangers offered Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland (who ultimately got them Mike Adams) plus shortstop prospect Leury Garcia for closer Andrew Bailey.
Willie Eyre Opts For Free Agency
Righty Willie Eyre opted for free agency yesterday, MLBTR has learned. The 33-year-old had been pitching for Oakland's Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.48 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and 0.7 HR/9 in 62 innings. He last pitched in the Majors in '09 with the Rangers.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Jimenez, Dodgers
It's easy to be overwhelmed by all of the action on July 31st, but we've summarized this month's trades by division. Earlier today, Zach Links looked back at the American League (East, Central, West) and the National League (East, Central, West). Here are some more links for Sunday night…
- The Pirates explored "huge deals" without coming close to completing them, GM Neal Huntington told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (Twitter link).
- Ubaldo Jimenez has the right to void the Indians' $8MM team option for 2014 because he was traded, as MLB.com's Jordan Bastian points out (on Twitter). There isn't currently a deadline for the decision.
- A lot of teams will likely start the waiver process tomorrow, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Teams were allowed to start passing players through waivers last week to clear them by Monday.
- Athletics owner Lew Wolff told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that he wants Frank McCourt to sell the Dodgers. "My hope is that the Dodgers will be sold to a party that will restart this great franchise, and that Frank and his family will benefit from a positive sale," Wolff said. He's the first MLB owner to publicly call on McCourt to stop fighting for his team, as Shaikin notes.
AL West Trades
Everyone in the AL West made a trade this month, with the exception of the Halos..
Angels
- No trades completed.
Athletics
- Acquired first baseman Brandon Allen and reliever Jordan Norberto from the Diamondbacks for right-hander Brad Ziegler.
Mariners
- Acquired outfielders Trayvon Robinson from the Dodgers and Chih-Hsien Chiang from the Red Sox in a three-team deal. Boston received starter Erik Bedard and reliever Josh Fields from Seattle. Meanwhile, Boston sent catcher Tim Federowicz, reliever Juan Rodriguez, and starter Stephen Fife to Los Angeles.
- Acquired third baseman Francisco Martinez, outfielder Casper Wells, southpaw Charlie Furbush, and a player to be named later from the Tigers for starter Doug Fister and reliever David Pauley. The PTBNL is reportedly one of the Tigers' top three picks from the 2010 draft, meaning that it's either Nick Castellanos, Chance Ruffin, or Drew Smyly.
- Received cash considerations from the Diamondbacks for Ryan Langerhans.
Rangers
- Acquired reliever Mike Adams from the Padres for pitching prospects Joe Wieland and Robbie Erlin.
- Acquired Koji Uehara and $2MM from the Orioles for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter.
- Acquired Nick Green and cash considerations from the Orioles for lefty reliever Zach Phillips.
Heath Bell Rumors: Sunday
The latest on Padres closer Heath Bell, who is owed $2.47MM on the season and projects as a Type A free agent in either league…
- There has been some discussion between the Padres and Bell's agents within the last 24 hours, tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock. The Padres will not trade Bell unless the Yankees or Phillies offer an astronomical package, tweets Scott Miller.
- The Phillies still seem to be in on Bell, tweets Heyman. The Padres just traded setup man Mike Adams to the Rangers.
- The Angels have minimal interest in Bell, tweets Jon Paul Morosi.
- The Cardinals are sensing no traction for Bell, GM John Mozeliak tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
- The Rangers appear to be losing momentum on Bell with the Cardinals still possible, tweets Rosenthal.
- The Rangers are still in on Bell, but don't want to pay big now that they've gotten Koji Uehara, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. The Yankees are in the mix, the Cardinals are on the fringes, and the Phillies have slight interest. The Yankees are still viewed as a long shot, tweets Buster Olney. The Rangers are also still in on Oakland closer Andrew Bailey, tweets Bob Nightengale.
- The Yankees are in on Bell, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. However, Joel Sherman tweets that as of this morning the two teams are not optimistic there is a common ground for a deal. Last night, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that the Yankees were showing late interest in Bell, but the Rangers were the frontrunner and the Cardinals were still involved.
Diamondbacks Acquire Brad Ziegler
Long expected to add relief help, the Diamondbacks acquired right-handed sidearmer Brad Ziegler from the Athletics for first baseman Brandon Allen and reliever Jordan Norberto today.
Ziegler, 31, is under team control through 2014 and is owed only $405K for the balance of the season. He has a 2.39 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 71.6% groundball rate with no home runs allowed in 37 2/3 innings this year. As you might expect, he's a lot tougher on right-handed hitters.
Allen, 25, hasn't done much in 209 scattered big league plate appearances since coming to Arizona two years ago in a trade with the White Sox. He's logged a lot of time in Triple-A, and the Pacific Coast League is hitter-friendly, but he is hitting .306/.427/.579 there this year.
Norberto, 24, tossed 20 ugly big league innings last year and has been in Triple-A this year. The lefty has a 4.25 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 4.8 BB/9, and 0.2 HR/9 in 48 2/3 innings. He has good velocity for a southpaw and ranked 29th among D'Backs prospects before the 2010 season, according to Baseball America.
Buster Olney, Jon Heyman, Tim Brown, and Steve Gilbert reported various aspects of the story as it developed.
Willingham, Crisp Expected To Stay
Athletics outfielders Josh Willingham and Coco Crisp will not be traded, hears SI's Jon Heyman. As free agents after the season the two were considered prime candidates, but perhaps the A's prefer potential draft pick compensation.