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A’s Sign Boof Bonser

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The A's signed Boof Bonser to a minor league deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who notes that Bonser will go to the minor leagues and start (Twitter links). The 28-year-old elected free agency last week after the Red Sox designated him for assignment. A groin injury has limited Bonser to two appearances so far this year; he allowed six hits and walked a pair in his two innings of work.

Bonser, a former first rounder, has not proven himself since missing the 2009 season with shoulder surgery. To his credit, the right-hander posted standout strikeout (7.3 K/9) and walk (2.9 BB/9) ratios in his three-year stint with the Twins. 

Odds & Ends: A-Rod, Beltre, Athletics, Rockies

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Links for Tuesday, as Tigers reliever Casey Fien returns to the Majors after spending the offseason in waiver wire hell…

A’s, White Sox Swap Minor Leaguers

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MONDAY: The A's sent infielder Michael Richard to the White Sox to complete the deal, according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 25-year-old is hitting .208/.301/.232 across two levels this year. Richard, an 11th-round pick in 2007, has a career .690 OPS in 1212 minor league plate appearances.

SATURDAY: According to the MLB.com transaction page, the Athletics have acquired minor league catcher Jared Price from the White Sox.

Price, 28, was hitting just .196/.268/.324 for Double-A Birmingham. Since 2005, he's been up and down between Double-A and Triple-A, not hitting much at either level.

For his minor league career, he's hit .204/.287/.369 in in 1,980 plate appearances. In addition to the White Sox, Price has seen time in the minors with the Royals and with the Dodgers, who drafted him in the seventh round back in 2000. He's thrown out 28% of potential base stealers in his minor league career, including marks over 40% both this year and last.

Red Sox Acquire Eric Patterson

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The Athletics have traded outfielder Eric Patterson to the Red Sox for minor league lefty Fabian Williamson, according to the team's official Twitter feed. Patterson had been designated for assignment earlier this week.

The Red Sox just lost Dustin Pedroia for as much as six weeks with a fracture in his foot, and the 27-year-old Patterson has considerable experience playing second base. He's a career .224/.301/.340 hitter in 378 big league plate appearances, and is capable of playing all three outfield positions in addition to the keystone spot. 

Boston originally acquired Williamson from the Mariners for David Aardsma last January. The 21-year-old has a 3.72 ERA with a 5.5 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 this season, playing for the team's High-A affiliate. 

Olney’s Latest: Zambrano, Starting Pitchers, Indians

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In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney writes about how Diamondbacks' manager A.J. Hinch went against the grain by leaving Edwin Jackson in to throw 149 pitches as he no-hit the Rays last night. One unnamed manager blamed the media for the pitch count craze, but I want to add that much of it has to do with teams protecting investments. With the rise of salaries throughout the game even from just ten years ago, teams don't want to unnecessarily put a pitcher in the line of danger, so to speak. 

Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • The Cubs may wish they could get rid of Carlos Zambrano following his latest tirade, but Olney points out that there's still $45MM left on his contract. Chicago would have to eat a huge chunk of that money to unload him.
  • The trade market doesn't figure to be very robust this summer because there just isn't a lot of money available around the league. The starting pitching market probably won't budge until Cliff Lee is dealt, at which point second tier fodder like Ben Sheets and Kevin Millwood would draw more attention.
  • The Indians' two most marketable players are Austin Kearns and Russell Branyan because neither is making big money. Kearns is owed approximately $417K the rest of the season, Branyan $1.11MM, and both will become free agents as season's end.

A’s Won’t Trade Young Players

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The A’s aren’t looking to make major changes this summer, but they won’t deal their young players even if they do make trades, GM Billy Beane told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A’s haven’t ruled out making moves, but they want to build up a base of young talent.

"That's one of the reasons we acquired Conor Jackson,” Beane said. “Not just for right now, but he's a younger player and his age makes him very attractive."

Two A’s veterans, Ben Sheets and Coco Crisp, have been tabbed as potential trade candidates, but Slusser says Sheets “isn’t stirring up interest” and points out that Crisp has barely played. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported that the A’s can afford to cover some of the $5.4MM remaining on Sheets’ salary in order to obtain better prospects. The right-hander has a 3.79 ERA, less than one hit allowed per inning pitched and twice as many strikeouts as walks since the Blue Jays lit him up for nine runs on May 2nd.

Even contenders are hesitant to deal young players, so it would be surprising if the A's, who are 10.0 games out of a playoff spot, decided to trade young talent away.

Odds & Ends: Reds, Marlins, Athletics, Haren

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Thursday night linkage..

A’s Discussing Multi-Year Deal With Suzuki

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The A's continue to discuss a multi-year deal with catcher Kurt Suzuki, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. A's GM Billy Beane told Slusser that he's optimistic about completing a deal with Suzuki and agent Dan Horwits, though nothing is imminent. Back in the spring, the A's had "preliminary talks" with Suzuki about an extension.

Suzuki, 26, will qualify for arbitration for the first time after this season and won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season. In 204 plate appearances this season, he is hitting .266/.324/.436 with eight homers. Suzuki has thrown 29% of would-be base stealers out in 2010 and in his career.

Back in April, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes showed that recent catcher extensions have typically valued the player's three arbitration seasons at $7-11MM in total. Suzuki has more experience than his peers did when they reached arbitration, so he could seek $12MM for the three remaining years he's under team control.

Amateur Draft Signings: Wednesday

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To keep track of which first rounders and supplemental-round picks have agreed to terms so far, follow our complete list. Here's the latest news on lower draft picks who have signed:

  • The Astros have signed two more draft picks according to a team press release: 10th rounder Evan Grills and 30th rounder Kellen Kiilsgaard. 
  • The Athletics signed seventh-round pick Jordan Tripp and three other players, according to a team release. Oakland's top four picks remain unsigned, but the team has locked up 15 of its next 16 selections.
  • James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Tigers agreed to terms with three draftees, including third-rounder Rob Brantly.
  • The Twins agreed to sign their second-round pick, high school shortstop Niko Goodrum, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (via Twitter).

Olney On Rangers, Sheets, Gonzalez, Orioles

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Lawyers in the game say the Rangers don’t have a good chance of completing their ownership transfer by the July 31st trade deadline, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. That means Roy Oswalt won’t likely play for the Rangers this year. But GM Jon Daniels, who would like to add a veteran starter, could acquire Cliff Lee if he gets creative. Taking on salary would be a challenge, since the Rangers have borrowed $20MM or more from MLB to operate. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:

  • The A’s can afford to cover some of the $5.5MM remaining on Ben Sheets’ contract in a trade if it means they acquire better prospects. Since few teams want to take on payroll, the A’s, who paid part of Matt Holliday’s salary after trading him to the Cardinals last year, could improve the return they get for Sheets by absorbing money again.
  • Olney says recently-fired manager Fredi Gonzalez has been “a dead man walking” since the end of the 2009 season.
  • The Orioles aren’t in a rush to trade their veterans, partly because the team is struggling so much.

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