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A’s May Hold Onto Ben Sheets, Deal Coco Crisp?

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When Ben Sheets signed a one-year, $10MM contract with Oakland in January, it was widely assumed that the A's would try to flip Sheets to a contending team at the trade deadline, provided that the right-hander proved he was healthy and returned to his past form.  Sheets has made 15 starts and had some ups and downs in performance (a 4.66 ERA, 1.65 K-BB ratio), but was still seen as a candidate to be moved in July.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, however, reports that barring a "compelling" offer, the Athletics intend to keep Sheets for the remainder of the season.  The club likes how Sheets has acted as a mentor to their young pitchers and his eight-figure contract isn't too much of a burden on the payroll. 

Since Sheets doesn't even currently project to be a Type-B free agent under the most recent Elias rankings, it would seem unlike the A's to just let him walk as a free agent after the season.  It's possible the club thinks they could re-sign him at a lower price, but a healthy Sheets is bound to attract the attention of several teams over the winter. 

Rosenthal also notes that Coco Crisp could be dealt, but Oakland "will need to be motivated to move" the veteran outfielder.  Rosenthal argues that Crisp's $5.75MM option for next season fits into the club's budget, but Crisp has battled injuries for the last two seasons and has just a .719 OPS since 2006.  If the A's can't move him at the deadline, it seems more likely that Crisp would be bought out for $500K. 

Odds & Ends: Millwood, Mariners, A’s, Dunn

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As we settle in for a Tim Lincecum/Roy Oswalt pitching matchup in Houston tonight, here are some news items…

  • According to Fangraphs' Dave Cameron, Kevin Millwood is what Carl Pavano was at last year's trade deadline — a veteran starter whose high ERA hides some good peripheral numbers.
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times thinks the Mariners' hitting problems aren't to be blamed on Safeco Field.
  • CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban has some hot-stove speculation about the Giants and A's, including hinting at "a major shakeup" coming to the Oakland roster.
  • Adam Dunn tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson that he doesn't want to be traded.
  • Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com calls the Orioles' trade for Jake Fox "pretty much the nail in the coffin" for Garrett Atkins' playing time and possibly his tenure in Baltimore altogether.  Ghiroli guesses that Atkins could be designated for assignment by as soon as Saturday when Brad Bergesen is ready to return to the majors.
  • John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Giants utilityman Mark DeRosa will undergo wrist surgery and will miss the rest of the season (Twitter link).  San Francisco signed DeRosa to a two-year, $12MM contract in December that was criticized as too costly given DeRosa's age (35) and the fact that he underwent wrist surgery last November.  DeRosa has since said that the first surgery didn't solve his wrist problems, thus accounting for his .537 OPS this season.
  • John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer thinks the Reds will pick up a reliever before the trade deadline (via Twitter).
  • Outfielder/first baseman David Winfree has signed a minor-league deal with Seattle, tweets Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times-Tribune.  Winfree was playing for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton before being released last week.
  • The Sports Bank blog looks at some of Chicago's options if the White Sox indeed try to acquire a left-handed hitter.

Oakland Designates Eric Patterson For Assignment

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Outfielder Eric Patterson has been designated for assignment by the Athletics, according to the team's official Twitter page.  The move comes as a result of Coco Crisp's activation from the disabled list.

Patterson joined the A's in 2008, coming from Chicago as a part of the Rich Harden trade.  Patterson had a slash line of .221/.299/.339 in 325 plate appearances with the team over the last three seasons.  With a .641 lifetime OPS and a below-average UZR/150, it's hard to see another club making a move for Patterson unless they need a pinch-runner — Patterson is 22-for-24 in career stolen base attempts.

Minor League Transactions: Johnson, Mastny, Botts

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Tom Mastny and Jason Botts were among the former major leaguers to sign deals with big league clubs from June 8th-14th. Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the details:

  • Ben Johnson, one of the players the Padres sent the Mets for Heath Bell, has signed a deal with the Tigers. The outfielder, who has a .230/.313/.414 line in parts of three major league seasons, had been playing in the Golden League.
  • Scott Patterson, who played briefly with the Yankees and Padres in 2008, signed with the Mariners after posting an 18K/3BB ratio in the Atlantic League.
  • The Marlins turned to Tom Mastny in their search for relievers, signing the former Indian out of the Atlantic League. Mastny, 29, posted a 6.13 ERA in 94 innings with Cleveland from 2006-08.
  • The Royals released Jason Taylor four years after drafting him in the second round and signing him to a $763K deal.
  • The Nationals signed Jason Botts out of the Atlantic League. Botts, who has a minor league OPS of .875, spent parts of the 2005-08 seasons with the Rangers.
  • The Orioles and Royals, two of the organizations that have seven domestic minor league clubs, have pursued and signed non-drafted free agents aggressively.
  • Mike Curto reports (via Twitter) that the Astros acquired Tommy Everidge from the Mariners. Everidge appeared in 24 games for the A's last year.

Orioles Acquire Jake Fox For Ross Wolf

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The Orioles acquired Jake Fox from the A's for minor league pitcher Ross Wolf, according to Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles could option Chris Tillman to the minors or designate Garrett Atkins for assignment to make room for the utilityman. 

Soon after the A's designated Fox for assignment, it became apparent that the O's were interested. The 27-year-old is hitting .214/.264/.327 in 106 major league plate appearances this year. Fox, who can catch and play left, right and third, has 122 homers and a .528 slugging percentage in 2636 minor league plate appearances.

Wolf, a 27-year-old righty, has a 2.11 ERA in 38.1 innings at Triple A this year with 6.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. As Connolly notes (via Twitter), the O's have pulled off the first animal surname for animal surname trade in a while.

Odds & Ends: Sheets, Matthews Jr., Cubs, Red Sox

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A few more links for Monday night….

  • A scout tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that he didn't know of any teams scouting Ben Sheets this past weekend.
  • John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that there's no risk to the Reds signing Gary Matthews Jr., but that he still wouldn't do it.
  • Jack Moore of Fangraphs explains how he thinks the Cubs should approach the trading deadline.
  • The Red Sox will have the financial flexibility to make a move or two this summer in part because of their abundance of homegrown pitching talent, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons.
  • Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies may need to acquire an arm for the back of their bullpen.
  • With July 31st fast approaching, MLB.com's beat writers are fielding a slew of questions about possible trades. Check out mailbags from Anthony Castrovince (Indians), T.R. Sullivan (Rangers), Joe Frisaro (Marlins), and Chris Haft (Giants) for their thoughts on the trade market.

Orioles Interested In Jake Fox

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SATURDAY, 8:59pm: The Orioles still have interest in Fox according to Zrebiec. Oakland has until Thursday to trade, release or waive him, though the fact that Baltimore has waiver priority may increase the likelihood of a deal.

WEDNESDAY, 4:14pm: Andy MacPhail and the Orioles have at least some interest in acquiring Jake Fox, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The A's designated Fox for assignment over the weekend and are apparently hoping that he clears waivers.

Fox, 28 next month, has already played left field, third base, DH and catcher in 2010. His .214/.264/.327 batting line doesn't compare with the numbers he has posted in the minors. Fox has 122 homers with a .293/.357/.528 line in his minor league career, so he clearly has some hitting ability.

Zrebiec suggests a Fox acquisition could mean the end of Garrett Atkins' tenure in Baltimore, though it would not be a surprise to see the Atkins era end before long regardless of what happens with Fox.

Remembering the 1992 Trade Deadline

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Ah, who can forget 1992? The Boutros Boutros-Ghali Era begins at the United Nations. Lisa Simpson captivates a nation with her uncanny knack for picking football games. Johnny Carson retires, giving Jay Leno the chance to host The Tonight Show for some unspecified period of time. And Brett Favre makes his first start for the Green Bay Packers, leading to a career that will end around the same time that Jay Leno stops hosting The Tonight Show.

Meanwhile, baseball teams still found the time to trade with one another! Here are some of the highlights from those deals…

  • The fun started on July 21, when the Braves traded Juan Berenguer to the Royals for a real-live Cy Young Award winner, Mark Davis. Just three years removed from the award-winning performance (1.85 ERA, 44 saves, 92 strikeouts in 92.2 innings), Davis was floundering with Kansas City, posting a 7.18 ERA with 28 walks and 19 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. He didn't do much better in Atlanta, with a 7.02 ERA after the deal. The Braves won the NL West anyway.
  • On July 30, the Toronto Blue Jays solidified their bullpen by acquiring Mark Eichhorn, who'd begun his career in Toronto, from the California Angels for Rob Ducey and Greg Myers. Both Ducey and Myers went on to long careers with many teams, while Eichhorn was merely adequate for the Jays- a 4.35 ERA after the deal, compared to a 2.38 mark prior to it. His two scoreless postseason innings, however, helped Toronto capture its first World Series.
  • On August 27, a day after Fernando Tatis and Chris Truby signed their first professional contracts, the New York Mets traded David Cone to the Blue Jays for Jeff Kent and Ryan Thompson. Why the Mets thought it a good idea to deal a 29-year-old Cone is hard to fathom- Cone would go on to rack up 114 of his 194 wins after this trade. Thompson, alas, never figured out the strike zone. And while Kent became one of the best to ever play his position, he did most of his damage after the Mets traded him to land Carlos Baerga (who did most of his damage prior to arriving in New York).
  • On the penultimate day one can acquire a player to be added to the postseason roster (a fancy way of saying "August 30"), the Braves traded Sean Ross and Nate Minchey to the Red Sox for Jeff Reardon. Though he was 36 years old, Reardon still had something left in the tank. He pitched to a 1.15 ERA in Atlanta, then added three scoreless innings and a save during the NLCS. He faltered in the World Series, however, blowing the save in Game 2 on a home run by Ed Sprague.
  • The biggest trade of the 1992 season came on August 31, when Oakland shipped Jose Canseco to the Texas Rangers for a huge package: Jeff Russell, Ruben Sierra, Bobby Witt and cash. Canseco was finished being one of the best players in the game- he'd posted a career OPS+ of 139 before the trade, but 124 after it, even though he was just 28 at the time of the deal. Meanwhile, the bounty proved to provide little in the way of production. Russell was quickly shipped to Boston, Sierra's post-trade career OPS+ dropoff was even steeper, from 118 to 92, and Witt's control got better, but his strikeout rate collapsed, leaving him with a career 4.57 ERA before the trade, 5.07 ERA after the trade. Even the inflation rate rendered the cash from 1992 progressively worth less over the remainder of the decade.

Odds & Ends: White Sox, Lewis, Oswalt, Mets, Lee

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Links for Saturday..

  • White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter) that the team has the financial freedom to add pieces, though he added the team  "might be good enough the way it is".  Meanwhile, Reinsdorf said that GM Kenny Williams has the power to fire the manager, though that isn't in his plans, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Fred Lewis told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that his improved performance in Toronto isn't a result of a change of scenery.  Lewis is OPSing .799 for the Blue Jays, a marked improvement over his OPS of .738 for the Giants in 2009.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter) wonders aloud if Nolan Ryan's recent comments regarding Roy Oswalt could be considered tampering.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that a Mets scout was on hand to watch Lee last night, though it was said to be part of "normal coverage".
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post says that despite all the talk about Cliff Lee, the Yankees might need to fixate on adding a bat between now and the trade deadline.
  • Speaking of Lee, Ryan Divish of The News Tribune mentions that the lefty shrugs off all the trade talk. “It’s out of my control,” said Lee. “That’s a better question for Jack [Zduriencik]. He’s the one who makes those decisions, but I don’t.”
  • The Astros are pleased with how negotiations with top draft pick Delino DeShields Jr. are going, reports Bernardo Fallas of The Houston Chronicle. Houston selected DeShields with the eighth overall pick last week.
  • Daric Barton told Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he's grateful for being included in the Mark Mulder trade because it created an opportunity for him. "For me, it was probably the best move that could have happened to me," said Barton. "I was catching then and (Yadier Molina) was back there then, and some guy by the name of (Albert) Pujols was at first. Obviously, I could never fill his shoes."

Amateur Draft Signings: Wednesday

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It's only been ten days since the draft, but teams are quickly coming to terms with their picks. Here are the latest updates on the deals you need to know about. You can track first rounders and their bonuses right here:

  • The Red Sox made ten draft pick signings official, according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
  • John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press reports that the Tigers have signed eighth round pick Pat Leyland, the son of manager Jim Leyland.
  • The Padres signed 20 players, including second rounder Jedd Gyorko, according to the team.
  • The White Sox signed second rounder Jacob Petricka, third rounders Addison Reed and Thomas Royse and 19 others, according to the team.
  • The St. Louis Post-Dispatch lists the 33 picks the Cardinals have signed.
  • The D'Backs signed 15 picks, including ninth rounder Zachary Walters, according to the Arizona Republic.
  • The A's signed fifth rounder Tyler Vail and five others, according to the team.
  • James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press reports that ninth rounder Tony Plagman and 15 other picks agreed to terms with the Tigers today.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via Twitter) that the Indians signed their 40th rounder and three undrafted free agents.
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