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Tomko Would Consider Returning To A’s In 2010

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Brett Tomko won the 100th game of his career last night, continuing his impressive 2009 campaign. It was more than just a milestone, however. Tomko tells Drew Davison of the San Jose Mercury News he's hoping the A's will want him back next year if he finishes the season strong.

"It's a huge deal for me now and hopefully we'll talk here about a deal," Tomko said. "But it's definitely important because you want to set yourself up going into free agency."

Tomko has pitched to an ERA of 3.77 in 57.1 innings for the A's and Yankees. The 36-year-old righty has struck out 33 and walked just 13 along the way, so he should draw some interest as a back-of-the-rotation option this offseason.

Phillies Release Rodrigo Lopez; A’s Interested

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3:41pm: The A's have some interest in Lopez for the season's final few weeks, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

9:57am: The Phillies released pitcher Rodrigo Lopez, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki (via Twitter).  The 34 year-old righty tallied 30 innings, posting a 5.70 ERA and 19 strikeouts against 11 walks.  He was solid in his five starts, with a 3.62 ERA.  Lopez was bumped from the rotation when the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee.

Prior to his stint in the bigs, Lopez showed sparkling control en route to a 4.31 ERA in 18 Triple A starts.  The Scott Boras client had Tommy John surgery in late '07 and had a minor league stint with the Braves in '08 before signing with the Phillies in March of this year.

Odds & Ends: Chen, Mets, White Sox

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An action-packed set of links for Wednesday…

  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report about MLB teams, the Cubs included, watching Chunichi Dragons pitcher Wei-Yin Chen's last start.  It's possible Chen will be a free agent after the season.  The Taiwanese southpaw has a 1.45 ERA this year and would be in high demand.
  • MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone does not believe the team will non-tender starter John Maine after the season.  Maine, coming back from a shoulder injury, may start Sunday.
  • SNY's Ted Berg says this is a terrible time to trade Jose Reyes.
  • R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay sees a trade more likely than a non-tender for catcher Dioner Navarro.
  • Over at FanGraphs, Anderson notes that Kiko Calero (10.8 K/9) is a "nice sleeper candidate" among free agent relievers.  Calero's strikeout rate ranks behind only Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Rich Harden, and Octavio Dotel among free agent pitchers with at least 40 innings.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com's Jason Beck the Magglio Ordonez vesting option situation "speaks for itself."  23 more plate appearances for Maggs, and the Tigers have him at $18MM for 2010.
  • Among the topics in Mark Gonzales' Chicago Tribune White Sox mailbag: the Brandon Allen–Tony Pena swap and the possibility of the Sox pursuing Chone Figgins.  In another article, Gonzales notes that Ozzie Guillen wants Freddy Garcia ($1MM club option) as his fifth starter next year.
  • Jack Curry of the New York Times has the story on the Newark Bears, and independent league club that has chosen to stock its roster with recognizable former big leaguers trying to claw their way back to the Show.
  • An AL scout told Tom Krasovic "Oakland got smoked" in the Scott Hairston trade.  The Padres received pitchers Sean Gallagher, Ryan Webb, and Craig Italiano in the July 5th trade (Gallagher was named later).
  • WEEI's Alex Speier says the Red Sox announced the signing of Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias to a four-year Major League deal beginning next year (it's worth $8.25MM).

Odds and Ends: Nomar, Astros, Kazmir

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A few links to get the evening started…

  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Phillies are still "mildly following" Nomar Garciaparra. Though Nomar would not be eligible to play in the postseason for Philadelphia, he might provide some depth down the stretch.
  • Astros owner Drayton McLane "has fired more managers, general managers and coaches the last five years than any other owner in baseball," according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Justice posits that the axe might drop on someone new during the Astros' off day tomorrow. 
  • The Tampa Tribune's Marc Lancaster talked to Rays owner Stuart Sternberg, who argued that the team's trade of Scott Kazmir was "not a salary dump" but "a reallocation of resources."

Athletics Claim Jon Meloan

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The Athletics claimed 25 year-old righty Jon Meloan off waivers from the Pirates, according to CSN Bay Area (via Twitter).  The A's are Meloan's fourth club this year, after he bounced around from the Indians to the Rays to the Pirates.  And last year he went from the Dodgers to the Tribe in the Casey Blake deal.  At three different Triple A stops this year he compiled a 4.57 ERA with 60 strikeouts and 28 walks in 65 innings.  Meloan was considered a "potential power set-up man" for the Dodgers by Baseball America a few years ago.

Rosenthal On Abreu, Royals, Garland

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Bobby Abreu and the Angels have mutual interest in continuing their relationship, according to his agent Peter Greenberg.  Greenberg says there have been discussions but they'll probably wait until after the season.  Abreu, 36 in March, is hitting .297/.391/.428 in 547 plate appearances while playing subpar defense.  He should end up earning $6MM given his plate appearance incentives.  He'll easily achieve Type A status again.
  • Rosenthal praises the Royals for extending GM Dayton Moore, and suggests the team should commit to a full-bore rebuild.  Rosenthal believes it would've been wise to trade Mark Teahen and Gil Meche.
  • Rosenthal says to expect another overloaded 1B/DH market this winter.  Survey the free agent market here.  I think we might find a .400 OBP on the cheap in Nick Johnson, while Jason Giambi is in for a minor league deal.  Carlos Delgado, Russell Branyan, Hank Blalock, Ken Griffey Jr., Hideki Matsui, Aubrey Huff, Gary Sheffield, and Jim Thome are some of the other names.
  • The Phillies decided to stick with Miguel Cairo as their right-handed bench bat, rather than pursue Nomar Garciaparra.
  • A rival exec Rosenthal spoke to feels that Tony Abreu is not enough for Jon Garland, since the D'Backs are picking up all of Garland's contract.

Nomar Might Be On The Move

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According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, "there remains a small chance Nomar Garciaparra will go to a contender" before Monday's waiver trade deadline.

Odds & Ends: Kazmir, Byrd, A’s, Lackey

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Sunday evening linkage…

  • As noted by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, new Angels hurler Scott Kazmir is already falling in love out West.  "It kind of feels like a playoff atmosphere every time you're here," Kazmir said Sunday. "You have the Rally Monkey, the whole thing going on."  He's under team control until 2012 and will make his Angels debut Wednesday.
  • Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com spoke Sunday with A's manager Bob Geren, who revealed his plan for September's roster expansion.  It has already been confirmed that Brett Wallace will not see major league action this year.
  • Paul Byrd told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that he wasn't guaranteed a call-up by the Red Sox when they signed him to a minor league deal in early August.  The 38-year-old made his 2009 debut Sunday afternoon, tossing six shutout innings against the Blue Jays.
  • John Lackey earned his 100th career win Sunday with eight innings of five-hit ball against the Athletics.  He heads an intriguing 2010 free agent class.

Brad Penny Rumors: Sunday

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Brad Penny isn't scheduled to clear waivers until early next week, but we've already heard that several clubs are interested in picking him up for the stretch run. The Oakland A's are one of those teams, but Susan Slusser of The SF Chronicle says that the team believes Penny "might be claimed on release waivers and he likely would accept because he is close to getting some bonuses."

Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that in all likelikood, Penny's decision will come down to whatever team appears to have the best chance of winning a championship. Pitching for a contender would allow him to "better set himself up for his impending free agency." This is just my belief, but if he wants to boost his stock prior to free agency he's best off heading back to the National League.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Penny, Harden, Lidge

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Rumor machine Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count Video up at FoxSports.com. Let's dive on in…

  • The outcome of this weekend's games could determine which team the recently released Brad Penny signs with. The Giants and Marlins are the two teams pursuing him the most, but the Giants are in a better position in the NL Wildcard standings.
  • The Yankees, Twins, and A's are also expressing interest in the righthander, but "what pitcher in his right mind would want to stay in the American League?"
  • The A's and Padres have even "floated the idea" of signing Penny beyond the rest of this season, but Penny's best bet might be to go to a team like the Giants and reestablish himself in a pennant race, then go back into the free agent pool this winter on a high note.
  • The Cubs are more open to dealing Rich Harden to the Twins than you might think. The Cubs could receive two high draft picks if they offer Harden arbitration after the season and he signs elsewhere, but that's a risky strategy. Given his injury history, the club might not want to take a $10MM or so hit if he accepts, even for only one year.
  • The bigger question with Harden may be how aggressive the Twins will be in trying to deal for him. Remember that stars Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan have said the team needs more to contend, with Morneau mentioning that the team needs to impress Joe Mauer since he's due to become a free agent after next season.
  • Yes, the Yankees were messing with the Red Sox when they claimed Chris Carter off waivers, but Boston's 40-man roster only has 38 players on it at the moment. Daisuke Matsuzaka will assume one of those spots when he comes off the 60-day DL, and the other is reserved for Paul Byrd.
  • People might need to relax when it comes to Brad Lidge's struggles. His recent blown save against the Pirates might be the result of overuse, as Lidge was pitching for the fourth straight day. He had done it twice before this season, but he entered game three of that stretch with a four-run lead. Manager Charlie Manuel may need to be more careful with how he uses his closer down the stretch.
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