Odds & Ends: Peavy, Gomes, Nolasco, Price
Your Saturday afternoon links, with more to come…
- JorgeSaysNo! reiterates that the Brewers are a "perfect fit" for Jake Peavy, and Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com's "Circling The Bases" believes Milwaukee will need to move quickly in order to land him.
- As Mark Sheldon of MLB.com points out, Jonny Gomes is set to make his debut with the Reds this evening. He showed good faith in the club when he accepted an assignment to Triple-A at the end of spring training, and that faith has now been rewarded.
- Ricky Nolasco was demoted to Triple-A New Orleans this morning after beginning the season with a 9.07 ERA, 1.81 WHIP and 2-5 record. R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs examines what the 26-year-old has been doing wrong.
- David Price finally got the call. He'll start Monday against the Indians and R.J. Anderson of DRaysBay highlights a few things to monitor.
- Athletics Nation asks the question: "Where will the A's find greatness?"
- As Tim noted earlier this week, there are now several ways to keep up with the action here on MLBTR. You can join the Facebook fan page, follow us on Twitter, sign up for the RSS feed, and even get updates on your mobile phone.
Gammons On Peavy, Greene, Holliday
More rumors from ESPN.com's Peter Gammons in his latest column:
- Gammons says it made sense for Kenny Williams to try to deal for Jake Peavy because the AL Central is winnable and Gordon Beckham wasn't part of the deal.
- Gammons expects teams to be wary of no-trade clauses after seeing Peavy thwart the Padres' plans to deal him.
- Nats GM Mike Rizzo wants to deal now, while more teams are in the pennant race and remain possible buyers.
- Rizzo would like to improve his bullpen, which has an ERA nearing 7.00.
- The Red Sox want to wait on David Ortiz and plan on giving him the chance to start hitting. He finally homered this week, but has struck out in seven of his last 20 plate appearances.
- Gammons believes it makes sense for the Cardinals to see if the Red Sox have interest in Khalil Greene.
- Billy Beane may face a limited market for Matt Holliday if he decides to trade the left fielder in July.
Stark On White Sox, Bedard, A’s, Penny
A new Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark…
- Even if they don't acquire Jake Peavy, the White Sox are apparently "open for business." Stark takes that to mean names such as Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Octavio Dotel, and A.J. Pierzynski could hit the market.
- The Mariners are not quite yet at the point of making Erik Bedard available. They figure to price him like an ace if they do so.
- If A's GM Billy Beane decides to fold on 2009, he could make veterans such as Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, Jason Giambi, and Russ Springer available.
- It's very unlikely that the D'Backs shop Brandon Webb this summer, since he'll be coming off a shoulder injury.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro seems to be leaning toward hanging on to Cliff Lee for now. Shapiro may look to add pitching by trading Mark DeRosa or an outfielder.
- The Red Sox are "actively listening" on Brad Penny. My opinion: the Phillies, Indians, White Sox, or Mets could make sense.
Oakland A Fit For Mark DeRosa?
According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser:
Oakland is likely to talk to the Indians about Mark DeRosa, who is on the block. The A's had some interest in the infielder after the 2006 season. The Indians are believed to be looking for pitching, but the A's won't trade any of their hotshot young pitchers.
Second baseman Mark Ellis should be back in June, but the A's are getting a .177/.270/.300 line over at the hot corner. The A's are currently 7 games out and in last place, though, so they might be the ones shopping veterans a month from now.
Speaking of DeRosa, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if a deal involving him, Jamey Carroll, and J.J. Putz could be worked out between the Mets and Indians. He says Carroll is an Omar Minaya favorite.
Athletics Claim Craig Breslow
According to La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the A's claimed lefty reliever Craig Breslow off waivers from the Twins. The Twins called up Anthony Swarzak in his place. Breslow, a 28 year-old Yale alum, posted a 6.28 ERA in 14.3 innings this year. Last year, though, he posted a 1.91 mark in 47 innings.
Swarzak, a righthanded starter, ranks as the Twins' 6th-best prospect according to Baseball America. BA says he has a plus fastball and curveball.
Keith Foulke Attempting Comeback
Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe talked extensively with Keith Foulke, who currently closes for the Newark Bears. It's an amusing read.
Foulke hopes the independent league stint is a springboard back to the bigs:
"I'm not hoping to lead the Atlantic League in saves. I hope the phone rings today and it's the Diamondbacks and I can pack my stuff and get out of here. Any big league city is better than being here. I'd even play for the Yankees. I still think I have something to offer."
Grossfeld talked to a couple of scouts who gave Foulke mixed reviews, but he does have an 0.75 ERA in 12 innings with seven saves. Other members of the Bears' pitching staff include Armando Benitez, Bobby Brownlie, Ryan Bukvich, Shawn Chacon, and Aaron Fultz.
You may recall that Foulke walked away from $5MM from the Indians in 2007, choosing to retire due to injuries. Foulke commented on Curt Schilling, who was paid $8MM last year without pitching for the Red Sox: "He's got to wake up and look himself in the mirror every day." Grossfeld adds that Foulke hinted the A's did not pitch him in September last year due to his incentive-laden contract.
Eric Chavez Explains Situation
6:22pm: Talking to MLB.com's Mychael Urban, Chavez clarified his injury situation:
"I just want to make sure everyone's clear: I'm not getting surgery. I'm rehabbing. I hope to be back when I'm eligible, and if I hurt my back again after I come back, I'm still not getting surgery. I'll rehab it again."
He explained that a spinal fusion would be something he'll have when he's 45 or 50.
9:44am: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has the latest details on the health of A's third baseman Eric Chavez. While Chavez hopes to join the team soon, his career will be over if the herniated disk in his back goes out. In that case he'd need a career-ending spinal fusion procedure. Since the disk can go out with as little as a sneeze, Slusser says "his future in baseball will be operating on a very thin line."
Chavez's six-year, $66MM extension was signed in March of 2004. He's owed an additional $8.6MM this year plus $12MM in 2010 and a $3MM buyout for 2011, for a total of $23.6MM left on the contract. Sadly the contract has been a sunk cost for a while now. As Slusser says, A's GM Billy Beane figures to be on the lookout for third base prospects in trades.
Gammons On Ackley, Red Sox, Relievers
ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up. Let's take a look.
- Gammons writes in praise of North Carolina's Dustin Ackley, who is likely to be chosen by the Mariners at #2 in June. Ackley may wind up at center field or second base.
- The Red Sox don't appear willing to trade young pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Nick Hagadone. The Sox have looked at bats such as Colorado's Matt Murton and Ryan Spilborghs, but for now aren't desperate enough to trade pitching. Gammons wonders if, for the right bat, Boston would part with Manny Delcarmen. He believes Delcarmen could close in the NL.
- Gammons says the Mets think they could have Carlos Delgado back by August if he has hip surgery, allowing them to stay in-house for his replacements.
- The Dodgers, Indians, Yankees, and Twins are looking for relief help. Gammon names Jose Valverde, Huston Street, Danys Baez, Russ Springer, and John Grabow as future trade candidates.
A’s Acquire Adam Kennedy
SATURDAY, 7:18pm: According to the Associated Press, via the Miami Herald, the A's have sent minor league infielder Joe Dillon to the Rays to complete the trade.
Dillon, 33, has been on the Triple-A Sacramento disabled list all season with a lower back injury. He hit .263/.374/.409 in 171 minor league at-bats last season and will simply provide organizational depth for the Rays.
FRIDAY, 6:48pm: Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune gathered a nice quote from Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman, on why the club felt compelled to make the deal:
"It's an extended opportunity for Adam and we weren't going to stand in the way," said Friedman. "We feel like we're going to get a guy that's going to help us some depth-wise, and that was our understanding with Adam coming in — we're not a group that's going to stand in the way of someone, especially someone that hadn't played in the minor leagues in 10 years."
4:31pm: According to Jeff Fletcher of AOL Fanhouse the Rays traded Adam Kennedy to the A's for a player to be named later. Kennedy, 33, was playing at Triple-A Durham for the Rays and the A's have assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate, Sacramento. Kennedy gives the A's the infield depth they need after losing Mark Ellis, Eric Chavez and Nomar Garciaparra to the disabled list.
A’s Designate Ben Copeland For Assignment
According to MLB.com's Noah Coslov, the A's have designated outfielder Ben Copeland for assignment.