Quick Hits: Rays, Pena, Phillies, Dodgers, Royals
Dustin Ackley will make his debut tomorrow, but Blue Jays righty Zach Stewart got his first taste of The Show today against the Orioles. Stewart, acquired by former Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi in the July '09 Scott Rolen deal, ranked 44th on Keith Law's preseason top 100 prospects list for ESPN. On to today's links…
- Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that the Rays are on the verge of signing supplemental first round picks Jeff Ames and James Harris. The team signed two other supplemental first rounders earlier today.
- Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe hears that the Diamondbacks are considering calling up Wily Mo Pena for interleague play (on Twitter). Pena has not been in the big leagues since 2008, but he's hitting .356/.431/.736 with 21 homers for Arizona's Triple-A affiliate, and he could DH in AL parks.
- Andy Martino of The New York Daily News speculates about the possibility of Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran winding up with the Phillies at the trade deadline.
- The Phillies "are making inquiries on established and pricey veterans" as they search for a right-handed hitting outfielder, reports ESPN's Buster Olney. We covered this topic on Monday, under the impression that pricey players were not a fit. If the Phillies do have these types on the radar, players like Michael Cuddyer and Ryan Ludwick could enter the mix in my opinion.
- MLB is interviewing former Dodgers executives as its investigation nears its conclusion, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.
- The first player from the 2011 draft class could be the Diamondbacks' Trevor Bauer, in the opinion of ESPN's Jason Churchill and Keith Law, assuming they sign him (Insider required).
- I talked Royals with Nick Wright of 610 Sports yesterday; download an mp3 of the audio here.
Cardinals Will Look Into J.C. Romero
The Cardinals had interest in J.C. Romero over the winter, and now a source tells Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that they will look into picking him up after he was designated for assignment by the Phillies earlier today. Earlier this week we heard the Cardinals have the money to make a midseason pickup.
St. Louis has two lefties in the bullpen at the moment: Trever Miller and Brian Tallet. Miller has done the job (2.92 ERA in 12 1/3 innings), but Tallet's 7.15 ERA in 11 1/3 innings is an eyesore. Romero spent time on the disabled list with a calf injury earlier this year, and he has a 3.86 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 6.6 BB/9, and 52.9% groundball rate this year in 16 1/3 innings.
Phillies Designate J.C. Romero For Assignment
The Phillies designated lefty reliever J.C. Romero for assignment, tweets MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. The move drops the team's 40-man roster count to 39 and creates a spot on the 25-man roster for Vance Worley.
Romero, who spent time on the DL with a calf injury this year, has a 3.86 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 6.6 BB/9, and 52.9% groundball rate this year with zero home runs allowed in 16 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old has faced more right-handed hitters than left-handed ones this year, which is never a good idea. He signed a $1.35MM deal to return to the club in January.
Ronnie Belliard Retires
Ronnie Belliard, currently with Lehigh Valley, the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, is retiring, according to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
Belliard, primarily a second baseman, played in 13 Major League seasons, most recently with the Dodgers in 2010, when he posted a .216/.295/.327 line in 185 plate appearances. He began his career with the Brewers, by whom he was drafted in the eighth round in 1994, and was once traded for Hector Luna. He also spent time with the Rockies, Indians, Cardinals and Nationals.
Belliard signed a minor league deal with the Phils after being released by the Yankees toward the end of Spring Training but did not see a promotion. He calls it a career with a .273/.338/.415 line.
Phillies Looking At Right-Handed Hitting Outfielders
The Phillies are "already looking at right-handed hitting outfielders," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney after talking to a rival evaluator. At 4.05 runs per game, the Phillies' offense ranks seventh in the National League. The team's OPS against left-handed pitching ranks 11th, with Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Ben Francisco, and Carlos Ruiz among those under .700.
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. cautioned this month, "You will not see a major move this year." Amaro has made similar claims in the past before authoring big additions, and there has been much debate about whether to believe him this time as the team flirts with the luxury tax payroll threshold. ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote in May that the Phillies have been "telling other teams they can only talk about hitters making no more than about half of [Hunter] Pence's $6.9 million."
Granted, trade partners can kick in cash or take back a bad contract, but only if the Phillies include better prospects. The Astros sent the Phillies $11MM in the Roy Oswalt trade, but Amaro told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki this is "not the same sort of situation." A few available right-handed hitting outfielders making $3.5MM or less include Jeff Francoeur, Matt Diaz, Marcus Thames, as well as switch-hitter Melky Cabrera. More interesting names such as Pence, Carlos Quentin, Ryan Ludwick, Josh Willingham, and Delmon Young are all under $7MM, and I wouldn't rule them out based strictly on salary.
NL East Notes: Phillies, Reyes, Mets, Gordon
While the Phillies continue to sit atop the National League standings, the Braves are making the NL East race a little more interesting these days. They'll send Tommy Hanson to the hill this afternoon in Houston in search of their sixth consecutive win. As we wait to see whether Atlanta can gain any more ground on the Phils, let's round up this morning's NL East links from the division's two biggest markets, New York and Philadelphia:
- Based on Ruben Amaro Jr.'s track record, the GM's assertion that the Phillies won't make any major moves this summer should be taken with a grain of salt, says Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Two Phillies officials that spoke to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports contended that Amaro may actually be telling the truth this time.
- Within Rosenthal's piece, the FOX scribe notes that, while the Phillies could use a bat, their strong rotation has made them a new kind of team, and "not necessarily a worse kind."
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn't think the Mets will trade Jose Reyes before July 31st, and believes the team needs to make a strong effort to keep the shortstop past 2011, despite the risks.
- Mets fans may not look back fondly on Omar Minaya's stint in New York, but Andy Martino of the New York Daily News points out that the former GM was responsible for acquiring many notable contributors on the club's present-day roster.
- As Newsday's Ken Davidoff writes, Phillies minor leaguer Brian Gordon has the opportunity to opt out of his contract this Wednesday, on the condition that another team adds him to its Major League roster. Gordon, 32, has only made four career big league appearances (in 2008), but is excelling at Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, with a 1.14 ERA, 1.1 BB/9, and 9.1 K/9 in 55 1/3 innings.
Cafardo On Capps, Clippard, Athletics, Cabrera
There are indications that Cubs owner Tom Ricketts could be considering a management overhaul in Chicago, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe thinks Ricketts would do well to hire as many Red Sox people as possible. Cafardo suggests that Allard Baird, Ben Cherington, and DeMarlo Hale are among the names that should be attractive to the Cubs. Here are some other highlights from the Globe's Sunday Notes:
- Matt Capps should draw plenty of trade interest if the Twins decide to move him. However, the closer likely won't become available until the Twins are absolutely sure they're out of the race, as the defending AL Central champs will be reluctant to give up on their season.
- If the Nationals are willing to deal him, there will be a strong market for setup man Tyler Clippard. Cafardo speculates that Clippard would be a good fit for the Yankees or Phillies.
- An AL GM on the Athletics' decision to replace manager Bob Geren with Bob Melvin: "[GM Billy] Beane made the move now because he thought there was something to salvage. They still have the pitching. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility."
- Any contenders with interest in Orlando Cabrera may be able to acquire him sooner rather than later, after the Indians' promotion of Cord Phelps reduced Cabrera to a part-time role.
- Jason Bay's most recent slump had the Mets' $66MM man out of the lineup this week. "His bat is slow and he’s just not himself," said one veteran scout. "The ballpark [Citi Field] isn’t good for him, but the way he hit his home runs, I never thought that was a big issue."
Stark On Rollins, Fielder, Pujols, Olivo, Tigers
A number of iconic players are in contract years, so ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark looks ahead to their free agent stock and provides other rumors from around the league. Here are the details:
- No one Stark spoke with predicts David Ortiz will leave the Red Sox for another team.
- Jose Reyes will be the number two free agent on the market this winter behind only Albert Pujols, according to one executive.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. acknowledges that it wouldn't be easy to replace Jimmy Rollins, even though the shortstop is no longer an MVP-caliber player. The Phillies ‘poked around’ for possible alternatives at short last offseason, according to Stark, who predicts a two-year deal for Rollins and the Phils this winter.
- Prince Fielder will no doubt sign a lucrative free agent deal, but one executive says the first baseman’s body will be an issue: "It has been since high school, and it always will be." Fielder is 27 now, so an eight-year deal would expire after his age-35 season.
- Pujols will test the market, but Stark and his sources find it hard to believe that he’d leave St. Louis for any old team. One executive predicts that the Cubs are the Cardinals’ main threat.
- The Cubs aren’t ready to start selling and haven’t started shopping Carlos Zambrano, despite his recent outburst.
- The Red Sox offered Miguel Olivo a one-year deal before re-signing Jason Varitek last offseason. Olivo eventually signed a two-year deal with the Mariners.
- The Rangers are ‘stepping up’ their search for a right-handed setup man and maintain interest in Nationals reliever Todd Coffey.
- Rival teams say the Tigers are looking for a left-handed reliever. Southpaws Daniel Schlereth, David Purcey, Charlie Furbush and Adam Wilk are currently in Detroit’s bullpen.
Phillies Say Adding Offense Is Unlikely
Though the Phillies are 18th in the Major Leagues with 249 runs scored, their general manager doesn’t expect to make a trade for offense between now and the July 31st trade deadline. Ruben Amaro Jr. told David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News that he’s relying on the existing lineup to start producing more.
"We've got plenty of power," Amaro said. "They haven't hit with power. But we have it. They haven't performed like they can, yet. But they will."
Amaro says the Phillies will “live with it” if the offense doesn’t improve this summer. The Phillies are one of nine teams that are in violation of baseball’s debt service rules, so taking on payroll at the deadline will be trickier than expected for a club that leads the league in attendance. The 37-26 Phillies have allowed the second-fewest runs in the National League.
Heyman On Twins, Drew, Oswalt, Reyes
The A’s fired Bob Geren today, but most of baseball’s new managers are doing well in 2011, as Jon Heyman explains at SI.com. Here are the rest of Heyman’s notes and rumors from around the league:
- The Twins appear to be having second thoughts about the trade that sent Wilson Ramos to Washington for Matt Capps. Ramos is playing well and Joe Mauer has spent much of the season on the disabled list.
- It wouldn’t surprise people if J.D. Drew and Roy Oswalt retire after the season, according to Heyman. Oswalt and the Phillies have a mutual option for 2012 and Drew is a free agent after the season.
- Jose Reyes’ remarkable play has essentially forced the Mets to make him “a respectable offer.” The prospective free agent has been one of the best players in the game so far this season.
- Mets right-hander Matt Harvey and Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper are too good for Class A, according to Heyman. Harvey has a 2.49 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 and Harper has 14 home runs and a .342/.436/.619 line.