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Left-Handed Relief Options For Phillies

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The Phillies have acknowledged their need for a reliable left-handed reliever.  We mentioned the recently recalled Antonio Bastardo and free agent Scott Eyre yesterday, but who else is out there?

If we exclude the Rockies as sellers, six potential left-handed relief trade candidates jump out: Mark Hendrickson (Orioles), Pedro Feliciano (Mets), Doug Slaten (Nationals), Brian Tallet (Blue Jays), Brian Fuentes (Angels), and Mike Gonzalez (Orioles).  Gonzalez has been injured much of the season so we won't look at his numbers.  The samples are otherwise tiny for the other five southpaws, but all have pitched well against lefties in 2010 (xFIPs below 4.00).

Tallet, Fuentes, and Gonzalez are well-paid and likely to clear waivers.  That might make trading them easier, if their clubs are willing to assume significant salary.  Feliciano can probably be ruled out for two reasons: the Mets will be reluctant to help the Phillies, and as a Type B free agent he brings the possibility of draft pick compensation after the season.  Hendrickson and Slaten are the best fits – they're cheap and controllable for next year.  However, Hendrickson could be claimed by an American League team and Slaten would have to make it past the Dodgers, among others.

Eyre Would Return To Phillies

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Scott Eyre would consider coming out of retirement if the Phillies have interest in signing him. The left-hander, who retired last winter, told John R. Finger of CSNPhilly.com that the Phillies have not yet contacted him about a potential deal (as of last weekend). They offered him a minor league contract over the winter, but Eyre decided to spend time with his family instead.

The 38-year-old, who had offseason elbow surgery, told Finger that he feels great and would need about three weeks to prepare for big league action. Eyre posted a 1.50 ERA in 30 innings for the Phils last year, with 6.6 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told Finger that the team “could use another lefty if he can get people out.” Lefties Antonio Bastardo (just called up) and J.C. Romero (currently slumping) are on the Philies roster. Last winter, Eyre said he would only sign in Philadelphia.

Odds & Ends: Garcia, Guillen, Dunn, Reds

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Links for Monday night, as Brandon Phillips' choice words make this week's Reds-Cardinals series that much more intriguing…

Odds & Ends: Hermida, Ransom, Chris Carter

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12 years ago on this date, the Rangers sent Darren Oliver, Fernando Tatis, and Mark Little to the Cardinals for Royce Clayton and Todd Stottlemyre.  Tatis was amazing in '99, while Oliver was solid as a starting pitcher.  Clayton was pretty good for the Rangers, and Stottlemyre left as a free agent after the '98 season.  For their loss, the Rangers got a supplemental draft pick in '99 and took a kid named Colby Lewis.  Here in 2010, Lewis and Oliver are both Rangers again and make an excellent combo.  Links for Monday…

Odds & Ends: Martin, Sweeney, Red Sox, D’Backs

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On this day in 1999, Mark McGwire hit his 500th career homer, reaching that plateau faster than any other player in history.  It was McGwire's second consecutive season with a home run milestone, as he hit homer #400 during his (then) record-breaking 1998 campaign.  But since we're not here to talk about the past, let's get to some news items…

Phillies Designate Cody Ransom For Assignment

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The Phillies designated Cody Ransom for assignment, according to the MLB.com transactions page. The Phillies, who acquired Mike Sweeney from the Mariners yesterday, no longer had room for the 34-year-old Ransom on their roster. 

The utility man can play all four infield positions, but hasn't hit much in his MLB career. In 346 plate appearances picked up over the course of eight seasons, Ransom has a .227/.311/.391 line. He has a little power and did hit two homers for the Phillies this year, but didn't do much more than that in his 46 trips to the plate.

Ransom has also suited up for the Giants, Astros and, the club who designated him for assignment last year: the Yankees.

Phillies Acquire Mike Sweeney

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The Phillies acquired Mike Sweeney from Seattle for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to a Mariners press release. The 37-year-old has six homers and a .263/.327/.475 line for the Mariners this year. However, Sweeney has been on the disabled list since late June with back spasms and was just activated.

He'll presumably become a pinch hitter and occasional first baseman for Charlie Manuel's Phillies once  Ryan Howard returns from the DL. Until then, Manuel told reporters that he'll use Sweeney regularly at first base. He made five All-Star teams as a first baseman/DH, but has only played 25 innings in the field this year.

Sweeney makes just $650K this year before becoming a free agent, so there won't be a ton of money changing hands in the deal. If the Mariners obtain a player instead of cash, they'll likely get a fringe prospect, but GM Jack Zduriencik says he wanted to see Sweeney play for a contender and will be "pulling for him to succeed in Philadelphia.”

The deal means all 14 American League teams and every NL team with a worse record than the Phillies passed on Sweeney. It's possible that every NL team passed on him, but that cannot be verified.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported the deal on Twitter. 

Waiver Trade Candidates: NL East

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The current NL East situation: the Braves and Phillies are in contention, the Marlins and Mets are in the gray area, and the Nationals are out of it.  Waiver trade candidates:

The Braves would have to consider letting Derek Lowe's contract go if he's claimed.  Kenshin Kawakami is more likely, as he has a more modest $6.667MM salary for 2011 and is currently in the bullpen.  The Braves tried to trade Kawakami over the past month, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  Nate McLouth's stock is way down, as he's trying to rebuild value in Triple A.  He's getting $6.25MM next year, plus another $1.25MM for a 2012 buyout.

Raul Ibanez and Brad Lidge are two Phillies who'd likely clear waivers.  I also wouldn't be surprised to see Danys Baez and Greg Dobbs make it through.  The Phillies' attempts to free up payroll might have to wait until the offseason though.

The Marlins might be able to move Cody Ross, depending on which team wins a claim.  Wes Helms is another trade candidate.

Though he's not going anywhere, Mets pitcher Johan Santana should clear waivers.  Carlos Beltran, Francisco Rodriguez, and Jason Bay are similar stories, though Bay can't pass through waivers until he returns from the DL.  Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Jeff Francoeur, Alex Cora, and Ryota Igarashi should clear with ease.  Rod Barajas, Henry Blanco, and Pedro Feliciano are trade candidates with value who could go if the Mets fall further out of contention, though Barajas would have to return from the DL first.

Could the Nationals trade Adam Dunn, especially if he slips to Type B status?  Dunn's been dealt in August before, but the Reds didn't seem to value him the way the Nationals do.  The Nats should see Jason Marquis, Willie Harris, and Wil Nieves clear waivers, while Ivan Rodriguez, Adam Kennedy, Miguel Batista, and Livan Hernandez could land with contenders.

For our primer on the waiver trade rules, click here.

Trade Deadline Reactions

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While we wait for August's rumor mill to pick up, the focus remains on the trades made over the last few days. Let's take a look at how a few writers are evaluating those deals….

  • USA Today's Bob Nightengale and the New York Post's Joel Sherman list their winners and losers, agreeing that the Rangers and Padres did very well, while the Mets and Red Sox needed to do more.
  • In Jeff Passan's assessment of July's deals for Yahoo! Sports, the Mets get a surprising thumbs-up.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examines how the trades affect the playoff races. The Phillies and Cardinals are among his predicted division winners, after their respective deals for Roy Oswalt and Jake Westbrook.
  • The Cardinals paid too high a price for Westbrook, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says that although the Dodgers' and Angels' moves were nice, they won't be enough to propel either team into the playoffs.
  • A pair of New York Daily News writers disagree about the merit of the Yankees' weekend acquisitions. According to Mike Lupica, all the additions make the Yanks seem slightly desperate, but John Harper sees nothing wrong with making baseball's best team better. I have to side with Harper here – Brian Cashman's goal is to field a championship team, not to worry about whether a division rival's inactivity makes his club look insecure.
  • The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice and Jerome Solomon have conflicting views on the post-deadline Astros. Solomon can't think of much to be happy about, while Justice writes that a younger, more energetic roster should be fun.

Odds & Ends: Duffy, Tigers, Yankees, Reds, Red Sox

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Some leftovers in the wake of another trade deadline…

  • I'll be appearing on Sporting News Radio at 8:25pm PT tonight to talk about the deadline. You can listen in here.
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark named his trade deadline winners and losers, with the Rangers, Padres, and Yankees among the teams earning praise.
  • The Phillies released Triple-A outfielder Chris Duffy, reports Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Steve Kornacki of MLive.com that he "had a chance to do something surprising and big," and that it was like "getting the wind knocked out of you" when it fell through. He didn't elaborate any further, so we'll have to keep playing the guessing game.
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post says the Yankees took on $4.8MM at the deadline, more than any other team (Twitter links). The bankrupt Rangers came in second at $4.1MM. 
  • Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that he was working on some deals in recent days, but they "fell apart at the end." 
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets the Red Sox finished second in the Kerry Wood race, ditto the Rays and Lance Berkman, both of whom ended up with their biggest rival.
  • Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider tweets that Yunesky Maya's deal with Washington will be made official within the hour. 
  • The Padres inquired about Jacoby Ellsbury before picking up Ryan Ludwick, but were told he's not available according to ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes (Twitter links).
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Dodgers took on about $3MM with all their deadline moves. Their financial situation has been in question basically all season.
  • Chad Tracy has exercised an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Yankees and is now a free agent, tweet Conor Foley with the Triple-A Scranton Yankees.
  • Barret Loux has joined the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League according to the team's official Twitter feed. Loux was the sixth overall pick in last month's draft, but recently failed his physical with the Diamondbacks and could be looking to rebuild his stock.
  • The Royals traded minor league catcher Jeff Howell to the Twins for future considerations according to milb.com's official Twitter feed.
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