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Odds & Ends: Rays, Phillies, Indians

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A few more evening links….

  • Bill Chastain of MLB.com writes that the arrival of Reid Brignac in Tampa Bay could lead to the Rays buying out Akinori Iwamura's option this offseason. The $4.25MM 2010 option can be bought out for $250k. Chastain suggests that the emergence of Ben Zobrist and the recent strong play of Brignac could make Iwamura expendable.
  • Todd Zolecki of MLB.com passes on news of Phillies' minor league players of the year Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor being honored before Tuesday's game against Washington. Given the Phillies' talent and depth on the major league level, Zolecki predicts that both prospects will start 2010 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Like Ryan Howard before him, Taylor has his path to the major league roster blocked by veterans with bigger contracts. Howard eventually took advantage of a Jim Thome injury and excelled in Philadelphia. It will be interesting to see if Taylor and Drabek, who were so coveted at this year's trade deadline, will earn similar opportunities in 2010.
  • Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer blogs about a few former Phillies prospects, expressing some concern about the Indians' haul in the trade that sent Cliff Lee to Philadelphia.

Odds & Ends: Rios, Hardy, Knapp

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A couple more links as the day winds down…

  • According to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune, one scout called Alex Rios "a teaser," and that he's the kind of the guy that "can get you fired." Kenny Williams sure hopes that's not the case.
  • Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider explains why the Mariners should go after J.J. Hardy. Something tells me we'll see quite a few more posts like this.
  • Jason Knapp, one of the prospects the Indians acquired for Cliff Lee, will have arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder to remove "loose bodies," according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. GM Mark Shapiro says they will not file a grievance.

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.

Victorino Wants To Remain A Phillie Long-Term

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Shane Victorino, a rare two time Rule 5 Draftee, has "said that he has a strong desire to remain with the Phillies long-term," according to Andy Martino of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Flyin' Hawaiian recently switched agents, moving from the Beverly Hills Sports Council to New York-based Seth and Sam Levinson, but said the decision came down to the "vibe" he got from the Levinsons, not necessarily the desire to secure a long term contract.

“I want to play here,” he said. “I don’t want to go anywhere. If I have to take one year deals the next few years, that’s fine.”

Victorino, 28, avoided arbitration by signing a one year, $3MM contract before the season. He has two more years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him, so he won't become a free agent until after the 2011 season at the earliest. An All Star for the first time this year, Victorino is hitting a stout .299/.367/.456, but his -9.8 UZR/150 defensive rating is near the bottom of the league among centerfielders.

Heyman On Holliday, Red Sox, Pedro, Bradley

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The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Heyman covers numerous examples of National League GMs mining the American League scrap heap.
  • Heyman agrees with Jayson Stark's note yesterday, that the Yankees will allow Derek Jeter to enter his walk year unsigned and worry about it after the 2010 season.
  • The Cardinals will try hard to retain Matt Holliday, but Heyman believes the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox could be in the mix for the slugger.
  • Heyman discusses future shortstop possibilities for the Red Sox – they could retain Alex Gonzalez or go after Marco Scutaro.  He says they "don't seem anxious" to bring Orlando Cabrera back.
  • Pedro Martinez is looking good, and Heyman says only the Phillies and Rangers had real interest.  The Cubs and Brewers were on the fringes.
  • Heyman talked to two GMs about the Cubs and Milton Bradley.  One thought the Cubs could unload him by eating half his remaining $21MM; another thought they'd need to assume almost all the money.  I am not a Bradley apologist; he's certainly been a distraction.  But how would subtracting a .394 OBP make the Cubs' middling offense better?

Odds & Ends: Astros, Royals, Abreu

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Let's kick off the day with links…

Odds & Ends: Johnson, Peavy, Nelson

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Links for Thursday…

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."

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.

Pirates, Phillies & Dodgers DFA Minor Leaguers

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The Pirates designated pitcher Jon Meloan for assignment to create roster room for Daniel McCutchen, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. The 25-year-old righty has played in the minors for the Pirates, Indians and Rays this year. In total, he's allowed 68 hits and 28 walks in 65 innings, striking out 60.

Meanwhile, the Phillies designated minor leaguer Brad Harman for assignment, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Harman hasn't played in the majors this year, but he batted 11 times in a brief call up last year. The 23-year-old, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, has played around the infield in his minor league career.

The Dodgers designated Jesus Castillo for assignment, according to MLB.com. (Hat Tip: Diamond Leung) Castillo, a 25-year-old righty, has allowed 150 hits and 55 walks in 146.0 innings at AA this year, striking out 85.

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