Cardinals Notes: Reyes, Reifer, Samuel, Brown
Let's check out a couple of notes on the Cardinals as they take on the Blue Jays at home..
- Roger Hensley of STLToday.com led a roundtable discussion on the idea of the Cardinals pursuing Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. Derrick Goold argues that such a deal is not realistic because the Mets are looking for a haul similar to what the Athletics were seeking for Matt Holliday. Most agree with Goold's view and are also doubtful that the club could afford to keep Reyes beyond this season.
- The club now finds themselves with a logjam on the 40-man roster, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards could put reliever Adam Reifer, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, on the 60-day DL, but doing so would put him on the major-league payroll and start his service time clock. They could also drop Francisco Samuel or Andrew Brown, but they would risk losing them to another team. With five weeks to go before the non-waiver trade deadline, it appears that the Cardinals are shopping and their moves will reach deeper than the majors.
Minor League Transactions
Matt Eddy of Baseball America has this week's listings of comings and goings in the minors, and here are a few of the notable names on the move…
- Reliever Andrew Brown was dealt from St. Louis to Washington for future considerations. Brown last pitched in the majors in 2008 with Oakland, and he has a 3.84 ERA in 73 appearances between 2006-08. This is the fifth time Brown has been traded in his 10 seasons of pro ball, but it's by far the most low-profile deal; he's been involved in past trades for Gary Sheffield, Kevin Kouzmanoff and has twice been included in deals for Milton Bradley.
- The Tigers released Phil Dumatrait, and Eddy passes on the news that the left-hander has already caught on with the Korean Baseball Organization's LG Twins. Dumatrait was Boston's first-round pick (22nd overall) in the 2000 amateur draft, and he posted a 7.06 ERA in 42 major league appearances with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
- The Yankees have brought former prospect Rudy Guillen back into their system. Guillen briefly converted from the outfield to the mound in 2007, but then seemed to drop off of the radar for two seasons. Eddy reports that he is coming back as an outfielder once again.
- Eddy notes that catcher Carlos Maldonado, called up by the Nationals on Tuesday, could be in line for playing time as Stephen Strasburg's personal catcher given Washington's injury problems behind the plate and Maldonado's experience catching the superstar prospect at Triple-A. Maldonado last played in the majors in 2007 as a member of the Pirates. He has a .586 OPS in 50 major league plate appearances and a .689 OPS in 4097 minor league plate appearances.